Today's Headlines

Valley kids struggle in college

Ed Source. Central Valley struggles to produce college grads; key programs turning that around.
Synopsys: The PPIC’s “Pathways to College Completion in the SJ Valley” report says that kids in our Valley are not especially well prepped to succeed in college (especially the UCs) because a) they have more financial troubles, b) have to travel farther to reach a UC, c) they believe they don’t belong at UC. Valley kids lose interest in education as soon as they graduate from high school. Without higher degrees, they earn less. Valley residents earned 90% of the state’s per capita income in 1973; now that’s 68%. Since the Valley is the fastest-growing region of the state, and skews younger, this is important. Valley districts that do well prepping poor kids also prepare rich kids well, with Fresno Unified among the best. Dual-enrollment programs – taking JC and high school classes -- are especially effective.

Worst for handicapped? Fresno

Modesto Bee. This CA city ranks the worst in US for wheelchair users, Forbes says.
Synopsys: Fresno is the “least-accessible” city for those who use a chair for mobility. Factoring into that rating is the fourth-lowest number of accessible grocery stores and sixth-lowest number of in wheelchair accessible rentals. Bakersfield is No. 7 from the bottom. Meanwhile, Honolulu is the most accessible city followed by Irving, Texas, St. Paul, Minn., and Portland, Oregon.

Football’s best? Central Catholic

Modesto Bee. High school football rankings: The Stanislaus District’s best in 2024.
Synopsys: Only a few surprises: 1) Central Catholic, 2) Patterson, 3) Downey, 4) Hughson, 5) Turlock followed by Escalon, Oakdale, Hilmar, Gregori and Ripon Christian. The “surprise” is that sportswriter Quinton Hamilton failed to learn his lesson last year when he picked Turlock in his top 3 then watched as the Bulldogs went 0-4 to start the season. The Bulldogs had the fewest wins (6) of any team in his top 10. If you’re keeping score, the VOL has 3 top-10 teams, the Trans Valley League has 4 and Modesto-centric Central CA Athletic League has two.

Fresno projects come to stop

GV Wire. Court says Fresno’s environmental docs aren’t up to snuff; ‘dozens’ of projects halted.
Synopsys: The Fifth Appellate Court sided with the South Fresno Community Alliance and the Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability in a lawsuit saying the city’s blanket Program Environmental Impact Report is inadequate. For most projects, developers use the PEIR instead of doing their own EIR. The court says the city’s did not provide realistic, up-to-date data on air pollution, groundwater and pedestrian traffic or any mitigation alternatives. Those who began projects after the lawsuit was filed will now have to halt work.

Three arrested in prison mail death

Merced Focus. Three arrested after death of Atwater prison employee exposed to drug-laced letter.
Synopsys: The US Attorney’s Office arrested Atwater inmate Jamar Jones, a Missouri man and an Indiana woman in connection with a plot to smuggle drugs into the prison. Correctional officer Marc Fisher opened a letter then immediately keeled over and soon died; two others were sickened.

Peachy predictions

Ag Net West. Larger CA peach crop expected despite a warm winter.
Synopsys: The USDA says CA growers will harvest 510,000 tons, an 8% increase from last year. The warm winter limited the number of chilling hours (which enhance flavor). Processors are paying $635 a ton, the same as last last year — which was a record year for peach prices. Apparently, there is more fruit in the southeast dampening prices this year.

Why are meat prices so high?

Farms.com. Harris plans crackdown on meat industry pricing.
Synopsys: Noting how few companies are in the meat industry – and four companies control 75% of the market – the Democratic candidate wants to know why prices that went up 50% during the pandemic have come down by only a tiny fraction of that since. More companies selling meat, she says, will bring competition back to the market.

Farms.com. US beef herd rebuild faces multi-year delay.
Synopsys: The US has the lowest number of cows since the 1960s, according to CoBank Knowledge Exchange. That’s why calf prices remain high. Those prices make the situation worse; instead of holding onto heifers to produce more calves, farmers sell them for quick profit. To increase the number of cows, there needs to be cash-flow stabilization and additional feed reserves. Experts expect only “incremental” increases in herds this year.
MAD Take: The first story here fulfills our need to have someone to blame for high prices. The second story shows how hard it will be to realistically do something about it.

Open season on owls?

SF Chronicle. Feds poised to kill thousands of invasive owls in order to save native CA species.
Synopsys: Former Modesto Bee reporter Julie Johnson writes about the barred owl, which is pushing the spotted owl toward extinction. The US Fish & Wildlife Service wants to kill around 450,000 of the barred owls over the next 30 years – or about half of 1% of the total population. While spotted owls eat only rodents, barred owls eat anything they can fit in their mouths and that allows them to reproduce faster and squeeze out their spotted cousins. “We’re at a crossroads. If we don’t act now, we will only have barred owls in the landscape,” said one scientist.

More fallout over ‘weird dance’

KSEE / CBS47. ‘What’s weird is weird to me’: Parent reacts to Atwater principal dancing with mascot.
Synopsys: Buhach Colony Principal Robert Nunes’ “weird” dance with the mascot has sent red flags flying in Atwater. Said the parent: “At the end of the day, I would feel super guilty if five years from now something came out and I could have said something.” Other parents say the video should not be taken out of context, and the principal should not be subject to “cancel culture.” MUHSD has put Nunes on leave until the incident is further investigated.

Celebrating melons in Turlock

Turlock Journal. Turlock Melon Carnival to make grand return to downtown.
Synopsys: The Melon Carnival was began in 1911 and was conducted in Turlock until sometime in the 1940s, when it morphed into the Stanislaus County Fair. Now, some in the city want to bring it back. On Sept. 20-21, they’ll celebrate all things round and heavy with live music, dancing, a drone show, a melon-eating contest, kids’ parade, Makers Market and the Miss Melon Pageant.

Larson Award to laud health heroes

Turlock Journal. Nominees in Stanislaus, Merced counties sought for inaugural Jennifer Larson Healthcare Hero Award.
Synopsys: The Legacy Health Endowment will honor its first chairwoman by naming its annual award in her honor. Jennifer Larson was chair of the board for 11 years and co-owner of Kirk Larson Construction & Development. Jeffrey Lewis made the announcement. The award will recognize a “humble individual” who is dedicated to creating healthcare solutions to benefit communities.