California
Meet California’s political ‘hot potato’ districts
Chris Mariscotti is a fourth-generation restaurant proprietor; his household has been within the enterprise for almost 100 years. The Mariscotti household opened its Madera, California location of The Winery nearly 45 years in the past.
Madera is an agricultural group – however not in the way in which you may suppose.
“It isn’t romantic agriculture. This isn’t Napa Valley,” mentioned Mariscotti. “The Central Valley is sort of a poor stepchild to the remainder of the state of California.”
With a view to get an up to date depend on the nation’s inhabitants, the U.S. Structure requires a federal census each 10 years. California makes use of that census information to redraw the Congressional, State Senate, State Meeting and State Board of Equalization districts primarily based on inhabitants modifications. Following the 2020 census, California misplaced a congressional district due to its slowing inhabitants development. Because of this, the Democratic Home misplaced a seat and sure cities, like Madera, had been redistricted.
Democrats will lose their slender maintain on the Home majority if the GOP picks up 5 seats within the Nov. 8 midterm elections. Because of the time distinction, all eyes can be on California, as these votes are tallied final.
Three of these seats could possibly be crammed by three of California’s “toss up” contests: races between a Democratic and Republican candidate in new districts the place it’s anybody’s sport. This yr, these are California districts 13, 22 and 27, situated within the northern central valley, southern central valley and the San Gabriel Mountain foothills. In contrast to some states, California’s congressional districts are drawn by a third-party panel, versus state lawmakers. This implies California gained a few of the highest variety of aggressive races within the nation.
Madera is in a kind of districts. Democrat Jim Costa ends his almost decade-long run as congressman for Madera and its surrounding space. This yr, Democrat Adam Grey and Republican John Duarte are each operating for the place.
Mariscotti, an Unbiased, fears that the redistricting might change the voter demographic.
“New Republicans scare me,” defined Mariscotti, “I’ve nothing in opposition to fiscally accountable, small authorities Republicans. I’m in opposition to hate as a celebration platform. And that appears to be driving the social gathering right this moment.”
Political Analyst and Senior Editor at The Prepare dinner Political Report, David Wasserman, considers Mariscotti’s district a Democrat-leaning however culturally conservative space the place each events favor their very own candidates.
“[Adam] Grey differentiates himself from the coastal Democrats. He’s a blue canine Democrat with pragmatic values,” mentioned Wasserman.
By comparability, GOP candidate John Duarte is a Central Valley native and native farmer whose background is a stark distinction from Grey’s political profession in Sacramento, Wasserman mentioned.
Based on Mariscotti, Madera faces two principal points: a scarcity of water and a struggling financial system. Areas like Madera are disproportionately affected by local weather change with excessive warmth, drought and wildfires. As an agricultural space, Madera depends on oil and fuel to get across the sprawling, rural space. However with the nation’s incapability to regular inflation charges mixed with the state’s concentrate on decreasing air air pollution, California fuel costs proceed to surge.
Mariscotti sees these intricate issues looming bigger than a marketing campaign platform; he needs a candidate who understands that.
For these causes, Mariscotti doubts he’ll vote for Duarte.
“I believe his solutions are fairly simplistic,” mentioned Mariscotti. “His entire marketing campaign says he’ll decrease taxes and provides us extra water. I don’t suppose issues are that straightforward. He offers easy solutions to advanced questions.”
However are Mariscotti’s beliefs felt district large? Wasserman thinks it’s nonetheless too shut to inform.
“We noticed Biden carry that space by 11 factors in 2020, however only a yr later, Gavin Newsom misplaced his recall election in that district by one level,” he defined.
District 27 appears to supply an equally mystifying forecast, however Emiliana Guereca, Govt Director of the Ladies’s March Basis, is hoping to alter that.
She stands in entrance of a wall lined with feminine empowerment posters, urging onlookers to vote. “We do have the facility to alter, state by state,” she mentioned, gesturing to the wall behind her. “But it surely’s going to take all of us.”
