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The Valley Citizen

Pursuing truth toward justice

The Valley Citizen

Pursuing truth toward justice
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San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge

Audubon Bird Count: An Umbrella for All

January 3, 2023 By Eric Caine 3 Comments

Tundra Swans Faith Ranch 2 January 2023

When the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1987, its primary purpose was to protect winter habitat of the then-endangered Aleutian cackling goose. Since that time, the refuge has provided an “umbrella effect” for over 200 species of birds, ranging in size from the tiny Bushtit, which weighs in at less than an ounce, to Tundra Swans, which average around twenty pounds and fly over 4,000 miles […]

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: Caswell/Westley Christmas Count, San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge, Stanislaus Audubon Christmas Count

Dos Rios: The Many Facets of a Natural Gem

July 21, 2022 By Eric Caine 6 Comments

Native Sunflower Dos Rios Ranch

“It looks like a bunch of weeds,” said David Froba when he pulled over to look at an early stage restoration project near the confluence of the Tuolumne, San Joaquin and Stanislaus Rivers, just west of Modesto. The “weeds” may not be as attractive as the ducks, geese, and songbirds that capture the attention of nature lovers when they visit the nearby San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge, but they’re […]

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: Central Valley Joint Venture, Dos Rios Ranch, Dos Rios State Park, Haley Mirts Restoration Ecologist, River Partners, San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge

Goose Music Greets Birders for Frosty Count

January 3, 2022 By Eric Caine Leave a Comment

Aleutian Cackling geese flying

January 2, Stanislaus County birders and friends scraped the frost off their windshields well before the sun rose and motored out to their assigned areas for the 122nd annual Audubon Christmas Count, a worldwide event that provides a huge database for fluctuations in bird populations around the world. One of hundreds of compilers of local counts in the United States, Harold Reeve was joined by his wife Sharon and their […]

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: Audubon Christmas Count, Caswell/Westley Christmas Count, Harold Reeve, San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge, Stanislaus Audubon Society

Endangered Species: Looking for Love in All the Right Places

July 4, 2012 By Eric Caine Leave a Comment

Friday, June 15, Point Reyes Bird Observatory (PRBO) field biologist Cory Gregory was slated to inventory the bird life on a portion of the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge (SJRNW). He was on a restricted portion of the Refuge, not far as the crow flies from the publicly accessible Pelican Nature Trail. Stopping for a moment to listen to the dawn chorus of singing birds, Gregory heard a song […]

Filed Under: Featured, Nature Tagged With: Cory Gregory, Least Bell's Vireo, San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge

Target Bird: Black-headed Grosbeak

June 6, 2012 By Eric Caine Leave a Comment

Until recently, some of our most exotic Valley birds could be found only by hard core birders with special knowledge not only of what to look for, but where and when to find it. Thus, those who wished to see the spectacular Blue Grosbeak, our most recently featured, “Target Bird,” were limited to a few locations where the bird might be seen, and most of the locations featured limited public […]

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge, Stanislaus County birds

Otters and Rabbits and Birds: and a Lot More

May 7, 2012 By Eric Caine Leave a Comment

Otters and rabbits and birds—and a lot more—are out on the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge, which until recently was accessible only via the viewing platform near the end of Beckwith Road, west of Modesto. With the recent opening of the Dairy Road entrance just east of River Road in western Stanislaus County, the refuge has a lot more to offer the public. For one thing, whereas the Beckwith […]

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: Least Bell's Vireo, San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge

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Off The Wire

?Monster Fracks? Are Getting Far Bigger. And Far Thirstier.
“Monster Fracks” Are Getting Far Bigger. And Far Thirstier.
A Times analysis shows that increasingly complex oil and gas wells now require astonishing volumes of water to fracture the bedrock and release fossil fuels, threatening America’s fragile aquifers.
www.nytimes.com
Newsom urges SCOTUS to consider encampment ruling that has 'paralyzed' California cities
Newsom urges SCOTUS to consider encampment ruling that has ‘paralyzed’ California cities
The Democratic governor’s intervention lays down a mark in a legal dispute with potentially profound implications for one of California’s most pressing issues.
www.politico.com
Clarence Thomas Secretly Participated in Koch Network Donor Events
Clarence Thomas Secretly Participated in Koch Network Donor Events
Thomas has attended at least two Koch donor summits, putting him in the extraordinary position of having helped a political network that has brought multiple cases before the Supreme Court.
www.propublica.org
How hungry is California? Millions struggle to eat well in an abundant state
How hungry is California? Millions struggle to eat well in an abundant state
How bad is hunger in California? A lot depends on your access to food aid, which expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic but now is being reduced.
calmatters.org
Sacramento DA sues city over homeless encampments
Sacramento DA sues city over homeless encampments
Sacramento County had nearly 9,300 homeless people in 2022, based on data from the annual Point in Time count. That was up 67% from 2019. Roughly three-quarters of the county’s homeless population….
www.mercurynews.com
At Last, a Real Possibility to Avoid Catastrophic Climate Change
At Last, a Real Possibility to Avoid Catastrophic Climate Change
After decades of minimal action, Congress passed the largest and most comprehensive piece of climate legislation in U.S. history. Will we make the most of this opportunity?
www.audubon.org
How the fentanyl crisis' fourth wave has hit every corner of the US
How the fentanyl crisis’ fourth wave has hit every corner of the US
The epidemic’s staggering scale and infiltration of communities is laid bare in a new study.
www.bbc.com
Can licensed tent villages ease California's homelessness epidemic? This nonprofit thinks so
Can licensed tent villages ease California’s homelessness epidemic? This nonprofit thinks so
Taking people off the street and into tents is a new twist on homeless shelter being explored by the San Francisco-based Urban Alchemy in two tent villages operating in Los Angeles and Culver City.
www.latimes.com
Mississippi has problems, but it's handling homelessness better than L.A.
Mississippi has problems, but it’s handling homelessness better than L.A.
The public tends to blame homelessness on poverty, drug use, crime or even warm weather. But other cities don’t have L.A. levels of street homelessness because they have more available housing.
www.latimes.com
Neo-Nazis March Through Florida Park
Neo-Nazis March Through Florida Park
The demonstrators raised “Heil Hitler” salutes and waved flags with swastikas.
www.thedailybeast.com
Families have high hopes for Gavin Newsom's CARE Courts. Providers want to lower expectations
Families have high hopes for Gavin Newsom’s CARE Courts. Providers want to lower expectations
Gov. Gavin Newsom?s experiment to push Californians with mental illness off the streets and into treatment, CARE Court, starts soon.
calmatters.org
Pope says 'backward' U.S. conservatives have replaced faith with ideology
Pope says ‘backward’ U.S. conservatives have replaced faith with ideology
Pope Francis has blasted the “backwardness” of some conservatives in the U.S. Catholic Church. He says they have replaced faith with ideology and that a correct understanding of Catholic doctrine allows for change over time.
apnews.com

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

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

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

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

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