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Vons Settles Visalia Age-Discrimination Suit

Visalia - The Vons Co. has settled an age discrimination suit brought last year by 13 long-time Visalia clerks. Of the 13 laid off or demoted to part time in March 2003, 12 of them were over the age of 40.

The employees had worked for Vons in time periods ranging form 9 years to 31 years - mostly in the 20 year range.

The suit was to go to trial here this April but was settled prior to the court date in confidential negotiations, says attorney for the plaintiff grocery clerks, Charles Taylor of the law firm of Lang, Richert and Patch.

Because of that the dollar settlements to the clerks were not made public.

Taylor says Vons took the position that they had too many senior clerks - and that anyway their collective bargaining agreement with the union allowed them to lay off by classification. Taylor says the one thing wrong with that logic is “it’s against the law.” California law does not allow termination if it has the effect of discrimination against a whole class of worker - in this case older workers. “Facts are stubborn things,” says Taylor and Vons decided to lay off all older workers and keep younger workers that had been on the job for just a matter of months, he says.

In fact, a number of younger workers had been recently promoted prior to the mass layoff or demotion that took place in March 2003 at the Visalia store, claims the attorney.

Federal law doesn’t make the distinction of “disparate impact” but the State of California actually has it in the code, he says.

He says you don’t have to prove intention to discriminate, but show that the result - with the impact falling on a class of workers - in this case older workers.

Older workers with long seniority simply cost the company more, there are higher contributions to retirement, higher wages, higher health costs to name some, says Taylor.

After a year of filing complaints to the Dept. of Fair Employment and Housing, the group of plaintiffs filed a suit in Tulare County’s Superior Court.

After that some of the workers left on part time said they were retaliated against and received negative treatment.

Then on December 31 of last year Vons appeared to throw in the towel and made an offer to all the plaintiffs to get their jobs back - nine months after they had been sued. All but four returned to work.

One who did not go back to work is Marilyn Dianne Honomichl. Diane is 50 years old and has worked for Vons for 32 years. She describes herself as a “second generation” Vons employee as her father was a meat buyer for the original family-owned Vons company in Los Angeles.

It’s a different era now, she says “this was the work of Safeway,” says Diane of the treatment she received - the company that bought Vons in 1997. “We used to be proud of being a Vons employee and the original Vons treated us like family.” She complains that Safeway is just using the Vons name.

With Safeway “people are simply treated like wage rates.” She says that laying off loyal employees with 20 to 30 years experience is a prime example of “corporate greed”.

Honomichl says what happened with the southern California grocery store was “the same thing” as what happened here in Visalia. “They made a test case in Visalia and they lost,” she figures. She says Vons lost “because we stood up to them.”

“I grew up in the grocery business that was based on service - now it’s all cutting costs” with no concern about employee loyalty or the morale at the store, she laments.

Honomichl says a major battle is brewing in northern California this September when the union contract is coming due. Some believe a new strike is possible. Vons-Visalia is part of the northern California district.

One aspect to the dispute is an apparent insinuation that Vons could close the Visalia store because of high costs. In the give and take of negotiations, a company official suggested that, but Vons later back tracked. Taylor notes the company now says that the store was profitable.

Taylor says that despite the fact all these 12 employees have come to an agreement with Vons, another employee also over 40 who decided not to join this suit never got her job back and has a grievance pending.

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More Sellout Crowds For Oaks And Rec Park Stadium

Visalia - Visalia’s minor league baseball team - the Visalia Oaks - continues to draw big crowds this young season as fans flock to the new and improved Recreation Park stadium. You can still feel the pop of the catcher’s mitt as if all the action was happening right in front of your face as you sit in one of the new 900 theater type stadium seats.

You got the best seat in the house in this - one of the smallest stadiums in pro ball - because home plate is just a few feet from the backstop seats.

The City of Visalia, who owns the stadium, has put in over $900,000 in the past year by adding parking nearby and remaking the entrance to the stadium, providing more space for concessions. They also funded the construction of the large left field multi-deck picnic area shaded with large canopies and even ceiling fans to cool you down in the summer heat. The deck is attracting the biggest crowds this year as friends and family sip, eat and visit while they keep a close eye on the action down on the field.

