Valley Solutions

A threat to the entire Delta

Maven’s Notebook. The biggest threat to the Delta you’ve (probably) never heard of. 
Synopsis: Reporter Robin Meadows speaks with a host of people about the problems bedeviling the Delta. She starts with Mary Hildebrand, daughter of scientist/activist Alex and a longtime farmer between Vernalis and Mossdale, who details the rapid growth of algae and water hyacinth. These invasive plants thrive in channels choked by vast amounts of silt and sand. This sedimentation of the Delta is creating a host of profound problems in the Delta. The Great Valley Farm Water Partnership – created by Turlock’s Randy Fiorini in 2023 -- is building coalitions to address all of them, from sediment buildup to crumbling levees to higher water temperatures to invasive weeds. Some of the channels – both natural and manmade – are 8 feet shallower than they were in the 1960s due to sediment buildup. In the middle of rivers, sand accretes into islands that “become magnets for the sediment that keeps washing down from the mountains and the sandbars keep piling ever higher.” If the sediment isn’t managed “we will lose the whole system.” Fiorini’s group wants to start by dredging 75 miles of South Delta channels, including parts of Old and Middle rivers. All they need is about $500 million and the political will to start. The key, says Fiorini, is bringing competing sides together. “The biggest impediment to policy is the perception of ‘the other side’ – but there is no ‘other side,’ we’re all on the same side.”

UC Merced gets $38M gift

SF Chronicle. MacKenzie Scott hands UC Merced $38 million.
Synopsis: The nation’s leading philanthropist, MacKenzie Scott, gifted UC Merced $38 million Monday – the largest gift in the 20-year history of the campus. It surpassed the $20 million she gave the university four years ago. Chancellor Juan Sanchez Munoz called it a “landmark gift” and a “remarkable act of generosity,” adding “we are profoundly grateful for Ms Scott’s continued trust in our mission and for her belief in our faculty, students and the extraordinary promise of higher education.” Since Scott’s last gift, UC Merced has been named one of the top 187 research universities in the nation. The new money will be used for research, infrastructure and scholarships. The ex-wife of Jeff Bezos, Scott’s fortune is estimated at roughly $34 billion -- half of which she intends to give away.

Coldest December in memory

LA Times. ‘Extreme’ cloud bank for 16 days and counting in Valley; record-cold possible. 
Synopsis: A cluster of “stubborn clouds” has lingered over the Valley for 2 weeks, bringing intense fog and unseasonably low temperatures from Chico to Bakersfield. It’s likely to stay for at least another week. Temperatures dip into the high 30s or low 40s at night, creating a record-cold December, according to the National Weather Service’s Hanford station. Typically, such conditions last “about a week,” said the NWS’s Carlos Molina, but this run of 16 days has “definitely put us in the record books.”

Pacheco enters Assembly race

Merced County Times. Fresno County supervisor Brian Pacheco announces Assembly campaign. 
Synopsis: Fresno Supervisor Brian Pacheco will run for the District 27 Assembly seat being vacated by Esmeralda Soria. The fourth-generation dairy farmer is focused on creating affordability. A Fresno County supervisor since 2015, he has championed affordable housing projects and road upgrades. Soria has endorsed him.

Valley Sun. Madera Supervisor Gonzalez drops out of contested Assembly race.
Synopsis: Madera County Supervisor Leticia Gonzalez says she is no longer running for the 27^th Assembly District seat, saying she wants to spend more time with family.

Fresno wants half-way house cap

Fresno Bee. Homes packed with sex offenders are ‘inappropriate’; Fresno County wants a cap. 
Synopsis: Supervisors Brian Pacheco and Garry Bredefeld say they want to prevent half-way houses from locating in rural neighborhoods. The two supervisors want to limit the number of sex offenders in a single facility to 6. Sheriff John Zanoni said his department gets frequent complaints from half-way house neighbors. One local resident said the owners of the facilities don’t pay any additional taxes but receive a disproportionate amount of county services. “They are bleeding us.”

More homeless kids in Stanislaus

Modesto Bee. Big increase in homeless student population over last 5 years in Stanislaus. 
Synopsis: Since the end of the pandemic, homelessness among K-12 students across the county has surged, doubling in the Latino and Asian populations. Homelessness seldom means unhoused; and 83% of “homeless” children are “doubling up,” living in the homes of friends and relatives. Ceres has the highest number. Modesto City Schools’ homeless population has grown steadily since 2021 and is just under 600. In 2021, pandemic funding helped find housing while a new law required districts to survey students to determine their housing status. This year, 2,932 students were said to have experienced homelessness at some point, up 73% from the 1,697 in 2019-20. Every school district in the county has a “liaison” assigned to assist families in need. Statewide, 298,300 students have experienced homelessness.

Merced families struggling

Merced Sun Star. Merced County families are struggling financially; survey shows stark numbers.
Synopsis: An Irvine-based research firm said 8-of-10 Merced County residents say they are “struggling” due to rising costs. Many are being forced “to make painful choices.” Some data points: 23% chose not to fill a prescription; 34% could not afford three meals in a day; 25% avoid shopping in grocery stores or going to the doctor. The poll was conducted for Turlock-based Legacy Health Endowment. “The economic challenges facing Merced County families are extremely troubling,” said Jeffrey Lewis, CEO of Legacy Health. 

