Valley Headlines

Want to help? Here’s how

Sacramento Bee. Want to help SoCal wildfire victims? These groups are looking for donations.
Synopsis: For those anxious to help those devasted by the fires in LA, this story offers advice. First, watch out for scammers. It’s best to research who is looking for help then choose a charity; in other words, don’t let the scammers do the choosing. Charity Navigator and GuideStar offer help. The Bee suggests: The Red Cross, the CA Fire Foundation Wildfire & Disaster Relief Fund, Direct Relief, LA Regional Food Bank, Pasadena Humane, World Central Kitchen, Salvation Army and United Way of Greater LA. Story offers links to all.
MAD Take: For those who have more faith in religious charities: Catholic Charities has launched a disaster relief fund. Samaritan’s Purse is also collecting as are Americares.org, Convoy of Hope, the Greek Orthodox Cathedral, the Islamic Shura Council of Southern CA and the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles.

UFC fighter pins firefighter

KCRA. Modesto firefighter honored by legendary UFC fighter while battling Eaton Fire.
Synopsis: Modesto firefighter Ryan Fenton missed the ceremony to celebrate his promotion to engineer because he was in Altadena fighting the Eaton Fire. While taking a break at the Rose Bowl, Fenton met UFC fighter Chuck Liddell. Fenton’s boss mentioned the missed ceremony, so Liddell pinned on Fenton’s new insignia. “Getting promoted alone is a big deal. Then having someone like the ‘Ice Man’ do it is unheard of.”

600-foot pit planned for river

Fresno Bee. CEMEX wants to blast a 600-foot deep pit along the SJ River; we must stop them.
Synopsis: Columnist Marek Warszawski writes about a plan to mine gravel and aggregate alongside the San Joaquin River near Jesse Morrow Mountain. CEMEX came up with this plan in 2020, but public outcry delayed it. The first public hearing is Thursday on Zoom, and Marek suggests strongly that people make their feelings known. Public comment will be accepted through Feb. 17. Oh, Marek points out that CEMEX is a Mexican company, and Congress passed a bill banning open-pit mining last year.  

School locks away cellphones

ABC30. Madera Unified rolls out Yondr pouches to lock cell phones away.
Synopsis: Elementary and middle school students are not allowed to have cell phones in class. Now there’s a pilot program at Desmond Middle School in which each student is given a Yondr pouch. The district spent $100,000 on the pouches, which keep contents safe from theft. If the phones come out of the bags during class, they can be confiscated. Principal Brad Holck insists it’s not a punishment, but an enhancement to learning.

Foreign land ownership grows

Successful Farming. Foreign ownership of ag land grew 1.6 million acres in 2023.
Synopsis: Ryan Hanrahan looks at a Farm Bureau report on ag-land ownership in the US. While foreign investors purchased another 1.58 million acres in 2023 -- bringing their total over 44 million -- don’t blame the Chinese. Their acreage shrank by 34,000 to 277,336 acres – or about 0.02% of privately held land in the US. In 2021, Chinese investors owned 383,935 acres. Investors from Canada, Netherlands, Italy and Great Britain (in that order) held the most US land with about half of that being forested. The state with the most foreign-owned land? Texas.

Problems with parole

Turlock Journal. Double murder suspect wins parole.
Synopsis: Darren Lawrence Lee, one of 4 men who took part in the brutal murders of Phillips and Kathryn Ranzo in Modesto five decades ago, has been granted parole after spending 45 years in San Quentin. He’s 61, qualifying him for special consideration as an elderly prisoner. Stanislaus DA Jeff Laugero disagrees and wants this overturned.

Turlock Journal. Placement of sexually violent predator going to Supreme Court of CA.
Synopsis: Joe Cortez reports on the placement of Kevin Scott Gray, who molested 25 children back in the 1970s and is now deemed suitable for parole. But where to put him? Last year, folks living near the half-way houses in Delhi and Turlock where he was to be sent protested. The DA’s office says the state is working against the county in trying to keep the criminal out of our communities. Currently, he’s living in the state hospital in Coalinga.

Get tougher, uglier to fight fires

Sacramento / Fresno Bee. Here are 7 reasons CA’s wildfire prevention efforts aren’t working.
Synopsis: Lawyer Jon Holtzman and retired fire chief Dave Winnacker wrote this op-ed explaining why we are so badly prepared for wildfires. 1) Protecting homes with setbacks and unburnable vegetation isn’t pretty, meaning we’ll need a change in our aesthetics to fight fire. 2) Environmental concerns over losing a particular plant or micro-habitat create exceptions to rules about 100-foot defensible spaces and ways to unclog riparian areas. 3) Rising costs of maintenance. 4) Blurred government rules and responsibilities. 5) Enforcement is infamously lax due to homeowner pressure. 6) Emphasis on suppression rather than prevention. 7) Lazy landowners: Bad maintenance creates greater hazards.

New group promoting walnuts

Ag Net West. Walnut Alliance of CA formed. 
Synopsis: This audio report talks about a new group formed to help get walnut prices off the floor. Among its members are growers, handlers and processors.
https://agnetwest.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/01-15-25-Walnut-Alliance-of-California-Formed-aw.mp3

Valley’s ‘strong 1-2 punch’ on ag

GV Wire. Freshman Congressman Adam Gray lands on Ag, Natural Resources committees.
Synopsis: Reporter Anya Ellis reports on Rep. Adam Gray’s two committee assignments – ag and natural resources. Gray joins Jim Costa on ag, “giving the Valley a strong 1-2 punch on farming issues.” On Natural Resources, Gray joins Tom McClintock.

Hospitals lacking transparency

Fresno Bee. These CA hospitals hid costs for medical procedures.
Synopsis: A study finds only 21% of all CA hospitals have complied with the 2021 law requiring pricing transparency. UC Davis Med Center and Mercy General in Sacramento did it right. Among those who did not are all of Fresno’s facilities – Community Regional, Kaiser and Saint Agnes. Kaiser posted its prices, but didn’t follow naming rules so patients couldn’t compare. Others who failed to meet requirements included Modesto’s largest two centers -- Memorial and Doctors.

A crab feed near you

Turlock Journal. Grab your crackers and butter warmers, it’s crab feed season.
Synopsis: If you like crab, this is your favorite time of year. The popular fund-raising feeds are picking dates, so you’ll have a lot to choose from: Turlock Pentecost Association (Feb. 1, Turlock Ballroom), Friends of Stanislaus Fair (Feb. 1, fairgrounds), Warrior Crab Feed (Feb. 8, Stanislaus State), Denair Lions Youth Football (March 15, Larsa Hall), Stanislaus Crime Stoppers (March 22, O’Hare Hall in Oakdale).