What would Jesus do? Get to the Modesto Gospel Mission early enough on a winter morning and you see the overnight “guests” leaving the building. These are the homeless. The rules say they have to be off the property by 7:30, and the rules are strictly enforced. Many of the men who emerge from the building every morning don’t look homeless, maybe because a few actually have jobs, and maybe […]
Visions of the Homeless: Part I
Modesto under siege Summer of 2015 they appeared like an alien fungus, some pale, wan, jaundice-tinged, others large, dark, and gnarly. They plopped down in our parks and along the canals, raising levels of alarm and loathing to dangerous heights. For a long while, their eccentric orbits had been confined to a peripheral loop skirting the edges of downtown Modesto— the Empowerment Center on Olive Avenue to the north west, […]
Shorebirds in the Valley
Shorebirds occupy remnant wetlands and the mud flats around our lakes and reservoirs. The largest numbers occur during migration, when they pass through the Valley on their way to southern wintering grounds. Some also winter here. The larger species are the best known. Black-necked Stilts, American Avocets, and Greater Yellowlegs are often seen and sometimes even known by name. The “peeps” are another story. Small, brown or gray, and wary […]
Two Will Challenge OID Incumbents
When the Modesto Irrigation District Board of Directors proposed selling water to San Francisco in 2013, it set off a firestorm of protest that led to sweeping changes in the leadership of the district. New board members were swept in, top management left, and even lead attorney Tim O’Laughlin moved on. O’Laughlin now handles legal affairs for Oakdale Irrigation District, where a proposed sale to Westlands Water District was quashed […]
Coming Soon to a Well Near You
Until last year, California was the only state without regulations for pumping groundwater. Many thought new rules would remedy problems brought about by overdrafting. They overlooked the fact that even in states with groundwater regulation, major aquifers have been depleted beyond recovery in any reasonable time frame. The great Ogallala Aquifer, which covers parts of eight Midwestern states, has been severely depleted. In Kansas, one study estimated that in order […]
Water, History, and the Environment: Part III
Fact? Fiction? What’s the diff? Even though the state has mandated sustainable use of groundwater resources, there’s still a lot of misinformation about groundwater, rivers, and aquifers. Sometimes the misinformation appears in mainstream media and adds to public confusion about the harm caused by overdrafting groundwater. That’s what happened in a recent Modesto Bee opinion piece by Janie Gatzman. Gatzman is an appraiser with American AgCredit. In “Orchards on the […]
Water, History, and the Environment: Part II
History? Not around here… “Like most environmentalists, they want it all,” said Oakdale Irrigation District (OID) General Manager Steve Knell recently when discussing water rights along the Stanislaus River. Though absurd on the face of it, Knell’s claim represents a widespread belief throughout the San Joaquin Valley, where environmental illiteracy and historical amnesia have enabled private appropriation of public resources since the days of the gold rush. The simple fact […]
Water, History, and the Environment: Part I
When local residents met in Knights Ferry last month to discuss the effects of the almond boom on their quality of life, the emphasis was on domestic wells running dry, but there were many other concerns. One that received little media attention was the effects of almond orchards on wildlife. “Your people are shooting the deer,” said one man who lives near orchards owned by Trinitas Partners. “We used to […]
318 for Stanislaus County
Gary Zahm did a double-take when he saw an Eastern Kingbird on private pastureland west of Modesto. When he was stationed in Oklahoma and Kansas he saw plenty of these handsome flycatchers, but this was the first he’d seen in California. Though he assumed other birders had seen the species in Stanislaus County, he had the presence of mind to grab a quick photograph with his trusty Canon camera. Eastern […]
Still Passing the Buck on Water
For decades now, water woes in the San Joaquin Valley have been blamed on the state and federal government and especially on the “enviros,” those effete coastal dwellers who prefer fish to people. So it was that at last Tuesday’s Oakdale Irrigation District (OID) Board of Director’s meeting when rice farmer Robert Frobose brought up OID’s broken promises about possible impacts from annexing Trinitas Partners, General Manager Steve Knell was […]