The idea of capturing Kings River floodwaters isnt new. He had moved out to Long Beach, bought some property, and built one of those new strip malls. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. No rain in five years. If that happens, theyll go down the highway, and hell lose the $1 he takes for every $100 worth of their checks. That was the last straw for Pixley, which sued in 2013. I kept my notes and tapes and waited for another day. Stewart tries to interrupt, but hes not the boss in this room. My business approach right now is to acquire as much water as I can to be diversified in water. In his best Borscht Belt nasal, he takes a jab. They are still paying off the $27,000 debt to relatives who hired the coyote. The Resnicks are growing again. Contact howardb@latc.com or call him at (650) 397-5213 with any questions or to learn more. There is a local water bank, a kind of underground lake, that the Resnicks control. how many kids does jim harbaugh have - aspire-english.jp As it happened, just down the road, on the other side of the lake bottom, Resnick had captured his own body of water, the Kern Water Bank, and planted millions of nut trees on desert scrub. It took time for the wax to dry. They slap back with the cold vibration of water. Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading. Lynda isnt just writing checks, Donoso told me. A judge found this past March that the initiative was flawed because Vidovich used his own project description instead of the neutral description by the Cupertino city attorney. Rain likely. By the eighth day of harvest, the sun is gone. Sure enough, cozied up next to the bank of the aqueduct, I see a glint. He got himself into this jam. When asked if he applies the skills he learned in his military intelligence training to his life today, he answers that we all use the things we learn through life. It takes a lot of work to get ahead. She and Manuel were able to buy their trailer several years ago. But I had some good people helping me.. I do all the calculations from the numbers I am able to gather, and I cannot figure out how these nuts are getting enough water. But the smaller farmer still uses a pruning shears to make his most important cuts. On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Bernard, whats happened? I try to calculate how many hundreds of aluminum sections need to be linked seamlessly, or at least watertight, to cover the distance of a mile. The Cutie and the Halo are now warring in the fields outside the Visalia Convention Center. His trees were drinking from the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project, from rivers and irrigation canals and the water bank. Stewart would deny that Giblers reporting played a part in their philanthropy. I now hear whispers of water belonging to farmers two counties away being pumped out of the ground and hijacked in the dead of night to irrigate the nuts of Lost Hills. Sandridge Partners received federal farm subsidies totaling approximately $1.06 million last year, the largest of any agribusiness in the nation, landing it a headline role in this year's debate. I park the car and walk in the direction of a scattering of buildings slapped together with stucco and corrugated tin. Theres a mythology out there that Angiola is stealing water, he said. A pair of those eyebrows belonged to former farmer and three-term Kings County Supervisor Tony Oliveira, who served from 1999 through 2010 and didn't find out about the upcoming project until Jan. 11. She tells me the water comes out of the tap yellow and foul smelling, and she doesnt trust it. Thats why he built the pipeline. The uncle died at age 22 fighting in Afghanistan. I retrace the road I came in on and cross old Tulare Lake, which rose by flood and sank by drought. His father, Stephen Vidovich, formed De Anza Properties and helped develop the valley. Whether those pipes end on Vidovich lands or Resnicks is hard to know. Twine strung trailer to trailer hangs with the laundry of fathers, mothers, and children. A public resource had been privatized for the purpose of growing tens of thousands of acres of nuts, he charged. He maneuvers down the middle of the row, sweeps up the dried almonds, and throws them into a catcher. It was going to houses. We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content. Proposition 1 is a $7 billion bond passed in 2014 that would pay for a host of projects from flood control to water quality. He purchased his first 640-acre section in the late 1970s and kept adding more sections of almonds, pistachios, pomegranates, and citrus until he stretched the lines of agriculture like no Californian before him. When I look around here at what weve built and then look back at my life in