Road Projects Abound in Visalia

By Rick Elkins

Although not designed as such, Visalia kind of has its own stimulus program going right now in the form of several major road projects.

There are five projects ongoing or slated to begin within a few weeks totaling more than $18 million.

Currently underway are:

• Widening of Houston Avenue from Santa Fe to Ben Maddox that includes the roundabout at Houston and Santa Fe. Cost: $1.8 million

• Construction of Santa Fe Bridge over Highway 198. Cost: $5.3 million

• Construction of crossing over Mill Creek that will extend McAuliff Street all the way from Douglas to Mineral King. Cost: $1 million.
Set to start after the first of the year:

• Widening of Ben Maddox overpass over Highway 198. Cost: $8 million.

• Improvements to the Walnut and Whitendale intersections along South Mooney Blvd. Cost: $1 million each.

City Traffic Engineer Adam Ennis has been busy with all five projects and says so far they are all on schedule and on budget.

And, it is not just city money that is paying for the projects. Measure R – the half-percent sales tax countywide – is paying for most of the Santa Fe bridge project, while federal stimulus money is paying for the bulk of the Ben Maddox widening. There are local funds and Measure R funds being used for that project as well.

“All of these projects will improve traffic circulation,” said Vice Mayor Bob Link. “They will help make circulation more comfortable and convenient,” he added.
All of the projects have been years in the making and planning. The money to pay for them has been accumulated for years, except for the Ben Maddox project where the federal funds will free up dollars for other road projects.

“We've been working on Santa Fe and Houston Avenue since I came on the council,” said Link, who is entering his 11th year on the council.

Funding for such projects comes from what city officials call Enterprise Funds. Those are funds set aside for specific projects and that is all the money can be used for. Much is derived from gas tax and state transportation funds which can only be used on street projects.

“It's one of the hardest things to explain to people,” said Link of how the funding works. Many questioned such projects when the city had to layoff and furlough employees because of a drop in general fund revenues, but Link said by law the city could not take from the Enterprise Fund to pay for general fund expenditures.

Houston Avenue

The main feature of the Houston Avenue project is the roundabout where Santa Fe, Houston and Northeast 3rd Street come together.

“I think it's going to have a pretty good feel to it,” said Ennis of the roundabout, which will be the largest and busiest in the city. He said motorists will be “swept” into it and then around. “This will be more of a heavier traffic circle. It will be a big improvement.”

The roundabout is designed to alleviate a bottleneck caused by the unusual intersection. And, it is designed to handle Santa Fe traffic that will eventually continue north. Right now, Santa Fe ends at the intersection.

Already, the 70-foot-diameter center is taking shape.

The project is on schedule to be paved this month and open to traffic in January.
It may have seemed to be a slow start, but Ennis said there was a significant amount of underground work that had to be done before work began on the roadway. “We replaced much of the old sewer system,” he explained.

As part of the project, a new ponding basin is being constructed near the old Soroptomist Park and much of the dirt removed has been placed at Burke and Goshen where someday the city's new civic center will be constructed. Ennis said the city was going to have to bring in dirt at some point, so the project proved convenient for that.

As for what will go in the middle of the roundabout, Ennis said he was not aware of any decision. Some have suggested a statue be placed in the middle, while others say it should be nicely landscaped, but without a monument.

Ennis did say there will be no pedestrian access to the middle of the circle. Pedestrian crossings will only be at the intersections along the outer ring of the traffic circle.

He said just designing safe pedestrian crossings of the streets were a challenge. “Typically, you try to avoid any access to the center of the circle,” he said.

Santa Fe Bridge

Ennis said motorists could be traveling over the new crossing of Highway 198 by January. “It's on schedule. We're anticipating having traffic on the bridge around the first of the year,” he said.

That project involved the removal of the old Santa Fe railroad crossing and the construction of a new vehicle traffic span. Work has begun on the installation of the four columns that will help give the bridge a very distinctive look.

He said that project has also gone very well, with few glitches. It is the first project in the city using Measure R funds. That tax measure was passed by voters throughout Tulare County in 2006 to pay for road projects and repairs.

The 120-foot bridge is being constructed in a way to allow for the addition of more lanes in the future. The plans are for Santa Fe Street to be a major north-south traffic corridor through the city.

