Visalia Police Get ‘Taser’ Stun Guns

Visalia - The Visalia Police Department will be the first County police force to adopt the new “Taser” stun technology with an expected 72 weapons in the hands of officers by the end of this summer.

“It’s just an awesome tool,” says the new assistant chief of police for Visalia, Dennis Swiney. “It minimizes the risk and reduces the injury on both subject and police officer.”

The new X-26 Taser carried on the holster by the officer may not be much bigger than a cell phone, but packs the punch of 50,000 volts of electricity to subdue any bad guy closer than 21 feet.

By policy the department will carry the new weapon “on our weak side” says 9 year veteran officer Ron Epp, in order to avoid any confusion by the officer when they need to decide what weapon to use in a confrontation. The weapon has a different feel than a gun and carrying it on the off side of the body ensures the officer will not mistakenly pull the gun out thinking it’s a Taser.

That’s what apparently happened in Madera a few years ago before a redesign by the Taser company and before the officers underwent extensive training on the use of the weapon.

Right now the Visalia department has acquired just 17 of them at its cost of about $1000 each and is about to place an order for 50 more from the company.

“A demonstration by the company a few months ago convinced just about everybody,”says officer Epp. Epp was a guinea pig for the department to get the jolt on his leg from one of the weapons in a feeling he described as a bad muscle cramp that lasts just a few seconds.

Epp is one of just four on the force that currently carry the Taser and are certified as instructors for the rest of the force. Epp says he has felt the jolt himself that he says attacks the muscles with wire probes that are propelled from the weapon and deliver the electrical jolt. A subject hit by the Taser basically collapses, says Epp.

The Taser weapon gives the police force one more non lethal instrument to subdue uncooperative subjects who may be resisting arrest or simply out of control. “Right now pepper spray and OC doesn’t work on all subjects, while this works on everybody,” says Michele Figueroa, Lieutenant with special operations.

The big selling point of the weapons is the fact that with Tasers in the arsenal of weapons, officer injuries are way down - 80% lower in the case of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. Subject injuries declined as well - 67% according to the Phoenix Police Department and the lethal force declined 78% at the Orange County Sheriff Department.

“Just letting everyone know we have the weapon can be a strong determent,” says Epp.

Police departments involved in accidental shootings or facing charges of excessive “police brutality” caused by swinging batons to control unruly arrestees can now have a new option. That means fewer liability lawsuits for cities that use the technology, says the company, a big time plus.

Vice chief Swiney says an officer will still use their revolver when they need to. “It will be a judgement call,” officer Epp notes that if a subject comes at the officer with a gun the officer will respond with a gun.

But in many and even most cases this tool may very well revolutionize law enforcement. Another new use of the weapon - to subdue attacking dogs without getting bit.

Even if a subject is dressed with heavy clothes, the fish hook probe will penetrate enough to deliver the punch.

Before officers start carrying the weapon, they must undergo 4 hours of training from one of the department instructors.

By September all officers on patrol should be trained and equipped with these new weapons giving then a tool proven effective across the country in making communities a safer place to live in.

Tasers are used by the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department at our jails and by the Fresno Police Department who report satisfaction with the technology.

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San Joaquin Valley - It’s dry out there. Ranchers say grazing land turned to straw color early this summer as the valley suffers its 6th year of below normal rainfall.

On the Tule River, runoff is just 19% of normal, says Springville utility district engineer Dennis Keller. The local utility board will notify residents they may need to access an emergency well for water later this summer from a well dug back in 1977. That well was used that year to fill up a water truck to provide enough water to flush toilets and have household kitchen water.

Keller notes that the upper Tule doesn’t have that big snowpack like the Kaweah and other watersheds to the north.

The water run on the Kaweah is thought to be about 50% of normal and about 57% on the Kings River.

Keller says just how long the river water will be available to Springville residents will depend on how hot summer it is. It has been a relatively mild June but July is now heating up.

The poor runoff is ending irrigation runs by water districts early pushing farmers to pull from the valley’s depleted groundwater early this summer. Scientists concerned about global warming are suggesting a pattern that may be disturbing - earlier runoffs from snowpack this year due to some very warm temps in March. On the San Joaquin snowpack melted about a month early, says Friant Water Users. “The San Joaquin River and other western rivers reflect drought conditions.”

In Kings County the long drought period is causing major decline in the water table, says Kings County Water District general manager Don Mills. “We’ve had some wells drop 75 ft. from last year,” says Mills. “All the districts and cities will be implementing some kind of water rationing or conservation shortly,” he says.

South of Hanford there is a well now with standing water at 254 ft. - a well that four years ago was at 120 ft.

Mills says farmers are feeling the pinch to drill deeper wells and pay the cost of the energy to bring in the water to the surface.

Mills says there are water deals out there at the $125 to $150 range per acre/ft. Mills says in other years he has seen sales of about $60 per acre ft. for farmers who didn’t have wells. Around the area there is poor runoff on the Kaweah and Kings the San Joaquin River that delivers Friant Kern water has only a 5% class-two availability.

