November 2019 is the month construction begins on Phase 1 of the State Route 132 realignment, otherwise known as a two lane expressway. Sometime in […]
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A Dog Named Bandit (and Furends)
Before a routine outing, Misty Eckerdt, assisted by family and volunteer friends, packs 1000 pounds of dry dog food into gallon baggies. That doesn’t include the canned food, leashes, doggy jackets, toys, blankets, medicine, and a few items for cats that she and her crew load into the Ford cargo van she uses when she visits sites frequented by poor people and their pets. The van features a large photo […]
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PG&E: A Casualty of Global Warming?
Amid the power outages and horrific fires caused by downed transmission lines, a growing chorus of politicians is suggesting restructuring Pacific Gas and Electric Company. Although the company operates efficiently with a large economy of scale, San Francisco and other urban areas are looking into breaking off pieces of territory to establish locally owned power companies. Is this a good idea? Climate Change Before 2000, California had longer and wetter […]
Trinitas Partners Hires OID Water Attorney: Conflict?
In a move very likely to revive local controversies and bitter memories, Oakdale Irrigation District (OID) water attorney Tim O’Laughlin has been hired by Trinitas Partners to manage its huge Hawaiian farming operation in Maui, where it’s known as “Mahi Pono.” Now an entity with too many names and subsidiaries to list, Trinitas/Mahi Pono recently purchased 56,000 acres in Maui for $267 million from sugar cane growers Alexander & Baldwin. […]
How a Wheelchair-bound Amputee came to the Streets of Modesto
The story of how a wheel-chair bound amputee ended up on the streets of Modesto for over a year is slowly emerging. Alan Davis, whose right leg was amputated at Sutter Hospital in Sacramento sometime in April of 2018, was sent to the Modesto Specialty Hospital in May of that same year, when there was no space for him in Sacramento rehab facilities. Davis arrived at the Modesto hospital on […]
Does Measure L stand for Ludicrous?
We live in the relatively new Village One area, which features underground utilities and lovely smooth, paved streets—or it did until now. So what’s going on now? Those of us who live here are stranded either at home or elsewhere between 7:00 AM and 5:00 PM on various days this week as these still quite serviceable streets are being given a new “slurry coat” for some reason or another which […]