Stanislaus Audubon Society has appealed a decision by the Stanislaus County Planning Commission to allow owners of the historic Willms Ranch to split the 2,384 acre property into 42 parcels without requiring an Environmental Impact Review. The crux of the argument for the Audubon Society is the failure of the Willms’ proposal to address significant environmental issues, especially those involving agriculture and wildlife. The Planning Commission accepted the Willms’ […]
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McClatchy’s Dan Walters Slams “The City”: City Doesn’t Blink
McClatchy columnist Dan Walters chased the unicorn yesterday, but didn’t bag it. Walters lit into the city of San Francisco with the purpose of exposing its long record of hypocrisy on the environment. Trouble is, San Francisco, aka “The City,” is as much a product of myth and fantasy as the one-horned white horse, and twice as paradoxical. Supposedly the seat of white-wine drinking lovers of seldom-seen fish and […]
Frohman on Taxes, Cops, and Crime, by Bruce Frohman
On Friday, December 7, 2012, Modesto Mayor Garrad Marsh held a town hall meeting to discuss public safety in the community. Numerous charts and graphs were provided to the 100+ citizens in attendance. The information makes the case for raising taxes so that more police officers can be hired to protect the community. Instead of coming right out and asking for support to raise taxes, Mayor Marsh told the […]
One Year Later: Still Unanswered Questions About Modesto’s Toxic Waste, by Bruce Frohman
In December 2011, the revelation that the 132 Freeway right-of-way on the west side of Modesto contains waste sites containing toxic barium made newspaper headlines. Caltrans wants to build a freeway over the sites without removing the toxic soil, even though some of the mounds are adjacent to a residential neighborhood. On Wednesday, November 28, 2012, experts from Geocon, a private contractor that conducts water tests, reported to public […]
Dazzling White Visitor Thrills, Puzzles Local Birders
Local birders ran for their cars when Central Valley birding legend David Yee reported an Iceland Gull in northwest Stanislaus County Saturday. It took Modesto residents Jim Gain and Sal Salerno just over thirty minutes to rush to the bird’s location. Oakdale’s John Harris wasn’t too far behind them. All three were treated to excellent looks at a bright white, medium-sized sea gull that had many of the characteristics […]
Kristin Olsen Leads the Parade Against Norquist Pledge
Late last October, Assemblywoman Kristin Olsen renounced the Grover Norquist no-tax pledge. Since then, a growing group of Republican senators and congressman have done the same. Though current political realities likely influenced Olsen’s decision, she didn’t wait until after the election to announce her new outlook. Like others who have seen government’s problems up close, she’s realized absolutist theories aren’t serving her constituents. When she announced her new position, […]
Allen Short’s Golden Parachute
Did Modesto Irrigation District (MID) General Manager Allen Short resign so he could give himself a raise? According to a recent Modesto Bee report, Short could make more money by leaving the MID than he would have had he stayed—and a significant portion of his income will be provided by the MID. Short was appointed General Manager of the San Joaquin Tributaries Authority (SJTA) on May 15. Since then, […]
More Jobs Exit Stanislaus County, by Bruce Frohman
Despite the low wages in the area, jobs continue to leave Stanislaus County. With the real unemployment rate over twenty percent, not many prospects are on the horizon for future job growth. Memorial Medical Center recently announced a reduction of about 114 jobs from skilled nursing to administrative positions. The cuts are attributed to a reduction in patient admissions, possibly due to the opening of Kaiser Hospital. Some of […]
All You Need to Know About Water in California
On page 220 of David Carle’s Introduction to Water in California is a map of California. The map was produced by the California Department of Water Resources in 1998. On the map, California is divided into ten regions. For each region there are two sets of numbers, one blue, one red. The numbers represent projected water shortages for the year 2020. The blue numbers represent an average rainfall year, the […]
Should MID Ratepayers Fund Another Bureaucracy?
When Modesto Irrigation District (MID) General Manager announced his resignation, it was reasonable to conclude he’d be off the payroll. But in an odd twist of circumstances, Short’s new job will in part be funded by the MID. Short was a prime mover in the formation of the San Joaquin Tributary Association, which became the San Joaquin Tributaries Authority (SJTA) on May 15. MID ratepayers have a right to […]