Fresno staffing firm partners with EDC to place workers at no cost to employers
Denham Resources, a leading staffing and human resources consulting firm in Fresno, has partnered with the Fresno County Economic Development Corp. to give local employers access to pre-screened employees at no wage cost.
The SEEN (Social Enterprise Employment Network) is a public-private collaboration between the Fresno EDC and Social Finance, a national nonprofit and investment advisor. SEEN is launching across Fresno, Kings, Madera, and Tulare counties.
The program pairs employers with job-ready workers for up to 90 days at no wage cost. Employers maintain full control over training, supervision and hiring decisions. Denham Resources was selected through a competitive request for proposal process to lead employer placements for the program. The SEEN program is launching with its first 10 candidates and is limited to a total of 90 participants.
Candidates entering the program are screened through partners with Employment Social Enterprise, a grant initiative aimed at designing, developing and implementing programs that promote job training opportunities and transitional employment. Candidates are personally interviewed, assessed and matched by Denham Resources.
Participants receive job readiness training, hands-on work experience and ongoing support before and during placement. Wages are funded through the program, and payroll, taxes and workers’ compensation are handled by Denham Resources. Employers provide supervision, training and day-to-day direction. The goal of the SEEN program is to create a pathway to long-term, unsubsidized employment—ideally with the host employer.
Joe Denham, vice president of Denham Resources, said the RFP process started last August, and they placed their first candidate in December. Denham Resources has about 20 candidates available. About half are placed with employers. The goal is to place 90 people with employers by December. Participating organizations include Fresno Area Community Enterprises, Hope Now For Youth, Goodwill Industries of San Joaquin Valley, Neighborhood Industries, Reading and Beyond, The Light House Women’s Recovery Center and others. The program provides significant cost savings to employers, he said.
“Other programs that have been like this—you have to pay the people and submit for reimbursement, which can take a long time and hassles and paperwork,” Denham said. “This is unique that they’re running it like a temporary service. It’s a lot more streamlined and easier for companies.”
The program serves people facing barriers to employment, including justice system-involved individuals, long-term unemployed, older workers, people with disabilities and veterans. Initial placements will prioritize roles in professional and financial services, transportation, distribution and logistics, manufacturing and construction.
Denham will provide behavioral-based interview and candidate matching, skills testing tailored to the employer, culture and fit evaluation, ongoing follow-up and support for up to four years. Denham said they are trying to avoid minimum wage positions and are looking for placements that are good for people in the long run. Denham said the firm chose to enroll in the program to continue their involvement with the community.
“Having a good job can change a person’s life generationally,” Denham said. “It’s very exciting to be a part of this because it’s what we do with our normal work, but with the added benefit of really changing people’s lives.”
‘Future is bright’ according to 2026 State of Tulare County address
Tulare County leaders highlighted steady financial growth, modernization efforts and major investments in infrastructure, public safety and health services during the county’s 2026 State of the County address.
In her speech, Board of Supervisors Chair Amy Shuklian praised the commitment and dedication of her colleagues on the board and those who work closely with them, as well as county department heads and staff.
“I am confident that because of your leadership and commitment, the county’s future is bright,” she said. “While the state of California faces an uncertain future, the Tulare County Board of Supervisors remains committed to disciplined and responsible budgeting.”
The county’s net assessed roll (total taxable property value) grew by 6% over the year, adding $3 billion and bringing the total to nearly $53 billion, according to Shuklian.
She went on to tout the accomplishments of in 2025 and preview what residents can look forward to in 2026.
Oakhurst Recognized Among Best U.S. Cities For Traveler Hospitality in 2026
OAKHURST, CA – The mountain community of Oakhurst has earned national recognition for its welcoming atmosphere, being named one of the Best Cities for Traveler Hospitality in the United States for 2026 by Booking.com, according to results released earlier this month.
The recognition comes as part of Booking.com’s 14th annual Traveler Review Awards, announced February 4, 2026. The awards are based on more than 370 million verified traveler reviews worldwide and highlight accommodation and transportation partners that consistently deliver high-quality guest experiences.
Oakhurst was included on the list of top U.S. cities alongside Fredericksburg, Texas, which ranked first overall, followed by Palm Desert, California; Cape May, New Jersey; Broken Bow, Oklahoma; Waikoloa, Hawaii; Bryson City, North Carolina; and Snowmass Village, Colorado. The cities recognized represent a wide range of travel experiences, from coastal destinations and desert retreats to mountain towns and tropical getaways.
