Valley Headlines

Gray closes gap to 227 votes

Turlock Journal. Race for CA-13 remains close.
Synopsis: Joe Cortez writes that the race is going down to the wire, as 227 votes separate the candidates. Two years ago, John Duarte beat Adam Gray by 564 votes. Duarte says, “This race is so close that it may end up going to a recount.” Cortez notes that Gray has steadily closed the gap since election day, but “he’s running out of daylight.” Currently, Republicans have 218 confirmed seats, enough for a majority; Democrats have 212 with 5 seats still undecided.

Merced Focus. To the wire: Duarte’s lead over Adam Gray now razor thin, latest results show.
Synopsis: Victor Patton writes about the latest count update but notes there are only 3,182 votes remaining to be counted in Merced County. But there are similar numbers in Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties, where Gray’s margin is even better than in Merced. Neither side is declaring victory.

Where the work is getting done

Cal Matters. CA can make climate policy decisions today that address the problems of tomorrow.
Synopsis: The PPIC’s Letitia Grenier writes an op-ed to remind us of the obvious – that hotter summers mean less snow and more rain, hence more flooding. Eventually, she writes about the PPIC’s latest “new report” that tells us we are “not yet on the right trajectory to manage some of the changes underway or the greater challenges ahead.” She calls flood management the most worrisome of problems. But don’t worry, she writes, there is good news: The Klamath River is now flowing freely, unhindered by 3 dams.
MAD Take: I understand how giddy the environmental community is over the undamming of the Klamath (which destroyed one of the best whitewater runs in the world). But the best reason for optimism is not on a remote river in far northern California where more than 830,000 juvenile salmon were accidentally destroyed and where tens of thousands of waterfowl are dying of botulism. The best reason for optimism is floodplain and riverbed restoration that has been taking place in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley for a decade. The next best reason for optimism is seeing more than 30,000 salmon swimming up the Mokelumne River, for a second record-breaking spawning season in a row. We’re doing good things in the Valley, but the dislike of our region runs so deep within the professional environmental community that few want to acknowledge, much less celebrate it. As for supporting those efforts, well that’s out of the question. Bon appetit.

Amador Ledger-Dispatch. Mokelumne River salmon run breaks record for second year in a row.
Synopsis: East Bay MUD reports that this year’s spawning run has exceeded 30,000 salmon, breaking last year’s record of 28,698. Both years are the highest numbers since 1940 when record-keeping began. These spectacular numbers are the result of riverbed and floodplain restoration and hatchery management. There were 3,824 salmon counted on a single day in October.

Asking Trump for an exception

Merced Sun Star / Fresno Bee. If Trump deports farmworkers, who will be left to pick CA’s crops? 
Synopsis: Tad Weber writes about the immigrant labor needed to cultivate and harvest California’s crops. He quotes La Coopeativa, saying 75% of all CA farmworkers – from 500,000 to 800,000 people – are undocumented. UC Merced’s Ana Padilla says most workers in ag, forestry and fishing and a third of those working in food processing could be deported. Tad suggests creating a deportation exemption, asking Jim Costa, Vince Fong and David Valadao to work together on that. Tad says Americans have proved time and again that they are unwilling to do the hard work required in these places.
MAD Take: Actually, Americans refuse this work because the pay doesn’t match the effort or risk. If undocumented workers won’t do it, factory owners will have to raise the pay to entice workers. And they’ll have to tolerate unions. Once these additional costs hit their bottom line, they’ll shift them onto consumers. Throw in new tariffs, and the impacts will become obvious in about 3 years. Maybe sooner.

Reimers takes board slot

Turlock Journal. Reimers joins Legacy Health Endowment board.
Synopsis: Michelle Reimers was the first woman to lead TID until unexpectedly stepping down earlier this year. She helped forge the voluntary agreements to more equitably share the Tuolumne and serve as a prototype across the state. She also put TID at the front lines of developing solar energy from covered canals. Now she operates an ag consulting firm. Michelle will work with CEO Jeffrey Lewis, whose foundation provides services to communities in Stanislaus and Merced counties.

Child sickened by bird flu

Cal Matters. CA child tested positive for bird flu; why this case is different.
Synopsis: The stricken child lives in Alameda County, where officials believe she was infected by wild birds passing through the area. So far, symptoms have been mild and there’s been no spread. Nationwide, doctors are concerned noting that over 50 humans have been sickened on farms (26 in CA). “All signs to me suggest that things are going in the wrong direction, not the right direction,” said Dr. Sam Scarpino at Northeastern University in Boston. A UC Davis researcher says animal-to-human jumps are rare but do occur. Meanwhile, the number of infected dairy herds has reached 335 in CA. The virus has been detected in the sewage systems in Alameda, San Francisco, Sonoma, Contra Costa and Sacramento counties.

Fly Fresno-to-Portland cheap

Fresno Bee. Flights from Fresno to Portland for under $50? Airline offers new nonstop route.
Synopsis: Want to get away from bird flu? Now you can fly Allegiant Air to Portland for $49 (without baggage). The Fresno-to-Portland non-stop is one of 44 added by the airline. These fares are available only Sunday-Thursday. Fresno expects an influx of Portland folks anxious to visit the Valley.

Was officer a peeper?

Modesto Bee. Probation officer arrested for allegedly filming woman in Target fitting room.
Synopsis: Adrian Machuca, 29, was standing next to the door of a dressing room when a 21-year-old woman noticed his camera perched atop the door. She soon confronted him, but he ran into a nearby changing room. The SO used video evidence to ID him. After posting $51,000 bail, he’s on leave.

School district layoffs OK’d

Modesto Bee. Modesto City Schools’ board approves layoffs of over 75 staff members.
Synopsis: The move will save the district $10.6 million. Of those laid off, 36 are classified staff and 22 are teachers. The remaining 17 are managers from various school sites. No district administrative staff were laid off. The district says it had to make cuts after COVID-19 money ran out and it could no longer afford some of the programs it instituted. Next year, the district will need another $11 million cut, said superintendent Sara Noguchi.

Classes on the weed biz

Merced Focus. Classes for cannabis? UC Merced extension launching weed workforce training.
Synopsis: You can get 3 different certifications in cultivating and processing drugs. The 9-week online classes are being offered through a company called Greenflower. After completion you will be “certified” to work as a specialist in either retail, cultivation and extraction/development. All you need is $750 per course. Michael Pierick of the UCM Extension program said there are 440,000 legal cannabis jobs in the US, up from 122,000 six years ago.  

How much is that acre?

Correction: In Tuesday’s Valley Solutions, the per-acre figure for Blasingame Ranch sale in Fresno County was off by one number. A zero. The ranch is being sold for $117,000,000, which works out to $36,000 an acre – not $3,600. A sharp-eyed reader noted the mistake but questioned why grazing land without a water source would fetch such a price. Perhaps it won’t be grazing land much longer.