Valley Headlines

Gray brings services to the people

Modesto Bee. Rep. Adam Gray’s staff mobile office hours turn into makeshift town hall. 
Synopsis: Around 15 people came to the King-Kennedy Center to meet with members of Rep. Adam Gray’s staff Wednesday. It was part of Gray’s directive to district staff to take services into the communities he represents. The district stretches 170 miles from Coalinga to Lathrop, making it impossible for many residents who need help with federal programs -- such as Social Security, the VA and passports -- to come to the district office in Turlock. But this meeting turned into an impromptu town hall as residents asked Gray’s assistant, Tammy Dunbar, to explain the representative’s positions on various issues from immigration to education. She referred them to stories in local media, press releases and the Congressman’s website. Reporter Kathleen Quinn noted that Gray’s staff members have also had office hours in Grayson and other communities.
MAD Note: In the six months since Gray took office, his staff has conducted mobile-office hours in Firebaugh, Coalinga, Chowchilla, Dos Palos, Kerman, Huron, Keyes, Atwater, Empire Delhi, Madera, Los Banos, Gustine, Newman, Merced, Ceres, Livingston, Hughson, Winton, Patterson and Lathrop providing constituent support on topics ranging from mail delivery to veteran benefits to visas.

Biggest Patterson warehouse yet?

Modesto Bee. Massive distribution center to create 1,500 jobs in Stanislaus County. 
Synopsis: Patterson is considering the building of a 3.2 million-square-foot distribution center on Sperry Avenue. The warehouse proposal is roughly 2x larger than the center approved two weeks ago in the same area and would be the biggest logistics center operating in the city. The massive building would generate at least 1,300 vehicle trips a day in the area of Rogers and Zacharias roads. No tenant has been identified. Issues such as additional truck traffic, air quality and city infrastructure will have to be addressed. The story points out that many cities are souring on distribution centers due to “substandard wages, truck traffic and air emissions.” At the state level, legislation is being considered that would restrict truck traffic.
MAD Take: The Bee has provided extensive coverage of traffic issues – and accidents – that have dramatically increased on Grayson Road between Patterson and Modesto. Last week, a 19-year-old girl was killed on Grayson Road.

City will ponder stadium longer

Modesto Bee. Modesto city council punts decision on pro soccer stadium location.
Synopsis: After a 5-hour workshop to discuss bringing a professional soccer team and stadium to Modesto, the council decided it needed more time. The leading stadium locations are Modesto Centre Plaza (where the meeting was conducted) and the park near John Thurman Field – which Councilmember Chris Ricci said would not be torn down. A new stadium would be occupied by a professional United Soccer League team such as Academia in Turlock.

Supervisor targets gay residents

Fresno Bee. Could Fresno County stop recognizing Pride Month? LGBTQ+ community pushes back.
Synopsis: Fresno County’s executive was directed to develop new policies that target the LGBTQ+ community for change. Supervisor Garry Bredefeld is behind the effort, saying he wants to make sure county employees don’t take part in Pride Month activities and that all LGBT+ posters, books and materials are removed from county facilities. He calls it a “political agenda.” He’s also upset the county health department spent $6,000 on condoms, brochures and medication handed out at the county’s Pride Parade. Eli Sachse, a public health nurse in Merced County, called those items educational materials, saying health education is a mandated function for every county health department in CA.
MAD Note: Bredefeld is the same supervisor who wants to remove public scrutiny from the $600,000 discretionary budget each Supervisor is allowed to spend.

Fresno Bee. Fresno’s transgender community worried about increase in hate incidents.
Synopsis: Columnist Juan Esparza Loera writes that the report released Wednesday by the CA attorney general simply confirmed the hate crimes suffered by the LGBTQ community. AG Rob Bonta urged local leaders to “review the data and resources available and recommit to standing united against hate.” Local LGBTQ+ sources said hate crimes have increased since the Trump administration has made it OK to express hatred against their community. “The fear is 10 times more this time around,” said one.

Uber will cost you in Fresno

Fresno Bee. Taking an Uber? Fresno has most expensive rides in CA, study shows.
Synopsis: A company called NetCredit calculated prices for Uber rides in the largest 100 cities in the US. The most expensive were in Seattle ($60 for a 30-minute trip), while Fort Worth and Indianapolis were the cheapest ($28.33). Fresno was in the middle at $40.71. But that’s 190% of the local median hourly wage, which makes Fresno the seventh-least affordable city in the US for taking an Uber. Others: NYC $47.37, San Diego $45, San Jose $43.13.

Gray’s water bill makes news

Kerman News. Gray introduces Valley Water Protection Act in Congress.
Synopsis: Rep. Adam Gray introduced a bill to make water deliveries from federal sources more reliable, recognizing food production as a national security issue. Rep. Jim Costa co-sponsored the bill. The executive director of San Luis & Delta Mendota Water Authority, Federico Barajas, noted that the well-intentioned Endangered Species Act is “no longer aligned with the impacts of the Central Valley Project.” Water releases from Shasta, New Melones and Millerton are required to “mitigate species impacts beyond the impacts of the CVP facilities,” he said. And that hurts communities in the Delta and South Valley. This legislation offers a means of reviewing those provisions in light of security and economic impacts. Among those applauding Gray’s efforts were Johnny Amaral of the Friant Water Authority and Turlock Irrigation District.

