Costco Eyes East Caldwell
Visalia - Add east Caldwell to the list of possible future locations for a new 150,000 sq. ft. Costco store, about a third larger than they have now.
The property is some 22 acres just east of the present Costco site but on Caldwell known as the Caldwell 51 property. Investor Andy Mangano has the acreage in escrow and is negotiating with Costco.
An advantage that Mangano has is that the acreage is already zoned regional commercial unlike a potential site on west Caldwell that Costco is also interested in. The west Caldwell at Demaree (Chinowth) location is zoned for a shopping center but lacks the regional retail designation requiring city council approvals. On the other hand, this east Caldwell site does not require special approvals although there is a specific plan on the site that must be adhered to.
The 22 acres under contract to Mangano does not include a 6 acre piece in front of the property. The land is crossed by Packwood Creek so must be bridged as part of the entryway into a large shopping center likely to the rear of the property.
Costco management is considering two other options. They include efforts by developer Don Orosco to site Costco south of Packwood Creek on land he has under contract on the west side of Mooney. Orosco is working with Lowes Home Improvement on the east side of Mooney just across Packwood Creek - the city’s long time southern development boundary. Orosco expects to present a draft EIR to the city planning commission for his south Mooney shopping centers in February, he says - that includes the two shopping centers on both sides of Mooney.
The Visalia city council has made it plain they favor moving the development boundary line south of the creek to snag more retailers for Visalia.
Meanwhile, a fourth option for Costco is to expand where they are. Sources lay out a scenario that would have Home Base space available for Costco allowing them to make a bigger store at their present location. The apparent arrival of Lowes - a big competitor to both Home Depot, Home Base and Lumberjack could result in closing the Home Base store, so goes the thinking.
Meanwhile, Costco has let it be known the status quo won’t do. Its 109,000 sq. ft. store is not big enough. It has put its existing store property which they own on a surplus property list in a trade magazine (September 2000 issue of Shopping Center World periodical) saying it is available pending a relocation.
While the city council may hope that Costco stays on Mooney, an east Caldwell site that is properly zoned would be hard to argue with on a policy basis since it follows the 2020 plan. Council still worries what happens to the existing Costco site if that happens - not wanting a big blight on south Mooney and a negative effect on the shopping center if the big boxes don’t draw the shoppers. Costco was assisted in locating at their present site with the help of city redevelopment dollars.
Potential opposition by neighborhoods and nearby development on east Caldwell is less likely at this site because the property has been a vacant field forever and there is no development on the same side of Caldwell next door.
The old Costco site backs up to Packwood Creek as well, meaning the new site is essentially right next door to the old site. Given the potential for many big retail uses close by the city will have to plan access and traffic movement within the centers that doesn’t further impact Caldwell and Mooney.
Faces Delay In Lining
Tulare County - If Tulare Irrigation District thought that changing judges might get it a more favorable hearing in Tulare County Superior Court - last week they were disappointed again.
Objecting that judge Paul Vortmann “is prejudiced against the District” after Vortmann ruled against their plan to take possession of land owned by Dr. Mitts to begin the canal lining process, the District got Judge Pat O’Hara instead.
O’Hara heard a plea by opponents of the lining project to stop construction work, scheduled for early October to begin knocking down some of the 200 mature oak trees along the canal and start the work of clearing the canal of rock brickbrack so concrete could be poured later this winter.
In a day’s worth of confrontations, contractor RL Brosamer attempted to bring in heavy equipment and 30-40 vocal opponents of the project squared off along a stretch of TID ditch southwest of Visalia.
Wanting to avoid any injury, O’Hara heard a request for temporary restraining order and said from the bench that all work be halted until he made up his mind.
A few hours later O’Hara ruled in favor of the opponents (who nevertheless had to post a $50,000 bond) granting a restraining order until Oct. 24 when a request for preliminary injunction will be heard.
O’Hara made it clear that on October 24 he is likely to approve the request for a preliminary injunction until a full court hearing can be heard, months down the line.
