Valley Solutions

UC Merced cracks the top 25

SF Chronicle. Here’s where each UC landed on latest US News Best College rankings. 
Synopsis: Berkeley and UCLA remained the top two public universities in the world, but there’s nothing new about that – they’re always among the top three. The news is that all 9 UC undergrad campuses have been listed among the top 45 colleges in the nation by US News & World Report. Seven of the campuses are in the top 25. They are: No. 1 Berkeley, No. 2 UCLA, No. 6 UC San Diego, No. 9 (tie) UC Davis and UC Irvine, No. 14 UC Santa Barbara and – sound the trumpets – No. 25 UC Merced. That is a towering achievement considering that two much older UC campuses were ranked lower -- Riverside at No. 36, Santa Cruz at No. 43. UC Merced is No. 3 among campuses serving low-income students. These results led the Chronicle to write that the UC and CSU systems offer the strongest returns on investment of any public colleges in America.

Los Banos hires top exec

Westside Express. LB council approves contract for city manager, adopts food vendor ordinance.
Synopsis: Mayor Mike Amabile confirmed that Nirorn Than – the city’s public works director until abruptly resigning nearly two years ago – will return to become city manager starting next month. Than will replace interim city manager Gary Brizzee, who was chief of police when Than was originally with the city. Both stepped away from their roles under former city manager Josh Pinheiro, who left the city shortly after elections replaced all of his supporters on the city council. Also, during the council meeting the city passed new rules for food vendors and heard from the Bureau of Reclamation, which updated its progress in elevating the BF Sisk Dam at San Luis Reservoir 20 feet. The work will improve the dam’s seismic safety.

Pro and con of Prop 50

Sacramento Bee. Gov. Newsom to Stephen Colbert: Trump is trying to rig elections.
Synopsis: Gov. Gavin Newsom was on the Late Show to talk about why Prop 50 is the appropriate response to Donald Trump’s effort to gerrymander away 5 Democratic-held seats in Texas. Trump asked the Texas state legislature to redraw its districts to make it difficult for Democrats to win those five seats – which the Texas legislature did. Newsom reacted with Prop 50, which temporarily responds to the Trump maneuver by redrawing several California districts to make it easier for Democrats to win. Newsom appeared to “thunderous applause” in New York as he and Colbert spoke for 17 minutes.

Ag Alert. Commentary: Why farmers, ranchers must reject Prop 50.
Synopsis: CA Farm Bureau president Shannon Douglass called on her members to vote against Prop 50. She says it will undermine rural representation in Congress. She pointed out that Fresno County would be split among five representatives – which is only one more than the four currently representing the county in Congress. San Joaquin would have four representatives instead of the current two.

Billions of beans, no buyers

Successful Farming. China expands Argentina soybean buying to 20 cargoes, traders say.
Synopsis: After having bought up most of the soybeans in Brazil, China is buying 1.3 million tons of Argentine beans. Meanwhile, 4.3 billion tons of American soybeans are being harvested without buyers and no place to put them.

Successful Farming. ‘A dire strait’: 1 in 3 farms could close without aid, Arkansas ag leaders say.
Synopsis: Bankers in Arkansas are warning state and federal leaders that a lot of farmers will be forced into bankruptcy if tariffs continue to diminish ag exports. The situation is similar across all southern states, but Arkansas already leads the nation in Chapter 12 bankruptcies. The bankers noted that the Trump budget has financial aid for farmers, but it’s not available until next fall. By then it will be too late. They’re asking state leaders to end sales taxes on equipment, services and seeds. Said one farmer, “This gets in bed with you. … The bad dreams happen at night. The bad dreams are going out of business.”
MAD Take: Soybeans are the No. 3 crop in Arkansas and its largest export. 

