Parties Ask For More Time To Settle River Dispute
Tulare County - The parties in the protracted San Joaquin River dispute will ask for more time from Judge Lawrence Karlton when they meet January 6 in court. For several months the two sides represented by the environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and Friant Water Authority - as well as a third party, the US government - have been meeting in settlement discussions that appear to be headed for a deal that would end about 18 years of litigation over the fate of the river.
If the deal is sealed, it would rank as perhaps the top news story in the valley this past year and a perceived win-win all around.
In recent weeks representatives of the Department of the Interior and the Department of Justice have entered the picture and are now submitting language to both sides that may take several weeks longer, suggests Friant representative Kole Upton. “It’s basically wordsmithing” that covers government concerns, says Upton, a Chowchilla farmer, but he suggests that “basically everyone is in agreement” on a deal that would end the litigation and run water down the San Joaquin River - enough to allow restoration of the historic salmon fishery there.
Once the government’s position is accepted by Friant and NRDC the draft agreement is expected to be released to third parties, says Friant Water Authority general manager Ron Jacobsma. Water contractors along the San Joaquin and contractors like Kern County Water Agency for example who may be affected by less wet year water going to their districts as a result of the agreement.
Upton says what Friant wants in the deal is government assurances that valley water districts will be able to deliver enough water to farms even though water will flow more freely down the river. “That’s where legislation to be offered by Dianne Feinstein and Congressman George Radanovich comes in,” says Upton.
Already Judge Karlton has delayed the February 14 trial in the case at a November 30 Sacramento hearing that set it up a 30 day stay to allow talks to continue rather than have attorneys spend their time preparing for a court battle. Now the two sides are expected to go to court this week to ask for a few more weeks - a request Karlton is likely to go along with.
Federal legislation as a result of the deal is expected to include funding for more facilities along the San Joaquin River to make water exchange and deliveries easier in the central valley. Improvements along the San Joaquin River will be needed to restore the fishery and save water.
The settlement is considered important to the valley economy and local ag interests is the most reasonable way to affect the outcome of the lawsuit. When Friant Dam was constructed in the late 1930s, the government declared their interest of reclamation outweighed the need to preserve the salmon fishery on the river below the dam. But Judge Karlton ruled two years ago that the government and Friant contractors violated a state law that required the maintenance of the historic fishery. Now it appears there is a compromise that will bring the fishery back without “devastating our economy” notes Kole Upton. Just how much water Friant contractors will have to give up and how they can secure more water are the details yet to be released in this pending deal. The fact that Friant contractors briefed on the core principle of the deal agreed to pursue a settlement figuring it’s the best deal they can cut under the circumstances. The environmental company appears to be on the same page and will rejoice over the return of the native fish to this river.
Upton says he hopes that the deal could boost chances for more upper San Joaquin River storage at Temperance Flat. He says Californians “are living off the infrastructure of our forefathers”referring to the extensive system of dams and canals in the state decades ago.
But in recent years, no new facilities have been approved in part because environmentalists have strongly opposed new water storage or conveyance systems.
By chance, a statewide water group - the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) sounded the same concern this past week releasing a report that pointed out that California has not built a major new reservoir in decades even as its historic “reservoir”, the mountain snow pack, appears to be shrinking due to global warming. More winter precipitation is falling as warmer storms come down the mountain increasing the flow potential and disrupting reservoir storage plans designed to capture the snow melt in spring.
ACWA called for new reservoirs and groundwater storage as well increased pumping capacity out of the Delta to bring water south.
Even as this is being written flood waters are causing damage across northern California and can’t be sent south where it could be put to beneficial use in part due to restrictions over concern of fish kills.
Civil engineer Dennis Keller says a number of northern reservoirs are high for this time of year due to concerns over water temps rather than flood control. “Reservoirs are being run for the benefit of fish,” says Keller.
Fish populations are thriving but in the case of high runoff there isn’t lots of room to handle the excess in wet years like this because the river is being kept so full. That means runoff turns to flood release down the Sacramento River and others.
Salmon runs are expected to be high in places like the Sacramento River this season. The Redding Record Searchlight reports that 15,000 salmon are expected to spawn in the Sacramento River - a big increase from 1994 when there were fewer than 200. The newspaper says at the cost is $280 million “more than $18,000 for every fish spawning this winter.”
Water interests note that California is adding half a million in new residents every year but has not built a new reservoir to supply water to this population in 30 years. This sets up a dynamic that in order for the state to grow farmers have to give up water.
While Northern California has seen wet weather for several weeks, it has been dry until recent days south of Fresno. Even if you could bring some flood water south of the Delta to use for sinking basins here, there are “few canals to move water east and west,” says Jacobsma making water exchanges more difficult.
Our own Kaweah basin depends heavily on a so-called conjunctive use of surface water brought in from Friant in wet years to help replenish what is anyway sinking groundwater levels. Cities like Visalia and Tulare need some sort of a back fill on water heading down the San Joaquin River just as much as area farmers do.
Resolving the water dispute with the NRDC could prove beneficial to long term interests of farming in Tulare County where about two-thirds of the water from the Friant Kern Canal goes. A more certain water supply will boost investment in area farms because farming there has a future there says some. Today, new investment in farms anywhere near the booming population centers is coming because those farms are in the path of new home subdivisions.
