Visalia City Council/Planning Commission
Not All Salute Appeal Compromise

Visalia - The Visalia City Council will hear the first reading of the proposed ordinance change to the municipal code pertaining to the review of Planning Commission decisions by the Visalia City Council. The controversial issue that was tabled back in July is being brought back forward in an initiative by council member Greg Kirkpatrick considered a compromise plan.

Prior to this the Visalia Chamber of Commerce and others opposed a draft plan “that would essentially usurp the power of the City Planning Commission,” they charged last July when the idea was floated. Chamber CEO Mike Cully argued at that time against the “proposal that would allow any member of the Visalia City Council to appeal any decision of the Planning Commission at any time and for any reason.”

Now under the new plan, heard by council this week after this paper goes to press, any council member could appeal only so-called tentative maps but not conditional use permits or other decisions by the Planning Commission. Secondly, under the new plan the council member would not state opposition to the map to appeal it but simply “state the policy issue” involved with the appeal. That's important to applicants who want to quickly head off the problem once they learn of question council might have, adjusting the plan accordingly. Unlike the current ordinance, council members don't need to pay a fee to appeal like members of the general public.

City attorney Alex Peltzer says the draft language is necessary to insure a council member can make an appeal without triggering a potential conflict of interest since that council member would otherwise indicate opposition to the project that would be subject to the appeal. “We don't want to make it that the council member has to step down when the general appeal comes to them.”

Peltzer says a second public hearing on the draft language will be held in January taking comment from the public. But already the Visalia Chamber has come out opposed to the revised plan as they did on the original idea last summer.

In a letter to the council this week the chamber's board said the opposed the proposal for the following reasons:

By very nature, this proposal is arbitrary, leaving itself open to the perception, if not the reality, of abuse. This proposal damages Visalia's reputation in the market as a business friendly community with rules and procedures that are transparent and consistent.

This proposal will have a dampening effect on business activity as it will add time and uncertainty to projects, both of which increase costs.

“We respectfully request that you continue to reevaluate this proposal and not approve this in its current form. We remain willing to maintain a dialogue with you about alternative approaches,” concluded the letter from the Chamber.

Planning Commission chair Sam Logan told the Voice that he favors the idea of letting the applicant know what needs to be looked at before the application is heard and that not offering any reason why the appeal is being requested “puts local capital on hold.” He notes that making “homebuilders wait to get their subdivisions approved makes business more expensive. If we want low cost housing we can't make the cost of approval high.”

Still he says he “has no big problem” with the compromise language used by Kirkpatrick.

The issue came up several times earlier this year when Planning Commission voted on several land use issues and without an appeal Planning Commission decisions are final. That prompted council member Greg Collins to look at possible appeal himself an awkward situation since the municipal code did not allow for a council member to appeal a Planning Commission decision, required a payment to do the appeal and demanded the council member asking for the appeal step down when the final decision was made.

Peltzer says “lots of cities” have similar language that allows a council to appeal the decision of a Planning Commission who, after all, are the elected decision making body.

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Tulare County - In hopes of saving residents 5 to 10 percent on their electricity bills, Tulare County Board of Supervisors this past week voted to pay $25,000 to look at the feasibility of joining a joint powers authority of central valley cities and Kings County to produce and distribute electric power to residents. The municipal power model recently approved by the state called Community Choice allows a joint power authority to replace the existing private utility PG&E or SCE, in providing power to all users in an area. The JPA is led by Kings River Conservation District (KRCD) who has been organizing the ambitious effort for several years has already signed up 13 municipalities including the city of Fresno, the county of Kings and the city of Dinuba in Tulare County to participate.

Significantly, if the Board of Supervisors agrees to join the JPA, called San Joaquin Valley Power Authority, it would affect only power users in the rural areas of Tulare County not users in the seven cities of Tulare County who are not part of the JPA.

But the city of Visalia “may have an interest,” confirms city manager Steve Salomon who said they plan to talk to KRCD officials soon. Asked about this, KRCD's CEO Dave Orth told the Voice that although the current JPA covers only municipalities in or at the edge of their service district, the agency might be open to have Visalia be part of the operation. “It will have to make sense for everyone.”

The draw would be lower power costs to offer not just to residents but businesses who might locate in the service area in a state with sky high power costs.

Tulare County Administrator Brian Haddix termed the payment a “relatively minor” expense considering the potential utility savings for not only the county but for commercial as well as residential power users.

