Valley Headlines

UCM, bullet-train connection?

SF Chronicle. Could this plan actually save CA’s high-speed rail project?
Synopsis: Donald Trump has promised to kill CA’s bullet train, but his hope might be premature. Despite egregious delays and enormous cost overruns, the High-Speed Rail Authority is once again counting on private investment to keep the project alive. That what HSR Authority’s CEO told the American Public Transportation Assn at a conference in SF two weeks ago. One of those funders could be Plenary Americas, which helped finance the rapid expansion of UC Merced during Dorothy Leland’s tenure as chancellor. The university essentially allowed Plenary to build dorms and classrooms then leased them back from the company. If the state continues to devote significant portions of its cap-and-trade funds to the project, such a plan could work.
MAD Take: In an op-ed published over the weekend, an economics professor suggested the highest use for cap-and-trade money would be to lower the electricity bills for people living in the hottest parts of California. If you asked Valley residents what they’d rather have – a fast train to Bakersfield or a 40%-cut in their electric bills – there wouldn’t be much debate.

Biggest building yet in Patterson

Patterson Irrigator. Five-story industrial facility.
Synopsis: The Irrigator got around to reporting on planning-commission approval of a 5-story, 3.23 million square foot logistical building that is “expected” to bring 1,800 jobs to the community. It is being called the Colossus Industrial Center because it will be twice as large as the next-biggest logistical center in the city. No tenant has been identified – though many in the community are said to be “in the know.”
MAD Take: While the story did not divulge or even speculate on who the tenant will be, this project appears to line up with a typical e-commerce logistical center. Such centers typically have 1 employee for every 2,000 to 3,000 square feet. In its coverage of the approval two weeks ago, The Bee reported that the building and its parking lots will cover 102 acres and generate from 400 to 900 vehicle trips per hour, or about 11,500 vehicle trips per day.

West Fresno gets new park

Fresno Bee. $10.5M park in historic Fresno neighborhood opens soon; more development to follow.
Synopsis: Les Kimber Park will span 10 acres in southwest Fresno and act as a precursor to increased housing development. It lacks greenery now, but that will begin to change starting Monday. Eventually there will be soccer fields, basketball courts and walking trails. West Creek Village, a mixed-use community, will be built in the area soon. Fresno City College’s West Fresno campus is already in place and soon will be surrounded by single-family homes. Kimber was the second African American elected to the Fresno City Council.

Trying to save the ambulance

Westside Connect. Westside Community Healthcare District elects new VP, board member.
Synopsis: Debbie Lopes will become the new Vice President of the district, filling a role vacated by Kenneth Helms – who resigned without explanation after the defeat of Measure A. Stevinson’s Ashley Casteel was elected to fill the vacated Zone 3 board seat. With the failure of Measure A, the district is facing severe financial distress. It is possible, said Casteel, that the service could go out of business if remedies are not found.
MAD Note: Merced County has only one ambulance provider, with both of its units stationed in the Merced/Atwater area. If Westside’s ambulance service goes out of business, it could take 30 to 40 minutes for emergency services to arrive for those needing help on the Westside.

Cattleman: Stop beef at the border

Morning Ag Clips. Op-Ed: Too early to resume Mexican cattle imports.
Synopsis: Bill Bullard, CEO of R-CALF USA, says the New World Screwworm remains a serious threat to American cattle. Unfortunately, Ag Sec. Brooke Rollins is siding with “Big Ag” (i.e., the meatpackers) in their fight with independent family ranchers to resume imports of steers from Mexico. It’s not the first time an ag secretary has sided with Big Ag – and Big Ag can’t be trusted, he says. They pushed to bring in animals from Paraguay and Brazil to lower domestic prices when foot-and-mouth disease was rampant. Biden’s Ag Secretary, Tom Vilsack, agreed with Big Ag and local ranchers lost $216 million. Another example is the e-tags, which Big Ag wants but small ranchers hate. “Despite our hopes and expectations that our new agriculture secretary would begin shifting the USDA’s helping hand away from Big Ag and toward independent cattle producers, it appears it’s déjà vu all over again” as screwworm regs are relaxed prematurely. 