He cited the fact that loss of the trees along the canal would be “irreplaceable and cannot be compensated for in damages...” if allowed to be cut down. Property owners along the canal mostly oppose the lining even though they get TID water. TID had claimed they want to save the water that goes down the earthen ditch by lining it with concrete that will save the District and its farmer members money. In the process they have to remove the big trees that are in the way and could root up the concrete over time.
But opponents question whether the irrigation district even has the right to line the canal with concrete just because it has a hundred year old easement along the waterway.
Opponents are now betting that TID will again be rebuked by a judge forcing a delay that has suspended the project’s work and increased the District’s cost over the year since it was bid back in 1998.
Originally bid at $7.3 million by highway 198 contractor RL Brosamer its now estimated that the project could cost an extra $4 million, says a TID estimate. The district had been delayed while its EIR of the project was litigated. Now a second delay will cost the district an extra an extra $1.4 million paid to Brosamer to bring the project in late August and be complete by irrigation season June 1, 2001. Now in late October 2000 that plan seems to be delayed.
If O’Hara rules in favor of the opponents, its unlikely there will be concrete lining this winter.
“Our biggest fear is that the judge could increase the bond to a much higher level,” says property owner Brian Blain. “Increasing the bond well above the current $50,000 level would make it impossible to post a bond and have the effect of allowing the project to go forward,” he worries. TID will be saying it will cost them the $1.4 million to delay the lining again. “The trees don’t have that kind of bank account,” says Blain.
The likely delay of the project again and all the bad publicity for the District has caused criticism of the District to reach a new high. Last week, after the ruling, a red faced former TID board member, Tom Gist, addressed the board during its public comment period lambasting them for “ruining the good reputation of TID.” He told the board “TID was the most hated name in the area” after their series of actions. Gist served on the board from 1948 through 1956 overseeing their hook up to Friant Kern water that now is the subject of dispute. “The reclamation district is as much to blame as TID” for raising the price of federal water so high, he says. “I asked them (the TID board) what they were going to do about all the bad publicity.” He says he doesn’t know if they will take his advice and change their course.
General manager of TID, Gerald Hill, says he is still hopeful that if the judge next week puts an injunction on development that a full trial will vindicate the district. Would there be time to do the canal project this winter? Hill says it would depend on when a full hearing would be heard. “If the date is early enough maybe we can move ahead.”
All the publicity is clearly not winning TID any popularity contests.
Hill says after the court ruling last week the board of Tulare Irrigation District decided in closed session to hire a public relations firm.
Opponents of the canal project are hard nosed saying that TID turned down their request to compensate them for lost water but insisted the canal lining won’t happen. “We’ve got them in a box and we’ll just keep them there,” says one.
Up to late September TID was in negotiations with Kaweah Water Conservation District, the City of Visalia and POWER group opponents - ditch side property owners to come up with a compensation package to pay the cost of water loss through the percolation of water because the ditch is earthen. The water benefits the surrounding wildlife and trees. The “canal lining alternatives” have been the subject of hours of wrangling over the past year as politicians, water experts and city and county officials took their turn at trying to come up with a suitable compromise over the construction issue. According to TID’s Jerry Hill - the District’s general manager - each has come up short.
TID serves about 1000 landowners taking some 80,000 acre ft. of CVP water and 70,000 acre ft. of Kaweah water per year. TID complains that historically it paid only $2 per acre for CVP water but now the federal water costs $42 per acre ft. They claim about 10% of the water is lost a seepage as it travels the nearly 10 mile route into the District. TID says it will run both CVP and Kaweah water in the lined canal. If they aren’t allowed to line the canal the loss to the District is estimated by Hill to be $441,000 per year counting seepage from both Kaweah and CVP water.
Hill claims in an affidavit filed with the court that pumping costs in Visalia and Tulare will increase if the canal is lined. Despite claims to the contrary Hill says the lining of the canal will not just help the city of Tulare but the city of Visalia that will see ground water levels rise by “0 to 12 feet” if the canal lining is done.