New Jersey, I think, How did it happen? For one man and woman to build something like this would be almost impossible today.. Partly cloudy this evening followed by increasing clouds with showers developing after midnight. Theyve gone back to the nut line. This isnt the Lynda posing for photos with Barbra Streisand. Here, private water jumps from Tulare County to Kern County, but government jurisdictions dont count. Lupe and I walk to the far side of the trailer park to find Gustavo. Nearly $365 million worth of Wonderful almonds will have dropped down from the dry sky. From a safe, Ellsberg had lifted the Pentagon Papers, the secret history of how successive presidents lied to the public to cover up the failings of the Vietnam War. She had her own bookabout her genius as a marketergoing. John T Vidovich - Family Office Marketplace Be respectful, truthful, and Like a lot of empires, it comes to an end., So what about you? I ask. As he bled the aquifer dry, he called on the government to bring him an even mightier river from afar. Before we go much further, you should probably know a little more about Vidovich. It isnt a lot of water., Im not going to give you the numbers. Inside, a trainer watches over a line of treadmills, elliptical machines, and stationary bikes. accounts and the history behind a news event. Sports and playground activities are prohibited at the beach, picnic areas are closed, and masks must be worn by all visitors. Though the project is billed as flood control, the agreement also allows Vidovich to move groundwater. Lynda is also mapping out a farm-to-food program where students will grow fruits, vegetables, and grains on a plot of village land. There is also an existing subdivision just southeast of the college near Highway 198 (Cimmaron Park). Share with Us. Born on 7 Jun 1934. In a swirl of dust, a worker atop a different machine is blowing the almonds from their spot beneath the trees to the middle of the row. Theyre our future, she says. I stand over the pipes and give them a hard slap. It takes a life every six seconds. And its even worse for the children in Kings County. Vidovich used the $73 million in 2010 to buy nearly 75 percent of the land in the Angiola Water District. All the rest of that stuff its just jealousy and innuendo, jealousy and innuendo, jealousy and innuendo.. Hes got another meeting to attend. Resnick has saved the front seat for me. This project may not be fully thought out," said Neves. Marketplace host Amy Scott spoke with Mark Arax, who wrote an articlein The California Sunday Magazine about the Wonderful Companys farming business and issues of sustainability in the Central Valley. Im sure I knew we had a pipeline in there. Absolutely not. Where do you begin with a man of great riches if not the distant places you might have in common? And how will the Resnicks fare? EDMUND JOHN VIDOVICH Lake Havasu City, Arizona Trinitas Partners LLC Investment Management Redwood City, California CENTRAL CALIFORNIA ALMOND GROWERS ASSN. These books indicate who obtained the land, and include a physical description of the tract and where the land is located. . But you ask the growers we process, and theyll tell you that year in and year out, no one offers a better price. That was four years ago. Hes a 61-year-old developer who grew up on a farm in Sunnyvale in the heart of what would become the Silicon Valley. Hes fishing right now. Meet the water baron you (likely) haven't heard of - The San Joaquin But most of this water has been spent by the Resnicks and other account holders in years two, three, and four of the drought. Through the haze I can see the knoll of the aqueduct come closer. "I don't want to make any. Welcome to San Antonio del Norte, he says. It becomes something else as soon as they encounter their workers in another guiseas a fellow shopper at Costco or as the parents of the kid who goes to school with their kid. In a region of wall-to-wall plantings, one of the walls is crashing down. "This is the first step of a long journey. One man drives and shakes the tree while the other man makes sure the clusters fall into the butterfly opening of the receiver. I had in mind a magazine profile on Stewart, the Nut King. He paid em three times what anyone else wouldve for their land and now theyre all gettin water because of his policies, Page said. No stranger enters this zone unless its to get rid of a body or dump waste from cooking meth or drown a hot car. A husband and wife sharing the reins is rare for corporate America, rarer still for industrial agriculture. The harvest begins in January with one type of mandarin and ends in December with another type of mandarin and in between spills forth everything in your supermarket produce and dairy aisles