Valley Solutions

Valley Solutions offers a daily look at the top headlines appearing on media websites affecting the San Joaquin Valley. It is compiled by Mike Dunbar, who worked in Stockton, Modesto, Merced and Los Banos media for 40 years and later served as Adam Gray’s press secretary when he was in the Assembly. Valley Solutions is brought to readers by Rep. Adam Gray.

Gas, diesel prices rising

Merced Sun Star. Gas prices in Merced County again jump 16 cents per gallon; when will it stop?
Synopsis: Jim Silva reports there is “no relief in sight” as gas prices rose 16 cents last week, on top of the 16 cents prices went up the week before. A year ago, the price of gas was $4.51 a gallon; now it’s $6.22. That bucked the national trend, which saw prices fall 1.6 cents to $4.42 a gallon, though that was up 35.9 cents more than a gallon cost in July. As for diesel, it hit $8.26 a gallon in Merced County, up 7 cents from a week ago and $3.05 from a year ago. Silva points out that CA charges 63.4 cents per gallon in fuel taxes to pay for road repairs. 
MAD Take: Even if those taxes were suspended, the price would fall only to $5.59 – still $1.17 higher than a year ago. Perhaps a better solution is make the oil companies pay the true value on the 26% of American crude they pump from beneath public lands every day. That could be rebated to the public, who owned the oil in the first place.

Morning Ag Clips. Why fuel prices may go higher still. 
Synopsis: The global oil market has exhausted all the safeguards put in place to keep a lid on crude prices. Now, the “free market” will take over and prices are expected to become more volatile. With Iran-allied militaries now controlling the Red Sea and attacking a cross-Saudi pipeline, access to 7 million barrels a day has been diminished. Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries have limited worldwide supplies of diesel. Now, the world’s most reliable supplier is the U.S., which is shipping diesel and other refinery products around the world. Meanwhile, Americans are paying some $117 billion more in fuel costs. BTW, why isn’t China – which has very limited oil-production – not screaming? The Chinese have electrified their transportation sector, cutting demand by 1.3 million barrels a day.

Farmers feeling betrayed

Wall Street Journal. America’s farmers are rethinking their loyalty to the GOP. 
Synopsis: Tariffs, record-high diesel prices, increased beef imports, shortages of fertilizer, market backlash over Trump’s policies – they all contribute to farmers wondering what the hell they voted for. “We need to get some other voices in there to push back a little bit on this stuff,” said Nancy Danner, who farms 8,000 acres in Iowa and voted for Trump in 2024. “We need as many changes we can get.” She prefers Republicans on social issues, but in November she’s voting her pocketbook.

The edible fundraiser

Modesto Bee. Hungry to help Human Services, about 1,200 turn out in Modesto for Edible Extravaganza.
Synopsis: The 40^th Edible Extravaganza drew 1,200 people to Modesto Centre Plaza last Thursday, celebrating the Center for Human Services’ most important fundraiser of the year. Fifty vendors took part, many for the first time. Diana Murillo of the CHS said the organization “went all out” this year and it showed. There was music, raffles, wine and, of course, food. For 40 years, the proceeds have helped fund programs for youth and families throughout Stanislaus County.

Moving Merced’s future

Merced Focus. Opinion: Don’t move Merced’s future out of reach. 
Synopsis: Rosie Campagna offers an op-ed about the CA High-Speed Rail Authority’s plan to move the train station from downtown Merced to open land where it also plans to reap a tax windfall. The original plan would bring Amtrak, ACE and high-speed rail into a single station where riders could connect to ground transport or walk to downtown destinations. The proposed station, 4 miles south of the city, would drop passengers “miles away from existing transportation,” requiring another bus, shuttle, rideshare, taxi or private vehicles to reach downtown, the UC or other rail connections, writes Rosie. “This is not true intermodal connectivity.” The city of Merced must demand its due from CHSRA. “I support high-speed rail. That is exactly why I am unwilling to accept a station that could undermine the purpose of the system before the first train ever arrives.”

36 Days: Lively MID race

Modesto Bee. MID Division 3 race pits farmer against pro rodeo clown; donor commits $32,000. 
Synopsis: Modesto Irrigation District board chair Bob Frobose is running for a second term in Division 3. The outspoken rancher has riled some east-side landowners for pointing out a quiet plan to sell MID water to farmers outside the district for 90% less than its market value and for insisting that Director Larry Byrd be investigated for misuse of district water. That’s why Byrd’s business partner, farm developer Ty Angle, has put $32,000 into the campaign of Dom Giorgi, a well-driller (and former clown) running against Frobose. In races that rarely draw a tenth of that amount, Giorgi says the big contribution won’t influence him.
MAD Take: Giorgi appears to be OK with selling water to farmers outside the district for next to nothing; Frobose won’t give water away and doesn’t like it when someone takes it without asking. 