“There’s no water to bank against this year,” to put back in the aquifers, says Mills. “But if the district had captured all the water that came down the Kings in 1998 - the last big wet year - that million acre/ft. could have been banked underground rather than have gone out to the ocean,” he notes. That 1 million acre/ft. is what we are behind now, says Mills.

In the city of Tulare the “water table was at historic lows in June,” says city engineer Lew Nelson. Seven city wells have to be lowered on municipal wells to reach groundwater, says Nelson.

Ag wells are particularly vulnerable in dry times because they are not drilled as deep as municipal wells.

Well drilling companies are booked up for months, says Don Mills of Kings County companies.

In Visalia Dennis Brown of CJ Hammer Co. says his technicians are working 6 to 7 day shifts 10 to 12 hours. “We’re really being pushed” to keep up with demand, he says. Brown says the cost of extending a well another 40 ft. is in the $6000 range. On top of that the farmer has to pay more energy costs to pull from the lower depths.

Some other Tulare County communities, like Ducor and Alpaugh, have had to depend on emergency federal funds to dig new wells this year and one Springville area water company featured recently in the Valley Voice trucking in drinking water to Alpaugh after residents had been forced to drive to other towns to find drinking water.

Rainfall in the valley this past season ranged from 6 inches in Visalia and 7.5 inches in Fresno - all far below the 10 to 12 inches a year considered normal. Dry and wet cycles are considered normal but the news comes when the dry cycles don’t go away - particularly in booming growth times.

In Kern County the extended dry period and growth in the community have lowered water levels 30 ft. since 1999 in the urban areas of Bakersfield, says a spokesman for the Kern County Water Agency.

If California is flirting with a drought scenario the rest of the West appears to be in full drought mode.

Some experts suggest the West is suffering from a drought that rives the Dust Bowl years. The US Geographic Survey reported in June that water level on the Colorado River basin “may be comparable to or more severe than the largest known drought in 500 years.” Flows on the big river that also supplies southern California averaged 5.4 million acre ft. between 2001 and 2003 compared to the Dust Bowl years in the 1930s when it averaged 10.2 million acre ft.

The dry conditions put pressure on Metropolitan Water District of Los Angeles to seek other alternatives from within the state of California including some negotiations carried on for the past few years with Friant Water Users to a water exchange.

The all important jet stream has kept the West relatively dry since 1999 and there is not way to tell if that pattern will change soon. Studies done using tree ring dates have shown historic droughts in the world can last a hundred years or more. But in more recent history droughts seem to last 2 to 5 years with the worst drought this century in the 1929-34 period when runoff was just 57% of normal on the San Joaquin River although runoff was just 26% in 76-77 and 47% in 1987-92.

Water experts say areas most impacted by a series of dry years tend to be the westside of the San Joaquin Valley hurting the low income communities of the westside where less water means fewer jobs.

California is lucky to have northern California water storage that it brings down to central and southern California to feed the cities. The eastern side of the central valley relies on the Friant Kern Canal for much of its water captured a little further to the north of the San Joaquin drainage. But this year the San Joaquin River flow is just 59% of normal.

Using this dry period to make repairs Friant Water plans to drain the big Friant Kern canal next fall to make repairs and maintenance.

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Porterville/Springville - The Tule Indian Reservation is expecting approval from the state Bureau of Indian Affairs in the next few weeks of a planned 847 acre annexation of a large ranch into reservation, says tribal attorney Sam Cohen.

The land’s primary use would be to build homes for tribal members, says Cohen. “Most of our land is steep hillside” unable to accommodate home subdivisions. But this property south of Reservation Dr.,near the entrance to the reservation, is less hilly and has a large flat section, says Cohen.

“This would be the first major expansion of the reservation lands since 1878,” says Cohen. The tribe has been working on the plan for the past two years.

Escrow on purchasing the property is expected to close this week.

About 900 people live on the reservation. Many are families that could use new homes. The state agency that needs to approve the project is working on some 25 reservation expansions around the state, the largest being this proposal at the Tule Indian reservation. The agency often approves the projects if they can show economic benefit to the tribe.

Sources say many children who left the reservation years ago are now longing to return and there is no place to build a modern subdivision with infrastructure. The site is next to a creek but probably has Tule River water rights.

If the land is in trust the tribe could not sell parcels to private developers but could construct condos that could be leased out.

Hotel Moving Forward?

Because the 12 mile long road is such a long and tortuous one - the tribe has proposed relocating the Eagle Mountain casino to a 40 acre site placed in trust back in 1994 on Highway 190. Cohen says the tribe is still working for all approvals to relocate the casino to the site in the future.

But in the meantime, they plan to build a new hotel at the Lake Success site, he says, where all approvals are in place. He says the soil work to build that project is already 90% complete. At that time it’s possible a new road could cut into the reservation from the hotel, he says. “I pour over topo maps all the time” to see if another route would work out. I haven’t figured one out yet, but I’m still looking,” he says.

