Valley Voice Issue 1 (6 June, 2013)

Valley Regains Voice After an 18-month hiatus, we are proud to announce the inaugural edition of the new Valley Voice. We will be offering a monthly paper while staff and logistics coalesce. In September, the Valley Voice will appear twice per month. You can expect the same in-depth local coverage that was the previous paper’s hallmark, reporting

Volume XXXIII No. 1 • 6 June, 2013

on such issues as politics, business, agriculture and water. Furthermore, we have modernized the Voice’s look. What you are holding in your hands is a newspaper changed to meet the emerging 21st Century. Welcome!

www.ourvalleyvoice.com

208 W. Main St., Ste. E • Visalia, CA

Rep. Nunes Welcomes Back The Valley Voice CATHERINE DOE When asked, “Where do you get your local news?” Congressman Devin Nunes replied, “I always loved reading the Valley Voice.” As a result, he was enthusiastic about helping launch the newspaper’s inaugural issue with a one-on-one interview.

The Friant Kern Canal, as seen from Rocky Hill. Photo by: Jordon Dean

Will the BDCP be the Death of the Delta?

CATHERINE DOE The Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP), discussed at some length during Rep. Devin Nunes’ interview, is not your garden-variety disagreement between Republicans and Democrats.

In fact, the issue does not cut through party lines, nor is it completely regional. For very different reasons, Rep. Nunes’ opposition to the BDCP has found him in league with liberal Bay Area activists--the same activists he describes as environmental extremists.

Half of the BDCP, that is not subject to the water bond on the November ballot, are two massive water tunnels, 40 feet in diameter and 35 miles long. The intake system for the tunnels will siphon off 9000 cubic square feet of water per second and flow 150 feet underground.

The tunnels would be tall enough to

comfortably fit an adult giraffe, wide enough for three freeway lanes, and carry enough water to serve 35,000 homes a day. The theory is that the tunnels will be a more efficient and environmentally friendly way to transport water south of the delta to Los Angeles and Central Valley farmers. The intake system will be located above the delta and have better screens so that massive fish kills would be averted. The older pumps would still be used, but not to the same extent.

The tunnels have been compared to another controversial conveyance system, the Peripheral Canal, that Californians voted down in 1982. Unlike the Peripheral Canal, the tunnels do not need voter approval.

Devin Nunes at his office.

the folks I work for at Ronald Reagan’s funeral is something I’ll never forget.”

Nunes counts former vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan as one of his best friends. “The guy has a lot of skill and is totally dedicated. He is an outside-of-the-box thinker.” When presented with the question “Who could beat Hillary?,” he looked slightly

Continued on p. 13 »

Proposed Fox Marquee Promises Fireworks

STEVE PASTIS

Continued on p. 14 »

Valley Cities Offer Business Incentives DAVID MARSH Cities of the Central Valley both large and small are struggling to find ways to bring businesses, jobs and prosperity back to their communities. High unemployment rates and a persistently sluggish economy are forcing these mostly cash-strapped cities to look for new ways to jump start local economic growth, put people back to work and bring much needed tax revenue into their city’s coffers.

Devin Nunes was elected to Congress when he was only 30 years old, and even after ten years in Washington still retains his boyish good looks.

In its 2010 list of “40 under 40, Time named Rep. Nunes one of the rising stars of American politics. He is one of the Valley’s most senior members of Congress, representing California’s 22nd district, which includes most of Tulare County and parts of Fresno County.

It’s not breaking news that Nunes votes as a no-nonsense fiscal conservative. “My most memorable time in Congress was when I represented my constituents at the funeral of Ronald Reagan,” he said. “He was such an historical figure for our country, and to represent

Elected officials from city to city disagree on just exactly what is the best course of action to take. As a result, while some cities are offering a wide variety of incentive packages designed to lure builders, retailers and manufacturers, other cities are inclined to hang on to their dwindling resources and wait to see if a slowly but steadily recovering economy will bring with it expansion and growth.

Continued on p. 6 »

The proposed Visalia Fox marquee. Concept illustration by Wagner Electric Sign Co.

