Hotel/Shopping Center In Works For South Tulare

Tulare - While big box and factory outlets sprout in Northeast Tulare, the south part of the city hasn’t been twiddling its thumbs. Former city manager Lynn Dredge who represents Manuel Faria on several hundred acres between Paige and the Agri-Center is working on several development projects on the big section of land Faria owns just east of 99 and south of Paige. The mostly open land near the Agri-Center became more valuable recently with news that Faria would donate lade south of Paige for a new freeway interchange. The project study report of that interchange is now expected to be complete in January by CalTrans - meaning the project would be ready to be funded. Dredge says he is working with CalTrans to build on and off ramps in a short time phase 1 enabling travelers to access potential development off the freeway on both the east and west side of the freeway.

As the interchange project moves forward talks are getting more serious with an LA based hotel developer who is looking at building a 3 to 4 story, 80 to 150 room hotel, says Dredge. “We’ve been looking at a mid range hotel chain like Hilton Garden Inn,” says Dredge.

The unnamed developer is planning a feasibility study over the next few months to see if the hotel would make sense even without the interim off ramps. “Some of those chains have strong enough reservation systems” so that good access is secondary, says Dredge. Talks have been going for several years, he says but things are heating up now. Dredge says if the developer decides it’s feasible, there could be a real project in short order.

The development of a classy hotel near the Agri-Center would satisfy many of the demands felt through multi-day events held at the complex.

In other development news, Dredge says the Faria family is looking at doing some planning for a potential neighborhood shopping center at the southeast corner of Paige and Laspina on perhaps 40 or 50 acres. The center would allow for development of restaurants that could compliment the new hotel, he says.

“We’ve become aware of the pace of residential growth in this part of the city,” says Dredge, with no shopping center to serve these new homes being planned.

Dredge says there would be plenty of room on Faria’s land for that and other business development that could grow the Agri-Center in the future noting that this potential shopping center is on the northern edge of the World Ag Expo area.

Plans have been submitted for thousands of new homes east of 99 and south of Tulare Ave. along with plans for a new high school and COS college campus expected to draw more residential development. Two projects alone Palm Ranch and KCOK Ranch between them add up to almost 1100 homes.

Dredge says any plan to move forward on a shopping center are made easier by the fact the land is already properly zoned for such a project. “All they would need was design review application.”

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Fledgling State Ethanol Industry Faces Hurdles

Goshen - The up-start California ethanol industry remains in a pitched battle for survival this summer getting mixed signals from the government and market forces whether to build a home-grown fuel industry starting with several plants in central California or sound a retreat.

This past week, for example, as a Senate committee passed a bill to double the amount of ethanol produced to mix with gasoline over the next seven years, Senator Dianne Feinstein was able to get a them to agree to allow California to put a waiver on a mandate for ethanol in summer months for fear mixing of the fuel would boost summer pollution.

“We can’t build an industry based on an eight month schedule,” shrugs Pacific Ethanol’s Tom Koehler who strongly disagrees with Feinstein’s assessment. “Either she is badly misinformed or she’s doing the bidding for Chevron,” suggests Koehler, hoping the Feinstein waiver idea will die in conference when the bill moves forward.

Chevron is a big contributor to Feinstein’s campaigns.

“California has the best air quality ever in the first year that ethanol was added to our fuel supply in California,” says Koehler, arguing that big oil wants to limit the volume of non-petroleum ethanol with gasoline.

The Senate Energy Committee last week gave their blessing to increase the use of ethanol to six billion gallons next year and eight billion gallons in 2012. Today the industry produces about 3.4 billion gallons. One Senator predicted the high volume of domestic ethanol would displace two billion barrels of imported crude between 2006 and 2012.

“This is about fuel in our farm fields and not under sands in Saudi Arabia,” Senator Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., said. Feinstein recently argued that increasing the use of ethanol will cost consumers more money - adding 2.4 cents per gallon to consumers, citing a study. But ethanol supporters counter the study was based on $25 per barrel oil - now double that. Ethanol costs have fallen since then, the study says as well.

