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Environment

Another OID Water Scheme Revealed

March 12, 2020 By Eric Caine 5 Comments

Oakdale Irrigation District Board of Directors

At least three of Oakdale Irrigation District’s (OID) directors seemed reluctant to pursue local water sales during their March 3 meeting. Though they had committed to develop a plan for delivering water to local buyers outside the district the last July, directors Herman Doornenbal, Brad DeBoer, and Tom Orvis seemed to be having second thoughts about following through on the program. When audience members reminded the board some had spent […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: Oakdale Irrigation District water sales

OID: Still Gambling with Its Water Rights

March 6, 2020 By Eric Caine 5 Comments

Unsustainable Pumping Graphic

Last July, the Oakdale Irrigation District (OID) Board of Directors agreed to develop a five year plan to deliver water to farmers outside district boundaries but within its sphere of influence. Based on the board’s decision, several farmers who had petitioned for water began making good on their promises to provide infrastructure necessary for the deliveries. In some cases, hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent. Then, just last Tuesday, […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: Linda Santos Oakdale Irrigation District, Oakdale Irrigation District water sales

Homeless: Time to Focus on Accountability

March 4, 2020 By Eric Caine 2 Comments

Alan Davis downtown Modesto

The sign on J Street reads, “Cruising Prohibited.” Below that,  “Loitering Prohibited, 6pm to 6am.” Another warns, “This area is under video surveillance.” It’s very doubtful Alan Davis, the amputee across the street, ever reads the signs, even though he’d haunted downtown Modesto for months before being taken by volunteers to the Modesto Outdoor Emergency Shelter (MOES) last fall, where he had a tent, a bed, and routine checkups of […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: Alan Davis homeless, Homelessness and Poverty in Stanislaus County, Homelessness in Modesto, Homelessness in the San Joaquin Valley

Del Puerto Canyon: The Birds, the Flowers, the Dam

February 6, 2020 By Eric Caine 10 Comments

Immature Golden Eagle Del Puerto Canyon by Jim Gain

Modesto’s Jim Gain, in addition to being among the Valley’s most accomplished naturalists, is also one of our finest wildlife and nature photographers. A member of the Stanislaus Audubon Society’s Board of Directors, Gain has been documenting bird life in the Valley for over thirty years. Over the decades, he’s been especially drawn to Del Puerto Canyon, in part because its diverse habitats almost always offer wonder, and frequently produce […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: Del Puerto Canyon, Del Puerto Canyon dam

Del Puerto Canyon: Then and Now, a Controversy

February 5, 2020 By Elias Funez 32 Comments

Along Del Puerto Canyon by Elias Funez

Nestled among the rolling hills of Northern California’s Diablo Range, along the western edge of the San Joaquin Valley, lies the narrow entrance to a unique canyon long known for its geological, biological, archaeological and paleontological significance. Of late, however, Del Puerto Canyon is becoming better known for some very fast- tracked and heretofore little-known plans to build a 260 foot high dam and reservoir in an area with unstable […]

Filed Under: Environment

Will Mistletoe Destroy Modesto’s Urban Forest?

February 5, 2020 By Babette Wagner 4 Comments

Mayor Ted Brandvold wants more money to hire police officers and most agree our police force is understaffed. Nonetheless, many concerned citizens fear Brandvold will divert funds and continue to neglect Modesto’s urban forest, once a symbol of pride that has now become a financial liability. With her typical keen insight and concern for the city, Babette Wagner wonders whether the spread of destructive mistletoe will add even more costs […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: Modesto's urban forest

Draining the Last Great Aquifer: a Group Project

December 8, 2019 By Eric Caine 8 Comments

California map of critically overdrafted groundwater basins

Environmentalists who had high hopes Gavin Newsom would lead the way to sustainable water use in the San Joaquin Valley are waking up to the knowledge that the new governor isn’t going to be any more effective than the old governor. Sustainability is just too big a lift. Even before Newsom took office, the terms of the water debate were morphing from “sustainability” to “voluntary agreements.” Not long after, sustainability […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: California groundwater law, Eastern Stanislaus County groundwater, San Joaquin Valley groundwater, Sustainable Groundwater Management Act

PG&E: A Casualty of Global Warming?

November 4, 2019 By Bruce Frohman 6 Comments

PG&E tuned

Amid the power outages and horrific fires caused by downed transmission lines, a growing chorus of politicians is suggesting restructuring Pacific Gas and Electric Company.  Although the company operates efficiently with a large economy of scale, San Francisco and other urban areas are looking into breaking off pieces of territory to establish locally owned power companies. Is this a good idea? Climate Change Before 2000, California had longer and wetter […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: PG&E rural, PG&E San Joaquin Valley

Trinitas Partners Hires OID Water Attorney: Conflict?

October 30, 2019 By Eric Caine 4 Comments

OID March 20

In a move very likely to revive local controversies and bitter memories, Oakdale Irrigation District (OID) water attorney Tim O’Laughlin has been hired by Trinitas Partners to manage its huge Hawaiian farming operation in Maui, where it’s known as “Mahi Pono.” Now an entity with too many names and subsidiaries to list, Trinitas/Mahi Pono recently purchased 56,000 acres in Maui for $267 million from sugar cane growers Alexander & Baldwin. […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: Oakdale Groundwater Association, Oakdale Irrigation District Fallowing Program, Oakdale Irrigation District water sales, Oakdale Irrigation water rates, Trinitas Partners Oakdale

Water Myths of the San Joaquin Valley

September 16, 2019 By Eric Caine 12 Comments

Among the more persistent myths about water in the San Joaquin Valley, none is more durable than the canard that water shortages and land subsidence have been caused by, “an innumerable myriad of Endangered Species Act-related laws, mandates, opinions, rulings and settlements.” This latest addition to the catalogue of misinformation comes from Kristi Diener, in an OP/ED for the Modesto and Fresno Bee newspapers. Diener, like everyone else who attempts […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: Central Valley Project, San Joaquin Valley groundwater, San Joaquin Valley subsidence, State Water Project

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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

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

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

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