Habit Burger Execs Get List of Ideas
for New Eatery
Visalia - Buoyed by promises that mementos of legendary Mearle's Drive Inn will be forged into the design of the proposed Habit Burger Grill, a local group of Mearle's supporters has sent a list of their suggestions to Habit executives.
The suggestions include encouraging Habit to retain two neon-highlighted ice cream milkshakes signs as well as the so-called 'eyebrow awning' around the building.
Mearle supporters are also suggesting that the new operators have a jukebox inside and use Mearle's original exterior paint color.
During a site plan review session with city officials earlier this month, Habit officials vowed to retain in their design at least some imagery from the 70-year-old iconic Mooney Boulevard eatery. Included in the initial plans unveiled at that meeting were a Mearle's photo gallery, a scale model replica of Mearle's on display inside the new Habit Burger Grill and a series of exterior murals featuring images of the old Mearle's.
In their attempt to meet historic preservation requirements, Habit officials will sit down with Visalia's Historical Preservation Advisory Committee (HPAC), possibly as soon as Dec. 8, to further outline those plans.
The historic designation of the Mearle's site was granted to Visalia Heritage Inc. with help from Friends of Mearle's after the property was sold at auction in order to prohibit demolition of the famed restaurant across from the College of the Sequoias.
Winning HPAC approval would be a major step toward fast tracking the resurrection of the Mearle's site.
Terry Ommen, who sent the list of suggestions to Habit Burger Grill CEO Russ Bendel, said the company's top official indicated the ideas were being sent to the company's design and engineering staff.
When Habit Burger Grill officials signed a lease agreement with Mearle's property owners, HK, Inc., the restaurant chain announced plans to incorporate the building into its new restaurant.
Habit Burger Grill has 31 restaurants in California and is in the process of expanding. The closest restaurant to Visalia is in Fresno. Six others are located in the Sacramento area. The rest are in Southern California, where the company was founded more than 40 years ago.
Bendel told the Voice that the style and motif of Mearle's fits well with his company's image, adding that Habit would not take a “cookie cutter” approach to its Visalia design.
The letter from the Mearle's support group makes reference to Bendel's statement, calling it “ understandable and appropriate” since the Mearle's building represents a “streamline moderne” style built in 1940 for what was then a growing “car culture.”
It also states, “The building's unique style really does call for a special treatment that fits its unique place in history. There are very few buildings like it still in existence anywhere.”
The letter, drafted by Ommen, states the local group's promise to not inundate the company with comments while standing “ready to help you preserve that Mearle's 'feeling' anyway we can.”
Meanwhile, Bendel told the Voice the company's design team has been in contact with at least one Visalia area muralist regarding plans for a mural running along most of the exterior of the refurbished eatery.
The neon Mearle's sign at the top of the building might prove to be a sticking point in efforts to win HPAC approval if, as some believe, the sign is considered to have historic preservation status.
The sign is not original to the building but has been there since 1962.
Former owner Mearle Heitzman bought the business in 1961 but waited a year before putting his name on it.
“Not only is the Mearle's sign very recognizable, we believe it is considered part of the building under the historic preservation element and as such is protected,” the support group's letter states.
Erased Nearly One Million Sq. Ft. of 'Eyesores' Last Year
Visalia - Graffiti pops up around the city like mushrooms – and for a variety of reasons. For some, it's a threatening way to mark territory; for others, it's a less menacing expression of “art.” But for most Visalians, graffiti is an unpleasant, daily eyesore.
For Ray Palomino, supervisor of the city's Graffiti Abatement Program, covering up the graffiti helps make the city a friendlier place.
“We are not just cleaning up graffiti,” he said. “We are cleaning up the surrounding area as well.”
The City of Visalia first established a Graffiti Abatement Program in 1999. During its first years in operation, the program was administered by the Fire Department. In 2006, the program was transferred to the Parks and Recreation department and earlier this year, the expanding operation was transferred again to the city's Building Division.
