Valley Headlines

How good are our hospitals?

Modesto Bee. This is the most unsafe hospital in Stanislaus County, report says. 
Synopsis: The Leapfrog Group’s semi-annual Hospital Safety report covering 3,000 hospitals across the nation does not reflect well on Doctors Medical Center in Modesto. Leapfrog’s grades are based on the number of preventable errors, accidents, injuries and rates of infection. DMC got a D. The Kaiser Hospital on Dale was graded A, while Memorial MC got a B and Emanuel MC a C.

Fresno Bee. How safe is your hospital? Which Fresno-area hospitals got ‘A’ grades?
Synopsis: The Leapfrog report twice a year, covering 3,000 hospitals. Only 2 Fresno area hospitals got A’s – Kaiser in north Fresno and Adventist Health Selma. Clovis Community and Community Regional Medical Center both got B’s while St. Agnes got a C. 

Merced Sun Star. How safe is your hospital? This Merced-area hospital got a D in patient care.
Synopsis: The Leapfrog Group report looked at 5 Merced County facilities, giving Mercy Medical Center an A. Memorial in Los Banos also got an A.
MAD Take: McClatchy’s headline writers, based in North Carolina, get an F for the headline on this story. The hospital that got a D wasn’t in Merced County, but Stanislaus – Doctors Medical Center.  The copyeditors did at least three stories on the Leapfrog report, so someone should have caught the fact that DMC is in Modesto and not Merced.

Blue Diamond closing Sac facility

KCRA. Hundreds of Sacramento Blue Diamond employees to lose jobs as plant will shut down. 
Synopsis: Announcing that the company will consolidate operations in its Turlock and Modesto facilities, Blue Diamond said it will shutter its 50-acre Midtown processing plant within the next 24 months. It has become too costly and inefficient. The company employs roughly 3,000 workers. Apparently, operations in Modesto and Turlock will be expanded.

Oroville full, but drought looms

ABC10. Oroville reservoir reaches capacity but drought development likely in CA.
Synopsis: The US Drought Monitor shows growing dryness in CA, with some areas in the northwest reaching “abnormally dry” status. This denotes a greater risk of wildfire and dry soil and need for irrigation. The area from Merced to Kern is considered in “moderate drought.”
MAD Take: Any sign of drought is always met with dread. But that doesn’t mean the state should impose a drought by reducing irrigation and environmental flows.

Ag Net West. CA farmers gain water access: Full water allocations bring hope to Valley farmers.
Synopsis: The Bureau of Reclamation says it will provide 100% of contracted water to farmers south of the Delta. That is a significant increase from the 55% promised earlier this year. It is also more than the water being allocated to urban and public health – 80%.
MAD Take: If this report is true, it is important. But no other media outlet is reporting 100% allocations for south-of-the-Delta contractors. In fact, the Bureau announced May 27 that it would increase the allocation to 55% from 50% and that municipal and industrial contractors were promised 80% of allocations – which hasn’t changed. So, I’m skeptical. Perhaps someone misread the BOR release.

Pumps too old to be fixed

KCRA. Century-old Tracy pump station faces critical failures, threatening water supply. 
Synopsis: The Byron Bethany Irrigation District, which serves southern San Joaquin County down to the Stanislaus line, relies on a 107-year-old pumping station to draw water from Old River and irrigate 6,500 acres of farmland. GM Ed Pattison says “emergencies on top of emergencies” are requiring 24-7 attention to keep the old equipment working. “This is an urgent need, and we’ve been working on this as quickly as we can. Unfortunately, we’re not working quickly enough.” Diesel generators are being used to keep the pumps working.

Subsidence explained; why now?

Maven / DWR. What is subsidence and how does it impact the ground beneath our feet?
Synopsis: The Dept of Water Resources has produced a video showing how groundwater pumping through the years has created a vacuum underground; as it collapses, the surface sinks or subsides. This summer DWR will release a “best management practices” paper to help local agencies reduce subsidence impacts. This video, presumably, will help make the case for what could be some very unpopular “recommended” actions.
https://youtu.be/wYZx6tOP4qs

Valley farmers speaking up

Ag Net West. Stuart Woolf on CA ag policy: ‘We’re driving farmers out.’ 
Synopsis: In a sobering 1:55 interview, one of the state’s most innovative farmers (and chair of Western Growers Assn.) says “agriculture is on the list of priorities” for state legislators, but “falls a little bit lower than it should.” Woolf says many California “growers are moving south of the border or out of state. They just don’t have access to resources here, and the cost of doing business is too great.” He says it’s not “special treatment” growers need, but regulators shouldn’t make farmers feel like they’re being chased out of the state.

Ag Net West. Honoring Agricultural roots: Nick Anderson reflects on Valley farming.
Synopsis: Nick Anderson works with Helena Agri-Enterprises, a nationwide company with locations in Merced, Kerman and Modesto. He says the true pioneers of California were those who brought water to the Valley. The key to prosperity is that when one person starts something, the next one must make it better. Recognizing that history “isn’t just respectful, it's essential.” 

