Valley Headlines

Good news on water …

SJV Water. Proposed legislation would boost federal funding for recharge projects.
Synopsis: Lisa McEwen reports on the Groundwater Recharge Technical Assistant and Every Drop Counts acts, which Jim Costa, Adam Gray, David Valadao, Josh Harder, Zoe Lofgren and Mike Thompson are co-sponsoring. They would spend $65 million on infrastructure with an aim to capture an additional 120,000 acre feet of water. The bills would create injection sites for flood waters among 30+ projects being considered across five counties. Among those in favor are Self-Help Enterprises, the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors and Fresno Irrigation District.

More (bad) news on water

LA Times. The water unexpectedly released from dams on Trump’s order didn’t help farms or LA.
Synopsis: Three LA Times reporters are trailing Lois Henry in getting out the story about the water released from two significant Sierra-rim dams. The releases pushed two rivers and two creeks to their channel capacities and have since been diverted into retention basins. It’s nice the water didn’t go to waste, but now, instead of letting gravity bring it to their fields and orchards, farmers will have to pay the electrical costs of pumping it to the surface. Water manager Tom Barcellos opined, “I believe someone in DC got a little overzealous.” Early reports put the releases at 35,000 acre feet, but new numbers say it was “only” 6,170 acre feet. Renowned water scientist Peter Gleick put it best: “It was a needlessly self-destructive action purely for political showmanship.” Jim Costa called the releases “a grave concern” and said it will end up costing farmers. Putting it into the ground, “is better than nothing.”

KSEE / CBS 47. Jim Costa, Tulare Farm Bureau react to unplanned water releases.
Synopsis: Farm Bureau executive director Trista Blattler said her organization had “literally about an hour’s notice” that the water was coming. The Corps’ explanation that they were lowering lake levels in anticipation of a storm “makes no sense.” There was plenty of room in the reservoirs. Blattler said that some of the Tulare communities are “still trying to rebuild and deal with repairs on channels that were washed out during the 2023 flooding.”

Protests get reactions

Modesto Bee. Day Without an Immigrant protest marches through downtown Modesto.
Synopsis: “A few hundred people” gathered at Tenth Street Plaza on Monday to demand protection of immigrant rights, carrying Mexican flags, chanting in Spanish and being entertained by Aztec dancers. They marched to Five Points before dispersing. Reporter Kathleen Quinn quotes organizer Sebastian Cervantes and protesters Isabela Chavez, Damian Mungian, Hugo Zamayoa and John Solorzano among others. Bottom-line message: “This is our home; we’re not going anywhere.” Quinn quoted Jaime Rangel, a 60-year resident of Modesto: “I definitely want the criminals out of here, but they make it too hard for hardworking Mexicans to be able to stay.”

Merced Golden Wire (Facebook). Day Without Immigrants protest in Merced.
Synopsis: Protesters gathered at 16^th and M streets in Merced, though no estimate was provided on the numbers. This post drew roughly 40 comments, mostly from folks angry that those supporting immigrants became visible. Most believe there are a lot more criminals among the immigrant population than the data shows.

Tariffs would hurt wineries

SF Chronicle. Trump’s tariffs may cost CA wine its largest export market.
Synopsis: Jess Lander writes that Canada is the largest importer of CA wines, and two provinces have announced they will no longer license American products in their stores. Said one Santa Rosa shipper: “We have hundreds of cases of wine in our warehouse already labeled for Canada that aren’t going to be picked up.” The Wine Institute says Canada is our “single most important market” with sales of $1.1 billion. Said winery GM Jason Lede, “It’s a challenging time and the last thing we need is another thing beyond our control that significantly impacts our business.” Already, prices for European wine are falling to capture additional market share. Some shippers say many Canadians have already made the switch and Trump’s capitulation came too late. “We’ve created a lot of anti-American sentiment in Canada.”

CA Ag Net. Who is the American wine industry? Time to reframe tariff messaging.
Synopsis: Natalie Collins, president of the CA Assn of Winegrowers, does not want to see blanket tariffs on all grape juice and concentrate, but would like to see “reasonable tariffs” so that Americans could stay in business. She says there is room for everyone on America’s wine menus. But a lot of European wine is being subsidized by government programs and should be subject to penalties to bring the cost in line with American juice.  

