Dairy Hormone Under Fire
By George Lurie
Tulare County - A leading industry trade publication reported this month that Wal-Mart plans to refocus its marketing efforts in order to more aggressively promote its 'hormone-free' and organic dairy products.
The report in Dairy and Food Market Analyst is raising eyebrows in the Central Valley, the epicenter of California's booming dairy industry. When giant food retailers like Wal-Mart sneeze, the entire food industry can catch cold.
Wal-Mart officials recently confirmed the company's plans to double its offerings of organic products, including dairy, and other major food retailers are likely to follow suit.
These recent developments confirm what many local dairymen have already suspected for some time: Whether justified or not, continued questions surrounding the use of artificial bovine growth hormone are prompting food retailers, both big and small, to increasingly embrace organic and 'hormone-free' dairy products.
In Tulare County, where cows (dairy and beef) outnumber human residents two-to-one, local dairymen produce 25 percent of the state's milk and a full 6 percent of the nation's overall milk supply.
Today, many of those dairymen are reevaluating their use of artificial hormones; some are taking a hard look at going organic.
At the center of the debate is bovine growth hormone (BGH), a protein that occurs naturally in the pituitary gland of cattle and is a major factor in controlling the amount of milk produced by dairy cows.
Since its introduction, controversy has been swirling around a synthetic, man-made version of BGH known as Posilac. Manufactured by Monsanto, Posilac is a genetically engineered copy of BGH, often referred to as rBGH, or rbST (recombinant bovine somatotropin), or, as most dairymen simply call it, bST.
“POSILAC has become one of the leading dairy animal health products in the United States and many other countries,” proclaims Monsanto on its Web site. “Supplementing dairy cows with bovine somatotropin safely enhances milk production and serves as an important tool to help dairy producers improve the efficiency of their operations…
“Milk from cows receiving supplemental bST is unchanged,” Monsanto states on its Web site. “…The use of supplemental bST allows dairy farmers to produce more milk with fewer cows, thereby providing dairy farmers with additional economic security as well as providing related environmental benefits.”
Since its approval by the Food and Drug Administration in 1993, many U.S. dairymen have used rBGH to increase their animals' milk output by anywhere from 5 percent to 40 percent.
While there have been anecdotal reports that human consumption of rBGH may be linked to a number of health problems, including an increased risk of cancer, to date, no definitive evidence implicating Posilac has been found.
But cows treated with rBGH are more likely to develop mastitis, an infection of the udder. The infection requires treatment with antibiotics, which wind up in the milk along with increased pus.
Animals injected with rBGH also produce milk containing elevated levels of another controversial hormone called IGF-1, which some scientists say is associated with increased risks of human cancers.
On its Web site, the national Center for Food Safety accuses the FDA of “turning a deaf ear to the pleas of consumers, food safety organizations and scientists to reverse its approval of the hormone, or to simply require labeling of foods containing rBGH.
“Even a legal challenge by CFS could not force the FDA to reexamine the health threats of rBGH,” said a CFS bulletin. “The FDA's decision stood despite regulatory bodies in both Canada and Europe rejecting the hormone due to numerous animal and human health concerns.”
Anti-rBGH chatter on the Internet has increased markedly in recent months, especially on organic- and vegetarian-oriented Web sites. Several postings feature comments from a lecture delivered at the University of Wisconsin last month during which a professor there called rBGH “crack for cows” and claimed that animals treated with rBGH eventually lost the ability to produce milk on their own.
Use of rBGH is banned in Canada and throughout much of the European Union. But one U.S. researcher who supports Posilac's use said the Canadian and European bans are “political, not about health issues…Those countries banned the drug in order to support prices and keep their milk inventories from ballooning.”
In an attempt to keep their product viable in the marketplace, Monsanto recently cut the price of Posilac. Individual shots, which can be injected in dairy cows once every 14 days, now cost about $6 each.
Meanwhile, the increasing publicity about potential health risks associated with rBGH has created a shortage of organic milk and cheese, which is rBGH-free by definition.
“Surplus milk resulting from this hormone has kept milk prices low,” argues Robert Cohen, an independent dairy industry watchdog. “(And) adverse publicity from the bovine growth hormone (has) caused people to question all milk consumption.”
California is home to about 2,100 dairy operations and more than 1.7 million milk cows.
The state produces 37.5 billion pounds or about 21 percent of America's total milk supply and the dairy industry employs some 434,000 Californians and generates almost $50 billion in annual economic activity.
Only Monsanto and the “middle man” companies that market and sell Posilac really know how much of the drug is being used.
Tulare County's dairy advisor, Deborah Bacon, who works at the UC Cooperative Extension in Tulare, said: “I have no information about how many dairies use” rBGH.
In Montana just this month, the state's two largest milk processors began requiring dairymen to sign affidavits stipulating that their milk is rBGH-free.
Tony Souza, a local dairyman and member of the California Milk Advisory Board, said: “All milk naturally has bovine growth hormone in it but there are some dairymen who give their cows shots of rBGH to get more production.”
