Valley Solutions

Longstanding issues at Foundation

Fresno Bee. Fresno State Foundation misdirected donations over 17 years, state found in 2011.
Synopsis: A recent report from a state auditor found that financial controls were seriously lacking at the Fresno State Foundation, inviting fraud and abuse. But it wasn’t the first time the organization has heard such warnings. In 2011, the state informed the Foundation that its relationships with the non-profit Fresno State Athletic Corp. and Fresno State Association were problematic. Then-Attorney General Kamala Harris found donations were misdirected to athletics through the Matching Gifts program and urged restructuring.

Fresno Bee. As Fresno State Foundation was run recklessly, director’s pay was highest on campus. 
Synopsis: Debbie Adishian-Astone, the Fresno State vice president in charge of the Fresno State Foundation, was paid more than anyone on campus in 2024, the same year the Foundation was found to be rife with operational issues leaving it vulnerable to fraud. She earned $461,319 including a payout for “excess vacation.” That made her the highest-paid non-president in the entire CSU system and pushed her pay above that of FSU president Saul Jimenez-Sandoval. One observer said such disparities arise when people insist on treating public institutions “like a business.” Adishian-Astone now works for the president’s office at San Jose State.

Mussels in Friant-Kern Canal

KSEE / CBS47. New invasive species discovered in the Central Valley.
Synopsis: Golden mussels have been found in a stretch of in the southern portion of the Friant-Kern Canal. Now “every inch of its 152 miles is being searched” for mussels, says GM Johnny Amaral. The concern is that the mussels could move up the canal to Friant Dam, destroying the pumps and gates that send water to farmland south of Fresno. Meanwhile, a team is spraying 15 miles of canal with boiling water then scrubbing the surface by hand to kill the mussels.

Wine: Are those US grapes?

Morning Ag Clips. Legislation introduced to strengthen ‘American’ wine labeling. 
Synopsis: Assemblymembers Rhodesia Ransom of Tracy and Damon Connolly of San Rafael have introduced a labeling requirement for wine, requiring any wine labeled “American” must be made entirely from US-grown grapes. It’s a reaction to large wineries purchasing cheaper bulk concentrate from overseas even as California grapes rot on the vine. The CA Assn of Winegrape Growers and Family Winemakers of CA back the legislation. If you call your wine “’American’ it better be 100% American,” said Ransom.  

Fox26. Mission Bell Winery in Madera to lay off over 200 as contracts with Gallo end. 
Synopsis: Mission Bell Winery’s products will no longer be distributed by E.&J. Gallo Winery, leading to the layoff of 200 employees at the winery. The winery has been in operation for 100 years but was sold in 2020 to Constellation Brands, whose products were distributed by Gallo. That agreement ends March 31, and Constellation has decided to stop production rather than find another distributor.

SF Chronicle. CA wine industry might finally hit bottom next year. 
Synopsis: Reporter Jess Lander writes about the multiple challenges facing the industry – waning consumption, competition from low-cost overseas grapes, tariffs – and quotes Silicon Valley Bank analyst Rob McMillen saying there is no light at the end of this tunnel. He predicts a turnaround, but it won’t start until late 2027 or possibly 2028. He predicts a 2% drop in wine volume this year and a sales decline of 1.5%, meaning the industry “will bump along the bottom.” High-end wines from Napa and Sonoma should recover first followed by low-cost bulk wines. What’s bad for the industry is good for consumers, creating a “golden year” of bargains, he said.

Calling out MID

Valley Citizen. Larry Byrd: “Have you no shame?”
Synopsis: Publisher Eric Caine continues his observations of Modesto Irrigation District board member Larry Byrd and what appears to be his misappropriation of the district’s water to irrigate crops he grows outside district boundaries. Byrd cast the decisive vote in a 2-2 tie that ended an MID investigation into his dealings. Writes Caine: “Our standards and values have sunk so low that an elected official and his supporters can celebrate openly after an investigation that showed he lied for years about irrigation practices on a ranch he farms with his ‘partner’ Ty Angle.” When confronted by board president Bob Frobose about the cost to Byrd’s neighbors of over-pumping, “(Byrd) looked like a smoldering slagheap of barely suppressed guilt, ire and indignation.”

Linking Valley to Bay Area

CBS13. Valley Link train aims to connect San Joaquin County to Bay Area; town hall discusses project. 
Synopsis: The fastest-growing county in California -- thanks to Tracy, Mountain House and Lathrop – is San Joaquin. But most new arrivals work in the Bay Area, and Supervisor Robert Rickman says they need a faster way to get to work. The solution is Valley Link, which Rickman says is the key to relieving traffic congestion on I-205 and I-580. Valley Link would link all eight of the county’s cities to ACE trains in Tracy. Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom (not “Ranson,” as spelled in the story) said state funding has been allocated to get construction started by 2028.

Animals were dying; man arrested

Merced Sun Star. Merced man arrested after animals he owns were found emaciated.
Synopsis: Ricardo Fontes, 34, was arrested after two horses, six dogs and 12 puppies – all neglected and malnourished to the point of starvation -- were found on his Utah Street property. He has been booked on 8 counts of animal cruelty and the animals all have been turned over to a veterinarian.

