Political Stories

Top stories 

California voters oppose ending state’s death penalty — More than half of voters oppose a November ballot measure that would abolish the California death penalty, according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll conducted by SurveyMonkey. LA Times article

Two-thirds of Californians favor Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to revamp prison parole rules — Gov. Jerry Brown’s effort to offer early release to more prison inmates appears to have strong support among California voters, according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll. LA Times article

Gov. Brown 

Jerry Brown slams ‘rapacious’ EipPen maker … then signs bill it pushed — Gov. Jerry Brown took the unusual step of castigating a specific pharmaceutical company as he signed legislation Friday allowing more businesses and colleges to stock epinephrine auto-injectors, better known as EpiPens. Sacramento Bee article; LA Times article

Valley politics

Local school board elections — A number of school board members in Kings County are up for re-election this year with some running unopposed and others facing opponents. Hanford Sentinel article

Statewide politics/Ballot Measures

Ballot measure to extend income tax hike has strong support, poll finds – A strong majority of California voters are in favor of a November ballot measure to extend income tax hikes on the state’s highest earners, according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll conducted by SurveyMonkey. LA Times article

Measure to increase state’s cigarette tax has a big lead, poll finds — More than six in 10 California voters support a proposal to increase cigarette taxes by $2 a pack, according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll conducted by SurveyMonkey. LA Times article

Video: California district attorneys push Jerry Brown to debate parole initiative – District attorneys and victim rights advocates on Friday called on Gov. Jerry Brown to debate Proposition 57, his ballot measure that would make certain nonviolent felons eligible for early parole.  Sacramento Bee video

Officials skeptical of public safety proposition – Voter will have serious decisions to make come Nov. 8, from the future president to propositions that could impact the safety of communities. Visalia Times-Delta article

What stoned driving looks like and how California might regulate it – The 2015 report from the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area – a program run by the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy – offered a grim view of marijuana legalization and its impact on traffic safety in Colorado. Sacramento Bee article

Other areas

In TV ad, Ami Bera hits Scott Jones over allegations of unwelcome sexual advances toward deputy – Democratic Rep. Ami Bera, fighting to retain his seat against Republican Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones, released a scathing TV ad on Friday hitting Jones for recently revealed allegations of unwanted sexual advances toward a subordinate more than a decade ago. Sacramento Bee article

No election fraud charges against Rep. Ami Bera, says U.S. Justice Department — The U.S. Justice Department announced Friday that it has closed the books on its investigation of contributions to the campaign committee of Rep. Ami Bera, D-Elk Grove. Sacramento Bee article

Presidential Politics

Cathleen Decker: With a self-inflicted wound, Trump puts himself in new peril against Clinton — Just when he might have sought to cement and extend his new, narrow lead in some swing states, Trump on Friday delved into a topic he recently had tried to avoid — his long effort to prove President Obama is not an American citizen. And he did so by making fresh, and demonstrably inaccurate, accusations against Clinton. Decker in LA Times

Donald Trump finally concedes that Barack Obama was born in the U.S. after years of promoting conspiracy theory – Donald Trump’s rise to political prominence grew partly out of his willingness to stoke fringe theories about President Obama’s birthplace, views that made him popular with many Republicans and conspiracy buffs but became a drag on his White House aspirations.  LA Times article

News Stories

Top Stories

Job creation surges in California – Job growth was solid in August, in California and greater Sacramento, as the state’s economy continued to perform well. Employers statewide added a robust 63,100 jobs during the month, the Employment Development Department reported Friday, although the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.5 percent. The job gains for August were a sharp contrast with a fairly weak showing of 18,600 the month before. Sacramento Bee article; LA Times article 

Fresno jail officer who was shot is home in Sanger — Juanita Davila, one of two Fresno County correctional officers who were shot in the lobby of the jail, went home Friday to her family in Sanger. Fresno Bee article

Jobs and the Economy 

Valley unemployment rates — Here are the unemployment rates for the six-county San Joaquin Valley for August, followed in parentheses by the July 2016 and August 2015 rates, according to data released by the California Employment Development Department:

• Fresno– 8.7 percent (9.3, 9.0)
• Kern– 9.7 percent (10.5, 9.2)
• Kings– 8.9 percent (9.6, 8.9)
• Madera– 8.3 percent (9.4, 9.2)
• Merced– 9.3 percent (10.4, 9.5)
• San Joaquin– 7.8 percent (8.4, 8.1)
• Stanislaus – 8.0 percent (8.9, 8.4)
• Tulare– 10.7 percent (11.2, 10.7)

Fresno County jobless rate hits lowest August level since start of recession — Fresno County’s unemployment rate keeps dropping, with August being the latest month in a five-year trend of improvement. The rate fell to 8.7 percent in August – an improvement not only from July, but also down from a year ago, marking 60 consecutive months of year-to-year declines in the county. Fresno Bee article; The Business Journal article

Stanislaus County jobs picture continued to improve in August – The local economy continues to improve, unemployment numbers released Friday show. August’s unemployment rate in Stanislaus County was 8 percent. That’s down from a revised 8.9 percent in July and is less than the 8.5 percent registered in August 2015. Merced County’s August jobless rate was 9.3 percent, compared with a revised 10.4 percent in July and 9.5 percent a year ago. Modesto Bee article

Toys R Us plans to hire 500 seasonal workers for Sacramento-area stores, Stockton center— National retailer Toys R Us said it plans to hire more than 500 seasonal workers at its Sacramento-area stores and Stockton distribution center this holiday season. Sacramento Bee article

