POLICY & POLITICS
North SJ Valley:
Co-founder of local progressives group enters race for Modesto mayor
Modesto Bee
One of the founders of Indivisible Stanislaus — part of a nationwide effort to elect progressives, enact progressive policies and oppose the Trump administration — has entered the Modesto mayoral race.
Modesto mayor hits pause button on city spending $380K for downtown hotel plan
Modesto Bee
The mayor’s Friday decision came the day after he and two other city officials met with The Modesto Bee’s editorial board to explain and defend the proposal before Tuesday’s City Council meeting in which council members were expected to vote on approving the spending.
See also:
Stapley: The city has a lovely vision for downtown Modesto. But a bad idea for how to get there Modesto Bee
Central SJ Valley:
Devin Nunes in Twitter lawsuit demands emails from Democratic strategist
Fresno Bee
Rep. Devin Nunes wants to compel a former Democratic National Committee employee and a Democrat-supporting law firm to turn over their communications with anonymous writers who criticize him on Twitter.
See also:
Saturday morning panel of elected officials explores the question: Why don’t women run?
Fresno Bee
Why aren’t more women running for political office in the central San Joaquin Valley? There are many answers to that question, and The Fresno Bee – in partnership with the League of Women Voters, National Women’s Political Caucus and the Mi Familia Vota education fund – is hosting a free forum Saturday morning at Fresno City.
See also:
‘You have to do 110%’ Women talk about challenges facing female candidates in Fresno Count Fresno Bee
Should Fresno City Council get a say in the next police chief? This proposal would make it so
Fresno Bee
In light of Fresno’s recent police chief appointment and the release of two videos showing Fresno police officers using force, one Fresno City Councilmember wants the council to have more say over who leads the police and fire departments.
Matthew Desmond Talks Poverty, Profit And Evictions Ahead Of Fresno Lecture
KVPR
It’s no secret California is facing a homelessness crisis, with eviction being one way families end up without a home. However, the data on who is evicted and why has been scarce until recently.
McEwen: It's Time for The Gap to Return the Love to Fresno
GV Wire
Last year, the Fresno City Council approved a tax-incentive deal that brought The Gap’s e-commerce fulfillment center here. The 30-year contract provides $15,000 in sales-tax rebates for every full-time created beyond 500.
South SJ Valley:
'We tried to give them away': Split recycle cans likely destined for $300K trip to landfill
Visalia Times Delta
A Mad Max-like scene exists on the outskirts of west Visalia. Roughly 30,000 split trash cans scatter a 5-acre lot beside the city's wastewater treatment plant on Avenue 288. If you squint, the mass of cans is visible from Highway 99.
See also:
DMV may be overcharging Kern County residents with use tax
Bakersfield Californian
The Department of Motor Vehicles may be charging tax rates higher than allowed for some Kern County residents. Assemblyman Vince Fong’s office is looking into two complaints of sales tax issues involving the DMV in Bakersfield.
Two men allege harassment by Harrison supporters in new legal filings
Bakersfield Californian
Two men being sued by Monsignor Craig Harrison for defamation said in a legal filing last week they are being harassed and intimidated by the priest's family and supporters, possibly in an effort to silence them.
Online access to court records remains elusive in Kern
Bakersfield Californian
But how soon that access might be granted, and how much it will cost, they declined to say. In the meantime, Kern County Superior Court recently began charging some parties new fees for retrieving and making copies of records that now must be filed digitally.
State:
Governor threatens possible PG&E takeover if no plan is made
AP News
California’s governor on Friday threatened a possible takeover of the troubled utility blamed for sparking deadly wildfires across the state with its outdated equipment unless it can emerge from bankruptcy ahead of next year’s wildfire season with a plan focused on safety.
See also:
California Governor Threatens to Step In and ‘Restructure’ PG&E Bloomberg
Newsom names ‘energy czar’ amid California blackouts, suggests state could take over PG&E Sacramento Bee
Policymakers Played a Role in California’s Wildfire Issues National Review
As wildfires burn across California, Trump lashes out at the state on Twitter
Sacramento Bee
Autumn in California now comes not only with fierce, wind-driven wildfires but with routine claims from President Donald Trump that the state's leaders are to blame for the disasters, followed by assurances from experts that the president doesn't know what he's talking about.