Snowpack Triples
Over New Years
Storm Brings Some Flooding to Visalia and Valley/Rivers Run High
San Joaquin Valley - The most powerful of winter storms this season hit the Southern Sierra last weekend, ushering in the new year with lots of rain but relatively mild temperatures and snowfall reserved for mountain areas above 7,000 feet.
While some Visalians were grumbling over filling sandbags and overflowing ponding basins this week, a hard hitting Pacific storm brought good news to valley farmers over the New Year’s holidays. Depending on snowpack to supply irrigation water next spring, farmers saw snow levels jump in the Sierra over what had been a fairly dry winter.
From December 31 to January 2 the depth of the snowpack tripled at one key measuring station - 9500 ft. Farwell Gap near the crest of the Kaweah watershed. On December 31 snow depth was just 38 inches. By midnight on January 2 it had climbed to 114 inches meaning the storm had added six feet of snow.
The moisture helped “bring the Kaweah snowpack to above normal reading,” says Kaweah Delta Water Conservation District’s operations manager Tom Weddle. Weddle says the water agency considers average snow water content as of January 15 at about 17 inches when about half the year’s snowpack typically builds. As of January 2 water content sits at near 40 inches at Farwell Gap - enough for a whole season of snowfall!
The Pacific storm was cold enough to drop its heavy load as snow rather than fall as rain - a possibility in a warmer storm that could have posed flood dangers. Such as the case January 2-3, 1997 when the Kaweah River reached 57,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) in one of those days. That compares to a peak of 8100 cfs during this rain storm.
Weddle says while the south valley floor had experienced a dry winter so far, snowpack in the upper Sierra has been building. For a few weeks it was northern California and the Sacramento area that was pounded with rain with the south valley below Fresno missing the action. Offers to hand out sandbags to the residents in Tulare County last week seemed silly until the storms hit Sunday and it didn’t stop raining for 24 hours. Visalia recorded just under 3 inches of rain so far in the new year, a record two day total. With more storms on the way, Visalia is likely to beat out last January’s total of 3.15 inches.
Even as it is the Kaweah River peaked this week at 8100 cfs inflow into the Terminus Dam, a pretty hearty clip. The dam on Monday has had a build up of about 7,000 acre feet of water in the past few days taking it to 27,800 acre feet. The Corp of Engineers will do a flood release later this week to get it down to about 12,000 acre feet, says Weddle.
Most of that water should be put to beneficial use, predicts Weddle. Currently the flood waters are heading to Tulare Lake where some of it will be used for winter crop irrigation like alfalfa, he says.
According to Billy Pooley’s Kaweah River website, the rapid flow of the Kaweah River dislodged an 8000 pound boulder over New Year’s, along with high winds that knocked down trees in Three Rivers.
Snow levels at lower elevations were not as impressive. National Park Service spokesperson Alex Picavet said Lodgepole at 8000 ft has three feet of snow this week and Giant Forest at 6000 ft has about a foot. “If the storm was colder it would have brought more snow” to the lower elevations. Picavet says the storms brought rock slides and trees that fell, keeping NPS workers busy. She says the road between the two parks is closed, but expects it to reopen soon.
Ski enthusiasts were happy this week as Sierra Summit reported two feet of new snow as of Monday.
On the Upper Tule
Camp Nelson realtor Mike Cahill said the snowline in the Upper Tule area was “right about at Ponderosa, at 7,200 feet.”
On Monday afternoon he said he’d heard that the latest storm left about nine inches of wet snow at Ponderosa.
Cahill said the first of this week’s storms brought about three inches of rain to the Camp Nelson area and he expected about the same from the storm arriving Monday morning.
The storms caused flooding in Northern California and were moving into Southern California Monday with another storm due by the weekend.
According to automated tracking information reporting online, inflow into Success and Kaweah reservoirs reached a seasonal high Monday morning with water entering Success reservoir at the rate of 2343 cfs and Kaweah at the rate of 8956 cfs. Prior to the latest storms, the rate of flow was about 238 cfs for Success, at an elevation of 692 feet and 272 cfs for Kaweah, located at an elevation of 752 feet.
As of early Monday afternoon, automated equipment showed the snowpack at Quaking Aspen, at the head of the Tule River watershed near Ponderosa (7,200 feet elevation) to be 5.40 inches.
With much of the state dependent upon runoff from the Sierra snowpack, the Quaking Aspen and Farewell Gap stations are in two of 19 areas of the Sierra watershed above the Tulare Lake Basin that are part of the state’s snow monitoring system.
Snow sensors and more formal snow surveys are used to assess the snowpack and plan for reservoir storage and delivery of water to communities and farmers. The first of this season’s formal snow surveys will begin this week.
On the Lower Tule
Dan Vink, general manager of the Lower Tule River Irrigation District, said the most recent storm had not created flood conditions on the river but would help bring annual area moisture accumulation figures closer to their average levels.
“We’ve been watching the river pretty closely throughout the day,” Vink said on Monday afternoon.
Vink reported that earlier in the day, inflow into Lake Success was hovering around 3,000 cfs.
“This was a pretty good shot of water for this time of year,” said Vink. “But before this latest storm, there wasn’t much snow pack to begin with in the Tule River Watershed.
Vink said that contrary to some media reports, snow levels for the most recent storms started around 5,000 feet, a condition that has helped slow the river’s rising water level. “They were predicting that the snow would stay above 7,000 or 8,000 feet but yesterday when I was up at Camp Nelson, it was snowing,” Vink said.
