Big Builder Files for Bankruptcy

Tulare County - Utah-based Woodside Homes, with eight new home subdivisions in Tulare County, said it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy by Sept. 16, according to company spokesperson Jennifer Mercer.

One of the top ten builders in the U.S., the company has tracts in both Tulare and Visalia and throughout Central and Northern California.

Mercer emphasizes that in a court hearing a judge gave the company permission to continue its homebuilding activities in a business-as-usual fashion.

“We have contacted all the subcontractors, new home buyers with contracts and subdivision homeowners to notify them of the bankruptcy process.”

Mercer emphasized that the company will be providing lenders with an accounting of its financial activities. On Aug. 20, five insurance companies which had more than $475 million of Woodside's notes, filed a petition in court to push the builder into bankruptcy court in order to help collect their debts. Two other lenders joined in the petition, setting the court proceedings in motion.

Woodside entered the Tulare County market in 2005 with one of its largest new home projects just north of Goshen Avenue and east of Demaree Street.
The homebuilder was a part of a wave of large national and regional new homebuilders that came to Visalia that year with the peak of the building activity in 2006.
Others joined the land rush into Tulare County including Reynen and Bardis, DR Horton, Pacific Union and Beazer Homes – all no longer in the area today due to the massive nationwide slowdown in housing.

In 2007, Woodside had more than $1 billion in revenue and was ranked number seven on a list of the nation's top builders.

Even this year, during the homebuilder meltdown, Woodside pulled permits for 87 new homes in Tulare County, according to Construction Monitor, making it the third busiest builder in the county this year. That compares to 91 during the same eight months of 2007 and 101 during the same months in 2006. The pace shows only a modest slowdown in the number of new homes being built here by the company despite the state of the economy.

Whether the company can work through its voluntary bankruptcy period and live to tell about it remains up in the air, but for now the homebuilding, sales and guarantees will continue during the bankruptcy period, says Mercer.

Besides California, the company operates in Utah, Arizona, Florida, Minnesota, Nevada, Texas and near Washington, D.C.

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Foreclosures Dictating Real Estate Market

By Rick Elkins

Visalia - Real estate, banking and mortgage lenders all agree that while the housing crisis appears to be lessening a bit, it will be another six to nine months before Tulare County sees a complete rebound.

All say the record number of foreclosures is what is pushing housing prices downward and once the glut of foreclosures falls back to more normal levels, housing prices will begin a slow rebound.

“Inventory is going down this year. We'll reach a point that we're in balance with demand,” said Ed Evans, owner of ReMax Real Estate in Visalia.

“Once we get through this foreclosure market – maybe 12 more months – we'll see prices starting to come back up,” added Derek Land, owner of Century 21 Real Estate in Porterville.

In the second quarter of this year, lenders started foreclosure proceedings on 1,099 home owners in Tulare County, a 150 percent increase over the second quarter of 2007. Foreclosure proceedings were begun on 188 homeowners in Kings County, also a 150 percent increase over the first quarter of 2007.

Those foreclosures, and a large number of “short sales,” pushed prices down 22 percent in Visalia in July, compared to July of 2007. Prices are off 17 percent in Tulare and 9 percent in Porterville.

The median price of a home in Visalia in July was below $200,000 ($199,500) for the first time in a few years. Last July, that median price in Visalia was $255,500.
A short sale is one where the homeowner is selling their home for a price that is less than what is owned. Land explained such sales are very common right now, but they must have the approval of the lender.

“A short sale has some advantages. Often, a foreclosure home needs some repairs,” noted Land. Evans said short sales make up nearly 50 percent of his office's sales right now.

California saw a record number of California homeowners default last quarter, the result of declining home values and the rampant spoilage of a batch of especially risky home loans made in late 2005 and 2006, a real estate information service reported.

