Valley Headlines

Hundreds say: ‘Hands Off!’

Merced Focus. Merced residents join national ‘Hands Off!’ protests against Trump’s policies.
Synopsis: An estimated 500 people showed up at Courthouse Park in Merced on Saturday, joining millions of Americans in 1,300 or 1,400 similar protests around the nation.  The two-hour protest included lawyers, doctors, members of the UC Merced faculty along with students and human-rights activists. In the last election, Trump won in Merced County, but the tariffs and attacks on Medicaid are sending shockwaves through the community. Retiree Al Andersen of Los Banos said he was “really concerned” about the future of democracy.

Modesto Bee. Hundreds take part in Modesto as part of nationwide ‘Hands Off!’ protest.
Synopsis: An estimated 700 people showed up at Five Points in Modesto to raise signs, beat drums and march in protest of Trump’s latest moves, which have diminished 401(k)s and IRAs, made Social Security more problematic and Medi-Cal tenuous. Among those quoted were Lauretta Ayers, Marjorie Sturdy, Anne Martin, Susan Robinson, Alice Fotheringham, Josh Kimball and others. One person caused a ruckus by yelling at protesters, but he was mostly ignored and soon left. Elected officials including Nick Bavaro and Lupita Gutierrez were on hand along with Sandy Moreno of UDW and Linda Legace of the Central Committee.

Valley Citizen. “Civic duty to stand against autocracy,” says Modesto councilman.
Synopsis: Eric Caine reports on the “large crowd” that marched from Five Points to 1010 Tenth Street for a rally. He pointedly mentioned that Nick Bavaro and Lupita Gutierrez were the only elected leaders on hand, singling out Sue Zwahlen and Mani Grewal for being absent. Caine notes “the muted opposition from Democratic leaders, independents and Reagan Republicans has been one of the more astonishing aspects of Trump’s second term in office.”  

Sacramento Bee. Thousands converge on state Capitol to protest Trump in ‘Hands Off’ event.
Synopsis: Veterans, seniors, spouses of green-card holders, teachers and fearful federal workers came “to the Capitol by the thousands” to protest the policies of Donald Trump. Many carried signs or wore shirts and hats to deliver their messages, some more whimsical than others. An 8-year-old had a sign reading, “Not even penguins are safe.” Others were more pointed, featuring photos of Trump and Hitler together.

Canadians cancel CA  

Cal Matters. Canadians pull back on travel to CA because of Trump: ‘I will miss the desert.’ 
Synopsis: Travel to the US from Canada has dropped 8.8% and continues to fall, costing the state an estimated $6 billion in lost tourist revenues. Only visitors from Mexico outnumber those from Canada each year. But the Canadians account for the highest dollar amount. Many say they’ll stay out of America “until Trump is gone.” As one member of parliament said: “It’s become clear that Donald Trump is willing to drive his nation’s economy into chaos, to rip up the biggest and best trading partnership in the world; to drive the US travel industry into the ground.” And Canada would prefer not to participate. Pre-tariffs, Visit California had been predicting a 15% increase in Canadian visitors to California this year.  

Keep parks open, that’s an order 

LA Times. Trump administration orders national parks to remain open amid staffing shortages.
Synopsis: Trump has issued an executive order that all national parks must remain open despite Elon Musk slashing park staffing. To make sure his orders are followed, any park closure must be approved by appointed NPS staff. Professional staff say that could be dangerous since parks routinely close during fire and weather emergencies. “It’s micromanagement at its worst, creating more red tape when park staff are already stretched dangerously thin.” The Assn of National Park Rangers has warned that more cuts are imminent and the association’s members are already unable to “meet their mission” of providing safety.

KSEE / CBS47. McClintock says Yosemite’s reservation system stalled because he ‘raised hell.’
Synopsis: A video posted by MyMotherLode.com showed the congressman whose district includes the park bragging that he “raised hell with the White House and they’re now backing off – at least for the moment” in plans to resume taking reservations for campsites in Yosemite. McClintock believes the reservation system is “damaging” visitation numbers. He wants to see the reservation system scrapped.
MAD Take: About 7 years ago, before the reservation system was implemented, weekend visitors were literally unable to find any parking in or overlooking Yosemite Valley. Tourists would drive into the park, circle around for an hour or two, then drive out. That’s a large part of the reason a reservation system was implemented.

Key ag imports exempted

Successful Farming. Some key ag inputs exempt from sweeping new duties.
Synopsis: The 10% tariff on most things will not apply to potash, some herbicides, pesticides, peat, lumber, lubricating oils and livestock pharmaceuticals, according to AgriPulse. The ag industry wanted tariffs lifted on fresh produce, but didn’t get that request. While the American Farm Bureau took a bow for getting tariffs lifted, it noted that it can do nothing about retaliatory tariffs placed on American goods in other countries – tariffs that will raise the price of our goods and diminish sales. “With the simultaneous increase of input prices and decrease in demand, farmers who are already in financial distress will further feel the squeeze,” the ABFB analysis says.