Creating fear is the point

LA Times. ‘You gonna let him die?’ Agents pile on protester, who convulses and struggles to breathe.
Synopsis: Masked federal agents pushed a man who was taking video of their actions to the pavement on a crowded downtown street then piled on top of him. The man struggled to breathe prompting one bystander to shout, “You gonna let him die?” They pulled him up while his body was convulsing and put him in a car. Lots of folks had their camera phones out and the video has gone viral. A former ICE official said such “at-large” arrests are being carried out to create a “level of chaos and fear” and it “appears to be a feature here, not a bug.” The arrested man is a US citizen. He is being charged by US Attorney Bill Essayli for “assaulting” federal officers. The agents were in the process of arresting a man who was operating a food cart selling coffee and pan dulce. A woman, also a citizen, was also charged with assaulting the agents – she is 4-foot-11 and weighs 105 pounds. One of the “assaulted” agents cuffed her then picked her up with one hand and carried her to an SUV. Bystanders called police when the unmarked agents began pushing citizens to the ground.

GV Wire. Alleged ‘fake’ ICE agents charged; Fresno court date set.
Synopsis: Two men charged with impersonating ICE agents at Fresno’s River Park Shopping Center will go to trial, though one denies any wrongdoing. Abad Amilca Sandoval Gonzalez and Tom Avila were arrested three months ago while wearing clothing similar to that worn by ICE agents (available on Amazon). They were confronting people claiming to be agents and filming their reactions. Sandoval Gonzalez claims to be an activist. His social media pages urge a more aggressive approach to immigration enforcement.

Diablo Grande given more time

Maven’s Notebook. Kern County Water Agency extends deadline for Western Hills to Sept. 30. 
Synopsis: People living in the 600 homes in Diablo Grande were given a 3-month extension by Kern County Water Agency, meaning water will not be shut off to their homes on June 30. KCWA’s board of directors unconditionally extended the deadline for Western Hills Water District to Sept. 30. Western Hills owes Kern County roughly $13 million under a contract signed by the community’s original developers.
MAD Note: The extension came only after coverage of the looming shutoff appeared in SJV Water. Reporter Lois Henry looked through the contracts between the two agencies. The original contract was to supply a development with 5,000 homes and three golf courses. Only 600 homes were built and the one golf course that opened has long since closed. Henry’s most pertinent question: What happened to the 100,000-acre feet of water that was purchased but never delivered?

Cunha lays out farming issues

Ag Net West. Cunha on immigration, labor, regulatory reform.
Synopsis: Interviewer Nick Papagni spends 28 minutes with Manuel Cunha Jr. of the Nisei Farmers League talking about issues affecting ag in the Valley. The League’s priorities are immigration, air quality regulations and legal assistance for farm employers. He is very concerned about labor disruptions in the midst of harvest. He supports the Immigration Reform for Frontline Workers Alliance and supports more H-2A visas for guest workers and a work-permit system that confronts human trafficking while protecting long-term residents. “A farmworker’s daughter is studying medicine at UCLA. Should we deport her mother? Absolutely not.” He added: “We fed America during COVID. Now we’re called ‘illegal’? We need the same respect now that we had then.” 

River Partners gets new data

River Partners. Coming into focus: Results from revolutionary groundwater science. 
Synopsis: Stanford is sharing results of its subterranean look at the San Joaquin Valley, using technology that acts like an MRI but on a landscape scale. The project examined water movement down to 18 feet in Grayson and Hidden Valley Ranch (on the San Joaquin River), Bear Creek Ranch and the Sweetwater properties in Merced County. Using new data, River Partners is formulating plans for planting and restoration to facilitate groundwater recharge while creating better wildlife habitat. 

Rural hospitals on the brink

ABC30. Rural hospitals could be devastated by Big Beautiful Bill changes to Medicaid.
Synopsis: Reporter Brisa Colon looks at what will happen to rural hospitals if Medicaid funding is cut by $600 billion as proposed in the GOP budget bill. The National Rural Health Association says such a cut would “devastate” rural hospitals forcing many -- if not most -- to close. The organization says such a cut would cut funding to rural hospitals by 21 percent. Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria, who helped Madera Community Hospital reopen after a two-year closure due to bankruptcy, said passage of the budget bill “would be a travesty.” She called out Rep. David Valadao, who voted for the bill, saying, “I can guarantee you that some of his hospitals will close.” One of those, Kaweah Health Medical Center, has already declared bankruptcy once and would be in extreme danger of going out of business. Madera Supervisor Rob Poythress, a Republican, noted that “Madera Community Hospital and many others like us are not receiving the money we need to provide or pay for care.” President Trump has demanded the bill be passed by July 4^th.

New digs for bears, bobcats

Merced Sun Star. Merced Applegate Zoo to undergo $1.8M renovation project. 
Synopsis: The biggest improvements at the Applegate Zoo will be for black bears and bobcats. Construction will begin by September, said Christopher Jensen. Windfall and Missy, brown bears, will get a new home comparable to the bear dens in the Fresno and Oakland zoos. “It will actually look like a granite den that you would find in the Sierras,” said Jensen.