• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Valley Citizen

Nature, Environment, History & Politics

The Valley Citizen

  • Arts
  • Education
  • Environment
  • History
  • Nature
  • Politics
  • Wit
  • About
  • RSS Icon

Bee Scales New Heights of Hypocrisy

October 27, 2012 By Eric Caine 4 Comments

 

Lost Your Sting?

Long-time readers of the Modesto Bee have known that for the last two decades, any time the Bee takes a position on an issue it also abandons objectivity and fair play. Thus, it was no surprise that when the Modesto Irrigation District’s (MID) proposed water sale to San Francisco was rejected, the Bee immediately began a campaign to get the sale back on the table.

The means the Bee has chosen to promote the sale is “a full and open discussion.” Those familiar with Bee-speak know “full and open” means “selectively edited, suppressed, and slanted.” Want examples? Here are two:

(1) During the height of the water sale controversy, the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau sent the MID a letter saying the Farm Bureau believed the water sale was illegal because it violated portions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The Farm Bureau cc’d the Bee with a copy of the letter. To this day, neither the Bee nor the MID has acknowledged the existence of the letter, most likely because they don’t want the public to know just how fraught with legal problems the sale really was.

(2) The Bee took the occasion of the publication of the now-notorious Falling Water Charge memorandum to harp on a hidden subsidy for farmers. The memorandum became an issue when The Valley Citizen  made it available to the public. Though the Bee persists in characterizing the memorandum as revealing an enormous subsidy to farmers, the real story is that the memorandum strongly suggests that the MID has been guilty of sloppy accounting. If this is indeed the case, the Bee should not be assuming the Falling Water Charge went to farmers. Instead, the Bee should be asking where the 17 year total of $89 million was spent. And even if the money did go to farmers, why the secrecy and careless accounting for costs?

Some of the money may have gone to pay MID General Counsel Tim O’Laughlin. Recently, Eye on Modesto’s Emerson Drake revealed that O’Laughlin was on track this year to make a million dollars from his work with the MID. Contrast that with the salary of Stanislaus County General Counsel John Doering, who makes roughly one fifth that amount.

O’Laughlin, by the way, is on his way out at the MID. He’s probably realized that once the light of public scrutiny is turned on MID management, it will not only be bright but  hot.

A recent Bee editorial suggested newly-elected MID Director Larry Byrd had attempted to suppress discussion of the Falling Water Charge at the MID’s last meeting—an ironic claim from an organization that routinely suppresses information it doesn’t like or approve of. In fact, Byrd and fellow directors Nick Blom and Paul Warda objected to Board Chairman Tom Van Groningen’s high-handed attempt to bypass Board rules and hand the Bee a story he knew would be spun to his advantage.

What the Bee has yet to learn from the water sale controversy is that it no longer has a monopoly on the news. During the controversy, the dozens of spectators at MID Board meetings soon discovered that Bee reports of what happened were often at odds with their own perceptions. They also learned that the Bee would sometimes omit information that might damage prospects for the sale or reflect poorly on Tom Van Groningen or MID General Manager Allen Short.

Those spectators now use other news sources as well as the Bee, many of them offering more accurate reports of local events than the Bee does. Athens Abell, Emerson Drake, and Carmen Sabatino follow local events closely and often feature information and viewpoints the Bee suppresses. Sabatino’s blogtalkradio show hosts a panoply of extremely well-informed guests including Stanislaus County Supervisor Jim DeMartini, Hughson nursery owner John Duarte, hydrologist Dr. Vance Kennedy, and more.

Current Modesto Bee management clings to a past when it could not only dictate the terms of discourse but also by default command the high ground of objectivity and fair play. That past is today an ever-diminishing image in the rear-view mirror, receding faster even than the speed of falling water.

Filed Under: Featured, History Tagged With: MID Falling Water Charge, MID water sale

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Emerson Drake says

    October 28, 2012 at 12:59 am

    Keep up the good work Eric. Your comments are right on point as always.

    Reply
  2. Waco says

    October 28, 2012 at 10:12 pm

    Damn good article and SO true. The Bee is little more than liberal fishwrap…

    Reply
    • Eric Caine says

      October 31, 2012 at 2:10 am

      The Bee supports Jeff Denham, and supported Carly Fiorina and Meg Whitman.