But now the District is without compensation or a lined canal. The District could call for a change of venue calling Tulare County’s political atmosphere may be too charged to get a fair hearing but that is a long shot. It isn’t clear what other course TID could take as it continues to bleed money and good will down the drain.
Pending still is a court case where TID is asking the court to allow the taking of Tom Mitts 1/9th interest in the canal along his property that the district wants to litigate because it appears to allow Mitts to take water from the canal. That case is expected to be heard in January or February.
by Mary Moy
Visalia - Landowners and property rights. Farmers and water rights. Sierra Club and the environment. Disparate interests, divergent viewpoints, dissimilar philosophies. But in this forgotten corner of California, amongst walnut groves and empty roads, in a place where dirt still rules over concrete, diversity became power.
In the predawn hours on Monday Oct 9, members of POWER gathered in preparation to link arms, hearts and minds. The forgotten corner was Lovers Lane and Ave 272, near a section of canal known as Potter’s Slough. Potter’s Slough was a natural waterway before an 1882 agreement with Joseph Potter granted an easement to the irrigation district. The slough still slithers like a snake on this section of the canal. TID wants to cement line 9.7 miles of this canal. In the process, 213 noble oaks standing along the banks would be bulldozed. Great Valley valley oaks that can live 600 years, bold silhouettes with outreached arms as dramatic as Shakespeare theater.
The event was to blockade TID’s attempts to bulldoze the oaks. It would be done lawfully with the property owners present to exercise their rights. Richard Garcia was the man who planted the idea. Garcia is a board member of POWER, the group of farmers and landowners opposing the project. Negotiations had broken down, a court decision halted taking of private property by TID, litigation was still pending that would argue that the granted easement is for conveying water over an earthen ditch, not to line it with cement. TID wanted to start the project, regardless. Their start date was to be Monday Oct 9.
“All we want is due process. I didn’t want to see irreparable harm before we’ve had our due process,” says Garcia. This is the way it’s supposed to work in America. It was the Saturday before TID was to begin. Deciding to be proactive, Richard hustled over to Don Petersen, who was hustling his walnut dryer. Thin, wiry and energetic at 65, you cannot build a piano with a lowenough key to describe Petersen. You’re lucky to get two words out of him. Richard got one. When asked what he thought about doing a blockade, Petersen answered “okay” as he continued to tune his dryer. Thus the idea germinated. A native of Lemoore, Garcia is neither a farmer nor landowner on the canal. He is an officer with the local chapter of the Sierra Club.
The Petersens are walnut farmers on the corner. Don and Peggy’s roots are pure Visalia. Her mother was born a Chinowth, whose mother was Fulgham, whose mother was Caldwell. Her mother’s family grew up in the house that is now the restaurant Something Fresh. Don’s father started the clothing business John Richards Menswear. They used to own the auto shop Ray Hill Brake & Wheel. They bought the ranch on the corner in 1952 and have been farming it since. A respectable lineage. “We were raised in a Christian home and we’re grandparents. Who would’ve thought we would be out there with picket signs,” says Peggy. As farmers, water is one of their biggest concerns. Peggy says their well has dropped 22 feet in the past 2 years. Even as a grandmother, Peggy knows hard work as she spryly climbs a 15 ft ladder to the top of the dryer and walks along loose planks to inspect bins of walnuts. They farm in coexistence with the wildlife. “We found foxes under the dryer,” she says. “There was a family living under the oak on the canal, there was quail, we loved to watch the coyote trot across.”
Monday morning was uneventful. Keeping watch on Road 132 was Bob Ludekens. Born in L.A., studied business at UCLA, was a professional Boy Scouter, now owns L.E. Cooke, a nursery in Visalia. Married 50 years to Carole, Man of the Year from the farm bureau, Distinguished Eagle Award from the Boy Scouts, Pacific Coast Nursery Award…his office wall was once covered with plaques. Carole has removed most of them, her subtle hint for him to retire. At 70, why would he want to do that? This man sleeps only 5 hours a night. For 58 years he has continued scouting, even hosting dinners for them. He chairs meetings, gives presentations from Cal Poly to UC Davis several nights a week.