The Visalia Fox Theatre will soon greet downtown visitors with an animated electronic sign on its marquee – if the theater’s staff and key supporters have their way.

The proposed sign would increase Fox ticket sales by advertising upcoming events. The use of LED lighting would dramatically lower the theater’s energy costs from its current sign lighting. The animated sign provides a way for the Fox to recognize its sponsors.

The electronic signs would replace the ones at the south and east sides of the building. So far, $78,500 has been raised toward the $90,000 proposed project, according to finishthefox.com.

Not everyone is happy about the idea, however. Concerns have been raised about the sign’s impact on downtown Visalia and on the dramatic changes to the city’s most recognizable historic landmark.

So far, the issue has only been brought to the city council informally

Continued on p. 14 »

2 • Valley Voice

6 June, 2013 FROM THE PUBLISHER’S DESK

A Noose Around the News Mainstream media, reduced at least to the level of local newspapers, has placed a noose around the neck of our news. Rather than opening a vast panorama of choice, in the same vein as the Internet, local newspapers often constrict our news horizon. Consider the national web of smaller, corporate-owned papers: apart from sports, many lift news stories, and often truncate them, from either the wire or a company home office source. Your hometown paper, in other words, might be entirely from someplace else.

Recently, for example, the 105-year-old Porterville Recorder was sold to the privately owned Rhode Island Suburban Newspapers, Inc. for an undisclosed sum.

The previous owner, Santa Ana-based Freedom Communications, also purchased Arizona’s Yuma Sun. Even more so than McClatchy’s 30 dailies and Gannett’s combination of at least 1,090 weekly and daily newspapers, these smaller transactions should bring into sharper focus the question not only of who owns the hometown paper, but how its reporting is conducted, and under what editorial slant. How do you get the local angle on any story if you cannot first trust that your newspaper is locally owned?

Never has this been writ quite so large as the brothers Charles and David Koch, billionaire industrialists and famous Libertarians, new interest in purchasing the Tribune Company’s eight regional newspapers, including The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Baltimore Sun, The Orlando Sentinel and The Hartford Courant. The papers, valued at approximately $623 million, would be pocket change for Koch Industries, a private company with annual revenues of roughly $115 billion.

Politically speaking, these newspapers could serve to broaden the voice of the Kochs’ laissez-faire ideology. The Los Angeles Times is the fourth-largest paper in the country, Chicago’s Tribune is the ninth, and others are in battleground states. Included in the deal is Fort Lauderdale’s Sun Sentinel, which, with the Orlando daily, are two of Florida’s largest newspapers. In the past few election cycles Florida has been perhaps the most fought-over battleground state. Further, the Kochs’ purchase could include Hoy, the second-largest Spanish-language daily that is influential among the key Hispanic demographic.

Charles and David Koch’s lifelong ambition is to diminish the size of government; their private company, Koch Industries, is dedicated to the proposition that all Libertarian causes are created equally. Think of the financing of policy think tanks such as the Cato Institute in Washington, and the creation of Americans for Prosperity, a political action group that helped ignite the Tea Party. Koch Industries has denied any direct tie to the Tea Party. But this isn’t about any particular people or their party affiliations: this is about hometown news being taken out of hometown hands.

In politically liberal Los Angeles, at least, this could be a hard sell. Should Angelenos have to contend with what might amount to a foreign newspaper? What begins to emerge is not so much a newspaper fitting its community, which might be reduced to the serendipitous, but the spread of ideology as background noise in key places and demographics all over the country. This is how, in cities and small towns, influence is sown so as to make the grass root seem homegrown. This is how, beholden to outside interests, local news finds its neck in a noose.

I am proud to say that the Valley Voice will grind no axe other than the factual, and that it will use this tool to sever the noose. Both my wife and I own this newspaper. She was born in Tulare County. We have raised children here. These pages will contain what I expect my friends, children and their friends demand: the Local Truth.

— Joseph Oldenbourg

The Valley Voice is your newspaper Published by The Valley Voice, LLC.

