Valley Solutions

Gray: Swalwell gets the Valley

Turlock Journal. Gray co-chairs Swalwell’s bid for governor’s office. 
Synopsis: Reporter Joe Cortez writes that Rep. Adam Gray has agreed to co-chair Eric Swalwell’s campaign for governor of California. Gray told the Journal that Swalwell has the requisite experience to lead: “He was a city councilman in the city of Dublin, he was a prosecutor in Alameda County, and he’s been a congressman who has passed laws and has been a successful leader,” said Gray. “I think he’s focused on the right things. If you look at what he’s been talking about, he wants to make sure the American Dream – the California Dream – is alive for everybody.” Cortez notes that Swalwell attended elementary school in Modesto. The CA primary is June 2.

Sacramento Bee. Rep. Adam Gray endorses Eric Swalwell for CA governor.
Synopsis: Adam Gray, a moderate Democrat representing one of the nation’s most competitive House districts, has endorsed Rep. Eric Swalwell for governor. “He knows the Central Valley powers the state’s economy and he will protect hard-earned jobs, support farmers and lower the cost of health care, groceries and everyday expenses,” said Gray’s statement. Swalwell has gotten endorsements from Jimmy Panetta and Stephen Cloobeck, who dropped out of the race after Swalwell entered.

What stinks in Fresno? City council

GV Wire. What’s that smell? A stinking pile of self-dealing at Fresno city hall. 
Synopsis: Bill McEwen dusts off his editorial-writing skills for a much-needed and well-deserved take-down of former Fresno councilmember Luis Chavez, now a county supervisor, who funneled $318,873 of city money to political consultant Alex Tavlian. Current councilmember Mike Karbassi paid an additional $93,700 to Tavlian. All of the payments were made without a single vote under the city’s lax expenditure rules. “Let’s get to the truth, shall we?” writes McEwen, who described the “constituent services” provided by Tavlian. “The way this con works, councilmembers flood constituent email accounts and doorsteps with flattering pictures and stories of themselves doing good deeds for ‘the people.’ All at taxpayer expense.” The original reporting was done by Fresnoland’s Omar S. Rashad and GV Wire’s Edward Smith and David Taub. McEwen concludes: “What’s gone down at City Hall is a back-stabbing betrayal of Fresno taxpayers and an erosion of trust.”
MAD Take: Before leading GV Wire, McEwen was the editorial page editor of the Fresno Bee. No one in the Valley states an opinion quite so clearly, and that’s a pity. If elected leaders were subject to such scrutiny, they might think twice before breaking or bending the rules.  

Fresno Bee. Ex-Fresno leader defends contract spending after successor questions transparency.
Synopsis: Supervisor Luis Chavez defended the contracts he awarded to a political consultant while serving on the Fresno City Council, saying all were “vetted, scrutinized and approved” by the city attorney. According to stories in Fresnoland, Chavez paid $130,000 of city funds to political consultant Alex Tavlian. The story did not say if Chavez addressed what services Tavlian provided to earn that payment and many others.

We’re drought free! (sort of)

LA Times. CA is completely drought-free for first time in quarter-century; inside the turnaround. 
Synopsis: After the “wettest holiday season on record,” the US Drought Monitor shows zero drought in California. That is rare. Even in the deluge of 2022-23 the Drought Monitor showed pockets of drought. That means the “wildfire risk across California is about as close to zero as it ever gets,” said celebrity meteorologist Daniel Swain. The last time 0% of CA was in drought was December 2000. “It’s OK to take that breather and to acknowledge that, right now, things are doing OK.”

Maven / NIDIS. Snow drought current conditions and impacts in the West.
Synopsis: Pointing out that CA’s most important “reservoir” is the Sierra snowpack, the NIDIS notes that we don’t have enough snow in the state. Nor does the entire west coast. The Jan. 4 “snow cover” was 141,416 square miles in the West – the lowest figure since 2001. The “snow drought” is more severe in Washington, Oregon, Colorado and Utah, where 80% of snow stations are showing drought.

Newsom, Trump, Steyer agree

Sacramento Bee. Gavin Newsom calls for CA to limit home buying by large investors.
Synopsis: Echoing calls from across the political spectrum – from Tom Steyer to Donald Trump – Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state should ban investment companies from purchasing single-family homes, thereby driving up prices. “I think it’s shameful that we allow private equity firms in Manhattan to become of the biggest landlords here in our cities in California,” Newsom said during his state of the state speech. According to the CA Research Bureau, 3% of all single-family homes are owned by companies that have at least 10 properties. The largest homeowner is Invitation Homes, which owns 10,700 rental homes in LA, Sacramento and Riverside counties.

