Home Care In Salida, CA

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Anything that cuts the dust in an almond orchard is better for your equipment, the community at large, and the reputation of your industry, said Franz Niederholzer, opening a recent equipment demonstration at the Nickels Soil Lab in Arbuckle, CA.

Niederholzer, a University of California Cooperative Extension farm advisor, was one of several speakers at the demonstration, held as part of the Almond Board of California’s Sustainability Workshop Series. All of them emphasized that growers need to do all they can to cut down on dust. “Nothing is positive about dust,” Niederholzer said, “but it’s a by-product of what we do.”

Mike Flora, the engineering manager at Flory Industries of Salida, CA, said part of the problem is that growers have become accustomed to generating a lot of dust.

“Historically, harvesters were built for the worst-case scenario, generating as much air flow as possible to clean up the product,” he said.

But with today’s modern equipment, you can use gravity as well as air flow to clean the almonds, Flora said, and with the on-board computer you can precisely control the air flow.

“Hit the ‘enviro’ mode and it will limit the speed to 3 mph; you can’t go faster no matter what,” he said, adding that the units have settings for walnuts and pecans as well. “You can get by with a lot less fan than was previously known.”

The reasons for high air flow was to make sure as few almonds as possible got left in the field, and because when you go faster air flow is generally greater, and time is money, after all.

“It’s tough to slow down, but at least do it in certain areas like near schools or adjacent to roads,” Niederholzer said. “For example, if you’re short on trailers, go 1.5 mph instead of 3 mph – there’s no reason to hurry up and wait.”

Also, while no one likes to see nuts left in the field, a clean harvest is more a result of good orchard floor preparation than running the harvester hard, said Stuart Layman, who works in sales at Flory.

“If you’re digging a rut, you’re going too deep,” he said. “And if you set the equipment for lower than needed, you will wear the machine out sooner than necessary, which costs you money.”

Added Flora: “And if you pull back on engine RPM you’ll not only have less dust, but you’ll also have more money in your pocket because you’re using a lot less fuel.”

Besides, in the grand scheme of things, Niederholzer said, taking the environment into account is a lot better for the industry’s public image.

“One mistake brands an industry,” he said. “You want people to think, ‘Boy those nuts are great for our economy,’ not ‘Oh no, there’s a dust cloud.’”

Two high-profile Stanislaus County properties are reaping the benefit of having new, local ownership.

Modesto-based Graceada Partners has snapped up the Northpoint Office Towers business park in Salida, the side-by-side buildings that house the University of Phoenix and San Joaquin Valley College. Last fall the fledgling real estate investment group announced its purchase of Century Center in partnership with New York-based commercial real estate firm Somera Road, Inc.

Improvements are now beginning on east Modesto’s Century Center, starting with resurfacing the parking lots and then moving on to a full facade renovation to modernize the once-bustling shopping destination. Work on the exterior is expected to begin toward the end of the year, said Joe Muratore, who helms Graceada Partners with his fellow NAI Benchmark principal Ryan Swehla.

Work will begin soon as well on the Salida properties, which sit next to each other along Pirrone Road fronting Highway 99. The top floors of both buildings have been full shells or partial shells since they were built in 2008. Muratore said his group closed escrow on the property three months ago, and already has a new tenant for the southern tower’s first floor, which has been vacant for about two years.

A professional services company will move into that first floor space by the end of the year once the renovations are done. The rest of the south tower has University of Phoenix on its second floor and staffing agency Aerotek taking up the finished part of the third floor. Both the towers’ lobbies will be updated, and the third floors are being renovated on spec — meaning they’re being built without a confirmed tenant yet. But Muratore said he is confident they’ll be filled soon.

The Salida purchase is the first from Graceada Partners’ Fund One, which raised $12.5 million across 43 local investors. The business park was purchased for $10.35 million, and Muratore said they plan to invest another $2.5 million in updates, renovations and improvements. That includes building out the north tower’s entirely vacant shell of a third floor, which has been empty for over a decade.