The new picnic area has the feel of a running party going on.

Also they’ve torn down the old chain-link fence and added a dark green wrought iron fence that classes up the joint even more. The dark green color scheme is repeated throughout the stadium giving it a traditional feel.

Renovations at the park helped the Oaks get last year’s Visalia beautification award highlighting the design work to keep one of the oldest stadiums in the league a lively place that people want to visit.

The new look seems to be paying off this year with 6 sellout crowds of over 1800 fans attending so far. Visalia had 5 sellouts all last year, just three in 2002 and one in 2001. The new ownership of the Oaks and the hands-on style of general manager Jennifer Whiteley has helped turn around how Visalia feels about their pro team - a team that has been here since 1946.

Until the new owners came in Visalians greeted local pro ball with mostly yawns.

The stadium is now more open from the street allowing you to peer in and see the action and check out the crowd.

The Oaks lease out the picnic area to companies who want to throw a big company BBQ at the park. “We had a group of 920 in there the other day,” says Jennifer.

The redesign of the stadium grounds helped free up more space for food and drink concessions that has helped ease the long lines at the main concession center - a common complaint before. Now there are all sorts of choices for food at the stadium, from BBQ to burritos and Domino’s Pizza as well as the traditional fare.

“People say the stadium is a lot more comfortable with the new chairs,”says Jennifer, “a lot better than sitting on those old wooden benches for 9 innings.”

Past owners have told of the need to build a modern new stadium out by the freeway or relocate the team to a bigger market. There were even whispers that Rec Park wasn’t the place for a baseball stadium that somehow it was on the wrong side of town.

But between the city and the new management there is clearly the sense that baseball is back at Rec Park.

Even last year you could feel the change as total attendance for the Oaks increased 7% and average attendance was up 10%. The goal this year is get average attendance above 1000, says Whiteley.

Clearly the city can be congratulated as well for the money they’ve poured into this old park and continue to do with a new recreation gym that is to begin construction on the other side of the park later this summer. Already with funds from the private sector led by Provident Mortgage, the park has the teen skate park just in back of left field. The city plans renovations to other parts of the park including a new parking area behind right field that will be welcome as these big sellout crowds continue.

Promotions help keep the people coming it appears, with vendors lining up to sell or give away promotions on product and services this past week along the walkways in the stadium - because the crowds are there.

The Oaks are promotion oriented with fans likely to get something to take home from the game after visiting the park - a T-shirt, cap or a screen saver for your computer. Lots of new marketing partnerships helps pay the way as well. For example, the picnic area is actually called the Visalia Buick-Pontiac-GMC BBQ Picnic Deck.

Still to come is a new clubhouse that will be built this year.

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Growers Reject Olive Fruit Fly Pest Control District

Tulare County - Tulare County olive growers rejected a bid to assess themselves to fund the work of a pest control district in the county to fight olive fruit fly. They voted it down in a May referendum by 62.8% to 37.6% based on acreage, says county ag official Bill Appleby. “There is a pest control district but there is no money to fund it,” says Appleby because Proposition 218 requires a majority approval, he says.

The olive fruit fly was discovered in Tulare County in 2001 and its population has grown here since, says officials based on the number of flies found in traps.

Olive grower Terry Baker who heads up the pest control district says “this is a tough year to talk about an assessment when just about everyone lost money last year.” Baker says it appears the large olive growers in the county feel they can handle the pest on their own acreage by themselves. The problem, says Baker, are the acres of olives in urban areas and scattered around the county that aren’t being monitored for the pest.

“Our technical advisors say the population of the fly could grow exponentially after overwintering.”

Baker who farms 24 acres near Woodlake says the difference between Tulare County and much of the Mediterranean, where the olive fruit fly has long been a resident, is that if the fly does considerable damage to olives over there the farmers can sell it for olive oil. Little of Tulare County olive crop goes to oil, however.