According to Booking.com, the rankings are determined by the share of accommodation partners within each city who received a 2026 Traveler Review Award, relative to the total number of eligible properties. To qualify, accommodations were required to maintain an average review score of 8.0 or higher out of 10, based on at least three guest reviews as of November 30, 2025. Destinations also needed to meet minimum thresholds for award recipients and were curated to ensure geographic diversity.
“Our U.S. partners offer travelers a wide range of stays, transportation options, and experiences, with something special for every kind of trip,” said Ben Harrell, Managing Director for the United States at Booking.com. “Recognition for places like Fredericksburg, Palm Desert, and Cape May reflects the care and consistency our partners bring to every stay.”
For Oakhurst, the designation highlights the community’s long-standing role as a primary gateway to Yosemite National Park, as well as its reputation for locally owned lodging, vacation rentals, and visitor services that cater to travelers year-round. Located along Highway 41, Oakhurst serves as a base for visitors exploring Yosemite, the Sierra National Forest, Bass Lake, and surrounding foothill communities.
The recognition also reflects broader trends in traveler preferences. Booking.com reported that vacation homes were the most awarded accommodation type in the United States in 2026, followed closely by hotels and apartments. Globally, apartments remained the most recognized lodging type for the ninth consecutive year,
while camping sites, villas, and traditional Japanese ryokans experienced notable year-over-year growth in award recipients. These trends suggest travelers are increasingly drawn to distinctive stays that provide an authentic sense of place.
Transportation providers were also recognized as part of the Traveler Review Awards. In the U.S., rental car companies led the industry in the number of award-winning partners, followed by providers in the United Kingdom and Spain. Worldwide, the number of recognized rental car partners increased by 49 percent compared to 2025, while airport transfer providers saw an 11 percent year-over-year increase. Booking.com noted that these gains highlight the growing importance of seamless transportation as part of the overall travel experience.
In addition to the U.S. rankings, Fredericksburg, Texas, also appeared on Booking.com’s list of the Best Cities for Traveler Hospitality on Earth in 2026, placing the Texas city among international destinations in Italy, Taiwan, Argentina, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Namibia, Japan, Australia, and Lithuania.
Only travelers who booked accommodations, rental cars, or taxi services through Booking.com are eligible to leave reviews, ensuring that all feedback is based on verified experiences. The company states that reviews are published without edits or adjustments, offering prospective travelers an authentic account of service quality at destinations around the world.
As tourism continues to play a vital role in the local economy, Oakhurst’s inclusion among the nation’s most hospitable cities underscores the collective efforts of area lodging providers and hospitality partners. The recognition places the Yosemite-area community on a national stage, alongside destinations known for consistently positive visitor experiences, and reinforces Oakhurst’s reputation as a welcoming entry point to one of the country’s most iconic national parks.
Large industrial park proposed on east side of Highway 99 north of 7th Standard Road
A distribution hub being proposed on the east side of Highway 99 north of Bakersfield would press 739 acres of table grape vineyards into service extending Kern County’s industrial real estate momentum.
The project by Beverly Hills-based Malibu Vineyards LP is expected to go before the county Planning Commission this spring, and from there to the Board of Supervisors, before starting construction as soon as next year.
If built out as planned, the center would put 8.9 million square feet of warehousing and distribution buildings about three miles north of 7th Standard Road in a vicinity with no such land uses.
Local industrial specialist Wayne Kress, who was familiar with the project but does not represent the owner, said the space is needed because interest in Kern is accelerating.
“They’re coming, so it’s a matter of how we plan for them. We don’t want to just randomize the area,” said Kress, executive director at Cushman & Wakefield in Bakersfield.
The property is owned by longtime table grape grower Steven Gilfenbain, who has hired a consultant to lead the development through an entitlement process that includes zoning changes, county General Plan amendments and an environmental review.
Consultant Justin Murray said Monday that Gilfenbain, former CEO of Grapeman Farms, wants to convert the property to industrial use in light of challenges related to irrigation water scarcity, difficult grape market conditions “and given how industrial use in that area is kind of coming toward the property.”
