Maddy Institute – September 27, 2021

30Sep

POLICY & POLITICS

North SJ Valley:

COVID Update:

● Coronavirus update: Stanislaus adds 6 deaths. Vaccine schedule posted for week Modesto Bee

● More Merced County residents getting COVID vaccine, but deaths remain a problem Merced Sun Star

What does Modesto’s new police chief have to say about reform, systemic racism?

Modesto Bee

Brandon Gillespie says in his 20-year career as a Modesto police officer, he’s not seen a sustained national conversation about how police do their jobs and how communities want to be policed as has occurred since the May 2020 death of George Floyd.

Newsom signs bill on warehouse worker quotas and break time in Patterson and beyond

Modesto Bee

Workers at Amazon and other large warehouses got new protections under a bill signed Wednesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom. It bars these employers from imposing production quotas so demanding that people have to skip meal and restroom breaks.

How do Stanislaus students learn when sent home to quarantine? It depends on the district

Modesto Bee

Turlock Unified School District has since modified its arrangement for educating students who miss school days for reasons related to COVID-19. As of Monday, students in seventh grade and above can watch classes live via Zoom.

TUSD looks at revamping dress code

Turlock Journal

The Turlock Unified School Board was presented plans for an updated school dress code with key changes that would allow students to wear crop tops, pajamas and hats to school.

Modesto wins statewide award for rehab of parks along river and creek

Modesto Bee

The League of California Cities honored Modesto for its efforts at the Tuolumne River and Dry Creek regional parks. The city received one of the 12 Helen Putnam Awards for Excellence at the league’s annual meeting Thursday, Sept. 23, in Sacramento.

Development continues to thrive in Turlock

Turlock Journal

While the pandemic may have put many things on halt over the past 19 months, one thing that didn’t stop in Turlock is the development and opening of new businesses in town.

Raw milk recalled from Modesto-area dairy four times. Owner explains his process

Modesto Bee

Four times since 2019, the state has ordered recalls at Valley Milk Simply Bottled, about six miles west of Modesto. Routine testing found excessive levels of bacteria each time, but no illnesses were reported.

Central SJ Valley:

COVID Update:

● Fresno County expects to start giving COVID booster shots next week. Are you eligible? Fresno Bee

● Fresno County residents can now get their flu shot at drive-thru clinics abc30

● Fresno community college students can delay COVID vaccinations. Here’s what’s new Fresno Bee

● Opinion: Fresno farmer sees nothing but bad due to COVID deaths, bitter politics, news overload Fresno Bee

● At least 12 Visalia Unified sites report potential COVID-19 exposures Visalia Times Delta

● Expensive choices? The cost of testing unvaccinated government workers abc30

● State assistance with staffing helping Central California hospitals during COVID surge abc30

Eviction moratorium ends this month. Fresno advocates urge congressman to help extend it

Fresno Bee

Housing advocates gathered in front of Rep. Jim Costa’s Fresno office Saturday afternoon and called for the Democratic congressman to support legislation to end evictions and cancel rents as the coronavirus pandemic persists.

Crackdown on Fresno's gang violence is showing results, police say

abc30

The first traffic stop of Saturday for the Fresno police department's gang unit ended with the arrest of a gang member. The passenger of the car got out and ran from police.

Kings County: Jobs up 1,400

Hanford Sentinel

Valley counties flexed their job performance muscles in August with Kings County reporting 1,400 more jobs this August than a year ago. There were also 1,000 fewer residents unemployed according to the EDD.

Fresno-area schools will change start times next year. What parents need to know

Fresno Bee

Senate Bill 328, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2019, requires California middle schools beginning in July 2022 to start no earlier than 8 a.m. and high schools to begin no earlier than 8:30 a.m.

Clovis Unified reviewing dress code after parents, students call for change

abc30

Parents and students are calling on Clovis Unified to make changes to the dress code, and the district says it's open to discussion. Some hot ticket items include the length of shorts, the width of tank top straps and how leggings can be worn.

