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.

Deciding fate of our rivers

SF Chronicle. Major CA water plan faces ‘huge mess’ as deadline looms. 
Synopsis: The State Water Board is scheduled to vote this week on the Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan, and both sides of the issue are making their cases publicly and loudly. Water districts have been working with the Newsom administration for the past seven years to reach “voluntary agreements” that provide higher environmental flows and massive river restoration projects in exchange for more reliable diversions. “We’ve been working on it for a long time,” said Jennifer Pierre of the State Water Contractors organization. But the more extreme environmental community is harkening back to science established 50 years ago to demand that only increased flows can restore fish populations to their previous grandeur. The arguments have reached a fever pitch, and now “this is a huge mess,” said Pierre. “It didn’t need to be this way.” Barry Nelson of the Golden State Salmon Assn is emphatic that minimum flows must be guaranteed. While that concept held sway in the 1980s, most fish scientists today have moved on. “Just throwing more water down the kind of habitat that exists now, with channelized rivers and farms along them, hasn’t done that much good,” said the PPIC’s Greg Gartrell. Still, the most radicalized groups persist in their demands.
MAD Take: Though fairly balanced, this story ignores the elephant in the ocean. If salmon are the key indicator species, then let’s look at how salmon are doing. The last two spawning seasons have seen the best numbers of this century. Part of that is due to habitat restoration and tailored flows. But there’s a simpler explanation. Since salmon spawn after spending 2, 3 or even 5 years in the ocean, those big numbers of returning salmon cannot be attributed to a single “good water year” or project. The biggest reason for having more salmon is the three-year ban on commercial salmon fishing. Solving the salmon equation is clear: If you want more fish, stop killing them in the ocean.

Tuolumne project finished

FishBio. Restoration is a messy work of art: Tuolumne partners wrap up Powerhouse Riffle project. 
Synopsis: Turlock and Modesto irrigation districts and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission have completed the Powerhouse Riffle Restoration Project -- restoring nearly 5 acres of gravel bar habitat to support additional chinook spawning beds on the Tuolumne River. Using 24,000 cubic yards of precisely sized gravel, districts placed several high-velocity riffles and gravel bars augmented by boulder clusters, thermal refuges and facilities for biological monitoring. Nearly 300 trees were planted to shade the river and create “micro-climates.” Last year, some 1,200 salmon returned to the river – nearly 10 times the number seen 20 years ago.

One town is rejecting Trump

Capital & Main. A CA town swung heavily for Trump; is it swinging back? 
Synopsis: This story focused on Livingston “a small city in Merced County best known for its sprawling Foster Farms poultry plant and sizable Punjabi Sikh community.” From 2020 to 2024, some 36% of the city’s voters shifted from Democrats to Trump. But the city is 71% Latino, and Trump is decidedly less popular now than he was two years ago. That bodes poorly for Kevin Lincoln, who is trying to hide from Trump’s endorsement in his race against Rep. Adam Gray. A shop owner explained that in 2024 he knew Trump has “some racist ideas, but the economy will be better, the gas will be cheaper.” Now two years later, “nothing is better.” Gurpal Samra said his community also bought into the promise of cheap gas. “Now they’re not so happy.” Said teacher Else Rodriguez Juarez, “I can’t tell you the last time I’ve seen someone wearing that hat.”
MAD Take: Everything in this story is legit, but it left out one important fact. While Trump won the district by roughly 5% in 2024, Adam Gray still edged out an incumbent Republican for the House seat. Gray was one of only two Democrats in America to win in a Trump-supporting district in 2024. The people of CA 13 are independent and obviously able to evaluate different races on different criteria.

8 Days left; it’s getting hot

KVPR. Historic ‘quantum shift’ for Fresno County: No more farmers on the board of supervisors. 
Synopsis: Reporter Marek Warszawski writes about the Fresno County Board of Supervisors, where Buddy Mendes is retiring and Brian Pacheco is running for the Assembly. When they depart, the board will be without a farmer for the first time since 1950. Farmer Paul Betencourt called it “definitely a quantum shift. It will just be another step further away from the most important industry in our area.” Fresno is the top agriculture county in the United States. “Most farmers just want to farm,” said Pacheco, who tried to recruit a replacement to run for his spot on the board. “They don’t want the public scrutiny that comes with (political office).”

Westside Express. Gray meets with veterans, service groups in Patterson. 
Synopsis: Rep. Adam Gray convened his Veterans Advisory Committee to meet with West Side veterans and service organizations in Patterson. A longtime advocate of veterans’ services and benefits, Gray asked about the challenges facing members and for their help in reviewing legislation impacting veterans. Most important, said those in attending, are programs involving mental health services.

Fresnoland. Fresno council candidate remains quiet on arrest – so do city police.
Synopsis: Naindeep Singh, a city council candidate and current Central Unified trustee, was arrested over the weekend on suspicion of driving under the influence. He was cited, but not booked, and asked to be taken to Community Regional for testing. On Monday, his supporters posted what appears to be a toxicology report in which he was negative for both drugs and alcohol. Fresno Unified board president Veva Islas said she was with Singh on Saturday night before the arrest, and he was neither high nor drunk. She called the arrest “a targeted attack because Deep is fighting for truth and justice.” His opponent, Rob Fuentes, called on Singh to quit the race.

