Maddy Institute – October 11, 2019

11Oct

POLICY & POLITICS

California State Auditor Extends Deadline for 2020 Citizens Redistricting Commission Supplemental Application

Shape California’s Future

The California State Auditor announced today she is extending the deadline to submit the 2020 Citizens Redistricting Commission supplemental applications due to the PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoffs affecting over one million Californians. Applicants now have until October 20 at 11:59 p.m. to submit their application online, which consists of essay questions and requires three letters of recommendation.

2019 California Economic Summit Registration Opens

CAFWD

Registration has opened for the 2019 California Economic Summit, which will take place in Fresno on November 7-8. The Summit, produced by California Forward, marks the eighth annual gathering of private, public and civic leaders from across California’s diverse regions committed to creating a shared economic agenda to expand prosperity for all.

North SJ Valley:

Is Stockton really home to ‘second highest rent increases’ in the nation? There’s no simple answer.

PolitiFact

Stockton’s influx of Bay Area residents and dearth of new apartment construction have combined to drive up rents in the Central Valley city, displacing some longtime renters and putting pressure on many others, according to housing experts.

Stockton’s mayor doesn’t like Andrew Yang’s universal basic income plan. Here’s why

Sacramento Bee

Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs announced last year that some residents in his city will receive $500 a month, no strings attached, sparking a flurry of national attention for a closely watched program.

Central SJ Valley:

Apartments in Fresno’s Chinatown? City leaders approve $32M building plan

Fresno Bee

The city of Fresno approved funds and a loan Thursday for an affordable housing developer to build about 57 units in Chinatown, an area virtually devoid of housing. The $10 million in funding and nearly $400,000 loan will go to Doragon @ Chinatown LP for the project at 1101 F St., what is now an undeveloped field surrounded by the Fresno Fire Department’s training center and several empty buildings near Mariposa Street.

EDITORIAL: Did Gavin Newsom pull a fast one on California with the gas tax?

Fresno Bee

It is a distinction nobody wants: California has the highest gas prices in the nation. With a statewide average on Tuesday of $4.18 per gallon of regular unleaded, California easily surpassed the second-highest state, Hawaii, which was at $3.67, according to the AAA fuel survey.

Fresno PD employee launches ‘No on Dyer 2020’ group to inform voters of ‘favoritism’

Fresno Bee

A civilian Fresno Police Department employee and former union leader has started a new committee campaigning against outgoing Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer, who is running for mayor. Dee Barnes filed paperwork with the city clerk on Wednesday for a committee called “Rising Together, No on Dyer for Mayor 2020.” So far, no money has been raised.

Rep. TJ Cox Tackles Impeachment, Water, Immigration

GVWire

With Congress in recess, TJ Cox sat down with GV Wire to talk about his first year in the House of Representatives and his upcoming 2020 reelection bid. Cox, a Fresno Democrat, will face David Valadao, the Hanford dairyman and Republican he narrowly defeated in 2018.

Editorial: Devin Nunes needs an intervention to stop his unhealthy lawsuit habit

New York Times

Just like everyone else, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Tulare) has the right to sue anyone he believes has done him harm. But lately the Central Valley congressman has been exercising that right to settle what appear to be political scores. It seems he has developed a skin so thin it’s a wonder he ever threw over dairy farming for the rough-and-tumble world of D.C. politics.

South SJ Valley:

Caltrans plans to pull funding on last stage of Highway 46 widening just outside Kern County

Bakersfield Californian

The widening of the last two-lane stretch of road on Highway 46 between Bakersfield and the Central Coast could be put on hold if a Caltrans proposal is approved. Last week, the state transportation department released a plan to divert $32 million from Highway 46 and 99 improvements into an uncommitted reserve that would fund light rail and other projects connected to climate change goals established by Gov. Gavin Newsom in an executive order.

Mission at Kern County expansion moves forward

Bakersfield Californian

A planned expansion of the Mission at Kern County will move forward after the Bakersfield Board of Zoning Adjustment issued a unanimous approval of a plan to add 40 more beds to the facility on Tuesday.