See also:
Trump on California wildfires: Gov. Gavin Newsom responds to criticism, threat to cut aide Washington Post
Trump threatens to end federal aid to California in tweets slamming Gov. Gavin Newsom Politico
Trump threatens to cut US funding for California wildfires PBS NewsHour
California Governor Threatens State Takeover of PG&E Wall Street Journal
Who started California’s pro-immigrant movement? Democrats thank Republican Pete Wilson
Sacramento Bee
Latino lawmakers in the California Legislature released a tongue-in-cheek video Friday thanking former Republican Gov. Pete Wilson for running on an anti-immigration platform 25 years ago and inadvertently sparking a political movement among Latinos.
Capital Public Radio
Californians are turning their clocks back with the rest of the country this weekend, despite their continued efforts to eliminate the practice. In 2018, voters approved a ballot measure to make it possible for California to eliminate the yearly change.
Watchdog Panel Says California Needs State GIS Officer
Techwire
The Little Hoover Commission’s report on geographic information systems technology concludes that overall, the state’s use of GIS is “inconsistent and lacks centralization and coordination.”
Will California’s “Revenge Porn” Law Really Help Rep. Katie Hill?
Capital Public Radio
Rep. Katie Hill, the millennial Democrat from the Santa Clarita Valley, is quitting Congress —but she isn’t going down without a fight.
California conservatives leaving the state for ‘redder pastures’
Los Angeles Times
Like many other Republican and conservative voters in California, the retired couple have decided to leave the state. A major reason, Stark and her spouse say, is their disenchantment with deep-blue California’s liberal political culture.
Opinion: Partisan politics prevents legislators from solving big problems. It wasn’t always that way
Merced Sun-Star
It used to be said that there is no Democratic or Republican way to fill a pothole, the implication being that certain core functions of government must be fulfilled without regard to partisanship. In 2019, it now appears that there are partisan ways to fight wildfires.
Federal:
House impeachment rules put Devin Nunes in seat to run Donald Trump’s defense
Fresno Bee
While Schiff and Democrats will retain ultimate control over hearings, Nunes can question witnesses for an equal amount of time as Schiff, request to hear witness testimony relevant to the investigation and issue subpoenas with Schiff’s approval.
See also:
Nunes to move from supporting to leading role in Trump impeachment defense Roll Call
Impeachment Increasingly Divides Americans by Political Party Wall Street Journal
Trump administration to pay California nearly $850,000 after failed census citizenship fight
Sacramento Bee
The Trump administration reached a settlement with California on Friday in which it essentially concluded its fight to add a citizenship question to the U.S. Census. The Trump administration will pay the state $846,000 for lawyer fees and related costs.
Trump Administration Stops Enforcing Some Nondiscrimination Provisions in Federal Grants
Wall Street Journal
The Department of Health and Human Services will no longer require organizations that get billions of dollars in federal grants to comply with rules that ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and religion, the agency said Friday.
EDITORIAL: It’s time for the U.S. Senate, President Trump to recognize the Armenian genocide
Fresno Bee
This week’s strong action by the House of Representatives to officially recognize the 1915-18 Armenian genocide was long overdue, but thankfully taken. Now the Senate must put politics aside and do the right thing by also recognizing the slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians for what it was — genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Turks.
Elections 2020:
Beto O’Rourke quits presidential race amid financial strains and lagging popularity
Washington Post
Beto O’Rourke, the former congressman from Texas who burst to the national scene wielding excitement and enthusiasm, on Friday abruptly dropped out of the Democratic presidential race amid financial strains and a lagging campaign.
See also:
Beto O’Rourke ends bid for 2020 Democratic presidential nomination Roll Call
Beto O’Rourke Ends Presidential Bid Wall Street Journal
Beto O'Rourke drops out of 2020 race Politico
EDITORIAL: Beto O’Rourke’s Shooting Star Wall Street Journal
A small dose of realism in Elizabeth Warren’s new health proposal
Washington Post
Buried in Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s new Medicare-for-all plan is an intriguing tidbit: One of the pay-fors that the Democrat proposes would come from increased revenue generated by legalizing undocumented immigrants and increasing legal immigration.
