16Nov

POLICY & POLITICS

APPLY TODAY - DEADLINE DEC. 7TH - Qualify For A Scholarship Of Up To $6,000

The Maddy Institute

The Maddy Scholar Intern Program’s goal is to prepare the next generation of political, governmental, business, non-profit leaders for the San Joaquin Valley through internship opportunities in local, state and federal government offices in Washington, D.C., Sacramento and throughout the region.

North SJ Valley:

San Joaquin County making progress on housing homeless veterans

Stockton Record

Like virtually everyplace else in California, the streets and shelters of Stockton and San Joaquin County are populated, in part, by homeless military veterans.

They thought they’d found a home. Turlock’s homeless now on the move again

Modesto Bee

A few dozen homeless people who had found a home under a Turlock overpass in the past month scrambled Thursday for new homes after the county cleared out the encampment.

Due to bad air from fires, all the activity at Stanislaus schools is inside

Modesto Bee

Because of smoke from wildfires, public school districts in Stanislaus County are keeping students inside, on what Modesto City Schools calls a rainy day schedule.

Zacky Farms is just the latest big layoff affecting workers in the San Joaquin Valley

Fresno Bee

Zacky Farms is the latest headline in a string of 2018 plant and store closures that have cost more than 7,600 San Joaquin Valley workers paychecks.

South Valley:

Republicans select minority leader in next Congress

abc30

House Republicans have selected House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy to serve as minority leader in the next Congress.

See Also:

● Trump ally McCarthy to lead House GOP, work to win majority Bakersfield Californian

● A Californian is the top Republican in the House. Can his party recover back home? Sacramento Bee

● California GOP ponders way forward after stunning losses AP

Valadao now leads by just 2 percent over TJ Cox

Bakersfield Californian

Incumbent David Valadao now leads by just 2 percent, or less than 2,000 votes, over his challenger TJ Cox in the 21st Congressional District race, following an update on voting results Thursday. Valadao declared victory on Election night when he led by about 8 percentage points.

With Measure H Approval, A New Era Begins For Tulare Regional Medical Center

VPR

About a month ago, in mid-October, Tulare Regional Medical Center was in the middle of a makeover. In less than a week, it was due to reopen, after closing abruptly a year earlier due to mismanagement. New pavement was still drying and workers in forklifts were painting the whole building a uniform beige.

State:

California has ‘extraordinary’ budget surplus, analysts say

San Francisco Chronicle

Good news for Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom: California’s budget is in “remarkably good shape,” according to a forecast for the coming fiscal year that the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office released Wednesday.

See Also:

● EDITORIAL: Gavin Newsom has billions to spend or save as governor San Francisco Chronicle

● What upbeat California state budget forecast omits: Giant pension debt San Diego Union-Tribune

California Nation podcast: What lies ahead for Gavin Newsom and CA Republicans?

Fresno Bee

The midterms provided a sweeping victory for California Democrats. They secured supermajorities in both chambers of the Legislature, picked up several congressional seats and are in prime position to sweep all of the statewide contests.

See Also:

● Advice for Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom from California leaders and experts Fresno Bee

● EDITORIAL: California is as blue as it’s ever been. Hopefully Democrats prove themselves worthy Los Angeles Times

Gov. Brown Picks Top Aide For California High Court Vacancy

Capital Public Radio

Gov. Jerry Brown nominated Joshua Groban, 45, of Los Angeles, who has overseen Brown's appointment of about 600 judges since 2011. Brown said the appointments have been praised as the most diverse in state history.

See Also:

● Gov. Jerry Brown names legal adviser to CA Supreme Court San Francisco Chronicle

Republicans lose a fifth House seat in California as Rep. Mimi Walters is ousted in Orange County

Los Angeles Times

In another blow to California Republicans reeling from defeats in the Nov. 6 election, Democrat Katie Porter has ousted GOP Rep. Mimi Walters in an upscale Orange County congressional district that was a longtime conservative bastion.

