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Solar on canals moves closer to reality

in Community/Environment/Government

In February pv magazine reported on Project Nexus, which planned to install solar panels over California canals. Now that project is about to move forward with groundbreaking planned for the fall.

The Turlock Irrigation District (TID) is partnering with the Department of Water Resource (DWR), Solar AquaGrid, and the University of California, Merced in the project funded by the State of California. The project will include energy storage to study how storage facilities can support the local electric grid when solar generation is lowered due to cloud cover.

Continue reading on pv magazine USA

Stanislaus County is spending $50 million on sidewalks, sewer, water. Where is it going?

in Community/Economy/Government

Stanislaus County will distribute $50 million in American Rescue Plan funds unevenly across supervisorial districts to make improvements in county unincorporated pockets that need it most.

County supervisors voted 5-0 to approve the methodology Tuesday evening, giving the largest portion of funding — $16.9 million — to make improvements in Supervisor Channce Condit’s District 5 including Ceres, part of south Modesto and western Stanislaus County.

Continue reading on Modesto Bee

Who is running for Stanislaus County offices in the November election? Here’s a list

in Government/News

The candidates were set as of 5 p.m. Friday for most local races on the Nov. 8 ballot in Stanislaus County.

The deadline is 5 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 17, for offices where an incumbent opted not to run. That rule does not apply to the Modesto City Council because it has term limits.

Continue reading on Modesto Bee

Military burn pit bill just signed by Biden includes Harder’s Agent Orange provision

in Government/News/People

The military burn pit bill signed Wednesday by President Joe Biden includes a provision from Rep. Josh Harder about an earlier hazard to service members.

The bill mainly provides benefits for more than 3.5 million veterans harmed by pits that disposed of chemical and other materials in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Continue reading on Modesto Bee

California’s biggest water project in half a century is inching forward. Price tag: $16 billion

in Around California/Government

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office renewed its commitment on Wednesday to launching California’s biggest water project in half a century, unveiling a newly configured plan for a 45-mile conveyance tunnel through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

The estimated $16 billion pipeline, iterations of which have circulated for decades, is designed to better move water from the state’s wet, rural north to drier, more populated points south. The proposed tunnel would allow water shipments to bypass the delta’s sensitive wetlands and aging water infrastructure, thereby protecting and even boosting water supplies for the Bay Area, Southern California and farmland in between.

The idea, however, has faced longtime opposition as well as funding shortfalls. The Newsom administration hopes to clear these hurdles by altering the plans of his predecessors, notably downsizing the project to one tunnel instead of the two proposed by former Gov. Jerry Brown. The project is also routed farther east, close to Interstate 5, where construction would be less of a burden on delta towns.

Continue Reading on San Francisco Chronicle

Huge reservoir near Bay Area could be expanded to store more water

in Around California/Government

Motorists zooming along Highway 152 through Pacheco Pass between Gilroy and Los Banos notice an unusual site amid the parched, oak-studded hills: A vast inland sea.

The shimmering body of water, San Luis Reservoir, is 7 miles long and a key part of California’s modern water supply created when President John F. Kennedy pushed a dynamite plunger there in 1962 to kick off its construction. Today water from the massive lake irrigates farmland across the Central Valley and also provides drinking water for Silicon Valley, including San Jose.

Last Friday, a major new construction project started at San Luis — a $1.1 billion plan by the federal government to strengthen the huge earthen dam and raise it 10 feet to reduce the risk of it collapsing in a major earthquake.

But more than earthquake safety work is afoot.

Water officials in increasingly drought-plagued California have been hoping another project can be attached to the seismic upgrade — an effort to build the 382-foot-high dam even higher to expand the size of the reservoir.

Continue Reading on Red Bluff Daily News

New park to be named after John Lazar

in Government
The Turlock City Council approved naming a new park in the Legends 3 subdivision after former Turlock mayor John Lazar (Journal file photo).

The City of Turlock will continue its long-standing tradition of naming parks after former mayors following a City Council decision last week to name a future one after John Lazar.

In a unanimous vote during the Feb. 8 meeting, the Council approved naming a new park in the Legends 3 subdivision after the former Turlock mayor, who served as the City’s head of government for eight years. The subdivision is currently under construction along the northern half of Colorado Avenue, and its new park will join several others named after Turlock mayors, like Brad Bates Park, Curt Andre Park, Dale Pinkney Park and more.

Continue Reading on Turlock Journal

Where Turlock stands on homelessness, COVID response and public safety

in Community/Government

With the appointment of Turlock City Manager Reagan Wilson after a comprehensive process, I want to update Turlock residents on their city government.

I visited with Mr. Wilson on his first day of work at City Hall. He was already delving into how our government works and where it can be streamlined and improved to ensure city services are delivered to our residents in the most economical and effective manner. One of his first tasks will be to fill out the ranks of our department directors and to decide if any restructuring of the organization should occur.

Continue Reading on The Modesto Bee

Fertilizer-grade sulfur fire contained to Modesto warehouse

in Government

MODESTO, Calif. (KTXL) — Some nearby residents were told to stay inside Monday as a sulfur fire burned inside a Modesto farm supply warehouse.

The Modesto Fire Department said fertilizer-grade sulfur was smoldering inside the Stanislaus Farm Supply warehouse.

Modesto Fire Chief Darin Jesberg told FOX40 there are about 900 tons of sulfur in the warehouse. At this point, they do now know how much of that is smoldering, he continued.

Continue Reading on Fox 40

Council approves subdivision despite of community disapproval

in Government

After hearing about traffic concerns from residents of the surrounding neighborhood, the Turlock City Council last week gave final approval for a new housing development which will bring 50 new homes to town. 

After approval from the Planning Commission in September, the Balisha Ranch subdivision came before the City Council in November for approval of a rezone for the 17.4-acre property at 2930 E. Tuolumne Rd. Council considered a rezone which would take the property from a Residential Estate zoning to a Planned Development, allowing for various deviations from the Very Low-Density Residential development standards in the East Tuolumne Master Plan. 

While the subdivision meets the density requirements for Very Low-Density Residential standards at 2.8 units per acre, exceptions to the 14,500 square foot minimum lot size were proposed as part of the plan with lots ranging from 7,500 square feet to 12,000 square feet along with other deviations. 

The Balisha Ranch subdivision is one of three new housing developments near Tuolumne Road, with the Le Chateaux by KB Homes and Fairbanks Ranch subdivisions under construction across the street from the project site.

Continue Reading on Turlock Journal

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