Valley Solutions

Farm Bureau endorses Gray

Turlock Journal. Gray earns key endorsement from CA Farm Bureau.
Synopsis. Joe Cortez reports that the CA Farm Bureau is recommending that Adam Gray be returned to Congress for a second term. “No one works harder to deliver for Central Valley families than Adam Gray,” said Farm Bureau President Shannon Douglass of Glenn County. “When results matter, Adam is the one who puts politics aside and makes sure that farmers and ranchers benefit from the decisions happening in Washington, D.C.” Gray was one of seven Democrats to vote in favor of advancing the Farm Bill out of the House Agriculture Committee. Coming from the nation’s most important ag district, Gray said “making sure our farmers can succeed and get ahead is personal for me.” Farms in Fresno, Madera, Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties produce over $20 billion a year in agricultural products.

 Stadium kicked to the curb?

Modesto Bee. ‘Dead on arrival,’ Modesto city council member says about pro soccer stadium. 
Synopsis: Nick Bavaro didn’t mince words about the huge soccer stadium being considered for downtown Modesto; he said the plan was “dead on arrival.” Polling done for the city shows people would rather have patched potholes than a fancy soccer pitch. Pro soccer ranked “dead last” on a list of priorities for the public. Bavaro was unimpressed with the math as calculated by backers, noting that a new stadium seating 10,000 spectators would cost around $125 million. Councilmember David Wright wasn’t ready to give up on soccer, saying more surveys should be done. But Chris Ricci said private funding would be required to proceed. A city spokesperson said the city is “still carefully evaluating the financial feasibility” of having a second-tier pro soccer team play downtown.

Welcome back, Chinook

Maven / SFPUC. The salmon are back as the SFPUC marks Earth Day.
Synopsis: The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, which draws its water from the Tuolumne River in Yosemite, says the river is “once again a thriving fish hangout.” The SFPUC noted its work with Turlock and Modesto irrigation districts and other partners over the past decade to remove barriers to fish migration, restore spawning habitat and increase timed water releases during migration. “Together we’re doing the work to protect and support native fish populations on the waterways we have a hand in managing,” said SFPUC general manager Dennis Herrera. “There’s more to come.” There were 1,000 spring-run Chinook on the river this year, a spectacular turn-around. The story also applauded work on the upper Tuolumne, San Mateo Creek and Alameda Creek – all of which saw improved salmon and/or steelhead numbers this year.

New name for Thurman Field

Modesto Bee. Modesto Roadsters announce new ballpark name with multimillion-dollar partnership.
Synopsis: John Thurman Field is out and Modern Woodmen Field is in. Modesto’s minor-league baseball stadium was named Thurman Field in 1983 to honor one of Modesto’s most influential elected leaders. Thurman served 9 years in the Assembly, chairing the Agriculture Committee, after two years as a county supervisor. Modern Woodmen is an Illinois-based “fraternal financial services company,” bought naming rights for the ballyard as a way to “introduce ourselves,” said its rep. The Roadsters will play 51 games at Modern. Or in the Woods.

Nation’s imperiled rivers

Fresno Bee. CA home to 2 of most endangered rivers in the nation. 
Synopsis: Environmental group American Rivers released its annual “endangered rivers” list, and the San Joaquin ranked No. 2. The river runs from the Sierra into the Valley then north to the Delta, growing as it is joined by the Merced, Tuolumne and Stanislaus rivers and several other creeks. The part that is near Fresno is the problem as the county considers approval of a massive gravel pit next to the river. The story says the river is “the primary water source for more than 30 million Californians.” American Rivers said the Amargosa is the ninth-most imperiled river.
MAD Take: Saying 30 million people rely on the San Joaquin River as a “primary water source” is, well, a leap. Like over the Grand Canyon. The San Joaquin runs into the Delta, where it joins the Sacramento – which is 4x larger. Water is pumped from the Delta and sent south to the LA Basin, where it serves roughly 22 million people. But 80% of that water is from the Sacramento River, and half of all of it runs out of the Golden Gate. In fact, the San Joaquin used to be dried up entirely for most of the year and none of those 30 million people noticed – though the fish sure did. American Rivers is grossly overstating the facts. And the Fresno Bee should know better than to repeat it.

Wind, hail damaged Valley

KSEE / CBS47. 3 tornadoes, but the hail did the damage for one Madera pistachio crop.
Synopsis: While three tornadoes touching down within a few miles of each other got the headlines, the hail that accompanied them did the real damage. Farmer Rich Kreps said he lost 3 or 4 nuts per cluster. “If you take a typical pistachio cluster and you’ve got 20 nuts … and it knocks out four of them, you’ve knocked off 20%. If it’s a 3,000-pound crop, you know it’s significant— 600 pounds.”

