Barber Helicopters Takes Flight

By Steve Pastis

Tulare County - We’re bringing helicopter service to the community,” said Jacob Barber about Barber Helicopters, a start-up business which opened its doors – and first took flight – this summer.

“Our whole focus with the new enterprise is to touch the public with the helicopter experience, to provide tours and to do government work,” said Barber.

“Government contracting is great right now. They are using private businesses here and overseas. The government spends $40 billion on contract work each year. That's a lot of jobs and a lot of work to go after.”

Barber served in the USAF and was stationed in Kuwait during Desert Shield, as well as in Bosnia, Kosovo and Sarajevo. As a disabled veteran who opened his offices in a historically underdeveloped business zone, Barber finds his bids for government contracts and grants are often given priority.

Barber Helicopters has business agreements with Ron Overacker and his helicopter company, Blue Sky Aviation, enabling each company to focus on specific aspects of the helicopter business. Barber is a flight instructor at Blue Sky Aviation Flight Academy.

In addition to government work, Barber Helicopters also specializes in charter tours to locations such as the Sierra Nevada, Kings Canyon, Hearst Castle in San Simeon, Columbia in California's “Gold Country” and to Harris Ranch. They also fly people to national forests for overnight fishing trips and offer “The Wine Hop,” a tour of four Paso Robles wineries.

Barber Helicopters' scheduled flights leave from Visalia. “If there are customers who want to leave from Tulare, we can meet them in Tulare – actually from anywhere,” Barber said.

The company also offers ag tours. “We get a lot of farmers on our ag tours touring their own farms,” said Barber, adding that some have inspected their property to survey crops to determine which are more heavily watered.

“If you want to do a survey of levees right after a storm, you can do it in minutes rather than hours,” said Ike Carrasco, Barber Helicopters' chief pilot.

A Barber helicopter found 30 head of cattle in 45 minutes which, according to the rancher who hired Barber, would have taken two weeks on horseback. The company also helps locate drug operations for law enforcement and installs power poles for utility companies in places that vehicles can't reach.

Barber Helicopters has its offices in Tulare and plans to open offices in the Optimal Aviation hangar at Visalia Airport in January. The company currently owns three helicopters, but its goal is to at least double that number by February.

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City Closer to Impact Fee Consensus

By Steve Pastis

Visalia - If all goes according to plan, the City of Visalia will have a new transportation impact fee ordinance and fee schedule in effect by mid-January. The first public hearing of the proposed ordinance and fee schedule is set for the Monday meeting of the city council.

“It lowers the fees and everybody likes that,” said Andrew Benelli, city public works director, about the ordinance. “It's always easier to implement a program with reduced fees.”

Transportation impact fees are collected from developers of residential properties, shopping centers, office buildings and industrial projects to pay for new streets. The fees are based on projections of how much traffic a new development will create. The money is often collected in advance so that streets are not built in a “sawtooth road pattern,” with roads varying from two to four and back to two lanes.

Benelli conducted a meeting on Nov. 7 to present the traffic impact fee update to local developers. Those in attendance had their questions answered, but some left the meeting with concerns.

“We've been doing this a long time,” said Stephen Peck, vice president of the Mangano Company. “We're bringing up a lot of issues. Many have been addressed – some have not.”

Among the issues discussed at the meeting were improving the way the traffic impact of government buildings is assessed, and how the 20 percent vacancy rate, which impacts parking lane fees, was determined. Another discussion item was how long fees would be waived for a new building that replaces an old one. The city is proposing a 10-year limit to replace a building.

“If you have a fire, you're allowed to rebuild it without a fee,” said Benelli. “But if you haven't rebuilt it in 10 years, you aren't entitled to (without a fee).”

Darlene Mata, a private consultant who helped organize the Traffic Fee Task Force, and Peck called the 10-year limit “too short” and “arbitrary.”

“If you choose a timeframe, it's going to be arbitrary,” responded Benelli. He added that a time limit was necessary to avoid someone trying to avoid paying fees by claiming, “There was a house there when I was a child.”

Under the proposed plan, the city would reimburse developers for their transportation impact fees within two years, but Benelli said that the reimbursement “may not be within two years, if you haven't sold all of the (sites on the property).”
Another question that was raised at the meeting was how much the proposed ordinance can change without delaying its schedule of public readings and final vote. No answer was given.

That afternoon, the city issued a revised ordinance which addressed some of the comments and corrections raised at the morning meeting.