See Also:

● CA Democrats take another House seat from GOP, and it’s not over yet San Francisco Chronicle

● California GOP ponders way forward after stunning losses AP

Federal:

Pelosi taunts critics, says she still has support to be elected speaker

abc30

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi taunted critics Thursday, saying she still has support to be elected speaker.

See Also:

● Nancy Pelosi welcomes challenge: ‘Come on in, the water’s warm’ San Francisco Chronicle

● Pelosi’s Critics Court a Rival for Speaker Wall Street Journal

After midterms success, Democrats develop 2020 strategies

APnews

Energized by their success in last week’s midterms and courting potential primary voters outraged by the actions of the Trump administration, virtually every Democrat considering a White House run is talking about fighting in one form or another — and trying to prove he or she is prepared for the match.

Facebook says it’s better at detecting rule violations

Sacramento Bee

Facebook says it is making progress on deleting hate speech, graphic violence, fake accounts and rooting out other violations of its rules, including detecting them before they are seen by users.

State Bar can keep records on ethnicity confidential, court says

San Francisco Chronicle

The California Supreme Court is allowing the State Bar to keep confidential its records of the race and ethnicity of the many thousands of aspiring lawyers who take the bar exam, records that a law professor wants to use in his opposition to affirmative action.

Orientation in Congress Is Meant for Winners. This Year, It’s Complicated.

Wall Street Journal

Democrat Ben McAdams, who holds a slight lead in his bid to unseat Utah Republican Rep. Mia Love, chose to attend this week’s House freshman orientation despite his rather unusual official name tag: “Candidate.”

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

Zacky Farms is just the latest big layoff affecting workers in the San Joaquin Valley

Fresno Bee

Zacky Farms is the latest headline in a string of 2018 plant and store closures that have cost more than 7,600 San Joaquin Valley workers paychecks.

California recommends restrictions for popular pesticide

Sacramento Bee

California regulators are recommending new restrictions on a widely used pesticide blamed for harming babies brains.

How accurate are Whole Foods’ 2019 food trend2 predictions?

San Francisco Chronicle

Move over, matcha. Take a hike, coconut water. Catch ya later, kale chips. Whole Foods has just released their food trend predictions for 2019.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE / FIRE / PUBLIC SAFETY

Crime:

More than 200 prisoners riot at 2 California prisons. Nearly a dozen injured

Sacramento Bee

A pair of riots broke out at two California prisons within about a half-hour of each other Wednesday, the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a news release.

This bill includes prison for CEOs who fail to take consumer privacy seriously

Los Angeles Times

It’s gotten to the point that there are so many data breaches, people can find it hard to work up a sense of outrage over their privacy being violated again and again and again. The business world is counting on such breach fatigue to keep meaningful privacy safeguards at bay.

Public Safety:

Government officials sounding alarm about counterfeit bike helmets

abc30

There is little debate that bike helmets save lives. While Americans are coming around to the use of helmets, experts are sounding the alarm about a frightening helmet con that could leave you and your family headed for disaster. Counterfeit bike helmets.

Agencies that backed out now want in to the Visalia 911 dispatch center

Visalia Times-Delta

Visalia city officials are in discussions with three other jurisdictions to fill the newly-built state-of-the-art emergency dispatch center. The move comes seven years after the same agencies backed out of helping Visalia build the center.

California has some of the toughest gun laws in the country. They clearly don't go far enough

Los Angeles Times

It may be that California has temporarily exceeded its capacity for processing tragedy, and grief, after two major fires with horrific damage and death and the mass shooting at a Thousand Oaks country dance bar. But we can’t let ourselves become overwhelmed because, unfortunately, we’re likely to endure repetitions of both.

● The Bee asks gun owners this question: How does the issue of gun violence get solved? Fresno Bee

Fire:

Trump to visit California wildfire victims as death toll rises

Fresno Bee

President Donald Trump will visit California on Saturday to visit with individuals affected by California fires. Details on the time and place have yet to be determined, according to a White House press pool report.

