October 31, 2019

31Oct

POLICY & POLITICS

 

North SJ Valley:

‘They shouldn’t have to worry:’ Bill to help families of fallen cops moves forward

Modesto Bee

The House is including a measure in a budget authorization bill to automatically allow the children and spouses of police officers killed on duty to qualify for Pell Grants.

EDITORIAL: A new lake in west Stanislaus County? That sounds good 

Modesto Bee

In a few years, a new 4-mile-long lake amid cliff-framed hills could be visible for about 15 seconds to people driving 60 mph as they pass Patterson on Interstate 5, 25 miles southwest of Modesto.

Central SJ Valley:

Valley congressmen push bill to give legal status to farm workers. Will Trump support?

Fresno Bee

Several Valley congressional representatives helped introduce a bipartisan bill Wednesday they say is geared toward providing a path to legal status for more than 250,000 undocumented California farm workers.

See also:

Measure A bond Will Ensure Benefits to Schools and the Community

Clovis Roundup

Following the boards unanimous decision to approve a $408 million facility bond election, Clovis Unified School Board Superintendent Eimear O’Farrell, Vice President Chris Casado and Associate Superintendent with Administrative Services Michael Johnston held a briefing on the details of the measure and the next steps in the election process.

Fresno PD Chief Welcomes Federal Scrutiny, Defends Officers

GV Wire

The department came under renewed scrutiny last week when a video surfaced of the shooting death of 16-year old Isiah Murrietta-Golding. His mother and father filed a consolidated federal wrongful-death lawsuit scheduled to be heard next year.

 

South SJ Valley:

 

Latinos experience much lower economic well-being than the state's population as a whole, study suggests

Bakersfield Californian

California's future depends on a strong Latino middle class, one researcher suggests, but the group has been struggling in categories such as income distribution, education, housing and employment and entrepreneurship.

Local groups prepare for census by canvassing Kern's 'hard-to-count' neighborhoods

Bakersfield Californian

A coalition of community-based organizations on Wednesday kicked off a local outreach campaign intended to impress upon immigrant and other "hard-to-count" populations the importance of participating in the 2020 U.S. Census.

State:

 

Why Californians are donating millions to Senate candidates in other states

Los Angeles Times

Californians don’t have a U.S. Senate race on the ballot in 2020, but they have donated more than $13.2 million this year to senators or their challengers across the country, according to federal fundraising disclosures.

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.

Federal:

Trump rips Nancy Pelosi and endorses Kevin McCarthy for speaker at House GOP fundraiser

CNBC

President Trump took aim at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at a fundraiser for House Republicans. Trump, according to an attendee, said he’s fully behind McCarthy for speaker and called him “tough, loyal, and smart.”

See also:

 

Elections 2020:

In major shakeup, Kamala Harris pulls staff out of California to go ‘all-in on Iowa’

Sacramento Bee

A memo her campaign released on Wednesday shows the senator will trim her national staff, cut the salaries of campaign consultants and move several California staff members to Iowa.

See also:

Elizabeth Warren will soon open first California offices, Kamala Harris to add a second

Sacramento Bee

Elizabeth Warren is ramping up her campaign in the Golden State. The Democratic presidential candidate plans to open her first two California offices in the coming month, according to her campaign — one in Oakland and another in Los Angeles.

See also:

Public takeover of PG&E? Where Democratic candidates stand on California crisis

San Francisco Chronicle

During a recent campaign stop in San Francisco, Andrew Yang asked his rally audience who was responsible for the wildfires and blackouts in California. “PG&E!” they yelled back.

 

Trump Team Hopes to Expand Base to New States Democrats Hold Now

Bloomberg

Flush with cash, Donald Trump’s re-election team envisions a greatly expanded campaign map in which he’ll challenge his Democratic opponent in blue states he narrowly lost in 2016, including Minnesota, Colorado and even New Mexico and Oregon. 

 

Twitter to ban all political ads amid 2020 election uproar

Washington Post

Twitter on Wednesday said it would ban all advertisements about political candidates, elections and hot-button policy issues such as abortion and immigration, a significant shift that comes in response to growing concerns that politicians are seizing on the vast reach of social media to deceive voters ahead of the 2020 election.

