Valley Solutions

Planners nix River Walk

Modesto Bee. Riverbank commission opposes 2,400-home annexation to west; it’s not the last word. 
Synopsis: The Riverbank Planning Commission voted 4-1 against the controversial plan to annex a huge area about 4 miles from the city and cover it with 2,400 homes. The plan would stretch Riverbank all the way down 108 to McHenry Avenue, covering prime farmland with housing. At the end of a four-hour meeting attended by 200 people, commissioners Natasha Basso, John Dinan, Joan Stewart and Taide Zamora voted against the project. The city council can revisit the issue and overrule the planning commission. If that happens, the Stanislaus Local Agency Formation Commission would have to vote on it as well – likely facing opposition from other communities. Residents also get an opportunity to weigh in, with Measure M on the citywide ballot on Nov. 3.

Peach, tomato growers struggle

Ag Alert. ‘Rough’ peach crop caps a bitter season.
Synopsis: Cling peach growers had only one option for selling their crop this year, Lodi’s Pacific Coast Producers. Since Del Monte Foods’ Modesto cannery was shuttered as part of a bankruptcy filing, PCP was the last remaining canner. That meant several dozen growers lost their contracts and had nowhere to send their fruit. Declining demand for canned products is leaving growers without customers. Only around 10,000 acres of peaches are now grown in California, and the USDA has set aside $9 million to aid affected growers with the peach association putting in another $1.5 million. The money is expected to be just enough to remove remaining trees. Yields were down 12% from last year’s 211,000 tons.
MAD Take: Accompanying this story online was an ad, which is not unusual. But this ad was for an online auction company.

Ag Alert. Processed tomato growers hope for market recovery.
Synopsis: CA is harvesting its 185,000 acres of tomatoes with work expected to continue into October. That’s the lowest acreage in 30 years, and the first time in the past 50 that CA has planted fewer than 200,000 acres of tomatoes. Yields have been about 1% above predictions. Demand for canned tomato products is dropping. The harvest has been hastened by the recent heat.

Another study on Stanislaus water

Modesto Bee. MID official clashes with Stanislaus supervisor over $496,000 groundwater contract. 
Synopsis: Stanislaus supervisors voted 4-1 to hire Geosyntec Consultants to look into groundwater use in the Modesto subbasin. The work will include review of two previous studies – duplication that angered MID board chair Robert Frobose. He directed his ire at Supervisor Terry Withrow: “You have done nothing but defend a few friends of yours and investors that destroy the aquifer and cost ratepayers of this county hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars.” Withrow is affiliated with an eastside landowner who has been trying to buy MID water to irrigate land that is outside any water district. Withrow refused to respond. But areas of the eastside, where those properties are located, are out of compliance with state groundwater sustainability requirements with underlying aquifers “severely overdrafted.” The lone no-vote came from Channce Condit, who explained his vote with a statement against data centers.

Merced sales tax on the ballot

Merced Sun Star. Measure to increase sales tax will go before Merced voters in November. 
Synopsis: The city council voted Monday to put a proposal on the ballot to increase the city’s sales tax from 8.25%, one of the lower rates in the state, to 9.25%. Merced County has a sales tax rate of 7.75%. The increased revenue would be used to “help maintain the city’s financial stability and preserve general services residents have identified as priorities” such as police and fire services, better roads and upgraded parks. Councilmember Darin DuPont said he dislikes taxes, but voters should decide. The city believes that up to 59% of the population supports the tax, which requires only 50%+1 to pass. The city already collects a half-cent tax dedicated to police and fire services.

Gas prices up $1.27 from 2025

Modesto Bee. Modesto-area gas prices rise again amid wars; priciest station is $7.09 per gallon.
Synopsis: John Holland reports on the GasBuddy survey, which put the price at $5.44 per gallon in the Modesto area. That’s up 19.2 cents from a month ago and $1.27 from last year. The two lowest-priced stations offered gas for $4.89. The highest price cited was $7.09. All prices include a state tax of 63.4 cents, which is among the highest in the nation. The prices have spiked since Trump attacked Iran and the closing of the Strait of Hormuz.
MAD Take: The price also includes the well-documented “mystery surcharge.” Oil companies deny this unexplained markup exists, but UC Berkeley Prof. Severin Borenstein has shown repeatedly that it adds up to 50 cents per gallon.

Road rage in Fresno?