Fighting farm depression

Morning Ag Clips. Op-Ed: We urgently need action. 
Synopsis: A group called Rural Minds is sounding “an urgent alarm” about the impacts of Medicaid cuts and the loss of tax credits for Affordable Care Act policies on rural mental healthcare. “The effect on rural America would likely be severe and disproportionate, both for physical and mental health.” The writer says 4 million rural residents will lose insurance. Rural states already have fewer insurance choices and pay higher premiums than urban areas. Another 1 million will be left without mental healthcare access. Rural suicides are far already more likely than in urban areas and as economic times become more stressful, suicide rates rise.
MAD Note: The story does not explain who is behind “Rural Minds.” But the founder is a dairy farmer whose nephew, also a farmer, committed suicide. The VP married into farming. Partners include the Grange, Agri-Pulse, FarmNet, the Farm Foundation and 14 other organizations.

MID’s Byrd welcomes probe

Modesto Focus. Modesto Irrigation director, accused of stealing water, blames political conspiracy.
Synopsis: NUD board member Larry Byrd says some of the other board members are out to get him, but he’ll cooperate fully in the investigation into how he waters his almond trees. Byrd has roughly 125 acres of almonds on land he manages that lies outside district boundaries but close to an MID canal. He has been accused of moving water to those trees. Byrd blames a “disgruntled former employee who I fired” for the controversy. Defending Byrd was former congressman John Duarte, who also has land in the area.

Med school near Lathrop?

GV Wire. San Joaquin County strikes deal to get first medical school.
Synopsis: San Joaquin County will welcome a medical school to train nurses, doctors, and psychiatrists in repurposed building near San Joaquin General Hospital in French Camp. The county granted a 30-year lease for $1 a year with renovations expected to be completed in 2 years with classes starting in 2027. French Camp is between Lathrop and Stockton.

ICE centers called ‘inhumane’

Fresno Bee. Immigrants protest solitary confinement, abuse at CA’s largest ICE detention center.
Synopsis: Detainees in California City -- the state’s largest immigration detention center -- are being kept in solitary confinement, denied medical treatment and facing retaliation from guards when they complain about “inhumane conditions.” It’s dirty, cold, wet and unsanitary, said one former detainee in Kern County. One tried to commit suicide and others say they have been denied prescribed medications. Last week, 100 people refused to eat, resulting in a 17-hour lockdown. Some were later denied sanitary supplies, such as toilet paper. Others report being pepper-sprayed and being kept in flooded cells.
MAD Note: in a separate story, the LA Times reported a man who had been picked up while at work died at the detention center in Adelanto. His family said he had no criminal record and had DACA protection.

Mel Machado on FFA board

Morning Ag Clips. CA FFA Foundation names Shannon Douglass, Mel Machado to board.
Synopsis: The state’s FFA Foundation has appointed Farm Bureau President Shannon Douglass and Blue Diamond’s Chief Agricultural Officer Mel Machado to its board of directors. Both have been active in FFA since first putting on the blue coats in high school – Machado in Livingston. California has the second-largest number of FFA members in the nation with 108,000.

Merced will spend $1.2 billion

Merced Sun Star. Merced County approves $1.12 billion budget.
Synopsis: While a few organizations (including Communities for a New California) pushed for more funding for housing, Merced County supervisors passed a budget that includes $188 million for public safety. That represents 80% of the county’s discretionary money. It was the third consecutive budget surpassing $1 billion. The county’s rainy-day fund is about 7%, or $77.6 million.

Playhouse staff quits en masse

Merced Focus. Playhouse Merced’s programs on hold after bulk of paid staff quit.
Synopsis: Three Playhouse staff members tendered their resignations in a single letter following a raucous meeting that included a visit from Merced police three weeks ago. Rose Pino, Alyssa McCabe and Emily McSwain cited a hostile work environment for their simultaneous departures. All Playhouse productions scheduled for the remainder of the year are now on hold or canceled.

Fresno singer was ‘perfect’

Fresno Bee. Fresno singer delivers ‘perfect performance’ on ‘The Voice.’
Synopsis: Ralph Edwards, 30, is the personification of determination. It took him 11 tries to make it onto the stage for The Voice. He didn’t waste his chance. He sang “Lights” (the classic Journey son) Monday night, wowing all four judges. He is not a novice, having performed with the Fresno City College choir and his band, VibeCheck. All four judges liked him, but he chose Snoop Dog to represent him.