Maddy Institute – October 18, 2021

18Oct

POLICY & POLITICS

A new California weather warning? What ‘Potentially Dangerous Situation’ means in the Valley

Fresno Bee

The National Weather Service has introduced a type of Red Flag Warning for conditions that can be particularly dangerous related mostly to wildfires in the San Joaquin Valley and foothills, according to the service’s top official.

2021 California Economic Summit

CA FWD

The 2021 California Economic Summit will take place in Monterey on Nov. 9-10 with a virtual option on Nov.10. The Summit continues to be the premier statewide event where business, government, regions, communities and young leaders come together to develop triple-bottom-line policy solutions that balance equity, environmental sustainability and economic growth. Register at cafwd.org/register.

North SJ Valley:

COVID Update:

● Stanislaus adds five deaths. Vaccine clinics scheduled Modesto Bee

● Despite drop in active COVID cases, Merced County double state average for new infections Merced Sun Star

Merced’s taking steps to redraw its City Council districts, based on new U.S. Census data

Merced Sun Star

Although the process is still in its initial stages, the city’s nine-member Redistricting Advisory Committee has already begun discussions, with its next meeting scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 6.

City Council to decide Turlock’s new districts with public input

Turlock Journal

After receiving few applications from residents to serve on the City’s Advisory Redistricting Commission, the Council will draw new district lines with help from the community during several upcoming public hearings.

Modesto-area residents can ride Amtrak to Sacramento once again, a night train for now

Modesto Bee

Amtrak will restore one of its trains from the San Joaquin Valley to Sacramento starting Oct. 18. The service has been suspended since March 2020 because of COVID-19. It runs between Bakersfield and the capital by way of Modesto, Denair and eight other stations.

Central SJ Valley:

COVID Update:

● Here are the latest COVID death totals, new cases in Fresno area Fresno Bee

● Visalia Unified offers free COVID-19 testing to students, staff starting next week Visalia Times Delta

● Clovis Unified adding new air filters to help reduce risk of spreading COVID-19 abc30

Kingsburg council member no longer facing recall — though pending DUI case lingers

Fresno Bee

Kingsburg Councilmember Jewel Hurtado had an eventful Friday as she learned the recall effort against her failed to collect enough valid signatures. The same day she also entered not guilty pleas to two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence.

More trouble for Fresno County CPS: Nearly 60 children in custody on runaway status

Fresno Bee

Fresno County’s child welfare system, thrust into the spotlight this week for housing kids in a downtown Fresno office, has another problem: many of its wards go missing or run away. Currently, there are nearly 60 county dependents on runaway status.

Valley counties ease policy limiting ambulance transport to hospitals. Here’s why

Fresno Bee

That’s enough, Fresno County health officials said Friday, to lift a policy that limited ambulance crews and emergency medical technicians to transporting only true “emergency” patients to emergency rooms for the past two months.

This Week in Fresnoland: Fresno County’s rural transit agency started with a lawsuit

Fresno Bee

The Fresno Bee looked at the cities as well as the rural areas — incorporated and unincorporated; they looked at the challenges of living in communities without regular bus service as well as at communities finding innovative ways to meet their transit needs.

Fresno FAX Launches WiFi Pilot Project On Some Buses

Business Journal

The City of Fresno’s Department of Transportation (FAX) held a press conference at the Fresno North BRT Station next to the downtown Water Tower to celebrate the rolling out of 18 city buses with public WiFi capabilities.

Drought could dry up popular I-5 oasis

SJV Water

Kettleman City, a popular stop for travelers on Interstate 5 with its host of gas stations and fast food joints, is on the brink of going dry. If that happens, those businesses could shut down.

California Democrat joins race for tossup congressional seat. Will GOP be able to keep it?

Fresno Bee

Assemblyman Rudy Salas, D-Bakersfield, will announce on Monday that he intends to challenge Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, to contest a southern San Joaquin Valley district where Democrats outnumber Republicans.

South SJ Valley:

COVID Update:

● Kern parents and teachers gather against COVID-19 vaccine mandate KGET

SEIU members authorize strike for county workers after contract negotiations falter

Bakersfield Californian

In a three-week process, members of Service Employees International Union Local 521 voted 91 percent to reject the county’s “last, best and final offer” and authorize the strike, saying the proposed contract did not do enough to reduce high turnover and low wages.