Contract manager of the pest control district Dr. Mary Lou Polek says while growers may believe they can handle the problem themselves “the question will be what do they do if they have a load of olives rejected by a canner” in the near future. She says in Butte County where the olive fruit fly is also found, all loads were rejected last year by canners at great economic penalty.

Adin Hester, president of the Olive Growers Council says the decision not to fund the district “could be a disastrous impact on our industry” in Tulare County. He notes that Tulare County is the “heartbeat of the California olive industry” with about 50% of the acreage and 65% of the tonnage. “Growers essentially gave up on carrying out the program,” says Hester worried Tulare County could follow Butte County’s fate.

“Butte County is out of the table olive business and won’t be coming back,” says Hester after growers allowed the fly population to explode.

Hester says the 2004 crop doesn’t look good “right now” with the spring heat causing some bloom falloff and a down year in volume expected anyway. Hester represents growers in the negotiations with canners and says they will have to offer a higher price to keep many farmers in business here. “Last year everyone lost $500 an acre,” he believes.

Growers are knocking down the olive fruit fly in their own commercial orchards but the spraying is expensive and adds to the cost of a crop under pressure from tough foreign competition, say industry sources.

The funding for the district was to go for a survey of how many ornamental olive trees there were in Tulare County that aren’t getting treated for the fruit fly. Farmers were to pay $19 per acre.

The members of the Board of Supervisors will meet with the members of the olive committees this week to go over options, says Baker. The formation of the district and its possible funding has been in the works for more than two years, but may now have hit a dead end for now. The small California olive industry doesn’t have the clout of some other farm sectors but could try to seek federal help in fighting the pest.

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No More Wrath For South Valley Grapes?

San Joaquin Valley - The pulling of perhaps 85,000 acres of vineyards south of Lodi in the past few years linked to growing demand for Central Valley wine grapes and higher raisin prices factored in - has South Valley growers smiling again in 2004. “We saw prices down to $100 a ton for wine grapes a few years ago and now we are looking at $200 minimum” for this year’s crop, says Visalia wine grape grower Eric Shannon.

The rebound in raisin prices has helped to further reduce the bulk of grape concentrate as well - another option growers have for selling their grapes. The most popular grape, Thompson seedless, can go for fresh, raisin, wine or concentrate and when all the options carry a poor price payback the only option left for many was to pull the vines.

For the industry it was the signal to stop planting hundreds of thousands of acres of new vineyards as they did a few years ago.

California’s vintners crushed 2.94 million tons of wine in 2003 down about 5% from 2002 with red wine dropping 10%. That total crush of grapes for wine, raisins and table grape varieties was down 11%.

CDFA recently released their California grape acreage report showing a decline in new vineyards being planted with non bearing acreage down 26% from last year and about 40% below the 2001 acreage - a continued good sign that the wrath of an oversupply of grapes may be ebbing.

The other factor is that wine exports from California are up with the lower dollar to boost demand for our wines with England recently being particularly strong. Wine exports jumped 29% by volume last year. By value they were up 17%.

Meanwhile demand for Central Valley’s stock and trade bulk and house wines have increased with the success of low cost wines made from Central Valley grapes like Bronco Wine Co., Charles Shaw brand known as Two Buck Chuck and other so-called “super value” wines.

Wine from our area - the Fresno, Madera, Tulare county region 13 account for about one-third of the wine from the Golden State. Last year the reduction in the value of tonnage from District 13 was almost 100,000 tons putting wine makers who buy Central Valley grapes on notice - “you are going to have to pay more than you have to allow the farmers to stay in business,” says Shannon.

In the face of tough times, Central Valley wine grape growers got together to form an industry organization Central Valley Wine Growers. The group listed its challenges as follows:

• Increased competition from other regions and loss of market share to foreign producers

• Shifting consumer demands

• Vintner quality perceptions favoring cooler climates

• Lack of regional representation for nearly 60% of all grapes crushed in California.

The group set up a series of “small plot” testing of different varieties up and down the Central Valley, says Shannon who is on the board of the organization. The idea is to develop the best variety grape for wine suited to the hot climate of the South Valley. Plus there is more talk of creative strategies with local wineries to see that “the whole industry prospers,” says Shannon.

