Press Releases

ASSEMBLYMEMBER ADAM C. GRAY
21ST ASSEMBLY DISTRICT
For Immediate Release: July 6, 2018
Contact: Adam Capper
Phone: (916) 319-2021

The Next Chapter of California’s Water Wars Has Begun

(Sacramento) – Assemblymember Adam C. Gray (D-Merced) released the following statement condemning today’s announcement from the State Water Resources Control Board to ignore decade’s worth of science and public opinion by adopting radical new requirements to seize and waste critically needed San Joaquin Valley water supplies.

“The State Water Resources Control Board’s decision today is the first shot fired in the next chapter of California’s water wars. The board has chosen to create, in their own words, ‘a permanent regulatory drought’ and shrugged off our concerns as ‘significant but unavoidable’.

This is what theft looks like. A small group of special interests have spent years plotting one of the largest water takes in our state’s history. They attempted and failed to change the law and win in court, so instead they have infiltrated government itself. They positioned their allies to influence the process from within and spent hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money to prop up their house of cards. Despite entire agencies at their disposal and seemingly unlimited funds, no amount of trickery can obscure the truth – their fish first philosophy will decimate our region, poison our drinking water, and provide no environmental benefit what-so-ever.

These special interests are desperate to claim the moral high ground and demonize our entire region. They speak about the people of the San Joaquin Valley as if we are parasites on the land and demand we apologize for our very existence.

They do this because without the zealous drumbeat of environmentalism on their side, the truth would have an opportunity to surface. People would begin to question the wisdom of poisoning the drinking water of poor immigrant communities or the sense in decimating the farms that feed the nation and fields that make California’s farm-to-fork movement possible. People would question why the proponents of a plan designed to save fish cannot demonstrate any meaningful benefit to those very fish or why the questions and concerns of a million people do not deserve even a halfhearted response. People might even question whether it is really environmentally friendly to sacrifice the health of one environment for the health of another.

They have left us no alternative. We will continue to negotiate with the best interests of the Valley at heart, but, if the state continues to violate the principles of good faith, a decades worth of lawsuits are about to begin.

The final public comment period is now open until July 27^th with final adoption scheduled for August 21^st. Please submit your comments to tell the State Water Board exactly how their plan will impact your community. They have made the comment period short to try to keep us quiet. Let’s not let them.”

ASSEMBLYMEMBER ADAM C. GRAY
21ST ASSEMBLY DISTRICT
For Immediate Release: June 19, 2018
Contact: Lisa Mantarro (209) 521-2111

Wolfsen’s Meat and Sausage Honored at the State Capitol  as 2018 Small Business of the Year for AD 21

Assemblyman Adam Gray (D-Merced) joined Vance, Donna, and Warren Wolfsen as they were honored as this year’s “Small Business of the Year” at a luncheon in Sacramento. The annual “Small Business Day” event and luncheon are organized in partnership with the California Small Business Association, and feature representatives from each of California’s 120 Legislative districts.

Wolfsen’s began as the “West Side Locker” in the 1940s offering custom butchering for wild game hunters. The current owners purchased the business in 1988 and eventually focused in on their mission of making and selling high quality meats and sausages. They are known for their “old-world style linguica,” enjoyed by many Merced County natives, and their store has attracted a regular following of customers from every corner of California. Assemblymember Gray and the Wolfsen family were pleasantly surprised to encounter the honorees from the 13^th Assembly District, Genova Bakery of Stockton, which provides Wolfsen’s with the artisan bread used in their deli.

 “Today was a wonderful opportunity to recognize the contributions of California’s small businesses – they are the backbone of our economy,” said Gray.

ASSEMBLYMEMBER ADAM C. GRAY

21ST ASSEMBLY DISTRICT
For Immediate Release: June 7, 2018
Contact: Adam Capper (916) 319-2021

Assemblymember Gray Honors CASA of Merced County as the Nonprofit of the Year in Sacramento

Sacramento – Assemblymember Adam Gray was pleased to honor the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Merced County as the 2018 California Nonprofit of the Year from his Assembly District at California Nonprofits Day at the Capitol.

Cathie Lancaster, Executive Director, Nancy Young-Bergman, Founding President, and Bette Woolstenhulme, former Board President, traveled to Sacramento to join with one hundred other nonprofit leaders to be honored by their state Senators and Assemblymembers during a celebration luncheon as part of the 2018 California Nonprofits Day.

“CASA volunteers are often the key element in improving the lives and future of children in the Dependency Court System,” according to Assemblymember Gray. “What these generous and caring members of our community do for some of our most vulnerable children cannot be overstated.”

Founded in September 2010, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Merced County is dedicated to providing quality intervention and advocacy services for abused, abandoned, and neglected children. CASA is seen nationally as a positive solution to the high volume of dependency cases, and Merced County faces one of the highest caseloads per capita in the state. CASA provides important information to the Court in order to assist the judge in making the life-changing decisions that he must make.

“Children in Merced County need our protection,” said Cathie Lancaster. “Almost 5,600 reports of child abuse or neglect in Merced County are recorded annually. As of 2017, the number of children in foster care was over 500. Many of these children are no longer able to be returned to their parents in hopes of reunification and are waiting adoption or being placed in permanent foster homes.”