Valley Headlines

China strikes back, hits ag
Successful Farming. China announces 34% retaliatory tariffs on US goods.
Synopsis: China said it would rather engage in “equal, respectful and mutually beneficial” negotiations than a trade war, but Trump won’t return their calls. So, China did as expected and levied retaliatory tariffs on products coming from the US. The tariffs were targeted for maximum impact, hitting Midwestern farmers who raise Soybeans, corn, pork, beef, wheat and cotton. Oh, and bonds. The Chinese have decided to no longer buy US government paper.

Ag Net West. Meat export federation: Trump’s port fee proposal could hurt US exports.
Synopsis: The US Meat Export Federation joined 300 other groups opposing Trump’s plan to impose a $1 million fee for foreign-flagged ships that pull up to the docks in America. Port operators say it will kill their business. Shipping companies say they will reduce calls to American export hubs, preferring to let trains and trucks from Mexico and Canada carry their products into the US. The Port of Oakland, which handles 40% of all “waterborne beef exports,” could be dropped from as a port of call entirely.
MAD Note: Speaking of the port of Oakland, it is the ninth busiest in the US with as the departure point for 53% of all US wine, 59% of our nuts and 75% of tomato products, according to the USDA. And so the ripples begin.

Valley residents in harm’s way
Merced Focus. More than half of SJ Valley residents could face ‘devastating’ cuts to health care. 
Synopsis: Republicans need to find $880 billion to cut from the next 10 federal budgets so they can continue the Trump tax cuts for billionaires. One of the few places such money exists is in Medicaid. The program covers 14 million Californians through the Medi-Cal program. That includes more than 50% of everyone living from San Joaquin to Kern counties. Medi-Cal covers 3 of every 7 children in the Valley and 3 of every 5 nursing-home residents. To strip away Medicaid funds, Republicans are floating ideas like tying work requirements to Medicare eligibility, capping benefits and cutting services for dental, vision, hospice and in-home care. As Kiran Savage-Sangwan points out, the cuts would start with the most vulnerable but eventually hit everyone. For instance, if Medicaid is cut, hospitals will lose roughly 40% of their funding and our Valley’s 340 rural clinics will lose even more, jeopardizing their urgent-care operations. That means thousands of people will end up in Valley ERs, waiting in lines.
MAD Take: It is likely that the final proposal emerging from the House will include what the majority will insist are “sensible” cuts to Medicaid. Hopefully, no one will be fooled. Cuts to the institutions serving our region will result in lack of access, poorer outcomes and higher fatality rates. Every representative working on behalf of those living in this Valley knows that’s true.

Merced Focus. SJ Valley’s uninsured have limited options for medical attention.
Synopsis: Even with the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, VA benefits and Medi-Cal, there are more than 300,000 San Joaquin Valley residents who have no insurance of any kind. Any care they get comes from indigent-care funding. The Kaiser Family Foundation says of the 23.5 million uninsured adults in the US, most are working people of color. The Census Bureau says 60% of all the uninsured in San Joaquin, Merced, Madera, Fresno and Stanislaus counties have no health-care assistance. United Health Centers operates 40 clinics in the region, and up to 20% of its 180,000 patient visits are not covered by insurance. UHC avoids insolvency through federal grants. If those Medicaid-funded grants end, sick people will get sicker before seeking help and ERs will be swamped with dangerously ill people. Golden Valley Health Centers, which operates 49 clinics in the Valley, says it is committed to “providing access to all, and that means everyone,” but without those Medicaid grants it will be tougher to keep the lights on.

Huge project rejected
Patterson Irrigator. Keystone Ranch subdivision map rejected.
Synopsis: After an intense 4-hour meeting, the city council unanimously rejected the tentative subdivision map for Keystone Ranch. Developers have been negotiating with the Patterson Irrigation District and city on several issues for the 1,200-acre project to expand the city out to Rogers Road. The failed plan called for a 7-acre park, 719 homes, bike paths and more. Water supply is considered problematic. But Keystone complained about “excessive fees.” City attorney Doug White insisted “new development must pay for itself.” Keystone countered that the city’s approach “will kill development.” Developers are threatening lawsuits or going to the state for permission to build.

Governor visits Modesto
Modesto Bee. Gavin Newsom visits Modesto to promote hiring of people without college degrees. 
Synopsis: The Governor came to MJC West Campus’ fire-training center to talk about skills-based hiring. Mayor Sue Zwahlen, Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi and state Sec. of Labor Stewart Knox were on hand, too. The Gov’s message: “Life won’t be over for those lacking a four-year college degree.” He is also saying CA will provide college credit for veterans to help them get degrees more quickly.

Vang wins outright in Fresno 
GV Wire. Brandon Vang wins Fresno City Council special election outright.
Synopsis: David Taub reports on the final count in the city council special election. Brandon Vang got 2,324 votes, or 9 more than needed for an outright win. Vang will be sworn in Thursday. The race had four candidates and shenanigans like the last-minute mailer accusing Vang of statutory rape. The mailer backfired and now has been traced to political consultant Alex Tavlian, a GOP consultant and publisher of the Valley Sun.

Do you value libraries?
Merced County Times. Cutbacks are great until they’re personal.
Synopsis: Merced Planning Commissioner Jeremiah Greggains writes that just asking questions about a proposal to turn over operations of the county’s library system to a private entity “sent shockwaves through the community.” He defends the board of supervisors, saying “It’s time we stop treating every review of a program as a threat,” adding, “This isn’t about privatization. It’s about partnership.” He closes by telling folks to ask questions, show up and bring solutions.
MAD Take: Not mentioned by Greggains are some of the proposal’s details, like “saving” the county $600,000 in the $5.7 million library budget while extracting $1 million in management fees paid to an out-of-town management company. Combined, that’s a 28% cut in library funding. So, here’s a question: How do you cut 28% from a program without diminishing the services … or charging for them?

