Valley Solutions

9.7% tax rate for Ceres?

Ceres Courier. Council votes 4-1 to place one-cent sales tax measure on Nov. 3 ballot. 
Synopsis: The Ceres city council voted 4-1 to ask voters for a 1% sales tax increase on Nov. 3. The city’s tax rate would go from 8.375% to 9.375%, becoming the highest in Stanislaus County. Only James Casey voted against moving forward with the plan after a consultant assured the council that 73% of the 311 voters he interviewed would support the increase. The tax would generate about $9.4 million per year.

Ceres Courier. When is taxation enough for government’s huge appetite to spend more and more?
Synopsis: Reporter Jeff Benziger turns columnist (as he does weekly) to decry the city’s decision to ask residents to raise their sales tax to the highest in the county. Jeff’s bottom line: “Ceres residents will have a chance this November to say NO NEW TAXES.”

State: PG&E rates will soar

SF Chronicle. PG&E bills could cost $840 a year more by 2030, CA watchdog says; utility disagrees. 
Synopsis: Reporter Julie Johnson writes about a report from the CA Public Utility Commission’s Public Advocate Office that says PG&E’s current requests will bump bills for a “typical household” by $444 in 2027 and by a total of $840 in 2030. That would outpace the shock of 2024 when bills rose $443 in the space of a single year. PG&E disputes that report, saying bills will go up “only” $128 in 2027, meaning an additional $1.2 billion for the company from its customers. In 2024, typical PG&E household customers paid 22% more for energy (or $443) than they did the year before with most of that being applied to wildfire-related costs.
MAD Take: The “typical” PG&E customer lives on the coast or nearby cities. PG&E customers who live in Merced, Lathrop, Stockton, Los Banos or any other Valley community will see much, much, much higher bills. That’s because it gets hotter and colder in the Valley than on the coast. It can be a “sweltering” 80 in Santa Cruz but 102 in Chowchilla. Valley residents don’t even turn on the AC at 80. The monthly bills are already exorbitant in the Valley, averaging $500 to $600 a month for most customers. Making it worse is that neighbors in Modesto, Turlock, Patterson and other cities served by irrigation districts pay about half of what PG&E charges.

SF Chronicle. PG&E customers lose more than $211K to scams this year, as reports climb in Bay Area.
Synopsis: PG&E customers have lost more than $211,000 to scams this year, already surpassing last year’s figures. Victims lose an average of $969 when they respond to phone calls or phony barcodes sent through a text message threatening disconnection unless a payment is made immediately. The criminals want the money paid through cryptocurrency, a gift card or Venmo. PG&E would never ask for payment using such methods.

Stockton votes to ban masks

Stocktonia. Stockton city council approves facial-covering ordinance after yearlong debate.
Synopsis: The Stockton council voted 6-1 to ban ski-mask-style face coverings in public spaces and some private gatherings. The ban excludes religious garments or those worn for safety or medical needs or masks in theatrical performances. Vice Mayor Jason Lee was the main proponent of the ordinance, noting that in 241 of last year’s 941 robberies in the city the bandits wore masks. Deputy police chief Anabel Morris was in favor of the measure, though councilmember Michael Blower noted there have been legal challenges to a similar law in Modesto. Mayor Christine Fugazi voted against the measure.

Senate farm bill being debated

Successful Farming. Senate Farm Bill omits E15, Prop 12 and pesticide labeling. 
Synopsis: This story provides a roundup of the coverage around the Senate’s version of the Farm Bill, which will be different from the bill already passed by the House. The Senate version omits three elements found in the House bill, the most controversial being legislation to bar states from creating laws on pesticides and animal-confinement standards. Under the Senate version of the Farm Bill, states like California, New York, Illinois and Massachusetts could keep their laws that require humane treatment for animals destined for their store shelves. Pig farmers in the Midwest despise the California law known as Prop 12 and have spent the last two years trying to get it removed. Under the Senate’s Farm Bill, farmers would have increased access to direct loans, improved grazing opportunities and conservation programs. The American Farm Bureau Federation called the Senate bill an “important starting point.”

Ag Daily. Senate Farm Bill draft presented with Prop 12 fight unresolved. 
Synopsis: The fight over Prop 12 is front-and-center in the Senate’s Farm Bill discussions, but it’s a fight the Senate figures it can avoid. While the draft provides programs for several swine programs, it does not include language that would bar states from passing laws that set standards for food sold in their stores. CA’s Prop 12, for instance, requires humane caging for pigs destined to become bacon or ham for sale in the state. Senators from midwestern states say they intend to insert language on Prop 12 in the final bill. Others say that since the House and Senate versions of the Farm Bill will have to be “reconciled” in committee, such state-by-state laws can be removed in that process. Others are not so sure: “Most members of the Senate see the Save Our Bacon Act (killing Prop 12) as a sob story peddled by a few powerful pork producers, not a solution to the issues farmers and rural communities face every day,” said Sara Amundson of Humane World Action Fund.

