Paint the Fox
Seeks Old Color Photos
Visalia - Visalia's historic Fox Theatre is in need of a paint job, says a local group of community-minded volunteers. The Main Street anchor to the west side of Downtown hasn't been painted in a decade. Moreover, the non-profit board that owns the community theater says it would like to paint the old girl properly, perhaps a rainbow of colors reflecting the ornamental style when she was built back in 1929.
“What we are looking for is old color photos to see how intricate ornaments on the building might have been painted,” says Dennis Lehman, Visalia's chief building official and a volunteer on the project.
Ten years ago, when the Fox was painted with community donations, it was painted a basic red and white, but the group thinks there may have been some more complicated patterns.
The group includes Michael Pinheiro of Taylor/Teter partnership; Paul Fry, general manager of the Fox; Dick Sutton, retired from Kaweah Delta; and Louis Seeberger, a retired engineer; along with Lehman. Seeberger says there is even “talk we may do a mural as part of the paint job along a 60-by-30-foot portion of the building along Encina.” He suggests “maybe we would picture some of the movie stars of the era like Charlie Chaplin.”
The group is looking for donations and volunteers along with old color pictures of the Fox that could be hidden away in some drawer of a long time Visalian. The group hopes to do the painting this summer to be completed by fall. The job will cost an estimated $50,000.
Paul Fry reminds everyone that the historic theater was purchased by the community group in 1998 and is owned free and clear. Run by a volunteer board, the theater brings in culture, entertainment and music each year ranging from ballet to rock'n'roll. This summer's events include Foreigner in May and Kenny Loggins in August. A Broadway musical is set for March, and of course the Fox is also the home of the Tulare County Symphony.
“We're the place non-profits like to use for their
fundraisers,” notes Fry.
To volunteer, supply pictures or money, contact Fry at 625-1369 or pfry@foxvisalia.org.
Tribe Ready to Move on Resort
Porterville - The official signing of the memorandum of understanding between the Tule River Tribe and the City of Porterville will set the stage Friday for the tribe to announce its plans to construct a resort hotel and casino on the west end of the Porterville Municipal Airport, a Porterville elected official says.
Porterville Mayor Cam Hamilton said he expects the tribe to announce its plans during a 2 p.m. Friday ceremony at the Tule River Transportation Department office which is adjacent to where the casino and hotel will be constructed.
Hamilton said it is his understanding the tribe will build a 135-room hotel and a casino large enough to contain approximately 2,000 gaming machines and gaming tables.
“That's huge news,” said Hamilton of the plans. “As far as jobs, it's huge and it fits our plans for the airport,” he said.
Porterville City Manager John Longley said he was not aware of such an announcement, but the signing of the MOU is a huge step toward the tribe developing something at the airport – possibly a resort/casino.
The tribe has been looking at building a resort and casino at the airport site for some time now. The MOU that will be signed Friday creates the framework for a larger agreement between the two entities and defines the area near the airport where the development will be located. The agreement will likely lead to a joint powers agency – Porterville Area Development Association (PAADA) – to oversee the development.
The tribe is looking to develop 40 acres. It has a land trust application before the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which will be amended for gaming and resort use, a key move before any development can take place. Construction may still be months, even a couple of years, off.
“There's potential for specific airport improvements, including a golf course in the area,” said Longley.
“It's a pretty significant undertaking. A first step,” he added, and it sets up the framework for the land to be put into trust for the tribe.
The tribe opened a casino on the Tule River Reservation about 15 years ago, but has always looked for a better site since the casino is about 20 miles east of Porterville. Originally, the tribe wanted to build a resort and casino along Highway 190 across from Lake Success, but never could get the necessary governmental approvals.
The new location is on the west side of the city's airport and Hamilton said it would allow planes to taxi near the casino and drop off passengers.
Hamilton said the hotel/casino would be the first phase of the development, with a golf course the second phase.
The property is south of the city's sports complex and in the area where the city hopes to relocate the Porterville Fairgrounds. The city is completing work on providing water to the entire airport area which will open up development there. The Fairgrounds will have to be moved once the state moves ahead on a new courthouse that is slated for where the fairgrounds are now located.
“We see it (the casino) as an asset,” said Porterville Fair President John Corkins if the two end up side-by-side near the airport. A hearing on relocating the fairgrounds is scheduled for March 22, said Corkins.
about Yokohl Valley Project
Yokohl Valley - Eager Tulare County residents got their first chance to comment on the possible environmental impacts of Yokohl Valley Ranch Company's plans to build a 10,000-home city on 56.7 square miles of grassland in the foothills south of Lake Kaweah and east of Exeter.
Despite a meeting time of 3 on a Monday afternoon in the tiny Exeter Senior Center, before the doors were opened, dozens of people had lined up to review plans for the enormous project and dictate any comments to a stenographer, a process that left some attendees dissatisfied.
“How do you have a meeting if you can't sit down and look someone in the eye?” one of the first citizens to approach the comments desk asked event organizers.
“This is the format the county selected,” said Charlotte Kirkwood, project manager San Francisco-based consulting firm URS, which is overseeing project scoping.
The more than 100 citizens who attended the meeting were presented with an open-house style review of the project's parameters, a video presentation and an opportunity to discuss the project with staff of the county's Resource Management Agency before voicing their concerns or presenting them in written form. Copies of the 46-page “Yokohl Ranch Project Notice of Preparation and Scoping Meeting” were also available. That document can be reviewed online at the county's website, www.co.tulare.ca.us.