See also:
The math for Warren’s health-care plan adds up if you accept its ludicrous premise Washington Post
Elizabeth Warren’s Health Care Albatross New York Times
Can Warren Actually Avoid Taxing the Middle Class? The Atlantic
Kamala Harris qualifies for December primary debate
Politico
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) has qualified for the December Democratic presidential primary debate. She is the fifth candidate to do so. She joins Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg as candidates who have made the stage.
See also:
One Year Out, Democrats and Republicans Promise a Defining Election
Wall Street Journal
Republicans and Democrats are gearing up for a high-stakes campaign that will test the appeal of the president’s policies and incendiary rhetoric, along with the Democrats’ ability to choose a direction for their party that will lead them back to the White House.
See also:
Is a Democratic wave building for 2020? Roll Call
1 Year Out: A divided nation lurches toward 2020 election PBS NewsHour
The states that will decide the 2020 election oppose impeaching President Trump Brookings
Washington Post
A majority of Democrats say they have not firmly made up their minds on whom to support, with about 1 in 10 having no current preference and about half of Democrats who do support someone saying they would consider supporting another candidate.
Leading the Polls Now? That’s No Indicator of Who Will Win the Primary
Wall Street Journal
Leading in the polls a year before the general election isn’t a good indicator of success. Only one time in a competitive primary since 2004 has The Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll leader gone on to win their party’s nomination: Mitt Romney in 2012.
Other:
Washington Post
It’s always hazardous to ascribe motivations of altruism to a tech titan. They are driven by many things — mostly money, power and avoiding regulation — and if what’s right for society enters into their thinking, it’s probably an afterthought.
See also:
FEC Chair Ellen Weintraub: Don’t ban political adds on social media. Ban microtargeting. Washington Post
California law nudges NCAA into action on athlete pay
CalMatters
Incrementally and with conditions, the NCAA has shifted its policy on compensating athletes. Even so, it's a dramatic shift for the college sports economy.
The ABA Shoots Itself in the Foot
National Review
Conservatives have been all over the American Bar Association for its attack on Ninth Circuit nominee Lawrence VanDyke. (Here‘s a brief review of the situation.) In part that’s because of genuine outrage at the shoddiness of the attack.
Experts Optimistic About the Next 50 Years of Digital Life
Pew Research
Fifty years after the first computer network was connected, most experts say digital life will mostly change humans’ existence for the better over the next 50 years. However, they warn this will happen only if people embrace reforms allowing better cooperation, security, basic rights and economic fairness.
Democrats far more likely than Republicans to see discrimination against blacks, not whites
Pew Research
Far larger shares of Democrats than Republicans say there is a lot or some discrimination against blacks and little or no discrimination against whites.
10 actions that will protect people from facial recognition software
Brookings
Facial recognition (FR) software inspires intense reactions from many people. On the one hand, a number of individuals worry that FR will usher in an Orwellian nightmare of mass surveillance and privacy intrusions.
AGRICULTURE/FOOD
Authorities seize 10 million marijuana plants from Kern County hemp fields
abc30
Kern County authorities seized an estimated 10 million marijuana plants from fields under the guise of hemp production sites in Arvin.
Urban Institute
Federal nutrition programs and charitable meals make up the first line of defense, but solving this challenge will require communities to go beyond food to disrupt the root causes of economic distress.
California commercial Dungeness crab season may be delayed
San Francisco Chronicle
The state may delay California’s commercial Dungeness crab season. The season, which was due to open Nov. 15 on the coast south of the Mendocino-Sonoma County line, could now begin on Nov. 23.
California’s wine country has become fire country, leaving devastation and fear
Los Angeles Times
The things that set California apart, for better or worse, were all there last Sunday afternoon: terrifying flames, wine country glamour and a rescue straight out of Hollywood. Captured via smartphone. Of course.
As cannabis entrepreneurs vie for L.A. licenses, politicians could have big sway
Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles politicians vowed that neighborhoods would not be overrun with marijuana businesses after the city started regulating and licensing pot shops.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE / FIRE / PUBLIC SAFETY
Crime:
Fresno leaders want leakers to face a misdemeanor. Is that constitutional?
Fresno Bee
The Fresno City Council will vote at its next meeting on an ordinance that would make leaking or publishing the city’s attorney-client privileged information a misdemeanor. The proposed ordinance also says that upon city attorney demand, any unauthorized person who receives confidential information must return it without disclosing it.
