Where did all the snow go?

KTVU. Is the snow pack lost for the year?
Synopsis: The Sierra snowpack was already sparse, but this week’s heatwave threatens to wipe it out except at the highest elevations. Many are asking: Can we capture some of it before it rushes out to sea? The answer is: “Probably not.” After three consecutive wet winters, our reservoirs are too full.

SF Chronicle. ‘Snow-eater heat wave’ is searing CA; what does it mean for fire season?
Synopsis: We went from winter to summer in two days, and it’s only March. While fire danger is low now, it won’t be in a month when what little water is left in the mountains is wicked away by high temps and grasses begin to dry out. “Early loss of snow means things have the potential to become drier earlier in the season and more dried out and flammable by later summer,” said Desert Research Institute’s Daniel McEvoy. Drier grass burns.

CA Water Research Blog. Diabatic engine behind March 2026’s record-shattering western heat dome. 
Synopsis: Deirdre des Jardines writes that there is “no precedent in the cool-season observational record” for a heat wave like the one CA is experiencing. LA hit 92 degrees Thursday, and Phoenix will experience its earliest 100-degree day on record this week. Temperatures across the west are running 20 to 30 degrees warmer than normal. This is “an extreme weather event” created by a 500-millibar high-pressure ridge over the Great Basin. Daniel Swain calls it the “strongest mid-tropospheric ridge ever observed … in March.” Records are being shattered, not broken. Des Jardines likens this event to the 2021 heat dome that hit the Pacific Northwest, bringing 116 degrees to Portland, Ore.

SF Gate. CA desert expected to shatter heat record for entire U.S.
Synopsis: Forecasters are saying the hottest day ever recorded in the continental US during March is coming this week somewhere near Coachella. Temps are predicted to hit 107 to 111 Thursday. The hottest day on record for March in the US is 108 in Rio Grande City, Texas.

California Post. Heat wave melt excuses for CA’s failure to expand water storage. 
Synopsis: An editorial in the new publication affiliated with the New York Post says the problem isn’t climate change but CA’s inability to build more water storage “when we had the chance.” Barely two months ago, the state was officially drought-free for the first time in 25 years. If Sierra snow melts too fast, officials will be forced to open floodgates and let our rivers flow to the ocean. What happened to that $7.5 billion water bond we passed in 2014? Or Prop 4, which authorized $10 billion more for “climate resilience”? Yes, Sites is moving forward but “there is so much more that California could be doing.”

A slice of ‘catastrophe cake’

Sacramento Bee. The Colorado River’s problems are about to get deeper. 
Synopsis: Columnist Mark Gongloff writes about the “compounding climate disaster” that awaits roughly 40 million people who rely on the Colorado River. The Rocky Mountains got little snow this year, and it’s melting fast from the warmest winter in 131 years of record keeping. “As the icing on this many-tiered catastrophe cake, the states along the river are struggling to agree on how to divvy up a resource that has dwindled by 20% since the turn of the century. And the final arbiter in that fight might be a federal government that refuses to acknowledge that climate change is even real.” Lake Powell is 170 feet below “full” and 160 feet from the “dead pool.” When that is reached, water stops flowing to Las Vegas, Phoenix and Los Angeles.

War blocks CA exports

Ag Alert. Iran war strands CA farm exports. 
Synopsis: The Farm Bureau’s Caleb Hampton writes that in addition to causing sharp increases in fuel and fertilizer costs, the Iran war has disrupted access to key export markets. “As the largest exporting state, CA and our exporters and producers are bearing the brunt of these market and export impacts,” said the director of the CA Dept of Food & Ag. “We are in peak shipping period for commodities like tree nuts going to this growing market region.” But the nuts are blocked from markets because they’re stuck in the Strait of Hormuz. The Walnut Board’s Robert Verloop said his group was in the midst of a Middle East advertising campaign tied to Ramadan – a key period for nut sales. Last week, 10% of the state’s entire crop was in route to the Middle East, now much of that is “stuck at sea.” The head of Sequoia Nut Co. in Tulare County said he has 300 tons of his almonds and pistachios are sitting in ships unable to get to Dubai buyers. Meanwhile, shipping companies are adding surcharges to cover higher fuel and insurance costs.

Did they torture a child?

Modesto Bee. Salida couple charged with torturing 11-year-old for about a year.
Synopsis: An 11-year-old girl was “subjected to repeated physical abuse, forced exercise to exhaustion and degrading treatment including being made to live primarily in a garage without heat or bedding.” Priscilla Mestaz and Anthony Machuca have been arraigned on 27 counts in Judge David Hood’s courtroom. Their home cameras recorded much of the abuse they are accused of inflicting on Mestaz’s niece. Two other children in the house were taken into protective custody. 

Lions will get new homes

KCRA. Historic Modesto bridge to be demolished, but what’s going to happen to the lions?
Synopsis: Demolition is scheduled to start this week on the Seventh Street Bridge, aka Lion Bridge. A new 1,240-foot span will cross the Tuolumne River by 2027, replacing the 110-year-old bridge. The lions will be preserved, with two destined for a plaza near the bridge while the other two will adorn the new Stanislaus Courthouse a few blocks away.

