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The anxieties of Leroy 2007

Posted by Anonymous (not verified) on Saturday, 3 February 2007

Hardway Hardesty was removing sleeping cats from his kitchen sink when he noticed his neighbor Leroy walking down the road from Way Up the Crik, kicking rocks. From Hardway’s angle, it looked like Leroy had a cloud over his head. But it could have just been flies, the Crik’s premier scientist figured, because Leroy didn’t wash much and worked with stinky camels.

Leroy knocked on the door.

“Leroy,” Hardway said, “you look like a man of a thousand sorrows this morning. Can I offer you a brownie and a beer?”

Where's the juice?

Posted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wednesday, 31 January 2007

"The big question is how we're going to do our new initiatives while still maintaining existing programs," Cardoza said, adding that budget-balancing rules will further complicate the challenge.

A key Cardoza staffer and Turlock resident, attorney Dee Dee Moosekian, began working more than a year ago on crafting the House's specialty crop alternatives with groups including Environmental Defense, Western Growers Association and American Farmland Trust.

McClatchy-Merced launches investigation of RMP chief John Condren

Posted by Anonymous (not verified) on Monday, 29 January 2007

McClatchy-Merced is digging up dirt on John Condren, CEO of the Riverside Motorsports Park, whose massive auto-racing project was approved last month by the Merced County Board of Supervisors.

Before going into what meager details the investigation has so far revealed, a little perspective on McClatchy's recent "news" offerings is required.

Merced County Farm Bureau lawsuit against County and RMP

Posted by Anonymous (not verified) on Saturday, 27 January 2007

On January 18, the Merced County Farm Bureau filed a petition in Merced County Superior Court against the County of Merced and Riverside Motorsports Park. The petition asks the court to set aside the county Board of Supervisors decision to approve the race track, suspend all activity approved under the first environmental impact report while actions are taken to bring the final programmatic EIR into compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act, and prepare, circulate and consider a new EIR.

Rituals of crooks

Posted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thursday, 25 January 2007

Board of Supervisors Chairman John Pedrozo said the meetings help build relationships between leaders who are often busy with conflicting schedules.

"Unless you have these, you can't talk to anyone," he said. "There's never a dull moment." -- Merced Sun-Star, Jan. 24, 2007

"This Magic Moment": Open Letter #1 to UC Merced Chancellor Steve Kang

Posted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tuesday, 23 January 2007

Dear Dr. Kang,

Welcome to Merced, once a Valley town and gateway to Yosemite, now a "crossroads" in the middle of the greatest real estate speculation crash in its history, thanks to the arrival of UC Merced.

What a "magic moment," as Great Valley Center (GVC) President, Carol Whitesides tells it. But you would already know that because UC Merced has absorbed the Center in yet another of the public/private, win-win partnerships for which our Valley is famous.

A defining moment

Posted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sunday, 21 January 2007

Four lawsuits were filed against Merced County last week: two against its approval of the environmental impact report for the Riverside Motorsports Park; one against its approval of a mitigated negative declaration for the Black Diamond Aggregates mine near Snelling; and one against its approval of the Fox Hills development despite irregularities in handling of a Williamson Act contract. Petitioners against Merced County include: the Merced County Farm Bureau, Citizens for the Protection of Merced County Resources,
San Joaquin Raptor Rescue Center and Protect Our Water.

Merced County sued for approval of Black Diamond Aggregates mining project

Posted by Anonymous (not verified) on Friday, 19 January 2007

Merced (January 19, 2007) – Two local environmental groups filed suit Thursday in Merced County Superior Court against the Black Diamond Aggregates project under provisions in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

San Joaquin Raptor Rescue Center and Protect Our Water challenged the Merced County Board of Supervisors’ approval on Dec. 19 of a mitigated negative for Black Diamond Aggregates, Inc., a mine close to the Merced River near Snelling owned by Reed Family Vineyards, LLC, and The Reed Leasing Group, LLC of Modesto.

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