Feinstein says California doesn’t need the ethanol mandate. “You are forcing something that isn’t necessary,” citing state studies that show during hot summer days emissions increase when ethanol’s blended.

But there are also two schools of thought in the state on this with Governor Schwarzenegger calling this week for increased efforts to limit CO2 emissions to fight global warming. Ethanol produces far fewer CO2 emissions than gasoline.

Pacific Ethanol’s first plant broke ground in recent weeks, says Koehler at a former mill site in Madera making it the second ethanol plant to move to production in the state. The first, operated by Phoenix Biosystems in Goshen, is expected to make fuel this summer. (See front page)

The fledgling ethanol industry here wants California to follow the lead of every other state and allow blenders to mix 10% ethanol to the 90% gasoline mix. Right now because of air quality concerns, the state set the bar at 5.7%. Despite that, Valero Oil this past week confirmed that they are blending ethanol at a 7.7% rate without breaking any state pollution level mandate.

Valero is doing this at their Benecia refinery adding more ethanol in the fuel mix at a substantial cost saving compared to gasoline. Ethanol is now priced on the wholesale market at $1.25 a gallon - 25 cents cheaper than CARB gasoline. On top of that because of federal tax incentives the ethanol earns an extra 52 cents subsidy. The net cost adds up to about half the price of gasoline - a strong incentive to blend more ethanol even for an oil company.

But a Valero spokesman suggested to the Voice that their move while saving the oil company money did not extend the state fuel supply - contrary to what ethanol advocates claim. For every gallon of mostly foreign made gasoline you displace corn based, home-grown ethanol its net plus for energy security they have argued.

But Valero says to make room for ethanol the refinery has to remove lighter components found in gasoline and the net supply of fuel is about the same. But Koehler notes that the removed lighter components are put to use elsewhere. In the “big picture ethanol is clearly expanding the US fuel supply.”

The point is a critical one because of the tight gasoline situation in the US and the state. Adding a few percentage points of fuel could mean a big difference in supply meeting demand for gasoline or causing lines at the pump.

But ethanol production advocates have to face the downside of lower prices - it gives them a lower return even as they seek monies to finance more plants in the state. The price of ethanol has dropped from over $2 per gallon to the $1.25 today since last fall.

Still, Pacific Ethanol is preparing to file their building permit application in the next few weeks at a Visalia site across from the airport. The company contacted county officials last week saying the application was coming.

Nearby another company, Calgren is hoping to begin construction on a plant near Pixley late this summer.

That would mean four such ag based plants would be making the fuel in the central valley in the birth of an industry in the state. Although it will mean millions in new investment, displacement of foreign oil and jobs for our economy, this birth is having its labor pains.

Ethanol supporters have also been doing battle with the state ARB over whether the increased use of ethanol in the state’s motor fuel would be a good thing or not. On the one hand the Energy Commission and CARB have set a goal that 20% alternative use here by 2020 other than petroleum. The state wants to meet a goal of reducing CO2 emissions.

Already the state uses 900 million gallons of ethanol annually to blend with gasoline replacing the use of an oil based oxygenate MTMB now found to cause ground water pollution. Ethanol advocates say California ethanol use could double to 1757 million gallons a year if regulators would allow helping to clean the air.

But barriers exist to the plan a new California Energy Commission report suggests. The report says that “Recent studies estimated that ethanol blended in gasoline has increased volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the South Coast Air Basin between 19 and 25 percent because VOCs can permeate and escape through the “soft” components of a gasoline vehicle, such as rubber hoses. Furthermore, CARB’s Predictive Model forecasts an increase in NOx emissions if the ethanol content is greater than 5.7 percent by volume. As a consequence, CARB has asked the federal government to waive the requirement for minimum oxygen content in gasoline due to these projected emission impacts.”

Advocates like the California Renewable Fuel Partnership say newer cars eliminate the emissions and deny that ethanol in higher blends are a pollution problem.

The report says to boost ethanol use more E85 fueling stations would need to be built for use in flexible fuel vehicles at a value of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. There are already 200,000 such vehicles in the state right now.

The report says more studies of air quality issues relating to ethanol are needed.