Kern County to look into reports of issues with rental assistance program

Bakersfield Californian

Local community groups dedicated to guiding low-income residents through the application process say at least dozens of households have waited months to hear back from the Housing Authority of the County of Kern.

Frequency of power shut-offs frustrates mountain residents

Bakersfield Californian

Losing power for a few hours is one thing. But people living in the Lebec area say it's more than a little inconvenient when the lights go out repeatedly for extended periods in hot or cold weather.

Kern sees only pricey options for diverting organic waste

Bakersfield Californian

State law requires the county to halve the amount of organic waste it buries by Jan. 1, though there's some deadline flexibility. By 2025, to reduce methane emissions, there must be three-quarters less food, grass, paper and cardboard going to local landfills.

State:

COVID Update:

● Nearly 40% of California state workers are unvaccinated against COVID despite Newsom order The Sacramento Bee

● COVID in California: Fauci says J&J vaccine should have been 2 shots from the start San Francisco Chronicle

● California Hospitals Brace for ‘Striketober’ Amid COVID Staffing Shortages Times of San Diego

● Parents plan school walkout over vaccine mandate CalMatters

Walters: Post-pandemic California: Comeback or decline?

CalMatters

Is California making a big comeback from pandemic, as Gov. Gavin Newsom insists, or is it facing decline? New studies frame the issue.

Will higher prices hurt California Democrats next year? Why Republicans see opportunity

Fresno Bee

Every incumbent politician’s nightmare is slowly becoming reality — prices are going up, up, up, and consumers are getting angry. That’s a notable problem for Democrats, who run Congress and the White House as the 2022 midterm elections get closer.

Opinion: Californians, please move if you can

Bakersfield Californian

Want to make California a better place? Then move. Any place in California will do. It would be great if you could relocate to a city near yours. Even better: stay in your own neighborhood and find a new place nearby.

Newsom’s vetoes: Why did the governor block California bills?

CalMatters

Gov. Newsom had his reasons for blocking California bills passed by the Legislature: cost, duplication and some politics. Overall, he signed 770 bills into law and vetoed 66, or about 8%.

● Skelton: Newsom made the right decisions on fishing, ‘ghost guns’ and 3 other simple bills Los Angeles Times

● Opinion: Why one of Gavin Newsom’s pettiest vetoes of the year is also among his most infuriating Sacramento Bee

How will diverse voters be represented in California’s new election districts?

CalMatters

Across the state, organizers are banding together to make sure new congressional, legislative and local districts lead to diverse representation. The track record of the Citizens Redistricting Commission is mixed, according to two recent studies.

Why more California women are running for office — and winning

Sacramento Bee

Currently, women hold 39 out of the 120 seats in the Legislature. Thanks to a widening pool of candidates and a swath of open seats within the next few election cycles, the number of women could soon equal the number of men for the first time in state history.

Calif State Treasurer Fiona Ma asks taxpayers to cover her Sacramento lodging. Other officials don’t

Sacramento Bee

California Treasurer Fiona Ma and her top deputy have charged taxpayers more for business trips to Sacramento than any other statewide elected official in the last three years, including ones who live much farther from the capital than San Francisco-based Ma.

Regulators badly underestimated the devastation of a possible oil spill off the O.C. coast

Los Angeles Times

Regulators scrutinizing plans for an oil pipeline off the Orange County coast in the 1970s examined the potential damage in the event of a ship anchor strike but downplayed the risks, concluding that a resulting spill would be minor.

Federal:

COVID Update:

● How quickly will we reach post-COVID life? Americans’ optimism is waning, poll finds Sacramento Bee

● Fauci tamps down concern about Covid-19 booster review process Politico

● Most Americans Who Go to Religious Services Say They Would Trust Their Clergy’s Advice on COVID-19 Vaccines Pew Research Center

● Joe Biden overstates how well vaccines prevent person-to-person virus spread Politifact

● Opinion: Refrigeration alone can’t solve the ‘last mile’ problem for COVID-19 vaccines Los Angeles Times

White House looks to scale back its climate initiative after stiff pushback from Manchin

Washington Post

The White House is scrambling to salvage a critical proposal to reduce carbon emissions and deliver on Pres. Biden’s ambitious climate agenda, as pushback from Sen. Manchin creates new headaches for the administration entering key international negotiations next month.

