Valley Solution

Grand jury’s idea rejected

Modesto Bee. Stanislaus, Modesto disagree with grand jury recommendations on 911 call center. 
Synopsis: The 2024-25 Stanislaus Civil Grand Jury was deeply critical of the rift between the Stanislaus Sheriff and other emergency responders who once worked together in the Stanislaus Regional 911 Center. The sheriff is pulling out of the dispatch center because he wants to use a different dispatch software system. Sheriff Jeff Dirkse prefers the new Oracle system, which includes records for the jail. Other responders, after looking at Oracle, preferred to remain with CentralSquare to send help to fire, medical and criminal emergencies. The Grand Jury found things to criticize about both approaches in its scathing report issued in June. In responses due today, the sheriff, county and city disagreed with the jury’s conclusions and recommendations. The county rejects the jury’s recommendation to form an oversight committee, mainly because the sheriff started one already. The city, meanwhile, agreed with the jury that the sheriff's office is an outlier, but believes the governing JPA is not outdated, mainly because updates were made last year. A suggestion that mediation services would help was ruled out.

Merced: So close, yet so far

Merced Sun Star. What will Merced lose if it’s cut from CA’s Central Valley high-speed rail line?
Synopsis: Erik Galicia looks at last week’s surprise announcement that high-speed rail was being rerouted out of Merced (for now) and going from Madera to Gilroy. After a decade of being promised a station that will link Amtrak, the ACE train and high-speed rail, the city of Merced was shocked by the departure. Backlash has been fierce. “We have no credibility if, at the drop of the hat, we can change plans and leave communities high and dry that have made plans on the promise that the train is going to go from Bakersfield to Merced,” said Sen. Anna Caballero. Mayor Matt Serratto pointed out, “A lot of people have bought properties with the expectation of developing high-speed rail-oriented, transit-oriented businesses. But with high-speed rail in limbo, it either inhibits or prevents development.” The various maps with this story show how close the track will get to Merced before turning aside and heading off to Gilroy. Maybe 10 miles.

Counties sound the alarm

SF Chronicle. CA counties enter panic mode as Trump-led spending cuts loom. 
Synopsis: The story focuses first on Contra Costa County, which spends around $7 million to administer federal food-stamp programs. By 2027, that will cost $40 million under provisions laid out in the Big Beautiful Bill. The county will have no option other than gutting programs, leaving thousands of residents and children hungry. Santa Clara is considering a new sales tax to cover Medicaid losses under the bill; the county’s only other option is to close hospitals. Alameda says it will have to find $258 million to make up for cuts to Medi-Cal. In 2027, Medicaid rules will require 6-month renewals instead of 12 – doubling the workload in offices. Since CalFresh is run through Medi-Cal, it will jeopardize food for poor families.
MAD Take: This story is all about our richer neighbors. But those same cuts are coming to Valley counties, too. And we have more people in need and fewer resources with which to meet them.

Festa time in Gustine

Westside Connect. Faith, family and tradition: Gustine’s Our Lady of Miracles Festa returns.
Synopsis: The Festa will be Sept. 5-15 with “11 days of prayer, pageantry and community pride.” There will be fado singing at the GPS Hall, a live band on Sept. 12 and the Bodo de Leite Parade Sept. 13, featuring children handing out sweet breads and milk while cows pull decorated carts through downtown. The bullfights are Sept. 15. Kevin and Shealyn Soares are this year’s presidents.

Why are his trees so green?

Valley Citizen. Beleaguered MID director faces groundwater dilemma.
Synopsis: Questions remain over where MID Director Larry Byrd got water to irrigate some of his almonds. Byrd and his partners, brother Tim Byrd and Ty Angle, operate a 3,000-acre ranch that has the MID canal running through it. But at least 130 acres of almonds are outside the district’s boundaries, and thus ineligible for MID irrigation water. With the water table on the county’s east side having dropped precipitously since massive almond plantings began two decades ago, restrictions are certain to be implemented under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014. After having fought the sale of water to San Francisco years ago, Byrd has become an ardent advocate for selling water to ranchers outside the district. Byrd could clear this up by providing pumping and electricity-use records.

Detection dogs in Patterson

Patterson Irrigator. Detection canines to improve safety at local high schools. 
Synopsis: A parent from Patterson High shared a letter in which the district explained that “trained detection canines” will be used to find contraband on campus. The dogs are handled by Interquest Detection Canines in performing random inspections for drugs, alcohol, gunpowder and medications. If such items are found, discipline will be swift. According to the company, it is the oldest and largest “contraband detection and drug-dog services provider” in the nation, having started in 1979 and now covering 1,200 public school districts.