      Reply
  3. Spurwing Plover says

    October 21, 2014 at 3:25 pm

    Look at Al Gore,Robert Kennedy Jr and Leonardo DiCaprio attending that rediclous PEOPLES CLIMATE MARCH and you can bet your bottom dollar they didnt arive by flying carpet and they didnt leave by flying carpet either

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Emerson Drake Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Note: Some comments may be held for moderation.

Primary Sidebar

Off The Wire

Warren: Voters Must Elect Dems In Midterms Who Would Nix Filibuster To Codify Roe
Warren: Voters Must Elect Dems In Midterms Who Would Nix Filibuster To Codify Roe
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) on Sunday said she views the midterm elections…
talkingpointsmemo.com
A Farmer’s Quest to Beat California’s Waves of Drought and Deluge
A Farmer’s Quest to Beat California’s Waves of Drought and Deluge
Don Cameron went all in on a trickle-down survival tactic. It could help save America’s agricultural heartland—even if he doesn’t survive the new water war.
www.wired.com
Ten Ways Billionaires Avoid Taxes On An Epic Scale
Ten Ways Billionaires Avoid Taxes On An Epic Scale
This article first appeared at ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative…
talkingpointsmemo.com
A South Texan?s Wild, Life-affirming Quest to Break a National Birding Record
A South Texan’s Wild, Life-affirming Quest to Break a National Birding Record
When she began her year-long bird-spotting adventure, Tiffany Kersten was lost and lonely. She ended up achieving a major milestone and finding her way.
www.texasmonthly.com
Ron Johnson tried to hand fake elector info to Mike Pence on Jan. 6, panel reveals
Ron Johnson tried to hand fake elector info to Mike Pence on Jan. 6, panel reveals
A top aide said the Wisconsin Republican senator wanted to give Pence the list of pro-Trump electors as he prepared to certify the 2020 election.
www.politico.com
Raffensperger says he wishes Fox News carried every Jan. 6 hearing
Raffensperger says he wishes Fox News carried every Jan. 6 hearing
“I think it would have helped our party heal, given [people] more facts.”
www.axios.com
'Not safe anymore': Portland confronts the limits of its support for homeless services
‘Not safe anymore’: Portland confronts the limits of its support for homeless services
Homeless encampments now spill well beyond Portland’s downtown core, dividing a city that has invested liberally in support services.
www.latimes.com
Republicans Will Do It Again
Republicans Will Do It Again
They have not been chastened by the revelations of the January 6 committee.
nymag.com
Birdman
Birdman
Bird Brother: A Falconer’s Journey and the Healing Power of Wildlife
www.earthisland.org
The Potato Roll Empire Bankrolling Christian Nationalist Doug Mastriano
The Potato Roll Empire Bankrolling Christian Nationalist Doug Mastriano
The Martins were bit players in politics, until they put Doug Mastriano one step away from becoming Pennsylvania’s next governor.
nymag.com
Roger Stone and Michael Flynn under fire over rallies ‘distorting Christianity’
Roger Stone and Michael Flynn under fire over rallies ‘distorting Christianity’
Prominent Christian leaders accuse Trump allies of spreading misinformation about election and Covid, while distorting Christian teachings at ReAwaken America events
www.theguardian.com
Major water cutbacks loom as shrinking Colorado River nears 'moment of reckoning'
Major water cutbacks loom as shrinking Colorado River nears ‘moment of reckoning’
As the Colorado River water shortage worsens, major cutbacks are needed to reduce most perilous risks, a federal official tells senators.
www.latimes.com
Trump Scammed Supporters Out of $250 Million for Nonexistent Fraud Fund
Trump Scammed Supporters Out of $250 Million for Nonexistent Fraud Fund
Supporters who thought they were donating to “election integrity” instead saw some of their money funneled to Trump hotels
www.rollingstone.com

Find us on Facebook

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Footer

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Subscribe for Free

* indicates required

Search

• Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2022 The Valley Citizen

Dedicated to the memory of John Michael Flint. Contact us at thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Editor and publisher: Eric Caine

Website customization and maintenance by Susan Henley Design