Local News

Madera County Releases Annual Crop Report

MADERA – Madera County Department of Agriculture released its annual crop report last week during the regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors. While the report showed a decrease overall, Madera County is ranked 10^th among the state’s 58 counties. The county’s agricultural commissioner, Stephanie McNeill, explained that the decrease is due to lower prices for some commodities as markets stabilize. The overall value of crops for 2016 was about $1.8 billion.

“We expect to see that go up,” McNeill said. “We’ve had a lot of new trees go in that are immature, that are nonproductive yet.” McNeill said last year she expected six to seven thousand more almonds, and it ended up being closer to 10 thousand. She added that people were pulling out grapes, such as the Thompson variety, and planting almonds.

Riot Breaks Out in Men’s Prison Near SLO: One Dead

San Luis Obispo – More than 160 inmates were involved in a large-scale riot in the East Facility medium-custody yard at California Men’s Colony (CMC) Sunday morning, that left one inmate dead and several others injured.

CMC staff responded immediately, utilizing force consisting of 40 mm less-than-lethal direct impact rounds and chemical agents to gain control of the incident. No deadly force was used, and no staff members were injured.

San Francisco and Oakland Sue Top Five Oil & Gas Companies Over Climate Change

SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera and Oakland City Attorney Barbara J. Parker announced today that they had filed separate lawsuits on behalf of their respective cities against the five largest investor-owned producers of fossil fuels in the world. The lawsuits ask the courts to hold these companies responsible for the costs of sea walls and other infrastructure necessary to protect San Francisco and Oakland from ongoing and future consequences of climate change and sea level rise caused by the companies' production of massive amounts of fossil fuels.

The defendant companies — Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil, BP and Royal Dutch Shell — have known for decades that fossil fuel-driven global warming and accelerated sea level rise posed a catastrophic risk to human beings and to public and private property, especially in coastal cities like San Francisco and Oakland, who have the largest shoreline investments on San Francisco Bay.

Detectives Searching for Shooter(s) in Orange Cove Homicide

ORANGE COVE - The victim of a recent homicide in Orange Cove has been identified. He is 23 year old Anthony Valdivia of Orange Cove. Just before 5:00 pm on Sunday, officers with the Orange Cove Police Department were handling a call for service near Anchor Ave. and G Street when they heard gunshots being fired.

The officers responded around the corner to Orange Cove Quick Stop, located on Park Blvd. between Anchor Ave. and 12th Street. There in the parking lot they found a man (Valdivia) suffering from a gunshot wound. An ambulance transported Valdivia to Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno where he later passed away.

Madera County DA Ag Crimes Unit Featured in Progressive Farmer Magazine

MADERA - Madera County District Attorney David A. Linn announced today that his Madera County District Attorney Agricultural Crimes and Water Task Force has been profiled and featured in the September issue of Progressive Farmer Magazine. The article contained in the magazine, entitled Liquid Gold, discussed in depth, pending criminal charges against Agriland Framing Company Incorporated, for misappropriation of water in March of 2016.

The current criminal complaint contends that Agriland committed a felony violation of California Penal Code Section 592(a), in that Agriland took water from a canal and or ditch belonging to the Madera Irrigation District without authorization. The case is currently pending in Madera Superior Court.