Eric Coyne, the county's information officer, added that the potential for having relatively low energy costs could pay big dividends in attracting more business, industrial as well as residential growth in the county's future.

In addition to allocating funds toward the feasibility study, Supervisors authorized a request and payment to Pacific Gas and Electric and Southern California Edison for “load” information necessary to conduct the feasibility analysis and to issue payment for the request. The board also authorized Haddix to sign any communication to the Public Utilities Commission indicating the county's interest in exploring the Community Choice Aggregation. A decision by Tulare County is expected in just a few months or sooner.

SCE Neutral?

SCE regional manager Brian Thoburn says “Edison is neutral” on the issue. “We want what is best for our customers” noting that customers will have a choice when Community Choice kicks in. Edison continues to own and maintain the power grid, the transmission of the electricity in the service area. That brings up the point of SCE potentially losing the customer base where they want to bring in new high voltage power lines in northern Tulare County a role they would apparently keep even under Community Choice (see other story).

Despite the statement by the private utilities that they will fully cooperate with the Community Choice effort, both have fought tooth and nail over the years to keep publicly owned muni-power from growing larger and won't be happy if they keep losing customers that have they have served for a very long time.

Milestone Ahead

A critical milestone was been reached for 13 municipalities and the Kings River Conservation District (KRCD) with the formation of the San Joaquin Valley Power Authority (Authority), a governing body that will develop and conduct electricity-related programs for the region. During the months of October and November all 13 of the existing municipalities governing boards took action to pass ordinances and join the Authority.

On the heels of the energy crisis in 2001, the Kings River Conservation District and 13 municipalities-Kings County and the cities of Clovis, Corcoran, Dinuba, Fresno, Kerman, Kingsburg, Lemoore, Hanford, Parlier, Reedley, Selma, and Sanger-have been working together to develop an innovative energy program, Community Choice, that they say will reduce costs, increase energy reliability and bring additional renewable energy resources to valley residents and businesses.

The Authority will oversee the implementation and management of the Community Choice program including the setting of electrical generation rates for customers. Transmission and distribution rates will still be set by the local utilities, PG&E and SCE, with oversight from the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC). The Authority's rates have been conservatively estimated to save customers 5 percent on their generation costs. "This equates to over $780 million over a 20-year period," stated Orth. "This is a huge economic benefit for our Valley."

The first order of business for the Authority will be to submit the Community Choice Implementation Plan to the CPUC for review and certification. This is anticipated to occur in January 2007, and is anticipated to be the first plan in the State submitted for a Community Choice program. The implementation plan will address all of the requirements set forth by the CPUC and Assembly Bill 117, the law enacting Community Choice Aggregation, including organizational structure, program implementation, resource plan, rate setting and participant rights and responsibilities. Once the plan is certified, the governing bodies of the 13 municipalities will have one more opportunity to decline participation in the program before implementation.

There will be four phases to program implementation. During Phase I, the Community Choice program will serve the participating municipalities' own electrical loads. Phase II will incorporate large commercial and industrial customers. Phase III will add medium commercial accounts, and Phase IV will include all remaining accounts including residents and small businesses. It is anticipated that all customers will be phased into the program by late 2008.

To meet the energy requirements of the residents, businesses and municipal facilities of the 13 municipalities, the Authority will enter into an agreement with KRCD as the energy service provider for the program. KRCD is proposing to develop, construct and operate a 500-megawatt, base-load, natural gas-fired power plant. "The cornerstone of the Community Choice program is KRCD's proposed Community Power Plant," stated Orth. "As a pubic agency without a profit motive, we can build the power plant with tax exempt financing and pass that savings onto the customer." KRCD is currently conducting pre-permitting activities for the Community Power Plant. The plant is being sited south of the Parlier Wastewater Treatment Plant on Bethel Avenue between Manning and Dinuba Avenues.

Parlier Power Plant

In order to meet the energy requirements prior to KRCD's Community Power Plant coming online, contracts will be entered into with third-party energy suppliers. Ultimately, upon construction of the plant, the energy supply for the program will be a combination of KRCD resources (Community Power Plant and Malaga Peaking Plant) supplemented by third-party agreements and market purchases.

California Assembly Bill 117, passed in 2002, allows cities and counties to combine the electrical loads of their constituents for bulk electricity purchases. An opt-out structure is provided for customers that choose to continue buying power directly from the investor-owned utility. For customers participating in a Community Choice program, the local utility company will continue to deliver the electricity purchased by the regional Community Choice program through its wires and will also continue to provide meter reading, billing and maintenance services.

