November 2019 is the month construction begins on Phase 1 of the State Route 132 realignment, otherwise known as a two lane expressway. Sometime in the next 20 years, the plan is to upgrade the expressway to a four lane freeway connecting Freeway 99 and Interstate 580. During the 20 year multi-phase construction project, motorists will experience increasing chronic congestion due to construction, traffic signals, and too many cars using a […]
Politics
Doug Ridenour: Councilman Runs for Mayor
First term City Councilmember Doug Ridenour has announced that he is running for Mayor of Modesto in 2020, when his present term on the council expires. The city was required by a new law to delay elections for one year to make its Election Day match other elections; if he prevails in the next election, Mr. Ridenour will have served on the council five full years when he takes office […]
Josh Harder—Still Running at Warp Speed
About this time last year, insiders in California Congressional District 10 (CA-10) were predicting another win for Jeff Denham, the seemingly invincible incumbent with an eight year term of office and the overwhelming support of local farmers and business people. Denham’s win seemed so inevitable that even some of the district’s most influential Democrats were starting to show up at his fundraisers. Congressman Denham may have been leading, but his […]
Can Democrats Bring a Blue Wave to the Valley?
In retrospect, Jerry McNerney’s upset win over Richard Pombo in 2006 may have been an omen. A seven-term congressman with a high national profile and leadership credentials in the House of Representatives, Pombo’s loss to the low-key but high-integrity McNerney didn’t produce the Blue Wave Valley Democrats had hoped for, but it did show an increasing voter concern for rising corruption in government. Pombo had been tainted by a close […]
Trump Supporters in the Valley
The President of the United States has become a politically polarizing leader. Many people in the Valley either love him or hate him. Few are indifferent. President Trump’s supporters can’t be lumped into a “basket of deplorables,” as Hilary Clinton once asserted. Rather, his supporters are a diverse group who do not necessarily link their value systems with those of the president they support. The support of a president may […]
Josh Harder is Hard at Work
Almost a third of the way into his first term as the Congressman for California’s Congressional District 10, Josh Harder continues to set the same blistering pace he did during his campaign against heavily favored incumbent Jeff Denham. Whether he’s wading through wetlands in search of destructive rodents or visiting Valley classrooms to learn more about the current state of education, Harder has already set a very high bar for […]
“Toujours Babette”: An Open Letter to Ted Howze
Like many former Republicans, Babette “Toujours Babbette” Wagner couldn’t abide the party’s drift away from traditional conservative values toward and into the Trump abyss. Her recent encounter with Republican candidate for Congress Ted Howze prompted the following open letter. ed. Good day, Dr. Howze, As one of the people who helped with the event, I want to thank you for stopping by our neighborhood’s National Night Out (NNO) to introduce […]
Frohman to DeMartini: “Goodbye and Good Riddance”
Former Modesto City Councilman Bruce Frohman couldn’t suppress a parting shot at Supervisor Jim DeMartini, whose own parting comments about California seemed to many observers both ungrateful and churlish. ed. According to an article appearing in the July 26, 2019 Modesto Bee, Stanislaus County Supervisor Jim DeMartini plans to move to Reno after his term expires in 2020. The reasons given for the move were his expectation of paying no […]
Searching for the truth about “water grabs”
While last year’s protests about state proposals for increased flows along our rivers rang out most everywhere in the Valley, few sounded as loud and often as those in the northern San Joaquin, where invoking “the water grab” became a sure way to encourage curses and shaking fists. A rally in Sacramento to protest the flow proposals turned out to be a litmus test for Valley virtue. Local leaders who […]
Sabatino: “Taxpayers’ Association files to recall Fladager.”
“This is about accountability,” said Sabatino of the recall. “If the people can’t have accountability from their elected officials, they can’t count on anything.” At 81 years old, former Modesto Mayor Carmen Sabatino still comes into his popular restaurant by its 6:00 am opening time almost every day. He usually spends the morning catching up on news, responding to messages, and chatting with customers. He also remains active in his […]