See also:

Other:

 

Don’t be fooled by empty rhetoric: The NCAA isn’t going to change voluntarily

Washington Post

Look closely at the NCAA’s supposed grand concession to allow college athletes the rights over their own names and likenesses, and note that it contains zero specifics, an almost infinite number of potential restrictions, and doesn’t actually say anything about money.

Commentary: Reddit Must End Politically Motivated Publishing Decisions

RealClearPolitics

The comments in question were reprehensible and clearly violated Reddit’s rules. The problem is that Reddit, with its 330 million users, was and is rife with similarly disgusting rhetoric.

MADDY INSTITUTE PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAMMING

 

Sunday, November 3, at 10 a.m. on ABC30 –​​ Maddy Report: pre-empted

 

Sunday, November 3, at 10 a.m. on Newstalk 580AM/105.9FM (KMJ) –​​ Maddy Report - Valley Views Edition:​​ “California Facts, Valley Economic Opportunities”​​ – Guests: Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin; Pete Weber, co-chair of CalFwd and Director of the Fresno Bridge Academy and Carolyn Chu, Legislative Analyst Office. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

Sunday,​​ November 3, at 7:30 a.m. on UniMas 61 (KTTF) –​​ El Informe Maddy:​​ “Climate Change Legislation”​​ – Invitado:​​ Alvar Escriva-Bou, Public Policy Institute of California.​​ Presentado Por: Coordinadora del Programa del Maddy Institute, Maria Jeans.

 

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

California’s marijuana market will soon have ‘thousands of retail stores,’ report says

Fresno Bee

By 2024, cannabis sales growth in the Golden State will account for nearly a quarter of all sales growth in the United States, according to a report, “From Dispensaries to Superstores: Opportunities in U.S. Cannabis Retail.”

 

Smoke And Power Outages Near California Wildfires Hit Farmworkers Hard

KVPR

Farm laborers in yellow safety vests walked through neatly arranged rows of grapes in a vineyard outside Healdsburg, Calif., Friday, harvesting the last of the deep purple bundles that hung from the vines, even as the sky behind them was dark with soot.

 

CRIMINAL JUSTICE​​​ ​/​​​ ​FIRE​​​ ​/​​​ ​PUBLIC SAFETY

 

Crime:

Fresno PD Chief Welcomes Federal Scrutiny, Defends Officers

GV Wire

The department came under renewed scrutiny last week when a video surfaced of the shooting death of 16-year old Isiah Murrietta-Golding. His mother and father filed a consolidated federal wrongful-death lawsuit scheduled to be heard next year.

Public Safety:

‘She had the biggest heart.’ Fresno’s first Little Free Pantry dedicated to homicide victim

Fresno Bee

Guadalupe Rivera’s name is inscribed on a small golden plaque on Fresno’s first Little Free Pantry, one of hundreds located in front yards across the country. “She was full of life,” said one of her daughters, Norma Saavedra. “She loved to dance, love. This is her way of still dancing right there in spirit and loving.”

Fire: 

 

PG&E to credit customers affected by shutoffs, but foothills may not see money

abc30

Rebecca Kern of North Fork breathed a sigh of relief after she turned off her generator, and now that her power is finally restored. "I've been sleeping down here at the store because I have to be around if the generator messes up," she said.

See also:

 

PG&E equipment may have started fifth Bay Area fire Sunday, utility tells state regulators

San Francisco Chronicle

The utility filed two electrical incident reports Wednesday to the California Public Utilities Commission indicating its equipment may be linked to Oakley and Bethel Island fires early Sunday morning that led to evacuation orders in Eastern Contra Costa County.

See also:

 

California blackouts: Cell service improving, but frustration mounts

San Francisco Chronicle

Cell service is coming back across Northern California, but companies haven’t yet explained why their networks failed despite advance warning, pointed questions from regulators and claims in government filings by wireless operators that they were prepared. 

See also:

 

ECONOMY / JOBS

Economy:

 

2019 California Economic Summit Registration Opens

CAFWD

Register 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.

 

Consumers support U.S. economy as business spending slumps

Reuters

U.S. economic growth slowed less than expected in the third quarter as a further contraction in business investment was offset by resilient consumer spending, further allaying financial market fears of a recession.

Jobs:

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.

Gig Companies Go It Alone As They Launch ‘Dynamex’ Measure For California’s November Ballot

Capital Public Radio

Ever since the California Supreme Court’s “Dynamex” ruling last year set a new test for when a worker is considered an employee, gig companies have tried to exempt their drivers and keep them classified as independent contractors.