See Also:

● Camp Fire missing persons list now tops 630, with 63 dead and more bodies being found Fresno Bee

● As California wildfires rage, State Bar warns of bad lawyers Fresno Bee

● Volunteer Search and Rescue Unit from Kern County sift through wreckage of Camp Fire Bakersfield Californian

● California wildfires have already claimed 66 lives, with another 631 still missing abc30

● Central Valley search and rescue crews help with recovery efforts at Camp Fire abc30

● President Trump will travel to California to visit wildfire sites abc30

● Wildfire evacuation raises questions as death toll hits 63 Stockton Record

● Camp Fire Missing-Persons List Grows To More Than 300 Names VPR

● ‘I’m waiting for my paycheck.’ For Camp Fire survivors, getting mail is crucial, but hard Sacramento Bee

● ‘It got darker and darker and darker.’ Wildfire survivors detail harrowing escapes Sacramento Bee

● President Trump To Visit California Saturday To Meet With Wildfire Victims Capital Public Radio

● After The Fire, The Town Of Paradise Lies In An Ashy Quiet Capital Public Radio

● Camp fire death toll climbs to 63; number of missing hits 631 Los Angeles Times

● Paradise vows to rebuild even as death toll and number of missing rises Los Angeles Times

● After Trump eruption, bipartisanship reigns as Brown and Zinke emphasize cooperation on fire recovery Los Angeles Times

● Misery grows in Camp Fire: 63 dead, 631 missing as fearful relatives submit DNA samples San Francisco Chronicle

● Trump coming to California on Saturday to meet with wildfire victims San Francisco Chronicle

● Americans Are Moving Closer to Nature, and to Fire Danger New York Times

● Congress Relatively Mum on Raging California Camp Fire Roll Call

● Relief may arrive in wildfire-ravaged areas in California later next week with rain chance Accuweather

More than 140 Camp Fire evacuees at shelters have had norovirus, some ‘acutely ill’

Fresno Bee

More than 140 Camp Fire evacuees at four different shelters have had norovirus symptoms due to an outbreak, according to the Public Health Department. Outbreaks are in Chico, Oroville and Butte County Fairgrounds.

See Also:

● Refugee camps for fire survivors? Butte County on ‘edge’ of humanitarian crisis after Camp Fire Sacramento Bee

● Made homeless by flames, Camp fire evacuees face hardship, disease and desperation Los Angeles Times

● Thousands of Camp Fire evacuees in shelters, tents face long wait for normalcy San Francisco Chronicle

Sensitive to smoke? State workers can ask to work from home or take vacation

Fresno Bee

State buildings in Sacramento are open despite the heavy smoke from the Camp Fire and public employees are expected to go to work. They can ask to work from home or take vacation.

PG&E stocks drop, concern grows over the utility company's ability to pay potential claims

abc30

Concern is mounting among investors that PG&E doesn't have resources to pay all the potential claims from victims, if the utility is found responsible for the Camp Fire.

See Also:

● California regulator lays groundwork for PG&E bailout San Francisco Chronicle

● California to Conduct Wide-Ranging Review of PG&E, Including Possible Breakup Wall Street Journal

Local businesses collecting donations to help fire victims

abc30

MeatHead Movers in Northwest Fresno is known for helping people move, but this weekend they're transporting something different, hope. All items inside the boxes in their lobby will help those affected by the Camp Fire in Butte County. Everything was donated by the community.

● How To Help Victims Of The Camp Wildfire Capital Public Radio

How we can slow California’s fires

Sacramento Bee

State and federal agencies, environmentalists, businesses and homeowners must take seats at the same table. We need a clear understanding of risks and tradeoffs and we need strategies to reduce the likelihood of another catastrophe.

See Also:

● Should California Deliberately Set Its Forests On Fire? Some Experts Say Prescribed Burns Could Prevent Disaster.Capital Public Radio

● Facebook and the Fires New York Times

Here's What It Takes To Get A Cal Fire Tanker In The Air

Capital Public Radio

For all of the work they do on the ground, firefighters often can use a little help from water and retardant drops from the sky. Though pilots get much of the credit, there are many other people who work to get firefighting planes in the air.