After booming for 15 years in California causing a glut in acreage - the bottom dropped out particularly on consumer preference away from lower priced wines produced in the Central Valley.

In 1980 Central Valley jug wine accounted for 93% of shipments and that dropped to just 37% as of 2001. Meanwhile, floods of imports from other countries challenged our wine industry, says the organization’s website.

But now there are brighter days ahead with growers moving away for a commodity business in concentrate to a value priced wine program.

Until recently the tonnage of San Joaquin Valley grapes kept rising and the average price per ton headed in the opposite direction according to Allied Grape Growers (see chart).

Already in 2003 spot price for Chardonnay wine went from a price range of $40 to $75 a ton to $125 to $150 per ton and Merlot from $65-75 per ton to $175-200 per ton in 2003 according to Allied Grape Growers.

As if to emphasize the new push for quality, Central California Winegrowers have announced their 3rd Annual Mixer and Wine Tasting to take place on Friday, June 18 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the California State University Fresno Viticulture and Enology Research Center (VERC) 2360 E. Barstow Ave. in Fresno (east of Cedar Ave., off the Highway 168 Shaw exit).

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What's New

The Save Our Corridor Committee has filed an appeal of a local judge's ruling on Visalia Auto Plaza on May 24. The filing sets in motion an appeal of the April 22 ruling that was in favor of the development plan. The appeal will go to the Fifth District Court. In the meantime the westside auto mall appears to be moving forward with plans filed for a new 37,000 sq. ft. Surroz Dodge dealership that will be two stories on 8 acres. The new showroom is the only dealership plan filed for the 72 acre project.

Kit fox could stall work on roadway. The City of Visalia is investigating a report that some land along the McAuliff roadway alignment between Houston and Freeway 198 may be home to a kit fox - an endangered species requiring a potential halt to construction of the roadway. But city attorney Alex Peltzer says the city isn't sure there is kit fox living nearby and will hire a consultant to see for themselves. State Fish and Game reported to the city recently that there may be kit foxes living in the area. The city was looking to extend McAuliff to the freeway in the next year including building a bridge across Mill Creek helping to relieve traffic in the area of Golden West High School. But now that construction time line faces a new delay.

Get ready for Agventures! - an interactive museum that will replace the current museum and learning center at the Heritage Complex, says assistant director Erin Machado. "We're wanting to bring a metropolitan style science center to the Valley - an interactive hands-on museum that is professionally designed and has a sense of entertainment. Our time frame is begin construction this fall and have it ready to open by July of next year." Agventures would attract more visitors coming from the big metro area, believes Machado, and perhaps be affiliated with the LA based California Science Center. Price tag for the new museum is expected to top $1 million. The design work was funded through a CDFA grant.

The Visalia city council this week agreed to form a joint task force on tourism with the Chamber or Commerce to increase tourism in our area. A draft report will be released in December. In a related matter, the City of Visalia has applied for monies through the CMAQ program - a federal grant that would come through the Tulare County Association of Governments for $1.2 million fund a three year bus service connecting Downtown Visalia to Sequoia Park. The effort could be to partnership with the Park Service and allows visitors to the national parks to leave their car in Visalia to visit to the Big Trees.

The city also is applying for about $2.2 million through a federal transportation enhancement grant to fund open space acquisition along the Visalia scenic corridor on both sides of 198.

On the clean air front the city is applying for grant monies for a new clean burning CNG fuel station, funds for 10 new CNG buses, 5 Honda Civic CNG vehicles, 5 hybrid Ford SUVs and 8 CNG refuse trucks. "We want people to know the city is doing our part to help clean the air," says council member Don Landers.

The first new road to be built in the county in the past 30 years was dedicated May 21st as Goshen's Betty Dr. and Ave. 312 were realigned from Freeway 99 back to Road 80 into the Visalia industrial park. The project was a joint venture between the Tulare County Redevelopment Agency and the City of Visalia pulling truck traffic from local streets in Goshen and speeding them in and out of the industrial park. Along the way it promises to increased development potential in Goshen that include a new ethanol plant and a pending plan for a new slaughterhouse. The project will eventually be 4 lanes and handle as many as 2,500 vehicles a day.

