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Rules of Thumb for Local Elections in the San Joaquin Valley

The conventional wisdom for city and county elections in the San Joaquin Valley has always maintained these elections are “non-partisan.” That is a convenient fiction. Elections are always partisan to an extent, otherwise why have two or more candidates? There was a time in what now seems a fairy-tale past when moderates from both our […]

Congressman Duarte can run, but he Can’t Hide

California Congressman John Duarte insists that he’s a moderate Republican willing to go against the doctrinaire commands of his party. Nonetheless, Duarte knows any candidate for office in today’s Party of Trump (PoT) who steps even a millimeter over the line of Trumpist dogma risks the fiery fury of der wannabe Fuehrer. Independence in today’s […]

Illegal Immigration in the San Joaquin Valley

Over the twelve years from 2010 until 2022, California’s total immigrant population increased about 3%. The portion of undocumented immigrants in that total declined from 28% in 2007 to 18% in 2021. That’s  compared to a 14% (or 1.2 million) increase from 2000 to 2010, and a 37% (or 2.4 million) rise in the 1990s. […]

San Joaquin Valley Election: Your Vote and Mine

Flannery O’Connor’s short story, Good Country People, features a Bible salesman who steals a woman’s artificial leg, leaving her stranded in a hay loft in the family barn. That’s just the bare plotline. Like any of O’Connor’s stories in the broad Southern Gothic tradition, it has multiple layers of irony, elements of the gruesome and […]

Irrigation District and Board Member Win on Anti-SLAPP Suit

Modesto Irrigation District (MID) Board Member Janice Keating’s suit against the District and fellow Board Member Robert Frobose suffered what could be a mortal blow Thursday, August 15, when Stanislaus Superior Court Judge John R Mayne ruled against her claims of gender bias and sexual harassment. From the very beginning, Keating’s claims against Frobose depended […]

Marie Alvarado-Gil’s Curious Political Calculus

There’s nothing dishonorable about changing one’s mind or political affiliation. In fact, a willingness to change often implies an evidence-based intelligence. When a prominent national figure like J.D.Vance, formerly known as James Donald Bowman, went from referring to Donald Trump as a possible Hitler to becoming his running mate, it’s always possible his motivations were […]

Irrigation District files anti-SLAPP suit against Board Member

Last May, Modesto Irrigation District (MID) Board Member Janice Keating filed a suit against the district and fellow board member Robert Frobose alleging gender harassment. The suit claims, among other things, that Frobose sought to intimidate Keating about her opposition to rehiring attorney Ronda Lucas to assist General Counsel Wes Milliband with the district’s legal […]

Congressman Tom McClintock’s Sham Town Hall Meetings

Congressman Tom McClintock is notorious for being absent from his district. Modesto residents who enjoyed the regular presence of Congressman Josh Harder before redistricting moved him north have been especially disgruntled by McClintock’s absenteeism. His Modesto office is often unstaffed. Below, former Modesto City Councilmember Bruce Frohman expresses his frustration with McClintock’s remote town hall […]

Gender Harassment at MID? You be the Judge

In a suit filed on May 14, Modesto Irrigation District (MID) Board Member Janice Keating has accused the district and Board Member Robert Frobose of harassment based on her status as a woman. Keating claims that Frobose tried to intimidate her last year, during a January 17 visit to La Grange Dam: “While on the […]

Modesto Mayor and Council Should Receive Fair Compensation

We’re not fans of the current administration for the City of Modesto. Too many councilmembers are incurious and too firmly rooted in the past. Nonetheless, we support pay raises for all. Governing today is far more difficult and time consuming than it was even ten years ago. The pandemic, homelessness, climate change and new laws […]