For purposes of administration, the program separates Visalia into two areas, which are called Division One and Division Two and are divided by Highway 198.
As calls come into the program's hotline service daily, Program Coordinator Nancy Cunha organizes how the requests will be handled and then sends four part-time removal workers out to tackle the cleanup.
“We try and balance out the entire city because we can't do it all at once,” Cunha said.
Restoring the graffiti-damaged area to its original state is just one of their goals. The workers also are looking to remove graffiti whenever and wherever they come across it as well.
During the 2009-10 fiscal year, the city's graffiti abatement program received 3,210 calls along with additional police requests for removal, and 2,766 work orders were generated.
During FY 2009-10, a total of 903,500 square feet of graffiti was removed by city employees compared to 577,643 square feet during the previous fiscal year.
Much of the graffiti removal -- 682,972 square feet - was done city-wide; 220,547 square feet of graffiti was removed from city parks alone.
The city's graffiti fighters are not only tackling walls sprayed with graffiti but also streets, street signs, light poles, fences, sidewalks, trees and even rocks – all the while taking before and after digital pictures for later use – and criminal prosecution when appropriate.
Even though the team has no way of stopping the graffiti from occurring, they are still doing everything they can to help prevent it, Palomino said.
“It's a tedious job and it's very repetitive,” he added.
While the removal workers face graffiti seven days a week, they also face safety concerns. One reason being, they use high pressure equipment to remove graffiti from tough surfaces. Other resources include chemicals, a sand blasting machine and a pressure washer which is mounted on their truck.
“I think we are very successful in what we do,” Cunha said.
Currently the turn-around time for reported graffiti to be erased is within 48 hours; in some situations, removal occurs within 24 hours.
In addition to graffiti removal within the city, Cunha also works closely with commercial property owners to encourage them to clean up graffiti from their property.
Many other community and city groups help monitor and reduce graffiti around Visalia. These include: City of Visalia Code Enforcement; Traffic Division; Public Works; Police and Fire Departments; VUSD; and the Tulare County Volunteer Graffiti Abatement Program – which also sends out a team of 15 community members that help remove graffiti on a volunteer basis.
To learn more about the city's anti-graffiti efforts -- or to report graffiti -- call Cunha at 713-4354.
Visalia - Supervisor
Steve Worthley has won what appears to be a 109-vote victory
over challenger Brian Rouch, county election officials announced
Monday.
Worthley, a three-term incumbent who had already declared
victory late last week, said after hearing the news: “I
am so grateful to all of the people who came together on
my behalf. With such a small margin of victory – just
a little more than one percent – had we not done absolutely
everything we could during the campaign to bring out our
supporters, the result could have gone the other way.”
According to final tabulations,
of the more than 10,400 votes cast Nov. 2 in the District
4 race, Worthley received 50.34 percent to Rouch's 49.30
percent.
Even with the razor-thin margin, election officials are
not required to conduct a recount and will certify the final
results this week.
As this issue of the Voice goes to press, Rouch has yet to concede or say if he will ask for a recount – a process that would take several days and cost the candidate an estimated $3900 a day to conduct, according to Registrar of Voters Rita Woodard.
Visalia - Venida Packing Company, an Exeter based treefruit and kiwifruit packing operation, was rubbing shoulders with the likes of Apple Inc, Union Pacific Railroad and Alameda Municipal Power this week at the 2010 Governor's Environmental and Economic Leadership Awards (GEELA) in Davis.
GEELA, California's most prestigious environmental honor, recognizes individuals, organizations and business that have demonstrated exceptional leadership for voluntary achievements in conserving California's resources and protecting and enhancing the environment.
Venida received the award from Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for the company's installation of a state-of-the-art Solar Power Generation field that fulfills Venida's large packing and cold storage operations' power needs. The award received was in the Climate Change Category, which judges nominee's innovations based on such factors as reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, mitigation of the adverse effects of climate change on public health and natural resources, and economic and business-related benefits.
