SACRAMENTO — California will be the first state to give cash payments to immigrants living in the country illegally who are hurt by the coronavirus, offering $500 apiece to 150,000 adults who were left out of the $2.2 trillion stimulus package approved by Congress. Many Americans began receiving $1,200 checks...
Must Muslims Fast for Ramadan During COVID-19?
When Islam's holy month of Ramadan begins next week, there will still be prayers, fasting, and feasting, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic the prayers and celebrations will be in the homes of the Muslim faithful instead of in mosques. Shelter-at-home orders prevented communal gatherings of Christians and Jews celebrating...
Will House Caucus Deliver on COVID-19 Support for Farmworkers?
Rep. Jim Costa of Fresno and Rep. Salud Carbajal of Santa Barbara are overseeing a charge to bring protection and financial help to farmworkers during the coronavirus pandemic. The congressmen wrote a letter signed by everyone in the 38-member Congressional Hispanic Caucus. On Wednesday, the letter was sent to Democratic and...
Reopen California? That’s Toughest Phase Yet, Newsom says
By Ben Christopher and Rachel Becker, CalMatters When will Californians emerge from house confinement? What will life look like? In a roadmap unveiled Tuesday with top public health officials, Gov. Gavin Newsom said he will not lift his shelter-in-place order until adequate suppression and mitigation measures are in place to...
Far-Right US Politicians Label Lockdowns Anti-Constitutional
SPOKANE, Wash. — In deeply conservative eastern Washington state, a prominent state lawmaker kicked out of his Republican Party caucus labels the coronavirus as a foreign bio-weapon, accuses Marxists of using the pandemic to advance totalitarianism and rails against lockdown restrictions imposed by the Democratic governor. A California teleconference last...
California Weighs Some Freshwater Fishing Bans Over Virus
SACRAMENTO — California regulators will try again to convene an online public meeting to discuss a potential limited ban on freshwater fishing during the coronavirus pandemic after last week's teleconference was canceled when it became overwhelmed by hundreds of callers. The state Fish and Game Commission on Wednesday will consider...
California Schools Will Look Very Different When They Reopen
SAN FRANCISCO — Staggered school start times. Class sizes cut in half. Social distancing in the hallways and cafeteria. These are a few of the possible scenarios for California schools that Gov. Gavin Newsom laid out as part of a roadmap for reopening the state amid the coronavirus. The timeline...
Factory Shutdowns Near WWII Demobilization Levels in US
WASHINGTON — American industry collapsed in March as the pandemic wreaked havoc on the U.S. economy. Manufacturing and overall industrial production posted the biggest declines since the United States demobilized after World War II. The Federal Reserve reported Wednesday that manufacturing output dropped 6.3% last month, led by plunging production...
Fresno State’s Vintage Days Goes Virtual Starting Friday
Fresno State's Vintage Days won't be a victim of the COVID-19 pandemic after all — but the on-campus celebration is moving into a virtual world. The annual event was one of many that had to be canceled after the coronavirus outbreak struck and forced a lockdown of all nonessential activities. We...
Opinion: Next Stimulus Should Focus on Energy, Infrastructure
As a lifelong free-market conservative, I know it pained many of my fellow Republicans to vote for the $2.3 trillion emergency relief package signed into law last month. The thought that the economy may need an additional $1 trillion or more in federal spending before the COVID-19 pandemic is over to avoid...