Valley Headlines

Farmers feeling great on trade

Farms.com / Bloomberg. US farm sentiment at 4-year high as Trump seeks trade deals.
Synopsis: American farmer sentiment was at a 4-year high in May according to the Purdue University Ag Economy Barometer. Farmers cited Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins visit to Europe to sign trade deals for soybeans and corn as reason for their optimism. Though China has “no orders on the books” for corn, beans or wheat, a “skyrocketing number” of farmers expect increased ag imports over the next five years. Rollins is also scheduled to visit Peru, Japan, Brazil and India in the next few months.

Farms.com. US trade deficit narrows by 55% in April. 
Synopsis: The US trade deficit tumbled to $61.6 billion in April from $76.7 billion in March as the “massive surge” of purchases from Asia ahead of the Trump tariffs abated. Imports fell 16.3% while exports were up 3%. That created a positive trend, but the US Commerce Dept cautioned against misinterpretation. “On a year-to-year basis, the (trade) deficit has risen 65.7% from the same period in 2024,” said a spokesperson.

Ports slow; is data rigged?

LA Times. Jobs at the Port of LA are down by half, executive director says.
Synopsis: As tariff tensions diminish imports and exports, jobs at CA’s ports are disappearing. Half of longshoremen haven’t worked in two weeks, says the port’s CEO. LA has handled 25% less cargo than it anticipated in May; June will be worse. In most years, LA and Long Beach handle 20,000,000 cargo containers coming and going; less than half that will be handled this year. Truck drivers, warehouse and logistics workers all are losing work. “Outside of COVID, this is the biggest drop I’ve seen in my career,” said the CEO.

Successful Farming. Integrity of USDA data questioned after trade report redaction. 
Synopsis: Analysts in brokerages, media and universities are voicing “concerns” about the integrity of USDA trade reports after the agency delayed a report then excluded findings that point to a jump in the agricultural deficits since tariffs were imposed. Reuters reported that several ag commodity brokerages are questioning “the objectivity of the data.” Politico said “politically inconvenient” data has been delayed or blocked altogether. The USDA said delays and redactions were due to “internal review.” Two independent analysts at the University of Missouri said, “departures of key (USDA) personnel limit the ability of agencies to collect and analyze information.” They noted the May report was 11 pages compared to 24 in February. One ag reporter said, “The highly unusual rollout (of data) could raise questions about potential political meddling with government reports that have been trusted for decades.”

Fresno protest is peaceful

Fresnoland. Hundreds in Fresno join national immigration protests amid mounting tensions.
Synopsis: About 300 people gathered around lunchtime Monday in Fresno to shout slogans against ICE deportations. Christina Gutierrez, who works with Californians for Pesticide Reform, said, “We are targets.” Fresno Sheriff John Zanoni said he supports the National Guard being used in LA. Fresno councilmembers Miguel Arias and Nelson Esparza attended the protest Monday.

GV Wire. Hundreds peacefully protest ICE raids in downtown Fresno.
Synopsis: David Taub reports that “While Los Angeles rioted, hundreds of protesters gathered peacefully in downtown Fresno.” Among them were young parents who refused to give their names out of fear of reprisals and a retired Marine sergeant who wore his uniform to protest the use of the military to enforce domestic laws. Elected leaders attending included Annalisa Perea, Miguel Arias and Nelson Esparza, who called use of the National Guard in LA “unconscionable.” Kerman Mayor Maria Pacheco said the “fear tactics from Trump’s administration are … (a) desperate attack to hold onto power by tearing communities apart.” Others attended to observe, not support the protest. Supervisor Nathan Magsig said he was glad the protest was peaceful.

Trump winning ‘riot’ debate

Fresno Bee. Trump scores win over Newsom in LA’s made-for-TV protests.
Synopsis: Tad Weber says images of burning cars, smoke and people carrying Mexican flags are turning Mr. and Mrs. Middle America in Ames, Iowa, against Gavin Newsom and California. What the president describes “horrifies” them and they’re glad troops have been ordered to LA. As “a master of visual reality,” Tad says, “Trump is instinctual and calculating. If he sees an advantage to be had, he will take it. At least in the short term, Trump has won the contest.”

‘Put down those Mexican flags’

Sacramento Bee. A message to Trump protesters in CA: Put down the Mexican flags. 
Synopsis: Political strategist Mike Madrid writes about the burning cars and clashes with federal agents and the “critical strategic error” that will “undermine their cause and harm the very communities they seek to protect” – waving the wrong flag. Similar demonstrations spurred Prop 187 to passage in 1994. “Prop 187’s passage … helped transform CA politics for a generation – but not necessarily in the way protesters intended.” Madrid points out that the majority of Hispanics view themselves as “typical Americans.” And they’re concerned with the economy, opportunity, public safety and constitutional rights. Madrid’s bottom line: “American protesters fighting for American rights should carry American flags.”

