Valley Headlines

Canal sinking; billions needed

Maven’s Notebook. CA Aqueduct repairs: Billions needed to fix subsidence. 
Synopsis: Land subsidence along the CA Aqueduct is threatening the State Water Project’s ability to deliver water to farms and Southern CA, according to a recent report. Presented last week at the Metropolitan Imported Water Subcommittee by a State Water Project manager, the report blamed over-pumping of groundwater for agriculture for a “measurable uptick in subsidence in this area since 2014.” The San Luis Canal is sinking around the Panoche and Los Gatos portions. Measurements this year show subsidence has lowered delivery capacity by 3% compared to 2023. To keep water flowing, DWR has increased pumping pressures but that has “increased power costs.” Modeling shows 84% of the canal’s water could be impacted due to continued subsidence. To fix it requires raising the canal liner along its entire 27-mile length at a cost of $3 billion. The state says Metropolitan should pay half that, but Met’s board balked. “Do folks ever talk about the water agencies responsible for allowing that harm to occur actually paying their fair share,” asked Met Chair Mark Gold. Adan Ortega called subsidence “a big physical manifestation of the transformation to globalized agriculture.” He added that the “legacy of abandonment” is the fault of people who are “not the people who started it.”

Hooray for salmon (boo to bass)

CA Sportfishing Protection Alliance. Chinook salmon on the lower Mokelumne River.
Synopsis: The Alliance celebrates last year’s record-shattering salmon spawning cohort of 35,450. That was an incredible 24% more than the old record set last year on the Mokelumne. The return was credited to innovate hatchery management, habitat enhancement and cold-water flows from the Camanche and Pardee reservoirs. Biologists pointed out that fish trucked from the Mokelumne to coastal areas then released had a 10x greater chance of returning than those released near the hatchery.
MAD Take: Studies showing that salmon bypassing the Delta have a 10x greater chance of survival substantiates what we’ve been saying for three decades -- that striped bass consume 97% of all salmon who enter from the east. Then there’s this: the Sacramento River’s salmon population has been crashing the last few years, despite flows 8x higher than flows found on the San Joaquin River and 30x higher than flows on the Mokelumne. The Mokelumne proves that improving salmon numbers isn’t about flow, it’s about predation.

Valadao: Stop this bad bill

Fresno Bee. Now is the time for Rep. Valadao to show he opposes harmful Medicaid cuts. 
Synopsis: The Fresno Bee editorial board (Juan Esparza Loera and Tad Weber) writes that the ball is once again in David Valadao’s court. He represents CA’s 22^nd congressional district, in which 67% of the population relies on Medicaid (via MediCal) for healthcare. After voting for the Big Beautiful Bill last month, Valadao postured with an angry letter – signed by 12 Republicans – saying that they were drawing a red line on Medicaid reductions. Now, an even worse bill has been sent back to the House by the Senate. Valadao shouldn’t forget the 6,900 healthcare jobs in his district, most dependent on Medicaid spending. “We encourage Valadao to put his words into action.”

Del Monte files for protection

SF Chronicle. Del Monte seeks bankruptcy protection. 
Synopsis: The 139-year-old canned fruits and vegetables company is in financial distress but has secured $912.5 million in debtor-in-possession financing that will allow it to operate as a sale progresses. Del Monte is based in Walnut Creek and owns the Contadina tomato brand, Kitchen Basics and Joyba bubble tea. Sales of brand-name canned products have fallen dramatically the past few years. Apparently, the 50% Trump tariff on imported steel, which went into effect in June, pushed up the price of Del Monte’s cans and put profitability out of reach.
MAD Take: The story makes no mention, but Del Monte is a major employer in Modesto with roughly 1,700 employees at three locations.

Stanislaus is 4.5% more valuable

Ceres Courier. Assessed valuation of properties in Stanislaus rises by 4.56%. 
Synopsis: Assessor Don Gaekle reports a 4.56% rise in property value for the county, saying property in Stanislaus is worth $72.8 billion. Properties in incorporated cities rose 5.07% while county properties were up 3.43%. Patterson saw the largest increase at 9.44% followed by Riverbank (8.72) and Ceres (5.44). Modesto (4.54) and Turlock (3.75) brought up the rear. For specific properties, visit www.stancounty.com/assessor/

Do your picnic shopping in Valley

Ag Alert. CA’s July 4 cookout costs higher than national average. 
Synopsis: The “typical” Fourth of July cookout for 10 will cost $90.06 in California, well above the national average of $70.92. It is the second-highest cost ever, following only 2013. This is the first year that California-specific costs have been broken out. The cookout includes cheeseburgers, chicken, pork chops, strawberries and ice cream. Ground beef cost $1 more in CA than nationwide at $14.33 for 2 pounds and chicken was listed at $12.48 for 2 pounds.
MAD Take: Not sure where the Farm Bureau went shopping, but the prices for pork ($19.30 for 3 pounds), chicken ($12.48 for 2 pounds), strawberries ($6.14 for 2 pints) and lemonade ($4.47 for 2.5 quarts) seem, uh, more than a little high. Maybe they should do their shopping in Modesto. 