Local promoters Harlen Hutson and Mike Cavale are continuing their success at bringing in big names into Visalia including rocker Kenny Loggins in July at the Visalia Fox and more to follow including former heart-throb Tom Jones in February and Peter, Paul and Mary in April. Hutson says he has a dream of building a larger 2,500 seat theater somewhere in greater downtown and has talked with city manager Steve Salomon about the idea. He says the project is just a dream now but could be 6 to 10 years away. The duo brought in Tony Bennett recently and will bring in a musical to the Fox. In later August - Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat.

Tulare County Redevelopment Agency is applying for a $35,000 grant to organize a task force on vocational education in hopes of erecting one or more new trade schools in the county, says manager Ray Beach. Dinuba and Tule River already have schools underway and will try to put students from across the county into the program if that's where the best training is available. He says the task force will look at what skills are not being addressed right now. At COS's former TCOVE center "John Deere is taking every graduate from their tractor school." Automotive repair, diesel mechanics, carpenter and plumbers are all in short supply in the county he notes. CSET too is training youth in various skills. Beach expects the grant proposal to be funded and the manpower task force to begin their work. One of the trade schools could be in Goshen. "We are getting all the agencies involved," he says. Congressman Nunes was in town last week highlighting the need for more auto mechanics as he toured Groppetti Automotive in Visalia.

Visalian Kathleen Botta gets a big boost next week when her book "What's For Dinner" cookbook is featured on the network QVC Monday, June 7 from 6 to 8 p.m.

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Visalia - Visalia mayor Bob Link and city manager Steve Salomon met with officials from the Visalia Restoration Church this week with the threat of a lawsuit pending. The church may file a suit through the Pacific Legal Foundation claiming the eminent domain process carried out by the city over the Main St. Theater violated the church's right to use the property. The church has the theater in escrow. But the city wants the theater to remain with its current tenant the Enchanted Playhouse.

This week the two sides held a meeting that Link called positive. "They were very receptive to our ideas," says Link hoping to work out something without litigation. Link says he is working on a plan to meet the needs of everyone. The city is thought to be working to help find the church a large building for their services.

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San Joaquin Valley - A $65 million ethanol fuel plant received Valley Air Board approval this past week - the second project in the valley to receive their permit in the past few weeks. Calgren LLC plant - a 40 million gallon ethanol plant between Pixley and Tipton off Highway 99 at Rd. 120 could open next year.

Managing partner Matt Schmitt says the company is awaiting a June 11 final site plan hearing with the county that will be the last permit the company needs to begin construction.

However, the company faced a last minute hurdle in April when objections from the group Center For Race Poverty and the Environment and two unions sent the company back to the bargaining table with these groups. Schmitt says "some minor mitigation" of air quality impact at the plant have been agreed to with CRPE and he expects the environmental group that challenged scores of dairies here in the past few years to send a letter indicating that with the changes made they have no objection to the project.

Schmitt points to the $1 million payroll, 32 full time jobs and air quality benefits that crop-based ethanol has on the environment.

Schmitt says it's possible one union will still object to the project at the June 11 hearing. If there is an appeal the matter goes back to the Board of Supervisors.

"We hope to begin construction in August," says Schmitt making enough ethanol to supply perhaps 5% of the state's fuel needs.

Schmitt notes that the county is starved for new fuel and ethanol has shown the way with construction nationwide of 78 plants in the past few years even as no new refineries have been built.

Schmitt notes that the company still needs its final financing but that the approvals from the county are needed to finalize that. "The bankers know California needs fuel - it's a no brainer."

Three other local ethanol projects are in the works. Just two weeks ago Pacific Ethanol went public with their project that includes two plants - one in Madera to be built first and a second near Visalia.

Ethanol is blended with gasoline in California to help clean the air. But it also adds additional fuel supply in times that we find ourselves short on gasoline.