Longtime defense attorney appointed Merced County Public Defender
Merced Sun-Star
After more than a year of not having a permanent leader in an office that represents a majority of Merced County defendants in court proceedings, the Merced County Board of Supervisors has approved a new public defender.
California's Prop 47 leads to rise in shoplifting, thefts, criminal activity across state
Fox News
These brazen acts of petty theft and shoplifting are a dangerous and all-too-common consequence of Proposition 47, a referendum passed five years ago that critics say effectively gives shoplifters and addicts the green light to commit crimes as long as the merchandise they steal or the drugs they take are less than $950 in value.
Public Safety:
Are California laws to blame for Tulare County man's deadly run-in with law enforcement?
Visalia Times Delta
Five rounds ended a man's life. That man suffered from mental health and substance abuse issues. It was well-known among his family and law enforcement, which had run-ins with the man on more than one occasion.
Private security assists BPD on homeless issues plaguing local businesses
Bakersfield Californian
In September, Bakersfield contracted Trans-West Security Services to have two teams of guards patrol parts of the city and mitigate issues caused by the prevalence of homeless individuals.
Fire:
California’s On Fire, Unplugged And Out Of Easy Answers. So Why Don’t We…?
Capital Public Radio
The easy calls have been made in dealing with California’s wildfire crisis. We’re clearing brush, spending on firefighters, hastening insurance claims. We’ve tied the pay of utility executives to their companies’ safety records. To save lives — and liability costs — during red flag conditions, we’ve cut power to great swaths of the state.
See also:
Weakening Winds Bring Relief After Weeks Of California Wildfires Capital Public Radio
Power Is Back On For Most PG&E Customers, But Anger At Utility Remains Capital Public Radio
Trump Threatens To Cut US Funding For California Wildfires Capital Public Radio
1 year after Camp Fire: Efforts to rebuild continue in Paradise, some face uncertain future abc30
California’s worsening wildfires, explained CalMatters
There’s No Easy Way to End California’s Bedeviling Blackouts Bloomberg
For Some California Residents, Latest Wildfires Are A Tipping Point NPR
No rain in sight for L.A. area for next few weeks; critical fire weather warnings extended Los Angeles Times
Greta Thunberg joins L.A. climate strike, says wildfires ‘will continue to get worse’ Los Angeles Times
How Much Will the PG&E Blackouts Cost? Ask a Shop Owner New York Times
The Cost of Doing Business in California Is One Blackout a Week Investing
California will never stop burning Washington Post
Illegal drones ground water-dropping helicopters at critical moment in Maria fire battle
Los Angeles Times
As flames rapidly spread along a hillside in Santa Paula early Friday morning, firefighters were faced with a perilous dilemma: ground night-flying helicopters working to contain the growing fire or risk an aerial collision with a thrill-seeking drone.
California pursues a holy grail: high-tech data to predict how wildfire will spread
Public CEO
On a recent day at an expansive National Guard airfield in Los Alamitos, local fire officials put on display what $4.5 million can buy: planes crammed with high-definition cameras, radar and infrared equipment that peers through smoke.
Evacuation Lessons Learned In California
NPR
The Kincade Fire had potential to burn whole towns, just like the deadly fires of the past two years, but it didn't. Officials and residents credit this success to early and widespread evacuations.
EDITORIAL: Give it up, PG&E — let Ripon, Escalon and Manteca provide their own electricity
Modesto Bee
It’s hard to envision a more troubling scenario than the one facing this investor-owned utility — already in bankruptcy for causing last year’s wildfires, including one that wiped out a city and killed 86 people, leading to bankruptcy and criminal prosecution before sparking new wildfires this year that still are burning.
ECONOMY / JOBS
Economy:
HELOCs are so 2007; Americans aren’t using homes as piggy banks anymore
Los Angeles Times
Home equity lines of credit, open-ended loans that homeowners tap for cash using their properties as collateral, exploded in the run-up to the housing crash a decade ago, doubling in volume from 2003 to 2006, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
California Seeks Quick Fix To Utility Bankruptcy
Capital Public Radio
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday that he wants to speed up the troubled Pacific Gas & Electric bankruptcy case so the company can be restructured in time for next year's wildfire season.
