Outlet Mall Snags Liz Claiborne
Tulare - Tulare’s Horizon Outlet Center has snagged a big name with news that Liz Claiborne will open a store at the mall this summer. The designer clothing store will fill the space formerly occupied by Linens and Things. Also coming this summer to the mall will be the women’s clothing store Kasper, Maidenform and the mall’s first sit down restaurant Siam Dish Restaurant - a Thai eatery. Sources say the mall will soon announce two other names Carter’s - a children’s store and The Perfume Shop that will fill the existing space 100% - the first time that has happened since the mall opened in 1995.
Depending on how you look at it, filling the outlet mall may or may not give the company incentive to expand by 5 acres in the near future - something the city is encouraging them to move forward on.
With the coming of the 10 screen Galaxy movie theater being built right now and plans to add a full service, name brand restaurant at the mall - an expansion plan to add a new wing to the mall makes sense, says chamber economic development coordinator Bob Reynolds. But it requires next door neighbor and property owner William Martin come to terms with Horizon over a plan that makes sense for him. Martin has let it be known he is willing to consider a plan that would allow his land to be developed as well in a move that could add more retail stores heading toward Cartmill. One plan calls for relocating the entrance to the Horizon mall that would give a forward location to some new outlet tenants not yet at the mall to locate there - a step that could also allow Martin to sell some pads to other retail or restaurant prospects. After some talk between the city and Martin and Horizon officials, Martin says he doesn’t expect Horizon to push forward on a plan right now until they get enough prospective tenants to finance another wing. Horizon has talked about adding another 75,000 sq. ft. bringing its total to some 300,000 sq. ft.
Martin is a long time Horizon watcher having sold the land to the company as well as much of the Kmart center property that has been developed over the years - part of an old plum orchard his family has owned. Busy with his investments in Visalia, Martin is “in no hurry” and can wait for the right development for the remainder of the property given that land prices aren’t getting any cheaper.
City officials hungry for the tax dollars and Tulare boosters hungry for some brand name national restaurants, see the need for near term development in more critical terms however.
Further to the north rumbles that big box users are looking at the Cartmill/99 interchange off Retherford continue to bubble with names like Walmart and Home Depot attached to them. Adding retail to the north end of Retherford would create what Tulare has labeled as a “critical mass” of retail that has developed in northwest Tulare in the past decade - taking it to a higher level. Walmart plans not to build a superstore in south Visalia and the fact it can’t expand to superstore size at their existing site in Tulare makes them a prime candidate for a Cartmill location, some observers believe.
Tulare - One of the largest organic dairies in California is right here in Tulare County. Case Vander Eyk has 3000 certified dairy cows on his dairy near Pixley and next door his son David has 1200. He also milks 6000 conventional dairy cows making it one of the larger dairies in the state. Vander Eyk dairy has been certified organic since 1999 - a three year program before you can be approved.
While costs are higher - you have to ship in certified organic feed - the milk fetches better prices in the market - a fact that at least 13 other organic dairies in California have now discovered.
“Demand for organic milk is doubling every year,” says Vander Eyk.
Vander Eyk has been shipping his milk in bulk to a processor in Santa Ana who is using it to make extended shelf life (ESL) milk that is processed in such a way that it can last up to 3 months in a refrigerator, says Case.
Now Vander Eyk is ready to take the next step, with preliminary plans to build up a local creamery plant in Tulare to package the milk in retail sizes using the ESL technology. “It will probably be a joint venture between Dairy Farmers of America and myself.”
Vander Eyk owns 40 acres at Paige and Highway 99 right across the street from the new CPI cheese plant undergoing an expansion right now. Vander Eyk says he is in the early stages of talking to the city of Tulare about the plant that could take a few years before it is built. The plant would handle about 20 tanker loads of milk a day, he says. The plant site would front Blackstone as it is extended to the south to the new Agri Center interchange - the interchange where the new Knight trucking facility will be built there.
Vander Eyk says the technology to make ESL milk is expensive costing some $20 million to install. Using higher temps and special packaging and a little nitrous oxide, the milk lasts substantially longer before it is unsealed.
