Valley Solutions

Valley Solutions offers a daily look at the top headlines appearing on media websites affecting the San Joaquin Valley. It is compiled by Mike Dunbar, who worked in Stockton, Modesto, Merced and Los Banos media for 40 years and later served as Adam Gray’s press secretary when he was in the Assembly. Valley Solutions is brought to readers by Rep. Adam Gray.

‘I’m officially concerned’

SF Chronicle. Forecast for CA’s El Niño winter just got even wetter. 
Synopsis: Every corner of California – from Eureka to San Diego – is forecast to see the heaviest rain of an “historically strong” El Niño in January. Modeling done by climate scientist Daniel Swain, using the latest temperature data from the Pacific Ocean, predicts rainfall to be 7 inches above normal in that month alone. Last month, the same modeling predicted only 4 inches above normal. The additional moisture nearly doubles the normal rainfall for the month. Swain said he had “never seen such high predictive confidence in a very wet California winter.” He added that he is now “officially concerned.” An accompanying chart showed rainfall at 153% of normal for Fresno and 168% in Sacramento. San Diego can expect 263% of normal. We can also expect flash floods, raging seas, avalanches, mudslides and overflowing reservoirs. All at once.

27 Days and counting …

Cal Matters. Billionaires backing CA voter ID measure.
Synopsis: There are two billionaires spending millions to pass a voter ID law in CA (Prop 39). One is a Winklevoss twin, made infamous as one of the frat boys who came up with the idea of a website to rate all the girls at Harvard in the movie “The Social Network.” Another is Nicole Shanahan, RFK Jr.’s running mate. Common Cause, Democrats, Nurses, School Employees, the League of Women Voters, ACLU, and virtually every other good-government group opposes the measure. As one opponent put it: “You are far more likely to be struck by lightning than you are to commit voter fraud in a US election. … There’s no need to add on these additional burdens and security checkpoints in California.” Those additional burdens include writing your SSN or driver’s license number on the ballot envelope. If illegible or mistaken, your vote would be disqualified.
MAD Take: A wise person once said the sins you find most tempting are the ones you preach hardest against on Sunday. It should be noted that a state election-fraud report shows that most of those who committed voter fraud were Republicans. And most of them – though not all -- did so unintentionally.

Modesto Focus. State Senate 4 candidates take off the gloves in fresh, feisty new debate.
Synopsis: Jaron Brandon and Alexandra Duarte had a spicy debate in Round One, a face-to-face debate over breakfast a month ago hosted by the League of Women Voters and local Rotary clubs. This one was hosted by The Modesto Focus, so the questions were more pointed. When asked to give the other a compliment, they went for “each other’s throats.” One of the largest districts in the state, SD4 is heavily Republican in registration.

North Valley Review. Attending Masuda town hall.
Synopsis: The North Valley Review will attend Michael Masuda’s town hall event in Modesto on Thursday. It will be from 6 to 8 pm at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on Oakdale Road.

Westside Express. Los Banos candidates forum set for Oct. 13. 
Synopsis: The Merced County League of Women Voters will host a candidates’ forum Oct. 13 at 6:30 p.m. Five races will be featured – County Board of Education, Area 5 and Area 3; Los Banos city council District 3; Los Banos School Board Area 7; Merced County Superintendent of schools; and Assembly District 27.

Candidate stalks foe’s home?

Fresno Bee. Community college board candidates accuses opponent of snooping at his home.
Synopsis: David Taub writes that Terance Frazier – a developer, husband of Esmaralda Soria and frequent legal foe of the city – is being accused by Marcos Osorio of snooping around his house and mailbox. The two are running for the State Center Community College District 5 trustee seat. Marcos said his sister, Allyson, got video of herself confronting the man, who identified himself as Charles Smith. Osorio has filed a report with Fresno police. Marcos says his kids are “weirded out.”

GV Wire. State Center Faculty Union calls on candidate Terance Frazier to leave race.
Synopsis: The State Center College Federation of Teachers is telling Terance Frazier to drop out of the three-way race for District 5 after he was purportedly videoed looking around the empty home of opponent Marcos Osorio. “It’s not a gray area,” said union president Keith Ford. “A candidate showed up at his opponent’s home at night, went through the mail and lied to a family’s face about who he was. That is disqualifying.” And no, they do not believe he was out canvassing at that time of night.

Courthouse, 1010 evacuated

GV Wire. Stanislaus Courthouse, downtown Modesto building evacuated over suspicious circumstances.
Synopsis: The county courthouse and the government administrative offices at 1010 Tenth Street were evacuated Wednesday morning after reports of suspicious activities in both buildings. Police checked the buildings and found nothing, restoring access and normal operations.

Sierra Club sues over Tuolumne

SF Chronicle. Sierra Club sues San Francisco, claims city is fabricating its water needs.
Synopsis: The Sierra Club is suing the SF Public Utilities Commission – which supplies water to 23 communities in the greater Bay Area – saying that it is harming the environment and inflating bills by predicting it will need more water in the future. The lawsuit says the city will not leave enough water in the Tuolumne River for environmental needs. “We’ve been battling the SFPUC pretty much since they built Hetch Hetchy,” said the club’s Mark Shahinian. The lawsuit is on top of new demands from the state through the new Bay-Delta Water Quality Plan update.
MAD Note: The SFPUC is one of three entities that control water on the Tuolumne, the others being Turlock Irrigation District and Modesto ID. Not mentioned in this story, and often forgotten in San Francisco, is that Turlock, Modesto, Ceres, Hughson and a half dozen other communities rely on the Tuolumne River as well.

