Valley Headlines

 Respond to wildfire in 30 minutes

Turlock Journal. Gray bill would create rapid response standard for wildfires. 
Synopsis: The Wildfire Response and Preparedness Act would set 30 minutes as the national standard for responding to emergencies on federal lands. “The only way to counter increasingly dangerous wildfires is by responding to them as quickly as possible,” said Rep. Adam Gray, who partnered with Young Kim (R-Anaheim Hills) in introducing the bill. A similar bill was introduced in the Senate, also by one Democrat (Andy Kim) and one Republican (Tim Sheehy). The Western Fire Chiefs and the United Aerial Firefighters are backing both bills.

Quick response averts disaster

Modesto Bee. Truck carrying 8,900 gallons of gas catches fire on Hwy 120 near Oakdale.
Synopsis: A Modesto Fire crew acted fast to keep a truck loaded with 8,900 gallons of gasoline from exploding near Cleveland Avenue on Saturday. The truck’s tires caught fire and ignited grass when the driver pulled over. He jumped out and ran, then called for help. Seven firefighters responded, putting out the fire from a distance of about 150 feet.

Feeding everyone in Denair

Turlock Journal. Denair summer meal program feeds hundreds each day.
Synopsis: Kim Fuentez says there’s nothing like a good barbecue – which is why she prepares one each Friday for the Denair Summer Food Program. Everyone, including parents, are welcome to eat. The program serves around 600 meals a day thanks to a $25,000 grant from the Legacy Health Foundation, but Fridays are special. Some take part because they can’t afford other meals, others because they’re meeting friends for a meal and others because their kids love the food.

Rural groceries dying off?

Ag Daily. Grocery competition dwindling in rural areas as federal funding is on chopping block. 
Synopsis: Reporter Lauren Cross writes: “If you live in a small town, you probably have fewer grocery stores than you did 30 years ago, and fewer choices inside them.” Large national chains (Walmart, Costco, Kroger, etc.) have driven many “independent grocers” out of business. The FTC recently blocked a merger between Kroger and Albertson’s, saying it would harm shoppers. One study found grocery-store consolidation in rural areas is at “twice the threshold where federal antitrust regulators start to worry about competition.” The administration’s plan to cut $721 million from the Rural Development program will lead to more grocery stores in rural areas closing, said one group. “At the same time, the administration’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ initiative discusses improving nutrition but proposes cuts to the very programs that help people buy food.”
MAD Take: When’s the last time you visited a drug store in a Valley community? Good luck finding one. Small-town drugstores are dying out, and the same thing is apparently happening to grocery stores.

PG&E needs bodyguards

Cal Matters. PG&E is hiring an executive bodyguard; combat shooting experience required. 
Synopsis: If you want this job at PG&E, you must be able to shoot, assess threats and coordinate with law enforcement agencies. The company has its own security service, which it insists is “necessary” because public sentiment has “turned more negative” toward the utility that charges its captive customers the highest rates in the world and is frequently “blamed” for deadly wildfires every season. The service is available to PG&E executives and their families. SoCal Edison also pays to protect its execs. PG&E won’t say is how much it spends or whether the money comes from ratepayers or dividends.
MAD Take: The question about who pays is laughable. Of course it is being borne by ratepayers. How else could PG&E afford to pay dividends at twice the return paid by most other investor-owned utilities? Oh, among those who “blame” PG&E for deadly wildfires are the courts. No one wants to see harm come to CEO Patricia Poppe, but at $17 million a year, maybe she could pay for her own security. It’s probably tax deductible.

Coming ‘home’ to residency program

Modesto Bee. It’s a return to Modesto for 2 resident physicians in training at local hospital. 
Synopsis: Sutter Health has launched an internal medicine residency program at Memorial Medical Center with 19 doctors in training. One of them is Anna Fuller, who was born in Modesto but raised in the Bay Area by adoptive parents. After doing a med school rotation in Modesto, she wanted to come back because the doctors were so impressive. Another is Rayman Randhawa, who was in the first graduating class of Gregori High then worked as a forester before turning to medicine.

