Valley Solutions

Valley Solutions offers a daily look at the top headlines appearing on media websites affecting the San Joaquin Valley. It is compiled by Mike Dunbar, who worked in Stockton, Modesto, Merced and Los Banos media for 40 years and later served as Adam Gray’s press secretary when he was in the Assembly. Valley Solutions is brought to readers by Rep. Adam Gray.

‘My focus is solving problems’

Merced Focus. Rep. Adam Gray: Want to know why I voted that way? Just ask. 
Synopsis: Rep. Adam Gray responds to an article published last week by the Merced Focus in which his vote on the National Defense Authorization Act was criticized and he was accused of a lack of transparency. “I am not ashamed of my vote,” he explained. “If I and five other Democrats had allowed (the NDAA) to fail, a much worse bill would have been negotiated without us and passed in its place.” It is likely that Ukraine’s efforts to defend itself against attacks from Putin’s Russia would have lost funding, as some Republicans were demanding. As for a lack of transparency, there is “no rule” requiring members of Congress to have town-hall meetings. Gray writes that he has spent the past month in the district, traveling from Stockton to Firebaugh to meet constituents where they live, work and play. “My job isn’t to avoid criticism or tell everyone what they want to hear,” writes Gray. “It’s to listen, make decisions, explain them and keep working on the problems people sent me to Congress to solve.”
Editor’s Note: Gray’s entire response to the Focus story will be published by Valley Solutions at a later date.

Merced to state: Explain yourself

Merced Sun Star. Merced officials call for state action as high-speed rail, ACE train promises change. 
Synopsis: Merced officials called out state officials for what they consider broken promises. The letter was signed by Mayor Matt Serratto, councilmembers Sarah Boyle and Shane Smith, and Supervisor Josh Pedrozo. They wrote to the CA High-Speed Rail Authority demanding an explanation of the agency’s new plan calling for a station 4 miles from downtown. The original plan promised the city a downtown station in which HSR, the ACE commuter train and Amtrak would all converge with local ground transport. The officials are asking the state to provide “a binding” plan for the new station. They also question what has happened to some $400 million in funding to bring ACE train to Merced by 2027. The arrival of ACE has been postponed to an undetermined date.

Riffles restored on Tuolumne

Modesto Irrigation District. Tuolumne River Partners launch next habitat restoration project. 
Synopsis: River Partners, Modesto and Turlock irrigation districts, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and the US Fish & Wildlife Service have begun construction of the Powerhouse Riffles Restoration Project to improve spawning and rearing habitat for salmon. The $4.7 million project will restore gravel beds on the Tuolumne River that were washed away by flooding in 1997, 2011 and 2017. It will add 25,000 cubic yards of spawning gravel along 2,400 feet of the lower river. River Partners is leading the project, working with Applied River Sciences and Ford Construction. The Chicken Ranch Me-Wuk and Northern Valley Yokuts will monitor the project.

Calaveras candidate falls, succumbs

SF Chronicle. CA candidate dies after falling while campaigning, but name remains on ballot.
Synopsis: Bruce Giudici fell while campaigning for Calaveras supervisor Sunday, and died Monday from the injuries. The deadline for automatically removing the names of dead candidates was Aug. 27, so his name will remain on the ballot. The Valley Springs resident suffered a serious head injury in the fall and was taken to San Joaquin General. In the primary, he got 36.9% of the vote, just ahead of Clyde Capp’s 35.6%. “Bruce’s fight will not end today. We intend to continue his campaign and honor Bruce’s wishes by working to elect him in November,” said the campaign.

Plane crashes, but all survive

SF Chronicle. Plane carrying Bay Area doctors crashes near Central CA airport.
Synopsis: A Cessna 560XL jet crashed on take-off at the Porterville Municipal Aiport on Tuesday morning, coming to rest in a field at the end of the runway. All six people aboard were shaken up, but escaped safely. Four of them were doctors who had flown to Porterville to perform a surgery.

Solar can ignore Williamson Act

LA Times. One less barrier for farmers who want to cover fields with solar panels. |
Synopsis: The legislature says it will allow farmers to remove farmland from Williamson Act tax-avoidance without paying penalties. That means more will likely be converted from cropland to solar panels. The Williamson Act exempted farmland from property taxes but requires farmers to commit to specific time frames. In the past, there were penalties attached to taking land out of production early. The change comes as restrictions on pumping groundwater for irrigation will likely require Valley farmers to fallow at least 500,000 acres. The CA Farm Bureau and other ag groups opposed the change.

Bringing tech to the fields

Farmdoc. USDA turning to satellite, tech to improve crop reports.
Synopsis: After several years of botched crop estimates, the USDA is launching a pilot program to use drones and satellite imagery to provide yield predictions. The program is a direct response to farmers who have lost money following estimates of higher yields, lowering process.