Mortgage servicers recorded 121,341 “notices of default” during the April-through-June period. That was up 6.6 percent from a revised 113,809 for this year's first quarter, and up 124.9 percent from 53,943 in second-quarter 2007, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

Last quarter's number of defaults was the highest in DataQuick's statistics, which go back to 1992.

Foreclosed properties can be found in every corner of the city, noted Visalia City Manager Steve Salomon. “They're everywhere you can see,” he said, noting that the unkept houses are a concern to city officials both in terms of safety and in terms of preserving neighborhoods. A rundown house can reduce values in an entire neighborhood.

What the city has found is a large number of abandoned homes with pools, and those pose a special challenge, both in terms of water safety and in controlling mosquitoes possibly carrying the West Nile virus.

Another concern the city has is with falling property values. Officials have already projected less revenue from property taxes and homes are reassessed at lower values, reducing property tax revenue for the city.

Salomon said there is federal legislation that may assist cities to maintain foreclosure properties. However, he did not know how much money the city of Visalia may receive.

Evans and Land estimate that more than 60 percent of the homes being sold today are in foreclosure or are a short sale.

“Foreclosures are going to lower the price, which brings down all prices,” said Land.

On top of that lower price are the number of homes on the market, including new homes. Evans said existing home inventory in Visalia and Tulare today is 1,800 homes, down from a peak of nearly 2,600 at the height of the housing crisis, and that does not include new home lots ready for construction.

“When we get down to 1,200, we'll be in better balance,” he said.

“When” is the key word.

Jim Holly, president of Bank of Sierra, the largest independent bank headquartered in Tulare County, said he sees light at the end of the housing tunnel, but not until the last quarter of 2009. “By the end of next year this foreclosure thing will have worked its way through,” he said.

Buyers' Market

Evans and Land both said it is definitely a buyers' market right now. They point to great bargains and low interest rates, something that hasn't occurred at the same time in quite some time.

Evans sees prices dipping another 5 to 10 percent, but then bottom out and gradually start to go back up. However, he doesn't see a big jump in prices for a while. He said prices today are at least 30 percent off from the peak of the housing boom in June of 2005. He said prices today are closer to what they were in 2000-01, but higher than the late 1990s.

How Foreclosure Works

Mike Salierno, vice president and manager of Provident Mortgage in Visalia, said lenders tend to give homeowners as much opportunity as possible to keep their home. Holly agreed.

“A home's worth a lot more with someone in it,” said Holly.

He said that a lender usually waits three months of none payment before filing a notice of default, which gives the owner 90 days to sell. However, a homeowner can go as long as seven months without paying before they are evicted from a home. Generally, said Evans, the lender will continue to pay the insurance and the property taxes.

There is help for those facing foreclosure.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed SB 1137 by Don Perata that takes several steps to reduce the number of foreclosure sales by requiring servicers to meet or talk to borrowers and discuss alternatives to foreclosure before filing a notice of default. It also gives tenants in foreclosed properties 60 days to vacate and allows local governments to fine owners of foreclosed properties if they are not maintaining the properties. The new law applies to loans made between Jan. 1, 2003 and Dec. 31, 2007.

The law also allows local governments to impose a $1,000-per-day fine on financial institutions that don't maintain vacant properties if problems are not fixed within 14 days.

Salierno said it used to be that if you foreclosed on a home, you couldn't own another home for seven years, but the law has changed. Holly said today a person could possibly purchase another home in two or three years.

However, qualifying for a loan today – foreclosure history or not – is not as easy as it was 18 months ago. Holly and Salierno said lenders are requiring more credit history and the days of no down payment are gone.

“Lenders are very generous. It is very difficult to lose your home. You're given every chance,” said Evans, including the opportunity to renegotiate the loan.

“They will recognize it's better to take less than what's owed than to go through foreclosure,” he added.

Foreclosing on a property does not mean the end of the credit world, said Salierno. He said those who foreclose might still be able to qualify for a credit card or purchase a vehicle. However, foreclosing on property will show up on a person's credit record for seven years.

