Valley Solutions

Food ‘kingpins’ from Merced?

Merced Sun Star. Merced County ‘kingpins’ blamed for unpermitted food vendors in Monterey County. 
Synopsis: Merced County was blamed for an invasion of unpermitted taco trucks feeding workers in Monterey County. “We know the vans come out of Merced,” said County Supervisor Chris Lopez during a Board meeting on Feb. 3. “You see the license plates. It’s crystal clear.” In mid-January, Merced supervisors announced they would be cracking down on unlicensed food trucks after restaurant owners complained. While the story leaves the connection unsaid, it appears the trucks are seeking other locations. One Monterey County official said the trucks are an organized “operation headquartered in Merced County. This organization operates in multiple counties in California.” Another official said the trucks belong to “kingpins operating out of Merced County.” One supervisor blamed the food trucks for the death of a man who was hit by a car while crossing the street to get lunch.

Street Teams become Hopefuls

Modesto Bee. Modesto program that pays unhoused, homeless people unveiled in ceremony.
Synopsis: Hope Works stepped into the shoes vacated by Downtown Street Teams to help the homeless and unemployed secure jobs, housing and better lives on Friday. The original program served 16 communities across Northern California but folded late last year. While some of the other communities had problems, the Modesto program was considered a significant success and the city of Modesto stepped in to keep it alive. Hope Works, which arose from DST’s demise, will continue providing DST’s services, helping employees gather necessary paperwork to function in society. It employs 32 people but has capacity for 68. Over the past 18 days, the team has cleared 4,900 pounds of litter from Modesto streets and alleys. Four members of the city council attended the ribbon-cutting along with representatives from other agencies and officials.

Learning to talk to each other

Turlock Journal. The death of decorum is the death of liberty. 
Synopsis: Legacy Health Foundation CEO Jeffrey Lewis and former Turlock Mayor John Lazar write about the debasement of American discourse. There once was an unwritten code of restraint called “decorum.” It wasn’t just about being polite, it was the mechanism that allowed people to disagree without coming to blows. “Today that mechanism is broken.” Fixing it will not happen through laws or counseling. It will take a cultural pivot, a million personal commitments to restraint. It will mean tuning out the loudest voices in search of the wisest.
MAD Take: Amen.

Politics in the Valley

Modesto Bee. Tom McClintock endorses GOP Assembly leader Heath Flora’s opponent for 2026.
Synopsis: Tom McClintock, who lives in Elk Grove but represents 12 mountain counties in Congress, has decided he prefers to have Jim Shoemaker in the Assembly and not current minority leader Heath Flora. Shoemaker is running against Flora in the Ninth Assembly District. He has also been endorsed by both the Stanislaus and San Joaquin central committees. A frequent political candidate, Shoemaker has lost previous races to Josh Harder and Flora.

Valley Sun. CA GOP backs McClintock for 5^th Congressional district as Kiley primary challenge looms. 
Synopsis: The CA GOP endorsed Rep. Tom McClintock, a step rarely considered necessary in the past. This year, however, Rep. Kevin Kiley’s district has been redrawn under Prop 50 and has more registered Democrats than Republicans, so he is searching for a new seat. Kiley has been airing ads in the Fresno market. Donald Trump has offered McClintock his “complete and total endorsement.” Interestingly, neither Kiley or McClintock live in the state’s largest congressional district.

Raising the roof in Fresno

Fresno Bee. Strong winds rip roof off Fresno County fire station.
Synopsis: Strong winds, or possibly a tornado, blew through the region Monday and tore off the roof at Fresno County’s Tranquility fire station. It landed in a nearby road. “It’s not going to affect our response times,” said Battalion Chief Matt Mosley. There was no estimate on how long repairs will require.

Castle is a ‘teenager’ now

Westside Express. Executives offer upbeat outlook during review of projects at Castle. 
Synopsis: Editor Jon Whitaker reports that “corporate leaders of three major firms” are investing in the old Air Force base near Atwater. Tracks are being laid to expand the “inland port” project that links goods shipped out of Atwater to the port of Long Beach. Another project would use vertical-takeoff craft to carry people and cargo. One exec said his firm’s plans are a “game-changer” for Atwater. One supervisor said the industrial park at the site is no longer “a toddler,” but in its “teenage years.”