Ag Alert. New ‘smart’ farm tech targets vegetable production. 
Synopsis: The UC Ag and Natural Resources department conducted an event in San Juan Bautista showing off machines that can harvest lettuce, destroy weeds, apply pesticides and fertilizers and map field conditions. One machine promises to reduce pesticide and herbicide use by 80%. A drone harasses birds by emitting predator and distress calls. The Specialty Crops Council hosted regulators, lawmakers and farmers at the workshop.

Funding for med ed in Valley

Stocktonia. CA lawmakers approve $2 million for University of the Pacific medical school.
Synopsis: The legislature promised to put $2 million into efforts to create a medical school at UOP’s Stockton campus. The university is trying to raise $150 million for the program. The university is also seeking $7 million in federal money to buy teaching equipment and recruit faculty for the school.

KVPR. Fresno State will expand nursing education thanks to new grant.
Synopsis: A grant of $186,300 from the Foundation for CA Community Colleges will help further the goal of training more nurses in the Valley. The Central CA Center for Excellence in Nursing will use the money to collect data and develop faculty and mentors for its program.

Suspect chased down in Sac

Merced Golden Wire. Suspect turns himself in following deadly Fairgrounds shooting.
Synopsis: Gabriel Angel Salas of Sacramento turned himself in to the Sacramento Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday morning following an extensive search conducted by several agencies. He was wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of Kody Pena, a security guard at the Los Banos Fairgrounds, on Saturday night. The Merced SO thanked both the Sacramento Sheriff and West Sacramento police for their assistance in Salas’s capture.

Fire burns near Yosemite

Merced Sun Star. Wildfire quickly growing in Mariposa County near Yosemite National Park, Cal Fire says. 
Synopsis: A fire broke out about 20 miles south of Yosemite in Mariposa County on Tuesday, quickly consuming 250 acres and forcing road closures and evacuations. Named the Colorado Fire, it is burning north of Midpines, west of Hwy 140 and Colorado Road. It is threatening 45 structures and burning “at a moderate rate” toward the Merced River drainage across steep terrain. There are 14 engines, four copters and three hand crews on the scene.

Sheriff: 39 turned over to ICE

Modesto Bee. Stanislaus sheriff reports number of undocumented inmates released to ICE last year. 
Synopsis: Sheriff Jeff Dirkse said 39 people who had been in his custody were immediately detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement – aka, ICE – upon release from jail in 2025. ICE had requested detainers on 324 inmates. In the four years prior to Trump taking office, ICE had picked up only one person. The data was released under a program mandated by state law. Eight were charged with robbery, assault or making criminal threats. There were 15 charged with burglary, auto theft, ID theft or domestic violence. About 80% were from Mexico, but there were also prisoners from Fiji, Cuba, Laos, Romania and Guatemala among others.

Fighting data centers in Stockton

Stocktonia. Stockton residents push back on data centers; the city already relies on one. 
Synopsis: Stockton residents urged city leaders to think twice before allowing more data centers to locate within the city’s limits. But the city has had data center in operation for five years, processing everything from artificial intelligence requests to the city’s own backup public safety calls. Regardless, the council voted 7-0 to remove data centers from its three-year economic development plans after a listening session.

They’re angry with Newsom

Cal Matters. Newsom’s troubling approach to land and water policies.
Synopsis: Barbara Barrigan-Parilla of Stockton and Winneman Wintu official Gary Mulchay criticized Gov. Newsom for the approach he has taken to solving the state’s enormously difficult water issues. They accuse him of making “backroom deals” and being disingenuous and denying Californians “the transparency they deserve.”
MAD Take: This appears to be just more knee-jerk petulance from two of the most strident environmental activists in the state who are frustrated that Gov. Newsom has ignored their mostly bad advice. Barrigan-Parilla’s Restore the Delta has been stuck on the same unworkable flow-centric solutions for the past 20 years – solutions that have been proved ineffective, divisive and counterproductive. Returns of spawning salmon over the past two years have shown that habitat restoration and bans on commercial fishing are vastly more effective in increasing salmon numbers than simply pushing more water to the ocean. As for the Winneman Wintu, why are they inserting themselves in environmental issues more than 100 miles from their tribal headquarters?

She looks like a statue

Modesto Bee. Busy Hilmar-Turlock native actress Dot-Marie Jones gains attention for this trait. 
Synopsis: The 15-time arm-wrestling world champion is considered among “the most statuesque women in show business.” The “most statuesque” is Lindsay Kay Hayward, who stands 6-foot-8, followed by Lisa Leslie at 6-5. Then comes Jones, who is 6-foot-3, then Gabrielle Reece, Gwen Christie and Judy Gold. Jones has eight upcoming film roles, ranging from “Thud” to “Princess” to “Date.” She got her big break on the TV show “Glee.”