Ben Maddox Widening

A groundbreaking ceremony for the Ben Maddox widening project will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 8, at the northeast corner of Ben Maddox Way and Noble Avenue. In case of rain, the ceremony will be held at the Visalia Ford Showroom at 1300 E. Mineral King Ave.

When completed, the project should improve traffic flow throughout the city, as well as make it easier to get from north to south, or south to north.

Some preliminary work has already been completed on that project. That involved work on the railroad tracks.

Ennis said a contract is expected to be awarded at the city council's Dec. 7 meeting and work should begin in January or February.

The project calls for the widening of that busy crossing, plus improvements to the Noble Avenue and Ben Maddox intersection.

The bridge will be two lanes in each direction, with dual left turn lanes and a dedicated right turn lane at Noble and Ben Maddox. Also, Noble will be widened to four lanes from the intersection to about where Wal-Mart is located.

“It will really improve that area,” said Ennis of the project that is being paid for with $6.4 million in stimulus dollars and a $1.4 million grant the city received.

That project will not be completed until late 2010 or early 2011, so there will be traffic disruptions in that area for most of the next year.
McAuliff

Smaller in scope, but just as significant, Ennis said extending McAuliff will greatly improve traffic circulation in the eastern end of the city.

The project is several components, including new irrigation structures in the creek and a new concrete culvert. The new road, which now dead-ends at that point, will extend over the culvert.

Another part of that project is connecting to a recharge basin for the eastside. That project is also on time and slated to be completed in January.

Mooney Intersections

Work on the two intersections that the city is improving as part of Caltrans widening of Highway 63 to Packwood Creek has been delayed by negotiations over right-a-way at one of the intersections.

The city agreed to make major improvements to Walnut and Whitendale and although that work was scheduled to begin by now, it may be late January before it begins.

The projects call for new turn lanes and signals, bus stops and lighting.
Further down the road is the city's widening of Plaza Drive from Highway 198 to Goshen Avenue.

Mangano has taken on the widening of that roadway from Crowley Avenue to Hurley Avenue, but the city is responsible from the interchange to Crowley, and then from Hurley to Goshen where the county is widening Road 80 all the way to Dinuba.
In conjunction with the city's project, Caltrans is slated to redo the interchange, making it four lanes with new on and off-ramps.

Ennis said the city's cost for the project, slated to begin late in 2010, is $25 million.

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Japanese Firm Plans
Large Solar Farm in Avenal
PG&E Drives Interest in Central Valley

By John Lindt

Kings County - Eurus Energy, a Japanese-owned company with worldwide renewable energy projects, is planning its first major utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) project near Avenal in Kings County. The 39-megawatt solar farm would be built next year on about 400 acres of farmland, according to an application for a conditional use permit filed with the Kings County Planning Department.

The renewable energy project is the latest sign of intense interest by energy entrepreneurs – many with foreign ties – who see Central California as the right place right now for these green investments.

“These are PV solar projects (not solar thermal) so they don't use any water,” said Cleantech America CEO Bill Barnes. “That makes sense for the Central Valley where we are both short on power and water.”

Besides that, Barnes emphasizes PG&E has announced it will use 500 mw of solar power produced in the Central Valley, half to be built by PG&E and 250 mw of that will be from independent developers.

Because of these factors, “I would say the Central Valley is well open for business for utility scale solar,” noted Barnes whose company is developing the first facility in this category in Mendota – set to generate power in January.

According to the Eurus Energy application – construction of the Avenal solar farm could begin in April and employ 125 during the construction process. “They've indicated at least 30 percent of the workforce will come from the Avenal area,” said county planner Jeremy Kinney.

Company exec David Thomlinson, who joined the San Diego-based American subsidiary of Eurus Energy in the past year, told the Voice he could not yet comment on the project. Eurus Energy has more than 1,600 mw of renewable power worldwide, mostly in wind energy. But the American subsidiary recently announced a push into large scale solar development here that would be added to some 250 mw of wind power projects it owns in the state.

Planner Kinney says the solar farm was filed as two side-by-side projects under two limited partnerships – one 19 mw and another 20 mw with the likelihood the company plans to sell off each. The names of the projects are Sun City and Sand Drag and will utilize elevated solar panels, some 5 feet off the ground that will follow the sun. The project is being proposed on ag land just outside the city limits of Avenal west of I-5 and the Kettleman Hills.

