Valley Solutions

Chiesa optimistic about Stanislaus

Modesto Bee. What Stanislaus County’s board chairman said in ‘state of the county’ address. 
Synopsis: Vito Chiesa kicked off his most recent stint as chair of the Board of Supervisors detailing some of the county’s triumphs and its challenges. He spoke about “recognizing how far we’ve come while never losing sight of the work still ahead.” Stanislaus is building a traffic “corridor” across the top of the county, there are more parks, more mental-health beds, and more economic opportunity. Our air is better and so are the relationships that lead to progress. Chiesa called out old friends Kristin Olsen, Anthony Cannella, Cathleen Galgiani and Adam Gray for helping him end the “negative bailout” that has resulted in more than $100 million in property tax remaining in Stanislaus County since 2015.
MAD Take: Ending the negative bailout – which forced the five CA counties whose finances were solid when Prop 13 took effect to give money to the 53 counties whose finances weren’t – should never be forgotten or minimized. While America suffers from raging political anger, those five set aside any partisan differences to forge a political partnership that became true friendship and effective beyond anything they alone could have accomplished. Those friendships remain.

Finding (cheap) fun at the Fair

Modesto Bee. Can $25 cover a night of fun at Stanislaus County Fair? What we got on a budget. 
Synopsis: This assignment – go to the fair and see what you can do with $25 – has been around newsrooms for as long as there have been cub reporters. Angela Rodriguez, a Stanislaus native, drew the short straw this year. She found free parking through Turlock Transit and a break on general admission. Finding food within budget was tough considering pineapple whip normally goes for $15 and Korean corn dogs for $20. But early arrivals get a break on many items, $5 each. For her toddlers, the petting zoo was perfect.
MAD Take: Let’s see her keep within that $25 when her daughters hit 14.

Turlock Journal. Pair of rookies rule in night one of demolition derby. 
Synopsis: Modesto’s Frank Borba outlasted John Daley of Valley Springs in the 50^th Annual Stanislaus Fair Demolition Derby on Monday night. “What a rush,” said Borba. “This was my first derby ever and I have always wanted to do it. It was even more than I expected, just great. It was pretty violent, but once your adrenaline gets flowing you don’t really feel it anymore.”

Fresno’s road tax will die

Fresnoland. Three Fresno supervisors shut down Better Roads tax measure after tense clash. 
Synopsis: The Fresno Board of Supervisors voted to “study” the road-tax ballot measure that would have extended the 40-year-old Measure C. The study will not be completed in time to put the Measure C renewal on the November ballot, meaning the main financial engine for fixing roads throughout the county and cities will run dry. It also means the county’s sales-tax rate will fall by half a cent until it can once again go before voters. Supervisor Buddy Mendes and Nathan Magsig got behind Garry Bredefeld to torpedo the Measure by demanding more study. Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer called their vote “voter suppression.” Mendota Mayor Victor Martinez called the board majority “racists” and called Bredefeld “Garry Bonaparte.” He added, “The city of Mendota has been forgotten.”

Thousands of super commuters

Modesto Bee. Why do they do it? Modesto area has 2^nd-largest rate of super-commuters in the U.S. 
Synopsis: A “super-commuter” is someone who travels 90 minutes or more from home to work. Stanislaus County has around 18,000 of them, with thousands more flocking to new homes planned for the county’s West Side. The drive is a grind, but the trade-off is being able to afford a home. A 2020 study found that while 59,691 people left the county every day for work, another 34,176 drove in for jobs inside Stanislaus. The roads between San Joaquin, Alameda and Merced counties were the busiest. Only Stockton has a higher percentage of commuters, explaining those daily backups over the Altamont. Public transport would be great, but trains aren’t frequent enough for many workers. And now the ACE train’s arrival in Modesto has been pushed back by 5 years maybe longer.
MAD Take: This story is a well-done starting point for what, hopefully, will become several follow-ups. First up, what is delaying the ACE train? The excuses proffered so far are unconvincing. Where is the accountability? Why hasn’t BART pushed into Tracy, which was the plan 40 years ago? Will there ever be a connection between Patterson and San Jose? How are childcare options for commuters? Who treats the “sore backs” experienced by all those commuters? Should commuter bedrooms be allowed to cover the most fertile growing ground in the world or be built in the hills above Patterson?

… With more on the way

SF Gate. CA I-5 commuter city can’t stop megadevelopment. 
Synopsis: SF Gate describes Patterson as a “commuter city” that is trying to stop a 720-home development known as Keystone Ranch. “The plan to build a new suburb in the hinterlands east of the Bay Area would not only satisfy commuter needs but also the state’s housing mandates.” The city denied the permits to build in April 2025 based on lack of groundwater, insisting the developer pay for a $20 million groundwater recharge facility. It’s necessary because the city has been told to reduce groundwater use by 42,000-acre feet per year by 2030. The Keystone developer says there is sufficient water for its development, and the city must provide it to meet a different state mandate about building houses. The judge agreed.