A ’destination’ county park

Modesto Bee. Modesto park upgrades in works for years; when will it reopen to public?
Synopsis: Cesar Chavez Park closed in November for renovations, which have been planned for years but now are under way. Next summer, the park will have lighted basketball courts, a skating plaza, fitness area and aquatics center near Maddux Youth Center. Parks manager Nathan Houx says it will draw people from across Stanislaus County. “It’s going to be a destination for people to go to in the summer.” Using state, federal, city and county funds, renovation will cost $254.9 million.

Those huge silos are gone

Fresno Bee. Iconic silos gone from Fresno’s skyline after demolition.
Synopsis: Reporter Robert Rodriguez writes about the “towering” 100-foot concrete silos at Palm and H.  A part of Fresno’s landscape for 80 years, they’re gone now. Producers Dairy wants to put something else – what, they won’t say – in place of the silos. Residents have noticed the change: “It changes the sounds you hear in the neighborhood. … Now, when the train goes by, you really hear it.”

CA water policies: Awful

Ag Net West. Rich Kreps sounds alarm on CA’s water storage failures.
Synopsis: Rich Kreps, head of the American Pistachio Growers Board, said CA’s current water policies are “awful. We keep paying for water storage – like we did back in 2018 – but the money keeps getting diverted to projects that never materialize.” He believes the Delta tunnel is “misguided” and will be “meaningless” without additional storage. He believes environmental mismanagement has doomed Delta smelt and sees “sewage flushing” into the Delta as signs of a “deeply flawed narrative” around CA’s water.

Getting serious about the tunnel

Capital Public Radio. ‘Dead on arrival’: Sen. Cabaldon, Delta Caucus draw ‘red line’ on tunnel. 
Synopsis: Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to fast-track the tunnel beneath the Delta by disallowing CEQA protests is taking fire from the 15-member bipartisan Delta Caucus. Chris Cabaldon (D-Yolo) says the project would ruin the Delta by taking water out of it. He believes the project will cost at least $40 billion (twice the state’s estimate) and that its backers are losing their enthusiasm.

Maven’s Notebook. CA’s water crisis is a question of infrastructure; it’s time for the (tunnel) project.
Synopsis: Charley Wilson of the Southern CA Water Coalition and Richard Lambros of Secure Water Alliance make the case for the tunnel. They say it is necessary to fight climate change and move water from where it falls to where it is needed. They pointed out that 5.4 million acre feet flowed through the Delta to the ocean last winter, and 700,000 AF of that could have been saved if we had a tunnel. Sites will help, and so will groundwater storage and desalination. But we need the tunnel to move water.

Teachers retiring in Merced

Merced Sun Star. Beloved Merced history teacher retires after 25 years of music, mentorship. 
Synopsis: Rivera Middle School teacher Bob Malone, 64, has been teaching 25 years in Merced City Schools. He will be “immensely missed,” said principal Mystee Schindler. A former rock musician and radio DJ eventually followed his father, sister and brother-in-law into the classroom. His daughter followed him. Malone is known for keeping his classroom doors open at lunch, so kids have a place to hang. He is one of 11 teachers retiring. Others include Sally Oleson (36 years), Cheryl Fialho-Hill and Russell Lawrence (35), Jamie Formby (34), Steve Foreman (32) and Julie Carter (31). Said Malone: “You don’t teach for the money. You do it for the positive impact you can make on kids’ lives at a time when it’s slippery for them.”

Wild pigs, big lizards in park

Merced Sun Star. Invasive creature spotted by hikers at CA park spurs search.
Synopsis: Hikers photographed an Argentine black and white tegu at the Grant County Park in Santa Clara County on Friday. The big lizards climb trees to find eggs, small birds, other lizards and anything else they can eat – though not people. They grow to 4 feet and weigh more than 10 pounds. Don’t try to catch it if you see it, because it will fight. The park is in the foothills east of San Jose along Hwy 130, which goes leads to Stanislaus County.

Mercury News. ‘They eat everything’: Wild pigs increase around Bay Area, causing headaches. 
Synopsis: Non-native feral pigs can weigh 250 pounds and grow 4-inch tusks. They wallow in streams, dig up lawns, chew up gardens, kill smaller animals and occasional charge humans. “They eat everything.” They can carry disease. And they are rampant. Laws since 2022 have made it easier to hunt them, but few people do. Last year, only 3,327 were killed by hunters. Santa Clara County will spend $243,000 this year to kill them. They are rampant in the Diablo Range, which includes the western edge of Stanislaus County. They are all over Grant County Park – the same park the 4-foot South American lizard is living.

Soderstrom on All-Star ballot

Turlock Journal. Turlock native lands on first MLB All-Star ballot. 
Synopsis: Tyler Soderstrom is having a year even if his team isn’t. The (Oakla-mento) A’s are at the bottom of the AL West standings, 11 games behind the Astros. But Soderstrom has driven in a team-high 44 runs on 14 homers including a grand slam last week. He is hitting .260 and is only the fifth player in A’s history to have four or more multi-homer games in the first 64 games of the season. The others who have done that include Reggie Jackson, Jimmie Foxx and Mark McGwire. You can vote for him at www.mlb.com/all-star/ballot