Lake Success, which is designed as a flood control reservoir, can hold up to 82,000 acre feet and Vink said that the current level of the dam is about 14,000 acre feet.
“Last Friday, we started flood releases out of the reservoir,” Vink said. “Given the seismic stability issues with the dam, the (Army) Corps (of Engineers) doesn’t want to store more than 30,000 acre feet for irrigation purposes. But we won’t create artificial flooding downstream just to keep the lake level below 30,000 acre feet,” Vink added.
Because engineers have identified weaknesses in the earthen dam that could make it vulnerable during a moderate to larger earthquake, the Army Corps of Engineers is planning to eventually drain the reservoir and rebuild it, a process, according to Vink, scheduled to begin “within four to five years.”
Vink planned to continue monitoring water levels throughout the week. “It would be nicer if this rain had been spread out a little more,” he said. “But this storm has brought some much needed (drought) relief and hopefully will get us closer to where we should be moisture-wise.”
In Visalia
The Visalia Police Department responded to the storm by increasing patrols throughout the city. "We held shifts over and had extra people come in just so we could control traffic and slow (motorists) down, particularly in areas where streets were flooded," said Bob Williams, VPD's interim chief.
According to Williams, there was no significant increase in criminal activity during the storm. "There were several significant incidents including an armed robbery," said Williams. "But in general, calls for service into the dispatch center were actually down during the storm."
The recent storm dropped so much water that many ponding basins across Visalia ended up with a good amount of water in them. However, one such basin, located on Goshen between Demaree and Akers did more than come near to filling up. The basin, which borders the five-year-old Ranch subdivision north of Houston and west of Demaree, overflowed and sent water down the streets of the neighborhoods. The city immediately offered residents sand bags, which many of them took advantage of as the waters rose over the curbs and submerged parkways and sidewalks. The flood waters did not appear to have gone into any homes north of Houston, but there were reports that some homes being constructed south of Houston on the east side of the basin did incur some light flooding inside. According to Visalia city council member Don Landers, who watched the Visalia Fire Department attempting to drain the basin by running three water pumps, a pipe that connects the ponding basin to the city's storm drain system became clogged with debris, causing the steady downpour of the rainstorm to back up and overflow. Some complained the city knew at least one storm drain was not working right.
The worst flooding that may have damaged 35 to 45 homes in northwest Visalia seemed to be confined to newer subdivisions. Some homeowners pointed to what they believe was city responsibility for the flood waters that overflowed several ponding basins. City manager Steve Salomon points to the fact this was a 50 year flood even with 3 inches coming down in a 24 hour period.
Ponding basins are built because of restrictions on the amount of water the city can send down creek beds. Builders have to construct the ponding basin when they design the new subdivision. Some say builders in recent years may not have sized the ponding basins properly or have gotten city permission to phase the ponding basin. It is the city's responsibility to approve these plans. If a city pump was not turned on at the right time that would be a city responsibility. It was telling, however, how the new growth in Visalia got hit much worse than most of historic Visalia in the storm.
Filling the Higher-Ed Void: Private Colleges Targeting Area
by George Lurie
Visalia - Just one year after opening a brand new Visalia campus, Fresno Pacific University is quietly searching for a larger site just the latest evidence of South Valley residents' mounting desire to pursue a four-year college degree in their own backyard.
“We have enjoyed a great deal of success in the Visalia area and are looking at expanding our programs here,” confirmed Diana Mock, Fresno Pacific's Director of Communications. Mock said she could not elaborate “at this time” on the college's expansion plans but developer Craig Mangano, who built Fresno Pacific's current 10,000-square-foot facility across from Adventure Park, said that he has been scouting sites as large as 30,000 square feet for the private Christian college.
“We're working with them on a number of potential sites,” Mangano said.
Visalia City Councilman Greg Collins believes creating more four-year college opportunities in the area should be one of the city's top priorities. At the council's upcoming study session and retreat, scheduled for January 20-21, Collins will propose that the city try to incorporate a small college campus or “cluster” of smaller college facilities into its east Visalia plan, perhaps as part of the new Civic Center project.
The council recently expanded the east Visalia study area to over 80 acres north of Goshen and east of Ben Maddox and Collins said “there are plenty of small colleges, with 500 to 2,500 students, that could potentially be located in Visalia” given the right conditions.
Collins hopes to create a special task force to pursue the idea. “I'd like to offer a chance for colleges to put down roots here,” he said.
The city councilman also sees a potential to “co-locate” on one campus a number of smaller private schools already offering courses in Visalia. In order to pursue the project, Collins said it might make sense to look at several site options, including an urban campus design of about 40 acres or a more rural setting that could be as large as 100 acres.
Fresno Pacific, which was founded in 1944 as the Pacific Bible Institute, is headquartered in Fresno on a 42-acre campus that currently serves more than 2,000 students. Approximately 350 undergraduate, teaching-credential and graduate students attend evening classes at the college's Visalia branch.
Chapman University, another private college based in Southern California, operates a branch in Visalia on West Meadow. Chapman officials reportedly have also been looking for a larger parcel in town to relocate their facilities.
Visalia City Manager Steve Salomon believes expanding the area's options for would-be college students is critical to the city's future. "Between Tulare and Kings Counties, we've got more than 500,000 people living in this part of the state," said Salomon. "I don't know of any other area in California with a similar population that does not already have at least one public four-year college or university."