Souza, like most other dairymen, declined to speculate about how wide-ranging the use of rBGH is in Tulare County.
But Dr. Jose Santos, a professor at the UC Davis Vet Center in Tulare, said that while there is no way of knowing exactly how many animals are treated with Posilac, “My understanding is that 30 to 40 percent of the cows in California receive some doses at various times in their lives.”
Calling the recent rBGH controversy a gimmick by marketers to create a “new niche for rbST-free products,” Santos stated categorically his belief that rBGH “poses no threat to the food supply or the health and welfare of the animal. There is really no difference at all between milk from cows that are treated or not treated with rbST. The composition of the milk is very similar. As far as health concerns for the consumer, there's really none whatsoever.”
But while there is clearly increasing pressure on dairymen nationwide to produce both rBGH-free and antibiotic-free milk, Souza said that for the past 25 or 30 years, California producers “have not allowed milk from animals treated with antibiotics to enter the food supply.”
Other states around the nation are now following California's lead, Souza added.
“All loads of milk are tested for antibiotics before they are unloaded at the processing plant,” he explained. (There is no test for rBGH). “If the milk tests positive for antibiotics and they've got the process down so that they can test a full truckload right down to a gnat's eyebrow the load is dumped,” Souza said.
After attending a recent food show in Florida, Souza confirmed that there appears to be increasing demand from retailers not only for rBGH-free milk products but also for more organic milk.
In 2005, retail sales of organic dairy products grew by 24 percent to a little more than $2 billion.
But for dairymen, converting to an organic operation is no easy task.
“They are making it a little tougher all the time for producers to shift to organic,” Souza said. “In making the transition, your cows have to eat organic-grown seed for at least one year.”
And there are a number of other stipulations inspectors and buyers of organic milk products insist upon.
Still, a major shift toward organically-produced milk may be in Tulare County's future.
“I don't think it's going to happen right away but I think down the road, these are things we are looking at,” said Souza.
Cheese is another key ingredient in the rBGH debate.
While about 12 percent to 14 percent of the milk produced here is used for fluid purposes, about 50 percent goes toward the manufacturing of cheese. (The rest is used for powder, butter, yogurt and ice cream.)
The popularity of cheese has skyrocketed in recent years and today, more than 50 cheese makers operate in California. In 1995, there were about 70 varieties and styles of cheese sold; today there are more than 250.
The California Milk Advisory Board's current ad campaign brags: “Great cheese comes from happy cows. Happy cows come from California.”
It takes 10 pounds of milk to produce one pound of cheese and lately, state dairymen are having a hard time keeping up with demand from cheese makers.
In April of 2005, Wisconsin-based Tillamook, the second-largest producer of chunk cheese in the nation, went rBGH-free in all its cheese products. Other major cheese producers are likely to follow Tillamook's lead.
Wal-Mart retails about 14 percent of the nation's cheese.
Karen A Burk, a spokesperson for the Bentonville, Ark.-based company, said: “We believe that both organic and conventional agriculture provide safe, healthy, and sustainable products for customers. It is up to our customers to choose which type of product they want to buy, and we want to give them the choice.”
Mixed Signals for Visalia
Unsold Homes Volume Climbs While New Building Permits Continue to Boom
Visalia - Visalia and Tulare home builders continue a torrid home building pace in mid-2006 while the number of unsold homes on the market continues to grow. Something’s got to give here but it’s not clear when it will.
The number of existing homes on the market has been growing since last fall and through 2006, according to the Tulare County Association of Realtors. As of July 1, there were 1,801 active listings in the MLS that includes both Visalia and the town of Tulare. That’s up from 1,690 on June 1, 2006; 1,005 in November of 2005; and 437 in July 2005.
It’s clear we won’t sell as many existing homes this year compared to last when 3300 homes were sold in the MLS with just 1,375 sold during the first half of this year – about a 23 percent decline.
But builders of new homes don’t appear to be adjusting their pace here despite a slowdown in building activity nationwide. So far this year, Visalia has permitted 737 homes – about the pace they did in all 2005 when permits for 1,450 homes were pulled – a record year. Tulare, which built about 510 homes last year, had its best month ever in June, says planning director Mark Keilty, with 102 new home permits approved for just that month. Builders have big plans on all quadrants of Tulare as the city is processing a handful of annexation requests.
“It looks very strong. The rest of the year and 2007 will be a good one for Tulare,” he exclaims.
As of July 1, Visalia had permitted 737 new single-family homes during the first six months of 2006 – actually ahead of last year’s pace when 1,450 new single family homes were permitted. Adding multi-unit complexes permitted so far, the pace is already ahead of all of last year’s numbers. “We don’t see any end to it,” says the city’s top building official Dennis Lehman. The continued active pace here may be in contrast to other areas with a report that subcontractors are coming here to work from Sacramento where building activity has slowed.