Those who did not attend the meeting have until 5 p.m. March 14 to send their comments to RMA division manager David Bryant's office, 5961 S. Mooney Blvd. in Visalia, fax them to him at 730-2653 or e-mail them to dpbryant@co.tulare.ca.us.
The new community, if approved by county supervisors, would include construction of 10,000 residential units on 9,500 acres spread throughout the more than 36,000 acres the ranch encompasses. The three-phase project, which would be carried out over 20 to 30 years, would also include 550,000 square feet of commercial construction, as well as schools, golf courses, healthcare facilities, parks and a reservoir. Plans call for widening State Route 198, Spruce Avenue, Rocky Hill Drive and Yokohl Valley Road, as well as construction of new roads into the area, connecting the ranch directly with SR198 at Horse Creek Drive near Three Rivers.
Water for the new city would come from Lake Kaweah, and plans call for construction of a canal and pipeline.
The RMA is hoping to receive comments on any negative effects residents feel the project will have on aesthetics, air and water quality, noise, traffic density or any of more than a dozen areas of concern.
“We're hoping to get lots of comments,” said Kirkwood. “We're hearing lots of good things.”
Commentary on the project received before the March 14 deadline will be incorporated into the project's Environmental Impact Report or EIR, a document that will be assembled by San Diego-based consulting firm PBS&J over the next 12 to 18 months. Once the EIR is compiled, the county is required to hold a series of public hearings to again gauge citizens' response.
“We anticipate the EIR will be two feet high,” Kirkwood said. “The county decision is years away. People don't need to worry things are happening right away.”
Despite such reassurances, county residents seem to be very concerned about the project and the impact it will have.
“Clearly, they're getting ahead of themselves by trying to scope a project without an adequate project description,” said former Visalia City Council member Greg Kirkpatrick, who attended the meeting to express his concerns about the project as well as to gather the names of others who oppose it in anticipation of forming a citizens committee to fight the plan. “They haven't identified their water source; there's no parcel map.”
Sandy Blankenship, executive director of the Exeter Chamber of Commerce, took a wait-and-see attitude: “People are curious, trying to figure out what the plan is,” she said. “We [the chamber] have not taken a position.”
Others had a more emotional reaction to the plan.
“Since I first heard of the development, I've been scared,” said Chase Arevalo, one of a trio of Visalia students who came to the meeting to “protest” the plan.
“Everywhere you look you see development. Once you go over Rocky Hill, it's beautiful. Next time I go out there I may see bulldozers.”
Connie Fry, also of Visalia, had many concerns about the project, including who would foot the bill for expansion of roads leading into the area.
“I'm wondering if [the Yokohl Ranch Company] is going to pay for the road over Rocky Hill and four lanes added to 198,” she said. “I'm very concerned with the air quality. Instead of Yokohl Valley they might as well call it Asthma Valley.”
Lois Rogers, a resident of Mehrten Valley near Lemon Cove, worried the new roads for the Yokohl Valley project will continue to prevent maintenance of roads in her area.
“Is the county going to build these roads before they repair ours?” she asked. “We've been there for 19 years, and they've never touched them.”
Woodlake rancher Del Strange was concerned the information presented Monday was an inadequate basis for effective commentary by the public, saying the lack could mean long delays and may force several redrafts of the EIR. He was also concerned the data wasn't available in condensed form for later review.
“I don't have a photographic memory,” he said while presenting his initial comment to county staff. “You haven't provided enough information for comments.”
Strange, who was a longtime opponent of Kaweah River Rock's plan to build an open-pit gravel mine near Woodlake because of its possible negative effects on water supplies, also has similar concerns connected with the Yokohl project.
“The water in the Kaweah Basin is called for, and we're deficient,” he said. “Fifty percent of the water in the Valley has to be brought in.”
Recent legal decisions requiring diversion of water for protection of fish spawning will further deplete reserves, he added, and that combined with inadequate supplies could spell disaster in the next drought cycle, he fears.
Visalia Planning Commissioner Terese Lane, who said the Yokohl plan was “fraught with peril on many levels” and had “the potential for disastrous results because of increasing infrastructure, just the sheer volume of traffic,” also saw the information presented at Monday's meeting as insufficient.
“I don't see this as a valid input forum for a project of this scope,” she said, adding that the plan was “egregious in its excess.”
Ken Woodrow, a tribal representative of the Esham Valley Band of Indians, which represents the local Wuksachi, Michahai and Wukchumni peoples, said dozens of Native American sites are included in the project area, prompting concerns those artifacts and human remains be well treated should the project advance.
“We need to be out there whenever they move dirt. It needs to be the most likely descendents,” he said, adding that Yokohl Ranch Company has acknowledged oversight is needed, but have yet to agree tribal representatives should be the ones conducting it. “They said, 'Great idea. When the EIR comes out we'll have an archeological firm out there.'”
For Jeff Stein, co-chair of Tulare County Citizens for Responsible Growth (tccrg.org), his main objection was directed at the county's handling of the planning process.
“One of the things we're complaining about is they're putting the cart before the horse,” he said. “Why are they allowing this massive project in the middle of the General Plan Update process?”
Sarah Graber, TCCRG's executive director, said the group is also concerned the EIR will not include hard numbers on the project's impact.
“The main thing we're asking is the EIR be quantified,” she said. “How many more tons of CO2? How much more traffic?”
Representatives of the project did not attend Monday's meeting.
“We've got ten days to appeal,” said the Home Depot official. The appeal would go to City Council. While grading of the site is underway the permit for that was issued to the developer of the project, Donahue Schriber, a city building official said. Home Depot has yet to check up its approved permit even though it's ready, wanting to go to bat over the loading issue.