Venida's eight-acre solar installation was completed in April of 2010 and is designed to cover 100 percent of the company's annual power consumption.
The $3.2 million dollar project is comprised of 112 dual-axis trackers that produce enough energy to power up to 70 single family homes. The solar trackers, manufactured by PV Trackers in Bend, Oregon, were chosen because of their high efficiency design that allows less panels, equipment and space to garner the needed power generation to meet the Venida's needs.
“This will reduce CO2 emissions by over 50,000 tons during the life of the project. Our existing recycling programs coupled with this solar installation give Venida Packing a well rounded program to help reduce our environmental footprint," said Chris Tantau, Venida operations manager. The anticipated payback of the project is expected in less than 10 years because of federal and state rebate programs.
“In addition to the added cost savings over the life of the project, it is nice to be honored for Venida's efforts in lowering our carbon footprint and promoting green energy in our rural area,” Tantau added.
The solar project installation is remotely controlled and monitored and can be accessed via web-based applications. Real time data is tracked to monitor efficiency, accumulated power generation and to troubleshoot issues that may arise.
The actual web page “dashboard” can be accessed at; http://live.deckmonitoring.com/?id=venida_packing .
The three-month installation of the project was performed by Roseville-based Granite Bay Energy Group.
Torigian Once Faced Down Hell's Angels
Porterville - When Chuck McMillan became Porterville's chief of police in 2006, he found a bundle of old photographs in one of the drawers of his new desk. The pictures went back more than fifty years and included one shot of officers posing with former chief Fran Torigian. The old snapshots inspired Chief McMillan. “I had them framed and hung them on my office wall,” he said. “Guys like Fran Torigian helped build this department.”
The only person in Porterville police department history to serve as chief three different times, Fran Torigian's life story could be titled 'Local Boy Makes Good.’
The son of Armenian immigrants, Torigian was born in Fowler in 1923 but grew up in Porterville and was a star athlete at Porterville High. He served in the Army during World War II, fighting in the Battle of the Bulge and returning home after the war, enrolled at Porterville College and went on to study at Cal Poly before earning a degree in education from San Jose State.
In 1948, Torigian returned to Porterville and accepted what he intended to be a summer job with the police department. But he quickly discovered that his education and athleticism were a good fit with the demands of police work and he began working his way up the ranks.
One day while walking the beat as a patrol officer, he met his future wife, Geraldine, in a coffee shop on Main Street and together, the couple raised four children.
Torigian served as chief of police three separate times between 1953 and 1976, and is credited with helping to modernize Porterville's police force.
One story from his tenure as chief is legendary: In 1962, a group of Hell's Angels roared into Porterville, assembling en masse in the middle of Main Street. Hearing reports of trouble come over the radio, Torigian left his office and confronted the bikers at the intersection of Olive and Main.
Shirley Gemmell, Torigian's secretary at the time, said she remembers the day like it was yesterday. “These bikers were some tough, tough guys and they refused to back down,” Gemmell said. “So the chief called in the fire department and had the bikers hosed down. Those motorcycles just went flying,” Gemmell recalled.
“I remember it vividly,” said Torigian's son, Fran Jr., who lives today in Florida. “My mother gathered the family together that day and said 'there's been an incident with a motorcycle gang and your father won't be coming home for dinner tonight.' The next day, there were calls from newspapers around the country. LIFE magazine ran a story -- 'Small-town chief faces down Hell's Angels.'”
During his tenure as chief, Torigian maintained a high-profile around town: He loved to play golf and tennis and was an original member of the board of directors of Porterville's PAAR Center, a drug and alcohol recovery program. He taught a night class in criminology at Porterville College and served as director of the Tulare County YMCA. He also chaired several statewide peace officer associations.
