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.

Gray on working together

Merced County Times. Congressman Gray brings infrastructure funding to Merced. 
Synopsis: Rep. Adam Gray was in Merced on Tuesday presenting a huge check representing an $850,000 federal grant he secured for the Childs Avenue project – roughly 2,000 feet of roadway, sidewalks, gutters and drainage along Canal and Childs streets. Mayor Matthew Serratto called the grant a “major morale boost” and “symbolic win” for South Merced. At a second event, Gray presented another oversized check representing a $3.5 million grant for improvements along Bear Creek, which flows through the city. “It’s not just about the infrastructure that’s going to go in there, but the opportunity it’s going to create for those neighborhoods,” said Gray. “I couldn’t be more grateful that we have local leaders who really work together, and get away from the frustration of partisan politics.”

19 Days to Vote … and counting

Modesto Focus. Don’t hold onto those ballots too long. 
Synopsis: Columnist Garth Stapley reminds voters that thousands of ballots were disqualified in the last election due to procedural changes in the US Postal Service. Mail is not postmarked at the dropoff locations (even post offices), but later in centralized facilities. That resulted in some 13,200 discarded ballots in the Northern San Joaquin Valley over the last two elections – an increase of 230% above rejected ballots under the old process. “This is totally unacceptable.” Three options: Mail your ballots by Oct. 27, ask for a manual postmark when dropping off or use a drop-box found in every county.
MAD Note: The state dashboard provides a searchable site so you can find the nearest drop box.

Merced Sun Star. Where can I vote before Election Day?
Synopsis: You don’t have to wait until Nov. 3 to vote. You can drop off your ballot – everyone was mailed one – at a drop box or the county registrar’s office or at a post office. Merced County will open three early-voting sites on Oct. 24 – Los Banos Community Center, Atwater Community Center and the American Legion Post in Merced. Another 12 will open on Oct. 31.

Letting others do the talking

Politico. California Playbook: Back again.
Synopsis: Deep in the daily roundup of political news, we learn that House Speaker Mike Johnson is coming back to the Valley to once again speak for candidate Kevin Lincoln. Republicans are hoping Johnson can help make Lincoln more popular in Stockton where he was defeated in his bid for a second term as mayor and has lost two elections for other offices (Assembly and Congress) since then.
MAD Take: Kevin Lincoln lives in the northern-most part of Stockton, about 10 miles outside the district he wants to represent. In other words, Lincoln can’t vote for himself. Apparently, he can’t speak for himself either. Lincoln won’t debate Adam Gray. He won’t sit for interviews with reporters. Why? Check out the interview KCRA did a couple of years ago when Lincoln forgot what he was supposed to say in mid-sentence.

School bonds are on the ballot

Merced Focus. Five school bond measures are on Merced ballots; here’s what they would fund and cost.
Synopsis: Christian de Jesus Betancourt reports on the five bond measures, totaling around $370 million for improvements in Merced County schools. The reporter writes about how much each bond will cost per $100,000 assessed value, what it will be used for and its total costs to taxpayers.
MAD Take: While bond costs are important, it doesn’t tell the entire story. All bonds have underwriters, bank-backed companies that help school districts sell bonds to voters. The cost of underwriting is seldom discussed, but it varies greatly. Some companies charge 1.5% of the value of the bond issue – meaning the companies stand to make $5.5 million on those bonds. A few underwriters charge only 0.5%. So it’s important to make underwriting fees part of the reporting. There are separate fees for bond management and “takedown,” basically another commission. Who buys the bonds? Commercial banks, who then sell them to make even more profit. Since few reporters understand how bonds work, it seldom gets reported.

Valley communities are upset

LA Times. ‘Very few people out in the streets’: ICE surge rattles CA’s Central Valley.
Synopsis: The Times comes to Kerman where Mayor Maria Pacheco has confronted ICE agents, telling them, “You’re not welcome in my city,” and “We don’t want you here.” In Madera, the Oaxacan Guelaguetza Festival has been canceled, and in Fresno the Big Fresno Fair is seeing huge drops in attendance as many are fearful of encountering roaming ICE agents. Timed to coincide with elections, the UFW calls enforcement “brutal.” Elected leaders such as Rep. Adam Gray and Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff have demanded that the Dept of Homeland Security explain the scope and purpose of the ICE surge and identify the people detained. Gov. Newsom said the Trump administration is using “fear and panic as a weapon, putting families at risk, undermining our economy and terrorizing communities.”

Solving hardest water problems

Wall Street Journal. How to actually fix the Colorado River crisis.
Synopsis: Some 40 million people rely on the Colorado River, including 20 million in California. But a generation of drought has pushed the river to the brink. Now, CA, Nevada and Arizona are losing massive portions of their water allocations while other states aren’t feeling the pinch. This is all because water agreements were all based on grossly inflated annual flows. Instead of 22 million acre-feet a year, as thought when the dams were built, the river yields only around 13 MAF; that could fall to 10 MAF with climate change. This video explains it, including how the federal government is blowing it.

