Valley Headlines

 UC Merced: Deportations costly

SF Chronicle. Mass deportations could cost CA in these surprising ways. 
Synopsis: As deportations nationwide ramp up, UC Merced and the folks at the Bay Area Council Economic Institute have crunched some numbers, concluding that the cost of removing 2.3 million immigrants from CA will be around $275 billion in lost labor, economic output, lost jobs at small businesses and consumer spending. Anti-immigration advocates say the large supply of undocumented labor depresses wages, burdens healthcare and education systems and deprives citizens of entry-level opportunity. The report acknowledged the issues but did not address them. It found undocumented immigrants make up 8% of the state’s workforce, with 22% of all undocumented immigrants living in the San Joaquin Valley. The jobs most commonly done by undocumented immigrants: Housekeeping (35%), agriculture (33%), construction (26%) and packagers (24%). The study found the US has been reliant on immigrants for population growth “for years,” and CA would have lost 85,000 people last year if not for immigration. Interestingly, the study found 11% of all small businesses in the state are owned by undocumented immigrants who paid $10.6 billion in state and local taxes and $13 billion in federal taxes.

Police actions questioned

Modesto Bee. Arrests at weekend protest decried at Modesto police review board meeting. 
Synopsis: Three reporters combined to write about the “two dozen” people who showed up at the Modesto Police Review Board meeting at Tenth Street Plaza on Wednesday to protest treatment of folks during last Saturday’s downtown protest. In Modesto, the protests came in three phases, starting with anti-ICE protests downtown, moving to Graceada Park for the No Kings protest, which spread out to Five Points. In all, protests drew 4,000 to 5,000 people. Of those, six were arrested -- all downtown -- on “suspicion of disorderly conduct and obstructing officers.” Apparently, some were arrested for simply wearing masks. Modesto is one of only three CA cities that prohibit masks, along with glass bottles, baseball bats and tactical vests. By arresting folks for wearing masks, protesters said the city is targeting its “Black, brown, immigrant and radical” communities and are guilty of increasing the “fear, anger and frustration in an already volatile political climate.” Also, some Modesto officers were masked and in plain clothes while arresting demonstrators for being masked. Some were held for up to 12 hours and even shackled. Stephen Allen said police broke his finger then refused to provide medical assistance.
MAD Take: Interestingly, there was only 1 arrest in Fresno, two in Stockton, zero in San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Merced or Los Banos. If someone’s face is hidden, is it easier to make an arrest?

Turning wine to ‘win’ at Bronco

SF Chronicle. How the new CEO behind Two Buck Chuck plans to ‘win’ the wine crisis. 
Synopsis: Wine writer Esther Mobley talks to Dom Engels, the relatively new CEO of Ceres-based Bronco Winery, who “has arrived at a moment when the wine industry is in a tailspin.” The wine sector falling fastest is the sub-$10 category, Bronco’s specialty. That explains 277 layoffs this year. But Engels says he believes a corner has been turned. He blames the “premiumization” of wine for driving away drinkers. He doesn’t like canned cocktails and says organic wine will always be a niche product. The future, he says, is in the $15 to $20 price point, which is why he recently purchased Wine Hooligans. He believes  social media and tasting rooms will turn around Bronco’s fortunes. Writes Mobley: “Tough as his job may sound, don’t feel bad for Engels. He’s having fun, he swears.”  

County relents on fire station

Merced County Times. County halts plan to close fire station at Dos Palos Wye. 
Synopsis: After strenuous objections from Supervisor Scott Silveira and others, Merced County supervisors relented and agreed to keep both Dos Palos fire stations open … for now. A sales tax passed by DP residents helped. Stations 75 at the Wye and 76 downtown will remain open for 18 months as officials try to figure out a plan for “sustainable fire coverage” going forward. After 18 months, it will be up to Dos Palos to take on a “larger share of the operating costs for Station 76,” said other supervisors. The sales-tax measure will generate roughly $250,000 a year but keeping both stations open will cost around $1.5 million annually.

Farmers create fire ‘department’

SF Chronicle. They can’t get fire insurance, so wineries are seeking out fire trucks and military tech. 
Synopsis: Wine writer Esther Mobley (again) talked to Napa winery owners who are thoroughly worried about fire. With insurance companies unwilling to write policies, they’re investing in equipment, mitigation and firefighters. It would be easier, they said, if the Trump administration had not canceled a $34 million grant to cut back vegetation and set up defensible perimeters around vineyards. Mobley writes that Napa Valley wineries have “resources that many CA landowners can only dream of.” They have pooled their resources to position bulldozers near wildlands and create massive vegetation breaks. “I wrote some big checks. My neighbors wrote some big checks,” said winery owner Blakesly Chappellet. They’re also setting up water-delivery systems to the edge of vineyards. Growers are also talking to an Israeli company called FireDome, which it says will launch balloon-like capsules into nascent fires to deliver water or salt-based retardant. “You can’t prepare once the fire is here.”