Good news (sort of) on wine

Western Farm Press. Wine industry leaders look on the bright side.
Synopsis: Those attending the Unified Wine & Grape Growers Symposium in Napa tried to stay upbeat despite more bad news. They heard from Gary Agajanian, who says the wine business will bounce back starting now and by 2027 everyone will be happy. Glenn Proctor of Ciatti Co., analyst Danny Brager were also upbeat. Providing a more somber note was Jeff Bitter, who last year said the industry needed to pull 50,000 acres of vineyards. He reported that only 37,500 came out while 20,000 acres were planted, so there is still a significant glut. He’s calling for 50,000 acres to come out this year, especially in coastal regions. Oh, and if you don’t have a contract for your grapes, don’t bother asking a bank for an operating loan.

Growing new almond leaders

CA Ag Net. Almond Board announces exceptional 2025 Almond Leadership class.
Synopsis: The 18 young professionals making up the 16^th class of Almond Board up-and-comers are called “bright,” “accomplished” and “leaders.” Among them are Arik Bains of Turlock, Cristal da Silveria of Modesto, Raquel Gomez of Atwater, Zach Harcksen of Ballico, Evan Koftinow of Los Banos, Brenden Lusk of Modesto, Luis Mendoza of Denair, Crystal Nay of Manteca and Bobbie Williams of Tracy.

Dairy kids get scholarships

CA Ag Net. Two CA dairy youth receive $1,000 DHIA scholarships.
Synopsis: The national Dairy Herd Information Scholarship Committee selected 18 high school and college students (all related to dairy industry) from across the nation to receive $1,000 scholarships. Among those receiving the money are Lillian Agueda of Hickman and Jon Chapman of Turlock.

Financial crime doesn’t pay

GV Wire. Fresno man with a silver tongue pleads guilty to $4.2 million fraud.
Synopsis: Royce Newcomb of Fresno is being charged wire fraud for his role helping Bitwise raise money through loans to the company.  He is accused of altering documents to make it appear Bitwise was in better shape than it was to convince investors to make the loans or claiming products had been developed by Bitwise that needed only investments to be brought to market. Those who invested lost nearly all their money in Bitwise’s 2023 collapse. Newcomb was previously convicted of real estate fraud and was on supervised probation when he began working with Bitwise.

Fresno Bee. Ex-Congressman TJ Cox pleads ‘guilty’ to two fraud charges, faces prison.
Synopsis: TJ Cox pleaded guilty in Judge Troy Nunley’s courtroom on Monday to two charges. In exchange, 24 other federal counts were dropped. Cox faces up to 30 years and $1,250,0000 in fines in sentencing in two weeks. Cox agreed to pay $3.5 million in restitution. Prosecutors detailed Cox’s role in the Granite Park sports complex that involves other prominent Fresno residents.

Fines for helping homeless?

Cal Matters. Should ‘aiding’ or ‘abetting’ homeless camp be illegal? It might be a reality in Bay Area.
Synopsis: The city of Fremont is making camping on any city park, street or sidewalk illegal, which isn’t that unusual. What goes beyond the norm is a clause that makes “causing, permitting, abiding, abetting or concealing” an illegal encampment a misdemeanor subject to 6 months in jail. The mayor says his city won’t target aid workers, but non-profits note the law says otherwise. Elaine Sanchez of the Sisters of the Holy Family says no law will stop her organization from feeding the poor. “If I’m going to be arrested, it’s going to be for doing something that I feel is helping people in need.”

Shooting caught on video

ABC30. Witness captures video of shooting involving Merced County Sheriff’s deputies.
Synopsis: Alexis Fronczak said she was worried about being caught in a crossfire as she took video of Merced deputies confronting a suspect locked in a car at a liquor store in Delhi on Saturday night. The suspect sped away, ramming his car into a patrol car before deputies opened fire. The driver, who was “known to police,” was hit in the shoulder.

Laughing Rainbow?

KSEE / CBS 47. This famous comedian is coming to fund-raise for Fresno’s Rainbow Pride.
Synopsis: Margaret Cho will appear in the Tower District on May 31. Fresno’s is the oldest and largest Pride celebration in the Valley and this year celebrates a “Throwback to Stonewall.” Many of the festival activities will be at Fresno City College.