Oasis in the Sun

Solar appears to fit in well in Avenal where its motto is “Oasis in the Sun.” Other big solar power generation projects are planned west of the Westside foothills where Valley fog is less of a problem. Large solar projects are planned in the Carrizo Plain area south of Avenal and near Coalinga a few miles north where a hybrid plant will go solar by day and burn cow manure at night. The plant is affiliated with Chevron.
Besides the newly proposed solar arrays, the town of Avenal is awaiting a Dec. 10 California Energy Commission final decision on a much larger 600 mw gas power plant just east of I-5 but still in Avenal's sprawling 19-mile city limits. The project is expected to get the green light, meaning a big boost in property taxes for this low income community as well with 250 construction jobs beginning in April and lasting three years.

Targeting California

Solar energy projects are a hot commodity due to state mandates to increase renewable energy generation for state power users to 33 percent of utilities portfolio by 2030. Solar prospectors have been driving the back roads of the Central Valley, scouting for farmland near substations where hooking up to the grid may be easier.

With water short and crop prices depressed, farmers are more than willing to listen.
Solar deals are in the works in Corcoran and nearby with a French-backed firm, EnXco, talking to both the city and Corcoran Irrigation District about a large solar farm. One plant is under construction in Mendota in western Fresno County and at least two are in the tire kicking stage, said Kings planners near Kettleman City on the Valley side. One of those is being considered by a Chinese solar company looking to build here, said the planning department.

Cleantech America that is building the Mendota 5 mw PV unit is still working on a much larger 80 mw solar farm in Kings or Fresno county. The company was recently purchased by New Zealand-based Meridian Energy as foreign interest in renewable power in California grows.

Other foreign players potentially active in the California market are several Chinese firms, SunTech, Trina ,Yingli and ENN, partnering up with Duke Energy that has several traditional power plants in the state. A Spanish solar company, Fotowatio, has recently purchased a S.F.-based solar development firm, MMA Renewables. A number of these companies make solar panels and are now getting into the solar farm development business often with U.S. partners.

“There are a couple of companies talking to farmers about leasing ground near substations,” says Dan Vink of Lower Tule Irrigation District.

“Two companies are talking to us,” confirms Ceil Howe, owner of sprawling Westlake Farms in Kings County. “There is lots of money out there,” added Howe, noting the fact that utilities like PG&E are on the hunt too trying to find locations and fully cooperating with third parties who want to generate power – clearly a “big change” over their attitude in the past. “Now they are looking for contracts” to generate more renewable power.

It's not just the sun that is attracting all this interest. The existing grid and planned long distance transmission lines running near these projects should be making connections to the statewide power grid less expensive than some proposed projects in the desert of California where all new transmission infrastructures will need to be built.

Environmental and political opposition to some large desert solar projects appears to be making the mid-state and Central Valley more attractive for renewable energy development where future supply is short and power can easily be moved either north or south. Solar developers seek land that is already “disturbed” grazing or farm land to overcome objections that more wilderness land will be impacted. Recently, one large Carrizo Plain solar project was dropped by its developer C Aursa V due to environmental opposition.

Not to be left out, existing power producers like GWF are both expanding their Kings gas-fired plants next year and taking a good look at solar. The two plants will become cleaner burning “combined-cycle” plants adding 25 mw each in Hanford and next to NAS Lemoore and are considering adding solar arrays nearby as well. Each is close to power substations.

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Study of Hanford HSR Station
Picks Up Steam
Proposed Route Follows Hwy 43 North of Corcoran

By John Lindt

California - Representatives with the California High Speed Rail Authority have been meeting with city officials in Kings County in recent weeks, showing them a new proposed alignment for the California High Speed Rail line that would offer a site east of Hanford to be the rail station for Tulare and Kings counties.

Hanford City Manager Gary Misenheimer says he met recently with CHSR Regional Manager Carrie Bowen who promised to attend a Dec. 1 city council study session to gauge support for a Hanford stop likely near Highways 198 and 43.

Station No Sure Thing

“That location makes a lot of sense” said Misenheimer expecting the council will support the idea for the location sandwiched between two highways and adjacent to another rail line.