Fresno Housing Authority names top candidate in its nationwide search for CEO

Fresno Bee

The top candidate for the Housing Authorities of the City and County of Fresno CEO has been named, pending approval of the board of commissioners on Tuesday. Tyrone Roderick Williams will lead Fresno Housing, according to the meeting agenda.

Editorial: West Fresnans right to raise a stink to get county services restored to their neighborhood

Fresno Bee

The recent controversy over important government services that were no longer available to residents in west Fresno has been settled, at least for now. Fresno County officials listened to residents’ concerns and restored services at the West Fresno Regional Center.

Martha Flores honored for service as mayor

Porterville Recorder

During Tuesday’s regularly scheduled Porterville City Council meeting, Mayor Monte Reyes said he was taking a moment for a presentation not on the agenda because he had been waiting for the object — a plaque/shadow-box — to arrive.

Hurtado releases statement on participation in United Nation discussion

Hanford Sentinel

Wednesday, Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger) released the following statement regarding her participation in the United Nations “Virtual Parliamentary Dialogues: Food Security and Nutrition in the Time of COVID-19”.

Lawsuit filed against Kings County over DA Fagundes allegations

Hanford Sentinel

A lawsuit against Kings County was filed earlier this month, based on allegations of sexual harassment that emerged in July regarding District Attorney Keith Fagundes.

Newly unsealed court files in Devin Nunes’ family farm lawsuit target workers’ citizenship

Fresno Bee

Newly unsealed court documents shed light on a central question in two defamation lawsuits Rep. Devin Nunes and his family members filed against a national magazine: Were any workers at the family’s Iowa dairy undocumented immigrants?

South SJ Valley:

COVID Update:

● Religious exemptions complicate vaccine mandates Bakersfield Californian

Major energy storage project proposed near Lebec along California Aqueduct

Bakersfield Californian

California's energy future keeps pointing to Kern. The latest 10-figure energy storage proposal in the county is a damlike "pumped hydro" project connected to the California Aqueduct that would store and release 3,500 gigawatt-hours of power per year on or near Tejon Ranch.

Hazardous air quality leads to uptick in patients with respiratory issues

Bakersfield Californian

The noxious smoke that descended upon the Bakersfield area Friday brought a noticeable increase in the already elevated rate of people showing up at Clinica Sierra Vista locations lately with respiratory problems.

Petition to recall Fairfax school board members fails

Bakersfield Californian

The effort to recall three board members of the Fairfax School District has fallen short of its goal. A recall committee has worked since July to gather signatures to recall trustees Palmer Moland, Alma Rios and Jose Luis Tapia.

Bakersfield College, Salas will announce state money for new Delano building

Bakersfield Californian

Bakersfield College will join Assemblyman Rudy Salas to announce a new building at the school's Delano campus 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Salas supports signing of compact with Tachi-Yokuts

Hanford Sentinel

State Assemblymember Rudy Salas (D-Bakersfield) has voiced his approval of the signing of a new Assembly Bill (AB-957) that will ratify the tribal-state compact between California and the historic Santa Rosa Rancheria Tachi-Yokut tribe in Kings County.

Local Basques’ last immigrant generation is passing on

Bakersfield Californian

Self-identified Basque Americans numbered only about 58,000 in the 2010 U.S. census, including 18,000 in California and just over 1,000 in Bakersfield. In the case of Bakersfield, at least, it seems like more — many more.

State:

COVID Update:

● Rapid COVID-19 tests in short supply in California CalMatters

● Editorial: Cops resisting vaccine mandates should seek another job Mercury News

Newsom signs bill on warehouse worker quotas and break time in Patterson and beyond

Modesto Bee

California farm worker union marching to the French Laundry after Newsom vetoes labor bill

Fresno Bee

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday vetoed a bill that would have allowed farm workers to vote by mail in union elections, a change the United Farm Workers pressed for after the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year dealt a setback to its organizing practices.

