In This Issue 

• Maddy Events
• Political Briefs
• News Briefs
• Editorial Roundup
• Upcoming Events

Maddy Events 

2010 Maddy Tribune – Join us in honoring three distinguished Maddy Institute board members as they leave the California Legislature – Sen. Dave Cogdill and Assemblymembers Juan Arambula and Mike Villines – at the Fresno Convention Center on Thursday, Sept. 9, at 7 p.m.  Early birds save money -- purchase your tickets by August 1 for a discount.  A portion of your ticket price is tax-deductible.  All net proceeds will go to support the on-going programs of the Maddy Institute, including the Legislative Intern Scholar Program.  More information:  www.maddyinstitute.org or call (559) 278-1133.

Maddy Forum: “Housing and the Homeless: Creative Local Strategies for Addressing Chronic Homelessness” -- Host Chris Fiorentino talks with Gregory Barfield, the City of Fresno’s Homeless Policy and Prevention Manager, and Professor Lloyd Crask, professor of construction management at CSU Fresno, to discuss the creative strategies that are being applied locally to address chronic homelessness in our region.  The show airs of 90.7 KFSR Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 11 a.m. and also is available on the 90.7 KFSR website and on iTunes. 

Maddy Political Insider – The Maddy Political Insider can be heard on the Alan Autry Show on KYNO Radio 940 Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. If you missed the program, you can hear it again by logging on to the "Audio" link for the Alan Autry Show at: http://www.940kyno.com.

Maddy Institute on Facebook and Twitter – To learn about Maddy Institute activities (e.g. The Maddy Report tv show, The Maddy Forum FM radio/podcast, The Maddy Political Insider AM radio show, The Maddy Associates’ Luncheons, the Maddy Legislative Intern Program), become a fan of the Maddy Institute on Facebook or log on to http://twitter.com/MaddyInstitute. And if you have a Facebook or Twitter account, please add us and follow us!

POLITICAL BRIEFS 

Are we in for another legislative water war? – Rewriting a bond that barely passed the Legislature in the first place would likely be a timely endeavor and one full of the regional battles that usually accompany water policy. The deadline to pull the bond from this year's ballot is likely Aug. 9, when the voter guide is set to go to the printer.   Fresno Bee political notebook; Fresno Bee editorial

SD 16: Anatomy of a boundary mishap – In a high-pressure situation, operating with partial information and their best judgment in late 2001, Kern County elections workers came very close to avoiding the mistake that has thrown a cloud of questions over Supervisor Michael Rubio's eligibility to run for state Senate. But they missed the mark on the crucial last step, officials said Thursday.  Bakersfield Californian article 

California budget tardy again, and here’s why – California enters the 2010-11 fiscal year today without a state budget in place, the 19th time in the last 25 years that has occurred. Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, and Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez, D-Los Angeles, said Wednesday they have reconciled their different plans into one Democratic framework. California faces an estimated $19.1 billion deficit.  Sacramento Bee article; Fresno Bee editorial; LA Times article; San Francisco Chronicle article; Capitol Weekly article

Will minimum wage hit state workers this month? Unlikely – The threat of minimum wage for state workers starting today, the beginning of the 2010-11 fiscal year, has been the Schwarzenegger administration's big stick in recent labor talks.  Sacramento Bee article

Thousands in welfare cash tapped at California strip clubs – California welfare recipients have been able to get taxpayer cash -- meant to feed and clothe needy families -- from ATM machines at strip clubs across the state, including some well-known gentlemen’s cabarets in Los Angeles.  LA Times article 

Whitman campaign sends anti-union mailer to nurses – Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman is sending a second batch of mailers to thousands of the state's licensed nurses slamming the California Nurses Association, a union representing 86,000 nurses, for wastefully spending its members' dues. Capitol Alert

Jerry Brown says he’d put any tax increase on ballot – Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown said Wednesday that he would "go to the people step by step" to solve California's chronic budget woes, and ultimately put the proposed solutions on the ballot for them to decide.  Sacramento Bee article

Brown hits back at Whitman attack ad – Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jerry Brown pushed back at rival Meg Whitman’s 1960s-themed attack ad, saying decades of experience ought to be valued.  LA Times article 

