Valley Solutions

Vote was a Brown Act violation

Valley Citizen. MID Director’s vote is a clear violation of the Brown Act. 
Synopsis: Columnist Eric Caine is outraged that Modesto Irrigation District director Larry Byrd was allowed to vote on the future of an investigation into his pumping practices. He calls it a “clear” violation of the Brown Act, which governs conduct of officials during meetings. A report from 4Creeks Engineering found that Byrd could not possibly have irrigated 96 acres of trees outside the district’s boundaries with groundwater, as he claimed. The board split 2-2 with one recusal (John Boer) on continuing the investigation – meaning it won’t proceed. If Byrd had recused himself, the vote would have been 2-1 in favor of continuing the investigation. “Public officials can’t make, participate in, or influence decisions where they have a clear financial interest,” reads the Brown Act. “While Byrd’s vote was stunning in and of itself, it’s even more stunning that (MID attorney Frank) Splendorio and (MID GM Jimi) Netniss failed to intervene when the motion was made,” writes Caine, whose investigative journalism has been at the heart of Byrd’s water use. Caine concludes: “At the very least, Jimi Netniss and Frank Spendorio owe the public an explanation for their failure to follow one of the most fundamental rules governing public policy in California.”
MAD Take: The Brown Act was named for Ralph M. Brown, who was sent to the Assembly by Modesto voters and remains revered for having authored the most enduring ethics and political practice law in California history. … Maybe Ralph needed another example.

Water projects detailed

GV Wire. Costa, Gray propose $4.4 billion for Central Valley water projects. 
Synopsis: Edward Smith writes on the suite of three bills written by Rep. Adam Gray and co-sponsored by Rep. Jim Costa to spend $4.4 billion on fixing existing canals, building new conveyances and financing nearly two dozen Valley water projects. Included would be an intertie between New Melones and Don Pedro reservoirs, connecting the Stanislaus and Tuolumne river watersheds. Westlands Water District would get recharge basins near the Coalinga Canal and $830 million would be dedicated to repairing subsidence damage to the Delta-Mendota Canal. Westlands GM Allison Febbo called the bills “real solutions” to CA’s water crisis.

GV Wire. Westlands study captures bad water year impacts: Lost jobs, money and more Valley Fever. 
Synopsis: A study by Westlands Water District compared the drought year of 2022 to the wet year of 2019. The impacts went far beyond the farmgate, said consultant Michael Shires. In a single dry year, the regional economy loses about $1.26 billion and 8,000 jobs. That translates into $100 million in lost tax revenue, including $25 million to local governments. Without water, farmland is left fallow and becomes a dangerous breeding ground for fungal Valley Fever, which contributes to the death of 200 people each year. Nick Rocca, incoming president of the Fresno Farm Bureau, said these figures clarify why legislation like that written by Adam Gray is so critically important.

Newsom tracks ‘Criminal in Chief’

LA Times. Newsom trolls Trump with website tracking president’s ‘criminal cronies.’ 
Synopsis: Donald Trump has issued some 1,700 pardons and commutations since January – everyone from drug smugglers to fraudsters to 1,500 insurrectionists to terrorists, to suspected child molesters. And Gavin Newsom wants to make sure people don’t lose track of all the pardon-for-pay issued by the “Criminal in Chief.” Newsom’s new website will track convictions – past and present – along with suspicious activities by the Trump Family. That would include suspending an SEC fraud investigation into a company that partnered with Trump’s own crypto coin firm. Republican political strategists Rob Stutzman and Mike Madrid are impressed with Newsom’s effort.

Sacramento Bee. Gavin Newsom is abusing his office as leader of CA to trash Trump. 
Synopsis: Columnist Tom Philp is not impressed with Gavin Newsom’s new Trump-tracking website, saying it crosses a “dangerous line.” There’s a difference between a candidate having such a website and a sitting governor having one. Philp calls it a “strange emulation of Trump himself.” This website “runs the risk of tarnishing the state’s highest office.”
MAD Take: Those pearls Tom is clutching must be getting mighty tight. Like it or not, politics has forever changed. Blame Trump or John Oliver or Lenny Bruce -- it doesn’t matter. There will be no “return to normalcy,” no putting the social-media genie back in the bottle. Politics shouldn’t be just another entertainment channel, but it takes some level of “entertainment content” to engage voters. Ask Jon Stewart. Ask Stephen Colbert or Jimmy Kimmel or Tom Shillue.

Will Modesto grow to Del Rio?

Modesto Bee. Modesto unveils plans for minimal-to-aggressive growth as far as Ladd Road. 
Synopsis: Modesto planners laid out several options for the city’s 2050 General Plan, including growth on some of the most productive agricultural land in the state. The most aggressive plans would carpet the area north of Kiernan with tract homes all the way to Ladd. The least aggressive plan would cut off development at a canal roughly a mile south. The plan shows the city growing from 31,000 acres to nearly 50,000 – but not on Wood Colony. That area has long been coveted by developers hoping to expand west of the city. Even a sliver of land along Hwy 132 designated for industrial use was too much for some.
MAD Take: Your move, Riverbank.