Meanwhile, the state following Feinstein’s lead, continues to seek a waiver from the federal government to end the use of ethanol as a mandatory oxygenate suggesting oil companies can make gasoline that is clean enough without it.

But how can they argue with both an increase in fuel supply at half the cost?

Valero who sells gasoline to many of the independent gas stations in California apparently passes on the lower cost to its suppliers. The trade group representing the independent stations have urged the state to allow a 10% blend to help lower gas prices even more.

Meanwhile, local agribusiness interests who want to build this new industry are having to fight to get financing even as some like Senator Feinstein appear to want to pull the rug out from under them. “She is essentially saying that Midwest ethanol producers should supply California,” says Koehler.

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From “Visa” With Mixed Emotions
For Former Gang Banger It’s Been A Long Strange Trip

Visalia - Former Visalia gang banger Jesus “Tutuy” Montes still has “Visa” tattooed on his buff arms - not representing the credit card company mind you, but simply north side shorthand for the barrio of Visalia. Tutuy had always been a tough kid with an attitude who organized his own gang at age 10.

Just ask any of the older veterans at the Visalia Police Department who had several decades of run-ins with what Montes says they considered to be a “crazy *#@$%* drug using, drug selling punk.”

“It’s all true,” admits Montes today, although he has had to learn to curb his anger toward the police over what he still considers overzealous police battery on more than one occasion that included knocking his teeth out.

“I considered them to be a gang just like we were. They acted like one.” Montes grew up quick on the streets of the north side drinking by age eight, sniffing glue and gas a few years later and smoking pot regularly by age 12. Despite his 5'3" stature, Montes was a leader who commanded respect. During his teen years, he connected with a number of community social activists - who tried to get the talented and bright Montes on a new course. For short spurts he showed himself a keen learner at one point involved in a small silk screen business. For awhile he would give some new path a try, but always fell back.

If he was a swaggering punk on his darkside, Montes always had another side - one interested in learning. Tutuy dropped out of Redwood when he was 14 but was in and out of several programs that offered a high school equivalency degree. Finally he did get his degree through VUSD during a clear headed period transforming himself from a F student to an A student.

Montes was involved with an activist youth group in the 1970s the result of disbanding a gang to form “Los Carnales” - a Chicano youth group that ended up organizing a walkout at Redwood High and picketed the police department later over perceived police brutality. Montes remembers fellow youth in the group that included some just proud of their heritage and others who had more of a racist attitude. Montes was steered to special camps and learning seminars to try to get his head straight. His mentors took him to San Francisco to hook up with youth activists. At one of these sessions he met a woman who told him he needed to learn to “let some things slide” - not take offense to every perceived threat.

But Montes fell back each time. He remembers he used his San Francisco trip to score on drugs.

Drug use led to drug selling. By 17 “I was pretty much hooked on heroine,” says Tutuy. Busted for assault with a deadly weapon and throwing gas bombs, Jesus was building quite a reputation with the Visalia PD.

But Montes had another side to him, one that despite dropping out of school pursued learning more about the world. He met guys like Doug Lanier - who started Turning Point in 1970. He remembers Lanier telling the meaning of God. “God sent me out here to find you.”

But what he found was prison from 1974 to 1977 near Chino - a place he would return home from only to be arrested again by Visalia PD like a broken record. “You’re worthless” Montes says the police told him.

One time the Visalia police ganged up on him when he was simply partying, says Montes, with three of them holding his arms spread like Jesus himself on the cross while another pulling from the back on his long hair kneed him from behind. “I got to admit I went berserk, but I figured I was fighting for my life.” He says he was hit with a billy club in the mouth. Arrested over the incident, Montes was found not guilty in the case of striking an officer.

In the late 70s Montes moves to San Jose when he says he fathered a child and in the 80s he moved to New Mexico. “I was still using (heroin) but wasn’t strung out,” he says. “I came back home in 1984 and continued to get arrested - sometimes for something I didn’t do. I figured if they were going to arrest me - it might as well be for something I’ve done.”

