What's New

A bill requiring smog checks on collector cars has been junkpiled by Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, but in its place, he is proposing a license plate bill that would, among other things, distinguish between rarely driven classic cars and gross air polluters. Florez' first version of the bill called for smog checks for all vehicles built before 1976 and registered in the Valley, including those infrequently driven collector cars. His new proposal, Senate Bill 1549, requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to evaluate whether to allow vehicles as recent as 1976 to carry special year-of-manufacture license plates. The license plates would distinguish classic vehicles from non-classic.

A bill by Assemblyman Bill Maze approving the Joint Powers Agreement between the Tule River Tribal Council and the City of Porterville made it through the Assembly Committee on Local Government. Passage of the bill pays the way for the Tulare River Tribe to develop about 200 acres of land at the Porterville Airport for a resort/casino. The project would be a joint effort of the tribe and the city. AB 1884 still must be passed by the Assembly and the Senate and then signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger before becoming law.

Mozzarella Fresca in Tipton is undergoing another expansion, reports company CEO Andrew Branagh. He said the cheese plant is adding both a cold storage unit and a dry storage unit. Stage 1 of the project should be completed in early June, with Stage 2 set to begin immediately and be completed by October. The projects will allow the plant, which opened in 2003, to double its storage capacity. The plant employees about 200 workers.

Workers in Downtown Visalia may soon find a way to combat high gas prices – thanks to the City of Visalia. The city council approved the Vi-Cycle program Monday night that will provide refurbished bicycles to downtown businesses to offer to their employees as a way to ride to work – saving gas costs and cutting down on pollution. The city will send bicycles recovered by police that go unclaimed to the Corcoran Prison Substance Abuse Facility for refurbishing, and then offer them to downtown businesses for $25. The bicycles will be painted green and clearly marked and if they break down, the owner will be able to exchange them. The city hopes to distribute 100 of the bikes at first, and then expand the program.

Exeter's downtown streetscape will get a reworking this year with the redesign and landscaping of six Pine Street corners and installation of traffic circles at each end, says City Planner Greg Collins.

Woodlake's Bravo Lake Botanical Garden will dedicate a portion of the garden to the late Woodlake olive farmer Everett Krackov this weekend.

Central Valley Parkinson's Support Group raised over $28,000 this past weekend – the number two chapter in the national fund raising walks. “We're so grateful for all the donations,” says Mary Dickerson of the Visalia-based group. Bruce McDermott was honorary chair and major sponsors were the Gindick Family Foundation, the Glen Wells Construction Company and the Dwelle Family. Major donors were Buckman-Mitchell Insurance, Comfort Keepers, the Law Offices of James P. Hurlbutt and Kaweah Delta Medical Center.

Residents who took park in the county's Blueprint process to direct future growth strongly supported increasing residential densities by 25 percent over the next 50 years, the Tulare County Association of Governments reported. The Blueprint process is designed to reduce air pollution, curtail urban sprawl, increase public transportation and enhance the quality of life. The vote on densities found 37 percent favor the 25 percent reduction, while 30 percent went for the most extreme reduction of 75 percent. Seventy-eight percent of those who took part in the public forums support an urban separator between Visalia and the cities of Tulare and Farmersville.

Tom Cairns, owner/operator of Lemon Cove Granite, has asked Tulare County planners downsize his request for expansion. The Lemon Cove mining operation is currently being evaluated as part of an Environmental Impact Report being prepared by Quad Knopf of Visalia.

The FY 2009 Defense Authorization bill includes language to ensure that “sole survivors” who leave military service receive improved separation benefits. The language was crafted after a bill introduced in the Senate by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), and in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressmen Devin Nunes, R-Calif. and Jim Costa, D-Calif. This language partially addresses the situation of Jason Hubbard of California, an Army veteran and sole survivor who lost his two brothers in Iraq. Hubbard, a Fresno County sheriff's deputy, was required to leave the combat zone, and was denied separation benefits when he left the military early. Jason Hubbard is one of 51 sole survivors identified since the September 11, 2001 terrorists attacks.

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Tulare County - It seemed appropriate that the same week the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District's governing board adopted new rules to limit particulate matter in the air, the American Lung Association listed the Visalia/Porterville and the Corcoran/Hanford areas as two of the worst metropolitan areas in the nation for all forms of pollution.

The two announcements also fell on the same week that the Tulare County Asthma Coalition reported that one in four children in the county has been diagnosed with asthma.