Planning to protect worshippers

Modesto Bee. Stanislaus sheriff-led training helps places of worship be welcoming and secure. 
Synopsis: Hundreds of faith leaders and volunteers gathered this week as Sheriff Jeff Dirkse hosted a second faith-based security workshop. The first workshop in November filled so quickly that a second workshop had to be added. Lt. Brock Condit said that places of worship are different from schools or government buildings in that you can’t lock down a church: “The doors are open, and that’s how they should be.” The key is to be prepared with evacuation routes, emergency procedures and a response.

Fresno Bee. Antisemitic incidents, hate-based vandalism under investigation at Fresno State.
Synopsis: Three incidents of hate-based vandalism on campus property are being investigated, says the chancellor’s office. They are not isolated incidents, but the specific nature was not disclosed. Campus police is on it. “Let me be clear: Hate and violence have no place at Fresno State or anywhere,” said campus president Saul Jimenez-Sandoval.

Ceres hires former LB official

Ceres Courier. Finance director Portillo ready for challenges.
Synopsis: Vanessa Portillo has been named the Ceres Finance Director, replacing Shannon Esenwein who resigned last month. A looming audit is “what makes it exciting,” said Portillo. She will supervise 3 employees. Her most recent municipal work was in Los Banos, where Portillo worked under controversial city manager Josh Pinheiro, lasting only five months before quitting.

We’re saving so little water

Maven’s Notebook. Will Delta pumps operate at capacity this winter?
Synopsis: Water commentator Edward Ring says with major storms about to hit CA, it’s a good time to ask: “Why can’t we harvest more of this massive runoff and reserve it for our farms and cities?” He notes CA Data Exchange Center reports that show CA gets “plenty of water,” we just don’t hold onto it. He harkens to four weeks in 2003 when 6.8-million-acre feet flowed into the Delta, straining the levees to the point of breaking before flowing out to the ocean. Of that, we pumped out only 390,000-acre feet. In 2005, we got 5.6 MAF over four weeks and again pumped only 390 TAF into storage. If state and federal pumps were allowed to work at capacity during those events, we could have pulled 810,000-acre feet into storage. Even that is less than 12% of the total, but enough to fill five of the proposed Del Puerto Canyon dams. Ring’s bottom line: Efforts to improve fisheries at the expense of water for food, and people have been ineffective and wasteful.

Prop 50 hinges on CA-13

LA Times. Judges quiz CA and GOP attorneys in Prop 50 redistricting case. 
Synopsis: During the third day of hearings, three federal judges appeared skeptical of the GOP’s insistence that congressional districts were redrawn to elect more Latinos. The GOP focused on CA 13, where the new lines lop off part of Fresno County while adding a portion of San Joaquin County. Judge Josephine Station said the GOP has focused too much on the motivations of those drawing the lines and too little on those who voted to approve them. Friday is the first day candidates can file to run for office.

Food banks are worried

Merced Sun Star. CalFresh panel hears from worried food banks, considers new revenue streams. 
Synopsis: Since the government shutdown in October, food banks have been coming under increased pressure from those in need. Several groups testified that something has to give – namely, the government. The CA Assn of Food Banks represents 42 food banks serving 1.5 million more people today than they did during the pandemic. Some 92% of those food banks have seen more demand in the last quarter than they did this summer. As more components of the Republicans’ Big Beautiful Bill kick in, more cuts to safety-net programs such as SNAP will occur. “Food banks can’t make up the gap,” said Josh White. State analyst Monica Saucedo said, “nearly every family benefiting from CalFresh stands to take a cut to their assistance.” One CalFresh recipient testified that she was on hold for 3 hours as she tried to start her application process: “CalFresh is not a handout, it’s endless work.”

Fighting PG&E’s rate hikes

SF Chronicle. CA faces crucial decision on energy costs; do officials have courage to fight PG&E?
Synopsis: Columnist Harry Mok writes about Mark Ellis, the former utility industry exec who says that until electricity rates come down, it’s a losing battle to convert homes off polluting natural gas and onto clean electricity. Ellis said that by allowing PG&E to use an exorbitantly high return-on-investment target of 10% for bonds, rates have to remain artificially high. Another critic asked, “Why should ratepayers be captives of a system that pays $20 million salaries to its CEOs?” The PUC is voting on those ROI rates. Arcane but important stuff. 

No more almond estimates

CA Ag Net. Almond Board vote to discontinue USDA Objective Measurement report. 
Synopsis: The Almond Board of CA has voted to cut off funding for the USDA’s annual National Ag Statistics Service Objective Measurement Report. The Objective report has traditionally been used by almond wholesalers to set prices.
MAD Note: Not mentioned in the story are the fireworks that erupted at an Almond Board this year after the Objective Measurement over-estimated the size of this year’s crop. In reaction, prices crashed overnight. While the ABC says it remains committed to collaborating with the USDA to refine crop estimates there is no indication what will replace the Objective Measurement.

Does Tower District need a tower?

Fresno Bee. Controversy brews as Verizon plans 80-foot cell tower in Tower District.
Synopsis: Verizon wants to build a 5-story tower in the middle of Fresno’s hippest and most vocal neighborhood. At Van Ness and Olive, the new tower would be within sight of the district’s namesake theater and its own neon tower – also 80 feet tall. Neighbors have already begun circulating a petition to halt it. Councilmember Miguel Arias doesn’t get it. “It’s not like it’s a billboard,” he said, noting “the city doesn’t have the legal authority to simply say no.” Besides, the Tower District is a dead zone for Verizon.
MAD Note: Remind me, why do they call it the “tower” district?