Lehman points to additional building activity in town that is keeping his department hopping. A surge in commercial building activity with nine new commercial projects permitted in June and 8 new apartment units. Adding to the mix – permits for 52 new swimming pools in town – not too surprising in this summer heat. The total value of all permits this past month was about $53 million, on pace to eclipsing last year’s record valuation for all permits. For all of last year Visalia valuation was a record $397 million – up from $287 million the year before. For the first half of this year, valuation stands about $293 million. That puts it on pace to be a $500 to $600 million year, depending on the value of large commercial projects with some big ones expected, such as a new Costco. The largest commercial project permit filed last month was Winco Foods – the new grocer on Caldwell. Tahoe Joe’s is expected to permit a new restaurant at this center along with others.
Other building figures for Visalia are eye poppers, including 236 new multi-family units for the first half of the year compared to just 100 for all of 2005. Valuation of new commercial and commercial remodels tell the same story – the values for half the year match all of last year.
If the city is buoyant, existing homeowners trying to sell their houses are not. Realtor Brad Maaske says his office is seeing fewer qualified buyers looking for homes. “The speculators are gone,” he says, leaving available buyers to come from the local markets in a town with only limited job growth prospects – the key driver for a strong housing market. Of course, not helping is an increase in interest rates this week, which are up to an average 6.8 percent according to DataQuick – further limiting the number of buyers who can afford a new home. This week, the MLS shows the median asking price is $295,000, while the median selling price of homes is $255,000. Builders with low cost land will make out in this market Maaske suggests. A report done by Icenhower Real Estate detailed last month in the Valley Voice pointed to a key insight into what is happening in Visalia: competition in new homes and the volume of product “has driven down prices for both new houses and existing homes” with the coming of a score of new big home builders to the local market.
Judge's Ruling Favors Porterville Citizen Group
Porterville - A tentative ruling issued late last week appears to be a victory for a loosely knit group of Porterville residents who were suing to stop a Texas-based developer from going forward with a planned 67-acre, 230-unit subdivision in the hills east of Porterville.
In an eight-page ruling issued late last month, Tulare Superior Court Judge Lloyd L. Hicks concluded that the City of Porterville had “abused its discretion” in granting approval of the project, which the judge said “could have a significant adverse impact on the environment.”
Judge Hicks found, among other things, that the City of Porterville did not properly analyze aesthetic-and drainage-related aspects of the proposed project and that the project's specific density and design were not in accordance with the city's existing general plan.
Neither Porterville City Attorney Nancy Jenner nor the developer's Sacramento-based attorneys were available to comment on the ruling.
But Richard Harriman, the attorney representing Porterville Citizens for Responsible Hillside Development, hailed the judge's ruling.
Said Harriman: “We proved there is a fair argument under CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) that the design and density of the subdivision map for this project could have potentially significant and adverse environmental impact on two major areas: aesthetics and drainage.”
Attorneys for the developer of the proposed Canyon Springs Estates, San Antonio, Texas-based Contour Development Inc., argued in court earlier this year that the hillside subdivision is consistent with Porterville's General Plan, which was written in 1990 and is in the process of being updated. The Porterville City Council, which also serves as the city's planning commission, passed an interim hillside development ordinance in September 2005 on the same day it gave a green light to Contour's project.
Contour had an agreement to sell their subdivision project to one of the area's major builders, Reynen & Bardis, but that deal could now be threatened by the recent ruling.
All parties involved in the case have 30 days to file objections and arguments for or against the judge's ruling.
“We acknowledge that there is going to eventually be a residential project in that area,” said Harriman. “My clients just think it should be one that is more consistent with both the general plan and the topography there.”
Meeting Set to Revise Transportation
Sales Tax for November Ballot
by Miles Shuper
Tulare County - City and county officials are reviewing revised figures on how funds would be expended if a one-half cent sales tax to finance transportation needs and a new meeting on the issue has been set for July 24.
Members of the Tulare County's transportation board had voted 10-4 on June 26 to go ahead with plans to put a one-half cent sales tax on the November ballot. But with the City of Visalia leading the opposition because of unresolved spending plan formulas, members of the Tulare County Association of Government's (TCAG) transportation committee have been working on revising the spending formula. Those revised numbers were being sent to the county's eight incorporated cities and the county for review before the July 24 meeting.
Ted Smalley, who leads the TCAG transportation staff, said he expects the revised information will be given to cities by the end of this week. Visalia city officials confirmed they were anticipating the new information by week's end.
Smalley said the major change is in a two-tier method of funding regional projects, which account for 35 percent of the annual anticipated $21.7 million sales tax revenue.
During a sometimes contentious two-hour meeting on June 26, members of the Tulare County Association of Government's (TCAG) transportation committee originally voted 10-4 to place the issue before voters in the general election. At least one-half the cities representing half of the Tulare County population (about 400,000) must OK the measure before it can go to the ballot. With some councils meeting next week, including Dinuba on July 11, the process of revising the plan has been on the fast track, with TCAG staff and others meeting or conferring on a daily basis.
Those voting no at the June 26 meeting were Dist. 3 Tulare County Supervisor Phil Cox; Bob Link, representing the of Visalia City Council; Gil Jaramilla at large member representing Visalia; and Terry McKittrick, representing Dinuba. Those members represent nearly a third of the county's population.