● What’s the role of unions in the 21st century? CalMatters

How much offshore wind energy is coming to California? Gov. Newsom signs law to find out

Sacramento Bee

Offshore wind is no longer a distant possibility in California. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law on Thursday mandating that the California Energy Commission create a plan for offshore wind development in federal waters.

New California law seeks to boost state’s oversight of unaccompanied immigrant children

Sacramento Bee

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed a bill strengthening the state’s mandate to look out for the welfare of unaccompanied immigrant children housed in state-licensed facilities across California.

● California to replace the word ‘alien’ from its laws Mercury News

California Enacts New Measures To Handle Housing Shortage

VPR

The housing shortage in the U.S. is at a crisis point. We're talking about a deficit of 5.5 million homes. And when it comes to affordable housing for low-income renters, it's even worse.

California bans state travel to Ohio, citing law that lets doctors deny care over their beliefs

Sacramento Bee

California is banning state-funded travel to Ohio over the state’s new law allowing doctors to decline medical services to people on moral or religious grounds.

New California law tightens gun-buying loophole exposed by Poway synagogue shooting

Los Angeles Times

In 2019, John T. Earnest, a then-19-year-old Rancho Peñasquitos college student, opened fire on a Poway synagogue using a rifle he bought at a Grantville gun shop.

California GOP looks to 2022 contests for House, Legislature

Sacramento Bee

California Republicans are undeterred after a failed effort to unseat Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in a recall election and are taking aim at seats in Congress and the Legislature in the 2022 elections, Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson said Friday.

Opinion: California governor recall election was a bargain

San Francisco Chronicle

At an estimated cost of $276 million—$7 per Californian—our state got a months-long democratic exercise that inspired public investments, improved the governor’s performance, and may even save lives.

Federal:

COVID Update:

● US has enough COVID-19 vaccines for boosters, kids’ shots Sacramento Bee

● COVID deaths severely undercounted among communities of color, new study finds Capital & Main

● Your Questions About COVID-19 Booster Shots, Answered Consumer Reports

● Is The Worst Over? Models Predict A Steady Decline In COVID Cases Through March NPR

● Biden administration defends booster shot decision amid confusion Roll Call

● Opinion: Why Biden’s vaccine mandate fails the constitutional test AEI

● Unvaccinated Americans are at higher risk from COVID-19 but express less concern than vaccinated adults Pew Research

● 10 facts about Americans and coronavirus vaccines Pew Research

● Americans who relied most on Trump for COVID-19 news among least likely to be vaccinated Pew Research

● Polls on COVID-19 vaccination closely align with CDC data Pew Research

Red Covid

New York Times

More recently, the racial gaps — while still existing — have narrowed. The partisan gap, however, continues to be enormous. A Pew Research Center poll last month found that 86% of Democratic voters had received at least one shot, compared with 60% of Republican voters.

Congress Heads Into Tumultuous Week Pressured by Converging Deadlines

Wall Street Journal

A slew of high-stakes deadlines will collide on Capitol Hill this week, setting up potentially chaotic negotiations against the backdrop of expiring government funding and the threat of a possible U.S. default.

See also:

● Opinion: Biden’s Reconciliation Mess Wall Street Journal

● Senate Republicans prepare to block measure to fund government, stave off U.S. default Washington Post

● Congress Faces A Week of Critical Deadlines VPR

● Congress Is Seeking (Its Own) Permission To Borrow Another Trillion Or

Two NPR

● Biden's reengineer-America moment Axios

As Budget Bill Talks Intensify, Here Are the Five Biggest Issues Dividing Democrats

Wall Street Journal

The White House and senior Democrats in the House and Senate are trying to bridge divides on major issues to salvage a massive climate and social policy bill, a key plank of President Biden’s domestic agenda.

● Opinion: Where is the Democratic agenda headed? AEI

● Opinion: House Democrats Miss Some Necessary Tax Increases Wall Street Journal

Opinion: Joe Biden Wants to Undo a Rail Success

Wall Street Journal

With elections fast approaching, Joe Biden and the Democratic Party are repeating their 2020 strategy of running against Donald Trump, realizing his name is a bigger driver of turnout than policy.