Publisher/Editor: Joseph Oldenbourg joseph@ourvalleyvoice.com Associate Editor/Sales: Steve Pastis (steve@ourvalleyvoice.com) Staff: Catherine Doe, writer (catherine@ourvalleyvoice.com)

Jordon Dean, photographer (jordon@ourvalleyvoice.com)

Tony Maldonado, webmaster (tony@ourvalleyvoice.com)

David Marsh, writer (david@ourvalleyvoice.com) Contact us & share your opinion www.ourvalleyvoice.com 208 W. Main St., Ste. E • Visalia, CA 93291

Welcome Back, Valley Voice!

Warren Gubler

VISALIA CITY COUNCIL MEMBER

6 June, 2013

Visalia Budget Balanced for First Time in Five Years CATHERINE DOE

Because of increased sales tax revenue, the city will not only balance its budget for the first time in five years, but will have a surplus of $1.83 million.

Sales tax revenues are ahead of projections by $2,315,500. The department of administrative services is forecasting a total of $24.1 million in tax revenues in the year ending June 30, 2013. This surpasses the city’s pre-recession peak of $23.2 million. The growth in sales tax is being driven by several factors. The city has experienced better than expected auto sales and general improvement in retail sales. There has also been a jump in the Industrial Park sales tax revenue from existing and new businesses.

The city council must now decide how to allocate this surplus.

The department of administrative services has seven suggestions that attempt to repair the damages caused by the recession. For the last five years, the city balanced its budget by cutting all funding to capital improvements and through salary and staff cuts. In the meantime, the General Fund Emergency Reserve reached a dangerously low level.

During the last four years, the emergency fund declined to $1.3 million from

a high of $15 million in 2009. It is recommended that a city the size of Visalia have an emergency fund of $5 million.

Recommendations presented by staff to the city council Monday night included: depositing $900,000 in the city’s General Fund Emergency Reserve; providing a $400,000 allowance in next year’s budget for General Fund salary increases; appropriating $417,830 in General Fund capital projects; and increasing the total budget of the waste water, solid waste and related storm water funds by $1,092,500.

The staff also proposed budgeting measures that would restore the General Fund Emergency Reserve to $5 million by fiscal year 2014.

City Council Member Warren Gubler said in response to the staff’s budget presentation, “I’m asking that this information be shared with the Blue Ribbon Tax Force Committee at their next meeting. I think these numbers are indicative of an improving economy locally, and should be in the mix when considering whether to impose another sales tax increase on local citizens. If these projections hold up, and the residential real estate market continues to improve,

Visalians Debate Sales Tax CATHERINE DOE A blue ribbon task force appointed by the Visalia City Council is investigating the possibility of raising the city’s sales tax. If the task force finds Visalia has a definite need for additional revenue, the council might put it on the ballot for the November election.

The task force will recommend whether Visalia should raise its sales tax by a quarter cent, half cent or not at all. If they decide a sales tax increase is in order, they then need to recommend how the extra revenue will be allocated.

To help make their decision, the group of 50 civic-minded members have asked for, and been inundated with, information from the city staff. By taking city tours and pouring over budgets and surveys, the blue ribbon task force will be well informed to make the best recommendation possible to the city council.

When asked when enough is enough concerning all the information requested by the committee, Harold Myers replied, “The people in this room have a real responsibility to Visalia. We are asking people to pony up $10 million.”

Three more meetings remain before the task force will make a decision. They meet every Tuesday evening and will present their recommendations to the council on July 1st at the council’s regularly scheduled meeting.

Visalians have voted for sales tax increases in the past. In 2004, they voted for Measure T, a quarter-cent tax to improve public safety. In 2006, Tulare County voted for a half-cent sales tax to improve our transportation infrastructure.

Both measures have brought in millions of dollars and improved the quality of life for Visalians. When cities do tax themselves they get a huge bang for their buck. A quarter-cent tax provides $40 per year per person at only a cost of $26. That is because 40% of Visalia’s sales taxes are paid for by non-Visalians.

It is projected that a quarter-cent tax would bring in $5 million a year and a half-cent tax would bring in $10 million.