Share of young adults not working or in school is at a 30-year low in U.S.
Pew Research
The downward trend in this figure – sometimes referred to as the “disconnection rate” – reflects in part the nation’s tight labor markets and falling unemployment, but also higher levels of engagement among young women.
Economy slows, Fed hits brakes, and uncertainty clouds Washington’s next steps
Washington Post
A sharp contraction in business spending is slowing the U.S. economy and could cause deeper pain going forward, but political leaders and policy makers are giving almost no signals about what they plan to do next.
See also:
Stocks set records again, lifted by strong jobs report Los Angeles Times
Job Gains Help Extend U.S. Economic Growth Wall Street Journal
U.S. Consumers Stay on a Spending Streak Wall Street Journal
Does the U.S. Have Ammunition to Fight the Next Recession? The Bulwark
Jobs:
A titanic battle over work looms
CalMatters
It would be difficult to name an issue of more fundamental, far-reaching importance than how we earn our livings — and a titanic political battle is about to erupt.
California’s Labor Secretary Envisions the Future of Work
Capital & Main
Governor Gavin Newsom has appointed a new commission to come up with a blueprint for what the future of work should look like in a complex state that leads in technological innovation yet has a housing crisis.
Worker Misclassification Questions Dominate California Legal Landscape
Littler
In the wake of California’s enactment of Assembly Bill (AB) 5—legislation that threatens to reclassify 2 million California independent contractors as “employees” under California labor and employment laws—legal questions about the law’s application, scope, and future continue to dominate California’s legal landscape.
See also:
California Threatens $1 Trillion Gig Economy With New Law Forbes
Uber, Lyft To Campaign Against California Gig Economy Law Yahoo
Uber, Lyft, DoorDash launch a $90-million fight against California labor law Los Angeles Times
Veterans are engaged in the labor force and in the classroom
Brookings
The labor participation of the veteran population is different than that of the nonveteran population in many ways. Far more veterans are in school during what are prime working years for the nonveteran population, which keeps some out of the labor force.
Bakersfield Californian
But mostly, people in the salon industry say, the shift is driven by a trend allowing independent business owners to rent small, self-contained spaces where they can do business on their own terms within a local network of similarly independent salons.
EDUCATION
K-12:
Hugh Awtrey Elected to CUSD Board
Clovis Roundup
Clovis Unified School District voted unanimously to elect Foundation for Clovis Schools Board Member Hugh Awtrey to fill the district seat left vacant by the retirement of Brian Heryford. Awtrey will complete the current term which expires in December 2020.
Clovis principal honored with top education award
abc30
A local elementary school principal is getting national recognition for outstanding school leadership. George Petersen is receiving top marks for his work in education, but he tells Action News school wasn't really his subject as a kid.
Beyond report cards, state tests
Madera Tribune
Madera Unified will no longer depend solely on report cards and state tests to tell parents how their kids are doing in school. As of last week, parents are being guided through an extensive report that tells whether their child is meeting grade-level standards.
See also:
Jewish, Muslim youths in Modesto build understanding, friendships and picnic tables
Modesto Bee
The steel picnic tables, attractive and sturdy, really are just a plus. Congregation Beth Shalom board President Doug Highiet donated three each to his synagogue and to the Islamic Center of Modesto. But the bigger gift to the Muslim and Jewish congregations was the opportunity the tables gave to bring their youth together.
Opinion: California schools need both more accountability and more funding
Sacramento Bee
These days it’s a challenge to find much that Republicans and Democrats agree on. One of those areas is public education – most people, regardless of party, agree that it could use improvement.
See also:
Walters: Will spending more fix our schools? CalMatters
California just pushed back school start times — you weren’t dreaming. Now what? CalMatters
Hitting Snooze on School Start Times EdNote
Higher Ed:
BC to host symposium bringing together educational leaders to increase degree attainment
Bakersfield Californian
When students in Kern County graduate high school, often times higher education isn't on their mind. Instead, they might have to help their families financially and put college on hold.
Veterans find support, camaraderie at CSUB
Bakersfield Californian
Fresh from his deployment in the Middle East, Cpl. Juan De La Torre returned to his hometown of Bakersfield with a focus so sharp that it could only have been honed in the military: Finish that economics degree at Cal State Bakersfield, and do it on time.
