Valley Solutions

Yes, it is rocket science

Ag Alert. Why rocket scientists began counting nuts in CA. 
Synopsis: Estimating the coming crop is as important as it is difficult. Done correctly, the estimate informs pricing projections which farmers literally take to the bank to obtain operational and capital funding. Done poorly, they can drive prices off a cliff, making life difficult for every grower. That’s what happened last July when the USDA’s subjective almond forecast said it expected 3.1 billion pounds to be harvested and prices plummeted overnight “temporarily erasing roughly a billion dollars from the total crop value and eliminating the profit margin for many farmers.” When a crop expands rapidly – as almonds have – producing accurate estimates is tough. Land IQ says there is a better way to count nuts. The company embeds layers of data (typical yields, water content, temperatures, etc.) beneath a parcel map, then uses satellite imagery to monitor trees and cultivation. Bountiful, a company formed by three aerospace engineers, is making similar projections. The Almond Board has yet to release results from either firm, but last week the USDA estimated 2.7 billion pounds of almonds – slightly less than the number harvested last year.

Farming choices are shifting 

Ag Alert. Production forecast shows drop in several state crops. 
Synopsis: Led by almonds, peaches and winter wheat, the USDA is saying production of various crops is falling off in California. Other crops, like durum wheat, pistachios and walnuts are rising. With only one canned-peach processor remaining in the state, peaches dropped 10%. Farmers will grow 7.1 million bushels of winter wheat, down 8%, but also 1.89 million bushels of durum. Cotton acreage fell a little, but yields jumped from 1,293 pounds per acre to 1,767. Hay production is up, along with kiwi fruit, nectarines, plums and olives.

Dems slug it out in CA 22

SF Chronicle. This CA district is a must-win for Democrats; they’re fighting over who can flip it. 
Synopsis: Reporter Alexei Koseff visits Tulare and Kern counties to write about the battle between Dr. Jasmeet Bains and college instructor Randy Villegas. One of them will square off in November against Republican David Valadao to represent CA-22. Koseff describes Bains as “a doctor in the world where Valadao took medical care away from a whole lot of people. She is a candidate who comes into this with a white coat.” The Bernie Wing of the Democratic party prefers Villegas, a 31-year-old school board trustee. Unfortunately, the campaign has turned nasty with attack ads disparaging Bains.

Valley Sun. Moderate Dems blitz Villegas on Visalia Unified’s hush-hush sex abuse settlements. 
Synopsis: Blue Dog Democrats and the New Democrat Majority PACs have released ads asking Randy Villegas to explain how the Visalia Unified School District handled sex-abuse cases during his time on the board. The ads say that after six kindergarten students were abused, Villegas and the other board members approved settlements “designed to bury the victims’ stories and keep the community in the dark forever.” Villegas accused the super PACs of exploiting survivors’ trauma.

Dos Palos questions cityhood

KSEE24 / CBS47. Dos Palos says they’re going to ‘bare-bones budgeting’ to repay $2.2M debt. 
Synopsis: Reacting to reports that it inappropriately borrowed money from a fund restricted to funding road projects, the Dos Palos city council said it will be forced to severely cut its budget to repay the loans. The city “borrowed” money raised through the countywide Measure V transportation sales tax to pay routine city water, garbage and sewer bills. “What have you guys been doing?” demanded resident Gracie Gonzales on Tuesday. The county association of governments, which administers road-tax funding, has restricted the city from spending any of its remaining Measure V dollars until the $2.2 million is repaid. That includes filling potholes. “We will be bankrupt if we do not change the way we do business,” said Mayor Katy Reed. “If we cannot live within our means, we will not have a city.” Resident Chris Bribelli said the city should consider “unincorporating.”

Fed allocation dismays district

GV Wire. Westlands calls 25% federal water allocation ‘disappointing.’
Synopsis: The federal Central Valley Project will increase its allocation for South-of-Delta water users to 25%, up from 20%. The increase comes after “careful coordination” allowed capture of Sierra runoff despite the snowmelt occurring earlier than usual. Westlands Water District GM Allison Febbo said the updated allocation was “disappointing” and that it “falls short of our growers’ water needs.” Reservoirs in the system are all at or above 100% of normal and near capacity.
MAD Note: The State Water Project announced last weekend that it would increase its allocation to 45% (up from 40%) of requested flows.

Successful Farming. ‘Am I out?’: Drought and rising costs from Iran War deepen pain for US farmers. 
Synopsis: Drought across the plains of West Texas killed much of the wheat crop even as rising costs are making it harder to farm across the nation. With tariffs crushing many export markets, diesel costs are up 72%, and fertilizer 55%. “Because of drought, farmers are looking at the prospect of smaller harvests to pay for it all.” Said one Texas grower: “There’s fuel, there’s drought, there’s fertilizer. I’ve got three strikes. Am I out?”

Cuts: 8,000 jobs there, 68 here

LA Times. Meta begins 8,000 job cuts in AI efficiency push. 
Synopsis: Meta Platforms Inc. has alerted its staff that 8,000 of them worldwide will be laid off as the company shifts to greater reliance on artificial intelligence. The warning notes went out across the world Wednesday morning. It’s the second round of layoffs for Meta this year, which had 80,000 employees in March. “We believe this will make us more productive,” said the head of HR. Meta expects to save $3 billion this year, offsetting some of the $145 billion the company intends to spend on AI.

