Valley Solutions

County of Champions: Merced

MaxPreps. Merced girls win Division III Water Polo State Championship.
Synopsis: The Merced High girls water polo team beat Los Altos 10-7 to win the Division III CIF State Championship on Saturday in Stockton. Coming into the season-ending tournament as the state’s top seed, the Merced girls dominated the tournament beating Christian Brothers 19-3 in the first round then Stevenson 11-8 to reach the final. They finished the season a remarkable 31-2 and went 10-0 in league becoming the No. 14-ranked girls water polo teams in the United States. In the championship match, Audrey O’Bruba had 12 saves in goal and Sarah Slocum had 3 goals and 5 steals. Olivia Westerberg had 2 goals and 4 assists for coach Kit Grattan’s team.

MaxPreps. Hilmar sweeps Elsinore to win Division V title.
Synopsis: The Hilmar Yellowjackets beat Elsinore in straight sets to capture the Division V State Championship on Friday afternoon. It was the third time Hilmar had advanced to the state finals under coach Patti Harris, but their first victory. Emma Gomes had 10 kills while Emma Nyman had 10 digs; setter Stella Pires had 38 assists. The Jackets finished the season 27-16. The Yellowjackets were down 23-24 in the second game when Reese Ahlem blocked a kill then flushed an overpass to take a 25-24 lead. Freshman Johanna Lawler ended it with an ace on the next serve, and Hilmar never looked back.

Gray: Let’s start doing things

The Hill. Need for Speed: Why permitting reform can’t come soon enough. 
Synopsis: In an op-ed, Rep. Adam Gray writes that if governments wants to restore faith in its ability to get things done, then it must first get out of its own way. Our Valley is desperate for massive investments in new water infrastructure, yet we appear incapable of moving beyond the endless planning and discussion phases. For example, the Los Banos Creek Detention Reservoir Storage project would provide flood protection, water storage, habitat improvements, and some storage during wet years. It was first proposed back in 2012 and has drawn little criticism. Yet, the project remains in paperwork purgatory. Paralysis by analysis. There are hundreds of projects just like this across the nation. It behooves both Democrats and Republicans to reform the process so that we can get things done. That doesn’t mean tossing aside safety or environmental considerations, just moving faster and getting things done.

Fear of ICE hurting Valley

Cal Matters. How fear of Trump’s immigration blitz is changing life in CA farm towns.  
Synopsis: Story focuses on Firebaugh, deep in CA-13. As with many reporters, Nigel Duara heads straight to Joe Del Bosque’s farm to write about melons, cherries and almonds. In nearby Firebaugh, he finds that sales-tax receipts are down 30% since ICE started making its highly politicized raids last summer. In Chowchilla, receipts are down 21% even though there have been few deportation raids in the area. People are, basically, in hiding. The Firebaugh food bank normally serves about 50 families; today it’s serving 150 as families are too fearful to venture out. “What connects (towns in this Valley) … is fear: Of tightened water allocations, of market turbulence, or immigration raids.” This fear is causing many workers to say they won’t be back. The US Labor Dept is worried, filing notice in the Federal Register last month that the nation’s food supply is jeopardy due to lack of labor.

Madera sets stage for tax hike

Fresno Bee. Madera County could face bankruptcy; $7M in cuts, new taxes proposed. 
Synopsis: Erik Galicia reports on the Madera County’s dire financial situation. The county is projecting a $7.1 million budget shortfall after giving workers a 2.7% cost-of-living raise. The county says it needs either new sales tax or cuts to staffing to balance its budget. That will mean reduced sheriff’s patrols, closed fire stations and possibly more. “These are all tough conversations to be had,” said Supervisor Jordan Wamhoff, who works for the Fresno PD. Already, the Sheriff’s Office has 25 unfilled positions, but can’t go lower without ending patrols. Administrators are suggesting raising the tax on motel rooms to 9% and the county’s sales tax. Voters rejected a higher sales tax in 2017 by a 12-point margin. 

Big raise for Fresno State exec

Fresno Bee. Fresno State president to get raise as CSU ups top-level compensation amid layoffs.
Synopsis: Fresno State president Saul Jimenez-Sandoval will get a 10% pay raise this year to $523,617 (not counting benefits) becoming the fifth-highest-paid campus president in the CSU system. Meanwhile, the CSU system is warning that severe budget cuts will force layoffs at some campuses. That does not sit well with the CSU Employees Union. When hired, Sandoval-Jimenez was paid the same as his predecessor, Joseph Castro. He has received raises every year, and with this one Sandoval-Jimenez’s pay is now 50% higher than it was when he was hired.

