Valley Solution

Fires get a lot bigger

FresnoLand.  Garnet Fire explodes to 49,109 acres, crossing Dinkey Creek.
Synopsis: The Garnet fire grew by a third Sunday, going from 36,000 acres to 49,100 acres in eastern Fresno County with just 14% containment. That sent giant columns of smoke into the atmosphere and residents looking for shelter. The Fresno County sheriff's office issued new evacuation orders in the Dinkey Creek area. The fire was being fought by 1,800 Friday but reinforcements arrived Saturday and now there are 2,226 firefighters on scene.

GV Wire. Fresno, Monterey County fire burns more than 25,000 acres – 35% contained. 
Synopsis: The Salt Fire has scorched 25,580 acres around its flash point on Jacalitos Creek Road west of Coalinga. Evacuations have been ordered in both Fresno and Monterey counties. There are 94 engines, 45 tenders, 11 helicopters, 49 dozers and 40 hand crews (1,680 personnel) fighting the fire.

Modesto Bee. Online fundraisers help Chinese Camp fire victims; one had fled war in Cambodia.
Synopsis: GoFundMe accounts have been launched for victims of the blaze that destroyed much of Chinese Camp in Tuolumne County. A complex of four fires has destroyed 13,996 acres as of Sunday and is 57% contained. It destroyed 85 structures. Among the victims is Polina Ken, who settled in Chinese Camp after having fled Cambodia’s killing fields in the 1970s. Another is Rob Owens, who lost his heavy equipment, often used to fight wildfire, in the blaze.

Fixing subsidence: ‘Enormously hard’

Maven’s Notebook. CA’s land subsidence challenge: A look at DWR’s draft BMP. 
Synopsis: At their August meeting, the CA Water Commission got a presentation on subsidence and what the Department of Water Resources believes are “best management practices” for addressing it. Subsidence must be managed under the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. But increased pumping in the San Joaquin Valley has led to land sinking up to 7 feet and thousands of wells going dry in the past decade. Two significant “bowls of subsidence” have been centered around Chowchilla and in an area that includes the Tulare Lake, Kaweah and Tule sub-basins. Subsidence weakens levees, cracks pavement and causes roads to sink. It leads to compaction, which renders the substrata incapable of holding water. DWR’s Paul Gosselin said subsidence has increased with every drought, but the current rate is “very alarming.” He said mitigating subsidence is “going to be enormously hard. It’s going to be more than raising it above the historic lows; in many cases, raising it many times higher than that.” Comments on the DWR plan are due by Sept. 22. The document is available at the link.

An earful for bullet-train staff

Merced Focus. High-speed Rail Authority holds closed-door meetings with Merced leaders. 
Synopsis: High-Speed Rail Authority leaders came to explain their plan – released Aug. 22 with no warning to Merced – in which Merced was eliminated from initial service. Instead, the plan would go through Gilroy, then south to Madera and Bakersfield. Merced councilmembers Shane Smith and Darin DuPont joined supervisor Josh Pedrozo somewhere south of furious. The city and county have made considerable investments and plans based on HSRA promises. Breaking those promises, said Smith, should carry consequences. The city has invested significantly in creating a hub connecting the bullet train to Amtrak and ACE with quick links to UC Merced and Castle Airport. Among those gathered outside the meeting were education leaders Juan Sanchez Munoz and Steve Tietjen, along with the leader of the Merced Hispanic Chamber, construction workers, real estate agents and others.

Firebaugh trying on new shoes

Valley Sun. Firebaugh to benefit from Josh Allen’s deal with New Balance.
Synopsis: Josh Allen, the Buffalo Bills’ star quarterback, is leaving Nike behind and will start wearing New Balance shoes. Part of his deal includes help from the shoe company for his hometown Firebaugh sports programs. He put it all in a letter to his hometown. Being raised on a farm, he wrote, “wasn’t glamorous, but it taught me everything I needed to know about grit, discipline and the value of hard work.” And this, “You cheered for me when I was sending out my highlight tapes, hoping someone would notice. And you celebrated with me when I was named NFL MVP. That honor belongs to all of us. That’s why it feels right to share this next chapter with you.”

Another hospital faces the end

Cal Matters. Another CA county is losing its only hospital after feds refuse to step in. 
Synopsis: Glenn County’s only hospital and emergency room will shut its doors by Oct. 31, costing 150 people their jobs. Why? Because the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has stripped Glenn Medical Center of its “critical access” designation because it is less than 35 miles from the next nearest facility. Loss of the designation will cut the hospital’s income by 40%, or $11.4 million -- a gap too large to cover by any other means in a county of 28,000. GMC is only 32 miles from Colusa Medical Center, if you take the backroads. Most people stick to I-5 and Hwy 20, which is faster though 35.7 miles away. Neither of the two hospitals have moved in the last 20 years, only the rules have changed now that Doctor Oz is in charge. He’s told Rep. Doug LaMalfa that he’ll look for a way to “make it work.”
MAD Take: Why is a hospital 165 miles from our Valley important? Because its plight is so similar to that of hospitals in our region. At least four Valley hospitals are in real danger of closing. So are the dreams of those living on the West Side from Patterson to Los Banos who want new hospitals. Under the current federal budget, existing hospitals will fail so there is little hope for new facilities.