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Springville - Despite unanswered questions and opposition by some residents, a group of Springville citizens, calling themselves the "Springville Town Council Steering Committee," pushed ahead plans for electing a governing body for the unincorporated town of 1500 during a town meeting held May 25, 2004.

The Steering Committee, led by Chairman Larry Otter, stated their purpose in forming a Town Council was to provide education and information to Springville-area residents in a monthly, established basis. The Council, as envisioned by the thirteen-member Steering Committee who say they themselves will not run for office, will have no legal or taxing authority, but will work as a conduit between the residents and Tulare County Board of Supervisors, including Supervisor Jim Maples, who was in attendance at the Tuesday night meeting.

"We will represent the Springville community to those who do tax," Otter said. Inspired by the Springville Community Action Plan meetings held in the past year, the Committee said it was clear to them that residents of Springville want a body similar to the Springville Area Advisory Committee, a county-sponsored effort that was disbanded years ago after the Board of Supervisors became full-time positions.

"There has been discussion for years about some sort of town council," said Valeri Barnes, Treasurer of the Committee, which has been self-funded through donations from its members.

"When we have issues, there's not a real good way for everyone to get together and decide what to do."

The election procedures the Committee is recommending, explained by Vice Chairman Bob Inabinette, is to divide the Springville community, defined as those living in the 93265 zip code, into five areas with roughly equal population. Two council members would serve as at-large officers. The seven Council members would be elected on a rotating basis.

Saying they based their by-laws and proposed organization partly on Pixley's Town Council, Secretary Norma Inabinette said that this effort would be successful because, like Pixley's, "The officers will be elected by the community."

Many in the audience of about 70 people both agreed with the need for a Town Council and also with this Committee's plan for forming one.

"The community has a right to organize and be heard," said long-time resident Milly Gann, considered by many to be Springville's "Honorary Mayor. Many other residents said it would provide a resource for assistance with questions and problems, even beyond the County level, as well as provide a stronger voice to Supervisor Maples and others in the County Government.

Supervisor Maples said that although he did not think a Town Council was necessary, "I am not opposed to a Town Council." He questioned however the community's long-term commitment, as well as a Town Council's effectiveness without authority.

"A lot of people will ask you to solve their problems when you have no power to solve them," he said. "You will bring (the problems) to me, but I would try to solve the problems anyway if they came directly to me."

In addition, several residents from the River Island Golf Course area, which was included as one of the five council seats, voiced opposition to even being included. Said one resident, "We want to form our own group. We don't want to be a part of this." Others expressed their belief that similar views were held by residents of Camp Nelson, the small community in the mountains 17 miles above Springville.

Although Vice Chairman Bob Inabinette said they would "accommodate those who don't wish to be involved," it remains unclear how residents of those areas, or throughout the 93265 region, could effectively and democratically choose not to participate without infringing on the wishes of their neighbors who may wish to see a town council representing them.

In addition, several audience members expressed concerns that the Steering Committee was rushing the election altogether. The group outlined plans to have officers turn in petitions by June 14 to qualify for an election to be held June 29. Some organizational details on the election were still not determined however, including just how residents who did not attend the meeting would learn of the petitions of nomination or of the election at all, and exactly how ballots were to be received and counted.

Several others in attendance asked why the Chamber of Commerce, which had sponsored the Community Action Plan that started this process, was not included in this Committee's efforts. Chairman Otter answered that they had invited the Chamber to be part of the Steering Committee.

"We were rebuffed," Otter said. "They wouldn't work with us unless there was a facilitator."

"We had our own process going," responded Chamber of Commerce President Del Pengilly, who was also present at the meeting. "Then you started this process."

The Chamber of Commerce plans to hire a facilitator and hold its own town meeting through grants it has received for a Community Building Project from the Great Valley Center and the Laura J. Musser fund, according to Dagny Grant, co-chair of the Chamber's Economic Development Committee.

The Steering Committee, however, said it felt that the Springville community did not want to wait any longer and that the Community Action Plan process has already answered the question of whether a Town Council is what residents want.

“Even if it only lasts a short time," Otter said, "It will be able to do some good. It will serve a purpose.”

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