“It looks like they caught all the problems,” said Glenn Morris, interim president/CEO of the Visalia Chamber of Commerce, after looking at the revisions. He also said that he has seen progress in the long process.

“(City) staff has come a long way in the last 15-16 months to meet us in the middle,” he said. “They are meeting their objectives without placing an undue burden on the development community. They have made an honest effort in trying to understand our concerns and accommodate what they could.”

He said that in that time, the city and developers analyzed the initial projections and assumptions about the city's future transportation needs and were able to cut the early $1 billion cost estimate by about half.

“This shows that we were able to reduce the fees dramatically,” said Morris. “It also shows if you do your homework, you get more realistic.”

Peck called the process “a fairly constructive give-and-take,” but is still looking to resolve a few remaining issues. He has concerns about the percentage to be allocated to the city for program administration. The amount that the city and developers agreed on was 1 percent, which translates to an estimated $2.5 million annually. The number in the city's Nexus report is 5 percent, however.

“The one area that seems to be unsatisfied is the $25 million frontage improvement allowance,” said Peck, who said that as a developer he expects to provide “a little bit of money to pave our neighbors' property,” but doesn't consider the current or proposed system “a level playing field.”

“We understand the need to pave all four corners of an intersection,” he said, but added that the ordinance requires some developers to pay for things like curbs and gutters, while other developers have this work done for them as “a gift of city funds.”
Peck is “reserving judgment” on the fee structure which is expected to be included in the city council agenda released on Friday.

“I don't know how it will affect the projects I'll be doing,” he said. He added that he has heard that the fees may be reduced by about 10 percent.

Even after more than a year of hard work and negotiations by city staff and developers to update the existing transportation impact fees ordinance, some believe that the finished product will need to be replaced in the near future.

“I know we'll be back at the table in three or four years,” said Peck. Morris also called the proposed fees “a temporary solution.”

“I essentially agree with what staff is putting forward, but we're making the point that it's a temporary solution that enforces the status quo,” said Morris. “It doesn't line up with the other initiatives, like the Smart Growth Task Force. It's better than where we are, but it doesn't get us where we want to go.”

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Funds Will Assist City
in Dealing with Foreclosures

Visalia - The City of Visalia is gearing up to utilize $2,388,331 to purchase, repair and eventually sell foreclosed homes in the city.

In late September, it was announced the city would get the funds as part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, part of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

“Those dollars can only go so far and we have a major foreclosure crisis locally and nationally,” said Ricardo Noguera, housing and economic development director for the city.

While having $2.3 million to spend, the city has only 18 months in which to spend the money and requirements are that the city cannot pay any more than 85 percent of appraised market value for the homes.

“The challenge is going to be getting this money spent,” said City Manager Steve Salomon. He said it may not be easy purchasing homes at that low a price, even in these tough economic times.

The city is designating $1.5 million to be used in purchasing properties in the areas of greatest need, but not limited to those areas. Those areas are the Washington School and Lincoln Oval Park.

The plan, as explained by Noguera, is to purchase eight to ten homes in the Washington School and Lincoln Oval areas, basically lower-end homes. The city would spend another $600,000 to purchase about six more medium-priced homes.
Then, explained Noguera, the city will make any repairs necessary, then sell the homes to qualified buyers. The money from the sale of the homes will then be used to purchase and fix up more homes.

“We're proposing to recycle dollars,” he recently told the council. “Our goal is to purchase 30 to 40 homes by recycling these dollars,” he added.

All of the money will be used for single family homes.

“We're trying to build home ownership in these neighborhoods and address the foreclosure crisis,” explained Rhonda Haynes, housing specialist with the city.
Noguera estimated the number of foreclosed homes in the city is somewhere between 1,300 and 1,400. Many are older homes, but there are a number of new homes in new subdivisions which might qualify for the program as well.

Visalia was identified as one of the cities in the Central Valley with a home foreclosure problem. The study said the city has a foreclosure rate of 7.1 percent, earning it a Local Abandonment Risk of “High.” The statewide foreclosure rate is 6.7 percent with a Statewide Abandonment Risk of “Low.” According to data, 20-48 percent of homes in the targeted areas are financed by a subprime mortgage.

“The north central part of the city has the highest rate of foreclosure,” said Noguera.
The rules of the program require the city to pay no more than 15 percent below the appraised value – that's the hurdle to overcome. However, Noguera said he has already spoken with realtors and banks and he thinks finding homes at that price can be accomplished.

