Valley Solutions

Just 71 Days to the election

Modesto Focus. Politics Focus: Hilton heads to Modesto.
Synopsis: In a political notes column, reporter Garth Stapley writes that Steve Hilton will appear in Modesto for a limited-seating Town Hall at 4335 North Star Way on Aug. 26. If you can’t make the “very limited” town hall, you can buy a seat at the $2,500-per-plate luncheon the same day. … On Aug. 29, Grammy-winning singer Bobby Pulido will perform at a winery outside Merced in a free show hosted by Rep. Adam Gray. Republicans are suddenly worried that an accordion player who once performed with Pulido has been accused of sex offenses. That was five years ago. Among social media reactions to the GOP’s concerns was this comment: “So Trump cannot appear on any stage, correct?”

Stocktonia. Stockton city council candidate Desiree Lynch arrested on suspicion of election fraud.
Synopsis: District 5 city council candidate Desire Lynch has been arrested on five counts concerning where she lives. The felony counts include perjury, voter registration violations and false declarations. She is running to unseat councilmember Brando Villapudua. The investigation and arrest were made by the San Joaquin DA’s office.
MAD Note: It was reported in the North Valley Review that Lynch is being presented by Jerome Clay, he is her former husband and has represented the controversial 209 Times.

Councilmembers go and come

Westside Express. Los Banos city councilmember Mitzy Perez resigns.
Synopsis: City councilmember Mitzy Perez, who was appointed to the council on Oct. 1, 2025, has resigned. She said she has started “a new chapter in her personal life” and can no longer serve. Mayor Pro Tem Deborah Lewis said it was “a pleasure to serve on council with Mitzy.” Mayor Michael Amabile called her departure “a loss for our city.”

Patterson Irrigator. New council member takes her seat.
Synopsis: Chinyere Nnodim Jack, founder of the Central Valley Black Chamber of Commerce, has been appointed to the District B seat on the Patterson City Council. She resigned her position with the Stanislaus County Board of Education.

Cuts coming to local safety net

Turlock Journal. County makes cuts to welfare, housing services. 
Synopsis: Facing a deficit of nearly $18 million, the Stanislaus County Community Services agency is proposing cutting 71 vacant jobs and potentially laying off another 67. The agency -- which provides a host of programs aimed at feeding and caring for children, seniors, the house-bound and homeless – has a budget of $187 million. “There’s going to be real impacts to the community, there’s no ifs, ands or buts about it,” said Supervisor Vito Chiesa.

Now Arizona wants our water

Arizona Daily Star. Arizona’s bid for CA’s water could run into political headwinds.
Synopsis: The federal government’s plans for the Colorado River largely leave Arizona high and dry. So, some lawmakers there have decided they could use some of California’s (reduced) allocation if only California would capture more of the water that flows into the Delta from the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers. Political considerations aside, they believe the projects are entirely “doable.” When questioned about such a plan, the State Water Board said it had “many pending applications” from groups in CA already trying to claim the water on those rivers. Still, the folks in Arizona feel an additional 100,000-acre feet of river water could be captured in the Delta. That water could be stored underground until needed in SoCal. That way, all of CA’s Colorado River allocation could go to Arizona. The person who hatched this big idea admitted that the attitude in the Central Valley would be “‘Over our dead bodies.’ … It’s a very big stretch to ever politically get that water out of California.”

It’s tough to be a farmer

Farmdoc. Cattle producers, lawmakers condemn Trump’s new beef import plan. 
Synopsis: Don Trump has announced an executive order removing Congressional limits on beef imports so that 300,000 metric tons of ground beef could enter the U.S. in the next 90 days. He insists the imported meat will be sold at a 25% discount from current prices. The National Cattleman’s Beef Association is furious. “Flooding the market with government-subsidized, below-market beef is not the way to rebuild the American cattle herd,” said the association’s CEO Colin Woodall. “You don’t put America first by putting US cattle producers last,” said US Cattleman’s Assn President Justin Tupper.

Modesto Bee. After Del Monte, these CA peach growers turn to almonds as next cash crop.
Synopsis: Reporter Lizzie Kane writes about the orchard transition occurring in pockets throughout Northern California as peach growers plant other crops. Most are choosing almonds or pistachios. One grower spent nearly $10,000 pulling 650 acres of peaches and $42,000 planting almonds. One former peach grower says he’ll plant almonds, but his heart isn’t in it, and he doesn’t want his kids farming. “I don’t want to do it anymore. I am looking for a way out.”

Farmdoc. Diesel prices soar ahead of US harvest season. 
Synopsis: Diesel prices are soaring just as peak harvest season is getting under way for corn, soybeans and wheat in the Midwest. “It’s a double whammy for farmers with the Iran war also causing much higher fertilizer prices that hit months ago.” One Ohio grower, who farms 1,100 acres, said he will spend an extra $20,000 on diesel. “There’s no way I can make a profit this year. All this is going to do is bury me further.” There is plenty of crude oil in the U.S., but with higher prices overseas, refiners are shipping more product and driving up prices in the US.

Ag Alert. Cyclospora fallout hits CA farmers. 
Synopsis: None of the lettuce that sickened thousands of people across the U.S. was grown in California. No matter. People are afraid to eat it, and that is causing CA farmers to destroy their crops. Lettuce prices are down 16.4% and sales have fallen 25.4%. Pre-packaged salads have fallen 34.2%. “Anything that was planted for open market sales is getting run back into the ground,” said Ryan Kelly, who grows vegetables in Salinas. The mid-July price collapse has wiped out his entire profit for the year. Growers have laid off picking crews. Dave Puglia of Western Growers said fears are spilling over into fresh berries, with sales dropping 14.7%. Puglia points to the highest safety standards in the world. Meanwhile, growers at farmers markets say they can’t keep product on the tables because customers are demanding local products.

