“If this is a medical emergency, dial 911.” Through the use of this one sentence, the medical profession has turned the concept of the hospital emergency room into an oxymoron. If you’ve been lucky enough to avoid San Joaquin Valley emergency rooms, then you’ve missed an absolutely miserable experience. Visit any emergency room, especially on weekends and evenings, and you’ll wait a far longer time than with a routine visit […]
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Negative News? Try Modesto's Deep Denial Default
In fall, 2010, the Columbia Journalism Review’s report about the dearth of news in Modesto was met with ignorance and denial. Most Valley citizens never heard of the report; of those who did, denial has long been their default reaction to negative news about their beloved home. Sometime during the mid- to late-nineties, when Modesto began ranking last or next to last in various quality of life categories, regional leaders […]
“Bruce Frohman on Guns, Guards, and Schools,” by Bruce Frohman
As a result of the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, Valley citizens are talking about improving security at public schools. Will we be able to eliminate the possibility of violence that everyone dreads? What Gun Owners Say The consensus among gun owners seems to be that they need guns because the government can’t protect its citizens. Many gun owners live with a fortress mentality. […]
Dazzling White Visitor Thrills, Puzzles Local Birders
Local birders ran for their cars when Central Valley birding legend David Yee reported an Iceland Gull in northwest Stanislaus County Saturday. It took Modesto residents Jim Gain and Sal Salerno just over thirty minutes to rush to the bird’s location. Oakdale’s John Harris wasn’t too far behind them. All three were treated to excellent looks at a bright white, medium-sized sea gull that had many of the characteristics […]
Read the Memorandum That May Drown the MID in Falling Water
The Valley Citizen has obtained an internal Modesto Irrigation District (MID) memorandum. Almost ten pages long, the memorandum provides legal analysis of possible consequences for the MID of Proposition 26. Proposition 26 was approved by California voters in 2010. Its purpose was to prohibit unjustified fees and costs imposed by entities that provide public services. In 1995, the MID added a “Falling Water Charge” to its bill for […]
LAFCo Policy More Complicated than Bee Article Implies, by Scott Calkins
Last Wednesday’s LAFCo decision to require mitigation for encroachment onto ag land met with wide approval, but Scott Calkins has an insider’s view that might temper the celebration. No one denies the decision was a big step forward, but parts of the policy are cause for real concern. Here’s Scott with the inside story. I attended the LAFCo meeting on September 26, 2012 and read the article that appeared […]
Restore the San Joaquin River for Jobs, Farms, and Fish
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 […]
Denny Jackman Named President of Central Valley Farmland Trust
Former Modesto City Councilman and longtime farmland preservation activist Denny Jackman was just named President of the Central Valley Farmland Trust (CVFT). Jackman’s long history of activism includes successful implementation of the Stamp Out Sprawl initiative (with Modesto Mayor Garrad Marsh), a long involvement with the Farmland Working Group, and decades of effort to educate and inform local citizens about the value of San Joaquin farmland. Denny was generous […]
Senator Feinstein: Just dropping by? It’s the water, stupid!
Woody Allen has said, “Paranoia is knowing all the facts,” and the more one knows about the Modesto Irrigation District (MID) water sale to San Francisco, the more likely one is to suffer severe attacks of paranoid dementia. Back in March, we alerted readers to one of the compelling factors behind the water sale—proposed legislation by California Senator Dianne Feinstein that would make water transfers less subject to government […]
LAFCo: Your Tax Dollars at Work—For the Asphalt Empire
At every LAFCO meeting they put out a stack of pamphlets entitled “What is LAFCO?” Yeah, it’s a good question. LAFCO has three objectives: “To Encourage the Orderly Formation of Local Government Agencies,” “To PreserveAgricultural Land Resources,” and To Discourage Urban Sprawl.” And so, by their own measure, the Stanislaus LAFCO has been a failure. Our county, one of the top farm producing counties in the nation, has one of […]