A cute rat found on refuge

Modesto Bee. Rare rodent returns to Stanislaus, ‘like a unicorn sitting right in front of us.’
Synopsis: Reporter Maria Figueroa writes about the endangered riparian wood rat, which has been found at the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge after an 8-year absence. It’s not the filthy Norway rat found in cities and sewers. The wood rat builds elaborate nests and even goes outside to relieve itself. Seeing the rats delighted Jaime Rudd of the Endangered Species Recovery Program at Stanislaus State. The wood rat adapted to frequent flooding by moving into trees.

Giving voice to CA agriculture

Ag Net West. Educating CA: Why farming deserves a greater voice.
Synopsis: Interviewer Nick Pagagni talks to Nick Anderson of Helena Agri Enterprises, who says ag is a “pillar of innovation and sustainability” even though the general public isn’t aware. He said misrepresentations from “the other side” overwhelm any positive press farmers get. The only way to change the narrative is to start stressing positive messages in elementary schools.

Ag Net West. CA farming at a crossroads.
Synopsis: Interviewer Nick Papagni talks to Daniel Jackson of Family Free Farms in Reedley. Jackson is upset over what he sees as a “disconnect” between state government and farming. He is angry over funding for high-speed rail while even water infrastructure doesn’t get completed. He said CA depends on “uninterrupted farmland” for high-efficiency production.

SSJID could build a tunnel

Manteca Bulletin. $77M, 2-mile long tunnel project before SSJID.
Synopsis: South San Joaquin Irrigation District is considering a 2-mile tunnel through the Stanislaus River Canyon to replace the main supply canal that carries water from Goodwin Dam down the river. SSJID’s partner agency on the Stanislaus, Oakdale ID, already has a tunnel. The tunnel is necessary because rockslides endanger the 13-foot supply canal that provides 100% of SSJID’s annual flows. Currently, SSJID budgets $300,000 a year to maintain the canal and clear debris. The river is treacherous in this reach, with one of its most famous rapids named Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. It drops 40 feet in 100 yards.

Tragedies last weekend

Modesto Bee. Camp Taylor mourns young woman killed in crash in Grayson area.
Synopsis: Avery Roxanne Millerick, 19, was killed when she pulled out of Camp Taylor into the path of a big rig on Grayson Road. She was part of the camp’s counseling staff.

Ceres Courier. Deadly stabbing at Keyes party leaves woman’s family grieving.
Synopsis: Emily Lopez, 20, was murdered Friday night after a fight broke out at a house party in Keyes. Three people were stabbed and others hit in the head with objects. Deputies detained several but released them all. The victim’s sister called Lopez “one of the kindest, most caring souls you could ever meet. … Emy didn’t deserve this. No one does.”

Modesto Bee. Pedestrian dies after DUI hit-and-run on Modesto road early Sunday.
Synopsis: A woman crossing Yosemite Blvd around 1:30 a.m. Sunday was struck by a Toyota sedan. Taken to a hospital, she was later pronounced dead. The driver, 27-year-old Eloy Diaz, fled but was “located shortly after the collision.” He is being charged with DUI and hit-and-run.

Big drug busts detailed

Modesto Bee. Four arrested, over 10 pounds of fentanyl pills seized in Modesto drug bust.
Synopsis: The Modesto Narcotics Enforcement Team, Turlock PD and FBI teamed to hit several locations on May 29, resulting in 10 pounds of pills being confiscated. They got another 11 pounds of powder used to produce the pills. Four men were arrested, including one in Bakersfield. The investigation is ongoing; there could be more arrests coming.

Turlock Journal. Arrests lead to seizure of large quantities of fentanyl, meth.
Synopsis: Turlock PD made two arrests in late May that led to confiscation of a significant amount of drugs. On May 22, the PD pulled over Max Sanchez Jr. and found drugs in plain sight. Officers then took K-9 Herc to Sanchez’s home and found a lot more.

She really digs sweet potatoes

Merced Sun Star. Meet the ‘Bubba Gump of sweet potatoes’: Farm kitchen opens in Merced.
Synopsis: Angelica Estrada runs Sweet Roots Kitchen, selling sweet potato pie, candied potato, sweet potato enchiladas, sweet potato chips and parfaits. She gets all her sweet potatoes from her family farm and the farms of 40 others in the region. The 2016 UC Davis grad brought her venture to downtown Merced this month and business is good. Last week, she bought 400 boxes of the tubers. She also sells produce like strawberries, beets, nectarines and onions.