Organic ESL milk is available now at grocery stores and in fact Vander Eyk’s milk is available at local Albertsons.
If you buy Horizon organic milk in California you are drinking their milk. They also sell organic milk to the new Tipton cheese plant.
Organic food products, including dairy products, really began taking off in the US when they became available at supermarkets and not just health food stores in the late 90s. Today there is over 1.3 million acres of certified organic crop land including organic corn fed to cattle. Standards of organic food were stepped up by the USDA as recently as 2002 helping to increase both demand and production since. By 2000 supermarkets accounted for about half of organic sales.
USDA defines organic dairy products as using milk derived from cows raised using organic management practices. That includes separating cows from other herds, access to pasture and exercise and not given any growth hormones or antibiotics. The rule is that the cows must be fed on at least 80% organic feed for 9 months and 100% organic feed for 3 months or grazed on land managed under a certified plan.
The Vander Eyks have 10,000 acres of pastureland near Ducor that they truck their herds to.
Organic dairymen receive a price premium for the milk ranging from 50 to 72 percent over conventional milk according to one study.
The first organic dairy west of the Mississippi was the Straus Family creamery near Petaluma in 1993. Today the dairy sells to 800 stores throughout the West including Trader Joes. Closer to home, Kerman based Mark McAfee has an organic pasture dairy selling raw - unpasteurized milk. He sell product in 230 stores in California.
Organic cows are exceptions to the rule in the Golden State with something like 12,000 organic cows among a population of 1.5 million. Still, organic accounts for about 1% of all dairy sales in the US.
One likely consequence of citing an organic milk processing plant in Tulare will be that it will act as an incentive for other Tulare area dairymen - probably DFA members - to get into organic even if they do it slowly with a part of their herd, the way Vander Eyk has done.
Ag Census Counts Fewer California Farmers
California - The 2002 Census of Agriculture has been released by USDA last week and the picture it paints of the plight of farmers in California is not a pretty one, says Nisei Farm League president Manuel Cunha. This most recent census - the first since 1997 shows a decline of around 90,000 farms nationwide over the 5 year period. It records a loss of about 9000 farms in California. The Census shows a decline of about 1.2 million acres in the state in farms as well.
Cunha has noted that the largest decline - over 6000 farmers were in small farms 9 acres or smaller although every farm size category up to 2000 acres and above is now smaller in 2002 compared to 1997. Cunha says his interpretation is that operators of very small farms who work off site to make a living have declined. “It’s a disaster that so many small operators couldn’t hold on to their farms.” Both family owned and partnership farms fell while corporate farms stayed about the same according to the census figures.
A series of tough years in farming have forced some long time farmers out of business in the central valley as citrus, cotton, grapes and dairy have all been hit by reduced income coming after they have had to borrow money. The upshot is often selling off to the neighbors.
Many California farmers hold jobs off the farm. Of the 79,000 farmers in California, 30,000 of those farmers have jobs away from the farm as their primary occupation, says the census. Some 26,000 of them spend more than 200 days away from the farm.
Some former farmers have found other occupations in recent years. Former hog farmer David Sharp of Tulare is case in point - now a stock broker after years in the hog business with his father Roy at Royal Farms.
Also the average age of the California farmer is creeping up - 56.8 compared to 55.7 in 1997 - each higher than the US average. In California, of the 74,000 principal operators nearly 20,000 are 55 to 64 and 21,000 are 65 or older. Meanwhile, there are only 13,000 who are 44 or younger. Cunha says the average ago in the Nisei Farmers League is 67.
Where are the replacements coming for the family farm?
Of the some 74,000 principal operators in the state 12,500 are women down slightly from 1997. Hispanic operators have grown over that period from just 5347 in 1997 to 7771 in 2002.
Tulare and Kings counties figures at the county level will be released this summer.
