Valley Headlines

Valley Fever breaking records

LA Times. CA Valley Fever cases hit record highs again in 2025, state reports. 
Synopsis: There were 6,761 cases of Valley Fever through the end of July, a significant increase over the 10-year average of 3.833 for the same time period. But it was only a slight increase over last year’s 7-month total. For all of 2024, there were 12,500 cases reported. “Valley Fever is a serious illness that’s here to stay,” said Erica Pan, the state Public Health director. It is most common in the southern San Joaquin Valley where the Coccidioides fungus thrives in dry soil. But the numbers in the Northern SJ Valley are rising along with cases on the Central Coast. Cases in Fresno, Merced, Contra Costa and San Luis Obispo counties have doubled since 2023. Valley Fever is not contagious, but pets are susceptible.
MAD Note: Some of the most important work on Valley Fever is taking place at the UC Merced Center for Valley Fever Research. The center was among the first to link dust and rodents to the contagion. The center has been instrumental in developing the Valley Fever Network.

What food trucks serve

Modesto Bee. Stanislaus food truck serves up sandwiches, second chances.
Synopsis: Reporter Maria Figueroa writes about the Opportunity Truck, a new venture from the Turlock Gospel Mission’s Nourish Kitchen. The truck is open Wednesdays and Thursdays and every other Friday from noon to 2 pm. In those limited hours, it offers teriyaki chicken sandwiches, pickled carrots, the TGM burger with Hilmar Cheese and bacon jam, or the Turlock Dog on a fresh bolillo roll. Fries are cooked beef tallow. John Martin, a chef in the Bay Area for years, runs the program. He moved to Modesto to be closer to family. Mission director Christian Curby came up with the idea, having seen similar programs in Seattle. A USDA grant in 2023 got it off the ground. So far, 125 have graduated from the program and 70 are working at other trucks and have stables homes.

Merced Sun Star. Food truck park at Merced rental car lot grows into major spot.
Synopsis: You can visit Courtesy Rent a Car to pick up a vehicle … or just a taco. Owner Jeff Henenfent, has hosted food trucks at his 15^th and R location for 10 years. More trucks were added during COVID, and he currently has 8 offering Mexican, Indian, Teppanyaki and even dessert. He provides security and full water and power hookups along with trash service. Merced’s food-truck scene is growing, and operators say that’s good for business. “There’s so many (customers), there’s enough for everybody to sell.” 

More problems at StanCOG

Modesto Bee. More StanCOG excessive spending revealed: Rental cars, luxury hotels, a $2,800 iPad. 
Synopsis: Ken Carlson reports on what he found in public records at the Stanislaus Council of Governments. Ceres Mayor Javier Lopez rented a dozen cars in 100 days, costing taxpayers $8,330 while he chaired the StanCOG board. StanCOG also bought him a $2,800 iPad. Modesto councilwoman Rosa Escutia-Braaton racked up charges of $9,868 at the Ritz. The Stanislaus Grand Jury previously found charges of $100,000 for rental cars by director Rosa de Leon Park, who has been fired. Nick Dokoozlian, who chairs the Stanislaus County Taxpayers Assn, called Lopez’s use of rental cars “unacceptable.” Other expenses from elected officials were detailed but appear modest in comparison. Lopez is challenging Adam Gray for his seat in Congress.

The cost of ICE raids

Cal Matters. More CA job losses after ICE raids.
Synopsis: UC Merced researchers say the high-profile ICE and Border Patrol raids in LA and the Valley – which swept up citizens and noncitizens – have caused people to go into hiding. They found a 4.9% drop in the number of Californians reporting for work from May to July. The number of Latinos reporting to work fell 8%, Blacks 5.6%, Asians 5.2% and whites 3.4%.

LA Times. Man fleeing Home Depot ICE raid killed by car on LA freeway: ‘Just so inhumane.’ 
Synopsis: A man fleeing an ICE raid at a Home Depot in Monrovia ran onto Hwy 210 and was struck and killed by a vehicle. Reports say DHS detained 13 people, but the agency said it was not pursuing the man, who had been waiting to be hired as a day laborer. Said UCLA prof Robert Romero, “These horrible, unjust ICE policies led to someone dying.” The man’s daughter rushed to the Home Depot then the hospital. Romero said the raid appears to be in violation of restraining orders against such raids. It is the second person killed while trying to evade agents in CA.

School admin is preparing

Westside Express. New Los Banos school interim superintendent to ensure smooth transition.
Synopsis: Sean Richey has been appointed interim superintendent of Los Banos Unified School District until the board can find a replacement for Mark Marshall. Richey, the Chief Academic Officer, says he is interested in the job. Meanwhile, he intends to “make sure the district continues to run smoothly, make sure we are spending our money correctly and … make sure everything is in place to start the school year.” He believes Marshall left the district “poised to do great thing.”

GV Wire. Clovis Unified tells staff it won’t interfere with teachers unionization bid. 
Synopsis: The state required CA’s largest non-union school district to broadcast a live message from its administration promising not to interfere with attempts by teachers to form a bargaining unit. The state compelled the district to stop funding the Clovis Unified Faculty Senate. Clovis Unified Board member Clint Olivier said former superintendent Doc Buchanan “must be spinning in his grave.”