Ludekens is a businessman who likes facts and seeks the truth. When this issue first surfaced, he did just that. He attended meetings at TID, spoke to water engineers, to KDWCD. He listened to both sides of the issue, then formed his opinion. “Before there were wells, farmers dug ditches to farm and used the natural percolation,” he says. “They gave easements to the Irrigation Company to maintain the ditches, but the ditches belong to the landowner. The oaks belong to the land.” He has 23 wells on 1100 acres and is concerned the project will result in higher costs to operate. But he is more concerned about what it would do to the entire area. “Exeter will be affected first since they are uphill as Visalia’s water table drops, theirs will flow down.” As he puts it, “Everyone will pay for it. We will all become prisoners of water.”
The first equipment arrived on Road 132 in the early afternoon. Everyone was still at Potter’s Slough. A cell phone call brought the group over and the 1st blockade occurred. Seeing that they were getting nowhere, the drivers left. Michael Millsaps and his buddy, Moose, followed them to where they parked their diesel on Caldwell. “We figured the guy was going to want to take a break, so we decided to get him a nice, cold soda pop,” says Millsaps. Moose is 6’5” 321 lbs, Millsaps a midget at 6’3” 285 lbs. Imagine the drivers seeing these two hulks approaching.The drivers relaxed when the hulks tossed them each a Pepsi. “We hung around and shot the breeze for an hour,” says Millsaps.
The drivers had taken two other missteps. They underestimated the relentlessness of two tenacious women, Sandy Blain and Peggy Petersen. And they parked on Blain’s property. Sandy’s husband is Brian, president of POWER. The two women had been looking for the diesel. Now Sandy, a petite 5’2”, loomed larger than the two hulks as she marched up to the drivers, informed them they were on her property and must leave.
The Blains are 5 generations of Visalians. Brian’s father was in real estate. A former schoolteacher, Brian began farming in 1974 and started a nut processing plant in 1983. Blain Farms is the largest pecan grower and processor in the state. “Our biggest concern is the impact it (lining) would have on groundwater supply in the area,” says Brian. He believes the adverse effects are much greater than what the TID models show. Reflecting on the blockade, he states, “We’re a conservative Mormon family, not accustomed to protesting, standing in front of bulldozers.”
After leaving the Blain property, the diesel headed for Potter’s Slough. Millsaps zipped out in front to slow them down, so as to give the protesters time to regroup. Upon arrival, there was no one there to blockade them. The diesel started to pull onto the ditch. In a flash, Millsaps thundered out and laid down in front of it. “Those guys, they weren’t gonna hurt me. We’d just been sharing Pepsi’s, and I make a pretty good 300 lb speedbump,” he jokes. Not a stranger to risk, Millsaps grew up in Exeter, attended COS, then became Captain of the Merchant Marines. He was a roustabout on oil rigs, rode Harleys, described as a crazy lunatic, and now works as a bouncer in Visalia’s clubs. But this crazy lunatic likes to cook and bake. He proudly shows visitors his custommade spice drawer next to the stove and his dropdown baking board built into the cabinet. He is a crazy lunatic who cares about what happens. He worries that Exeter will dry up into a sandbox. “Exeter is such a pretty town, there is not a more attractive place,” he muses. “During the 7yr drought, our wells went dry. We sit on a granite shelf. The wells can’t go any deeper.” A crazy lunatic who praises the sheriffs, “They did one helluva job.”
