Valley Solutions

OK to kill salmon again

Cal Matters. CA salmon fishing poised to finally reopen; can the industry recover?
Synopsis: Rachel Becker reports on the Pacific Fishery Management Council’s decision to allow a limited commercial salmon season this year, the first in four years. The details will be worked out over the next few days. After describing the plight of fishers, Becker writes “dams, water diversions, low flows and poor conditions have driven decades of decline” in salmon populations. From there, she cites the often-quoted economic impact provided by the industry -- $100 million.
MAD Take: So much wrong with this story. In the litany of reasons Becker cites for the decline of salmon, she leaves out “overfishing,” a practice threatening a third of all ocean species but especially wild salmon. No mention of poaching, which likely kills 75% as many fish as the legal catch. The reporter forgot to point out that under the 3-year fishing ban we have seen a remarkable rise in salmon populations and spawning on CA rivers across three types of water years – wet, normal and dry. This population surge should be protected – not snuffed out in the ocean. There’s more. For instance, there’s  no way to verify that fished killed in the morning won’t be dumped overboard for more valuable fish killed in the afternoon – a practice called “high grading.” The collateral damage seen in the “by-catch” – 2 billion pounds each year – is wiping out some entire species. Bottom-trawling destroys vast swaths of ocean floor. What about long-lining, seining and ghost fishing? Fishing as practiced today is unsustainable for both the fish and the fishers. Oh, and valuing the salmon catch at $100 million, not sure where that comes from -- and neither is the CA Dept of Fish & Wildlife. The agency’s figures shows Monterey had landings of $2.4 million in 2022, followed by Moss landing at $1.1 million; statewide, the total was $13 million. But sure, let’s pretend salmon fishing is worth $100 million.

Swalwell’s out

Politico. Swalwell suspends governor campaign amid allegations of sexual assault. 
Synopsis: Though he continued to deny the most serious charges against him, Eric Swalwell admitted making mistakes and dropped out of the race for governor. He had been the Democratic front-runner until reports of his misconduct began to surface a week ago. Two reports published Friday say Swalwell forced himself on a former staffer and other women described receiving photos of Swalwell’s penis. Among the first to call for him to step aside were his campaign co-chairs, Adam Gray and Jimmy Gomez. They were soon joined by Sen. Adam Schiff, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, major donor Stephen Cloobeck and labor unions like the CA Teachers Association and SEIU. Republicans are going to force a vote to expel Swalwell. Interestingly, the Republicans did not make a move on Rep. Tony Gonzalez of Texas after one of his staff members committed suicide after an affair with him or other high-ranking officials.

SF Chronicle. 55 ex-staffers call for Rep. Eric Swalwell to resign after sexual assault allegations.
Synopsis: For 55 former employees, dropping out of the governor’s race isn’t enough. They want Eric Swalwell to resign from Congress. They believe the allegations of a staffer who claims she awoke naked in Swalwell’s hotel bed after a night of drinking. Five years later, she again got drunk and again awoke naked in Swalwell’s hotel room.

Pundits tee off on Swalwell

SF Chronicle. Race for CA governor was already a mess for Democrats; now what?
Synopsis: Columnist Joe Garofoli asks: “How did we get here? And is there enough time for the party to clean this up?” He says Nancy Pelosi must lead the party out of the abyss. She has yet to endorse anyone. “Now Democrats have a chance to step out of circular formation and reset – and enable Californians to fulfill the promise of electing a non-white guy to lead the state,” writes Garofoli. “The second choice of Swalwell voters is Porter (39%) with billionaire Tom Steyer a distant second (15%).” He believes Porter is just what the party needs.

LA Times. Bye-bye, Eric: Swalwell needs to go. 
CA’s preeminent columnist, George Skelton, says there’s never been a governor’s race like this. It’s not a race, but a “slow trot … unexciting and uninspiring.” Now, all eyes and ears are open. Says George, “Sorry congressman, if someone is running for governor of the nation’s largest state, the mistakes aren’t just between him and his wife. … Bye, bye Eric. Might as well depart the House, too.”

Sacramento Bee. Californians Dems wanted a smaller field for governor; mission accomplished. 
Synopsis: Columnist Tom Philp writes of the sudden and shocking downfall of Eric Swalwell, who has thrown the race for governor into even greater disarray. “Imagine if these women had stayed silent until Swalwell, this June, had secured himself a slot in the November runoff. Talk about chaos.” Tom’s take: “Instead of a pollster, the party should have hired a detective.”

Not taking Trump’s advice

Cal Matters. Trump wanted CA Republicans to back Steve Hilton; they didn’t listen. 
Synopsis: Even Republicans in California are tuning out Donald Trump, refusing to back his preferred candidate for governor. Last week, Trump anointed Steve Hilton. But on Sunday the party refused to go along, refusing to choose between Hilton and Chad Bianco. Interestingly, it was Bianco – not Hilton – who tallied the most votes, 49% to Hilton’s 44%, in the straw poll. Neither was close to the 60% needed. Hilton was happy with the outcome, but Bianco claimed the numbers don’t add up: “I have the supermajority of the support from this room, way more than what the total indicated.” Meanwhile, Tom McClintock says Republicans will regain their footing “once we’re past all of the turbulence from Iran.”
MAD Take: Apparently Bianco has trouble with numbers. Forty-nine percent isn’t a majority, much less a “super majority.” Might explain why he didn’t trust the ballots.