except for bananas and mangoes, though the farmers here are working on the tropical, too. He could collect the rents while he slept. I returned for two more sessions, and then he and Lynda took off to their $15 million vacation house in Aspen, where they were warring with the locals over a housing project for community workers that was blocking their view. The contents of each catcher, 500 pounds of almond meat, are placed on a conveyor 20 feet high and dumped into a big-rig hauler for transport to the Wonderful processing plant. Resnick picks up the water in Dudley Ridge, Vidovich says. For half my life, I never stopped to wonder: How much was magic? Even as the supplies of federal and state water have dropped to near zero, agriculture in Kern keeps chugging along, growing more intensive. Boswell farming company pumps there too. The water will be stripped from the land and sold to developers of new towns both here and over the mountain. Brown oxtail in batches and set aside. Its John Vidovich. Already, the high school is filled with hundreds of students bused in from farmworker towns that are among the poorest communities in the West. Vidovich threatened that all FPB members critical of "Operation Catch-Up" or who spoke to . Month after month, she made ends meet on a $1,600 budget. The south valleyits people and poverty, its obesity and diabetesis her newest mission. She delivers it in classic Lynda style. We had gangs and murders, but thats better, too., He has come to El Toro Loco to cash his check and buy some beer. So, capturing that south fork floodwater would benefit both Kings and Kern county farmers, according to Semitropics Gianquinto. None of this is my idea. I didnt grow up here, but if it wasnt for California, its openness and opportunities, I wouldnt be sitting where Im sitting., No other farmer, not even Gallo, had cornered a market the way Resnick had cornered the growing, buying, processing, and selling of pistachios. To find its flow, Id have to go looking in a thousand irrigation ditches in the fields beyond. The sale got under the skin of valley farmers. The big-rig drivers are cranky two ways, and the farmworkers in their last-leg vans are half-asleep. 650) 397-5213 with any questions or to learn more. Its a $500 million project, of which Semitropic is hoping to get $250 million from Proposition 1 funding. This water basically came from a land owned by someone whos also a near billionaire a guy named John Vidovich. Through Sandridge, Vidovich owns about 130,000 acres with 38,500 acres in Kern, 82,000 acres in Kings, 9,500 acres in Tulare and 300 acres in Fresno county, per ParcelQuest. He doesnt know what pipeline means. He can mix this private water with his leftover state water and ship it to at least one stranded neighbor who will pay the price. Surely, no one does this better than Wonderful? From now on, theyll grow on land that offers a double protection against drought. Anzaldos grandfather came from Guadalajara in the 1950s as part of the bracero farmworker program. He grew up in New Jersey, where his father ran a bar. Yes, theyre still delivering water. Agriculture in the south valley has extended far beyond the provisions of its one river, the Kern. A meat store, an auto repair, a pool hall, and an arcade pass for a commercial strip. She divorced her husband in 1968 and began dating Anthony Russo, who worked at the RAND think tank in Santa Monica with military analyst Daniel Ellsberg. During paid breaks, they do their 15 minutes of Zumba, take a walk along a designated path, and munch on the free fruits and veggies put out for them. But this is water for Mr. Resnick. As for making a major water grab in the Central Valley, Page said Vidovich has nothing on the Wonderful or JG Boswell companies, both of which have far larger land holdings than Vidovich. My grandfather lost the farm to vine hoppers is the story he told. The river is nothing if not fickle. It becomes scorn because they cant allow it to become pity or self-hatred. They married in 1972, and he sold the alarm company for $100 million. Though he also acknowledged that during the drought he sold some to fellow Dudley Ridge landowner Stewart Resnick, who owns the massive Wonderful Company. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you. But he is also a farmer in the Central Valley through the family's other business, Sandridge Partners, and thus a reluctant participant in the national debate currently swirling around the 2008 Farm Bill. When Resnick plants, he plants his trees wall to wall. Number three, water from Angiola cant physically get to Semitropics proposed storage cells. Her husband, Manuel, will awaken in 30 minutes to prepare for his night shift. I grab my notebook and walk up to one of the vans. At age 81, hes gotten so big, he doesnt know how big. He was in military intelligence and had a top secret clearance that involved gathering data and evaluating products they made, he said. Down a rutted road, 100 trailers with foundations dressed in plywood back up against an orchard. Resnick dipped into his savings from his job at a mental hospital and went in half on the machine. The footprint of agriculture has grown a good deal beyond what the water can cover. In the years of plentiful rains and heavy snowmelt, the bank fills up with more than 1 million acre-feet of stored water. Amy Scott: Theres a stunning aerial photo in the magazine that shows these green green trees surrounded basically by dust. It then dawned on him that guards were good, but they had to be paid an hourly wage. I thank him and hurry down the dirt road through the almonds, eyeing the rearview mirror to see if a Resnick truck is following me. Cotton still grows on the lake bottom, but less and less each year. You have permission to edit this article. The aqueduct was built with tax money, yes? Dont let his boots, blue jeans, and ball cap fool you, the old-timers say. California growers, in the grip of drought, have produced 900 million pounds of the green nut. One way or the other, we got rid of our last farm a few years before I was born and moved to the Fresno suburbs. She owns this place. He goes on to explain what he means by own. Use the 'Report' link on Theres a lot to commend here, I tell Anzaldo, but where does persuasion end and coercion begin?, As a second-generation Mexican American, Anzaldo says he knows the powerful clench of fast food and sugar among his own family. He was in the mood to gamble. Thats when the Resnicks decided to sell the concept of wellness to their 4,300 employees throughout the valley the same way they sell workplace safety. Michelle Perez, an analyst for the activist watchdog Environmental Working Group, perceives the bill differently, arguing that because the subsidies are calculated on a per-acre basis, the cash infusions "provide liquidity to the largest, most prosperous farms, allowing them to outbid and outcompete their smaller, less prosperous neighbors. I did not name the town, Lynda says. By Lois Henry The large, black pipe could be seen earlier this month being tucked into the ground along 21st Avenue just south of Highway 198 and west of Lemoore. Because Lupe had no papers, she followed the coyote for many more miles until they reached a steep pass. These are donations from other farmworker families, but theyre not for her and Manuel and the kids. At the time, I was heavy with state water but the state water had low allocations and I had no other water source over there (Dudley Ridge land in western Kings County).. Family Office Market Place, and any affiliates, (the "Company") have adopted and implemented this privacy policy as part of our commitment to protecting your personal information from misuse. Sandridge Partners, L.P. Company Profile - Dun & Bradstreet Why not we start with an extended interview or two? I offered. John Vidovich serves as the Vice President, Business Development of Discover. Your account number is your one-line street address as printed on your newspaper use normal capitalization. Those figures dont include recent land purchases hes made in the Kern Delta Water District and Fresno Irrigation District both areas Sandridge is targeting for even more land purchases because of its solid rights to the Kern and San Joaquin rivers. Sorry, no promotional deals were found matching that code. I sit in my car and wait in the parking lot. Nearly a third of the harvestthe nuts grown by Wonderful, the nuts grown by hundreds of farmers who belong to the Wonderful brandwill come through these gates. Compare and book now! The FDA sent a warning letter, and Wonderful pledged to study the chlorine levels in the bathing tanks. According to some observers, the facility is expected to hold a 1,000-cow feedlot (which can be developed upwards of 12,500 animals) and a slaughterhouse at the proposed site, within spitting distance of the city of Lemoore and West Hills College Lemoore. A large water pipeline being built near Lemoore in Kings County is raising eyebrows as much for its possible uses as for the name associated with its construction John Vidovich. PRIVACY POLICY. 