Valley Headlines

Reactions to budget bill

CBS47: Congressman Adam Gray – why he voted no on ‘Big Beautiful Bill’
Synopsis: Rep. Adam Gray explained his vote against the Trump-backed “Big Beautiful (budget) Bill” in interviews over the weekend. Among his reasons is the damage that will be done to hospitals and nursing homes in rural areas. Many rural hospitals predict they will be bankrupted due to losses of 21% of funding, a prediction confirmed by the Congressional Budget Office. Some 63% of all nursing home residents depend on Medicaid to pay for care. One study said 1,749 nursing homes were in danger of having to close under the budget bill. Gray said the “stupidity and cruelty doesn’t end” with cuts to Medicaid. He decried cuts to food programs that feed tens of thousands of Valley school children. Other provisions will “mean that the over 47,000 Valley families could go hungry.”

Farmers react to budget bill

Morning Ag Clips. Farm groups largely praise One Big Beautiful Bill passage.
Synopsis: The American Farm Bureau “applauds the House and Senate” for passing the bill because it will increase reference prices for commodities such as corn, wheat, sugar, soybeans and cotton. The American Seed Trade Assn says the bill “delivers significant achievements” by extending the clean-fuel production credit for ethanol. The Fertilizer Institute favored the 20% pass-through deduction, exclusion of interest on loans for ag property, higher limits for tangible assets and higher funding for ag exports. Others applauding included the National Cattleman’s Beef Association, National Corn Growers, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, National Farmers Union, Nationals Oilseed Processers, National Pork Producers Council, POET (biofuel producers), National Sorghum Producers and the Specialty Crop Alliance.

Ag Daily. Farmers repeatedly praise this one piece of Trump’s budget bill.
Synopsis: Farmers are lining up to thank President Trump for changing US Code 2010 that triples the value of estates that can be transferred to families to $15 million. It is hoped the increase will put off having to sell family farms when the primary farmer dies.

On Pasture. How Senate’s version of the One Big Beautiful Bill harms rural America. 
Synopsis: Farmer Kathy Voth, who normally writes about dairy issues, felt compelled to look at “key provisions” of the bill that are “deeply harmful to rural communities.” Most important are cuts – taking effect in 2026 – to Medicaid and its support of rural healthcare providers. She writes about the bill’s 4% cap on federal contributions to states. “That might sound small, but the impact is big. Many states rely on provider taxes to finance 20% to 30% of their Medicaid budgets. Cutting this option forces them to either raise taxes elsewhere or cut services, eligibility or (doctor) reimbursement rates.” Many states will “face a budget crisis” due to this provision. Conclusion: “Despite claims that the (budget bill) supports rural America, its provisions tell a different story. From healthcare to agriculture to education, rural communities are being asked to sacrifice their long-term well-being for short-term tax breaks that mostly benefit wealthy and large corporations.”

Bee: Valadao’s vows empty

Fresno Bee. Rep. David Valadao proves his empty vows to protect Medicaid were all lies. 
Synopsis: The Fresno Bee editorial board (Juan Esparza Loera and Tad Weber) point out that since January, Rep. David Valadao has insisted he would not support any bill that would hurt his district – CA 22, where 64% of residents rely on Medicaid for healthcare. Instead, he voted “Aye” for the bill. What about the 6,900 jobs that will be lost in his district? Tom McClintock and Vince Fong also voted for the bill; Jim Costa and Adam Gray did not. The editorial concludes: “Valadao, who represents a heavily Latino district … chose Trump over the people he represents.”

Fresno Bee. Billboard near Fresno criticizes Rep. David Valadao’s vote for Medi-Cal cuts.
Synopsis: The billboard in Kings County makes the point that cuts to Medicaid and Medi-Cal – many of which won’t take effect until after the 2026 elections – will have major impacts on many of Valadao’s constituents. The Kings County Democratic Party paid for it. Valadao was one of 16 Republicans who wrote a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson insisting the cuts were harmful and saying “we cannot support a final bill that threatens access to coverage or jeopardizes the stability of our hospitals and providers.” None of his concerns were addressed in the final bill, but he voted for it along with 215 other Republicans.

Pinecrest ‘apocalypse’?

SF Chronicle. This CA lake is seeing ‘apocalyptic’ overcrowding – and officials are cracking down. 
Synopsis: Traffic, trash everywhere, a drowning, fistfights on the beach – last year was rough for Pinecrest and so is this year. An “escape for generations of Bay Area and Central Valley residents,” Pinecrest is once again drawing thousands of people to its beach every weekend. Tuolumne Supervisor Anaiah Kirk says it’s not sustainable. There’s no parking, the road into the area gridlocked, boats are coming into the swimming-only areas, bathrooms are overwhelmed. Some cabin owners are refusing to come on weekends; others are talking about selling. First, the county will crack down on illegal parking. Then the county will start beach patrols and more frequently clean bathrooms. Sheriff Dave Vasquez says, “I stand behind everyone’s constitutional rights to access that land, but we were receiving astronomical amounts of complaints about overcrowding and illegal parking.”