The big project, Orchard Walk, is underway on both sides of Dinuba Highway with the proposed Home Depot on the west and the other big anchor, Target, have taken out its building permit commencing construction on the east side of the road. A second anchor, Sportsman's Warehouse, has been approved to begin construction but has yet to pull its permit. Another major retailer is expected to land at the same center as well.
By contrast, on the west side, the 140,000-square-foot Home Depot is the only large anchor.
The Planning Commission heard concerns that the proposed Home Depot site is located next to a multi-family residential zone with its lumber unloading area facing this residential zone.
Home Depot cited a study showing the noise level shouldn't
impact the neighborhood once it's built. Staff balked at the idea of
giving Home Depot an exception as citywide rule would be in conflict
with the city's land use policies.
Home Depot has time to weigh its options not expected to begin construction
until next winter and open in 2009.
The city Planning Commission noted that rival Lowe's just opened its new store with a similar construction facing multi-family units and it is living with the same delivery hour restrictions that Home Depot is seeking to appeal.
For Home Depot, other factors may be weighing in on the decision. Just last week, the big home improvement retailer announced that its net income fell 27% in the fourth quarter hurt by the nationwide housing slump and looking ahead suggests sales would continue to decline. Home Depot has been in a multi-year sprint to build new stores with Lowe's that just opened a second new store in Visalia a few blocks from the proposed northside Home Depot site. The two titans are now going head to head in Tulare just a few miles from each of their south Visalia stores. Both home improvement outlets' comparable store sales are falling with Home Depot sales falling more than 8% and Lowe's more than 7% in the latest period.
As a result of the slowdown, Home Depot just announced it would slow the number of new stores built in the next year to 55, compared to 100 last year, without naming locations.
Sequoia National Park
Sequoia National Park - A six-year study has found traces of currently used and banned-for-decades pesticides and herbicides in two lakes in Sequoia National Park east of Visalia.
“Troubling, but not necessarily surprised,” said Annie Esperanza, an air quality specialist with Sequoia National Park, of the findings. “We've seen air samples captured that contain pesticides in the past,” she added.
The National Park Service last week released results from the six-year, multi-agency study about airborne contaminants in eight western national parks, including Sequoia. The study involved intensive work in Sequoia National Park; Mount Rainier and Olympic in Washington State; Rocky Mountain in Colorado; Glacier in Montana; and Denali, Gates of the Arctic, and Noatak in Alaska. Twelve additional western park areas were sampled less intensively.
Esperanza said the study confirmed what park officials suspected more than a year ago, that there are contaminants coming from other countries and continents. She said last year the Voice was the first to report that pesticides and other contaminants were showing up in the local national parks.
What surprised Esperanza, was that Sequoia National Park had the highest levels of contaminants when it was thought the parks further north had a bigger problem.
“I was hopeful that this far south was not as impacted as up north. Unfortunately, we came out to be one of the highest,” she said. “These containments are definitely coming from out of the country.”
In Sequoia National Park, researchers found three contaminants that are known to be harmful to humans, but not in amounts that pose a threat. The study found traces of mercury, dieldrin, and DDT.
DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) is an insecticide banned in the U.S. since 1972. It reduces reproductive success and was found not only deep in the lake sediments, but also in fish, vegetation the water and even the snow.
Mercury is a heavy metal emitted by processes such as burning coal for electricity and can cause neurological and reproductive impairment. Dieldrin is an acutely toxic insecticide banned from use in the U.S. since 1987, decreases the effectiveness of the immune system.
The samples were taken from Pear and Emerald lakes (9,541 and 9,219 feet in elevation, respectively), with additional measurements taken along the elevation gradient from Ash Mountain (in the foothills at 1,650 feet) to Pear Lake. Samples were taken from snow, fish, water, lake sediment, lichens, other vegetation and passive air samplers.
At Sequoia National Park, air, vegetation, and snow had among the highest concentrations for current-use pesticides, compared with the air, vegetation and snow samples from the other parks studied.
The results indicate that numerous pesticides that are in current use, as well as some that have been banned in the United States, are detectable at measurable levels. It is not well understood whether these findings are representative of other high elevation lakes in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.
The risk from these contaminants to people is considered low and varies with the amount of fish consumed from these lakes. Park managers plan to add a statement to park wilderness information to suggest that visitors limit consumption of fish caught in high Sierra lakes and that they remove the skin, fat, and internal organs where pollutants are most likely to accumulate, before cooking.
Esperanza said contrary to earlier reports, the hazard is minimal. “The only threat would be a consumption of fish over a lifetime,” she said.
Dieldrin was found in the sediment cores from the lakes.
“When you core the lake, it's like a history base, likes rings
on a tree, explained Esperanza. Because the chemical has been banned
for more than two decades, she is certain that it made its way into
the park via the jet stream from another continent where it is still
allowed.
However, the chemical was found in sediment cores that date back to
when it was allowed, and “some point to more recent deposition
which then there is suspicion it has to be coming from somewhere outside
the U.S.,” she said.
She added the lakes are not downstream of anything, meaning the contaminating had to be “atmospheric.”
“There is some good news. When we looked at those cores, over time the level of DDT decreased. So the ban of pesticides has definitely showed some positive responses because over time there should be less and less of that particular chemical.”
She added the quality of lakes is still good. “To the human eye, they look pristine,” she said. “They're thriving with fish. It's when you look closer.”
However, finding the traces of pesticides in the snow shows the chemicals are still being used somewhere in the world and residue is finding itself into the airstream.
Esperanza explained that such chemicals travel easily, especially mercury. “You can have it literally go all the way around the globe. China and other Asian countries are first suspects, but it could come from anywhere,” she said.
