Valley Solutions

Will people go hungry?

Modesto Bee. As CalFresh halts, Stanislaus County residents and food pantries brace for impact.
Synopsis: Thousands of families in Stanislaus County are on the verge of losing food benefits they get through the state-operated -- but federally funded -- CalFresh program. Recipients are issued EBT cards which are reloaded each month with an average of $187 per family. That will not occur in November due to the shutdown. The federal government puts nearly $1 billion a month into California’s accounts, an amount too large for the state to cover. Those in dire need are being referred to organizations such as United Way and locally operated food pantries. One of those is run by MoPride, which will open its pantry Wednesdays and Fridays. Britni Lloyd says, “just come and get what you need.” At Salida Food Bank, Kim Brown says the norm is 75 or 80 families a month but more are already showing up. In Grayson, Lilia Lomeli-Gil says her community center gets help from the United Samaritans Foundation and usually has enough food for around 30 people. “The need is great,” she said.

Turlock Journal. Turlock nonprofit already seeing impact of food-stamp cuts.
Synopsis: United Samaritans Foundation ran out of emergency food boxes Tuesday, a first. Linda Murphy-Julien says it is a direct result of federal cutbacks and the shutdown. “Children, the retired and the poor are the ones who are going to be hurt,” said Murphy-Julien, adding her group could use more donations. Interrupting SNAP benefits will have a “domino effect.” The city of Turlock works with USF to provide the food boxes twice a month. Stanislaus Community Services Agency’s Christine Huber said her organization has been getting ready for the impacts and urges those in need to call 2-1-1 from any phone.

Republicans can end this easily

Sacramento Bee. Republicans can end the shutdown with one simple paragraph.
Synopsis: Rep. John Garamendi, California’s former insurance commissioner, explains what has forced the shutdown – a trillion-dollar tax cut for billionaires paid for by everyone else in America. This tax cut will result in cuts to school lunches, loss of health insurance, emergency disaster assistance, medicine for babies and jobs of government workers. While most Americans will keep their insurance, premiums are expected to skyrocket. It will get worse as people abandon insurance and are forced to get care in hospital ERs, forcing the hospitals to increase their fees. “Our entire health-care system will falter. This is nothing short of life or death,” wrote Garamendi. To end the shutdown, Republicans need only extend ACA subsidies so that 24 million Americans will be able to afford their insurance.

New name, same river group

Modesto Bee. Tuolumne River Trust has new name to reflect broader mission. 
Synopsis: The Tuolumne River Trust is now the Yosemite Rivers Alliance, signaling an expansion of its activities to include the Stanislaus and Merced rivers. The 44-year-old organization was formed out of concern for the Tuolumne River, which flows out of Yosemite, through Modesto into the San Joaquin. It supplies water, through Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite, to 23 Bay Area cities including San Francisco. The Alliance has offices in Modesto, Sonora and San Francisco and will host the Stanislaus River Salmon Festival at Knights Ferry on Nov. 8.

Shadowy group targets Gray

Valley Sun. GOP group launches $5mil national ad buy with spots targeting Gray’s re-elect.
Synopsis: The ultra-conservative American Action Network is going to spend millions in an attempt to beat Adam Gray in California’s 13^th Congressional District. The Network will stream ads on social media platforms criticizing Gray for voting against the Trump-backed One Big Beautiful Bill.
MAD Take: The American Action Network – and Valley Sun, where this story appeared – failed to note that the Big Beautiful Bill that Gray voted against also gutted healthcare coverage for millions of people, set the stage for the government shutdown, handed billionaires a trillion-dollar tax break, destroyed incentives for solar power production and likely killed 686,000 construction, manufacturing and operational jobs. Who is the American Action Network? It’s made up of very, very wealthy people like New York real estate tycoon Ken Langone and Fred Malek, a DC hedge-funder, and funded by big drug companies and others who want even more tax breaks. Meanwhile, the most recent Republican candidate in CD13 brought his friend Matt Gaetz – who was accused of having had an inappropriate relationship with a high school girl while a member of Congress – to a fundraiser in Merced. None of this appeared in the Valley Sun, which isn’t surprising considering that it is owned by a conservative political consultant.  

Valley Sun. Esmeralda Hurtado switching races to challenge Soria for open Senate seat.
Synopsis: One thing seems likely, the next Senator from CA 14 will be named Esmeralda. Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria announced months ago that she is seeking the seat being vacated by Anna Caballero. On Tuesday, Esmeralda Hurtado – sister of Sen. Melissa Hurtado – said she, too, is seeking the seat. Hurtado is a Sanger councilmember. Soria has already been endorsed by Caballero. Hurtado originally wanted to run for Assembly District 31, where Joaquin Arambula is termed out. But it appears Annalisa Perea is considering that seat, so Hurtado is moving north.

Livestock dumping pit uncovered

Fox26. Discovery of decaying livestock in Fresno County prompts probe into illegal dumping. 
Synopsis: A massive illegal dump site filled with rotting animals has been uncovered in western Fresno County near Interstate 5. The carcasses were under layers of trash dumped onto the same site. Former UC Merced Prof. Mark Aldenderfer called it a “very intentional disposal of the animals” by someone who “didn’t want to deal with the legalities and proper management of their dead animals.” Cows, goats and sheep were found in the pit. It is suspected some might have been infected with “some sort of animal disease.” The sheriff’s office is looking into trespassing and illegal dumping charges.