● Manchin fires back after Sanders pens op-ed in West Virginia paper Politico

● Sen. Bernie Sanders: Let's stand together to protect working families Charleston Gazette-Mail

● Democrats Lean Toward Dropping Clean-Electricity Plan From Budget Package Wall Street Journal

Democrats Bet on Raising Taxes on High-Income People, Big Businesses

Wall Street Journal

Many Democrats are willing—even eager—to enact tax increases on high-income households and big businesses and campaign on them in next year’s midterm elections, embracing a stance that the party has struggled with in the past.

See also:

● Opinion: The Democrats’ Tax-the-Rich Ruse Wall Street Journal

● Opinion: A new problem for Democrats: Americans suddenly want smaller government after all Washington Post

● Editorial: Big Government Isn’t Popular Again Wall Street Journal

As time runs short, Dems vow: less talk, more action

Politico

The party has just a few short weeks to land a deal on its massive social spending bill before returning to a government shutdown deadline and a debt ceiling standoff in the creeping shadow of the midterm election.

● What’s in Democrats’ Budget Reconciliation Plan—From Social Programs to Climate Measures to Taxes Wall Street Journal

Biden says Justice Dept should prosecute those who refuse Jan. 6 committee’s subpoenas

Washington Post

“I hope the committee goes after them and holds them accountable,” Biden told reporters Friday evening, when asked what should happen to those who defy subpoenas from the congressional committee.

● Capitol Police officer faces charges connected to Jan. 6 attack Roll Call

Advocates worry Biden is letting U.S. democracy erode on his watch

Washington Post

Voting rights advocates meet once every week or two with White House officials via video conference, and in almost every session, an advocate speaks up to say that President Biden must do more, that American democracy is under threat and the president is not meeting the challenge.

Biden administration moves to curtail toxic ‘forever chemicals’

Washington Post

The Biden administration moved Monday to regulate a group of long-lasting, human-made chemicals that pose health risks to millions of Americans, even as they continue to be used in an array of products such as cosmetics, dental floss, food packaging, clothing and cleaning supplies.

Members of Congressional Committee Question Whether Amazon Executives Misled Congress

Wall Street Journal

Members of a congressional committee questioned whether Amazon.com Inc. executives misled them during an investigation of the company’s business practices and if they may have lied under oath.

● Lawmakers question whether Amazon misled congressional panel about its business practices Washington Post

Opinion: Our system is biased against reform. Get used to it, Democrats.

Washington Post

A party that should be celebrating its efforts to expand health coverage, help families with children, build roads and fight climate change is instead engaged in a messy and increasingly angry confrontation over how much it can and should accomplish.

Opinion: Supreme Court term limits wouldn’t solve anything

Washington Post

Eighteen-year terms, however spaced and staggered, will cure none of the faults and only exacerbate the weaknesses that critics perceive in the modern court. They will make the institution appear more, not less, political in the eyes of the public.

Opinion: Partisan Science in America

Wall Street Journal

Medieval thinkers pretending to infallibility often claimed to have received a direct revelation from God. Since the 19th century, secular thinkers have invoked science. As Anthony Fauci said, “a lot of what you’re seeing as attacks on me, quite frankly are attacks on science.”

Opinion: The value of qualitative data for advancing equity in policy

Brookings

In response to Biden’s Executive Order calling for a “whole-of-government equity agenda,” the OMB released a report that provides guidance to federal agencies about how to assess how their work advances racial equity and supports underserved communities in the U.S.

Colin Powell, Who Shaped U.S. National Security, Dies at 84

New York Times

Colin L. Powell, who in four decades of public life served as the nation’s top soldier, diplomat and national security adviser, and whose speech at the United Nations in 2003 helped pave the way for the United States to go to war in Iraq, died on Monday. He was 84.

