When the Modesto Irrigation District (MID) assures its customers there is enough Tuolumne River water to sell 2,000 acre feet per year to the city of San Francisco, knowledgeable citizens can only assume there’s a hidden back story. For one thing, many local farmers have been informed of reduced water allotments. Since their water comes from the Tuolumne River, they can’t help wondering how the claim of excess water […]
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River Wars, Episode I: The San Joaquin
October 1, 2009, water flowed down a sandy segment of the San Joaquin River that had run dry for more than sixty years. Though it was a major historic event, it was noted mostly by a small group of insiders who follow water policy like an investor follows the stock market. Almost three years later, Valley citizens are scarcely aware of the escalating battle over California’s second largest river, but […]
Did the New Editor Admit the Bee Has Been Serving Empty Calories?
Among the most noteworthy items in Joseph Kieta’s April 28 debut column were the new Bee editor’s promises to deliver, “a sharper focus for the printed newspaper. It needs to be more local. And it needs to focus on the ‘why’ and ‘how.’” Kieta also told readers to expect more journalism that doesn’t, “pull punches.” For some, Kieta’s promises amounted to an admission of journalistic weaknesses many Bee readers have […]
Excess MID water? "No Way," Say Experts
To hear the Modesto Irrigation District tell it, selling 2,000,000 gallons per day of Tuolumne River Water will have no significant impacts on the river. Stanislaus County Supervisor and Westside farmer Jim DeMartini finds such a claim hard to believe. “I just had my water allotment reduced by fifty percent,” said DeMartini recently. “I get my water from the Turlock Irrigation District (TID) and TID gets its water from the […]
From Franklin to Flint, the Library Unites America
Readers of the late John Michael Flint’s Modesto Bee Community Columns were continually impressed with the breadth and depth of his knowledge. Few could have guessed he was mostly self-taught. Flint claimed that when the movie, “Animal House,” was released it was so like his one and only year at college that he researched the script’s origins, convinced it was based on his own experience. Though his short acquaintance with […]
Bruce Frohman: Highway 132 Extension May be a Liability to Our Region
Bruce Frohman has devoted hours of study to the proposed extension and re-routing of Highway 132, west of Modesto. He’s interviewed Caltrans officials, talked to residents in the area, and investigated the expense involved in dealing with the toxic waste site in the path of the project. Here’s Frohman’s exclusive detailed analysis of the project: As presently envisioned, the 132 Freeway project can be compared to putting a square peg into […]
Businessman? Maybe I'd Rather Have a Politician
When voters learned of the financial problems of Todd Aaronson, Dave Lopez and Carmen Sabatino, the old familiar cry went up: “If he can’t manage his own money, how can we expect him to manage ours?” Like many truisms, the adage about personal financial prudence adding up to political acumen is about as reliable as an urban legend. Remember our last MBA president? Hint: He’s a multi-millionaire, once owned a baseball […]
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 […]
The Only Game In Town: Why Every Community Needs Newspapers
New Year’s Day, Eric Johnston and Mark Vasché published the Modesto Bee’s annual pledge to Bee readers. Johnston and Vasché pledged to, “adhere to the highest journalistic standards of accuracy, fairness, impartiality and independence,” and added the plea, “that readers—and we ourselves—be respectful of people of differing viewpoints.” Johnston and Vasché’s words are best understood within the context of a remarkably candid speech made by Bee publisher James B. McClatchy at the Bee’s […]