The four said they believe there are too many unresolved details in the proposal and too short a timeframe to inform voters and build support. And, they say failure of the measure, which would require a two-thirds majority approval, would hinder any future attempts. But McKittrick later changed his mind and agreed to vote yes after conferring with Dinuba officials. He told the Valley Voice last week he would attempt to have the TCAG transportation board vote officially changed, but it now appears his yes vote won't be necessary. The Dinuba City Council is scheduled to vote July 11 on a resolution supporting the sales tax proposal if the revised data is acceptable.
McKittrick said his original no vote essentially was based on a concern that the timeframe was too tight. “Now I feel we have to go for it,” he said.
His comments echoed those of other proponents, including Steve Worthly, supervisor's chairman, that “the time is right” with county residents vitally aware of the need for road, highway, and other transportation infrastructure repair and construction.
Supervisors Connie Conway, Jim Maples and Allen Ishida agree that the current public awareness of the need for better roads and highways is strong. Ishida points out that with the state considering a billion dollar bond for transportation infrastructure, counties that have not made their own efforts are going less likely to get much of the financial pie. Ishida said state bond monies most likely will go to what he termed “self-help counties” those which are attempting to do something about their needs.
Supervisor Worthly also noted that Fresno, Kings and Kern counties are involved in seeking tax measure and that publicity surrounding their efforts would help focus voter attention on the issue.
Several days after the vote, Visalia City Councilman Link reaffirmed the city's opposition to going ahead with the sales tax measure, saying there are still too many technical issues about the ways funds would be distributed and the composition of an oversight committee to administer the spending. After learning that the city would be receiving the revised data, Link said he will await council direction on deciding the city's stand on the issue.
Supervisor Cox, whose district includes Visalia, has been adamant in arguing that the city would not get as much money from the tax as was originally formulated when the tax issue surfaced quite some time ago. He said he has been working on getting a plan that the city could support.
According to the formula as it now stands, half of the funding would go to regional bridge and roadway construction and other projects 35 percent being split between cities and the county for projects in their jurisdictions.
The formula has Visalia receiving $1.6 million; Lindsay, $140,000; Dinuba, $257,000; Tulare, $692,000; Woodlake $82,000; Porterville, $635,000; Farmersville, $128,000; Exeter, $137,000; and the county $3.9 million.
According to the original worksheet generated by the transportation program committee, the annual revenue generated by the one-half cent tax would total about $21.7 million. Over a 30-year period, the proposed length of the tax, the expected revenue would be a little more than $652 million.
Northside Retail Projects Moving Forward
Visalia - The Visalia City Council appeared to bless the early effort by developer Donahue Schriber to design a new twin shopping center at Riggin and Dinuba Highway this past week.
The center, to be anchored by Home Depot on one side and a new Target on the other, could be rival and even look like Packwood Creek with many of the same stores seen on south Mooney, predicts several commercial brokers. The center, along with two others in the works, amount to the first time major retailers have proposed locating on Visalia’s northside. Council was interested in the developer working to create a design for the center that connected to the neighborhood and offered a sort of village look – a prescription offered to developer Craig Mangano on his proposed shopping center at Riggin and Demaree that will soon come back to the city council. That center, anchored by Lowes, did not get the same welcome mat reception more than a month ago compared to the Donahue Schriber project this past week.
Significantly, there is a new tone to discussions now.
Indeed, this past week the Lowes project appears to be “on track” says city council member Greg Kirkpatrick who joined a chorus of council members critical of the original plan but now has met with Mangano in the past month to take a new look at the project. Mangano reportedly has met with every council member to try to get this 247,000-square-foot center approved and appears to have made considerable progress. Mangano has re-worked the design of the Lowes and downsized the big box store a little.
Changes made on the project include less parking and moving the big box store away from a planned multi-unit complex that is part of the specific plan of the project. The entrance to the center will now have shop space along the street with additional parking making it look a little like Main Street as you enter the center. On the street to the north is the multi family complex. On the north the center is anchored by a 166,000-square-foot Lowes and second 50,000-square-foot store with outpads as well. Mangano has not said, but sources expect this 50,000-square-foot store to be a grocery store. “I think he has done an excellent job modifying the plan,” says Kirkpatrick. The new plan to the city site plan review last week and got a “revise and proceed” nod with the project once he has worked up his specific plan to submit to council.
Donahue Schriber is also submitting a specific plan on their big new center. “We were impressed the developer was willing to work with the city” on their concerns, says Vice Mayor Kirkpatrick. “It’s all about design,” said Greg Collins.
Ahead on two others projects is the Joe Gong owned shopping center under construction and anchored by a new Food 4 Less. Now comes word the ubiquitous Starbucks drive-thru will be part of the center.
