Valley Solutions

Hypocrisy marks shutdown

Turlock Journal. County looks to fill gap left by federal funding uncertainty. 
Synopsis: Reporter Joe Cortez looks at the impacts of the government shutdown across the Valley and what is being done to bridge the pain. The Stanislaus Board of Supervisors will consider giving $50,000 to various food banks. Groups like United Samaritans and Stanislaus Community Foundation are asking for stepped up donations. While some conservative local politicians blame federal legislators, Rep. Adam Gray pointed out that he will “meet with anybody or talk to anyone because working together is how” we craft a solution to this dilemma. “Republicans decimated programs in their (Big Beautiful) bill, then turn around and pretend like they care about the programs they’ve decimated. It’s the hypocrisy of this whole thing that’s driving me crazy,” said Gray. Republican Speaker Mike Johnson refuses to reopen Congress because he believes the shutdown is hurting Democrats more than Republicans. Tom McClintock tried to blame Democrats saying voters don’t want “additional spending” – ignoring the fact that the budget bill cut $1.5 trillion from the taxes of wealthy people to pay for substantial cuts.

Fresno will help feed its hungry

Fresnoland. Fresno could gift $250K to region’s largest food bank amid SNAP/CalFresh chaos. 
Synopsis: The Central CA Food Bank, which helps supply other organizations across the Valley, could receive a significant donation from the city of Fresno following a procedural vote Thursday. Councilmember Nelson Esparza has already pledged $50K from his office’s discretionary account. He says it doesn’t matter if the courts force Trump to fund SNAP since the program might need weeks to resume payments, leaving people hungry in the meantime. The food bank’s co-CEO said she expects demand to double this week. Meanwhile, Trump -- who sent his lawyers to court to stop the USDA from funding SNAP -- now says it will be “MY HONOR to provide funding.” It will also be his obligation. Gavin Newsom, who is sending $80 million to the state’s food banks, called Trump’s action “immoral” and “beneath us as a nation.”

CA’s rebuke of Trump

Cal Matters. CA Democrats made Prop 50 about Trump; polls show it’s working.
Synopsis: With Republicans pulling out of ad buys, Democrats were almost giddy over polling that shows Prop 50 passing by a wide margin. They’ve even told donors to stop giving them money – a first for any political campaign. Some Republicans say they believe they can compete no matter how their districts are redrawn. While some polls showed a 60-38 margin for passage of Prop 50, the more respected PPIC showed 56% of voters favor and 43% opposed. That leaves only 1% undecided. More significantly, 70% of CA voters said the measure is “very important” to them – signaling they will vote for what they believe is a rebuke of Trump. In the Valley and the rural parts of the state, many voters are just as anxious to show their continued support of the president.

GV Wire. Trump slams Prop 50 vote, says votes ‘under review.’
Synopsis: Posting a story from Reuters, GV Wire reports that Trump appears to be in denial over CA’s repudiation of his presidency, promising a “very serious legal and criminal review” of voting irregularities. He did not say who would do the review or what he thinks is irregular about the voting.

Gerrymandering ‘is cheating’

Fresno Bee. If Prop 50 passes, Republicans in CA will be just a whisper. 
Synopsis: Columnist Tad Weber talked to GOP political strategist Mike Madrid about the state’s rebuke of Trump and Republican policies in general. Madrid says California Republicans “are not extinct like dinosaurs, but they are surviving like small lizards.” That said, there are pockets of CA that remain decidedly red – like Stanislaus County, where Republicans have surged ahead of Democrats in voter registration. In San Luis Obispo and Fresno, Dems still lead but Republicans are gaining. Madrid believes Prop 50 will prove far more toxic than Democrats realize. “This is cheating. There’s no way around it. Gerrymandering is an 18^th Century word for cheating.” Yes, Trump started it, but it’s still wrong.
MAD Take: This will be one of the final Fresno Bee bylines for Tad. He and opinions page editor Juan Esparza Loera and Valley Editor Don Blount have been laid off by McClatchy, effective the week of Nov. 12. To my former co-workers: Your work has always been ethical, courageous, thoughtful and helped weave the fabric of our Valley. There is life after McClatchy.

It's dangerous to fly

SF Chronicle. ‘We won’t let people travel’: SFO delays pile up and air travel crisis deepens. 
Synopsis: As of late Monday, 112 flights were delayed or canceled at SFO. That follows 6 cancellations and 272 delays Sunday. Nationwide, 5,000 flights (84%) were delayed with 70 canceled. So far, 3.2 million passengers have faced travel disruptions. Transportation Sec Sean Duffy says he will delay or cancel flights rather than risk passenger safety. He added, “If the government doesn’t open in the next week or two, we’ll look back as these were the good days – not the bad days.” Controllers and TSA officers have been deemed essential workers but they are not being paid. Many have begun skipping shifts so they take side jobs to make ends meet. Duffy admitted, “None of them can miss two paychecks.”

