Here's your daily briefing...
Petroleum runs the gamut: Oil deposits buried beneath California are wildly different, with some among the world’s dirtiest oil, and some among its’ cleanest. The difference boils down to chemistry. The report, from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, calls for using the information to help California meet its’ ambitious climate change goals.
Pesticide and schools don’t mix: In what may raise hackles in the agricultural industry, state officials are proposing new restrictions on pesticide use near schools or say care centers. Under the proposal, spraying would be prohibited within a quarter mile of such facilities on weekdays between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Officials are accepting public comments on the proposal through April 4.
Trump: California ‘a disaster’: President Trump used one of his signature lines to describe the state, and local officials are welcoming the designation. It’s no sign of détente between Washington and Sacramento, however. The official move frees up federal money to help repair or replace buildings and infrastructure pummeled by this winter’s ‘Atmospheric-River’ storms.
More headaches in Oroville: Officials supervising work at the Oroville Dam are having to take extra precautions after officials acknowledged that naturally occurring asbestos was detected at the site. Derived from a blue hued rock called serpentine, asbestos is both fire resistant and cancer causing. Crews are using various techniques to limit dust at the site.
Sanctuary battle looms in Sac: Protesters in Sacramento Wednesday were urging State Senate President Pro Tem Kevin De Leon not to back down an inch after the top Democrat introduced legislation protecting undocumented immigrants in California and throwing down the gauntlet with President Donald Trump. De Leon, apparently expecting to have to compromise, declined to give activists any assurances.
Fiat bux: The University of California Regents are weighing limiting the number of out-of-state students who may enroll at state’s system of 10 research universities. Officials are under pressure to reject fewer California students at the tax-payer funded institutions, but UC officials, who charge out of state students hefty surcharges, say those extra funds subsidize the fees paid by some deserving Californians. Officials are considering capping out of state enrollment at 20 percent of students.
Did you catch the California Report?: State officials are weighing the possibility of limiting how much personal data they share with federal authorities after activists in the Latino, Muslim and LGBTQ+ communities expressed fear that data collected through routine procedures, such as driver license applications, could be used against them…Repairing police and community relations in Fresno…Lawmakers and UC Officials battle over out-of-state enrollment…One in eight Californians share their household with an undocumented immigrant…Federal budget cuts put California arts groups on the chopping block…and an Iraqi refugee feels ripple effects of the Trump Travel Ban.