U-Haul data shows slight exit

LA Times. CA’s exodus isn’t just billionaires – it’s regular people renting U-Hauls, too. 
Synopsis: The U-Haul Co released its annual data about one-way moves, showing slightly more people leaving California than arriving. Of all one-way rentals involving California, 50.6% were leaving the state while 49.4% were arriving. That equates to 2.5 million one-way trips leaving CA and roughly 2.4 million arriving. That contributed to the sixth straight year of net exits. “Defectors don’t go far,” mostly leaving for Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Texas. U-Haul operates 24,000 rental locations across the US and said the blue-to-red migration continues to be a discernible trend nationwide. The PPIC also noted the trend, saying it’s due almost entirely to affordability -- it costs 12.6% more to live in CA than the national average.

Death sparks march in Fresno

Fresno Bee. Hundreds march in Fresno to protest killing of Renee Good: ‘Stop ICE terror.’ 
Synopsis: Hundreds of people converged on the ICE processing center in downtown Fresno on Thursday, the day after an ICE agent killed a driver in Minneapolis. Renee Nicole Good, 37, was killed after having dropped off her 6-year-old son at his school. In Fresno, Ryan Hewuer said it is his “civic duty” to come to ICE center and protest. Activist Gloria Hernandez was outraged over the Minneapolis killing. “They didn’t allow a doctor to help her; they didn’t let the ambulance in for 15 minutes – even the police don’t do that. That’s not law enforcement; that’s a complete disregard for human life.”

Fresno Bee. KSEE24 cameraman injured at downtown Fresno protest of ICE killing, police say.
Synopsis: Jesus Garcia, a cameraman for KSEE, was hit by a motorist an hour after a protest over the ICE killing in Minnesota started at Van Ness and Tulare. The driver remained on the scene. The incident occurred at slow speeds, and the injury was considered minor.

King celebrated in Jan. 19 march

Merced Focus. ‘Immeasurable’: Merced to unite for 29^th annual MLK march, celebration.
Synopsis: The 29^th Martin Luther King Jr. Unity March will be Jan. 19. “Immeasurable” is the theme, describing Dr. King’s influence. “Dr. King’s impact cannot be quantified,” said organizer Tamara Cobb. “His courage, his love for humanity and his push for unity continue to grow long after he is gone.” People are asked to gather at 10 am at the Amtrak station on West 24^th Street, with the march to Merced Theatre setting off at 11 am. Saint Matthews Missionary Baptist pastor Allen Huddleston is the grand marshal and Sgt. Nathan McKinnon will be given the Guardian of Peace Award.

Upending the food pyramid

Successful Farming. Some ag groups concerned over focus on processed food, seed oils in guidelines.
Synopsis: Farmdoc looked at coverage of the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans from an ag perspective and found both applause and disgruntlement. Cattle ranchers and vegetable farmers were the happiest due to an emphasis on protein, vegetables and acceptance of more fat in a healthy diet. But the admonition to eat less “ultra-processed foods” bothered soybean and corn growers, whose oil products are used in many “highly processed” foods. Dairy farmers “expressed concern” about a focus on “highly processed foods,” which the International Dairy Foods Assn says could “confuse” consumers. Yogurt, cheese and even milk are all processed to ensure quality and safety.  

Ag Daily. Newly released Dietary Guidelines carry hallmarks of MAHA playbook. 
Synopsis: Another review of stories from various sources. This one includes a look at the government’s realfood.gov website, which offers a huge headline reading: “America is sick. The data is clear.” The site tees off on foods with added sugars such as high-fructose corn syrup, saying they contribute to diabetes and “other chronic conditions.” The story quotes the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, whose 17,000 members were critical: “The Guidelines take a sledgehammer approach to processed foods, but plant-based and vitamin-fortified processed foods actually reduce the risk of birth defects, diabetes, heart disease and cancer.”

How Taylor Farms got so big

Western Farm Press. Customer service, attention to detail: How Taylor Farms got huge. 
Synopsis: Editor Tim Hearden writes about one of the largest food processing companies in the world, Taylor Fresh Foods. The Salinas-based company was born in 1995 when Bruce Taylor followed his father and grandfather into the produce business, then vastly expanded their footprints. He now has 22 processing facilities and 24,000 employees. The company has grown from nothing to $7 billion annually. Taylor grows only 15% of his food with the remaining 85% under contract with farmers. The story says he “revolutionized the industry by turning it into a fixed-price business that offered growers a guaranteed profit.” That approach, moving away from day-to-day price fluctuations, has “changed the underlying dynamics of the Salinas Valley.” Says Taylor: “Our farmers are the core of it. Many of those growers have been with us since the beginning.”

He he got away … almost

Ceres Courier. Car impounded for a month after driver’s Christmas Day recklessness. 
Synopsis: The owner of a Honda Accord won’t be driving his car for a month. Early Christmas morning, he blew through two red lights and drew the attention of officer Greg Houser, who gave chase. Instead of pulling over, the Honda driver got onto Hwy 99 and sped into Modesto. After deeming a chase in the city would be unsafe, the officer called it off. But he had good images of the car and its license plate. State law allows the PD to later impound cars that get away. And that’s what happened seven days later.