Three years ago, presidential candidate Donald Trump got right to the heart of Central Valley agriculture's fight over its most precious resource. “We’re going to solve your water problem. You have a water problem that is so insane," Trump told a campaign audience at Selland Arena in May 2016.  "It is...
Perdue Comes to Valley, Hears Trade War, Deportation Concerns
LOS BANOS — The parade of plaid-shirted gentlemen sat politely in the octagonal Germino Building at the Merced County Fairground. About 200 farmers participated in a town hall meeting Friday with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and four California congressmen. Perdue answered hot-button ag issues about tariffs and labor with...
Temperance Flat Blocked. No Help to Salmon, State Rules.
To say that figuring out the state funding formula for the proposed Temperance Flat dam is complicated is an understatement. But the reason for the state's decision to award just $171 million for the $2.6 billion project is crystal clear. The California Water Commission determined that the dam wouldn't help spring-run Chinook...
Editorial: Why Is Valley GOP Mum About ICE Audits Targeting Growers?
The top officials at Immigration and Customs Enforcement clearly are following President Donald Trump's anti-immigrant agenda while turning a deaf ear to those worried about Valley agriculture and our neighbors who toil in the fields. Last week, The Fresno Bee reported that Rep. Jim Costa (D-Fresno) sent a letter to ICE...