Valley Solutions

Donors want money back

Modesto Focus. Modesto, Merced donors seek refunds from disgraced Swalwell campaign. 
Synopsis: Disappointed people in the Valley say they want the donations they made to Eric Swalwell’s campaign for governor returned. Modesto councilmember Nick Bavaro called accusations of sexual misconduct by Swalwell a “punch” to the gut. Supervisor Mani Grewal said he was “Disappointed. Disgusted. Discouraged.” He said he has better uses for his money “than supporting an alleged abuser. I hope I get it back.” Donors from the Modesto-Merced region gave Swalwell – a former prosecutor in Contra Costa County -- at least $200,000. Bill Lyons, who has served three governors at the Secretary level, made a significant donation and said he is taking legal steps to secure its return. He has company. Billionaire Stephen Cloobeck is said to be suing to recover the $1 million he has donated to Swalwell’s campaign. Rep. Adam Gray was among the earliest to endorse Swalwell, but “the moment he read the reports, he immediately severed all ties to the Swalwell campaign and called on him to end his campaign,” said Gray spokesman Kevin Porter. Lyons summed up the feelings in the Valley: “Concern, betrayal, surprise. There are no winners in this.”

1,200-acre fire is 85% contained

GV Wire. Fresno County Tumey Fire reaches 85% containment after overnight progress. 
Synopsis: A wildfire burning near Tumey Park in western Fresno County grew to 1,200 acres over the weekend, but as of early Monday was said to be 85% contained. The fire is burning along Panoche Road and remains active with six engines, two tenders, two bulldozers and two hand crews on scene. Rural residents in three zones were evacuated.

Supervisor candidates debate

Modesto Focus. Watch Mani Grewal and Rally Valenzuela square off in debate for supervisor seat. 
Synopsis: This is a transcript of a debate between Stanislaus supervisor candidates Mani Grewal and Rally Valenzuela. Grewal is a former city councilmember and board chair who has developed various businesses in the region, including motels. Valenzuela is an in-home supportive services provider. They talked about immigration, the regional dispatch center, Wood Colony, Riverbank, job creation, etc. When it came to water, Grewal drew a line in the proverbial sand, saying it would be unfair to ask Modesto residents to pay to correct groundwater overdraft issues in the eastern side of the county. Valenzuela did not appear to understand the question or the issue.

More leaks in tunnel support

Maven’s Notebook. CA Supreme Court denies review of decision rejecting DWR’s tunnel bonds. 
Synopsis: In what is being called a “major milestone” and a “victory for common sense,” the CA Supreme Court let stand a lower-court decision that said the Dept of Water Resources had “exceeded its authority” in a scheme to finance Delta Tunnel construction. The department planned to sell bonds under previously granted bonding authority to raise the $22 billion the state says it will cost to build the tunnel. A wide array of groups – from counties to environmentalists to tax advocates – sued, saying that DWR lacked any authority to fund the tunnel. The high court agreed.  

SJV Water. Rosedale-Rio Bravo reduces support for Delta Tunnel.
Synopsis: The Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District has decided to pay for only 1% of its contracted water supplies from the proposed Delta Tunnel. That will amount to 299-acre feet per year, not 3,000. Rosedale-Rio Bravo becomes the latest agency to back away from the tunnel, joining Wheeler Ridge-Maricopa WSD in significantly cutting commitments. Even more districts are discussing cuts to their commitments to financing the tunnel. In all, the state anticipated about $33 million to come from Kern County water districts to build the $22 billion tunnel, but only a fraction is now promised.

Big batteries power the grid

LA Times. Cheap batteries are taking over the world’s power grids.
Synopsis: A wave of massive battery installations are connecting to the world’s grid from Texas to Bakersfield to Inner Mongolia. The falling cost and quick stand-up of solar generation is pushing aside coal and other forms of energy generation in favor of renewable energy. Vietnam just announced it would convert a planned LNG plant to solar batteries. In Scotland, an old coal mine is now housing a giant battery facility. In Australia, batteries discharge more power to the grid at night than gas-fired plants. Chinese battery and infrastructure makers are reporting giant jumps in order. Costs today are half what they were in 2024. While US manufacturing has the capacity to meet orders, the cost is significantly higher than components made in China.