Montes’ sad life continued in and out of prison through the late 80s through 1996 - now well into his 40s an apparent wasted life that caused only pain whatever he touched including fathering kids he couldn’t take care of. Montes says he then had an experience that made him examine his life. He knew a woman who used drugs who sent her 12 year old daughter out on the street to do tricks to help collect money for her mom’s habit.

Montes befriended the 12 year old girl and was briefly detained because the police thought he was molesting the girl. Montes says even his long time police opponents agreed he could not have sunk that low. “It made me kind of examine my life wondering what kind of animal would do this.” The 12 year old told Montes that she was afraid of what would happen to her little 6 year old sister.

Montes was always on parole arrested for drugs or possession of firearms on the north side drug circuit where trouble was always just around the corner.

Out of prison in 1996, Montes had yet again a new chance “to do something different in my life.”

Entering the Porterville Alcohol Recovery program he spent 6 months “understanding that I had a disease - a way of thinking I needed to overcome.” Montes remembers advice he took to heart: be clean for one year and see what happens.

In 1997 he started Porterville College and in 2000 after a fling with a young student there, he became the responsible parent of a baby girl. Unlike any other encounters in the past, Montes says he doesn’t mind being a single parent raising his new girl Destiny, a name that is prophetic.

The same year he started working for a recovery center.

“I remember having a dream of hanging a curtain in the window of my daughter’s bedroom and a few weeks ago, that dream came true.”

Montes now is a counselor in drug and rehab and anger management non-profit in Porterville, purchasing a home in town and now at age 51 - the aging punkster was learning the rewards of responsibility taking care of his Destiny - now 5 ½.

“I’ll be celebrating on June 6, 2005 of being clean and sober for 9 years.” At a Visalia family party last holiday season family members were talking about their gifts and Montes cousin spouted that “my reward was my tio (uncle) clean and sober.”

Montes says during that first tough year he would go to recovery meetings running into guys “I slept in cardboard boxes with” in the old days. “If they can do it, so can I,” he told himself back then.

Today Montes says all the people who have helped in over the years has set up a reward system that makes sense to him. “Now I just want to be of service,” helping others he says. Reconnecting with his roots, Montes and his brother Carlos - now living in Texas - teamed up to take a bus a few years ago and for the first time in their lives met their father living in Mexico. They return regularly now. Montes’ mother still lives in Visalia proud now of a boy who took a long strange trip until he decided to belatedly grow up.

A few years ago Montes and his brother dropped in to a City of Visalia picnic attended by some of the same police officers who in the younger years - played pretty tough with the young gang member. Montes says he saw now county sheriff Bill Wittman who recognized him Wittman told him. “I always knew there was a better side of you.” Another cop that had wailed on him more than once said “I’m not the guy I used to be and I don’t pass that kind” of rough behavior on. Montes was touched when his family was offered first in line for lunch. Over a sandwich and potato salad, the two sides seem to bury the hatchet.

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What's New

Water interests in the San Joaquin Valley are watching reports of a major decline in Delta fish population noticed in the past month. CDFG surveys of sites in the Delta and lower Sacramento River have found adult populations of smelt are the lowest ever measured along with stripped bass. The organism that smelt feed on are also collapsing. Scientists are clear why this is happening right now. One effect could be less water heading south of the Delta for farmers like those in Westlands Water District in hopes to restoring the fish population.

EPA is calling for school districts who want to apply for grant funds for clean school buses to replace older diesel buses. EPA will make available $7.5 million to districts who apply. Older diesels - made before 1990 are six times more polluting than new buses. Sources say every valley district who applies is likely to get some funds considering our air status. Tulare school buses could use CNG buses to be fueled at the city CNG yard. Visalia Unified is ready to use a new CNG fueling station for its new bus fleet and the City of Visalia will also use the facility to fuel up their CNG garbage trucks.

TCAG study of a possible half cent sales tax for Tulare County roads would require a two-thirds approval vote - considered a long shot. Meanwhile, law enforcement and fire - at least as big a problem as our crumbling roads - wants to know how about us? Taking a chapter out Visalia's successful bond measure some are floating the idea of a sales tax for the county's general fund without specifying its required use. That would enable the measure to win on just 50% majority. The monies could be split between roads and law enforcement then - or so goes the idea. In any case, don't look for this to show up on this November's ballot, maybe next year.