Guereca’s paramount precedence is appointing coverage makers who help reproductive rights. However she worries that District 27′s Democratic candidate Christy Smith might have an uphill battle.
“District 27 has an enormous Latino inhabitants, which usually votes blue. However Mike Garcia is the Republican candidate. [Smith] wants the Latino vote, however with Garcia operating, it’s onerous to say if she’ll get it,” mentioned Guereca. Mike Garcia is Latino and defeated Smith in 2020.
However since redistricting, District 27 now contains cities like Santa Clarita, Palmdale and Lancaster – areas that Wasserman believes are extra left-leaning.
“This is able to be a tricky district for a Republican candidate to win beneath these new traces,” he mentioned. “The actual political scorching potato, just about for the final decade, is California District 22″.
District 22′s GOP incumbent David Valadao struggles with Republican voters as redistricting provides extra blue areas like Kings County and Bakersfield. Moreover, Valadao estranged a lot of his social gathering after backing former President Donald Trump’s impeachment.
“He really continues to draw Democrats,” defined Wasserman. “A Trump endorsement at this level would then alienate these voters”.
Just like Madera, District 22 is an agriculturally centered space that struggles with water points. Redistricting introduced new priorities for policymakers. District 22 is now house to Kings County, the place almost 6% of the inhabitants are veterans, based on the 2020 Census.
In March 2022, Valadao voted to help laws that addresses healthcare for veterans, particularly these uncovered to poisonous chemical substances like burn pits and herbicides. He has additionally made veteran help a significant marketing campaign platform, a transfer more likely to garner him extra help within the polls.
For Mariscotti, the destiny of his group lies within the ballots of this election.
“I’m bored with policymakers enjoying an enormous political and cultural agenda,” mentioned Mariscotti, “My largest worry is that loopy anti-science election deniers will take over this nation.”
California
California Gov. Gavin Newsom says state will provide rebates if Trump removes tax credit for electric vehicles
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state will provide rebates to residents if President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration does away with a federal tax credit for electric vehicles.
In a news release issued Monday, Newsom said he would restart the state’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Program, which provided financial incentives on more than 590,000 vehicles before it was phased out late 2023.
“We will intervene if the Trump Administration eliminates the federal tax credit, doubling down on our commitment to clean air and green jobs in California,” Newsom said. “We’re not turning back on a clean transportation future — we’re going to make it more affordable for people to drive vehicles that don’t pollute.”
The federal rebates on new and used electric vehicles were implemented in the Inflation Reduction Act that President Joe Biden signed into law in 2022. When Trump’s second term in office begins next year, he could work with Congress to change the rules around those rebates. Those potential changes could limit the federal rebates, including by reducing the amount of money available or limiting who is eligible.
Limiting federal subsidies on electric vehicle purchases would hurt many American automakers, including Ford, General Motors and the EV startup Rivian. Tesla, which also builds its automobiles in the United States, would take a smaller hit since that company currently sells more EVs and has a higher profit margin than any other EV manufacturer.
Newsom also announced earlier this month that he will convene a special session “to protect California values,” including fundamental civil rights and reproductive rights, that he said “are under attack by this incoming administration.”
“Whether it be our fundamental civil rights, reproductive freedom, or climate action — we refuse to turn back the clock and allow our values and laws to be attacked,” Newsom said on X on Nov. 7.
A spokesperson for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This isn’t the first time California will be taking action against the Trump’s administration concerning clean transportation legislation.
In 2019, California and 22 other states sued his administration for revoking its ability to set standards for greenhouse gas emission and fuel economy standards for vehicles, The Associated Press reported.
California sued the Trump administration over 100 times during his first term, primarily on matters including gun control, health care, education and immigration, the Los Angeles Times reported.