Sidewalks, gutters, lights coming

Modesto Bee. Modesto neighborhood getting improvements; how the $17M will be spent. 
Synopsis: The Bret Harte neighborhood – sitting outside Modesto city limits -- hosted elected officials to break ground on new gutters, sidewalks and streetlights. The project is being paid for by funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, the City of Modesto and the county. Among those attending were Mayor Sue Zwahlen, councilmember Jeremiah Williams, State Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil, Supervisor Channce Condit, Assemblymember Juan Alanis and boxer Damon Flores, who is part of Team USA Boxing, whose members are frontrunners for the 2028 US Olympic team.

Feds have their own river plan

Western Farm Press. Feds craft their own plan to save Colorado River. 
Synopsis: Editor Todd Fitchette writes that the Bureau of Reclamation has offered 5 different plans in hopes of preventing the “catastrophic failure of the Colorado River system and its ability to deliver water to 40 million people.” The Bureau discarded plans offered by the upper basin and lower basin states and the Gila River Indian Community, though they folded some of the ideas into their proposed solutions. California faces the loss of 3.9-million-acre feet, or nearly 90%, of its annual allocation of 4.4 MAF. “If this happens, California is going to suffer significantly as that difference cannot be made up from the State Water Project,” writes Fitchette.  

Simplistic view of the Delta

LA Times. CA’s Delta waters are in poor ecological health, scientists warn. 
Synopsis: Columnist Ian James first explains to his readers where the Delta is, then quotes state biologist Christina Swanson blaming the loss of once flourishing native fish species on a lack of water. “The amount of water that we’re taking out of the system, it’s too much,” she said. And, we’ve been taking more “for years, despite the fact that we know that it’s an environmental problem.” On the positive side, James described wetland restoration efforts over the past five years that are helping with fish populations.
MAD Take: Such stories, though well meaning, are always incomplete and thus inaccurate. First, 80% of the Delta’s water enters from the northeast through the Sacramento River. The pumps are in the southwest corner near Tracy, so the water is still going through the Delta. Second, enormous volumes of water have flowed through the Delta over the past three years, and we’re seeing an astounding recovery of salmon. There is no lack of water in the Delta. Third, he makes no mention of invasive species which now make up 97% of the Delta’s biome. To save native fish, you have to remove non-native predators and the non-native plants and bivalves that make the water so clear salmon and smelt become easy prey. There’s more, like those 47 treatment plants dumping sewage into the Bay, but you get the picture. Blaming all the Delta’s problems on pumping provides a nice, neat villain but does absolutely nothing to solve the actual problems.

Concerned with politics

GV Wire. Does Fresno city council believe in transparency? Let’s find out. 
Synopsis: News director Bill McEwen explains how attorney-client privilege works between a city attorney’s office and members of the city council. The attorney can’t say anything, but the councilmembers can say whatever they want. Former councilmember and current county supervisor Luis Chavez is saying that the reason he paid hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to a political consultant was actually the city attorney’s problem – not his. OK. Bill offers a solution: The city council should clear the way for the city attorney to divulge all the details. After all, taxpayers “have the right” to know who is spending their money on what.
MAD Take: Love his approach, but I hope Bill isn’t taking bets that the council will follow his advice.

Valley Sun. Guillermo Gonzalez launches senate challenge to Hurtado with GOP backing.
Synopsis: Sen. Melissa Hurtado has a challenger, young Guillermo Gonzalez. He was born in Bakersfield, raised in Mexico and now works as a field rep for Rep. David Valadao, who is backing his run.

Modesto Bee. Protests in Modesto against Trump recognize Americans’ threatened right. 
Synopsis: About 75 people were at Five Points in Modesto on Tuesday, carrying signs and decrying the Trump administration’s actions in Venezuela, Minnesota and Ukraine. Some see protesting, which they do twice a month, as a form of therapy, making them feel less helpless. Others are just angry: “I’m not going down the road of fascism without a fight.” A few of the protesters began coming out recently, but others have been exercising their First Amendment rights since the 1990s.

Smile for the cameras, Riverbank

Modesto Bee. Holiday movie being filmed in Riverbank.
Synopsis: If you enjoy those Hallmark and Lifetime Christmas movies – the kind with guaranteed happy endings – you can watch one being filmed in Riverbank on Friday. Crews will be at Plaza Del Rio on Third Street near the city fountain.

Pantless driver steals a truck

Fox40. Half-dressed woman steals semi-truck, trailer in Manteca.
Synopsis: Manteca police said Makayla Ballewansiel, 28, fished a spare key out of the driver’s backpack and then made off with his Sysco Co. 18-wheeler that had been parked at the Tru by Hilton hotel on Northwoods Ave. The driver was in the trailer when the truck began moving, so he jumped out. Ballewansiel drove it onto Hwy 99 and down to Ripon, where she stopped then jumped out as the Manteca police arrived. K9 Rex stopped her escape. Ballewansiel, who wasn’t wearing any pants, suffered bites on her buttocks. She had an outstanding warrant for burglary and auto theft in Fresno.