“It's going to affect your chance of getting a standard loan,” he explained.
Once is home is foreclosed, it is first put up for auction on the steps of the county courthouse, noted Evans. He said few homes today are selling at auction and those homes are then listed with a realtor. That was not the case a few years ago when a person might find a good buy at the auction. “Generally, less was owed on the property,” he explained, adding the homes had more value before the housing crunch. Today, often more is owed than the house is worth.

Commission paid on short sales and foreclosed homes is often less for realtors than regular homes, added Evans.

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Jail Booking Fee Agreement Near

By Miles Shuper

Visalia - Although final approvals are pending, the dispute between Tulare County and cities over jail booking fees has been settled.

For more than two years, cities and the county have been at loggerheads over the fees the county charges cities for booking prisoners into county jail facilities. The dispute led to legal actions.

Pending the signing of agreements, cities now will pay the county $78 for every prisoner booked into county custody, said Jean Rousseau, county executive officer, who explained that his office, police chiefs, the sheriff, city officials and the auditor's office met several times to iron out the fee schedule.

Cities with police departments have scheduled or are planning ratification votes with no opposition expected, officials say.

At one point, Tulare County filed suit against the cities, but the action was dropped when the parties agreed to work out an equitable plan.

State legislation allows for counties to charge the fees based on time and cost factors if there is no agreement in place. The county had charged cities about $115 per booking at one time, leading to the dispute in which the county filed suit.

The state budget has allocated up to $35 million for a trust fund from which the sheriff departments are paid as reimbursement of booking costs. But, if that changes whenever the new state budget is signed, the agreement between the county and the cities provides for a rate-setting formula, Rousseau said. As of this week, Rousseau said, it appeared the $35 million trust fund was still a viable part of the proposed budget.

Rousseau termed the current status of booking fees as “being in limbo” pending the budget outcome.

Eric Frost, Visalia's administrative services director, said, “We have every expectation we'll have cooperation between the county and us,” adding he is pleased with the way things went during the work sessions.

“We still think the booking fees is a bad thing, but it's not something the county created – the state did. In the end, we live with it and it's good we can get along.”
Darrel Pyle, Tulare city manager, was enthusiastic to see the situation being resolved. “We got great cooperation from the county. I'm convinced that if we work together, there's nothing we can't solve.”

The new fee schedule, he said, “is good for everyone, It's accurate and fair and, more importantly, it's exactly what the legislature intended.”

The Tulare City Council was scheduled to consider the issue this week.

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Senior Lunch Programs Eliminated

Visalia - Kings-Tulare Area - Facing a growing budget shortage, the Kings-Tulare Area Agency on Aging (K/T AAA) has cut its funding for the senior lunch program in four more cities. Hanford, Armona, Springville and Ivanhoe had previously been cut.

“At the KTAAA meeting last month, they voted to stop having lunches in Farmersville, Three Rivers, Dinuba and Lemoore,” said Farmersville City Council Member Paul Boyer, who added that K/T AAA funding for the programs was scheduled to end in August. “The funding for the program has remained steady for many years, but expenses have increased.

“It doesn't make the seniors in Farmersville very happy – in fact, they're very upset,” he said.

When asked about the situation, Farmersville senior Leah Riddle confirmed Boyer's assessment.

“I think they done us dirty,” she said. “If they get money from the federal government to feed us, what are they doing with that money?”

John Davis, K/T AAA director, explained that funding from his agency helps provide seniors with long-term care, transportation, meals, case management at home and caregiver support. He added that the state and federal money designated for the lunch program is no longer sufficient.

He said that the K/T AAA receives about $300,000 per year to provide meals at 18-22 senior centers. The money is expected to cover the costs of a nutritional site manager, liability, kitchen staff, transportation staff and maintaining five trucks – which average 50,000 miles a year and need to be replaced every four years or so.
And lunches for seniors are estimated to cost the K/T AAA $6 to $7 apiece.