In recent weeks, Visalia learned it is out of the running for a station stop and that a decision had been made at an Oct. 13 Sacramento meeting that pared alternative station stops and rail alignments down to just this one in the two-county area.

That still leaves the question whether the Authority will allow a local station at all – far from a sure thing. “I would guess we have just a few months” before that decision is made, says Tulare County Association of Governments (TCAG) Director Ted Smalley. The issue came up at the TCAG meeting last week and Smalley said he is promising Tulare County's full cooperation to lobby and plan for the station with neighboring Kings County.

Ironically, the city of Hanford had let it be known that it wasn't excited about having the 220 mph trains barreling through the city. Lobbying for the bullet train station had been pretty much a Tulare County affair – until now.

To accommodate city wishes, the CHSRA has now offered a proposed alignment that runs on the current BNSF line north from Kern County into the southwest corner of Tulare County tentatively veering to miss Allensworth State Park. It veers east of Corcoran in Kings County, running along the Highway 43 alignment for over 20 miles (see map) as it swings around Hanford's east side. The route then rejoins the existing BNSF line around Laton as it approaches Fresno.

Misenheimer reasons a new regional rail station belongs not right in town but on the outskirts near the crossroads of major highways and the rail line that connects to Tulare County – the Cross Valley Rail line.

“We need to study the (proposed) location of this over the next few months” says Misenheimer who, after over 20 years with the city, plans to retire next May. “We need to look at whether we want homes and businesses built nearby a station” or plan a simple station and tie it to other transportation hubs like downtown's Amtrak station.

“This isn't just the city of Hanford's decision. We need the communities and counties, elected officials and the COGs from both counties collectively to make sense of this,” says Misenheimer.

Once there is a long-term commitment to move forward, “we will tackle the land use issues,” he says. The site for the proposed station is outside the city's planning boundary and would need to be incorporated into the city's long-range general plan set to begin an update in 2011.

Misenheimer also pointed out rail officials told him that financing for station development would likely require some local public/private partnerships.
The city manager said Kings County should also be in the running for a proposed high speed rail heavy maintenance station in the planning stage in the Central Valley – a 160-acre project that carries the promise of 1,500 permanent jobs.

The CHSR Authority is looking for written expressions of interest by January for this maintenance mega-project. Kings EDC Director John Lehn says they are tracking the project and hope that the area can surface a competitive bid to land it. Politically more powerful Fresno and Merced each believe they have the inside track to land the plum.

While some may look to the Hanford Industrial Park for the heavy maintenance station where the BNSF track runs anyway – the decision to relocate the high speed alignment to the east starting around Corcoran means the Hanford industrial area will be several miles away from the main track, notes Misenheimer. An obvious candidate right in town might be the old Beacon Oil site, now also miles away from the new tentative high speed route.

CHSR officials advised Corcoran in recent weeks they hope to minimize noise impacts of the trains by relocating the track east of town. The preliminary map shows a similar bypass around Wasco and Allensworth.

Visalia's Long Shot

After years of lobbying, Visalia officials were of course disappointed when they were told a few weeks ago that the alternative routes that would have veered east to allow a station near 99 and 198 were out. Visalia's Assistant City Manager Mike Olmos had been told Fresno had objected to the alignment that would have meant new track through Fresno farmland rather than sticking to the current BNSF line well west of 99.

The UP line along 99 was never in serious consideration for lack of cooperation from Union Pacific, even though it was closer to the population centers of Tulare County.

Back in the 1870s, Visalia was bypassed by the SP (now UP) but a few years later, Visalia investors built a connecting line out to meet the SP so the eastside had some access to the rest of the state. Now history may repeat itself in the next few years as Tulare County seeks to link to the CHSR.

Despite its disappointment, Tulare County strongly supports the Hanford station, says Smalley, seeing the likelihood downtown Visalia will be connected by bus and rail in the future to the new station. “We need to be aggressive if this is going to happen.”

Just how the 220 mph trains will affect Amtrak has not been discussed much but it isn't clear whether anyone would take the Amtrak to the same locations that HSR runs when it comes right down to it. Nobody has said it out loud but the much faster trains on new elevated track could put an end to Amtrak in the Valley, leaving the new owner of BNSF – Warren Buffett – more leeway to run its profitable freight business on the old track.