Indeed it is: The Wonderful Co. has found success developing a large logistics center in nearby Shafter that it plans to expand substantially. Meanwhile, Amazon is operating a massive distribution facility in Oildale, and Tejon Ranch Co. continues to build out its own industrial hub at the foot of the Grapevine.
The idea is for Malibu Vineyards to partner with a developer or sell parts of the property once it’s been fully entitled, Murray explained. He noted the project and its potentially two dozen buildings have a 20-year horizon.
He added that work lately has focused on how to cushion the project’s impact on local air quality.
The project was expected to face a final vote by the Board of Supervisors on March 24. But Director Craig Murphy of the county Planning and Natural Resources Department said hitting that date looks unlikely because his staff is still preparing responses to public comments on the proposal. His guess Monday was that the board won’t get a chance to vote on the project until April or May.
Public reception of the proposal has been similar to that of other land-use projects, Murphy said, adding that, “in general, I think it’s a good location for a project.”
“It’s just a question of making sure we’ve gone through our analysis properly, we’ve answered the questions that get brought up,” he said.
Kress agreed the location “seems to make sense. We’re in the path of growth.”
He estimated that, if approved, the project’s first tenants might not move in for perhaps five years. Before that can happen, roads, curbs and gutters need to be built.
The project’s execution stage will be critical, Kress said, because success requires a competent team of professionals to carry out the vision.
It could be that the project would fill up with just 10 or fewer large tenants rather than 24, he said. Either way, the development would go head-to-head with other distribution centers around the county.
“Next question is, will (Gilfenbain) be viable to compete?” Kress asked.
Ownership Culture: How ESOPs are helping Valley businesses attract, keep top talent
The competition for skilled employees has pushed employers to rethink what they offer. Health benefits, paid time off and flexible schedules have become table stakes. Increasingly, what separates a company that retains its best people from one that watches them walk out the door is something more fundamental: a stake in the business itself.
That shift is driving renewed interest in employee stock ownership plans, or ESOPs — a retirement and ownership structure that allows employees to accumulate company stock over time. For business owners in the San Joaquin Valley, ESOPs are emerging not just as a succession planning vehicle, but as a strategic tool for workforce development and long-term competitiveness.
What is an ESOP?
An ESOP is a qualified contribution plan — structured as a stock bonus plan or a combined stock bonus and money purchase plan — in which a company sets aside shares for employee benefit. Employer stock is purchased and allocated to individual participant accounts. When employees retire or leave, they can receive their distribution in cash or shares, which are then sold back to the ESOP.
Plans generally take one of two forms. In a nonleveraged ESOP, the employer contributes cash directly to the plan, which uses it to purchase company stock. In a leveraged ESOP, the plan borrows funds from a bank or other lender, with the employer guaranteeing the loan or committing to pay dividends, make contributions or both.
The scale of ESOP adoption nationally reflects growing employer interest. According to data from the U.S. Department of Labor, 309 new ESOPs were reported in 2023 — the most recent year for which data is available — adding 55,663 active participants. In total, 6,609 plans were identified as ESOPs in the United States, holding total assets of over $2 trillion.
Local momentum
The Valley’s business community has not been slow to take notice. Local companies operating under ESOP structures include Geil Enterprises, Horn Photo, Span Construction, engineering firm 4Creeks, FFB Bank, Teter Architects, and Swinerton Inc.
The most recent addition to that list is Milano Restaurants International, the Fresno-based parent company of Me-n-Ed’s Pizzeria, Me-n’-Ed’s Victory Grill, Blast & Brew, and Piazza del Pane. In late February, the company announced a newly established ESOP that enables employees to earn shares of company stock over time as tax-deferred retirement wealth.
“This structure will only make the Company even more efficient, innovative and responsive to meet our customers’ needs,” said CEO John Ferdinandi. “This is about more than ownership; it’s about creating a culture where every team member feels invested in our shared future.”
A changing workforce calculus
Deborah Nankivell, CEO of the Fresno Stewardship Foundation — a nonprofit with a mission to promote inclusive prosperity and wellbeing in the San Joaquin for present and future generations — sees the ESOP trend as part of a broader shift in how employers must think about talent.
“People are starting to realize if you do human development intentionally, more people will stay with you,” Nankivell said. “Even if they leave, it adds to the talent pool in your community, which also benefits you.”