Group backing Jerry Brown launches second radio ad -- An independent expenditure committee backed by SEIU and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers is running a second radio ad supporting Democrat Jerry Brown's gubernatorial bid.  Capitol Alert 

Larson below 50 percent in Fresno supervisor’s race -- With just 250 provisional ballots left to count in Fresno County, the end is near for the June 8 primary election -- and it appears that Fresno County Supervisor Phil Larson must gear up for the Nov. 2 general election.  Fresno Bee article 

Could be marijuana that determines November election – The wild card in November’s election is marijuana. How much more money Meg Whitman spends on her gubernatorial campaign is significant but the kind of voters drawn to the polls by Proposition 19, which legalizes marijuana and allows localities to tax and regulate it, may be the determining factor.  California’s Capitol blog 

Tulare mayor eyes November ballot issues – Tulare Mayor Craig Vejvoda is not running for office this year, but he's thinking about the November election.  Visalia Times-Delta article 

FPPC considering tougher regulation of independent campaign spending – The state political watchdog agency is considering stiffer regulation of independent expenditure committees.  Sacramento Bee article

Online poker fight pits tribes against tribes – Working with some southern California card clubs, the Morongo Band tried to float an online poker proposal a year ago. That effort went nowhere, partially because several of the existing California casino tribes thought the way the proposed bill was drafted could invalidate their gaming compacts with the state.  Capitol Weekly article 

Bakersfield Californian: PPO coverage for inmates? Please say this is a joke -- The problems with California's prisons go well beyond inmate health care, of course. Overcrowding is epidemic -- which in turn contributes to health care issues -- and costs are out of control. But it's grating, both on our pocketbooks and on our sense of justice, that inmates may be getting better care than many in this state of haves and have-nots. Bakersfield Californian editorial 

Teens turn grief into action toward California motorcycle law -- Spurred by a fatal motorcycle crash, two young Sacramentans with painful memories are on the verge of changing California law.  Sacramento Bee article

NEWS BRIEFS

Top Stories 

Study sees health risks for black, Latino boys -- Black and Hispanic boys in California are twice as likely to have poor health as Caucasian boys, and chronic poverty and exposure to violence in the neighborhoods where they live affects their health, researchers said this week.  Fresno Bee article; HealthyCal.org article 

West-side growers take on debt to stay afloat -- Growers say that while a shortage of water had an effect, hard work and a little luck helped them avoid a worse outcome. And many had to sacrifice profits to keep revenues from dropping further.  Fresno Bee article 

Wet end to dry spell in Valley -- Rain and downed trees in October. Snow in December. Two record-setting rainy days in January. The wettest April and May in 10 years. The wild and wacky 2009-2010 rainfall season, which began last July 1 and ended Wednesday, is just what the water doctors ordered.  Modesto Bee article

Economy

Bakersfield budget a smooth deal, mostly – The Bakersfield City Council passed its annual budget Wednesday night with little drama -- even managing to squeeze out an extra hour of daily operation for the city's popular spray parks.  Bakersfield Californian article 

Judge upholds Truck 4 closure in Stockton – The widening labor rift between the city and its firefighters spread from City Hall to a Stockton courtroom Wednesday, where a judge denied the fire union's attempt to block the closure of a central Stockton truck company.  Stockton Record article 

Tulare budget OK’d with some juggling – Tulare officials have approved a budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year, and spending will continue to be tight.  Visalia Times-Delta article 

4 Oakdale officers lose jobs – The city is laying off four of its 25 police officers to help close a deficit for the budget year that begins today.  Modesto Bee article

State job vacancies plunge sharply in June -- Job vacancies advertised online in California plunged sharply this month, according new statistics released today by the Conference Board.  Sacramento Bee article 

CalPERS cost increase for 2011 – The California Public Employees Retirement System will be raising its health-care contribution rates by a total of 9.1 percent for its 1.3 million program members. These increases will be enacted by 2011.  Capitol Weekly article 

