Valley Headlines

Fires growing near Valley

GV Wire. Fresno County’s Boone Fire is quickly approaching 20,000 acres.
Synopsis: As of 8 a.m. Friday, the fire at the corners of Fresno, Monterey and San Benito counties had scorched 17,328 acres and was still only 5% contained. There are 1,600 firefighters on scene – up 600 from Thursday -- supported by 125 engines, 44 tenders, 13 copters and 28 dozers. The area previously burned in 2020’s Mineral Fire. Evacuation orders have expanded and an evac center has been set up in Coalinga.

KSEE / CBS47. Coffee Pot Fire jumps the river, drones used in firefight.
Synopsis: The fire jumped the Kaweah River and now has burned 12,915 acres but is 23% contained. On the other side of the river, firefighters had already cleared brush to the road and dumped retardant. Now the fire is burning near Ash Mountain and Mineral King.

Fire impacts worse than we knew

SF Gate. New study uncovers another devastating effect of CA’s wildfires.
Synopsis: Erosion in years following wildfire is far worse than originally thought and is going to be a problem in years to come. The “groundbreaking study” looked at soil and sediment movement. Helen Dow of the USGS did the research. The impacts were most notable in Northern California, where the implication for our dams is enormous. The study found 57% of post-fire erosion occurs upstream of CA’s reservoirs. “What people might not know is that fire damages landscapes in a way that creates a threat for communities and water systems downstream – and that this threat can last for years,” said lead USGS researcher Helen Dow.
MAD Take: Dow’s important study is built on studies originally done by Vance Kennedy, who wrote extensively about sediment movement downhill and downstream. He was the first to note the increased weight of water when carrying sediment.

KVPR. Wildfire smoke impacting Valley communities.
Synopsis: Heavy wildfire smoke has been blowing east from the Boone Fires and north from the Coffee Pot Fire into Fresno and Tulare counties.  Authorities say stay indoors and purify the air, if you can.

News from the farm …

Ag Net West. CA processing tomato production down from 2023.
Synopsis: The USDA reports a 12% drop from last year’s record numbers, meaning 226,000 acres were harvested producing 11.3 million tons. Despite good water in the spring, high summer heat hurt the harvest. Good news: Curly top virus didn’t have an impact. The harvest will finish in early October.

Successful Farming. Thanks to livestock revenue, farm income will be stronger than expected.
Synopsis: Net income for farmers will be higher than the predicted $140 billion, which is already the fourth-highest number on record. Production expenses are down for the first time since 2018 while egg, milk and meat receipts are higher. The nationwide record was established in 2022, when farmers took in $182 billion thanks to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The 10-year average is $104.9 billion. Meanwhile, farm assets ($204 billion) are growing faster than debt ($32 billion), which most economists say shows strength in the sector. Median farm-household income is up roughly 2% to $99,683.  

More crazy crime crap

Ag Daily. Nighttime shootings in CA leave scores of farm animals dead.
Synopsis: A barrage of gunfire near Prunedale killed roughly 100 animals – ranging from cows to miniature horses to guinea pigs. A man with 15 mostly semi-automatic weapons (including an assault rifle) was arrested. Several of the weapons were “ghost guns,” lacking serial numbers. He had been firing into the fields around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday morning. Firing was so prolonged that the Sheriff issued a shelter-in-place order.

KSEE / CBS47. Man arrested after threat on Merced schools, police say.
Synopsis: Tanzeem Khan, 28, made threats to shoot up Merced schools on social media. It got the attention of officials, who called in law enforcement. Officers sent to the schools just in case until he could be arrested.
MAD Take: Just days after a horrifying school shooting in Georgia, let’s believe this guy and make certain he never has the chance to do what he’s saying he’ll do.

GV Wire. FBI seized illegal automatic weapons from Fresno police cadet after Instagram search.
Synopsis: Cadet Joshua Brown had a fully automatic AR-15 and a submachine gun. He could serve 10 years in prison and be fined $250,000. He had been bragging about his MP5 firearms on social media, along with an illegal suppressor. All the guns were loaded when confiscated. The Fresno PD put two other employees on leave pending an internal investigation. Last year, the department fired one of its officers who, dressed in a bright yellow kilt, marched in a Proud Boys event in Sacramento.

Yes, it is hotter than ever

LA Times. As CA swelters, climate officials declare Summer 2024 the hottest on record.
Synopsis: This summer has broken all the heat records, averaging 62.24 degrees worldwide – 0.41 degrees hotter than last year’s record-breaking summer. “The temperature-related extreme events witnessed this summer will only become more intense,” said Samantha Burgess of the Copernicus Climate Change Service. “We are playing Russian roulette with our planet,” said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. “We need an exit ramp off the highway to climate hell.”

