Mayor Amy Bublak, in a widening feud with Sacramento, issued a response Thursday to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s letter to the city dated May 9, in which he chastised the city council for failing to secure $267,100 in grant funds to help the We Care homeless shelter.
Those funds equal half of We Care’s operating budget and it is uncertain whether the shelter can remain in operation without them.
In his letter, Newsom asked to know if the city planned to help We Care stay open. If not, the governor requested that Turlock reveal its alternative plan to assist the homeless by May 31.
On Thursday, Bublak fired back.
“I was disappointed that you chose to publicly attack the city of Turlock’s elected officials before verifying with us whether your concerns were accurate,” Bublak wrote. “Your continued public criticism does not create a climate for the collaboration you claim to seek.”
Bublak and councilmembers Rebecka Monez (District 2) and Erika Phillips (District 3) voted against a nominal $1 contribution — and a letter of support — to secure the funds. Councilmembers Kevin Bixel (District 1) and Cassandra Abram (District 3) voted to secure the grant funds.
Bublak went on to write: “In addition, your position essentially creates an unfunded mandate for the city. All the consequences of state funding — its impacts on our neighborhoods, business owners, and residents — are borne by city government alone, without any outside aid…
“To be clear, the specific issue that prompted your letter was never about a dollar, 24-hour bathrooms, or asking We Care to clean up downtown Turlock. It was about the city seeking a real partnership with an accountable local partner — that is, We Care — a point you have missed or ignored.”
Finally, the mayor extended an olive branch.
“… Given the high public interest in this matter, I invite you to join me in meeting with our local Turlock media so that we can answer questions transparently and together.”
https://www.turlock.ca.us/_pdf/pressreleasepdf.asp?id=261
TUSD board member Shields seeks elimination of CIF bylaw
Patrick Shields, Turlock Unified School District’s Area 6 board member, is calling for a special board meeting to hear from community members regarding transgender athletes — specifically, biological males — competing in girls sports.
Last week, AB Hernandez, a transgender athlete from Southern California, earned state titles in the high jump and triple jump, and took second in the long jump at the CIF meet in Clovis.
Shields is calling for the elimination of bylaw 300 D from the California Interscholastic Federation’s constitution, which states, “Participation in interscholastic athletics is a valuable part of the educational experience for all students. All students should have the opportunity to participate in CIF activities in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on a student’s records.”
Shields issued a press release stating, calling for the elimination of 300 D.
“As a father to a little girl and an elected member of the school board, it is my responsibility to stand up and defend the rights of the thousands of female student athletes who are being exposed to this dangerous and unacceptable practice,” he wrote. “Female student-athletes deserve to compete against their peers in a fair competition; it is absurd to allow male athletes to take away this right as a form of appeasement or ‘equity.’”
Meanwhile, the U.S. Justice Department threatened the state of California with heavy fines days after Hernandez competed.
The issue hit close to home last month when a transgender athlete from Gregori High (Modesto) took eighth place in the 800-meter final at Central California Athletic League meet, allowing her to advance to the Sac-Joaquin Section meet, ahead of a ninth-place Pitman runner.
Gray, Blue Dogs call for bipartisan fiscal responsibility
Rep. Adam Gray (D-Merced), the whip for the Blue Dog Coalition, helped to write an op-ed piece published this week in The Hill, calling for fiscal responsibility in the reconciliation process of the House’s One Big Beautiful Bill.
Gray co-authored the piece with Reps. Lou Correa (CA-46), Jim Costa (CA-21), Sanford Bishop (GA-02), Marie, Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03), Jared Golden (ME-02), Henry Cuellar (TX-28), and Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34).
After passing the House by one vote — 215-214 — the Senate is now deliberating the reconciliation bill, which, if enacted could add more than $3 trillion to the national debt, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
In Gray’s 13 Congressional District, which includes a portion of Turlock, nearly 420,000 people rely on Medi-Cal (California’s Medicaid program) for health coverage, while more than 100,000 individuals in the 13th depend on SNAP benefits to put food on the table.
“In order to hand out tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy, the Republican reconciliation package would make devastating cuts to food assistance programs, health coverage, and other federal resources that hard-working Americans rely on to make ends meet,” the Blue Dogs wrote. “Is it so important to our colleagues across the aisle to give a handout to their mega-wealthy buddies that they would strap everyday Americans with even more crushing debt?”
Alvarado-Gil slams members of her former party
State Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil (R-Jackson) called out her Democratic colleagues for their so-called “affordability” package, highlighting that of the 432 Democrat-authored bills advanced during the Senate’s House of Origin period, only three — less than 1 percent — related to affordability.
During floor debate on Senate Bill 254, one of the bills that Alvarado-Gil claims adds bureaucracy but fails to lower energy costs, she urged Democrats in the legislature to take California’s affordability crisis seriously.
“Shame on us. We have the power, the education, the will, and the drive to put money back into the pockets of Californians and give them some financial relief,” she said. “We’re all here to do good for California. But this affordability package is pathetic.”
Alvarado-Gil also condemned senate Democrats for refusing to consider SB 2, which she co-authored, that aims to stop a 65-cent gas price hike set to hit Californians on July 1.