Anti-impeachment rally to be held in Bakersfield next week

Bakersfield Californian

Supporters of President Donald Trump are invited to an anti-impeachment rally in Bakersfield on Oct. 17, according to a news release from organizers of the event. The rally is being planned in conjunction with Women for America First. It will take place from 3 to 7 p.m. on California Avenue near Barnes & Nobel and Marie Callender's, according to the release.

McCarthy will donate indictment-tainted money to charity

Roll Call

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Thursday that he will donate to charity campaign contributions received from two indicted associates of Rudy Giuliani.

State:

Californians think the state is going in the wrong direction. Here’s why

Los Angeles Times

It just doesn’t jibe. These are pretty good times by historical standards. But most people seem ticked off. Look back over the last 90 years and compare them with today: The Great Depression and Dust Bowl wiped out millions of people financially.

California State Auditor Extends Deadline for 2020 Citizens Redistricting Commission Supplemental Application

Shape California’s Future

‘Predatory lending’ targeted in new California law capping interest on loans at 36%

Fresno Bee

Californians who take out of up to $10,000 no longer have to worry about triple-digit interest after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law on Thursday to cap rates at 36 percent. Assembly Bill 539 ends a decades-long practice of charging borrowers who take out loans between $2,500 and $10,000 with interest that can exceed 200 percent.

These bills could make life a little easier for low-income Californians

CALmatters

A suite of low-profile bills could help millions of people. Think of them as a bit like aspirin: They don’t get at the roots of poverty but they could relieve some of the pain.

California Bans Hotels From Using Tiny Plastic Bottles

Capital Public Radio

Hotels in the nation's most populous state will have to stop giving guests small plastic shampoo bottles under a new law set to take effect starting in 2023. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday he had signed a law banning hotels from giving guests plastic bottles filled with shampoo, conditioner or soap. It takes effect in 2023 for hotels with more than 50 rooms and 2024 for hotels with less than 50 rooms.

Three things to know about California’s data privacy fight

CALmatters

When California passed the nation’s first law giving consumers control over their personal data last year, legislators built in an unusual buffer: an extra year to change the law before it takes effect in 2020.

Brown vetoed but they’re persisting: Take Two of MeToo hits Newsom’s desk

CALmatters

As the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment washed across the country last year, it hit especially hard in the California Capitol. Three lawmakers resigned amid serious allegations of sexual misconduct. The Legislature spent months crafting a new procedure for handling complaints from its employees. And by the end of the legislative session, dozens of bills had been passed to prevent future harassment or help victims seek justice in workplaces across the state.

● Beto O’Rourke Calls for Stripping Churches of Tax-Exempt Status If They ‘Oppose Same-Sex Marriage’ National Review

Democrats want to focus on health care in 2020. Is that possible after impeachment?

Herald Leader

Soren Norris wasn’t talking about impeachment, Ukraine, or even President Donald Trump himself when he finally sensed an opportunity to win over a GOP voter. The field director for a labor-backed group was walking door-to-door in this leafy suburban neighborhood when he met Don Cooper, a self-described Republican who praised the country’s “booming” economy.

Kamala Harris Sees Impeachment as Chance to Pitch Herself as Prosecutor

Wall Street Journal

The House impeachment inquiry into President Trump hasn’t changed much on the campaign trail for most of the Democratic presidential field. But Sen. Kamala Harris is seizing on it as a much-needed opportunity.

These Counties Backed Every President Since Reagan

Wall Street Journal

At a time of deep political division in the American electorate, a small group of counties across the nation has shown extraordinary political flexibility, voting for the winner in every presidential election since 1980. These 19 counties—well less than 1% of the nation’s total—have in the last 10 elections backed Republicans for the White House six times and Democrats four times.

Political Campaigns Know Where You’ve Been. They’re Tracking Your Phone.