● Colin L. Powell, former secretary of state and military leader, dies at 84 Washington Post

● Powell praised by U.S. politicians from both parties as trailblazer, trusted adviser to presidents Washington Post

● Colin Powell, Former Secretary of State, Dies at 84 Wall Street Journal

Other:

Opinion: Why journalists are failing the public with ‘both-siderism’ in political coverage

Los Angeles Times

Now that Trump is no longer president and his words no longer can fire senior officials, move troops or launch bombs, his unhinged utterances go largely uncovered, for better and worse.

Facebook Says AI Will Clean Up the Platform. Its Own Engineers Have Doubts.

Wall Street Journal

Facebook Inc. executives have long said that artificial intelligence would address the company’s chronic problems keeping what it deems hate speech and excessive violence as well as underage users off its platforms.

MADDY INSTITUTE PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAMMING

Sunday, October 24, at 10 a.m on ABC30 – Maddy Report: "California Latinos: An Economic Analysis" - Guest: Mindy Romero, Director - Center for Inclusive Democracy, Price School of Public Policy at USC. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

Sunday, October 24, at 10 a.m. on Newstalk 580AM/105.9FM (KMJ) – Maddy Report - Valley Views Edition: "Poverty and the Economic Situation of California Latinos"- Guests: Sarah Bohn, Public Policy Institute of California and Mindy Romero, Director of Price School of Public Policy at USC. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

Increased demand leads to more milk production

Turlock Journal

Stanislaus County offers an abundance of agriculture offerings. However, milk saw a significant increase in production last year, and alternative milks have seen an increased interest from consumers as well.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE/FIRE/PUBLIC SAFETY

Crime:

California judge tentatively rejects cutting inmate crowding

Fresno Bee

A Northern California judge tentatively ruled Friday that state prison officials acted with deliberate indifference when they caused a deadly coronavirus outbreak at one of the world’s most famous prisons last year.

Public Safety:

LAPD declares ‘ghost guns’ an ‘epidemic,’ citing 400% increase in seizures

Los Angeles Times

The proliferation of homemade “ghost guns” has skyrocketed in Los Angeles, contributing to more than 100 violent crimes this year, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a report released Friday.

Bipartisan Support for Red Flag Laws Wanes as GOP Blocks Bills

Pew Research Center

Red flag laws temporarily remove firearms from those who may be a harm to themselves or others, and they are lauded by public health experts, law enforcement officials and gun safety advocates. At least eight other states also are considering red flag bills.

Fire:

Fire destroys structure at agriculture company in Fresno, as crews battled second fire

Fresno Bee

A commercial structure at an agriculture manufacturing company in south Fresno near Highway 99 burned to the ground Sunday afternoon.

Three-alarm fire rages at downtown Fresno building. Here’s what was lost

Fresno Bee

A three-alarm fire raged Sunday in downtown Fresno, leaving a women’s rehabilitation facility totally destroyed.

Warszawski: ‘We dodged a bullet.’ Sequoias believed largely spared by California’s KNP Complex Fire

Modesto Bee

“We dodged a bullet, that’s how I feel,” Brigham said. “Because of weather and previous prescribed burning and some really hard work by the crews on this fire, we did not see the damage that we would have if that work had not been done.”

Battle Over California Fire Insurance Policies Intensifies

Business Journal

Massive wildfires are making it harder for some California homeowners to get property insurance, pitting the state’s insurance commissioner against the industry in an escalating conflict that will likely stretch into 2022’s statewide elections.

Fact Check: No, wildfires weren’t bigger in the 1920s and ‘30s than today

Politifact

Flawed government data appears to show a massive decline in wildfires after 1930. The data suffered from double and triple counting, and in the 1920s and 1930s, federal officials wrongly recorded millions of acres of intentional fires as wildfires.

ECONOMY/JOBS

Economy:

Biden Announces Measures at Major Ports to Battle Supply Chain Woes

New York Times

Biden announced Wednesday that the Port of Los Angeles will operate around the clock and major companies would expand their working hours as his administration struggles to relieve growing backlogs in the global supply chains that deliver critical goods to the U.S.

● CityDig: How Los Angeles Annexed the Port on a Shoestring Los Angeles Magazine

Biden’s Soft Infrastructure Agenda May Not Boost Growth

Wall Street Journal

As the Democrats who control Washington reshape a multi-trillion-dollar package that would expand the social safety net and boost green energy, a key question hanging over their efforts is what impact it will have on the economy.