Fire tears through Fresno apartments, displacing 30 to 50 residents

Fresno Bee

A Fresno apartment complex suffered extensive damage in a fire Thursday. The three-alarm fire started at about 2:25 p.m. at the Sunset Sands complex at 4585 N. McKinley Ave. near Maple Avenue.

ECONOMY / JOBS

Economy:

Stocks climb, breaking five-day losing streak

Los Angeles Times

A rebound by technology companies and banks helped reverse an early slide for U.S. stocks Thursday, breaking the market’s five-day losing streak.

U.S. Budget Deficit Jumps to $100 Billion at Start of Fiscal Year

Bloomberg

The U.S. recorded a $100.5 billion budget deficit in October, an increase of about 60 percent from a year earlier, as spending grew twice as fast as revenue.

Jobs:

EDITORIAL: Amazon played American cities for suckers

Los Angeles Times

Over the 14-month “Bachelor"-like competition for Amazon’s second headquarters, more than 200 cities across the country went to embarrassing and expensive lengths to woo the online retailer. City leaders raced to hire consultants, compile data and draft elaborate proposals, offering ever more generous financial incentive packages, all in hopes of landing the promised $5-billion corporate office with 50,000 high-paying jobs.

EDUCATION

K-12:

She said she was buying books for kids. She bought gift cards that are missing, audit says

Fresno Bee

An audit concludes that Michelle Cutillo, chief business officer of Reef-Sunset Unified School District in Avenal, CA, submitted falsified receipts for books when she was really buying gift cards.

Due to bad air from fires, all the activity at Stanislaus schools is inside

Modesto Bee

Because of smoke from wildfires, public school districts in Stanislaus County are keeping students inside, on what Modesto City Schools calls a rainy day schedule.

School closures from California wildfires this week have kept more than a million kids home

CALmatters

Amid towering flames and clouds of toxic air pollution, more than 1 million public school students have been sent home this week throughout California, as districts from San Diego to San Francisco grapple with the impact of wildfires.

Higher Ed:

Here’s how Sac State students and faculty feel about the state of higher education in 2018

Fresno Bee

We asked students and professors at Sacramento State University about their opinions on higher education in California in October 2018. They gave us opinions on overcrowding, financial aid, debt and finishing in on time – among other topics.

Classes canceled, students wear masks at UC Merced as air quality worsens

abc30

Authorities at UC Merced canceled classes early Thursday to protect students as smoke from the devastating Camp Fire continued to make the air dangerous to breathe.

UC regents approve budget to enroll 2,500 more California students without a tuition hike

Los Angeles Times

University of California regents on Thursday approved a $9.3-billion budget that will add 2,500 more California undergraduates and increase support for struggling students without raising tuition in the next academic year.

Gender Differences in Higher Education Start Early

PPIC

Female students in California tend to have stronger high school records and greater rates of college attendance and completion than male students do. At the same time, there are large gender differences in many college majors, with some majors (e.g., computer science) predominantly male and others (e.g., liberal arts) predominantly female.

ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY

Smoke from several wildfires affecting air quality in the Valley

abc30

Several fires burning across the state of California are taking a toll on the air quality in the Central Valley.

See Also:

● Are those smoke masks safe? Handouts end in Sacramento area as city and county argue Sacramento Bee

● Confused About Whether Or Not To Wear A Breathing Mask? You're Not Alone Capital Public Radio

● To protect your lungs from wildfire smoke, the mask you wear matters Los Angeles Times

● Nightmarish air quality in Sacramento as smoke from Camp fire brings misery Los Angeles Times

Oceans are warming. Thankfully, not as fast as we thought two weeks ago

Los Angeles Times

Well, that was unfortunate. A study released a couple of weeks ago reporting that oceans were warming faster than previously anticipated turns out to have been off by a bit. By a large bit, in fact.

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

Health:

‘This or suicide.’ Lacking options in the Valley, trans people travel hours for surgery

Fresno Bee

The Valley has been dealing with a physician shortage for years, but advocates say finding care for the transgender community is even more difficult.