Supreme Court observers see trouble ahead as public approval of justices erodes

Washington Post

The Supreme Court’s approval rating is plummeting, its critics are more caustic, and justices are feeling compelled to plead the case to the public that they are judicial philosophers, not politicians in robes.

Opinion: Lessons learned from the 2020 election

AEI

Our new report looks at how well the challenges of 2020 were met, from the first primary election to the last vote counted. It also examines the technologies employed, the costs involved in running elections, and the confidence voters ultimately had in the results.

See also:

· The right’s young-voter problem Washington Post

Other:

News Consumption Across Social Media in 2021

Pew Research

As social media and technology companies face criticism for not doing enough to stem the flow of misleading information on their platforms, a sizable portion of Americans continue to turn to these sites for news.

Everyone wants to be an influencer

Axios

The number of people looking to become online influencers has exploded during the pandemic. Almost anyone can find themselves in a position to become an influencer, and brands are throwing billions of dollars at online content creators.

MADDY INSTITUTE PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAMMING

Sunday, October 3, at 10 a.m on ABC30 – Maddy Report: "Lessons Learned from Previous Droughts" - Guests: Rachel Ehlers - Legislative Analyst's Office; Jeanine Jones - California Dept. of Water Resources. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

Sunday, October 3, at 10 a.m. on Newstalk 580AM/105.9FM (KMJ) – Maddy Report - Valley Views Edition: "In an Era of California Droughts, Will the Valley be High & Dry?"- Guests: Ellen Hanak, Director - PPIC Water Center; Lois Henry, CEO and Editor - SJV Water; Ian LeMay, President - California Fresh Fruit Association. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

Officials working to protect Valley farmers amid poor air quality

abc30

With smoke from the Windy and KNP Complex fires settling into the Central Valley, Fresno County Farm Bureau CEO Ryan Jacobsen is doing all they can to protect Valley farmworkers.

Raw milk recalled from Modesto-area dairy four times. Owner explains his process

Modesto Bee

CRIMINAL JUSTICE/FIRE/PUBLIC SAFETY

Crime:

Crackdown on Fresno's gang violence is showing results, police say

abc30

The first traffic stop of Saturday for the Fresno police department's gang unit ended with the arrest of a gang member. The passenger of the car got out and ran from police.

FBI: Killings soared nearly 30 % in 2020, with more slayings caused by guns

Washington Post

Killings in the United States jumped nearly 30 % last year, according to FBI data released Monday that indicate a growing number of gun-related slayings amid the pandemic.

Opinion: Biden should end America’s longest war: The War on Drugs

Brookings

Despite its dramatic policy failures, the War on Drugs has been wildly successful in one specific area: institutionalizing racism. The drug war was built on a foundation of racism and xenophobia.

Public Safety:

What does Modesto’s new police chief have to say about reform, systemic racism?

Modesto Bee

Petito case renews call to spotlight missing people of color

Sacramento Bee

Begay is one of thousands of Indigenous women who have disappeared throughout the U.S. Some receive no public attention at all, a disparity that extends to many other people of color.

New California law tightens gun-buying loophole exposed by Poway synagogue shooting

Los Angeles Times

In 2019, John T. Earnest, a then-19-year-old Rancho Peñasquitos college student, opened fire on a Poway synagogue using a rifle he bought at a Grantville gun shop.

Robocalls should drop dramatically in coming weeks, officials hope

Mercury News

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission gave phone companies a June 30 deadline to start using technology that helps identify and block such calls. And while the phone companies controlling the market have done so, many smaller companies have not.

Fire:

Wildfire updates: KNP Complex passes 45,000 acres; more extreme fire behavior possible

Fresno Bee

The KNP Complex fire burning in Sequoia National Park was listed at 45,790 acres and 8% containment in a Sunday update, with no new evacuation warnings or orders issued within the past 24 hours.

