Today's Headlines

Calling out Do-Nothing Congress

Modesto Bee / Chicago Tribune. American farmers are doing their jobs; not so Congress.
Synopsis: The Bee borrows an editorial from the Chicago Tribune, which decries the continued delays in passing a new farm bill. Don’t blame farmers, who are busy breaking records for soybean and corn production. “With little fanfare, America’s farmers are feeding a hungry world. At the same time, Congress is letting them down.” The Trib blames Congress, saying a new farm bill “isn’t even close.” Then there’s this: “So far, Congress has accomplished practically nothing. … The Congressional Budget Office recently determined the (House) bill would add billions to the federal deficit, which means a chunk of the House GOP won’t support it anymore.”
MAD Take: So, is this why so many called the 118^th Congress the “Do-Nothing Congress”?

Enough excuses, pass the bill

Ag Net West. Sen. Boozman discusses Farm Bill funds.
Synopsis:  The ranking member of the ag committee talks to reporter Sabrina Halvorson about why the Farm Bill hasn’t passed. She brings up the Congressional Budget Office analysis, which says the House Bill – preferred by Republicans – will add $33 billion to the nation’s deficit. Boozman disagrees, saying that would disappear if the Commodity Credit Corp. would make loans only to farmers. The questions from the reporter betray a bit of skepticism.
MAD Note: If Boozman’s explanation sounds to you like another empty excuse, you’re not alone. The Farm Bureau and hundreds of other ag organizations just last month signed a letter imploring Congress to resolve its differences and pass the farm bill. It’s 3 years overdue.

Stan State seeks more students

KCRA 3. Stanislaus State’s new president looking for ways to raise enrollment.
Synopsis:  Stan State President Britt Rios-Ellis gave her back-to-school address, noting that the school used to have 10,000 students but now has only around 9,560. She says the school is improving and the equity gap is narrowing. She wants prospective students to realize that Stan State is a real bargain, especially for students who have jobs and/or kids.

The sound of (no) music

Modesto Bee. Modesto students decry alleged cuts to arts money; district says it’s expanding funds.
Synopsis:  Around 100 students – many carrying instruments – protested at Monday’s Modesto City Schools board meeting. Prop 28, which passed in 2022, provided a dedicated revenue stream for the arts in schools. Many school districts began using just that revenue to fund arts educations, repurposing what had previously been spent on teaching art, music and theater. That, say students, is actually a cut to funding – not an increase. The district says it allocates $5 per student to the arts and up to $10,000 per year for instrument repairs.

More on Laci’s killer

Modesto Bee. Another Laci Peterson murder documentary debuts this week.
Synopsis:  Is it the fascination with “true crime” that drives Scott Peterson’s continued ratings? “Face to Face with Scott Peterson” won’t answer that question, but it will allow Scott to speak for himself – as if he hasn’t had ample opportunity in the past 20 years. Peacock claims this series “reopens the case” based on “findings” from the LA Innocence Project.
MAD Take: It is the second series on the murders to be released in the last month. Netflix had one that relied too heavily on TV personalities, but didn’t try to make Scott look innocent. When will we decide enough is enough?

ABC10. What year did Laci go missing? Peacock documentary explores Peterson case.
Synopsis:  When you call something a “documentary” it implies facts and truthfulness. What is remotely true or factual about a film that takes Scott Peterson’s side in the murder of his wife and unborn child?

Dangers of climbing Half Dome

Fresno Bee. Yosemite’s Half Dome cables are dangerous; here’s why they won’t be made safer.
Synopsis:  Columnist Marek Warszawski notes that in wet weather the path across the big rock’s polished granite is especially treacherous, and those cables – installed by the Sierra Club in 1920 -- don’t really make it any safer. The fact that “only” 10 people have died since 1948 after losing their grip on the cables “is nothing short of good fortune,” he writes. The most recent death was 20-year-old Grace Rohloff last month. Her father wants something done.  

Drying up hydropower

Clean Technica. Drought in West has cost hydropower industry billions in losses.
Synopsis:  Those losses have occurred over the past 17 years, much of which was spent in drought. The study shows 300 million megawatts less power than originally anticipated from 2003-2020 in Oregon, Washington and CA. Lost power in CA alone is valued at $8.7 billion. It’s all based on anticipated stream flows, flows out of generation facilities and drought maps. While CA did OK last year, the hydropower in Oregon and Washington was roughly 12% below normal.
MAD Take: This doesn’t even take into consideration years of dis-investment by CA public utilities. By refusing to classify hydropower as renewable until 2040, the CA public utilities that own generation facilities – including TID, MID, OID, SSJID and SFPUC -- lost their ability to expand clean-power production through updating aging turbines with newer technology. While modern turbines can increase generation by up to 50%, if that power isn’t classified “renewable” – as mandated under Kevin DeLeon’s SB 100 -- you can’t supply it to customers. Thus, you can’t afford to make those improvements.

Stan County auditor departs

Modesto Bee. Stanislaus County auditor-controller won’t complete term; family health issues cited.
Synopsis:  Kashmir Gill has served notice that she will leave 2 years into her second term. Her last day is Oct. 9. She has worked for Stan County 27 years. Supervisors will appoint a successor. Gill says her husband is sick, but she already has a new job in Alameda County at $384,000 a year.

Total cost of pesticide rules

CA Ag Net. Economic analysis reveals significant impacts of pesticide policies on lettuce production.
Synopsis:  Four economists working for Californians for Smart Pesticide Policy say new pesticide rules in regards to lettuce. They say CA’s “stringent and lengthy (pesticide) registration process leads to a reduction of lettuce production.” It will result in a drop of 7.3% in CA lettuce production because it will be cheaper to grow it in Arizona and Mexico. That will mean losses of $160 million for CA growers and some of the state’s most impoverished communities. It will also mean $690 million in increased costs to consumers. Similar impacts are expected to be felt throughout California’s farming sector.

You call that dancing?

ABC30. Video of principal dancing inappropriately with mascot raising concerns in Atwater.
Synopsis:  Both the principal and the mascot appear to be taking turns performing angry chair/lap dances with each other. This is during a school assembly in the school gym – the place was packed. The TV station says the principal has been placed on leave.