Pension ‘crisis’: Did Prop 21 pave the way? – A little-known ballot measure a quarter century ago, Proposition 21 in 1984, opened the door for much of the current controversy over California’s public employee pensions.  Calpensions.com article 

Kern programs support disabled entrepreneurs -- Nothing gets in the way of a born entrepreneur like Jessica Dijkstra. Certainly her developmental disability did not -- and neither did a shortage of startup money or lack of business know-how. All she needed was help. And she got it. Bakersfield Californian article 

Jeff Jardine: License plates as mini-mobile ads -- An interesting concept, indeed. A bill working its way through the state Legislature would let the Department of Motor Vehicles begin the process of developing digital electronic license plates that would display messages or advertisements when the vehicle is stopped.  Jardine column in Modesto Bee

LA Council turns back last-minute plan to delay layoffs -- One day before an estimated 232 employees at Los Angeles City Hall were slated to be laid off, the City Council on Wednesday turned back a last-minute proposal to delay the cuts for three months.  LA Times article

Education 

Sylvan Unified manages to not ‘fall off the cliff’ -- Sylvan Union School District passed its 2010-11 budget with little discussion, but a few ominous words from the man who shepherded it through.  Modesto Bee article 

Charter advocates defeat restrictions – Charter schools’ lobby and friends have beaten back the latest effort to tighten financial and academic oversight of charter schools.  Educatedguess.org article 

Steinberg’s teachers bill survives first test – Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg's bill to overhaul teacher layoffs and reassignments survived its first legislative test Wednesday despite the opposition of teacher unions.  Sacramento Bee article

Stockton Record: Serial deception -- The county grand jury suggests three members of the San Joaquin Delta College board be censured for engaging in violations of the state's open meetings law. Violations of the law, the Ralph Brown Act, are regularly alleged, always denied and almost never prosecuted. Stockton Record article 

Environment/Energy 

Kettleman landfill operator feeling the heat -- It isn't the easiest of times for Bob Henry. The director of operations at the huge Chemical Waste Management Inc. landfill southwest of Kettleman City is trying to manage a controversy that has put in limbo the company's plans to build a new hazardous waste landfill and is threatening to spiral out of control.  Hanford Sentinel article 

Bill seeks to curb drug production in forests -- Amid fears that public lands have become riddled by illicit drug plots, Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Visalia, wrote a bill to impose 10-year prison sentences for drug production in national parks, national forests and other federal properties.  Fresno Bee article 

Home loan snafu halts green loans in California – Millions of dollars in green financing for California homeowners is being held up by a dispute between local government agencies and federal housing officials.  Sacramento Bee article 

State commission rescinds approval of plastic pipe – For at least three decades, labor and business interests have been engaged in a seesaw battle over the use of plastic pipe in residential construction.  Capitol Weekly article 

Meds wind up in tap water despite drug disposal regulations -- The federal government has a patchwork of laws attempting to deal with the problem of pharmaceutical drugs showing up in city tap water across the nation.  California Watch article

Health/Human Services

Nurses to picket over layoffs at San Joaquin General – Registered nurses from San Joaquin County's Health Care Services agency will stage a two-hour informational picket starting at 11:30 a.m. today in front of San Joaquin General Hospital to protest the layoff of 14 nurses effective Friday.  Stockton Record article 

Anthem Blue Cross again seeks rate hikes for Californians -- Embattled health insurer Anthem Blue Cross is reviving its plan to raise rates for tens of thousands of California policyholders, some of whom could see their premiums rise as much as 20%.  LA Times article 

‘High risk’ medical insurance program set to begin – The Obama administration and some state governments will begin accepting applications Thursday for new insurance programs designed to cover people who have been denied insurance because they have preexisting medical conditions.  LA Times article 

Single payer plan advances in Assembly -- The California Legislature is moving on two fronts when it comes to health care reform. On a bipartisan basis, lawmakers have passed two bills to create a high-risk pool that will expand access to health insurance for people who have been denied coverage due to pre-existing conditions. At the same time, though, the Democrats who control the Legislature are pushing forward with doomed legislation that would create a Canadian-style single payer health plan.  HealthyCal.org article  