For local supporters – there isn't much time to cogitate over all this. With up to $8 billion in federal funding likely in January to match the $9 billion approved a year ago by California voters, the Authority is under the gun to finish the time-consuming environmental work on the alignment and then the decisions will come fast. The 100-mile test track will be built in the Central Valley – the first track to be laid to test the technology at high speeds.

Connections Are Key

One report suggests the proposed Hanford station has the least dense population nearby of any of the state's proposed stations. Only if the station is linked to Tulare County's big population centers – Sequoia/Kings Canyon, southern Fresno, and NAS Lemoore and the rest of Kings County – do the numbers look like there will be enough ridership. Those that argue high speed rail can't stop at too many stations and still be high speed are partially right. Only a handful of the 237 trains a day would make the stop in Hanford while the express trains would not.

With only one member of the state decision-making Authority from the Valley – Fran Florez – getting the ear of this body as it rushes to meet a construction schedule set to begin in 2011-12 won't be easy.

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Kohl's Destined for Porterville

Porterville -Porterville City Council members were expected to approve a plan that will pave the way for Kohl's to take over the former Mervyn's site on Henderson Avenue in that city.

And in Hanford, Kohl's is reportedly eyeing the old Mervyn's site at the Hanford Mall.

John Lollis, Porterville city manager, said the council was to take up the matter Tuesday night for approval. The final details were worked out during a special meeting of the council last week.

According to Lollis, the plan calls for the city to put up $2.7 million – the value of the land and improvements, to Henderson Prospect Partners, the developers of the shopping center, to make the lease attractive to Kohl's.

If all goes as planned, Kohl's could take possession of the building in January and open by the fall of 2010.

“It is essentially a partnership,” said Lollis of the plan that would have the developers pay the city interest only for 10 years when the principle would be due. Lollis said the interest would amount to about $50,000 a year to the city.

“Interest being paid is more than what's being paid in the market,” he said of the approximately $500,000 the city will make on the interest over the 10 years.

Kohl's began in 1962 when Max Kohl opened the first Kohl's Department Store in Brookfield, Wis. Today, it operates 1,022 stores in 49 states with more than 118,000 employees. Kohl's has opened a number of stores this year alone, many of them in former Mervyn's stores.

The Porterville Mervyn's store was part of that company's bankruptcy last year. That store opened in 1991.

Lollis is excited about Kohl's coming to Porterville, and is especially excited to see the city fill the vacant Mervyn's store. That store is one of two anchors to the center. Target recently demolished its store on the southern end of that center, rebuilt it and opened it late last year. The center is also home to several smaller stores, including Maurice's and Big 5 Sporting Goods.

Lollis said with Kohl's coming, it should reopen the door for Ross to open up in the same center. He said Ross was set to come to the center before Mervyn's closed, but has hesitated since the center did not have two anchors.

“It should facilitate the opening of the Ross store,” said Lollis.

He added Kohl's is planning an extensive remodel of the building – roughly $3.4 million worth of work.

Also, he expects Kohl's to add about $100,000 annually to the city's sales tax revenue, a real shot in the arm in a down economy. Plus, Kohl's should offer about 70 jobs and if Ross comes in as well, the two stores will employ about 135 people.
In Hanford, City Manager Gary Misenheimer says mall officials and representatives of Kohl's paid a visit to his office several weeks ago to inquire about steps needed to reopen the shuttered store including contacts for permit applications like signs.

“They didn't make a commitment” cautions Misenheimer – but he is hopeful a deal that would again fill the major hole in the mall may be at hand.

Sources say that an agreement is “very close” that could mean Kohl's could open by next summer at the Hanford Mall.

The former Grocery Warehouse in Porterville is owned by developer Dave Paynter who is negotiating with Ross. Ross and Kohl's are side by side in Visalia where Paynter owns a shopping center as well.

Sources say Kohl's will open in more new markets including Clovis and Sonora in 2010, often in blocks of stores to maximize publicity.

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Medical Growth Spurs Building Plans

By Rick Elkins

The continued growth in the medical community of Visalia is spurring interest in at least three new medical office projects, one that is already in the construction stage.
Architect Larry Lewis is well along in developing a large medical complex at Noble Avenue and Akers Street in Visalia, while Mill Creek Professional Center has been given exclusive rights to develop a medical complex, hotel and other projects on land bordered by Acequia, Mineral King, Stevenson and Conyer streets in downtown Visalia.