California
45 Years Later, California Murder Mystery Solved Through DNA Evidence
A 45-year-old cold case of a 17-year-old girl brutally raped and murdered has been resolved, bringing closure to the family. On February 9, 1979, Esther Gonzalez walked from her parents’ home to her sister’s in Banning, California, roughly 137 km east of Los Angeles. She never arrived. The next day, her body was discovered in a snowpack near a highway in Riverside County, California. Authorities determined she had been raped and bludgeoned to death, leading to an investigation that spanned decades.
The lab was able to match the DNA to a man named Lewis Randolph “Randy” Williamson, who died in 2014. Williamson, a US Marine Corps veteran, called authorities on the fateful day to report finding Ms Gonzalez’s body. At the time, he claimed he could not identify whether the body was male or female. Described as “argumentative” by deputies, Williamson was asked to take a polygraph test, which he passed, clearing him of suspicion in the pre-DNA era. He had faced assault allegations in the past but was never convicted of any violent crimes, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Despite limited leads, the Riverside County cold case homicide team didn’t give up. A semen sample recovered from Ms Gonzalez’s body in 1979 was preserved but remained unmatched in the national Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) for decades.
In 2023, forensic technology finally caught up. The homicide team collaborated with a genetic lab in Texas that specialises in forensic genealogy. A sample of Williamson’s blood from his 2014 autopsy provided the DNA match needed to confirm him as the 17-year-old’s rapist and killer.
The Gonzalez family had mixed emotions—relief at finally having answers and sadness knowing Williamson would not face justice, as he died in Florida ten years ago. Ms Gonzalez, remembered by her family as a shy yet funny and mild-mannered young woman, was the fourth of seven children. Her oldest brother, Eddie Gonzalez, wrote on Facebook, “The Gonzalez family would like to thank the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department on a job well done. After 40 years, the Gonzalez family has closure.”
“We are very happy that we finally have closure,” Ms Gonzalez’s sister, Elizabeth, 64, shared with CNN. “We are happy about it but, since the guy has died, a little sad that he won’t spend any time for her murder.”
California
Bird Flu Virus Identified In Raw Milk Sold In California
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has detected the avian influenza or “bird flu” virus in a sample of a raw milk product. The product which was for sale at retailers at the time of the testing has now been recalled by the producer after the state of California requested it’s withdrawal from sale.
The affected product is cream top, whole raw milk produced and packaged by Raw Farm, LLC of Fresno County with lot code 2024110. The best buy date of the batch is 11. Nov, 2024 meaning consumers could still have it in their homes. No illnesses have currently been reported from this batch of milk, but people can take several days to develop bird flu after exposure. According to the World Health Organization, most people develop symptoms within 2-5 days, but can take up to 17 days to develop.
According to the CDC, bird flu symptoms may include fever or feeling feverish or chills, eye redness or irritation, and respiratory symptoms, such as cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, headaches, and tiredness.
Customers should not consume any product matching the description above and should return the product to stores or dispose of it. The CDPH is also in the process of informing re also in the process of informing retailers about the infected product to notify them to remove it from their shelves. The CDPH has since visited both locations of the company’s farms and has found no further evidence of bird flu. The CDPH will continue to test the farm’s milk twice a week.
The CDPH stresses that there is no risk of consuming pasteurized milk as the milk is heated to temperatures which inactivate bacteria and viruses. However raw milk does not go through this process, meaning any bacteria or viruses in the milk can be transferred to the consumer. Public health departments, as well as the CDC have long warned against the dangers of consuming raw milk, which has been responsible for outbreaks of Listeria, E. coli, Campylobacter and Salmonella, among other microbes.
California has been hit with bird flu outbreaks in both dairy cow herds and poultry farms with over 400 dairy herds affected as of 22. November. Twenty-nine human cases have also been recorded in the state, mostly individuals who have had close contact with infected livestock. The numbers of infected individuals are likely to be under reported and very little is known about the severity of disease in humans so far. Just two days ago, the CDC confirmed a case of H5N1 bird flu in a child in California with no known contact with livestock.
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