The old lesson that, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” is not in the memories of the Stanislaus County Supervisors. As a result, they’ve made decisions that indirectly resulted in loss of life and illnesses that might have been prevented. On May 7, 2020, the Board of Supervisors deliberately sought to override California Governor Gavin Newsom’s recommendations for controlling the Corona pandemic by applying for a […]
The Next Wave of Covid-19 Will Hit Stanislaus County Soon
The People’s Republic of China currently has over 100 million citizens in lockdown. A new wave of Covid-19, the Corona Virus, has emerged in Northeast China. The first wave of the virus hit Stanislaus County about four months after it was first reported in Wuhan China. What can we now expect? Now that the first wave of the Corona Virus has swept across the world, will another wave come and […]
Stanislaus County Unprepared for Covid-19
In 2005, I lost a race for Stanislaus County Supervisor. A major plank of my platform was to upgrade our health care system in order to keep the community safe from disease, including epidemics. Voters did not agree. The winner of the supervisor’s race followed the Republican doctrine of letting the free market provide all medical services to the public. The county hospital was closed and clinical services were cut […]
Home Builders and Homelessness: Is there a relationship?
December 16, the Los Angeles Times reported that The Supreme Court of the United States rejected a request for review of a lower court decision in the case of the City of Boise Idaho Versus Martin. The court let stand a ruling that homeless citizens are entitled to sleep on public property when a city has no alternative shelter available. Logically, for the good of every community, homebuilders must partner […]
Ongoing: Stanislaus County Whittles Away Wood Colony
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 the next 20 years, the plan is to upgrade the expressway to a four lane freeway connecting Freeway 99 and Interstate 580. During the 20 year multi-phase construction project, motorists will experience increasing chronic congestion due to construction, traffic signals, and too many cars using a […]
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 […]
Doug Ridenour: Councilman Runs for Mayor
First term City Councilmember Doug Ridenour has announced that he is running for Mayor of Modesto in 2020, when his present term on the council expires. The city was required by a new law to delay elections for one year to make its Election Day match other elections; if he prevails in the next election, Mr. Ridenour will have served on the council five full years when he takes office […]
Trump Supporters in the Valley
The President of the United States has become a politically polarizing leader. Many people in the Valley either love him or hate him. Few are indifferent. President Trump’s supporters can’t be lumped into a “basket of deplorables,” as Hilary Clinton once asserted. Rather, his supporters are a diverse group who do not necessarily link their value systems with those of the president they support. The support of a president may […]
Frohman to DeMartini: “Goodbye and Good Riddance”
Former Modesto City Councilman Bruce Frohman couldn’t suppress a parting shot at Supervisor Jim DeMartini, whose own parting comments about California seemed to many observers both ungrateful and churlish. ed. According to an article appearing in the July 26, 2019 Modesto Bee, Stanislaus County Supervisor Jim DeMartini plans to move to Reno after his term expires in 2020. The reasons given for the move were his expectation of paying no […]
Shoplifting Out of Control in the Valley
Retail stores in California have been plagued by an epidemic of shoplifting ever since the passage of Proposition 47, in 2014. The problem is especially acute the San Joaquin Valley, where police responses can be slow unless lives are in danger. Below, Bruce Frohman describes the problem and some of its effects. Ed. Given the federal government’s proclamation that the U.S. economy is great, the number of recent retail bankruptcies […]