Turlock Journal. As election nears, local campaigns shift to attack mode. 
Synopsis: Kristina Hacker reports the political mud is flying in local races. Mayor Amy Bublak’s recent mailer “generated a hint of controversy” while state Senate candidate Alexandra Duarte was accused of hitting below the belt. Bublak quoted Vito Chiesa in her mailer on the importance of roads, which some saw as trying to imply an endorsement. But Chiesa has not endorsed either Bublak or challenger Jim Reape. As for Duarte, she’s trying to smear opponent Jaron Brandon with an 11-year-old incident that occurred when he was a UC Merced student. He was picked up on “suspicion of public intoxication,” but the charges were dropped. That hasn’t stopped Duarte from using the booking photo. At least she didn’t point a gun at him, as she did at Maria Alvarado-Gil in a flyer during the primary.

Merced Focus. Merced College board candidate watched porn on campus as professor, records reveal. 
Synopsis: Records released by Merced College show political science professor Rich Randall was warned by officials not to access “adult” websites on his work computer in 2019. Records show he visited various sites on 20 occasions. Randall acknowledged getting the warning but questioned why the information was released just before the election. “I shouldn’t have done it, but I think that pales in comparison to the larger elephant in the room.”

Junkyard fire ‘destroys’ vehicles

Modesto Bee. Dozens of vehicles burn at wrecking yard on Crows Landing Road in Modesto.
Synopsis: About 25 vehicles were burned when a fire broke out around 1:30 a.m. Monday in a Crows Landing Road wrecking yard. The fire threatened the adjacent Sunrise Village Mobile Home Park until additional units were dispatched. They stretched “multiple hose lines” and contained the fire to the wrecking yard.
MAD Take: Uh, is it really a “loss” when 25 wrecked cars are burned?

Still time to tour Temple

Modesto Focus. Check out Latter-day Saints Modesto Temple as rare tours of worship house offered. 
Synopsis: You might have noticed that 115-foot spire rising above north Modesto. It is part of one of the most important religious centers in the region – the newest California Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is not a “church” where weekly services are conducted, but a ceremonial and spiritual facility. Normal weekly services occur in the nearby chapel where worshippers can find a huge pipe organ, padded pews and large gathering spaces. The temple is for “special rites we call ordinances,” writes Garth Stapley.  Tours are available through Oct. 31.

Farm-show star? A horse

Turlock Journal. Farm Bureau plants seeds of ag education in local students. 
Synopsis: Joe Cortez visited the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds last week as ag leaders participated in the Stanislaus Farm Bureau’s annual Ag Edventure program. They hosted 1,300 third graders from Turlock, Hughson and Chatom school districts. Tom Burchell explained that planting a tree is more than just dropping a seed in a hole. There is soil science, plant health, cultivation and making sure insects don’t harm the seedling. His exhibit was one of 50 that kids could explore. Others were staffed by the Almond Board, Garton Tractor, Turlock Irrigation District and the sheriff’s department to name a few. Some, staffed by students from Turlock and Pitman high schools, had goats, lambs and even donkeys. Asked her favorite moment, one 8-year-old student said, “Petting a horse.”  

Stockton needs more audits

Stocktonia. Risk assessment flags major concerns with city’s operations. 
Synopsis: Stockton’s internal auditor has identified widespread risks involving the city’s procurement, contracting, hiring, grant management and financial oversight. UHY Inc was hired in April to conduct audits on all 19 city departments. Its analysis identified five areas for additional audits – procurement, HR, grant management, utilities and Measure A oversight. The highest priority is procurement, but the problems are systemic throughout city government. Last April, the city disclosed it had found 5,000 payroll errors dating to 2023, resulting in $1.6 million in payments to underpaid employees. The city is also facing an examination from the State Controller’s Office.

State’s prescription ‘leader’

Modesto Bee. Opioid prescriptions in Stanislaus County are the highest in CA; what the numbers show. 
Synopsis: Ken Carlson reports on the number of prescriptions for painkillers being written in Stanislaus County. A higher percentage of prescriptions are written in Stanislaus than any other county in the state. Jennifer Marsh, who coordinates the Opioid Safety Coalition, calls that “scary. … Maybe it’s something we need to look at as a coalition.” A state dashboard reports Stanislaus doctors wrote 253,200 prescriptions for opioids in 2025 – or about 434 per 1,000 residents. That’s twice the statewide rate and higher than the national rate of 354 per 1,000. That’s bad, but better than in 2017 when Stanislaus doctors wrote 527,832 prescriptions.

He’ll have fries with that

Fresno Bee. Man set up 4-kilo drug deal at Fresno diner, federal agents say.
Synopsis: A Fresno man was charged with intent to sell about 8 pounds of fentanyl after he arranged a meeting with what were actually undercover officers in a Denny’s where he thought he would pick up the product. Isaac Benito Lopez, 39, offered to pay $18,000 per kilo. A search of his home turned up a semi-automatic weapon and 400 grams of fentanyl. He faces 10 years in prison.
MAD Take: Talk about unlucky last meals …

Putting golf to good use

ABC30. Chowchilla community raises $17,000 at annual Asterisk Open.
Synopsis: She’s only 17, but Asterisk Talley is already putting her prodigious golf talents to good use. She and her family hosted the Asterisk Open at Pheasant Run, raising money for charity. This year, she had something to show off to friends and family – the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship trophy. That title gave her entry into the 2027 Women’s Open, Augusta National and three major tournaments. The event raised $17,000. The Chowchilla senior plans to attend Stanford next year.