Valley Solutions

Their greed not our problem

Valley Citizen. ‘They chose profit over responsible farming practices,’ says MID board president. 
Synopsis: Publisher Eric Caine takes a close look at “a classic study in false equivalency” when Stanislaus County enacted its Modesto Subbasin Well Mitigation Plan. Adopted on Jan. 21, the “plan” tries to equate the needs of less than a dozen growers in the “Non-District East” with thousands of people living in Riverbank, Modesto and Del Rio. This plan would make everyone else in the county responsible for supplying water to people who planted nut trees on non-irrigated land knowing they’d have to pump to keep those trees alive. As MID board president Bob Frobose put it: “They chose profit over responsible farming.” These NDE growers have been pumping from 60,000 to 90,000-acre feet of groundwater a year to grow almonds – clearly in violation of the state’s sustainability law. In its plan, the county will review a study by these growers that could result in other areas of the county giving up water so these growers can keep pumping. “The biggest consumer of that groundwater is a partner with an MID director and either a current or former partner with Stanislaus County’s longest-serving supervisor,” writes Caine. The director is Larry Byrd. And the supervisor is Terry Withrow. Caine’s conclusion: “Responsible farmers, urban residents and other members of ‘groundwater-dependent communities’ should not be forced to bear the costs and burdens” of the poor choices made by NDE growers.

Students march against ICE

EdSource. CA students join nationwide anti-ICE protest.
Synopsis: Young Californians are angry over ICE and the Trump administration for treatment of children, immigrants and those who stand up to them. Thousands walked out of classrooms on Friday including in Fresno, Merced, Turlock and Stockton. Their signs read “Raise Hell, melt ICE” and “Stop Detaining Children.” College students are organizing warning systems and networks. Nurses are protesting the shooting in every major city. Retired folks, perhaps recalling the ’60s, are standing on street corners shaking their fists. Some school districts considered it a teachable moment, canceling classes.

Modesto Bee. Over 300 Turlock High students walk out in solidarity with Minneapolis.
Synopsis: Nearly 1,000 students left their classrooms at Turlock and Pitman high schools to show solidarity with students across the nation Friday. Joined by school administrators and parents and police, and walking to music from ukuleles, they walked to Crane Park. Principal Dave Kline said he supports the right to protest, but as a school employee has no stand on the cause. More parents were waiting at Crane Park as marchers arrived.

Turlock Journal. Students walk out, march to show support for Minneapolis. 
Synopsis: The students started walking out around lunchtime, marching to Crane Park to show their anger with ICE and support for the people of Minneapolis. In all, close to 1,800 Turlock Unified students were marked absent for the post-lunch period. TUSD administrator said the district’s priority was student safety. “While TUSD did not sponsor or endorse the protest, we do recognize and are obligated to uphold students’ rights to free speech, expression and peaceful assembly.” Said one student: “We’re forced to deal with a generation of Boomers that has caused the mess that is killing people in our streets.” Another pointed out that they “weren’t there just to skip class.”

Merced Sun Star: Merced community gathers to voice opposition to ICE, support for Minnesota. 
Synopsis: Some 150 students gathered at Merced Courthouse Park in solidarity with Minneapolis on Friday. Many students came from Merced College; they were joined by retired teachers and parents. As the crowd grew, protesters arrived with snacks and water. A bagpiper played “Amazing Grace” and drivers honked and waved, though a few shouted expletives. Max Coronado, a Native American, carried a sign that read, “Stop Killing Our Neighbors.”

Fresno Bee. Hundreds of students at multiple Fresno schools walk out in anti-ICE protests. 
Synopsis: About 300 students from Fresno High walked out after lunch, carrying signs and shouting. At Sunnyside, more than 200 walked off the campus. It’s not clear how many students left other schools, but many marched to district offices on Tulare Street chanting, “We skipped our classes to teach you a lesson.” Student Nivri Parnell said this was her first protest; her sign read: “I prefer my ICE crushed.” One parent said it was “awesome” to see students involved. State law allows students to miss a day of school for a political protest each year.

ER waits: It’s longer in Valley

GV Wire/CVJC. How long does a hospital emergency room visit take? How Valley hospitals rate. 
Synopsis: Tim Sheehan of the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative looks at data from the US Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to find the median wait time in ERs across the nation is 2 hours, 41 minutes. Statewide, wait-times in CA average 2:58. But in the Central Valley, it can take up to 5 hours. Oak Valley Hospital in Oakdale is the best, seeing patients in “just over 2 hours.” In Kern County’s Adventist Health it takes 5 hours. Others: Clovis Community Med Center 4:32; Modesto Memorial Medical 4:15; St. Agnes (Fresno) 4:12. Bottom line, we don’t have enough doctors, hospitals, beds or nurses. An interactive chart shows every Valley hospital, including Doctors Modesto 3:44, Doctors Manteca 2:56, San Joaquin General 3:49, Memorial Los Banos 2:44 and Bakersfield Memorial 3:29.