In addition, Kaweah Delta Medical Center is studying plans to build a medical complex at its West Campus at Cypress and Akers.

All of this is being fueled by the continuing expansion of Kaweah Delta Regional Medical Center, as well as growth in Family Health Care Network and the Visalia Medical Clinic.

“That demonstrates that Visalia is slowly coming around from this recession,” said Ricardo Noguera, city Housing and Economic Development director of the interest in medical complexes.

“Kaweah Delta expansion is key to this,” said developer Harvey May, one member of the team that makes up Mill Creek Professional Center. He is joined in that group by Tom Gaebe, Jody Graves and Doug Lawrence.

Two of the projects are in the same vicinity of Akers and Noble, prompting Noguera to note, “The Akers corridor is going to be big.”

However, city officials are also hopeful for the downtown project. May said they are not only looking at a multi-story medical complex, but also a hotel, other offices and maybe even a parking structure. The existing two-story office building will remain.

Kaweah Delta Healthcare District CEO Lindsay Mann said the hospital is constantly recruiting new doctors to the area and it is important for those doctors to have available office space, as well as a modern hospital with well-trained staff. He knows the long-range planning by the hospital is fueling the interest in medical complexes, including its own.

“Our plans for the future have inspired confidence,” he said.

Downtown Project

In early October, the Visalia City Council approved an agreement to sell and develop the city-owned property in west downtown Visalia. According to that agreement, the land will be developed in two or three phases.

According to the city, the first phase consists of multi-storied medical offices, totaling 45,000 square feet. Later phases may include a multi-story parking structure, a park on both sides of Mill Creek and possibly a mixed-use development which could include ground floor retail and residential space on upper floors.

May said the office will front Mineral King at Stevenson, which is now a parking lot for the police department. May said they hope to accommodate PD parking for now, with the long-term goal being a parking structure. However, the parking structure is not planned until the second or third phase.

He said the agreement will allow his group to do “their due-diligence” to see what is feasible right now, especially to find out how much demand there is for medical offices, especially what May called medical condos.

“We think most people in medical community want to own,” he said of the plans. “We're going to find out how deep that market is.” Mann agreed that doctors want to own, rather than lease space.

May said the location is ideal because it is so close to the hospital. Plans are for the city to eventually move from city hall on Acequia, possibly opening that land up for development as well in the future.

May expects their study of the market to take six to nine months.

Noble Project

Lewis has already met with the city's Site Plan Review committee and some preliminary work has been done on the property where he says they could build a four-story medical complex.

“We have 28,000 square feet with plans up to 42,000 square feet in the immediate future,” said Lewis of the project at 5215 W. Noble Ave. Lewis represents three owners, including Joe Fontana and another partner who will build his own office.
The plans include eight buildings that will be constructed in phases.

“There seems to be a need. As Kaweah Delta expands, there's more need for doctor's offices. Kaweah Delta is planning to double in size,” said Lewis.
He said work on the offices could begin as early as next year.
Hospital Study

Mann said the hospital's feasibility study should be completed next month. The hospital is looking at developing an office complex in partnership with physicians and private interest. It will be located just west of the Lifestyle Center at Cypress and Akers.

Mann expects the study will find there is plenty of demand – even for three such projects – over the next three to five years.

“That's why we're conducting a study. We're responding to interest by the medical staff,” he said, adding that initial prospects are bright.

He cited the development of a medical residency program in Visalia as one example of the need for more medical offices. KDHD is working with the University of California at Irvine to set up such a program in the near future and UC Merced is hoping to develop a medical program within three years, with it sending residency doctors to hospitals throughout the Valley, including Visalia.

Mann said in order for the hospital to recruit “top caliber” physicians it needs good facilities, the latest technologies and the best trained staff. He said Kaweah Delta is working to achieve all three.

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SECOND FRONT PAGE

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What's New

Brian Ruiz, owner of Central Cali Caregivers, the medical marijuana business that has opened in defiance of the city of Visalia's moratorium on such businesses, says he will seek an injunction to block the city from closing his business. Ruiz opened his business on East Center after the city extended its moratorium another 10 months.