A heart condition ultimately forced Torigian's retirement in 1976. And although he died in 1994, his legacy continues to have a direct impact on local lives via an endowed scholarship awarded in his memory every year to a criminal justice student at Porterville College.
Suzanne Symens, PC's Torigian scholar in 2009, is a 51-year-old single mother studying to be a criminal investigator. Melissa Rabaca, the current Torigian scholarship recipient, plans to transfer to Fresno State and pursue a Master's Degree in criminology. She also wants to be a CSI.
Fran Torigian Jr. described his father's energy and compassion as “boundless. He was a true humanitarian,” Torigian Jr. said. “Dad would do anything he possibly could to help someone out.”
“Franny was very social and had a lot of friends,” said Gemmell, who first worked for Torigian when he was a captain. “When he died, people came out in droves [to his funeral].”
Gemmell recalled how Torigian liked to entertain rank and file officers at his home and said he made great strides in polishing the department's public image. One of his efforts to bolster the PD's relationship with the community led Torigian to hire Bob Perez as the department's first 'human relations' officer.
Perez was still in college at the time and Torigian had watched him grow up alongside his own kids. “The chief got a message to me while I was in the middle of a class at Cal State Bakersfield,” Perez said. “At first, I wasn't interested. But the chief could be very persuasive.” Perez remembers Torigian as “a no-nonsense guy” who “didn't tolerate corruption of any kind” among officers. “He was a 'do your job and do it right at all times' kind of a guy,” said Perez. “But if you did your job, you always knew the chief had your back.”
Perez still works for the Porterville PD as the department's liaison to local schools. He is the last direct link on the department staff to the Torigian era and called his former boss one of his heroes.
“He really made something of himself,” Perez said. “I'm very proud to have worked for Fran Torigian. Porterville is a better place today because of him.”
SECOND FRONT PAGE
What's New
*Unemployment in Tulare County remains well above both state and national averages. Countywide, according to the Employment Development Department, the official unemployment rate last month was 15.9 percent, up one-tenth of a percentage point from August. In October 2009 unemployment was running at 15.3 percent. Statewide, the unemployment rate last month was 12.4 percent. The national average in October was 9.6 percent.
*Following the lead of other cities around the Valley, Visalia will solicit proposals from companies seeking to lease city land for a solar farm. City officials see the plan as a way to increase revenue and have identified two potential sites where a solar farm could be located: Basin 4, a 160-acre ponding basin located near Caldwell and Road 48 just west of the Water Conservation Plant and an 80-acre area of percolation ponds at the Water Conservation Plant. The Basin 4 site was recently annexed into the city and city staff believes installation of solar panels at the site would have no negative impact on the usefulness of the basin. Porterville and Firebaugh have recently begun reaping revenues from leasing land for solar-power generating facilities and Visalia Public Works Director Andrew Benelli said a solar farm on city land in Visalia was consistent with the city's long-standing commitment to developing renewable energy resources. “We've already been contacted by several solar firms looking for sites in basins and close to substations or major power lines,” Benelli said. Early next year, his department will issue an RFP – request for proposals – “and if we get suitable interest,” Benelli added, “we'll go back to the council in three to four months with a recommendation for award.”
*The city council has renewed the lease on 233 acres at the Visalia Municipal Airport that Visalia farmer Eric Shuklian has worked for the past 13 years. The new lease runs five years at a rate of $25,182 per year. In addition to generating revenue for the airport, Airport Manager Mario Cifuentez said leasing airport land for farming eliminates the need to spend money on mowing or weed control. Shuklian grows alfalfa and cotton in the fields adjacent to the facility's runways and Cifuentez reports that he's been an excellent steward of the property. “Mr. Shuklian has greatly improved the land during his tenure, turning what had been unproductive land into farmable ground.” At their most recent meeting, city councilors approved the terms of the new lease on a 4-0 vote, with Vice-mayor Amy Shuklian, who is Eric Shuklian's brother, abstaining from the vote. In 1997, after the previous tenant declared bankruptcy and abandoned the property, Eric Shuklian was the only person to respond to the city's advertisement for a new tenant farmer at the airport.