The Kings River Conservation District is a public agency that serves agricultural, business, and community residents within 1.2 million acres in portions of Fresno, Kings and Tulare counties since 1951. KRCD is a leading resource management agency in the areas of water, power and the environment for the Kings River service area. For more information about KRCD, visit www.krcd.org.

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Edison Heads In New Direction For High Voltage Power Lines

Tulare County - Stung by opposition to their preferred alternative route to run 18 miles of new high voltage power lines along east 198, Southern California Edison is pursuing a northern alternative to run the new line. That route would hook up to a major SCE Big Creek line near Lemon Cove and extend west to the north of Woodlake through Elderwood to connect to another main Big Creek power line that runs along Rd. 148 bringing power in the Rector substation east of Visalia. “I think this route has a much better chance,” says Tulare County supervisor Allen Ishida who represents this area and traveled with SCE officials this past week to meet with Woodlake area property owners.

“For one thing it passes through lots less permanent crops” like orange groves, he says. Ishida noted that when power lines run overhead “you can't farm oranges.”

But Ishida backs Edison in their plan to bring more power in from the giant Big Creek hydroelectric plant. “We're growing and unless we plan for it, our area will be short of power,” he maintains.

Edison got an earful from affected residents last month at a public meeting in Farmersville with a turnout of over 100 attendees.

Some complained about the views that the power lines would ruin along the 198 corridor while others worried about the health effect of high voltage lines.

Edison regrouped after the meeting and said they would not follow an announced time table to submit their preferred alternative along east 198 to the CPUC in January suggesting they would study the matter and then bring it back to the local community for more public hearings.

Ishida believes the northern alternative north of Woodlake is still likely to get some opposition. But SCE still wants to file an application in early 2007 looking to begin operating the line by Spring 2009.

The plan calls for bringing power from the Big Creek line northeast of Lemon Cove into the Visalia area—about a 20 mile route. The Rd. 148 route (McAuliff alignment) already connects to Big Creek and the new northern alternative would connect to this line south of Yettem. At this point it heads south to Visalia on the existing high voltage line route, theoretically meaning SCE doesn't have to buy as much right-of-way.

Although this appears to be the direction SCE is taking—there is no official word from the utility that this alternative will be selected in the end. Spokesman Bill Delain was not available for comment.

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By Miles Shuper

Visalia - Tulare County's Child Welfare Services Department is expected to vacate the old county courthouse annex, commonly referred to as the “Four Story” in downtown Visalia sometime this summer.

Last week County supervisors approved a lease agreement for the former Canned Foods store 20,745 square foot structure located at 26500 Mooney, about 3/8 miles southeast of Government Plaza just south of Mooney Grove Park. The target date to move in is June 30.

The 210 N. Court St. building (The Four Story), one of the area's most recognizable landmarks, originally built as the annex to the county's original courthouse, has been the subject of considerable concern in recent years largely due to its antiquated air conditioning system. County officials had been seeking an adequate location to house the Health and Human Services Agency's Child Welfare Services Department but several proposals didn't pan out.

The adjacent single-story will continue to be occupied by Tulare Works.

About a year ago the city began negotiations with Johnny and Donna George who purchased the former Canned Goods facility.

The lease agreement calls for the county to pay $28,006 per month ($1.35 per square foot) with a 2 percent annual escalator clause. The county is responsible for all utilities, telephone and janitorial services. The owners will be responsible for all maintenance, repair and upkeep, according to the agreement.

In addition, the owners will be reimbursed $190,322 for the cost of the county's telephone and data infrastructure needs. Also the county will reimburse the owner for air conditioning and electrical infrastructure changes, not to exceed $10,000.

Hal Cypert, assistant director of support services of the county's Resource Management Agency, said a unique factor in the new CWS headquarters will be the county's first extensive use of both the Haworth Architectural Interior (AI) walls and the Haworth Modular furnishings. He said the use of the AI walls will allow CWS to move and relocate walls to fit any change in use. The new facility will house workers from the Visalia department as well as some from Porterville, Dinuba In all, about 60 workers from the downtown facility will move to the Mooney facility.

The lease is for five years with two five-year options for renewal.

On the same day the board approved the lease agreement, it also took action to remove the old courthouse annex building from the indentured list of county properties, freeing it for potential sale. The building was one of several county owned buildings and properties the county removed from the list during its adjusted financing of the County's Millennium Fund. No decision has been made to market the Four Story, but there has been interest in recent years, according to Cypert.

