PAL Ready to Move into 'Its Own' Home

Visalia - Within the next few days, kids in the City of Visalia's Police Activities League will have a home they can call their own.

Finishing touches are being put on the PAL building this week at 701 Race Avenue.
“We are so excited about this building,” said Debbie Terry, president of the Visalia Police Activities League. She said plans are to open the building, located on the grounds of the old Caltrans yard near Burke and Murray, before school starts Aug. 14.

Officer Rick Johnson, the police department's PAL officer, is excited as well. He noted how he has had programs spread out over the city, but most will be centralized and now he has a place to call home.

“We have been using buildings in the city that were available for years. This will be our first building,” added Terry.

Javier Carrillo, 11, was one of a few youngsters who got a sneak preview of the building last week. He and his brother and two friends ran around like kids in a new house. They quickly settled into playing foosball, ping pong and Playstation.

“It's cool. I like it,” he said as he played one of the games.

The 5,000-square-foot facility has a game room for the foosball and ping pong, a computer room that Johnson hopes will have 10 computers, and a larger boxing room that will include a new boxing ring.

Boxing is a big part of the PAL program, both in Visalia and nationally. Johnson said more than 200 kids – 60 to 80 actively – including several girls, take part in the boxing program. The new ring, which will be installed at the end of this month, will be the first for the program.

“Boxing is our biggest program. We're teaching the science, not the violence,” he said, adding that Visalia has had boxers compete on the national level.

Paul Chao, community resource specialist with PAL, said boxing helps the youngsters physically and mentally, forcing them to become more focused while at the same time building up endurance and lung capacity, which helps combat asthma.
With the uptick in gang activity in the past 24 months, the city has put a lot of focus on prevention. While the Visalia PAL has been around for more than 20 years, Terry said there is renewed focus to reach out and assist those young people who are exposed daily to gangs and gang violence.

“It's very strong right now. A lot has to do with the chief and a strong board of directors,” she said, but it also takes the support of officers and the community.
PAL is leasing the building from the city for a $1 a year, and much of the $80,000 in renovations has been donated, including a lot of the work. Johnson specifically mentioned Mike Fistolera and Troy Korsgaden for their significant contributions.
“The community's been very generous. We have to thank them for getting this building,” said Terry.

Many activities will be offered after school from 2-7 p.m. Monday through Friday, and some special events will be held on Saturdays, although the center will not hold regular hours on the weekend. During summer, the hours will be 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
There will be one-on-one mentoring offered and outside they will set up basketball hoops and eventually a barbecue area. Plans are to hold a free hamburger BBQ every Wednesday.

The LOOP bus will serve the center, dropping kids off in the fenced area of the PAL center. Johnson said they expect to see up to 200 kids a day visit the center.
Most important, Terry and Johnson pointed out, is the impact on the young lives. “I think the impact the officers have on these kids' lives is life altering,” said Terry. She added the opportunities to take part in activities at the center that they wouldn't be able to do otherwise makes a difference in their lives.

PAL accepts boys and girls ages 7 to 17 – 18 if they are still in high school. Besides the center, there are basketball and baseball leagues and every summer 60 kids are taken to Camp San Joaquin for a week. There is no charge to belong.
Terry said the facility is more important today than ever.

“Especially with gangs and that draw, these kids need a place to go,” she said.
For more on the program, call Johnson at 713-4081 or Chao at 713-4085, or visit www.VisaliaPAL.org.

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Ontario Dairy Weighs Tulare County Plant

Tulare - Security Milk Producers Association, based in Ontario, is scouting a location for a milk plant in Tulare County, says general manager Hank Perkins.

“Talks are very preliminary,” says Perkins, “but we need to site a plant up there” because of the volume of milk that comes from the Valley. Perkins says the 34-member co-op has approved the search and expects to be in production here by 2010, a very aggressive time schedule.

The cooperative produces about 4 million pounds of milk daily, about 1.4 billion pounds annually. The co-op has been in place since 1964 and does some $200 million in annual sales.

Security is basically a fluid milk supplier to the L.A. area with some large customers that include the Ralphs (Kroger) chain and Trader Joe's. In Tulare County, Security has a milk contract to supply product to Mozzarella Fresca cheese company in Tipton.

