Valley Solutions

D’Adamo stays on water board

Sacramento Bee. Newsom water board pick draws opposition from enviros ahead of Bay Delta vote. 
Synopsis: Reporter Andrew Graham writes that environmentalists and salmon fishers “unsuccessfully lobbied a CA Senate committee to reject Gov. Gavin Newsom’s reappointment of a veteran State Water Resources Control Board member last week.” That board member is Dorene “Deedee” D’Adamo of Turlock, who was confirmed on a 4-0 vote by the senate committee. Despite the support of the Senate and Gov. Newsom, the reporter called her “a voice on the board for powerful interests such as the agricultural industry and urban water districts.” The first person quoted by the reporter was Max Gomberg, a disgruntled former Board employee who disdained her reappointment. Next up was Gary Bobker – a name Graham misspells as Bopker -- of Friends of the River. He, too, was miffed. Eventually, Graham got around to quoting D’Adamo, who said she was proud of her ties to farming (she was born into it, after all). Sen. John Laird said D’Adamo is one of the few people on the board who farmers trust.
MAD Take: Quoting Max Gomberg about the water board betrays a bias in reporting. The reporter fails to mention that while working for the board, Gomberg frequently posted highly critical comments on an anonymous blog in an attempt to undermine the board’s decisions. Once outed, he quit rather than face the consequences. As for the commercial salmon killers, their self-interest obscures their vision. After a three-year fishing ban, the number of spawning salmon on CA’s rivers has been higher and more widespread than any year over the past two decades -- despite many of these spawning fish having been hatched during the 2022 drought.

The salmon are back!

Active NorCal. Why salmon runs across Northern CA are coming back stronger than they have in years.
Synopsis: Salmon runs across Northern CA are showing the strongest signs of recovery in years across multiple river systems all at the same time. After three years of fishing closures, the comeback did not happen on its own. It is the result of a coordinated effort across hatcheries, rivers and watersheds. Hatchery production has been a major piece, along with floodplain restoration and the removal of four dams on the Klamath.
MAD Take: Saying the Klamath dam removals had anything to do with this year’s salmon resurgence is, well, silly. The fish who spawned this spring were hatched three to four years ago, when those dams were very much intact. The real difference was the scantly mentioned ban on commercial fishing. The simple truth is, if you want more salmon on the rivers then stop killing them in the ocean.

Delta desperate for fixes

PPIC. The case for investing in the Delta. 
Synopsis: Sarah Bardeen offers a Q&A with Campbell Ingram of the Delta Conservancy, talking about aging levees, subsidence, ecosystems and infrastructure. He notes – as did Marc Reisner 40 years ago – that peat soils are extremely loose and liquify in earthquakes. A good shaker could undermine the levees and disrupt the drinking-water supply for millions while flooding the Valley’s low-lying cities. To address such a laundry list of problems would be expensive, which brings us to the climate bond.
MAD Take: Ingram is correct in everything he says, he just doesn’t say enough. Foremost among things he left out is identifying exactly who is in danger. Lathrop is the fastest-growing city in California with 48,000 people, with thousands living west of I-5. All of those new homes are in danger of flooding in any one of several scenarios (atmospheric rivers, earthquakes, levee failures). Stockton, with 325,000 people, sits at a mean elevation of 10 feet. And it’s sinking. Again, flood danger.

Videos purport mistreatment

LA Times. Footage shows Central Valley dairy workers kicking young calves, pulling them with pliers.
Synopsis: Reporter Susanne Rust bases her story about mistreatment of calves on reports from the activist animal-rights group Direct Action Everywhere. The group turned over video of what they called inhumane treatment taken at two dairy farms near Ceres. Recounted in the story is a visit from sheriff’s deputies when the group was flying drones over one of those farms. Deputies warned the group not to trespass but took no other action, according to the group.
MAD Take: Susanne Rust has won a lot of awards as a reporter. But she has also earned some criticism for sometimes blurring the line between journalist and activist. This story is entirely one-sided. As noted in previous Valley Solution posts, a reporter’s bias can be seen by looking at the quote pattern. The first and last quotes, if from the same point of view, show where the reporter’s sympathies lie. In this case, DxE gets the first, last and most of the quotes in the middle. Rust offers some insight from renowned animal science professor Temple Grandin and a representative of the American Humane Society, but only to help make points raised by DxE. What she doesn’t provide is any counter narrative from the Stanislaus Sheriff or the farmers where the videos were purportedly made. That’s because the Sheriff and farmers refused to talk to Rust. She never mentions that Direct Action Everywhere has been accused of doctoring its videos to create misleading and manipulative narratives. Web-publication Wired noted that DxE’s films are “highly edited and even staged” and offered a second story detailing DxE’s “toolkit” for creating compelling manipulative videos. Bottom line: No one in this story other than DxE activists have ever visited the farms in question. This is not to excuse inhumane treatment of animals — it’s a crime and should be prosecuted as such, and it has been in Stanislaus County. But if you want to do award-winning stories about farming, it might help if you first earned the trust of a few farmers.

