Valley Headlines

Medicaid cuts will hurt here

Cal Matters. CA has a lot to lose if Trump slashes Medicaid; seniors, kids and more face cuts. 
Synopsis: Anna Ibarra reports that the only way to find enough money to fund Donald Trump’s $880 billion tax cuts will be to taking a wrecking ball to health care for the poor, kids and seniors. If the House spending plan becomes law, CA will lose at least $10 billion in Medicaid funding currently used to provide care to half of all children in the state and 4-in-10 expectant mothers. Hospital execs, doctors and county executives are all speaking out against the cuts. Republicans say they’re not cutting anything; that it will be up to the states to determine what programs get cut and which ones don’t. An expert from Georgetown University says seniors, children and people with disabilities will suffer the greatest from cuts, noting that 5 million children rely on Medicaid for care.

Tax-cut math doesn’t add up

Fresno Bee. CA could feel the misery of House GOP math that doesn’t add up. 
Synopsis: The Fresno Bee editorial board – Juan Esparza Loera and Tad Weber – take on the GOP spending plan that will cut taxes by $4.5 trillion but destroy healthcare for hundreds of thousands of Valley residents. “They are trying to enrich the wealthy on the back of poor people,” they write. Then they ask the purely rhetorical question: “Will the rich get richer while working people pay the tab?” It notes that healthcare isn’t the only item on the budget-cutting list. The Ag Committee will be asked to cut $230 billion in 10 years. (That would be about half of all crop subsidies paid over 10 years, so welfare for farmers will be cut, too.) The Bee does not believe Trump or Valadao when they promise Medicaid won’t be touched. “If the committee reduces every budget item unrelated to health care to $0, it would still come up more than $600 billion short.” The editorial also notes the projected annual costs in the Valley are $16.03 billion. “We encourage Valadao, his seven colleagues and all House Republicans to recognize the math” and sink this proposal.

Send protests to water board

Merced County Times. Community urged to support MID voluntary settlement, oppose Bay-Delta plan.
Synopsis: MID general manager John Sweigard wants folks living on the east side to write letters to the State Water Board opposing implementation of the Bay-Delta plan that calls for vastly increased unimpaired flows on the Merced River. The plan “will have a devastating impact on our community, costing hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of jobs, not to mention critical impacts to our local drinking-water quality,” said Sweigard. MID’s studies say drinking water for 150,000 will be degraded with $672 million in lost economic activity.

Turlock groundwater plan OK’d

Maven / Dept of Water Resources. DWR approves 15 groundwater sustainability plans.
Synopsis: The groundwater sustainability plan for the Turlock subbasin of the Tuolumne River was among 15 approved, one of the few in the San Joaquin Valley. The Pleasant Valley plan in Fresno County was rejected. In total, 86 basins are now operating under approved sustainability plans.

More record power profits

Fox26. Southern CA Edison profits soar to $1.69 billion amid rising consumer rates.
Synopsis: Allowing all those rate increases for PG&E and SoCal Edison over the past three years has had the expected impact – record profits. The $1.7 billion profit was 10% higher than last year’s record. It’s what happens when rates increase 26% in 3 years. In PG&E’s case, bills doubled in those 3 years.
MAD Take: Just think how high the profits would be if 800,000 SoCal customers – each owing around $1,000 -- could have paid their bills. Most members of the CPUC, which approved those rate hikes, should be run out of the state – preferably forcing them to run West. Only one CPUC commissioner, Darcie Houck, commented: “The authorized returns currently granted to utilities far exceed market norms, contributing to the state’s ongoing electricity affordability crisis.”

Developers angry at cities

Merced County Times. Lawsuit alleges conspiracy in Atwater’s building department.
Synopsis: Robin Shepard reports on the lawsuit brought by Brad Kessler that says city officials are trying to defame him. He names Greg Thompson, Michael Hayes, Mayor Mike Nelson, Mark Pereida and two admins in his lawsuit. Kessler says the city essentially owes him $8.3 million in two other lawsuits around his giant sign erected at Five Corners.

Patterson Irrigator. Keystone Ranch subdivision map ‘approved.’ 
Synopsis: The planning commission voted 5-0 to approve 720 homes on the old Zacharias and Baldwin properties, but only after tacking on 159 conditions – not all of which pleased the developer. Keystone’s public affairs director, Evette Davis, says it will add $30,000 to the price of each home, making them unaffordable to most buyers. If the city council doesn’t get rid of those conditions, the developer’s attorney threatens to sue the city. Again. One of the biggest sticking points is a recharge basin that Keystone says will cost $18 million.

AI reporting is Awful, Incomplete

Modesto Bee. Housing crunch meets homeless crisis: Changes coming to Stanislaus County.
Synopsis: This so-called “story” is not journalism. It is a lead-in paragraph then a list of stories that are sort of about housing. It makes no effort to explain ADU rules, River Walk and “humanitarian needs” all should fit into this single story.
MAD Take: This is worse than a waste of time; it’s a trick being played on readers. Someone used AI “summarization” try to put together disparate issues that have almost no connection to each other or the reader. It’s not journalism. It’s not interesting. It’s not worth the time or effort to click. Shame.  

Things looking up in Merced

Merced County Times. Improvements left and right: Merced undergoing revitalization.
Synopsis: Several projects in the works for several years are scheduled to be completed this year, including extending Bob Hart Square, making Main Street one-way to facilitate more parking, a passenger terminal at Merced Airport, the new Hilton Garden Inn and the final touches on Campus Parkway Plaza. Oh, and the new welcome signs on Hwy 99. There will be a kickoff celebration on March 11.

Riverbank’s future city hall

Modesto Bee. Riverbank might erect city hall where Del Rio Theater once stood.
Synopsis: Two years after the old theater and bingo hall was turned into a vacant lot, the city is listing it as one of four options for city hall. The other options are all on city-owned property; the Del Rio lot is owned by Tony Zaia. If the city builds on the lot, it will require a 3-story building. The old Del Rio building once belonged to the city after Mayor Virginia Madueno pushed the purchase for $1.7 million. A decade later, the city sold the asbestos-ridden theater for $175,000.
MAD Take: The optics of buying a building for $1.7 million then selling it for a tenth of that then buying it back for whatever price would be, well, ugly. Really ugly.  

Some reasons to cheer …

Merced Sun Star. Atwater girls capture first basketball section title since 1988.
Synopsis: A convincing 65-49 victory over No. 1 seed Christian Brothers gave the Falcons something “we’ve dreamed of for a long time.” The team finished 27-5 and used full-court pressure to disrupt the Brothers. Karissa Hukill scored 20 points and had 9 rebounds and 7 steals.  

Merced Sun Star. Stone Ridge Christian boys celebrate back-to-back section titles.
Synopsis: Even without starter Daijon O’Neil, who was forced to sit out the game after being ejected from the previous Stone Ridge win, the Knights beat Waldorf Christian 49-43 in the Division VI final. Jaiden Sahota scored 25 points. It was the 20^th consecutive win for SRC boys.

… Reasons to stop cheering

Westside Express. Parents behaving badly: Entire Firebaugh rooting section booted at soccer match.
Synopsis: Parent behavior at events across the nation is “growing more boorish,” says the story, which then describes what happened at Firebaugh High. The entire cheering section was ordered to leave the game. Firebaugh was ahead 3-0 when the referee – working alone – flagged Firebaugh and awarded Dos Palos a penalty kick. After repeated hazing of both the ref and opposing players, the 20 to 30 parents watching the match were ordered to leave – or risk forfeit. According to CIF rules, Firebaugh High is now responsible for ensuring the parents do not attend the next 3 games.