Wall Street Journal

When Donald Trump took the stage last month in Fayetteville, N.C., to support Republican candidate Dan Bishop in a special election, thousands of people showed up. Mr. Bishop was seeking their support. An outside Republican group was looking for something more. It wanted their data.

Other:

Could America embrace national service?

Brookings

This paper examines the case for national service, highlights the various ways in which that service could unfold, and concludes that large-scale national service is needed in America now.

Partisan Antipathy: More Intense, More Personal

Pew Research Center

Three years ago, Pew Research Center found that the 2016 presidential campaign was “unfolding against a backdrop of intense partisan division and animosity.” Today, the level of division and animosity – including negative sentiments among partisans toward the members of the opposing party – has only deepened.

The Curious Case of the Incurious Press

RealClear Politics

Back in the old days, it was understood that reporters were supposed to hunt down stories and seek out hidden truths. There was even a name for it. A good reporter was said to have a nose for news. So what happened? How did we reach the point where journalists presented with a major scandal -- an almost self-evident abuse of power -- just yawn and turn away?

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

PG&E power outages might make some California wine better

Los Angeles Times

With California wine country going dark because of power cuts, this year’s luxury Cabernet Sauvignons might be even more coveted. Some wineries have put grape-picking on pause as utility giant PG&E Corp. carries out unprecedented blackouts across Northern California.

California Bans Popular Pesticide Linked To Brain Damage In Children

Capital Public Radio

Beginning in early 2020, California will ban the sale of the pesticide chlorpyrifos which state environmental officials say has been linked to brain damage and other health defects in children. Under an agreement reached with Corteva Agriscience, the maker of chlorpyrifos, sales of the pesticide will end Feb. 6, 2020, and agricultural growers will not be allowed to possess or use it after Dec. 31, 2020.

Farmers Sticking By Trump Even As Trade Wars Bite

NPR

Most farmers haven't had a good year since President Trump took office and his policies on trade, immigration and ethanol are part of the problem. Yet farmers, who broadly supported Trump in 2016 are largely sticking with him as the impeachment inquiry moves forward. And if they did abandon him, it may not matter.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE / FIRE / PUBLIC SAFETY

Crime:

Opinion: California must take the final step by abolishing the death penalty

CALmatters

I do not believe in coincidence. Too many of the events along my journey from death row to exoneration were filled with deeper meaning. In 1985, I was a 24-year-old honorably discharged Marine who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Stephon Clark’s Sons Reach $2.4 Million Settlement Over Police Killing

New York Times

The family of Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man who was shot seven times by Sacramento police officers last year and whose death prompted California to change its use-of-force law, reached a $2.4 million settlement this week with the capital city, court filings show.

Public Safety:

Commentary: Americans increasingly fear violence from people who are mentally ill. They shouldn’t

Los Angeles Times

Political rhetoric that blames people with mental illness for spasms of mass violence appears to be seeping into the national psyche. Americans increasingly see people with schizophrenia or major depression as a threat not only to themselves but to others, new research reveals. That wariness even extends to those who have difficulties coping with everyday life but whose symptoms fall far short of a psychiatric diagnosis.

Fire:

PG&E restores power to thousands, starts line inspections in Northern California

Fresno Bee

Northern California’s two-day-old power outage drama may have turned a corner. Saying winds have died down sufficiently in many Northern California counties, Pacific Gas and Electric announced Thursday it had restored power to thousands of customers and was giving its crews the go-ahead to begin inspecting power lines in all but one of the 34 counties hit with deliberate blackouts.

