Good morning! It’s Wednesday, Nov. 26. This is Rob.
More “patchy dense” early-morning fog followed by mostly sunny skies. High around 55. NOAA
Warning: A Fresno couple suffered carbon monoxide poisoning and were hospitalized overnight after reportedly using a kettle-style charcoal grill to heat their home. KSEE24
Coffee news! Rooted, a Tulare coffee shop, expanded to Hanford, opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday. CBS47
Help out? Maya Cinemas kicks off its annual holiday fundraiser Wednesday, Nov. 26. KMPH
Toplines will be taking a break for the holidays, but we’ll be back in your inbox Monday!
1. Holiday special podcast
On this week’s Fresnolandia podcast, hosts Danielle and Jordan talk through the challenges and opportunities of Thanksgiving and share their civil dialogue toolkit for surviving the holiday!
Fresno’s roadways and airports are expected to be packed over the extended holiday weekend, with more dense early-morning fog in store for drivers.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued a hazardous conditions advisory regarding the Fresno-area tule fog that expires at 1 p.m. Thanksgiving Day. Federal authorities have said they expect a busy holiday travel weekend.
Most city and county government offices will be closed other than emergency services.
2. UFW takes Trump admin to court
The United Farm Workers of America are challenging the Trump administration’s “wage cut rule,” which allowed agriculture employers to cut the wages of undocumented workers starting in October, The Fresno Bee reports.
The UFW and 18 farmworkers filed the lawsuit last week, challenging a new wage rate formula that advocates say will cut the wages of workers under the H-2A guestworker program. According to the plaintiffs, the new wage cuts are “a transfer of $2.46 billion from workers to employers, annually.”
Their main argument is that the wage cuts irreparably harm farmworkers, who already live at or below the poverty line.
Teresa Romero, president of UFW: “There is nothing ‘America First’ about expanding exploitative guest worker programs that undercut and displace American workers.”
3. Less money for PG&E shareholders?
With Californians paying some of the highest energy costs in the nation, the California Public Utilities Commission is poised to vote next month on whether to lower shareholder payouts at PG&E and other major providers, CalMatters reports.
Californians pay the second-highest electric rates in the U.S. after Hawaii.
A number of factors go into those rates, including wildfire mitigation costs. PG&E in particular has faced criticism over its frequent rate hikes within the last year.
PG&E’s shareholder return rates would go from 10.28% to 9.93%, if the commission approves the decision.
Energy industry supporters said the pay cut would hamper their ability to bring investment for their work. Critics of the decision said it’s too little and too late to meaningfully help ratepayers’ bills.