Salomon said city leaders were disappointed when the state's newest public university, UC Merced, opted to open a satellite facility in Fresno but bypassed Visalia.
“I know Fresno State offers some classes at the COS campus and I've heard that you can get a teaching degree without ever having to leave COS,” said Salomon. “But I'm not really sure that's the case. Our area students deserve better."
Salomon said that he is aware of several private colleges, including the University of Phoenix, currently considering opening formal branches in Visalia. For the past several years, the University of Phoenix has been renting space at the Visalia Convention Center in order to offer occasional classes.
“These private colleges recognize the current lack of options in our area and want to capitalize on the situation,” said Salomon.
For the past six years, Assemblyman Bill Maze (R-Visalia) has championed legislation ultimately designed to bring more higher education opportunities to rural parts of the state including Tulare and Kings Counties. Maze's AB 1280, while still unfunded, earmarks an initial $100,000 to create the California Community College Baccalaureate Partnership Act.
When funded, the program would be authorized to annually award two grants, not to exceed $50,000 each, to a collaborative partnership composed of a community college and baccalaureate degree-granting four-year institution, formed for the purpose of offering baccalaureate degrees on the participating community college campus or campuses.
Maze rarely misses an opportunity to remind his fellow legislators and the governor that his 22,000-square-mile district does not have a single public institution where a student can earn a four-year college degree and that Tulare County has one of the lowest college attendance rates of any county in the state, a fact that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger learned when he signed Maze's bill into law last October.
“I'm ecstatic about the Governor signing this one,” Maze stated last year. “Education is just so critical especially in the 34th Assembly District. When you talk about solutions to unemployment, to raising the standard of living, or to reducing crime, higher education is one of the best. It's equitable and gives everyone a fair shot. Unfortunately, the good folks in the 34th have to travel long distances or move to access four-year degrees and there is no fairness in that.”
Don Goodyear, COS president, views Maze's bill as “mostly symbolic…but at least it helps bring awareness to the issue.”
ainfully aware of the area's challenge to stem what he called “brain drain,” Goodyear added: “There is a great need for us to provide four-year degrees to students without making them have to leave the area.”
Although CSU-Fresno has operated a satellite branch for some years on the COS campus, Goodyear said the program “has been kind of on a plateau and hasn't really expanded for a while.”
The COS-CSUF center offers both undergraduate and graduate programs with an emphasis on teaching credential and other education-related degrees. Of the approximately 10,000 students attending COS, some 400 to 500 take courses through the campus's CSUF program.
San Joaquin Valley College, another area private junior college, is in the midst of a record growth spurt. Founded in Visalia in 1977, SJVC co-owner Mark Perry said the junior college has grown more in the last year and a half than in the previous ten years. Making the transition to a four-year college, Perry added, “Ranks right up there with one of the larger goals that we've had in play for a long time.”
Perry said that one of the initial steps in SJVC's transition process will be to file a letter with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) regarding its intention to pursue senior-college accreditation. In order to offer four-year degrees, SJVC would have to satisfy WASC's more-rigorous review and accreditation process.
“My prediction is that we will be able to offer four-year degrees within 18 months to two years,” said Perry. Being able to offer four-year degrees “is just another step in the school's maturation,” he added. “It's very much a strategic move."
Cal Trans: Hwy 198 to Hanford Not Dangerous
by Tom Wells
Tulare/Kings County - Despite the perception that Highway 198 between the Highway 99 interchange and Highway 43 outside Hanford is an extraordinarily deadly stretch of two-lane roadway, that apparently is not the case. According to Alan McCuen, deputy district director of the Fresno-based Caltrans District 6 office, both the congestion and accident statistics hover around the state average for that type of road.
McCuen says the classification for the portion of 198 is a two-lane roadway with cross-streets, driveways and no separation between opposing directions of traffic. Those factors, along with the trees lining either side of the road, offer plenty of opportunity for single, double or multi-vehicle collisions–fatal or not.
Specifically, there have been eleven fatalities on the two-lane between 99 and 43 over the past five years. That means roughly two people per year perish in vehicle-related incidents on that roadway, about the same for similar roads throughout California. In fact, McCuen noted that the stretch of two-lane from Kettleman City to the Kings County line racked up ten fatalities during the last half decade.
The figures were not easy for District 6 to come by because the information is not tracked strictly in terms of fatalities. Says the deputy district director, “We look at highway safety in terms of the number accidents per million miles driven on roadways within our jurisdiction.” He says that number for a given stretch of road represents a combination of fatal accidents, accidents with both fatalities and injuries and those with no injuries at all.
For that reason, McCuen had to ask several of his support people to spend several hours over several days coming up with the above-quoted Highway 198 and Highway 41 statistics regarding vehicle-related deaths. And those involved should know that their time and energy on this little statistical project were greatly appreciated. Not only did it yield some solid numbers, it also demonstrated that appearance and reality are again a bit at odds when it comes to this particular highway safety issue.
While most of us in Tulare and Kings Counties view Highway 198 from Highway 99 to Highway 43 as “Death Alley,” McCuen says the main issue is not traffic safety but traffic congestion. Of course, even one death due to a head-on collision or a driver drifting off the road into a tree is one too many. But experts know the reason for accidents, injuries and fatalities on such two-lane roads ultimately redounds to the amount of traffic on them.
According to Caltrans, a four-lane expressway highway virtually eliminates the tragedy of fatalities. But it also allows for a better flow of traffic by accommodating both slower and faster vehicles through use of an inside and an outside lane in both directions. Congestion and accidents are also reduced by eliminating direct-access driveways and better controlling cross traffic with superhighway-style intersection design.
