Valley Solutions

Top prosecutor is from Modesto

Sacramento Bee. New US attorney for Sacramento aims to focus on immigration, Trump priorities.
Synopsis: Eric Grant, who was raised in Modesto and is the son of former Stan State history professor Curtis, will be the top federal prosecutor from Bakersfield to Oregon. He was appointed by Trump on Aug. 11 but has yet to be confirmed by the Senate. While he has never been a frontline prosecutor, Grant has served as a Justice Dept lawyer twice. “Stopping illegal immigration, that’s obviously a priority of this department and this administration,” he told The Bee. His predecessor, Michele Beckwith, was fired in July after expressing concerns over the legality of immigration sweeps. Grant, 58, attended law school at UC Berkeley and clerked for Clarence Thomas.

Will publisher file complaint?

Valley Citizen. MID director pumps river water across property and parcel lines. 
Synopsis: Website publisher Eric Caine continues his examination of where MID Director Larry Byrd gets the water he puts on 100-plus acres of almonds he’s farming outside district boundaries. Caine detailed how the pipes were installed and the capacity of the pumps used to push it onto AB La Grange Ranch. That information came from Todd Sill, who once worked for Byrd. With Byrd so far failing to produce records showing how much water he pumped for those trees, Caine says he is considering filing a complaint with the State Water Resources Control Board.

Solutions for salmon decline

Modesto Bee. CA’s dying salmon test our environmental values. We’re flunking.
Synopsis: Columnist Tom Philp writes about one of his favorite topics, salmon. He calls the fish “central to our historic identity.” He says the salmon fishery generates $1 billion each year. He quotes officials from the highly activist Winnemem Wintu tribe explaining their emotional and cultural connections to salmon. While he admits there have been “successes” in restoration of habitat, his focus is on the decline of salmon on the Sacramento River. Since it is the largest river in CA, that’s significant. Philp decries warming rivers but saves some blame for the levees that protect “Sacramento, Stockton, Modesto and all the communities of the Central Valley” from flooding.
MAD Take: A Pulitzer Prize winner, Philp paints a grim picture for salmon survival. Too grim, perhaps. He gives scant attention to the numerous stories of salmon showing up in good numbers across California, from the Tuolumne to the Mokelumne to the Trinity to the Klamath and dozens of smaller creeks. Thousands of salmon are spawning in places they haven’t been seen for decades. Yes, numbers on the Sacramento are a disaster. But the declines seem fairly specific to that river – by far the state’s largest. Phelp lays the blame at warming river water. But he doesn’t say how that can be remedied, nor does he note that salmon are incredibly adaptable, and California’s salmon already thrive in water so warm it would kill their Alaskan cousins. Nor does he mention that habitat restoration is the only thing that has ever worked. Yes, it takes longer and it costs more. But it works. Simply sending more water down our rivers doesn’t.

New pools for high schools

Modesto Bee. Gregori High breaks ground on $10M aquatics center set to open by early 2027.
Synopsis: Modesto City Schools will build a 12-lane, 50-meter competition pool, providing a competitive environment for the school’s 100 aquatic athletes. Davis will also get a new pool to replace one that is too shallow for competition. All seven MCS high schools will have a competition-grade pool when they’re completed. Superintendent Vanessa Buitrago and four trustees were at the groundbreaking.

Investing in Valley jobs

Valley Sun. Modernizing Valley manufacturing sector is a win for jobs, public health, economy.  
Synopsis: IBEW business manager Mike Mendoza writes about how the Valley can put itself at the front of a clean manufacturing economy, making everything from food to the glass plates it’s served on and the napkins used to clean up. Modernizing the manufacturing sector is “a massive opportunity for economic growth and skilled job creation.” But it requires investment, something that is tough to get. He points to the nation’s largest glass plant. Modesto’s Gallo Glass planned to create a new hybrid electric furnace to melt glass, but the federal funding was canceled. If the Trump administration won’t fund such game-changers, the state should. This and other projects would get a huge boost from Robert Garcia’s AB 1280 – which he wants the governor to sign.