Supervisor Phil Cox, who was given assurance at the board meeting that plans call for the move to the new site to be completed by summer, called the Four-Story a landmark which has served the county in many ways but no longer fits the county's needs. He referred to lingering problems with the air conditioning system which has concerned county employees for many years.

A worker who has been in the downtown facility for several years said the building “is just too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter” despite all the county's efforts to adjust the system.

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Visalia - Trial begins this week over just how much the City of Visalia must pay the owners of the Visalia Theater property where the Enchanted Playhouse holds forth. The case is a continuation of the dispute over the eminent domain purchase by the City of Visalia in 2004 of the old Main Street Theater owned by a Bay Area family. The city won round one in the dispute convincing a judge the city had the right to buy the property to further the arts in Downtown. Now, Judge Melinda Reed and a jury will decide just how much the city must pay.

The case also will resurrect the issue of the Restoration Church dispute with the city as well—over the constitutionality of the taking—an issue now settled between the two parties. The church wanted to buy the theater but council was reluctant to issue a conditional use permit for the church on Main Street in the Downtown core area. Later the city argued through eminent domain it had the right to take the property despite the fact the Visalia based church and the owners said they had a deal at a higher figure than the city had offered.

Restoration Church contacted the Pacific Justice Institute and the city was forced to cough up thousands to pay to defend their action prompting PJI president Brad Dacus to note that “the city has no right to come in at the last minute and steal it away from them,” he says, “especially when the current tenants already had a chance to purchase it and declined.”

But cooler heads prevailed and Restoration Church and the city agreed to settle the matter some time ago essentially dividing the baby in King Solomon fashion—agreeing to own and share the theater 50/50. With the issue of valuation likely to be settled in the next week or two, Restoration Church will have to decide whether to pay half the cost of the purchase and agree to share maintenance costs, says city attorney Alex Peltzer.

“But we haven't heard from them” whether the church still wants to use the theater as has been agreed upon. A call to the church by the Valley Voice was not returned.

If the church decides not to participate in the purchase, says Peltzer, the city will own it and it will continue to be the home of the Enchanted Playhouse children's theater who rent it from the city.

If the church declines, it would be ironic in the sense that Restoration Church was the potential buyer who actually bid up the price of the property from what the city had offered—about $380,000 to $550,000 if the church paid cash or $600,000 if they wanted to finance it the owner had offered, according to Peltzer.

“Now the owner says they have an appraisal at $770,000 and we are offering about $380,000,” says Peltzer. Peltzer figures the case will take no longer than a week of court time.

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Tulare County - When Dr. James S. Cullor speaks, people listen. His credentials include serving as the current director of the Veterinary Medicine Teaching and Research Center of the University of California Davis in Tulare, which runs a clinical teaching program, operates a five-state diagnostic class for CDFA extension in beef and dairy, and conducts both applied and basic research.

Dr. Cullor is the founder of the Dairy Food Safety Laboratories in Tulare and the developer of the J5 vaccine. He has conducted extensive research in biotechnology, immunology, infectious disease, food safety and pathophysiology, and teaches courses in dairy heard health management, dairy cattle production and infectious diseases.

His current goal is to establish a California Dairy Technology Center, which would conduct research and help the U.S. dairy industry keep its global lead. The center would provide education to students at all levels, as well as include a dairy where research could be conducted that would be made available to the U.S. dairy industry.

“We need to get a functional dairy so we can stay ahead,” he said. “There is really no laboratory that we can go to and test out different approaches to see how they are going to work. Dairies really need it that, before they invest in an expensive system and find out it's not what they need.”

After some recent funding successes and setbacks, the core partners, the Joint Union High School District in Tulare, the College of the Sequoias and the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, have regrouped to rededicate their partnership to overcome the funding hurdle.

“What we've done in the last couple of months is to reaffirm our commitment that we want to get this funded,” he said. “We have been trying for sometime to get this together.”

The partnership recently met with key leaders of the local dairy industry, as well as local government leaders, such as Tulare Mayor Richard Ortega. The goal now is “going after the money to do it,” according to Cullor. Among the possible funding sources are the new Farm Bill, California state funds and corporate sponsors, including those in the dairy industry.

“What we need is cash up front,” he said. “The University of California requires that you have all the money up front. Some lending associations have approached us but that is not allowed.”