Within seconds after Millsaps laid down, people arrived. This corner was Bryan Bennetts walnut farm. Bennetts quickly drove his truck in front of the diesel. A 3rd generation farmer, Bryan claims, “Don Petersen (the lowkey man) wouldn’t leave me alone, convinced me it was worth the fight. I didn’t want them taking my land and water, it’s our heritage.” Here was the 2nd blockade. The diesel backed down and left. Bennetts praises the construction company, “they were gentlemen.” This time, all the protestors followed the diesel back to Road 132, site of the 1st blockade. This site was significant because it is the terminal end of the lining before entering TID territory. It is the teVelde property.
Becky and Bernard teVelde both grew up in Riverside and graduated from UC Davis, he in ag business and she in economics. Bernard’s family began dairy farming in Corona. Pushed out by suburban development, the teVeldes moved to Hanford. They now have two dairys and farm row crops in Hanford, right in the middle of TID country. They also farm fruit trees on Road 132. Becky teVelde is smart, savvy, and speaks knowledgeably on environmental issues. She says they have to deal with it all the time at the dairy. “My husband has never been for it (lining),” says Becky. “He’s concerned about the water, it’s going to have too much effect on Visalia’s water table.”
For Becky, it has more to do with aesthetics. They moved to Visalia 6 months ago. “We built our home nestled among the oaks,” said Becky. She loves to go running and walking along the canal and enjoys the oaks. She is concerned about the big picture. “We’re going to lose 200 trees, and that’s sad of itself. But if the water is cut off, what’s going to happen to the other trees,” she asks. “In 5 to 10 years, how many more trees will die? The oaks are Visalia’s charm.” She thinks about the future for her 6 kids, ranging in age from 2 to 11 with a 7th due in March. “It takes 150 years for an oak tree to look like that. My kids won’t get a chance to see that.” Becky made the sign on the oak that everyone is talking about, “I was here first, please don’t cut me down”.
It was now late afternoon, the bulldozer had returned. Becky was worried “I just don’t want them to do something they can’t reverse.” She felt like the protesters had been out there all day and said her husband felt like he could stop it by sending the bulldozer away. Bernard went out there and did just that. It was the 3rd and final blockade.
250 Employees File Mold Injury Suit - Judge Silveira To Testify
Visalia - Around half the employees at the Tulare County Courthouse - some 250 strong - are filing a personal injury lawsuit this week claiming mold at the courthouse made them sick. The suit is to filed not just against the County but the contractors who worked on the courthouse when it was remodeled.
Attorney for the plaintiffs, Alex Robertson, says the County turned down the employees claim allowing the suit to be filed. "We've been waiting to file for six months," says Robertson who also represents Judge Elisabeth Kant in a separate suit over the mold problem she claims made her ill.
Within days Robertson says they will file a discovery request with the court to bring in their own experts and a contractor to methodically test for the presence of dangerous molds, like Stachybotris, that was found earlier this year in separate parts of the courthouse. Robertson says the County has not been cooperative with their efforts to find out just how widespread the problem of mold in the courthouse is.
The County released test samples of the court building in late August showing measurements taken of the air in the courthouse has far fewer mold spores found outside air. With release of the figures, Bill Sanders Chair of the Board of Supervisors, moved his office into the building and declared the "courthouse is a safe working environment.”
In a potentially embarrassing situation for the County, Visiting Judge Horace Cecchettini will hear whether the County should be held in contempt for abating mold problems at the courthouse without notifying the plaintiffs or allowing them to be present to take samples. The court had mandated three days notice of any mold removal work after earlier complaints by Robertson that there was no notice given. Robertson claims the County is simply trying to get rid of the evidence. They may have powerful witness when the matter goes to court November 17 when none other than Tulare County Superior Court Judge Bill Silveira, who works daily at the courthouse, is subpoenaed by Robertson to tell his story.
Robertson says Silveira will testify that even after the County was admonished by Judge Cecchettini not to carry out more abatement activities without notifying the plaintiffs. A contractor was busy over the weekend doing just that when Silveira happened to walk by and heard the workmen talking.
The testimony could make it more likely that the County would in fact be found in contempt of court.
