Valley Solutions

To be counted, vote early

Merced Focus. Hundreds of late Merced County ballots were rejected in 2025, data analysis finds. 
Synopsis: A rule change by the US postal service a year ago caused hundreds of ballots to be returned too late to be counted in 2025, said Merced Registrar of Voters Mel Levey. Last year, the US Postal Service began collecting mail in places like Merced and Modesto then taking it to a regional distribution center to be postmarked and time stamped. That caused delays of up to a day in ballots being postmarked and caused 1,663 Merced ballots to be disqualified. There were 3,303 in Kern and 3,019 in Stanislaus. The numbers are roughly 10 times the number of late ballots in 2024. It was “not a partisan issue,” said Levey. “It did not affect one type of registered voter more than the other. It was not all Democrats; it was not all Republicans or all ‘no party preference.’” He said this should serve as a reminder for voters to return their ballots sooner rather than later.

CA has 6 weeks’ worth of gas

Cal Matters. CA has 6 weeks of gas supply; after that, it gets expensive.
Synopsis: Eleven weeks into the Iran war, CA drivers are suffering through the highest gas prices in the nation – $6.15 a gallon. Yes, it’s a combination of factors – refinery closures, the shift from fossil to renewable, the California formulation, etc. But it is likely to get worse as supplies dwindle and possibly evaporate by mid-June. Here are five things to consider as Sacramento responds over the next six weeks: 1) Wherever CA gets its crude, it will become more expensive on the world market and that will be reflected in gas prices. 2) As refineries close, the state is already relying on imported gas. 3) Oil companies say we should not need imports, that they can pump enough if released from vexatious regulations. 4) How expensive? $6.50 seems to be the consensus, but $7 is out there. 5) Your EV just got more valuable. Six months ago, with purchase subsidies disappearing, EVs had fallen out of fashion. Now they’re fetching a premium on the used market, if you can find them.
MAD Take: A couple of things were left out of this report. 1) Since the US is an oil-exporting country, why doesn’t the government simply curtail exports until the crisis passes? With plenty of oil sloshing around the US, prices would fall ... but so would record oil company profits. 2) The reporter spoke to UC’s Severin Borenstein, but no mention was made of the “mystery surcharge” that the learned professor documented 20 years ago. That surcharge adds roughly 50 cents to every gallon we buy. And BTW, Borenstein told the NY Post this week that gas could reach $8 a gallon, not $7. The oil industry famously makes $1 billion a day in profits. Seems there is a word for that kind of profit margin. Uh, gouging?

Mayor disconnects vice mayor

Stockton Record. Stockton vice mayor barred from meeting, accuses mayor of silencing residents. 
Synopsis: Vice Mayor Jason Lee accused Stockton Mayor Christina Fugazi of silencing residents when she invoked a rule over location notifications and refused to allow Lee’s remote participation in Tuesday’s council meeting. California open-meeting law requires that any location used by officials to teleconference be posted with an agenda for 72 hours prior to the meeting. That way, anyone in the vicinity can attend if they choose. Lee was in a hotel in Times Square in New York City. The mayor sent someone to the hotel to see if the meeting agenda had been posted in advance. Finding none, she ordered the Vice Mayor be disconnected when he called in. “This is bigger than politics. This is about abuse of authority,” said Lee, who called on the mayor to resign. Fugazi said allowing Lee’s participation in a non-noticed meeting could have jeopardized any actions taken by the council.

Fresno’s anti-gay vote

Fresnoland. Fresno County supervisors put an end to libraries participating in Pride Month celebrations.
Synopsis: On a 3-2 vote, Fresno County supervisors rejected county participation in Pride Month activities – including the $125 library staff wanted to spend as participants in the annual Rainbow Pride parade and funding for book displays during Pride Month. “To that, I say hell no,” said Supervisor Garry Bredefeld. Last year the board passed a rule requiring all county agencies to get permission before using discretionary funding for public events. Advocates for both sides flooded the chambers for the meeting. Supervisors Luis Chavez and Brian Pacheco said they would not vote in favor of banning books at a public library.

He’s happier as a priest

Valley Sun. e.l.f. Cosmetics co-founder to be ordained Catholic priest in Visalia.
Synopsis: Scott Vincent-Borba, who founded a $3 billion cosmetics company, gave up his wealth and the life of a high-roller to become a Catholic priest, ordained this week. “We ran around with the likes of Paris Hilton, and partying with Kardashians and just going up the Hollywood life,” Borba said, who created a cruelty-free cosmetics brand. “I was the poster boy for luxury living.” The Visalia native said he has found true happiness since giving up his wealth in 2021.

