Valley Solutions

Cleaning up Valley’s bad water

Modesto Bee. Patterson’s water is more than just ‘hard,’ it’s contaminated.
Synopsis: Reporter Kathleen Quinn focuses the presence of CR6 – hexavalent chromium, aka Eric Brockovich poison – in city water on the Westside. CR6 has been linked to kidney damage, brain cancer, heart issues and a host of other health problems. In the movie, CR6 got into the water from solvents dumped by PG&E. On the Westside, it occurs naturally. After a ruling in 2017 scrapped state standards of 10 ppb, the city of Patterson delayed taking actions to remove it. Now, the standards have been reinstated and one of the city’s wells exceeds limits. The communities of Grayson, Crows Landing, Newman and Los Ganos all have higher-than-allowed CR6 levels. Patterson puts the cost of filtration at from $65 million to $128 million. Meanwhile, residents say the city should be more forthcoming with residents. One resident described installing reverse-osmosis filtration in their home. The city of Patterson is telling folks, “this is not an emergency,” but many disagree. One believes the city should stop building houses until the problem is fixed. “They’re just bringing more people to town to poison,” she said.
MAD Note: This is an important story and CR6 contamination is a significant problem. To fix it, cities will have to focus their resources on building very costly filtration – not dealing with lawsuits. The city of Los Banos and Sen. Anna Caballero are pushing legislation that protects cities from judgments with the stipulation that they must be making progress in treating the problem. It’s a smart law. The key to that approach is journalism like this. Without stories monitoring the problem and progress in addressing it, residents cannot know it is being resolved.

Frustration continues in Planada

SJV Water. View of Merced County flood recovery depends on whether you can go home at night.
Synopsis: Reporters Monserrat Solis and Lisa McEwen write about the $40 million in state and federal aid promised to Planada since the 2023 flood that damaged some 600 homes. Many of the public buildings – the school, post office, library – have been restored. So have nearly a hundred damaged homes. But 500 others are still being repaired or are still waiting. Repairs on Liza Espinoza’s house are just beginning. The County says it has paid $12 million in direct assistance, including for repairs and lost wages. But inspections on repairs have been slow and have uncovered other problems – asbestos and black mold. The presence of hazmat-suited workers moving in and out of homes is a “daily” sight in Planada. Habitat for Humanity, which is overseeing much of the repair work, is asking for more time and money. Meanwhile, many residents fear Miles Creek – once choked with growth and debris -- could jump its banks again. There are several lawsuits over the state’s failure to grant timely permits to clear the creek-bed and several others in Merced County (Black Rascal, Bear and Mariposa).

Did he pump or not?

Valley Citizen. MID director’s claims about pumping don’t hold water. 
Synopsis: Eric Caine continues a searing investigation into the water use of MID Director Larry Byrd on his AB La Grange Ranch, which he owns with farmer Ty Angle. Byrd has been a vocal advocate of selling water to out-of-district eastside farmers – including Angle -- who have been pumping to irrigate fairly new almond orchards. While Byrd shot down proposals to sell MID water for market-rate prices a decade ago, he stridently supports selling water to his neighbors for $60 an acre foot. Byrd says he has “always pumped” groundwater to grow nuts; but others say he hasn’t.
MAD Take: Seems it would be simple for Byrd to prove he’s been pumping. It takes electricity to power pumps; show the usage. After all, he works for the electricity provider.  

Parking for big-rigs OK’d

Modesto Bee. Stanislaus OKs truck parking facilities as it tries to limit farmland conversion.
Synopsis: Two truck-parking “facilities” have been approved by Stanislaus County supervisors even as new rules were put on where and how big-rigs can be kept on rural properties. Pattar Trucking will be allowed to build an 80-space facility with a “light-maintenance shop” and business office. Atwal Properties can create a 40-space area on Welty Road near Vernalis. Supervisor Vito Chiesa, a farmer, said the Pattar location is good due to its proximity to Hwy 99 and requirements that will keep down dust.

Esparza drops out of race

GV Wire. Fresno councilmember Esparza suspends state senate bid, backs Soria.
Synopsis: Termed-out Fresno councilmember Nelson Esparza said Thursday he was suspending his race to replace Sen. Anna Caballero, endorsing Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria instead. He and Soria share a “vision for building a better and brighter California.” Merced School Board member Priya Lakireddy is also running. It’s likely they’ll face former Merced Mayor Michael Murphy.

More trouble for Mayor Lopez

Ceres Courier. Lopez under fire for expenses as StanCOG board chairman.
Synopsis: Javier Lopez, Ceres mayor and candidate for Congress, racked up $8,330 in rental-car expenses over 100 days as StanCOG chair. Such rentals are allowed to attend meetings outside the district, but Lopez kept the car for “weeks on end,” which Nick Dokoozlian of the Stanislaus County Taxpayers Assn find “unacceptable.” Lopez responded to the charges by telling the Modesto Bee they did not “accurately reflect my conduct or integrity.” Reporter Jeff Benziger notes “this is not the first time Lopez has been scrutinized for expenses for which he was reimbursed.” In 2023 he spent $1,824 attending a conference in Las Vegas.