“We've had to borrow from other grants,” said Davis. “From my point of view, we have subsidized the program for at least three years with other moneys.
“I had to look at cuts for next year,” he added, noting that his budget would be $26,000 short – even after closing sites and reducing staff and meals.
Money for the lunches comes from the federal Older Americans Act, which the state is supposed to match, according to Davis.

“We have to come up with a local match,” he said. He also said that the centers request a donation from the seniors for their lunches, because they aren't allowed to charge for the meals.

“You can only accept donations,” he said. “We suggest $2.50.”
Since the K/T AAA announcement, the Lemoore Senior Center has already found sponsors for its lunch program.

“The Tachi Palace was first in line to help them,” Davis said, adding that the center has other assets. “Lemoore is pretty self-sufficient in its own way. They have their own kitchen and big grounds where they can hold big events.”

Betty Hayward, treasurer of the board of the Farmersville Senior Center was initially angry when she heard that the senior lunch program would be stopped in her city.
“I was but I'm not anymore,” she said. “We're going to have a better program than before.”

She said that the center is working with the Farmersville Ministerial Association, two school districts and Farmersville City Manager Rene Miller to somehow continue the lunch program for the city's seniors.

“We're looking at emergency grants that would cover them for a year,” Miller said. “This would give them some time to look at other options and plan fundraisers for next year.”

The grants being targeted are private endowments, some that are specifically designed to provide money for senior programs.

Miller has also talked to Farmersville High School about providing seniors with meals such as soups and spaghetti.

“The seniors can dish out as much as they want,” she said, noting that the elementary school district she spoke with would supply the seniors with children's portions, “which is about what they're getting now – but what children want to eat and what seniors want to eat are not the same.

“But the senior citizens decided to go it on their own,” she continued. “This past week, they decided they would cook for themselves. They have money and they will try to stretch it until they get some funding.”

In addition to lowering expenses, cooking the food themselves may increase attendance for lunch.

“They think they'll have more people because some people didn't care for the food,” said Miller, who said that 35 to 45 seniors used to have lunch at the center, but the average attendance had more recently been about 24.

The K/T AAA Governing Board which approved the cuts consists of three Tulare County supervisors, Mike Ennis, Phil Cox and Allen Ishida, and two Kings County supervisors, Tony Barba and Joe Neves.

“The main problem is that the main funding hasn't been increased in years,” said Ishida about the board's decision. “They have to reduce total meals so we can maintain an efficient staffing level. State and federal governments started the program and didn't increase the funding to compensate for higher prices.”

Ishida said that he is among those who have approached churches, cities and the private sector to assist the program, and not just for the centers which have already had their funding cut, but for other centers, such as in Exeter and Lindsay, which still have senior lunch programs.

“They're all at risk,” Ishida said. “As I have advised the Exeter seniors, we have to work now to locate another funding source. What we're trying to do is make them all self-sufficient because they're all going to get cut. You have to prepare yourself for one-to-three years down the road.”

The Visalia Senior Citizens Center is not part of the K/T AAA program. It is funded through the city's general fund, said Terry Romero, recreation supervisor for the center.

The center provides lunches, meals on wheels and pack out lunches (to take meals home). To ensure a healthy meal for the seniors, the head cook has attended classes to learn the Older Americans Nutritional Guidelines. The center also provides free services such as tax preparing and is currently assisting seniors with filing forms for the stimulus package.

Even though the Visalia Senior Citizens Center is not threatened by K/T AAA cutbacks, it is still affected by the current economy.

“We have been going through a re-evaluation of our programs,” Romero said. “The city council has given direction to us to see how we can better handle our lunch program. We're subsidized quite a bit on the lunch program and they feel we should look at other avenues.”

Romero has had discussions with Kaweah Delta Health Care District, the Visalia Unified School District and other agencies to see if they could help provide lunches for the city's seniors.

