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.

Audit: CHSRA lives in fast lane

Cal Matters. CA high-speed rail consultants flew first-class, visited bars and nightclub on taxpayer dime. 
Synopsis: The CA High-Speed Rail Authority spent $600,000 on unallowable travel and expenses, including bills paid for outside consultants. A state auditor also found that the agency’s record-keeping on travel is, well, crap. The Authority has been paying for visits to cigar lounges, trips to the gym, nightclubs and escape rooms. Consultants and staff flew first class in violation of state rules. One staff member paid $40 for an Uber Black to ferry him 1 mile. There were a lot of trips between 9:40 pm and 2:30 am, meaning they were “clearly for personal enjoyment rather than for the benefit of the state.” The Authority takes the report “very seriously.” 
MAD Take: No wonder it has cost $33 billion to (not) build this railroad.

48 Days to Election

PPIC. Statewide survey: Californians and their government. 
Synopsis: The state’s preeminent polling organization offered key findings from its monthly survey. For instance … Xavier Becerra has a 22-point lead over Steve Hilton, but the gap is narrowing (60% to 38%). Most voters say “affordability” drives their decision making. Voters are very, very tired of seeing props on the ballot. That said, 58% support extending taxes on high-income earners, 61% want help for middle-income home buyers, and 54% want to prohibit new state property taxes. 76% of all voters disapprove of Trump, 81% disapprove of the US Congress. Most importantly, 58% of all voters say their vote matters.

Special delivery for Madera

Madera Tribune. Congressman visits Madera leaders. 
Synopsis: Rep. Adam Gray brought his “Delivering For the Valley” tour to Madera last week, dropping off oversized checks representing $2.25 million he secured for two crucial projects in the county. Gray is visiting several cities as he highlighted the $16.5 million he secured through the budget process – money used for water-treatment, roads, public safety, conservation and various other projects across the district. CA-13 is one of the largest congressional districts in the state, stretching 160 miles from southern Fresno County to the middle of San Joaquin. In Madera, Gray secured funds for the Courthouse Park renovation and the Avenue 13 Sewer Rehabilitation. Gray also secured $1 million for the Le Grand Athlone and Chowchilla bidirectional intertie allowing the water districts to provide more drinking water.

Johnson sends reps home early

Politico. Mike Johnson cancels another House session day.
Synopsis: In an effort to protect Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth from a Republican-led impeachment, Speaker Mike Johnson canceled Thursday’s House session and said he would send everyone home early for a seven-week vacation. The articles of impeachment for Hegseth were authored by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and would have hit the floor by Thursday. Johnson’s move ensured the House would not be able to vote on the measure. Another Kentucky representative introduced legislation to allow survivors of sexual abuse to ignore nondisclosure agreements so they can speak openly about the crimes; it too will not be heard until legislators return following the election.

GV Wire. Costa joins bipartisan Congressional coalition opposing Yosemite land swap. 
Synopsis: Valley representatives Jim Costa and Adam Gray are among the 156 members of Congress adamantly opposed to the deal that would allow one of Donald Trump’s developer friends to take a piece of Yosemite National Park in exchange for land elsewhere. The lawmakers signed a strongly worded letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum decrying the deal. Kingsbarn Realty wants a strip of Yosemite so it can build a private road into the park from its nearby development. The same scheme was presented to presidents George Bush and Barack Obama, and both summarily rejected it. The group sued twice, and both times lost in court. But Trump – who fancies himself a developer – has embraced the scheme. Those opposing the transfer include Gray, Costa and both CA senators, Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, along with virtually every member of the state’s 52-member congressional contingent – Nancy Pelosi, John Garamendi, Lateefah Simon, Ami Bera, Kevin Kiley, and Ted Lieu to name a few.

One city rising, another falling?

Fresnoland. New town on Friant Road? Planners to vote Thursday on $1.1 billion project near Millerton. 
Synopsis: The Bigelow family has been discussing creating a new town east of Fresno for at least 30 years. Their “Friant Ranch” would include a commercial center, a ballroom, 2,500 homes but no schools. The $1.1 billion plan would result in a city the size of Fowler populated by people 55 and older. Backers insist it would have few “environmental impacts.” The Madera County planning commission has recommended approval, with supervisors set to vote Oct. 20. The ranch is owned by former Assemblymember Frank Bigelow, whose original plan arose in 2011 but was thwarted by the Sierra Club and League of Women Voters. With the presence of vernal pools, tiger salamanders, badgers and eagles, it is likely the project will face challenges if it moves forward. “This is a sprawl project,” said Doug Carstens, one of the original opponents.

Fresno Bee. Multiple Fulton Street buildings up for sale; is downtown revitalization stalling?
Synopsis: At least six commercial buildings are listed for sale on or around Fulton Street in downtown Fresno. That part of the city has been the target of millions of dollars in revitalization funding over the past decade. Three buildings at Fulton and Mariposa are selling for $2.15 million and the RH Christian Center nearby is listed for $2.28 million. The old Radisson Hotel on Van Ness is listed for $19.5 million and the historic TW Patterson building at Fulton and Tulare is listed for $8.1 million.

 ‘How much farming’ can we sustain?