Nash De Camp Exits Stone Fruit Business
Visalia - At least two tough years in the stone fruit business in the Central Valley have convinced a major player - Nash De Camp of Visalia to exit the business. “I can confirm we will no longer be in the stone fruit deal,” says president of the company Stephen Biswell. He says what he can’t talk about for a few weeks is what happens to Nash De Camp facilities that pack and store stone fruit including one in Reedley and two in Exeter.
“We will stay in grapes however,” says Biswell.
Nash de Camp also owns substantial acreage in the Central Valley, some of which has been put on the market, sources say. They remain in the Chilean fruit business as well as coastal vegetable sales.
The tree fruit industry group California Tree Fruit Agreement has been lobbying anyone who will listen that while peaches, plums and nectarines are selling for high dollars at the supermarket - growers are seeing only a fraction of it and below the cost of production, he says. “Peaches in 2003 sold for an average of $1.43 a lb. while our growers saw just 22 cents a lb.,” says president of the organization Blair Richardson. The higher prices have gone “straight up” in the past two years despite record harvest, Richards says. The CTFA’s top goal is “to help the industry become profitable once again.”
Dinuba...
Can Nature Trails & A Golf Course Fix Their Sewer Problem?
Dinuba - The City of Dinuba is launching a two year plan to design and build a 27 hole golf course surrounded by acres of wildlife ponds and recreational trails near their wastewater treatment plant to provide a location to deposit high nitrate water underneath the plant.
“We think it’s a pretty unique project,” says city manager Ed Todd, provide an amenity to the area - the community doesn’t have a golf course now - that doubles as a solution to a potential groundwater pollution problem.
Dinuba is working with the Water Quality Control Board on the plant that will remove a plume of high nitrogen water and put it to beneficial use growing grass and habitat for wildlife on some 300 acres southwest of the city.
Todd expects the plan to cost some $5 million now that the city owns the land. “There is a beautiful old Victorian house on the plan that could make a great clubhouse,” says Todd. A citizen’s task force in town is meeting for the first time on the project this month.
Todd says the municipal course would include both an 18 hole course and a separate 9 hole course to allow people within all range of talent to play. “We don’t want this to be a snobbish place,” says Todd, in fact using the land for wildlife area would be a secondary use allowing developers to pay into a mitigation fund that would be used here to develop this alternative habitat. “We want to attract migratory birds and endangered species,” says Todd, to the site. In addition a 5 mile bike trail could circulate the property allowing for a new recreational area for Dinuba.
Todd says building homes around the course is a possibility as well if that would help pay for the project. Other towns have married a wildlife area with a golf course but often they are an exclusive club, notes the city manager. “We want this to be open to the community.”
Recent Storms Still Not Enough
By Peyton Ellas
San Joaquin Valley - The recent storm systems have helped, but the southern San Joaquin Valley remains average or just below in both precipitation and snowfall. An average precipitation March would not significantly affect water supplies, but a stormy March with plenty of snow would have area farmers breathing a lot easier going into summer.
The unusually dry January caused the totals to drop far below average entering February, and essentially the snow and rainfall is playing catch-up. The recent storms improved snow averages, while total rainfall remains below normal, although they are above last year’s figures through March 1, according to the California Department of Water Resources.
"We're still a little behind," says Ron Jacobsma, General Manager with Friant Water Users, the authority that distributes water to an area in the San Joaquin River watershed, from Fresno to Terra Bella, and stores water in the Friant Dam (Millerton Lake).
"We're about normal," reports Tom Weddle, River Operations Manager for the Kaweah Delta Water Conservation District, "but we need a little more snow."
The Lower Tule River Irrigation District, serving an 100,000 acre area bounded by Porterville, Tulare, Earlimart, and Corcoran, reports similar findings after the recent storms according to General Manager Daniel Vink.
The Southern Sierra regions continue to trail the statewide average, which after the recent storms is now above normal for the year. Typically the northern Sierra regions receive far more snowfall and precipitation than the southern Valley and into Southern California. The latest storm brought the February totals to 16.78 inches of rain for the year so far in Springville (measured at the PG&E station at 4,000 feet elevation) up to 23.51 inches at Atwell Camp at 6,400 feet. Friant Dam, at 578 ft. elevation received 2.40 inches of rain in February, bringing its year total to 6.56 inches.