Recently, the California Milk Advisory Board published its McKinsey Report, which outlined what the California dairy industry needs to do in the next 20 years to stay competitive. The institute that Cullor is trying to establish would be designed to meet many of the recommendations in the report.

Dr. Cullor's travels include 30 trips to China in the last five years, where he studied their agriculture, specifically their dairy and animal agriculture.

“They have a specific goal of being a worldwide exporter of dairy products and animal products to the world,” he told a panel of officials from the California Department of Food and Agriculture at a listening session to gather information for the new Farm Bill. “And so when I look at their system and when I look at the differences, the differences (with the U.S.) are the education system and the extension system. So in the Farm Bill, I'd very much like to get more support funding for basic and applied research, education at the community college and university level, both in basic and applied research.

“A particular program that might be of interest would be the one that we're working down in Tulare County with Tulare Joint Union High School,” he told the gathering. “They, along with the dairy advisors and academics have been working on a California Dairy Technology Center, which is a thousand-cow dairy with all associated young stock, where we would teach them all. K-through-12, community college, undergrad, professional school and post-docs could use this facility to work on the dairy industry and address things like animal health and well-being, public health, environmental health, food safety and food defense.

“In all of those things, this particular facility and infrastructure would be self-supporting, up and going, and work for our jobs, for our teaching education, to help keep California ahead not only in the dairy industry but in agriculture in general,” he said.

“We have a great opportunity in the Farm Bill, hopefully, that this facility and this program could be supported,” he continued, “and it could be expanded from Bakersfield to Modesto to include infrastructure and partners from all of those, and then the teaching and research would help with job performance, job training and all sectors of agriculture and help with both the basic and applied research.

“Both the dairy producers and the environmentalists, when they get together, sometimes nicely and sometimes not so nicely, the bottom line is that they all have a lack of appropriate research data. It's either outdated or non-existent. It comes off the internet rather than from a good scientific peer review system, and this facility and this partnership would help the state of California provide such information so we could remain strong and we could remain ahead of the Chinese, the Brazilians, the European Union, and so on and so forth.”

When a panelist asked Dr. Cullor how quickly the agricultural sector in China will become competitive on the global market with the U.S., Dr. Cullor responded, “Right now they're an agricultural giant, but not an agricultural powerhouse. They have people from all over the world just spending tons of money creating infrastructure, new laboratories, new equipment and new schools. Where they can't compete with us is the education.

“They're transferring from a manufacturing society into this creative society, and they're creating universities to try to match,” he continued. “In fact, they're inviting university professors from all over the world. When they asked how much it costs me for a graduate student, I told them. They said well, if you come over here you can have six graduate students and do your work here. My retort was, 'But they're not going to go back home and help my country, they're going to stay right there, and I don't want to do that.'

“As soon as they switch over from the manufacturing culture into this creative culture, they are going to go like wildfire into our arenas,” he said. “That's why we need our extension service, that's why we need our university infrastructures, and we need to keep our research, because they don't know how to do those things, and we do.”

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Target coming to Lemoore? That's the word from sources that say Kitchell Corporation has 60 acres under contract in Lemoore for a new shopping center to be anchored by Target. Kitchell has offices in Fresno and all over California affiliated with Kitchell Construction. The site is reportedly west of Highway 43 not far from the proposed Super Wal-Mart. The city has been wrestling with Cal Trans over traffic impact fees for the Wal-Mart center for the past several years. With a second shopping center planned nearby there may be a bigger pot of money to offset costs associated with the interchange improvements. The city's new general plan process is underway and calls for a new Highway 198 interchange at the 21st St. alignment.

Sometime this week negotiations involving the future of Visalia's 24 Hour Fitness are expected to be finalized, ending weeks of speculation if the gym will be closing or moved or taken over by another operation. Mary Seltzer, a company spokesman, said no announcement would be made until employees and members are informed of what will be happening. A meeting between parties involved in the lease of the building was scheduled for mid-week, companies officials confirmed. The lease for the 3515 S. Mooney Boulevard gym, next to Longs Drugs in the Sequoia Mall, is up early in 2007. The company, which came to Visalia in 1997, taking over from Gold's Gym, has 193 gyms in California. There have been indications that another health club business has expressed interest in the 24-Hour site but nothing has been confirmed.