Fired Visalia police officer Bryan Pinto may have won in Tulare County Superior Court fighting to get his job back, but now he must await an appeal filed by the city of judge's decision. The city appealed the ruling to the 5th District Court of Appeal a few days ago. Despite the fact he was found not guilty of accusations of sodomy. Visalia maintains the officer lied over what he knew in the case.

Part of the business expansion at Tulare US Cold Storage is based on contracts with a major frozen food company, Pinnacle Foods, who bought out bankrupt Aurora Foods in 2004. Pinnacle Foods makes Van DeKamps and Mrs. Paul's seafood, Celeste Pizza, Swanson and Hungryman TV dinners and Lenders Bagel to name just a few. Regional manager for US Cold Storage, Rod Noll, says this contract and growth in the industry has prompted the company to add their new facility that includes 3.8 million sq. ft. of refrigerated and dry space. The new building called Tulare North should be ready in November. The plant will add 20 new staffers when complete.

Cal Poly is considering an undergraduate offering in Tulare in the fall of next year if funds being sought from the federal government comes in to build a new education building at the Agri-Center. Continuing Education director Skip Parks says other schools may team up in the use of the building to offer more upper division classes in Tulare County. "The idea is we all would play a role," says Parks, including Fresno State and the UC Davis. The classes offered by Cal Poly would lead to a degree in only one subject - what they call interdisciplinary studies aimed at a student that wants to get into management. Cal Poly's other classes funded by grants in the past year will end because the grant funds ran out.

Settlement talks have failed between the City of Visalia and Restoration Church last week. "Looks like we are going to court in October," says city attorney Alex Peltzer. The lawsuit brought originally by the city to take the former Main Street Theater by eminent domain was challenged by a local church, Restoration Church, who was seeking to buy the property. The City has the right to take under the law and the church says any taking violates another federal law. The city lost a round in court recently and city officials, including council members, will be called to testify at least in depositions, says Peltzer. Once the court decides whether the city has the right to issue of compensation paid to the owner of the building will be declared. The city wants to preserve the building for the Enchanted Playhouse children's theater group.

Groups look at old Three Rivers fire house again. Calling themselves the Firehouse Five Three Rivers non-profit may join to go into the now vacant fire station at 198 and South Fork Dr. Three Rivers Village Foundation organizer Tom Sparks says the Community Service District, Cemetery District, food pantry along with the Sheriff and Volunteer Patrol. Supervisor Allen Ishida is working on the project. But a study of the cost for rent, heat and cooling will be needed first. The Fire Department moved to their new location further west on 198 recently.

Land O'Lakes has offered a letter of intent to buy Fresno-based Britz Fertilizer says a Britz company manager in Fresno. Britz is family owned with some $229 million in sales as of a few years ago. However, operations manager for Britz, Bob Glassman was unavailable for comment this week. Britz has several divisions and farm acreage which may or may not be involved in a potential transaction. Land O'Lakes spokesperson Lydia Botham said she could "not comment on industry rumors."

Orthopaedics Associates continues to look for space for a new medical campus, says principal with the company Dr. Bruce Le. So far they can't come up with a site in the greater Downtown Visalia area that works. Dr. Le says they will likely return to the city council to seek approval for a Plaza Dr. location.

CAFTA is on the front burner in Washington this month. The Central American Trade pact has divided ag interests as it has Congress itself. Farm Bureau support the measure that would open up more trade opportunities with Central America while other groups like Nisei Farmers League fear competition from low wage countries to California farm products. "The American Farm Bureau mostly represents big insurance companies," argues Nisei president Manuel Cunha. Observers believe there are enough votes to defeat the bill supported by Congressman Nunes and President Bush.

Lazyboy is expected to break ground later this year on south Mooney just north of Packwood Creek. The site on the west side of Mooney has now been cleared. Owner representative Paul Fourchy says the next step will be to submit plans for the future store to the city. The company has two locations in Fresno.