At least average precipitation and snow throughout the Valley would place the region into an acceptable situation going into the dry summer months.
"If we get two or three of this last kind of storm in the next six weeks, we would be pretty close to average," says Vink, echoing sentiment from the other water agencies. "If we could continue to hit averages, we would be fine," says Jacobsma. Two or three more good storms mean rainfall, but more importantly mean snow.
"Precipitation is important," adds Weddle, but "it's really the Snow Water Equivalents that are going to help farmers in the summer." Although skiers might enthuse over the recent snow depths, water managers and hydrologists track the snow's density, or Snow Water Equivalents. It's "the amount of water you would get if you boiled the snow down," explains Jacobsma.
April 1 is the date used to compare averages, since that is the typical date of peak snow pack in the Sierras. "After that, you usually get more runoff than new snow," says Jacobsma.
April 1 Snow Water Equivalent averages, according to data provided by the Friant Water Users Authority, for the Kaweah River area is 22.3 inches, meaning that there is an average of 22.3 inches of water in the snow pack measured on April 1. For the San Joaquin River area, the average is 31.3 inches and the Tule River area average, measured at Quaking Aspen, is 21.0 inches.
Measurements through March 1 should be available next week from the California Department of Water Resources reporting website: http://cdec.water.ca.gov.
Many of the water districts in the Valley use a system of allocations to their various member districts. They do not typically restrict water to farmers at any time of the year, as long as it is available, but vary in the way they distribute water. The Lower Tule River Irrigation District, according to Vink, will provide area farmers with data on expected water availability sometime in the middle of April.
Although typically water runs in the Tule River district start at May 1 and run until the first week in September, according to Vink, this is dependent on water supply. Last year with its late spring storms was a below-average water year and the district could supply water from April 1 only to the third week in August.
According to Jacobsma, the Friant Water Users will provide its member irrigation districts an estimate of how much water will be available through the summer growing season after the agency's next Declaration of Water Supply on March 12th.
The Kaweah Delta district, according to Hernandez, will be readjusting their estimates this year, because of the recently completed Terminus Dam Spillway, which has increased the Reservoir's storage capacity by 40,000 acre feet. Details will also be available to the irrigation districts by the end of March.
The below-average January meant very little water has been released from area Reservoirs for flood control purposes, and so very little water has been "lost." Water managers try to hit monthly target Reservoir storage capacities through these releases, called outflow in order to meet the season’s irrigation needs.
According to Hernandez, the Kaweah Delta district hoped to have 30,000 acre feet of water stored in Terminus Dam by the end of February. As of March 1, Terminus Dam storage was just over 32,000 acre-feet. Success Reservoir was at 20,000 acre-feet, which is below average for the date, and Friant Dam was just above average at 366,000 acre-feet. Another year of late storms, however, would mean more water released before the peak dry summer months, as happened last year.
So the goal for adequate irrigation supplies through the growing season is for a good, wet March and perhaps early April, with plenty of dense snow. Forecasters are predicting at least two more storms in the coming weeks. Whether they will be "good" storms remains to be seen.
March 2 Election
VUSD, COS Bonds Go Down City Sales Tax Vote Squeaker
Visalia - With three local tax measures on their ballot, many Visalia voters voted all of them down this week as the VUSD, COS bonds failed to gain a 55% majority and the City of Visalia’s Measure T - to raise the sales tax by one quarter cent - appears to be going down as well pending a final count of absentee ballots. Like the rest of the state, locals did pass Governor Schwarzenegger’s Prop. 57 and 58 by wide margins suggesting they were willing to spend money on that.
The fate of Measure T depends on the final tally of what may be several thousand absentee ballots with the measure falling just under 40 votes short of reaching a two-thirds majority that is required. The measure received 11,470 votes in favor vs 5789 against. It could be two weeks for the final count in what may be a squeaker. After losing by only a few votes last time, Measure Q in Tulare passed this time allowing the construction of a new high school in Tulare.
