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Government & Elections - page 16

Local government, public officials, elections, ballot measures and civic decisions.

City Council Meetings Opening to Public Again

in Government & Elections

Members of the Ceres City Council agreed to once again allow the public to physically attend their meetings – a first since governor shut down normal activities in California during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The council decided to open the chambers starting with the meeting set for next Monday, March 22.

For most of 2020 and all of this year, the council had been conducting business via Zoom meetings with councilmembers and staff participating from home or offices. Toward the end of the year members began physically sitting in the Council dais, modified with plastic dividers, with the public barred from attending.

City Manager Tom Westbrook surveyed other cities in the county and learned that six of the nine are holding meetings virtually only. The Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors has been allowing the public to walk into its chambers for meetings but limits that number to 36 and physically distanced. Turlock has reopened public attendance but limited seating to 16 while Oakdale allows up to 15 in its audience. Westbrook said the room which the council meets in is large enough to keep audience members adequately distanced from one another.

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Legislation to Reduce Financial Impact of Climate Change Gains Support

in Government & Elections/Business & Economy

Legislation introduced by U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and U.S. Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) earlier this month that seeks to mitigate risks from climate change within the financial system has gained support from a coalition of financial organizations.

The Addressing Climate Financial Risk Act, S. 588/H.R. 1549, would establish an advisory committee on climate financial risk within the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC). The committee would consist of experts in climate science, climate economics and climate financial risk.

The committee would advise FSOC on how to improve the ability of the U.S. financial regulatory system to identify and mitigate climate risk. In addition, it would require federal bank and credit union regulatory agencies to update their supervisory guidance to include climate risk and develop a strategy to identify and mitigate climate financial risk.

“Our bill draws broad support because it’s becoming increasingly clear that climate change poses a serious threat to our financial system,” Feinstein said. “Reducing our carbon emissions is the best way to reduce that threat, but as 

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Council Votes 3-1 to Keep Retail Recruitment Firm

in Government & Elections

The Ceres City Council voted 3-1 on Monday to keep its existing contract with The Retail Coach, a firm that was hired in 2020 to help the city attract new retail businesses.

The Retail Coach (TRC) has created a “Developer Opportunity Package” for each targeted retailer of specific restaurant/retailers that has been the focus of marketing efforts. The firm has been actively recruiting retailers, as well as commercial developers, on Ceres’ behalf.  Additionally, TRC is assisting marketing efforts to retailers, developers, and brokers at retail industry conference and trade shows as well as provide ongoing coaching and support.

Vice Mayor Couper Condit pulled the item from the consent agenda saying he could not support the $25,000 contract “when we have a part-time economic development director, Steve Hallam, who makes around $50,000.” He also mentioned the city’s partnership with Opportunity Stanislaus, a local non-profit organization and the Ceres Chamber of Commerce. He suggested using the money for a small business loan or grant.

Continue Reading on Ceres Courier

Air Board Tells San Joaquin Valley Growers to Phase Out Ag Burns by 2025

in Government & Elections

California’s air quality board voted today to call for a near-complete ban of agricultural burning by 2025 in the San Joaquin Valley, one of the most polluted regions in the country. 

The move to phase out burning is more than a decade in the making for the eight-county Central Valley, where growers set fire to hundreds of thousands of tons of waste from vineyards and orchards every year. Burning sends up plumes of particles and gases that drift into farm towns largely made up of Latino residents. 

After a four-hour hearing and more than an hour and a half of debate, the air board unanimously approved a resolution directing air board staff to work with the local air district to phase out nearly all burning over the next four years. 

The phase-out will mostly affect owners of vineyards and orchards who will have to grind up vines, trees and other waste and mix it into soil, or haul it to composting and biomass facilities. 

Continue Reading on Visalia Times Delta

Mayor Cantu Frustrated with Homeless Progress

in Government & Elections

Ben Cantu spent nearly three decades as a cog in Manteca’s municipal government.

As a planner, he often dealt with people who believed government moves too slow even if it has no choice due to regulations and laws that govern how cities operate.