Highway 99 Rumor

Responding to a rumor that the county was encouraging the tribe to look at a Highway 99 relocation of Eagle Mountain, tribal attorney Cohen says “not a week goes by that someone doesn’t suggest a new location for the casino.” But, he says, he knows of nothing on the table right now. The county may be interested because a 99 location - say in the Tagus Ranch area - could draw a bigger crowd and both the tribe and the county could benefit in some profit sharing ideas. The county is now a player in getting all approvals for an off tribal land location and some believe the county is pushing the idea because they see dollar signs. The tribe has had some negative reactions to the Lake Success location. But such a scheme “would set us back several years with the process,” says Cohen. Others say the Porterville/Springville area would lose the economic benefits of the new casino and visitor complex if it was relocated “until someone comes up with a reliable alternative we are left with the Highway 190 location.”

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Visalia - A Visalia based tourist shuttle service to Sequoia Park will start up next spring, says Visalia transit manager Monty Cox, now that the city received $1.4 million to operate the project for three years.

Visalia received notice last month that TCAG had awarded the money to the project as part of the Congestion Management and Air Quality Funding earmarked to provide alternative transportation that would help clear the air here.

Cox says discussion with the National Park Service, Sequoia and Kings Canyon (SEKI) would have the park service buy perhaps 5 alternative fuel buses to make daily trips to Sequoia from the Visalia transit station. This past week the city and SEKI signed a memorandum of understanding to plan the project. Visalia would be the “gateway community” for the parks allowing joint marketing aimed at tourists visiting the parks as soon as next summer.

The city has a new tourism task force that will help forge a joint marketing program with the help of the Visalia Chamber to promote the project.

Cox says besides a bus service, the agreement with SEKI calls for development of a new visitor center nearby and even administrative offices for the NPS that could be relocated from the Ash Mountain headquarters.

The big news for Visalia is that the city, chamber, hotels and convention center can now package tours of Sequoia and Kings Canyon with lodging and restaurants and tours in the Visalia area. That in turn could bolster the city’s bed tax as well as general tourist revenue in Visalia.

Cox says there is the likelihood the buses used by the parks service would be serviced in Visalia at the maintenance facility being built at the corp yard.

In addition to the proposed visitor center complex there will likely be a major park and ride parking lot for visitor cars. The city is in the process of funding site for the new facilities, says city economic development specialist Tracy Meyers - likely near the city’s new transit center.

Visalia already has a Sequoia Natural History Association store on Main St. that could join up with the new visitor center eventually.

The proposed partnership between the city and the NPS came up in March when a meeting was held in Visalia to go over possibilities.

The park service wants to connect transit from outside area to a new transit service inside the parks to help cut both the congestion and air pollution in the park in coming years.

Ironically, it was just a few days ago that the park was designated the smoggiest park in the national park system on front pages across the nation.

Unlike many national parks across the world, Sequoia doesn’t have convenient transit connections to the destination and European tourists who flood the park in the summer months often complain they can’t get to the major sites without driving a car. In addition, US families have little choice but to climb the mountain in their big SUVs to see the Big Trees.

According to recent park service studies, Sequoia and Kings Canyon receive about 1.5 million visitors annually but that visitation is expected to increase by 23% by 2010. Peak visitation is in July and August particularly on weekends. The study says 68 percent of summer visitors come to Sequoia for one day or less. More than half of the visitors stop at only one location in the park like the General Sherman tree in Giant Forest - a perfect formula for a shuttle service. The park service wants to have the shuttle service the General Grant area as well as Giant Forest and Moro Rock area.

One internal shuttle service operated in the park for the past few years averaged 235 visitors a day serving Wuksachi Village, Lodgepole and the Giant Forest area.

An Amtrak to Visalia package could bring in Bay Area visitors to the park to connect the shuttle during the day while they stay overnight at Visalia hotels.

Also in Three Rivers the community could expect to have a transit bus stop at their new Visitor Center near the Reimers Candy store that would allow visitors to leave their cars in Three Rivers for the bus trip up.

Visalia has hopes of connecting Kings County to the Visalia transit center by rail in coming years as well, with passenger service on the cross valley rail line. That could be tied into the High Speed Rail in California as well if it ever comes to pass.

Cox says the parks service is looking at “strictly alternative fuel vehicles” for the bus trip up. One alternative option is an Idaho company that takes buses that open up to the air that look like a throwback to older buses seen in the US national parks in the 30s and 40s (see picture).

The company makes buses that also convert to winter use by allowing the 32 passenger vehicle to be operated on tank-like tracks over the snow. The vehicle developed by the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEL) was designed to mimic the nostalgia and appeal of historic old buses that used to run the roads in Yellowstone National Park in the 1930s. The buses are designed with a “low floor” to help the elderly and handicapped board with little trouble. The buses are painted yellow like the old Yellowstone buses are.

