Valley Solutions

Election updates

Modesto Focus. 32,000 June primary ballots still to be tallied in Stanislaus County. 
Synopsis: Garth Stapley provides data in this follow-up to Tuesday’s primary, reporting that 32,000 votes are yet to be counted in Stanislaus County and it will take about three weeks to finish. One of the tightest races is for second place in Assembly 9, where beleaguered incumbent Heath Flora got only 30.9% of the vote but Matt Adams and Jim Shoemaker are running neck-and-neck for the final spot in the Nov. 3 general election. Even with so many ballots to count, three races appear set: Adam Gray will face Kevin Lincoln in CA-13; Tom McClintock will face Michael Masuda in CA-5, and Tuolumne supervisor Jaron Brandon will face political neophyte Alexandra Duarte in state Senate District 4.

Modesto Bee. Riverbank candidate expected to face McClintock in long-shot bid for House seat.
Synopsis: Under Prop 50 redistricting, more Republican voters were shoved into an already-red CA-5 which now includes Escalon, Riverbank and more of Oakdale along with several mountain counties. That explains why one of the most conservative members of Congress, Tom McClintock, got 63% of the primary vote. His numbers won’t deter Michael Masuda, who will be McClintock’s opponent in November. There were two other Democrats in the race but all three combined totaled only 37%.

Viral ballot video is BS

SF Chronicle. Bay Area official debunks viral claim about Virginia voter being mailed a CA ballot. 
Synopsis: A man who departed Contra Costa County for Viriginia says he was mailed a June 2 ballot despite having informed election officials that he left the state. That was picked up by the reposter-in-chief among thousands of others as proof that CA’s election officials are either incompetent or guilty of rigging the vote. The former Californian insisted that only his own integrity kept him from casting an illegal vote in California’s election. Uh, not quite, says CoCo registrar Helen Nolan. Voting in CA would have been a violation of federal law, and he would have been found out. Oh, and that stuff about him twice notifying state officials, the Chron calls BS on the claim. The registrar pointed out that state and federal law that forbids removing names from voter rolls unless the voter requests removal – and he has not. In fact, he hadn’t updated his CA registration since 2010. Finally, the ballot was sent to his former address in Lafayette, CA, then forwarded to Virginia by the US post office – not the state. Turns out this bow-tied boy is the former creative director of the Republican National Committee and a current podcaster.
MAD Take: No matter how creative he is, I’m just glad this guy left California. We’ve got enough podcasters.

Judge Sandhu elevated

Modesto Bee. Modesto native, Stanislaus presiding judge nominated to state appeals court.
Synopsis: Judge Sonny Sandhu, who was born in Modesto and became the county’s first Asian-American judge in 2018, has been nominated by Gov. Gavin Newsom to sit on the state’s Fifth District Court of Appeals bench. If confirmed, Sandhu will be Stanislaus County’s first judge confirmed to the appellate court since 1961. Before becoming a judge, Sandhu spent 15 years as a public defender.

Fire casts out the Demons

ABC30. Massive warehouse fire damages clubhouse belonging to Fresno motorcycle club.
Synopsis: The Screamin’ Demons are looking for new digs after a massive fire destroyed their clubhouse at L and Hamilton streets. Fresno Fire was forced to rotate crews to avoid heat exhaustion while fighting the fire, which took about an hour to control. Demons lamented the loss of club memorabilia, including memorials to departed members. “It’s something you can’t get back,” said one longtime Demon. There was something vaguely ironic about the fire. One of the club’s members is accused of setting fire to one of Bobby Salazar’s restaurants in an insurance fraud scheme. The member and Salazar both have pleaded not guilty. The group is also known for its collection of toy motorcycles with tiny demon riders.

We’re back for the bagels!

Stockton Record. Stockton’s Jewish Food Fair marks 51 years with food, music, culture. 
Synopsis: The most recognizable food event in Stockton each year is the Jewish Food Fair, and it will be Sunday from 9:30 am to 2 pm at Temple Israel on N. El Dorado Street. Over its 51 years, the event has become famous for its lox, bagels, cheeses, pastrami, matzo and more. This will be the last Fair for Jason Gwasdoff, who is retiring after 30 years as rabbi. Tickets are $18.

Rail plan would move station

Merced Focus. CA High-Speed Rail board approves plan that suggests moving downtown Merced station. 
Synopsis: A business plan that relies on a train station built outside downtown Merced was approved by the CHSRA board Monday. The revised plan will be delivered to the legislature for final approval. The location of the station was hidden in a technical addendum. The board’s version is a “far cry from the transportation hub and juggernaut of economic revitalization the proposed downtown Merced station was once advertised as being.” As originally conceived, the high-speed rail station would be mere steps away from Amtrak and ACE train connections and UC Merced’s downtown offices. City Manager Frank Quintero told the board that more discussion is needed before such a move is confirmed; Mayor Matt Serratto has even threatened to sue. Among those who spoke at Monday’s meeting was Damon Conklin of the League of CA Cities, who basically shot a hole in the Authority’s plan to capture incremental tax revenues on any development or redevelopment near new stations – an unstated reason, perhaps, for moving it to an undeveloped area.

