Quote of the Week

“In my opinion, this [flooding of other farmers’ lands] was premeditated by Boswell. They flooded El Rico first, and they knew it wouldn’t hold back the water, and it would break on us. And they kept it all hush hush.” 

— Phil Hansen, a farmer whose family’s lands near the Tulare Lake bed have been devastated by flood conditions, alleged that the J.G. Boswell Company is responsible.

This Week in Fresnoland

A Tulare farm worker alleges that the J.G. Boswell company left him out to dry – intentionally.

The Hansens gave us our quote of the week just as they gave the J.G. Boswell Company a piece of their mind, Lois Henry writes for SJV Water. The Hansens said at the March 18 Fresno County Board of Supervisors meeting that Boswell had knowingly ignored a time-honored flood management process. According to the Hansens and other farmers in attendance, if Boswell had allowed the lowest part of the lake to be filled first, the rivers and streams would have flowed freely for longer, minimizing damage to upstream areas, like the Hansens’ 3,000 acres that were flooded.

“It’s not like we blindsided them,” George Wurzel, president and chief operating officer for Boswell, said. “They get all the same information we do at meetings. They knew it was a threat.” Boswell representatives maintain that they were trying to protect the town of Corcoran from flooding by leaving some room in the old Tulare Lake bed for expected higher flows. 

Gregory Weaver wrote a comprehensive guide for getting help if you’ve been impacted by the floods for Fresnoland. We have separate prescriptions for folks in the Fresno, Tulare, or Kings County areas. These resources are more important than ever given that yet another storm system is on its way to the Central Valley.

An ancient layer of Corcoran clay is preventing Tulare lake from draining effectively.

Although Tulare Lake has been dry since the late 1800s, it often contains floodwaters during wet seasons and serves as valuable farmland in the off time. Tim Sheehan (Fresno Bee) writes that it’s not as simple as waiting a few days for the lake to dry up again. After the 1983 flood, it took about two years for the Tulare Lakebed to return to normal. Now, more snowmelt is likely to course into it; retired scientist John T. Austin estimates that the Tulare Lakebed won’t be back to normal this time, until Summer 2024.

One problem is the underlying silk, a thick layer of impermeable clay called the Corcoran clay layer. The layer ranges from 50 to 120 feet thick and lies 200 to 800 feet beneath the regular soil, and it effectively blocks the waters from draining into water tables under the earth. So only 4% of the water goes into the ground while the rest must take the long way home: evaporation. 

Also, as always, the foibles of human interference. Subsidence – a process by which land sinks because of over pumping groundwater – has broadened the overall impacted area. 

It ain’t all bad. The state of California recently lifted its request for voluntary 15% water conservation as well as some of the drought emergency provisions. While wasteful things like hosing down sidewalks are still banned, the state has removed its requirement that local water agencies implement Level Two drought contingency plans.

Fresno Unified will provide free washing machine services to its middle school students in an effort to boost attendance.

It’s very easy to take certain things for granted, and it turns out that having reliable access to clean clothes improves school attendance, Julianna Morano reports for the Fresno Bee. The teachers union suggested investing in free laundry services about a year ago, and when a teacher at Fort Miller Middle School named Eric Calderon started calling around, parents told him that clean clothes were a major factor in students showing up to school. “What I would call a basic human need was affecting attendance for our student population,” he said. 

The district is spending $14,000 on providing a washer and dryer set to six middle schools plus two sets for Hoover High School.

The private security firm most famous for harassing homeless people and their allies has just lost its first contract.

Pacific Valley Patrol’s public relations problems grow ever steeper; the Fresno Bee’s investigation highlighted their excessive use of force, particularly pepper spray, and now the consequences have arrived with their first lost contract, Melissa Montalvo (Fresno Bee/Fresnoland) reports. McHenry Protective and Investigative Services will replace Pacific Valley Patrol at the Golden State Triage Center come April 1. 

