Valley Solutions

Data-center plan riles Kings

Fox26. Kings County Fair Board meeting turns emotional, proposed computer facility at fairgrounds. 
Synopsis: A packed Kings County Fair Board meeting (which is unusual in the first place) got heated Monday night as dozens of residents demanded answers to a report that a data center was being considered for the fairgrounds. The residents were told, via a proposal sheet, that the plan was not for a data center but for an “edge computing system.” Many residents said that’s a distinction without a difference. “This data sheet … it’s not transparent,” said one resident. “It doesn’t tell me how many. It doesn’t tell me the size. It says ‘ordinary commercial loads” of electricity. Can I get a definition of what ‘ordinary commercial’ uses?” The former mayor of Hanford spoke out, calling it a data center, by another name. Another such center is also being proposed for Tulare County’s fairgrounds with a similar meeting to discuss set for tonight.

Hundreds line up for cards

GV Wire. Hundreds camp outside Fresno Sam’s Club ahead of Pokémon card release. 
Synopsis: Hundreds of people began lining up outside the new Sam’s Club in Fresno on Monday, bringing folding chairs, tents and sleeping bags. As part of its grand opening Tuesday, the store was set to release some coveted Ascended Heroes Focused Fighters premium cards. “Everybody’s trying to line up here for a Pokémon drop,” said Nathan Diaz, who was surprised to find so much company as he set up camp. Police were called out just before 10 p.m. after reports of a shooting near the store.

Cracking down on traffickers

LA Times. Newsom pushes CA to crack down on sex trafficking – fast.
Synopsis: Columnist Anita Chabria writes about the millions CA has spent to combat sex trafficking, and yet it remains a constant in virtually every city in the state at every price range. “There are thousands of women and girls being sexually exploited in CA right now, despite all that money and all the resources.” Newsom and first partner Jennifer Siebel appeared together Monday as the Governor signed an executive order that calls for state agencies to develop coordinated plans to curb trafficking – and they’ve got 60 days to do it. There are 35 task forces operating in the state, and few of them communicate with another, said Newsom. The point person is Sharmin Bock, the former Alameda ADA who tried the first trafficking case in the U.S.

Fresno Bee. Fresno serial rapist sentenced to 46 years for assaulting five women, two minors.
Synopsis: Cesar Flores, 57, was sentenced to 46 years for assaulting five women and two minors from 2016-21. Detectives found him by using DNA evidence from cold cases. The minors were his daughters. One victim escaped by jumping from Flores’ car into an irrigation canal. He faced 22 counts and could have been sentenced to 250 years.

15 seconds to answer phone

Fresno Bee. Are 911 calls answered fast enough in Fresno? Vacancies, low pay, stress can slow progress.
Synopsis: In 2022, the City of Fresno emergency dispatch center answered only 63% of emergency calls in the state-mandated 15 seconds or less. In 2025, that had moved up to 75%, according to state monitoring. Despite the improvements, the city’s rate is well below the standard set for call centers nationwide – 90%. The department was getting to 75.02% of calls within 15 seconds in 2021 but fell off to 63.17% in 2022 during the pandemic. Fresno has 114 budgeted dispatch positions, but only 99 employees with five of those having started in mid-July. With those new hires, and five more in the pipeline, the department says it will meet the standards soon. The center answers more than 1,000 calls a day, or 375,000 a year. The Sheriff’s Office has its own dispatch center serving Fresno County and the cities of Kerman, Mendota, San Joaquin, Kingsburg, Orange Cove, Fowler and Sanger. It says 80% of its 275 calls each day are answered within 15 seconds.

SO will tap into home video cams

ABC10. San Joaquin County launches voluntary camera registry to aid investigations.
Synopsis: Home security cameras can now be registered with the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office, allowing investigators to tap into local cameras in real time. By signing up, residents are giving permission for their video to be searched under the Fusus program. Sheriff Pat Withrow said such a program would have helped during the investigation into the mass shooting that left four people dead last November. No arrests have been made in that case yet.
MAD Take: Not explained in the story is that Fusus is a private company, Axon Fusus, which has about a half-dozen contracts statewide. There was no discussion of whether the private company could use video access for other purposes or could sell data or images collected through the cameras.