Visalia Oaks ambitious plan to build major grandstand improvements along the right field line by this next spring have been postponed until after the 2006 season, says president of the company, Tom Seidler. “We'll break ground in August” on the plan to take the seating up to 3300 and add a kids play area and concession stands ready by the April 08 season. But coming this winter will be two major upgrades on the third base side of the park along with new better lighting in the park and restrooms. One project is to make a third dugout for visitors that can be rented at field level for the best view of the action and secondly, a covered “hot corner lounge” for groups of 100. Seidler says plans to utilize the stadium during off season for concerts and special events that should help keep the place in use. “Blues and Brews” went from 500 one year to 1000 or 1500 attendees in recent years showing the demand for these type of shows.

Tulare city staff will recommend to council this week they not support a county effort that is looking at a countywide dispatch service with the other cities. While Visalia appears very interested in the idea, city staff in Tulare is recommending a thumbs down to the city council this week based on the worry that sharing staff and equipment in a joint dispatch service may have more headaches than benefits. The county's system is old and needs upgrading and the City of Visalia may want to build a new dispatch center as well. County dispatches for four smaller communities. A joint dispatch system could go ahead even without Tulare, but the likelihood would be greater if Tulare participated.

Tule Indian and Tule River interests are one step closer to an agreement that would grant the tribe more water rights on the South Tule. Tribal representative Alec Garfield says the two sides met again this past week and moved closer to an agreement. “We hope to finalize the details at our next meeting in February,” says Garfield. If the agreement comes to fruition the agreement will go to Congress for ratification. The two sides have been negotiating for several years.

Proponent of Blue Ribbon Cheese, attorney David Albers, says he expects the start up cheese company will be in the permitting stage in six months at a site Mr. Albers owned near Riverdale. “We are already talking to the county of Fresno” about the big project that would be the first major cheese plant built in the valley for several years. The company plans to make both mozzarella and cheddar cheese, a total of some 680,000 pounds of cheese daily.

David Albers, attorney for the Etchegaray dairies near Allensworth says he expects approval from the Tulare County Board of Supervisors when they meet Tuesday. The public hearing that drew a large crowd of opponents from the Bay Area is now closed allowing the board to sound off on why they think the dairy project may be a good idea for this land despite objections by opponents that include officials with the state park at Allensworth. Albers says he “is intrigued” by the idea that the state park offered at the last meeting to buy out Mr. Etchegaray's development rights for the dairy to protect the park. But that is a process that could take some time, he says. “We're not going to build the dairy right away,” says Albers, noting they must go through the air district permitting process. That process is likely to include anaerobic digestion that would decrease pollution emissions from the dairy. One supervisor told the Voice he is likely to vote for the project in part because manure will help improve the alkaline soil in the area around Allensworth. Opponents point to flies and smells hurting attendance at the state park but county staff points out the park actually gets limited visitation.

Clean air advocates are cheering an EPA decision that will allow California to regulate small engines under 25 horsepower. Seven percent of mobile emissions come from small engines in the state from sources like lawnmowers. Senator Dianne Feinstein hailed the news noting that four small engine manufacturers say that they could build the cleaner engines.

The latest California Construction Review report (Nov. 27) on the state's housing economy reports single family housing units under construction falling nearly 50 percent statewide from October 2005. Other sources are also showing a slowing market reporting some drop in median price for the first time as well as the slowdown in sales. In November Bay Area the median price fell 1.4 percent, in Fresno County the median was down more than 2 percent and in Tulare County it was flat. Sales in Tulare County fell over 23 percent from the year before. Dataquick says median price fell most in San Diego, nearly 7 percent, but L.A. was up 2.6 percent. While single family housing has declined statewide, the number of multi family permits are up statewide by 6 percent, says the Construction Review. And in Tulare County multi family permits have doubled from 326 during the first ten months of 2005 to 658 during the same time period of 2006. Meanwhile everyone is watching the default notices leading to foreclosure. Foreclosures are increasing with the popularity of interest only loans in recent years now about 35 percent of all loans compared to just 2 percent in 2001. In 2007 9 million adjustable loans will readjust and some of those people may find their home is not worth what they paid for it.

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By Aimee Lyn Brown

Tulare County - New processing techniques for dairy milk are resulting in a “fresher” taste and a shelf life that outlasts conventional processing by more than 30 days. If commercialized, the technique could help local dairies find larger markets for their product while maintaining their high quality standards.

Researchers in Oregon State University's Department of Food Science and Technology are using an emerging high-pressure technology to process milk at lower temperatures while still maintaining the safety of heat-pasteurized milk. The result is safe milk that tastes fresher and has a longer shelf life than conventionally processed milk.