The new partnership would hire contractor to operate the buses later this year. Funds for the federal congestion management program are set to be released in October of 2004. To receive the $1.4 million in start up funds, the city provides a local match of $136,000 to be paid over the 3 years.

The new project provides an economic stimulus to the east Visalia area currently undergoing a planning process to extend Downtown Visalia to the east between the Transit Center and Santa Fe toward Ben Maddox and the new proposed civic center. Adding a tourist dimension would encourage more retail and restaurant uses east of Santa Fe as well.

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Visalia - The Visalia Chamber of Commerce board city manager Steve Salomon at their June 17 board meeting suggesting the group reconsider its building plan for a parcel at Stevenson and Mineral King - across the street from its current location to an unknown location near the city’s new transit center. The Chamber has been working for years on plans for a new 7000 sq. ft. office complex and has reached over 50% of its fund raising goals to get the project built.

But a delay in the fund raising effort caused in par by the depart last October of CEO Ken Oplinger and plans for a new National Park Service Visitor Center near the city’s transit complex on Santa Fe may offer an opportunity for the Chamber to “partner on the project,” says Salomon. The city and NPS are working together to launch a tourist transit shuttle to Sequoia next spring and will work to build a large park and ride facility to park cars for visitors. More significantly the plan is building a new visitors center as well. Meanwhile the Chamber and city are working together on new marketing plans to increase tourism here as the city seeks the economic benefit on increasing tourism for the community.

Since the location of the proposed Chamber office was made last spring, several new buildings in the Oak and Santa Fe area have been built including a new architects office on Santa Fe and Center St. that includes Los Portales restaurant. The city has been busy planning a new civic center complex just two blocks to the east of Santa Fe another reason to locate a Chamber office nearby.

Salomon offered a powerpoint demonstration showing how other old downtown areas were transformed from blighted areas in the past to thriving areas today.

Chamber Chair Bruce Nicotero says after the meeting “the feeling of the board was mixed” over the idea with some people worried about how some of the area along Santa Fe looks today. “If there could be some federal “to help build a visitor center that could include the Chamber, that might convince some people,” says Nicotero.

Salomon told the board of the Chamber once the Santa Fe and 198 bridge is built, tourists exiting 198 will need to make only one left turn on Santa Fe to find a possible site for the new visitor center and Chamber office if the project moves forward.

Currently the Chamber rents its offices from the city and has agreed to buy the Stevenson and Mineral King parcel from the city. Several co-tenants with the Chamber would follow the office location to whatever site is selected by the Chamber board.

The Chamber has called an emergency meeting July 15 to consider finances, says Nicotero, that will include some discussion of the alternative locations.

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When the Price is Not Right

by John Lindt and Lisa Lieberman

Tulare County - Tree fruit growers have been meeting in recent weeks in the Dinuba Memorial Hall trying to save their industry. About 250 growers and shippers attended the first meeting of the group in late June. “We’re not being paid fairly for our fruit,” says Tulare County Farm Bureau president Craig Knudson who abandoned a 40 acre block of Santa Rosa plums that was left to rot because of the market was so poor.

“We figure 300,000 boxes of nectarines were left in the fields this season because the prices were too low to pick the fruit,” says Knudson.

Hot weather in late March and April appeared to hurt the normal progress of the ripening fruit and helped promote a small size on the trees this summer.

But the retailers are making the situation worse, says Knudson.

“At $1.99 per pound for fresh, sweet, juicy plums at the local supermarket chain store, farmers must be getting rich, well we aren’t. As I say this I am trying to figure out who the “victim” is in this pricing scheme. It is the consumer that is paying $1.99 per pound or the farmer that is supplying the plums to the supermarket? A box of plums weighs 28 pounds so the supermarket is charging the consumer $55.72 per box. That same box of plums brings about $.21 per pound back to the farm. Now if my math is correct that same box of plums returns $5.75 to the farm which must pay for the growing, labor, and the mortgage.”

At those prices the consumer is not buying in quantity and the fruit is not moving. Even the store appears to be losing.

Knudson says the group meeting at Dinuba’s Memorial Hall last week and now this week is the formation of a 12 year old cooperative, Associated Fruit Producers of California, who by law can set prices for the industry.

Right now the discussion is to implement a “safety net” price, says one of the organizers of the cooperative, Blake Carlson. “That will take the cooperation of grower and his shipper,” says Carlson. A price of 27 and ½ cents has been put forward and some growers are suggesting that if they can’t get paid at least that minimum - “we won’t pack” the fruit.

He says the farmers need to think in terms of price per lb. since that’s how stores sell it. “That’s a big beef with fruit growers who see grocery stores selling their fruit for $1.99 and 2.99 a lb. - while that they get paid as little as 20 cents a lb. left to rot in the fields unpicked.

That also means no wages for the grocers, no income for shippers and less money spent in town by all of the above.

