Valley Headlines

Another huge almond crop

ABC30. Valley almond crop 13% larger than a year ago.
Synopsis: The most important crop for several Valley counties is huge this year, at an estimated 2.8 billion pounds. That is causing some to worry about price. One of those quoted is Scott Hunter of Atwater, who described how every part of the nut – hull, shell, kernel – is sold to various buyers. Even with that, “it’s been tough the last few years” with kernel prices at around $1.45 a pound.

Saving the Wawona Hotel

KVPR. Historic Yosemite hotel to close its doors.
Synopsis: The Wawona Hotel, originally built in 1856, needs extensive repairs. That park will close the doors in December, and they’ll remain closed for months. Apparently, they’re not even sure how much work needs to be done – just that it’s a lot and will take a long time.
MAD Note. Too bad. The Wawona has the best pancake breakfast in Yosemite.  

Good business news

Merced Golden Wire. Branding Iron resumes operations.
Synopsis: Merced’s most venerable restaurant has quietly re-opened its doors at 16^th Street for lunch and dinner. There will be a grand opening soon. Comments include “Please don’t take the coffee-rub steak off the menu.”

Madera Tribune. North Fork Rancheria breaks ground on long-awaited casino.
Synopsis: The Tribune takes note of Saturday’s groundbreaking celebration for a new gaming facility at Golden State Blvd and Hwy 99 north of Madera. It’s been in the works for 20 years.
MAD Note: No details in the story, but others have reported that the new $400 million casino will have 200 rooms, 2,000 slots and 40 gaming tables. The tribe has promised roads, parks and expanded sewer capacity for the city.

Merced Golden Wire. New chain store arrives in Merced.
Synopsis: Daiso, the Dollar Store of Japan, will open a location at 1260 Commerce, the former site of Rue 21. But the anticipation will last; it won’t open until winter 2025.

Ceres Courier. Vallarta Supermarket, Ross Dress for Less to occupy old Walmart space.
Synopsis: The old derelict Walmart building at Hatch and Mitchell – shuttered for at least 8 years -- is being repurposed with a grocery store and a clothing store.

Winery’s roots are in Patterson

Patterson Irrigator. Patterson native, winemaker recognized by magazine.
Synopsis: Moret Brealynn Wines – created by Moret-Brealynn Chavez – has been recognized as one of the five best new wineries in the nation in Food & Wine Magazine’s September issue. She left Patterson for Sac State some years ago, and eventually landed in Sonoma where she has now opened a winery. She has also been featured in Forbes, Decanter and on the Black Wine Guy podcast.

Cool classes at Patterson High

Modesto Bee. New $300K scholarship announced for Central Valley schools.
Synopsis: Patterson Unified is one of three schools to get funding from the San Joaquin A+ and Linked Learning Alliance to create a “healthcare pathway.” The money is coming from the state, which has $18.1 million to funnel into career-path programs.

Patterson Irrigator. Trucking teacher is named teacher of the year.
Synopsis: Speaking of career-path programs, Patterson High has one of the only truck-driving programs in the nation. Teacher Dave Dein is the guy who makes it happen, and he is being celebrated this year.

Explaining why ‘X2’ is bad

CA Insider. Video: California is about to dump 114 billion gallons of water into the ocean.
Synopsis: Geoff Vanden Heuvel, of the Milk Producers Council, takes his crusade against the fulfillment of the “X2” requirements onto YouTube.  He points out to CA Insider how previous X2 flows have failed to improve the chances of Delta smelt, salmon or any other type of fish.

Law meant to bankrupt ranchers

CA Globe. Ringside: AB460 hands water bureaucrats even more power.
Synopsis: Edward Ring writes about the legislation sitting on Gov. Newsom’s desk that would increase fines for taking water without authorization to $10,000 a day. Rebecca Bauer-Kahan’s bill is in response to ranchers who continued to take water off the Klamath to save their cattle in 2020 during the drought. Ring says this will have an impact on every farmer in every basin eventually – not just those on the Klamath. Basically, he notes, this will be the bill that require cattle ranchers to choose how they go out of business – by following the law and watching their cattle die, or defying the law and being bankrupted by the state.

Riverbank growth on ’26 ballot

Modesto Bee. Riverbank residents will vote on housing expansion in 2026.
Synopsis: This is all about Riverbank’s ambitions to annex a huge chunk of land and expand the city all the way to McHenry Avenue. Voters would have a say on the River Walk project. Garry Pearson is the face of the signature drive to support expansion that would add 1,550 mini-mansions, 702 medium density homes and 180 apartments to the city. Even if voters say yes, it still needs approvals from both the Riverbank Planning Commission and LAFCO to become reality. The group Voters for Farmland opposes this land grab. The folks over in Del Rio aren’t too happy about it, either.  

Golden State’s hidden financial rot

Cal Matters. Once again, Democrat-led CA leads the nation in poverty.
Synopsis: Dan Walters describes “California’s most glaring conundrum” in writing about the Census Bureau calculation that due to the high cost of housing in CA, more residents remain in poverty here than anywhere else. Interestingly, based on income alone, California is about average. To understand our poverty, the Census Bureau uses a “supplemental measure” which takes into account all costs vs. income, and says 31% of our residents are on the borderline. Walters notes there is a racial component to the numbers. If you’re Brown, Black or young, you’re much more likely to be poor.

Resuscitating the Pac-12

Valley Sun. Report: Fresno State targeted to join Pac-12 conference.
Synopsis: The Bulldogs will join the Pac-12 what was once considered a Power Five conference. Unanswered is whether or not the Pac-12 will remain a Power Five league with the departure of 10 of its 12 schools. Or even if it will remain a “12”. Also unanswered, with so many Mountain West Conference teams -- Boise State, San Diego State and Colorado State – why bother? Just call it Pac-Mountain.