Breaking the rules in Yosemite

KCRA (Sacramento). Yosemite visitors bend rules during government shutdown.
Synopsis: It’s not just the BASE jumpers who are breaking Yosemite’s rules by jumping off cliffs and granite outcroppings. Many more people are camping in places they shouldn’t while others are lighting up in places posted “No Smoking.” Campfires are bigger, drones are flying and parties are louder. Meanwhile, volunteers and vendor employees are doing their best to pick up the trash and manage the chaos. The bathrooms are being cleaned.
VIDEO:

The threat of golden mussels

Cal Matters. ‘Emerging threat’” Invasive species is upending life in the Delta, with no help coming.
Synopsis: The Golden Mussel, like the zebra and quagga mussels before it, is threatening to colonize waterways across the state clogging pipes, ruining and fouling lines that carry our water. The story starts at the Port of Stockton, where the mussels were first discovered two years ago. Now they are several feet thick on piers, pipes and the bottom of boats. If they reach the pumps that send water south to the SJ Valley’s fields, the cost to repair will be enormous. Any boat that’s has been in the Delta likely is infested. “It’s like picking up bedbugs,” said one authority. Water districts are already finding mussel colonies on irrigation siphons. Divers are being hired to do inspections. There is “no quick answer. There is no Roundup.” So far, prevention is the state’s only answer. And it’s not working. Water lawyer/farmer Brett Baker says, “If you were expecting help from the state, you’d be foolish.” In the Midwest and East, mussel colonies cost roughly $1.6 billion a year to remove.

A great year for pistachios

Ag Alert. Food trends boost pistachio market as production rises. 
Synopsis: As harvest finishes up, growers are reporting a record crop of 1.8 billion pounds of pistachios. That beats the record of 1.5 billion pounds set in 2023. Increases reflect orchards planted from 2018 to 2022. Last year, pistachio acreage hit 488,000 – a 100% increase from 2014. Aaron Barcellos, who grows for Wonderful Co., believes demand is rising apace with acreage. Other growers are worried about tariffs, though nut brokers say the key is not to react to every tweet.

Ag losses could hit $44 billion

Ag Daily. Dire $44 billion in losses projected for US growers.
Synopsis: Soybean storage bins are full, farm bankruptcies are rising and farm debt is climbing. “By nearly every measure, American farmers are struggling,” says the story. Higher input costs and lower returns due to tariffs could “see roughly $44 billion in net cash-income losses from the 2025-26” crop year, according to a presentation from the Agricultural Risk Policy Center at North Dakota State. The center says corn is the biggest loser ($20 billion) followed by beans ($10B), wheat ($8.5B) then peanuts, cotton, barley, oats, sorghum and rice ($6B combined).

Morning Ag Clips. Why optimism is rising despite tight crop margins. 
Synopsis: The monthly Purdue-CME Ag Economy Barometer, which measures farmer sentiment, rose 3 points to 129 in October. The long-term outlook, however, remained unchanged, also at 120. The most optimistic farmers are livestock producers, who are seeing record profits. But virtually every crop sector – corn, beans, wheat, vegetables – are seeing tighter margins. Story includes looks at other indicators such as the Farm Financial Performance Index, which, interestingly enough, does not match up with the Ag Economy Barometer. Farmers seem to be more despondent in some lucrative years, but more optimistic in years with poor returns. Other tables look at farm investments, USDA payments and cropland value – which was at its highest point in 2022 when expectations were at their lowest.

Homeless in Modesto, Part 2

Valley Citizen. Homeless documentary comes to Modesto’s State Theatre.
Synopsis: Eric Caine writes about “Homeless in Modesto II,” a sequel to a film made three years ago by Fog Light Media (“Homeless in Modesto”). Filmmaker Ben Hoover and activist Frank Ploof managed to capture the reality of being homeless in Modesto and Eric supplied a lot of still photos. “It’s a must-see, ground-level view of stark realities so many of us have never imagined.” It will be shown at the State on Nov. 13, with proceeds going to Family Promise.

SJ Sheriff bids horse farewell

Stocktonia. Patrick, ‘a cherished horse’ in SJ County Sheriff’s Mounted Patrol, dies.
Synopsis: Sheriff Patrick Withrow announced the passing of Patrick, a “cherished horse,” Saturday. Patrick the horse was 21, which is a relatively long life for a horse. Patrick appeared in parades across the state and in Washington, DC.

Bee’s Top 10, or just a Fairly Good 5

Modesto Bee. High school football rankings: Final Stanislaus District ratings with postseason here. 
Synopsis: Despite a 40-26 drubbing by Manteca in its finale, Oakdale (8-2) is ranked No. 1 in The Bee’s Stanislaus District. Central Catholic, which finished 5-5 with its worst record in a decade, is No. 2, followed by No. 3 Downey (7-3), No. 4 Turlock (5-5), No.5 Hughson (8-2), No. 6 Hilmar (6-4), No. 7 Patterson (3-7, and out of the playoffs), No. 8 Ripon Christian (8-2), No. 9 Escalon (5-5) and No. 10 Ripon (5-5).
MAD Take: This is The Bee’s Top 10? One team has a losing record; four others just broke even, meaning half the teams on the list didn’t have “winning” records. Meanwhile, two teams that did finish with winning seasons – Davis 6-4 and Johansen 7-3 – were left off. The Bee’s Top 10 has a combined record of 60-40. Maybe the sportswriter should have stopped with a Top 5 or expanded his region to include 10-0 Sonora, 10-0 Merced or 10-0 Manteca.