Don Celillo Electric Co., Inc. has entered into escrow to purchase the Wagon Wheel Steakhouse property at 400 N. Willis St. in Visalia. Those familiar with the pending sale say plans are to remodel the building into office space. There are no plans to reopen it as a restaurant. Since October 2006, the property has been owned by San Joaquin Valley Investment Group, LLC.

The former Baker's Square restaurant (the old Lyon's) on south Mooney will no longer be an eatery. The vacant property was sold to Mainland Skate and Surf founder Fung Lee of Visalia last week who will relocate his retail store from the old Costco center. That vacates the last of the large storefronts in that distressed shopping center. Lee will remodel the 5800 sf building in front of Sequoia Mall. The transaction was handled by Teymour Farhang for the buyer and Doug Burr for the seller. Mainland Skate and Surf has corporate headquarters in Visalia, along with a warehouse in the industrial park. The fast-growing surfware retailer now has eight retail locations around the state.

The College of Sequoia's Tulare Center Phase 1 project has qualified for $285,546 in energy rebates. Based on the current design, the project will be 26.8% more energy efficient than the already stringent Title 24 standards.

Tule water interests are “frustrated” with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers decision to further delay the seismic retrofit of Success Dam another year for a “peer review” of its preliminary design. The study will cost another $500,000, says Tule watermaster Richard Schaffer. Irrigation District Manager Dan Vink says the “Corps already employed experts” to design a new embankment that will cost an estimated $500 million. The land purchases near the dam will be moving forward, however. The Corps fears that 1,500 feet of the 3,400 feet of recent alluvium could be subject to liquefaction in a maximum earthquake, Schaffer reported recently to the Tulare County Water Commission.

One fast food franchise that appears to be on the rise is Popeye's Chicken drive-thru with stores under construction in Hanford (12th and Hanford/Armona Rd.) and soon in Lemoore at Lemoore Ave. and D St.) making it likely the chain will soon enter the larger Tulare County market as well. The company offers Cajun chicken dishes including wings.

Tulare County Economic Development Corporation CEO Paul Saldana reports that more than $10,000 was committed by attendees at the EDC Annual Luncheon in response to his speech that called upon citizens to help those in need. “Individuals selected from among options to feed a family for 40 days, support improvement of 40 low income homes and feed and shelter 40 homeless. Several individuals committed to hiring the unemployed,” he reported.

Golf rounds down. Golfers at Valley Oaks Golf Course, the city-owned 27-hole golf course, played fewer rounds in the 2008-09 fiscal year. Officials reported 70,645 rounds were played this past fiscal year, compared to 77,120 the previous year and 73,153 in 2006-07. Income was off $240,000.

Local state lawmakers got mixed grades from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, with State Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter (16th District), given a failing grade by the tax watchdog group. State Sen. Roy Ashburn, R-Bakersfield (18th District), given a grade of C. In the Assembly, Connie Conway, R-Tulare, earned an A grade, while Danny Gilmore, R-Hanford, was given a B. Of the state's 120 members of the Legislature, 73 received a grade of "F" and only 29 received a grade of "A."

Champion Enterprises, Inc., parent company of Champion Homes that has a plant in Lindsay, won approval of a plan “designed to facilitate and ensure the continued and uninterrupted operation of Champion's business, as requested,” the company reported Nov. 17. Champion Enterprises, Inc., a leader in factory-built construction, announced Nov. 15 that it and its domestic operating subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

Kings County Supervisor Tony Oliveira was elected president of the California State Association of Counties at its annual meeting last month. Oliveira has served as the Association's first vice president the past year. He represents District 3 in Kings County and is currently serving his third term.

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Visalians Will Remember Pearl Harbor
Many Events Planned for Dec. 7 at WW II Memorial

By Rick Elkins

Visalia - It will be 68 years ago on Dec. 7 that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, plunging the United States into World War II.

The day that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt proclaimed as one that “would live in infamy” has kept true to the president's words. It is remembered every year and this year the remembrance has taken on added significance in Visalia.

This year's observance at the World War II memorial on South Mooney Boulevard will have three phases: 1st – Remembering the attack on Pearl Harbor; 2nd – Unveiling and dedicating the bronze statue – a Soldier's Cross; and 3rd – dedicating the stretch of Highway 63 (Mooney Blvd.) from West Visalia Parkway to Avenue 264 the “Greatest Generation Memorial Highway.”