Businesswomen to the front 

Turlock Journal. Valley Builders Exchange award $11K in scholarships for women in construction.
Synopsis: Valley Builders hosted its 5^th Women in Construction luncheon where Dina Kimble, CEO of Royal Electric, offered the keynote. Among those on a panel were Arlene McNaul of Kaiser Permanente, Michelle Reimers, the now former GM of TID, and Mindy Meyer of PG&E. Receiving scholarships were Paige Carr, Bella Carrera, Cassandra Farr, Allison Martin, Abigail Moulyn, Carmen Ramos, Brenda Sanchez, Paige Sipes, Erick Sisk, Stephanie Storey and Oshen Turman.

Save a levee, eat a nutria

Turlock Journal. Eat nutria & put bounty on bass to save the Delta, protect levees, free up water. 
Synopsis: Columnist Dennis Wyatt is urging Josh Harder to elevate his anti-nutria campaign, carrying it out of the halls of Congress and onto your rear bumper. He suggests bumper stickers reading: “Eat nutria & save the Delta.” Nutria are no laughing matter. They can eat 25% of their body weight in a day, have three litters of 10 or more baby rodents in a year, and burrow into levees making them weaker. Wyatt also wants to diminish another invasive species -- striped bass. They eat baby salmon and Delta smelt. Yes, the Delta produces trophy bass but, he asks, “what is more important? Protecting native fish and by extension water supplies … or making sure there is a robust bass fishing industry?”
MAD Take: Maybe we could train nutria to eat bass. Or vice versa, either way works.

Farmworkers of the year

Fresno Bee. Ag-rich counties in CA need to spotlight their farm workers of the year. 
Synopsis: Juan Esparza Loera and Tad Weber write as the editorial board, focusing on the recent event where Frank Hernandez was named Stanislaus County Farmworker of the Year. He works for Vermeulen hulling, and got a $3,000 check, courtesy of the Modesto Rotary, AgSafe and the Stanislaus Farm Bureau. State agriculture secretary Karen Ross – speaking at the award ceremony at Modesto’s Centre Plaza – noted that 478,000 farm workers are an essential part of CA’s $59.4 billion ag industry. There were 11 award winners sharing in $9,500 in prizes, including Alfred Gomez of Westley, Jorge Mercado of Westley and Jesse Camarena of Hickman. “These farm workers, if they are luck, get perhaps one day of recognition for a career of hard work. When we sit down to eat, we reap their benefits each and every day.” This award is also given in Fresno County, but none of the other Valley counties. Such a program should be duplicated in other top agricultural counties in the state,” writes the Bee.

Libraries to lose fed funding?

EdSource. CA libraries may lose millions under Trump cuts.
Synopsis: The Trump administration is planning to slash millions from federal support to libraries and museums. The CA State Library has already lost $3 million in fed funds. Among programs in jeopardy are those providing books to poor kids, summer reading initiatives, skills training and help for those trying to get their GEDs. The deputy state librarian calls this “an ill-informed decision.” The staff of the federal American Library Assn has been laid off by the chainsaw guy.

1.6 million hives were lost

Ag Net West. US beekeepers report record colony losses, raising alarm for farmers.
Synopsis: Beekeepers lost 1.6 million hives, or 62% of their colonies from last June to March, 2025. Commercial keepers were hardest hit, but hobby keepers lost 50% of their hives. Farmers who grow almonds, apples and melons will be the hardest hit. “We haven’t seen losses like this in 20 years,” said beekeepers president.

Garlic Fest returns to Gilroy

CBS13. Gilroy Garlic Festival announces return 6 years after mass shooting.
Synopsis: After trying out Stockton, Fresno and Los Banos, the Garlic Festival is going back to where it all began – Gilroy. This year’s festival will be July 25-27 at Gilroy Gardens. Attendance each day will be capped at 3,000 to guarantee a “more intimate and immersive festival.”
MAD Take: A “more intimate” garlic festival? Some people believe garlic does more to inhibit intimacy than promote it.

Banning de-clawing surgery

Cal Matters. Can CA vets claw back another declawing ban? Lawmakers are trying. 
Synopsis: More than 30 nations and several US jurisdictions have already banned declawing of cats, but five efforts since 2018 to ban it in CA have failed. Though the American Veterinary Medical Assn has actively discouraged declawing, the CA Veterinary Medical Assn insists it is a safe, necessary procedure that is rarely performed. They say the bill is unnecessary and worry that vets still doing it will be targeted by animal activists if the bill passes. It passed committee on a party-line vote with Democrats voting 12-0 in the affirmative.

Finding profit in poop

Merced Sun Star. Merced dog waste removal business is scooping up success: Tha Bomb Squad.
Synopsis: Tiffany and Devin Picton are dog lovers who will come to you home and clean up accumulated messes in your back yard once a week. Devin got the idea after repeatedly paying his daughter for doing “doody duty” in his own back yard. Devin’s full time job is in IT, so Tiffany is the main “dog waste technician” doing most of the dirty work. His website has 1,200 followers.