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Pursuing truth toward justice

The Valley Citizen

Pursuing truth toward justice
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Highway 132 barium

132: How Not to Build a Freeway

November 21, 2017 By Bruce Frohman 5 Comments

In the mid-1990’s, I served on the Citizens’ Transportation Advisory Committee for the Stanislaus Area Association of Governments, currently called the Stanislaus Council of Governments (StanCOG). After each meeting, I would corner Dana Cowell, the Caltrans representative appointed to attend our monthly meetings. I always had questions for Mr. Cowell. Very knowledgeable, he patiently answered each one. After one meeting, we discussed Route 132, west of Modesto. I asked Mr. Cowell why a […]

Filed Under: Featured, History Tagged With: Highway 132 and Caltrans, Highway 132 barium, Highway 132 extension

132 Freeway Will Be an Environmental Disaster

July 21, 2017 By admin 1 Comment

Environmentalists are notorious about opposing freeway projects , but the Sierra Club and other environmental organizations have been quiet about the 132 freeway plan. Either the project has not caught their attention or they just don’t care about the  Valley because local politics are dominated by anti-environment interest groups. Regardless of the reasons for political silence, a discussion is needed because the 132 freeway will be a disaster. Wildlife Refuge State Route 132 […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: Highway 132 barium, Highway 132 expansion, Highway 132 Freeway Project

Caltrans, Toxic Waste, and Highway 132

June 30, 2014 By Bruce Frohman 2 Comments

Caltrans’ June newsletter probably did more harm than good from a public relations standpoint. The newsletter was intended to update stakeholders about the project’s progress. Instead, a front page article in the Modesto Bee claimed the newsletter was misleading. Even worse, the information in the newsletter aggravated critics of the project who believe their comments and suggestions will be totally ignored. The newsletter announced that construction will begin in 2016, […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: barium piles Modesto, Caltrans toxic waste Modesto, Highway 132 barium, Highway 132 expansion

Latest Update on Modesto’s Toxic Waste, by Bruce Frohman

April 18, 2013 By Eric Caine Leave a Comment

In our last report, we outlined problems with the mounds of dirt in the 132 right-of-way near the 99 freeway believed to contain toxic waste. As of this writing, Caltrans is working with the California Department of Toxic Substances (DTSC) to determine how heavily contaminated the dirt mounds are and what to do about them.  Until a decision is made about remediation of the dirt piles, construction on the eastern end of the […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: Highway 132 barium, Highway 132 Construction, Modesto Barium, Modesto toxic waste

One Year Later: Still Unanswered Questions About Modesto’s Toxic Waste, by Bruce Frohman

December 4, 2012 By Eric Caine Leave a Comment

  In December 2011, the revelation that the 132 Freeway right-of-way on the west side of Modesto contains waste sites containing toxic barium made newspaper headlines. Caltrans wants to build a freeway over the sites without removing the toxic soil, even though some of the mounds are adjacent to a residential neighborhood. On Wednesday, November 28, 2012, experts from Geocon, a private contractor that conducts water tests, reported to public […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: barium toxic waste Modesto, Highway 132 barium

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Off The Wire

California faces catastrophic flood dangers ? and a need to invest billions in protection
California faces catastrophic flood dangers and a need to invest billions in protection
A new state plan for the Central Valley calls for spending as much as $30 billion over 30 years to prepare for the dangers.
www.latimes.com
Oakland will get millions for the ?inhumane? crisis at one huge homeless encampment. Officials say it?s not enough
Oakland will get millions for the “inhumane” crisis at one huge homeless encampment. Officials say it’s not enough
Gavin Newsom’s administration has awarded Oakland a $4.7 million grant to come up with…
www.sfchronicle.com
Alaska?s Fisheries Are Collapsing. This Congresswoman Is Taking on the Industry She Says Is to Blame.
Alaska’s Fisheries Are Collapsing. This Congresswoman Is Taking on the Industry She Says Is to Blame.
Mary Peltola won her election by campaigning on a platform to save the state’s prized fisheries. A powerful fishing lobby is standing in her way.
www.politico.com
Jimmy Carter's final foe: A parasitic worm that preyed on millions in Africa and Asia
Jimmy Carter’s final foe: A parasitic worm that preyed on millions in Africa and Asia
One of former President Carter’s biggest hopes is wiping out an infectious parasitic disease that’s plagued humans for millennia. How close is he?
www.latimes.com
Climate Extremes Threaten California?s Central Valley Songbirds - Eos
Climate Extremes Threaten California’s Central Valley Songbirds – Eos
A “nestbox highway” in California’s Central Valley is guiding songbirds to safe nesting sites and giving scientists a peek at fledgling success in a changing climate.
eos.org
Alaska Republican touts benefits of children being abused to death
Alaska Republican touts benefits of children being abused to death
Republican David Eastman suggested the death of child abuse victims could be a “cost savings” to wider society.
www.newsweek.com
Editorial: Newsom's drought order amid wet winter threatens iconic California species
Editorial: Newsom’s drought order amid wet winter threatens iconic California species
Gov. Gavin Newsom has effectively ended environmental regulations protecting California rivers and migratory fish by extending drought-year waivers.
www.latimes.com
Two-thirds of McPherson Square homeless remain on street, D.C. says
Two-thirds of McPherson Square homeless remain on street, D.C. says
As of Thursday, just two of the more than 70 residents of McPherson Square had been placed in permanent D.C. housing.
www.washingtonpost.com
More Building Won?t Make Housing Affordable
More Building Won’t Make Housing Affordable
America’s housing crisis has reached unfathomable proportions. But new construction isn’t enough to solve it.
newrepublic.com
Why YIMBYs are about to sue the daylights out of cities across the Bay Area
Why YIMBYs are about to sue the daylights out of cities across the Bay Area
Housing advocates are about to deliver a message to the Bay Area: Comply with state…
www.sfchronicle.com
At the heart of Colorado River crisis, the mighty 'Law of the River' holds sway
At the heart of Colorado River crisis, the mighty ‘Law of the River’ holds sway
At the heart of tensions over water allotments from the Colorado River is a complex set of agreements and decrees known as the ‘Law of the River.’
www.latimes.com
Biden restores roadless protection to the Tongass, North America's largest rainforest
Biden restores roadless protection to the Tongass, North America’s largest rainforest
The Tongass National Forest in Alaska, a focus of political battles over old-growth logging and road-building in forests for decades, has received new protection from the Biden administration.
theconversation.com

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

Email us at:
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PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
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Email us at:
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