See also:

Walters: 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 erup

 

EDUCATION

 

K-12:

Fresno Unified monitoring air quality, students' outdoor activity

abc30

The largest school district in the Central Valley has been keeping a close watch on air quality. Sports and outdoor activities went on, as usual, Tuesday at most schools.

Critics call VUSD letter 'garbage,' question motives of letter writers

Visalia Times Delta

An "open letter" urging Visalia Unified trustees to bring transparency and community input to the superintendent-search process rankled many at Tuesday's school board meeting. 

Video: Improving Educational Opportunity in California

Public Policy Institute of California

Then she circled back to California’s “number one thing”: “We’ve got to fix the teacher shortage—and we’ve got to do it quickly, purposefully, and soon.”

 

Higher Ed:

Political Scientist Trounstine Appointed Inaugural Endowed Presidential Chair

UC Merced Newsroom

Political science Professor Jessica Trounstine has been awarded the inaugural UC Merced Foundation Board of Trustees Presidential Chair. This chair was created to recognize the excellent contributions of a faculty member in a field of research at the discretion of the chancellor.

 

ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY


Environment:

 

Jerry Brown implores Washington to act on climate: ‘California’s burning’

San Francisco Chronicle

Former California Gov. Jerry Brown visited Capitol Hill on Tuesday to give an impassioned plea for dramatic action to combat climate change, citing California’s wildfires as an example of the “life-and-death” stakes.

California’s blackouts could make fighting climate change even harder

Los Angeles Times

But the state’s plans for slashing climate emissions depend on a stable electric grid delivering clean electricity to the cars, homes and businesses of the world’s fifth-largest economy. The jarring new reality of preemptive blackouts could frustrate those plans by throwing the grid’s reliability into doubt.

Green groups sue Trump administration over California drilling plan

Reuters

The lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity comes nearly four weeks after the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management approved a plan that would allow oil and gas leasing in 11 counties in the Central California coastal region. 

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

Health:

 

Wildfires, power outages cause unprecedented healthcare disruption in California

Fresno Bee

Healthcare leaders told The Bee that they are confronting a level of disruption to delivering care and running their businesses that they have never seen in their careers as a result of the California wildfires and Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s planned blackouts.

See also:

 

Food Day celebrates healthy eating, relieves hunger in 'the world's breadbasket'

Visalia Times Delta

Ember Munson pedaled the green stationary bike at Tulare County FoodLink as fast as her 8-year-old legs would let her. With each turn of the pedal, Ember was operating a blender attached to the bicycle – mixing up delicious, healthy smoothies full of fresh fruits and vegetables.

 

Sacramento County sees alarming rise in STDs. What’s behind the big increase?

Sacramento Bee

The number of sexually transmitted diseases reported in Sacramento County jumped significantly in 2018, and Sacramento remains among the California counties with the highest STD rates, the latest state figures show.

Former Juul exec alleges the company shipped tainted vape pods

Los Angeles Times

A Juul Labs executive who was fired this year is alleging that the vaping company knowingly shipped 1 million tainted nicotine pods to customers. The allegation comes in a lawsuit filed Tuesday by lawyers representing Siddharth Breja, a former finance executive at the e-cigarette giant.

See also:

 

In​​ California, the teen birth rate has hit a record low. How?

CalMatters

Explanations include the state's comprehensive sex education, access to birth control, better contraception methods and even reality TV. Even so, the rates in some California counties remain very high.

IMMIGRATION

 

Challenges Implementing Sanctuary State Law Keep Immigrant Fears At a High

Capital Public Radio

In 2016 and 2017, California passed two different laws regulating the way local law enforcement agencies interact with federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. For pro-immigrant groups, it was a step toward making California a “sanctuary state” where undocumented residents could cooperate with police without the fear of deportation.

House lawmakers reach agricultural immigration deal

San Francisco Chronicle

Lawmakers have struck a deal that would give legal status to hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrant farmworkers in exchange for stronger employee verification in the agricultural sector, a bipartisan group will announce Wednesday.

LAND USE/HOUSING

 

Land Use:

New offices coming to Fresno’s Palm Bluffs area

Business Journal

The 42,000-square foot building is being built on spec, with plans to basically erect the building shell. Once tenants sign their leases, interior walls will be erected and other modifications will be made to suit their space needs.