Sources say the company has visited site locations up and down Highway 99, including near Pixley and in Tulare.

Perkins says the cooperative receives about half its production from large member dairy farms in the greater Tulare area, making it a logical choice for a new plant. “With the cost of freight it makes more sense to have our production facility nearby,” Perkins says.

The plant would be built in phases with the first phase making cream and condensed milk and phase two being a butter/ powder facility used to balance milk production that ebbs and flows.

Per capita consumption of fluid milk continues to go down in the U.S. and in southern California, says Perkins, making it necessary to process more milk as other than fluid milk.

Tulare County is the largest dairy producing site in the nation and boasts several large dairy co-ops including Land O'Lakes in Tulare and California Dairies, Inc. in Visalia and Tipton.

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City Adjusting Subdivision Rules
New Neighborhoods May Have More Homes, Be More Energy Efficient

By Rick Elkins

Visalia - Future residential subdivisions in the City of Visalia may contain more homes, include both energy and water conservation features, and priority will be given to those that fill in vacant land within the city.

The proposals were shared with the city council Monday night with plans to bring them back within the next few weeks for adoption and later to be incorporated into a general plan amendment.

“This is our interpretation of what you have asked for in the past,” said Michael Olmos, city assistant manager. The proposals are the result of discussions the council has had since June of 2007 regarding increasing housing densities and adjusting rules for residential annexations and new subdivisions. The goal, basically, is to encourage infill and reduce the amount of farm land eaten up by city growth.

The eight proposals are:

1 – Give priority to processing annexations that are inside the city's basic development boundary of 98,700 residents.

2 – All annexations shall be contiguous to existing developed areas.

3 – All private party annexation requests shall include a specific or master plan.

4 – Residential annexations shall be developed at midrange or higher densities, with all densities increased, including rural, low and high.

5 – All master plans shall provide plans for energy and water conservation and management of air quality/climate change impacts.

6 – Annexations for public projects shall be considered outside the boundaries.

7 – An Infill Mitigation Program shall be considered that could lead to a mitigation fee to fund improvements downtown to be paid by developments on the city's fringe.

8 – City may authorize up to a 10 percent increase in residential lots on new and approved tentative subdivision maps without the developer having to go back to the planning commission for approval.

In addition, the staff presented the council with seven additional terms to the annexation agreement, including most of the proposal police and an agricultural land mitigation plan. The ag land mitigation plan is still being developed.

“These recommendations are in line with what I've been thinking for some time,” said Mayor Jesus Gamboa, especially water conservation, contiguous growth and infill. “If we had these policies in place in the past, we would have tighter growth,” he added.

Councilman Greg Collins, a longtime advocate of smart growth and resource conservation, applauded the proposed polices, especially the 10 percent increase in density proposal. “I think it will trigger some more infill and provide some more affordable housing,” he said.

The plan is to have a minimum of five houses per acre under low density, compared to 4.5 required today.

He suggested the city take strong steps to conserve water usage and he suggested the city look into a program requiring solar panels on new homes. He said maybe a fee could be developed that would help the city negotiate with a solar wholesaler to make the panels more affordable for builders and eventually home buyers.

Council members were especially encouraged with ideas to encourage infill developments and to reduce the overbuilding the city experienced the past few years. City Planner Paul Scheibel said the city has more than 6,000 approved lots without homes and it was added there are approximately 1,200 vacant houses in the city as well.

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Kings County Plugging into Energy Savings

Kings County - Kings County Board of Supervisors agreed to a contract with Chevron Energy Solutions July 22, setting in motion energy savings projects at the county's government center that for the next 20 years will more than pay their way. So says public works director Henry Verheul who estimates the dollar savings to the county over the life of the contract at more than $12.7 million. “That's what we will save based on energy improvements that we would otherwise have had to pay to Edison.”

Chevron is working with a number of local cities and agencies on energy projects throughout the Central Valley, including in Lemoore where a solar roof project and other energy savings measures are underway. Chevron has been busy in Tulare County, in Dinuba and at Fresno State where the company installed a solar parking building that is generating 20% of Fresno State's electricity.

In Kings County's case, the savings comes after Chevron did an analysis for the government center that includes a series of incentives offered by the state to retire outdated heating and chilling equipment while more efficient equipment is installed.

