The Visalia City Council and the Visalia Planning Commission held a joint meeting on February 3 at the Convention Center to update the city council members about major planning issues. Josh McDonnell, city planner, presented an update on the increase in building permits, progress on the general plan and the city’s sign ordinance that, after […]
In the suit against Tulare County Animal Control (TCAC), the county has decided to demand a jury trial. Paul Grenseman and Julia Jimenez filed suit in Tulare County Superior Court against five Tulare County employees on November 10, 2014. The plaintiffs are suing the county for discrimination, racial/ethnic and sexual harassment, failure to prevent discrimination […]
By the time she got a letter on January 21 warning her of possible fraud at her credit union, Carol Blackwell’s account had already been robbed of $1,900. “I thought it might be my fault,” Blackwell said. However, she wasn’t the only victim. At least two other Educational Employees Credit Union (EECU) customers have reported […]
What started as a display show for local farmers in a quiet little agricultural community in 1968 has grown for nearly 50 years to become the largest agricultural show in the world. And, with its 1,500 exhibitors and 100,000 visitors, it has come to mean so much not only to the agricultural community, but to […]
The Visalia Police Department (VPD) made a presentation to the Visalia City Council on January 20 about its plan to outfit officers with body cameras. The VPD will be starting the process with an internal research committee to look into the many complicated issues surrounding body cams. The research committee will investigate sources of funding […]
The California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) held its official ground breaking for the High-Speed Rail (HSR) on January 6 in downtown Fresno. The ceremony took place at the site of the future Fresno train station, located on the corner of Tulare and G streets. The Authority is building 520 miles of track connecting San Francisco […]
On January 5, the Visalia City Council voted to allow council members to appeal planning commission decisions that involve project maps. The vote reverses a 2010 ordinance prohibiting council members from appealing those decisions. Council members Amy Shuklian, Warren Gubbler, and Greg Collins voted to remove the restrictions, while Mayor Steve Nelsen and member Bob […]
A family pet named Clyde, embroiled in a vicious dog case, was recently stolen from Tulare County Animal Control (TCAC). “Sometime during the evening of January 4, or morning of January 5, someone cut the fences at the adjacent building and then broke into the Animal Control facility. They cut into the dog’s kennel, took […]
At the January 5 City Council meeting, the council approved the submission of a letter to the Department of Transportation (DOT) in support of a change of air service proposed by SeaPort Airlines, Visalia’s sole air carrier. The change, replacing Oakland with Sacramento (SMF) as a destination for 12 weekly roundtrips from Visalia’s Municipal Airport, […]
It will take about 11 trillion gallons of water (42 cubic kilometers) — about 1.5 times the maximum volume of the largest U.S. reservoir — to recover from California’s continuing drought, according to a new analysis of NASA satellite data. The finding was part of a sobering update on the state’s drought made possible by […]