Listen: CSUB president Lynette Zelezny reviews her first year in office
Kern Radio
Cal State Bakersfield is growing and President Lynnette Zelezny lays out the university’s strategic plan.
University of California must drop admissions tests, civil rights groups urge
EdSource
Pressures are mounting on the University of California to drop the use of college admissions tests, with a new round of criticism from several civil rights organizations that the test is biased against low income, black and Latino students.
ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY
Environment:
Trump eyes compromise with Newsom on climate, cars. California says it isn’t enough
Sacramento Bee
Until now, the administration wanted to freeze the standards at 2020 levels for the next five years. But a White House official and an EPA official told McClatchy on Thursday that the Trump administration had not ruled out the 1.5 percent standard.
See also:
White House Backing Off Proposed Fuel-Efficiency Freeze Wall Street Journal
Trump advisers: Limit use of senior passes at national parks
Los Angeles Times
At the urging of a controversial team of advisors, the Trump administration is mulling proposals to privatize national park campgrounds and further commercialize the parks with expanded Wi-Fi service, food trucks and even Amazon deliveries at tourist camp sites.
Energy:
More than 18,000 SMUD customers were briefly without power after blackout hits Sacramento
Sacramento Bee
More than 18,000 SMUD customers were briefly affected by an unplanned power outage Sunday afternoon that hit south Sacramento.
EPA to scale back federal rules restricting waste from coal-fired power plants
Washington Post
The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday plans to relax rules that govern how power plants store waste from burning coal and release water containing toxic metals into nearby waterways, according to agency officials.
See also:
Five things to know about microgrids
CalMatters
Energy microgrids, which can power businesses, neighborhoods or even cities, are having a moment. They're touted as alternative ways to keep the lights on when California's big utility companies shut power to avert wildfires.
Everyone wants a sustainable energy future. Let’s work together to make it happen
Sacramento Bee
There is a false and unhelpful belief that concern for the environment and social equity are mortal enemies of economic and energy interests.
HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES
Health:
Earn $3,300 by getting the flu and letting researchers at Duke study you
abc30
You may want to give this a shot: Participants have the chance to get paid to intentionally get infected with the flu--specifically the H1N1 virus. Researchers with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will pay healthy adults up to $3,300 to participate in the study.
Kern Medical makes multimillion-dollar upgrade to electronic health records
Bakersfield Californian
But Kern Medical's transition to fully electronic record keeping actually began at least 20 months ago, Judd said. Previously, the system had been a mashup of vintage systems, going back as far as the early 1990s.
Early intervention key for young people with psychosis. California puts $20M into expansion
Sacramento Bee
Many young people don’t get the care they need so rapidly after a psychotic episode, if at all. As a result, they can become chronically disabled, and some end up homeless, incarcerated or addicted to drugs.
Packages of frozen fruit recalled due to Hepatitis A contamination
abc30
A California company is recalling packages of frozen fruit that may be contaminated with Hepatitis A. Wawona Frozen Foods says the recalled bags of berries were sold at Aldi and Raley's Grocery stores.
Madera Tribune
A ban on smoking in city parks was celebrated Tuesday — where else, but in Lions Town and Country Park, the city’s biggest. Speeches were made and new signs prohibiting smoking in the city’s parks were posted.
California's Preemptive Blackouts Put A Strain On People With Home Medical Needs
KVPR
Fern Brown, 81, sat in the rear of a tent on the windswept fairgrounds of the historic Gold Rush town of Auburn, Calif., this week, drawing deep breaths through the mouthpiece of a nebulizer plugged into a power strip atop a plastic folding table.
White House Expected to Ban Vape Flavors Except Tobacco and Menthol
Wall Street Journal
The Trump administration is expected to announce next week a decision to take off the market all e-cigarettes except those that taste like tobacco and menthol.
See also:
Altria Cuts Value of Juul Stake by $4.5 Billion Wall Street Journal
Human Services:
Need Health Insurance? It’s Mandatory, But You Might Find New Subsidies With Covered California
KVPR
The biggest change is a boatload of new subsidies. Over the next three years, California will spend nearly one and a half billion dollars on premium assistance for those who make as much as six times the federal poverty level.