He thinks Dems are lost

Sacramento Bee. CA congressional race shows why the Democratic Party lost its way. 
Synopsis: Columnist LeBron Antonio Hill takes a look at CA 22 where Dr. Jasmeet Bains and school board member Randy Villegas are slugging it out for the right to take on the even more formidable David Valadao. Hill climbs into this ring as sort of a cut man for Villegas, railing against the Democratic power brokers and their PACs and Bains for not being sufficiently liberal on issues such as Gaza.
MAD Take: It’s interesting to read Hill -- a recent transplant from Memphis, Tenn., to Sacramento -- lecturing us about the importance of allowing Valley natives to choose their candidates and issues free of outside influence. A more cogent explanation of what is happening could be found in the New York Times, which quoted Adam Gray explaining how a mysterious Republican PAC has been boosting the more radical Democratic candidates in districts where moderates might otherwise be favored. “They’re going into Democratic primaries and literally trying to boost the most extreme candidates and oppose the Blue Dog-endorsed candidates,” said Gray. It is those moderate, Blue Dog candidates, who have the best chance to beat the Republicans in November.

Bredefeld’s takes a hard line

Fresno Bee. Will Fresno County allow the library to participate in Pride Month? Vote looms. 
Synopsis: The new Fresno County policy about official county holidays could come into conflict with celebrations of Fresno Rainbow Pride during national Pride Month. The County Library wants to recognize Pride Month at branches and provide a booth during the Rainbow Parade through the Tower District. The booth will cost $125 and needs approval. But Supervisor Garry Bredefeld has been openly disdainful of supporting the “LGBTQ political agenda.” He pushed through a more restrictive policy last year after learning the county had spent $6,000 on condoms, lube and brochures during Pride Month.

HSR board shakeup

Fresno Bee. Fresno’s High-Speed Rail chairman leaves board; Newsom adds 2 former staffers.
Synopsis: Chair Tom Richards of Fresno and vice chair Nancy Miller of Sacramento have departed the CA HSRA board and have been replaced by Stephen Kawa of Cloverdale and Jason Elliott of San Francisco. The new members are considered “trusted advisors” of Gov. Newsom, with experience advancing projects in “demanding political and fiscal landscapes.”

Money in almond shells

CA Ag Net. Artefact, ABC partner to turn shells into bio-based materials. 
Synopsis: French-based soil-additive manufacturer Artefact will partner with the Almond Board of CA to turn almond shells into composite materials used in everything from homes to car interiors to livestock bedding. “Finding meaningful, environmentally friendly uses for our almond co-products is part of ensuring that nothing in the orchard goes to waste,” said Natalie Henderson of the ABC. No location for a manufacturing facility was provided, other than “in the Central Valley.”
MAD Note: Interestingly, some 17 representatives from worldwide manufacturing groups gathered at UC Merced in March to hear about similar opportunities. Sometimes, when people see what is possible in the Valley, they want to be part of it.

Poker for a good cause

KCRA. A’s star, Turlock native Tyler Soderstrom hosts charity poker tournament.
Synopsis: It’s not enough to hit three home runs for the Sacramento A’s, Turlock native Tyler Soderstrom wants to help kids who are dealing with cancer. On Monday night, he hosted a charity poker tournament at the Kimpton Hotel in Sacramento to benefit the Keaton Child Cancer Alliance and EASE (Empower, Advocate, Serve, Equip). There was no indication of how much was raised for the event.

How to infuriate a sheriff

Stocktonia. Sheriff seethes after prisoner given compassionate release is arrested on weapons charges.
Synopsis: Sheriff Pat Withrow went on social media Monday to express outrage over the state’s release of Steven Rodriguez. He had been serving a 20-year sentence for a 2017 shootout with Stockton police when he appeared before the parole in a wheelchair and said he had only months to live. The parole board granted him compassionate release, and he was sent back to Stockton. On May 7, a deputy pulled him over and found a sawed-off shotgun in his car. Said Withrow, Rodriguez “showed no signs of trouble walking.” Withrow called the parole decision “ridiculous. … He could have killed this deputy when he walked up on this car.”

He only made it 190 miles

Merced Sun Star. Los Banos runner completes 190 miles of ultramarathon in Arizona.
Synopsis: Perhaps the most grueling distance race in the world – the Cocodona 250 – was last week in Arizona. Los Banos runner James Thornton competed, completing 190 miles before withdrawing with a medical issue. He basically ran 48.8 miles per day with a cumulative elevation gain of 25,890 feet. Thornton is a member of the Reservoir Ruckers (think ruck-sack) running club. Rachel Entrekin won the race, finishing in a course record 56 hours, 9 minutes, 48 seconds. For perspective, 250 miles is the distance from Merced to Six Flags in Valencia.
MAD Take: For more perspective, 25,000 feet in elevation gain is like putting two dozen Altamont peaks between Merced and Magic Mountain.