COS Student Isis Frausto-Vicencio Wins Prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship

College of the Sequoias sophomore Isis Frausto-Vicencio received the news last week that she is a recipient of the Jack Kent Cooke scholarship. The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation awards these transfer scholarships to a small group of the top community college students across the nation who are seeking to complete their bachelor’s degrees. This year, […]

Farmers Offered Funding to Help Nesting Tricolored Blackbirds in Their Fields

Farmers who have tricolored blackbirds nesting in their fields may be eligible for financial assistance from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to delay harvesting and allow the birds 35 days to fledge their young. Interested producers have until May 2 to apply for this funding. “This is a unique approach but one that has […]

Breathometer, Fathers Against Drunk Driving Partner Up

“We have partnered with Breathometer, Inc., makers of the industry’s first smartphone-based breathalyzer,” announced Robert Ybarra of Fathers Against Drunk Driving (FADD), the national organization he founded in Tulare County. “They have created a mobile app, and a hi-tech device that transforms a smartphone into a portable, digital alcohol breathalyzer in seconds.” Breathometer made a […]

Peter Carey Receives National Award for Housing and Community Development

The National NeighborWorks Association announced that Peter Carey, CEO of Self-Help Enterprises based in Visalia, is among the winners of its 10th Annual Excellence Awards. The awards, presented annually to outstanding practitioners in the field of housing and community development, were announced at the Annual NeighborWorks Executive Directors Presentation. Carey won the Richard Stallings Lifetime […]

Visalia Group Conducts Second Successful TNR

Two weeks ago, the Visalia Feral Cat Coalition (VFCC) conducted its second successful sweep, trapping and neutering ten cats. The property owner, Mindy (whose surname we will not disclose to prevent others from abandoning cats at her property) was especially happy because she had been attempting to trap and neuter on her own. “When you […]

City Finally Takes Action on Drought

On Monday night, the Visalia City Council voted three-to-two in order to enforce Stage Four of the Water Conservation Ordinance. Mayor Steve Nelsen voted no out of frustration that the city council was now into its eighth week of talking about the drought without taking any action. “The citizens of Visalia understand the severity of […]

New Allegations Made Against Sheriff’s Department

This month, letters were sent to Acting Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux, the California Department of Justice and Fair Practices Commission, Tulare County Counsel Kathleen Bales-Lange, the Tulare County Board of Supervisors and County Administrative Officer Jean Rousseau, Tulare County Human Resources Department Director Rhonda Sjostrom, Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward, and the Tulare […]