Ethanol Roundup
Local Ownership Shuffle Underway
Pixley Plant Breaks Ground
Pixley - The Central Valley’s newest ethanol plant near Pixley broke ground in recent weeks next to the JD Heiskell feed mill on Highway 99. Matt Schmitt, principal with Calgren Renewable Fuels LLC says the $100 million plant “is a go” with grading and underground utilities construction underway now and the plant’s general contractor Lurgi – a division of German conglomerate GEA Group – expected to begin construction by the end of this month. Schmitt says construction time could be from 11 to 15 months. The plants will produce 50 million gallons a year of the renewable fuel used to blend with gasoline.
In other news, a new partnership Altra Inc. has finalized the purchase of the Goshen ethanol plant owned by Phoenix Bio Industries. Plans are in place to expand the plant to 45 million gallons. The Altra Inc. group is made up of a group of investors with Malibu Capital Partners, private equity firms KPCB and Omninet, along with Angeleno Group LLC and Khosla Ventures. The new biofuel company has proposed to make several other strategic investments in building new plants.
Matt Schmidt says his Calgren group – in which Altra is a minority investor – is selling its interest in the Hanford plant to Altra Inc., which will be taking over the permitting and ownership of the proposed Hanford ethanol plant Calgren has been working on planned for the Hanford industrial park. The project is in the pre EIR stage.
Also this past week, Goshen-based Western Milling announced a venture with Khosla Ventures – a company Vinod Khosla founder of Sun Microsystems started in 2004. The Silicon Valley entrepreneur also has a stake in Altra Inc. Western Milling president Kevin Kruse says the announcement amounts to a “name change” on an earlier announced project based on the new investor. Last month, Western Milling announced the formation of a new partnership called Ethanol West to build several new plants including one in Famoso in Kern County and Keyes in the northern valley. The new partnership that includes Khosla will now be called Cilion instead but carry out the same plans.
Cilion has plans for eight plant units with three in California where demand for ethanol is high but supply mostly comes from the Midwest.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently issued an executive order establishing targets for the use and production of biomass products. The executive order called for California to produce a minimum of 20 percent of its own biofuels by 2010 and forty percent by 2020. Of the 900 million gallons of ethanol currently consumed in California, only 5 percent is produced in California.
“Cilion will be able to single-handedly produce all of the ethanol that the Governor has ordered for 2010, based on current consumption,” according to Khosla. “Governor Schwarzenegger wants 20 percent of all ethanol consumed in California to be homegrown, and we are confident that Cilion can achieve that goal in its first three California plants, comprising four 55 million gallons per year units, that will be operational by early 2008.”
“When fully operational, ethanol produced by Cilion is expected to be price competitive per mile driven with gasoline even if oil prices drop to $40 per barrel, assuming normal gasoline distribution margins,” says Kevin Kruse, president of Western Milling.
Ethanol has been sold as an alternative to petroleum and gasoline use but in recent weeks the market price of ethanol has skyrocketed to as much as $5 per gallon making motorists blended fuels cost more.
But Schmitt says the increase in ethanol’s price is a blip that will pass as new production of ethanol comes on board. “The phase out of the additive MTBE this spring caused a spike in demand,” says Schmitt. But ethanol is cheaper to make than gasoline at $1.20 per gallon compared to $1.60 per gallon for gasoline. He says “there is two billion gallons of ethanol plant production under construction now that will come online in the next 15 to 24 months.”
What's New
Family Health Care Network has finalized a deal to move its administrative offices closer to its flagship Oak Street clinic. CEO Harry Foster confirmed that the FHCN, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, will be taking 15,000 square feet in Andy Mangano’s downtown project to redevelop the old, all-brick Razzari Ford showroom at Garden and Center streets. “We’ve got everything taken care of,” says Foster, who expects to make the move within the next nine months to year. Mangano says demolition has already begun on the remodeling project, which is being overseen by architect Stan Canby.
Visalia’s downtown renaissance began with a new movie theater and now Lemoore is following the formula with expansion of its movie theater from six to 10 screens with 434 more seats. The Lemoore Stadium Cinema on Follett already has helped revitalize the Downtown, says planner Holly Smyth, and now a two story complex anchored by a restaurant is expected to be built nearby.
Tulare County has been put on notice to expect a new lawsuit over the Riverland expansion project on the Kings River already approved. The expected lawsuit to be filed by neighbors, will demand the county carry out an environmental review on the controversial project on the Tulare County side of the river.
Speaking of lawsuits, Hanford and Kings County LAFCO have been challenged earlier this year with several lawsuits over proposed annexation into the city of Hanford suggesting the city has not done enough to remedy the high arsenic concentrations in the groundwater. Now a settlement is considered likely over the suits that would allow the annexation to move forward with the city doing more to address the water issue.
The chairman of the board of Fresno based Gottschalks department store, Joe Levy, has announced he will retire but remain on the board until the end of this year. Levy is the grandnephew of the company founder Emil Gottschalks. Joe Penbera will take over as chairman. The company started in Fresno in 1904 and now has some 63 stores all over the west. The company’s stock had fallen in 2003 to just about $1 and surged to $12 a share in mid-2005 and is now down to $6.5 as of July 1.
