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The Valley Citizen

Pursuing truth toward justice

The Valley Citizen

Pursuing truth toward justice
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Bruce Frohman

Wood Colony: Déjà vu Reality Check for Local Economy

January 24, 2014 By Bruce Frohman 4 Comments

For over 30 years, various political groups and private citizens have worked for the preservation of farm land for future generations. With the current proposal by the City of Modesto to appropriate Wood Colony for an industrial park, now is a good time to look at the big picture of Stanislaus County’s economic development. The Economic Goal of Urban Developers The primary goal is to entirely destroy agriculture and replace it with urban development. Former Stanislaus County Supervisor Jeff Grover […]

Filed Under: Featured, Politics Tagged With: losing farmland, Modesto planning, urban growth in Stanislaus Counthy

Great Valley or New Dustbowl?

January 20, 2014 By Bruce Frohman Leave a Comment

News item: On January 17, 2014, California Governor Jerry Brown declared a drought emergency.                                                                                           In 1846, one could book passage on a river boat between San Francisco and Bakersfield. In that year, the San Joaquin Valley had numerous lakes and marshes. The water table was at the surface in many of the lower parts of the valley. In the fall and winter, great flights of waterfowl darkened the sky. For thousands of years, Native Americans had […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: California drought emergency

Frohman to Council: Spare Wood Colony

January 18, 2014 By Bruce Frohman 3 Comments

Dear Modesto City Councilmembers: During the last Modesto General Plan update a little over a decade ago, while serving on the Modesto City Council, I proposed removing the Beckwith Triangle from the updated plan. My rationale was that the Triangle was isolated from the rest of the community and separated by a freeway that makes infrastructure expensive to provide. The other even better argument was that the area was on the world’s best farm land. I […]

Filed Under: Featured, Politics Tagged With: Beckwith Triangle, Beckwith Triangle Modesto, Spare Wood Colony, Wood Colony

What Science Says About Wood Colony Soil

January 12, 2014 By Bruce Frohman Leave a Comment

Dr. Vance Kennedy

One of Vance Kennedy’s first jobs for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) was a study of “sediment transport” in streams throughout the state of Georgia. He probably got the job because of his degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and because he was the first student ever in the first course ever in the subject of Applied Geochemistry. When you study the streams and sediments of an […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: sandy loam soil, Vance Kennedy, Vance Kennedy hydrologist, Wood Colony Modesto

Tactics to Save Wood Colony—An Opposition Strategy

January 4, 2014 By Bruce Frohman 4 Comments

  This article is dedicated to the citizens of Wood Colony who do not want to annex into the City of Modesto. The Modesto City Council is proposing to annex Wood Colony on a whim. They don’t have a plan. Nor does the Council care about what you think. They are doing this because some individuals in the urban development business are telling them to do this. Your best hope of defeating the proposal […]

Filed Under: Featured, Politics Tagged With: Save Wood Colony, Wood Colony, Wood Colony Annex

19th Century Thinking Won’t Help Drought, by Bruce Frohman

January 1, 2014 By Bruce Frohman 1 Comment

  In the 19th century, California’s leaders developed a solution to potential water shortages that served the state for over 100 years. A system of dams and canals was built all over the state. As time went by, bigger dams and more canals were built to move more and more water. The last big project was the Central Valley Water Project of the 1960s. The system did substantial environmental damage to rivers, streams, and fisheries, […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: California drought, San Joaquin Delta water, San Joaquin Valley water table

MID Faces Conundrum about Need for Rate Increases, by Bruce Frohman

December 29, 2013 By Bruce Frohman Leave a Comment

The Modesto Irrigation District (MID) is the primary electricity supplier to northern Stanislaus County and the town of Mountain House in San Joaquin County.    The Board of Directors of MID has been discussing an electric service rate increase in 2014. The numbers suggested have ranged from zero percent to a double digit increase. Current MID electric rates rank among the highest in California.  The debate about the rate increase centers on the overall financial condition of the utility. MID […]

Filed Under: Featured, History Tagged With: MID electric rates, Modesto Irrigation District rate increases

Valley Air Quality Is Worse Than Reported, by Bruce Frohman

December 19, 2013 By Bruce Frohman 3 Comments

  The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD) recently reported that air quality in the Central Valley improved this past year to the level of attainment of federal air quality standards. At the measuring stations, this is true. But what about parts of the Great Valley not adjacent to stations?    If your residence or business isn’t located near a monitoring station, your daily air quality could be a lot worse than the reports […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: No Burn days, San Joaquin Valley air pollution, San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District