Washington Post. Here’s what the hottest summer on Earth looked like.
Synopsis: Floodwaters in Texas and Taiwan, more mosquito-borne viruses across the Americas, heat spikes killing hiking children and shut-in grandparents, spikes in electricity use, etc. The Post story attempts to show examples of the bad that is beginning to happen due to climate change.

At the head of the class

GV Wire. UC Merced is No. 1, Fresno State No. 4 in the nation for educating low-income students.
Synopsis: The Wall Street Journal has ranked America’s Best Colleges in several categories. In educating low-income students, UCM tops the nationwide list because of its “social mobility” score. Almost 60% of its students are eligible for Pell Grants and 65% are first-gen collegians. Overall, UC Merced is No. 18 (up from No. 59 in 2023), Fresno State is No. 51.

Cal Matters. Should CA community colleges offer bachelor’s degrees in nursing? Universities say no.
Synopsis: UCSF reports that a rise in enrollment in nursing programs will solve the nursing shortage within a few years, negating the need to create 4-year degree programs at community colleges. The only places where shortages would continue, says UCSF, would be places like the Central Valley. Huh. Merced’s Esmeralda Soria has introduced AB 2104, which would establish pilot programs at 10 JCs to offer bachelor’s degrees – a plan opposed by the CSUs. They believe such programs are expensive to establish and operate and will create a glut of nurses eventually.
MAD Take: Hmm. So, let’s get his straight: it’s no big deal if shortages continue in the Central Valley? And the CSUs worry about the cost of “establishing nursing education programs”? But MJC, Delta, West Hills, Fresno City and Merced College all have programs in place that offer “registered nursing” degrees. it’s a question of “expansion,” not “creation.” The Valley doesn’t want to wait. And shouldn’t.  

Madera casino breaking ground

ABC30. New casino project to break ground in Madera County.
Synopsis: The North Fork Rancheria of the Mono tribe wants to turn a vacant lot off Avenue 18 and Road 23 into a resort with 2,000 slots, 40 tables and 200 motel rooms. “They’ve won their case in court and we’re beyond that now and now we’re in the groundbreaking phase,” said Mayor Santos Garcia. The mayor has helped negotiate contributions from the casino to provide additional parks, sewers, sidewalks and other infrastructure for the city.

Misconduct? Prominent doc accused

Modesto Bee. CA medical board accuses high-profile Modesto doctor of sexual misconduct.
Synopsis: Dr. Robert Altman – the chief medical officer of Gould Medical Group -- has been accused by two patients of misconduct. The state med board says his conduct amounted to “exploitation and sexual misconduct.” He is known to hug patients and even wipe tears from their eyes. But some women say he has gone beyond that and must be reprimanded. Very detailed story.

West Nile claims Merced victim

KVPR. Merced County confirms first fatal case of West Nile virus this year.
Synopsis: The patient was described as “elderly” and a resident of the city. No other details were provided. Dr. Salvador Sandoval says this emphasizes the need to protect ourselves from mosquitos. There have been 27 human cases of West Nile reported in the state this year.  

Does he really believe all this?

Merced County Times. Duarte meets with local constituents at Merced town hall.
Synopsis: Brittany Miller does an extensive story about the meeting at the Farm Bureau offices, which appeared to draw 25 people. The Congressman said humans are causing climate change, ripped the Endangered Species Act, was critical of high-speed rail and wants to drill, baby, drill.
MAD Take: First, humans aren’t causing climate change? OK, that’s denying science. Second, it tracks that a man guilty of destroying wetlands in Tehama County would be against the ESA. Third, high-speed rail might be a longshot, but it has the potential to change Merced forever, so being against that seems … shortsighted. As for wanting more oil, the US produces more oil today than it ever produced under Donald Trump or any other president. Duarte did get one thing right: “Every American has a right to make a complete idiot out of themselves with free speech.”

Least-affordable towns in US

Merced Focus. Merced among nation’s most unaffordable small metro housing areas: USA Today.
Synopsis: Yes, Merced is one of the most affordable housing markets in California. But California is the most unaffordable state in the nation for housing. All five of the least-affordable small-market cities in the US are in CA – Santa Maria, San Luis Obispo, Napa, Salinas and then Merced. Income is taken into consideration in determining affordability, and Merced’s median household income is $66,000 per year, well below the state’s $91,500. The median home price is $427,667. Bay City, Mich., is the most affordable city, followed by Elmira, NY, then the Ohio cities of Dayton, Kettering and Akron.