Merced County Times. Don’t close the book on Merced County’s libraries.
Synopsis: Dr. Susan Walsh writes about the proposal to privatize operation of the county’s libraries. “When private interests take control of community assets, access is too often traded for profit.” She notes her concerns are less about books than about literacy, internet access, job support, providing community meeting spaces, veterans resources, cooling centers, and more. To make the kind of cuts required in the proposal, “Staffing gets reduced, hours are shortened, programs disappear and fees quietly emerge.” If cuts must be made, why not ask the community to participate rather than make decisions in a vacuum? Says Walsh, “This isn’t just a budget decision, it’s a values decision.”

Another lawsuit in Atwater 
Merced County Times. City of Atwater facing second lawsuit.
Synopsis: Correspondent Robin Shepard reports on a lawsuit by Mohammed Jawad accusing the Community Development Dept and its director Greg Thompson, along with Mayor Mike Nelson and others, of efforts to defraud and defame him. Developer Brad Kessler also sued the city in September for similar accusations. Both plaintiffs are represented by the same Fresno lawyer, Brian Cuttone.

Floodplain funding sought
SJV Water. Bill aims to get bigger slice of state funding to protect south SJ Valley towns from floods.
Synopsis: Sen. Melissa Hurtado is trying to get $43 million to protect communities like Coalinga and Allensworth from flooding. The money would be used for floodplain acquisition, habitat restoration and conservation projects and would provide other benefits like groundwater storage and additional habitat. All of it would be along the Kings and Kern rivers. Most of the projects would be overseen by River Partners, which has had enormous success on the San Joaquin, Feather and Sacramento rivers. The bill is supported by Kaweah Delta Water Conservation District, the Sequoia Riverlands Trust, McFarland’s mayor and others. 
MAD Take: Why put $43 million into floodplain restoration? Because it works.

Two minutes long enough
Modesto Bee. Two-minute twister tears a nearly mile-long path outside Modesto.
Synopsis: A category EF-0 touched down near Pelandale about 2 miles east of Salida at 2:13 p.m. Maximum windspeed was estimated at 76 mph with an impact zone 70 yards wide. It knocked over a dozen almond trees and tore the roof off an unoccupied building, which landed on the grounds of neighbor Walter Roger Cole and the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. Cole said it was loud and “no laughing matter.” Tornados are rare in CA, but more frequent.

AgTEC center rising at MC 
Merced County Times. College to break ground on AgTEC Center.
Synopsis: Merced College will have a ceremony on April 17 to break ground on a “cutting edge facility” the college says will revolutionize ag education and workforce development. “This is a game-changer for Merced College,” said President Chris Vitelli.

Chainsaws in CA’s hills 
Cal Matters. Rural CA, reliant on the Trump administration for jobs, braces for cuts.
Synopsis: Elon Musk’s chainsaw appears to have opened a wound in Siskiyou County and the city of Mount Shasta. Some 6% of the area’s families rely on seasonal work from the US Forest Service to clear trails, open parks, do wildfire prep, etc. Those jobs were cut in the first round of DOGE layoffs. Worse, a federal program that has provided funding to cities and schools in counties dominated by federal lands was also cut, costing the jurisdictions millions more. At a local bar, the bartender (and Mount Shasta mayor) is pouring fewer drinks, one of his regulars can’t get permits to go into the forest because the admin staff has been fired and a woman worried about her husband’s job. She wouldn’t give her name because he still has his job, and she worries about reprisals. She voted for Donald Trump and despairs that many of her neighbors believe he’s on the right path. The chair of the local GOP says he doesn’t think the cuts will be all that bad. “I’m going to trust my president and trust what he’s doing is best,” said Assemblywoman Heather Hadwick, whose husband is also a federal employee.
MAD Take: Fear of speaking? Lost jobs? Higher prices? No health care? What the hell is happening here?

Lopez wants a new job
Modesto Bee. Ceres Mayor Javier Lopez to challenge Rep. Adam Gray for congressional seat.
Synopsis: Ceres Mayor Javier Lopez has announced what has been rumored for weeks, that he will run for Congress. He touted his website, in which his four descriptors are: Coach, mayor, conservative, American. Lopez, who got only 44% of the vote in a three-way race for mayor five months ago, insisted he’s not a career politician, though this is his third run for office.

Air taxis in … Dos Palos?
SF Chronicle. Air taxi startup says flights to SFO will cost the same as Uber in a fraction of the time.
Synopsis: A San Jose startup company called Archer is offering rides in its “Midnight” four-seat electric airplane. It looks more like an overgrown drone than a Boeing 747, with 12 props mounted atop its wings. Because it’s electric, it’s quieter than a standard helicopter. CEO Adam Goldstein says he expects customers from Santa Cruz to Napa to take the drone to SFO. When he says it costs the same as Uber, he’s talking about UberBlack. His goal is “to have thousands of these flying in the world’s major cities.” The company has FAA permission to do 400 test flights around SF.
MAD Take: Air taxi? Where else have we heard about air taxis? Try Dos Palos, where the World War II training station known as Eagle Airfield was recently sold to a Palo Alto entrepreneur Guy Kaplinsky, CEO of the flying car company AKSA, according to Stars & Stripes.