See also:

● Opinion: No More Trillions Wall Street Journal

● Opinion: Biden and Nothingness Wall Street Journal

The permanently temporary 2021 economy, in charts

Washington Post

Twenty-one months after the country’s first confirmed case of the coronavirus, the U.S. economy remains rocked by conflicting forces, with businesses and households struggling to adjust to what many hoped would be a temporary disruption.

GOP Sees Opening as Biden Copes With Pre-Christmas Inflation, Supply-Chain Issues

Wall Street Journal

The White House is wrestling with supply-chain issues and elevated inflation ahead of the winter holiday shopping season—two economic problems that Republicans say the administration’s own policies would exacerbate.

● Editorial: The Inflation Tax Rises Wall Street Journal

● Opinion: It’s the 1970s all over again, and Joe Biden is the new Jimmy Carter Washington Post

China’s Third-Quarter Economic Growth Slows Sharply to 4.9%

Wall Street Journal

China’s economy grew 4.9% in the third quarter from a year earlier, slowing sharply from the previous quarter’s 7.9% growth rate, as power shortages and supply-chain problems added to the impact from Beijing’s efforts to rein in the real estate and technology sectors.

Jobs:

Strikes are sweeping the labor market as workers wield new leverage

Washington Post

All told, there have been strikes against 178 employers this year. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, which records only large work stoppages, has documented 12 strikes involving 1,000 or more workers so far this year.

● Welcome to Striketober CalMatters

● Hollywood union reaches deal with producers to avoid nationwide strike Washington Post

● Hollywood Workers Reach Agreement With Studios, Averting Strike Wall Street Journal

● ‘It’s a sweat factory’: Instacart workers ready to strike for pay and conditions The Guardian

● Unions Push Companies as Workers Stay Scarce Wall Street Journal

● Opinion: Big Labor and the Supply Shortage Wall Street Journal

Should rail employees receive similar protections as airline workers?

San Diego Tribune

Amtrak said in a statement the company joins in asking Congress and the Biden administration to make assaults against rail workers a federal crime and to expand the “No Fly List.”

Opinion: With only 194,000 jobs added, September’s jobs report disappoints

Brookings

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ September jobs report, released last week, showed a decrease of 0.4 percentage points in the U.S. unemployment rate, from 5.2% in August to 4.8% in September.

Opinion: The future of remote work: Highlights from my conversation with Nicholas Bloom

AEI

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the remote workforce skyrocketed almost overnight from only 7% of the working population to nearly 40% at the height of the pandemic. Today, the pandemic is winding down, but remote work is likely here to stay for many workers.

Do you know how to tip?

Washington Post

For a practice that’s roughly traced to the 17th century, tipping remains a surprisingly confusing practice in modern-day America. The practice still elicits stress in consumers who aren’t certain whom to give extra money to, and how much.

EDUCATION

K-12:

Clovis Unified adding new air filters to help reduce risk of spreading COVID-19

abc30

As the next defense against COVID-19, Clovis Unified is adding new air filters district-wide. "This is just another way that we can help make sure everyone feels comfortable," says CUSD Assistant Superintendent of Facilities Denver Stairs.

Public participation in question: Some local school boards end remote access to meetings

Bakersfield Californian

Fairfax is one of a handful of local school districts that have recently ended remote access to meetings. Even after the district began holding meetings in person in spring, the public was able to attend its meetings and offer comments over Zoom — and many did.

California parents to protest school vaccine mandates by keeping kids home Monday

abc30

Students across California may be staying home Monday protesting Newsom's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. California became the first state to announce that the COVID-19 vaccine would be mandatory for all school students in the state once a shot is fully approved.

● California school walkout planned for Monday: Here’s why KRON 4

● Parents plan school walkout over vaccine mandate CalMatters

● Schools are the focus of COVID policy fight. How Biden administration is responding Modesto Bee

Could new Covid testing and vaccine mandates make school staffing shortages in California worse?

EdSource

Some California school district superintendents, especially those in rural areas of the state, fear that teachers and other staff members will quit rather than be vaccinated or take weekly Covid tests — a state requirement that began Friday.