Senator Dianne Feinstein has written to EPA to allow California to implement its own tougher small engine emissions plan. She says the pollution reduced by cleaner small engines in 2010 would be the equivalent of removing more than 800,000 cars off the road. Four small engine makers have said they would comply with the new proposed rules. Feinstein is asking EPA to act by September.
The digital era is upon us and it’s affecting employment levels. Just ask Kodak who has been going through a painful refocusing of this company that used to bank big time on film sales. No better place to look is the printing industry which historically has had a big presence in Tulare County. Companies that support the smaller print shops have downsized because printers no longer need the warehouses of product to prepare print jobs, like film, chemicals, photo sensitive paper and plates. Instead more folks are doing much of the printing that they used to do at print shops on their home or office computers. The printing industry’s signature event The Gutenberg Festival is a shadow of its former self with all digital computerized printing presses that require little skill and push a few buttons. Locally there are fewer print shops in our area and more consolidations. The major effect on employment is at the big printing operations like Jostens in Visalia. Just a few years ago it took a workforce of 700 to handle the rush of yearbook print jobs in spring and today they can do the job with about 250 employees. Many old timers at the plant are looking for work because they aren’t getting the hours they once had. “Kids are sending in their yearbook pages already to go,” says one.
The California budget process included $5 million to continue the work of the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley - a collective effort between the state and local governments and citizens to improve the quality of life in the valley. Money for the group’s work that was founded last year by Governor Schwarzenegger was in doubt but the funds were approved as of late June. The money will be used to complete the action plan due in October. Locally, Connie Conway is the Co-chair of the partnership.
Supporters of High Speed Rail in California were pleased the new state budget included $14.3 million to continue the work of the High Speed Rail Authority to build a 200 mph rail system in the state. While the legislature decided to put a $9.95 billion bond issue to be voted by the public off until 2008 - some thought the project would be shelved permanently without funding. Visalia hopes to get a station on the rail line if the Authority agrees to change the alignment the speedy train would run between Bakersfield and Fresno.
Visalia will get its first full-fledged “sports bar” when Sports Zone Pizza and Grill opens at the Visalia Marketplace on Nobel at County Center. The 4800 square foot eatery is owned by two veterans of the restaurant including Paul Cabrera - a partner in the Amigos chain and Bob Falat who managed Mimi’s in Visalia. The new place expects to open this fall. The Visalia Marketplace is a new food court just opened with two tenants open – El Rosal Mexican restaurant and Hawaiian Tahiti BBQ. Meanwhile a second smaller sports bar is planned downtown according to city records, at 209 W. Main St., operated by David Williams.
By Claudia Elliott
Tulare County - A secluded site called Chimney Rock in the mountains northeast of Visalia has the attention of bird-watchers as the Forest Service has reported the first successful hatch of peregrine falcon chicks at that location in more than 30 years.
Chimney Rock is located on the Hume Lake Ranger District in the northern section of Giant Sequoia National Monument, and has become home for a family of peregrine falcons.
Forest Service Public Affairs Officer Denise Alonzo said peregrine falcons historically nested in the Chimney Rock area until the damaging effects of DDT in the 1970s caused nest failures. In 1995, under a forest closure order, the site was made “off limits” between April and August annually to protect the peregrines, which were returning and attempting to nest on this site. This year's nest is the first to successfully hatch chicks in more than 30 years, Alonzo said.
Alonzo said the roughly two-week-old peregrine chicks were spotted over the weekend of June 24 by volunteers working for the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group.
Volunteers continue to monitor the status of the chicks. Kathy Ball, who staffs the Buck Rock Lookout Tower on the Hume Lake Ranger District, said the volunteer group would be going out again Saturday to check on the birds.
Ball was among the first to see the hatchlings and was able to accompany the group of volunteers for its first monitoring effort.
“It was a great thrill,” she said. “Two out of the three looked extremely healthy. They were big and fat and fluffy. The third one, as is often the case, was smaller, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t survive.”
The Forest Service has issued warnings for unauthorized people to keep out of the area, which was already under a “Forest Closure Order” when the chicks hatched, Alonzo said.
Unfortunately, there were rock climbers violating the closure area when the volunteers began their monitoring, she said. The adult peregrines were showing they were upset, making a defensive kak-kak-kak cry and dive bombing the climbers. The chicks were not getting needed nourishment as their parents were kept away by the intruders.
Peregrines can be very sensitive to humans around their nest area and may abandon the nest if disturbed. All of the approaches and climbing routes on Chimney Rock are too near the peregrine's nest site. If the peregrines make their defensive cry, it is considered harassment of the birds and you can be cited by a law enforcement officer under the Forest Order (CFR 261.53b) or the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, she said.
Although the Forest Service has reported that rock climbers disturbed the chicks, a Porterville man who was among the founders of the Southern Sierra Climbers Association, said experienced climbers are very supportive of forest closure orders and often the first to let land managers know when falcons are in an area.
Patrick Paul, a teacher at Granite Hills High School and author of books including a guide to climbing the Needles on Giant Sequoia National Monument, said rock climbers have a respect for closure orders and have recommended them as a way to protect the birds while allowing access at other times.