LA expands homeless outreach program – A program intended to connect homeless Angelenos with housing and social services will expand into South Los Angeles next month, Mayor Eric Garcetti said Friday. LA Times article

New brewhouse for downtown Visalia – Lemoore natives, Kevin Nickell and Jason Carvalho, co-owners of BarrelHouse Brewing in Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo, are planning a third location. This time they’ll hit downtown Visalia. Visalia Times-Delta article

Agriculture/Water/Drought

Modesto Bee: Hammer falling on everyone who relies on our rivers – The state water board has released a wrongheaded, lackadaisical, shortsighted plan to take vast portions of the Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Merced rivers and send the water flowing freely out to the Delta. If this shoddy piece of work ever reaches the courts, we hope it will be tossed out. Modesto Bee editorial

Sacramento Bee: It’s the age of limits for California’s water wars – It pains us as much as the next Californian to say this, but with 39 million-plus people vying for every drop, we need to get real about water. And nothing – not farmers, not subdivisions, not irrigated pasture land, not almonds, not even iconic cities that have spent the last century with their heads buried in their insanely great tapwater – can afford to be sacrosanct. Sacramento Bee editorial

John Holland: Group studies new way of dealing with dairy wastewater — I drove out past Merced last year to see a dairy farmer testing a new idea. He irrigated 40 acres of feed corn with drip lines, which are much more common in orchards and vineyards than annual crops. The lines did more than conserve water. They delivered fertilizer, in the form of nitrogen-rich wastewater from one of the farm’s manure lagoons. Such precise application could reduce the risk of pollutants seeping into drinking-water aquifers – a concern with the widespread practice of flood irrigating with lagoon water. Holland in Modesto Bee

Criminal Justice/Prisons

Fourth Dos Palos player arrested in hazing case – A fourth Dos Palos High School varsity football player has been arrested in connection with a widening investigation into alleged hazing on campus, the Police Department confirmed Friday. Merced Sun-Star article; LA Times article

Shooting outside Selma High football stadium ends game — Shots were fired Friday night just outside the Selma High School football stadium, causing officials to call the varsity game at halftime. There were no reports of injuries. Fresno Bee article 

Two officers charged in Bay Area police sex crimes scandal — Alameda County prosecutors on Friday charged two officers embroiled in a widening sexual misconduct scandal that involves a 19-year-old woman and multiple Bay Area law enforcement agencies. LA Times article; KQED report

Bonding behind bars — County jails across the country restrict visits to opposite sides of a glass partition. Only a handful, including San Francisco’s main facility in San Bruno, allow contact visits between locked-up parents and their sons and daughters. San Francisco Chronicle article

Education

Clovis Unified reports northeast Fresno schools test safe from lead – Clovis Unified School District officials announced that tests of water samples from its schools in northeast Fresno show that the water is safe to drink. Fresno Bee article

Learning a trade – and getting paid — Khan was among the 750 area high school junior and seniors who spent Friday afternoon gathering information and getting career ideas at the 12th annual Construction Trades Career Fair and Apprenticeship Pathway. Established by the San Joaquin Area Apprenticeship Coordinators Association more than 60 years ago, the program highlights more than 20 construction apprenticeships with the goal of educating area students about careers and a pathway for successful employment after high school. Stockton Record article

Energy/Environment

State official: Growth potential for toxic algae getting worse — Cooler temperatures seem to have finally subdued Stockton’s stinky algae monster for 2016, but an expert warned the Delta Protection Commission this week that, in general, toxic blooms are getting worse. Stockton Record article

Health/Human Services 

New Zika protection procedures mean challenges for blood banks — Bakersfield’s Houchin Community Blood Bank has successfully implemented a new program to test incoming blood donations for the Zika virus. Bakersfield Californian article

 Other areas

Fresno County Probation Chief Rick Chavez will keep his job after judges’ vote — Rick Chavez, Fresno County’s suspended probation chief, will return to his job months after he was placed on administrative leave for an investigation. Fresno Bee article
Andrew Fiala: How about a civil dialogue on civic pride? – The professor of philosophy and director of The Ethics Center at Fresno State writes, “Liberty and justice are destroyed by violence and incivility. This is true whether you protest the flag or protest the protesters. Whether we recite the pledge or stay silent, whether we kneel or cover our hearts, we should always think carefully about our words, our deeds and our common humanity.” Fiala op-ed in Fresno Bee 

State Bar urges suspension of former Merced County judge – A former Merced County Superior Court judge who stepped down last year amid allegations of ethical violations may have his law license suspended for two years for failing to disclose financial payments he received while on the bench. Merced Sun-Star article

Francine Farber: The 6 Fresnos – we are not alone – The retired school district administrator and full-time community volunteer writes, “Former Mayor Alan Autry liked to say there were two Fresnos, citing the socioeconomic and cultural divide between north and south in our city. But actually there are at least six Fresnos, Spanish for “ash tree,” counting ours as only one of them.” Farber op-ed in Fresno Bee

Valley Editorial Roundup

Fresno Bee – Thumbs up, thumbs down.

Modesto Bee – The state water board has released a wrongheaded, lackadaisical, shortsighted plan to take vast portions of the Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Merced rivers and send the water flowing freely out to the Delta. If this shoddy piece of work ever reaches the courts, we hope it will be tossed out.

Sacramento Bee – It pains us as much as the next Californian to say this, but with 39 million-plus people vying for every drop, we need to get real about water. And nothing – not farmers, not subdivisions, not irrigated pasture land, not almonds, not even iconic cities that have spent the last century with their heads buried in their insanely great tapwater – can afford to be sacrosanct.