“Our focus is on adding value to buildings in great locations, generally (for projects) over $10 million. People are generally afraid to spend more than $10 million in the Central Valley,” Muratore said. “People willing to invest that capital tend to go to L.A. and San Francisco. We are local and have been doing commercial real estate in the valley for 15 years. We’re good at filling buildings.”

And they’re proving that with Century Center. Built in 1979, it was one of the city’s premiere shopping centers until major retailers began leaving in the last decade. Anchor store Gottschalks went out of business in 2009 and another anchor, Raley’s grocery store, moved in 2012. Starbucks and Blockbuster Video have also since exited.

Shortly after taking over the center, the Graceada Partners began trying to woo Trader Joe’s to the center. Modesto already has a very busy — seriously, just try shopping there on a Sunday — Trader Joe’s across from Vintage Faire Mall in the northwest part of town. Muratore’s group went as far as erecting signs asking passersby to contact the specialty grocery chain to open a second location in the city.

Those signs have since come down, and Muratore said he believes more than 1,000 people contacted the company lobbying for the store.

“I know we flooded Trader Joe’s with interest. But they only open 10 stores a year. And they said, ‘You’re on our list, keep in touch,’” he said. “So I know East Modesto is on their list. But I don’t know what number we are or if we’re on the Top 10 yet.”

But other changes are confirmed at the center. In January the indoor go-kart racetrack MB2 Raceway, which has been operating in a portion of the former Gottschalks space since 2009, was asked to leave by the new ownership. In turn, 28,000-square-feet of that space is being filled by Golden Valley Health Centers, which operates clinics across the region.

The health care provider is bringing a new program aimed at helping seniors into the space. Once open it will be the first PACE program (which stands for Program of All Inclusive Care for the Elderly) in the county and is expected to bring between 60 to 80 jobs once fully operational and eventually serve between 400 to 600 patients a year. It is slated to open in July 2020.

Next door to Golden Valley’s PACE clinic will be Satellite Healthcare, which is opening a kidney dialysis center in another portion of the former Gottschalk’s space. Two new restaurants, a Mexican eatery and Filipino place, have also signed leases and are coming to the center soon.

Other longtime tenants, like Torii Japanese Restaurant and the Roundtable Pizza both plan to do their own renovations.

One of the center’s biggest vacant spaces, the former Raley’s site, remains without a tenant. But Muratore is confident that will change soon, too. Raley’s had been paying the lease on the space since it moved out of the complex seven years ago to Village One, and had not allowed another grocer to take over the space. But that lease ended in May and now the new owners are free to show it to other supermarket companies.

Muratore said they’ve already had a couple tour the space, and said within a year he will have the old Raley’s filled.

“Century Center is being reborn now, but that vision will be seen in next 8 to 12 months,” Muratore said. “It’s going to be a completely different center then.”

This story was originally published June 15, 2019, 1:58 PM.

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Marijke Rowland writes about new business, restaurant and retail developments. She has been with The Modesto Bee since 1997 covering a variety of topics including arts and entertainment. Her Business Beat column runs multiple times a week. And it’s pronounced Mar-eye-ke.

On June 27, 2022, Rivian opened its first Rivian Adventure Network (RAN) DC fast charging station, located in Salida, Colorado. The company noted: "Thanks to its natural beauty and abundant nearby recreational opportunities, Salida is an ideal location for Rivian’s first fast charging site."

Two more stations will be opened today (June 28) in (Inyokern and Bishop, California, as Rivian explains: "These California sites support frequently visited areas like Yosemite National Park, Sequoia National Forest, Mammoth Lakes, and Death Valley National Park."

The station in Salida is equipped with two 300 kW cabinets (power electronics), about which we heard in February 2021, and four DC dispensers (individual stalls) - two per cabinet, described as 1A/1B and 2A/2B (similar to some Tesla Superchargers).

The stalls are sharing power from the cabinets (up to over 200 kW), which helps to minimize the infrastructure costs. The range replenishing rate is, according to Rivian, about 140 miles (225 km) in 20 minutes.

An important thing is that one of four stalls is a pull-through type, envisioned for vehicles towing trailers. The site hosts also four AC Level 2 Rivian Waypoints charging points (11.5 kW). All of the charging points are powered by 100% renewable energy (contracted).