Solving the gas mystery

LA Times. Suspending gas tax, reducing refinery regulations pushed by two Democrats.
Synopsis: As gas prices surge, gubernatorial candidates Matt Mahan and Antonio Villaraigosa are saying we have to treat this like an emergency and get rid of the state’s 61 cents per gallon gas tax and relax regulations on oil refiners. The average price in CA is $5.52 a gallon, more than 50 cents higher than any other state and well above the national average of $3.71. The story says CA relies on oil imported from Brazil, Iraq and Guyana with only 23% of the oil we consume produced in CA.
MAD Take: Utterly no mention of CA’s infamous “mystery surcharge.” Research done by the nation’s leading energy expert, UC Berkeley’s Severin Borenstein, a decade ago described a 15-cent per gallon charge that could not be accounted for through the cost of crude, refining, taxes or reported profit. He called it the “mystery surcharge.” Since that discovery, the surcharge has grown and at one time was 50 cents per gallon (does that number sound familiar?). Why anyone would trust oil companies to bring down gas prices through deregulation or removal of taxes is, well, a mystery.

PD shared banned data

CBS13. Modesto license plate readers shared data with federal agencies, police say.
Synopsis: The Modesto police department says its automated license-plate reader system was improperly connected to multiple federal agencies despite a CA law restricting the sharing of such data. The department says it discovered the connection while preparing a public-records request response. The readers were connected to the US Marshals Service, IRS and Border Patrol.

Salmon fishers excited

Seafood Source. Regulators set to reopen CA’s commercial salmon fishery for first time in 3 years.
Synopsis: Commercial salmon trawlers are expected to be allowed to harvest fish for the first time in three years, though the season might be limited. The Pacific Fisheries Management Council will announce the seasons in early April. The “proposals aim to provide meaningful fishing opportunities while ensuring careful management of salmon populations.”
MAD Take: It took three years of banning commercial salmon fishing to return population to something approaching “normal.” When the Chinook population crashes again, those in the business of killing salmon should stop blaming farmers. It’s simple: If you want more wild salmon, stop killing them.

Stanislaus County cuts jobs

Modesto Bee. Stanislaus County to reduce workforce positions after years of solid growth.
Synopsis: Under a $1.89 billion budget likely to be approved today, Stanislaus County will cut 143 positions, though only 8 are currently staffed. The county will spend 1.7% more this year than it did last and draw $208 million from reserves to balance the books. That covers 4,905 employees, or 22 fewer than last year. The Sheriff’s Office will delete four vacant deputy slots due to reductions in cannabis revenue while Child Support Services will eliminate 7 positions, all of which are vacant.

Runners, dancers coming Sunday

Modesto Bee. Modesto Marathon will impact drivers with some road closures. 
Synopsis: The Modesto Marathon is Sunday, and several roads will be closed as the city hosts an estimated 2,500 runners who will begin and end their 26-mile journey downtown. The route starts at M and 11^th and heads out to North Gates about a mile beyond Beckwith, then comes back into town. Closed all of Sunday will be 10^th, 11^th, N and M streets. There will be other short-term and “rolling” closures.

Merced Sun-Star. Merced County read to celebrate Polynesian culture at annual event.
Synopsis: The 45^th annual Kiki Raina Tahiti Fete will be at Golden Valley High this weekend. It is the longest-running Tahitian cultural festival outside of French Polynesia, and goes from Friday through Sunday. Island food, crafts and dance competitions fill each day. Tickets are $30.

 ‘Raw’ cheese and E.coli

Fox26. Raw Farm disputes E.coli report: ‘We 100% disagree with FDA’s false possible link.’
Synopsis: Raw Farm “strongly” disagrees with the FDA’s findings that an outbreak of E.coli poisoning in Texas and Florida is associated with the Fresno-based company’s cheddar cheese products. “The FDA has no actual product evidence and no actual proof to their claim,” said the company, which said it tested its products and couldn’t find any E.coli. “It is a witch hunt for raw dairy foods and real raw cheese.”
MAD Note: Raw Farm’s protestations aside, the company has been involved in numerous recalls for the past two decades, from salmonella to campylobacter to listeria. In fact, there have been 13 “major” product recalls involving Raw Farms and its predecessor company, Organic Pastures Dairy Co.

Fox40. Costco recalls meatloaf meal over potential salmonella contamination.
Synopsis: Meals sold from March 2-13 in Costco stores in California and 11 other states and territories have been recalled over potential salmonella in the mashed potatoes. Anyone who bought packages numbered #30783 are urged not to eat it.

Make mine Anaconda Supreme

Fresno Bee. Maker of 3-foot ‘Anaconda burrito’ opening another Mexican restaurant in Fresno. 
Synopsis: Taqueria Yarelis will open its third restaurant in Fresno, taking over the Brothers Ramen Japanese Eatery on Blackstone. Edwin Espinoza said it is the perfect spot to sell his famous “Anaconda Burrito,” which can feed up to 8 people. It became a viral sensation in 2016, getting 16 million views on TY’s Facebook page. There are two versions. The Anaconda goes for $55.99 with meat, rice, beans and salsa. The Supreme covers the same yard of burrito with guacamole, cheese and sour cream. Yarelis, BTW, is Edwin’s little sister – who was a toddler when he opened his first restaurant. She’s in her 20s now.