It has long been known that because of the geography, the Valley traps airborne pollutants, putting people with respiratory problems such as asthma at greater risk. Studies show that ozone and particulate matter not only increase symptoms, but can cause asthma.

Of the Lung Association's listed Top Ten Cities Most Polluted by Year-Round Particle Pollution, four are in the Central Valley, with Visalia/Porterville No. 5 and Hanford/Corcoran No. 9. While showing some improvement in air quality, Fresno/Madera was ranked No. 8 and Bakersfield was ranked No. 3.

Among the Top Ten U.S. Cities Most Polluted by Ozone, Visalia/Porterville ranked No. 3, behind Los Angeles/Long Beach/Riverside at No. 1 and Bakersfield No. 2. Fresno/Madera ranked No. 5 and Sacramento No. 6.

The report came at no surprise to Diane Sepeda, acting director of the Tulare County Asthma Coalition.

“Last year, the state held four top positions – Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Fresno/Madera and Visalia/Porterville. This year, out of the top six, we hold five,” she said, adding the quality of air is why controlling asthma is such a challenge in the Valley.

“The report magnifies this. We feel we're making some progress, but what magnifies our problem is our geographic location. We are one of the highest regulated (areas) and I know everybody is doing their part,” she added.

“The air quality in several cities has improved, but in others, declines in pollution have stalled. The trends tell us loud and clear that we need to do more to protect Americans from breathing air that's simply hazardous to their health,” said Bernadette Toomey, president and CEO, American Lung Association, in a prepared American Lung Association State of the Air release.

Overall, the Lung Association gave Tulare County a failing grade for controlling most levels of pollution. Several coastal cities in California were given passing grades, including San Luis Obispo and Santa Cruz counties.

Due to the lead time for the “State of the Air” report, the American Lung Association used the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 1997 standard for ozone levels rather than the new tighter standard announced on March 12.

“If we were to measure the number of unhealthy days against the new ozone standard, it would show that ozone pollution is worse than the report indicates,” said Toomey. “Even with these stricter ozone standards, Americans are being denied the health protection they deserve under the Clean Air Act.”

Controlling ozone is the goal of the Valley Air District's PM2.5 plan. The plan will increase the number of days that restrict the burning of fireplaces among other things. In all, the plan contains 13 regulatory control measures, 10 feasibility studies and emission reduction incentive programs with the goal that the San Joaquin Valley reaches PM2.5 attainment by 2014.

PM2.5 is particulate matter that is 2.5 microns or less in diameters. It is so small it can not only enter the lungs, but the blood stream, causing serious health problems. It has been linked to aggravated asthma, irrigation of the airways, coughing, difficult breathing and decreased lung function in children. The matter is so small that 24 particulates could fit on a single piece of human hair.

Scott Nester, director of planning with the pollution board, said the new regulations would be phased in over the next three years. The plan will bring the Valley into attainment of the PM2.5 standard. Besides the increased wood burning restrictions, the plan includes more limits on emissions from industrial sources, controlling dust and limitations on prescribed burning and ag burning. The studies will be on pollution caused by cotton gins and even Fourth of July fireworks, along with commercial charbroilers used by restaurants.

Last year, the district issued only four mandatory no burn days in Tulare County, the same for Kings County. While Nester said it is not certain how many more days will be added under the stricture rule, it could be two or three times as many. The district issued 28 voluntary curtailment days in Tulare County last year, 15 in Kings County.

The rule applies to all types of wood-burning devices, including those that use pellets, unless the fireplace is the only source of heat for a resident or the residence is above 3,000 foot elevation.

The air board uses a combination of weather conditions and pollution levels to determine if wood burning should be prohibited. The wood burning season runs from Nov. 1 to the end of February. The fine for violating the mandatory no burn rule is $50. Last year, the district issued 87 citations in the eight-county region, but only one in Tulare County and none in Kings County.

The Lung Association's report card ranked cities most affected by three types of pollution: short-term particle pollution, year-round particle pollution and ozone pollution. For the first time since the report has been issued in nine years, a city outside California, Pittsburgh, topped one of the most polluted lists

Other Key Findings of State of the Air 2008:
· One in 10 people in the U.S. live in areas with unhealthful levels of all three types of pollution: ozone, short-term and year-round particle pollution.
· Two of five people in the U.S live in counties that have un­healthful levels of either ozone or particle pollution.
· Nearly one-third of the U.S. population lives in areas with unhealthful levels of ozone.
· Over one quarter of the people in the U.S. live in an area with unhealthful short-term levels of particle pollution.
· One in six people in the U.S. live in an area with unhealthful year-round levels of particle pollution.