The Rivian Adventure Network DC fast-charging stations are currently exclusive and free for Rivian drivers - charging starts automatically after plugging in. The AC charging points are available for use by any EV – not just Rivian vehicles – through the Rivian smartphone app.

Rivian has set an initial goal of 3,500 fast chargers at 600 sites across North America. However, in the most recent press release, there is no info about the deadline "by the end of 2023", which we saw in early 2021.

Below we attached interesting videos from the launch event in Salida:

Trent Warnke, Rivian’s Senior Director of Energy and Charging Solutions said:

“We designed Rivian charging to support electrified adventure, and these first sites demonstrate how we’re enabling drivers to responsibly reach some of the nation’s most breathtaking natural spaces. In addition to scenic or off-the-beaten-path destinations, our fast charging rollout is designed to ensure travelers have places to charge along major transportation corridors coast to coast.”

Today will be a bit more limited in severe storm potential, but a new disturbance will increase the storm threats on Monday.

Thunderstorms will continue to develop across parts of the Deep South today, with a cold front expected to trigger some storms in the eastern Ohio Valley this afternoon and evening.

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch has been issued for south-central Texas, including Hondo, Cotulla, San Antonio and Victoria.

The wet and wild pattern across the southern Plains in recent days will shift a bit south and east today as a disturbance moves across the south-central U.S. As a result, pockets of strong to severe storms are possible from southern Texas into the Lower Mississippi Valley through tonight. Gusty winds and hail will be the main threats with today's storms, but a couple of tornadoes could also develop. The Storm Prediction Center has issued a Slight Risk for severe weather in parts of southern Texas, including San Antonio.

Ingredients for severe storms will be a bit less from the Lower Mississippi Valley to the eastern Ohio Valley today. While scattered thunderstorms are expected through tonight, only isolated severe storms are possible.

In addition to the storms, areas of heavy rain will also impact parts of the South today. There are Flash Flood Watches and Warnings across much of central and eastern Oklahoma and eastern Texas.

A more potent storm system will begin to take shape over the Plains on Monday. It will draw heat and moisture northward, with storms expected to explode from South Dakota and Iowa southward into Texas and Arkansas. The biggest risk for severe weather will stretch from southeastern Nebraska to central and eastern Oklahoma, where Moderate and Enhanced Risks are in place. Very large hail, damaging wind gusts, and strong tornadoes will all be possible.

Make sure to frequently check WeatherBug for updates, as a watch can quickly turn into a warning upon imminent danger. It is important to stay prepared for active weather. Make sure you know the difference between a watch and a warning should they become issued. A watch means that conditions are favorable for severe weather to take place, whereas a warning means severe weather is imminent and you need to act fast to prevent damage to property or even loss of life. Remember, “When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors!”

Gurpreet Singh has led an expansion-minded company since a major renovation that opened Central Valley Specialty Hospital on 17th Street in downtown Modesto in 2013.

His company, American Advanced Management Inc., acquired other post-acute care facilities in Modesto, Riverbank, the Bay Area and Texas, absorbed distressed rural medical hospitals in Colusa and Coalinga and this month received initial approval to reopen Madera Community Hospital.

A year ago, Singh was hit with a state order to close Advanced College, a private vocational school with campuses in Salida, Stockton and Southern California that he operated to turn out nurses for AAMI’s growing portfolio of health care facilities.

The state Bureau of Private Postsecondary Education in December 2022 ordered Advanced College to cease enrollment of students and collection of tuition, citing allegations of falsified test results and attendance records, poor management and other violations of the Education Code.

The state bureau charged that students who had not passed the entrance exam were admitted to the vocational nursing program. The disciplinary order cited 15 causes for revoking the college’s approval to operate, effective in February 2023, and cited numerous violations of rules that govern private vocational colleges.

The alleged violations included falsifying test scores and attendance records, violating admission guidelines, failing to provide supplies and textbooks for programs and reporting of false information on graduation rates and job placements.

Singh, who operated the school under a separate business, Jusrand LLC, paid a $2,500 fine for a previous violation of not providing supporting documents for student graduation data and job placements. He was expected to pay the $32,600 cost of the regulatory investigations.