McCuen tells us that the operation of roads, highways and freeways are classified by efficiency. Says he, “There are five levels, A-F, from no congestion to full congestion, where cars are traveling under 35 mph in stop-and-go conditions. Right now, Highway 198 is at Level D during peak traffic hours.” He says projections show that without the construction of the expressway, the 99/198 interchange will be at Level F by 2025 and the rest of the way to 43 will be at Level E.
However, there’s more to taking Highway 198 west than just getting to Hanford, Lemoore or the naval airbase. Trips from Tulare and Kings Counties to the coast continue to increase every year as more and more valley denizens head for the sand and sea for a vacation or to spend time in their second homes. And much of the roadway beyond the Kings County line is two-lane as well. So those parts of the trip to the coast have the same congestion and safety issues as do the closer ones cited earlier.
District 6, according to the California Caltrans web site, is the second largest of the twelve districts into which the state is divided. That came as a surprise to me, and it came after Alan McCuen said “...the boundary of District 6 goes all the way out Highway 46 to within four miles of Paso Robles.” But that did make him the man to talk to about the part of the coastal trip that lies outside Kings County.
Since Caltrans keeps stats on highway operation within which are buried hard-to-recover info about fatalities and doesn’t necessarily break them down into the chunks of roadway you and I are used to thinking of, it was all McCuen and his staff could do to provide me with the above-mentioned numbers within Kings County. However, he did state that the hills and curves that drivers must traverse once past Kettleman City do raise both the expectation of the number of accidents (again, everything from non-injury to fatal) that will occur over a given period of time and the actual number that do occur.
The good news, according to the District 6 deputy director, is that improvements have been programmed for the entire valley-to-coast route to within four miles of Paso Robles (which is where the D6 jurisdiction ends). Those improvements include both plans for four-lane expressways and the addition of median barriers in areas where there are high concentrations of head-on collisions. The bad news, of course, is that the time-line for the completion of those projects depends on the budgetary situation of the state government.
In other words, most of us reading this article will no longer be around by the time drivers can travel from Visalia/Hanford to Cambria/Morro Bay both safely and without congestion. For now, we just need to buckle up and drive defensively if we want to make it back from our weekend of fun in the sun on the sand by the sea.
Youngs Expecting Death Sentence
By George Lurie
Tulare - Attorneys for mass murderers Timothy and Donald Young are preparing for the worst when their clients come up for sentencing later this month.
Convicted late last year in the brutal 1995 shotgun slayings of five patrons at Pato's Place bar in Tulare the worst mass murder in Tulare County's history -- a jury will reconvene January 17 in Superior Court Judge Ronn Couillard's Department 12 courtroom for the penalty phase of the Young brothers' trial, which is expected to last several weeks.
A lawyer for one of the brothers said the defense team will not be surprised or necessarily disappointed -- by a death sentence. “That would trigger an automatic (California) Supreme Court appeal,” said Michael Idiart. “And we feel there are strong grounds for the verdict in this case to be overturned.”
The brothers also appear ready to receive a death sentence. Donald Young is reported to have told one of his jailers: “If people believe we did this, we are going to become the latest poster boys for the death penalty.”
Referring to Timothy Young, 35, and Donald Young, 36, another defense team insider, who asked not to be identified, said: "These guys are clearly no angels. But we continue to believe they were nowhere near that bar on the night this happened.”
The brothers, who lived in Hanford at the time of their 1999 arrest, were already in custody on murder charges in the execution-style slayings of three people in Corcoran. While a Kings County Municipal judge subsequently dismissed those charges after Tulare County prosecutors filed their case, despite vigorous protests from defense attorneys, testimony regarding the Corcoran slayings was admitted during the brothers' recent trial in Visalia just one of a number of reasons defense team members feel the case will be overturned on appeal.
The trouble at Pato's Place began on a late summer evening July 18, 1995. A half hour before midnight, three masked men wielding sawed-off shotguns rushed into the bar following the conclusion of a pool tournament. Only bar owner Guadalupe Cantu, who was shot twice, survived the grisly massacre. Celia “Linda” Martinez, 50; Armando Lugo, 22; Jorge Munoz, 23; Roberta Lynn “Cuatita” Nunez, 39; and Margaret Moreno, 44, all died from point-blank shotgun blasts to the head. The robbers got away with about $270 from the cash register and their victims' wallets.
It was Cantu's testimony, along with that of key prosecution witness Anthony Wolfe, who said he participated in the robbery with the Youngs, which helped convict the brothers.
Wolfe claimed that he was not carrying a weapon when he accompanied the Young brothers and prosecutors allowed him to avoid murder charges and plead guilty to several counts of armed robbery as part of a plea deal.
Defense attorneys characterized Wolfe, who turned state's evidence after being arrested for an unrelated crime, as “despicable” and “a lying snitch” and also claimed there were glaring inconsistencies between Wolfe's and Cantu's testimony.
While surprised by the jury's relatively quick decision in the case -- “Everything in the trial had gone so well and I thought we had destroyed the credibility of their main witness,” said Idiart, Donald Young's lead attorney -- the defense team remains hopeful with regard to the brothers' chances of winning a new trial on appeal especially if they are sentenced to death.