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Tulare - Only weeks after top competitor Walmart made public its plans for a big new store in Tulare, rival Target submitted plans through a Sacramento area developer for a new 126,000 sq. ft. store on Highway 99 north of the outlet mall.

This week a representative of the developer Vic DeMello of Browman Development told city planner Bonnie Simeos they hoped to be under construction in October and open a year later. The city is holding a July public hearing for the developer's conditional use permit to put up a freeway sign.

Mayor Richard Ortega surprised attendees at the city's State of the City speech last week with the news that wasn't unexpected in some quarters. "We're likely to see many of the retailers in Visalia set up locations here too," says Ortega, now that the community has passed the 50,000 population threshold.

Ortega notes the new Target center "will have room for seven other stores to locate in," that will mean more retail tax dollars for Tulare.

Tulare Chamber staffer Bob Reynolds isn't surprised noting that he expects the city's commercial square footage to go from the existing one million sq. ft. to 2.6 million sq. ft. counting just four projects on the drawing board or well underway.

It was just a few decades ago this site between Prosperity, Hillman, Cartmill and 99 was simply another Highway 99 cotton field and plum orchard. Then came the Tulare outlet mall and the new Kmart, Mervyn's center followed by the Del Lago development and Walmart.

Now the outlet mall is going through two new expansions with Phase 1 underway and open this coming holiday by buying more land north of the center adding 133,000 sf. ft. altogether. The new Target anchored center will nearly cover 200,000 sf. ft. and several small box stores will be locating next to Target. On 17 acres the developer Browman Development is buying from William martin. North of this project is the big Cartmill Crossing project. The south Cartmill project is 233,000 sq. ft. and is expected to be anchored by Lowes.

North of the Cartmill interchange there is another 733,000 sf. ft. - on land in the process of being annexed.

This center is expected to be the furthest one out in terms of development.

New in the past few weeks is the Lagomarsino family and a Bakersfield realtor have filed plans for a new Walmart anchored supercenter adding another 290,000 sq. ft. There is room for nearly 60,000 sq. ft. of outpads and restaurants at the site.

The new Target center has been designed to bring traffic flow off 99 onto Retherford and bring cars in just south of the new Target center. Traffic coming to either Target to the north the outlet mall and movie theater to the south, will enter the same way. Traffic exiting the outlet mall will exit only where the entrance is today. This will build traffic flow through the new outlet expansion area and other new pads nearby making them more valuable.

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by Tom Wells

Tulare County - "Possible" is the key word in this story. Like so many things that depend on the state government for funding, the attempt to bring new judgeships to Tulare and California's other fifty-seven counties will stand or fall as a result of what happens in Sacramento this week and, perhaps, next.

When I learned that legislation to help alleviate the workload in the state's court system had been introduced by Senator Joseph Dunn, D-Garden Grove, the natural thing was to find out more about it and then ask for a reaction from a representative of the county courts. A check of the state Senate's web site took care of the former: SB 56 would add an unspecified number of judges to each county's court system at one-year intervals over a three-year period.

But before we get to that, let's take a look at just how bad the situation is in Tulare County. A visit with Tulare County Superior Court Presiding Judge Paul Vortmann revealed both the basic problems and some more in-depth concerns.

Currently, there are two judicial vacancies in the Tulare County courts, both created by the retirement of long-time members of the local judiciary. When Judge Martin Staven retired, he was replaced TFN by a retired judge from out of the area who is part of the Judicial Council's Assigned Judges program. The program allows judges who are no longer on the bench to come out of retirement to help a county court until a vacancy is filled through an appointment by California's governor.

Oddly enough, Judge Vortmann notes the second vacancy is being filled by the very man whose retirement created it. Although former Tulare County Superior Court Judge William Silveira ended a long and distinguished career last month, replete with retirement party and all, he's still on the bench every day. Silveira, too, is filling the void until an assignment is made. And he's also doing it through the Assigned Judges program.

So, according to Vortmann, our Superior Court system is still functioning at the optimal level given all the other factors in its current situation, despite having two judgeships without permanent judges. However, the presiding judge of the county court makes it clear that his system is on overload and strained to near the breaking point. And that's with sixteen judges (including the vacancies), four court commissioners and one referee.