The city will make any necessary repairs to the homes, but the homes must be sold at the same price at which the city purchase them. The city is not to profit from the sale nor can it pass along the cost of repairs. That is why, said Noguera, the city will look for homes that require as few repairs as possible.

The properties will be made available to families meeting the program guidelines, such as 3 percent down payment, debt ratios between 30-35 percent, verification of employment, credit review and income certification.

The borrower must obtain their mortgage through a local lender that meets the requirements of the program (must provide a fixed-rate mortgage) or possibly through one of the lending institutions working with the city. In the event the borrower is not financed through a local lender, the city can act as the lender/mortgagee (first mortgage, below market fixed rate interest, between 3 – 6 percent, 30-year term), incorporating a right of first refusal in all mortgage documents.

Families purchasing the homes will be required to attend no less than eight hours of homeowner education counseling in order to participate, obtain a mortgage loan from a lender in compliance with bank regulator's guidance nontraditional mortgages (fixed rate, low interest rate, covenants to maintain affordability of the property). The city may also provide a second mortgage as gap financing utilizing either HOME, Redevelopment or NSP funding.

Targeted buyers are those whose family income does not exceed 50-120 percent of the area median income – which is roughly $64,550 or lower for a family of four.
The city is looking to work with all realtors and lenders, as well as with Habitat for Humanity.

“This is the way for the city to partner with private sector,” said Noguera.

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Small Towns See New
Low-Cost Rental Housing

Tulare County - The Valley's smaller towns are often the poorest communities and one non-profit builder is targeting them for multi-family, entry-level housing. For a price tag that starts at $300 a month, these two-story units show surprisingly high quality.

This isn't your typical 1960s colorless anti-poverty apartments either, judging by the new Woodlake Family Apartments. Now comes word the statewide organization, the Corporation for Better Housing, plans other new projects soon in Goshen and Ivanhoe.

Since its founding in 1995, this 501(c)3 corporation built over 2,000 units and is currently under construction with more than 400 additional units, says CEO of the organization, Gwendy Silver Egnater. That's more than 28 projects in the state.
The corporation blends state funds, redevelopment money, private investment and tax credits to pool funds for the projects “designed to empower and enhance the lives of our residents.” Egnater says the organization manages the units with a mind to help the residents improve their lives offering referrals to child care, counseling and job training.

The new Woodlake units should be ready for occupancy in a matter of weeks while the Goshen and Ivanhoe projects are in the entitlement stage. In Goshen, the project, on 16.39 acres, will build 80 units near Ave. 308 east of Rd. 72 near the new Smee Builders subdivision. In the case of Ivanhoe, the organization has reached county approval for a general plan amendment to build the high density residential units on the southwest corner of Rd. 160 (Highway 216) and Ave. 327. The organization plans to build 96 affordable housing units likely next year.

Woodlake Family Apartments will provide Woodlake with 68 units of new affordable rental housing. The project generates 34 two-bedroom units and 34 three-bedroom units. Rental rates start at $307 for the two-bedroom units, and start at $352 for the three-bedroom units.

Corporation for Better Housing, a non-profit affordable housing developer, has started pre-leasing this new rental community. CBH expects the first move-ins to take place in mid-November. The project is a two-story garden apartment/courtyard structure with private entrances along the exterior. Each unit has air conditioning, vertical blinds, carpeting, granite countertops, refrigerator, dishwasher, stove, disposal and lots of closet space. Project amenities include a playground and barbeque area, perimeter fencing, courtyards, laundry facilities, walking paths, a community room, computer lab with internet access and on-site management staff.

Call 564-1010 for leasing information, or stop by to take a tour at 700 W. Sierra Ave. in Woodlake.

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Sultana Tree Fruit Farmers Quitting

Tulare County - One of the best-known farm families in Tulare County, George Brothers of Sultana, will be quitting the tree fruit and grape business they have pioneered here since 1906. Company President Mickey George confirms he has told his employees the firm will sell off about 1,000 acres of the sandy loam soil that has nurtured peaches, plums and famous Sultana grapes the town was named for.

“We've been in negotiations to sell the land, although the final deal is not done,” says George, with the expectation an escrow on the sale will close in about 30 days.
“It's been a very tough eight to 10 years in this business when we have not been able to make a profit,” said a saddened Mickey George, adding the worst of it is that his two sons, Mike and Tim, will be left without the farm that was handed off to him.