"Very few are so selfish that they don't support the idea of closing a cliff periodically," Paul said.
Paul said peregrines have been seen up in the Needles area, near Ponderosa, from time to time, as well.
"At one time there was a nesting pair on one of lower formations and climbers were very willingly avoiding that area," he said.
Alonzo said up-to-date information on this closure or to obtain a map of the closure area, please contact the Hume Lake Ranger District (559) 338-2251.
Tulare County - Negotiators announced on June 30 that a settlement aimed at resolving 18-year-old San Joaquin River environmental litigation and initiating restoration of the river downstream from Friant Dam has been agreed to fully in principle. Attorneys for the Friant Water Users Authority (FWUA), Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Federal Government told the United States District Court in a status report filing today that they have reached agreement on stipulation of settlement and that the accord is ready to be circulated to all of the case's parties.
A little over two weeks ago, the parties told U.S. District Judge Lawrence K. Karlton during a Sacramento hearing that agreement had been reached on all salient and substantive points in the complex case.
The historic agreement, once finalized by the court, will launch one of the nation's most ambitious and expensive river and fishery restoration projects ever. It was months in the making and came about as the parties were preparing to go to trial on the often-contentious legal and environmental issues. At the heart of the now-settled litigation is an environmental and fishing coalition's long-standing legal effort to compel restoration of flows, habitat and a salmon fishery in the San Joaquin River between Friant Dam and the Merced River.
Although details will remain confidential until the settlement is formally signed and accepted by Judge Karlton (most likely in early August), the agreement will result in some Central Valley Project water used historically by growers and residents in the one-million-acre Friant Division being rescheduled to re-establish river flows upstream from the Merced River. It would also require federal legislation, and federal and state appropriations, to make restoration a reality. All concerned are well aware that a great deal of planning, construction and water management decisions will be required.
"We are extremely pleased by the efforts of all parties in seeking to settle this litigation," said Ronald D. Jacobsma, Friant Water Users Authority consulting general manager. "Now, as it has for many years, Friant stands ready to help make this process work," he said.
"What we're trying to do is provide the conditions for salmon to return above the Merced River without sacrificing the country's most productive agricultural economy," Gregory Wilkinson of Best Best & Krieger and a FWUA attorney, said.
FWUA attorney Daniel Dooley said negotiators for the state and the settling parties had reached agreement on text of a memorandum of understanding regarding the federal and state roles in implementing the settlement, one that will be recommended to respective clients.
"We are gratified that Governor Schwarzenegger's administration has reached out to embrace and help implement this settlement in such a cooperative manner," Jacobsma said. Earlier this year, Schwarzenegger notified the parties of his support of the settlement efforts and pledged that the administration would assist in restoration.
"All of us are anxious to finalize this settlement agreement and reach out to the river's other stakeholders so we can move into the challenges of achieving San Joaquin River restoration in a manner that is consistent with the water supply purposes of the Central Valley Project," Jacobsma said. "We are hopeful the parties, the people they represent and others interested in the river will accept the settlement as an equitable means of advancing river restoration in a manner that provides opportunity to minimize negative water supply and economic impacts to the region."
The current successful settlement effort is the second try to resolve the case. The first began in the case's 11th year, after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the Ninth Circuit ruling. Exploratory contacts were made and, in 1999, the NRDC and its coalition joined with the FWUA and 18 Friant contractors in settlement negotiations. In the process, the parties overcame years of distrust to initially negotiate a mutual goals statement and assurances. Those principles included pledges to seek to enhance the river to maintain fish populations, including Chinook salmon, but without adversely affecting Friant water users. All parties asked for, and received, a stay in the remaining federal court litigation. Talks focused on river restoration between Friant Dam and the Merced River and eventually evolved into two studies sponsored by a FWUA-NRDC partnership with backing of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and California Department of Water Resources, examining water supply needs and strategies for restoring the river. Even though this first four-year round of negotiations proved unsuccessful with the parties ending up going back to court, a foundation was laid.
In the summer of 2005 as attorneys for the plaintiffs, FWUA and United States government prepared for a Feb. 14, 2006, trial date to decide "remedies" for Judge Karlton's decision that a "historic" salmon fishery had to be restored by the federal government, Senator Dianne Feinstein and House Water and Power Subcommittee Chairman George Radanovich began a non-partisan effort to bring the parties together. A new series of negotiations began. Talks were frequent and just as often difficult but progress, although slow, proved to be steady. In addition, the State of California has expressed strong interest in participating in the implementation process.
In April, the court was informed that agreement had been achieved on numerous issues, including restoration flows. However, several points of contention remained to be resolved. The list of issues has been steadily whittled down.
Along with the NRDC, plaintiffs in the San Joaquin River litigation are Trout Unlimited of California, the Bay Institute of San Francisco, California Natural Resources Federation, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, California Trout, Friends of the River, Northern California Guides Associations, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, San Joaquin Raptor Rescue Center, Sierra Club, Stanislaus Audubon Society, United Anglers of California, California Striped Bass Association and National Audubon Society.