The Tulare Senior Citizens Center has a total budget of $600,000 for all of its programs and services, including recreation and information services, as well as meals. Almost $154,000 comes from K/T AAA funds and the center is preparing for the probable cutbacks in that money over the next few years.

“We're OK for the 2008-09 fiscal year,” said Tulare Senior Center Director Lorraine Zorn, but she said that the center is looking for ways to make up the eventual annual $154,000 shortage that would put the lunch program “probably most at risk.”

“But I just can't see the program being totally eliminated,” she said. “We might only provide hot meal service Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.”

Zorn said if the hot meal program had to be cut from five to three days a week, seniors might be offered frozen lunches to take home for the next day after their lunches on Mondays and Wednesdays.

“That way, they are having their five meals a week,” she said.

In discussing what the senior lunch programs mean to seniors, Ishida talked about the social aspect of the senior lunch program and somehow maintaining it, even if it means at a lower cost where not all federal nutrition guidelines are met.

“I think it's more important for the socializing than the nutritional side,” he said. “I'm not there to count calories.”

“I think a lot of it is because of the social interaction, but some definitely come for the meal,” Romero said. “Others listen to the music and talk to their neighbor. They tell us, 'This is the only time I get to come out and meet with people.'”

When asked whether nutrition or socializing was more important to the seniors, Zorn said, “They need the meals. We did a survey, and half of the people depend on the meals.

“One of the biggest things with seniors is they tend not to eat as well as they should,” she noted. She also sees the social value for seniors that the lunch program provides.

“It gets them out of their home, otherwise they'd be home all day,” she said, estimating that the center provides about 77 hot meals a day.

“It's somewhat more on Friday because it's 'biscuits and gravy day,'” she added.

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Porterville Hires Lollis as City Manager

By Rick Elkins

Visalia - John Lollis, deputy city manager for the city of Porterville, was hired Tuesday as that city's next city manager.

Lollis will assume his new duties on Jan. 14, 2009. He follows John Longley, who is retiring.

The city of Porterville has been in talks solely with Lollis for several weeks on his contract. That contract was ratified during Tuesday's City Council meeting. Salary was put at $11,010 a month with a $400 monthly vehicle allowance.

Longley announced earlier this year that he would be stepping down in January. He has served as city manager since early 2002. Lollis will become just the city's third city manager in more than 30 years. Guy Huffaker served as city manager for more than 25 years before Longley.

Lollis was hired by the City of Porterville on May 1, 2006 as administrative services manager. He replaced Frank Guyton as deputy city manager in July of 2007, retaining duties as administrative services manager.

Lollis' hiring actually goes back nearly two years, he and Mayor Cam Hamilton explained. When the city did a search for the deputy city manager position, it did so with an eye on finding a successor for John Longley who had already hinted at retirement.

“It goes back a year and a half or so. The city did recruitment for a deputy city manager with the hopes that person would later become city manager, so there'd be a smooth transition,” said Lollis.

Hamilton said the previous council decided two years ago it wanted a smooth transition of managers. “It wanted someone put in that John could mentor and there would be a seamless recovery,” said Hamilton.

He said the city used a headhunter firm and it narrowed down a list of nearly 100 applicants to three, from which Lollis was hired.

The mayor said when a new council was sworn in, Lollis was asked to meet with them again to reaffirm the earlier decision. “He was given the thumbs up by this council,” he said.

Lollis was raised in Bakersfield and came to the city from Burton School District – a school district on the western edge of Porterville – where he was director of personnel. He worked with Burton for 12 years.

Prior to that, after graduating from Westmont College, he served an internship with the City of Oxnard's city manager's office for two years.

“That's where I had my first experience with city government,” he said, adding he worked in labor relations and human resources in the city of approximately 100,000 people.