Maven’s Notebook. Induced demand is a prerequisite for abundance. 
Synopsis: Edward Ring of the CA Policy Center writes about the regulatory quagmire in which so many worthy projects sink into oblivion. He says that too many state laws are based on the premise that the supply of any common good – housing, roads, water, energy – must be increased. Until supplies meet demand, the state must “ration” disbursement or artificially constrain demand to ensure equitable distribution. This is why we have “road diets,” bike lanes to nowhere and houses in places people don’t want to live. If we produce more water, people will waste it. He says the state believes that to protect properly value a commodity, we must maintain its scarcity.

Test scores are rising

Fresnoland. Fresno County school test scores are up; how one rural district says they’re doing it. 
Synopsis: At Golden Plains Unified School District, math proficiency is up 6%, English is 26% up. How are the kids in San Joaquin, Tranquility, Cantua Creek and Three Rocks doing it? Superintendent Felipe Piedra says it’s all about parent involvement and buy-in. Virtually all of Fresno County’s school districts saw testing improvements, mirroring gains across the state. But Golden Plains is special. Some 95% of students are economically disadvantaged, 49% are English Learners. “We’re bringing our parents in, bringing other community members in as well, bringing resources in for parents and families to see. We’re offering food in an environment where parents can come and feel welcome.”

It’s a paper party

Modesto Bee. Jot this in your notebook: Turlock will host the Valley’s first Stationery Fest. 
Synopsis: Reporter Maria Figueroa says paper lovers should mark their calendars and plan to be at Stanislaus State’s Student Center on Oct. 24 from 9 a.m.; to 3 p.m. They can revel in all things paper -- pens, artwork, stickers and more. Forty vendors are being hosted by Victoria Mires, owner of Paper Moon Stationery in Turlock. She’s patterning the event after the SF Pen Show. One of the biggest names attending is Blackwing, an art-pencil company based in Stockton.

Pedestrian deaths spark anger

Modesto Bee. Modesto was upgrading Coffee Road before crash killed 2 teens; what’s next?
Synopsis: The deaths of two teenage girls Friday on Coffee Road near Downey High School left many in the community heartbroken. They attended the Modesto City Council meeting and called for greater pedestrian protect, especially at night near schools. They want better lighting, flashing crosswalks and more on Coffee. The city adopted the Safe Streets and Roads for All Action Plan on April 7, but the improvements have not yet been made. Speaking most forcefully for additional measures was MCS Trustee Abel Maestas. Councilmember Chris Ricci noted the plans for improvements, but demanded those plans be put into action. There were three deaths of teens in the region over the weekend as Turlock freshman Jameson Hendrix was killed while riding an e-bike.

Live shell taken from shed

Modesto Bee. Air Force takes mortar round found in shed of Modesto home.
Synopsis: Staffers from Travis Air Force Base took custody of an old mortar shell found in a backyard shed in north Modesto on Tuesday. The incident began when residents reported the smell of leaking gas in the neighborhood around Rexford Court. PG&E came out, but determined it wasn’t natural gas that was stinking, but the mortar shell. They called the sheriff, who called the Air Force. No charges are pending.

Four arrested in shooting of 49er

Stocktonia. Arrests in shooting of 49ers player have ties to San Joaquin County.
Synopsis: Four men have been arrested in connection with the shooting for Keion White at a nightclub last February. White is a defensive lineman for the San Francisco 49ers. One of the accused was arrested in Stockton, where police found a loaded gun, contraband pills and cash. Another was arrested in Mountain House, also with a semi-automatic weapon. The other two were arrested in Irvine and Atlanta.

Whew, that’s a spicy lawsuit

GV Wire. Lawsuit alleges Fresno Unified HR director allowed to resign after paying for sex with staffer.
Synopsis: A lawsuit alleges that Manjit Atwal was having sexual relationships with several Black men under her supervision. Though they complained, Fresno Unified took months to discipline her. One of her victims says she paid him for sex then threatened him after he ended the relationship. The lawsuit says she also threatened female employees she thought were interested in the same men she was pursuing. Atwal was put on paid administrative leave during the 2025-26 school year and asked to resign, which she did in March. The plaintiff’s lawyer says that doesn’t let the district off the hook; that it should have acted more quickly to protect employees.

In Lathrop, slow down

KCRA. Lathrop votes to lower speed limits near schools.
Synopsis: The city of Lathrop voted to reduce speed limits around schools from 30 miles per hour to 20 or even 15 in some areas. That’s the lowest allowed by the state. There are seven schools within city limits, requiring around 80 signs to be changed. “Just slow down,” said public works director Brad Taylor.

A well-read honey bear

KSEE / CBS47. Bear caught on camera enjoying jar of honey in Central CA library.
Synopsis: A bear wandered into a public library, found a jar of honey then walked around. The bear came through the doors of the Mono County Free Library at around 6 a.m. Wednesday and went straight for the snacks. He found cookies, peach cups and a jar of honey. He then walked through the building before going back out the door he had pried open. Remarkably, staff said there was no other damage. Coincidentally, Wednesday was the 100^th anniversary of the publication of the first Winnie-the-Pooh book by A.A. Milne. Sweet.