The study also found traces of an insecticide and an herbicide being used today, but amounts were small and for now they do not pose a health issue. Found were concentrations of edosulfan, dacthal, HCH, HCB and chlorpyrifous. Suspicions are those chemicals are making their way into the high Sierra from the Central Valley farming region.
The solution: Action. “This is one of those things where information is going to help. Everything we do, whether we're hundreds of miles away or thousands of miles away, it has an effect. It's all very dynamic,” she said.
It has been known for many years that Sequoia Park has some of the worst air quality of any park in the nation. It has the highest level of ozone and Esperanza said initial studies are finding traces of nitrogen in the air of the park. “When you throw in nitrogen, it changes the aquatic ecosystem,” she said. That study's findings are still a few years away.
“Another study being done is looking at pesticides and their impacts on amphibians. That report may be out with next 12-24 months,” she said.
“This is a big challenge for us. We have to work outside the park when it comes to protecting things from outside the park when it comes to air pollution,” said, explaining that the park's location, its topography, the climate and the human activities in the Valley all combine to create the pollution in the park.
Visalia - Late last summer, Great Lakes Airlines was selected to fly travelers back and forth between the City of Visalia Airport and McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. More than six months later, the Mesa Air Group is still here, forced by industry rules to serve the local market until the new airline is able to start service.
This timetable doesn't surprise Visalia Airport Manager Mario Cifuentez, II.
“We said all along that it would be spring,” he said, citing his original presentation to the Visalia City Council. “There were times where they asked Great Lakes when they could come in and they said, 'Well, we might be able to come in as early as December or January, but we're just not sure.' I told council all along that we'd be looking at spring in all reality, just knowing the industry.”
Cifuentez expects Great Lakes to announce its local flight schedule in a couple weeks and to start service here in two months.
“They want to be in here as soon as possible,” he said. “It's just a matter of getting the aircraft and getting the service started. We hope in a couple of weeks that we'll actually be able to announce a start date. Once they get schedules loaded into the system – they like to pre-sell tickets at about 45 days – we'll know we have a start date.”
Cifuentez' prediction is based on conversations he has had with other markets, as well as with the Mesa Air Group and Great Lakes Airlines. He added that it takes much more time to change airlines in an Essential Air Service market now than it used to.
“Ideally, when the system was working right, within 30 to 60 days you would see a transition of aircraft,” he said.
He added that two recent factors affected the current transition. Since Great Lakes was awarded the local contract, competitor Big Sky Airlines announced it was completely closing down its Essential Air Service in December, and three weeks ago, Mesa filed to pull out of all of its remaining markets.
“So you have the number two and number three provider of Essential Air Service west of the Mississippi basically saying, 'We're done. We're not going to do it anymore,'” he said.
These actions forced Great Lakes to pick up some of the routes of these airlines, according to Cifuentez, who described the Essential Air Service program as “a shell game.”
“When Great Lakes would be awarded one community, typically, it was one of the other two that was losing it, and they would be awarded another community,” he said. “So they were transferring airplanes around. Great Lakes had anticipated pulling out of some markets, but now the company is unable to do so.”
Cifuentez shared a recent conversation he had with Dennis DeVaney, who heads the Essential Air Service.
“He told me, 'This isn't a Great Lakes problem, this is an essential air service issue we're dealing with,'” Cifuentez said. “'It's not that they're putting you guys off. There are other people who are in line to get Great Lakes but they're going to have to wait even longer because they're going to have to acquire the aircraft.'”
Pilot Plant in Works for Visalia
Visalia - California-based Altra Biofuels is spinning off projects well underway that are dedicated to making biofuels, using cellulosic materials and techniques. The new firm, EdenIQ, Incorporated in Delaware, will be taking over several projects underway around the nation, including projects in Oregon and in Visalia.
EdenIQ spokesman Will Gardenswartz confirmed the division of the companies, noting, “Altra will stay focused on production of ethanol here and now while EdenIQ will concentrate its efforts on cellulosic research that could pay off years from now.”
In Visalia, EdenIQ is working on building a pilot plan that would make ethanol from waste products or non-food crops. The company expects help from the Department of Energy to complete promising research underway that sources call “breakthrough” techniques that will lower the cost of making ethanol used for motor fuel.
The move comes as debate rages over impacts of the rapid rise of the ethanol industry that uses corn as its feedstock – which has been criticized for helping to raise food prices around the world. The high price of corn, told now over $5.50 per bushel, is also making the economics of producing ethanol from corn less than attractive. Some say “the boom is turning to bust.”
The price of ethanol sold in the U.S. has not increased as corn prices have skyrocketed, prompting a slowdown in the pace of new ethanol plants heading to construction.
Runaway corn prices have forced as many as 50 new ethanol plants to shelve their plans for new plants as financing has dried up, says an investment banker in Fortune this week. Low margins have hurt the stock price of corn-based ethanol producers like Pacific Ethanol and Verasun, even as Congress has passed legislation that increases the amount of ethanol that must be blended with gasoline in the future. The energy bill caps the amount that will be produced using corn and provides an incentive for growth in the fuel made from green plants – cellulose.
As corn has doubled in price in the past year, the price of ethanol has actually declined from about $2.50 a gallon to $2.15 today, even as gasoline prices have doubled. Go figure.
The poor profit picture for corn-based ethanol may be one reason California's first ethanol plant – in Goshen, owned by Altra (PHOENIX Bio Industries), has not produced any ethanol since last fall – although the mothballing of the plant is said to be also due in part over a dispute between Altra and Western Milling nextdoor over corn deliveries.