“Issues on appeal are heightened when there is a death result,” said Idiart. “Fifty percent of appeals with death verdicts are successful” as compared to about 8 percent when there is a verdict of life without the possibility of parole.
Idiart praised Judge Couillard's conduct during the trial and also had kind words for the jury, although he did think “it was a little unusual they were laughing so much and so hard during their breaks. But I guess everyone relieves stress in their own ways.
“We were very surprised by the guilty verdict,” Idiart added. “But we respect the process and are experienced enough to know what the likely outcome of the penalty phase will be.”
Tulare County Supervising District Attorney Kathy Montejano also praised Couilliard's handling of the high-profile trial. “The judge did an extremely good job in running this trial,” said the lead prosecutor, who declined to comment on specifics aspects of the case until after the penalty phase of the trial was complete.
Montejano characterized the six-man, six-woman jury as “a mature group of people” and “very impressive. …What I observed was a very professional group of people taking their job very seriously.”
At times, defense attorneys seemed perplexed by the jury's behavior, which one characterized as "very loose … There was a lot of laughter and what appeared to be joking around from the jury box. We actually had a nickname for one of the jurors,” said the defense team source. “We called him 'the comedian.'”
In Tulare County, where less than 2 percent of the population is African American, defense lawyers were only able to get one black juror seated and then only as an alternate juror.
“There is no way we can get a fair trial in Tulare County,” said Timothy Young in a June 2000 jailhouse interview. But prosecutor Montejano said after the verdict: “Race was never an issue in seating this jury.”
While awaiting resumption of the trial, jury members have not been sequestered but have been ordered by Judge Couilliard to refrain from following media coverage of the proceedings.
As they await sentencing, the Youngs remain incarcerated in the Tulare County Main jail. They are housed in single-person cells on separate floors of the facility and are segregated from the general population and not allowed to have contact with each other.
The brothers filed dozens of complaints against the county in the days leading up to the trial, complaining about everything from the temperature of their showers to the preparation of their meals. But those at the jail who deal with them on a daily basis today say the brothers have become considerably less argumentative and remain upbeat as their sentencing date approaches.
“They were in pretty good spirits the last time I talked to them,” said Ramon Alanis, a lieutenant at the jail. “We haven't received any complaints from the brothers in quite some time.”
The Youngs will be sentenced individually and if one or both receive the death penalty, they will be immediately transferred to San Quentin's death-row facility. If they escape the needle, the Youngs will spend the rest of their lives at a yet to be determined state penitentiary.
What's New
Who is the biggest bank in Tulare County? It's still Bank of America with about $650 million in deposits in the Visalia metro region, according to the FDIC who released their annual report. B of A's market share has fallen a little in the past year. Behind B of A is Bank of the Sierra with 17.3% market share and $558 million in deposits and then Wells Fargo at 12.8%. Surprisingly strong is little Fremont Investment and Loan with 7.29% share and $411 million in deposits who grew over $50 million in new deposits the past year according to the report. Fremont offers high yielding rates to attract those deposits. Bank of Visalia has surpassed Visalia Community Bank by a few million in deposits this past year. A new player Dutch-owned Rabobank has helped increase the market share a tiny bit over Valley Independent Bank who they bought out. Consumers have a choice of a robust number of banking institutions - 17 in this market down from 18 in 2004 as City National Bank left the market.
UC Veterinary Center director Dr. Jim Cullor says talks to convince Bay Area-based Chevron to pick up the cost of building the new joint UC/COS/THS college instructional dairy at the Tulare veterinary campus, appear to be moving forward. "We had a good meeting" with several Chevron officials as well as the college dean and another meeting is scheduled soon. Cullor says the project would fit Chevron's core principals that include energy development, the environment, efficiency and education. "We fit all of them," suggests Cullor. Chevron would be interested in the project's manure management plan to convert methane gas to generate electricity. There is recent interest in converting methane to transportation fuel as well.
Freight coming into the US from Asia continues to pour into the two larger Southern California ports - as Americans import more goods. These goods need a place for region-wide distribution which is where the central valley distribution hubs like in Visalia and Shafter come into play. That includes the huge VF Corp distribution center will get the clothing from Asia to be distributed to the west coast. LA and Long Beach ports are up 7% in volume this past year.
Visalia - Moving into its 27th year of publication, Valley Voice editor John Lindt is announcing this month that the newspaper he started in 1979 will undergo some major changes in 2006.
Beginning January 18, Tulare Voice will make its debut as a brand new, eight-page section to be inserted into each edition of the Valley Voice. The new publication will provide in-depth coverage of Tulare and the surrounding areas, providing Visalia's neighbors to the south increased exposure through its distribution of 20,000 copies twice monthly throughout Tulare and Kings Counties.
"We believe this new publication will be very beneficial for Tulare," said Mel Heier, a member of the board of directors for Valley Voice Newspaper Inc.
The other changes at the publication in 2006 revolve around personnel. Two veteran journalists have joined the Voice staff: George Lurie as managing editor of the Valley Voice and Claudia Elliot as managing editor of Tulare Voice.
In late 2005, Lindt sold part interest in the community newspaper to several investors. Lindt will stay on as a publisher.
"I've got this newspaper in my blood. I don't plan to let go," he said.
More expansion plans are in the works including the affiliation of Discover magazine with the Visalia Visitor's and Convention Bureau.
George Lurie
George Lurie, the new managing editor at the Valley Voice, has been around the journalism block a few times.