Author of lie-filled report quits

Fresno Bee. Fresno Unified spokesperson resigns after AI scandal involving teachers union. 
Synopsis: Nikki Henry took responsibility for producing a 9-page “report” that detailed incendiary and threatening comments supposedly made by members of the Fresno Teachers Association and directed at new superintendent Misty Her. But virtually all of those comments were entirely fabricated, and Henry blamed the artificial-intelligence computer program she used to compile the report. Henry claims she produced a “rough draft” never meant to be shared “beyond six people.” The head of the union doesn’t buy it, saying Henry was engaged in spreading “deliberate misinformation.”

CA Latinos reject Trump

LA Times. Trump was winning with Latinos, now his cruelty is derailing him. 
Synopsis: Columnist Gustavo Arellano cites data from Pew Research, which has been especially perceptive to changes in Latino voting. Pew says Trump won 48% of Latino votes last year, the highest ever for a Republican and 12% better than he got in 2020. The shift was due, in part, because many Latinos have soured on “illegal immigration” as a defining issue. “They were willing to take a risk on an erratic strongman resembling those from their ancestral homelands,” writes Arellano. All Trump had to do to solidify his gains was keep his promise about deporting drug dealers, murderers and child molesters. Instead, he sent masked men after anyone with brown skin, “like secret police in a third-rate dictatorship” then packed them into “detention facilities like tinned fish.” Now, half of all Latinos are worried they or someone close to them will be deported. Only 31% approve of Trump and even newly elected Latino Republicans are demanding he call off “masked migra squads.” Writes Arellano, “Many Latinos voted for Trump because they felt Democrats forgot them. Now that Trump is paying attention to us, more and more of us are realizing that his intentions were never good.”

Politico. CA Republicans still love Donald Trump.
Synopsis: Republicans are steadfast in support of Donald Trump, says a poll from UC Irvine, with 80% approving of his performance – most “strongly” approving. Meanwhile, 84% of Democrats and 45% of independents “strongly disapprove.” Overall, 63% of Californians disapprove, a figure unchanged over the past month. Disapproval is strongest among Black, Latino and Asian respondents. Among white men, 39% strongly support Trump. The poll has a 4.5% margin of error.

New surgical center in Turlock

Turlock Journal. Sutter Health opens new surgical center in Turlock.
Synopsis: The Tower Health & Wellness Cetner opened at 1801 Colorado Ave. on Monday, providing 3 operating rooms for those covered by Medicare. Mayor Amy Bublak said, “to see the investment Sutter’s putting into Turlock gives me hope.” Sutter’s Amber Campbell said she would return to Turlock in 2026 to open additional facilities for orthopedics, podiatry and pain management.

Bureaucracy same as redlining

GV Wire. Dear Mayor and Council, Fresno’s housing bottlenecks are a modern form of redlining. 
Synopsis: Council candidate AJ Rassamni offers an interesting POC as he urges Fresno to allow office-to-dwelling conversions without watering down a proposal from the faith-based community. As president of the Blackstone Merchants Assn, he’s extremely aware of how city bureaucracy can bottle up any project. He says the city claims to be rolling out the red carpet for developers, but “that carpet is lined with Velcro.” This change allows projects that would help disadvantages populations find and afford housing. “Bureaucracy should never block opportunity.”

Ceres budget ‘very concerning’

Ceres Courier. Troubling financial future awaits Ceres City Council, but are more taxes necessary?
Synopsis: Columnist Jeff Benziger writes about the “concerning – very concerning” city budget picture in Ceres. This reckoning would have happened earlier, but the American Rescue Plan Act papered over two years of deficits. The city relied too heavily on sales taxes from weed. “This current very inexperienced council – led by a mayor who thinks he’s ready to go to Congress – has let staff do all the work,” writes Benziger. Instead of the inexperience of Mayor Javi Lopez, Benziger yearns for the days of Mayor Anthony Cannella who left the city with a 31% reserve.

So long, Tiki Lounge

Modesto Bee. 61-year-old Modesto bar announces immediate closure: ‘End of an era.’
Synopsis: The Tiki Cocktail Lounge has poured its last Mai Tai, says owner Tammy Maisetti. Johnny Ramos opened the bar near Five Points on McHenry in April 1964, but Tammy and husband Mitch took it over 20 years ago. Since 2005, the Tiki had catered to gay patrons and those who like live music. Mitch died in 2014.