Valley Headlines

Looking good by comparison

SF Chronicle. It takes a while to save up for a home in the Bay Area; but not as long as here.
Synopsis: If you make the median income and save 10% of that per year toward buying a home, it will take you 21 years to save enough for a down payment for a home if you live in Santa Cruz. That’s the longest of the 15 areas surveyed in this story. Overall, it will take 20 years to save up enough for a home in LA, 19 years in SLO, 17 in San Francisco, 16 in Honolulu and 15 years in Boulder Co. But in Merced it’s only 14 years – the shortest time period listed for CA. A separate chart shows that if you earn the median income, you’ll pay 78% of it for a home in Santa Cruz but only 66% in San Francisco. In Merced, it’s 54%. Nationwide, it’s only 36%.
MAD Take: It’s nice to be better than San Francisco, LA and Santa Cruz at something.

Seeing Valley’s bald eagles

Merced Sun Star. Bald eagles are on display around this Valley Lake each winter. We found them. 
Synopsis: The national bird has learned to love Millerton Lake outside Fresno. Eagles were first spotted in the area back in 2007, but now a lot of them apparently fly down from Canada to spend the winter. The state parks are offering tours on Saturdays and Sundays March 9. It takes about 3 hours. It even includes a boat ride. Dress warm.

Democrats’ plan is ‘bankrupt’

Sacramento Bee. Democrats’ ‘affordability agenda’ is bankrupt; 3 reasons. 
Synopsis: Bee columnist Tom Philp writes that “fiscal darkness is gathering in CA.” Adding, “It’s so potentially bad that Gov. Gavin Newsom has been in Washington sucking up to President Donald Trump.” Reason 1: Power crisis. It’s already costly and will get more-so after the lawsuits around the LA wildfires are factored in. The state will be required to either bail out the utility companies or let them go bankrupt. Meanwhile, utility bills in a state with the nation’s most moderate climate are the highest anywhere. 2) Insurance crisis. So long, State Farm, Allstate, etc. 3) CA budget crisis. If the federal government pulls back funding, say goodbye to any purported surplus.

Two views on Trump & water

Sacramento Bee. Why Rep. Vince Fong believes Trump’s action water is right for CA.
Synopsis: Rep. Vince Fong appears to be doing some damage control after President Trump reached into Fong’s district and ordered the release of irrigation water. Fong writes about the president’s “decisive actions” on Day One vis a vis CA water. Says Fong: “Having the President of the United State actively engaged in CA’s water policy is critical to our efforts to modernized and improve CA’s water storage and conveyance system.”
MAD Take: No mention by Rep. Fong of the 7,300 acre feet of irrigation water lost last week.

LA Times. CA farmers bought Trump’s election pitch; now they may pay the price. 
Synopsis: George Skelton writes about the 15 Central Valley “farm belt counties” that Trump carried, including 9 by landslide. While he’s promising more water, he’s simultaneously scaring away farm workers and has started a trade war with our two largest ag-product buyers. Skelton talked to Esmeralda Soria, whose father was deported several times. He also checks in with professors Jerry Nickelsburg of UCLA and Danie Sumner of UC Davis.

Despite protests, houses OK’d

Turlock Journal. Residents protest planned housing project near junior high.
Synopsis: The Turlock Planning Commission approved a 13-acre housing project “despite a room full of angry residents and over 40 letters of protest.” It will be at Monte Vista and Walnut, assuming conditions are met. Bright Homes wants to build 114 homes on land that had been zoned commercial. Also, Bright wants narrower streets than required by city code. The city won’t be responsible for the upkeep of the narrower streets, meaning it will be the responsibility of homeowners.

Fighting fires runs in family

Merced Sun Star. Merced fire captain runs into son while assisting on LA wildfires.
Synopsis: Capt. Bryan Akers was sent to LA on Jan. 8 to fight the Eaton Fire. That’s where he met up with Mason Akers, who is in his first year working with the Cal Fire Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit. They had just enough time for a hug and a photo. Mason is a fourth-generation firefighter.

New top docs for 2 counties

Merced Focus. UC Merced alum poised to become County Public Health Director.
Synopsis: Dr. Kristyn Sullivan is set to be named the Merced County Public Health Director at Tuesday’s board of supervisor meeting. Currently the Central CA Alliance for Health Merced director, she led the county’s COVID-19 response. Her doctorate is in quantitative psychology.

Madera Tribune. New director named for behavioral health.
Synopsis: Christine “Chrissie” Doss has taken over the department. She is a licensed clinical social worker. According to the county’s website, Doss’s hiring “marks a significant step forward in the county’s efforts to expand and improve behavioral health services.”

Beware: Bird flu spreading

LA Times. H5N1 bird flu variant found in Nevada dairy worker as data shows change in virus.
Synopsis: The USDA reported last week that some Nevada cows had been infected with the new D1.1 variant of bird flu. Now it is being reported that a worker also tested positive for the far more virulent form of the disease. The only people previously sickened by D1.1 both became severely ill, but the Nevada person has recovered. The CDC is looking into it, but with a communications blackout we might never know. Symptoms included conjunctivitis, which has impacted most of the 67 people infected by all variants of bird flu. USDA scientist John Korslund is worried because “the story had to be leaked, the reporting to CNN was unauthorized. Why?”
MAD Take: A close friend living in Reno called this weekend to catch up. Said she’s feeling better after having caught an awful flu two weeks ago. The weirdest thing, she had pink-eye at the same time. Dr. Korslund is not the only worried person.

Growing next year’s grass

Fox26. Merced County fields grow turf for Super Bowl LX and other major sports events.
Synopsis: On a farm near Livingston, 600 acres of Bermuda grass happily growing in anticipation of the 2026 Super Bowl. West Coast Turf says the sod will be used at Levi Stadium and on the fields hosting the AFC and NFC title games. They expect it to be 1.75 inches thick and weigh around 18 pounds per square foot when it’s ready. West Coast Turf also grows bluegrass, blue rye, ben grass, fine fescue and something called tiffway for use on athletic fields.

NFL MVP gets all choked up

Barstool Sports. The most wholesome thing you’ll see today.
Synopsis: Barstool Sports had a camera on Bills’ quarterback Josh Allen when he was presented with a video made by patients at Buffalo’s Oishei Children’s Hospital. In a split screen, you see what Josh is seeing as he reads messages from patients in the hospital wing named after his grandmother. If you didn’t get any good feelings from the Super Bowl, this might help.