Valley Headlines

Where did all those voters come from?

Merced Focus. Merced County saw surge of first-time voters at polls late on Election Day.
Synopsis: In what could be a turnout record, hundreds of mainly young people came to the polls in Merced County on Tuesday – mostly taking advantage of same-day registration and provisional ballots to vote. Some people who arrived at the polling place after 8 p.m. were not allowed to join the line. The entire county saw record turnout, but the polling station at St. Patrick’s – the nearest to UC Merced -- had to remain open past normal closing. “We saw a lot of first-time voters,” said Melvin Levey, requiring his office to issue 2,500 provisional ballots. There were 9,000 in-person votes cast, three times the expectation. At some offices, those in line applauded when a first-time voter cast a ballot.
MAD Note: Hmm. Wonder who it was working so hard on the UC Merced campus to tell folks that their vote in Merced matters. Yes, it will take longer to count all those provisional ballots. Don’t worry, we’ll wait.

Dan Walters gets his gloat on

Cal Matters. In deep blue CA, voters don’t always march in lockstep to Democratic drums.
Synopsis: Dan Walters, who has been writing cantankerous columns about California politics for more than 50 years, tossed off two on Wednesday. In one, he wonders what life will be like in the nation’s bastion of anti-Trumpism. In the other, Dan revels in the passage of Prop 36 and the rejection of higher minimum wage and rent control as evidence California is becoming more conservative. He offers other evidence, as well.
MAD Note: Hey Dan, check back when the counting is done.

Who needs a planet, anyway

LA Times. Climate change identified as main driver of worsening drought in Western US. 
Synopsis: Reporter Ian James writes about the study out of UCLA and NOAA that says as it gets hotter there will be more evaporation meaning less water coming to the surface of the planet. More heat, less water leading to more heat. What’s causing this doom loop? The burning of fossil fuels, says this latest brick in the wall of knowledge that shows the new reality of heat-driven drought. Says one distraught scientist: “The outlook for reducing US carbon dioxide emissions has dimmed with Donald Trump’s victory …”

ACE inching closer to Ceres

Ceres Courier. Grant funds to further rail work needed to bring ACE train line to Ceres.
Synopsis: The city got a $71 million grant from CA State Transportation Agency’s BRITE Project. It will fund Diamond Grade Separation projects on the UP and BNSF tracks near Ceres. ACE is expected to reach Ceres by 2027.
MAD Take: Filed under “How soon they forget”: No mention in this story of the two men who spent huge amounts of political capital to bring commuter rail to Ceres – Adam Gray and Anthony Cannella.

Does God care who prays?

Modesto Bee. Modesto city council invocations: Whom they’re for, who gives them, why it matters.
Synopsis: Reporter Kathleen Quinn tries to determine when the tradition of offering religious-themed invocations before city council meetings began (no answer). She says that all but one over the past five years have come from Christians. The outlier was from a rabbi. The City Ministry Network runs the program that secures pastors for the task. CMN’s Marvin Jacobo was on vacation and not available to answer questions. Quinn looks at other communities where invocations are given by council members unofficially or not at all.
MAD Take: This extremely long story probably takes as long to read as the last five invocations took to deliver, combined.

Majority is thwarted on R

Merced Sun Star. Merced County Sheriff expresses disappointment if sales tax measure fails.
Synopsis: Reporter Shawn Jansen talks to Vern Warnke about the prospects for Measure R – which don’t appear strong. Though the measure has been approved by 58.3% of voters in the early count, it needs 66%+1 to pass. Though Vern repeatedly, specifically and loudly explained the dire situation for public safety leading up to the vote, a minority of voters were not convinced the half-cent sales tax increase was needed. “If you’ve got a leaky roof at your house, you’re going to do what you can to get that repaired,” said the Sheriff. But “a minority of people made the call to say, ‘We’re not going to repair it.’”

Anti-farming measure crushed

Ag Net West. Sonoma County votes down animal containment measure.
Synopsis: That didn’t take long. In early results from Sonoma County, 80% of voters rejected Measure J, which would have restricted the number of animals farmers can have on their farms. Virtually all of those farms are raising dairy cattle, resulting in the county’s famous cheeses. You can find them on its “Cheese Trail.” They have wine, too.

LB council’s majority routed

Merced Focus. Longtime Los Banos leader ahead in controversial race to replace incumbent mayor.
Synopsis: Los Banos voters “spoke at the ballot box Tuesday, and their message clearly appears to be a desire for change,” writes the Focus staff. The story notes that incumbent mayor Paul Llanez is third among three candidates, gathering less than half the votes of Mike Amabile and 12% behind former councilmember Refugio Llamas. Both Doug Begonia and Brett Jones appear well on their way to being ousted from office, with 80% of voters in Begonia’s district voting to remove him and 70% of those in Jones doing the same. Even Tommy Leyva, who incumbent Ken Lambert ran a savage campaign to defeat, is ahead. It means only one incumbent – Deborah Jones, who stood against the 4-member majority for 2 years – is likely to remain on the council. The election was seen as a referendum on the hiring of and performance of city manager Josh Pinheiro. The registrar has until Dec. 3 to certify.
MAD Note: Wednesday night’s city council meeting had to be canceled when there was no quorum available. Only Llanez and Lewis showed up at the meeting. Lambert, Jones and Begonia simply didn’t show up.

New rules killing truckers?

Merced County Times. Truckers feeling pressure of clean air requirements.
Synopsis: Greg Wellman talks to The CA Trucking Association and its president, Eric Sauer, about the new requirements to switch to cleaner diesel. It will require substantial and costly retrofitting of engines. Wellman was told that one trucker from Planada committed suicide after losing his trucks. Manuel Cunha of the Nisei Farmers League was saddened by the news and insists that such regulations be accompanied by help for those asked to meet them or at least a longer compliance window.

Angry? Where would you go?

SF Chronicle. How much it actually costs to move to Canada from the US.
Synopsis: All those disappointed Democrats who are considering Canada or Costa Rica or England as a place of refuge should check their wallets. If you’re a doctor or software developer or a member of another of the other 370 professional Canada covets, you can emigrate easily. If not, you’ve got to have $10,577 in the bank to fund your first few months. That’s on top of the $10,000 to move into a house. Just to cross the border, you must pay for inspections, taxes and repairs – which run about $20,000 typically. Health insurance is free in Canada, but not for new arrivals. They must pay about $250 a month for six months. Other nations offer citizenship if you bring in a minimum amount –$200,000 in Bermuda, $250,000 for Greece and $1,000,000 for Portugal. Here’s a story about the other ex-pat destinations. Vietnam is cheapest. Of 53 nations listed, Canada ranks last below Finland and the UK.