Opinion: The politics of parental revolt

AEI

Progressives have long treated the public school as the place where children receive the knowledge, traits, and habits necessary for life in a modern democracy. Ambitious conservatives have to think bigger.

See also:

● Opinion: The FBI Needs a Wray of Courage Wall Street Journal

Opinion: California needs COVID response teams in every school

CalMatters

Educators have been forced to become health care workers. California must create pandemic response teams and deploy them at public schools to manage the medical workload that is being left to teachers, principals, librarians and social workers.

Opinion: To help students recover from the pandemic, education leaders must prioritize equity and evidence

Brookings

The pandemic has already impacted learning on an unprecedented scale, exposing and magnifying deep inequities within our education system. While no one has been left unscathed, the impacts have been most severe for those who were already the furthest behind academically—students of color and those experiencing poverty.

Higher Ed:

Fresno State program aims to bring voices of marginalized communities into research, policymaking

VPR

The Center for Community Voices aims to show Fresno residents that their perspective is an important part of policy decisions, according to Amber Crowell, an assistant professor in sociology at Fresno State and co-director of the program.

Another blow to UC admissions tests: Nix the SAT alternative exam, faculty recommend

Los Angeles Times

In another blow to the future of standardized testing for University of California admissions, a faculty group has recommended nixing the use of an alternative assessment to replace the SAT in a new report to UC leaders.

Covid-19 Precautions Prompt Backlash on College Campuses

Wall Street Journal

Life on college campuses is as close to pre-pandemic normalcy as it has been in 18 months, but as the semester progresses with few interruptions, some students are pushing back, calling the mitigation measures schools have imposed an overreach.

Opinion: Has COVID disrupted the postsecondary pipeline?

Brookings

Among young adults (ages 16-24), recovery from the COVID-19 recession has looked quite different from previous recessions and from the experiences of older Americans.

Opinion: House reconciliation bill would remove misguided tax penalty on students with drug records

AEI

The budget reconciliation bill recently assembled by the House Budget Committee includes a long-overdue provision (section 137704) that would allow students with drug felony convictions to claim a key education tax credit on the same basis as other students.

ENVIRONMENT/ENERGY

Environment:

A new California weather warning? What ‘Potentially Dangerous Situation’ means in the Valley

Fresno Bee

Ground-Level Ozone Is a Creeping Threat to Biodiversity

Wired

Ozone levels at Sequoia and the adjacent national park, King’s Canyon, are among the highest in the United States, thanks to smog that blows in from the urban areas and farming and industrial activity in the San Joaquin Valley below.

La Niña is coming. Here's what that means for winter weather in the U.S.

VPR

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center announced on Thursday that La Niña conditions have developed and are expected to continue, with an 87% chance that they will be in place from December to February.

Opinion: Enhancing climate change resilience through self-protection, public investment, and market insurance

Brookings

Ideally, we take proactive steps in the anticipation of shocks so that natural disasters cause less risk. Given that some damage ex post is inevitable, a resilient society has insurance mechanisms in place to help the victims rebuild their lives and their communities.

Opinion: How extreme weather and the pandemic have exposed fatal flaws in science communication

Washington Post

From vaccine education to weather warnings, scientists and communicators are too often failing to translate modern science into actions that save lives and limit human suffering.

Energy:

Newsom demanded PG&E ‘fix this damn thing.’ New CEO says they’ve made quick progress

Sacramento Bee

Nine months after Poppe took charge at PG&E, and more than two years after it was driven into bankruptcy after the Camp Fire in Butte County, the state’s largest utility’s wildfire safety record is still the object of intense scrutiny.

See also:

● Frequency of power shut-offs frustrates mountain residents Bakersfield Californian

● New, unplanned blackouts aim to prevent California wildfires. But has PG&E ‘gone too far’? Modesto Bee

California Scrambles to Find Electricity to Offset Plant Closures

Wall Street Journal

California is racing to secure large amounts of power in the next few years to make up for the impending closure of fossil-fuel power plants and a nuclear facility that provides nearly 10% of the electricity generated in the state.

