Valley Solutions

Coming to America

Modesto Bee / Stacker. Biggest source of immigrants to Modesto. 
Synopsis: More than 15% of the US population is made up of new arrivals. The website Stacker looked at US Census Bureau data to figure out where all these folks are coming from. They compiled an interesting list, showing the top 50 points of origination for folks in Modesto, Merced and Fresno (and elsewhere). There are subtle differences. In the “Modesto area,” the rankings start with Poland (79) and end with Mexico (71,535), which has 63% of the area’s foreign-born residents. In between you can find the Azores (1,157), Cuba (119) and Ukraine (567). … In a very similar story appearing in Merced with very similar data -- Poland No. 50 (with 22 immigrants) to No. 1 Mexico with 54,268. But there were a few differences. In Merced, folks from India ranked No. 2 with 3,954 immigrants, the Azores No. 4 (1,798) and Canada No. 13 (327). … In Fresno the list started with No. 50 Ethiopia (177), then moved along through No. 42 Spain (248), No. 32 Ukraine (358), No. 27 Japan (495), No. 11 Armenia (1,671), No. 2 India (17,484) and, drum roll, No. 1 Mexico (145,230).

Try a Mango Fuego smoothie

Modesto Bee. Vallarta Supermarkets opens second Modesto location. 
Synopsis: The former Raley’s at Century Center on Orangeburg is now a Vallarta Supermarket. It blends “the vibrant, culinary spirit of Mexico City with the relaxed coastal charm of Puerto Vallarta.” You can watch masa being made or look over the shoulder of the person decorating your cake. There are 10 specialty departments or counters – the Guacamole Station, a Sushi spot, La Isla for smoothies, a panaderia, a carniceria and a lot more.
MAD Take: Will have to try the Mango de Fuego smoothie – mango, coconut milk, black pepper, honey, lime and Amor Chamoy (pepper sauce).

Not moving to ‘Trumpfornia’

Fresno Bee. Editorial: GOP proposal for splitting CA into two states is dead on arrival.
Synopsis: The editorial board – Juan Esparza Loera and Tad Weber – look at James Gallagher’s “two-state solution,” pointing out that Fresno would be the largest city in the new state. And yes, they know that inland Californians have been overlooked for far too long. But Jimmy G would “have better luck asking Newsom to switch parties” than getting people to approve a second state. Who wants to wake up in Trumpfornia or West Texas? Speaking of Texas, they write: “(Gallagher’s) anger should be pointed at Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for groveling to Trump’s request for five additional Republican-leaning congressional districts.”

No in-betweens in CA

LA Times. On US direction under Trump, Californians split sharply along partisan lines.
Synopsis: The latest UC Berkeley polling shows that “voters know who (Trump) is” and they long ago decided whether they loved him or loathed him with most in the latter category. That said, Democrats tend to exaggerate the impacts of Trump decisions such as tariffs while Republicans pretend they don’t exist even when they go wrong. Most Democrats (93%) say Trump will try to hurt California, and apparently most Republicans see that as plausible. The poll contained a question about high-speed rail: 66% of Democrats still support it while 77% of Republicans oppose it. Support is strongest in the Bay Area while 51% of Central Valley voters oppose it.

Too much corn, too few buyers

Farms.com. USDA projects record corn crop as tariffs deepen farm struggles.
Synopsis: The USDA predicts 16.7 billion bushels of corn will be harvested this year, or about 188 bushels per acre. Midwestern farmers will also bring in 54 bushels of soybeans per acre, not quite a record but close. “The problem with these huge yields,” writes ag educator Bob Bragg, is finding someone to buy all that grain “in this era of trade wars with half the planet.” The US had an ag trade surplus with the rest of the world from the 1950s until 2019, the year Donald Trump first declared a trade war on China. Now, the ag-trade deficit is at an all-time high of $29 billion for just 6 months of 2025. As corn and soybean farmers see “another year of negative returns,” economists are telling them to anticipate more of the same through the next five years.

Farms.com. Farmers may need emergency market aid, ag leaders say. 
Synopsis: Safety-net changes contained in the Big Beautiful (budget) Bill include new Price Loss and Ag Risk coverage programs. But industry leaders are saying those programs will not be enough to offset losses from crashing exports and soaring harvests. Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall says additional federal aid will be needed to keep farmers afloat. Farmers say they would rather have open markets than handouts, but right now neither are sufficient.