Nankivell notes that each generation brings different strengths and expectations to the workplace, and younger workers in particular are looking for partnership, life-work balance and a sense that their contributions matter beyond a paycheck. She has also observed a broader diversification of the regional economy, with workers increasingly motivated to add value to the communities where they live — not just the companies that employ them.
Younger employees, she adds, are skeptical of the economic models that defined prior generations of business leadership. “For them and in business schools it’s all about the single bottom line and the shareholders,” Nankivell said. “How did that work out? People with a 401K or who want cheap consumer goods are happy, but people who want peace in the neighborhood — not so much.”
For entrepreneurs who want a profitable business that also adds value to the community, Nankivell argues the logic of ESOP structures is compelling: when a business performs, the people who built that performance share in the reward.
What business owners should know
Nankivell acknowledges that the specifics of an ESOP structure will look different depending on the size and ownership model of the business — whether it’s a small independent, a family-owned enterprise or a larger corporate entity. The values and vision of the leadership team matter as much as the mechanics.
In her experience, business owners become more motivated to explore the ESOP model once they see it working elsewhere and begin asking, “what’s in it for me?” Some may not be aware of the opportunity at all until they watch one of their best employees leave for a company that already has one.
Her advice to owners considering the transition is to start by listening — to employees, to advisors and especially to other business owners who have already made the move.
“The old model of ‘top-down, don’t mess with me because I said so’ — that’s done,” Nankivell said. “Leaders need to be humble, they need to listen, learn, hold people accountable and at the same time accept that human beings need grace.”
The best information, she says, doesn’t come from a white paper or a consultant’s pitch deck. It comes from the people who have been through it. “The best information is not an idea, but experience from the people who have done it,” Nankivell said.
Executives offer upbeat outlook during review of projects at Castle
While the future of High Speed Rail in Merced has been a topic of debate among leaders, supporters and critics in recent weeks, county officials and company executives are pointing to progress happening right now at an existing transportation hub for the region and beyond: the Castle Commerce Center.
Corporate leaders of three major firms making investments at the former Air Force base flew in to take part in a “year-in-review” presentation to the Merced County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
They spoke in glowing terms of Castle as a “mobility center” that’s taking part in groundbreaking automotive and hybrid aircraft testing, growing strategic investments at the airport, and placing railroad tracks into the ground — with more on the way — to expand an inland port project that’s already moving locally grown produce to faraway destinations by way of intermodal freight transportation.
“Castle’s original mission was as a training field, and it supported national priorities,” said Brett Roubinek, president and CEO of Transportation Research Center. “Today, the legacy continues. It remains a training and proving ground, and it’s focused on the future of mobility. As advanced air mobility (AAM) and advanced ground mobility (AGM) converge, Castle has a unique advantage.”
AMM is a new concept of air transportation using electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft to move people and cargo between places. AGM refers to smart cars with autonomous driving technology.
The TRC company is closing in on five years at Castle, and Roubinek said they have conducted nearly 78,000 hours of testing on a 225-acre, custom-built urban landscape site. He said the company has 124 employees and supported 198 jobs in Merced County, and created an economic impact of $43.9 million for the region. The effort was boosted by a $6.5 million grant from the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA), as well as another $6.1 million invested by TRC and its clients.
Next up, Rob Thrall, the senior vice president of business development for Patriot Rail, pointed to another CalSTA grant — this one to the tune of $49.6 million awarded to Merced County in 2023 to build out an “inland port” at Castle to support green energy initiatives and reduced truck traffic across the state.
Thrall called it a “game changer.”
“This is going to change transportation in Merced County,” he said, adding that his rail and freight operation at Castle is already partnering with the Port of Los Angeles and a growing number of Central Valley growers.
He said the funding will provide critical infrastructure as they develop 203 acres of railpark, including 700,000 square feet of wherehouse space, and 85 acres of transload and laydown space.
In 2024, Patriot Rail acquired Hydra Logistics for a 16-acre site at Castle for transloading and warehousing purposes. They’ve also constructed a dock facility with a portable ramp. Thrall said customers include agricultural companies such as Morningstar out of Los Banos, as well as the global firm Goodpack. He added that Patriot Rail has worked with the nearby BNSF Railroad to expand interchange service from two days to five days.
