Valley Solutions

Eras end, begin for baseball

Modesto Bee. Who was John Thurman? Modesto’s baseball stadium likely to get name change.
Synopsis: The Pioneer League is expanding into Modesto with games scheduled for John Thurman Field (which wasn’t good enough for the Single-A Mariners, who left in August). Dave Heller, president of Main Street Baseball, wants to sell the naming rights to the stadium, which means “The Thurm” is in for a new identity. But Thurman Field’s namesake – Assemblymember John Thurman -- shouldn’t be forgotten. This story by Maria Figueroa explains exactly why. Thurman loved baseball but had equal passion for the elderly, poor, the disadvantaged and agriculture. One of his last vacations was a trip to Arizona for spring training and every year he would buy hundreds of tickets to be given away for Cal League games at Del Webb Field (what Thurman Field was called before the city renamed it in his honor). Thurman married into the family farm and eventually took over operation of a dairy. “Agriculture isn’t Republican or Democrat,” said the Freshman Legislator of the Year in 1972. A Democrat, he worked to get free flu shots for seniors and originally paid for them from his own pocket until Republican Gov. Ronald Reagan signed Thurman’s bill into law in 1974. Thurman’s daughter Susan is on the verge of selling Thurman’s dairy, bringing to a close the Thurman era in Modesto. 

ABC10. Modesto invites fans to name the team for new Pioneer League franchise.
Synopsis: Main Street Baseball is bringing a Pioneer League team to Modesto to replace the single-A Nuts and it wants help naming the new nine. They want something that reflects “pride, creativity and spirit.” Submit at modestobaseballclub.com.
MAD Take: The Oakland Ballers (as in Money-ballers), having replaced the A’s, won the Pioneer League title this year. So, Modesto should fit right in. How about the Farmers? The Growers? The Milkers? We make wine by crushing grapes – so the Crushers or Squeezers? A lot of cheese is made around here, but then name Cheeseheads is taken. Modesto has a really cool arch; so how about The Archies, which comes with a theme song readymade. 

Madera gets new exec

Valley Sun. Madera County appoints new executive officer.
Synopsis: Matthew Treber was appointed chief administrative officer of Madera County on a 5-0 vote of the county supervisors Tuesday. It’s a promotion for the chief of development services. Treber has been deeply involved in planning the county’s growth, including nearly 30,000 homes on 19,000 acres in the Rio Mesa area. He replaces Jay Varney, who retired last month.

‘Race card’ hurts Fresno St.

Fresno Bee. Trump plays the race card to deny Fresno State badly needed funds. 
Synopsis: Columnist Tad Weber writes about the successes at Fresno State – the highest graduation rate in nearly two decades, rising enrollment, a destination school for Valley kids, a robust volunteer program that is making a difference in our communities. Contrast this with Donald Trump‘s anti-woke rationale for stripping funding from schools that identify as Hispanic-Serving Institutions. It’s the Trump administration that is discriminating, not Fresno State. Around 60% of Fresno State’s students are Latino – so of course it’s a Hispanic Serving Institution. Before cutting funding, no one from Linda McMahon’s Education Dept bothered to contact the university before removing funding. Trump & McMahon simply wanted to take money away from a school with high Latino enrollment. Weber calls that “a) short-sighted, b) discriminatory, c) dumb and d) all of the above.”

Grower explains nut prices

Ag Alert. From the fields: Paul Vermeulen, Stanislaus almond grower and huller. 
Synopsis: The Stanislaus grower starts his comments by talking about the USDA’s faulty almond estimate, saying “not a single farmer” believed the 3-billion-pound figure was “even close.” That inflated estimate “depressed almond prices overnight,” making 3 years in a row of “unreasonably low” prices to farmers. Now that the processing has started, spot prices are rising as the crop appears to be exactly where farmers predicted -- about 2.8 billion pounds. Vermeulen pulled some older orchards this year, and is growing corn and hay instead. “People say they think they’re going to go back in (with almonds), but they’re not back in yet.”

Farmers still optimistic

Farms.com. Farmers say current conditions on US farmers are weakening.
Synopsis: The Purdue/CME Ag Economy Barometer’s September reading shows the mood of farmers hasn’t changed much in the last month, improving to 126. The companion “Producer” poll showed a 7-point drop. Both producers and farmers see a rosier future with the long-term index rising 5 points to 128. Farmers believe US policy is “headed in the right direction.”

Ag Daily. Study: Long the world’s ag powerhouse, US now looking more flabby.
Synopsis: The era of annual trade surpluses for corn, soybeans, wheat and cotton has ended, according to researchers at universities in Illinois and Texas. Their report shows US ag trade balance have flipped “firmly into the red,” and will hit a record $49 billion this year. This huge reversal began in 2018-20 with the first Trump trade wars but has accelerated this year. Chinese buyers have shifted away from the US and now buy ag products from Brazil, Australia, Canada, Ukraine and Argentina. Meanwhile, China has been spending significantly to produce GMO seeds.

