Valley Headlines

Now it’s up to Valadao et al

GV Wire. Will Valadao spoil Trump’s plan for July 4^th ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ signing?
Synopsis: Following the 51-50 Senate vote to approve the federal budget bill on Tuesday, GV Wire Editor Bill McEwen recalls the letter that Rep. David Valadao sent to Mike Johnson and John Thune a few weeks ago. That letter decried the Big Beautiful Bill’s massive cuts to Medicaid that will harm tens of thousands of his constituents in CA-22 – the congressional district with the highest Medicaid participation in the nation. The bill will also endanger a quarter of all nursing homes in the US, starting with the most rural. “We cannot support a final bill that threatens access to coverage or jeopardizes the stability of our hospitals and providers,” he said his letter. But the bill passed Tuesday does exactly that. While Valadao’s letter was strongly worded, McEwen points out Valadao has already voted to pass this bill once.

Putting med school out of reach

Merced Sun Star. CA’s future doctors will go hungry under Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill.’ 
Synopsis: Lee Dason Lam spent a year between graduating college and starting med school working as one of a group of future doctors in disadvantaged communities. He helped people in Oakland get food stamps, find food banks and sign up for Meals on Wheels. The Big Beautiful Bill passed by the Senate Tuesday will slash funding to all those programs. Some hidden victims are the doctors themselves. Of 326 med students in the program, 87% used food stamps. Nearly half lived in households making less than $30,000 a year. Why not just take out more loans? Because the budget bill now caps med school loans at $250,000 – about $150,000 less than the cost of a four-year medical education.

StanCOG boss put on leave

Modesto Bee. StanCOG board puts embattled director on leave at $25,000 a month; 5 dissented. 
Synopsis: The 16-member StanCOG board voted 11-5 to put Rosa de Leon Park on paid leave in the wake of a Grand Jury report that detailed lavish spending on cars, hotels and meals. The 5 no-votes wanted her suspended without pay. Park has not responded to the Grand Jury report, but her lawyer says the report contains “many inaccuracies and misrepresentations.” The attorney says “an independent and unbiased review” of the Grand Jury claims will exonerate his client. Voting “no” were supervisors Mani Grewal, Channce Condit and Terry Withrow with Kayleigh Gilbert of Oakdale and Carlos Roque of Patterson. The grand jury also found that Stanislaus County’s COG director was being paid $138,000 more than Sacramento County’s COG, though Sacramento’s has far greater responsibilities.

Police rescue 106 cats in van

Merced Sun Star. Merced County deputies rescue 106 cats in U-Haul van at parking lot.
Synopsis: Merced deputies seized 109 cats from a van parked at a Taco Bell in Santa Nella. When responding, they could see 20 cats through the window but were shocked to find so many inside. There was no food or water. Another 28 were found dead in the van. Atwater Veterinary Center is assisting in treatment of the cats, who will be available for adoption once cleared. Jeannie Maxon, 69, was arrested on 93 counts of animal cruelty and booked into county jail.

Impacts of immigration raids

Fresno Bee. Mass deportation could cost the SJ Valley more than $19B, study finds. 
Synopsis: Mass deportations could reduce the SJ Valley’s gross output about 10%, or roughly $19.2 billion, according to a study from UC Merced and the Bay Area Council Economic Institute. As a whole, the state will lose $275 billion if all undocumented workers depart. Researcher Maria Elena Young at UC Merced says that 1-in-5 residents of the Valley are immigrants and a quarter of them are undocumented. Ag will suffer most but impacts to homebuilding and food processing will be significant. Also, immigrants are “key consumers” in the Valley, meaning small businesses will suffer as customers depart.

Stocktonia. Trump’s immigration agenda now sweeping up military families. 
Synopsis: Former Marine and current representative Salud Carbajal says ICE raids are “absolutely” threatening the morale of armed forces after parents and spouses of active-duty service members have been rounded up for deportation. He estimates some 80,000 spouses and parents of service members live in the US. Veteran advocate Margaret Stock, a retired Lt. Colonel, said that legal residency and naturalization have been powerful incentives to join the military. “The current administration has reversed that long-standing policy of taking care of military members and their families and has decided that deporting people is more important” than protecting the nation, she said. She said many soldiers are now “hesitant to volunteer for combat deployments because they’re afraid that their immediate family members could get arrested and detained behind their backs.” Carbajal has sponsored the Protect Patriot Parents Act which would grant permanent resident status to parents and spouses of soldiers.

Modesto Bee. Central Valley nonprofit to launch immigration resource hub.
Synopsis: El Concilio CA is developing an Immigration Information & Services Resource Hub, opening later this month. It will provide access to legal, educational and mental health support. “What ICE is doing is intentionally frightening people, and that unfortunately is succeeding,” said Mark Apostolon, a VP with El Concilio. Faith in the Valley, CA Rural Legal Assistance and others are joining in.

Is that an oil well we see?