Aging Equipment, Spills Test Ties Between Oil, California

Business Journal

Hoping to recover a lost anchor chain, a work boat dragged a grappling hook along the seabed near an oil platform off the Southern California coast. But it hooked something else — a pipeline carrying crude oil from the towering rig to shore.

See also:

● Green Investing Looks to Clean Up the Maritime Industry Wall Street Journal

● Walters: Oil spill increases pressure on Newsom CalMatters

Gasoline prices usually fall this time of year as vacation season ends. So why are they jumping?

Visalia Times Delta

This is not supposed to happen at this time of year. At a moment when gasoline prices are usually heading down, the reverse is happening. Prices are soaring amid a spike in the price of oil, which is refined into gas for cars.

See also:

● Opinion: Biden Suddenly Loves Frackers Wall Street Journal

● Opinion: Biden’s Power Over Energy Wall Street Journal

‘Crazy’ Bets on $200 Oil Invade the Options Market

Wall Street Journal

Traders once again are betting that the U.S. oil benchmark will surge above $100 a barrel, from a recent $82, as early as December. U.S. crude is up 10% this month, and 70% this year, but it hasn’t hit $100 since the oil crash of 2014.

Opinion: 5 questions for Arthur Turrell on fusion energy

AEI

Fusion energy has been the promise of physicists for decades, but is it finally arriving? As we face a warming climate and increasing energy needs, fusion power may hold the potential to deliver an abundant, clean energy future.

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

Health:

Report highlights local healthcare issues

Turlock Journal

Recently, Legacy Health put together an Essential Healthcare Datapoints report to help people understand the numbers behind the healthcare topics and issues that most affect the Central Valley and its rural communities.

FDA panel votes in favor of J&J COVID booster shots for all adults. What to know

Fresno Bee

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted in favor of authorizing Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine booster doses for anyone ages 18 and older who already received one dose of the same shot.

● FDA panel recommends a booster shot of Johnson & Johnson vaccine for people 18 and older Washington Post

● FDA advisers back Johnson & Johnson vaccine booster Roll Call

● Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 Booster Shot Endorsed by FDA Advisers Wall Street Journal

● Can I Get a Flu Shot and Covid-19 Booster at the Same Time? And Other Answers to Your Flu Season Questions Wall Street Journal

States can reserve COVID-19 shots for younger kids next week

Fresno Bee

U.S. health officials are setting the stage for a national COVID-19 vaccination campaign for younger children, inviting state officials to order doses before the shots are authorized.

Opinion: The Unvaccinated May Not Be Who You Think

New York Times

All this may make it seem as if almost all the holdouts are conspiracy theorists and anti-science die-hards who think that Covid is a hoax, or that there is nothing we can do to reach more people. Real-life evidence, what there is, demonstrates that there’s much more to it.

Opinion: Covid Anxiety Is a Health Problem Too

Wall Street Journal

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, almost a third of adults in the U.S. reported symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder in late April and early May 2021, triple the number in 2019 before the pandemic started.

How — and when — to check indoor air quality in your home

Washington Post

Whether you are working remotely, home-schooling or simply hunkering down as the weather gets cooler, spending more time in your home means you’ve had a chance to get up close and personal with all of its quirks.

Human Services:

Valley counties ease policy limiting ambulance transport to hospitals. Here’s why

Fresno Bee

Hospitals brace for strikes as California workers protest staff shortages

CalMatters

Long-simmering disputes with unions over staffing are reaching crisis points. Almost a third of California hospitals report insufficient numbers of critical workers, including nurses, technicians and janitors.

Vaccine mandates stoked fears of labor shortages. But hospitals say they’re working.

Washington Post

Most health-care systems that require vaccination have touted widespread compliance. In interviews, administrators at some of the nation’s largest hospital systems said the mandates worked.

Threats, Resignations and 100 New Laws: Why Public Health Is in Crisis

New York Times

State and local public health departments across the country have endured not only the public’s fury, but widespread staff defections, burnout, firings, unpredictable funding and a significant erosion in their authority to impose health orders, critical during the pandemic.

Opinion: Amid the pandemic, Black and Latino men have experienced the largest drop in life expectancy

Brookings

For specific racial groups the drop in life expectancy has been more pronounced. Black and Latino or Hispanic people experienced a staggering 2.9- and 3-year downturn in life expectancy, respectively, compared to 1.2 years for white people.