● Gavin Newsom blames PG&E for California power shutoffs: ‘This can’t be the new normal’ Fresno Bee

● PG&E power shutoff: Crews inspect, repair lines in Mariposa Co., power restored in some parts of California abc30

● PG&E says 31 percent of California customers so far restored after outages abc30

● 'We would have appreciated more advanced notice': Power outages in Kern County affect homeowners, businesses Bakersfield Californian

● 'Unacceptable': PG&E Faces Backlash Over Power Shutoff As Newsom Increases Criticism Capital Public Radio

● PG&E admits its equipment may have sparked several fires this year Los Angeles Times

● PG&E’s blackouts were ‘not surgical by any stretch.’ Its systems may be to blame Los Angeles Times

● PG&E gas employees wined and dined just before mass power outages San Francisco Chronicle

● This Map Shows The Wildfire Risks That Are Causing California’s Utilities To Cut Off Power BuzzFeedNews

● How Long the PG&E Outage Will Last, and Other Questions Answered New York Times

● California governor slams PG&E, saying 'greed,' 'mismangement' led to widespread power cuts USA Today

● How the California power outages reduce wildfire risk: What you need to know ABCNews

● The Lights Are Out in California, And That Was the Plan All Along The Federalist

● OPINION: Why Can’t PG&E Get It Together? New York Times

Firefighters make progress containing fire near Yosemite after structure destroyed

Fresno Bee

The wildfire near Yosemite National Park that remains the largest active fire in the state has burned 4,900 acres and destroyed one structure, according to CalFire on Thursday afternoon. But firefighters are making headway on containing the Briceburg Fire, which has shut down Highway 140, stranding Yosemite tourists and hurting local business.

ECONOMY / JOBS

Economy:

PG&E power outage could cost the California economy more than $2 billion

CNBC
In an unprecedented move, PG&E enacted large-scale power cuts in Northern and central California as a preventative measure aimed at curbing wildfires. In January, PG&E filed for bankruptcy protection, saying it’s facing more than $30 billion in liabilities after it was determined that its power lines sparked last year’s devastating Camp Fire.

More than half of Latinos in California struggle to stay afloat, report finds

CALmatters

Latino households are struggling to pay for basic expenses like food, housing and electricity, despite California's strong economy and labor market. On average, they earn only 58% of what white households earn.

These bills could make life a little easier for low-income Californians

CALmatters

A suite of low-profile bills could help millions of people. Think of them as a bit like aspirin: They don’t get at the roots of poverty but they could relieve some of the pain.

Stocks climb for second straight day on U.S.-China trade optimism

Los Angeles Times

Stocks closed broadly higher on Wall Street for the second straight day Thursday as the U.S. and China kicked off a new round of negotiations in their long-running trade war. Technology companies and banks led the rally as investors turned hopeful that the 13th round of trade talks will bring both sides closer to ending the costly conflict between the world’s two biggest economies.

Manufacturing is now officially in recession, despite Trump’s vow to boost industry

Los Angeles Times

During President Trump’s first two years in office, his standing with many voters was buoyed by a surge in manufacturing that helped create millions of new jobs and undergirded the whole U.S. economy.

Double tipping points in 2019: When the world became mostly rich and largely old

Brookings

When it comes to economic development, positive change is typically gradual and only noticeable over long periods of time; by contrast negative developments—economic crises—are often rapid and spectacular. This creates a biased narrative that focuses on negative news, while positive trends go unnoticed because they are less dramatic.

Federal Reserve Gives Large Banks a Break on Post-crisis Rules

Wall Street Journal

The Federal Reserve approved some of the most significant rollbacks of bank rules since President Trump took office, setting up a new way of deciding which large banks are hit with its toughest regulations.

OPINION: The deficit has gotten worse. This shouldn’t be a surprise.

Washington Post

The GOP’s fiscal hawks have finally flown the coop. This week, the Congressional Budget Office released its latest estimate for the federal budget deficit for the fiscal year that just ended. Lo and behold, the deficit likely reached nearly $1 trillion — $984 billion, to be precise. Final numbers are due from the Treasury Department any day now.

Jobs:

Plea to protect PG&E workers goes viral: 'These men and women have families'

abc30

As outrage mounts over PG&E's public safety power shutoffs, one utility worker's wife is making a public plea: don't lash out at the workers on the frontlines. Her message with a poignant photo of a line worker holding his newborn son is going viral.