Regarding Castle Airport, and one of the longest runways in the West, the co-owner of KT Aero spoke about his company’s role as a Fixed-Base Operatior (FBO), which provides essential services, such as fueling and line maintenance, to general aviation, private and corporate aircraft.
“2025 has been a fantastic first year for KT Aero,” said co-owner Diego Duran. “We’ve had quite a bit of operational improvements, upgrades to our facilities, and we really took a look at our pricing strategy. We feel now that Castle is positioned as a professional asset to the community, and to the larger aviation community.”
The company has a staff of four employess who support daily airfield operations, including three full-time line servce technicians and one operations manager. Duran said they have made more than $250,000 of renovations and improvements, and even purchased a six-person golf cart for clients to drive throughout Castle and to the Air Museum that’s quite a walk from the airport terminal. He added that KT Aero has lowered fuel prices, improved customer service, and increased coordination between management, tenants, and visiting operators — all to attract to more air traffic to Castle, as well as bring positive attention to Merced County.
Merced County Fire Chief Chris Trinidade was also invited to speak on growing Cal Fire operations at Castle.
He talked about the onsite Cal Fire facility that is bringing in more than 1,200 trainees per year and making a significant local economic impact. The Cal Fire Mariposa-Madera-Merced Unit has also moved its administration to Castle, bringing with it some 30 to 40 onsite staff. The overall Cal Fire presence represents $50 million worth of investment and economic growth at Castle, he said.
Trinidade added that bringing a Cal Fire air program to Castle remains a goal. “If I was king for a day with Cal Fire, and I could move around aircraft in this state, I’d be moving our C-130 program to Castle.”
Mark Mimms, the county’s community and economic development director, rounded out the presentation by taking note of Castle as a growing cultural and entertainment center. He said individual events held at the Commerce Center brought in some 40,000 visitors in 2025, including 20,000 that attended the Luke Bryan concert on the airport tarmac last May.
He said 2026 will bring in the construction of a new administration office and warehouse for M-Mig construction, new testing grounds for autonomous planes, new investment from FFA for the airport, and the launching of a new Worknet site aimed at bringing employers and potential workers together through networking services, interview opportunities, and job fairs.
Board Supervisors Lloyd Pareira, Scott Silveira and Josh Pedrozo singled out their colleague Supervisor Daron McDaniel for his leadership in making Castle a priority for investment and development. McDaniel represents District 3, which includes the Castle Commerce Center. He is also running for re-election to a fourth term in office. His opponent, candidate Luis Lara, has been critical about the pace and direction of development at Castle, particulary for the airport, and has called for making job-creation a priority.
Supervisor Pareira recalled that when he first came to the board nine years ago, McDaniel was already “driving the converation” about Castle.
“I’m on the ad-hoc committee with him, and it’s just been fun to watch this all develop,” Pareira said. “10 short years. Quite a bit has happened.”
Supervisor Silveira said that he feels fortunate that investments made by the county over the past decade are now starting to pay off during his time on the board. However, the District 5 representative also said the county needs to take the momentum and create a renewed focus on economic development “for the rest of the county.”
“There are things out on the West Side. There’s things out in the Planada and Le Grand area. … Now that Castle’s kind of standing up on its own, growing up. It’s in its teenage years. It’s not a toddler anymore. We’re able to take that effort throughout our community, and the economic development department can focus on those areas.”
Supervisor McDaniel was the last to comment, and he gave a lengthy an upbeat description of the progress of Castle since he started on the board in 2015.
“I said, ‘Let’s be the best in the world at what we’re currently doing.’ And that was our goal from that point forward. And we saw opportunities grow from there.”
Including at the airport, he added.
“Let’s understand, the airfield had always been our focus. And we always wanted to grow the airfield. And it was a struggle because we had all these grand ideas to grow the airfield for everything else. But every study we did, and everybody we talked to, they kept putting up barriers. But we continue to work towards it. And I think we’re finding our niche.”
https://mercedcountytimes.com/executives-offer-upbeat-outlook-during-review-of-projects-at-castle/
Fresno airport gets $3.15M federal boost as passenger numbers hit record high
Rep. Jim Costa announced Thursday that $3.15 million in federal funding has been secured for Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT), providing the City of Fresno funds to plan and design infrastructure improvements enhancing airport services.