The Visalia Veterans Committee has been busy the past six months putting together the program, along with fundraising to pay for the statue that will be dedicated to and honor Visalia's two Medal of Honor recipients from World War II – Army Pfc. Alejandro Ruiz and Army Staff Sgt. Kazuo Otani.

That ceremony took on added significance with the passing last week of Ruiz. Otani was killed in action in WWII.
“Because of the passing of Alejandro, we are going to lay a wreath at the statue in his memory,” said Jerry Guevara of the Visalia Veterans Committee. He said there will also be a 21-gun salute in Ruiz' honor.

The observance of Pearl Harbor will begin at 7:55 a.m. “The significance of that is that is the time they started bombing the Hawaiian Islands,” said Guevara.

Guest speaker for that observance will be William Dietzel, a retired Air Force sergeant. He is also the editor and publisher of Veterans magazine and organizes the annual Fresno Veteran's Day Parade.

Guevara said it is important – even after 68 years, for Americans to remember what happened on Dec. 7, 1941.
“It's a time of history we should never forget. We were very vulnerable then and we should never be again,” he said. “If we make an effort to remember the significance of that event, everything else will fall into place,” he added.

Following that will be the dedication of the statue that sits in front of the large mural honoring those who served in WW II, including Ruiz and Otani who are both are in the mural.

However, the statue is a tribute to all veterans, said Robert McNabb, committee chairman.

He explained the idea for the statue came about from the 2006 dedication of the mural. At that ceremony, they had a “Fallen Soldier's Cross” – a rifle stuck in the ground with a soldier's helmet on top and boots on the ground – in front of the mural.

“During the ceremony, different people on the committee noticed that it added to the mural,” he said.

Now, that symbol of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice in battle will be a permanent fixture of the memorial.
On the plaque, it will note that Ruiz was pinned down by machine gun fire from a camouflaged Japanese pillbox on April 28, 1945. He was still able to advance and under his own initiative he charged the pillbox. On his second attempt, he was able to neutralize it, killing all 12 enemy soldiers inside. Ruiz was awarded his Medal of Honor on June 26, 1946, by President Harry S. Truman in a ceremony at the White House.

Otani distinguished himself on July 15, 1944 near Pieve Di Santa Luce, Italy where he was mortally wounded by machine gun fire. According to Wikipedia, after killing one sniper, Otani shouted directions to his platoon and repeatedly exposed himself to the hostile fire, creating a distraction which allowed some of his men to reach cover. He then crawled to a wounded soldier who was lying in an exposed position and began rendering medical aid, but was killed by enemy fire in the process. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor by President Bill Clinton on June 21, 2000. He is only one of 21 Asian Americans who is so honored.

Sculpture Sam Pena, of Visalia, constructed the statue.

“This Fallen Soldier monument is dedicated to all the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country during World War II,” the plaque will read.

Guevara said the committee received an $18,000 grant from AMVETS to build the statue. Slated to speak during that ceremony will be Cmdr. Johnny Byrum, commander for the Department of California AMVETS, and Jim Pidgeon, president of the Service Foundation, Department of California.

Greatest Generation

Assemblywoman Connie Conway (R-Tulare) will be the guest speaker for the dedication of the highway. It was her bill that was signed by the governor designating it as the “Greatest Generation Memorial Highway.”

“The Greatest Generation Memorial Highway will serves as a tribute to local World War II veterans by recognizing their important involvement in Europe and in the Pacific during the war,” noted Conway.

“It is vital we recognize the contributions and service of our World War II veterans,” she said in announcing passage of her bill. “The Greatest Generation Memorial Highway will honor our local World War II Veterans who fought so bravely to maintain our freedom.”

Wrap Up

As a finale to the day's events, the Veterans group will sponsor The Best of The Best Holiday Concert at the Fox Theater.

The program, which will feature the choirs of El Diamante, Golden West, Redwood, Mt. Whitney and Central Valley Christian as well as the men's choir from COS, will begin at 7 p.m. with the doors opening at 6.

“This is the only program that we will sell tickets for,” noted Guevara, adding that all the money raised will be divided evenly among the choirs to bolster their music programs.

Cost is $ 5 per person. Each choir will perform independently and then all will gather on stage for a final combined performance.