“What I really, really see with John Lollis, is he brings youth and a very powerful attitude. He holds people accountable. He added Lollis has already made an impact on the city with some programs he's implemented to make the city more efficient.
Another thing Hamilton likes about Lollis is it looks as if he will be with the city for some time. “They're (Lollis family) going to be here awhile,” he said of Lollis and his wife, who is a principal in the Burton School District. John and his wife, Chastity, have two children, 7-year-old Ashlyn and 4-year-old Taylor. An 11-year-old nephew, Triston, lives with them as well.

Lollis is aware of the challenges ahead, but the opportunities as well.

“I think it is a city on the cusp. I sense some energy toward improving the standard of living. That's reflected in the council and other community groups,” he said.

Number one on the “to do” list will be economic development. “We're taking a very proactive approach to it.”

He said he has already seen great strides in public safety, in local schools and in economic development.

Ahead is the building of a new superior court in downtown and the development of that area where the Porterville Fairgrounds now sits. Lollis sees that as a great opportunity for the city.

Also on the horizon is the plan by the Tule River Indian Reservation to build a casino/resort on the west end of the Porterville Airport.

“That's just representative of our conversion toward partnerships and economic development. That's a project that we will continue to pursue and it could play a key role in economic development out there,” he said.

“Steps have been taken to strengthen the city for economic development. There's been a lot of heavy lifting that's been done by the previous administration,” said the new city manager.

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What's New

Sequoia National Park Foundation has turned over a donation of $100,000 from the Jack Jeangerard Foundation to rehabilitate one of the park's most popular trails – to Tokapah Falls. The donation will be matched by the NPS to carry out the trail work by winter 2009, says Sequoia Foundation board member Bette Bardeen. The 1.7-mile trail leads from the Lodgepole campground along the Marble Fork of the Kaweah River to an impressive 1,200-foot waterfall in the glacial Tokapah Valley. Upgrades will improve ease of access, signage and stability of the trail.

Westside community of Avenal will see its only movie theater come back. Community Development Director Steve Sopp says the city-owned theater burned down five years ago. Now a groundbreaking for a two screen theater, featuring the look of the old marquee, will take place in October with flicks – probably one show in Spanish and one in English – ready for the screen by late summer.

Avenal also got some good news recently that its development project was selected as the county's most important to support in competitive federal funding. Avenal is applying for federal grant funds of $2 million to build a new turnout to the California Aqueduct to get better water piped 18 miles into the city, as well as water for the proposed Avenal power plant that will create 70 jobs on the east side of Highway 5. The big power project is in the approval process at the California Energy Commission. A county task force pushed the Avenal project to the top, making it more likely it will get an EDA grant.

Cigna, Visalia's largest private employer, says business is picking up this fall with a new class of 25 employees starting this week and a second class expected to be brought on board the big health care concern by the end of the year, says manager Phil Bouche.

Gottschalks, which has a large store in Visalia, reported a net loss of $4.4 million for the second quarter of the year. That is slightly less than the $4.8 million loss reported in the second quarter of 2007. For the first six months of year, the retailer reported a loss of $9.5 million.

Reversing his pledge to not sign any legislation until a budget is passed, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed AB 3034 that adds taxpayer protections and financial guidelines to the High-Speed Train Bond Act on the November 2008 ballot. AB 3034 will replace Proposition 1 with Proposition 1A on the November ballot, but except for some wording, the two are nearly identical, including asking for $9.95 billion.

The 2009 recipient of the Events Visalia Foundation's fundraising efforts will be the Tulare-Kings Chapter of the Red Cross. The announcement was made by Michael Lewis, chairman of the foundation, which organizes the Visalia St. Patrick's Day Parade and the Visalia Waiters Race. The Tulare-Kings Chapter has delivered essential services, such as disaster relief, first aid and CPR training to Central Valley communities since 1917.

Sue Summers, vice president of operations, and Evan Orgeron, marketing specialist, both from the Visalia Chamber of Commerce, were among the 44 participants in the second-year class of Academy, a three-day, professional development program presented by the Western Association of Chamber Executives (WACE). The second-year Academy curriculum included three-hour classes on revenue development, budgeting, human resource management, government affairs, policy development and cutting-edge technology.

