Valley Solutions

Judge rips Peterson’s appeal

Merced Golden Wire (Facebook). Unsealed transcript undermines Scott Peterson’s latest claims.
Synopsis: Judge Elizabeth Hill denied Scott Peterson’s third petition for writ of habeas corpus, finding utterly no merit in his legal team’s argument that prosecutors withheld evidence in the original trial. At issue was a sealed transcript from a meeting 22 years ago between Judge Alfred Delucchi and Peterson’s defense team, including attorney, Mark Geragos. In that meeting, the attorney admitted that Modesto police had, indeed, investigated the so-called “Aponte tip” about burglars operating nearby and found it to be a dead end. Peterson’s appeals team was fully aware of that admission when it filed the latest writ accusing the prosecution of withholding evidence. The judge told the attorney they had come “unsettlingly close” to violating ethical rules regarding candor and honesty before the court. Stanislaus DA Jeff Laugero said the ruling confirms the original verdict rendered more than 20 years ago.

Dos Palos: ‘State of emergency’

Merced Focus. Dos Palos leaders to consider financial ‘state of emergency’ after Measure V missteps. 
Synopsis: Editor Victor Patton and reporter Brianna Viccari do a deep dive on how Dos Palos got into such a financial mess. The city “borrowed” $2.2 million raised from the Measure V sales tax restricted to road projects and used it to pay for other priorities – like clean drinking water. Now, before the county will allow the city to accept any additional Measure V funding, it must repay the $2.2 million. That requirement leaves Mayor Katy Reed and the city council in a bind. “We can’t pretend this is just going to get better overnight,” Reed told a standing-room audience Friday. Part of the problem is that residents don’t yet pay enough to actually cover the cost of water delivery, garbage collection and sewers. Frustration among residents is obvious, but Claudia Bautista pointed out that the money was spent in the public’s interest so there was no fraud per se; just breaking rules. Retired resident Maria Bretado said her Medicare and food costs more now, and she can’t face an increase in fees for city services.

Merced becomes a canvas

Merced Golden Wire (Facebook). Murals transform downtown Merced into living art gallery.
Synopsis: Downtown Merced has gotten a paint job of glorious proportions, with towering murals and vibrant street art in preparation for the annual Merced Art Festival. Businesses are getting in on the movement, asking for their walls to be transformed. Residents flock to the newly painted walls to take photos, sometimes before the paint is even dry.

Water board limits Sites

KRCR (Redding). Draft permit conditions could shrink Sites Reservoir’s water yield. 
Synopsis: The Sites Project Authority responded to the State Water Resources Control Board’s approval of water rights on Friday, saying the state’s conditions threaten the project’s viability. The water board determined that 1-million-acre feet of water is available for storage at the reservoir, not the 1.5 million acre feet originally envisioned. Taking more, said the board, would threaten various species. The SPA said technical and legal flaws in the board’s analysis with regard to wildlife could make the entire project untenable.
MAD Take: California voters authorized $2.7 billion back in 2014 to build water projects. Since then, not one has been completed. Worse, Sites is the last remaining possibility as four other projects considered likely in 2014 have all been abandoned. Now, conditions on the water permit are making this project less likely. Astounding.

Speaking of water …

Westside Connect. Gustine reviews long-range water master plan as city prepares for major growth.
Synopsis: Gustine could double in size over the next two decades, and city officials want to be prepared. They updated their Water Master Plan, setting out improvements needed in the city’s water system as growth arrives. Prepared by Gouveia Engineering, the plan updates the 2002 master plan and includes sphere-of-influence and annexation data. The city said it expects to grow from 6,138 now to 11,616.

Office of Jim Costa: Costa announces more than $131 million for Valley water infrastructure projects.
Synopsis: Rep. Jim Costa’s office said it has secured $131 million for upgrades to the Friant-Kern Canal and O’Neill Pumping Plant, both critical components of the state’s water delivery system.

LA Times. Southern CA could get 85% of its water locally and avoid Delta tunnel, groups say.
Synopsis: Reporter Ian James reports on a “plan” by conservation groups that they say will make the Delta tunnel unnecessary. The groups are calling for more recycling of wastewater, greater stormwater capture and more efficient decontamination of groundwater. The group said that traditional sources of water for SoCal are no longer reliable and should be abandoned.
MAD Note: Though identified as “Southern CA conservation groups,” the list includes both the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, whose headquarter is roughly 140 miles north of Sacramento, the Yurok Tribe of Klamath near the Oregon border and Restore the Delta, which is based in Stockton. The argument that historic water sources will become unreliable is valid, and entirely well known. Still, it’s nice of all those folks living 300 or 600 miles away from LA to offer solutions to other people’s problems. And good of reporter/activist Ian James to pretend it is helpful.