BUSINESS ROUNDUP: National retailer signs new lease at Outlets at Tejon, biogas company partners with non-combusting electricity tech company

Bakersfield Californian

National retail chain The Children's Place has signed a lease to open a 5,031-square-foot store at The Outlets at Tejon just north of The Grapevine in early November. The New Jersey-based company sells clothes and shoes for infants, children and pre-teens, according to a news release on the leasing agreement. It also offers jewelry, purses, toys, books and furniture.

California’s workplace sexual harassment laws strengthened

Los Angeles Times

Gov. Gavin Newsom took action Thursday to strengthen California’s workplace protection laws related to sexual harassment, signing bills that were vetoed by his predecessor last year.

Wage inequality is surging in California — and not just on the coast. Here’s why

Los Angeles Times

Wage inequality has risen more in California cities than in the metropolitan areas of any other state, with seven of the nation’s 15 most unequal cities located in the Golden State. San Jose, with its concentration of Silicon Valley technology jobs, had the largest gap of any California metro area between those at the top of the pay scale and those at the bottom.

Commentary: Why childcare workers will benefit from unions

CALmatters

For 25 years, I’ve woken up long before the sun and opened the doors to my family child care business by 5 a.m every day. Before the last parent arrives for pickup around 11 p.m., I’ll have welcomed 14 young children into my home, sung dozens of songs, prepared scores of meals, and taught a curriculum that readies my little learners for the science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics education they’ll receive in K-12 schools.

Trump administration tells agencies to restrict unions in the workplace

Washington Post

Federal agencies have been told to carry out Trump administration directives aimed at restricting the role of unions in the federal workplace and giving agencies the maximum discretion in taking disciplinary actions against employees, now that a court ban against many of those policies has been lifted.

Opinion: The Battle Over Union Dues

Wall Street Journal

The Supreme Court’s ruling last year in Janus v. Afscme was supposed to free public workers ensnared by union fees they don’t want to pay. Instead many states and unions have devised new traps, and legal fights are taking place across the country against these “Hotel California” provisions.

EDUCATION

K-12:

ACLU files complaint against Fresno Unified regarding black face incident

Fresno Bee

The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California on Thursday filed a complaint against Fresno Unified School District alleging the district failed to comply with state requirements pertaining to racially hostile environments and discriminated against two students the legal organization calls victims in the Bullard High black face incident.

● ACLU Files Complaint Against Fresno Unified School District For Racism Gone 'Unchecked' KVPR

Students flock to Big Fresno Fair for annual Education Day

abc30

Thousands of local students took their lessons outdoors for a one-of-a-kind field trip. It was all part of the 27th annual Big Fresno Fair Education Day. It's a day students across the Valley don't want to miss. Education day provides K-8 students the chance to take an educational field trip to the fairgrounds that bridges the gap between rural and urban life.

BCSD board to consider major changes to Downtown Elementary

Bakersfield Californian

The Downtown Elementary School — which enrolls students differently from all other Bakersfield City School District schools — may be facing changes in the future under proposed changes the school board will consider.

Medical marijuana OK at K-12 schools in California after Gov. Newsom signs new law

Los Angeles Times

Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill that paves the way for parents in some California school districts to bring medical cannabis to their students at K-12 campuses, breaking with former Gov. Jerry Brown, who had vetoed similar legislation last year.

Our K-12 Education System Is Flawed -- by Design

RealClear Politics

While Twitter and the talk shows obsess over third-quarter fundraising numbers and opinion polls more than 100 days from the Iowa caucuses, a majority of Americans are telling us in the new RealClear Opinion Research poll that public education is barely working, they have little hope for a turnaround even in 20 years’ time, and there are structural inequities in our system that prevent too many children from getting ahead.

Higher Ed:

COMMUNITY VOICES: BC SouthWest will uplift our community

Bakersfield Californian

The partnership between Bakersfield College and Cal State Bakersfield was cultivated through a strong rooted belief in community uplift through greater access to higher education. As BC grew our Associate Degrees for Transfer, which included a guaranteed admission in a similar degree at a CSU, the need to streamline the process of transfer specifically to CSUB became priority.

ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY

Environment:

Why U.S. Cities Are Banning New Fast-Food Drive-Throughs

KVPR
Pulling into the drive-through lane to order a burger and fries is getting harder in some U.S. cities. In August, Minneapolis became the latest city to pass an ordinance banning the construction of new drive-through windows. Similar legislation restricting or banning the ubiquitous windows has also passed in Creve Coeur, Mo.; Long Beach, Calif.; and Fair Haven, N.J.

600 former EPA officials demand investigation into Trump administration over California threats

Los Angeles Times

Nearly 600 former Environmental Protection Agency officials have called for an investigation into whether the agency’s leaders abused their authority by threatening punitive action against California.

Editorial: Fighting climate change globally takes political courage at home, Mayor Garcetti

Los Angeles Times

As Mayor Eric Garcetti takes on his latest challenge, he should remember this simple mantra: Think globally, act locally. Garcetti was elected this week to head the C40 Cities Climate Leadership group, a network of cities around the world committed to concrete action to combat climate change. Congratulations to him. Now, let’s see some action on the ground in Los Angeles.

Energy:

Senate Dems aim to overturn Trump administration rollback of power plant regs

The Hill

Senate Democrats will try to repeal a Trump administration rule that scales back pollution regulations for power plants. At issue is the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, announced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in August as a replacement for the Obama-era Clean Power Plan.

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

Health:

California To Make HIV Prevention Drugs Available Without A Prescription

KVPR
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill on Monday that will make HIV-prevention drugs available without a prescription. It allows pharmacists to dispense both PrEP, or preexposure prophylaxis, and PEP, post-exposure prophylaxis.

‘I’m overwhelmed’: PG&E power shut-offs leave ill and disabled struggling

San Francisco Chronicle

It was very early Wednesday morning when the lights went out in Julie Miller’s home in Auburn. The power outage, a preemptive measure by PG&E to avoid a repeat of the devastating wildfires that consumed Northern California the last two years, posed a big problem for Miller, 65. She has cerebral palsy and sleeps on a special air mattress that needs to be plugged in for continuous air flow to prevent pressure wounds.

FDA too slow in assessing cancer link to blood pressure drugs, watchdog says

CBS News

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is taking too long to assess the safety of blood pressure drugs that may contain traces of a known carcinogen, potentially endangering patients who have long relied on the medication to treat hypertension, according to a consumer watchdog group.

Human Services:

California’s new transparency law shows staggering rise in wholesale drug prices

Los Angeles Times

Drugmakers fought hard against California’s groundbreaking drug price transparency law, passed in 2017. Now, state health officials have released their first report on the price hikes those drug companies sought to shield.

Quit-Smoking Help Lines

California Healthline

Health officials are investigating 1,080 cases in 48 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands, including at least 18 deaths. In California, more than 110 residents have fallen ill, at least two of whom died, according to the California Department of Public Health.

Trump Wants States to Experiment With Medicaid — Up to a Point

PEW
After a series of zigzags, Utah is about to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. At least 10 red states have done the same, but Utah’s experience may be a bellwether showing how far the Trump administration will let states go in customizing Medicaid, the joint federal-state health care program for the poor.

IMMIGRATION

Rethinking pathways to reentry

The Hill

A recent report by the Sentencing Project documents an encouraging trend. The prison population in the United States has fallen in 39 states, and the total prison population is down 7 percent from its peak in 2009.

Trump Administration Puts a Dent in the Immigration Court Backlog

Townhall

The Department of Justice released new numbers this week showing federal immigration attorneys and judges are making their way through the extensive case backlog for illegal aliens and asylum seeks.