● Progress made on California fire that displaced thousands Sacramento Bee

● Smoke from Sequoia wildfires will push into these California counties Fresno Bee

· Warszawski: Giant sequoias are burning up in Sierra wildfires. Here’s how to save the rest Fresno Bee

Evacuation orders issued for Sugarloaf area due to Windy Fire

Visalia Times Delta

The Windy Fire forced the evacuation of California Hot Springs and the Pine Flat area Friday morning. The fire is nearing 50,000 acres and continues to grow significantly each night.

PG&E faces criminal charges in Zogg Fire. ‘They haven’t changed,’ Shasta prosecutor says

Sacramento Bee

PG&E Corp. is facing criminal charges again, this time in connection with last year’s fatal Zogg Fire in Shasta County. The Shasta County district attorney, Stephanie Bridgett, said Friday that her office filed 31 felony and misdemeanor charges.

● PG&E Charged in California Wildfire Last Year that Killed 4 The Business Journal

● PG&E charged with manslaughter in 2020 wildfire near Redding that killed 4 Mercury News

● PG&E to Face Manslaughter Charges Over 2020 Wildfire Wall Street Journal

● PG&E Faces Criminal Charges Over Fatal 2020 Wildfire in California New York Times

The Dixie fire threatened to pass 1 million acres, then was stopped in its tracks. Here’s how

Los Angeles Times

When the Dixie fire sparked in Plumas County on a warm afternoon in July, few could have known that it would morph into the monster it soon became.

Gov. Newsom Signs Historic Climate Change Spending Package As Firefighters Battle Growing Wildfires

VPR

The bill allocates $1.5 billion to wildfire and forest management including more personnel, and more satellite and drone technology. Climate change is not debatable, he said.

"It's a war": California turns to new, high-tech helicopters to battle wildfires

CBS News

Bill Whitaker reports on the largest helicopter to ever fight fires at night, now being used in California as the state faces one of its most intense fire years ever.

ECONOMY/JOBS

Economy:

California tops nation in economic division

Mercury News

So, is California a good place to do business? Well, my trusty spreadsheet is certain of one thing. No state draws a wider difference of opinions on the quality of its business climate than California.

Some Profitable Companies Would Still Pay No Taxes Under Democrats’ Plan

Wall Street Journal

The Democratic proposal approved this month by the House Ways and Means Committee would sharply raise taxes on U.S. corporations, and business groups are working hard to defeat it. The legislation would increase the top corporate tax rate to 26.5% from 21% and remove many benefits of booking profits in low-tax foreign countries.

The Supply-Chain Mystery

New Yorker

Why, more than a year and a half into the pandemic, do strange shortages keep popping up in so many corners of American life?

● U.S. and European Economies Slowed by Delta Variant, Supply Chain Bottlenecks Wall Street Journal

Pandemic concerns change economic growth forecast

Axios

Business economists have tempered their 2021 growth expectations, cutting nearly a point off their annual GDP forecast since earlier this year, according to the NABE outlook survey released today.

See also:

● National economic ratings and concerns Pew Research

Jobs:

Kings County: jobs up 1,400

Hanford Sentinel

Newsom signs bill on warehouse worker quotas and break time in Patterson and beyond

Modesto Bee

Contractors of Color have Trouble Landing Public Projects. $2.5M Grant Aims to Change that

The Business Journal

A $2.5 million grant awarded to the Fresno Metro Black Chamber of Commerce will go toward an effort to help woman- and minority-owned contractors compete for public construction contracts.

California’s extra sick leave for COVID-19 is ending, but is it too soon?

Mercury News

California requires employers to provide at least three days of paid sick leave each year to full-time workers. But when the pandemic hit, that wasn’t enough to cover 14-day quarantine requirements. Many workers had to either come in sick or take time off without pay.

EDUCATION

K-12:

The kids went back to school. Then COVID-19 upended life for 3 rural California families

Fresno Bee

García’s family was among the three Raisin City farmworker families who spoke with The Bee about their experiences with a small COVID-19 outbreak at their school in August.