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By Steve Pastis

Visalia - The 2008 Slick Rock Film Festival, billed as the biggest student film festival in the Central Valley, is coming to the Visalia Fox Theatre. The festival's prestigious awards ceremony, complete with limousines and red carpet for the student filmmakers, will be held at the theater on Saturday, May 17.

More than 200 films by students from 39 Valley schools will compete for over $20,000 in prizes. Comcast will tape the event to broadcast an on-demand show.

“The festival began five years ago as a federal grant that established after-school clubs to help students jumpstart their writing skills,” said Scott Smith, director of the film festival, adding that the Visalia Unified School District applied and received the $480,000 grant to improve students' writing skills.

The filmmaking clubs evolved into a festival with 18 entries, and then into a regional competition that attracted 39 student films. Last year, 170 films were submitted. This year, the number grew to 225.

“It's grown every year,” said Brian Lucas, film festival coordinator. “It's been a huge monster – which is a blessing, of course.”

Students submit their films by uploading them online, explained Lucas. Then the films go through a judging process. There are two divisions: high school and middle school.

“We actually had some elementary school students competing in the middle school category,” he added.

There are several categories for entries, with the most popular being the “five-minute blockbuster.” Other categories include documentary, animation, foreign language – there are three in German this year – and commercial, where students ask local businesses if they can create a commercial for them.

Animated films include claymation projects, where a student takes a series of still photos of clay characters, each manipulated slightly to create the sense of motion.

“Several of them were using a 3D computer art program,” Lucas said. “Sometimes they look like 'Jimmy Neutron.' Some have a virtual world, all in 3D. They bring characters in. It's very impressive.”

Part of the reason that film entries have increased in both quality and quantity is that high schools in Visalia, led by El Diamante, are teaching students the art of making films. Multimedia classes teach students how to use a camera, shoot film and edit it on a computer. They may also learn web design programs such as Photoshop to be able to manipulate still photographs.

El Diamante pioneered the video production course, said Smith, who cited the work of teacher Jim Sill. The high school has a film class where students can take a test to become certified as users of Final Cut Pro.

“They get an actual document if they pass the test,” Lucas said. “It's not hard to get a job right now if you are certified in Final Cut Pro.”

This summer, training on Final Cut Pro will be offered to high school teachers in the district, according to Lucas, who is also the VUSD's director of instructional technology, helping teachers of grade 7-12 students incorporate technology into their lessons and teaching styles

Sometimes the organizers of Slick Rock Festival can tell which film submissions are the result of a high school class assignment.

“We'll get groups of them that are similar, like public service announcements” Lucas said, adding that if a single film is submitted, “we have no way of knowing whether it was created for Slick Rock or it was a class project.”
Indications are that video and filmmaking will continue to be an increasingly important part of the high school curriculum.

“Finding facts are not the issue anymore in a 'Google world,'” Smith said. “Pulling facts together and presenting them in a compelling way is what matters more than facts.”

The Slick Rock Film Festival is named for a location near Three Rivers where teenagers hang out, explained Smith.

“The name carries with it independence, a little rebellion and a little freedom,” he said. “We think it's a perfect name for it.”

Admission to the film festival is free. For more information, visit www.slickrockfestival.org.

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By Rick Elkins

Porterville - Porterville will soon have its own Visitor Center to promote the city, the Tule River Tribe and the many attractions offered in the million-acre Sequoia National Forest.

Porterville Chamber of Commerce leaders, Tule River Tribal Council members and Sequoia National Forest and City of Porterville officials announced the cooperative agreement to establish a visitor center at the Riverwalk Market Place at a news conference Tuesday.

The Riverwalk Market Place is a new shopping center being developed at Highway 190 and Jaye St., a large development at the city's busiest intersection. The area is already home to Home Depot and Lowe's. The Ennis family, which is developing the shopping center, is providing the land and the building for the visitor center.

“We're very excited the Ennis family has made this site available to us. We feel it is a premium location,” said Donnette Silva Carter, president/CEO of the chamber.

“This is a way they would like to give back to the Porterville area – according to Ennis. As far as we're concerned, it's a very generous offer,” praised Carter.

“What we are hoping to do is help put Porterville on the map,” says Manuel Ramirez, commercial property manager for Ennis Commercial Development. “That's why we are donating shell buildings and land at the Riverwalk development” for a new Welcome Center. “As you know, Ben Ennis has been part of this community for many years and it's been his intention to give back to the community. Secondly, we believe visitors will enjoy stopping off at the new Welcome Center right off Highway 190 where they will be able to get all kinds of services and a bite to eat” when they visit.