What about actual laborers?

Fresno Bee. Central Valley farmer says USDA’s Labor Day post ‘didn’t mention true laborers.’
Synopsis: Farmer Joe Del Bosque “was dismayed” over the USDA’s “Happy Labor Day” posting, which showed “hardworking farmers, ranchers, food safety inspectors, foresters and wildland firefighters” but none of the people who actually put food on our tables – most of whom didn’t even get Labor Day off. “Neglecting to thank farmworkers in a tweet is far from the most disrespectful thing the Trump administration has done,” said UFW President Teresa Romero. The “constant raids” and “terrorizing farmworker communities” and efforts to “lower wages” has had a greater impact. CA’s secretary of ag, Karen Ross, started her Labor Day message by thanking “farmers, farmworkers, truck drivers, scientists” etc. for all their hard work.

Downtown cleanup ending?

Modesto Focus. Modesto’s endangered trash-removal-by-homeless program could get new life.
Synopsis: Downtown Streets Teams have been cleaning up the streets of downtown Modesto for six years. It has also provided employment and a second chance for hundreds. The program, which operates in 16 cities, said it will end Oct. 31. Increased insurance costs was cited as one reason. In its six years, 400 people have picked up 2.6 million pounds of trash in Modesto, leading 182 people to find housing and 127 to full-time jobs. Councilmember Eric Alvarez says the city has an obligation to find a replacement program.

Autism care unavailable

Modesto Bee. Kaiser autism changes leaves Stanislaus children in limbo; insurer cites cost.
Synopsis: Ken Carlson reports on mothers fighting to get treatment for their autistic children. Kaiser Permanente abruptly ended some forms of treatment last month and no replacement has been authorized for roughly 70 families. One mom complained to the CA Dept of Managed Health Care, leading Kaiser to say it would wait for the department’s ruling before offering new treatment. At issue is an intensive therapy called Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), which reduces tantrums, helps autistic children speak, and allows them to acquire skills needed for acclimation. Others received Behavioral & Educational Strategies Training (BEST) therapy. Both forms can cost from $700 to $1,800 a week. Kaiser is offering telehealth services to parents. ProPublica has reported that UnitedHealth – which posted $22 billion in profits last year -- has also cut back autism services. Meanwhile, the incidence of autism has risen from 1-in-150 births to 1-in-31.

Why CA is losing good jobs

LA Times. Why is CA losing good jobs to other states? It’s not rocket science.
Synopsis: Columnist Joel Kotkin writes that CA has abandoned the middle class in favor of elites in the tech and finance industries. Our tepid job growth is being vastly outpaced by Texas, Florida and Arizona – states that copied the CA model of investing in education and infrastructure. While our universities and engineering hubs still create cutting-edge defense and aerospace products, they’re being manufactured where the cost of energy and living is far, far, far less. He has a lot of examples. Bottom line: “To revive the CA model, we need dedicated visionaries and an evolving workforce, but mostly we need state government to remember what it means to be willing and able to help those visionaries and workers succeed.”  
MAD Take: Kotkin is not a liberal, in fact he’s a Texan. But his words are strikingly reminiscent to those of noted liberal author Ezra Klein in his book “Abundance.” When both the left and right are saying the same things, someone should be writing it down.

News from college campuses

Merced Focus. UC Merced gets birthday gift of $5 million to build new track & field facility.
Synopsis: A $5 million gift from the Campos Foundation was announced at halftime of the first-ever NCAA women’s soccer match on Friday night in Merced. UC Chancellor Juan Sanchez Munoz said the gift would “benefit countless students and inspire a new era of competitiveness and academic excellence.”

ABC30. Merced College partners with Arizona State for special tuition program.
Synopsis: Merced College is launching a partnership with Arizona State, saving students 22% on tuition for online classes through the CA Community College Achievement Plan.

Savoring honeydew (and vodka)

Turlock Journal. Turlock melons making a splash at US Open.
Synopsis: Reporter Joe Cortez says the best way to watch the US Open is with a Honey Deuce Cocktail – made with Turlock Fruit Co. honeydew melons – in hand. The little bits of honeydew are cut in the shape of tennis balls. Steve Smith says his company has been providing the melons for 16 years. When Taylor Swift was spotted drinking one, well, it became a sensation. The Open isn’t the only event with a signature drink. A Pimm’s Cup has been served at Wimbledon since the 1970s and the mint julep has been mixed since horses began chasing each other around Churchill Downs. The Deuce includes raspberry liqueur, lemonade and King of the West honeydew melon balls. Oh, and Grey Goose vodka.