About 2,000 Medicare patients in Stanislaus County face change in network for 2020
Modesto Bee
Medicare recipients in the CareMore health plan will make appointments with physicians in Central Valley Medical Group starting next year. AllCare Independent Physician Association has broken away from the CareMore Medicare Advantage plan.
In California, The Teen Birth Rate Has Hit A Record Low. How?
Capital Public Radio
Diana Shalabi had to be sure. She was 15 when she told her dad she needed cash for a high school football game. Actually, it was for pregnancy tests. Test after test confirmed the news she wasn’t ready to face.
EDITORIAL: America’s Miracle Medicines
Wall Street Journal
Another week, another U.S. medical breakthrough. The latest in the annals of American innovation is a new cystic-fibrosis gene therapy that will help patients with the debilitating disease live comfortably for decades longer. Remember this the next time politicians, on the left or right, complain about greedy drug companies.
HealthCare.gov
Open Enrollment is here. Visit HealthCare.gov to create an account and submit an application for 2020 health care coverage. You may qualify for assistance to reduce your monthly premiums.
IMMIGRATION
Statewide Call-In Special -- Proposition 187: 25 Years Later
KVPR
The debate over illegal immigration in California reached a boiling point 25 years ago. The clash was crystalized in the battle over Proposition 187, a ballot measure that sought to bar the state’s undocumented population from accessing public benefits, among other things.
Coalition urges Newsom to stop deportation of Cambodian refugees with criminal records
Sacramento Bee
Family members, advocates and supporters gathered Friday at the state Capitol in Sacramento to urge Gov. Gavin Newsom to stop the deportation of Cambodian refugees with criminal convictions living in California.
Smugglers are sawing through new sections of Trump’s border wall
Washington Post
Smuggling gangs in Mexico have repeatedly sawed through new sections of President Trump’s border wall in recent months by using commercially available power tools, opening gaps large enough for people and drug loads to pass through, according to U.S. agents and officials with knowledge of the damage.
LAND USE/HOUSING
Land Use:
Volunteers work to 'Keep Fresno Beautiful' through new city initiative
abc30
Lee Brand joined a few dozen people for the launch of the Keep Fresno Beautiful initiative, designed as possibly his last big initiative to boost the city.
Do you know what they’re building? An update on Modesto retail construction projects
Modesto Bee
Now that one of Modesto’s biggest new retail construction projects has opened — namely the new flagship Save Mart — and its surrounding center will start to fill in, it’s time for an update on the city’s other in-development projects.
What’s that construction in the old Clovis Kmart? A new-to-us national chain store
Fresno Bee
The front of the old Kmart in Clovis has been ripped down and construction workers are busy hauling out debris. Just who are they preparing the store for? It’s a newbie to our area, a home decor store called At Home, The Home Decor Superstore.
Is zoning a useful tool or a regulatory barrier?
Brookings
In the past year, a previously obscure topic has drawn new public attention: zoning. Local regulations over how land can be developed are under fire for their role in escalating housing costs.
Bakersfield celebrates opening of its 60th park
Bakersfield Californian
The new park includes a large multi-use sports field, tennis courts, an amphitheater, a shaded tot lot and play area, picnic areas, three large covered play structures and restrooms.
Housing:
Madera Residents Suspect Eviction Notices Mean Landlord Wants To Avoid New Renter Protections
KVPR
Residents of a Madera apartment complex are being evicted en masse, and some suspect the landlord is issuing evictions to avoid upcoming renter protections.
Last Friday, residents at the Laguna Knolls complex were issued letters saying they have until four days after Christmas to leave.
See also:
Rent control law topic of panel discussion Business Journal
Opinion: Fresh ideas and collaboration is the only way to solve California’s housing crisis
Merced Sun-Star
Tackling California’s housing affordability and supply crisis requires fresh, new approaches – and close collaborations to achieve them. That goes not just for policymakers but for advocates of different backgrounds, including ourselves.
Workforce housing and middle-income housing subsidies: A primer
Brookings
As housing affordability increasingly creates stress on middle-income families, local governments, philanthropies, and even employers are debating new strategies to address the problem.
