An American ritual unfolded last week in the central San Joaquin Valley as political advertising reached a deafening crescendo -- and then fell silent as voters cast ballots on Tuesday.

Some matters were settled -- but many will return in November, when a general election will pit runoff contestants and partisan opponents to fill legislative seats.

Not all the news was political, however. Here are the top stories of the past week, along with selected comments posted by readers on fresnobee.com.

Power prop fails

What happened: Turnout was light on Tuesday, but those who voted made one message very clear: PG&E is in the doghouse. Voters in the Valley and across the state turned down Proposition 16, a measure sponsored by the power company that would have required a super-majority of voters to approve creation of municipal electric utilities.

What it means: Despite spending millions on political ads to support the measure, PG & E failed to persuade voters that the measure was about limiting government, not protecting the power company's business.

What readers said:

"Squeezing every nickel and dime you can get from your trapped customers is not a good way to conduct business. Start showing us the respect we earned by bailing out YOUR bankruptcy by cutting your rates to be inline with those of the other providers in the state."

-- nose_picker

"Let's continue the fight and stop the pending $4.5 billion PG&E request for rate hikes, now before the Public Utilities Commission. Send e-mails or letters to PUC if you don't want your electricity and gas rates to keep going up for no good reason -- like spending $46 million on Prop 16."

-- fresnowatch

Denham advances

What happened: State Sen. Jeff Denham won the hard-fought GOP primary in the 19th Congressional District, winning the right to go up against the likely Democratic nominee, Loraine Goodwin of Madera, in November's general election. The heavily Republican district is now served by the retiring George Radanovich.

What it means: Denham did best in the northern end of the district, which includes parts of Stanislaus and Tuolumne counties. He fared less well in the central San Joaquin Valley, where many voters favored former Fresno mayor Jim Patterson instead.

What readers said:

"I will not vote for Denham in November. I will be doing a write-in for Jim Patterson, and I don't care if that costs the Repubs the 19th seat, I'd rather have a Dem then a Dem in R clothing."

-- Posbourne

"The Tea Party isn't going to merely stand idly by and watch a pseudo-conservative take this Congressional seat. Watch for a write-in candidate in the fall to challenge Denham and the other Democrat on the ballot."

-- deaconblue711

Council unsettled

What happened: Voters filled two of four open seats on the Fresno City Council, but two others -- each with eight candidates running on Tuesday -- will end with November runoffs.

What it means: Blong Xiong was re-elected and Clint Olivier won his first term on the seven-member council. But two candidates who are among those in the fall runoff -- former council member Sal Quintero and former Assembly member Mike Briggs -- both face ethical questions. Quintero has two recent DUI convictions and the Briggs campaign has been accused of campaign improprieties.

What readers said:

"I crossed party lines to vote for Republican Xiong. He put in storm drains in our Heaton area neighborhood in the middle of a deep recession. Keep up the good work, councilman."

-- DaleStewart