How do Stanislaus students learn when sent home to quarantine? It depends on the district

Modesto Bee

Fresno-area schools will change start times next year. What parents need to know

Fresno Bee

Senate Bill 328, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2019, requires California middle schools beginning in July 2022 to start no earlier than 8 a.m. and high schools to begin no earlier than 8:30 a.m.

Clovis Unified reviewing dress code after parents, students call for change

abc30

TUSD looks at revamping dress code

Turlock Journal

The Turlock Unified School Board was presented plans for an updated school dress code with key changes that would allow students to wear crop tops, pajamas and hats to school.

High school enrollment grows, while elementary districts struggle to recover from prepandemic levels

Bakersfield Californian

As the county's population has grown, overall enrollment in K-12 schools has been steadily increasing in Kern County. When schools opened their campuses to full in-person instruction this fall, it was an open question whether "missing" students would return.

Take the Shot? Schools Explore Vaccine Mandates for Student-Athletes

Pew Trusts

Officials in counties and cities in California are mandating vaccinations—with a few exceptions for weekly testing—for student-athletes. School administrators and sports advocates say mandates stop disruptions to instructional time and keep kids safe.

Petition to recall Fairfax school board members fails

Bakersfield Californian

U.S. schools with mask requirements are seeing fewer outbreaks, the C.D.C. finds.

New York Times

Now, two studies, published on Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, provide additional evidence that masks protect children from the coronavirus, even when community rates are high and the contagious Delta variant is circulating.

● Schools With Face-Mask Requirements Had Fewer Covid-19 Outbreaks, CDC Study Finds Wall Street Journal

● Opinion: President Biden’s executive actions align with parent views on safe school reopening Brookings

● Opinion: Public school staff covered by President Biden’s OSHA vaccine or testing mandate: Explaining the numbers AEI

Higher Ed:

Fresno community college students can delay COVID vaccinations. Here’s what’s new

Fresno Bee

State Center Community College students who do not want to get the COVID-19 vaccine will likely get to finish out the semester after trustees voted Friday to extend the vaccination deadline, and college presidents vowed to give students more independent study options.

Bakersfield College, Salas will announce state money for new Delano building

Bakersfield Californian

Bakersfield College will join Assemblyman Rudy Salas to announce a new building at the school's Delano campus 10 a.m. Tuesday.

As UC makes room for more Californians, can it afford to lose out-of-state students?

CalMatters

Out-of-state UC students are having a bad year. The Legislature made plans to have the UC enroll fewer of them to make way for more in-state students. Meanwhile, tuition is going up $8,000 for future out-of-state students.

ENVIRONMENT/ENERGY

Environment:

Opinion: Bridging the gap between climate justice and housing justice

CalMatters

Stable funding is needed to ensure California’s affordable housing efforts, climate goals and decarbonization policies work hand-in-hand.

Today’s kids will live through three times as many climate disasters as their grandparents, study says

Washington Post

If the planet continues to warm on its current trajectory, the average 6-year-old will live through roughly three times as many climate disasters as their grandparents, the study finds.

Energy:

Major energy storage project proposed near Lebec along California Aqueduct

Bakersfield Californian

How much offshore wind energy is coming to California? Gov. Newsom signs law to find out

Sacramento Bee

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

Health:

Fresno County residents can now get their flu shot at drive-thru clinics

abc30

Health officials are urging the public to get their flu vaccine. The Fresno County Department of Public health is hosting a series of drive-thru vaccination events for the public.

Air purifiers could help protect you from Valley's pollution, local doctor says

abc30

The air in the Central Valley continues to be filled with smoke from several surrounding wildfires. Health experts are advising residents to be careful outdoors and to stay indoors as much as possible.

Coronavirus weekly need-to-know: Pfizer booster shots, J&J 2nd dose, kids’ vaccine & more

Fresno Bee

More than 42.8 million people in the United States have tested positive for the coronavirus as of Saturday, Sept. 25, according to Johns Hopkins University. That includes more than 687,000 people who have died nationwide.