*Congressman Jim Costa made a play for additional high-speed rail funds late last week, requesting that the Obama Administration redirect unused federal high-speed rail funding to California. Costa's request follows news that some incoming governors, including those in Ohio and Wisconsin, have rejected federal funding for their state's high-speed rail projects. “Several states have recently announced their intention to cancel their high-speed rail plans,” said Costa. “These unused funds should go to California's project, which will create jobs, improve air quality and spur economic growth. Our state's high-speed rail project is a reality and additional federal investment will bring us closer to breaking ground.” Costa made his request in a letter addressed to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Federal Railroad Administration Administrator Joe Szabo. The letter was also signed by the Co-Chairs of the California High-Speed Rail Caucus and other members of the California delegation.
By Miles Shuper
Visalia - Tulare County's largest independently owned real estate firm and RE/MAX Visalia have merged. The new company, RE/MAX All Estates, unites two long-time real estate powerhouses.
With the real estate industry mired in a severe national slump, the merger of two local leaders is part of what some see as a trend.
RE/MAX All Estates will operate from 4840 W. Mineral King. The All Estates building at 1736 S. Central, built by All Estates founders Dick and Judy Stirton, who started the company in 1978, will be leased or sold.
Ed Evans, broker/owner of RE/MAX Visalia, said: “The opportunity to have All Estates as a partner is very exciting. We've always respected All Estates as a strong competitor. Now the combination of our experience and expertise with theirs will create the most productive real estate team in Visalia.”
The management team of both companies will
be unchanged, Evans said.
Robert Lee, general manager of All Estates, said business
will continue at the All Estate office until January. “I'm
excited” to have the opportunity to be part of “two
great companies coming to together as one,” Lee said
this week.
Both companies have been among the industry leaders and recognized several times by the Visalia Association of Realtors and other industry organizations.
Judy Stirton was named Realtor of the Year in 1982 by the Visalia organization. Her company was the first office to use lock boxes on houses for sale, the first to have its own multiple listing service and the first to have its own real estate magazine.
Evans was named Realtor of the Year in 1997 and Re/Max twice named him broker/owner of the year in the California-Hawaii region.
Rick Yohn, vice president of the RE/Max California-Hawaii region, said “this partnership is a joining of two very strong companies into one great company.”
Evans said the uniting of RE/MAX and All Estates allows an even wider array of real estate expertise and services with the combined talents of each company.
Evans admits that the housing slump was the prime factor leading to the merging of the two companies.
“Several years ago this would not have been considered,” he said, but “it makes good economic sense today.”
Evans said he can foresee up to 1,000 transactions in 2011 as the result of the merging of the two companies.
In 2009 All Estates closed 465 transactions totaling more than $74 million in sales, which represents a market share of 9.54 percent in Visalia and 5.55 percent in Tulare County.
Bill Jordan, co-owner of Century 21 Jordan Link Co., the largest realtor in Tulare County, agrees that merging of two companies makes good economic sense.
Operating with one office cuts overhead and having a larger sales force can greatly enhance a company's ability to compete in today's challenging economic climate, he said.
Jordan said he recalls when the Stirtons came to town and started All Estates and when Evans began the RE/MAX franchise. Jordan, whose 120-agent company operates offices in Visalia and Tulare and in 2009 completed 1,346 transactions, said a friendly competition has been maintained for many years between the companies.
By Miles Shuper
Tulare County - They aren't trying to sell the Brooklyn Bridge or anything like that, but those in the market for some raw land, much of it in smaller, irregular shapes, might want to take note: Tulare County is offering to sell some of its surplus land.
There have been exceptions, such as the sale of vacant land to the City of Dinuba for $1.45 million and the property interest rights in Springville at Sequoia Dawn which went to the Tulare County Housing Authority for $1.24 million, but the majority of surplus county real estate is in much smaller and less expensive packages.
