On July 31 Assemblyman Devon Mathis kept a crowd of about 50 constituents waiting nearly 20 minutes after the scheduled 5pm start of his town hall meeting. With good reason. After waiting roadside for nearly three hours, having suffered a tire blowout near Selma, Mathis finally got a ride from the CHP to make the […]
Depending upon with whom you talk, e-cigarettes are very safe or very dangerous. That debate broke out at the Tulare County Board of Supervisors July 21 meeting with the discussion of an ordinance change on smoking. An e-cigarette is a device run on batteries that lights up at the end to look like a real […]
Before settling in to hear from representatives of local agencies pulling for the construction of the California High-Speed Rail (HSR) project, the Hanford City Council got an earful of local opinion on the matter from both sides. The HSR project includes a 27-mile stretch through Kings County and has met with some vocal resistance locally, […]
Six months ago, SeaPort Airlines started daily service from Visalia to Sacramento and Burbank. The results have been very good with many flights full or near capacity. Some locals have actually had trouble getting tickets for their preferred flights. “It’s an interesting problem to have,” said Mario Cifuentez, Visalia airport manager. SeaPort flies four flights […]
Lester Snow’s recent editorial, “Drought Serves as Wake-up Call for Major Changes” (Sacramento Bee, July 11), invites renewed focus on “improved urban water conservation.” California statutes mandate re-use of tertiary treated wastewater by urban communities within their jurisdictions. Re-use of tertiary treated wastewater from de-centralized treatment facilities for purposes that do not require potable water […]
At the July 21 Tulare County Board of Supervisor’s meeting, Papich Asphalt Plant in Goshen received its final approval. A special use permit was approved to allow Papich to make and sell asphalt and rock products. An appeal of the permit, submitted by Houston Wells, president of Glen Wells Construction Firm, was denied, and the […]
The City of Visalia is in the beginning stages of forming a Ground Water Sustainability Agency (GSA) with the City of Tulare and Tulare Irrigation District (TID). The first stage includes forming a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) to set the groundwork for the three entities to join together in a GSA. The Visalia City council […]
Visalia city council voted unanimously to send out a Request for Proposal (RRP) to hotel developers in order to promote properties close to the convention center. This action was prompted by three unsolicited expressions of interests from developers to build a down town hotel in the last six months. In February, the Visalia City Council […]
The Tulare County Board of Supervisors (BOS) was briefed at their July 28 meeting on the new Animal Control Ordinance. The new ordinance has to go through a second reading on August 11 before it becomes final. The proposed changes, voted 5-0 in favor by the board, affect only residents in unincorporated areas of the […]
The Tulare County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to form a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) to ensure the Valley gets the funds to build Temperance Flat Dam. In November of last year, a $7.5 billion water bond was approved to repair the state’s aging water infrastructure. Of that money, $2.7 billion was allocated toward building […]