More screwworms in Mexico

Successful Farming. Mexico reports 53% increase in flesh-eating Screwworm cases since July.
Synopsis: The Mexican government reported 5,086 cases of screwworm infestation as of Aug. 17, a 53% jump from mid-July. “That’s absolutely concerning,” said Neal Wilkins of the East Foundation. “Having a 50% increase in month-over-month numbers … means they haven’t gotten it under control.” Cases have been found in cattle, horses, sheep and dogs in Mexico and one person in Maryland. The USDA is sending a team to Mexico to verify all is being done to keep the screwworm from moving north.

Ag adds value to Valley

Merced Focus. Report highlights nearly $10 billion the ag industry contributes to Merced economy.
Synopsis: The “Economic Contributions of Merced County Agriculture” report was drawn from data in 2023 but shouldn’t be confused with the annual ag report issued by the Ag Commissioner. This report starts with the ag commissioner’s $4.2 billion in gross farm production then adds in multiplier effects to reach an impact of $9.93 billion in Merced County. The calculations were done by the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. It says ag is responsible for 38,800 jobs, including 15,938 beyond the farm gates.

Supervisor gets a challenger

Merced County Times. Lara announces campaign for supervisor seat held by McDaniel. 
Synopsis: Former CHP officer Luis Lara has announced his candidacy for District 3 on the Merced County Board of Supervisors. He says he wants to “provide change to the citizens of Merced County. If there’s been change in recent years, it’s been moving very slow.” He’ll face Daron McDaniel, who is seeking his fourth term and is the longest-serving supervisor on the board. Lara is focused on public safety and economic development.

Want homes? Add water

Modesto Bee. Housing abundance in CA first requires water abundance. 
Synopsis: Jim Wunderman, CEO of the Bay Area Council, says all of our state’s lofty housing goals could be thwarted by a lack of water. To insure we have enough water to build all the homes we need, Wunderman offers four priorities: 1) Protect the water we have by keeping saltwater out of the Delta and shoring up failing levees. He recommends the tunnel. 2) Capture more water. The best way to do that is to pass Anna Caballero’s SB 72, which sets supply goals through either storage, desalination or conservation. 3) Make sure water is top-of-mind for local jurisdictions considering housing projects. 4) Prevent the weaponization of water scarcity as a tool in halting housing. Basically, we don’t want water requirements to become the new CEQA.

162 homes OK’d in Patterson

Patterson Irrigator. Art of the Deal finalizes 162-lot development on Hartley.
Synopsis: While doing a significant bit of cheerleading in this story, reporter Timothy Benefield writes about the city council decision to approve a 162-lot development at the corner of Olive and North Hartley. It will include a new city round-about, apartments and a “downtown village core” with commercial space.

Patterson Irrigator. New playground restrooms coming at Frank Raines Park.
Synopsis: In 2020, the SCU Lightning Complex Fire swept through Del Puerto Canyon, destroying several buildings at Frank Raines Regional Park. Five years later, they have been demolished and removed. County supervisors approved $2.5 million to restore the area with a playpark, restrooms and other facilities.

Big waves, big problems

SF Gate. ‘Drastic’: Life-saving CA weather forecast data is about to disappear. 
Synopsis: Roughly 100 ocean buoys make up the Coastal Data Information Program used by UC San Diego to track wave height, weight and direction. Those buoys are about to be removed, meaning an early-warning system will be disabled. That has implications for lifeguards, those who track the impacts of climate change, oil derricks and commercial fishers. A National Weather Service meteorologist said the buoys were instrumental in evacuating the Santa Cruz Wharf last year just before a storm and massive wave destroyed it. 

3,000-foot dust storms coming

LA Times. More dust storms called haboobs coming to CA, thanks to climate change.
Synopsis: Massive walls of dust and sand – known as haboobs – roll across desert areas like Arizona and Saudia Arabia engulfing entire cities. They will soon be arriving in the Central Valley. In 2022, a massive haboob enveloped the Salton Sea area, but it hit at night so no dramatic images were available. The dust can create a “wall” reaching 3,000 feet driven by 60 mph winds. As the air and soil get drier, theses dust storms become more common. There’s now a special unit at the Univ of CA – UC Dust – to study the phenomenon. They’ve already discovered that airborne dust today is 6x higher than at any time in the past 5,000 years. The dust can trigger asthma, cardiac arrest and carry Valley Fever.