Valley politics: Chasing Valadao

Cal Matters. CA Rep. David Valadao voted for Medi-Cal cuts; will voters hold it against him?
Synopsis: Reporter Maya Miller writes about David Valadao’s 527,000 constituents and the two-thirds of them who rely on Medi-Cal for health coverage. They’re hurting or will be soon. That’s the highest concentration of Medicaid dependent voters of any Republican-held district in America. Valadao voted to shift $1 trillion from Medicaid to the pockets of the wealthy in tax-avoidance legislation – despite a promise not to. “He was the deciding vote,” said Dr. Jasmeet Bains, who represents the area in the Assembly and cares for its children. “He lied to our faces,” said Randy Villegas, a school board trustee. Both are running against Valadao. Those who work in healthcare call Valadao’s votes “a betrayal.” Valadao points to the $50 billion earmarked for rural hospitals. But most of that is going to other states. Meanwhile, our hospitals will face cuts of $15 billion under the Big Beautiful Bill – or Big Beautiful Betrayal in the words of Gavin Newsom.

Valley Sun. Villegas trumps Bains in fundraising arms race to face Valadao. 
Synopsis: The battle to become the Democratic candidate for Congressional District 22 is getting hotter. Randy Villegas, who is endorsed by Bernie Sanders and Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, raised $373,860 according to FCC records; Dr. Jasmeet Bains, a more moderate Assemblymember, raised $299,670. Valadao raised $618,304 in the same period and has $2.2 million on hand.

‘Parties’ don’t fix local problems

Turlock Journal. Partisanship has no place in local government. 
Synopsis: Columnist Mike Lynch writes about the need to keep partisan anger out of local government – the place where the most important work gets done. He offers advice: 1) Don’t believe every bad thing you hear about Joe Biden or Donald Trump. 2) Don’t believe everything good thing, either. 3) Recognize that no “big problem” is actually easy to solve. 4) Nothing is free, and even solutions (like tariffs) have costs. 5) Partisan politics don’t belong in local government. 6) Be suspicious of any candidate who insists they don’t need to work with “the other side.”

Prison guards took revenge

SF Chronicle. Leaked videos show CA prison guards pepper-sprayed women who alleged misconduct. 
Synopsis: Guards at Chowchilla’s Central CA Women’s Facility can be seen in videos approaching prisoners lined up in the cafeteria and spraying specific inmates directly in the face at close range. Other guards join in, throwing smoke bombs. Some of those attacked were in wheelchairs. Other videos show guards approaching women in the prison yards and exploding smoke grenades. The Dept of Corrections said some staff members have already been fired, fined or retrained. A former corrections officer posted the videos.

No, there’s not enough snow

Merced Sun Star. Snowpack lags in watersheds for Stanislaus, nearby counties; is it time to worry?
Synopsis: January was exceptionally dry and warm in the West following a moderately wet December. It has left CA’s largest reservoir – the Sierra snowpack – with about half the water it should contain. The central Sierra snowpack is at 59%, or 14% lower than it was in mid-December.

Maven. CA’s drought is over, but we still must invest in water-supply projects. 
Synopsis: Columnist Edward Ring writes that yes, drought is a thing of the past. It’s also very much a thing of the future. It’s always that way. CA has been in drought about 30% of the time since 2000. Ring quotes Dr. John Christy of the Univ of Alabama who says CA is not warming any faster than anywhere else. Our droughts, rainfall and wildfire are all in keeping with historical averages. This means “policies oriented to scarcity will not give us the ability to adapt and prepare.”

NY Times. Snow drought in the West reaches record levels.
Synopsis: While much of the Midwest and East have suffered record snowfall, the West has seen hardly any. Resorts in Utah and Colorado have barely enough snow to open and most snowmobile trails remain closed. The Colorado River is in crisis.

Arguing over Delta water plan

Merced Sun Star. Bay-Delta water plan divides tribes, farmers and regulators. 
Synopsis: As the State Water Board considers its mandated update for the Bay-Delta Water Quality plan, groups are demanding their different priorities take precedence. The state’s “Healthy Rivers and Landscapes” plan was released in December, giving groups on both sides fodder for complaints. Loudest were environmental commercial fishing groups who disparaged the Voluntary Agreements between the state and irrigation districts to restore habitat on dozens of rivers and streams. Those restoration projects appear to be showing results as a startling number of salmon have been arriving to spawn in streams throughout the north state. Rather than allow consideration of spawning habitat improvement, commercial fishers and environmental organizations insist that at least 55% of all natural flows must reach the ocean. Scientists point out that if less water is stored, the water remaining in dams will be warmer and that will hurt salmon out-migration.
MAD Take: Interesting story, but absolutely no mention of the fact commercial salmon fishing has been banned for three years. The salmon resurgence likely reflects wetter conditions and better habitat. But mainly it is due to not killing fish before they spawn.

Crash can’t stop backseat baby

Fresno Bee. Mother gives birth in back seat moments before collision in Fresno.
Synopsis: A woman was on her way to the hospital when the child decided its time had come. The driver took the next exit off Hwy 41 too fast and struck a pole ending the trip. First-responders got both mom and newborn out of the car and off to St. Agnes, where both are reportedly doing well.

Keeping 4-legged officers safe

Merced Golden Wire (Facebook). Vests for K9 officers.
Synopsis: The Yosemite Gateway Chapter of the CA Order of the Eastern Star has donated two ballistic vests to the Merced Police Dept’s K9 unit. Brady’s K9 Fund raised $50,000 last year to buy the vests. A comment beneath the original post noted “Sheriff Dept is next in line.”