Valley Solutions

Canal panels are humming

Fox26. Turlock Irrigation District celebrates state’s first solar-over-canal pilot project. 
Synopsis: Turlock ID and UC Merced have finally fired up the solar panels covering a stretch of irrigation canal, producing electricity while shading canal flows. The experiment is to see if project benefits from covering canals with solar panels pans out. The panels sit atop a framework stretching 115 feet across a canal. The panels are expected to generate 1.6 megawatts, all of which will be pushed into TID’s operating grid. The panels also cool the water, making it better for irrigation while diminishing evaporation. The project was first envisioned in a doctoral dissertation written by a UC Merced grad student. California has an estimated 5,000 miles of canals and levees that could provide staging for solar panels.  

Firewatch: Casinos pitching in

KCRA. Tuolumne County community offers shelter to fire evacuees.
Synopsis: The Tuolumne Me-Wuk have opened their Black Oak Casino to evacuees and firefighters, providing rooms, food and staging areas for engines in their parking lots. Elsewhere, Interfaith Social Services are providing meals, clothing and showers for the displaced, and the Senior Center is open as a refugee center. The Chicken Ranch Casino, about 15 miles away, is also offering complimentary stays for evacuees.

GV Wire. Fresno County Garnet Fire grows to 33,388 acres in Sierra National Forest.
 Synopsis: The Garnet Fire has been burning since Aug. 24, consuming 33,388 acres. It is only 14% contained and has 1,814 firefighters engaged. Firefighters are removing dry grasses and shrubs along the eastern edge of the Dinkey Creek drainage.

KSEE / CBS47. New evacuation orders in place as Salt Fire nears Fresno County line.
Synopsis: The Salt Fire was sparked by lightning in the hills of western Fresno County on Tuesday and now has grown to 17,700 acres, running into Monterey County. While the fire grew 5,500 acres Thursday, firefighters attained 10% containment.

Mobile monitors check the air

Modesto Bee. High-tech cars monitor Modesto, Stanislaus County air quality 24/7. 
Synopsis: Two specially equipped vehicles gather data on 10 air-pollutants as they drive around Stanislaus County on predetermined routes that vary daily. It’s part of a nine-month Air Board project conducted by the company Aclima. Stanislaus County has two stationary monitors – in Modesto and Turlock -- that have traditionally been used to monitor air quality. The mobile monitors are expected to provide a more complete picture.
MAD Note: Until 11 years ago, Stanislaus County had a single air-quality monitor which frequently recorded higher levels in Stanislaus than in San Joaquin (with nearly 2x the population) or in Merced (with half the population). It didn’t make sense, which is why the Modesto Bee repeatedly editorialized about the anomaly, calling the data into question. It took a while, but a second monitor was finally installed. It’s good to see additional monitoring now taking place.

Caballero bill goes to Gov

Morning Ag Clips. Landmark legislation to address CA’s water challenges heads to gov’s desk. 
Synopsis: Sen. Anna Caballero’s bill to establish water-storage goals -- and a schedule to meet them -- has passed both houses and awaits Gov. Newsom’s signature. The four-prong approach includes: 1) Establishing supply targets. 2) Mandated cooperative approach to long-term solutions. 3) Creation of a “drought-proofing” plan. 4) Extending goals beyond a single administration. Caballero will address the press Monday at the Capitol Cactus Garden.

UC Merced marks 20^th year

ABC30. Chancellor discusses accomplishments, hopes for future as UC Merced celebrates 20 years.
Synopsis: Juan Sanchez Munoz recalled the college’s first graduation ceremony in 2009 (featuring speaker Michelle Obama), the 2020 Expansion Project, the medical education building and the BS-to-MD Pathway Program that will bring more doctors to the Valley. The university has earned R1 status as a top-tier research institution faster than any other university ever. Tonight, the Golden Bobcats play their first NCAA soccer game, with a tailgate party and a post-game drone show.

Baklava time in Stockton!

Stocktonia. Food, music and tradition return with Stockton’s Greek Festival. 
Synopsis: If the aroma of lamb, basil and pita tickles your fancy, this is your weekend. The 66^th Greek Food Festival is Friday through Sunday. This year’s menu includes dolmades, pastitsio, gyros and, of course, baklava. Entry is free, the irresistible food is not. Proceeds support St. Basil’s Church charities.