Merced Focus. What does Merced need most? City council candidates make their case.
Synopsis: Four candidates for city council addressed everything from street lights to youth opportunity to data centers in a forum Thursday night. Four of the five candidates running in Districts 2 and 6 took part in the forum. John Bliss, a teacher running in District 6, did not attend. District 4 candidate Shane Smith didn’t attend, either, but he is running unopposed.

Yes, the earth moved

SF Chronicle. Magnitude 3.3 earthquake strikes Stanislaus County.
Synopsis: Rachel Swan reports that an earthquake struck about midway between Turlock and Mountain View about 7:20 a.m. Sunday. It was 2 miles below the surface along the little-known Greenville fault zone. There have been no other earthquakes of 3.0 or higher within 100 miles of the area in the last week.

Former city execs file lawsuits

Stocktonia. Former deputy city managers file separate wrongful termination suits against Stockton.
Synopsis: Former deputy city managers Chad Reed and Courtney Christy have filed separate lawsuits alleging similar unlawful treatment at the hands of the city of Stockton. City PIO Tony Manor said he was unable to comment on the lawsuits. The city has seen an exodus of employees, including the departure of two city attorneys, its transportation director and public works director. The only Stockton officials named in the lawsuit were Mayor Christina Fugazi and former interim city manager Steve Colangelo. Christy had been critical of Colangelo’s decision to bring in Lathrop city manager Steve Salvatore as a consultant for $11,000 a month – an arrangement later criticized by the San Joaquin County Civil Grand Jury.

Only 4 drunk-driver laws OK’d

Cal Matters. Newsom signs 4 new CA DUI laws; advocates want more next session. 
Synopsis: Reporters Robert Lewis and Lauren Helper do a follow-up on their series of stories last summer documenting the horrendous toll of human life taken on CA highways by drunken drivers. Many of those involved have previous DUI convictions but were allowed to get back behind the wheel and kill again. Four bills were signed into law last week by Gov. Gavin Newsom. One will make it easier to charge repeat drunk drivers with a felony, including murder. But the “victory” is bittersweet. The original legislative package had 17 bills aimed at reducing traffic deaths, and most failed in the face of opposition from groups who insist enforcement will fall mainly on low-income residents. Those groups made no effort to explain the correlation between the nation’s weakest DUI enforcement and highest rate of alcohol-related road deaths.
MAD Take: If these progressives have ideas for making roads safer, let’s hear them. Lack of enforcement, puny penalties and coddling has turned our highways and even neighborhood streets into red-guttered kill zones. This should not be tolerated.

Happy birthday x 11,000

Turlock Journal. America is getting older, we keep acting surprised.
Synopsis: Columnist Jeffrey Lewis notes that 11,000 people turn 65 every day, the fastest rate in America’s history. Yes, the Baby Boom is retiring, or at least hitting retirement age. And there will be issues as their descent into old age quickens. For instance, most Americans believe Medicare will cover their long-term care at home. It does not. To keep from draining your savings, here are four steps you should take.

Dos Palos gets new superintendent

Westside Express. Sean Richey picked as new superintendent of Dos Palos School District.
Synopsis: Sean Richey is making the move from Los Banos Unified to Dos Palos, bringing with him experience gleaned from 30 years in education across California, Nevada and Mexico. A native of the tiny Mojave Desert community of North Edwards, he played football, took part in Academic Decathlon and was an Eagle Scout. He got a BA from BYU, an MA from San Jose State and a doctorate in education from Stanislaus State. He’s taught in Las Vegas, Mexico City, Santa Clara and Riverbank and was the chief academic officer at LBUSD. “My goal is to make Dos Palos a leader in education in the Central Valley,” he told the Express. He will continue to commute from Riverbank.

Three die in Los Banos canal

Westside Express. Three dead following overturned SUV in canal.
Synopsis: Three people died Thursday after their SUV overturned into a canal near Los Banos. The accident occurred at 3 p.m., moments after another accident involving a car going into a nearby canal. The victims in that crash were rescued.

Turlock gets its own Nick’s

Turlock Journal. Nick brings the Greek to Turlock.
Synopsis: Nick the Greek has arrived in Turlock. An outlet of the popular Bay Area sandwich shop has opened in Turlock on Monte Vista Avenue. The shop’s owner is Jerry Ajlouny, who began working in the Redwood City store in 2017 and has since worked in Modesto, Riverbank, and other locations. There are now four Nick’s in Stanislaus County – Modesto, Riverbank, Ceres and Turlock.