Valley Solutions

Food jobs fleeing Modesto?

Modesto Focus. Modesto area loses more than 20,000 food-production jobs this century. 
Synopsis: Reporter Garth Stapley looks at the slow loss of food production jobs in Modesto, dating back to Tri-Valley Growers (once the largest tomato-canning facility in the world) to Del Monte this year. Maryn Pitt of the Manufacturers Council says losing Del Monte is a blow (1,800 jobs), but food processing remains an important anchor for the city. She cites E.&J. Gallo Winery, Crystal Creamery, SunOpta, Stanislaus Food Products. Grocer Bill O’Brien noted that consumer tastes have shifted, from canned processed food to more fresh products. As canning diminishes, so does can manufacturing and labeling and trucking. Losing a cannery hurts the city, too. With so much processing, Modesto has roughly 4x the sewer capacity that a city without canneries would need. Without Del Monte, there’s one less major player to pay those construction costs.
MAD Take: All those tomato-canning jobs didn’t die when Tri-Valley left, they just relocated. The center of the tomato-canning universe is now Los Banos, where Morning Star, Ingomar, Lucero Farms, Liberty Packing and Kagome all operate large facilities. Morning Star alone packs 40% of CA’s entire crop.

Fallowing becomes a reality

Valley Ag Voice. Central Valley ag confronts the weight of water policies. 
Synopsis: Reporter Natalie Willis talks to Aaron Fukuda, CEO of the Mid-Kaweah Groundwater Sustainability Agency and Tulare Irrigation District, about trying to farm in the era of sustainable groundwater requirements. Fukuda recalls the PPIC projection that said up to 1,000,000 acres of San Joaquin Valley farmland will be fallowed due to pumping reductions. That once seemed alarmist but now seems realistic. He decried the massive “loss of equity” as land is taken out of production. “We’re going to see a trillion dollars (in lost value), can we take a couple billion and invest that to save some of that equity?” Ultimately, “we’re going to see a reduction in agricultural production in the state of California.” Fukuda has not lost his sense of humor: “To farm successfully in the state of California, you have to have an attorney, an engineer, an ag manager, a water-supply manager and a bookie to take your bets.”

Optimism for new Farm Bill?

Farms.com. House moves toward new 5-year Farm Bill vote early season. 
Synopsis: The House Agriculture Committee plans a February markup of the Farm Bill, hoping for a vote on the massive legislation before Easter. The Farm Bill is basically 6 years overdue. The current proposal is similar to the version that passed the House in 2024 but failed to advance in the Senate. The most debated issue is a response to CA’s Proposition 12, which requires humane living conditions for pork sold in the state. The National Pork Producers Council believes that’s unfair and wants a law to ban voters in any state from setting standards.
MAD Take: Adam Gray sits on the Ag Committee and has been outspoken in his support of Prop 12. It should be noted the most ferocious opponent of Prop 12 is the National Pork Producers Council, which is supported by Smithfield Farms – a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based WH Group. In Asia, WH raises millions of pigs in multi-story hog “condos” in which diseases such as African Swine Fever can spread almost instantaneously.

No charges for Hughson mayor

Modesto Bee. Sheriff ends probe into Hughson mayor; no charges after allegations.
Synopsis: The Stanislaus Sheriff’s Office looked into allegations of sexual assault made against Hughson Mayor George Carr and concluded the charges did not meet the threshold required for action. Deputies said they conducted a thorough review of evidence provided by city councilmember Susana Vasquez. The councilmember has not publicly elaborated on her accusations but said “an outside investigation is pending.” Once it is concluded, she said she would have “an opportunity to share all the information with the public.”

Fewer cows, yet more milk

Farms.com. Record milk production, shrinking herd pipeline. 
Synopsis: There is more milk being produced in the US than ever before, but these volumes reflect short-term herd management decisions – not herd expansion. Replacement heifer numbers are at their lowest level since 1978 as farmers direct calves away from milk production toward the beef market. Experts say “US dairy herd metrics are increasingly moving out of sync. … The question now is how long milk production can remain elevated before aging cows and a thinning replacement pipeline force a sharper adjustment.”

Ag Daily. US cattle inventory dips again as herd rebuild remains slow. 
Synopsis: The US cattle herd is slightly smaller now than it was a year ago, according to the USDA. The US has 86.2 million head of cattle and calves. Of those, 27.6 million head are beef cattle, down 1% from last year; 9.5 million are milk cows, which is up.
MAD Note: Dairy farming is either No. 1 or No. 2 in San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced and Madera counties. Beef cattle and dairy combined rank No. 2 in Fresno County.  

Getting tough on drunk drivers

Cal Matters. CA has a dangerous driver problem; a bipartisan group of lawmakers wants to fix that. 
Synopsis: On the heels of CalMatter’s truly excellent work exposing CA’s tragically lax response to drunken driving and the resulting death toll, Assemblymember Nick Schultz is pushing a suite of bills to take away driver’s licenses quicker and for longer periods, require in-car breathalyzers for repeat offenders and keep those who have killed others out of diversion programs to sanitize their records. Assemblymember Lori Wilson points out that “driving is a privilege” and revoking that privilege for drunks keeps everyone safer. Cottie Petrie-Norris says CA is the epicenter “of America’s DUI and drunk-driving epidemic” and that’s “horrifying.” Juan Alanis wants better training for officers so they can recognize impaired drivers more quickly. Bob Archuleta wants repeat offenders charged with murder when they kill.