Want a COVID shot? Good luck

LA Times. People can’t get COVID vaccines as cases surge; anger is building against Trump. 
Synopsis: Anyone under age 65 must first consult a doctor before requesting a COVID vaccine per new rules set by RFK Jr.’s health department. The rules are so confusing, even those 65+ are having trouble getting shots. One doctor called it “maddening.” Many who believe in the efficacy of the shots, or the danger of COVID, are considering fibbing about having underlying conditions to make themselves eligible. Some states, such as Florida, require a prescription to get a shot. Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican and a doctor, considers such rules a “huge headache” for people just trying to stay healthy. Even in California, where resistance to RFK has been strong, it is difficult to get a shot. One doctor said, “Anything that makes it harder to get a vaccine because of bureaucracy, because of unnecessary doctor’s appointments, is going to lead to fewer people getting vaccinated, which, in the end, is going to lead to more people getting severely sick … and more people dying.”  The number of new COVID cases has doubled in the past three weeks. Meanwhile, new rules in Florida have effectively removed any vaccine mandate for anything. One doctor called that “catastrophic. I feel horrible for anyone who’s in that state. … Can you imagine the horror, the terror, of being a parent who has a child with cancer, a child with an autoimmune disease, kids who now cannot get vaccinated?”

They worry about CA farming

Ag Net West. Opening reflections and CA concerns. 
Synopsis: Interviewers Nick Papagni and Lorrie Boyer talk about the Valley’s smokey air, delisting the Mexican wolf, and wastewater. Eventually, they bring in Manuel Cunha of the Nisei Farmers League to speak. He says it is very important that Congress pass the Dignity Act, which has bipartisan support and was co-sponsored by Rep. Adam Gray, among others. Cunha urged farmers to pressure congressional leaders to get on board. Papagni urged listeners to call Vince Fong, David Valadao and Jimmy Panetta to demand they support the bill.

Farmers will be just fine

Successful Farmer. Rollins: ‘Golden Age’ for American farmers is just ‘around the corner.’
Synopsis: Recognizing widespread anxiety over the farm economy nationwide, the US Sec of Ag said it’s all part of President Trump’s plan to create a “golden age” of ag in the future. She pointed to a deal to sell wheat to Bangladesh, saying others will follow. The USDA is predicting higher farm earnings this year, but only because government payments have increased. She blamed Joe Biden for the higher costs of farm inputs, including labor, fertilizer and machinery and a looming ag-sector trade deficit of $47 billion.
MAD Note: Tariffs imposed by Trump increased the cost of fertilizer, machinery and American goods in foreign markets while his crackdown on immigration has reduced the labor supply by roughly 1 million workers. The two highest years for net farm income nationwide were 2022 and 2024, though California farmers didn’t fare as well in those years.

Desert so hot snakes ‘cooked’

Vice. Arizona’s heat is so extreme even rattlesnakes and cacti are struggling.
Synopsis: A University of Arizona researcher says snakes are being “cooked” in their burrows as the Sonoran Desert has suffered 70 days with temperatures of 110+. That’s more than double the usual number. “Species built to survive (the desert) … are being cooked by climate change, which is worsening faster than their evolutionary traits can keep up with.” Other species struggling include ocelots, the Sonora pronghorn and even saguaro cactus, whose interior water is so hot it cannot cool the plant at night. As one researcher put it, “If these creatures built to survive this can no longer survive, what’s going to happen to us?”

A ‘grocery store’ for geese

River Partners. Fallow fields become flyway havens for shorebirds.
Synopsis: River Partners and the CA Dept of Fish & Wildlife are participating in the BirdReturns program to create habitat in the Dos Rios Norte floodplain restoration site on the Feather River. It turns rice fields on the Lundberg Family Farm into smorgasbords of food for migrating geese and ducks. The Nature Conservancy, Audubon and Point Blue Conservation Science are also involved. Biologists say the paddies are “grocery stores” for migratory birds as they travel from summer homes in Canada to breeding grounds in CA and Mexico. Other BirdReturns programs are active in the Los Banos and Delta areas.