Since ethanol companies live and die on rising capital in a race with several other firms to make cellulosic-based ethanol more cheaply, the spinoff sets aside the low returns now being seen for corn-based ethanol products as well as the debate over the wisdom of corn to make ethanol.
Instead, EdenIQ can focus on plant mass that can be turned into sugar from the woody part of the plant – the cellulose – virtually any waste product that grew or even cow manure that contains grain chewed up by the cow. Experimentation with switchgrass, wood chips, corn stover or dedicated energy crops like sorghum, canola, and hybrid poplar trees are being researched. New enzymes have the potential to unlock the sugars in this biomass likely making it possible to produce ethanol far more cheaply long-term than using corn. With some estimates suggesting the biofuel could be made for cents per gallon in the future and be far “greener,” the process won't require large amounts of carbon inputs (fertilizer and other oil based products) to make the fuel and not disrupt world food supplies.
In Visalia, EdenIQ is experimenting at its Visalia Industrial Park facility on large batches of cellulose-based ethanol. The company also owns 100 acres across Highway 99 from its property and plans to work with the county to build a plant there after completion of an EIR.
Gardenswartz says EdenIQ will be headquartered in Visalia. “Our Visalia Industrial Park operation will be the cellulosic lab shared by a small team of scientists,” he says. He points to the widespread ag resource base in the area that can be used in the future to make cellulosic ethanol.
Tulare County is considered a great place to experiment on crops and biomass as a feedstock for making the green fuel because so much of the state's crop comes from here. A presentation for the World Ag Expo last month points to the fact that about half the ag wealth produced in California comes from an area within a 100-mile radius of the Tulare farm show.
In Oregon, EdenIQ has taken over the lease from Altra of a 34-acre Port of Morrow site next to Pacific Ethanol's plant site there, according to published reports.
EdenIQ isn't the only firm looking at turning waste products grown in the Central Valley into biofuels. Sunkist announced last month it was working with a company to turn Sunkist citrus peel at its Tipton plant into biofuel and expects a deal to be announced in a matter of weeks. In addition, Pacific Ethanol received a grant from the Department of Energy to work on the cellulose-based project in Oregon.
He says EdenIQ is a play on words combining intelligence and the image of a Garden of Eden, suggesting the natural world with wise use can provide the basis for the energy needs of the future.
What's New
Financial Title Company closed its Tulare location in late February following the closure of its Hanford and Porterville locations a few months ago. Calls are being referred to the Visalia branch that remains open. Financial Title is the flagship subsidiary of Denver-based Mercury Companies. The company is one of many loan companies affected by the subprime housing crisis. Mercury closed another of its title companies, Alliance title, in December.
Longs Drugs at Mooney and Caldwell will relocate its employees to its new Demaree and Caldwell store. Longs appears to be on the prowl for more Visalia locations as well. Negotiations are almost complete to bring a Longs to the Caldwell/Court development in Visalia, according to Michael J. Singelyn, senior director of development for the Highland Development Company. “There are still a couple T's to cross and I's to dot,” he said, adding that he expects there to be an announcement over the next two weeks. This is the center where a new Fresh and Easy Market will be located as well.
Don Perico's Mexican Restaurant is opening in two months at the former Cask & Cleaver location on Mooney. Owner Tony Navarro has three other locations in Kern County. The big 200-seat restaurant is just what Navarro likes to tackle, he says. “I've been doing this since 1985,” he says. “I think Visalia is going to like it.”
One California water plan is DOA and another has a heartbeat. Late last week, the California Chamber dropped its bid to put an $11.6 billion water bond on the November ballot without legislative buy in. Both Schwarzenegger and Senator Feinstein had worked to forge a consensus but so far no cigar. Meanwhile, Friant Water Users report a tentative agreement with NRDC and the governor over how the settlement process over the San Joaquin River will be structured. All sides have been huddling over how the water management part of the equation will be handled to ensure farmers get enough water and still allow the return of a salmon fishery. “Over the next few weeks we will run the (agreed to) concepts by all the third parties before it is finalized in a Senate Bill,” says Ron Jacobsma general manager of Friant Water Users. Water is scheduled to flow down the river next year. The plan implements some recirculation ideas.
Regarding the Delta – Governor Schwarzenegger is moving forward by executive order on a CEQA/EIR of four alternatives that include no change, a dual conveyance facility as suggested by the Delta Task Force, and isolated facility or a through Delta solution. Furthermore, the state Department of Water and Power is ordered to complete the feasibility study for the three Calfed storage projects including Temperance Flat on the upper San Joaquin River. In addition, the governor promised to push the state agency to implement plans for a 20% reduction in water use statewide.
Friant Water Users will receive 100 percent of their Class I allocation this year as storms continue to build a good snowpack. The Bureau of Reclamation said last week the Friant Division deliveries are projected to be 800,000 acre-feet, or 64 percent of 1.25 million acre-feet, which is the 5-year average allocation. As of Feb. 25, precipitation in the San Joaquin River Basin was 24.19 inches compared to 14.83 inches this time last year. The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) said the Sierra snowpack is at 118 percent of normal for this time of year. The most recent electronic sensor readings show Northern Sierra snow water equivalents at 122 percent of normal for this date, the Central Sierra at 110 percent and the Southern Sierra at 130 percent. However, DWR also announced that it will need to further reduce Delta pumping to comply with a federal court order limiting water exports to Southern California, the Bay Area and the Central Valley.