Among the new equipment that will be put in as part of the contract are new chillers said to be 40% more efficient, new boilers that replace 35-year-old equipment, thermal storage equipment, variable frequency drives that improve air flow, building lighting retrofitting, new energy management systems and the demolition of the thermal storage unit at the old jail.

Lastly, the plan calls for connecting the Superior Court annex to the existing central plant eliminating an older system. All this work is being done in coordination with the construction of the new 30,000-square-foot Human Services building, says Verheul.

Kings County has done such “lump sum negotiated payment” before – some 10 years ago when it replaced old lighting with more efficient systems. “Replacing these old systems just makes sense,” argues Verheul. The state pays for conservation measures – so-called “negawatts” to limit the need for new power plants in California to meet energy needs in the future. Clearly, conservation can go a long way.

Not everybody agrees that Chevron is the right partner with community members in Lemoore, complaining about that town's agreement with the big energy company without competitive bidding, and complaining that Chevron was making too much on the deal. Lemoore is moving forward on its project nevertheless.

Kings County looks to save more when a new public power supplier – the San Joaquin Power Authority – begins to deliver electricity next year offering member jurisdictions like Kings County at least a 5% saving on their power bill over the private utility rates. That becomes even more important with the recent big rise in oil and gas prices, prompting the big California utilities to call for a new round of rate increases.

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New Rail Offer Includes Claims of Collusion

By Miles Shuper

The federal Surface Transportation Board has been urged to consider a second offer by Tulare County to buy a 30-mile segment of the San Joaquin Valley Railroad line approved for abandonment for about $1.2 million, about twice the amount the county initially offered.

The county's offer, filed July 28, also charges SJVR deliberately inflated the line's worth at $2.8 million and charges the company with collusion and manipulation with other bidders closely tied to the rail firm. An independent appraisal by Gary V. Hunter of Railroad Industries, Inc., who was hired by the county, puts the value at $1,198,850, the county's bid.

County officials, working through the Tulare County Economic Development Corporation, the county's rail commission and the association of governments, fought strongly to stop SJVR's move for abandonment of the 30-mile line from Strathmore to Jovista. A bid to abandon a nine-mile segment between Lindsay and Exeter was rejected by the STB which oversees rail issues.

The county doesn't want to lose the rail line which it sees as crucially needed by shippers and any potential industrial and commercial expansion, especially in the wake of transportation costs. SJVC said the line is too costly to maintain and doesn't pay its way. County officials and others charge the rail company with discouraging business and filing incomplete and inaccurate financial information in its filings with the STB.

The offer, filed by attorney Thomas F. McFarland, the county's hired lawyer, claims an offer made by A&K, a salvage company closely affiliated with Tulare Valley Railroad which originally outbid the county's $550,000 offer, is part of a an orchestrated move to rip out the line for salvage.

“The board should decline to give weight to the A&K purchase offer. A&K is a track salvage company that is closely affiliated with TVR – the same TVR that only a few days ago declined to pay the same price for the Jovista line that its non-carrier affiliate is not supposedly willing to pay,” McFarland's offer says.

“That turn of events cannot pass a 'smell test.' There is too much opportunity for collusion and mischief in that scenario for the board to go along with it. The offer made by non-carrier A&K may well be designed to establish an inflated purchase price in the OFA proceeding that the county would be unwilling to pay, therefore paving the way for A&K to purchase the Jovista Line outside the OFA process at a lower price, which could be collusively agreed to with SJVR.”

The document filed by McFarland further states: “If the county were to pay that inflated price, SJVR could share the windfall amount that it would receive with its partner in mischief, A&K. Either way, SJVR and A&K would unjustifiably manipulate the OFA valuation system to their benefit. The only way that the board (STB) can effectively police such a scheme is to prevent it from occurring in the first place by refusing to recognize A&K's inflated purchase office. This inflated offer by A&K is not the market price.”

Hunter, who made the appraisal, cited discrepancies in his inspection of the 30-mile line and the valued cited by the rail company. Referring to the weight of the rail sections and other materials cited by SJVR, Hunter wrote it is evident from those deviations that SJVR valued the rail line not on the basis of a personal inspection, but rather on the basis of erroneous SJVR records.