Singh and two associates who ran the private college said Friday that it had genuine compliance issues but most of those resulted from the COVID-19 shutdowns affecting education in 2020 and 2021. A sudden switch from in-person classes to remote learning made it difficult to meet stringent regulations for tracking attendance. The violations did not amount to fraud, they stressed.

Joshua Maruca, chief operating officer for Advanced College, said some allegations of “falsifying documents” were about failure to comply with regulatory minutia.

“We were going from paper to digital with the campus management system,” said Amin Vohra, an Advanced College staff member. “Not just our school but tons of schools across the nation were affected by this.”

According to Singh, they decided to close Advanced College to new admissions well before the state order, after a stream of federal student financial aid ended Dec. 31, 2021. The state order said the U.S. Department of Education discontinued the funding due to regulatory violations.

“The college wasn’t working well for us” in terms of adding nurses to AAMI’s workforce, Singh said. “Our hospitals were too far away and it was not working out.”

Singh said he spent about $3 million making sure that students who lost financial aid completed their programs. Classes continued through July 2022 to allow enrolled students to finish up. Of the remaining students, 56 completed their programs and graduated, 21 transferred to other schools, while 17 dropped out.

Singh said the revelations about the failed vocational college are bad timing as his company works toward reopening the Madera hospital. He stressed the college was completely separate from the AAMI group of healthcare facilities.

“Madera has nothing to do with this,” he said.

A federal bankruptcy judge this month approved AAMI’s proposal to reopen Madera Community Hospital, which went into bankruptcy last year, owing more than $30 million to creditors. UCSF and Adventist Health also submitted a late combined proposal for the hospital. The hospital reopening still requires additional approvals from the state.

The Modesto businessman said he’s determined to add services and revitalize the rural medical hospitals in places like Colusa and Coalinga, which are vulnerable to today’s healthcare economics. He stressed his company’s abilities were shown in opening the Coalinga hospital in the middle of the pandemic.

“That is unheard-of,” said Singh, an internal medicine doctor who was seeing patients in Colusa on Thursday. “We have a dedicated team. We are running these hospitals very successfully, keeping them from closing, and we are adding services.”

Singh said the reopening plan for the Madera hospital includes new surgical services and a heart catheterization lab. AAMI has pledged to deposit $16 million into escrow for paying creditors if an agreement for managing the Madera hospital goes into effect in March, The Fresno Bee reported.

Advanced College was the second vocational college connected with Singh to operate in the blue and white building on Pirrone Court in Salida. American Specialty College opened in October 2016 with program plans for medical assistants, nursing assistants, vocational nurses and registered nurses. Singh’s company closed it four months later, citing lack of enrollment and dissatisfaction with the model.

A large majority of medical assistants and licensed vocational nurses obtain required education from for-profit vocational colleges, according to a New America blog.

The state regulators criticized Advanced College for not having enough qualified faculty for meaningful interactions with students, not having an adequate laboratory setting and lacking course materials designed by qualified faculty. In short, the state concluded the school didn’t have what it takes to educate students to work in health care.

Lisa Riggs, who formerly directed the Modesto Junior College nursing program, said if vocational colleges don’t maintain standards in educating nurses, it may increase risks for patients. She said it’s reassuring that board exams are a requirement for graduates to earn a license to work in California.

“There was a reason (the health care field) moved away from hospitals starting nursing schools,” Riggs said. “It is not just about quantity, it’s about putting out quality.”

Matt Woodcheke, a spokesman for the California Department of Consumer Affairs, said state law outlines requirements for vocational colleges to refund students under certain circumstances.

Students have a right to request their documents from a shuttered college, as proof they attended and how much they paid toward their education. Students may contact the college to seek a refund of tuition and other expenses. The schools may have a request form for that.

Students affected by a vocational school closure may be eligible for reimbursement from a Student Tuition Recovery Fund. And those with federal student loans may apply to get their loans discharged.

The Office of Student Assistance and Relief is a resource where impacted students can learn about their options, such as transferring units to another college or a teachout program.

This story was originally published February 27, 2024, 7:00 AM.