Land Use/Housing

48-home project goes back to Tulare planning panel -- Tulare County supervisors have postponed voting on a request to overturn the county Planning Commission’s denial of a 48-home housing development about a mile north of Woodlake.  Visalia Times-Delta article

Transportation

Stimulus funding at work in Highway 99 overpass project -- The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act may sound like one of those Big Government deals that seldom reach Merced, but its impact can be seen right on Highway 99 near the V Street exit. Merced Sun-Star article

Other Areas

Two years later, cell phone law not connecting with drivers – They're often wearing seat belts, obeying traffic signals and adhering to speed limits, but they're all breaking the law. They are drivers with cell phones glued to their ears, still ignoring the California law banning handheld cell phone use at the wheel two years after it took effect.  Bakersfield Californian article; San Jose Mercury News article 

Fresno police adopt new gang policy -- Fighting gang activity and violent crimes in Fresno is now a stepped-up, year-round effort for the Fresno Police Department, Chief Jerry Dyer said Wednesday.  Fresno Bee article 

Visalia-Tulare-Porterville gets low quality-of-life ranking – The Visalia-Tulare-Porterville area has the poorest quality of life of 109 mid-sized U.S. metropolitan areas when considering local economy, education and other factors, a business journal reported Wednesday.  Visalia Times-Delta article 

More California teens stay in the passenger’s seat -- Statistics show that a decline in teen drivers that began more than a decade ago is no passing fad. The percentage of California residents getting licenses at age 16 and 17 has dropped from 31% in 1996 to 19% last year.  Fresno Bee article 

Bill McEwen: Navigate Valley life with essential rules -- Businesses are closing and heading to Texas. The invasion of retirees has slowed to a crawl. But somehow we keep growing and welcoming newcomers. To help sort things out, here is this year's installment of the Completely Unofficial But Absolutely Essential Rules to Valley Living.  McEwen column in Fresno Bee 

Judge delays Brown Act lawsuit against Tulare supervisors – A Tulare County Superior Court judge ruled Wednesday that a lawsuit seeking to stop the county Board of Supervisors from gathering over lunches lacks sufficient facts to go to trial.  Visalia Times-Delta article 

Law requiring new drain covers on public pools goes into effect -- A state law designed to help prevent death and injury in public swimming pools through the installation of safety devices on drains takes effect Thursday. Bakersfield Californian article

EDITORIAL ROUNDUP

Bakersfield Californian – PPO coverage for inmates? Please say this is a joke. 

Fresno Bee – Lawmakers shirk duty when it comes to adopting budget; No real option but to delay state water bond.

Merced Sun-Star – State legislators spend time fundraising until they can get out of town for month-long vacation.

Modesto Bee – State legislators are worrying about the wrong budgets.

Sacramento Bee – California's new fiscal year begins today. And how are some of our fine state lawmakers ringing in the new year? They're bellying up to the buffet tables, schmoozing with lobbyists and building up war chests for their never-ending campaigns.

Stockton Record – The county grand jury suggests three members of the San Joaquin Delta College board be censured for engaging in violations of the state's open meetings law.

Visalia Times-Delta –Now that the Visalia Planning Commission has approved the events known as "Bike Night" at Howie and Sons Pizza, maybe it's time for the city of Visalia to codify the rules regarding entertainment at local restaurants, clubs and bars..

UPCOMING EVENTS

• The California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley’s Board of Directors will hold its quarterly meeting at the International Agri-Center in Tulare on Friday, Aug. 20, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.  More information: Jen Paul at jenpaul@csufresno.edu.

• The 2010 Maddy Tribute to honor three distinguished Maddy Institute board members as they leave the state Legislature – Sen. Dave Cogdill and Assemblymembers Juan Arambula and Mike Villines – will be held at the Fresno Convention Center on Thursday, Sept. 9, at 7 p.m.  Early birds save money -- purchase tickets by August 1 for a discount.  More information:  www.maddyinstitute.org or call (559) 278-1133.

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.

This document is to be used for informational purposes only. Unless specifically noted, the Maddy Institute at California State University, Fresno does not officially endorse or support views that may be expressed in the document. If you want to print a story, please do so now before the link expires.