Fallout over Chavez continues

LA Times. Push to strip Cesar Chavez’s name off streets, buildings, holidays catches fire after allegations.
Synopsis: Groups are rushing to remove Cesar Chavez’s name from streets, schools, parks and everything else in the wake of accusations that he abused or raped several women and girls – including his close associate, Dolores Huerta. CA state Sen. Suzette Marintez Valladares of Santa Clarita has begun working on legislation to rename the statewide holiday honoring his birth “Farmworkers Day.” The state has announced it will proceed with removing him from its Hall of Fame. Fresno State has draped a statue of Chavez in its Peace Garden in black tarp.

Modesto Bee. Artist open to changing Modesto mural after Chavez allegations emerge.
Synopsis: A mural painted in 2024 at the Peace/Life Center in Modesto prominently features the face of Cesar Chavez. Artist Joel Aguilar said the farmworkers who are also part of the mural are the most important part and that he is “open to making changes” in the mural. Meanwhile, a board member covered Chavez’s face on Wednesday. 

Fresno Bee. Fresno State will remove its Cesar Chavez statue amid ‘profoundly troubling claims.’
Synopsis: Fresno State President Saul Jimenez-Sandoval said the university will bring down its statue of Cesar Chavez eventually, but in the meantime will keep it covered in a black tarp. Sandoval-Jimenez said it was time that our nation has a “moral reckoning” about such charges. Fresno State student Guadalupe Serna said he thinks the university has moved too quickly and would prefer to see more “solid evidence” of Chavez’s misdeeds. Oscar Alexander said, “it’s cool that they took action that fast.”

Fresno Bee. Cesar Charvez’s name seems to be everywhere in Fresno, Valley. Here’s a list.
Synopsis: Thaddeus Miller puts together a list of streets, schools, parks, etc., bearing the name of the disgraced labor leader. It includes Fresno, Madera, Planada, Ceres, Stockton, Modesto, Sanger, Berkeley, Sacramento and San Jose. 

Fox26. Family of Cesar Chavez releases statement on sexual abuse allegations.
Synopsis: The Cesar Chavez Foundation released a statement from members of the Chavez family: “Our family is devastated by today’s New York Times article about our father,” it read. “We wish peace and healing to the survivors and commend their courage to come forward.” It concluded, “We remain committed to farmworkers and the causes he and countless others championed and continue to champion.”

Columnists reflect on Chavez

LA Times. And just like that, the Cesar Chavez myth is punctured; what’s next? 
Synopsis: Columnist Gustavo Arellano writes about the reaction to accusations involving Cesar Chavez. “And like a natural disaster, what emerged about Chavez was far worse than anyone could’ve expected.” After all, Chavez’s biography reads like an entry in the “Lives of the Saints” books from catechism. He has been honored in plays, posters, murals, monuments, street signs, movies and TV shows. “President Biden even kept a bust of Chavez at his Oval Office desk.” But the man was not the message, and the struggle for human dignity and rights must continue. “La hucha sigue.”

GV Wire. What the Cesar Chavez revelations reveal about journalism’s blind spots. 
Synopsis: Former Fresno Bee editorial page editor Jim Boren writes about the movement “born in the fields of the San Joaquin Valley” and an issue that “is personal for so many of our students.” Boren covered Cesar Chavez, seeing “firsthand the deep loyalty he inspired.” But “Today, our focus must be unwavering: We stand firmly with the women who have come forward, including Dolores Huerta, whom I have interviewed many times.” Boren asks, “Can his troubling behavior be separated from the broader movement he helped lead, or are they inseparable?”
MAD Take: Will it take 33 years for the same level of outrage to be directed at another prominent man accused of molesting women and girls?

Sacramento Bee. Cesar Chavez raged at me in 1991; today’s sex allegations aren’t surprising.
Synopsis: Marcos Breton, the son of Mexican immigrants, writes of his one interview with Chavez and the stories that followed in which he said Chavez and his close associates were not what they seemed. “Once Chavez was designated as a hero, we forgot that he was just a man.”

Sacramento Bee. California Hall of Fame axed Chavez – but Schwarzenegger gets a pass?
Synopsis: Robin Epley wonders why Arnold Schwarzenegger is going into the CA Hall of Fame on the very day that Cesar Chavez comes out. More than a dozen women have accused Arnold of groping, harassing and humiliating them over the years. He once wrote it off as having “behaved badly.” By 2023 he admitted, “Forget all the excuses. It was wrong.”

Dredge the Delta, now

Maven’s Notebook. The many benefits of dredging the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. 
Synopsis: Edward Ring offers his latest exhortation to begin dredging of the Delta. Silt has been accumulating in the south Delta for the last 50 years, resulting in warmer water and a more favorable environment for all sorts of invasive species. Channels that were 12 feet deep in the 1970s are 2 feet deep today. Shallow water warms more quickly; salmon can’t tolerate warm water. He says dredging would have allowed us to store 8-million-acre feet of fresh water in the last 3 years.
MAD Take: Everything Ring says is true enough. He just doesn’t say all he could. Dredging is great … if you take steps to protect the water from all the toxins (mercury, nitrates, VOCs, arsenic, lead, etc.) sitting inert in all that Delta mud. We can do it. We should do it. But we must do it right. And that will be expensive.