Founder Joseph George immigrated to this country from the Azores and purchased land here in the early 1900s that has been kept in the family for over a century.
The sale of the fertile farm land is said to be to fast-growing Paramount Farms, big in both the citrus and pomegranate business. The sale does not include the Sultana packing house a few miles east of Dinuba.

George Brothers dates from 1942 when the founder's sons combined their operations and acquired the packing house, shipping produce far and wide. By the 1950s, the family concentrated their efforts on growing tree fruit as well as marketing and shipping it worldwide. The company grows 75 varieties of tree fruit, plums, peaches, nectarines and everything in between, shipping over a million cases annually.

But despite the family's expertise, the tree fruit business in this part of the world, possibly the best place anywhere to grow peaches and plums, has not been kind to producers.

Every summer, farmers who grow this crop in the Reedley-Dinuba-Exeter region are given new hopes this will be a better year. But despite the fact the fruit is delicious, the prices growers get from the supermarket buyers are often below the cost of production, says Dale Janzen, director of industry relations for the California Tree Fruit Assessment (CTFA).

That was the case for many farmers in the summer of 2008. Come fall, all the coffee shop talk is of more acreage being pulled out, possible bankruptcies, and “for sale” signs being put up. Exeter fruit grower Terry Whitson told the Voice this summer that many growers didn't bother to pick their crop because the labor costs exceeded the price they would get. “The real problem is that prices we are getting are 25 percent less than 2004. Meanwhile, our input costs are 30 percent higher than they were in 2004.”

If growers are being hit, produce marketers are as well. The Produce News recently reported that twice as many produce companies have gone out of business, owning money this year compared to last year on farms listed in its Blue Book industry directory. A “snowball effect” that happens when money is owned to multiple parties appears to be especially troublesome this year. That effect has not been made any better by the worldwide financial meltdown in the past 30 days.

Small food service and restaurant accounts, the moms and pops that go out of business, leave a trail of unpaid bills increasing credit woes, says the report.
Just how Paramount, the largest citrus and nut grower in California, will use this land is the subject of some speculation. Sultana is in the citrus belt of Tulare County and the company, which in the past year pulled out of Sunkist and began marketing on its own, could use this land for tangerines or other specialty citrus planting. It is also the largest pomegranate producer as well with a large new processing plant in nearby Del Rey producing its own brand of pomegranate juice, POM Wonderful. The juice is touted for its health benefits. It seems likely the stone fruit trees will be gone.

Stone fruit has its own health benefits and the CTFA is expected to tell that story to customers over the next year. This year's pack-out of stone fruit was 57 million boxes, up from last year and higher than previously estimated. The thinking is that farmers going out of business or pulling trees will reduce that crop size in coming years – perhaps what is needed. The CTFA will hold its annual fall industry meeting Nov. 25 to try to set some strategy for survival.

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River Deal Awaits Lame Duck Decision

California - What does the fate of a river have to do with lame ducks? The deal to restore the San Joaquin River is definitely hobbling to the finish line this week after nearly collapsing in October.

As of Nov. 6, all parties to the lawsuit are supporting Sen. Dianne Feinstein's new federal financing plan to help pay for a legal settlement in place for the past two years but not finalized.

“The Friant Water Authority board of directors, including Tulare Irrigation District (TID), signed on at last week's board meeting to the changes,” says TID General Manager Paul Hendrix. “Now we are waiting to see if Congress will go into (a post-election) lame duck session which appears to be on again-off again.”

To prepare for this possibility, the legislation would need to be taken up later this month in Washington and the water districts had until Nov. 10 to finalize the new legislation. Friant huddled with the river's exchange contractors who along with other Friant board members were concerned over how this new twist on financing the settlement would affect this fragile deal.

Previously, it was anticipated that the river settlement legislation funding would be passed in one piece of legislation. But after months of GOP criticism made this impossible, Feinstein came up with a year-by-year financing plan that made many of the water districts subject to the settlement nervous.

Water districts that were concerned they will lose water to restore a salmon fishery on the river are now fearing a lack of money would mean the losses would not be mitigated with plans to manage the water to decrease the impact on the Valley's water supply. Federal money is needed from day one to add new infrastructure to carry out water management goals that were meant to be co-equal with restoration goals.