Modesto Bee. Thunderstorms briefly flood part of Hwy 99, damage two southeast Modesto homes.
Synopsis: Tuesday’s lighting and hail storm caused flooding on the highway and in several Modesto neighborhoods. It slowed traffic in several areas, including on Hwy 99. Lightning struck a large redwood tree outside a home on Riverside Drive, blowing out the home’s electrical box, shattering a window and damaging a vehicle. MID reported 0.74 inches of rain, bringing the total to 11.16 since July 1 -- still below the annual average of 12.16 inches.

Our Valley’s Star Farmers

Westside Connect. Gustine FFA's Baylor Bloom earns historic honors at state conference.
Synopsis: Gustine High’s Baylor Bloom has been named the FFA Star Agribusiness Farmer. The senior owns and operates Full Bloom Harvesting in Gustine, a custom almond and walnut harvesting business. He services 700 acres, having started his business using leased equipment. Now he owns his own OMC shaker/sweeper, which he was able to purchase through an Air District grant.

Morning Ag Clips. CA FFA announces state Star Award winners at 98^th FFA conference.
Synopsis: Madysen Dietz of El Capitan FFA won the Star Farmer Award based on her management of a large ewe operation known as Dietz Club Lambs. She has 90 ewes and an annual crop of 135 lambs. Dietz handles everything from artificial insemination to birthing to health management for her ewes.

First she sues, then runs

Modesto Bee. Kelley Coelho announces bid for Turlock mayor after suing city in federal court. 
Synopsis: Private investigator and frequent litigant Kelley Coelho has decided that representing District 1 on the Turlock city council wouldn’t be a large enough platform, so she has dropped out of that race and dropped into the race for mayor. Meanwhile, the defamation lawsuit against Coelho continues. A teacher tried to stop Coelho’s daughter from leaving his classroom, and Coelho insisted on social media that the teacher was guilty of sexual assault. The school district, police and DA investigated and disagreed, refusing to bring charges. On March 16, Coelho sued several city officials. Meanwhile, the teacher is suing Coelho for defamation. Speaking of defamation, Coelho has also sued the administrator of “Save Turlock,” Ron Bridegroom. Now she thinks she should be mayor.

Tulare water fines upheld

SJV Water. State board denies Tulare farmers requests to be exempted from $12M in pumping fees.
Synopsis: The State Water Board voted to proceed with sanctions against some Tulare County farmers, including collection of $12 million in pumping fees. The groundwater agency governing their land failed to submit an acceptable plan for stopping subsidence to the state, resulting in the fines. More than 20 farmers from the Tule subbasin, which covers half of Tulare County’s flatlands, went before the water board on April 21. After the 5-hour hearing, the board voted 5-0 to deny their exemption requests. Farmer Jim Morehead said he had fallowed 60% of his farm to reduce pumping but still will be fined. The board agreed to revisit the fees of $20 per acre-foot and $300 per well at its September meeting.

UCM shares data with feds

Merced Sun Star. Records show UC Merced police is sharing license-plate data with border patrol. 
Synopsis: UC Merced uses automated license-plate readers, whose data is stored on a website and shared with other agencies tracking stolen cars or vehicles involved in crimes. Apparently, among those with access are nine federal agencies including the border patrol. That violates CA law, which forbids local agencies to provide identifying data to federal agencies. UC Merced has the highest percentage of Latino students in the UC system and welcomes their families to campus for graduations and other ceremonies. “The fact that a police department is currently in violation of CA state law is very disturbing,” said Mike Katz-Lacade of Oakland Privacy. When the automated plate reader system was installed, the default settings allowed sharing. 

Rattler bites Gustine dog

Westside Connect. Gustine dog recovering after rattlesnake bite as Westside enters peak snake season.
Synopsis: Poncho, who lives with his family on Schmidt Road, was bitten by a rattlesnake coiled at the edge of the family’s patio. It’s a rare reminder that snakes do venture into the Valley, and this is the time of year they are likely to be out and agitated. Such bites can be fatal to dogs and humans. Poncho was taken to the vet and is expected to make a full recovery.

Kiddieland reopens Saturday

Merced County Times. The Wait is Over! Merced to celebrate new, improved Kiddieland. 
Synopsis: Editor Jonathan Whitaker tours the remodeled and improved Kiddieland at Applegate Park, which will have its grand opening Saturday at 9:30 a.m. All the rides will be free from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be a “shiny new Kiddieland train” circling the park, a new expanded path along Bear Creek, new murals, benches and better security.

Bystanders rescue stolen kids

Fresno Bee. 2 kidnapped children rescued in Fresno as good Samaritans stop suspect, say police.
Synopsis: Two toddlers were reunited with their mom Wednesday after four people stepped in to apprehend a suspect who appears to have been stealing a car. The toddlers’ mother left her children in a running car as she carried groceries into her home. As she came out, she saw the vehicle driving off with the children inside. She ran after it, screaming for help. Four people responded, jumped in their vehicles and boxed in the stolen car a few blocks away. The suspect got out, but the bystanders then pinned him to the ground. Said a police spokesperson: “They could’ve just called 911, but they decided to take matters into their own hands and jump in and save the children.”