● Covid-19 Booster Shots Are Here, and So Is the Angst Over Who Gets One Wall Street Journal

● Here are the workers now eligible for a COVID-19 booster shot CBS

● For many families, the countdown has begun to coronavirus vaccines for younger children Washington Post

● Boosters for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccine recipients weren’t up for debate during a C.D.C. panel. New York Times

● Opinion: This Is No Way to End a Pandemic New York Times

● What COVID Booster Shots Can and Can’t Do New Yorker

● How Ivermectin Became The New Focus Of The Anti-Vaccine Movement NPR

Are allergies or COVID causing your symptoms? Here’s how to tell the difference

Fresno Bee

Here comes another year of worrying about whether your cough or sneeze is really the coronavirus or seasonal allergies. Unlike COVID-19, a virus does not cause seasonal allergies, but rather a diverse array of plants, grasses or pollen.

Fact check: Inhaling hydrogen peroxide does not treat COVID and it’s dangerous

Fresno Bee

But now, people are throwing the funky smelling antiseptic in a nebulizer — a machine that transforms it into a mist and is used by people with asthma — and inhaling it under the flawed belief that it will prevent or treat COVID-19.

Impact Of COVID-19 On Special Needs Children

VPR

The surge of the Delta variant of COVID-19 has created new risks for children, especially those with special needs. Valley Edition Host Kathleen Schock spoke with Dr. David Sine, medical director for the pediatric palliative care program at Valley Children’s Hospital.

Vaccinated pregnant women pass protective antibodies to babies

Reuters

Pregnant women who get an mRNA vaccine against COVID-19 pass high levels of protective antibodies on to their babies, new research shows. Doctors analyzed umbilical cord blood from 36 newborns whose mothers had received at least one dose of an mRNA vaccine.

Human Services:

State assistance with staffing helping Central California hospitals during COVID surge

abc30

The state recently sent 88 nurses to hospitals across Fresno, Madera and Tulare Counties to help lessen the burden on staff while they deal with surging COVID cases brought on by the Delta variant.

Stranded in the ER: Can California change its treatment of kids in crisis?

CalMatters

A controversial bill before Gov. Gavin Newsom would fund crisis residential treatment facilities for children on Medi-Cal, steering more kids away from hospital emergency rooms.

As Delta Variant Surges, Workers With Health Issues Face Tough Choices

Wall Street Journal

The medically vulnerable and their loved ones weigh whether to return to the workplace and risk Covid-19.

Opinion: Budget reconciliation bill should not ignore community clinics

Roll Call

Nearly 1 in 10 Americans rely on community health centers, also known as community clinics, for their primary care needs. These clinics provide quality, comprehensive care to medically underserved communities impacted by poverty and systemic racism.

IMMIGRATION

New California law seeks to boost state’s oversight of unaccompanied immigrant children

Sacramento Bee

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed a bill strengthening the state’s mandate to look out for the welfare of unaccompanied immigrant children housed in state-licensed facilities across California.

Biden said Border Patrol agents ‘will pay’ for treatment of Haitian migrants. Texas Gov. Abbott offered them jobs.

Washington Post

Denouncing their actions as “outrageous,” President Biden vowed there would be consequences for the Border Patrol agents photographed riding horseback while swinging reins and charging at Haitian migrants trying to enter the country.

LAND USE/HOUSING

Land Use:

Names of Note: Modesto wins statewide award for rehab of parks along river and creek

Modesto Bee

Development continues to thrive in Turlock

Turlock Journal

While the pandemic may have put many things on halt over the past 19 months, one thing that didn’t stop in Turlock is the development and opening of new businesses in town.

Housing:

Eviction moratorium ends this month. Fresno advocates urge congressman to help extend it

Fresno Bee

● California’s eviction moratorium ends this week — but not for Fresno renters. What to know Fresno Bee

● California’s eviction ban is ending. What’s next for landlords, tenants? Mercury News

Fresno Housing Authority names top candidate in its nationwide search for CEO

Fresno Bee

California rental relief fund still has billions to spend

Mercury News

Housing officials say anxiety among struggling tenants is mounting, but offered calm advice Friday — breath easy, there’s still billions of dollars in aid to wipe out pandemic rental debt.