Big G3 warehouses OK’d

Ceres Courier. Planning commission OKs G3 warehouses for Crows Landing Road site.
The Ceres planning commission approved subdividing 57 acres into 5 parcels on the Gallo property. There will be two warehouses on the old Procter & Gamble site at Service Road. G3 has 500 employees at the site and additional jobs could be added.

The future of electricity

Merced Focus. Clean energy company powers up in south Merced, plans to hire over 1,000.
Synopsis: Parasol Elite Power broke ground on Wardrobe Ave. on Tuesday for its facility to create storage systems for solar and other renewable energies. Battery modules, power-conversion systems and grid inverters for residential systems will be manufactured on the site. The company says it will hire 200 people this year with 1,000 by 2027. CEO Phil Levers says his company is spending $300 million for this project, including renovations at a 60,000 square-foot facility. The company expects to hire interns from Merced College and UC Merced. Rep. Adam Gray told the gathering the “investment fits hand in glove with the University of California, the young people, getting their education there with workforce training.”

Another water plan dies

Mercury News. Setbacks could be fatal for $2.7 billion plan for major Santa Clara reservoir. 
Synopsis: The Pacheco Reservoir project – just a few miles from the Merced and Stanislaus county lines in extreme eastern Santa Clara County – could be dropped after the CA Water Commission voted 7-0 not to provide additional funding. Commissioners have lost confidence since work on the reservoir has stalled to a top. Said commissioner Davina Hurt, the commission cannot put “good money after bad.” The US Bureau of Reclamation said will not provide any additional funding or help with environmental studies. Worse, it will not allow CVP water to be stored in the reservoir. That led SCVW chair Tony Estremera to say it’s “more likely than not that the board will vote to suspend” the project. There is a small pool at the location now, holding roughly 5,000 acre-feet. The new reservoir was expected to hold 140,000 acre-feet, filled mostly from overflow from the nearby San Luis Reservoir.
MAD Take: This looks bad for the CA Water Commission. Voters approved $2.8 billion for additional water storage in 2014, and now three of the commission’s highest-priority projects are dead – Los Vaqueros, Temperance Flat and Pacheco. It would be wrong to blame the commission for all the failures, but it would be fair to ask why projects that so many Californians emphatically want can’t get the support needed to succeed. It lends credence to those who say California has lost its ability to do big things.

SF Chronicle. Plan for CA’s largest reservoir in decades gets big funding boost.
Synopsis: Sites Reservoir got $220 million from the CA Water Commission, keeping it on track to break ground next year – the biggest water project in CA since the 1970s. The money became available when a plan to expand Los Vaqueros Reservoir died, and $450 million was freed up. The rest of the money went to a water-banking program in Kern County and a treatment facility in the desert.

Setting rules for AI in school

Modesto Bee. Modesto school district embraces AI with new guidelines. Parent training coming.
Synopsis: Modesto City Schools will integrate eight Artificial Intelligence programs into classrooms after guidelines for accuracy, ethics and privacy were adopted this week. So far, 776 staff members, including a third of the district’s teachers, have been trained in AI. Some of the apps will be used only with teachers present.
MAD Note: Among apps to be allowed are ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot – programs that have been at the center of controversies involving inaccurate or invented data, reports and references. It makes sense to be careful, but all of these applications are already available to any kid with a phone. Learning when, how and if to use them makes sense.

Threats taken seriously

Modesto Bee. Modesto man arrested for allegedly threatening mayor, council member.
Synopsis: William Joseph Clifford Jr., 54, has been arrested for threatening and harassing Modesto Mayor Sue Zwahlen and councilmember Chris Ricci. Clifford made his threats in person, via text messages, phone calls and on social media. He was arrested for violating a court order to stop having any communication or contact with Zwahlen. Elected leaders are expected to put up with some anger, but “when those communications contain threats of violence, they become criminal in nature,” said the DA’s Wendell Emerson. That “will not be tolerated.” He’s being held on $1 million bail.

‘God help you’ if someone is hurt

Modesto Bee. Stanislaus County leaders not pleased with 911 dispatch center update.
Synopsis: The interagency dispute centered on the Stanislaus Regional 911 Center is getting serious. Within 30 days, the sheriff's office will be using “more primitive” means of sending deputies to calls for help. Sheriff Jeff Dirkse wants to install a beta version of an Oracle system that incorporates record keeping for the jail as well as dispatch. The other 24 agencies prefer an upgrade to their current system, CentralSquare. It will mean the SO will not be connected to other emergency responders, including Modesto and Turlock PDs, ambulance and fire. The two systems are so incompatible that they can’t communicate with each other. Dispatchers could be putting “pen to paper,” according to the story. As Supervisor Terry Withrow put it: “God help you if something happens and someone gets hurt.”

Finally, speaking of emergencies

Merced Golden Wire. Breaking News.
Synopsis: Wednesday afternoon, Merced deputies went to Hunt Road in Gustine to find a man dead of a gunshot wound. A short time later, deputies found and arrested Timothy Fontes, 46, still near the scene.

Westside Express. Fire breaks out in traveling circus’s equipment facility at LB Fairgrounds.
Synopsis: The building containing equipment for Circus Alegria burned Saturday morning at the fairgrounds in Los Banos. The fire destroyed the Guerilla Trailer and spread to a circus tent. Three engines and 12 firefighters responded. Damage was estimated at $150,000.
MAD Note: Gotta be careful with those guerillas.