House Intel Committee Chair Nunes Keynote at CA GOP Convention, "Missing" From District

California Republicans celebrated Donald Trump’s unexpected victory in the presidential race and the continued GOP control of congress at the party’s state convention in Sacramento over the weekend. US Representative and House Intelligence Committee Chair Devin Nunes of Tulare was the keynote speaker. Congressman Nunes was criticized on Saturday for spending too much time on the speaker circuit rather than meeting with residents in his district. Pacifica’s Saadia Malik was there and files this report:

Bill Would Rein In Hospital Closures

Berkeley state senator Nancy Skinner wants the state to require approval from the State Attorney General before non-profit hospitals close their doors. Currently a non-profit hospital that wants to close need only inform the state Department of Public Health. Skinner’s bill would require a public hearing and approval from the Attorney General before the hospital closes.
Christopher Martinez reports.

Central Valley Residents Give Congressmen an Earful

Residents in several Central Valley communities gathered at the offices of their Republican Congressional Representatives as part of an effort to make them more accountable, and to voice their opposition to attacks on the state and federal health care system. It’s part of a wider series of events across the nation to confront members of Congress about Republican Party policies. The primary concerns are health care and immigration. People are especially worried about the effort to repeal Obama Care and shrink Medi-Cal funding to states. Most Valley congressmen have not scheduled any town hall meetings during the recess period, including Jeff Denham, Devin Nunes and Democrat Jim Costa. Tuesday night in Oakhurst Rep. Tom McClintock was grilled by hundreds at a town hall. People in the south Valley today, went to the Hanford field office of Republican David Valadao. Pacifica’s Vic Bedoian reports from Hanford.

LGBT Activists, Lawmakers Blast Trump on Transgender Protections for Students

Members of California’s Legislative LGBT Caucus joined advocacy groups to denounce the Trump administration’s move to reverse protections for transgender students. The new guidance from the Trump administration to schools overturns Obama-era protections that let students use bathrooms, locker rooms and other facilities that match their gender identities, rather than their birth gender.
Christopher Martinez reports.

Democrats Introduce "Medicare For All" Universal Healthcare Measure

Democratic lawmakers have introduced a “Medicare for All” measure aimed at providing universal health care in California. The measure would replace the patchwork of private health insurance plans with a comprehensive single payor health coverage program that would cover all Californians, including undocumented immigrants and others left out of the current private insurance and Obamacare systems.
Christopher Martinez reports.

Delta Levee Break Repaired as Modesto Braces for Flooding

The rain swollen San Joaquin river watershed has been the focus of much concern, especially since a levee break of about 20 feet long appeared on farm land near Manteca. A major concern is the flow that has increased dramatically down the Tuolumne River since one of the spillways on Don Pedro Dam was opened for the first time in years. Five hundred residents were evacuated. Since then the levee has been fixed. Now Modesto residents are concerned about flooding from the Tuolumne. Pacifica’s Vic Bedoian reports from Fresno.

Immigration Activists Respond to Trump Policy Confusion

Immigrant rights activists in California are ramping up efforts to help immigrants threatened by President Donald Trump’s immigration orders and immigration actions. Immigrant communities have been roiled by Trump’s series of immigration executive orders, as well as a recent wave of immigration raids across the country.
Christopher Martinez reports.

Modesto Voters Challenge Cong. Denham to Improve not Repeal ACA

Nearly 300 people at a forum in Modesto Feb. 15 declared their support for the Affordable Care Act and urged their Congressman Jeff Denham to drop his efforts to repeal the health care law and work instead to improve it. Tom Herriman reports from Modesto. Photo: Reuben Arcenaux says ACA saved his life.

Caretakers of the Bay Delta’s Levees Brace for Coming Storms

The incoming series of storms has Delta farmers, business and residents concerned about high flows of water from the mountain reservoirs created by dams on the states’s rivers. How will that impact the levees that protect the region’s farmlands and cities? They’re especially worried about possibly large releases from the San Joaquin river’s watershed. Pacifica’s Vic Bedoian reports from Fresno.

"Day Without Immigrants" Events Protest Trump Policies

Restaurants closed, students boycotted schools, and activists rallied in a nation-wide series of protests called “A Day Without Immigrants.” The actions were aimed at showing the importance of immigrants to the nation’s economy, as well as protesting President Donald Trump’s recent immigration actions and divisive rhetoric.
Christopher Martinez files this report.

Attorney General Becerra Vows to Defend Immigrants

California’s attorney general Xavier Becerra spoke to reporters in Sacramento Wednesday, saying he’ll be ready to deal with issues “blown our way” by the Trump administration. Chief among those issues is sure to be the administration’s immigration efforts, such as last week’s nation-wide immigration raids, as well as the detention of a so-called “Dreamer” granted protection under the “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” program, or DACA.
Christopher Martinez reports.