Originally, the legislation contained $250 million in funding. But now the legislation contains only one year of $88 million for river restoration.

But after several weeks of meetings - with Feinstein at the table - the water districts appear to be ready to try again, instead of taking critics' advice – throw in the towel on this legal settlement and take their chances back in the courtroom.

Democrats in Congress are now pushing for a lame-duck session to pass a planned huge new stimulus package to help the overall economy. But they need President Bush's help and as of press time – that appears in doubt.

That stimulus package is expected to include monies for infrastructure funding that would help communities around the nation get back to work, adding needed roads, bridges and power lines, not unlike what Roosevelt did during the Great Depression.
Some argue that any stimulus package to the help the Valley – the most productive growing region in the nation – would be money to add hydraulic infrastructure in this water-short part of the world.

Hendrix says it's possible that a lame duck won't take place this month and that funding for the delayed river settlement that originally called for river restoration to begin in 2009 will just have to wait.

“Our concern might be that arguments to call off the settlement could be louder next year,” says Hendrix, “if the drought in California turns worse.”

“There are concerns that a short water year will mean that the exchange contractors will demand water from the San Joaquin River because they can't get it out of the Delta. But the Bureau of Reclamation has told us that scenario is very unlikely,” says Hendrix.

Critics in the Tulare area, where Congressman Devin Nunes hails from, have been busy lobbying TID against moving forward with Nunes being a leading critic of the settlement. TID had notified Friant that the Tulare-area water district could pull out of the deal

Also of concern to districts has been the regulatory drought caused by a federal judge's decision not to allow more water to move south of the Delta in coming months to save endangered fish. That could make it harder to “recirculate” river water as had been envisioned, bringing it back to help water the Friant service area that covers more than a million acres – after it flows down the river toward the bay. Despite these concerns, it has been Feinstein's clout as a supporter of both farms and fish that has kept this thing together.

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What's New

Regency Centers, a developer of shopping centers, has inked a deal to buy 50 acres of the Tulare Motorsports land and is just beginning the marketing of the property, says region Vice President Paul Loubet. “We would likely build the new retail center concurrently with the development of the race track,” says Loubet. The company, a real estate investment trust, has a shopping center in Clovis. The Tulare Motorsports Complex faces a city council decision on its final EIR in the next few months after several months of study. The 50 acres wrap around the golf course and International Agri-Center, about one quarter mile off Highway 99, says Loubet. Altogether, the Motorsports Complex is buying 700 acres.

City of Porterville turned down a request to participate in a survey to form a mosquito abatement district on the south county last week. The effort, led by the Board of Supervisors, faces tough sledding in both Lindsay and Porterville where the idea was turned down two decades ago. Council member Pete McCracken told the Voice the request was turned down 5-to-0. “They told us what it might cost but not what benefits we would see. It was like buying a pig in a poke.” The spread of West Nile virus in the valley has led to renewed interest in the south county which has no active mosquito abatement district like other parts of the county and can't take advantage of state monies available to fight the spread of the disease. No human cases of West Nile were found this year in the Porterville area although some mosquitoes with the disease were found. County officials are likely to make an appeal to the city but it will be an uphill climb.

Gottschalks reported that same store sales for the month of October decreased 13.4% from the prior year. Total sales for the four-week period decreased 13.4% to $36.1 million compared to $41.7 million in the same period of fiscal 2007. For the third fiscal quarter, which consisted of 13 weeks, same store sales decreased 12.1% and total sales decreased 13.3% to $119.1 million, compared to $137.4 million for the third fiscal quarter of 2007.

Target Corporation reported that its net retail sales for the four weeks ending Nov. 1 decreased 0.7 percent to $4,415 million from $4,445 million for the four weeks ended Nov. 3, 2007. On this same basis, October comparable store sales declined 4.8 percent. Net earnings for Target were up 10.4 percent for the quarter and up 16 percent since the beginning of fiscal 2009.

Red County. Democrats gained new voters in statewide voter registration in the most recent close of registration in October 2008 but the GOP still has the strongest following in Tulare County. Still the Demos narrowed the gap over the past year. Tulare County voted for John McCain by 57% to 41.6% for Obama compared to the state vote count of 61% for Obama to 37% for McCain.