Covered California bus tour comes to Bakersfield to promote open enrollment

Bakersfield Californian

“We’ve reduced the rate of the uninsured to historically low levels, but we want to leave nobody behind,” said Covered California Executive Director Peter V. Lee. “One reason some people don’t sign up for insurance is ‘Oh, I’m healthy. I don’t need insurance.’

Did Tulare hospital board sell 'dignity for cash' in HCCA settlement?

Visalia Times Delta

While there's plenty of hard feelings, Tulare Regional Medical Center's board has settled a lawsuit with the company that managed the hospital up until its closure last fall.

Valley Fever Institute receives $100,000 donation from Kern Health Systems

Bakersfield Californian

Kern Health Systems donated $100,000 to the Valley Fever Institute at Kern Medical on Wednesday. The donation was given during a board of governors meeting. Funding will help the Valley Fever Institute increase education and awareness.

Covered California bus tour comes to Bakersfield to promote open enrollment

Bakersfield Californian

Life can change in an instant. That’s the message Covered California officials tried to convey during a pit stop in Bakersfield on Thursday as part of a statewide bus tour to encourage people to sign up for health coverage during open enrollment.

With Measure H Approval, A New Era Begins For Tulare Regional Medical Center

VPR

Human Services:

Adventist Health expands services during flu season

abc30

With flu season upon us, Adventist Health is getting the word out about its expanding services and new providers in Dinuba and the surrounding areas.

Did Tulare hospital board sell 'dignity for cash' in HCCA settlement?

Visalia Times-Delta

While there's plenty of hard feelings, Tulare Regional Medical Center's board has settled a lawsuit with the company that managed the hospital up until its closure last fall.

IMMIGRATION

More caravan migrants arrive in Tijuana, brace for long stay

Sacramento Bee

More buses of exhausted Central Americans in a caravan of asylum seekers have reached the Mexican border city of Tijuana, where they're coming to grips with the likelihood they may be on this side of the frontier for an extended stay.

See Also:

● After a month on the road, hundreds of caravan travelers find they're unwelcome in Tijuana Los Angeles Times

● A fourth wave of Central Americans arrive, and Tijuana steps up San Diego Union-Tribune

Justice Department says president can deny asylum to those who entered U.S. at wrong places

San Francisco Chronicle

Federal law allows undocumented immigrants in the United States to apply for political asylum no matter where they entered the country. But government lawyers told a federal judge in San Francisco on Thursday that President Trump has the power to deny asylum to the thousands who crossed the southern border at the wrong places.

LAND USE/HOUSING

These are some of the issues behind California’s housing crisis

Fresno Bee

California's housing crisis is due in large part to a lack of supply, particularly when it comes to affordable housing, and it is hitting low-income individuals the hardest.

San Joaquin County making progress on housing homeless veterans

Stockton Record

Like virtually everyplace else in California, the streets and shelters of Stockton and San Joaquin County are populated, in part, by homeless military veterans.

They thought they’d found a home. Turlock’s homeless now on the move again

Modesto Bee

A few dozen homeless people who had found a home under a Turlock overpass in the past month scrambled Thursday for new homes after the county cleared out the encampment.

Rent control advocates not giving up after Prop. 10’s loss

San Francisco Chronicle

Despite the landslide defeat of a rent-control measure on the statewide ballot, the fight between tenants and housing interest groups is far from over.

What the election means for California’s housing crisis

CALmatters

On this episode of the Gimme Shelter: The California Housing Crisis podcast, Matt and Liam break down all of the important housing-related results from last week’s election.

PUBLIC FINANCES

California has ‘extraordinary’ budget surplus, analysts say

San Francisco Chronicle

See Also:

● EDITORIAL: Gavin Newsom has billions to spend or save as governor San Francisco Chronicle

● What upbeat California state budget forecast omits: Giant pension debt San Diego Union-Tribune

CalPERS slashed their pensions. Now they’re trying to get their money back

Sacramento Bee

The first California retirees to lose a cut of their pensions because of financial mismanagement by a local government are suing CalPERS in a bid to force the $350 billion fund to restore their income.