 

Housing:

Fresno cracks down on landlords who refuse to fix problems

abc30

The City of Fresno is cracking down on landlords refusing to make changes. "It is not okay for people to live in roach-infested apartments or have leaky roofs or mold," said Fresno City Council member Esmeralda Soria. "That impacts someone's health."

Residents of Madera housing complex may have no place to go

Madera Tribune

Residents at the Laguna Knolls Apartment complex came home to an unpleasant surprise Saturday evening when they found 60-day notices to vacate on their doors, stating they had to leave their homes shortly after Christmas. 

 

Sacramento Mayor Calls For Rapid Expansion Of Tiny Homes Across California

Capital Public Radio

In Sacramento, Mayor Darrell Steinberg wants his city to spend $30 million to jump-start the rapid production of these structures, which are sometimes just 500 square feet or less.

 

Are Stanislaus County homeless counts accurate? This system shows a much higher number

Sacramento Bee

Every January, volunteers in Stanislaus County and communities across the nation count the homeless. These tallies are required for service providers that receive U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funding.

Spoiled food and missing medicine: How PG&E shutoffs hit a California mobile home park

Sacramento Bee

It was a bright moment during Newsom’s visit to the park in American Canyon, where he promised new protocol to notify people about future blackouts as the state continues to experience high fire danger due to heat and strong winds.

PUBLIC FINANCES

Measure A bond Will Ensure Benefits to Schools and the Community

Clovis Roundup

Following the boards unanimous decision to approve a $408 million facility bond election, Clovis Unified School Board Superintendent Eimear O’Farrell, Vice President Chris Casado and Associate Superintendent with Administrative Services Michael Johnston held a briefing on the details of the measure and the next steps in the election process.

Federal Reserve cuts interest rate for third time this year in effort to boost U.S. economy

Washington Post

The Federal Reserve reduced the benchmark U.S. interest rate for the third time this year Wednesday in an effort to boost the economy as the trade war and a global slowdown threaten to drag the U.S. economy down.

See also:

TRANSPORTATION

New segment of Highway 58 at Route 395 relieves bottleneck, opens way for Kern distribution activity

Bakersfield Californian

Caltrans says it is mostly finished resolving an east-west traffic bottleneck that has long frustrated Kern's ambitions of becoming a major distribution center, not to mention the headaches it caused county residents trying to get to or from Las Vegas.

The Hyperloop and the Self-Driving Car Are Not the Future of Transportation

Slate

Thinking about the future of transportation from the United States can sometimes feel like thinking about swimwear in Svalbard: There is little to see here (and hasn’t been in some time). China has laid down the world’s largest high-speed rail network in just two decades, quashing its high-polluting domestic air business. 

 

WATER

 

New laws may result in water rate increases

Hanford Sentinel

In order to keep up with the State’s underground water recharge laws, sooner or later, local water rates will likely need to increase. That was the message local water management officials gave in a joint presentation at the Oct. 21 Selma City Council.

EDITORIAL: A new lake in west Stanislaus County? That sounds good 

Modesto Bee

In a few years, a new 4-mile-long lake amid cliff-framed hills could be visible for about 15 seconds to people driving 60 mph as they pass Patterson on Interstate 5, 25 miles southwest of Modesto.

“Xtra”

ClovisFest Brings Community Together with International Village

Clovis Roundup

For the fourth year, the event has included an International Village featuring cultural performances and booth displays representing the different ethnicities that make up the Central Valley.

Clovis Steps Up for Down Syndrome

Clovis Roundup

Starting bright and early Saturday, Oct. 19, and continuing well into the afternoon, the Down Syndrome Association of Central California (DSACC) held their annual Step Up for Down Syndrome event. Over 1,100 people came out to the Clovis Rodeo Grounds to participate and show their support.

 

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Maddy Institute Updated List of San Joaquin Valley Elected Officials​​ HERE.

The Kenneth L. Maddy Institute​​ at California State University, Fresno was established to honor the legacy of one of California’s most principled and effective legislative leaders of the last half of the 20th Century by engaging, preparing and inspiring a new generation of governmental leaders for the 21st Century. Its mission is to inspire citizen participation, elevate government performance, provide non-partisan analysis and assist in providing solutions for public policy issues important to the region, state and nation.

                                                      

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