There are local races, too

Valley Citizen. Senate candidates debate in downtown Modesto. 
Synopsis: Publisher Eric Caine attended the debate among three candidates for CA’s Fourth Senate District. One is incumbent Marie Alvarado-Gil, who was elected four years ago as a Democrat but has since shifted to become a Republican. She is challenged by Tuolumne Supervisor Jaron Brandon and the wife of former representative John Duarte, Alexandra. The June 2 primary will eliminate one of them. While Alvarado-Gil has a record to run on, and Brandon offered a coherent platform based on lowering prices and providing affordable housing, Duarte stepped onto the MAGA train and went full throttle. Six times she attacked transgender youth, until Brandon suggested she quit picking on them. She also failed to mention her role in a plan to get cheap water from MID for a handful of Eastside property owners.

GV Wire. Fresno Democratic party declines to pick between Arambula and Thomas.
Synopsis: Despite one candidate being fresh off rehab and deep in a messy divorce, the Fresno County Democratic Party declined to endorse anyone for the Fresno City Council District 3 race. Instead, party officials said voters can choose between two “really good” candidates – Joaquin Arambula and Fresno unified trustee Keshia Thomas. The party did make a few endorsements.

Symphony’s 95 years

Modesto Focus. Modesto Symphony celebrates 95 years of inspiring youth, supporting musicians.
Synopsis: The Modesto Symphony Orchestra celebrates its 95^th birthday Friday with a performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons at the State Theatre. Some of the pieces at the show will be chosen from the program of the Symphony’s very first program in 1931. CEO Caroline Nickel said the purpose of the Symphony is to “bring music into people’s lives.” This is also the 50^th year for the Modesto Symphony Youth Orchestra.

‘Magic Clown’ is grand marshal

Westside Express. Longtime Fair supporter Hans Younce named grand marshal.
Synopsis: Hans Younce will lead the Merced Spring Fair parade as Grand Marshal – a tradition that dates back to Henry Miller. The fair will be April 29-May 3. Younce, who lives in Dos Palos, works with Morning Star and has been involved with helping FFA and 4-H members prepare for the fair. And for 15 years he appeared in the parade as “Hans The Magic Clown,” showing off his ability to ride a unicycle and juggle at the same time.

51 seconds of ICE cold fear

KCRA. ‘I was scared’: Woman who captured video of ICE shooting speaks out.
Synopsis: Identifying herself only as “Christina,” a woman came forward with dash-cam video because she felt “a moral obligation” to “set the record straight” about the ICE shooting of Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez in Patterson last week. While her video lacks sound, she said Hernandez attempted to back up as agents pushed on his windows and doors. He didn’t pull forward until after shots were fired, she said. She said coming forward is “scary” and “traumatizing.” Shaken by the experience of seeing the shooting then having an agent point his gun at her car, she hired attorney Roberto Serrato.

Merced Sun Star. Man shot by ICE in Patterson said he was handcuffed and left naked by side of road.
Synopsis: After shooting him seven times, ICE agents dragged Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez out of his car, handcuffed him, cut away all of his clothing and left him face down and naked on the road, says the victim through his attorney. Instead of rendering aid, they took photos. “He was completely nude in public,” said lawyer Patrick Kolansinski.

DMC kids’ unit in jeopardy?

Modesto Bee. Modesto hospital tries to keep pediatric unit open so kids aren’t sent off for care. 
Synopsis: The 24-bed pediatrics unit at Doctors Medical Center is facing a staff shortage due to a contract dispute. It is the only pediatric unit in Modesto that accepts all insurance coverage, including Medi-Cal. If it closes, some children will have to go to Sacramento or the Bay Area – including those who suffer from chronic asthma. Golden Valley Health Centers had been providing services at DMC, but its contract runs out on April 30. One of the biggest sticking points is doctors’ workload. Other facilities are facing similar problems; Santa Rosa Memorial closed its inpatient facility last month after the federal budget cut Medicaid funding.

Author recalls Fresno’s heat

GV Wire. Amy Tan returns to Fresno roots to close San Joaquin Valley town hall. 
Synopsis: Author Amy Tan will speak Wednesday at the Saroyan Theatre in Fresno. Though born in Oakland, Tan lived in Fresno until she was nearly 3 and still has family in the area. “My earliest memories are in Fresno, and of course, the heat,” she told reporter David Taub. Her first book was “The Joy Luck Club,” detailing the Asian-American experience in CA.
Youtube: https://youtu.be/g6eqYjZKKws

AI use expands exponentially

Wall Street Journal. AI is using so much energy that computing firepower is running out. 
Synopsis: The artificial intelligence rush is running up against the one thing it can’t overcome – lack of electricity. “Over the past few months, demand has exploded for ‘agentic’ AI, autonomous tools that use the technology to independently perform tasks, from writing software to scheduling house tours for real-estate brokers.” Users basically rent time/space in AI data centers, buying “tokens.” OpenAI’s platform use rose from 6 billion tokens a minute in October to 15 billion in March. To rent the Nvidia Blackwell chip costs $4.08 per hour, up from $2.75 in February. With demand surging, more centers are trying to get up and running but can’t find the power. Some centers are suffering rolling blackouts.
MAD Take: What difference does this make around here? Take a look on the Westside along I-5, where thousands of acres are being covered with solar panels. All of that power is heading west, across the mountains to data centers.