State and Federal Agencies Were Warned About Oroville Dam Flaws

Crews are racing against another series of storms set to hit California as 100,000 cubic feet of water courses down the emergency spillway of Oroville Dam. State water officials were warned about flaws in the dam structure twenty years ago by environmental groups but brushed the cautions aside. Ron Stork of Friends of the River and Roger Bales of UC Merced discuss the current and future challenges of the state's water system. Pacifica's Vic Bedoian reports from Fresno.

Immigrants Blast Sheriffs, Trump Immigration Policies

Immigrants and allies rallied in Sacramento to demand that California sheriffs not participate in Trump administration deportation actions. They’re supporting a package of bills aimed at protecting immigrants from immigration policies of the Donald Trump administration.
Christopher Martinez files this report.

Immigration Raids Spark Fear, Outrage

Reaction to last week’s massive immigration raids continues to grow, with criticisms coming from immigrant rights activists, immigration attorneys, and state and local officials. The federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency rounded up about 160 undocumented residents late last week in Los Angeles. Other immigration raids also took place in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, and cities in Florida and North and South Carolina. Activists say the action is creating fear and divisiveness in communities and splitting families.
Christopher Martinez reports.

Appeals Court Deals Trump Defeat on Muslim Travel Ban

A federal appeals court has unanimously upheld a court order blocking President Donald Trump’s ban on travel from seven Muslim majority countries. Advocates for immigrant rights, as well as Trump opponents, are hailing the ruling as a blow to the Trump Administration, and a temporary victory for refugees.
Christopher Martinez reports.

Lawmakers Unveil "California Welcomes Refugees" Legislation

Democratic Assemblymembers are challenging the anti-immigrant and refugee policies of the Trump administration. Lawmakers from the California counties with the largest number of refugees have introduced a package of bills called “California Welcomes Refugees”. The authors of the measures say the package pushes back on what they call religious and racially-charged hate rhetoric from the federal government.
Christopher Martinez reports.

Federal Court Hears Appeal on Trump's Travel Ban Executive Order

The battle over President Donald Trump’s controversial executive order limiting travel from 7 Muslim-majority countries has moved to an appeals court in San Francisco. A three judge panel heard arguments from a lawyer from the Trump administration, and from a lawyer representing Washington and Minnesota, states that oppose the executive order. The arguments turned on whether the court can second-guess Trump’s executive order, and on whether the order is unconstitutionally discriminatory.
Christopher Martinez reports.

Clean Water Crisis in California Called Flint Times 300

Advocates for clean drinking water in California say that three hundred communities throughout the state have unsafe drinking water. At a press briefing in Sacramento today water experts and citizens called attention to the problem. Tomorrow the State Water Board is slated to release a plan dealing with the disaster. The hardest hit region is the Central Valley, where residents in many small towns and villages can’t drink the water from their taps, and must buy bottled water, on top of paying for water service. Pacifica’s Vic Bedoian reports from Fresno.

CA Senate Bill Would End HIV Criminalization Laws

San Francisco state senator Scott Wiener has introduced a bill to modernize state laws that criminalize and stigmatize people living with HIV. California originally passed the laws in the 1980s and 1990s when fear and ignorance about AIDS and HIV infection were at their height. Now Wiener and supporters of his bill say the outdated laws stigmatize people with HIV, and pose obstacles to treatment of the now controllable disease.
Christopher Martinez reports.

Thousands Gather in Los Angeles to Protest Pipelines

Nearly two weeks after President Donald Trump made his executive order to resume construction of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipelines, thousands of protesters gathered in Downtown Los Angeles to demonstrate against the move. Trump said his executive order would create more jobs, but labor unions across the nation say they are opposed to the construction. Pacifica's Saadia Malik reports:

Oakland demolishes homeless village

City of Oakland police and sanitation crews dismantled a homeless encampment at 36th and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in west Oakland Feb 2, evicting as many as fifteen residents and barring dozens more volunteers and supporters from the area. Photo: Village resident Nancy Mitchell packs up her belongings into a shopping cart under watchful eyes of Oakland Police. Report by Tom Herriman.

Valley Residents Protest Devin Nuñes and Trump

Hundreds of Valley residents gathered at the office of Congressman Devin Nuñes in Clovis Wednesday to protest his support of President Trump’s executive order banning Muslims from coming into the United States from seven designated countries. Nuñes is Chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and a member of the Trump transition team. He issued a statement on January 29 stating that refugees from certain war-torn countries pose a national security threat, calling the executive order “a common-sense measure”. Participants of the action called upon Nuñes to rescind his statement. Pacifica’s Vic Bedoian reports from Clovis.

Troubled Toxics Agency Gets Legislative Review

State Senate committees held a joint oversight hearing about the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the state body responsible for protecting public health from releases of hazardous wastes. The committee is looking at back-logs in permitting waste emitting businesses, and budget cuts to the department even as federal environmental enforcement changes could raise the stakes for at-risk communities.
Christopher Martinez reports.