Great salmon run on Feather

CBS 12 (Redding). Summer maintenance begins at Feather River Hatchery in Oroville. 
Synopsis: DWR and the CDF&W tagged 7,919 salmon and provided thiamine treatment to eggs, smolts and juveniles to enhance survivability. Also, DWR reported more than 17,000 spring-run Chinook returned to the Feather River, marking the best season since 2013.
MAD Take: Once again, we are seeing evidence of excellent salmon survival on another CA river – the Feather. The Spring Run is always smaller than the fall run, but having 17,000 is impressive. These fish were hatched in 2022 and 2023 – one very wet year and one very dry. The commercial salmon killers in the Bay Area insist that more must be done to protect salmon -- and it should. But “more” should be done in places where it will do the most good. Officials on the Feather, Mokelumne, Stanislaus and those on the Mendocino Coast are doing great work and should be left alone to do it. It’s on the Sacramento that “more” must be done.  

Cuts will be a ‘loss to society’

Fresno Bee. Millions in grants cut at Fresno State, CSU schools: ‘It’s a great loss to society.’
Synopsis: Federal grants to CSUs have been either frozen or wiped out – including grants for studies in science and technology. Fresno State will lose $9.5 million in grants from the Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, USDA, Dept of Commerce and Dept of Education. One grant “terminated without review” was shared with UC Merced, Ohio University and George Washington Univ. Most of the programs were in STEM – science, tech, engineering and math. Programs that were cut had something in common -- terms such as “minority,” “Hispanic Serving” and “underrepresented” in their grant proposals.

Dust can be deadly

Farms.com. Fallow farmland in CA fuels dust storms.
Synopsis: Story based on a UC Merced study that showed fallowed lands cause dust storms. In CA, 88% of major dust storms were linked to idle farmland from 2008 to 2022. Dust storms increase the amount of PM2.5 and PM10 particles in the air, contributing to lung and respiratory diseases. Dust carries the fungus responsible for Valley Fever. “Our findings represent real-world health effects for people in the region,” said assistant professor Adeyemi Adebiyi.

The cost of deporting workers

Merced Sun Star. Mass deportations could cost the SJ Valley more than $19B, study finds. 
Synopsis: The Sun Star catches up to the study released by UC Merced that found mass deportations could cut 10% of the Valley’s economy, or $19.2 billion. Across the state, losses would total $275B in lost GDP. Maria-Elena Young, an assistant professor of public health at UCM, led the study that was widely reported on last week. Trickle-down impacts would be immediate as counties suffer from lost sales taxes from “key consumers.” It’s already happening as immigrants, fearful of deportation, are keeping a low profile. “In the long run if people aren’t consuming as many goods and services, that could affect everyone’s job status – not just undocumented immigrants,” said Rosalba Flores of the Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation.

Fresnoland. Schiff calls for farmworker protections, denounces plainclothes arrests in Fresno County.
Synopsis: Adam Schiff visited western Fresno and Merced counties over the holiday, talking immigration with Joe Del Bosque. “We need to make sure that we acknowledge who’s putting food on our table and how hard the work is,” Schiff said in Firebaugh. “We shouldn’t be chasing them through fields with immigration raids.” Del Bosque concurs. Schiff touted the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which Adam Gray is helping revive in the House. Del Bosque says the bill is “a good start,” but wants “touchback” provisions removed. 

Ag Net West. Southern border action could protect farms.
Synopsis: Interviewer Nick Papagni talks to Manuel Cunha of the Nisei Farmers League, who is pushing for a greatly improved and expanded immigration system that would “kill the two-legged coyote” and cripple the ability of cartels to profit from human trafficking. “Cunha warns that failing to act will harm rural communities and food production. He calls for cooperation across industries to fix the problem now – not later.”

Worried about drinking water

Newsweek. CA has a drinking-water problem.
Synopsis: A lot of CA’s water has arsenic – but less than is allowed by federal standards (10 ppb). CA requires public water suppliers have no more than 5 ppb. Research shows that diabetes and some cardiovascular diseases are linked to having too little arsenic in water. The Water Board says CA has “some of the safest water in the nation,” with lower levels of 25 contaminants than the US allows in its standards; CA also sets maximum levels for 14 contaminants the US doesn’t regulate. Merced County was noted for having higher arsenic levels other areas. The county says its water meets state guidelines.

Modesto Bee. Free testing offered to detect nitrate in SJ Valley domestic wells.
Synopsis: The Valley Water Collaborative says Modesto and Turlock are “priority one” basins for testing. So far, the group is finding lots of nitrate in wells. Logan Davis does the testing. If nitrates are too high, ion exchange filters can be installed. Boiling the water makes nitrate concentrations higher. If you’re concerned, call 209 750-3867.

Titan of ag passes

Fresno Bee. John Harris, titan of CA ag, horse racing, dies: ‘Lost a legend.’ 
Synopsis: Cattle rancher, philanthropist, farmer and sportsman John Harris passed Wednesday. He created Harris Ranch – both the brand and the resort near I-5. At one point, he was famous for the enormous feedlot near Coalinga where hundreds of thousands of cattle awaited “processing.” Ryan Jacobsen of the Fresno Farm Bureau called him “a legend.” Among those mourning is Stuart Woolf, a friend and business partner.

Merced getting grub hub

Merced Sun Star. New downtown Merced food truck plaza aims to revive vacant corner.
Synopsis: The vacant lot at the corner of West 16^th and MLK Jr. Way could become the home to Downtown Grubs food-truck lot. The trucks would park in circle surrounding a shaded picnic area. Permanent restrooms will be built nearby. So far, 6 vendors have committed.