Judge rejects CASA’s help

Modesto Focus. A Modesto judge has a poor record of assigning vital service for foster kids. 
Synopsis: Stanislaus Judge Annette Rees has systemically excluded the 76 Court-Appointed Special Advocates – CASAs – who stand alongside foster children as they navigate the legal system. According to reporter Garth Stapley, Stanislaus is the only county in the state that deprives foster kids of support from specially trained volunteers. Rees said she values the assistance, but only when requested by attorneys or social workers. This is causing “profound dismay” for CASA volunteers at the local and state level. Among those quoted is former foster child Cassandra Amaral, who said the CASA volunteer “was my voice when I didn’t have one.” Judge Ann Ameral, who preceded Rees in hearing cases involving foster children, appointed CASAs to 75% of the children entering the system. Rees worked as a Stanislaus prosecutor with the Special Victims Unit, building a strong reputation. She insists she has no bias against CASA but does not make “blanket referrals.”

Veterans get help on co-pays

Turlock Journal. Legislative Roundup: VA to relieve veterans of over $272M in medical bills.
Synopsis: Joe Cortez reports that, thanks to Rep. Adam Gray’s STRIVE Act, some $272 million in medical debt accrued by veterans nationwide is being relieved. The debt arose due to technical errors in the Veteran Administration’s co-pay system. Gray’s bill was sailing through committee with support from both sides of the aisle when the VA decided to adopt its provisions and cancel the debt. Gray wants the bill to move forward to prevent similar situations from arising. Gray was also part of a bipartisan effort to introduce the PRECISE Act to incentivize private-sector investments into cost-sharing and research programs for precision farming tools.

Last parade for Iris

Merced Golden Wire (Facebook). Iris passes.
Synopsis: The Merced County Sheriff’s Posse announced the loss of Iris, a “truly exceptional horse and devoted companion to Taylor Nylund.” Reads the SO’s Facebook post: “She will be profoundly missed on the parade route.”

CA’s hospitals graded

Merced Sun Star. These are the most unsafe hospitals in CA, report says.
Synopsis: The reliable non-profit organization Leapfrog Group rates the nation’s hospital, assigning each a grade based on conditions ranging from hand-washing rules to surgical outcomes. Among those rated “A” in the Valley: Kaiser Permanente Modesto; Mercy Medical Center, Merced; St. Joseph’s, Stockton; and Memorial Hospital, Los Banos. Only 1 hospital in the state rated an F (Norwalk). Among those assigned a D were Doctors Medical Center in Modesto, Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock (both owned by Tenet Health) and Dameron in Stockton. Memorial Medical Center in Modesto got a B. Getting Cs were: Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno, Doctors of Manteca, Saint Agnes of Fresno and San Joaquin General in Stockton.

Having babies at home

Fresno Bee. Home births rise in Madera as services disappear, increasing risks for moms, babies.
Synopsis: In the time Madera Community Hospital was shuttered from 2023 to early 2025, there were 45 births in Madera County – 42 taking place in private homes. The CA Health Care Foundation found that 46,000 women of childbearing age live in California counties without maternity wards or obstetric care. Midwife Lacy Lisbon calls the Central Valley “a birth desert.” Her services run around $5,000 if there are no complications, but in Madera County – where 26% of the population lives in poverty – this is a problem.
MAD Note: Story says Madera Community reopened in 2023, but that is incorrect. It closed in December 2022 and reopened in March 2025 but without obstetric services.

CA’s surrender hurts Sikhs

SF Chronicle. CA’s surrender to Trump on commercial driver’s licenses threatens Sikh immigrants. 
Synopsis: Bhupinder Kaur wrote this op-ed as thousands of immigrant truck drivers stand to lose their commercial licenses, including Bhupinder’s husband. He has driven “with a spotless record” for years but now is in danger of having his license revoked based on his immigration status. California has issued 17,000 commercial driver’s licenses to immigrants, one of 19 states to allow immigrants a path to prosperity through driving. The revocations are a reaction to a crash in Florida that killed three people after an immigrant driver made an illegal turn. As the writer sees it, “California is helping execute a politically engineered purge of immigrant essential workers.” This policy will not improve safety, but it will “destabilize the supply chain that feeds the Bay Area, fuels the port of Oakland and keeps the state’s agriculture and logistics sectors functioning.” She concludes: “When fear replaces facts in policymaking, discrimination isn’t accidental. It’s the point.”

Roller-hockey rink in north Mo

Modesto Bee. Roller hockey center is coming to north Modesto; room for public skating, too. 
Synopsis: A roller-hockey arena is being built off Bangs Avenue on Galaxy Way in north Modesto on the site of an old aluminum fabrication facility. It will have two rinks in a 60,000 square-foot building that will include locker rooms, a kitchen, party rooms and a pro shop. It is bigger than the Powerplay Sports Arena that Daniel Costa (son of entrepreneur Dan) closed in 2018. Costa Limited Partners is behind the new building. The partnership has plans for 7 more buildings on the 9-acre site.