Meanwhile, the Fresno City Council is considering replacing the private security firms with Fresno police officers, using the shelter operating budget’s security allocations along with city resources, to pay the officers for the overtime work. Which, OK, not sure if that will be better or worse, but the bottom line is that things are changing. 

Lead poisoning is still a major concern, especially for the poorest communities, and the toxins are being stored in an unlikely place.

We’ve all heard the stories about lead paint from the 1970s, or contaminated water in Flint, Michigan, but Yvette Cabrera’s article for the Center for Public Integrity taught me about another major contamination site: soil. Kids are unknowingly encountering lead during play, in the dirt outside their homes or on the playground; as well as the dirt thrown up into the air by construction projects. Lead poisoning stunts brain development and has been linked to later in life coronary heart disease, and its presence in soil is common in poor neighborhoods that are predominantly Black and Latino. One in every two American Children under the age of 6 tested between late 2018 and early 2020 had detectable levels of lead in their blood. 

But the good news is always the same: there are people who care. Scientists who are fighting for a centralized database for soil lead tests. Parents, academics and environmental justice advocates who are mobilizing to raise awareness and press city officials to take action on this little-considered problem. 

And you – yes reader, you – can get involved too. Yvette has another story about eight ways you can take action on lead contamination in your community’s soil.

Block Beat

CLOVIS UNIFIED: The Fresno County Planning commission rejected a proposal for a new campus infrastructure site. The Terry Bradley Educational Center would have occupied a 15-acre portion of land zoned for agriculture. Documenters

WEST MADERA: The Madera County Board of Supervisors is spending $1.2 million to bring broadband internet access to western Madera County. Documenters 

MADERA UNIFIED: Project Run Madera donated 400 shoes to teenagers in-need of track and field gear. ABC30

TULARE: Three people and their dog were stranded after they drove into the flood zone – ignoring the road closure sign. KMPH

ATWATER: An aviation museum unveiled the newly obtained Grumman A-6E Intruder, a classic war plane. KMPH

CENTRAL FRESNO: A police officer dove out of the way as a vehicle fled the scene of Club Encore. Officers were responding to a shooting. Fresno Bee

NORTH/CENTRAL FRESNO: Not one but TWO new, spicy chicken restaurants have come to central and north Fresno. Al’s Hot Chicken debuted March 25 on the corner of the Blackstone and Sierra avenues, while Houston TX Hot Chicken will open in the shopping center at the intersection of Friant Road and Fresno Street come April 1. Fresno Bee

Department of New Construction

NORTHWEST/EL PASEO: A conditional use permit was filed for King Indian Restaurant in Marketplace El Paseo to sell alcoholic beverages onsite. 

SUNNYSIDE: A plan amendment-rezone was filed to amend the planned land use for a 3.9 gross acre site from low density residential to medium density residential. The lot, located south of Belmont Ave and west of North Temperance Ave, would have 30 residential lots. 

OLD FIG GARDEN: The status of a Libre Commons development permit was changed to rejected. The proposed mixed-use infill development project is located at the southeast corner of West Shaw and North Glenn Avenues and was the subject of heated discussion at the 9/7/22 Fresno Planning Commission meeting. The project also has a development permit-major revised exhibit under review and a development permit with an appeal requested.

Around Town

Did you know April is Clovis Rodeo Month? They’re kicking it off with the 85th annual Big Hat Days on April 1-2. Bring me your tired, your poor, your comically large hats. Clovis Chamber of Commerce

The Tower District Rotary Club is hosting Tower Glam Night at Uptown Bar & Grill on Friday, March 31. There will be live entertainment and an auction. EventBrite

You can support local growers and cultivators of Fresno fauna at the Flower Market. Located at Sun Stereo Warehouse on Fulton Street on April 1. Downtown Fresno

Next Week in Public Meetings

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Tommy is the author of Toplines, the Fresnoland newsletter curating the top stories in the Central Valley. He thinks he's very funny.