During a financial presentation

by Renee Nagel, the assistant financial

Continued on p. 6 »

Visalia should be coming out of tough budgetary times, calling into question the need for another sales tax increase.”

Councilman Steve Nelsen wanted to know when the city was going to replace the head of its economic development department. An economic developer ensures that Visalia doesn’t miss out on opportunities to attract high quality industries and businesses, thus increasing the city’s tax base.

Steve Solomon, Visalia’s city manager, responded that staff was going to come back in six months for its mid-year report with a proposal to hire an economic developer. Solomon emphasized that it’s still very hard to tell how the economy will go.

“Sacramento is not helping us and Washington, D.C., is dysfunctional,” he said. “This is a time to be cautious.

In good years, we spent a million every year on capital improvements. In the last few years, we had to eliminate it.”

The staff recommended that the city council study these suggestions and adopt the new budget at their June 17th council meeting.

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4 • Valley Voice

Visalia Prepares to Sue State for $3 Million

STEVE PASTIS

The Visalia City Council has authorized filing of a lawsuit against the state of California, according to Alex Peltzer, city attorney. The action, if necessary, would be to reclaim redevelopment agency funds that came directly from the city treasury.

“We loaned it to ourselves for our redevelopment fund,” said Visalia Mayor Amy Shuklian. “There is $3 million which in any other case would be paid back to a bank.”

The state of California, after eliminating all city redevelopment agencies and replacing them with a successor agency to help channel their money back to Sacramento, is apparently planning to keep the money.

It was a common practice for Visalia and other cities across the state to loan money to their redevelopment agencies to avoid the interest of bank loans. Projects such as the parking structure at Visalia Mall were funded by this method.

There are currently 50 lawsuits filed by California cities to reclaim money loaned to their respective redevelopment agencies. Visalia’s situation is unique, however. It is the only city where money was loaned to a redevelopment agency but none of it was spent.

“It’s just cash sitting there,” Peltzer said. “The state is not allowing repayment back to the city. That’s the difference. It’s just a transfer of money from the city to the state.”

Shuklian and other city officials met recently with State Senator Jean Fuller (Bakersfield) and State Assembly Member Connie Conway to seek their help in resolving this issue.

“We wanted to see if they could make a phone call for us,” she said.

“They probably did but it didn’t help.”

“The successor agency now has control of the money and is telling the state what it wants to do with it,” said Peltzer, who added that even if the successor agency wants to return the money to the city, the state can say no.

“If we want to sue, we will sue the successor agency,” he said.

The city is currently pursuing two courses of action, according to Peltzer. He said that the city is appealing to the California Department of Finance to get it to reconsider. A decision is due in 30-60 days, but Peltzer doesn’t expect it to be favorable.

“They’ve told us what their decision is going to be and it’s not returning money to the city,” he said.

Manufacturer Considers Visalia Relocation DAVID MARSH Visalia city officials have confirmed that they have engaged in preliminary discussions with a manufacturing firm from the Inland Empire that is seeking to relocate in the area.

Although it’s much too early to know whether the firm, which would employ around 40 people, will choose Visalia’s industrial park from among several sites they are considering, but representatives of the firm have been in negotiations with landowners in the industrial park.

The lead regarding the firms plans to relocate came to city officials through the Tulare County Economic Development Corporation.

6 June, 2013

Vendors Avoid Fee Increase

CATHERINE DOE

Tulare County Supervisors got an earful during their meeting on May 21. More than a dozen food vendors and community event planners expressed their frustration with the Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA), complaining about a new fee schedule put into effect January 1st.

HHSA enacted a new schedule of fees for food vendors and beefed up their health inspections. Though some fees went down, a few key ones have driven some food vendors away from participating in community events, threatening the existence of traditional pancake breakfasts. Supervisor Allen Ishida expressed concern about the inspectors’ demeanor, suggesting they could have conducted themselves more professionally.

At issue is a change from vendors paying one annual fee to paying a fee for every event. Adam Davis, owner of the Doughnut Factory, usually attends five or six events a month.

The new fee structure has raised his costs from $326 a year to $3,600 a year. “That’s quite a jump and I decided not to go to some events,” he said.