Visalia City Council Tuesday hired Mendoza and Associates as construction manager for the Highway 198 overcrossing at Santa Fe Street. The project is to go to bid later this month with construction beginning in January.

Visalia City Council will be asked to move toward rent control for Visalia's nine mobile home parks upon the urging of a local task force. The group complains that a city “model lease” program has not worked, with some rents going up 40% over the past five years. Only four of the nine mobile home parks in town remain in the city-sponsored lease program that was designed to moderate rent increases, says Jim Burr who chairs the task force. Council considered the request this week after this paper went to press.

An appeal by a Hanford attorney of a planning commission OK has delayed a Tulare City Council hearing on approval of a final EIR for Western Pacific Meatpacking scheduled this week. The appeal will be heard by council Sept. 16, at which time they could hear the scheduled final EIR or postpone it to Oct. 7, says a city official.

Visalia City Council will support the $28 million bond issue for COS (Measure I) on the November ballot, saying it will net $75 million in local construction projects through state funding. That includes local matches for the new science building, gym and Allied Health building. The measure will cost the average Visalia home owner $14 per year. The new nursing building will house the program that trains 75% of the nurses working in the area.

With no state budget deal in sight, the long awaited water bond compromise has been put off yet again as well, says Friant Water Users Executive Director Ron Jacobsma. “The secretary of state has told counties they could proceed with their ballots,” says Jacobsma, meaning that no water bond deal will be on the November ballot. He says there is some hope of a special election for a water bond – but not until next year. They had hoped a compromise budget measure would be submitted to voters as well, but the GOP convention now takes center stage over any drama in Sacramento.

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Keller Acquiring Lemoore Chevy Dealer Property

John Keller, owner of Keller Motors and other dealerships in Hanford, said he is going to lease the building and property where Bob Williams Chevrolet now sits along Highway 198 in Lemoore. The Chevy dealership is closing this month.

Keller said last week he will lease the property with intent to later purchase it. He said he has no plans to do anything with the building and will eventually market it for sale or lease.

“I'm just helping Bob out. He's retiring,” said Keller.

It was reported in last week's Valley Voice that General Motors was purchasing all the stock of Bob Williams Chevrolet. That bulk sale is scheduled for today. An employee said the dealership, the only one in Lemoore, would close for good.

Visalia Building Activity Still Stuck in Low

Construction in the City of Visalia continued weak in August with permits issued for new homes nearly double over July, but overall construction the slowest of the year.

During August, the city issued 54 permits for homes, up from 29 during July. New home valuation was $10.1 million, nearly double than that for July. For the second consecutive month, no permits were issued for multi-family units and new commercial construction continued to lag with only six permits adding up to just $754,489.

Even with the improved home numbers, total valuation was the lowest of the year at $13.3 million, about $125,000 less than the previous low this year. For the year, construction activity has amounted to $181.7 million, off more than $70 million from last year.

Census: County Poverty Up, Incomes Down

U.S. Census put out a report this past week saying across the U.S., median family income increased by 1.3%, rising above $50,000 between 2006 and 2007. Meanwhile, poverty rates across the U.S. were about the same as the year before, about 12.5%. That's about half the rate of Tulare County.

In Tulare County, the same report shows the rate of poverty increased from 21.6% of the population in 2006, to 23.7% in 2007. A similar trend was seen in the category children under 18 below the poverty level. For Tulare County, the 2006 rate was 29%, and in 2007 the rate was 33.4% – the highest in California. California's overall rate for children was 17.3% in 2007 compared to 18.6% in 2006.

A similar trend is noted in Tulare County's family median income that fell from $44,800 in 2006 to $42,674 in 2007, says the census report. California's family median income in 2007 was $67,484. Only Imperial County, next to the Mexican border, had a lower median income than Tulare County, coming in at $39,639.

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