The loss of the Visalia school bond measure will mean $16 million waiting in Sacramento to build at least two new schools will be lost to other districts.
School Board chair Mike Lane said after the results that “anytime you take a $16 million loss it is pretty significant.” Lane says it is possible the district can use some of the local developer fees as a match to build one of the elementary schools. But none can be used for modernization.
The failure of the COS bond remains a big disappointment to leaders that would have financed new campuses in Tulare and Hanford. The bond passed early in Kings County even though they got criticism from West Hills College supporters. In Tulare County it got just over 50% - not good enough.
Cox/Moheno In Runoff
Ishida/Pinkham Face Off
Tulare County - Current supervisor Lali Moheno will face city council member Phil Cox in November for the District 3 seat. Not counting several thousand absentee ballots yet to be hand counted, Moheno was the vote getter with over 44% of the vote followed by Cox with 33.7%. Chuck Glenn came in with nearly 21% of the vote totals.
In the more crowded District 1 seat, Lindsay farmer Allen Ishida was the top vote getter and will face second place runner up Exeter farmer Frank “Bud” Pinkham. Ishida received 31.5% of the vote and Pinkham 28.8%. A close third was Exeter businesswoman Marlene Sario at 25.3%. The vote totals won’t be final until all absentees are counted. In the 2nd District Connie Conway ran unopposed.
Ag Jobs Bill Faces Election-Year Hurdle
Pending immigration bills in Congress including the California farm community's proposal for Ag Jobs may have the best chance of moving forward in years but still faces a giant hurdle - it's an election year.
President Bush outlined his views in January unveiling a program that would permit up to 8 million unauthorized people in the US to become temporary legal residents. The plan was to "match willing foreign workers with willing US employers."
But the proposal has caused plenty of heat particularly from Mr. Bush's more conservative cohorts, many who call the plan a form of amnesty for the people who broke the law entering the country. In addition, they say the passage of such a law would encourage more illegal entry.
Chief proponents for the smaller Ag Jobs bill that would help California agriculture is Manuel Cunha who heads up the Nisei Farmers League, who has been working to enact a guest worker plan in Congress for 7 years and now is clearer than ever. "We know it's an election year" says Cunha, that could make movement on a controversial plan more difficult. Still, Cunha says the bill has "bipartisan support" with 25 Republican Senators and 27 Democratic Senators. The bill will be introduced in the Senate this month if it passes it on to the House where already the bill has 95 House members signed up. Unlike some of the guest worker bills of the past, this measure has the support of the United Farmworkers and labor leaders since it offers "earned amnesty" for illegals who are already in the country.
Cunha says while the president's plan is a large one, the Ag Jobs bill is small involving 500,000 to 650,000 farmworkers - a pilot program that the rest of the country can watch.
Cunha says that the farm economy "needs the workers" because Americans are largely unwilling to do farm work. He says welfare keeps many Americans from taking the jobs in the meantime immigrant farm workers already working here pay takes and earn money for the economy rather than being a drag on the economy. Cunha says if the farmers need to bring in temporary guest workers from Mexico to harvest their crops as part of the bill they would "go home" after the work is done.
"The issue of immigration is a complex one," says Cunha, often "a matter of perception."
Still, the problem for Cunha and Bush is that California residents seem angry over the amount of immigration the state has received already and the sheer volume of people that receive service from the state and local government. What will be the impact any immigration bill or Ag Job bill would have on the local economy remains up in the air. Would passage of a bill mean more immigration or folks simply "coming out of the shadows," proponents have suggested.
No immigrant basher himself - Bee columnist Dan Walter wrote a column last month talking about California's population growth fed by waves of immigrants - about 300,000 a year plus 500,000 babies born - 60% to immigrant mothers and 200,000 deaths in the state. The net population growth each year comes to 600,000 or 6 million a decade. That would make 40 million Californians by 2010. The large number of poor people impacts our schools, hospitals and state budgets.
California's already overwhelmingly rejected the notion of allowing these same workers driver's licenses just to go to work.
