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Pursuing truth toward justice

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Pursuing truth toward justice
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Environment

Are Valley Foothills the Water Bank of the Future?

October 26, 2022 By Eric Caine 9 Comments

Among several pieces of encouraging news Peter Drekmeier brought the Stanislaus County Water Advisory Committee during his October 26 visit to Modesto was the scientific consensus that it’s still going to rain in the northern San Joaquin  Valley. In fact, said Drekmeier, according to the best science we have, it’s probably going to rain just as much as it always has. The catch is that the realities of climate change […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: Eastern Stanislaus County groundwater, Peter Drekmeier, Stanislaus County groundwater, Tuolumne River Trust

More on Mapes Ranch Water Sales

July 26, 2022 By Eric Caine 5 Comments

Mapes Ranch sign and flag

July 25, attorneys for “Lyons Land Management and Mapes Ranch” issued a strong rebuttal to a letter to the Modesto Irrigation District (MID) from its former General Counsel that raised questions about Mapes Ranch’s use of MID water. The rebuttal argued the letter, “contains false accusations and incorrect information.” We summarized portions of the letter from Ronda Lucas on July 19. Lucas, who served as MID’s General Counsel from early […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: Mapes Ranch water sales, Ronda Lucas Attorney at Law

Mapes’ Water Sales May Roil Irrigation District

July 19, 2022 By Eric Caine 6 Comments

Mapes Ranch sign and flag

Longtime Modesto Irrigation District Board member John Mensinger announced recently he would be stepping down from the board. Thus far, the only declared candidate for his position is Frank Damrell, former Senior District Representative to Cathleen Galgiani when she was a State Senator. Mensinger’s term was stormy, with board members disagreeing about water sales, electricity rates and lawsuits. In one recent lawsuit, female members of the district’s legal department accused […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: Mapes Ranch water sales, Modesto Irrigation District John Mensinger

New Home Projects Add to Homeless Problem

January 24, 2022 By Bruce Frohman 4 Comments

New home construction Modesto

Logically, new home construction should help reduce homelessness in Stanislaus County. This is not what is happening. With few exceptions, lower income people in Stanislaus County have been priced out of housing and rental markets. When new single-family homes sell for over $400,000 and apartments are not being built, the majority of new home buyers in Stanislaus County most likely will come from the Bay Area. Given higher housing prices there, Modesto’s new […]

Filed Under: Environment

Why is Climate Change Different Now?

November 26, 2021 By Richard Anderson 12 Comments

Richard Anderson climate graph two

Sometimes the Valley’s science-deniers get to be too much for Dr. Richard Anderson, a retired Professor of Biology formerly at Modesto Junior College. With a PhD in plant cell structure and a master’s degree in in marine biology, along with decades of further study, Anderson offers clear explanations of climate change basics. Like all great teachers, he has a special gift for making complex issues clear. Here’s his response to […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: Climate change in the San Joaquin Valley, Science-deniers

Merrill Goodall: Water Monopolies and the Public Interest

September 2, 2021 By Trudy Wischemann 8 Comments

Friant Kern Canal near Lindsay

“The lands have no value without water.  If the water rights fall into the hands of irrigating companies and … individual owners, … eventually the monopoly of water rights will be an intolerable burden to the people…. The question for legislators to solve is to devise some practical means by which water rights may be distributed among individual farmers and water monopolies prevented.” John Wesley Powell, Report on the Arid […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: California groundwater law, California Water Project, California water shortage, Dry wells San Joaquin Valley, mining groundwater

Are Water Sales Delaying Development of Alternative Sources?

August 29, 2021 By Bruce Frohman 5 Comments

If one wants to know how bad a drought is, ask someone whose business it is to plumb the water table and test the effectiveness of wells and pumps. A gentleman in the business told this writer that he is busier than ever. Businesses that rely on well water need to keep the water flowing. Wells need testing to make sure they don’t go dry and to check pumps for […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: California drought, Dry wells San Joaquin Valley, Eastern Stanislaus County groundwater, Oakdale Irrigation District water sales, San Joaquin Delta water, San Joaquin Valley aquifer

Is San Joaquin River Groundwater Allstate’s Orchard Insurance?