Sheriff: 5 shooters, 50 shots

Stocktonia. Stockton shooting update: More than 50 shots fried from 5 guns, sheriff says. 
Synopsis: Sheriff Pat Withrow said more than 50 shots were fired from 5 guns during the children’s birthday party in north Stockton last Saturday in which four were killed and 13 injured. He called the body-cam footage from first responders “horrendous.” Withrow briefed San Joaquin supervisors Tuesday morning. The shooters wore face masks and dark clothing, making them hard – but not impossible -- to identify.

Merced Sun Star. Documented gang member arrested for murder of Merced teen, police say.
Synopsis: Merced police have arrested Eric Devon Beavers, a documented gang member from Merced, for the killing of Davarion Granados on Nov. 19. Beavers is 40; Granados was 16.

CA’s top wildlife exec exits

SF Chronicle. CA’s top wildlife manager leaves post for Nature Conservancy.
Synopsis: After 15 years at its helm, Charlton “Chuck” Bonham is resigning as director of the CA Dept of Fish & Wildlife. The department’s longest-serving director will leave at the end of the year. Bonham has confronted a dramatically declining salmon population, the reintroduction of wolves to California and continued protection of mountain lions as their numbers have grown. On Jan. 26 he will become executive director of The Nature Conservancy. 

Dairy farming impact: $23B

Morning Ag Clips. CA dairy industry powers $23.2 billion economic impact, more than 150K jobs.
Synopsis: Normally, “reports” ballyhooing the importance of a particular industry are provided by the industry itself. In this case, UC Davis Ag Economics Dept analyzed the state’s dairy industry finding that it contributes $23.2 billion to the state’s economy, up from $22.6 in 2023. Including processing, trucking, etc., the industry accounts for 151,859 jobs. The study was paid for by the CA Milk Advisory Board.

Some farmers get fed help

Ag Daily. $12 billion farm ‘bridge’ aid unveiled as Trump touts tougher trade. 
Synopsis: Donald Trump announced his $12 billion farm-aid package at the White House on Monday. “Bridge payments” should start arriving by the end of February – 10 weeks from now. Trump blamed the farm “affordability problem” on Democrats then said China is “buying a tremendous amount of soybeans.” He said Japan is buying more corn and rice. China announced it would buy up to $12 billion in soybeans this year, down from the $28 billion purchased in 2024 before Trump initiated his trade war. Meanwhile, US exports of corn have fallen significantly and the bushel price of sorghum – another product sold mostly to China – has fallen from $12.50 in 2024 to $3.80 today.

Successful Farming. Row crop farmers set for $11 billion in aid by February, USDA says. 
Synopsis: There was a lot of reaction to the farm-aid package announced Monday. The American Farm Bureau, American Soybean Assn, Equipment Manufacturers applauded the announcement. The Soybean Assn called it a “positive first step” toward “broader support for the farm economy.” Wheat Growers were “encouraged” but not overjoyed. The Corn Growers said they would prefer “market-based solutions” to government handouts. The nonpartisan Center for American Progress called the program “a bailout” and a “sign that President Trump knows that he is losing his trade war.” At least a dozen groups and several politicians are quoted, including Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who said “farmers want trade, not aid.”

CBS13. Sacramento farmer raises alarm after one of his toughest years yet. 
Synopsis: Ray Yeung of Sacramento County thought Donald Trump’s election would “fix everything.” Instead, the second-generation farmer is enduring “the worst ever” year of his career. He put his thoughts into a letter he sent to Trump on Dec. 2: “We’re getting the same price as my dad got in the 1970s – and at that point, my dad was paying 50 cents a gallon for diesel, was paying $2 for wages. Everything was just less expensive back then.” He continued, “It’s mathematically impossible to even break even.” Ag economic professor Dan Sumner noted huge swings depending on the commodity. Row-crop and wine-grape growers are struggling while beef ranchers are doing extremely well. Yeung is hoping to receive some of the farm aid Trump has promised, saying he’ll use it to pay for fertilizer. “We’re not going to go to Disneyland.” Yeung says he will sell off part of his 2,500 acres simply because he can’t afford to farm it.

More salmon in more places

Mercury News. Coho salmon found in Sonoma Coast creek for first time in 60 years.
Synopsis: The Wildlands Conservancy reports the presence of salmon on the East Branch of Russian Gulch, where no salmon have been reported for more than 60 years. “Yet, there they were,” said three members of the Conservancy. “I had never heard of salmon being in the Russian Gulch,” said a Jenner Headlands ranger.
MAD Take: Why did salmon choose this year to return to this stream and dozens of others across Northern California? It’s not the amount of water – it’s been a drier-than-usual winter. One reason: For the past three years commercial salmon fishing has been banned. The point remains: If you want to save salmon, stop killing them.

A quiet life in the Valley

Turlock Journal. Valley Life and Reflections: Silence is hard when your life is built on speaking up. 
Synopsis: Columnist Mike Lynch makes his debut writing about the after-effects of throat surgery and chemotherapy. A lifelong political staffer and consultant deeply embedded in policy formulation, Lynch has been unable to speak for the past few weeks. It’s tough.
MAD Note: For someone whose life has been about persuasion, being unable to talk is pure torture. For Mike, at least.