Gustine principal moves north

Westside Connect. Former Gustine high principal leaves for new role at NCLUSD.
Synopsis: Gustine High principal Adam Cano has resigned and begun his new job as assistant superintendent at Newman-Crows Landing Unified School District. Cano replaces Jessie Ceja at Newman. In other news, the Gustine USD board announced it has extended the contract of Superintendent Bryan Ballenger for four years. Also, longtime ag teacher Jaime Farao has been inducted into the CA Agricultural Teachers Association Hall of Fame. He spent three decades teaching students ag practice and practicum. 

Oroville ‘full’ of water, fish

Active NorCal. Lake Oroville is at 80% capacity heading into peak summer. 
Synopsis: While 80% doesn’t sound full, the lake is actually at 110% of historical average for this time of year. It’s being held higher than 100% because so little snow remains in the Sierra at higher elevations. Salmon news is encouraging, too, as DWR’s Feather River monitoring station counted 8,475 spring-run Chinook moving upstream before June 30. Already, some 239 fall run salmon have moved upstream.

New fast food in Merced County

Merced Sun Star. 2 fast-food chains are opening their first Merced County locations.
Synopsis: The Quikway Travel Center in Livingston will bring two new eateries to the region – Arby’s and Jimmy John’s sandwich shops. It is the first Arby’s in Merced County, though one of 3,400 worldwide. Jimmy John’s is also a first for the county, bringing Chicago-style hot subs to Merced. While the buildings appear nearly complete, no opening date has been provided.

Farmers aren’t cashing in

Ag Daily. No, farmers aren’t ‘getting rich’ off government subsidies. 
Synopsis: Michelle “Farm Babe” Miller writes about the perception that farmers are getting rich by soaking up “unfettered handouts.” She looks at the history of direct payments stretching back to the 1930s when FDR saved the economy by paying farmers to plow under crops. Then she explains the five most common types of subsidies --- price-loss programs, risk-loss, emergency assistance, marketing loans and conservation payments. “The first thing to know is that not all farms get subsidies – not even close. Almost exactly one third of farms receive government subsidies. Many farms, especially those producing specialty crops, don’t have access to subsidies.” Note: Virtually every farm in California grows “specialty” crops. Miller concludes: “If you’ve ever wondered where that government payment went … There’s a good chance it was already on its way to the seed dealer before it ever hit the farmer’s bank account.”

Big Boy on his way to California

Wall Street Journal. A locomotive named Big Boy is making grown men cry.
Synopsis: The world’s largest steam locomotive is making a coast-to-coast tour, rolling from its Pennsylvania birthplace back to its California home. The locomotive known as “Big Boy” was fully restored in 2019. He has big appetites – 250 gallons of water and 15 gallons of fuel per mile. The trip began in Sacramento in March. Celebrations were reserved for the return trip. Big Boy reaches Kansas on Friday, then Denver Tuesday. The website does not post the schedule beyond that.

Are those ghosts in the walls?

LA Times. ‘I hear a little baby’: We’re rattled after visiting these 13 haunted hotels in CA. 
Synopsis: A team of four reporters sought out the most haunted hotels in the state. The story starts with the Niles Hotel in Modoc County, in which many visitors – including the reporter – report hearing a baby crying. The closest they get to our Valley is the Ahwahnee, whose ghosts everyone insists, are friendly.
MAD Take: I thought every motel in California, from the Madonna Inn to Mani’s newest offering on Dale, came with a ghost. It’s built in or part of the building permit. And those odd noises in the Ahwahnee? That might just be the rats in the walls.

Bet he’s great at peeling out

Merced Daily (Facebook). Giant Banana car arrives in Atwater.
Synopsis: Steve Braithwaite of Michigan brought his Giant Banana Car to Atwater as part of a nationwide tour. The Michigan man built the car then decided to drive it around as a way of making friends. He stays with warm-hearted families for a few days, provides rides for interested folks, and sells a few copies of his children’s book ($20) before moving on to the next town.