Valley Headlines

Adam Gray takes a slim lead

Merced Focus / KVPR / GV Wire. Adam Gray pulls ahead of John Duarte in CA 13 race.
Synopsis: Victor Patton writes about the latest release of votes from Merced and Stanislaus counties, which showed Adam Gray leading by 182 votes over the incumbent. This is not the end. There are still roughly 1,500 ballots to be cured in Merced County and more results are supposed to be released from Madera and Fresno counties today.

Politico. Gray storms ahead. 
Synopsis: After a long look at a lot of newly elected leaders across several legislative arenas, we finally get to a single paragraph about CA-13.

KSEE / CBS47. Gray has slight lead over Duarte in CA’s 13^th congressional district.
Synopsis: New numbers put the Merced Democrat ahead of Duarte by 182 votes. Merced registrar Mel Levey says the only votes not yet counted are defective and eligible for counting only after being corrected or cured. So, this isn’t over yet. “We will have (certified results) on Dec. 3,” said Levey. And probably not before.

Raising America’s highest rates

Mercury News. PG&E eyes higher bills, seeking revenue to meet rising energy demand.
Synopsis: The investor-owned company says it is preparing its fifth rate increase in less than 2 years, but don’t worry – the “average” bill will rise by only $4.33 a month. It’s needed to improve the grid and improve “new customer” connections and make getting those connections faster. The story notes that in 2023, PG&E’s monthly bills “soared” 22.3% as inflation rose only 2.6%. TURN says PG&E will reap $3 billion if this increase is approved by the CPUC.
MAD Take: What enrages Valley residents is PG&E’s assurance that the “average” bill will rise by “only” $4.33 a month. What crap. The vast majority of this monopoly’s customers live on the coast, where summer temperatures are literally 30 degrees cooler than in the Valley. We don’t do “average” in the Valley. It’s a place of extremes – including extreme profit for this under-regulated monopoly. Former Bee columnist Jeff Jardine put it well: “PG&E? You mean, Plunder Graft & Explosions?”

Time to replace Lions Bridge?

Ceres Courier. Senator pushes for funding to replace Lions Bridge.
Synopsis: The span from Modesto’s Seventh Street across the Tuolumne River into Ceres is downright ancient at 108 years old. Marie Alvarado-Gil is asking Caltrans to replace it as part of the Hwy 132 project. The county says it needs $86 million to do it right. On a safety scale of 1-to-100, the bridge is rated a 2.

Ag trade deficit gets bigger

Successful Farming. Voracious US demand means biggest food and ag trade deficit ever.
Synopsis: Americans can’t get enough of imported fruit, veg, wine, coffee, beef and cheese, leading to a $45.5 billion deficit in food products, according to the USDA. That’s $9.3 billion more than the previous year. Part of the problem is that our food exports have declined for three years in a row. The only nations actually importing more of our food are Mexico and Canada, which account for 40% of food exports. Trump’s promise to impose 25% tariffs on those two countries has many farmers and processors worried, especially since Pierre Trudeau has promised a “response.” Never mind that such tariffs would violate an existing treaty.
MAD Take: Just for fun, I went to the USDA’s data site and looked up the list of top exports to Canada. Fresh vegetables (No. 2), fresh fruit (3), juice (5), dairy products (6) were all in the top six. And they come from CA. The report says Canada is the “top export market for 16 of the 25 consumer-oriented categories and second in four more.” So, by all means, let’s penalize them. 

Blue Diamond lays off 38

Sacramento Bee. Blue Diamond Growers cuts costs, broadens reach in response to challenges.
Synopsis: The world’s largest almond co-op says its revenues were down 17% from 2022, but the net income was up $71 million over last year. The loss in revenues resulted in 38 lost jobs. The silver lining is that the almond glut has dissipated, and prices should be more reflective of demand.

Yes, our air is getting better

Ag Net West. EPA finalizes approval for CA Clean Air Plan updates in SJ Valley.
Synopsis: The approved “plan” is actually an extension of the attainment deadline. Important note: The extension would not have been granted if not for farmers making strides to comply. There has been significant progress to use the Carl Moyer and FARMER programs to replace older, more-polluting farm implements with cleaner alternatives. The CA Air Resources Board says that has reduced daily nitrogen oxides emissions by 5.0 tons and means a drop of 0.27 tons of PM2.5 in just one year. Bottom line: We’re not perfect, but we’re making progress.

Children’s Garden needs tending

Modesto Bee. Modesto Children’s Garden forced to move from Pelendale site.
Synopsis: Children’s Garden president Jessica Coleman says her group needs assistance to help kids learn the value of good food and how to grow it. The 1-acre garden began 5 years ago with help from Color the Skies of Ripon, UOP and the American Heart Assn. It is moving from its original location to Carpenter and California avenues next spring, getting it closer to St. Stanislaus, Central Catholic, Franklin Elementary and Twain Junior schools. The program needs about $200,000 a year to operate. An anonymous donor will match everything up to $10,000.

Heavy rain speeds pollution

Western Farm Press. Extreme weather accelerates nitrate pollution.
Synopsis: Heavy rains can cause nitrate contamination of groundwater in just 10 days, says UC Davis. “The conventional wisdom was that it could take several weeks to several years for nitrates to move from the root zones to reach groundwater,” said Prof Isaya Kisekka, the study’s lead author. But the atmospheric rivers that are now routinely drenching CA vastly accelerated that process, moving nitrates 33 feet from the surface in just 10 days. The study took place in Esparto. Worse, heavy rains followed by a heavy drenching moved the nitrate through the soil even more quickly.

The impacts of SGMA

Ag Alert. CA reflects on SGMA 10 years later.
Synopsis: Christine Souza writes about the law that was passed in 2014 and whose impacts are just now being felt. Unfortunately, several Valley agencies haven’t yet figured out how limit pumping to sustainable levels, meaning pumping plans in Chowchilla, Delta-Mendota, Kaweah, Tulare Lake and Kern County have been rejected. It would help, says farmer Don Cameron, if the state had implemented a means of better capturing all those heavy rains the past few years. But we didn’t. Now, the PPIC and others are saying farmers will have to fallow perhaps 1 million acres to meet requirements. The Farm Bureau’s Alexandra Biering notes that 90% of high- to medium-priority basins have approved sustainability plans.

We’ll see you again on Monday …

Valley Solutions. Happy Thanksgiving.
Synopsis: Wishing everyone a very happy Thanksgiving holiday and letting you know the editor of Valley Solutions newsletter will be taking a few days off. We’ll see you again next Monday. If you’re traveling, be sure to get home safely.