Valley Solutions

Campouts on the Tuolumne?

Modesto Bee. Modesto’s 7-mile river park never has had many visitors; how about a campground?
Synopsis: Tuolumne River Regional Park is the largest yet most underused park in the region. The city of Modesto and Stanislaus County are considering how to get the public more excited about visiting the park. The aim is to adopt a “master plan” by next year. One idea is to open a campground of 60 or 100 spaces. A land-use consultant said a campground could generate at least $381,000 a year, providing funding to solve a lot of problems confronting the park.
MAD Take: There are a couple of “elephants” in this campground. Until Modesto’s adjacent neighborhood is considered safe, no amount of marketing or nice campgrounds will bring more people to the park. Just asking: What happened to the American Legion Hall overlooking the river? Oh yeah, it was burned by a homeless person ... who had been camping nearby.

Castle cargo prospects dim

Merced County Times. Castle air cargo study paints a weak picture. 
Synopsis: Having a top-tier air cargo operation at Castle Airport appears to be “implausible,” according to a feasibility study from KPMG. The study was discussed at a Nov. 19 meeting of the Castle Standing Committee, which includes supervisors Daron McDaniel and Lloyd Pareira. While cargo shipments are expected to double by 2050, air-cargo operations in Stockton and Sacramento will grow much faster. McDaniel suggested the county should concentrate on rail connections that run through Castle.

Valley at center of water fight

SF Chronicle. CA water wars reignite as Trump plans to send more water to farms. 
Synopsis: The Bureau of Reclamation is breaking the 40-year compact with the CA Dept of Water Resources that has always resulted in coordinated management of the Delta pumps. The federal agency’s Action 5 plan will overhaul the operational directives for the bureau’s reservoirs and canals – including San Luis and New Melones reservoirs -- to increase pumping from the Delta. The State Water Project, which operates the California Aqueduct, has siphoned water to supply mostly urban water districts. The federal Central Valley Project uses the Delta-Mendota Canal to move water to irrigation districts in the South Valley. The state insists that if more Delta water is pumped for farming, less will be available for urban areas. Tara Gallegos, speaking for Gov. Newsom, says Action 5 is “catering to big donors instead of doing what’s right for Californians.” DWR’s Karla Nemeth says the plan will jeopardize the state’s ability to deliver water to 27 million people who depend on it. But Allison Febbo of Westlands Water District says the changes will “ensure that our growers have the water they need to support local communities and the nation’s food supply.”

Valley Sun. Feds approve new water policy expected to boost supplies to Valley farmers. 
Synopsis: Action 5, the Bureau of Reclamation’s new marching order for its reservoirs and canals, will deliver an additional 400,000-acre-feet of water to farms and wildlife refuges served by the San Luis & Delta Mendota Water Authority. Another 85,000-acre-feet will go to Westlands Water District. Action 5 also removes pumping restrictions when Delta smelt are in the vicinity of the Tracy pumps and sets lower limits on how much water can move through intra-Delta streams. Federico Barajas of the SL&DMWA said the new supplies are critical in the face of reduced pumping under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.
MAD Take: I’ve always wondered why the CVP and SWP were joined at the proverbial hip in managing their parallel systems. Introducing differing priorities into annual water discussions might not be an entirely bad thing, so long as those discussions are based on up-to-date data and priorities and conducted by well-meaning people. But that’s always the key, isn’t it: Trust that the person on the other side of the table is well-meaning.

Water needs often ‘overestimated’

Water Resources Research. Californian water suppliers consistently overestimate water demand. 
Synopsis: A study of 61 municipal water suppliers in CA found that projected water demand from 2000 to 2020 was consistently overestimated by as much as 25%. Per capita demand actually dropped by 2% per year over the study period, but water suppliers projected annual increases. The paper’s authors say water suppliers must improve forecasting methods to avoid wasteful infrastructure changes.

Modesto considers growth

Modesto Bee. Modesto begins next phase of planning for growth, different types of housing, jobs. 
Synopsis: Ken Carlson reports on the city of Modesto’s 2050 General Plan. Such plans are essential to make sure that growth balances the needs of the entire community, aligns services with population patterns and generally doesn’t allow the city to trip over itself. Modesto hasn’t seen significant growth since the 1990s, “leading to the loss of economic opportunities to nearby cities.” Part of the problem, says the city, is that there has been a lack of “properly zoned vacant land.” Areas must be identified and designated to support growth and development, coming online as needed. Some folks remain wary. Former councilmember Denny Jackman says his group, Voters for Farmland, will have a new greenbelt initiative coming by 2028, hoping to make development north of Kiernan and the area known as Wood Colony off limits.