Manteca Bulletin. It’s drill, baby, drill: More of it may be coming soon to the SJ Valley.
Synopsis: Columnist Dennis Wyatt writes that the Trump administration has been quietly moving to make oil and natural-gas wells more commonplace in our corner of the world. San Joaquin County sits atop the Midway-Sunset Oil Field, which contains 27 billion barrels of oil. “While everyone has been running around – figuratively and literally – about ICE raids, the Trump administration has been moving forward on other fronts that surprisingly are drawing little attention in environmentally conscious CA,” writes Wyatt. Some 400,000 acres of public land in the Valley is now open for drilling permits – including in Fresno and Madera counties. Permits can also be obtained for San Joaquin, Merced and San Bentio counties for gas development. Before you start protesting, writes Dennis, consider how much oil you use – a lot. More than half of that comes from places like Brazil, Venezuela and Alaska. Is it fair to “save California” while decimating those places?

Comeback for walnuts, pears, spuds

Ag Net West. CA Walnut comeback: Norene’s outlook.
Synopsis: Interviewer Nick Papagni talks to Davin Norene, president of Big Time Farming (Rio Oso) and a member of the CA Walnut Board. “We had a bumpy road,” he said of port disruptions and other factors hitting imports. “But we have supplies … and demand is still good.” Repositioning walnuts as a “super food” has helped grow demand.

Western Farm Press. CA’s pear crop is back to normal.
Synopsis: Projections say there will be 2.4 million 36-pound boxes shipped this year, up from last year’s 1.7 million (the lowest in 5 years). All varieties are up, but Bartletts are the mainstay.

CA Ag Net. CA potato harvest off to a solid start.
Synopsis: The potato harvest in CA is under way, and it will be a good one. Interviewer Matt Malcom talks to Jason Selvidge of Buttonwillow, a member of the CA Potato Research Advisory Board.

Revitalizing Fresno & its parks, schools

Fresnoland. City breaks ground on new park in west central Fresno named for Dolores Huerta.
Synopsis: Dolores Huerta, the 95-year-old civil rights icon, turned the first shovel to build a park named in her honor. It will include pickleball courts, jogging tracks, a skate park, splash pads and a pool. Mayor Jerry Dyer, Annalisa Perea and Esmeralda Soria were all on hand. Huerta said her foundation would be opening an office in Fresno, but didn’t say when.

Fresnoland. Gov. Newsom makes good on $100 million promise for downtown Fresno.
Synopsis: Mayor Jerry Dyer was grateful and enthusiastic about the inclusion of $100 million in the state budget to help revitalize the Chinatown area of Fresno. The mayor called it a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity and talked about his “sincere gratitude to the Governor for standing by Fresno.”

Fresnoland. Fresno educators celebrate first American school named after a Punjabi Sikh leader.
Synopsis: Jaswant Sing Khalra Elementary was christened Monday, becoming Central Unified’s 15^th elementary school. It will welcome 600 students in August. Khalra was a human rights activist in Punjab calling attention to the disappearance of 25,000 people. He was murdered in 1995.

Irate residents raise their rates

Modesto Bee. Whopping $600-a-month water rate approved for Stanislaus County community.
Synopsis: The 600 households in the Western Hills Water District, aka Diablo Grande, voted to raise their water rates to $600 a month. They’re not happy about it, but had no other alternative, having been threatened by Kern County Water Agency with shutting off the water. Kern County hadn’t been paid for any of its water deliveries since 2019 when a previous developer defaulted. KCWA was holding the bag on $13.5 million in debt. Property owners are talking to Patterson Irrigation District about supplying the development but would need a 1-mile pipeline. The original deal with the developers included enough water to operate three golf courses and build over 5,000 homes. But the only golf course is closed and only 600 homes were built.
MAD Take: No mention was made of reporting done last week by Lois Henry that showed there had been no accounting of 100,000-acre feet of water Western Hills purchased but was never delivered.

Hwy 132 will become safer

Modesto Bee. Hwy 132 bypass soon will grow 5 miles west of Modesto; climate groups object. 
Synopsis: Reporter John Holland looks at the long, long, long-planned Hwy 132 extension which is expected to be completed by late 2028. The initial 3-mile bypass opened in 2022, from Hwy 99 to Dakota Ave. The extension will put bridges over Dakota and Hart roads to make traffic flow faster between Hwy 99 and I-5. Said Supervisor Vito Chiesa: “This segment is very much about safety.” Among those reporter Holland found who oppose the project is Jeanie Ward-Walker, a former Caltrans deputy director who opposes most roads. She believes better roads encourage more fuel consumption and thus global warming.

Diocese officially files

Fox26. Diocese of Fresno files Chapter 11 bankruptcy amid sexual abuse claims.
Synopsis: Bishop Joseph Brennan said last May that bankruptcy was imminent, now it has arrived. There are 152 claims of abuse by clergy dating back four decades. Bankruptcy will allow just compensation to all victims, said Brennan.

A game of wicked wickets

Modesto Bee. How the second most popular sport in the world is getting a home in Modesto.
Synopsis: Mary E. Grogan Park in Modesto will add a cricket pitch to its facilities as part of a 9-acre expansion. Expect to see the Modesto Maharanes on the pitch. Amin Vohra is a member who learned the game in Bombay and pushed hard for the pitch in Modesto. The game is similar enough to baseball that many cricket games are played on diamonds. You’ll need reservations to play in Modesto.