A recent report on the flavor impact of high hydrostatic pressure processing combined with low to moderate heat appeared in The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. The use of high or ultra-high temperature pasteurization to kill microbes in milk results in a safe product, but also a heat-damaged product, said Michael Qian, one of the primary researchers on the project. Using high pressure to kill bacteria requires less heat and results in a less-processed flavor that is similar to farm-fresh milk.

“The flavor of milk is a product of its chemical properties,” said Qian. “Under ultra-high temperature pasteurization the chemical composition changes, sometimes resulting in a cooked or burned flavor that may be unappealing to some consumers.”

This cooked flavor is representative of most milk processed and sold in other countries, but its cooked flavor has been largely unpopular in the U.S., said Qian. Even milk pasteurized at a moderate temperature can undergo a flavor change.

“A lot of the time consumers don't realize what they are tasting is a result of the processing technique, not the milk itself,” he said. “The level of heat used during processing is one of the reasons different brands of milk taste differently.”

Many of the brands of milk sold in stores today are labeled as ultra-pasteurized meaning they've been heated at higher temperatures or for longer periods of time in order to kill bacteria, said J. Antonio Torres, a food scientist in OSU's College of Agricultural Sciences.

“Ultra is not better, it's worse,” he said. “More vitamins are destroyed and more taste is lost the longer the milk is held at excessively high temperatures.”

There is an inverse relationship between pressure and temperature in milk processing, Torres added, with greater pressure levels using less heat during processing. This discovery has led to a request for federal funds to demonstrate the technology's use with other foods.

The success of high pressure in killing microbes has been extensively studied, but the OSU researchers, including Pedro Vazquez-Landaverde, are some of the first scientists to study the technology's effect on flavor, said Qian.

Conventionally pasteurized milk can usually stay under refrigerated conditions for about 15-20 days before spoiling. Pressure processing can result in a refrigerated shelf life of more than 45 days, possibly resulting in new business opportunities.

“Around the nation there are certain milk producing regions that produce a surplus of milk,” said Torres. “This technology could help dairies that have a low-cost of milk production get their product to areas that are unable to produce the needed volume of milk. A dairy in California could ship its milk to New York.”

Gary Korsmeier, CEO of California Dairies, is not as optimistic about the benefits of the research on the California dairy industry. “I think transportation costs will definitely prohibit the movement of the milk,” he explained. “We can already ship milk across the country,” he added, “this is not going to enhance that.”

The improved taste, however, would have more of a potential impact on California milk sales across the country, he said. “Flavor is definitely the bigger portion of salability,” he said.

“The taste (of heat-pasteurized milk) has always been the item that has restricted its growth,” Korsmeier explained. “It simply doesn't taste as good. The burnt flavor is not something we want to latch on to. There aren't a lot of sales in it.”

Tony Souza, Partner at the Hoffman Dairy in Tulare, has a similar skepticism. He cites the current aseptic packaging that can already keep milk good for a year without refrigeration. People prefer to buy their milk locally, he said, explaining that local production provides credibility to consumers.

“How would you feel you were to drink Florida milk?” he asked. “When you think freshness, you think local.”

Souza did acknowledge, however, that the possibility of sending fresh-tasting milk to other states could benefit the California dairy industry. Milk in California sells for about $3 a gallon, but in Florida it is $4, and in Hawaii it is $5, he said.

Organic dairies are areas of the industry that could see some of the greatest benefit from the technology, said Torres. Organic milk is one of the fastest growing divisions of the dairy industry, but consumers who favor the product remain fairly wide spread. If organic milk can be processed using pressure at a price that is economically feasible, dairies could significantly grow their markets.

Milk processed under pressure could be commercially available within 3-5 years if it's made cost-effective for the industry, said Torres. The technique is already being used with other products and in other industries as a means of microbial control.

The research was paid for through funds collected from milk producers and distributed by Dairy Management, Inc.

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by Dave Adalian

Tulare County - A charitable donation is often on the top of the holiday to-do list, and knowing where send a donation or what the needs of various organizations doing good works in Tulare County are makes the task much easier. To that end, Valley Voice Newspapers presents this holiday giving guide, a list of charities in our communities, what they do and how those in a giving mood can facilitate their missions.

— FoodLink of Tulare County provides food, clothing and shelter services to various nonprofit organizations throughout the county. Currently, they are in need of both cash donations, which may be sent to P.O. Box 1544, Visalia, CA 93279, and volunteer workers. Those interesting in volunteering their time should contact warehouse leader Sam Hernandez at 651-3663.