3,907 tract books containing official records of the land status and transactions involving surveyed public lands arranged by state and then by township and range. Then the men of cotton, driven out of the South by the boll weevil, put the five rivers into canals and dried up the lake. Being Wonderful means more than growing, harvesting, and distributing the best of the best. He isnt farming dirt. That water would then be moved south through the aqueduct and banked in Semitropic. This is how the land of Wonderful is keeping alive its trees. In Lost Hills, they call her Lady Lynda. She shows up in high fashion and stands in the dust and tells them about another charter school or affordable-housing project she is bringing to them. Ah, he says, so youre the one whos been snooping around. She grabs him by the wrist, and they make a beeline for the convention hall door. Ive gone too far. He had no papers, like so many others, just an image of what this side of the border looked like. Sandridge Partners received most of its subsidy for upland cotton production but also received payments for growing six other commodities. A day later, I get a call from Mr. Resnick. Its not true, he wants to farm.. When I started to realize the socioeconomic issues of the Central Valley, I decided to stop writing checks to other charities and bring my business acumen into the project. The Spanish rice isnt rice but cauliflower made to look like rice. Every mogul, every movie star. At the plant, we built our gyms, and we have stretching and walking activities. They may have been associated with this organization before or after these years as well. The wall of Pacifico and 16-ounce cans of Bud is rebuilt daily. Once a river is at flood stage, that usually means all other rights have been filled and the overflow is free game. His accountant suggested he buy apartments. Vidovich John - De Anza Properties, California (+14087384444) - VYMaps.com He lives down the road in Wasco, the Rose Capital of America, though the roses, too, have turned to nuts. On the way out, the voice in their head, Lyndas voice, goads them to give one more hour to the Wonderful Fitness Center. This is my wife. If anyone doubted the health benefits of the juice, they spent more than $30 million in research to prove that it fought heart disease and prostate woes. The giving goes to college scholarships and tutors. Rain for Rent, the pipes say. Nothing will stop the houses. John Vidovich - Green Dunes When your current subscription expires later this year, you will be able to renew at losaltosonline.com/users/admin/service/purchase. Youre the one who leads the way on selling agricultural water to the cities. Theres a lot happening in the world. Tracts of houses, Californias last affordable dream, civilize three or four exits, and then its back to the open road splattered with the guts and feathers of chickens that jumped ship on the slaughterhouse drive. It would involve a public permitting process and be very difficult, not to mention expensive, both men said. For the promotions of the upcoming Keanu Reeves movie the makers are revealing exclusive posters for the feature made by handpicked artists around the world. No ones going to get fired for bringing home 2,500 pounds of nuts an acre. He blames Iran. He is also known for his water deals. Well, maybe just a little guilt, but thats Jewish. He said the prod for all their giving in Lost Hills happened in Aspen, of all places. Whos it going to? By locking up the land, he said, Vidovich will be able to deny smaller farmers like him and Pace the water they need for their own operations. Damn, if he doesnt look even younger and more fit than the last time I saw him eight years earlier. He sold a chunk of land to the builders of Sunnyvale and decided he could develop the rest himself. I dont know. For college, he picked California Polytechnic in San Luis Obispo over the hill and majored in agriculture business. A restaurant built by Wonderful for the purpose of making the company town look better from the roadside may enjoy a more forgiving bottom line than, say, the Subway up the road. This hasnt convinced the people of Lost Hills, however. As the growers punch more holes into the ground looking for a vanishing resource, the earth is sinking. Ill have to go deeper if I can.. Im down.. John Vidovich, ultimately, followed in his fathers footsteps after obtaining a law degree from Santa Clara University School of Law. Let the smaller grower walk among his trees and farm by the row. The Kings is as erratic a river as the Kern so floodwaters are unpredictable. A dozen or so U.S.-grown crops are traded as commodities on the stock market, and the greatest subsidies go to corn, wheat, cotton, soybean and rice. Before he died at age 86, J.G. On a Facebook page with postings in Spanish, they offer a glimpse of life inside pistachio world. They give thanks for a job that provides decent wages and access to a free wellness center next door staffed by a full-time doctor, physicians assistant, registered dietitian, and marriage and family therapist.
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