Today after two years as Manteca’s mayor Cantu repeatedly has expressed his frustration with what he sees as the city’s lack of nimbleness in executing endeavors. And no subject draws his ire more than Manteca’s efforts to step up how it addresses homeless issues.

Cantu on Tuesday, before the council again made getting a homeless navigation center in place as a high priority for the budget year starting July 1, voiced his frustration at what he sees as a lack of progress.

“Frankly I don’t think we’ve been successful,” Cantu said after City Manager Miranda Lutzow updated the council on the status of current fiscal year goals that included the navigation center.

Continue Reading on Manteca/Ripon Bullentin

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Congress Is at the Front of the Line for COVID Vaccines. Which Californians Are Taking It?

in Government & Elections

Federal lawmakers are part of the first group of people — alongside frontline health care workers — to get access to the COVID-19 vaccine. But they’re not all taking it.

Many have taken their first does, but others are choosing to wait, saying they don’t want to receive it before seniors who are more likely to die from the novel coronavirus.

The main groups who have access to the vaccine are health care workers, seniors in nursing homes and certain public officials, including members of Congress, President-elect Joe Biden, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, Supreme Court justices and executive branch office holders.

Brian Monahan, the attending physician for Congress, recommended to all members that they take the vaccine in order to continue government operations. Monahan also offered to all members of Congress two staff members from their personal offices could receive vaccines. Committee chairs and party leaders can designate four staff members to receive vaccines.

Continue Reading on Sacramento Bee

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New Stop Signs Ordered for Rural Locations

in Government & Elections

Acting on a recommendation by Caltrans, the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors has approved all-way stop controls at four intersections in the Keyes and Turlock areas.

The four intersections are:

• On the Keyes Road freeway overpass at the southbound ramp;

• On the Keyes Road freeway overpass at the northbound ramp;

• South Washington Road at West Harding Road;

• South Walnut Road at West Harding Road. 

Caltrans recently conducted traffic safety investigations on the Keyes Road southbound on ramp and found that it met the warrants for an all-way stop. The study determined that five reported crashes in a 12-month period could have been prevented by an all-way stop.

Currently traffic is unimpeded for those driving on the overpass. That causes a lot of folks to make unsafe darts to turn left onto the freeway onramp.

Continue Reading on Cere Courier

Election 2020: 3 Northern California Races You Might Have Missed

in Government & Elections

CALIFORNIA, USA — Leads are building in contested races throughout San Joaquin County and Stanislaus County as more votes get tallied in the 2020 election.

One notable contest has been the Stockton mayoral race between Kevin Lincoln and Mayor Michael Tubbs. In the most recent update from San Joaquin County, Lincoln grew his lead against Tubbs, but the elections office said there are many ballots left to count.

Other big races included contests for Congressional Districts 9 and 10, the Associated Press called the races for incumbents Congressman Jerry McNerney and Congressman Josh Harder, respectively.

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How to Check If Your Vote Is Counted in California

in Government & Elections

With postal delays expected this election as California conducts more widespread mail-in voting than ever before, many voters are anxious about their ballots being received on time — and counted.

This year, California rolled out a new tool: WheresMyBallot.sos.ca.gov. It lets voters track their mail ballot from the point it’s sent to them until it’s been accepted and counted by their local elections office.

The site will also let you sign up for email, text or phone call updates on your ballot’s status.

If you haven’t yet mailed your ballot, should you take it directly to a polling location? Not necessarily. This year in California, mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day will still be counted as long as they are received by Nov. 20 — or 17 days after Election Day, compared to the usual three.

Continue Reading on Fox 40

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Voter Assistance Centers Open Saturday

in Government & Elections

With the conclusion of balloting for the Nov. 3 presidential election just days away, voter assistance centers throughout Stanislaus County – including Newman – will open their doors Saturday

Election officials encourage voters to mail or deliver their ballots early rather than waiting until the Election Day deadline.

Many already have, according to Donna Linder, Stanislaus County Registrar of Voters.

She said that 87,639 ballots had been received as of Friday – nearly 42,000 more than had been received at the same point in the 2016 presidential election. Stanislaus County had 279,638 registered voters as of Saturday, she told Mattos Newspapers.

Continue Reading on West Side Connect

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