There’s another issue the group is tackling - lateral movement of fruit in which shippers seek to underbid one another to get orders, says Carlson. Many growers feel the practice is not right and helps pull the rug out on prices in the industry.

“We want growers and shippers to work together,” says Carlson, who says a committee on lateral movement has been set up by the cooperative to try to come to a concensus on the issue.

nudson says the consolidation in the retail sector has made retailers inflexible on standards like fruit size - based even when there is a lot of smaller fruit. That is particularly true for the supersize retailers like Costco and Walmart that “won’t budge” on minimum sizes, he says.

More On Lateral Movement

In any industry, both buyers and sellers know there’s going to be a markup from wholesale to retail. But in the produce industry, the complaint for many years has been that even though retailers are commanding higher and higher prices for tree fruit, growers aren’t getting their fair share.

In 2002, for instance, in important east coast markets, California peaches sold for an average retail price of $1.60 per pound, which for a 25-pound box equated to $40 per box. From this $40, growers made an average of $4.80 per box, said Blair Richardson, president of the California Tree Fruit Agreement (CTFA) in Reedley.

Part of the problem with the low wholesale prices is that there are many more sellers of California tree fruit than there are buyers. As supermarkets have consolidated over the past several years, there are fewer buyers in the market place than ever before. And while consumer demand for California peaches, plums and nectarines remains at an all time high—about 60 million pounds per year—the fact retailers have consolidated forces while farmers remain relatively fragmented, means that buyers have more buying power and farmers have less selling power, Richardson said.

“The CTFA is prohibited from setting (floor) prices. It’s not within our legal framework. But what we can do is put this information together and provide it to the industry so we can step back and look at the entire picture,” Richardson said.

In a recent tree fruit industry meeting, Richardson told about 400 growers that there are a number of other inequities in the market place. New research conducted by agAccess in Davis shows that while California growers averaged $4.80 per box in eastern markets, eastern growers averaged $8.80 per box. Even though California growers received less for their fruit, retailers charged more for it—about $1.60 per pound compared to eastern fruit which sold in the same markets for $1.10 per pound.

“California fruit is obviously more valuable. Retailers are making more money on it, consumers are willing to pay more for it, and yet our growers are not reaping the benefits of their success,” Richardson said.

To Richardson, the question is why are California growers making so much less money?

Part of it might have to do with the fact that there are more roadside stands on the east coast and fewer middlemen to reap the profits from fruit sales. Another reason might be that eastern growers who have consolidated have more selling power than California growers who haven’t consolidated. In Georgia, for instance, there are about five or six commercial handlers of fruit while in California there are 237 packers and more than 100 marketers, Richardson said.

While most growers believe that retailers reap the lion’s share of the profits from fruit sales, Dan Gerawan of Gerawan Farming in Reedley, says that money from produce sales might be getting diverted to middlemen who are marking up the prices without the growers knowing it. The normal practice in the industry is that growers give their produce to sellers who try to get the highest price for the fruit and make their money from the commissions from the sales. Now, more sellers are doing what Gerawan calls “lateral trading”, which is the practice of buying fruit from the growers, taking title to it, and then marking it up as much as possible.

“This is a conflict of interest. The marketer is supposed to represent the grower and get the grower the highest price. But he can’t do that because he is buying and selling the product at the same time with an interest in buying the product for the lowest price and selling it at the highest price he can,” Gerawan said.

If a marketer who normally works on commission, buys a box of fruit from a grower for $4 per box of fruit and then sells it to another buyer for $8 per box, he is making much more profit than if he sold the fruit on commission.

Although there is nothing illegal about this practice, growers should be aware if their marketers are truly brokering their fruit or if they are buying it s and reselling it, Gerawan said.

“This is really perverting the price. Growers need to ask their marketers where their product is ending up. Did the product (go) to its final destination, or did the marketer sell it to someone else who was going to resell it?” Gerawan said.

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Three Rivers - With the town strung along several miles in all directions along Highway 198 and several other streamside roads, Three Rivers doesn’t have a centerpiece - a village core anchored by community services, a public gathering place or a public park as do many other towns in Tulare County.

But that could change soon if a new group discussing formation of a foundation is successful in securing perhaps 25 acres for a site for a village center somewhere along the 198 frontage.

Foundation organizer Tom Sparks helped bring out about 40 people at a June 27th meeting at St. Anthony’s Retreat to help form the organization. “The idea was well received,” says Sparks, a retired energy consultant. “We think there is an opportunity to secure $500,000 of Prop. 40 state monies available to communities to buy sites for parks,” says Sparks. He says the organization has formed a real estate task force that will be talking to property owners at several sites in Three Rivers.

“We are seeking a town center concept with a park, amphitheater and also a senior living center, possible art gallery and some smaller commercial enterprises,” he says.

Sparks says many long time residents like the senior living complex idea since many elderly Three Rivers residents would rather live out their days in the foothill setting but have to move down the hill to Visalia to get the care they need.