They want to recreate a lake

LA Times. ‘Water brings life’: Plans to revive Tulare Lake take shape in SJ Valley. 
Synopsis: Story starts with a history lesson dating back “more than a century” to an idyllic time when the largest lake in the Western US sat at the foot of the Tehachapi Mountains. Then came the dam builders, and the Kaweah, Kings and Tulare rivers were redirected. That enormous lake dried up and was sold off as farmland. But the massive rains of 2023 sent flood flows into parts of the ancient lakebed, creating a 100-square mile lake and reigniting dreams that it could be restored. One of those dreamers is Robert Jeff of the Santa Rosa Rancheria Yokuts. Another is developer John Ennis, who has done projects in Madera County. Working with Friends of the (Kings) River they’ve come up with a proposal to turn 24,000 acres of farmland near Kettleman City into a watery wildlife refuge and lake holding about 500,000 acre feet. The land now mostly belongs to three entities: mega-farm500,000-acree Partners and the JG Boswell Co. and the LA County Sanitation District. So far, no one is interested in giving up their farms or feces-drying facilities. Recreating an actual lake – not just a runoff basin for a 500-year flood – would require complex pumping, canals and water rights. Lots of water rights.
MAD Take: It’s an interesting idea considering the prediction that 600,000 acres of Valley farmland must come out of production due to lack of groundwater. Such a lake would cover less than 5% of that total. But the difficulties in attempting to rewater an ancient lake would be profound. Settling water rights would take a century even after you could get Boswell and Sandridge to stop fighting. Can’t help but compare this to another “Green dream” -- tearing down O’Shaughnessy Dam in Yosemite and restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley. I’m willing to hold bets on which project happens first.

Geopolitics and walnuts

Ag Net West. CA walnuts battle global price pressure.
Synopsis: Interviewer Nick Papagni talks to Michael Jameson of Morada Nut Co., who talks about India’s recently imposed 100% tariff on walnuts in retaliation for Trump tariffs on Indian goods in the US. That has doubled the cost of nuts entering the Indian market since last year. By making CA walnuts more expensive, our walnuts are more than twice the price of Chinese walnuts. Meanwhile, Turkish buyers have reduced their orders by 79%, shifting their orders to China, too.

Don’t hold your breath

PPIC. Is dust on the rise in CA?
Synopsis: The PPIC’s Sarah Bardeen does a Q&A with UC Merced assistant professor Adeyemi Adebiyi, who recently published a study on increasing dust storms in the Valley. One of the first things Prof. Adebiyi brings up is Coccidioides – the fungus that causes Valley Fever. As land goes fallow and dries out, conditions become more conducive for Valley Fever and the large dust storms that will spread it far and wide. The South Valley is most at risk of both. The best solution is covering the land with crops, but there’s not enough water to make that viable. Second-best solution? An early-warning system for dust storms.
MAD Take: Early-warning system? Is that so we can hold our breath?

Stanislaus homeless numbers flat

Modesto Bee. Stanislaus count shows no large increase in homelessness; what about Turlock?
The annual Point In Time (PIT) Count, conducted Jan. 29-30, found 2,086 homeless people in Stanislaus County, a small bump from last year’s 2,052. County officials were encouraged by the number, since it represents three years of either no growth or slow growth. Of those counted, roughly 46% were unsheltered. The rest were living in shelters or transitional housing. Turlock was an outlier in the trend, with nearly a 20% increase from 201 homeless in 2024 to 241 in 2025.
MAD Note: Since the count was done, Turlock’s We Care Shelter, which served 49 men, has been forced to shutter due to lack of support from the city. The shelter obtained a state grant that would have kept it open contingent on a show of support from the Turlock City Council – which voted 3-2 against making a contribution of $1 to show that support.

Rafters peeved at SoCal Ed

LA Times. Hydropower saps flows from mighty Kern River; rafters want their whitewater back.
Synopsis: SoCal Edison has been diverting water near Kernville to make power at its Plant 3, leaving about 16 miles of the river without enough water for rafting or kayaking. As Edison applies for its FERC license renewal, the rafting community is demanding more flows for their favorite pastime. “We’re not asking Edison to take the dam down … we’re just asking to bump up the recreation flows so it benefits the community,” said the founder of the Kern River Conservancy.

Fresno gets access to SJ river

Fresno Bee. Owner of old Fig Garden Golf Course will allow public access to Fresno riverfront.
Synopsis: After years of negotiations, a developer is hoping to turn the old golf course, which closed in 2019, into fancy homes. He is set to cede some of the land for a 50-foot-wide path from Van Ness Road to the San Joaquin River. It would guide walkers 4,700 feet to the river.