Farmers worry ‘every day’

Merced Sun Star. Rising diesel prices pinching profits for CA farmers, spiking costs for consumers. 
Synopsis: Record-high diesel prices have persisted across the Valley since March and now are at $7.30 a gallon. That’s $3 higher than prices in March, when Donald Trump attacked Iran. Experts say the worst has not yet arrived and we should expect prices to continue rising through the summer. A farmer from Reedley said higher costs are rippling through every aspect of farming and will hit the consumer soon. Grocery prices are up 2.3% from April. Greg Markarian, a third-generation farmer and trucker, laid it out: “You have to find a way to make up those added costs. I hate charging people more … but what else can you do?” As for his home, “I worry about this farm every day.” Another farmer admitted, “Some people are barely hanging on. The government gives subsidies to the airlines and to the auto industry; it’s in the country’s national security interest to help save the farmers.”

It’s worse in the Midwest

Ag Daily. American corn farmers brace for $100-per-acre losses. 
Synopsis: The toughest financial cycle in more than a generation is facing farmers, according to the National Corn Growers Assn. “The emotion is pretty raw,” said NCGA’s Matt Frostic. He said many farmers tried to ignore the news over the past few months hoping costs would go down before the bills came due. Now they’re finding “those (higher) fertilizer prices are a reality.” As the cost of fertilizer, diesel, crop insurance and seed all have double-digit rises, the price of corn is falling. They’re blaming Trump’s policies: “Every additional tariff that’s put on, where does that go?”

Successful Farming. Argentina to gradually reduce soy, corn taxes in coming years.
Synopsis: The nation of Argentina taxes its soybean exports at 24%, but that will be down to 15% by 2028. Export taxes on corn will fall from 8.5% to 5.5%. The president of Argentina has promised to bring the export taxes to zero, encouraging more growth and sales.
MAD Note: Lowering export taxes will do two things in Argentina: Increase planting and lower the prices of Argentine soybeans and corn to other nations. Their customers are the same buyers who might otherwise purchase American corn and soybeans. It’s interesting that Donald Trump sent Argentina’s president $20 billion to help “stabilize” that nation’s economy. There are other “economies” that need stabilizing, and much closer to home.

Valley guy led ‘tank team’

Fox26. Fresno firefighter helps lead response after chemical tank scare at SoCal aerospace site.
Synopsis: Assistant Chief Chuck Tobias of the CA Office of Emergency Services worked in Fresno for 36 years before moving to SoCal. He was on the scene in Garden Grove when a dangerously overheating chemical storage tank threatened the safety of roughly 50,000 people, requiring mass evacuations. Tobias was in charge of the team that peeled back the tank’s outer shell so the contents could be more easily cooled, ending the emergency.

Halloween décor burns

Merced Sun Star. Popular Merced Halloween house’s decorations destroyed by fire.
Synopsis: A GoFundMe account has been set up to help Harmony and Ken Anderson restore their spooky displays that have delighted trick-or-treaters for a decade. It featured “an army of life-size skeletons, witches, snakes, goblins, mummies and tombstones” that they assemble in front of their home. On May 13, a fire destroyed the storage unit where the decorations were kept.

Fruit, pies and a playground

Modesto Bee. Swing, climb, maybe have pie, too; check out Stanislaus business’ unique play park. 
Synopsis: The Resendiz Family Fruit Barn on Geer Road just east of Hughson opened its new play area over the weekend, welcoming families and friends. The Barn has been growing – from a fruit stand to a bakery to a destination – since Francisco opened in 1986. At first, it was just a place to sell his extra stone fruit, grown on 33 acres nearby. Soon, he realized he needed an “attraction” to draw customers. Many come for the playground but come back for the pie crisps – which Francisco’s wife Erika has been making since they opened the bakery. And they aren’t through building.

Team Andretti boss from Modesto

Modesto Bee. Modesto native on track to make history as IndyCar’s only female team president. 
Synopsis: Jill Gregory has taken the wheel at Andretti Global, the racing team started by Mario Andretti and formerly the racing home for Michael and Marco. Gregory, a Davis High grad, is the only woman who heads an IndyCar racing team having come to the team after leading Sonoma Raceway and working in marketing for NASCAR. Her drivers this year are Will Power, Kyle Kirkwood and Marcus Ericsson. Ericsson was No. 13 at the Indy 500, Kirkwood 16 and Power did not finish.

Getting a good ‘Girl Dinner’

Fresno Bee. What’s ‘girl dinner’? Here are the Fresno-area restaurants where you can find out. 
Synopsis: “Girl dinner” is so mainstream that you can order it by name at many restaurants. Guys love their meat and potatoes, but “girls” sometimes want something a bit fancier, healthier and lighter. Oh, and with libation. One Girl Dinner features a charcuterie board with cheese, crackers, pickles and wine. Always wine or a viable substitute. You can get a Girl Dinner at Ten Tavern (fries, a Tentini, Caesar salad); Starving Artist Bistro (a Cosmo, salad and French fries), and CheyAnne’s Steakhouse (martini, salad, small plate) all for under $30.