The surest signs of another growth boom binge are recent maneuvers by the Asphalt Empire. All the evidence suggests we’re in for another round of runaway growth followed by all the ugly consequences. First, there was the announcement that Bill Zoslocki was running for the Modesto City Council. Zoslocki, a prime mover in the Village I debacle, is also a former president of the Building Industry Association. As a candidate […]
Denny Jackman Blindsided at Committee Meeting
Central Valley Farmland Trust President Denny Jackman was mugged, mauled, and kicked in the teeth at Wednesday night’s Economic Development Committee meeting in Modesto. The issue was Jackman’s Residential Urban Limit (RUL) proposal. Word was even the Chamber of Commerce was going to endorse it. Those who thought such a notion too good to be true were soon confirmed in their skepticism. When Committee Chair Dave Cogdill called for comment […]
Despite the Need, Can the Sales Tax Increase Pass? by Bruce Frohman
The Woodland West Neighborhood Association (WWNA) is the latest neighborhood to solicit bids for a private security company to patrol its neighborhood. The move follows a rash of residential burglaries, with the Modesto Police Department unable to catch the perpetrators or recover stolen property. With a pending federal court order requiring the release thousands of prisoners before they have served all their time, a growing number of citizens no longer feel that the police department can protect the community. To get […]
The Sheriff’s Helicopter: Commentary by Bruce Frohman
When I read about Sheriff Christianson using the Stanislaus County helicopter to drop golf balls at a charity event being held in another county, I was about to get angry about the squandering of limited resources. Because I believe in our Sheriff, my anger immediately subsided when he said his staff used the trip for legitimate training purposes. Given the rising crime rate, we need the capability to bomb criminals with golf balls. This new capability adds to previous departmental experience […]
Modesto Sales Tax: Even Conservative Numbers-Crunchers Agree
The earth shook Tuesday night when the Modesto City Council voted 5-2 to put a one cent tax proposal on the November ballot. The vote could easily have been 6-1. Councilmember Dave Geer voted “no” only because he preferred a four year sunset to the six year duration of the proposal at hand. The key takeaway is that all Councilmembers save Stephanie Burnside agreed the City has a severe revenue […]
Lopez vs Monteith: Analysis by Bruce Frohman
The Modesto Bee reported last week that Modesto City Councilman Dave Lopez intends to unseat Stanislaus County Supervisor Dick Monteith next election. Monteith told the Bee that he has no plan to retire. However, the 80+ year old incumbent could decide at a later date to retire rather than seek reelection. If Monteith announces his retirement early enough, other candidates will probably join the competition. Historically, when an incumbent does not run for reelection, more candidates seek office. However, Supervisor Monteith […]
Lopez vs Monteith: Developers Can't Lose
Modesto City Councilman Dave Lopez has made all the right moves, beginning with his revelation of last year’s SCAP scandal to the Modesto Bee. It doesn’t much matter that a Grand Jury ruled Lopez should have brought the SCAP affair to the Mayor and City Council instead of the Bee. In going to the Bee first, Lopez positioned himself as a crusader for the public interest and endeared himself […]
More California Water Bills Coming Due Soon
Maybe the rumors were true. Maybe the Stanislaus aquifer really is flowing uphill. That’s one explanation for what’s going on near Hughson and Denair, where people’s wells have suddenly started running dry. Both towns are considerably downslope from the thousands of acres of new orchards on Stanislaus County’s east side. That’s where powerful pumps have been spreading millions upon millions of gallons of groundwater on what was once arid […]
Modesto City Council: Economic Development or Disaster?
Last Wednesday’s meeting of the Modesto Economic Development Committee highlighted a twenty-five year schism among Modesto leaders that is as much an effect of separate realities as it is of anything else. On the one hand we have those who think we are losing prime farmland at far too great a rate. They believe we must establish firm urban boundaries now or too soon suffer the fates of Los Angeles […]
Larry Byrd and Eastern Stanislaus County’s Dire Need for Water
Sometimes Larry Byrd must think the water gods are tormenting him. Byrd began serving on the Modesto Irrigation District (MID) Board of Directors early in 2012, just in time to become embroiled in a contentious dispute about selling water to San Francisco. Byrd took an unpopular stand against the sale, then prevailed in an outcome that left a lasting bitterness among almost all the participants in an argument that hasn’t […]