SJ County pauses data centers

ABC10. San Joaquin County approves 45-day moratorium on new large-scale data centers. 
Synopsis: San Joaquin Supervisors voted 5-0 to temporarily halt any consideration of large-scale data centers in unincorporated areas of the county. Their vote echoes similar measures in Patterson, Stockton, Riverbank, Stanislaus County and Modesto. Supervisor Robert Rickman said county leaders must address questions of impacts on power and water supplies before any applications are considered. With no applications pending, this is “the perfect time” to review the issues.

Yosemite bears get feisty

Modesto Bee. Clashes between bears, humans are up 52% in Yosemite; what’s behind the trend?
Synopsis: Getting ready for the winter, bears often head into campgrounds and picnic areas of Yosemite to find easy meals, said Park officials. This year, that has meant a lot more bear-tourist interactions. Part of that is due to having more people in the park since the Trump administration ended the vehicle reservation system. Also, with fewer staff members trash containers are emptied less frequently, except by the bears. There are from 300 to 500 bears in the park. In October, they spend up to 22 hours a day eating or looking for food. Once bears begin to eat human food, they lose their fear of approaching them. This year there have been 50 bear incidents, resulting in $17,780 in damage, with 27 encounters in campgrounds or parking lots. Twenty-one bears have been hit by vehicles, often around Curry Village and Tuolumne Meadows.

ICE grabs Valley workers

Fresno Bee. Two dozen detained by ICE in Fresno area, sources say. An “election surge.” 
Synopsis: Two dozen ICE arrests have been in the past week in Fresno and Madera counties, according to Valley Watch Network. A van taking workers from Selma to their jobs in Bakersfield was stopped and all aboard detained. The group said a dozen people were detained Monday and another dozen Tuesday. A court lifted an injunction against warrantless arrests last month. “Nobody should have to go through our city in fear of randomly being taken simply because of the color of their skin,” said one witness, still shaken. Mayor Victor Martinez of Mendota confirmed ICE activity, which he called “very unfair.”

Fresno Bee. ICE detains 17 in Central Coast swarm targeting workplaces, college campus.
Synopsis: ICE agents detained a dozen people in Santa Maria and Guadalupe on Monday. All were detained while traveling to or from work. Another was arrested at the Allan Hancock College where he had dropped off his daughter. The college said it was not notified ICE would be on campus. “Allan Hancock College strongly condemns immigration enforcement actions that create fear and uncertainty for our students and their families.”

Valley’s ‘water gap’ will persist

Maven’s Notebook. Closing the Gap: A unified plan for the San Joaquin Valley. 
Synopsis: Fresno State, the Water Blueprint and the Bureau of Reclamation developed the Unified Water Plan for the eight-county San Joaquin Valley, stretching from San Joaquin to Kern. Congress directed the effort to increase reliability, flood management and ecosystem sustainability. The report’s “sobering conclusion:” Even with an estimated $18 billion in infrastructure investments, the gap between supply and need cannot be fully bridged. With falling groundwater levels, increased subsidence, a diminished snowpack, and greater flooding, the needs are growing more urgent. The plan identified 800 potential projects, actions and improvements in four broad categories – conveyance, storage, supply improvements (recycling, revised operations), and demand management. That last is controversial, because it involves fallowing land, pumping restrictions and urban conservation. The plan offered three scenarios, ranging from simply holding the line to improving supply. 

Ag Net West. Fresno State Field Day to highlight groundwater recharge options.
Synopsis: “Recharge in Action: A Farmer Field Day” will be Nov. 17 on the Fresno State campus. The CA Water Institute and Sustainable Conservation will host, providing information on things that actually work for recharging aquifers. Financial incentives and technical resources will be covered with farmer-to-farmer advice.
MAD Note: The event is free, but farmers are asked to register in advance at the CA Water Institute.

$5M to shore up Bear Creek

ABC30. Merced receives $5 million for Bear Creek repairs as residents fear future flooding. 
Synopsis: Residents say they remain concerned about the possibility of flooding along the creek that runs through much of the city. “It’s terrible thinking that this could happen again,” said a resident who lived through the flooding in 2023. Merced County declared an emergency Tuesday, setting the stage for accelerated cleanup of creeks and water ways. Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria presented the city with a check for $5 million to work on the levees. City Engineer Daryl Jordan said he is concerned repairs needed from the 2023 flood might not be finished in time to protect neighborhoods from this year’s anticipated El Niño flooding.

Topgolf coming to Madera

Fresno Bee. Topgolf under construction at Valley Children’s as nonprofit begins retail development. 
Synopsis: Valley Children’s Hospital has started construction of its newest venture, a Topgolf facility just off Hwy 41. It is expected to open next summer. This is just the start. “There will probably be a hotel right across the street,” said CEO Todd Suntrapak. “I can’t talk too much about it, but it has four stars.” The Madera Topgolf facility will be the first with the “Next Generation” design including 72 climate-controlled hitting bays, a restaurant, bar, arcade and putting course.

Better late than busted

Modesto Bee. Driver was late for work; leading officers on a Turlock chase didn’t help.
Synopsis: A driver speeding up Hwy 99 on his way to work led CHP officers on a 6-minute pursuit before being pulled over and apprehended. Brian Gomes, 30, faces a host of charges, from driving without a license to reckless evasion. Oh, and speeding. He was going over 100 mph and passing cars on the right shoulder. He was finally arrested on Lander Road in Hilmar.