Importance of water investments

Cal Matters. CA legislature’s final weeks could decide fate of Delta water tunnel. 
Synopsis: Dan Walters writes that of all the issues facing California over the next few weeks, the most important is the fate of the Delta Conveyance Project, aka Delta Tunnel. Known over the past 50 years as the Peripheral Canal, Twin Tunnels and now DCP, the state wants to bypass CEQA rules in permitting the tunnel. Proponents say pumping the Sacramento River below the Delta will save it. Opponents say taking water out of the Delta will kill it. The Democratic Party is so divided over the issue that Republicans might actually have the deciding say.

CA Ag Today. $1B is just the start, says Water Blueprint.
Synopsis: CA Cirtus Mutual says the Water Blueprint for the SJ Valley should sound an alarm for the state’s water future. The organization sent a letter last week to members of Congress and the US Secretary of Interior urging significant investment in water solutions. The Blueprint identified $12 billion in needed improvements. The Blueprint thanked Congress for the $1 billion “down payment” allocated for water projects nationwide in the recent budget bill, but stressed the need for more investment.

Healthcare centers opening

Valley Solutions. Invest in healthcare, don’t cut it.
Synopsis: Rep. Adam Gray helped celebrate the opening of the Golden Valley Health Centers administrative facility at Castle Commerce Center with a presentation last week. “There are some in Congress who believe we need to cut healthcare,” Rep. Gray told around 100 people gathered for the grand opening. “That’s not what we’re doing here today.” Gray said Golden Valley, which operates 50 clinics and testing facilities across four counties, is on the “front lines” of providing healthcare in rural areas. Gray presented a posting from the Congressional Record recognizing the importance of Golden Valley and its efforts to serve the people of the Northern San Joaquin Valley. The previous day, Golden Valley opened a similar facility in Stockton.

Merced County Times. A homegrown investment in health and hope.
Synopsis: Supervisor Daron McDaniel writes about the opening of the Golden Valley Health Centers administrative center. The fully renovated 57,000 square-foot facility houses 200 employees, training rooms, meeting rooms, class rooms and other facilities. He said it shows that Castle is taking off.

Kerman News. UHC opens urgent care center.
Synopsis: There was a grand opening in Kerman for the United Health Center urgent-care facility this week. It will be open from noon to 9 pm most days but closed Wednesdays and Sundays. 

Staycations at the Graybar

Modesto Bee. Manteca man sentenced to 9 years in murder-for-hire plot.
Synopsis: Jagninder Singh Boparai got 9 years in prison for trying to have a business rival killed. He and two others gave a man they believed to be a hitman $6,000 to do a beat-down then made a $1,000 payment for the killing. All this took place in at a Starbucks near Manteca. The investigation involved a dozen agencies, from ATF to Turlock police. 

Fresno Bee. CA prison guard sentenced to life inmate abuse: ‘He’s a monster.’
Synopsis: Former correctional officer Gregory Rodriguez was sentence to 224 years in prison for sexually assaulting 9 women at the women’s facility in Chowchilla. He was found guilty of 64 counts at Chowchilla, where he worked for 15 years. One of his victims said: “He’s a monster.”

Election paperwork in order

Westside Express. In low-key council campaign, ‘accusations’ seem off-base.
Synopsis: Accusations that one of the candidates for Los Banos City Council District 1 has not fully divulged her ties to an out-of-town developer seem off base, according to reporter Mike Dunbar. All of her paperwork is in order. What a competing website characterized as unreported “debt” is legally considered “breach of contract,” aka back rent. Even her opponent doesn’t seem worried.

Shakira generated $2M

Fresno Bee. Shakira stadium concert boosts Fresno economy.
Synopsis: Not only did Shakira’s appearance at Fresno State’s football stadium sell out, it attracted at least 9,700 visitors from 50+ miles away. They spent $2,143,286 on lodging, transportation, food and drinks, according to Visit Fresno County. CEO Lisa Oliveira says the show attracted visitors from Nevada, Colorado, Florida and Illinois along with fans from Sacramento, SF and LA. She got the data from phone geolocation.

New norm in Fresno: $5 tacos

Fresno Bee. $5 tacos? How inflation has hit Fresno taquerias.
Synopsis: Thirty years ago, tacos at Al’s Rico Tacos cost 50 cents each. Today, they’re $1.50, unless you buy 2, then it’s $2. That’s about the cheapest you can find anywhere near Fresno. The going rate is around $3 and up to $5. “Everything has gone up, but what’s affected us the most is the price of beef,” said Lupita Arambula, who owns El Taco Rapido. At Tacos Tijuana tacos are 50% higher at $3.50 each; at Robertito’s they’re going for $4.49 and if you want sauce, it’s a dime more. The owner of Los Primos says meat prices have gone up $4 a pound. And since the ICE raids began, her business has really fallen off.

The correct cow?

Valley Solutions. Telling the difference between Brown Swiss and Jerseys.
A sharp-eyed reader on Thursday pointed out, with some dismay, that the Valley Solutions editor apparently doesn’t know the difference between a Brown Swiss and a Jersey cow. In the editor’s defense, it should be noted the cows in question were brown. Unfortunately, that’s not true of all Brown Swiss. The reader suggested the Valley Solutions editor should visit more farms. Good idea.