Despite efforts by Todd Aaronson to downplay the relationship, there’s no question Aaronson, Ryan Swehla and Joe Muratore are joined at the hip. These Siamese triplets have well-established business and social relationships that would have gone unnoticed and uncommented upon if not for the SCAP scandal. Muratore’s and Swehla’s business ties became a problem when Muratore was declared in conflict of interest because of his position on the Modesto City […]
Todd Aaronson's Perfect Storm Becomes Forecaster's Nightmare
To Todd Aaronson, it must have seemed like the perfect storm, with prevailing winds in his favor. For months on end he’d used his expertise at marketing to take the pulse and temperature of Modesto’s District Three, the bloc carved out by the City’s decision to adopt district elections. He’d acquired an “A” list of endorsements no one else could hope to match. Best of all, his opponent wasn’t an […]
Target Bird: White-crowned Sparrow
When learning our last target bird, Nuttall’s Woodpecker, we discovered that in learning one bird, we can often actually learn three—a birding trifecta. The trifecta is also possible with our next bird, but finding the third bird in this trifecta is more difficult than it was in the woodpecker trifecta, which featured Nuttall’s, Acorn and Downy Woodpeckers. For many birders and nature lovers, the most welcome sign of the fall […]
Water, water everywhere: The Great Valley Mirage
When Jay Wells noticed the City of Patterson was sinking another well in his neighborhood he sounded the alarm. “I raised a fuss,” he said recently. “I was worried about over drafting.” Like everyone in Patterson, Wells relies on groundwater for his residence and his business. He was worried that the City’s increasing demands would put too great a strain on the local aquifer. Patterson has over half a dozen […]
School Scams: How to Leap City Limits, Vault Spheres of Influence and Sprawl Beyond the General Plan
Because they are not subject to the Local Agency Formation Comission’s (LAFCO) authority, schools are among the most potent weapons in the sprawlers’ arsenal. No one knows this better than Stanislaus County Supervisor Jim DeMartini, who acquired first-hand knowledge of school scams shortly after winning election in 2004. “The Patterson School Board wanted to put a school out on Zacharias Road near the intersection of Baldwin Road,” said DeMartini […]
DeMartini, Barker and Jackman on Cities' Failure to Protect Farmland
Stanislaus County Supervisor Jim DeMartini is nobody’s patsy. So when Stanislaus County cities presented their growth plans to the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) at last July’s meeting, DeMartini smelled a rat. “They weren’t plans at all,” he says. “They may as well have been written by the BIA (Building Industry Association).” As far as DeMartini could tell, none of the cities had established firm boundaries. DeMartini was especially miffed […]
Developer Bucks Stop with Jenny Kenoyer, says Fred Herman
Longtime Modesto Bee reporter Fred Herman, who’s been retired for decades, shows here he hasn’t lost his writing chops as he comes out strong for City Council candidate Jenny Kenoyer. Fred fondly recalls when he was proud to support Republican Peggy Mensinger in her quest for better planning, smarter growth, farmland protection and green alternatives. He sees Jenny Kenoyer as a key player in building a team that will unite […]
Image problem? "Use the force, Luke." Or maybe a slogan…
“Use the force, Luke,” says Obi-Wan Kenobi in the great epic film by Modesto’s most famous former resident. Luke’s problem is he doesn’t believe what he’s capable of. Once the belief’s in place, Luke has powers comparable to those of the legions of super-heroes who preceded him in fantasy fiction. Belief is the key that releases the super-hero’s power. In The Matrix, the cyper-punk fantasy set in a machine-dominated future, […]
Modesto's Retrograde Motion and Why Peggy Mensinger Matters
Many Modesto residents will be surprised to learn that their fair city was not always at or near the bottom in national rankings. The University of California at Davis didn’t always rank our planning at the very lowest “sustainable” level of Central Valley cities. Forbes magazine didn’t always rank Modesto among the twenty worst cities in the U.S. In fact, if there were ever a case of going backwards, Modesto […]
Target Bird: Nuttall's Woodpecker
Learning the common birds around you is one of the best ways to appreciate nature. Birds are a “value-added” feature of any region, and knowing the birds often results in a deeper knowledge of your local environment. When used as a supplement to a good bird guide, the forthcoming Birding Sites of Stanislaus and Merced Counties, from Stanislaus Audubon, will make learning local birds even easier. Meanwhile, there’s a short essay […]