In politics, many laws passed by our state government are under constant attack for being anti-business. One of the most criticized laws is the minimum wage. Everyone knows the argument. The minimum wage costs jobs and has created a large class of unemployable people because their services are not worth minimum wage. But if one studies the purchasing power of those paid minimum wage, a shocking revelation will occur. […]
River Wars, Episode II: The King of California and Imperial San Francisco
Marc Reisner’s, Cadillac Desert, is still the primary text for those who would understand water use in the arid American west, but the recent flap over the proposed sale of Tuolumne River water to the city of San Francisco by the Modesto Irrigation District (MID) is best illuminated by Mark Arax’s, The King of California, and Gray Brechin’s, Imperial San Francisco. In The King of California, Arax and Rick Wartzman […]
River Wars, Episode I: The San Joaquin
October 1, 2009, water flowed down a sandy segment of the San Joaquin River that had run dry for more than sixty years. Though it was a major historic event, it was noted mostly by a small group of insiders who follow water policy like an investor follows the stock market. Almost three years later, Valley citizens are scarcely aware of the escalating battle over California’s second largest river, but […]
Why Jeff Denham Must Go: Jose Hernandez for Congress
Jeff Denham must go. There are countless reasons why he must go, but they can be summed up in his unrelenting assault on public values and public resources. Once in Washington D.C., Denham became yet another point man for corporate America—one of his first acts as a newly elected congressman was an attack on the “Wild and Scenic” status of the Merced River. Denham’s latest effort is devoted to overturning […]
Target Bird: Black-headed Grosbeak
Until recently, some of our most exotic Valley birds could be found only by hard core birders with special knowledge not only of what to look for, but where and when to find it. Thus, those who wished to see the spectacular Blue Grosbeak, our most recently featured, “Target Bird,” were limited to a few locations where the bird might be seen, and most of the locations featured limited public […]
Specter of Fish Haunts MID Water Sale
Shortly after John Mensinger and Larry Byrd blew the wheels off the Modesto Irrigation District (MID) water sale bandwagon and the City of Modesto looked likely to sue to assure its water rights, the Modesto Bee opined that, given the intense controversy surrounding the water sale, it couldn’t hurt to form a citizens’ advisory committee of agricultural and urban customers to help steer the water sale controversy to a reasonable […]
Social Media and the MID Water Sale
It certainly wasn’t the first time the Modesto Bee was late to the party, but it may be the first time so many Valley citizens realized it so clearly. By the time of the Bee’s editorial endorsement of the Modesto Irrigation District (MID) proposed water sale, Valley insiders were far better informed than the Bee itself. They had gotten their news from a new wave of social media that has […]
Bruce Frohman on Hepatitis C in the Northern San Joaquin Valley
The northern San Joaquin Valley has long been a hot spot for methamphetamine use and addiction, prime risk factors for viral Hepatitis. Nationwide, health experts are increasingly alarmed about what they claim is the hidden epidemic of viral Hepatitis, or Hepatitis C. In Stanislaus County, reports of Hepatitis C fluctuate wildly, from lows of 234 cases in 2007 to 778 cases in 2008. There is at present no systematic way […]
Gerry Kamilos' West Park Starting to Look Like Another Pie in the Sky Scheme
The good news for West Park supporters is that Gerry Kamilos hired the best for his Environmental Impact Review. The bad news is he owes them over a quarter-million dollars. Kamilos’ attorneys, Remy, Thomas, Moose and Manley are the platinum standard of California land-use law firms. They literally write the book on the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and update it often. They’ve already guided Kamilos through a victorious lawsuit […]
Did the New Editor Admit the Bee Has Been Serving Empty Calories?
Among the most noteworthy items in Joseph Kieta’s April 28 debut column were the new Bee editor’s promises to deliver, “a sharper focus for the printed newspaper. It needs to be more local. And it needs to focus on the ‘why’ and ‘how.’” Kieta also told readers to expect more journalism that doesn’t, “pull punches.” For some, Kieta’s promises amounted to an admission of journalistic weaknesses many Bee readers have […]