Since the issue first surfaced county officials and others seeking to keep the lines viable have maintained that SJVR wants to scrap the line, orchestrating a plan to discourage business along the line to demonstrate to the STB the operation was not only unprofitable but a financial liability.

In a closing statement, McFarland's letter to the board says, “It is apparent that SJVR's position in this matter is designed to lead to removal of the tracks and non-rail use of the Jovista Line, while the county's position is aimed at revival of rail operations indefinitely into the future.” McFarland cites National Rail Policy which is “to ensure the development and continuation of a sound rail transportation system to meet the needs of the public and the national defense.”

Tom Sparks, who chairs the county rail commission established soon after the county began its “save the rail line” campaign, said last week that even if the STB rejects the county's offer, any scraping of the line likely would be a long and costly venture due to environmental regulations, specifically wildlife species along the right of way on the 30-mile line.

Also, a group of SJVR customers in Kern and southern Tulare counties has formed a new group concerned over customer service issues, according to one of the organizers. Since SJVR moved its dispatch center from Exeter to the east coast, some shipper say there have been communication and service scheduling problems.

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Pappas Telecasting Prepares for Downsizing

By Steve Pastis

Visalia - Local stations KMPH and KFRE are on the market as Pappas Telecasting, Inc. prepares to downsize. The company, which currently owns 27 television stations, is looking to move out of its current offices on Chinoweth in Visalia early next year.

The company announced in May that 13 of its affiliates, including its two local stations, had filed for chapter 11 protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The action followed the company's unsuccessful efforts to resolve outstanding financing issues with some of its lenders.

“Everyone is watching the progress of the sales process,” said Steven E. Alfieris, vice president and special counsel for Pappas Telecasting. He added that “KMPH and KFRE are still part of the sales process.”

KMPH was established in Visalia in 1971 by Harry J. Pappas, Pappas Telecasting chairman, along with his brothers, Pete and Mike. KMPH was the first television station owned by the company.

“It's for sale and we'll see what bids are made,” Alfieris said. “They won't necessarily be accepted.”

The sales are being conducted by Moelis & Co., a company that specializes in the sale and refinancing of television stations. If a bid is accepted, KMPH could sell by the end of the year, according to Alfieris.

Pappas Telecasting announced in a press release on Monday that its creditors and affiliates have agreed to the appointment of a chapter 11 trustee “to oversee the debtor's operations, affairs and sale process.”

“Generally, a chapter 11 trustee is brought in at the beginning,” said Alfieris. “This is happening three months after the filing.

“At first, this was something that we thought would not be necessary,” he explained.

The company may move from its offices at 500 S. Chinoweth to another facility in Visalia, according to Alfieris.

“We're looking to possibly move out of it in the new year,” he said. Although he wouldn't say whether the company was seeking a smaller facility, he did say, “There would be a cost savings.”

The company is waiting on other business matters before deciding on any possible move.

“That's the question,” Alfieris said. “We don't know how many stations we are going to sell.”

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What's New

New Assembly bill would require retailers who fail to recycle 70% of their plastic bags to charge customers 25 cents per bag to help pay for the cost of recycling them. The plan would encourage use of cloth and other reusable bags when shopping. California residents use some 19 billion plastic grocery bags yearly. That's about 552 bags per person, costing taxpayers some $300 million in litter pick up. The bill, AB2058, would use the same logic used with plastic bottles and aluminum cans that carry a recycling fee when purchased.

Land O'Lakes, Inc., which has its biggest creamery in Tulare, reported net sales of $3.3 billion and net earnings of $102.8 million for the second quarter, as compared to $2 billion and $79.5 million for the second quarter of 2007. The company also reported year-to-date net sales of $6.6 billion and net earnings of $164.1 million, as compared to $4.2 billion and $132.1 million, respectively, one year ago. LOL chief Chris Policinski said the company's solid first-half financial results were achieved despite significant challenges in terms of market volatility; increased energy, transportation and ingredient costs; and the impact of economic uncertainty on consumer purchasing decisions.

The Visalia City Council approved a Resolution of Necessity to acquire property at 500 Santa Fe Avenue by eminent domain for the Santa Fe/Highway 198 overcrossing. The city has been unsuccessful in negotiating with the property owner for the 900 square feet of property needed for the work, but negotiations will continue and city officials said they hope to avoid having to take the eminent domain route.