Sparks says he has been working with a small group on the idea for several months including Aaron Collins of the Central California Arts Institute that seek to build a new first class art gallery and museum in Three Rivers.

Sparks says the push right now for the organization is to “try to get some property in escrow” along 198 for the village noting they have only their own resources for now to depend on with perhaps $10,000 collected so far. “Several property owners like our idea,” says Sparks, meaning they may help out with the extended time it could take to raise the funds for a project that could be phased.

One facility site is across the street from the Village Market perhaps in back of the new fire station that has been recently built. “That’s a great location for a park with big oaks,” says Sparks. The village and park area would be pedestrian oriented, says Sparks, including a public exercise area, play and lawn game area along with the amphitheater that could provide another community venue for a big public event like the town’s Jazz Affair.

Sparks says the foundation will play the role of land holder until the project gets going and has hopes to pass it on to the community service district down the line. The CSD will be the owner of the Three Rivers rest stop recently approved for funding across the highway from Reimers Candy.

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Visalia - Save Mart grocery store owner Bob Piccinini has purchased the Sequoia Plaza shopping center on south Mooney Blvd., confirms Mr. Piccinini - the center anchored by Costco, an empty House 2 Home store front, Circuit City and Pier One.

Sources say Piccinini paid in the neighborhood of $15 to 16 million for the center from the LA based PASSCO group who had purchased it for $17.6 million some years ago. The decline in value can be attributed to the fact that the center has a 90,000 sq. ft. hole with the long vacant Home Base/House 2 Home storefront. In addition, the center is about to lose Pier One to the Packwood Center to the south in the next few months and may lose Circuit City to a rival location. More uncertainty looms with the question of Costco’s plans up in the air. Costco owns their own store and has said it would like to expand next door but was unable to come to an agreement with PASSCO.

But now Piccinini says “it is certainly my hope we can keep Costco” and discounts fear the town’s largest retailer will locate to someplace outside the city limits. “I don’t think they will leave the Visalia trade area,” he says. Rumors have surfaced recently the store was looking at a Tulare location.

Mr. Piccinini - the grocery chain’s CEO - says they aren’t looking to put a Save Mart or other grocery store in the center. “We haven’t yet formalized our plans” for the center, says Piccinini. Save Mart already has a big presence in Visalia with 3 full line traditional stores and one Food Maxx warehouse store. The company has some 120 stores in both central and northern California, and $1.65 billion in sales last year. The chain was started by his father in 1952.

But, Mr. Piccinini has invested in plenty of other projects besides groceries over the years. The 62 year old modest investor also has a stake in John’s Incredible Pizza - a chain not yet in Visalia, promotes musical events like this summer’s blockbuster rock and roll shows, the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac concerts at the Save Mart Center in Fresno. Save Mart is a big NASCAR booster and even owned a former Fresno Single A baseball team some years back. He looks also to develop a major mixed use development project in Sonoma County.

Whatever Mr. Piccinini does it is likely to be first class, says people who know him. The center can use a strong investor to compete against several other Mooney centers for new tenants. Mr. Piccinini says that “I hope to do something that will make everyone happy.”

The fact Costco has to be tops on his list and Mr. Piccinini is known to have good communication with Costco decision makers, it may take demolition of the House 2 Home building to allow Costco to expand the way they want while keeping their storefront. Costco is being courted by Packwood Creek developer Don Orosco for a new site in back of Lowe’s that would mean yet more back filling of empty storefronts on Mooney.

A major issue in the debate over the Packwood Creek center was whether the addition of another million square feet of retail on the south end of Mooney who could hurt or help the rest of the strip. While the jury is out on the question some centers have struggled to retain visibility including this one, the old Target center and the Sequoia Mall - each now with empty storefronts and some building plans to reposition the center in the marketplace.

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Tulare County Assessor Clerk/Recorder Greg Hardcastle announced Tuesday, July 6, 2004 that the Assessor's Office has delivered the 2004/2005 assessed property tax roll values to the County Auditor. The total value on the roll for 2004/2005 is $18,239,215,366.

"The unprecedented increase in real estate values has added more than $1 billion in property tax values this year alone," County Assessor Hardcastle said.

Low interest rates and the improved economy have contributed to a dramatic increase in property values nationally during the last two years, but because home prices in Tulare County were so affordable to begin with, and there is a shortage of available housing, Hardcastle said many areas in Tulare County have experienced higher value increases.

"We've seen some homes resell for 30 to 50 percent higher values within the past two years," Hardcastle said, noting a couple of homes in the Visalia area have sold for close to $1 million.

The added property tax values mean more funds will be available to local government for public services. On average: local schools receive 61 cents of every property tax dollar; the County receives 16 cents; cities receive 6 cents; redevelopment agencies 7 cents; special districts 6 cents; County Fire 3 cents and the County Library 1 cent.