IMMIGRATION

DHS to restart ‘Remain in Mexico’ for asylum-seekers next month

Roll Call

The Homeland Security Department could restart as early as next month a controversial Trump administration border program requiring asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for their court dates, according to a court filing late Thursday night.

Opinion: Politics and the pandemic in Latino and Native American communities

Brookings

This episode features an interview with an expert who calls immigration and the Latino vote a golden opportunity for Democrats in 2022. Gabriel Sanchez is a David M. Rubenstein Fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings and a professor of political science.

LAND USE/HOUSING

Land Use:

Opinion: From malls to homes

AEI

A more obscure change could have a greater impact on housing in California: enabling the conversion of shopping malls and business parks into large-scale new developments that could combine new homes with the streets and stores that make for new communities.

Housing:

How rising rents in the Central Valley are deepening the affordable housing shortage

VPR

The Central Valley’s reputation as an affordable place to live has been challenged by skyrocketing housing prices

Kern County to look into reports of issues with rental assistance program

Bakersfield Californian

Opinion: California is increasing enforcement of its housing goals: Will it work?

CalMatters

In the new episode of “Gimme Shelter: The California Housing Crisis Podcast.” CalMatters’ Manuela Tobias and the Los Angeles Times’ Liam Dillon break down California’s increased enforcement of housing production goals. They are joined by Victoria Fierce, whose organization sues cities that aren’t producing enough housing.

PUBLIC FINANCES

Democrats Bet on Raising Taxes on High-Income People, Big Businesses

Wall Street Journal

See also:

● Opinion: The Democrats’ Tax-the-Rich Ruse Wall Street Journal

● Opinion: A new problem for Democrats: Americans suddenly want smaller government after all Washington Post

● Editorial: Big Government Isn’t Popular Again Wall Street Journal

Opinion: Childcare entitlement will send federal costs skyrocketing

AEI

The Democrats want the federal government to cover childcare expenses for rich and poor families alike, funded through higher taxes and borrowed money, while driving up childcare costs through wage mandates and new regulations on childcare providers at the same time.

SEIU Local 1000 board could attempt to strip union president of powers this weekend

Sacramento Bee

The board of directors of California’s largest state employee union is meeting this weekend to consider stripping the union’s elected president of most of his leadership powers.

TRANSPORTATION

This Week in Fresnoland: Fresno County’s rural transit agency started with a lawsuit

Fresno Bee

Modesto-area residents can ride Amtrak to Sacramento once again, a night train for now

Modesto Bee

Costs Rise (Again) for California High Speed Rail, And Will it Even Be High Speed?

KQED

The future of high speed rail in California remains in jeopardy as funds dry up. Now, the Los Angeles Times reports that the High Speed Rail Authority will have to approve at least another billion dollars in cost overruns to pay its contractors.

● Sacramento Legislators Are Holding Up the High-Speed Rail Project... Again SFist

● Editorial: End California bullet train boondoggle, once and for all Mercury News

● Walters: California bullet train funds stalemated CalMatters

U.S. Border to Open to International Travelers With Proof of Vaccination

Wall Street Journal

The Biden administration plans to lift travel restrictions for international travelers to the U.S. on Nov. 8, the White House said Friday. The new policy will affect both air and land-border travelers, who will need to be fully vaccinated and show proof of vaccination.

WATER

Drought could dry up popular I-5 oasis

SJV Water

Kettleman City, a popular stop for travelers on Interstate 5 with its host of gas stations and fast food joints, is on the brink of going dry. If that happens, those businesses could shut down.

CVP facing "extreme operational challenges"

Porterville Recorder

Another dry year would force the federal Bureau of Reclamation's Central Valley Project to face “extreme operational challenges.” That's what Reclamation stated as the CVP began the 2021-2022 water year at 52 percent of the 15-year average.

Despite a Punishing Drought, San Diego Has Water. It Wasn’t Easy.

New York Times

In many parts of California, reminders abound that the American West is running out of water. In San Diego, life has stayed mostly the same for residents already accustomed to conserving what they have long treated as a precious resource.

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