The funding was granted through the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Airport Improvement Program brings the total federal funding secured by Costa for FAT to more than $85 million in recent years, helping develop key infrastructure improvements including expanded terminal service, dining and retail services, public art and enhanced parking.
“I’m proud to continue that work with this latest $3.15 million in FY26 funding,” Costa said, adding that the investment will help design and plan the future of the airport. Building on past Community Project Funding and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law grants, these resources strengthen regional connectivity and fuel economic growth that benefits families across the Central Valley.”
Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer expressed gratitude for Costa’s continued passion in driving funds to the airport, adding that with each development comes new jobs, improved passenger experience and long-term growth potential.
“Our airport has been growing steadily, and this investment allows us to build on that momentum,” Dyer wrote in a news release Thursday. “The result will be improved travel options, new jobs, and a stronger local economy.”
Fresno Yosemite International Airport enjoyed a record-breaking year for travel in 2025, surpassing 2.7 million passengers and has recently seen expanded growth featuring local businesses in its terminal with the opening of Mad Duck Craft Brewing Co., earlier this week and plans for future expansion featuring local business in the future.
“Securing this federal funding helps to support Fresno Yosemite International Airport in advancing infrastructure projects that expand regional connectivity and strengthen economic vitality,” said Interim Director of Aviation Francisco Partida. “These projects deliver a world-class airport that meets the needs of our community and supports continued progress.”
UC Merced Scientists Among Global Elite Shaping AI, Climate and Health
UC Merced continues to demonstrate its growing influence on the global stage.
Several faculty members landed on Clarivate’s 2025 list of the world’s most‑cited researchers. The honor is reserved for the top 1% of scholars whose work has shaped their fields over the last 10 years. Clarivate, which produces journal impact factors and other analytics, says the award identifies the world’s most influential researchers.
Researchers have always advanced scientific understanding by building upon the discoveries of those who came before them. Today, they publish in peer‑reviewed journals. Their work is evaluated by experts before it is shared with the wider community. In every new paper, authors show how their work fits into the larger scientific story by citing earlier research, then clearly laying out the fresh insights and contributions their latest study brings to the field.
For UC Merced, the Clarivate recognition reflects a mature and fast‑advancing research enterprise rooted in Central Valley priorities — water, wildfire, climate resilience and equitable innovation — and extending into frontier areas such as artificial intelligence. Recognition on the Highly Cited list is a marker of UC Merced’s trajectory: a young campus now operating at top‑tier research intensity, producing scholarship that shapes its fields and its region.
As Clarivate’s President of Academia and Government Bar Veinstein put it in announcing the 2025 list, the honorees “advance innovation and inspire the global research community to tackle society’s greatest challenges with creativity and ingenuity.”
For the Valley, that means world‑class research rooted in local needs. Merced’s labs thrive on close student‑faculty collaboration, often with undergraduates contributing to published research — an opportunity that can be rarer at older, larger institutions.
Ming‑Hsuan Yang, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, has appeared on the Highly Cited list annually since 2018, helped by seminal work in face detection, object tracking and representation learning. Now, his group is pushing into vision‑language models — systems that connect images and text and increasingly power generative tools and reasoning engines. Making the list again, he said, shows he has not peaked.
“I’m still doing the work,” he said. “I’m still making a good impact. I’m glad people use my work and build on top of it. On the other hand, I also build on other people’s work, so it goes both ways.”
Yang maintains an active research role in industry while leading UC Merced students in cutting-edge computer vision.
Distinguished Professor Martin Hagger, the only recipient from the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts, is recognized on the list for a sustained body of work in social and health psychology spanning self-control, determinants of health behavior, and theory integration. Hagger’s lab at UC Merced focuses on how beliefs, motivation and habits translate into real world behavior change. Hagger made the list for the fourth consecutive year. In 2025, Hagger was promoted to distinguished professor, received UC Merced’s Senate Award for Distinction in Research and was elected a fellow of the American Psychological Association.
One of Hagger’s most cited papers examines ego depletion—the idea that people’s self-control is limited and depletes, leading to lapses in impulse control. His work challenged that idea and received widespread attention, including media coverage in 2016.