Fresno Bee. Fresno could finally land main high-speed rail maintenance site; it’d bring a lot of jobs.
Synopsis: The CA High-Speed Rail Authority has narrowed its list of possible Heavy Maintenance Facility sites to Fresno and Hanford. Planning director LaDonna DiCamillo said more environmental studies are needed on both sites before a decision can be made. The facility is expected to create several hundred jobs to maintain the trains.

Cat-killing dogs roam LB

Fox26. ‘Why aren’t they vicious?’: Los Banos community press police after cat killing. 
Synopsis: Los Banos police say they have identified the owners of two pit bulls they believe killed a cat and damaged multiple vehicles. Neighbors, meanwhile, are frustrated, saying the dogs roam the neighborhood, attack their pets and cause thousands of dollars in damage. One offered video evidence of the dogs chewing on her car for 15 minutes as they attempted to reach a cat hiding underneath. She says the dogs did $5,000 in damages. Police say they have issued multiple citations and are exploring additional options, but the dogs have not been officially designated as vicious, so their response is limited.

Merced Sun Star. Los Banos police make arrest for sales of marijuana, nicotine vape devices at schools.
Synopsis: Two minors, ages 17 and 16, have been arrested along with a 19-year-old adult for selling vaping devices and cartridges at Los Banos schools. At least one vaper using their gear is in third grade. Police used Instagram to help track down the sellers.

No chopping near school

Modesto Bee. Stanislaus leaders reject permit for firewood business by school.
Synopsis: Ken Carlson reports on the county supervisors’ decision to deny a permit to operate a firewood-chopping operation next to Paradise Elementary School on California Avenue. The county’s planning commission had already turned down the request, but property owner Anamiria Madrigal appealed the decision to the board. Wood from cleared orchards would be trucked to the site, chopped, stored for a while then trucked to customers. In addition to the noise, Paradise board member Kevin Wise worried about increased truck traffic next to a school and fire hazards. It was a 5-0 vote.

Sprucing up Canal Trail

Westside Express. Canal Trail improvements project begins in Los Banos.
Synopsis: The Canal Trail that runs nearly the length of Los Banos is getting a $100,000 facelift thanks to a grant from the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors. The path will be repaved in places with trees planted and additional public space provided.

Board focuses on Modesto

Central Valley Water Board. Board advances groundwater protection, safer drinking water in Modesto. 
Synopsis: The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board approved an order to improve water quality in one of the region’s highest-priority groundwater areas. Since 2021, around 2,200 households in rural areas west of Modesto have been receiving bottled drinking water to replace nitrate-contaminated groundwater from their wells. It has totaled 5 million gallons, or about 14 acre-feet. The new order begins Phase 2 of the program, creating enforceable requirements for water and groundwater restoration. All the impacted wells will be listed then tested, and within five years public “water-filling stations” will be opened. By Year 6, plans to fix at least 20% of the identified wells will be implemented.

Tiny protest gets noticed

Modesto Bee. Protesters demand charges after footage shows animal cruelty at Ceres ranch.
Synopsis: Reporter Julietta Bisharyan provides exhaustive coverage of a small protest by Bay Area-based Direct Action Everywhere outside the District Attorney’s office Wednesday. The group of exactly 10 protesters in Modesto claims to have video images of illegal and cruel behavior taking place at the Agresti Calf Ranch, which has been certified for using cruelty-free practices in raising animals.
MAD Note: This is a long story from The Bee’s most frequent protest reporter. After lots of name-calling by DxE, we finally see a borrowed quote from the ranch owners in the very last sentence of the story. There is nothing new in this reporting, other than the fact that some folks carpooled from the Bay Area to shout a few protests in Modesto. A question for The Bee’s editors: Does anyone outside the Bay Area actually care about this story? If not, why not cover it in a photo caption and assign your reporter to work on something readers might actually want to read?

Remembering a legend

Merced County Times. Don Reid, first men’s basketball coach at Merced College. 
Synopsis: Wonderful obit of the legendary Merced College basketball coach. He came from Manteca High to create a program that for two years dominated JC basketball in California. Reid’s teams won 563 games, two state championships and had 14 straight 20-win seasons. He was twice named CA Community College Coach of the Year and was an early inductee into the Community College Basketball Hall of Fame. There will be a Celebration of Life of Reid’s life and legacy at Merced College on June 27 at Merced College. As it should be, the celebration will be in the gym.