Mike Wade, Executive Director of the Farm Water Coalition, is an outstanding advocate for farmers. He always has a good command of facts and is ever-vigilant for threats to farmers’ water supplies. Recently, however, he’s been too narrowly focused on the needs of a few farmers at the expense of farmers in general, especially those who farm the San Joaquin Delta. Wade’s recent criticism of a study that shows […]
History
Underdogs Celebrate Defeat of MID Water Sale
Only a few years ago, he was mugged and left for dead by the Powers that Bee, but Sunday night former Modesto Mayor Carmen Sabatino was back in his element as he hosted a victory celebration for the many players who somehow managed the defeat of the Modesto Irrigation District (MID) water sale to San Francisco. “We’re not spiking the football and we’re not dancing in the end zone,” […]
Bee Fails on Water story, Blames MID
Every once in a while the curtain lifts just enough to reveal exactly what today’s Modesto Bee is really all about. That’s what happened in its September 19 editorial, when the Bee tried to tiptoe away from its role in the Modesto Irrigation District (MID) water sale fiasco.In what has become typical Bee fashion, the only game in town tried to blame the MID for the controversy and rancor […]
Modesto Terminates Water Transfer to SFPUC, from the Tuolumne River Trust
On September 18 the Modesto Irrigation District (MID) voted to terminate negotiations for a transfer (sale) of 2,240 acre feet of water to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) to supplement dry year supplies. The decision was met with enthusiasm by farmers, environmentalists and the City of Modesto. Had the water transfer gone through, the SFPUC would have been obligated to pay MID $1.5 million per year regardless […]
How the Modesto Irrigation District Lost Trust and Credibility
“I’m not going to give them one damned drop,” said Modesto Irrigation District (MID) Director Paul Warda in October of 2010.Warda’s defiant comment came in response to news that the State Water Resources Control Board had determined that in order to insure the survival of native salmon, there could be a 40 percent reduction in the amount of water farmers and urban residents take from the Merced, Tuolumne and […]
Read the Letter the Bee and the MID Don’t Want You to See
Monday, we broke news that over a month ago the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau (SCFB) sent a letter to the Modesto Irrigation District Board of Directors (MID) informing them of the Farm Bureau’s position that the proposed sale of water to San Francisco is illegal. Apparently, the Modesto Bee received a copy of the letter about the same time it was sent, yet has published nothing about it, despite, […]
Salida Probably Will Not Be Annexed To the City Of Modesto, by Bruce Frohman
In 2005, this writer ran for a seat on the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors. I lost the race to the incumbent, Jeff Grover. During the race, I talked to voters living in Salida, an area I would have represented had I been elected. Many Salida voters did not want to be annexed into the City of Modesto. They thought that if they were annexed, their taxes and fees […]
Failure of Crows Landing Industrial Park Good for The Great Valley, by Bruce Frohman
Realtors value real estate based on location, location, location. Economic growth and development is based on land use, land use, land use. Just as a poor location dooms a property to low value, poor land use decisions dooms a region to economic mediocrity. The recently failed Crows Landing Industrial Park (West Park) would have been a poor land use decision. The original plan was to develop the former Navy base […]
The Year in Review: Links to Some of The Valley Citizen's Best Stories
Dedicated to the memory of John Michael Flint, The Valley Citizen launched July 14, 2011. Last week was our biggest week ever, and we’re on our way to our biggest month ever. Thank you to our readers and contributors. Those new to the site may want to read some of our more popular older stories, which are archived on the site. Here follows a review with links. One of our […]
Purchasing Power of the Great Valley's Low Income Wage Earners Has Eroded, by Bruce Frohman
In politics, many laws passed by our state government are under constant attack for being anti-business. One of the most criticized laws is the minimum wage. Everyone knows the argument. The minimum wage costs jobs and has created a large class of unemployable people because their services are not worth minimum wage. But if one studies the purchasing power of those paid minimum wage, a shocking revelation will occur. […]