“Highly cited authors might contribute to a department’s research reputation — having authors whose research is highly cited is a hallmark of a research-intensive culture at a university and suggests that the department and the university conduct very high-impact research,” Hagger explained. “As the department and UC Merced more broadly have moved toward achieving very high research intensity status, including reaching R1 status last year, the reputation of the research produced by its faculty is important.”
UC Merced’s cross-field recognition also extends to biochemistry and public health through Emeritus Distinguished Professor Henry Jay Forman, a pioneering scholar in free radical biology and redox signaling. Forman, one of the campus’s founding faculty members, has served in national leadership roles and continues to contribute to research and publishing.
In a year when Los Angeles was devastated by wildfires, climate experts John Abatzoglou, a professor in management of complex systems, and Professor Crystal Kolden, director of the campus’s Fire Resilience Center, were sought after by media and highly cited by their peers.
Both appear on the 2025 Highly Cited list. Abatzoglou is listed in both environment and ecology and geosciences, reflecting the breadth of his climate science portfolio. His lab develops datasets and tools that help communities, agencies and land managers understand climate variability and anticipate impacts.
Kolden, a pyrogeographer, focuses on the human environment dimensions of wildfire, from prescribed fire and mitigation to recovery planning. She is a recognized expert in community-focused resilience strategies.
“We’re public servants to the people of California first and foremost, especially at a school like UC Merced,” Kolden said. “It’s always an honor when your peers cite your research, because it means your work has impact. But my goal is always to reduce the potential for the wildfire disasters that destroy peoples’ lives.”
Yang’s AI work positions UC Merced at the frontier of a field transforming health care, agriculture and education; his students and collaborators help fuel a growing California talent pipeline. Hagger’s research informs interventions tied to chronic disease and mental health — key concerns in the Central Valley — and his international collaboration in Finland brings global insights back to campus.
Clarivate emphasizes that citation activity is only the starting point. The list is refined using quantitative metrics, qualitative analysis and expert judgment, with explicit attention to research integrity. That approach reflects how UC Merced faculty describe their work — impact rooted in collaboration, mentorship and openness.
“I have had a lot of great graduate students, and I really have to thank them,” Yang said. “They’re doing well, and I hope that making this list and helping raise the university’s profile draws even more highly qualified graduate students to our labs.”
Calgren opens renewable gas station in Pixley fed by dairy methane
A new fueling station in Pixley closes the loop on a circular energy system where dairy waste powers both consumer vehicles and the agricultural trucks that serve local farms.
Calgren, a Pixley-based ethanol and renewable natural gas (RNG) production company, announced the completion of its first direct-to-consumer renewable compressed natural gas (R-CNG) fueling station. The facility allows drivers of CNG-compatible vehicles — including passenger cars, buses, and commercial fleets — to fuel with locally produced R-CNG from dairy methane.
Calgren has been producing renewable fuels in California’s Central Valley since 2008, when its ethanol facility in Pixley began operations. The company began expanding into dairy biogas in 2017, when it started permitting some 20 miles of pipeline to connect Pixley-area dairies to its Highway 99 production plant, according to previous Business Journal reporting.
At the time, company President Lyle Schlyer said the project would increase biogas volumes by as much as 20 times, replacing fossil fuel natural gas at the plant with methane captured from covered lagoons at nearby dairies. In July 2019, Calgren completed what was expected to become the largest dairy biogas operation in the U.S., becoming the first facility in California to operate a dairy digester pipeline cluster.
The facility now captures methane from more than 66,000 cows at area dairy farms, addressing California regulations that require the livestock industry to cut methane emissions to 40 percent of 2013 levels by 2030.
The project marks a significant milestone for Calgren, enabling the company to deliver its carbon-negative fuel directly to the local community for the first time.
“This station is about connecting the full circle of our work, producing quality feed for dairy cows, capturing methane that is traditionally released to atmosphere from dairies, processing it into renewable fuel, and putting it straight into vehicles on our roads, including our own partner trucks that haul our products and co-products,” said Travis Lane, CEO of Calgren. “The cow is fueling the truck that hauls the feed that fuels the cow, right here in Tulare County. This system helps to manage the dairy cows & environmental footprint, so they can continue to help feed and support our communities.”
https://thebusinessjournal.com/calgren-opens-renewable-gas-station-in-pixley-fed-by-dairy-methane/