DWR pumps running on solar

LA Times. CA’s newest solar project isn’t powering homes; it’s powering your water. 
Synopsis: Anyone who has ever seen the pipes going up the sides of the Tehachapi Mountains at Tejon Pass know that it takes a lot of juice to lift water 2,000 feet out of the Valley and into reservoirs beyond. Those pumps are the largest single users of power in the state, requiring 800 megawatts a year. Now, some of that power is coming from the sun. A new 105-megawatt solar project is the largest energy project ever built by the Dept of Water Resources, and a major step to fully de-carbonizing the state’s operations by 2035. The solar facility has 226,000 panels on 500 acres sitting 2 miles from the pumps. Next to the solar farm is a massive battery storage system, which can store power from the solar panels or from Calpine’s 750-megawatt natural gas power station next door. Having the battery system between the solar and natural gas generators was the point. CA has created 31,000 megawatts of clean energy since 2020 and has another 22,000 megawatts under construction.

Bus agency gets new boss

Stocktonia. San Joaquin RTD appoints interim CEO amid questions about his past with Stockton Unified.
Synopsis: The SJ Regional Transit District board voted 2-0 with 1 abstention to hire “Bearnard Veasley” as temporary CEO. It’s the latest chapter in a controversy-racked agency that has seen the firing of a CEO, the departure of two other top-ranking officials and the resignation of two of the five board members. Some 2.6 million people ride RTD buses every year. Apparently, Veasley’s name has been spelled three different ways in various press releases from the agency and at least one board member said he never got Veasley’s resume – leading to his abstention on the vote. “Bearnard” is extremely similar to former Stockton Unified transportation director Benard Veasley. Benard was dismissed in 2022 after some employees said he bullied and harassed them. Other employees say he was a “major” positive for the district.

Where are tariffs going?

Morning Ag Clips. US set to use tariff funds to address high fertilizer prices.
Synopsis: The Trump administration says it will dip into the tariffs it has collected on imported goods to help subsidize the price of fertilizer for farmers. Last week, Ag Sec Brooke Rollins went into a meeting with fertilizer execs insisting they were gouging farmers. She came out of the meeting saying the government should give them money. As with the price of gas, Rollins promised the price of some fertilizers would fall as soon as the Iran war ends. Surveys show that 70% of farmers across the nation say they cannot afford to buy fertilizer this year.
MAD Take: Those tariff dollars must be made of rubber, because they keep bouncing around in lots of spending plans. The administration has promised to spend tariffs on a “tariff dividend” for consumers (who paid the fees in the first place), on court-ordered refunds to businesses who were illegally charged, on paying down the national debt, on warrior dividends for soldiers and, of course, on tax cuts. BTW, while the administration promised “trillions” in tariffs, it has actually collected somewhere from $165 billion to $195 billion.

GV Wire. Trump administration to begin refunding $166 billion in tariffs.
Synopsis: The Trump administration is apparently making plans to refund $166 billion it collected in illegal tariffs through February. More than 3,000 businesses, including FedEx and Costco, have sued the administration to secure refunds. Consumers will be left out of any settlement. Only companies that actually paid tariffs are eligible to get refunds. Those who paid higher prices to cover the tariffs are just out of luck. Trump has said he does not believe tariffs need to be refunded and is making other plans to spend the money. Apparently, 330,000 importers paid tariffs on 53 million specific items. The longer the administration delays in refunding the money, the more costly it becomes – roughly $22 million per day in interest.

69 Veterans on Honor Flight

Fox26. Central Valley veterans embark on 34^th Honor Flight to Washington.
Synopsis: Some 69 veterans from across the Valley boarded a plane at Fresno-Yosemite Airport this weekend. The veterans served in conflicts ranging from World War II to Desert Storm. They will spend several days touring Washington. Among those planning to greet the veterans will be Rep. Adam Gray.

Looking forward to fresh cherries

Stocktonia. This year’s cherry harvest looks sweet – except for one big if.
Synopsis: After last year’s awful cherry season, this year’s crop appears to be a return to normal. “All of us are keeping our fingers crossed,” said grower James Chinchiolo of Lodi. About half the cherries grown in California come from San Joaquin County, which has 21,000 acres of orchards. Growers expect an early season.

A barely believeable scam

Merced Sun Star. Bear suit scam: 3 face jail in ‘bizarre’ CA car-insurance fraud case.
Synopsis: This sounds like a joke, but … Three people came up with a plan to buy insurance on high-end vehicles then collect big payouts after the vehicles were attacked by a bear. Well, not just any bear. But a very bad bear who disliked cars. Except it wasn’t really a bad bear after all, but a guy dressed up in a bear suit. They even had video of this bad bear tearing up a Rolls Royce Ghost. Ifiya Zuckerman, Ruben Tamrazian and Vahe Muradkhanyan, all of southern California, have pleaded no contest to felony insurance fraud and will serve 180 days in jail across weekends this year.
MAD Take: Here’s the amazing part: They’d already gotten away with the bad-bear scam twice before.