Another shelter closes

Fresnoland. Fresno Homeless shelter on Blackstone abruptly closes leaving 200 in limbo. 
Synopsis: The Soul Housing shelter which had 250 beds for the homeless and “medically fragile” closed its doors Tuesday and laid off employees. The closure left city leaders scrambling to reopen the former Motel 6 on Blackstone. Mayor Jerry Dyer says he was “shocked” by the “incredibly short notice” from the LA-based shelter operator, but he has been assured no one would be displaced. RH Community Builders has taken over the shelter and had a hiring event Wednesday. Two other Fresno shelters said they would shut down this year due to lack of funding.
MAD Note: The Fresno shelters aren’t the only ones closing. Shelters in Modesto and Stockton both closed their doors in the past few weeks along with a shelter in Sacramento. The We Care shelter in Turlock is open only after significant contributions from the county and Stanislaus Community Foundation.

Losing candidate still angry

Westside Express. City council candidate takes issue with how campaign was run. 
Synopsis: Kalid Sanchez spoke out at last week’s Los Banos city council meeting, criticizing newly elected Mitzy Perez. Sanchez lost to Perez in the special election to represent District 1. It was Perez’s first meeting, and she did not react to the comments. She even defended Sanchez’s right to say what she wanted. Only 488 votes – of 5,168 registered voters -- were returned in the all-mail election. Sanchez is angry that door-hangers were circulated just prior to the election, pointing out that she owed a Sacramento developer back-rent on her business and that she had mischaracterized that debt. She explained that the FPPC did not respond to her requests on how to characterize the back rent until nearly a month after the election. When she got the response, Sanchez amended her forms. Perez outspent Sanchez roughly 4-to-1.

Too much love for Yosemite

Modesto Bee. Yosemite National Park saw more visitors this summer; why that worries experts.
Synopsis: Through August, exactly 3,036,268 people have visited Yosemite. That’s 7% more than the previous year. The park had been using a reservation system but scrapped it this year except for weekends and holidays. All those people create enormous lines at the entry points, crowds at the most popular features and all sorts of urban problems, according to John Buckley of the Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center. There aren’t enough parking spaces, meaning some visitors drive in and drive right back out. More balance is needed.

Making Modesto safer

Modesto Bee. Modesto police awarded $520K to improve road, bike, pedestrian safety.
Synopsis: To reduce crashes and injuries to pedestrians, the Modesto police have received an Office of Traffic Safety grant for better enforcement. A separate grant yielded $36,400 for the Bicycle & Pedestrian Safety Program. The PD will combine education and enforcement to improve driving behaviors, prevent crashes and “make our roads safer for everyone.” Getting special attention will be distracted drivers, red-light scofflaws and speeders. The smaller grant will focus on providing schools with presentations and safe-cycling training.

Old mall gets new market

Merced Focus. Mexican-themed supermarket joins Merced mall despite criticism.
Synopsis: Not everyone was thrilled that Vallarta Supermarkets wants to build a store in the Marketplace at Merced – formerly the Merced Mall. The council voted 4-3 to endorse Vallarta’s petition for a state license to sell alcohol (a necessary step). Those voting “no” said they preferred a “traditional mall experience” and not a grocery store. Councilmember Mike Harris said that’s outdated thinking. “We don’t have a mall. We used to have a mall, but we have a cross now between a mall and a shopping center – and I’m OK with that.” The market will hire roughly 100 workers. The supermarket company is expanding in the Valley, having opened stores – with enormous customer response – in Modesto and Clovis.

Merced celebrates Courthouse

Merced County Times. Community unites for courthouse celebration. 
Synopsis: Rep. Adam Gray, Judge Brian McCabe and Josh and John Pedrozo helped director Sarah Lim and roughly 400 others celebrate the renovation of the Merced County Courthouse Museum. Gray thanked the volunteers who made the renovation possible and called it a “symbol of our legacy and longevity.” As John Pedrozo grilled 500 hot dogs, his son Josh spoke of “our shared history.” During the evening banquet, John and Peg Larson and Mark Marchini all won guided tours of the courthouse’s towering cupola.

Former Patterson mayor passes

Patterson Irrigator. Patterson loses beloved community servant. 
Synopsis: Former mayor Luis Molina died Oct. 4. The Desert Storm veteran moved to Patterson in 2003 and joined the Patterson planning commission in 2005. He was mayor from 2010 to 2016 and served on the Stanislaus Board of Education. Mayor Mike Clauzel called Molina “a dear friend, mentor and one of the finest public servants our city has ever known.” Former Mayor Pat Maisetti said, “his smile will be missed in Patterson.” Supervisor Channce Condit called him “a kind and genuine man who cared deeply for Patterson.” Clauzel ordered the city’s flags to half-staff.