More anxiety over data centers

Ag Daily. As data centers spread, rural concerns grow. 
Synopsis: People living in rural areas are more concerned with the development of power- and water-sucking data centers than their urban neighbors. On a scale of 1-to-7, rural residents are at 5.41 when it comes to electricity and 4.75 on water. Urbanites are worried (5.3 and 4.6), just not quite as much. It makes sense. Of all the 1,500-plus new data centers being discussed for the U.S., two-thirds are proposed for rural areas, a reversal from 2020 when 87% were built in urban areas. BTW, Virginia and Illinois are the top targets for data center planners.

Sacramento Bee. CA lawmakers seek more transparency on data center water use.
Synopsis: AB 2469 would require disclosure of projected water use before any new data center can be approved. AB 2619 would require operators to report actual water use once facilities open. Gov. Newsom vetoed similar legislation last year at the request of the Chamber and other business groups. But this year there is more intensity around passage. The Chamber says existing statutes are sufficient and data centers are no more water-intensive than any other industrial facility. It also insists that once an adequate supply of water and power is confirmed, the state should step aside.

Lawsuit fails to cut flows

KRCR (Redding). Judge denies bid to halt Bureau of Reclamation’s Shasta Dam fall water releases.
Synopsis: A federal judge has rejected a lawsuit by the Center for Biological Diversity to halt irrigation releases from Shasta Dam. The reservoir is effectively full, but environmental groups want water releases halted to maintain cold-pool volume for release later as salmon migrate. The judge disagreed.

Killings awful, but not illegal

KSEE / CBS47. Merced County Sheriff says ‘no illegal activity’ in how horses were put down in viral video. 
Synopsis: Sheriff Vern Warnke said that while the video is difficult to watch, the people who killed several horses on a Merced County ranch were not doing anything illegal. The horses were injured and sick and were killed before being put into a trailer for disposal. “That’s part of country life,” said Warnke. “We don’t want anybody upset. But this is the actual facts of what goes on with these large animals.” The shooting, while ineffective in two cases, was done under the supervision of a veterinarian.

Bus kidnapping was 50 years ago

KSEE / CBS47. It has been 50 years since the 1976 Chowchilla kidnapping. 
Synopsis: The kidnapping of 26 children and a bus driver was 50 years ago today. Brothers Richard and James Schoenfeld and their pal Fred Wood abducted the children on their way home from a summer class trip. The children were moved into two cargo vans and driven 11 hours to a quarry in Livermore where the vans were buried. The driver and some of the older students were able to push their way through the top of the van and dig out and escape.
MAD Take: Many people believe the movie “Dirty Harry” was loosely based on the kidnapping. But the movie was made in 1971; the kidnapping occurred in 1976.

Doomed boat from Stockton

Stocktonia. Rescuers search for 3 people after Stockton boat sinks in San Francisco Bay, leaving 1 dead.
Synopsis: The 50-foot, 3-deck pontoon boat that sank in San Francisco Bay on Tuesday was registered in Stockton and was on a memorial excursion to the Bay. Conditions on the Bay were not unusual with winds around 17 mph and no advisories, but there were 5-foot swells out near the bridge. The Coast Guard dispatched the cutter Barracuda to lead the search. Of 20 people onboard, three remain missing.

‘Other’ Pea Soup is closing

SF Chronicle. CA road trip landmark Pea Soup Andersen’s cleared for demolition. 
Synopsis: The original Pea Soup Andersen’s in Santa Barbara County will be demolished, or at least most of it. A small portion will be kept for sentiment purposes. It’s been boarded up since 2024, and vandals have broken in and taken things that had been designated for preservation. “The longer the building remains, the fewer aspects of historical significance will remain,” said one city official. Last sentence in the story: “A second Pea Soup Andersen’s restaurant in Santa Nella, near Interstate 5 in Merced County, also remains in business.”

Rowdy riders rolling into Ceres?

CBS13. Bike group accused of hitting cars in Riverbank advertises next ride in Ceres. 
Synopsis: A group of viral cyclists is planning a rowdy ride in Ceres, according to a video invitation released on social media. The group last rode in Riverbank on July 12, with mostly young men riding into traffic, surrounding vehicles, hitting cars with their fists and causing mayhem. “There’s just a general lack of respect for, you know, your community, people’s private property,” said Sheriff Sgt. Nathan Crane. He noted that property can be repaired or replaced, but there are dangers to such riding. Ceres has an ordinance allowing the seizure of bicycles if riders are violating city laws, and Ceres Lt. Jeff Godfrey promised to invoke it. He said people in the community are “tired of these bicyclists coming into this city.” Crane noted the education part is over, now the enforcement begins.

Busted in counterfeit cop car

Stocktonia. CHP arrests man driving fake LA County sheriff’s cruiser in Manteca.
Synopsis: Perhaps the first clue was that the sheriff’s vehicle driving around in San Joaquin County was marked “Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.” The second clue was when the driver sped away when the CHP attempted to flag him over for a courtesy chat. When they finally did get the driver stopped, police discovered that Kevin Michael Souza appeared to be under the influence. No explanation of how he came into possession of the vehicle or even if it is an official patrol SUV.
MAD Take: If you’re pulled over by law enforcement, but suspect it might be Kevin Michael behind the wheel, the CHP recommends calling 9-1-1 to see if it is legit. And always pull over in a well-lit, visible area.