Ag Net West. CA Freight: Crisis hits farmers, truckers hard. 
Synopsis: A reporter has a “conversation with Nick Foglio” of Escalon-based Foglio Commodities. The farmer and freight operator says there is an “unfolding” crisis in ag -- freight rates are falling even as the costs of insurance, wages and fuel rise. Rates remain low because “freight brokers” must compete with Amazon and UPS. “There’s no dollar left in trucking. Any money to be made is eaten by fuel and insurance – absorbed by the state.” And it’s not just in trucking: “California is at a breaking point. Water. Freight. Land. It’s all connected.”

Firetruck hit, rolls over

Fresno Bee. Fresno County fire truck responding to call involved in rollover crash with truck.
Synopsis: It’s not often you see a fire engine on its roof. But that’s what happened in western Fresno County when a truck responding to a grass fire at American and Maple was hit in the side by a Ford Bronco whose driver somehow missed flashing lights and blasting siren. No one was hurt.

Genova Bakery to move?

KCRA. Stockton bakery considers relocating after more than 100 years amid crime concerns.
Synopsis: Genova Bakery, one of Stockton’s oldest and most renowned businesses, says increasing crime is pushing them out of their downtown location at North Sierra Street. Bullets pierced the building’s walls in a recent shooting, endangering employees. The owner is concerned with prostitutes loitering outside the bakery every day. The 107-year-old bakery is known for its milk bread baked in a brick oven.

Crash kills thousands of fish

KIBS (FM). Vehicle crash, generator failure blamed in massive fish hatchery die-off.
Synopsis: A “sustained power outage” caused by a car crash May 20 resulted in “a massive fish die-off” at the Fish Springs Trout Hatchery near Big Pine. Some 80% of the hatchery’s rainbow, brown and Lahontan trout were wiped out. The backup system to protect against power outages was inoperable due to computer system failures the CDF&W had not yet remedied. “We’re devastated by the loss of these fish,” said program manager Russell Black. The loss of the fish will impact Eastern Sierra fish plants for the next two years.
MAD Note: The state did not put a number on how many fish died. But in most years, the Fish Springs Hatchery produces 500,000 pounds of “catchable trout” – or roughly 1,000,000 fish -- along with 100,000 fingerlings reared for “air stocking.” That means roughly 880,000 fish died in this failure.

Trails open at Dos Rios SP

Modesto Bee. New trails reach swimming, fishing spots at Dos Rios near Modesto.
Synopsis: A year after its grand opening, CA’s newest state park can start enjoying the 16 miles of trails rivers and swimming holes along the San Joaquin and Tuolumne on weekends. Admission is free, but reservations are needed for a kayak trip on June 11. A Latino Heritage celebration will be June 14 with music and a car show. A Floodplain Fun Run/Walk will be June 15 at 8 a.m.

He ran for office, from the law

Modesto Bee. Former Stanislaus candidate wanted in Hughson shooting arrested in Nevada.
Synopsis: Troy Wayne McComak, 40, was being sought for being suspected of brandishing a shotgun on May 28 in Hughson. On Thursday, he was arrested in Reno. Apparently, he was outraged over the outcome of a domestic violence case back in March and is accused of trying to retrieve body armor, a handgun and the shotgun which he used to strike someone. He is being charged with attempted murder, violation of restraining orders, trying to dissuade a witness, assault with a firearm and a bunch more. Back in 2012, McComak ran for Congress as an independent. He also ran for mayor in Patterson. Before that, he was a schoolteacher until his credential was revoked following multiple felony charges, including battery on a spouse and false imprisonment. He once Tweeted that prison inmates should not be allowed to take classes “when they could be doing hard labor.” Apparently, he believed hard labor was needed “to learn the hard lessons on how not to break laws.”
MAD Take: Be careful what you wish for, Troy.

Merced Mayor: Progress to report

Fox26. Merced tackles homelessness, downtown renovations amid community support. 
Synopsis: The Great Day program came to Merced to talk to Mayor Matt Serratto, who said that for Merced – like many cities – homelessness remains a top concern. But Merced is making progress, having reduced its PIT count by 14% this year. He also spoke of the new Bob Hart Square, streetlight upgrades and other beautification projects. Serratto said he was in Washington last week along with representatives from all 6 Merced County cities. They visited the Valley’s Congressman, Adam Gray, and senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla.

Face-first pie-eating champ

Patterson Irrigator. Sweet, sticky showdown unfolds at annual Apricot Fiesta pie-eating contest.
Synopsis: Dozens of people took part in the annual pie-eating contest with competitors arriving from throughout the Valley and Bay Area – including police chief Casey hill and Miss Patterson Brooklyn Valentine. No hands allowed. The winner was Anthony Margelowsky, who got $100 and a T shirt. Elijah Saucedo and Johnny Sanchez ate enough pie to place second and third.