Robertson disputes County claims that the tests of the air in the building give the courthouse workplace a clean bill of health. "Just last Friday for the first time the County allowed one of our experts to be present as they abated a potential mold problem in a closet in the basement of data storage," says Robertson. This was the first time after a number of requests the County allowed such a co-inspection and sharing of sample. Robertson says his expert says the backside of drywall removed from the closet was thick with black mold and he suspects Stachybotris. "We sent off samples and it will take two weeks to confirm it," Robertson says, "we have several clients in data processing who say they are sick and now we know why." Robertson says his experts suspect the black reeling walls next to the drywall were not sealed properly and allowed moisture from the ground to continually seep in allowing the mold to grow.
Robertson claims when they are allowed to come into the courthouse and do adequate sampling they will find more mold in contradiction to County claims that the problems are fixed.
Superior Court Judge Elisabeth Krant has been waiting for her day in court as well. Still sick after months of taking leave, Krant has to take steroids to fight the illness that caused painful swelling and red rashes all over her body. Robertson says the cause of the sickness is likely a softball size "super colony of Stachybotris found just above Krant's ceiling in the west wing of the courthouse. It is the west wing that was remodeled earlier in the ‘90s and is the subject of complaints about leaky windows that may have contributed to the mold throughout the courthouse." The air reached by the tiny mold microbes in the air space above the west wing, he believes. "The windows on the west wing have been leaking for years," claims Robertson and the County still hasn't fixed them.
As to that air sample Robertson notes that the County has not released what variety the mold spores found were.
The County launched its own "fungal assessment strategy" that includes the air sample released August 25th. Ten outdoor samples were taken and "average" spore levels of 5371/m3 were found outside the courthouse. Inside the courthouse the highest measurement in the west wing were 284 spores/m3. The County's consultant, Stephen Davis of Health Science Associates, released his report suggesting that "the overall preliminary impression of the data suggests the courthouse is healthy." The strategy is to continue to monitor the situation over the next four months. The strategy includes removal of problems found earlier, the court report says. That includes the "abatement of the Stachybotris spores in the Data Processing closet area," says the report and the removal of the carpet in the elections area. The report suggests the County is looking for "open communication with employees" of the problems encountered.
Robertson says the lawsuit will also claim there may be mold problems in the Tulare courthouse as well as the now vacant Dinuba courthouse. In each case there are employees who claim they got sick there.
Besides claiming the County didn't fix the problems that made her sick, Judge Krant is claiming fraud since she believes County officials knew of the problems that turned out to be inches from her head 9 months prior to telling her.
At the invitation of Tulare County Superior Court Judge Paul Vortmann, Cal-OSHA officials were in town last week meeting with about 100 employees. The OSHA officials heard complaining from employees that they wanted an independent investigation of the mold situation. The OSHA officials say medical records that were brought in by employees. Virtually all of them have workmens' compensation claims over the issue. Robertson says he heard from a number of employees who said they were told the meeting would be "confidential" but that the County officials were there. Some employees fear the County will now order them back to work or face the consequences.
Vortmann has complained that the courthouse is not really cleaned and shows off a can of Pledge and other cleaning supplies to news gatherers saying that if he doesn't clean his courtroom it goes without.
In a potential breakthrough decision the County's workmens' compensation insurer, AIG, has notified one of the sick employees that in fact it has granted the employees claim of illness and will process the claim, says Robertson. He said he could not release the mane without the employee's approval.
Hanford - United Steelworkers of America (USWA) and company officials for Pirelli/Armstrong tires will huddle here October 23/24 and likely decide the fate of the 650 job tire manufacturing plant that has been in Hanford since the early 60s.
Pirelli announced recently that it made a “tentative” decision to close the plant within 6 months because costs were too high in the competitive world market for tires. The company’s union contract required the 6 month notification.
“It would be a tremendous blow for the community,” says Hanford’s mayor Si Lakritz, “they are one of the town’s largest private employers.”