Honoring outstanding women

Turlock Journal. ‘Outstanding’ Turlock women to be honored. 
Synopsis: During the annual Outstanding Women of Stanislaus County, two from Turlock will be among the 13 honored. Attorney Harleen Wahid-Dail chairs the United Way board, co-chairs the annual Power of the Purse event, sits on the Bar Association board, raises money for “Letters to Santa” and is active in the Sikh temple. Marie Russell is TUSD’s director of communications and family engagement. She also oversees the Family Resource Center, works with Second Harvest, the Legacy Health Foundation and the Kiwanis Club and chairs the CA Ivy League Project to help deserving students visit Ivy League campuses. Others to be honored: Amy Collier Carroll, Angelina Ceja, Jocelyn Cooper, Jessica Trompetter Godden, Nancy Martinez, Patty Ramirez, Dr. Andrea Silva, Zoey Byron, Sabrina Clendenin, Lily Li and Magdalena Siordia-Tapia.

Approaches to protests differ

Fresno Bee. Clovis, Fresno police contrasted sharply in their responses to student ICE protests. 
Synopsis: The Bee looks at the response of the region’s two largest police departments to recent protest against ICE violence in Minnesota. Clovis used its 500-camera system to surveil 200 high school students as they marched into town. The department said it is pursuing misdemeanor charges against at least two adults who allegedly contributed to the delinquency of minors by facilitating the skipping of a couple of classes. In Fresno, police say the protests were orderly and organized and did not jeopardize public safety and hence, no charges are being considered. Legal experts say Clovis is overstepping.

Westside Express. 1,400 Los Banos students walk out in two-day anti-ICE protest. 
Synopsis: Back on Feb. 3, some 400 students from across Los Banos walked out of their classrooms to join the national protest against ICE violence in Minnesota. Three days later, another 1,000 walked out and gathered at Pacheco Park. The Los Banos police categorized the larger protest as an “unlawful assembly” and used drones to track it but filed no charges. During the walk to the Park, a few students got into a “physical altercation” with passing motorists with reports that they threw water bottles at the cars. When asked what they could do about unauthorized campus departures, a police spokesman said trying to stop students would make “this situation far more volatile than it would need to be and that would place both the school staff and the student in far greater danger.”

Modesto Bee. Letters: Anti-ICE activism in Stanislaus is inspiring to see. 
Synopsis: Kent Mitchell of Riverbank is delighted to see young people in the streets, making their voices heard in support of their neighbors. “It is the action that matters, not the outcome.” … In a second letter, Jeff Sanders of Merced takes issue with an op-ed written by Fresno Supervisor Garry Bredefeld in which he portrayed ICE agents as victims of name-calling. Sanders tells ICE: “If you don’t want to be called the gestapo, don’t act like the gestapo.”

Harder really hates the tunnel

Maven. Delta Tunnel: Harder calls on US Army Corps to reject permits for $20 billion boondoggle.
Synopsis: Rep. Josh Harder has called on the Army Corps of Engineers to deny federal permits that would allow water to be transported through the Central Valley Project into the San Luis Reservoir. He wrote that the tunnel would “be a disaster for the Delta” calling it a “monstrous zombie project with ballooning costs.” Harder estimated the tunnel will cost up to $100 billion and cause $167 million in damages to Delta air, soils and agriculture. The state estimates the cost at $20 billion.

Bill: Cut CSU presidents’ pay

Fresno Bee. Legislator wants to roll back pay raises for CSU presidents, including Fresno State. 
Synopsis: Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens (D-Sunnyvale) thinks the top executives of CSU campuses are paid too much. He wants to claw back the 5% to 20% raises they are scheduled to get this year. The presidents also get housing and transportation stipends. “CSU administrators are public civil servants and should not be getting rich on the backs of California families,” he said. The CA Faculty Association loves the bill, which would cap the salaries of CSU presidents at 125% of the governor’s pay. Gov. Newsom makes $245,929, so a CSU president would top out around $310,000. Currently, presidential pay ranges from $611,203 at Cal Poly to around $400,000 for those at smaller campuses.

CA HSR boss arrested

SF Chronicle. CA’s High-Speed Rail Authority CEO arrested on suspicion of domestic battery.
Synopsis: Ian Choudry, the CEO of the CA High-Speed Rail Authority, was arrested at his Folsom home earlier this month for suspicion of domestic battery. He was with his fiancé at the time. The arrest came a day after he had appeared at an event with Gov. Newsom in Kern County. Choudry’s attorney said the Sacramento DA has declined to file charges.

Harris’ art will be on display

Turlock Journal. New exhibition highlights works by local artist Bill Harris.
Synopsis: The works of former Modesto Bee artist and photographer Bill Harris will be featured through May 16 at the Carnegie Center’s Ferrari Gallery. There will be a reception with the artist on Feb. 20.