Fellow valley farmer, Victor Davis Hanson has also made the case against Bush's immigration plan having authored the book Mexifornia. The issue has hit the Sierra Club as well.
Still Cunha scoffs at any plan that does not offer earned amnesty to the workers already here - what are you going to do, send them all home?, he asks. One congressman has suggested just that - return to Mexico and then you can reapply for work here.
Some have argued that the influx of poor Mexican workers heading north is happening just as American companies are relocating south of the border to Mexico.
Local Oil Company Invests In Ethanol Plant
Nella Oil Company, owned by the Dwelle family of Visalia, is taking a modest stake in the proposed new ethanol production plant planned near Pixley. Principal with the company, Walt Dwelle, says they are helping the operator Calgren get going by paying for the plans to get the plant built and up and running. Calgren has filed plans with the county for a 40 million facility next to JD Heiskell at the Rd. 120 exit off Highway 99. "Construction could start late this summer," says Dwelle.
Demand for renewable ethanol made for plants is strong in California now that the oxygenate MTBE has been phased out. California uses about 800 million gallons right now and has almost no in-state production, notes Dwelle. Dwelle's gas stations in California could use the fuel to be blended with gasoline at their stations. Nella Oil recently purchased some additional stations in northern California which will fly the Mobile Oil banner, he says.
Asked his views on the gas prices in California are so high right now, Dwelle noted that several of the big refineries chose this time of year to shut down and clean their pipes so to speak and start up never happens as fast as they expect. In addition, Dwelle notes that now that ethanol is used as an oxygenate blended at just under 6%, it takes less value of that compared to the volume of MTBE that was in the gasoline so that this year there is several percentage points less blended gasoline in the California marketplace, he notes. We could fix that by upping the value of ethanol by percent to say 10% when "we used to sell ‘gasahol' at the old Beacon stations." Dwelle was a part of the Beacon Oil Company before it folded.
Dwelle says there is a good chance Calgren and Nella Oil might build an ethanol fueling station at the proposed ethanol plant site or nearby offering ethanol even at the E-85 blend - mostly ethanol that can be used in most cars.
The Pixley ethanol plant is just one of three proposed ethanol plants in the permitting stage in Tulare County with one planned across from the Visalia airport and one planned in Goshen.
Recently Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has vowed to convert one of his Hummers to a hydrogen vehicle. But ethanol boosters suggest he will be able to come down to Tulare County perhaps next year - to fuel up on farm grown ethanol a lot sooner than a hydrogen economy will be a reality in California.
Kings River Water District Power Plans Get Support
The City of Dinuba is the latest of 9 communities in the central valley that have expressed a strong interest in forming a municipal power district expecting to save millions in power costs by 2006. The district has been asking both the cities and counties within the district join a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) of electrical energy within its borders, and would compete with both Edison and PG&E and in some locations.
Among communities suggesting they are interested include Kerman, Reedley, Corcoran, Parlier and Lemoore. "Momentum is building" with the plan says district manager David Orth. There are some 14 cities within the district.
A law signed in 2002 allows cities and counties to aggregate electrical loads for both residents, businesses and municipal facilities by purchasing power from other than the utility companies. The utilities continue to own the electrical delivery system, says Orth.
In the case of Dinuba, Orth told the city council that the city itself could realize a savings of the order of $1.5 million and the consumer could save as much as 13%.
Organized in 1951 the district already gets power from its own Pine Flat Dam project and is in the process of building a new 95 megawatt "peaker" plant that could be ready to crank up in early 2005 near Malaga. Kings River got two gas fired plants from the state in a settlement with Williams Energy in 2002 after the energy company was charged with manipulating prices during the energy crisis. Construction on the plant will be underway this summer once they get their permit from the California Energy Commission who is reviewing the application now.
Orth told the Voice they are watching whether the proposed 1100 mw Calpine power project is built near San Joaquin in the central valley. The company received approval for its building permit but will be required to mitigate emissions that could make the project more expensive.
Power projects on the board in California this past year have been put on hold as the industry has faced a huge decline in demand for power due to the recession.