School is back in session

Merced Sun Star. UC Merced starts new fall semester this week.
Synopsis: The new Medical Education Building will be unveiled as students return to the UC Merced campus this week. The new facility has rooms for healthcare instruction and research, with classes starting Wednesday. There is also a new housing complex rising and some new office buildings. This year, students can work toward a business admin degree with a focus on management, finance or marketing. There will also be degrees in accounting and computing science available.
MAD Note: In the words of Gov. Gavin Newsom when he announced the medical arts building back in 2022, the UC should “name that building after Adam Gray.” The representative was instrumental in securing $220 million for its construction.

Turlock Journal. UC Merced celebrates permanent acquisition of ‘Four Seasons of Yosemite’ murals.
Synopsis: Artist William Poulson has created stained-glass murals that are a tribute to culture and nature “and to time itself” called “The Four Seasons.” The murals are displayed at the Leo & Dottie Kolligian Library and are the university’s largest art acquisitions. He worked on the murals for 20 years.

Turlock Journal. President Rios-Ellis celebrates momentum and charts Stan State’s future. 
Synopsis: During a packed Fall Welcome, President Britt Rios-Ellis welcomed new arrivals and implored students to take action. She titled her remarks, “Catalyzing the American Dream.” More than 500 attended the event in which Rios-Ellis pointed to 2,500 graduates last May and a No. 5 national ranking for the men’s soccer team.

Data centers sneaking in?

Modesto Bee. Riverbank sees a flurry of interest from data center developers; a project emerges. 
Synopsis: Ken Carlson writes about plans to put a 60-megawatt data center at the former ammo plant on Clairbel and Claus. Aemetis, a renewable fuels company, insists its plan is not for a large data center. But the company did inquire about getting power directly from the Hetch Hetchy overhead transmission lines. In another possible project, Modesto Roadsters’ owner Dave Heller put out feelers for an unnamed “friend” who builds data centers. He inquired about how much water and power would be available in Riverbank. The project would need “at least 5 million gallons of water a day.” Heller said the project is not moving forward. City manager Marisela Garcia has an open mind about locating centers in Riverbank: “This is a new, evolving industry and potential projects should be carefully reviewed and fully vetted by the city,” she said.
MAD Take: That’s a lot of water, equaling 12-acre feet per day. In fact, it’s a lot more water than most small- to medium-sized data centers require. According to my AI-provided answer, servers require about 18,000 gallons per megawatt for cooling each day. So, 5 million gallons works out to 275 megawatts, not 60. A hyperscale data center is anything above 100 MGw.

Maven’s Notebook. Water Foundation White Paper: Water & Data Centers. 
Synopsis: The Water Foundation said there are nearly 3,000 data-center projects in development this year alone. While some concerns are overblown, those around water use appear to be justified. Water is necessary to cool heat-generating servers with larger projects requiring exponentially more water. Direct water use is estimated at 17 billion gallons a year and will reach up to 110 billion gallons by 2030. Indirect water use will reach 211 billion gallons. The paper offers five recommendations: 1) Involve communities in siting decisions. 2) Match siting to local conditions where water is concerned, meaning keep them out of hot, arid areas. 3) Greater transparency in public planning. 4) Make developers pay full cost for infrastructure upgrades and consumption. 5) Protect a community’s right to slow or kill projects. 

Cop leaves his gun in bathroom

Fresno Bee. Off-duty schools officer leaves gun in Buchanan High restroom during game.
Synopsis: A gun was found in a Buchanan High restroom during the game with Golden West last Friday night. Students alerted police. Turns out it belonged to an off-duty officer. The school district was not happy, saying the “outcome … could have been heartbreakingly different” if students had not reacted appropriately and demonstrated their “good character.”

DA looks at Byrd’s water use

Modesto Focus. Stanislaus DA launches corruption probe into allegations that MID’s Byrd stole water. 
Synopsis: It’s illegal to divert publicly owned water to areas that are not within the Modesto Irrigation District boundaries. So, Stanislaus DA Jeff Laugero is looking into whether or not Larry Byrd did just that. The MID director has been the subject of at least two reports done by the district. Both left significant questions before being dropped by the district board. In one case, Byrd voted to drop the investigation into his actions in what appears to be a clear violation of conflict-of-interest rules. “I welcome the investigation,” said Byrd. Reporter Garth Stapely points out that this story has implications beyond the MID board. Among those aligned with Byrd are County Supervisor Terry Withrow, former Rep. John Duarte and his wife Alexandra, who is running for state senate.

West Nile sickens a human

CBS13. Stanislaus County confirms first human case of West Nile virus in 2026.
Synopsis: The Stanislaus County Health Services Agency confirmed in a sparse press release that one person has developed West Nile virus. It is the 46^th case reported statewide this year, compared to 14 at this time last year. There have been four deaths -- in Butte, Fresno, Glenn and Kings counties. The release did not say where the victim lives, but frequently the cases are on the west side. Dr. Thea Papasozomenos said the indications are for an extremely severe season.

High-fives for thieves

Fresno Bee. Alleged Flock camera thieves applauded on Fresno police posts: ‘Buying him a beer.’ 
Synopsis: Fresno police are looking for two men who stole Flock Safety cameras, but people on Facebook and Instagram are calling them heroes. The cameras are valued at around $5,000 each and are privately owned. Other postings are offering alibis for anyone accused of the theft. Fresno has 70 Flock cameras in the city, giving rise to a website called “DeFlock.”