Construction continues to slow in the city of Visalia. In February, total building valuation was just $13.4 million, down from $29.2 million in January and from $21.7 million for February of 2007. New housing starts fueled the drop. In February, there were only 32 new home permits issued, compared to 44 in February last year. New commercial construction has also slowed, with six such permits issued last month.
The number of people out of work in Tulare and Kings counties continues to rise, the state Employment Development Department said. The jobless rate in Tulare County was put at 11.4 percent, up from 10.8 in December and 10.3 percent in January '07. The county saw a reduction of 4,700 jobs in the past month, but a gain of 700 over a year ago. In Kings County, the rate was 11.2 percent, up from 9.9 in December and 10.3 in January '07. The county saw a loss of 1,000 jobs from December, but an increase of 1,500 from a year ago. The state jobless rate for January was 6.3 percent.
Visalia was one of only 18 cities to receive funds from the state's Gang Reduction, Intervention and Prevention initiative, announced Gov. Schwarzenegger. The city will receive $280,417 and the Employment Development Department/C-SET will get $400,000. The funds will be used to hire youth counselors for the community centers to work with at-risk youth.
Milk powder is helping to fill more Central Valley warehouses including Farwest Distribution at the Oaks distribution center on Doe Ave. and now 75,000 square feet at the former Reynolds and Reynolds facility leased from the Allen Group. Farwest leased the space with the help of Burr Commercial of Visalia.
VSI – Veterinary Services International will relocate to a 38,000-square-foot space near Goshen and Plaza in the Tevelde industrial park according to broker Doug Burr.
Frederic Foster has been hired as chief financial officer (CFO)/assistant manager/human resources manager for the International Agri-Center. “We are very pleased that Fred decided to join the Agri-Center. He has the expertise and experience we need to move forward,” said Charlie Pitigliano, International Agri-Center board president. Foster is a resident of Visalia.
Porterville's City Council took a stab at the City of Berkeley this week when it passed a resolution in support of the military. The Berkeley City Council last month approved a measure urging the Marine recruiters to leave their downtown office. The Porterville Council not only commended the military, but added, “The men and women of our armed forces are enthusiastically welcomed in Porterville, to receive the honor and respect for their service in these United States.”
Tulare County - With oil prices reaching a record $103 a barrel in recent days, $4 a gallon isn't too far behind and $4 diesel is already here, says Tulare gas station owner Dennis Stanley. “Diesel is selling for $3.99 a gallon in Tulare this week,” says Stanley, reflecting a price turn up in the past month of more than 40 cents a gallon for the fuel. He says $4 gas “will be here soon” considering his supplier has raised unleaded gas prices 5 cents a gallon every day for the past three days, he told the Voice last weekend.
With spring right around the corner, look for a steep rise in gasoline prices, says a recent Lunberg Survey commentary. Lunberg said with increases in the fuel demand, refiners can raise their current “low margin” even though customers often blame them as the culprits. An AAA spokesman recently commented that the high prices are due to investors biding up the price of oil on world markets.
Diesel prices are similarly up about $1 for the same time a year ago, according to AAA. Gasoline prices this week are at about $3.50 a gallon (March 1) up from $2.80 this time last year in the Visalia metro region, according to the automobile club.
Whatever the case, record high diesel prices will hurt the economy as it costs more to ship goods near and far, as well as hurting farmers as they begin their spring planting work. Higher diesel prices are main factors in FedEx, prompting one of the U.S.'s busiest shippers to adopt a 5.5% rate increase last month that will be passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices for everything they buy. FedEx handles more than 7.5 million shipments each day.
“These higher fuel prices are going to sink our economy,” says Visalia petroleum dealer Don Rose.
Due to slowdown in the U.S. last year, the American Trucking Association says its index of tonnage shipped in 2007 fell 1.5% in 2007 compared to the year before, but started to go up in January. Will higher fuel costs sink that trend?
If diesel prices astound you, you won't have to wait long for gas prices to approach the same level. The retail price of gas has gone up from about $3.12 in early February to $3.46 March 1, according to Californiagasprices.com.
Ironically, the increase in price comes as California is using less gasoline than in the past year. In 2007, there was a decline of 3.7% according to the Board of Equalization and gasoline use was down nearly 7% in the later months of 2007.
Visalia-Based Farm Credit Co-op Set to Merge
with Sacramento Unit
Visalia - Members of the Visalia-based Farm Credit West and counterparts from Sacramento Valley Farm Credit organization are voting this week on a likely merger with results expected Friday. The consolidation was announced last October.
Both cooperatives serve the financial needs of farmers in each of their areas as part of a national Farm Credit System, the number one lender to U.S. farmers.
The Visalia-based farm credit organization is far larger than the Sacramento unit, says Farm Credit board member Joe Airoso, a Tulare dairyman. “We will gain efficiencies with more of the work handled in Visalia,” he says. “The biggest reason this makes sense is because we can each diversify our risks by spreading it over more commodities. They have rice and we have dairies.”
Airoso says the benefit of the government-sponsored Farm Credit goes beyond a benefit to its members because “we help keep the banking industry in the Central Valley competitive” rate-wise. In addition, the co-op provides a particular benefit to small farms that can't always get loans from traditional lending institutions, he says. Airoso says that each year the co-op has returned half a percent on loans members have in place. These refunds totaled nearly $56 million from February 2002 to October of last year, according to the company's financial statement.
Overall, the Central Valley Farm Credit West has over $3 billion in loans and leases, while the Sacramento Valley Farm Credit had $661 million in loans as of October 2007.
Farm Credit West covers Central Valley counties as well as counties on the central coast and a few Nevada counties.