See Also:

● Developer files plans to fill CalPERS ‘hole in the ground.’ What’s next? Sacramento Bee

● 2 million people hope Congress can compromise on pensions Brookings

Election boosts advocates of higher taxes

CALmatters

This month’s election was good news for those who believe Californians’ taxes, while already among the nation’s highest, should be increased.

Trump Tax Cut to Be Eroded Next Year by Inflation Switch

Wall Street Journal

The Internal Revenue Service on Thursday announced the tax code’s parameters for 2019, implementing a new method for making inflation adjustments that will result in higher tax payments—and government revenue—over time.

TRANSPORTATION

Flawed bullet train planning adds billions to cost, years to schedule, says audit

Fresno Bee

California’s embattled high-speed rail project has been beset by “flawed decision making and poor contract management” that have led to billions of dollars in cost overruns and significant delays in construction in the San Joaquin Valley, according a report issued Thursday by state Auditor Elaine Howle.

See Also:

● Everything you need to know about California’s high speed rail project Fresno Bee

● High speed rail project riddled with poor decision-making, says scathing state audit report abc30

● Audit cites flaws in costly California bullet train project Bakersfield Californian

● State audit blames bullet train mismanagement for delays and price hikes Los Angeles Times

Electronic driving systems don’t always work, tests show

Stockton Record

The tests brought a warning from the auto club that drivers shouldn’t think that the systems make their vehicles self-driving, and that they should always be ready to take control.

Arvin receives $2.3 million grant for three electric buses

Bakersfield Californian

The city of Arvin will purchase three electric buses, along with electric charging station infrastructure, using a $2.3 million grant from the Federal Transit Authority, the city announced Wednesday afternoon.

Los Angeles Times

The closure of Pacific Coast Highway and other roads in the Woolsey fire burn area has significantly worsened traffic conditions across the region.

E-scooters are like Q-Tips

Washington Post

In both cases, the products are marketed with explicit warnings about how not to use them, even though everyone knows that’s precisely the way pretty much every customer will use them.

EDITORIAL: All of California needs vehicle charging stations

San Francisco Chronicle

The greatest worry about buying an electric car is: Where to charge up? For some, it’s at a charging unit in the garage and at charging stations found on an expanding map. But what if you don’t have a garage?

WATER

Californians Have Passed Nine Water Bonds In A Row, So Why Not Proposition 3?

VPR

This year’s ballot included a lot of bonds, but one of the most expensive ones had to do with water. Proposition 3 would have authorized nearly $9 billion for water projects.

Assuring Water for California’s Future

Public CEO

In past decades, most people were unaware of the State’s contentious water issues. Today, due to the drought, Californians are very mindful of the need to conserve water and it is influencing the way many of us go about our daily lives.

As He Steps Aside, Tim Quinn Talks About ‘adversarialists,’ Collaboration And Hope For Solving The State’s Tough Water Issues

Water Education Foundation

In the universe of California water, Tim Quinn is a professor emeritus. Quinn has seen — and been a key player in — a lot of major California water issues since he began his water career 40 years ago.

“Xtra”

Visalia’s favorite music venue closed in August. New owners are bringing it back soon

Fresno Bee

If all goes as planned, the new Cellar Door will be opened by Wednesday, just in time for Thanksgiving weekend (aka the busiest bar night of the year).

See Also:

● Visalia's Cellar Door 2.0: Pop-up kitchen, craft cocktails and (of course) lots of music Visalia Times-Delta

Kick off the holiday season with the magic of the Nutcracker

abc30

Fresno residents now have one more thing to look forward to during the holiday season -- live performances of the magical "Nutcracker."

Salvation Army’s Red Kettle season in Modesto gets a nearly $225,000 kickoff

Modesto Bee

The Salvation Army Modesto Citadel Corps raised $224,708 Thursday during its 26th annual Kettle Kickoff in downtown.