“Now we struggle to get vendors when they have to pay just to participate,” said John Harmon, who helps organize the Tulare Downtown Association’s Tuesday Street Fair. “They will take into consideration how many people are going to show up.

But for any new event like ours, vendors aren’t going to think it’s worth it.”

“The new fees scare vendors away from participating so vendors don’t show up, then the community doesn’t show up, and the event fails,” said Manuel Ortiz of the Tulare Chamber of Commerce.

“If I’m on the borderline about going to an event, I won’t go if I have to pay,” said Davis.

Sandy Blankenship, executive director of the Exeter Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber is having trouble finding vendors for its annual Fourth of July festival at Exeter City Park.

“Some of these events will go away and the community will suffer,” she added.

Virginia Gurrola, mayor of Porterville, pointed out that many of these vendors are entrepreneurs who get their start in business at these events.

After their initial success, they establish a brick-and-mortar business and contribute to the local tax base. She said the new fees could be job-killers.

According to Alan Landon of All Fired Up, a pizza vendor, the change came when HHSA started reviewing the California Health and Safety Code to make sure Tulare County was in compliance. HHSA asked county supervisors for advice was directed to look into “location-based fees,” but it was explained to Landon that the California Health Code gave counties local control over such fees.

County Administrative Officer Jean Rousseau expressed concern for what small community events and vendors were experiencing. “I apologize for all the confusion,” he said. “The last thing the county wants to do is create a burden for non-profits or small businesses.”

“I do not want Tulare County fees to prevent individuals or vendors from participating in community functions nor force them to raise their prices to a level that is cost prohibitive for Tulare County residents,” said Supervisor Pete Vander Poel.

Timothy Lutz, HHSA Fiscal Operations manager, had been listening to the vendors’ concerns for the last two weeks. He came prepared. Expressing his appreciation for the public’s feedback, he proposed that the county suspend the new fee structure and return to the old rules in effect before January 1st.

A motion to suspend the new fees was passed unanimously. The board of supervisors also decided to take the time needed, even if it required several months, to write a fee schedule that would keep food vendors in business while safeguarding the public. Moreover, HHSA was asked to review how other counties set up their fee structures.

“I don’t ever want Tulare County to be at the top of any fee schedule for anything,” said Vander Poel.

“Tulare County HHSA looks forward to a fair and equitable process along with a collaborative dialogue with community stakeholders as we examine fee structure options,” wrote Lutz the following day. “HHSA’s Environmental Health is also dedicated

Continued on p. 10 »

6 June, 2013

Valley Voice • 5

The Sequoia Medical Center is expected to be completed by July 2014.

Medical Office Condos Under Construction in West Visalia STEVE PASTIS

Construction has started on the Sequoia Medical Center, a 52,000-squarefoot, two-story medical office building at the southeast corner of Cypress Avenue and Akers Street in Visalia. Completion is expected by July 1, 2014.

The building will be home to a variety of specialty medical groups, including Orthopaedic Associates Medical Clinic, Inc., and South Valley Vascular Associates, Inc., and two divisions of the Kaweah Delta Health Care District: Therapy Specialists and Hand Therapy Specialists. In addition, Sequoia Prompt Care will locate its second site in the building.

The project, which will complete

Kaweah Delta’s west campus, is on land leased by the district for 99 years to the project developers, State Center Properties.

“Kaweah Delta is not an owner of this building,” explained Mike Williams, Kaweah Delta’s director of facilities and planning. “Eventually, the property will be owned by the condominium association.”

“This gives tenants the opportunity to own their offices,” said general contractor Paul Quiring of Quiring General, LLC, of Fresno, who commented on the public-private partnership that made the project possible. “This is unusual.

It’s especially unusual on leased land.”

“This building gives physicians a

chance to expand,” said architect Anthony Pings of Anthony Pings and Associates. “It’s good for the hospital, it’s good for physicians and it’s good for patients.”

“This type of project will bring new investment into our community,” said Glenn Morris, Visalia Chamber of Commerce president/CEO. “It will also bring jobs.”

Office condos are rare in Visalia. Pings estimated that the last one was built more than 20 years ago.