— Those in need don’t come exclusively in the two-legged variety. The Valley Oak SPCA provides many services for lost or abandoned animals, and is in need of blankets, small, washable throw rugs, towels, dog and cat food, especially for kitten food, washable cat and dog beds, as well as cash donations.

All of the above can be dropped off or mailed to the shelter at 29016 Hwy 99. The shelter is currently in need of special chew-proof beds available to through www.kuranda.com. Information: 651-1111.

— The Tulare Emergency Aid Council provides food, shelter, clothing and other services to low-to-moderate income individuals living within the Tulare Joint Union High School District, including Tipton, and is constantly in need of cash and food donations. High-protein items, such as peanut butter, are best suited to their needs.

Food donations can be taken to their offices at 299 S. L St. in Tulare, and cash donations can be mailed to the same address. Information: 686-3693.

— The Visalia Rescue Mission Men’s Program and Family Center provide food, shelter, clothing, substance abuse treatment and women’s services. Currently, they need new, unwrapped toys for their Christmas program, as well as food to aid in the serving of some 140,000 meals each year.

The Mission also needs hats, scarves, coats, gloves, blankets and towels, as well as cash to purchase supplies and pay the mission’s operating costs. The mission also accepts the donation of vehicles to be resold within the community, with proceeds funding their various programs.

Donations can be mailed to or dropped off at 322 N.E. 1st St. in Visalia. Information: 740-4178.

— Habitat for Humanity of Tulare County provides housing to low-income families with good credit and the ability to repay a mortgage based on their income levels.

Both cash donations and volunteer construction and office workers are needed to help carry out their mission, and no experience is necessary.

Habitat is also in need of used building supplies, such as doors, dual-pane windows, hardware, light fixtures and lumber, to be resold at its building supply thrift shop.

Donations can be taken or mailed to 715 S. Bridge St. in Visalia. Information: 733-2231.

— The Salvation Army provides income-based and emergency food, shelter and clothing services for people of all ages. During the holiday season, the group is in need of new, unwrapped toys and canned food, flour, sugar and cereal. Cash donations are also welcomed.

Donations in the Visalia area can be taken or mailed to 1501 W. Main St. In the Tulare area, cash donations can be mailed to P.O. Box 1296, Tulare, CA 93274. Information: 733-2784.

— The Visalia Emergency Aid Council provides food, clothing, furnishings, emergency prescriptions for children, emergency shelter and rental assistance in and around the Visalia area.

Currently, they are in need of canned foods, new, unwrapped toys, blankets and cash donations. Donations of cash and goods can be taken or mailed to 217 N.E. 3rd St. in Visalia, and cash donations can be made online at the group’s website: www.veac.org. Information: 732-0101.

— The Visalia Gleaning Seniors offers vegetables and fruits donated by area packing houses and storages to members 50 and older for a $40 per year fee.

To help fund their operations, the organization holds a pair of rummage sales each year, and donations of household items and other salable goods are needed, as well as cash donations.

Items for the semiannual sales can be taken to the group’s offices at 2201 W. Midvalley Ave. in Visalia. Information: 733-5352.

— Family Services’ Battered Women’s Shelter provides counseling, food, shelter, clothing and domestic violence and battered women’s services in the Visalia and Tulare areas. Needed are items such as blankets and twin sheets and cash donations to provide for immediate needs such as medications and bus tickets to reunite women with their families outside the area.

Donations can be taken to the Family Services Counseling Center at 815 W. Oak St. in Visalia. Information: 732-5941, or 685-9515.

— The Creative Center of Visalia provides educational services and living assistance to developmentally disabled adults through programs funded by the United Way and state agencies. However, that funding does not cover the cost of maintaining its campus, a job that falls to the Creative Center Foundation.

Currently, the foundation’s wish list includes two vans, including one with a wheelchair lift, to replace one recently vandalized beyond use, flooring and concrete workers to aid in resurfacing the center’s art gallery, and money, volunteers and supplies for repainting the interiors and exteriors of their classrooms.

Sponsorships for the center’s annual Mardi Gras ball fundraiser are also needed, and cash donations are always accepted. Tickets to the Mardi Gras ball are also available for purchase as holiday gifts.

Donations can be mailed to P.O. Box 2665, Visalia, CA 93279. Information: 733-4400.

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