LAND USE/HOUSING

Land Use:

Apartments in Fresno’s Chinatown? City leaders approve $32M building plan

Fresno Bee

Housing:

Mission at Kern County expansion moves forward

Bakersfield Californian

How lawmakers are upending the California lifestyle to fight a housing shortage

Los Angeles Times

When California lawmakers tried earlier this year to force local governments to allow four or more homes on land zoned for single-family residences, fierce pushback from suburban communities stopped the plan in its tracks. For many, the long-standing neighborhood template of a home, backyard and garage on a lot was too intrinsic to the California lifestyle to upend.

California voters may be asked to steer homeless to services

Associated Press

California voters could decide next year whether to create new county courts to steer homeless people to mental health and drug addiction treatment programs. Former Assemblyman Mike Gatto, a Democrat, proposed a ballot measure on Thursday aimed at providing services to people who commit crimes like defecating in public or using drugs.

Is Stockton really home to ‘second highest rent increases’ in the nation? There’s no simple answer.

PolitiFact

PUBLIC FINANCES

OPINION: The Rich Really Do Pay Higher Taxes Than You

Bloomberg

For Democrats, the Overton window — the range of ideas that are not considered extreme — has shifted markedly to the left in the last few years. It now seems that the window for discourse about economic reality is moving as well.

TRANSPORTATION

Caltrans plans to pull funding on last stage of Highway 46 widening just outside Kern County

Bakersfield Californian

Native American burial site believed to be found amid a freeway construction project

Los Angeles Times

A road widening project has been indefinitely halted after a Native American burial site was believed discovered in a construction zone for the 405 Freeway. Construction workers who were excavating as part of the I-405 Improvement Project spotted the remains, including bones, on Sept. 25 at an undisclosed location.

California’s High Gasoline Prices Are No Accident

Forbes

An October 8 CNN story about gasoline prices carried this headline: “California gas prices soar above $4, reaching the highest price in five years.” One can only wonder if most Californians understand that that is all part of their state government’s plan.

EDITORIAL: Did Gavin Newsom pull a fast one on California with the gas tax?

Fresno Bee

WATER

When the power goes out, so does the water in some places

San Francisco Chronicle

Not only did the lights go out for tens of thousands of Californians on Wednesday, but some of them were bracing for the loss of their taps and toilets, too. Utilities across the state were warning residents that PG&E’s planned power outages could limit their ability to deliver water and carry off sewage, especially if the shut-off were to continue for days.

Wastewater project could create drought-proof drinking water for 500,000 Southern California homes

Orange County Register

In its effort to establish a new, drought-proof source of water that could serve a half-million Southern California homes, the Metropolitan Water District on Thursday, Oct. 10 unveiled a $17 million pilot plant that will bring wastewater to drinkable standards.

Recharging Depleted Aquifers No Easy Task, But It’s Key To California’s Water Supply Future

Water Education Foundation

To survive the next drought and meet the looming demands of the state’s groundwater sustainability law, California is going to have to put more water back in the ground. But as other Western states have found, recharging overpumped aquifers is no easy task.

“Xtra”

The Source LGBT+ Center celebrates new tradition

Hanford Sentinel

The Source LGBT+ Center, serving Tulare and Kings County, reminds you that the second annual Visalia Over The Edge fund raising event is just one month away. On Nov. 9, 2019 people from all over the Central Valley will take the leap and go Over The Edge to raise money to support The Source LGBT+ Center.

Valley Public Radio To Sponsor Storytelling Event In Bakersfield

KVPR
If you're a fan of radio storytelling programs like The Moth Radio Hour, you won't want to miss a special event taking place Saturday December 7, 2019 at 6:30 PM in Bakersfield. The Beale Memorial Library, in association with Bakersfield Toastmasters Clubs and Valley Public Radio will present a storyteller's showcase - an evening of true stories, told before a live audience. The theme of the event will be "Miles to Go Before I Sleep."

Sikh Riders of America to host 7th annual ride Saturday

Bakersfield Californian

Sikh Riders of America will host their 7th annual Ride in Bakersfield on Saturday, according to a press release from the organization. The ride will start at 11 a.m. at Harley Davidson on 7th Standard Road and end at Hart Park at the section seven picnic area, according to the release.