They are common in Fresno, however.

“The whole team was very comfortable with coming into the community with this project,” said Gary D. Quisenberry, senior vice president of commer-

cial and business banking at Central Valley Community Bank, which provided funding. “We’ve done several office condos in Fresno and the medical condo projects have always been successful.”

Established in 1963, Kaweah Delta Health Care District celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2013. Kaweah Delta is a 581-bed district and the only level III trauma center serving Tulare and Kings counties. The Sequoia Medical Center groundbreaking was held on May 23, a week after the ribbon-cutting for the Kaweah Delta helipad.

TRICIA STEVER BLATTLER Executive Director, Tulare County Farm Bureau With farmers across California reporting chronic problems in hiring enough people to tend and harvest crops, we must take action this year in Congress to reform our broken immigration system. The iron is hot right now, and it is feared that if a comprehensive immigration reform bill is not passed this year, it could take five to seven years to have the political dynamics again that could accomplish meaningful immigration reform. With crop demands shifting, international food demands growing and California’s labor demands stretching nearly 365 days a year, we have many unique needs that must be addressed in a comprehensive immigration reform bill now.

I am encouraged that our elected officials acknowledge the immigration issues that face the nation, and in particular the impacts on farmers and their employees. Immigration reform must be a top priority this year before another election cycle gears up; we cannot afford to wait any longer. Farmers struggle to hire enough domestic employees, so they rely on foreign workers willing to harvest America’s food and fiber crops.

Reform of immigration laws should secure our borders and allow immigrants who are contributing to our communities to continue work in farming.

In an online survey conducted by the California Farm Bureau last year, California farmers and ranchers described continuing problems in finding

enough people to take on-farm jobs.

Nearly two-thirds of the farmers who responded to the survey described significant problems hiring enough employees.

California’s future as the nation’s leading source of nutritious fruits and vegetables relies on a steady workforce – and immigration reform is the solution.

As a new harvest season begins, it’s important for Congress to work on a solution sooner rather than later. Our hope is that a reform package will include two key provisions. First, it must allow immigrants working in agriculture who are contributing to our communities to work in farming legally; and second, it must create a visa program for agriculture that allows foreign workers to enter the U.S. legally to work in agriculture.

With overwhelming support, the Agriculture Workforce Coalition, which California Farm Bureau and many other ag organizations are a member to, is part of an agreement to support the recently released Senate Bill 744. This bill in particular establishes a blue card program for skilled workers, which would seek to legalize over 1.3 million undocumented agriculture workers already working here, and allow them a path to citizenship; and also provide an ag worker visa program to provide for future workforce needs.

The Blue Card program basically provides that individuals here without proper documentation must pay all required taxes, have never been convicted of any felony or violent misdemeanor, and pay a $400 fine to be eligible to start the process to citizenship. These individuals must have performed at least five years of agricultural employment for at least 100 work days per year during the eight-year period from the date of enactment; or performed at least three years of agriculture work for at least 150 days per year during a five-year look back period.

For the future flow provision of this bill, an Agriculture Worker Program is the second title of the bill, and would pro-

vide a new program for portable, at will employment-based visas, or a contract visa program. The current H-2A program, which is very flawed, would sunset one year after the new visa program is in place. The new Ag Worker Program provides for a cap, which is compounded every year, and cannot exceed over 337,000 visas in any five-year period.

The bill is not perfect, but it is the best opportunity we have to make immigration reform happen this year, and it is a priority for all farm organizations throughout the U.S. As of late May, there has been significant progress made with bi-partisan bills emerging from both the Senate and House, and we are equally encouraged that several key bills are making their way thru committees on both the House and Senate side. What distinguishes this year’s effort mostly from previous efforts, such as the Immigration Reform Act of 1986, is the importance of a forward flow provision that helps agriculture attract the workforce it needs in the future with a visa program for new agricultural work-

ers. Senate Bill 744 is just one of several key bills moving forward right now, and the really important focus should be on getting both a Senate Bill and a House Bill into a Conference Committee so we can sort out the important details.

