Valley Headlines

That was one bad haboob

Fresno Bee. Haboob event in Fresno catches forecasters by surprises; then the rain came.
Synopsis: A “haboob” – or violent wind event filled with sand, usually during the summer – kicked up at around 2:30 pm around Fresno on Monday. Winds hit 45 mph at Yosemite Airport and toppled power lines and blew the roof off a carport. “It’s a very rare event,” said meteorologist Felix Castro. “It was kind of unexpected.” The NWS issued three dust-storm warnings from Fresno to Bakersfield. As it moved southeast, it got worse. KCRA reports the dust cloud provoked a crash in Madera County, involving 20 cars. Cal Fire reports there was a “wall” of dust at the Porterville Air Attack base.

Where will the garbage go?

Modesto Bee. Group applauds closure of garbage incinerator, but asks: Why the secrecy?
Synopsis: Ken Carlson writes that Stanislaus supervisors approved plans to shut down the Covanta waste-to-energy incinerator out in the foothills beyond Crows Landing. Supervisors heard a report from the working group they commissioned to study the topic. That irritated activists who said forming such a group was a ploy to get around the Brown Act. John Mataka likes the end result, but felt the county was being too secretive. The Bee noted that it made two records requests back in March, and both were denied. Rather than argue over documents, two supervisors took a more practical approach to loss of the incinerator. Vito Chiesa said the county will have to dispose of an additional 200,000 tons of refuse each year, meaning more staff, more space and higher rates. Channce Condit pointed out that instead of meeting the county’s needs through 2050, the Fink Road Landfill will now be full by 2041. Then what?

Anger surges at PG&E’s lapdog

Fox26. Four PG&E rate hikes in 2024; is the CPUC doing its job?
Synopsis: Each of the company’s FOUR rate hikes last year was approved by the CPUC. “This PUC has become a lapdog,” says Loretta Lynch, who was CPUC president from 2000-02. “They’re supposed to look” at PG&E’s justifications, not just approve the request. Jim Patterson agrees: “To say I’m frustrated over what I’ve seen in 12 years is an understatement.” And “There is an undercurrent of real distrust by members in our committee, both Democrats and Republicans, that the PUC is simply a rubber stamp for utility requests.” Mark Toney of TURN says both the PUC and PG&E “absolutely” should get a closer look, especially considering two of the four hikes were approved with no explanation. He says members of the commission go back and forth between the PUC and the energy industry. Patterson says if Gavin Newsom was serious about relief for the Valley, “He’d start firing some board members.” The CPUC’s response is that rate hikes could have been worse. PG&E says it is limited (by the CPUC) in how much profit it can make.
MAD Note: This is an important story. But it leaves out a couple of important points: 1) People in the Valley are disproportionately impacted by PG&E increases. Our summer temps hit 110 every summer while folks on the coast don’t even own air conditioners. In the winter, we get below freezing from 20 to 30 times a year and sometimes into the 20s. 2) How can MID sell power for 13 cents per kilowatt hour when PG&E’s new base is 39 cents, nearly 3x higher?

The magic of floodplains, wetlands

SJV Water. Climate change could bring disaster or solutions to the San Joaquin Valley.
Synopsis: Monserrat Solis reports on atmospheric rivers, which could swamp the Valley (as they did in refilling Tulare Lake) or save it (as it did by refilling aquifers). It all depends on adaptation. We’re going to get more rain, less snow and much of the snow could be melted by the rain causing big floods. That will stress our levees, threaten our dams and even wash away topsoil. Those who have been building recharge basins are ahead of the game. But the best way to deal with raging rivers is to divert them onto floodplains like Dos Rios State Park or onto bypasses like Yolo or Paradise Cut.

Maven’s Notebook. How floating wetlands could transform restoration in CA’s Delta.
Synopsis: This is a fairly new idea. Create “floating” clumps of marsh plants, tule and grasses anchored on “buoyant mats of peat.” Writer Robin Meadows calls them “magic” in the impact they have. The “mats” can be a few square yards or several acres and even support livestock. Not only does zooplankton (i.e., smelt food) flourish in the mats, but the sub-surface root system provides ample cover from bass. Metropolitan WD pioneered the ensuing experiments. Best of all, this could be “a lot cheaper to upscale,” according to those involved. “If we can get them to work, it will transform restoration of the Delta,” said one advocate.

Call to end bulk-juice imports

Ag Alert. Commentary: US should stop subsidizing bulk wine imports.
Synopsis: Stuart Spencer of the Lodi Winegrape Commission wants the state’s seven largest wineries – E.&J. Gallo, DFV, The Wine Group, etc. – to lose the tax breaks they get for buying cheap juice from South Africa, Argentina and Australia. “I can walk into my local grocery store and see bottles of imported wine sitting on shelves while unharvested grapes hang on vines less than a mile away,” he writes. The US tax code began incentivizing cheap imports in 2004 through the “duty drawback.” It refunds 99% of the duties and taxes paid on bulk imports as long as the wineries export a comparable amount of wine over the next 5 years. Since the program began, imports have increased 875% while exports have grown 6%, so it’s not working. In that time, imported juice went from zero to around 12% of the state’s total production. “It’s time for Congress to fix this mess and support California farmers.”
MAD Note: Yes, it’s time. It’s also time to pass a farm bill. Holding your breath will be futile.