Fires still smolder, smoke, spread

Fresno Bee. Garnet Fire nears 55,000 acres burned near Fresno; Giant Sequoias threatened.
Synopsis: As of Tuesday, the Garnet Fire had grown by 6,000 acres overnight and is only 14% contained. Ignited by a lightning strike on Aug. 24, the fire is burning around the Kings River into McKinley Grove past Black Rock Reservoir in the east. Dinkey Creek Inn has been evacuated.

GV Wire. Wildfire burns more than 25,000 acres in Fresno and Monterey counties.
Synopsis: The Salt Fire southwest of Coalinga continues to burn, having scorched 25,580 acres as of Tuesday morning. It is now 40% contained as higher humidity and cooler weather are expected to help the 1,657 firefighters on scene. No structures have been damaged, and several evacuation orders have been lifted.

KSEE / CBS47. ‘Discontinue all outdoor activities,’ Yosemite warns visitors.
Synopsis: In one of the most scenic places on Earth, officials are telling visitors to stay indoors. That’s because smoke from the Garnet Fire is blowing into the park, making air unhealthy to hazardous to breath. The higher you go, the worse it gets -- meaning Tuolumne Meadows is especially dangerous.

Chinese Camp left on its own?

ABC30. Records show fire officials warned for years of thin staffing in Chinese Camp.
Synopsis: The 6-5 Fire which burned most of Chinese Camp was one of 22 fires sparked by lightning on the same day. The community relies on well water powered by electric pumps. When PG&E shut off the pumps at the request of Cal Fire, the town’s wells became inoperable. Requests for tankers went unanswered with 21 other fires burning. Unfortunately, the resulting damage had been predicted. In 2020, fire department administrators said: “We have an entire corridor from the Chinese Camp area up Highway 120 to the Park Boundary that has one volunteer firefighter to respond to emergencies when he’s not working his full-time job.” In 2024, the department said it was “just barely keeping the lights on and fuel in the fire engines” as it made additional budget requests. One resident, who saved her home, asked: “Why was Chinese Camp not prioritized over vegetation?”

Modesto Bee. Acres burned in Tuolumne County grows to 6,935 as 6-5 Fire hits 80% containment.
Synopsis: The fire that destroyed most of Chinese Cramp is now 80% contained. Though containment grew, so did the fire. It has now burned 6,935 acres compared to 5,910 Sunday.

Last grants: Some come to Valley

Western Farm Press. Farms, food businesses get $1.5M in grants.
Synopsis: There were 73 grants awarded to farmers and entrepreneurs in CA, Az, Utah and Nevada. But these will be the last of their kind, since the USDA is ending the program. New programs were for improved egg-processing equipment, increased flour supplies to schools and meat inspection – all supporting small businesses. On the list were grants to Angela’s Ranch in Madera for expanding its fig business; Merced-based Products from Paradise got a grant to improve refrigerated transport; Siembra y Cosecha Farm in Madera, A&G Roots in Fresno, Family Ice in Fresno, Fresno Training & Tutoring Institute, AK&N Susawat Farming in Fresno; Spartan Sauces in Fresno and Honest Fish Farm all got grants.

It’s ag runoff, not pollution

Progressive Farmer. Fed court upholds irrigation exemption. 
Synopsis: A federal appeals court ruled that a key water bypass project does not need a Clean Water Act permit to proceed. Environmental and fishing groups sued to stop the project, which had been proceeding under an agricultural-flows exemption. The CA Grasslands Bypass Project started in 1996 to divert selenium-contaminated water away from the San Joaquin River. Friends of the River, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen and CA Sportfishing Alliance among others sued in 2011, saying that because tire dust and other airborne contaminants might reach the flows, they should be subject to more rigorous standards. Now, 14 years later, the courts have ruled the water is “entirely made up of return flows from irrigated agriculture” and thus do not require additional permitting. The San Luis & Delta Mendota Water Authority and Grassland Water District supported continuing flows.

Nation’s top golfer picks Stanford

ABC30. Chowchilla native Asterisk Talley commits to Stanford.
Synopsis: The budding superstar golfer said Monday that she will enroll in her “dream school” at the end of next school year. Asterisk, which means “star” in Greek, is currently the No. 1-ranked high school player in the nation and No. 12 amateur overall.

Is this the top or bottom 10?

Modesto Bee. High school football rankings: Shakeups include new No. 1. 
Synopsis: Is Modesto sportswriter Quinton Hamilton mixed up? His Top 10 high school football teams list is dominated by losing teams. Turlock, 1-2, moved from No. 2 to No. 1. Central Catholic, which has been No. 1 all year, lost its third in a row and fell all the way to No. 2. Checking in at No. 3 is the only top-five team with a winning record – 2-1 Oakdale. Then comes Patterson (1-2) and Downey (1-2). You don’t find an unbeaten team until No. 6 Hughson (3-0). Half of The Bee’s Top Ten have losing records. Is football really that bad around here?