Modesto Bee. Distribution center for TJ Maxx, Marshalls to close in Manteca, taking 68 jobs.
Synopsis: The distribution center shared by TJ Maxx and Marshalls stores will lay off 68 people as of July 17. Both stores are part of the TJX Cos., which has 5,000 stores across the world. The company also operates a distribution center in Compton.

Anguishing testimony delivered

Modesto Bee. Emotional testimony, jail phone call played in Oakdale mother’s murder hearing. 
Synopsis: The preliminary hearing for Juliette Acosta was continued into Wednesday in Judge Valli Israels’ courtroom. Acosta is charged with second-degree murder in the death of her daughter, Reagan Herrin. There were 50 or 60 people in the room, including Reagan’s father, Gage. Many cried as body-camera footage was shown from the wreck in which Acosta is accused of driving drunk. Her car went into a canal, and it is not clear she tried to rescue her daughter. As awful as it was, Acosta’s attorney says that the prosecution must prove malice for it to be murder rather than a tragic accident. Prosecutors say being drunk constitutes malice by showing “conscious disregard” for the safety of others. 

ABC30. Victims describe violent Atwater sickle attack in court. 
Synopsis: Several people described vicious attacks they say were carried out by Isidro Chavez Gonzalez. They were waiting at a bus stop when Gonzalez approached with a sickle. A 65-year-old man was sitting on his walker when attacked from behind. A young girl saw the defendant and tried to get away before she was caught and suffered 10 stab wounds; she now has no feeling in her thumb. A woman who came to the child’s aid was also attacked. Another bystander chased him on a scooter, but testified Gonzalez turned on him and stole the scooter and tried to escape on it.

Reporting on law enforcement

Modesto Bee. Modesto police audit evaluates mask ordinance enforcement, body-camera use. 
Synopsis: Modesto police came in for criticism and praise from the company hired to review body-cam footage, procedures, complaints and departmental standards. The OIR Group looked specifically at MPD’s enforcement of the city’s ban on facemasks during the ICE Out protest. In all, OIR reviewed 48 complaints of police misconduct and 55 use-of-force cases from 2025. It found that most of the cases “were not supported by the evidence.” The report praised the department for its willingness to address issues, including “disciplinary consequences.” As for the mask-ban enforcement, the only fault the report cited was a rude retort from one arresting officer.

Fresnoland. Amid a federal immigration crackdown, Fresno County’s ICE transfers fell 38%.
Synopsis: Sheriff John Zanoni reported 63 people were transferred from his department’s custody into ICE custody in 2025, down from 102 in 2024. The figures were part of an annual report required by state law. In all, the sheriff’s office booked 27,164 people and received 634 hold requests from ICE. Of the 63 holds granted, 36 involved crimes against persons, 4 sex crimes, 13 property-crime arrests and 10 felony drug or DUI charges.

Merced Sun Star. Merced County sheriff says DHS operation in Delhi not immigration enforcement.
Synopsis: Faith in the Valley sent out an alert and dispatched legal observers to the El Rancho Market in Delhi on May 18. But the Merced Sheriff’s office said it was not an immigration action. Its investigators removed a number of items from the market, including computers and cash registers.

Fresno feels a little Pride

Fresno Bee. Two county departments approved to attend Fresno Pride after library staff blocked.
Synopsis: After voting 3-2 to ban library staff from participating in the annual Pride Parade, the board of supervisors unanimously voted to allow the Public Health and the Dept of Behavioral Health to attend Fresno’s Pride Parade. Each department will hand out informational brochures.

Ahwahnee’s kitchen: Gross

SF Chronicle. Yosemite’s most famous hotel just got a food-safety rating. It’s not good. 
Synopsis: Kurtis Alexander writes about the stunning Ahwahnee Hotel, which sits at the base of Half Dome. The vendor who runs the place, Aramark, reviewed their kitchen and called conditions there “unsatisfactory.” It wasn’t clean. Refrigerators were inadequate. The dishwasher was broken. A storage unit contained mold. Rats. Such low scores are grounds for termination, but the Park Service isn’t considering taking that step. Apparently, Aramark’s Yosemite Lodge Base Camp is just bad, also scoring an “unsatisfactory.”  
MAD Take: The story notes that next year is the Ahwahnee’s 100^th anniversary. Bring your own lunch.

Giant cell tower: Never mind

Westside Connect. Cell tower proposal near Newman collapses after applicant skips appeal hearing.
Synopsis: A proposal to build a 130-foot wireless communications tower outside Newman died Tuesday after the applicant failed to show up for his own appeal hearing. The meeting was scheduled just a few days before the project’s federal-review deadline.

Near death, 16 times

SF Chronicle. What’s it like to die? Chronicle legend describes his 16 near-death experiences. 
Synopsis: Tom Steinstra has endured a hatchet blow to his head and six surgeries for brain cancer. So, he’s had a lot of opportunities to “move toward the light.” Who did he find at the end of that long tunnel? Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard. This is a fascinating read; makes you want to buy his book, “Heaven Delayed.” He calls what he saw “dreams.” He addresses the universal metaphysical question: “What happens to you after you die?” He says he believes he has been given at least a piece of the answer. He offers advice he has gotten from friends: “I only do what is enjoyable,” said a canoeing pal. “If I can’t create fun out of it, I don’t do it.” As for meeting Waylon, Merle and an old friend in the near-here after: “I believe these visits were real. … the fear of death is gone.”