Modesto laying off teachers

Modesto Bee. Modesto City Schools proposes laying off 93 to cut budget as pandemic funds sunset. 
Synopsis: The staff cuts would reduce the district’s budget by $11.5 million. Among those laid off would be 54 classified employees, 22 certificated staff (i.e., teachers) and 17 managers. An angry paraprofessional noted that MCS’s reading proficiency scores went from 9% in 2020 to 33% in 2023, and she believes that is due to people like her. Superintendent Sara Noguchi says the district spent one-time money on people and now can’t afford the new staff. The board votes next week.
MAD Note: Noguchi’s comments are interesting, since she was in charge when the decision to use COVID money to hire staff was made.

Anti-farming plan bombs

Ag Alert. Sonoma County farmers celebrate Measure J defeat.
Synopsis: A voter initiative that would have banned large-scale animal operations in one of California’s premier cheese-making counties was voted down by 85% of voters. This was a repudiation of animal-rights activists who put the issue on the ballot. Farm Bureau President Doug Beretta was “ecstatic” over the result. The Bureau’s “No on J” campaign raised $1.7 million from across the state. People across the state’s valleys considered Measure J “the starting point” for broader attacks on agriculture. It seemed an odd place to pick a fight. If J had passed, losses to the region’s economy were estimated at $260 million and at least 700 jobs.

Better check your data

CBS13. Trump’s mass deportation plan looms over migrant families in CA’s Central Valley.
Synopsis: Reporter Esteban Reynoso went on-camera to tell some compelling stories about the 340,000 farmworkers in San Joaquin County, “the majority of them undocumented.” He profiles the Mendoza family, whose patriarch has no papers. He owns a house, has a long-term job, pays taxes and belongs to a church but could be deported. His adult children, all were born in the US but don’t want to lose their parents. El Concilio is concerned. The preacher who chairs the San Joaquin County GOP says he’s all for immigration, but not until the border is secure.
MAD Note. Esteban’s numbers are a bit off. San Joaquin County’s entire population is 801,000 – so if there are 340,000 farmworkers in the county, it means 42% of everyone is working on a farm and that “the majority” are undocumented. The Migration Policy Institute puts San Joaquin’s number of undocumented residents at 54,000 with the majority (37,000) having lived in the US for at least 10 years. EDD estimated the number of farm workers in SJ county at 14,000 in August (peak month). Perhaps Esteban confused San Joaquin County with the San Joaquin Valley when he did his web search.

Happy Thanksgiving in Merced

ABC30. Hundreds of turkeys given away to families in Merced ahead of Thanksgiving.
Synopsis: Developer Greg Hostetler and cheesemaker Mike Gallo got together to make sure Merced’s poor families have enough to eat on Thanksgiving. In Merced Tuesday, Hostetler gave away 500 turkeys, and Gallo threw in other goodies. Hostetler says he does it to honor his first wife, Cathie, who died in 2010.  They’re doing it all over again today in Los Banos.

The price of crime …

Merced Sun Star. Authorities investigating homicide after inmate found unresponsive in jail.
Synopsis: The SO is calling the death of Edward Ramos, 26, a homicide. He was in a 4-man holding cell, but that’s all the department has divulged. The DA’s office will assist in the investigation. “It’s going to get the same amount of attention as any other homicide,” said Deputy Michael Domingue.

Westside Connect. Two arrested for drug sales in Newman.
Synopsis: The first arrest came after PD pulled over a wobbly bicyclist who was on “searchable probation.” They took her home and found meth. The second came a few hours later when a man was found slumped by the road on Driskell Avenue. He, too, had meth.

Madera Tribune. K-9 helps with arrest.
Synopsis: MPD officer Jerron Romias and partner Ulf arrested Jose Lorenzo for possession of mushrooms and a gun that wasn’t his. A few hours later, they busted Andrew Mendoza for selling THC vapes; he, too, had an unregistered handgun.  

Soccer complex getting real

Merced Focus. Futbol in the Valley: Merced soccer culture grows with multimillion-dollar complex.
Synopsis: First in a series of stories about soccer. In this story, the focus is on Eduardo Lopez, technical director of Albion SC Merced. Albion has 30 teams, all anxious to start practicing and playing on Community Park 42, a $10 million sports complex in south Merced. CP42 has no official name yet but will include 4 tournament pitches with another two planned. LED stadium lights will allow night play. There will also be a sand volleyball court and blacktop basketball courts.