Ag Alert. New DWR director discusses water resiliency plans. 
Synopsis: Ag Alert sat down with Thomas Gibson, who took over the Dept of Water Resources in July. An attorney, he previously worked in the Dept of Fish & Wildlife and Natural Resource Agency. His priorities should sound familiar – the Delta Tunnel, Sites Reservoir and the Health Rivers & Landscapes agreements (aka, Voluntary Agreements). He will focus on implementing the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 and the state’s new Bay-Delta Water Quality plan – which has drawn criticism from all quarters. Asked about the importance of farming, he provided a not altogether reassuring answer: “How much farming can we sustainably maintain? We want to be able to sustain as much as we can, but at the same time, getting the groundwater use in the sustainable yield under SGMA – it’s a long-term problem that’s just now sort of coming into focus.”

Jobs flee the vineyards

Turlock Journal. Vineyard workers feel wine industry pain. 
Synopsis: Ag Alert’s Caleb Hampton wrote about how declining wine consumption is driving workers out of the vineyards. Nearly a quarter of the state’s winegrape acreage has been removed since 2023, leading to the loss of several thousand vineyard jobs. “It’s pretty ugly,” said Guadalupe Gonzalez, a crew supervisor for a Delano company working in Napa. Last year was bad, but this year “it’s a thousand times worse.” She earns less than half of what she made per day just two years ago. The industry had the equivalent of 49,372 full-time jobs in 2022; now half of those have disappeared. Empire Ag of Bakersfield fell from 900 employees in 2024 to just 150 now. “We’ve been knocking on doors, trying to find new contracts for our crews to continue working, but it’s become very hard,” said Noe Cisneros.

Busy time for law enforcement

Merced Golden Wire (Facebook). K-9 sniffs out meth during a Merced County traffic stop. 
Synopsis: K-9 Deputy Shei sniffed out $1.3 million worth of methamphetamine during a traffic stop in Merced County last week. The CHP pulled over a Dodge Durango for multiple violations, then sent in Shei for a sniff. Didn’t take long as meth valued at $1.3 million was seized and the driver – Antoinette Monique Barrett -- was booked.

KSEE / CBS47. K-9 sniffs out $1 million worth of Xanax in Fresno County, CHP says.
Synopsis: After the driver refused to allow a vehicle search, CHP requested a K-9 officer be brought out to Coalinga to search a Honda pulled over on Hwy 198. The Kings County deputy quickly alerted partners to the presence of a lot of drugs – about 55,000 pills, which deputies valued at $1 million. The driver and her passenger were both arrested.

Merced Sun Star. Merced County Sheriff’s Office investigating death near Planada.
Synopsis: Deputies were called out to the 8400 block of East Childs on Tuesday after a body was found near a prescribed burn area. The burn was out of control, prompting Cal Fire to respond. Firefighters found the body and called in Sheriff’s deputies.

A spike in domestic violence

Fresno Bee. Agency swamped as requests for domestic violence help spikes in Fresno. 
Synopsis: The Marjaree Mason Center saw a 33% jump in individuals served across all its programs in the last year. It is the only agency in the county providing “wrap-around services” for victims of domestic violence, from crisis support, to a safe house, to legal assistance. “We’re barely getting by,” said Chief Operating Officer Tiffany Apodaca. The center’s hotline is getting 900 calls a month, compared to 800 a month last year. In July, 200 people used the “walk-in” crisis facility, about 33% more than last year. The center has a 24-hour crisis hotline and 40 rooms for victims, all of which are filled. The Valley has seen five domestic-violence homicides in the past month, including a murder-suicide in Fresno. Through June, local law enforcement had gotten 27,011 DV reports.

War costs drivers $2 a day

Wall Street Journal. Americans have spent $100 billion more on fuel during the Iran War. 
Synopsis: Higher gas and diesel prices have cost US consumers roughly $107 billion more since the conflict in Iran began. With oil sticking above $100 per barrel, those costs are expected to rise. The math works out to $500 million per day, or about $2 a day for every driver in the United States. The cost of oil has also pushed Treasury yields past 5% for the first time in years. “It’s definitely a drag on the economy,” said Michael Pearce of Oxford Economics. In normal years, gas prices fall starting in September; this year the reverse has been true.

‘Wicked’ star comes to Gallo

Modesto Bee. Tony Award winner to open new Gallo Center season; her tie to Modesto-bred actress.
Synopsis: Idina Menzel will perform Saturday night at the Gallo Center. Menzel was the original Elphaba in “Wicked,” winning the 2004 Tony Award for her performances as a wicked witch. She has also voiced Elsa in Frozen and broke through in “Rent.” Medina is billed as the “season-opening” performer. A few tickets remain. Her protege in “Wicked” was Modesto’s Lindsay Pearce, who went on to play Elphaba on Broadway after Menzel departed.

Retired Turlock chief passes

Turlock Journal. Retired Turlock police chief dies. 
Synopsis: Lonald Lott, who served as Turlock police chief from 1997 to 2005, has died. Lott, 75, served in the Coast Guard before joining Turlock Police in 1980. He was a graduate of the FBI National Academy and earned a master’s degree in Criminal Justice; after retiring, he taught classes at Stanislaus State. “For those who had the privilege of working alongside him, learning from him or calling him a friend, we know his loss is deeply felt,” read a statement from the police department.