Shooting victims profiled

Sacramento Bee. Remembering the four young lives taken in Stockton birthday shooting. 
Synopsis: Reporter Darrell Smith profiles each of the four people – ages 21, 14, 8 and 8 – murdered by indiscriminate shooters at a party venue called Monkey Space in Stockton. Their names were officially released Thursday. He describes a venue that has a blood-splattered plush toy, a melted ice cream cake and more evidence of an unsolved massacre. Modesto’s Amari Peterson was described by his father as “my little golden child.” An honor-roll student who coach Brent Bonander called a “generational talent.” Amari’s dad “tried desperately to keep his son alive amid the chaos,” but couldn’t. “I can’t live with the fact that I couldn’t save my son.” Susano Archuleta put his body between the shooters and the children. He had accompanied his brother and niece to the party and died in his brother’s arms.
MAD Note: All of these stories are emotionally devastating. What we’ve lost: “So many dreams.”

Stocktonia. Gang members present at party that ended in mass shooting, officials say.
Synopsis: Parole officers say people with known gang involvement were at the party where the mass shooting occurred. Sheriff Pat Withrow maintained his position that it is too early to claim gangs were involved. But Stockton’s mayor and DA Ron Freitas both have said gangs are to blame. One of the men arrested Saturday at a hospital where he sought treatment for a gunshot wound was on parole for his involvement in gang crimes. He is the uncle of one of the victims. A Stockton police spokesperson corrected an earlier statement by the mayor, saying there are 86 documented gangs in the city with approximately 2,700 members – not 5,000.

Can solar and ag co-exist?

CA Ag Net. Can large-scale solar installations coexist with ag in rural America?
Synopsis: Local opposition to vast solar farms is growing as the pace of solar development quickens to meet the needs of artificial intelligence server centers. Some landowners near the grid are welcoming the additional income while others say the panels take good land out of production. Satisfying both camps is going to take some serious “planning,” said CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange’s Teri Viswanath. She said farmers’ concerns “are warranted. But there are guardrails to reduce the risk of land-use conflicts.” By helping communities “capture the financial benefits of solar projects,” ag displacement can be mitigated. Solar energy comes online 5x faster than any other form, but 15% of all counties nationwide are now putting restrictions on implementation. Having “effective land-management strategies will be critical to mitigating challenges and gaining acceptance,” said Viswanath.
MAD Note: This is not some distant issue. The Valley has a growing resistance to massive solar facilities being built in Fresno, Stanislaus and Merced counties. Projects using lithium-ion batteries to store power generated in those panels are also attracting protests. Many folks are frightened by the prospect of toxic fires such as the one that destroyed a lithium-ion facility in Moss Landing a year ago.

Busy day on the Westside

Westside Express. Los Banos firefighters respond to two unrelated fires Wednesday.
Synopsis: Two small fires in different parts of town kept firefighters busy Wednesday. The first was reported at 1:45 pm at Carlos’ Tire Shop on East Pacheco. The fire in a shed was quickly extinguished. The second was in a garage on North Santa Monica St. It destroyed a car but did not spread to the home. Damage was put at $75,000.

KSEE / CBS47. Man accused of stealing lights from Santa Nella movie set arrested.
Synopsis: Aaron Avila, 37, was accused of stealing lighting rigs from a semi-truck parked along Hwy 33 in Santa Nella. Detectives searched his nearby trailer and recovered more stolen property.

Why hide behind a mask?

Modesto Bee. Modesto council members defend mask-ban vote as ACLU, others consider lawsuit.
Synopsis: Members of the Modesto city council defended their unanimous decision to ban the wearing of masks during protests. In June, five people were arrested for violating the ban, though all the charges were dropped. The First Amendment Coalition says it is “carefully” considering litigation. Councilmember Nick Bavarro calls it a safety issue and believes the city is safer if protesters are not masked. Said Chris Ricci: “I made the best decision I could for the good of this city based on all the voices.” He added in an email, “If the ACLU wants to sue Modesto, go for it.”

Merced getting new fire station

Merced Focus. Merced approves site for $14 million fire station.
The Merced city council unanimously approved building the city’s sixth fire station at M Street and M Circle in the Bellevue Ranch development. The station will cost $14 million, with roughly $4 million coming from the state. The city still needs around $5 million to move forward.

Car bandits: We see you

Modesto Bee. Police seek help identifying suspects after car break-ins at Manteca water park.
Synopsis: Manteca police have identified three men of interest in the looting of 48 cars on Thanksgiving morning in the Great Wolf Lodge parking lot. Police say the Great Wolf Gang arrived in a stolen vehicle, which they parked on the Hwy 120 off-ramp south of the lodge. An alert CHP officer spotted the car and recovered it before they could return. So the Wolf pack fled on foot to a nearby shopping center. That’s where they took off their masks … and were captured by surveillance cameras.