• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Valley Citizen

Nature, Environment, History & Politics

The Valley Citizen

  • Arts
  • Education
  • Environment
  • History
  • Nature
  • Politics
  • Wit
  • About
  • RSS Icon

Has the Modesto Bee Become a Follower of the Valley’s New Media?

November 9, 2012 By Eric Caine 2 Comments

 

Emerson Drake with Athens Abell

To his credit, the Modesto Bee’s Garth Stapley did acknowledge that Emerson Drake provided much of the subject matter of Stapley’s most recent Modesto Irrigation District (MID) report. In fact, Drake, via his Eye on Modesto website, broke the news of MID payouts to “consultants” via the circuitous route of Martino Graphic Design well before the Bee decided to cover the story.

Stapley was responsible enough to credit Drake for his role the Martino Graphic Design story. However, the Bee editorial that contained a list of what looked virtually identical to Drake’s past recommendations for MID management failed to mention Drake at all. To many observers of the now months-long MID melodrama, it looks like the Bee is not only lagging well behind Modesto’s new media, it’s starting to rely on them.

Part of the problem is the Bee’s dependence on Allen Short’s and Tom Van Groningen’s versions of MID history. Short limited access to MID records years ago. He got away with it because MID Directors and the Bee let him. During his brief tenure as a Director, Mike Serpa tried to investigate MID management, but he was quickly voted off the board, in part because Short and the Bee went after him with a vengeance.

Thus, questions about MID management and differences of opinion between Board members became characterized by the Bee as signs of “rancor.” When some Directors questioned Short’s and Van Groningen’s routine violations of procedure and failure to respond to public inquiry, the Board was characterized as “dysfunctional.”

The criticism reached its height when Director Larry Byrd refused to relent in his quest to penetrate Short’s and Van Groningen’s stone wall of secrecy. But, because of the intense public interest in MID affairs brought on by the water sale controversy, the Bee’s version of events was suddenly subject to far more than the usual review. People on the scene knew better than to accept the Bee’s characterization of Short and Van Groningen as the heroes in the white hats.

Even today, the Bee is running well behind the story of the MID’s Falling Water Charge, and chances are good that Emerson Drake’s head start on Short’s cavalier use of payouts will again produce real news ahead of Bee reports, if only because Drake, like Byrd, isn’t intimidated by Short’s and Van Groningen’s bluster.

Insiders have known for years that the Bee’s dependence on “official” versions of events has skewed the news in favor of those in positions of power. Too often, the result was abuse of the public trust.

Day by day, Valley citizens are learning that the region’s new media frequently offer insightful news well ahead of Bee reports. And it’s becoming ever more evident that even the Modesto Bee is following their lead.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Featured, History Tagged With: Allen Short MID, Emerson Drake, MID Martino Graphics Design

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Emerson Drake says

    November 10, 2012 at 4:50 pm

    The importance of people finding and reading alternative news sources can’t be spoken loudly enough. You making the Falling Water memo public is a great example. Thanks for helping to spread the word.

    Reply
  2. Ted Donham says

    November 14, 2012 at 2:56 pm

    People, in this country, can and do make their own minds up as to what they believe in. Wether it’s their favorite baseball team, religion, or politics, so far we have the freedom to go our own way, feel the way we do and voice it. I pray that never changes. The MID, has brought many people together that would normally not agree on much. They have without any group or party, united for a common cause, and that is the betterment of our community. It is refreshing and wherever this leads, MID and everyone will be better. I just want to say thanks to all those that care enough to stand up and be heard. I have said it before, The system works.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Note: Some comments may be held for moderation.

Primary Sidebar

Off The Wire

A Farmer’s Quest to Beat California’s Waves of Drought and Deluge
A Farmer’s Quest to Beat California’s Waves of Drought and Deluge
Don Cameron went all in on a trickle-down survival tactic. It could help save America’s agricultural heartland—even if he doesn’t survive the new water war.
www.wired.com
Ten Ways Billionaires Avoid Taxes On An Epic Scale
Ten Ways Billionaires Avoid Taxes On An Epic Scale
This article first appeared at ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative…
talkingpointsmemo.com
A South Texan?s Wild, Life-affirming Quest to Break a National Birding Record
A South Texan’s Wild, Life-affirming Quest to Break a National Birding Record
When she began her year-long bird-spotting adventure, Tiffany Kersten was lost and lonely. She ended up achieving a major milestone and finding her way.
www.texasmonthly.com
Ron Johnson tried to hand fake elector info to Mike Pence on Jan. 6, panel reveals
Ron Johnson tried to hand fake elector info to Mike Pence on Jan. 6, panel reveals
A top aide said the Wisconsin Republican senator wanted to give Pence the list of pro-Trump electors as he prepared to certify the 2020 election.
www.politico.com
Raffensperger says he wishes Fox News carried every Jan. 6 hearing
Raffensperger says he wishes Fox News carried every Jan. 6 hearing
“I think it would have helped our party heal, given [people] more facts.”
www.axios.com
'Not safe anymore': Portland confronts the limits of its support for homeless services
‘Not safe anymore’: Portland confronts the limits of its support for homeless services
Homeless encampments now spill well beyond Portland’s downtown core, dividing a city that has invested liberally in support services.
www.latimes.com
Republicans Will Do It Again
Republicans Will Do It Again
They have not been chastened by the revelations of the January 6 committee.
nymag.com
Birdman
Birdman
Bird Brother: A Falconer’s Journey and the Healing Power of Wildlife
www.earthisland.org
The Potato Roll Empire Bankrolling Christian Nationalist Doug Mastriano
The Potato Roll Empire Bankrolling Christian Nationalist Doug Mastriano
The Martins were bit players in politics, until they put Doug Mastriano one step away from becoming Pennsylvania’s next governor.
nymag.com
Roger Stone and Michael Flynn under fire over rallies ‘distorting Christianity’
Roger Stone and Michael Flynn under fire over rallies ‘distorting Christianity’
Prominent Christian leaders accuse Trump allies of spreading misinformation about election and Covid, while distorting Christian teachings at ReAwaken America events
www.theguardian.com
Major water cutbacks loom as shrinking Colorado River nears 'moment of reckoning'
Major water cutbacks loom as shrinking Colorado River nears ‘moment of reckoning’
As the Colorado River water shortage worsens, major cutbacks are needed to reduce most perilous risks, a federal official tells senators.
www.latimes.com
Trump Scammed Supporters Out of $250 Million for Nonexistent Fraud Fund
Trump Scammed Supporters Out of $250 Million for Nonexistent Fraud Fund
Supporters who thought they were donating to “election integrity” instead saw some of their money funneled to Trump hotels
www.rollingstone.com
Police Arrested 31 White Supremacists Crammed Into a U-Haul With a Detailed Riot Plan
Police Arrested 31 White Supremacists Crammed Into a U-Haul With a Detailed Riot Plan
Members of the Patriot Front were allegedly planning to disrupt a pride parade in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
www.vice.com

Find us on Facebook

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Footer

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Subscribe for Free

* indicates required

Search

• Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2022 The Valley Citizen

Dedicated to the memory of John Michael Flint. Contact us at thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Editor and publisher: Eric Caine

Website customization and maintenance by Susan Henley Design