Council Comes up with ‘Hybrid' Acequia Two-Way
By Rick Elkins
Visalia - A hybrid compromise of a two-way Acequia Avenue with street parking, a left-turn lane and bicycle paths was approved by the Visalia City Council Monday night.
The city has held several meetings on the conversion of Acequia from one-way east bound traffic to a two-way street and Monday was the moment of decision, but in the end it was a suggestion by Councilmember Greg Collins that seemed the best fit.
Collins suggested the “hybrid” of a two-way street that retains bike lanes, some street parking and the left hand turn lane. It was approved by a 4-1 vote, with Don Landers opposed. Now, city staff and engineers will have to come up with the design Collins suggested for final approval.
“I'm very encouraged. I think it's doable,” said Lindsay Bailey, committee chairwoman of the city's Bicycle, Pedestrian and Waterway Trails Committee who made a pitch for the bike lanes during the public hearing.
Collins' plan calls for a mix from the three alternatives put before the council. He suggested the stretch from Conyer to West would have bike lanes, parking and a turn lane, then from West St. to Court St. no parking, then from Court to Bridge parking. The entire length of the street would have a middle turn lane and a bike lane and there would be some areas of street parallel parking and some stretches where parking would not be allowed. He said the bike lane would have to be modified in front of the post office where parking would be allowed.
“We have to think about what's good for the community,” said Mayor Jesus Gamboa before he supported Collins' plan.
The city has worked to return Acequia to two-way traffic to accommodate Kaweah Delta Hospital and its north tower under construction. KDH is moving its emergency room ambulance entrance to Acequia and hospital officials have urged the city to make Acequia two-way to better accommodate emergency traffic.
Kaweah Delta Health Care District CEO Lindsay Mann urged the city to approve Alternative 2 which would have eliminated the bike lanes in favor of street parking. Collins' plan would mean the loss of about 60 parking spaces along the stretch of the street.
Councilmember Amy Shuklian said the city also needs to look at its future and she supported the inclusion of the bike lanes. Vice Mayor Bob Link, a downtown business owner, at first supported parking over the bike lanes, but agreed with Collins on the compromise.
Several people spoke both for and against the bike lanes. Those in favor pointed out that Acequia is best suited for an east-west bike lane in the downtown area and that presently there isn't an east-west bike lane downtown.
“I feel Visalia ought to be the Davis of the Valley,” said Gayle Simmons in reference to that city's commitment to bike lanes.
Bailey pointed out the lack of “connectivity” of bike paths and that making a bike lane along Acequia would provide that downtown. She was pleased that the debate of parking versus bicycle lanes was so lively and called Collins' plan “a reasonable compromise.”
The city hopes to make the conversion by end of this year.
Souza Construction Purchases Exeter's Historic
‘Bank of America’ Building
By Steve Pastis
Exeter - Souza Construction, Inc., a Farmersville-based general and electrical contractor, has purchased the 106-year-old “Bank of America” building at 196 E. Pine St. in Exeter from Larry and Alma Young for an estimated $500,000. Escrow closed on Feb. 29.
The Youngs have owned the two-story building at the southwest corner of Pine and E Streets for about 15 years. There were no tenants in the building when it sold.
“We're looking at all sorts of options,” said Liz Beshwate, office manager of Souza Construction. She said that those options include renovating the outside by putting up a new front with awnings on all the windows. There are also plans to open up the second floor which use to have a dentist office and attorneys' offices.
The plan will most likely include commercial businesses on the first floor and offices upstairs, according to Beshwate. This requires adding a new stairway to connect the two 5,000-square-foot floors.
“Bank of America sealed off the second floor,” she said. “They didn't want anybody above them.
“This doesn't mean if a bank wanted to get in there, we wouldn't accommodate them,” she said. “It all depends on who we can rent to. This is so new, we haven't even listed it yet.”
Even so, Souza Construction is already receiving calls from companies interested in renting space in the building. Among the possible businesses so far are a clothing store and a pet grooming salon.
“We want to bring it back to the way it was,” said Manuel Souza, president of Souza Construction. “We want to bring it back to the beauty it once had.”
“We are trying to do it in keeping with the feeling of Exeter, with Exeter hometown charm,” Beshwate said.
She added that the company is looking at the style of the buildings across the street and that they are also working to get matching funds from the city to make the improvements. All of the renovations would be made by Souza Construction.
She said that the company now has photos of how the building looked at various times in its 106-year history. “We walked across the street and bought Chris Brewer's book,” she said.
Exeter historian Chris Brewer described the old Bank of America building as “probably the most desirable piece of property in town,” adding that it is at “the central corner of town.”
The building was constructed in 1902 as a Bank of Exeter building, according to Brewer. It later became a First National Bank before that institution merged and moved in with the Citrus Bank at the northwest corner of Pine and E Street. The 196 E. Pine building was vacant for awhile. It was remodeled by Bank of America in 1937. Bank of America has since moved its Exeter branch to 100 E. Pine Street.
The building's current architecture was described by one Exeter resident as “Bank of America's prewar Soviet Block style.”
Souza Construction should be able to improve that style, however. Its general contracting division has experience in historic restoration work on projects such as the Yosemite National Park Visitors Center, Scotty's Castle in Death Valley National Park, the Historic Adobe Hammond Fire Station in Three Rivers, Herman Hall (the old Del Monte Hotel) in Monterey and Fort Baker in San Francisco. The company is currently in the design phase for work on a historic pre-World War II aircraft hangar at China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station in Ridgecrest.