Ennis construction will build the 400-square-foot building that is at the entrance into the center, very visible to travelers along Highway 190. The goal of the center, said Carter, is to promote southeastern Tulare County with a strong emphasis on Sequoia National Forest and the Giant Sequoia Monument.

“We're pretty jazzed. It's a great location. Porterville has a lot of things on the move and this is just one of them. This has been a long-time vision of the chamber to have a visitor center,” said Carter.

The center will be staffed by the forest service and chamber volunteers. It will have brochures and maps of the region. Carter said there will also be video displays of various amenities of the area and “we will also will have some historical reference about the tribe and what is happening with the tribe,” including plans for a resort/casino near the Porterville Municipal Airport.

“We also plan to use that location to promote the Sequoia and Valley area – things happening throughout Tulare County,” she said.

The project is still in the planning stages, but if all goes according to plan, they hope to have the visitor center open in time for the summer season of 2009. And, it may not stop at just a visitor center. “A shuttle has been discussed,” said Carter adding a lot of other ideas are being discussed to compliment the center.

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Visalia - VF Corp., which has the largest warehouse building in the Visalia Industrial Park, plans to install solar panels to generate electricity for the facility in coming months. The company has contracted with El Solutions – the company that put the photovoltaic panels on the Google headquarters in Sunnyvale – to design and build a system here.

The solar tracking panels that will follow the sun will cover 175,000 square feet and generate more than one megawatt of electric power – enough to power a thousand homes. At that size it's one of the largest solar arrays in the state.

Still in the early design phase, the new ground-mounted system will be located adjacent to VF Outdoor's Center and will allow for dual use of a storm water retention area located on the property. A key feature in the system's design is the use of Ray Tracker™ GC single-axis solar trackers. By tracking the sun as it moves across the sky, the Ray Tracker system will keep the mounted PV panels focused on its rays, thereby maximizing the amount of energy produced by each panel and significantly increasing their energy yield.

The contractor, El Solutions, points to the fact that solar energy electricity costs are fixed for the life of the project – 30 years – and that energy is 100% renewable. In addition, companies can take advantage of the company's program share in the tax savings offered by utilities and the government. Clearly VF can offset its power bill. El Solutions designs projects to fit their client's layout and offers to finance the solar projects.

VF Corp. owns a huge 800,000-square-foot distribution center in Visalia, employing several hundred workers. It opened in 2006. The company distributes a number of well-named brands of clothing including Wrangler and Lee jeans, Nautica, JanSport and North Face outdoor clothing. The company is headquartered in Greensboro, NC.

The system will be financed, owned and operated by San Francisco-based Recurrent Energy, the pioneer in Solar as a Service™. One-hundred percent of the electricity will be sold to The North Face, a subsidy of VF Corp., under a Power Purchase Agreement.

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Visalia - Building in the city of Visalia awoke a little from its slumber with total valuation in April that was more than February and March combined, and nearly double of what it was in January.

According to Pamela Sing, senior administrative analyst with the city, building valuation last month totaled $43,821,606. In March, it was just $22,566,017.

More importantly, the number of new housing permits was up 23 percent over the previous month. In April, permits were pulled for 67 new homes with a total valuation of $14,373,020. That compares to 52 permits in March, 32 in February and 54 in January. The April number of new homes is the most since October of 2007 when 75 permits were issued.

The average valuation of the homes was $214,000, down from $247,000 in March.

There were also five permits pulled for multi-family housing – three triplexes and two duplexes. Total valuation was $1.3 million. Prior to April, only one permit for a multi-housing project was pulled this year.

On the commercial side, a $12 million alteration at California Dairies was the highlight. Sing said the large plant in the industrial park is installing a new evaporative dryer.

Also pulled last month was the $2.5 million permit for the new campus of Fresno Pacific University. That work has already begun and is the first in the Plaza Business Park. While the campus is separate, it is part of the overall business park that was approved by city planners last month. The business park portion of the development still must go before the city council.

Other highlights of the report:
· $6 million expansion of Recreation Park.
· $1 million alteration at VF Outdoor, a distribution facility. Sing said the company is installing new racking.
· $656,000 for a multi-purpose building at Church of the Nazarene.

Total valuation for the year is nearly $109 million, which is about $4 million more than the first four months of last year, although the number of new home permits is off by 94 houses.

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