Fire started near ‘camp’

ABC30. Man arrested, accused of starting Raymond Fire in Madera County.
Synopsis: A fire in Madera County was contained to the 40 acres owned by Jaswinder Kang. He says replacing the fence will cost over $100,000 and total damages will be $300,000 on his property, which includes his 3-V Feed & Garden Supply. The man accused of starting the fire is Hilario Vargas Martinez. Kang says he has been seeing more fires since a homeless camp was created near the river. “We can’t expand. I can’t feed my animals. I can’t do anything. Every night, imagine the stress I sleep with.”

Lions, bears and wolves

Ag Alert. Balance needed to protect livestock, pets and people. 
Synopsis: Rancher Taylor Hagata runs cattle in the northeastern part of the state on the same ranch his great, great grandfather started. His family has always made room for wildlife even in the most trying times. Still, he had never seen a mountain lion until 30 years ago. Now they are common and have killed two of his dogs and he has video of them on his front porch. Each year, the number of calves he loses to predation increases. Bears began competing with lions over deer and calf kills years ago, which means lions kill more often. Now there are wolves competing with both lions and bears. He’s also noticed deer grazing in parks and schoolyards in town. Why? Because lions don’t normally follow them into town. That’s changing. You can’t focus on saving wolves at the exclusion of bears while ignoring lions. And please don’t forget about endangered ranchers.

New judges for Valley

GV Wire. Three new judges appointed in the Valley.
Synopsis: Bill McEwen looks at the latest superior court appointments. One of those is Ashley Albertoni Sausser, who will replace retiring Judge Shelly Seymour in Merced County. Sausser has been with Albertoni & Associates since 2015 and a lawyer in Merced since 2007. She got her law degree from Humphreys in Stockton. Also appointed was Frank Ruiz in Tulare County and Adam Ramirez in San Joaquin. He, too, got his law degree from Humphreys and teaches there now. Their pay is $244,727 a year.

Senator wants records released

Cal Matters. Police, DA refuse to release records on Latina senator’s DUI arrest. 
Synopsis: State Sen. Sabrina Cervantes has asked that all reports, body cam footage and warrants used in her arrest and the DA’s decision not to charge her be made public. So far, both the Sac PD and DA’s office have refused to provide any material. Cervantes says the arrest was politically motivated intended to “silence” an LGBTQ Latina lawmaker. The DA, a Democrat, insists politics did not enter into his decision to withhold documents. Says the First Amendment Coalition: “To sort out (competing narratives) the public is entitled to see what the police know and what they believed at the time.” One of Cervantes’ lawyers likened her treatment to “what we’re seeing across the country, especially with Latinos.” CalMatters reviewed footage from a nearby business and said it is clear the crash was the fault of the other driver, who ran a stop sign before “careening into Cervantes’ black sedan.”

Atwater ready for the Fourth

Merced County Times. Independence Day – an Atwater tradition. 
Synopsis: Robin Shepard writes about the upcoming day-long July 4^th celebration in Atwater, starting with a fun run, then the parade, picnic and finally fireworks. Race organizer Brad Pickle expects “a herd” of runners this year. Dave Luna will MC the parade and there will be lots of food trucks at Ralston Park. The fireworks budget was increased by $4K, so it should be a good show.

How many grub hubs are enough?

Ceres Courier. Panel asks: How many grub hubs should Ceres have?
Synopsis: There are two applications to create food-truck courts in Ceres;. I both are approved by the Planning Commission, the city will have three. Commission Chair Gary M. Condit pushed the commissions to table applications until the city council provides guidance over just how many grub hubs are too many. Commissioner Dorie Perez wanted to push forward, saying “anything that promotes business” is good. Eventually, the commission decided to go slow.

She floated away, but is fine

Modesto Bee. Woman found after drifting miles down Stanislaus River on inflatable pool float.
Synopsis: A woman was reported missing in the Stanislaus River at Jacob Myers Park in Riverbanks, prompting the search-and-rescue unit to respond. A few hours later, she was found safe sitting on a beach at River Road Park south of Escalon. She was fine but floated farther than she anticipated.