The $1,047,106,102 Countywide jump in 2004/2005 property tax values represents an overall increase of six percent. This represents the following increases for Tulare County's eight incorporated cities:

Dinuba - 6.392%
Exeter - 7.722%
Farmersville - 5.794%
Lindsay - 3.758%
Porterville - 6.491%
Tulare - 5.502%
Visalia - 9.628%
Woodlake - 6.491%

Unless they have just purchased real estate, most taxpayers will see only relatively minor changes in their assessed values. Under Proposition 13, enacted in 1978, property tax assessments increase incrementally each year according to the Consumer Price Index, but are capped at no more than 2 percent annual increase. But under Proposition 8, approximately 2-3,000 taxpayers will see larger increases in their 2004/2005 property taxes.

Because of the vibrant real estate economy, those values which were reduced a couple of years ago (Prop. 8s) have been restored back to their Prop. 13 values as though the declines never occurred. Some property owners may see increases of more than 2 percent on their notice cards, which will be due to the Prop. 8 restorations. (Notice cards, in general, are only sent out when there is a value change of more or less than 2 percent of that of the previous year.)

As an additional reminder, when the Tax Collector issues a tax bill on your personal residence pay close attention to see if you have received your homeowners exemption which will save you $70 in property taxes annually. If you owned and occupied your personal residence on January 1, 2004, you may be entitled to this exemption. If uncertain, please contact the Assessor's Office at 559-733-6361, but only after you have reviewed your tax bill.

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Cleaner air? Tulare County's budget process has authorized purchase of 48 new vehicles of which 30 are the fuel stingy and clean air-friendly hybrid vehicles, reports county supervisor Lali Moheno who has been lobbying county fleet manager to adopt the technology.

The Visalia EDC reports that the housing boom continues in Visalia, with new records set nearly monthly. The drawback is the price of housing now means that only 32 percent of prospective homebuyers can afford to purchase a home, down from 39 percent a year ago. The median price of homes in the Valley is now $261,090.

Are fuel prices finally dropping in California? Gas prices are down four weeks in a row but still at record highs - $2.23 a gallon on average. But retail diesel prices are actually up in recent days, averaging over $2.03 a gallon in central California - up almost 7 cents in a week according to the California Energy Commission. Diesel prices impact truckers and farmers, who each say they typically can't pass on the higher costs.

Kings County will install gas-fired cogeneration units at the county complex - producing 80% of the electricity needs of the complex. The units should be in place in a matter of months saving the county millions long term in electricity bills.

Just 2 Hmong families are expected to settle in Visalia in coming weeks - a part of a wave of several thousand people coming from refugee camps to Fresno and other parts of the US. Visalia has a Hmong population of about 900. Once families are settled in the US it's likely they will relocate meaning Visalia could get a second wave of new immigrant residents then.

The Visalia city council will commission a poll this fall on the scenic corridor to take the pulse of the public on how the west 198 should develop - with more or less open space, farmland or more intense development and homes. The same firm that did the Measure T poll will carry out the exercise.

The proposed Tipton ethanol plant project will get its final approval July 9 at the county site plan review process. Sources expect the project to move forward at that time with objections filed by CRPE over emissions largely resolved. If not, the company will appeal to the Board of Supervisors to move the project forward. "We've been delayed 90 days already," to help resolve some differences between the environmental group and the county's three proposed ethanol plants, says Matt Schmitt, a principal with the company.

Tulare's garbage rates will go up 50 cents in August largely due to energy costs, says city engineer Lew Nelson. "The price of liquid natural gas (used by the Tulare truck fleet) is up by 50% from last year," says Nelson, and part of that is due to the fact it needs to be hauled by trucks that use diesel fuel - also higher this year.

A pilot's association has sued the City of Tulare for approving the new Knight Transportation truck terminal across the freeway from the Tulare airport complaining the terminal was approved in an unsafe location. They claim the FFA has not properly approved the project. Meanwhile, the truck terminal construction is underway.

The City of Lindsay secured another $1.3 million from the federal Congestion Management and Air Quality program to do a complete makeover of its city fleet of vehicles, says city manager Scot Townsend. In the last issue we wrote the city received $2.4 million to do downtown street scape changes. But the $1.3 million goes to 15 new hybrid SUV police cars, a new street sweeper and hybrid cars for the city's public works department. The city also will use some of the funds to build two "roundabouts" at busy 4-way stop intersections. The European style traffic control method is being built in Visalia as well.

All the improvements in Lindsay may help the city attract more mid to upper income residents with plans for several new subdivisions on the edge of town working their way through. "We think the improvements are making the town more attractive to middle class residents," says Townsend.

The Visalia city council has selected the new southside police precinct station at the southeast corner of County Center and Cameron due west of the Packwood Creek shopping center. Already there is an architect designing the new station along with the new northside station on NE Third. The south side station would be across the street from a new proposed elementary school to be built in the next few years.

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By Carole Firstman

It was an evening full of surprises when the Visalia Chamber of Commerce announced this year's award winners. More than 400 community members filled the Ballroom of the Visalia Convention Center to say congratulations to the honored recipients.