See also:
Housing, Human Dignity and a ‘State of Emergency’ Independent Institute
More Private Companies Putting Big Money Into Housing Philanthropy Next City
The Super Rich Are Buying $100 Million Homes. For Some, One Isn’t Enough.
Wall Street Journal
Two decades ago, a $100 million home sale was almost unthinkable. Times have changed: Four homes in the U.S. have closed at or above $100 million this year alone, with at least one more expected to trade by the end of 2019.
EDITORIAL: Good ideas emerge to get Central Valley’s homeless families off the streets
Fresno Bee
On a cold, rainy fall day a young mother is sleeping alongside a Fresno street where food is being handed out to homeless people. She pulls herself out of her sleeping bag. Her infant daughter follows.
PUBLIC FINANCES
Woman’s suit against San Joaquin over CDBG loans fails. Class action to follow?
Fresno Bee
A Fresno woman has lost her suit against the city of San Joaquin over its alleged negligent accounting practices over a federal loan program. Fresno County Superior Court Judge Rosemary T. McGuire denied a motion for new trial in the suit spearheaded by Delia Montana, on behalf of her aunt Margarita Gomez Caudillo, against the city of San Joaquin.
Fed Cuts Rate for Third Time This Year, Signals Pause
Wall Street Journal
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the third time this year but signaled it wouldn’t reduce them further unless the economy slowed sharply.
The GOP tax cut failed. Their response? Let’s do it again!
Washington Post
Instead, Trump spent $2 trillion in deficit-financed tax cuts for the rich to get us basically the same growth rate we had before he took office.
Californians benefit most from this federal tax break. It’s under siege in Washington
Sacramento Bee
A California Air Resources Board report this year to the Legislature found that state and federal tax incentives help consumers bridge the pricing gap for the cars, which tend to cost more than comparable conventional vehicles.
Walters: Pension costs hitting home — hard
CalMatters
Four years ago, Stanislaus Consolidated had 80 employees, most of them firefighters, and more than $13 million in revenues. However, as budget documents reveal, its expenses, mostly for salaries, were already beginning to outstrip income.
TRANSPORTATION
Measure R: Here's how Tulare County has used $338 million in tax dollars to pay for transportation
Visalia Times Delta
Measure R isn’t a panacea for Tulare County’s transportation problems. But, without the half-cent sales tax, the county would be “in a much different place,” according to Reed Schenke, Tulare County Resource Management Agency director.
DMV may be overcharging Kern County residents with use tax
Bakersfield Californian
The Department of Motor Vehicles may be charging tax rates higher than allowed for some Kern County residents. Assemblyman Vince Fong’s office is looking into two complaints of sales tax issues involving the DMV in Bakersfield.
Price: Electric car lovers are among us, right here in oil city
Bakersfield Californian
Russ Nightengale doesn't look to me like the type of guy who would drive an electric vehicle. He is young, a bit grizzled, wears his ball cap in the flat-brim "bro" style and professes no love for intrusive government.
See also:
The Next Frontier for Electric Vehicles: Deep Underground Wall Street Journal
Caltrans says 14 new on-ramp meters will be activated Monday. Here’s where they are
Sacramento Bee
Caltrans has announced tentative plans for the activation Monday of 14 new ramp meters along the Capital City Freeway and southbound Highway 99, with the hopes of relieving congestion and increasing driver safety in Sacramento.
WATER
For California well owners, clean water is hard to get as state, local hurdles remain
CalMatters
Private well owners confront financial challenges digging new wells to seek uncontaminated water, and connecting to a public water system involves a daunting bureaucratic process.
Priorities for California’s Water
Public Policy Institute of California
Has California finally reached the point where we stop labeling especially wet or dry periods as “extreme” and instead start treating them as events to prepare for as a matter of course?
“Xtra”
Yuba City celebrates 40th annual Sikh Festival; more than 100k expected to attend
Sacramento Bee
One of the biggest Sikh festivals in the United States is taking place this weekend as Yuba City hosts its 40th annual Nagar Kirtan at the Sikh Temple.
Drowsy Driving Prevention Week to take place next week
Bakersfield Californian
With daylight saving time starting Sunday the California Highway Patrol, Office of Traffic Safety, and the California Department of Transportation want to remind people of the dangers of driving while being tired by promoting Drowsy Driving Prevention Week, according to a press release.