Legal dispute leads to fish kill

Fresno Bee. Did well dispute lead to massive fish kill in Madera County lakes?
Synopsis: A courtroom battle between the Water Resource Council and a homeowners’ association has turned deadly for fish in several lakes east of Chowchilla. Each side blames the other for the lack of oxygen in the lakes that resulted in a fish die-off. The HOA says the water council shut off the lakes’ aeriation devices leading to the fishkill. The water council says it wouldn’t have done that if the HOA had paid its bills. One homeowner says the water council “weaponized” the water system to “murder fish on a large scale.” The water council was created in 2021 when five entities that share a dozen man-made lakes wanted to find a way to store water to maintain Pheasant Run golf courses. The story is long, but it is clear the oxygenation systems were turned off on purpose. The state says this wasn’t the first time there has been a die-off in the lake, which is on private property. 

Residents will redraw districts

Merced Sun Star. Merced’s election maps will no longer be set by supervisors.
Synopsis: Reporter Caleb Sprous catches up to the bill authored by Esmeralda Soria and signed by Gov. Newsom that requires the county to appoint an 11-member commission to redraw Merced’s supervisorial boundary lines. Supervisor Josh Pedrozo says it removed local control; Soria’s spokesman said it put the authority in the hands of the electorate instead of the elected. The commission takes over the map-drawing in 2030.

Nurses consider strike action

Modesto Focus. Nurses at Modesto’s Doctors and 2 other Valley hospitals plan 1-day strike. 
Synopsis: Tim Sheehan writes about the strike-authorization by nurses at 6 Tenet Health hospitals, including three in the Valley – Doctors Medical Center in Modesto, Emanuel MC in Turlock and Doctors Hospital of Manteca. ER nurse Kristi Carson says the only real power nurses have is the ability to stand together for a “fair contract.” The three Valley hospitals have 743 beds combined. Nurses say they have been working without a contract since June. They want higher wages, meal breaks, more help in lifting patients, and “safe staffing” at all times. Tenet owns 49 hospitals nationwide, down from 61 in 2023, and had operating revenues of $20 billion last year.

Rural hospital on the brink

Cal Matters. Schiff, LaMalfa want to reopen this county’s only hospital; it won’t be easy.
Synopsis: The Big Beautiful Budget Bill has basically gutted funding for Glenn Medical Center in the town of Willows, leading to its closure. The only hope for reopening it is an immediate “critical access” designation, which would increase Medicare reimbursement and allow flexibility in staffing. But with the government shut down, that seems increasingly unlikely. GMC lost its “critical access” designation last year because it is 32 miles from the next closest hospital, in Colusa. Critical access facilities must be 35 miles apart. Without the critical-access revenues, Glenn County’s only hospital cannot continue operations. Schiff and LaMalfa each are carrying legislation to restore the designation, though they differ in approach. Glenn County has 28,000 residents, mostly spread out across 1,327 square miles. The hospital’s managers say without additional funding, even the designation won’t be enough.
MAD Note: GMC is operated by American Advanced Management, the Modesto-based firm that also runs the Madera Community Hospital, two hospitals in Modesto and hospitals in Coalinga, Oroville and Sonoma. Interestingly, it also runs the Colusa Medical Center – which is 32 miles from the Glenn Medical Center and the reason it lost its “critical access” label.

Valley hospitals are graded

Stocktonia. Healthy hospitals: How Medicare ranks Stockton-area medical centers on quality. 
Synopsis: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rated local medical facilities on a scale of 1-5, with St. Joseph’s Medical Center, the Sutter Tracy Community Hospital and Kaiser in Manteca all getting 4 stars for overall quality. Earning 3 stars were Lodi Memorial and Dameron in Stockton. San Joaquin General and Doctors of Manteca got 2 stars. Judging was based on key metrics including readmissions, deaths from heart attacks and pneumonia, safety of care, patient experience and timely care. Nationally, only 291 (or 1 in 10) facilities got 5 stars. The closest 5-star hospital to the Valley were in Woodland and Oakland (Alta Bates). The nearest 1-star facility was Doctors Medical Center in Modesto.

Alanis speaks his mind

Ceres Courier. Getting to know State Assemblyman Juan Alanis. 
Synopsis: Columnist Jeff Benziger does a Q&A with the assemblymember. It is clear Alanis remains angry over his loss in the race for Sheriff in 2018. In the Assembly, Alanis proudly points to his membership in the Problem Solvers Caucus – a group started by then-assemblymember Adam Gray.

Public-employee millionaires

Sacramento Bee. UC coaches are California’s highest-paid public employees. 
Synopsis: Justin Wilcox, Cal’s head football coach, earned $4.7 million last year. UCLA’s basketball coach, Mick Cronin, made $4.1 million. Head coaches are the best-paid public employees in the state – which is true of most states. Their programs often generate huge amounts of revenue, so it’s considered a good investment to hire good ones. Wilcox and Cronin are bargains, at least compared to their predecessors. Chip Kelly made $7.1 million in 2023 before moving onto the Raiders; their programs each brought in over $40 million in revenue. The story notes that some doctors and university presidents earn almost as much. Dr. Jesse Mills, a urologist at UCLA, earned $4 million last year. And there were 13 other UC employees whose total compensation hit $2 million.