All Aboard. High Speed Rail Proposition 1A passed statewide, winning big in L.A. and the Bay Area but failing in many counties including Kings and Tulare where we still hope to persuade the powers that be of the need for a rail station. Lack of popular support here doesn't help seal the deal however, although local officials suggest it is a matter of fairness and access to the transportation system in the future.

Developers of the Demaree and Goshen Ave. shopping center in Visalia are now proposing a huge 72,000-square-foot FoodsCo supermarket – a warehouse store that will compete with Food 4 Less north of 198. The shopping center is already under construction with a new CVS drug store. Plans for a new gas station at Houston and Demaree are also part of the plan.

Circuit City has filed a voluntary petition for reorganization relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. The company plans to continue operating the business without interruption as management focuses on developing and executing a comprehensive corporate restructuring plan. The company earlier announced the closing of more than 150 stores, but the Visalia store was not included in that list. Further closers are expected, however.

Saputo Inc. released today its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2009, which ended Sept. 30, 2008. The company has a plant in Tulare. Net earnings for the quarter totaled $69 million ($0.34 basic per share), an increase of $6.5 million compared to $62.5 million ($0.31 basic per share) for the same quarter last fiscal year.

Gas prices took another big dip last week, going down almost 20 cents. In the past two weeks, the price of a gallon of regular unleaded in Tulare County has fallen on average 50 cents. According to AAA, the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gas on Tuesday was $2.587, although some stations are selling gas for as low as $2.24. The price of diesel also continues to slide, down to $3.11 a gallon from $3.23 a gallon a week ago. The highest gas and diesel got was $4.591 and $5.1264, respectively.

Train ridership is way up in California. Amtrak reported Monday a record-setting 5.5 million passengers rode California's state-supported intercity passenger trains in federal fiscal year 2008. Nearly one million passengers (949,611) rode the San Joaquins service (Bakersfield to Sacramento/Oakland). This past July, ridership shot up a whopping 32 percent over July 2007, rising above 100,000 for the first time. The Capitol Corridor and the San Joaquins ranked as the nation's third busiest and sixth busiest lines, respectively.

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Visalia DHL Service Likely to Close

It is likely that the DHL Express Service, operated out of the west side of the Visalia Airport, will be closed early next year, now that DHL has announced it will cease domestic service Jan. 30, 2009.

Mario Cifuentez, City of Visalia Airport manager, said Monday he had not heard anything and a DHL spokesperson said they had no information yet as to what will be closing. However, the spokesperson said unless the operation deals with international service, it would be discontinued. Attempts to reach the local DHL office were unsuccessful.

Cifuentez said the local DHL office had stopped all air operations a couple of months ago, but there had been some recent discussions as to possibly relocating the operation to another area of the airport. He said the company leases the space from the city, but did not fly enough freight into Visalia to pay landing fees. For the past few months, all freight had been shipped by truck.

In the announcement, DHL said its U.S. Express business will focus entirely on its international offerings and will discontinue its domestic-only air and ground services. However, the company will retain its international presence and capability in the U.S.

The announcement was made Monday at a press conference held in Bonn, Germany by Deutsche Post World Net, parent company of DHL U.S. Express.

Great Lakes Reports Strong October Usage

It appears concerns that Ontario International Airport was not a strong draw for air travelers out of Visalia were unfounded.

Great Lakes Airlines, which began operations in Visalia in early September offering two flights a day to and from Ontario, had a very good October, the first full month of operation here, said Mario Cifuentez, City of Visalia Airport manager.

“The airline is doing well,” said Cifuentez who is preparing a report for the city council next week. “We underestimated the number of businesses that have connections to Ontario,” he added. Also, Express Jet out of Fresno ceased operations to Ontario and that has helped business as well.

“It is better than expected. They are showing growth,” he added.

COS Seeks Bond Oversight Committee Members

College of the Sequoias is looking for people who want to serve on citizens' oversight committees for Measures I and J, bond measures approved by voters on Nov. 4. There will be one committee for each bond, charged with the responsibility of monitoring all expenses.

The people of Visalia, Exeter, Farmersville, Woodlake and surrounding communities passed Measure I, a $28 million bond issuance for improvements for the Visalia campus. The people of Tulare, Lindsay, Corcoran and the surrounding communities passed Measure J, a $60 million bond issuance to build a new COS college center in Tulare. The Tulare college center is expected to be open for classes in 2012.

Anyone interested in joining one of the new citizens' oversight committees can fill out an application available at www.cos.edu, or request an application by calling COS at 730-3702.

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