GV Wire. Why is Swearengin pushing so hard for road tax? She wants to rule Fresno.
Synopsis: Bill McEwen writes about the Better Roads Safe Street sales tax proposal that would keep in place Fresno County’s longstanding half-cent sales tax dedicated to roads. He says former mayor Ashley Swearengin is behind the effort to keep it from lapsing following a decision by three members of the board of supervisors to delay its renewal until it can be further studied. Bill writes that Swearengin is no longer the center-right Republican who served as Fresno mayor. “She is now unofficially known as the governor of Central California and matriarch of progressive politics in the region.” Bill quotes the position of Supervisor Garry Bredefeld, who insisted the new Measure C puts too much emphasis on “empty buses and bike lanes” when the county board of supervisors voted 3-2 not to put it on the Nov. 3 ballot. 
MAD Take: My friend Bill McEwen is one of the best, most persuasive writers still working in journalism – especially when he’s irritated. But we already know this much about Fresno’s bike lanes – they’re deadly. Last year, 17 pedestrians and cyclists died in Fresno County, and that was an improvement over every other year in the past decade. In 2024, there were 33 deaths. According to a Berkeley study, from 2014 to 2023 the pedestrian/cyclist fatality rate in Fresno County rose 103% with 215 dead pedestrians and 39 dead cyclists. Yes, the number of cyclists in Fresno County has risen 42%. But half-again as many riders and twice as many deaths? Sounds like a capacity issue. Bike lanes “are one of the most effective safety countermeasures for cyclists” as shown in “large-scale data from multiple cities.” Overall, better bike lanes improved cyclist safety 53%, according to the University of Colorado. Portland, SF, Denver and Chicago showed drops in cyclist fatalities from 38% to 60% with improved bike lanes. Meanwhile, the Guardian has written that bike lanes have become a favorite culture-war target for MAGAs, who insist cyclists are “hostile to motor vehicles” -- as if a 15-pound bicycle is somehow a threat to a 6,000-pound pickup. Empty buses don’t worry me; crowded ambulances do.

More turmoil in Stockton

Stocktonia. Stockton city clerk claims retaliation after reporting alleged election interference. 
Synopsis: Last month, before she abruptly resigned, Stockton’s city attorney said she considered city clerk Katherine Roland an elections whistleblower – meaning she would be protected against retaliation from elected leaders. Regardless, Roland says she has become the target of two councilmembers. They called for a closed-door meeting to consider discipline but later canceled the meeting. The issue involves Mayor Christina Fugazi’s chief of staff, who Roland said has been issuing orders to the clerk’s staff which is outside his authority. Vice Mayor Jason Lee made similar accusations in June. Councilmember Michael Blower is fed up, calling it “very concerning” that there’s “even the possibility of dismissing our good and honest city clerk, who’s done a great job for us.”

Animal shelter director fired

Modesto Bee. Stanislaus animal shelter director fired amid scrutiny over care, operations.
Synopsis: Stanislaus Animal Services Agency executive director Lily Yap was fired on July 30 after continuing controversy over insufficient medical care for animals, rising euthanasia rates and crowded conditions at the shelter. She was hired in April 2025 following a 15-year career in Texas and Louisiana. The shelter had only one full-time veterinarian and struggled to find help due to a nationwide shortage of vets. Local volunteers were not surprised, or disappointed, in Yap’s firing. “It should have happened a long time ago,” said volunteer Kelly Ceglio.

Fees add $2 per bottle

Ag Alert. Study: Napa wine compliance costs near 18% of production. 
Synopsis: The cost of complying with CA’s myriad agricultural regulations is roughly $24 per case of wine, a study by Cal Poly SLO has found. The study found that small vineyard owners pay about 8% of their entire proceeds in fees, while larger vineyard owners pay 12.5%. A second part of the study shifted to wineries, and found another $24 per case, or $2 per bottle, in regulatory fees. The largest regulatory category was labor followed by water and then alcohol production. “Outside of cannabis production … wine production is the most heavily regulated agricultural product, requiring both state and federal licenses, excise taxes and reporting,” said the story.  

Was he driving an attack tractor?

LA Times. Paso Robles man arrested after allegedly crushing car with a tractor during an argument.
Synopsis: Having run out of words, Levi Gaze of Paso Robles allegedly rammed his front-loader into a sedan near Santa Maria on Saturday. Authorities did not elaborate on what caused the problem, just that the front-loader was used to crush the hood and front bumper of the car. The female passenger escaped without being harmed, and once the car was empty Gaze really went to work on it. He was arrested without incident while still sitting in the tractor and is being held without bail. Among the charges, assault with a deadly front-loader.

Utility reform will take work

Ceres Courier. Lowering high utility costs takes more than flashy slogans; it needs these reforms. 
Synopsis: UC Berkeley grad student Travis Ritchie writes about the difficulty with both political approaches to lowering utility bills – Steve Hilton’s “break up PG&E” and Xavier Becerra’s rate freeze. The Center for Law, Energy & the Environment looked at why CA’s utility costs are double the national average. To bring them down we must address wildfire mitigation and costs, he writes. The big three investor-owned utilities will need to collect $27 billion to help pay for their role in last year’s fires. That’s about $490 a year for every ratepayer. Solutions: 1) Force lower profit margin on capital projects. 2) Put utilities on a budget and keep them there by limiting rate increases to 1 per 4 years, as the law already requires. 3) Make public investments in infrastructure, i.e., powerlines, poles and transformers. That will cost a little more now but save bundles later. 
MAD Take: These are all fine ideas, but I still like the idea of busting up the investor-owned utilities. It was a good idea when Tom Steyer had it, and it’s still a good idea now that Steve Hilton has embraced it.

Good food, drinks, prices

Merced Sun Star. Readers say this sports bar is the best in Merced County.
Synopsis: Good food, good drinks, good prices all contribute to Jams@209 Sports Bar & Grill being the best sports bar in the county, writes Jim Silva. The Atwater bar got 28% of the vote with La Tia Juana coming in second at 17% followed by Joystiq and Star Club. “Everything tastes fresh, well-prepared and full of flavor,” said one Yelp reviewer. Jams has two Merced County locations – Bellevue Road in Atwater and I Street in Los Banos.