Visalia, Tulare City Schools OK with State Designation
By Rick Elkins
Visalia - Visalia Unified and Tulare City Schools both landed right where they expected on the state's list of schools targeted for improvement.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and State Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell announced their recommendations to improve 87 districts that have failed to meet the goals of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. The schools were ranked with No. 1 being the worst, and were placed in four categories that will determine the level of intervention.
Both Visalia and Tulare were placed in the “Light” designation, meaning they will work with the county department of education.
“We landed on the list where we thought we would be,” said VUSD Supt. Stan Carrizosa. Tulare City School's Supt. John Beck said the same thing.
Of the rankings, VUSD wound up 72nd on the list, while
the Tulare elementary district was 86th out of the 87 listed.
In the county, Earlimart was given a “Moderate” designation,
meaning the district will choose its state-approved education assistance
provider in consultation with the local county superintendent of schools.
Then, the assistance provider will create a plan of action for the
district's improvement that the district will be required to implement.
Earlimart was ranked No. 8.
Other districts in the county and their rankings: Woodlake, 54; Delano, 68; and Burton Elementary in Porterville, 83. All were placed in the “Light” category.
Both VUSD and TCS objected to the label put on them by the governor earlier this year when he released a list of the “worst performing school districts” in the state.
Short of being taken off the list, Carrizosa and Beck were comfortable with where they were placed.
“It means you need to implement some things partnering with the county office. We've already been doing that,” said Carrizosa.
“We'll work with the county. It's not going to be anything different than what we're doing now,” said Beck.
The four levels of individualized assistance to support challenged school districts are Intensive, Moderate, Light and Other. Every district has been analyzed individually to arrive at the level of intervention to improve student achievement, said the state.
The governor is working to get $45 million in available federal funds to assist the school districts. It is not know if the local districts will receive any funds.
Both Visalia and Tulare barely missed the targets for meeting the No Child Left Behind standards. VUSH met the goal on 40 of 42 areas, while Tulare met then on 32 out of 33. Both district failed to meet the standards for challenged students and VUSD missed it in English for Limited English Speaking students.
Beck said unless the state changes its criteria, all schools in the state will eventually be on the “Challenged” list.
“The goal in 2014 is that every student in the state be proficient or above. I don't think that's ever going to happen,” predicted Beck.
Carrizosa and Beck said their districts have been outperforming most districts in the state in most categories and they were not happy with the label placed on their districts.
“We've been arguing this is an inaccurate characterization of our district,” Carrizosa said. However, he was positive the state is comfortable with what the district is doing. “I think they're feeling good with the progress we're making,” he said.
County Budget Outlook Dimmer, Not Dark
By Miles Shuper
Tulare County - Although Tulare County is in better financial shape than many other counties, the 2008-09 fiscal year will be a challenge.
Supervisors heard a mid-year budget report Tuesday in which the county's financial experts forecasted all General Fund agencies and departments, except Health and Human Services Agency, to be at or under the 2007-08 adopted budget of $599.67 million.
County Executive Jean Rousseau said it appears that the county will see about a $2.2 million cut in state funds. He and Mike Spata, assistant administrator for finance, in their report told Supervisors to expect a “static or reduced carryover fund balance, but sufficient growth in county-wide revenues to fund current non-subvented programs.”
But, they cautioned, “With current uncertainly in the economy and the state fiscal challenges, it is too early to determine if growth will cover any external reduction.”
Rousseau said the county's Health and Human Services Agency is likely to face cuts in services. Last year, the county closed two health clinics, a move which brought protests from residents of several rural areas who rely on the clinics for their health care. Rousseau told the Voice after the meeting that he does not expect any more closures, but some cuts in services likely will have to be made. Supervisors could be faced with that decision in the next several months.
Overall, supervisors were optimistic in getting the mid-year status report. Supervisor Phil Cox, who chaired the meeting in the absence of Chairwoman Connie Conway who is attending a conference, said he feared facing “a dark cloud.” “It is a cloud, but not a big cloud,” he said.
Although the county is in relatively good financial shape, the report suggests care in the near future. “Given the fiscal outlook, it appears that Tulare County may be heading into uncertain times. A potential decline in general revenue and departmental revenue from an economic slowdown and state budge actions suggest that the Board of Supervisors should approve any increase in budget appropriations very carefully.” It adds that the administrative office, working with department heads, “may have to drill down into departmental budgets to achieve operational efficiency and to recapture one time costs.”
One area where the Board is expected to fight the state is the proposed 10 percent reduction in Williamson Act subventions costing the county an estimated $350,000.
Counties receive reimbursement from the state for tax funds lost when agricultural land is placed in the Williamson Act. For the past several years, there have been attempts to eliminate or at least reduce those reimbursements.
Supervisor Steve Worthley noted that when property owners file non-renewal of the Williamson Act, it takes 10 years for property to be taxed at normal levels but the state stops paying subvention fees.
He urged counties to wage an even stronger fight to save the Williamson Act.
Supervisor Allen Ishida, who said without the Williamson Act, the taxes on his farm property would triple. “Without the Williamson Act, there will be less agricultural land,” he said.
In other action, supervisors:
• Honored Lt. Don Landers on his retirement from the Tulare
County Sheriff's Department. Landers, who spent 35 years in law enforcement,
is a Visalia City Council member.
• Praised District Attorney Phil Cline who received the Patriotic Employer Award from the military for his and his department's support of department employees called to service from their jobs.
• Approved plans for the use of Proposition 1B funding of $7.89 million for road improvements and maintenance projects. Although the state is likely to delay disbursing a large portion of the state voter-approved funds, counties are required to outline plans for the money.
The above stories are the property of The Valley Voice Newspaper and may not be reprinted without explicit permission in writing from the publisher.
March 6, 2008