California Enacts New Measures To Handle Housing Shortage

VPR

The housing shortage in the U.S. is at a crisis point. We're talking about a deficit of 5.5 million homes. And when it comes to affordable housing for low-income renters, it's even worse.

Opinion: Bridging the gap between climate justice and housing justice

CalMatters

Stable funding is needed to ensure California’s affordable housing efforts, climate goals and decarbonization policies work hand-in-hand.

PUBLIC FINANCES

Pandemic Aid Helped Lower Poverty in California

Public Policy Institute of California

Despite the severe economic disruptions brought about by the pandemic, government aid led to a decline in poverty last year. Census Bureau numbers released last week show a nationwide drop in poverty from 2019 to 2020 (11.8% to 9.1%).

Debt-Limit Standoff Could Force Fed to Revisit Emergency Playbook

Wall Street Journal

A crisis-management playbook Federal Reserve officials created years ago could guide their response this fall if the federal government can’t pay all its bills because of a political standoff over raising the federal debt limit.

Editorial: The New Government Basic Income

Wall Street Journal

There’s no better example than the “child tax credit” that Democrats are now expanding into a costly guaranteed basic income for families with children.

TRANSPORTATION

Major construction on Highway 99 expected to last for months; authorities say it will be worth it

Bakersfield Californian

Traffic has slowed to a stall on Highway 99 in northwest Bakersfield as both Caltrans and the city attempt to complete major construction projects. The work has frustrated local residents, who are sometimes perplexed about why the construction has not yet finished.

California makes zero-emission autonomous vehicles mandatory by 2030

Tech Crunch

Signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday, SB 500 represents the latest effort by the state to limit the sale of new internal combustion vehicles with an eye towards reducing greenhouse emissions.

California lawmakers delayed approving billions for high-speed rail. Could it derail the project?

San Francisco Chronicle

As Congress debates spending billions of dollars to build high-speed rail lines across America, state legislators are still squabbling about whether to spend money to continue building the Central Valley line of California’s bullet train.

WATER

Clean, Affordable California Water a Challenge for Low-Income Communities

Capital & Main

Amid the vast water wars of the drought-parched Central Valley, the tiny community of Las Deltas in Fresno County is enduring its own largely hidden battle over California’s liquid gold.

● Guess who’ll get hit hardest by California’s severe water shortage? Capital & Main

Event: Groundwater and Urban Growth in the San Joaquin Valley

Public Policy Institute of California

The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act will help the San Joaquin Valley address groundwater overdraft while also building its climate resilience. This will require hard work, not only by farmers but also by the valley’s urban water utilities.

Water Officials Ring Alarm Bells as Californians Come up Short on Conservation Goals

KQED

Californians reduced their water use at home by a meager 1.8% statewide in July compared to last year, even after Gov. Gavin Newsom urged residents to conserve 15% and drought continues to spread across the state.

Colorado River concessions say business up, water level down

Sacramento Bee

The water level now is 1,067 feet above sea level, about 35% of capacity, according to the federal Bureau of Reclamation. A pronounced “bathtub ring” of mineral deposits shows the decrease since the lake level peaked at 1,225 feet (373.4 meters) in 1983.

“Xtra”

WWII veteran’s body was lost on an island. 78 years later, Marine’s remains are finally home

Fresno Bee

This week – 78 years after the 20-year-old Marine was killed – his remains finally returned home to the central San Joaquin Valley, where he grew up before moving to the Central Coast while in high school.

Modesto On Ice, the downtown rink, is returning after COVID timeout last season

Modesto Bee

Modesto On Ice will be back after not opening last season because of the coronavirus pandemic. The downtown attraction, which draws about 30,000 skaters as well as thousands of family members and other spectators, is scheduled to open Nov. 20 and run through Jan. 17.

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

The Kenneth L. Maddy Institute 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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