During more than two decades as a reporter and editor, Lurie has worked in Colorado, California, Hawaii and Japan.
Raised in Denver and a graduate of Colorado University, as USA Today's first Rocky Mountain region correspondent, Lurie covered a wide spectrum of national news during the mid-1980s, including Gary Hart's presidential run, the Challenger space shuttle disaster, the PTL religious scandal and the Rajneesh cult in central Oregon.
While also based in Denver, Lurie covered sports as a reporter for the Denver Post and the Colorado state legislature and Southern Ute Indian tribe as Denver bureau chief for the Durango Herald.
Lurie, who speaks Japanese and has lived in Japan for three years, served as managing editor for the Japan Times Weekly in Tokyo during the late-1980s and a decade later, covered Japanese-related issues as well as cops and crime, ag and sport fishing for the Garden Island, Kauai's only daily newspaper.
Married and the father of two daughters, Lurie has had previous newspaper experience in the South Valley. Several years ago, he worked as a reporter and then news editor at the Porterville Recorder.
Claudia Elliott
Claudia Elliott will be managing editor of the Tulare Voice and began meeting Tulare residents to get ideas for the new publication last month.
"The Valley Voice has a great following in Tulare," she said, "and everyone I've talked with has been really excited about the Tulare Voice and shared ideas for what should be included in the newspaper.
"The one word I hear the most is local," she said. "People want news about their community and folks they know. And that's exactly what they'll get in the Tulare Voice."
Elliott brings more than 30 years of experience to the endeavor, having previously edited newspapers in Tehachapi, Cambria, and Springville. She lives in Porterville with her husband and teenage son; she has two grown daughters and seven grandchildren. Both of her parents were born in Tulare County and she has spent most of her life living in various areas of Central California.
"I consider all of Central California to be my ‘home,'" she said, "from the Sierra to the Central Coast, this is where my heart is; we have a great place to live. And Tulare is right in the center of it all."
Anyone with ideas or news for the Tulare Voice can call Elliott at (559) 736-3149.
Elliott will also continue to edit the Southern Sierra Messenger, a weekly newspaper focusing on news of the foothill and mountain areas of the county.
By George Lurie
Visalia - Although no one is calling it a "controversy" – at least not yet – at next week's meeting of the Visalia Unified School District's board, one school board member is hoping to get some clarification on how the district chooses its health insurance coverage.
"I have some concerns about how we do our bidding and I want to have a public discussion about it," said Area 3 board member Jim Qualls. "It's been a recent topic of discussion and it needs to be addressed, especially as we continue to go out looking to save (the district) money any way we can."
School board president Robert Stephenson confirmed the subject of insurance would likely be a "hot topic" at the district's next meeting, which is scheduled for January 10. At that meeting, Susan Cox, Visalia Unified's Director of Risk Management and Employee Benefits, will make a PowerPoint presentation highlighting the specifics of the district's health insurance plan.
"I don't feel like there's any real dissension (among board members) regarding insurance," said Stevenson. "We just need to get some clarification on certain issues. As big an organization as we are, we're obligated to go out and shop for the best rates on all of our insurance."
With an annual budget of $176 million – 89 percent going toward employee salaries and health insurance coverage – Visalia Unified's biggest challenge in recent years has been finding adequate sources of funding during a period of steady student growth and shrinking state budgets.
The district, which operates 34 schools, has a total enrollment of 33,000 students and employs about 2,500 people, including 1,250 teachers. Visalia Unified's annual health costs, according to Cox, are more than $20 million.
Cox said that for the past five years, the district has been self-insured and obtained its coverage through an investment pool known as Self Insurance Schools of California (SISC). The district's medical provider is Blue Cross. Dental and vision plan providers are currently Delta Dental and Vision Service Plan.
The district has a formal health insurance committee and Cox explained that every year, that committee, which is composed of representatives from the teacher's union (VUTA), classified workers' union (CSEA) and district management, meet to review the district's health insurance plans and anticipate future needs.
"The committee looks at what our costs are, offers cost-containment ideas, looks at what's happening in the overall industry," said Cox.
Because of budget cycles – and by employment bargaining agreement – the district's health insurance committee must "make recommendations to their respective negotiating teams regarding renewal rates each year by April 15," said Cox. "Those rates do not take effect until October of the following year."
Cox said the district's health insurance rates are directly related to its history of prior claims. "This is not an exact science," she said. "With self insurance, we have to take a very conservative approach (to estimating our costs). If we miss in our estimates, we still have to pay (the claims)."
Visalia Unified is headed by Stan Carrizosa, the district's third superintendent during the past decade. Carrizosa admits the district has been on "a bit of a roller coaster ride the past ten years or so."
In terms of making the most of the district's overall budget, Carrizosa said employee groups and labor unions have presented "certain challenges" over the years.
A long time teacher and administrator in both Tulare and Kings Counties, Carrizosa has headed the district since 2001. His annual salary of $156,000 is amongst the lowest of superintendents in like-sized districts around the state.
But Visalia Unified's teachers are relatively well-paid compared to their peers across the state. Teachers in the district start at a salary of about $38,000 a year and the most veteran educators top out at more than $70,000.
Three hundred of Visalia Unified's teachers are 55 years of age or older and thus within five years of retirement – a fact, Carrizosa said, that could potentially impact the district's health insurance costs going forward.