The 2004 award recipients include: Kaweah Delta Health Care District, Large Business of the Year; Total Office Products, Small Business of the Year; Dru Quesnoy, Woman of the Year; and Andy Mangano, Man of the Year.

Nominees for Large Business of the Year included: Financial Credit Network, Inc.; Kaweah Delta Health Care District; Groppetti Automotive Family; Peninsula Messenger Service; and Visalia Medical Clinic.

Nominees for Small Business of the Year were: Blue Cross of California; The Cruise Experts Agency; Ruddell, Cochran, Stanton, Smith, Gulla, & Bixler, LLP; Total Office Products; and Visalia Oaks Baseball Club.

The Chamber's annual event honors people and businesses that make a positive impact on the community, and who set an example of commitment and service. "It's a phenomenal event," says past Chamber Chair Donn Ritter. "These are people who make a big difference in our city." A selection committee comprising small and large business owners considered each nominee's charitable work, community impact, leadership, positive growth, and business principles.

Woman of the Year:

"I was not expecting it," Quesnoy says of her Woman of the Year award. Quesnoy, former marketing director for Visalia Medical Clinic and currently a home loan consultant with Irwin Mortgage, was at the awards banquet in hopes that Visalia Medical Clinic would win large business of the year award. Instead, Quesnoy herself was called to the podium, where her family had secretly gathered to be a part of the big surprise.

Quesnoy has a long history of community action and involvement. Her first community involvement came about when she was living in Reedley more than 20 years ago where she and her husband ran an international business, Everything Metal Imaginable. Quesnoy joined the Chamber's Business and Education Committee at that time, and EMI became the first sponsor in "Visalians' Partnering in Education" mentoring program. "We worked with Larry Shrior at Washington school. We donated money, supplies, manpower, whatever the school needed. At noon we would work with the kids -- reading, playing music, leading art projects."

Quesnoy's continued commitment to the community has resulted in many positives for Visalia. As President of the Creative Center Foundation Board, she has been the driving force behind the annual Mardi Gras fund-raising event.

As for the upcoming year, Quesnoy has begun to channel her energy into a variety of local projects. As newly elected President of Visalia Breakfast Rotary, she will utilize the talents of community members to promote local education, literacy, and health.

Man of the Year:

Andy Mangano of Mangano Homes was nominated by Mary Louise Vivier. Mangano has been a longtime supporter of the Police Activities League, the American Cancer Society's Fun Run, The Good News Center, and DARE, the anti-drug program for school children.

Like Quesnoy, Mangano was also pleasantly surprised with the award, not knowing that he would be named. When called to the podium for recognition, seemed to be overcome with gratitude as he expressed his simple words of thanks.

Large Business of the Year:

Lindsay Mann accepted the award on behalf of Kaweah Delta Health Care District. Kaweah Delta provides a full spectrum of health care services utilizing an array of medical technology. The district consists of four campuses, including Kaweah Delta Hospital, which is the largest acute care hospital in Tulare County. With more than 2,600 full and part-time employees, the hospital is one of the top three employers in the area.

KDHCD also operates Cypress rehabilitation Center, Cypress Mental Health Center, The Lifestyle Center, Community Health Center and San Juan Health Center. In addition, Kaweah Delta maintains partnerships with Cypress Surgery Center and Quail Park Retirement Village.

A number of programs have gained recognition for KDHCD in the past. The American Association and The Baxter Allegiance Foundation awarded the Foster G. McGaw Prize for Excellence in Community Service, in recognition for a multitude of community outreach programs and partnerships with local organizations. The hospital's Cardiac Services Program has been named as one of the Top 100 Hospitals for cardiovascular services, with Kaweah Delta being only one of six hospitals in the state of California to be recognized as such.

In order to keep up with the increased demands of a growing community population, A Kaweah Delta Hospital Expansion and Improvement Plan consists of numerous phases that will increase patient capacity and services.

Small Business of the Year:

Total Office Supplies was recognized as Small Business of the Year. The business was established in 1976 and purchased by Steve and Joanne Farnsworth in 1992. Since then, the Farnsworths have tripled sales and increased the building site by four times the original floor space. While the business offers a wide range of supplies and services, Steve Farnsworth says that it's their personal commitment to each employee that has enabled the business to excel.

"We strive to consistently hire, train, and promote employees who want to learn more about business, customer service, and life. Many of our current and former employees came to us with little experience and have gone on to higher positions within our company or other organizations," Farnsworth says. "We always encourage our employees to continue their education and pursuit of life long goals to better themselves."

The company offers flexible work hours and financial aide to those who will apply themselves to higher education.

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Texas based Karns Properties will move forward on demolition of the old Target building in coming months, according to city economic development specialist Tracy Meyers based on communication with a company agent. Then they plan to build at least 50,000 sq. ft. of new retail and several restaurants at the Caldwell and Mooney site. That will mean Kragen auto will have to relocate at that time.

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