Calpine recently postponed a $2.3 billion loan and note in February as interest in buying the securities appeared to be lacking.
The same lack of demand has hurt Duke Energy that has a mothballed plans to build a 600 mw plant in Avenal and is having trouble getting final approval to build a new power plant in Morro Bay. Rumors that Duke would simply close down the current Morro Bay plant and dump plans to build a new facility there were denied by the company. They did however lay off more workers at that plant.
At Kings River Mr. Orth has indicated that if the power companies like Duke and Calpine don't build generation in the central valley that Kings River - perhaps with a partner may take up the matter themselves.
The water agency described its plans in a recent newsletter:
"Along with providing lower cost public power, a new base load plant would greatly improve the central San Joaquin Valley's electrical energy reliability.
"It is well know that the Fresno area and the Kings River service area have significant energy deficiencies," Orth said.
No new generation source has been brought on line since Pacific Gas and Electric Company completed its Helms Pumped Storage Plant in 1984. The region is dependent upon hydroelectric generation (and ups and downs in water supply years) and imported power.
Orth said the region's current peak demand is 2,600 megawatts with a current maximum capacity that is not a great deal larger - 2,900-3.400 megawatts.
In addition, there are known to be transmission bottlenecks adversely affecting the central San Joaquin Valley. Upgrades to the transmission system's Path 15 on the West Side are expected to help the state's biggest population centers, said Orth, "but here in the valley would have about the same effect as adding new traffic lanes to Interstate 5 without any more exit ramps."
Cities opting to take advantage of CCA would purchase the new power plant's output. Rate making policies would be in the hands of governing boards, thus resulting in local control.
Statewide, some 30 cities are already looking at CCA possibilities.
"As a public agency, the District lacks a profit motive and also has access to tax-exempt financial markets," Orth said. "Assuming a regulatory process currently underway goes favorably, our conservative projections indicate potential cost savings to consumers of 8-13 percent."
What Orth calls "a critical path" is taking place in a rulemaking procedure being undertaken by the California Public Utilities Commission to implement CCA. If so-called "exit fees" assessed against customers leaving the local utilities in favor of a CCA provider turn out to be too high, cost savings and related CCA advantages might fade. Without CCA implementation rules in place, the process of gaining approvals for such programs cannot advance.
"The key part of the whole process is financial feasibility," Orth said."
One aspect of predicting demand for power is that machines and the power supply itself is getting more efficient. Even as the economy picks up and industry ramps up production, conservation, more efficient, newer model equipment and the advent of micro turbine technology for example, should mean less power is needed from a central power station.
Case in point this past week is the promise by Intel to design more efficient add-ons to the desktop computer that will cut energy needs by one third. Current computers use only half the power they take in and have to get rid of the excess "heat" that actually require cooling fans. Intel is carrying out programs with the environmental group NRDC who say that improved PCs could total US electric consumption by up to 2%. A similar program to make more efficient regulators have resulted in a huge saving of power for today's average home refrigerators through EPA's EnergyStar program.
Downtown Improvement District Plans To Expand To East
Downtown Visalia's Property Based Improvement District (PBID) will hold an informational meeting with property owners later this month to test the water for expanding the district to the east. "We've invited some of the property owners east of Santa Fe for a get together to tell our story," says Kelly Hauert, administrator with PBID. "We'll be asking them if they want to join us." While the downtown group wants to expand their boundary eventually to Ben Maddox, the plan for now is to ask property owners from Santa Fe to Burke, Center to Acequia, if they would consider being a part of the district.
The district assesses property owners by parcel to use for improvements that benefit the entire district. The current district has been in place for 5 years and will expire in 2005.
It raises about $420,000 annually to use in the Downtown for security patrols, graffiti removal, street and sidewalk maintenance, business promotion and solicitation and other improvements.
Hauert says if the east downtown property owners appear willing, they will be given a chance to vote, probably in early 2005 along with the rest of the district on formation of PBID-3, likely a five year program this time. First the earlier group will receive questionnaires and will be polled on a potential assessment level.