Last month County Supervisors approved an ordinance authorizing the county's purchasing agent to dispose of real property valued at less than $25,000 in a faster, less complicated manner.
The rule change became effective this month. It also came at a time when the county is acquiring property as part of major road projects, especially the widening of Road 80 between Visalia and Dinuba and Road 108 linking Visalia and Tulare.
Hal Cypert, the county's general services manager, said when the county needs to purchase a right of way for a road project, many times only a small portion of a landowner's property is needed.
“What happens,” Cypert explained, “is that a few property owners have opted for the county to do a full take of their property if we were wiping out their house by taking the majority of their land to make the road improvements. So the county ends up having to purchase an entire parcel.”
In some cases the county ends up with a parcel that can measure 30 feet wide by several hundred feet long.
After the road or project is completed, county officials will look at such a site to determine if it fits zoning requirements, can be developed or may be saleable to an adjacent property owner, said Britt Fussel, assistant RMA director.
But the majority of county surplus land is spread throughout the county and not connected to recent road project acquisitions.
The only building listed as surplus is the former Dinuba Municipal Courthouse. County and Dinuba officials are continuing to seek State Proposition 84 funds to be used to create a park and community center at that site, said Dinuba City Manager Ed Todd.
But anyone seeking a deal on a large piece of county-owned surplus real estate would be hard pressed to find it.
There are 31 vacant lots totaling 49.25 acres between Earlimart and Alpaugh, five acres along the Balch Park Road, eight acres in Kennedy Meadows, which the Bureau of Land Management has expressed interest in acquiring, and 37.51 acres near Waukena.
Earlier this month Supervisors were scheduled to open sealed bids for the Waukena acreage, referred to as the Haywood property, but no bids were received. The minimum bid was set at $184,500. That bid process was initiated due to new interest expressed in the land which the county had purchased in 1994.
The county bought that land and then received a state grant to clean up the parcel, which had been used as an illegal dumpsite for farm equipment, appliances, concrete, wood, asphalt, tires and general refuse.
In late 1995, the county declared the cleaned up site as surplus property, put it up for sale but received no bids.
Cypert said a decision has yet to be made on what new direction, if any, the county will pursue on that land.
Visalia - The City of Visalia unveiled a new program this week designed to help both struggling homebuilders and qualifying buyers of new homes.
The city is partnering with five homebuilders who are making available 25 new, market-rate homes for a limited time only to eligible home buyers.
Participating homebuilders are: SMEE Builders, Hughes Development Company, McMillin Homes, Sam Sciacca/Mike Fistolera Homebuilders, and Vaccaro Homes. The homes are located at the following subdivisions:
• Olde Arbour & Eagle Creek, located at Cameron Avenue and Vintage;
• Oaks @ Ashley Grove, located at Mooney Boulevard and Wren near Riggin;
• Riverbend Village, at Wren and Riverbend Court;
• Luisi Acres, at Giddings and Ferguson, and;
• Pinkham Ranch, at Pinkham & Seeger.
This is the first time a new home buyers program has been offered in Visalia.
Mayor Bob Link and other city officials made the announcement Monday at a special event held at Olde Arbour Homes, located at Cameron and Vintage.
Under terms of the new program, first-time home buyers -- or those who have not owned a home in the last three years -- may be eligible to receive as much as $20,000 toward the purchase a new home with a maximum purchase price of $200,000.
A Home Buyers Education Fair will be held on Saturday, Dec. 11, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Visalia Convention Center, 303 E. Acequia Ave. Refreshments will be served.
For more information, call City of Visalia Housing Specialist Rhonda Haynes at 713-4460 or visit the City of Visalia's website at www.ci.visalia.ca.us.
The above stories are the property of The Valley Voice Newspaper and may not be reprinted without explicit permission in writing from the publisher.
November 25, 2010
