Valley Headlines

It all comes down to 13, 22

Politico. CA’s Central Valley could deliver the House to Democrats; Latino voters hold the key.
Synopsis: Reporter Lara Korte’s focus is CA 13, where she saw Adam Schiff pitch for Team Gray a couple of weeks ago. Lara’s first quotes go to John Duarte’s campaign, which is bragging about talking to the Latino population at the beginning of the process instead of ignoring it as it did two years ago. Adam Gray is quoted saying turnout is “much larger than any individual campaign.” Basically, there’s more at stake in this election and folks in the Valley know it. Both the Gray and Duarte campaigns are spending big on Spanish-language media. Among those quoted: Gray volunteer Jesse Perez of Los Banos, a UCLA professor, Jessica Patterson of the state GOP and Mike Madrid, the GOP political consultant.

Already, 25% have voted

Merced Focus. One of four registered Merced County voters have cast a ballot.
Synopsis: The registrar’s office says there has been a 25% turnout so far, with 33,222 ballots already received. There are 132,000 voters in the county.
MAD Note: Story doesn’t mention it, but as of last Thursday the numbers were already higher than the number who voted in the primary, and about 60% of the total number cast in 2022.

Merced Sun Star. Voting in Merced County? Here’s where to find your polling center.
Synopsis: A list of polling places in Merced County.
MAD Note: Here is a complete list of places to vote in CA 13.

Final pushes in Merced County

Merced County Times. Top local candidates make final push before Nov. 5.
Synopsis: Jon Whitaker attended several events around the region, including Adam Gray’s gathering at The Vista, which was “the largest event he’s had there over the past few years. Hundreds of people were on hand to hear from the former State Assembly member and enjoy food and drink.” Meanwhile, Joanna Garcia Rose and John Duarte put on a show at the GOP headquarters downtown.

Rink just keeps rolling along

Merced Sun Star. Merced roller rink celebrates 44^th anniversary after nearly closing.
Synopsis: Roll-er Land was a classic throwback to the 1950s and ‘60s with loud music, disco balls and teens whirling around the rink. COVID almost killed it, but now it’s back. Nowadays you’re more likely to find Girl Scouts, birthday parties and fund-raisers taking place. CJ Gonzalez represents the new generation helping with the operation and spinning the tunes.

If Trump wins, deportation begins

Fresno Bee / Merced Sun Star. Valley growers, farmworkers fear mass deportations if Trump wins.
Synopsis: It’s finally coming dawning on a lot of folks that if Trump returns to the White House, many of those who grow our crops and cook our food will be returning to Mexico. So long, due process; hello deportation camps. In the Valley, some 30% of Latinos live in families with undocumented or mixed-status members. It’s estimated that 4 million Latinos are at risk in CA. GOP consultant Mike Madrid says Latino families should take this threat seriously and make plans. Grower Joe Del Bosque is among the worried. “We can’t plant and harvest crops like melons and cherries and tomatoes without these people,” he said. Del Bosque was one of those who worked on the immigration reform act that Trump killed for political purposes. Story notes that John Duarte is promising to protect DACA residents and workers, but no one bothered to ask him how he would pass such a law under a president committed to deporting 20 million people.

KVPR. In CA’s breadbasket, Trump’s promise of mass deportations could be ‘destructive.’
Synopsis: The reporter talks to an undocumented resident of California for the past 21 years and who feeling uneasy about her future prospects. She hasn’t been sleeping, her blood pressure is up; she’s scared. When Trump said, “On Day One I will launch the largest deportation program in American history,” she believed him. The woman says most of her friends are in similar situations, and if deported it will leave many factories without workers.

More on the last debate

Turlock Journal. Duarte, Gray tackle the issues in one last debate.
Synopsis: Joe Cortez watched the Fox40 / CSB47 debate last Friday with immigration taking center stage. Duarte says he would try to protect those here under DACA but is fine with deporting anyone who has arrived illegally in the last five years. Gray immediately pointed out that the Republicans could have fixed the immigration issue already if they had wanted, but they refused at Trump’s behest. On reproductive rights, Duarte made a very wide sidestep while Gray was unequivocal: “A doctor and a woman will make the reproductive healthcare choices that are medically appropriate and that’s where we need to leave it.”

Smoke shops raided; huge fines

GV Wire. Guns, marijuana, gambling: Fresno’s smoke shop enforcement issues $5M in citations.
Synopsis: City code enforcement hit the smoke shops, finding hundreds of pounds of illegal weed, 11 grow sites, gambling operations, weapons and evidence of human trafficking. The city hit the shops to “eliminate the underground black market for cannabis in the city,” said city attorney Andrew Janz. Councilmember Miguel Arias wants the authority to shut down any shop that violates the law even once, especially in the Tower District where he said every shop has been cited at least once.

Those tariffs didn’t work out so well

Successful Farming. Trump’s tariffs would reorder trade flows, raise costs, draw retaliation.
Synopsis: A few farmers are keenly aware of what a tariff war would mean to their bottom lines. When Trump started his last trade war, it was the farmers who paid the price.  They are also aware that any interruption in exports means a loss of market share going forward. The National Corn Growers Assn and American Soybean Assn have both forecast a deep depression in US grain prices and loss of markets if tariffs are enacted. A Berkeley professor says Trump’s threats will “totally destroy” the current global trade system overseen by the World Trade Organization. Trade with China would drop 70%. A Yale study says Kamala Harris’ projection of a $4,000 cost to American families is way off – it will be closer to $7,600. Trump’s campaign countered with a study from the Coalition for a Prosperous America, which says tariffs won’t cause any additional costs to American families, citing a lack of inflation in 2018-19.

Political bonfire in Los Banos

Westside Express. Election gets hotter as it comes down to the wire.
Synopsis: There were several developments in the electoral drama unfolding in the city of Los Banos as all five city councilmembers found themselves on the ballot this year – two being recalled. One council candidate was seen abruptly pulling in front of a truck advertising his record; a sixth bargaining unit of city workers has emerged, apparently in response to the loss of job security for two of its three members; firefighters again expressed frustration with the city manager, and the city’s largest developer says he has sued the city for $100 million – which is about the city’s entire budget for a year.
MAD Note: And you thought Kamala and Trump played rough. The above story was written by Valley Solutions editor Mike Dunbar for the Westside Express.

Just call it the Times Triangle

Merced County Times. Atwater erects digital billboard over energetic ‘Five Corners.’ 
Synopsis: A huge, three-sided electronic billboard has been put up on a triangular “island” at First and Shaffer streets in Atwater. The vibrant electronic screens, like a miniature version of those in Times Square, are perched on a 41-feet-tall pole. Brad Kessler built it and uses the screens to advertise events and businesses. It cycles through several ads every 10 minutes.
MAD Take: Hope you like it, Atwater; the lease is for 20 years.