The plant is the last tire maker left in California in a state that once boasted 7 tire plants, says union rep Doug Godinho. “It’s cheaper now to make the tires in Brazil and ship it here,” says Godinho.
The Hanford plant is the only Pirelli plant in the US but boasts 21 tire factories worldwide. North America accounts for only 7% of sales according to the company’s web site.
The company is one of the top six tire makers in the world with sales over $3 billion.
Hanford community leaders lured Armstrong Tires to locate the plant here in 1962 in part because it was low cost region for manufacturing. Pirelli, the Italian company known for tires, bought Armstrong in 1995.
Unlike the Armstrong brand, the Pirelli brand is more high performance oriented that avoids some head to head competition with other tire makers. Sears is a major buyer for the tires.
Lately more tire makers want to be where cars are being manufactured, says John Lehn executive director of the Kings County EDC. Lehn notes that increasingly manufacturers are moving off shore to take advantage of lower costs. Still Lehn for one isn’t writing off chances the plant could stay open. “It’s in the hands of Pirelli and the union” and doesn’t think the company is looking for more incentives or tax breaks from the state or locals. Mayor Lakritz too, is hopeful the union and company can work something out, “otherwise we have nothing,” he worries.
The apparent focus is a re-negotiation of the labor contract. “I hope both sides are willing to compromise,” says Si Lakritz. Lehn says while another company could come in to take the large building occupied by Pirelli in the Hanford Industrial Park “it’s unlikely they would offer the full time good paying jobs” that are here. Workers at the plant reportedly make over $20 per hour not including overtime.
Complaints that more manufacturing jobs were being moved out of the US came this summer USWA president George Becker who told a Senate panel this summer “we’re currently losing manufacturing jobs at a rate of 500,000 a year.” The union just last month successfully negotiated new labor agreements with Bridgestone/Firestone coming at a time that company is under scrutiny over tire failures.
Ironically, Hanford officials will soon break ground on a new power plant to be added to the GWF power plant located next to the tire plant. The existing power plant provides steam and electricity to make the tires. Lehn suggests GWF will find another user for the steam and electricity if Pirelli closes. The new power plant is touted as a means to help lure another food manufacturer to the area.
Hanford lost another “old economy company” in the 1980s that meant the loss of hundreds of jobs when Beacon Oil closed.
Now increasingly Kings and Tulare counties are targeting food processing companies that will be a major employer in the future. Although the pay scale is nothing like the old company. Del Monte and Leprino are the new manufacturers in Kings County.
Meanwhile Pirelli is moving more into its cable and fiber optics business as years go by. Just this month they announced the purchase of 11 energy cable plants.
Dinuba - With the encouragement of US Senator Dianne Feinstein, the City of Dinuba is applying for a $3.5 million grant from the federal government to help fund a $5 million technical school to be built in downtown Dinuba.
Dinuba was arguably the hardest hit by President Clinton's Sequoia Monument proclamation last winter with the closure of the 50 year old Sequoia Forest Products sawmill in town and the loss of 105 jobs around in May.
City manager Ed Todd says Feinstein had promised to help address the negative economic impact the monument designation was causing and encouraged the city to apply. "She really helped us a lot" even though the school may be "a couple of years down the road" and thus may not help people our of a job today," he says.
Todd traveled to Seattle recently to make a pitch for the project to the regional office of the Economic Development Administration (EDA) that would:
• Provide job training to people who have lost their jobs,
• Help tailor training for specific industries,
• Become a vocational school for kids coming out of high school,
• Act as an economic development tool for the region by providing a profitable workforce quickly for new industries looking to locate nearby.
This week Todd received a letter asking the city to go to the next level in applying for the funds and could get firm approval as soon as February. Funds could be released as soon as 90 days later.
Todd says the plan is to refurbish a 30,000 sq. ft. building on the city's north end at Fresno and L St. acting as a major new anchor for downtown Dinuba as well.
The above stories are the property of The Valley Voice Newspaper and may not be reprinted without explicit permission in writing from the publisher.