New Land Rush to Cover Farmland, by Bruce Frohman

December 10, 2013 By Bruce Frohman 6 Comments

Now that the California economy is improving, urban land developers are once again pushing to enhance the available supply of land to build on. The goal is to always keep a large amount of cheap land available so that property can be acquired and highly profitable projects can be built. In Stanislaus County, urban developers are looking for opportunities in and around every community in an endless effort to incrementally convert farm land into sprawl. Urban developers shun […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: Modesto City Plan, Modesto growth, Patterson growth, Woods Colony

Carson vs Fladager, by Bruce Frohman

December 5, 2013 By Bruce Frohman 8 Comments

Next year, an election will be held to either affirm the job District Attorney Birgit Fladager is doing for the citizens of Stanislaus County or to replace her with criminal defense attorney Frank Carson, who has already announced that he is running for the job. One way to evaluate the upcoming contest is to view it from the perspective of those who have been inside the office. DA Birgit Fladager is seen by some as projecting […]

Filed Under: Featured, History Tagged With: Birgit Fladager, Frank Carson, Frank Carson versus Birgit Fladager, Stanislaus District Attorney's campaign

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Off The Wire

Gimme Shelter: Mayor Karen Bass on homelessness and the California housing crisis
Gimme Shelter: Mayor Karen Bass on homelessness and the California housing crisis
Liam Dillon and Ben Oreskes of the L.A. Times interview Mayor Karen Bass about homelessness and housing problems in California.
calmatters.org
Judge Luttig Has a Warning for America
Judge Luttig Has a Warning for America
Our democracy is “under vicious, unsustainable, and unendurable attack” from within…
morningshots.thebulwark.com
Rupert Murdoch has fuelled polarisation of society, Barack Obama says
Rupert Murdoch has fuelled polarisation of society, Barack Obama says
Former US president tells Sydney audience that media coverage has helped exacerbate divisions and that we no longer have a “shared story”
www.theguardian.com
California faces catastrophic flood dangers ? and a need to invest billions in protection
California faces catastrophic flood dangers and a need to invest billions in protection
A new state plan for the Central Valley calls for spending as much as $30 billion over 30 years to prepare for the dangers.
www.latimes.com
Oakland will get millions for the ?inhumane? crisis at one huge homeless encampment. Officials say it?s not enough
Oakland will get millions for the “inhumane” crisis at one huge homeless encampment. Officials say it’s not enough
Gavin Newsom’s administration has awarded Oakland a $4.7 million grant to come up with…
www.sfchronicle.com
Alaska?s Fisheries Are Collapsing. This Congresswoman Is Taking on the Industry She Says Is to Blame.
Alaska’s Fisheries Are Collapsing. This Congresswoman Is Taking on the Industry She Says Is to Blame.
Mary Peltola won her election by campaigning on a platform to save the state’s prized fisheries. A powerful fishing lobby is standing in her way.
www.politico.com
Jimmy Carter's final foe: A parasitic worm that preyed on millions in Africa and Asia
Jimmy Carter’s final foe: A parasitic worm that preyed on millions in Africa and Asia
One of former President Carter’s biggest hopes is wiping out an infectious parasitic disease that’s plagued humans for millennia. How close is he?
www.latimes.com
Climate Extremes Threaten California?s Central Valley Songbirds - Eos
Climate Extremes Threaten California’s Central Valley Songbirds – Eos
A “nestbox highway” in California’s Central Valley is guiding songbirds to safe nesting sites and giving scientists a peek at fledgling success in a changing climate.
eos.org
Alaska Republican touts benefits of children being abused to death
Alaska Republican touts benefits of children being abused to death
Republican David Eastman suggested the death of child abuse victims could be a “cost savings” to wider society.
www.newsweek.com
Editorial: Newsom's drought order amid wet winter threatens iconic California species
Editorial: Newsom’s drought order amid wet winter threatens iconic California species
Gov. Gavin Newsom has effectively ended environmental regulations protecting California rivers and migratory fish by extending drought-year waivers.
www.latimes.com
Two-thirds of McPherson Square homeless remain on street, D.C. says
Two-thirds of McPherson Square homeless remain on street, D.C. says
As of Thursday, just two of the more than 70 residents of McPherson Square had been placed in permanent D.C. housing.
www.washingtonpost.com
More Building Won?t Make Housing Affordable
More Building Won’t Make Housing Affordable
America’s housing crisis has reached unfathomable proportions. But new construction isn’t enough to solve it.
newrepublic.com

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