The growth in Visalia and Tulare County has put an extra burden on the Tulare County Superior Court system. According to Judge Vortmann, the increase in judicial traffic has many ramifications, from current realities to future possibilities. Among the workload fallout is a trend of pushing of civil cases far down on the calendar to accommodate the criminal cases which are, of course, considered more urgent in terms of the public good.

Vortmann is alarmed by the trend because it often leads frustrated civil litigants to turn to private judging. In adjudication outside the court system, the parties pay a retired judge to resolve their dispute, thus bringing the matter to a timely conclusion. But that presumes the plaintiff and defendant can both afford to hire the private judge. If not, they must cool their heels while the wheels of state-sponsored justice grind slowly in their direction. And that, says Vortmann, creates a two-tiered justice system, based on money–a thought that sends shivers of injustice down his jurisprudential spine.

The Tulare County Superior Court's workload having outstripped the established number of judicial officers (21 in all), also contributes to problems with criminal cases. The court, says Judge Vortmann, is handling upwards of a dozen capital cases right now. These cases tend to be very complicated and very lengthy, from arraignment to sentencing, often being assigned to one judge for the duration. And His Honor tells me the workload involved in a single capital case effectively removes that judge from assignment to any other cases.

So very serious non-death-penalty cases can start backing up if every one of them goes to trial. Hence, there's even more pressure on the efforts of the Tulare County District Attorney's Office and the defense in each case to arrive at a suitable plea agreement. Attorney's I've spoken with in the DA's office over the years are very committed to seeing that no plea agreement is reached that does not guarantee the defendant receives suitable punishment for the crime to which he or she is pleading guilty.

But there's a hitch: the law guarantees defendants the right to a speedy trial and sets limits on the time they can be incarcerated without waiving their rights to that expeditious adjudication. Although Vortmann says virtually all defendants waive their rights so that the court has enough time to deal with their cases, he envisions a day when a greater relative lack of resources (mainly judges and support staff) forces the courts to release criminals because the plea agreement/speedy trial equation has broken down under the weight of the workload.

What's the answer? Well, the possibility of an answer lies in the aforementioned legislation. But there's much to say about the bill, its specifics and the rocky course it's had through just its house of origin. Several stumbling blocks to SB 56's success at putting more judges in every county's courtrooms lie ahead, from this week's likely up-or-down vote in the state Senate to whether the Assembly gets it before the legislature has to pull the plug on this session.

I'll talk about the bill in a couple of weeks, when we know more about it's fate. So don't forget to pick up the next issue of Valley Voice so you can read "Upgrades Possible for County Court System?: Part Two."

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Alpaugh - Alpaugh's long struggle to get safe drinking water is nearing an end with plans this week to hold a groundbreaking on a $4.2 million water project. Staffer Paul Boyer of Self Help Enterprise says the groundbreaking June 3rd will mean the digging of a 1300 foot well, construction of a new water tank five times the volume of the existing tank and laying of some 10 miles of pipe to connect the system in this small farmworker community.

Most of the money will be coming from a federal USDA grant of $2 million and $2.2 million from the state in part grants and loans. Department of Water Resources, Self Help assisted the Alpaugh Joint Power Authority in applying for the grants for the 300 plus consumers of the small town that just this past week celebrated its 100th birthday.

The JPA includes that municipality and the Alpaugh Irrigation District who will get five miles of pipeline in the rural areas to service their customers.

Once upon a time with groundwater levels easy to reach this part of southern Tulare County has seen its wells sink with the thirst of agriculture in the valley that can dig deep for water or receive surface water supplies, something this impoverished community could not.

Besides clean drinking water, the new tank should help increase water pressure in town helping to fight fires if necessary.

The community of 700 has had several years in which they have had to buy bottled drinking water for every day use. Last January the town's only working well was declared unsafe for use.

Besides Self Help Enterprise, other agencies and companies are helping out including members of AmeriCorps, helping to connect residents to the new lines. CitiBank has given a donation of $3000 to help with water connections. Residents will have water meters.

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