August 5, 2021 By Steve Ringhoff 6 Comments

San Joaquin River

YOU tell Allstate they can’t draw from the San Joaquin River to water the almonds they planted in the last couple of years west of Modesto — a modest little project — modest if you have a basket of billions. Though some think $28,000,000 is more than modest. If you use Highway 132 to go west from Modesto, you probably have noticed a big change to farmland just west of […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: groundwater in Stanislaus County, Modesto groundwater

Valley Water Belongs to the People

July 8, 2021 By Eric Caine 8 Comments

Modesto Resevoir

Much of the history recounted below is from David Igler’s Industrial Cowboys and Mark Arax’s The Dreamt Land. Much appreciation to both. Also, kudos to Lois Henry for journalism in the great tradition. From the very beginning, water in the San Joaquin Valley has been manipulated, controlled and adjudicated by the wealthy and powerful. Its history is a story of exploitation, mostly through the use of serf labor, the courts, […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: Audubon vs Superior Court, Boswell Corcoran, Lux vs Haggin, Oakdale Irrigation District water sales, Subsidence San Joaquin Valley, Trinitas Partners Oakdale, Trinitas PSP Maui

Local Agencies Shirk Groundwater Accountability

February 28, 2021 By Eric Caine 7 Comments

Stanislaus River

Local experts on water and water use like Vance Kennedy were apoplectic when farmers planted almonds and walnuts in the foothills of eastern Stanislaus County, where one of the last viable aquifers in the San Joaquin Valley provided enough groundwater for tens of thousands of acres of trees. “That aquifer should be saved for use in an emergency,” said Kennedy, a retired hydrologist formerly with U.S. Geological Survey. Today, obeying […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: Almond Orchards eastern Stanislaus County, Eastern Stanislaus County groundwater, San Joaquin Valley groundwater, Sustainable Groundwater Management Act

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Off The Wire

Biden restores roadless protection to the Tongass, North America's largest rainforest
Biden restores roadless protection to the Tongass, North America’s largest rainforest
The Tongass National Forest in Alaska, a focus of political battles over old-growth logging and road-building in forests for decades, has received new protection from the Biden administration.
theconversation.com
As California?s climate heats up, Valley fever spikes ? especially on Central Coast
As California’s climate heats up, Valley fever spikes, especially on Central Coast
Because the fungus that causes the disease spreads easily in hot, arid conditions, the number of cases will grow, UC Berkeley study says
www.mercurynews.com
Activists sue to block Newsom's homeless mental illness treatment program
Activists sue to block Newsom’s homeless mental illness treatment program
Gov. Gavin Newsom championed compelled mental health treatment for homeless Californians. Now, activists are trying to stop it before it gets off the ground.
sjvsun.com
The Rise of Spirit Warriors on the Christian Right
The Rise of Spirit Warriors on the Christian Right
How an extreme transformation in American religion poses an existential threat to our democracy
newrepublic.com
Gimme Shelter: Mayor Karen Bass on homelessness and the California housing crisis
Gimme Shelter: Mayor Karen Bass on homelessness and the California housing crisis
Liam Dillon and Ben Oreskes of the L.A. Times interview Mayor Karen Bass about homelessness and housing problems in California.
calmatters.org
A Water War Is Brewing Over the Dwindling Colorado River
A Water War Is Brewing Over the Dwindling Colorado River
This story first appeared at ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative…
talkingpointsmemo.com
At Last, a Real Possibility to Avoid Catastrophic Climate Change
At Last, a Real Possibility to Avoid Catastrophic Climate Change
After decades of minimal action, Congress passed the largest and most comprehensive piece of climate legislation in U.S. history. Will we make the most of this opportunity?
www.audubon.org
ACLU sues Phoenix over homeless sweeps, citations
ACLU sues Phoenix over homeless sweeps, citations
The ACLU of Arizona has filed a lawsuit against the city of Phoenix over cleanup sweeps of homeless encampments.
www.azcentral.com
'Full-on crisis': Groundwater in California's Central Valley disappearing at alarming rate
‘Full-on crisis’: Groundwater in California’s Central Valley disappearing at alarming rate
Excessive groundwater pumping has long been depleting aquifers in California’s Central Valley. Now, scientists say the depletion is accelerating.
www.latimes.com
San Francisco?s homeless sweeps are unlawful ? and the city will pay for it
San Francisco’s homeless sweeps are unlawful and the city will pay for it
San Francisco’s campaign to remove homeless people from the streets clearly violates…
www.sfchronicle.com
A year after opening 600 rooms to L.A.'s unhoused, the Cecil Hotel is still mostly empty. Here's why
A year after opening 600 rooms to L.A.’s unhoused, the Cecil Hotel is still mostly empty. Here’s why
The Cecil Hotel was supposed to be an innovative new model for permanent supportive housing in L.A. Why is it struggling to fill rooms?
news.yahoo.com
Fentanyl on campus: One Bay Area school saved a student?s life. Another missed the signs of an overdose. Is your school ready?
Fentanyl on campus: One Bay Area school saved a student’s life. Another missed the signs of an overdose. Is your school ready?
Suddenly, Bay Area schools are playing a critical role in combating the alarming rise of fentanyl that is spilling onto high school campuses. But a Bay Area News Group survey found most may not be….
www.mercurynews.com

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

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PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
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Email us at:
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