The non-federal Friant defendants are led by the Friant Water Users Authority and include 18 of the agencies that hold contracts with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for use of CVP water from the San Joaquin River. Officials with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which administers the CVP and Friant Dam, and other federal agencies, are the case's federal defendants. The original action was brought against the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the Interior Department agency that administers the Central Valley Project. Now known as NRDC vs. Rodgers, the case has gone through a series of name changes as the Bureau has gained new Mid-Pacific Regional Directors. Kirk Rodgers now holds that position.
Mid-July Council Meeting to be Action Packed
Visalia - The Visalia city council did not meet this week due to the Fourth of July holiday but expect some fireworks at the council’s next regularly scheduled meeting later this month.
At the July 17 session, councilors will receive a detailed update from airport manager Mario Cifuentez on the city’s quest to find another carrier to replace Scenic Airlines, which announced in mid-May that it was pulling out of the commercial airlines business to concentrate on it charter flights between Law Vegas and the Grand Canyon.
Cifuentez said this week that as many as four “well-known” carriers are interested in stepping in to take Scenic’s place.
“The news is all good,” said Cifuentez. “Because of the marked increase in passengers flying out of Visalia during Scenic’s time here, we’ve had no problem attracting interest from other potential carriers.”
Bids to replace Scenic will begin being reviewed by the FAA later this month and city officials are confident that the next carrier that steps into the Visalia market will offer early morning flights directly to a major hub airport, which, Cifuentez said, “will be great news, especially for business travelers hoping to make connections.”
Also at the July17 meeting, expect an update from proponents of an ambitious project to build what would be the city’s second-largest medical facility, a $17 million regional orthopedic center on a 13-acre site off Highway 198 at Plaza Drive.
According to Dr. Bruce Le, one of the physicians in the partnership group pushing the center, several key partners have dropped out recently and the project could be in some financial trouble.
Earlier this year, the council green lighted the center, voting 4-1 in favor of a zoning change and 3-2 to approve an amendment to the city’s general plan – votes that set the table for the project to go forward.
The vote appeared to signal a shift in direction on the part of council members, who up until then, had tried to focus Visalia’s medical-related growth around the downtown hospital district.
But the project’s proponents now reportedly plan to come back to council at the July 17 meeting to ask for permission to build two “spec” buildings on the parcel in order to fund the construction of the medical complex. That worries several city council members who had supported the project in its original configuration and now say that they could change their vote on the project when the conditional use permit comes before them next week.
“We’ve lost partners recently and our overhead is tremendous right now,” said Le. “Financially, the partnership is doing okay and we should be getting new docs in the group within the next six months.”
Rising interest rates and skyrocketing costs for construction materials have also impacted the project, said Le.
“Right now, we just don’t have the reserves we thought we would and at the end of the day, the project has to make financial sense,” he said.
“But the orthopedic center concept hasn’t changed,” Le added. “We are just asking to be able to build these buildings first, whether they are leased or sold. We have to be willing to do whatever we need to do to help pay for this project.”
Also on July 17 the council will discuss a new interim zoning for much of the new Civic Center area including the Farm Bureau’s land and the stockyards. The interim zoning is the first major step to attract developer interest to the area near the proposed civic center. The Farm Bureau board has voted to support the idea that ultimately would mean their relocation and the relocation of the stockyards from east Visalia. “This will increase the value of our land,” says former chair of the Farm Bureau, Craig Knudson. “I don’t know if it will be next year or five years from now, but we know this area will see new development.” Knudson says major developers have been in contact with the Farm Bureau. “It will take about $3.5 million to replace the livestock yard,” expects Knudson.
The new zoning will be “form based” meaning uses won’t be stipulated but the look of the buildings and their relationship to the street will be set.
Also, council member Greg Kirkpatrick will give a presentation on an ag enterprise project he has been involved with near Davis, Calif. that could be a model for what Kirkpatrick envisions on West 198.
Visalia Chamber Honors Man and Woman of the Year Small and Large Businesses Also Recognized
Visalia - Each year the Visalia Chamber of Commerce honors those businesses and individuals who consistently go above and beyond in their efforts to support the community.
This year, the Chamber honored Don Goodyear and Marilynn Barr as its Man and Woman of the Year.
Goodyear most recently served as interim president of College of the Sequoias and is retiring this year. Barr is executive director of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Tulare County.
The Chamber honored Kawneer Company, Inc. as Large Business of the Year and Armstrong Property Management as Small Business of the Year. In addition, Blain Farms was recognized as Agri-Business of the Year.
According to the Chamber, winners were chosen by a committee and judged on a point system.
“The selection process for all the winners is methodical and tedious,” said Visalia Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Mike Cully.
“The selection panel looks at a multitude of factors when making its decision,” he added. “I can tell you unequivocally that our winners this year are truly deserving and represent the very best that Visalia and the South Valley has to offer."
Winners were announced at the Visalia Chamber’s Annual Awards Banquet, Friday, June 23, 2006.
The above stories are the property of The Valley Voice Newspaper and may not be reprinted without explicit permission in writing from the publisher.
July 5, 2006