Board members expected the assessment in this cycle will be less per property than in past years.
The PBID worked with the city on plans to improve downtown including a project to improve street lighting in the works. The work of the group is credited in part with the fact that Visalia's downtown is one of the healthiest in the valley.
What's New
An elderly driver crashed into the lobby of the Three Rivers Post Office earlier last month the Kaweah Commonwealth reported. The car came to rest less than 20 ft. from the postmaster's desk well into the lobby. This is the second time in two years that has happened with the last elderly driver actually penetrating the office. The post mistress explained that this is the fifth time in the past decade involving an accident at the post office and finally some barricades will be installed. A recent AAA Foundation for traffic safety found drivers over 65 are nearly twice as likely to die in a crash as drivers 55 to 64. Drivers over 84 are four times as likely to die. The critical factor is lapse in attention the study finds with most trouble coming from left turns. There were more than 19 million drivers over 75 nationwide according to the AAA. Some say elderly drivers should have to pass a driving test when they get their license renewed. Others suggest insurance discounts for drivers who take a safety course.
Back to the drawing board for Visalia Youth Baseball Inc. who planned a new baseball complex south of Caldwell and east of 99 in the flight path of the Visalia airport. Last week the Tulare County Airport Commission turned down the league's application for a special use permit for the site. The league is now huddling with the city to find an alternative location, sources say.
Corridor group will oppose 198 housing projects. The group - Save Our Corridor - will oppose two proposed housing projects on both the north and south side of West 198 in the works, says spokesman Greg Collins. "We'll be ready to challenge their EIR's," says the former mayor. Each project would take out ag land. On the north side Tiffany Ranch wants to expand their subdivision to 200 ft north of the freeway. On the south side Centex wants to build an 80 acre subdivision on farmland in the county - land that would have to be annexed into the city just east of Shirk and north of Tulare Ave. Collins group is currently fighting the auto mall further west on the corridor awaiting a court decision on a challenge that has tied up the project for at least 6 months. The Visalia city council has recently suggested 3 to 2 that they would entertain development proposals on both sides rather than wait for a full study of land uses on the corridor area.
A church wants to buy the old movie theater on Main St. now used by the Enchanted Playhouse children's theater. The church filed a plan with the city to see what approval they would need. A church requires a special permit in the Central Business district. The children's theater has been trying to buy the theater building from an out of town seller as well. The playhouse will hold a big fund raiser on Friday, April 2nd at the Visalia Convention Center, beginning at 7 p.m.
Visalia has been awarded $250,000 in grant funds to help low income, handicapped residents fix up their homes. The limit is $10,000 per household and can be used on rental property. The Visalia redevelopment agency is handling the project.
Moose Lodge Plans Sale To Church
Once a large fraternal organization in Visalia - the Visalia Moose Lodge needs less space than when they moved into their Visalia headquarters and now plan to seel their current building near Akers and 198 to a church. Administrator Norm Jividen says the Moose have a 14,000 sq. ft. building that sits on 6.2 acres and have been looking to sell for some time.
"When we moved in the lodge in 1975 we had about 1200 members," says Jividen. Today there are 400 men who are in the Loyal Order of the Moose. There is a women's group that numbers 340. Jividen says the lodge plans a new facility somewhere around Visalia looking for 5 acres and about an 8000 sq. ft. building they would construct. Before this the Moose Lodge was Downtown - in a building no longer there. The Moose International dates from 1888.
Fraternal organizations have seen a decline in membership in the past decade - a decline some have blamed on too much TV. The lodge itself had emphasized its social attributes, notes Moose International in the past, and seeks to remake itself as "family centers." One theory is that fraternal men's groups were made of many veterans of WWII and that the late blooming "baby boomers" were not joiners. Another theory - a decline in the popularity of drinking with the fraternal brothers is a factor.
Agreeing to buy the property is The Sound of His Voice Christian Fellowship.
The above stories are the property of The Valley Voice Newspaper and may not be reprinted without explicit permission in writing from the publisher.
March 3, 2004