Farmers get busy signals

NOTUS. Trump pledged a ‘Golden Age’ for farmers, but they can’t access help. 
Synopsis: Since passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill and staffing cuts made by the Dept of Gov Efficiency, farmers have been finding locked doors, full message boxes and unresponsive agencies. The Natural Resources Conversation Service, for instance, has posted “closed” signs on its doors several days a week. The NRCS in the past sent experts to farms for specific guidance on improving soils and fighting pests. The USDA lost 16,000 staffers, leaving 141 rural counties without a single staffer. “Before the cuts, you’d get a call back the same day,” said one Minnesota farmer. Now, “it took them two weeks to call me back” and then couldn’t answer his questions. Said one person pushing for better staffing: “The next administration, whether Democrat or Republican, is going to have a tall order to get the USDA back on its feet in a way that serves the American farmer.”

Former Ceres mayor honored

Ceres Courier. Arrollo is unanimous pick for school name replacement.
Synopsis: Ceres Unified honored Louie Arrollo on Tuesday, naming a junior high school after the city’s first Latino police officer and two-time mayor. Arrollo graduated from Ceres High in 1963, served in the armed forces then became a police officer then worked for Ceres Unified. He was elected to the city council in 1984. The vote to change Cesar Chavez Junior High into Louie Arollo Junior High was unanimous. Arrollo told the district he wants the sign to read L-o-u-i-e, not L-o-u-i-s, his birth name.

Cracking down on fireworks

Modesto Bee. Guns, 500 pounds of illegal fireworks seized as result of Modesto investigation.
Synopsis: Sheriff’s deputies seized 500 pounds of fireworks and three guns during a search of a Modesto home last week. Selling or even igniting illegal fireworks can lead to fines and jail time.

GV Wire. Madera DUI arrest leads to discovery of nitrous oxide tanks, illegal fireworks.
Synopsis: A DUI arrest became something larger Tuesday when Madera CHP officers found fireworks in the car. Then they found a nitrous oxide tank used, they believe, for inhalation. Officers are concentrating on confiscating illegal fireworks ahead of the July 4 holiday.

Grupe closes sales offices

Recordnet.com. Grupe Real Estate announces closure after more than 50 years.
Synopsis: Grupe Real Estate said it will be closing its three sales offices in Stockton, Lodi and Rio Vista, leaving 18 agents without a broker. “As Fritz approaches his 90^th year, we close this chapter with pride gratitude and deep appreciation for the relationships built along the way,” said the business.  

He’s a foot tall, green and gone

Fresno Bee. Fresno zoo asks people to be on lookout for missing parrot that flew off course.
Synopsis: A bright green military macaw named Sarge has been missing for the past day after veering off course and flying away from Roeding Park during a bird show on Monday. He’s about a foot tall, has a distinctive red mark on his forehead and is very visible. Zoo officials ask that you call 559 286-7403 if you see him. In May 2024, a Harris hawk named Ripley flew away from a bird show at the zoo; 15 months later he was recovered. Officials hope Sarge won’t be AWOL for long.  

MJC star headed for big time

Modesto Bee. UNLV, Mississippi State and now Alabama chase ‘biggest recruit in MJC history.’
Synopsis: Louisville, Memphis, Arizona State and nine others are asking Alius Mayo to play football for their universities. He’s a defensive back who coach Rusty Stivers calls “the biggest recruit in MJC history.” Most recently he got an offer from national powerhouse Alabama and will visit the campus June 18-20. The 6-foot-4, 190-pounder has unique size for the position. He played high school football at Lincoln in Stockton. For MJC last year he had 30 tackles and an interception in 11 games.

Fresno, it rhymes with poetry

Fresnoland. Fresno is the capital of poets. 
Synopsis: Former Fresno Poet Laureate Joseph Rios writes about his love of the city and of course includes several slices of his poems. Some of his friends in LA believe Fresno is in the Bay Area. Others think it’s nowhere. But, says Rios, “The San Joaquin Valley is 10,000 square miles of the most fertile farmland in the world. Most of your food comes from the area. Your chicken, your beef, your milk, almonds, tomatoes, grapes, melons, garlic, onions, oranges, strawberries, olives, peaches and pomegranates.” It provided the landscapes found in works by Steinbeck, Kerouac, Jose Montoya, William Saroyan and Tomas Rivera.

How Lisa found a husband

SF Chronicle. Bay Area’s ‘Marry Lisa’ billboard search is over; woman behind ad says she’s found love. 
Synopsis: Lisa Catalano, 42, felt her time to have a family was running out and she didn’t like what she was finding on the dating scene. So, a year ago, she rented time on a digital billboard on Hwy 101 saying, “Marry Lisa” and directing would-be suitors to marrylisa.com. It got national attention and some 3,400 applicants. She narrowed it down to 20 based on her compatibility criteria and then went out with five. One of those was the one, determined after 19 dates. With wardrobe, makeup, video shoot, etc., she said the entire project cost her $4,750.