Newman getting new shops

Westside Connect. Newman Planning Commission approves proposed shopping center plan.
Synopsis: The planning commission has approved a seven-building shopping center on Hwy 33 south of town. Four of those buildings will be stand-alone restaurants, two with drive-through lanes. The buildings will range from 5,000 square feet to 30,000. Folks will be able to turn in off Hwy 33 or reach it from Mattos Drive. It’s all part of the Mattos Ranch development, which the council approved last year. The site straddles the county line, but the city said all the buildings would be in Stanislaus County to make any tax collection less messy. 

Another West Nile death

Fresno Bee. Second West Nile virus death reported in Valley; fourth statewide.
Synopsis: A Kings County resident has died of West Nile, the fourth death in the state this year. No details – age, location, underlying conditions – were provided, which is standard operating procedure. There have been 56 cases of West Nile reported across the state this year, with 8 in Fresno County and 13 each in Kern and Tulare. Merced County has had 2. 

Who patrols Huron?

KSEE / CBS47. Huron is out of patrol officers, but the county has a plan.
Synopsis: The city has requested that Fresno County step in to patrol the city after “recent staff turnover” left “zero protection.” City manager Virginia Penaloza says all small cities have a tough time keeping officers. This agreement with the county will keep officers within the city until the Huron can hire and train replacements – probably a year. A sergeant will handle administrative duties.

KSEE / CBS47. Fresno police unveil new bulletproof Ford F550.
Synopsis: A massive bulletproof truck has arrived in Fresno. Built on a Ford F550 chassis, the Lenco Bearcat looks like a military vehicle. Police say it will be used to protect the community and officers during high-stress calls such as active-shooter and hostage rescues. It can withstand a .50-caliper round and will replace a truck in use since 1999.

Combining pumpkins, dinosaurs

Merced County Times. From Pumpkins to dinosaurs, Hunter Farms has it all.
Synopsis: The Hunter Farms Pumpkin Patch in Atwater has a corn maze, corn chute, hayrides, a critter corral and 16 other attractions crammed into 5 acres. New this year is the Dino Ranch, which has 15 giant dinosaurs, some with blinking eyes and gaping mouths. El Capitan High senior Zach Hunter has been helping his dad and granddad Wil create and run the attraction for years. Zach was the Gauchos baseball MVP this year, which explains the private diamond the family built in 2021.

Councilmember faces lawsuit

Modesto Bee. Lawsuit alleges Oakdale council member exposed himself to colleague.
Synopsis: An unidentified coworker at Conagra Brands says in a lawsuit that Oakdale councilmember Jarod Pitassi exposed himself and harassed her for months. The accusations became public last year just before the November elections, but Pitassi called them “FALSE allegations”, and he was re-elected. Pitassi says he is innocent, and the accusations are hurtful to his family. The unidentified accuser says she is suffering panic attacks and breakdowns due to stress. Court documents show Pitassi was involved in an altercation with the woman and her boyfriend at a charity golf event in Manteca last year. Pitassi was once married to the boyfriend’s sister. It gets more detailed from there.

Merced Courthouse celebration set

Merced Sun Star. Merced historic courthouse museum celebrates 150 years, 150 stories.
Synopsis: Andrew Kuhn writes in anticipation of Saturday’s celebration of Merced’s most notable landmark – the courthouse. Its renovation was completed this year, and museum Director Sarah Lim has compiled an exhibit entitled, “Old Courthouse: 150 Years, 150 Stories.” The building was designed by AA Bennett, who was the supervising architect during the building of the state capitol. The Historical Society is having a gala banquet Saturday night at the Fairgrounds. Restoration was completed with $2 million in federal funding, $1 million from the county and $500,000 from the state.

Zoo wins 2 big-deal awards

Fresno Bee. Fresno zoo wins 2 awards for helping wildlife. 
Synopsis: Chaffee Zoo was recognized by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums for two different programs. The Top Honors Exhibit Award went to the Kingdoms of Asia exhibit which recreates the lush landscapes of Southeast Asia complete with tigers and giant lizards. It’s “more than a wildlife exhibit,” said the jury. “It’s an immersive journey.” The other award was for the “Coexist with Wildlife” public-awareness program that featured 24 CA species. It was called a “shining example of advocacy, education and collaboration.” Said CEO Jon Dohlin: “To receive even one of these awards is an honor that many institutions strive for but never achieve … To receive two in the same cycle – for such different and meaningful efforts in the name of conservation – is a rare achievement.”