Work will begin soon on two new city parking lots in the downtown area. The first to be constructed will be on Oaks Street near the Chamber of Commerce Building. That one is expected to have more than 80 spaces. The second one, which went before the city's site plan review this week, is at 409 E. Murray. It will contain only 21 spaces.

Southern California Edison said it expects rising infrastructure costs to force customer rates significantly higher by early next year. The utility giant said residential users could see a 25 to 30 percent hike in rates due to the higher cost of natural gas.

An Escondido company got approval from the Kern County Board of Supervisors last week for a 5,820-acre wind farm 75 miles southeast of Bakersfield near Rosamond. EnXco, the energy company behind the wind farm project, plans between 100 and 300 turbines that would generate enough power for 90,000 Southern California Edison customers.

Mervyns, with stores in Visalia, Tulare, Porterville and Hanford, filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week. The filing was in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (the "Bankruptcy Court") to restructure the company's debt and realign its business operations. The company intends to work with its constituencies to execute its reorganization through Chapter 11. Mervyn's stores will remain open and business will continue as the company moves through the bankruptcy process.

A new service station with a car wash is being proposed for the Business Research Park, but it is not part of the Plaza Business Park recently approved by the city. The station would be located at the northwest corner of Hurley and Plaza drive on property owned by Stanley Bennett. Plans were to be discussed at the city site plan review this week.

Someone who purchased a Lottery ticket at the Convenience Corner III, a Shell gas station in Goshen, is $47 million richer, but as of Tuesday, the lucky holder of the winning Lotto ticket had not come forward. The winning numbers were drawn Saturday.

A measure that would designate State Highway 65 between Highway 198 and Highway 137 as the Detective Kent Haws Memorial Highway was passed by the Assembly Transportation Committee on Monday. The estimated cost to install signs on the renamed highway would be under $3,000. Last December, while on his way home from serving search warrants, Detective Haws observed a suspicious person in an orange grove near the town of Ivanhoe and attempted to make contact. He was fired upon and suffered a fatal injury.

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Top of the News

PUC Sets Workshops on Transmission Lines

Two California Public Utilities Commission educational workshops on Southern California Edison's proposed Cross Valley Loop high voltage transmission lines are scheduled next week in Farmersville and Woodlake.
The two sessions will outline procedures prior to public hearings yet to be scheduled on the controversial transmission line SCE plans to construct along a route near Exeter and Farmersville.
The Farmersville session will be held at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Freedom Elementary School. The Woodlake session will be held Tuesday, also at 6:30 p.m., at the Woodlake Memorial Building. Spanish translation will be available at both sessions. No public testimony will be heard.

Visalia Crime Down for First Half of Year

Visalia Police Department crime rates for the first half of 2008 are out and while some categories of crime are down compared to the same half year in 2007, there was a spike in June as the heat of summer came on.
That includes three homicides in June compared to three for the rest of 2008. Also up in June were robberies, assaults and burglaries compared to spring months in Visalia. Motor vehicle theft also spiked to 67 in June, up from an average in the low 50s the previous months.
Still, for the first half of the year, some key crime categories are down compared to the same period last year, including vehicle theft – down to 286 compared to 355 for the same six-month period in 2007. Vehicle thefts in 2006 numbered nearly 1,300 for the year and have been thankfully trending down since. Assaults for the first five months are also down from the same period last year from 886 to 750.

Westlands Removes Rationing Order

Westlands Water District has removed a rationing order on growers' water accounts as of last Friday, says spokesperson Sarah Woolf. “We are far enough into the season that we removed restrictions on the use of 200,000 acre feet for growers that was set to expire in September,” she says. The net loss of water demand from crops that were not planted or simply walked away from – numbering in the tens of thousands of acres – clearly played a role in decreasing overall water demand, says Woolf. For many growers, the extra water comes too late.
Woolf says a very small lettuce crop from three growers who are grower/shippers is all that is expected this fall. Many other former lettuce growers are “choosing to use their water to keep their almonds alive.”
Woolf says the big concern right now is next year when “our water allocation could fall to as little as zero to 10%.”

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