California's 'pancake flat' Central Valley is becoming known as 'Donald Trump's Waterloo' -- an agricultural epicenter that fears every aspect of the Trump campaign and what it could mean for local farmers' ability to carve out a living in the frontier climate.
Matthew Artz with the Mercury News reports: "This pancake flat expanse of citrus groves, almond trees and dairy cows rolling up toward the Sierra Nevada was billed as Donald Trump's Waterloo. And it remains treacherous terrain even though he has already sewn up the Republican nomination."
"Farmers fear he'll start a trade war and deport their workers to Mexico. Churchgoers cringe at his sexual innuendo and question his Christianity. Ted Cruz signs still dot Highway 99 around Visalia."
"For months it appeared that Republicans here in Tulare County and other deeply red parts of the Central Valley were positioned to halt -- or at least stall -- Trump's surreal march toward the White House in California's June 7 primary. Instead, the Manhattan real estate mogul knocked out his rivals last week with a blowout win in Indiana, leaving GOP voters like Bud Case without a candidate and seemingly without a party."
California Senate hopefuls went toe-to-toe Tuesday night in San Diego as the election draws closer, discussing crime statistics and job wages.
Michael R. Blood reports with AP: "Five candidates for California’s open U.S. Senate seat jousted Tuesday over climate change, crime and the minimum wage, while Republicans jabbed at front-running Democrat Kamala Harris, in their final debate before next month’s primary election."
"Republican Duf Sundheim, a lawyer and former state Republican chairman, used his opening statement to accuse Harris of failing to keep crime in check. Harris, the state attorney general, later shot back, saying Sundheim was “playing around” with facts while she defended her record on seizing illegal guns and ammunition."
"The brisk exchange was one of several during the hour-long match-up in which Republicans, lagging in polls and struggling for public attention, sought to highlight what they saw as flaws with Harris, who repeatedly defended her record in Sacramento."
In the spirit of continued governmental transparency, legislators are now looking for a way to eliminate closed-door discussions at some meetings.
Sacramento Bee's Taryn Luna reports: "In a series of private emails in 2014, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. successfully persuaded senior staff members and commissioners of the Public Utilities Commission to replace an administrative law judge assigned to the company’s rate-making case."
“Let’s just say she has a history of being very hard on us,” wrote PG&E’sformer vice president of regulatory affairs, Brian Cherry, shooting down a proposed substitute in an email to the chief of staff for the former PUC president."
"When the commission assigned the company’s judge of choice, Cherry expressed his gratitude: “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”
Pittsburg, or Pleasantville? Apparently the city's crime statistics have dropped so much in the past thirty years that many are questioning whether or not the department is falsifying results to bolster departmental image.
Mercury News' Matthias Gafni writes: "If you believe police department statistics, this blue-collar city has transformed itself from one of the most crime-plagued in the East Bay three decades ago to one of the safest today."
"On its website, the Pittsburg Police Department touts charts showing that the city now records lower per-capita FBI crime rates than upscale Walnut Creek, and two years ago it boasted that reported crime had fallen to levels not seen since Dwight Eisenhower was president. That's a far cry from 1993, when neighboring West Pittsburg decided to change its name to Bay Point to distance itself from its namesake's violent crime stigma."
"But a review of the department's own data by this newspaper, and allegations from a former high-ranking officer, raise serious questions about whether the department and city officials fabricated statistics and misled the public about the reality of crime in the Contra Costa County city of more than 67,000 nestled on the south shore of Suisun Bay."
SEE ALSO: Easy Bay police union denies allegations of cooking crime stats -- Matthias Gafni in Mercury News.
U.C. Berkeley is spearheading a $28 million initiative that aims to reduce the student:teacher ratio in classrooms -- an issue that has afflicted California classrooms for years.
Pamela Larson with Daily Californian writes: "Voters will get a chance during the November election to approve the Berkeley Schools Education Excellence Act of 2016, a tax measure that calls for $28 million in tax revenue to help reduce student-to-teacher ratios at Berkeley public schools."
"The measure, as currently drafted, proposes a 37-cent tax on each square foot of residential, commercial, industrial and institutional space, which would replace the current 29-cent rate for residential spaces and 42-cent rate for commercial, industrial and institutional spaces. The tax can change annually as calculated by the Bay Area Consumer Price Index — a measurement of the average change in prices over time of goods and services purchased by households."
"Though similar to the 2006 measure that it aims to renew, the 2016 measure will support equal student-to-teacher ratios from kindergarten to fifth grade."
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a... metallic balloon? Apparently, these aluminum spheres (aka Mylar balloons) have been causing power outs across the state for years -- and legislators have finally had enough.
Daily Bulletin's Steve Scauzillo reports: "In March, a sudden power outage caused the ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance to kick into emergency mode, causing two spectacular plumes of fire to light up the sky for 13 hours."
"The cause?"
"A metallic party balloon caught in the power lines."
L.A. County Supervisor candidates congregated Tuesday night to discuss child abuse policy and how the hopefuls plan to maintain and improve the nation's largest foster youth system.
Brenda Gazzar in Daily Bulletin writes: "Child abuse prevention and foster care took center stage Tuesday at a forum for candidates vying for outgoing Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich’s seat ahead of the June 7 presidential primary election."
"Five of eight candidates running for the seat were asked a series of questions about improving the lives of children across the county, home to the largest child welfare and juvenile justice system in the nation. Fostering Media Connections, the publisher of The Chronicle of Social Change, hosted the wide-ranging forum at Pasadena City College."
"Kathryn Barger, chief of staff to Antonovich, said she has seen first hand the importance of public-private partnerships in preventing maltreatment of children."
SEE ALSO: Loretta Sanchez dodges question about gun liability vote, cites Brady campaign support -- Jon Greenberg with Politifact; Duf Sundheim falsely claims California's violent crime rate is up 34% -- Chris Nichols with PolitiFact.