Where (if) Modesto will grow

Modesto Bee. Modesto doesn’t vote yet on growth options; some want to capture more tax dollars. 
Synopsis: Still smarting over the construction of a new Costco on the edge of Modesto, the Modesto city council and planning commission jointly discussed land-use alternatives, goals and prospects. A second workshop will be next month to continue discussion of the city’s 2050 general plan. There were some hints of where this is going. Councilmember Jeremiah Williams said he wants the most aggressive plan available, expanding the city to Ladd in the north with more industrial development on Hwy 132. He wants commercial development west of Hwy 99 across from Vintage Faire. Others noted that’s not in the city, and folks living there don’t want it to be. Bill Lyons, who lives even further out 132 on Mapes Ranch, said some of his family’s land closer to town should be included in the general plan update.

Crossing that bridge … someday

Modesto Bee. Modesto bids farewell to Seventh Street Bridge with Model A parade, fittingly.
Synopsis: The public got to cross the Tuolumne River on the Seventh Street Bridge one last time on Wednesday, as about 30 people attended a groundbreaking for the new bridge. Modesto had only about 9,000 residents when the bridge was built in 1917; it has closer to 220,000 now. The new bridge will have more than double the capacity of the old bridge and open in 2028.

Tawdry divorce details, Part 2

GV Wire. Joaquin Arambula tells his side in divorce allegations. 
Synopsis: The ugly, messy divorce between Dr. Joaquin Arambula and his wife Elizabeth has sparked headlines for the past two weeks. Now, the Assemblymember, fresh off addiction rehab, is telling his side. He hasn’t seen his two daughters since Jan. 6. “Bottom line is this: I needed help. I got help and I’m on the path to being a better dad, a better public servant and a better person.” He detailed family finances and property and his complaints with his wife.
MAD Take: After reading some stories, you just have watch a little basketball. Or wash your hands.

Report on Gray campaign

Westside Connect. Gray officially kicks off reelection campaign for CA13.
Synopsis: The Westside Connect picks up the story by Joe Cortez that appeared in the Turlock Journal last week, noting that Adam Gray will stand for re-election to Congress in November. During his first year in Congress, Gray has secured $16 million for various projects in his sprawling district that spans 160 miles. “I’ve voted to hold the line when Republicans are doing things that are making the cost of health care, energy and groceries more expensive.”

Why the heat is harmful

Turlock Journal. Local climate experts explain why March heat wave is dangerous. 
Synopsis: It’s March in the Valley, and it’s supposed to be cool or at least mild. Not hot, which it is. Prof. John Abatzoglou says temps in the 90s are 20 to 30 degrees above normal, and this comes on the heels of the warmest winter since at least 1895 for most of the U.S. Normally, our bodies have more time to acclimate to the heat; not warming more slowly can hurt us. Same with trees. Heating up too quickly can reduce the fruit set, disrupt pollinator activity and force higher water absorption. Higher temps can cause trees to “reallocate” resources from fruit development, lowering yields. “That has real dollar implications,” said Lauren Parker of UCM’s Secure Water Future center.

Patterson shelter is for sale

Patterson Irrigator. HOST puts shelter up for sale.
Synopsis: Helping Others Sleep Tonight shelter will be closing due to lack of support. The 4,800 square foot former nursing home sits on a half-acre on South Fourth Street and has been listed for sale. The group said the $1,166 monthly mortgage, insurance, utilities and wages for an on-site supervisor came to nearly $10,000 a month. While the city has waived some payments and Stanislaus County provided grants, the monthly bills are just too much. Board president Becky Campo said that most of the homeless in the area come in for services and meals but not to sleep.

Gas going up, up, up

Fresno Bee. Drivers are paying about $5.50 a gallon in Fresno, highest prices since 2023.
Synopsis: Gas prices have surged by $1 per gallon over the past month as the impacts of Trump’s war on Iran are being felt at the pump. AAA reported that regular gas in Fresno was selling for $5.51 a gallon and diesel for $6.58. In January, the price was $3.29 for regular unleaded. Brent crude is selling for $108 a barrel compared to $69 five weeks ago. Prior to the attacks, the US Energy Information Administration predicted crude would fall to around $58 a barrel by June. Trump told his cabinet that increased gas costs were “a small price to pay” for his war.

This isn’t fashion’s first rodeo

Ag Daily. No booty, no problem: Houston rodeo reins in dress code.
Synopsis: Organizers of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo have officially established a dress code. Apparently, fashion has been getting a little, uh, out of hand at the show. “Hodeo” is out, coverage is in, said one observer. Anyone wearing “visible undergarments” or clothing that is “too revealing” will not be admitted. Younger attendees have, apparently, been turning the evening events into “Cowgirls Gone Wild” and “Texas Coachella.” Rodeo officials don’t want to see outfits made up of “fringe, rhinestones and a prayer.”