Do driving schools get a pass?

Cal Matters. The CA trucking schools broke state laws; regulators couldn’t do anything about it. 
Synopsis: Cal Matters takes a critical look at truck-driving schools. To get a commercial big-rig license in CA, you have to attend classes then pass a test. As long as their tuition is under $2,500, the schools are basically unregulated. CA’s laws governing test-prep schools were built for people taking the SAT – not pilot a 40-ton missile down the highway. There are at least 184 unregulated schools in the state, including 9 that regulators have tried to close. The CHP supported a bill last year to fix this, but it failed despite having no public opposition. One “school’ highlighted in the story was Truck Nation in Modesto, which charged students $2,500 then locked their gates and disappeared. Story points out that Transportation Sec Sean Duffy has been cracking down on sketchy driving schools, starting in CA. And it’s not entirely political.
MAD Take: Not mentioned is the trucking school operated by Patterson Unified School District – an extremely popular and effective program. One solution might be to require actual educators to provide education.

Cops hit gangs: 41 arrests

Merced Sun-Star. Merced police gang crackdown results in 41 arrests, 23 guns seized. 
Synopsis: After announcing a week ago that they would ramp up anti-gang enforcement, the Merced Police Department’s Gang Violence Suppression Unit swung into action Monday, making 41 arrests and seizing 23 guns and 326 grams of meth. The crackdown is in response to a spike in gang-related violence that has resulted in several deaths in the past three months.

Be careful with mask law

GV Wire. Fresno, LA officials warn mask law enforcement could trigger armed conflicts. 
Synopsis: Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer and LA police chief Jim McDonnell are worried that any attempt by local law enforcement to arrest members of national para-military groups such as ICE and Border Patrol for wearing masks will result in violence. McDonnell said it “doesn’t make any sense” to invite violence over a misdemeanor.

Getting help from Mexico

Merced Focus. Mexican Consulate comes to Merced to help residents get vital documents.
Synopsis: People began lining up outside Cultiva Central Valley before sunrise Monday, hoping to get copies of documents they had lost track. Members of the Mexican government were taking part in the Consulado Sobre Ruedas – Consulate on Wheels. Of Merced’s 300,000 residents, an estimated 50,000 claim Mexican nationality. Passports, driver’s licenses, birth certificates and other documents can be accessed through the program. The program has taken on greater importance because, “People are really afraid of the current political climate. Having the consulate here gives them a sense of safety.”

You won’t find morality online

Turlock Journal. The silent exodus: Reclaiming the individual consciences in an age of algorithms. 
Synopsis: Jeffrey Lewis and Neill Callis, both of Legacy Health Endowment, write about how difficult it is to maintain a moral compass in an age of AI and relativism. Our first instinct, upon confronting a difficult issue, is to scroll for more input, they say. “The result is a shift from integrity (doing what is right when no one is watching) to performative dancing (doing what is seen to be right).” Eventually, this allows us to outsource our humanity to websites.  

Search goes on near canal

Modesto Bee. Search continues for missing woman near Gustine, Merced County officials say. 
Synopsis: After extensive attention through TikTok and social media, officials in Merced County say they are doing the best they can to locate Lupita Ontiveros of Stockton. She disappeared last Wednesday after Elixandro Miranda of Patterson drove his dune buggy into the Delta-Mendota Canal. An SO dive team searched the canal near the crash site for nearly 17 hours on the day of the crash. Ontiveros’s family wants divers to search more of the canal. Since the crash, CHP and sheriff’s teams have searched on foot and with drones. “The waterway is very dangerous with how fast the current is going,” said an SO spokesperson. “We’re doing everything we can do.”  The driver of the buggy and two others were able to get out of the canal after the crash.

Fox26. Family continues search for missing woman after canal crash in Merced County.
Synopsis: Fox26’s reporting identifies the missing woman as Lupita Lizbeth Zuniga, not Ontiveros. Her uncle, Cesar Ontiveros, says the family has been given no new information for 6 days and says the CHP and Merced Sheriffi’s Office have not done enough. Sheriff Vern Warnke said it is a CHP investigation and that before divers can be dispatched, they must have permission from the Delta-Mendota Canal Authority. Ontiveros said Lupita’s jacket was found a mile from the canal.

Getting unlucky on Friday

Modesto Bee. Modesto tattoo shops see lines on Friday the 13^th; how did tradition start?
Synopsis: Modesto tattoo parlors expect long lines on Friday the 13^th for flash tattoos. It’s become a tradition for people to decorate themselves on the day normally considered bad luck. Tattoo parlor owner Corey Young says Dallas tat artist Oliver Peck began offering discounts on Friday the 13^th in Texas and now people line up at parlors everywhere to get a price break. In Modesto, “it was crazy” last year, he said of the lines. Why is the date unlucky? Depends on whom you ask. The 13^th disciple? Slasher movies? Regardless, it’s so popular there will be food vendors and musicians to entertain those getting inked.