Valley Headlines

Flash-flood epidemic in US

NBC News. US hit with record number of flash-flood warnings.
Synopsis: Some 3,040 flash-flood warnings have been issued so far this year – the highest number on record since record-keeping began in 1986. Studies show that the warming climate is resulting in more frequent extreme rainfall onto drier soils that repel much of the water. That causes water to rush into swollen streams which turn into floods which become devastating.
MAD Note: Not only did flooding kill 109 people in Texas this year, 2 died in New Jersey this week, 102 died in North Carolina last year, 45 were killed in Kentucky in 2022, another 20 were killed in east Tennessee in 2021 and 23 were killed in West Virginia before that. In 2023, floods killed 22 people across California and flooded thousands of acres in the Valley. It’s a significant problem and getting worse. Abandoning FEMA and gutting the National Weather Service seems an odd, potentially disastrous, response.

Time to get rid of dams?

The Hill. Removing aging dams could help strengthen communities facing extreme weather. 
Synopsis: Prof. Sarah Null of Utah State says removing outdated dams will improve resilience in our natural water systems, lessening the impacts of drought and flash flooding. While many of the nation’s 550,000 “dams provide useful services and should not be removed,” those that are “outdated or unsafe” should be torn down. Null says 70% of all dams have “exceeded their designed lifespan, with 16,700 deemed high-hazard and a risk to people downstream.” The average American dam is 64 years old, and many “are not equipped to handle today’s extreme weather.” A spokeswoman for American Rivers called such dams “ticking time bombs” putting people at risk.

Can she make milk ‘cool’?

Ag Net West. Coastal grandmother talks ag and online influence.
Synopsis: Lex Nicoleta created the online Coastal Grandmother “aesthetic,” or influencing platform. She spoke to interviewer Nick Papagni about her life on the coast and her ties to the Valley. Her husband’s family grows hay and owns Foglio Commodities in Kerman. On the coast, she raises heirloom tomatoes and makes cobblers and cocktails. She suggests reviving wine and milk through “generational marketing,” such as wine-based canned cocktails and finding ways to “make milk cool again.”

Were protest arrests justified?

Modesto Bee. Modesto police chief defends arrests during protest amid mask ordinance debate.
Synopsis: During a 2-hour meeting of the Community Police Review Board, Modesto Police Chief Brandon Gillespie defended his department’s decision to arrest people for wearing masks during the ICE Out protest in downtown Modesto. The protest preceded the larger No Kings Protest at Graceada Park on the same day. At Ice Out, six were arrested, five for wearing masks and one for using unpermitted amplification (i.e., a bullhorn). Among those questioning the chief was Frank Damrell Jr., who suggested the arrests might have been counterproductive. One person asked why protesters weren’t allowed to simply remove masks. She pointed out that protesters feared being “doxxed” by police as much as police fear being “doxxed” by protesters. Board member Wendy Byrd recommended all charges be dropped and the anti-mask ordinance be clarified. Gillespie noted that there were 560 arrests during protests in LA and 140 in San Francisco, so Modesto’s response -- including plain-clothed officers and significance surveillance – was much smaller by appropriate. He also drew distinctions between the Graceada Park protest, during which organizers cooperated with police, and the protest downtown which was more confrontational.

Civic engagement and sadness

ABC30. UC Merced professor discusses new book, ‘The Sad Citizen.’
Synopsis: UC Merced political science instructor Christopher Ojeda examines why people are no longer willing to engage in the civic process by serving on councils and boards. The key is being informed and willing to listen. But listening to those with whom we disagree can create confrontation. That leads to depression, which leads to disengagement. It gets complicated.

North corridor project begins

Modesto Bee. Stanislaus County begins 3-year project to build major expressway.
Synopsis: Ken Carlson reports on the North County Corridor. The three-year project will impact traffic on Oakdale, Claribel, Claus and Roselle, said public works director David Leamon. “We have a million and a half yards of dirt to move. There’s going to be so many scrapers running, it won’t be safe for cars.” Once complete, it will become the new Hwy 108.

Riverbank OKs 48 apartments

Modesto Bee. Riverbank approves market-rate apartments; how many and what will they cost?
Synopsis: The planning commission approved Annie Gurpreet Sandhu’s project to build 48 apartments (averaging 950 square feet) that will rent for $2,300 to $2,445 a month. That’s higher than the average rent, but the apartments on Morrill east of Oakdale Road are bigger. The four 3-story buildings will be adjacent to the Quail Meadows Mobile Home Park. There were few complaints about this project compared to a plan to build tiny homes for people at risk of being homeless that was rejected a few months ago.

Talks stall on nut tariffs

Ag Net West. US-India trade talks stall nut shipments amid tariff uncertainty.
Synopsis: A cloud of uncertainty over trade deals is disrupting shipments of almonds, walnuts and dried fruit to India. Delays are “adding strain to supply chains that are already dealing with setbacks caused by suspension of imports from Afghanistan.” India has a 100% tariff on all US walnuts, India’s most heavily taxed import. India has hinted a 50% reduction in nut tariffs is possible, but that possibility has led to a virtual halt in orders.

Bird flu costs: $950 per cow

Farms.com. Dairy industry faces huge losses from avian flu. 
Synopsis: Cornell University researchers went to an Ohio dairy that suffered an H5N1 outbreak and found staggering losses. Of 3,876 cows, some 40% became infected after cows from Texas carried in the disease. They developed extreme mastitis, lost production and weight for 3 months. Of the sick cows, 6.8% died or were euthanized; 31.6% were removed from the herd. Milk production dropped 1,984 pounds per cow, a loss of $950 – or over $750,000 for the one farm. Researchers discovered that common disinfection measures actually spread the disease cow to cow.
MAD Take: The highest number of bird flu infections on dairy farms was in California, where dairies are much larger. While no correlations were drawn, it can be safely assumed our larger dairy farms suffered commensurately larger losses.

Prop 12 survives Big Pig attack

Ag Net West. Senators resist effort to override Prop 12.
Synopsis: A coalition of 32 US senators sent a letter to Senate Ag Committee leadership expressing “strong opposition” to the pork industry’s effort to overturn the right of states to determine standards for food sold in their borders via the Farm Bill. Iowa’s Joni Ernst had been trying to get such legislation into law since California and Massachusetts passed laws requiring pigs to have enough room to turn around in their cages. The National Pork Producers Council – including Chinese-owned Smithfield Farms – has made overturning Prop 12 one of its highest priorities in the Farm Bill.

Will airport ever take off?

Merced County Times. Special Report: The future of aviation at Castle Airport.
Synopsis: Atwater resident Robin Shepard begins a three-part series looking at whether or not Castle will remain an airport or become something else. Merced County received the air base from the Air Force in 1995 and has been waiting for someone to take advantage of the massive runways, hangars and facilities ever since. Instead, there’s a prison, museum, derelict buildings and a few small businesses. In writing about the future of the facility, Supervisor Daron McDaniel never mentioned aviation. Shepard spends most of the story talking to longtime base critic Jim Price.
MAD Take: An examination of Castle’s past and future is entirely warranted, but allowing The Great Squirrel Hunter to expound endlessly on conspiracies and squabbles shoots holes in this story’s readability.

Fresno’s vertical art

Fresnoland. One of Fresno’s largest art displays covers 180 freeway pillars in South Tower Park.
Synopsis: A dozen artists have combined their talents to paint cylindrical murals on freeway pillars. It is the largest public-art display undertaken in Fresno since the Fulton Mall project. Among fanciful designs and iconic depictions are some local heroes such Gloria Hernandez and William Saroyan.