Bar offers non-alcohol ‘euphoria’

Modesto Bee. No alcohol at new Modesto bar; ‘euphoric’ experience comes from something else.
Synopsis: Candace Fleming opened the Alchemist Café in April on E Street, turning a former home into a café. A tattoo artist did the décor. Like the reporter, Fleming is a former bartender who wanted a more wholesome bar experience. Coffee, kava, extracts, tinctures, cacao and more go into 12 different flavors of “elixirs” and smoothies.

Sikh biker boss going to jail

SF Chronicle. Stockton ‘outlaw’ biker club boss headed to prison after gun bust. 
Synopsis: The founder of the Sikh motorcycle gang Punjabi Devils is going to prison. Jashanpreet Singh, 27, was sentenced to 5 years by Judge Dale Drozd after he tried to sell illegal weapons – assault-style rifles, a short-barreled rifle and a machine gun among other things -- to undercover agents. He was arrested in San Francisco while trying to board a flight to India.

Canola theft leads to prison

Ag Daily. Fresno transloading owner sentenced for $4.8 million canola theft, fraud.
Synopsis: Richard Best, 72, was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay $2 million for his role in stealing millions of dollars’ worth of animal feed from international food processors, said US Attorney Eric Grant. “Today’s sentence sends a clear message that those who commit fraud in our agricultural markets will be found and prosecuted,” said Grant. Best and partner Shawn Sawa used Best’s trucking company to falsify documents and redirect deliveries to Texas, where the canola was sold to dairies.

‘Fine tuning’ beef imports

Successful Farming / Reuters. Trump administration ‘fine-tuning’ action to ease US beef shortages.
Synopsis: The White House ordered reductions in tariffs and increased quotas to bring down the price of beef to consumers. As prices for eggs, milk and chicken have fallen in recent weeks, the price of beef has remained near record levels and continues to rise (0.6% for June live cattle). Trump’s previous efforts to reverse price increases – cutting tariffs on imports from Brazil and Argentina – have had no impact. The US cattle herd is at its lowest point since 1951, and this year’s imports are expected to reach 5.8 billion pounds.

Beef imports hurt US ranchers

Morning Ag Clips. R-CALF statement on suspension of tariff rate quotas for beef. 
Synopsis: The Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund – R-CALF -- reacted bitterly to the White House’s decision to suspend tariff-rate quotas for 200 days in order to bring down the price of beef. The tariff-rate quotas are specific to each country and have been used to discourage imports and sustain higher prices for U.S. beef. R-CALF believes the lower tariffs benefit the four largest meat-packing firms, which have driven most small producers out of business. The Trump plan outrages R-CALF CEO Bill Bullard, who says prices are “not competitive because of the control exerted by monopolistic beef packers and monopolistic beef retailers. There is a high probability that dominant beef packers and retailers will extract supra-competitive profits from this plan.” He wants country-of-origin labeling on all beef sold to consumers and the current beef marketing order dissolved.

Farmer’s plea: Buy American

Fox26. Kerman peach farmer digs up 3,000 trees after Del Monte Foods bankruptcy. 
Synopsis: Johnnie Siliznoff knocked over 3,000 cling-peach trees near Kerman after being unable to find a buyer for his fruit. The farmer had been under contract with Del Monte to process his peaches in Modesto, but the company filed for bankruptcy and is out of business. He got a USDA grant to remove his trees. Siliznoff had a request of all consumers: “Buy American. Look at that product and does it say, ‘Made in America’ -- not ‘Processed in America,’ not ‘Packed in Americ?’ Does it say, ‘Grown in America’? We all survive with each other.”

Cartoonist has his doubts

SF Chronicle. CA Democrats are about to make a big mistake with Xavier Becerra. 
Synopsis: Cartoonist and columnist Jack Ohman is not a fan of Xavier Becerra. At a recent rally in Sacramento, there was lots of shouting but little in the way of promises. “The rally felt like a Hollywood version of a substance-free campaign rally.” Worse, much worse, was Becerra’s inability to answer questions from a NY Times reporter. “Cartoonists are trained to call BS, and there was plenty of it at Monday’s rally.”

Hantavirus: Closer than you think

Stockton Record. Hantavirus exposure confirmed north and south of Stockton. 
Synopsis: CA health officials have confirmed that four residents were exposed to the Andes strain of hantavirus on a cruise ship; they are from Sacramento and Santa Clara counties. Two remain quarantined in Nebraska, while the other two have returned to California and are being monitored by public health officials. Neither has exhibited symptoms. Dr. Erica Pan of the CA Dept of Public Health stressed that it is extremely rare for hantavirus to pass from one human to another.