Carrizosa said the insurance issue was raised among board members at the board's last meeting in early December. "One of the board members (Qualls) felt it was important as we prepared for upcoming contract negotiations (with the teachers' union) to review procedures we use to bid our insurance and make sure we are getting the most for our money."
Local insurance agency Buckman-Mitchell is the broker for the district's various insurance plans, earning about two dollars and forty cents for each of the district's approximately 2,500 subscribers – which makes their annual contract worth more than $50,000.
"Buckman-Mitchell provides the district with professional expertise and skills regarding its health insurance plans and options," said Cox. "They've been providing this service to the district for a number of years. We have had other local insurance brokerage firms express an interest (in the contract) but Buckman-Mitchell has always been the agency to come back with the most competitive quotes."
Cox said that during the past five years, the health insurance benefits the district has been able to offer through SISC "have been very competitive compared to other quotes we have received, both fully insured and self insured. And overall, as a district, we have been a pretty healthy group over the past five or so years.
"But I can see where some people are frustrated with the increasing cost of health insurance," Cox added. "With limited (state) funding and health-care costs rising so rapidly in recent years, health insurance is taking up more and more of our budget."
Tulare - Tulare's sales tax revenue has jumped more than threefold since 1990, says city finance director Darlene Thompson. "It's largely due to all the new retail business we are gaining lately," says Thompson. Last year they projected they would get about $5.6 million in sales tax revenue for the period ending June 30, 2005. Instead more than $6.2 million came in, she says. Sales tax has jumped from $2.7 million in 1990 to $4.7 million in 2000 and $6.2 million for the 2004/05 fiscal year. This fiscal year that ends in June 2006, the city has been projected it would get about $6.3 million. But with more new stores coming in including at the Horizon Outlet Mall and now Home Depot opening up at the end of this month, the figure is expected to be higher.
Voters approved a sales tax increase of one quarter cent that will go into effect April 1, says Thompson, that will likely mean an extra $500,000 this fiscal year and may take the overall sales tax number to $7 million.
Thompson says most categories of sales tax in town, like automotive, have been steady but the growth has been in the retail sector.
The city uses sales tax to pay for roads and public safety and enabled the city to map up and add new police officers to meet public safety needs. "That was the biggest story in Tulare this past year," says mayor Richard Ortega. "The people of Tulare stepped up the plate" to approve the increase in tax because they knew it would be put to good use," he says.
The growth in retail in Tulare has been eye popping in recent years with major expansion still coming - new super Walmart and a huge shopping center planned at Cartmill and 99. Lowes will build a new store in town to keep up with Home Depot and new restaurants are coming to town as well, says Thompson.
Tulare County - The Tulare County Elections office is gearing up for the June 6 election which is a primary for November's statewide gubernatorial election and a number of other statewide and local positions.
The US Senate position held by Dianne Feinstein (D) is up for election this year as is the 21st Congressional District seat held by Devin Nunes (R).
State senate seats for Districts 16 and 18, currently represented by Roy Ashburn (R) and Dean Florez (D) are up for election. State assembly seats for Districts 30, 31, and 34--held by Nicole Parra (D), Juan Arambula (D), and Bill Maze (R), respectively, are also up for election.
Locally, countywide positions up for election this year include Assessor/Clerk-Recorder, Auditor-Controller/Registrar of Voters, District Attorney, Sheriff-Coroner, Superintendent of Schools, and Treasurer-Tax Collector.
Seven Tulare County Superior Court judge seats are also up for election.
County Board of Supervisor seats for Districts 4 and 5 are up for election, as well.
In District 4, Incumbent Steve Worthley.
In District 5, Incumbent Jim Maples announced in November that he would not run for reelection. As of Friday, Dec. 30, four individuals had taken out signature-in-lieu paperwork including Springville residents Del Pengilly and John Keyes and Porterville residents Virginia Gurrola and Mike Ennis. Since that time, Keyes has reported that he will not run for election. Previously Porterville City Councilman Cameron Hamilton announced that he would seek election, but as of Tuesday morning he had not drawn "in lieu" paperwork, the elections office reported.
In the City of Porterville, council seats held by Ron Irish and Kelly West are up for election.
A calendar published by the elections office indicates that "signature in lieu" papers may be drawn by candidates beginning December 30 until February 23. By collecting signatures, candidates may reduce or eliminate certain filing fees.
Nomination papers may be filed from February 13 through March 10. This filing period will be extended until March 15 in any race in which the incumbent does not file.
Various political party central committee elections will also be held June 6.
Hanford - During its last meeting of 2005, the Hanford City Council voted down a proposed ordinance to prohibit cell phone use while driving.
The proposed ordinance originated from a citizen request and was researched by the city's Community Development Director Tom Haglund.
Based on research he completed prior to the December 20, 2005 Council meeting, Haglund said that he concluded that eating a hamburger while driving is just as dangerous as using a cell phone.
"Everyone agrees that cell phone use is a distraction while driving, but so is eating, shaving, putting on make up, reprimanding kids…handheld cell phone use is just the tip of the iceberg," Haglund said. He added that as part of their decision-making process, the Council concluded that there were a number of other driving distractions, including the use of hands-free cell phone devices.
Another deciding factor in their decision was the challenge to enforce such an ordinance. "Is it fair to people driving through town who don't know about the ordinance?" Haglund pointed out. He mentioned that any regulation of this type should come from the state.
The above stories are the property of The Valley Voice Newspaper and may not be reprinted without explicit permission in writing from the publisher.
January 4, 2006