Regardless of partisanship issues, we hope that both Republicans and Democrats can find something to support in the legislation that makes its way to conference committee. We know there is no ideal piece of legislation, but we have to start with some shared objectives and find agreement in places we can. S. 744 is that vehicle right now, and agriculture needs to make sure that all of our federal representatives understand how critical this is to our livelihood here in the Valley.

I encourage you to reach out to our congressional representatives and urge their support for moving a bill to a conference committee. It is critical that we make this one of our top priorities in 2013. If not now, we have another very long road ahead and some of our most treasured employees in agriculture will be forced to continue living in the shadows.

Immigration Reform a Must Have for Valley Agriculture

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6 • Valley Voice

6 June, 2013

Business Incentives Continued from p. 1

“We couldn’t afford to wait,” said Dan Spears, manager of planning, community and economic development for the city of Sanger. “With an unemployment rate of over 27% a couple of years ago, we had to do something in order to jump start our economy.”

Sanger, a city of 26,000 located east of Fresno, offers a wide variety of fee waivers and deferments, tax incentives and a rebate on sales tax dollars paid to the city to any business willing to relocate to their city.

Spears points out that the incentive package offered by his city has helped to convince residential builders to resume building on four housing subdivisions that work had been suspended on when the recession hit.

Spears admits that the relatively modest savings that the city is able to offer to builders are not alone enough to lure builders back into the city, but he said the builders have told him that the incentive package played a significant part in their decision.

“With new homes come higher land and property values, new sales tax and an increased flow of revenue into the city.”

In addition, the unemployment rate in Sanger has dropped to around 21%.

Spears credits the city’s offer to waive development fees for new construction in the city’s downtown area for resulting in the new 54 unit office complex that recently completed construction. In addition, a new 18,000 sq. ft. health care center is also being constructed downtown.

“We’re doing new things every day,” said Spears, “and these are directly attributable to the incentives we’ve offered.” He said the city hasn’t calculated how much it has lost in waived fees or sales tax give backs, but instead is focused on what it has gained.

Visalia city officials say they have no interest in following Sanger’s lead in using fee waivers as a means of stimulating growth in the city.

“Some cities will give away the farm, but historically Visalia has not done that,” said Visalia Mayor Amy Shuklian. Shuklian pointed out that the city relies in part on the services that it provides to existing businesses as well as a well maintained infrastructure to appeal to businesses from out of the area seeking to relocate.

Visalia City Manager Steve Solomon said, “We don’t waive fees because we don’t believe that is how to attract retailers.” With over 200,000 people living within 20 minutes of town, Solomon noted, Visalia is a regional hub with a very strong market to attract the attention of major retailers.

A vibrant shopping corridor along Mooney Blvd. as well as Visalia’s revitalized downtown also make the city stand out to people or businesses wishing to relocate to the area, according to Solomon. Visalia’s current unemployment rate is around 8% and the city of over 124.000 residents usually, according to Solomon, has the lowest unemployment rate of any Central Valley city.

Since the depths of the Great Recession, Solomon said the city has filled over 800,000 sq. ft. of formerly vacant retail space, witnessing the arrival of several major retailers in the process.

He points to infrastructure main-

tenance and improvements, such as the number of road widening and bridge projects currently underway around the city, as the sorts of things that will attract new business to Visalia, as well as the speed and ease with which Visalia helps companies to make the move to the city.

“Visalia provides excellent service,” Solomon said. “We’ve also streamlined our review process to ease the way.

“The record here is that Visalia has been very successful and other cities come here to find out how we do it,” he added. “We’re not giving money away here.”

Longtime Visalia commercial real estate broker Marty Zeeb confirmed that the supply of existing vacant retail space for sale or lease within the city has been dropping significantly, but added that the local market had an abundance of available office space. Zeeb said that local real estate prices have stabilized and have even begun to move back up.

Many of California’s cash-strapped cities simply lack the economic resources necessary for putting together any sort of incentives to help make their cities more attractive to business.

Prior to 2011, many California cities had become heavily dependent upon the spending of redevelopment dollars to put together often lucrative packages of incentives intended to lure businesses to their cities. With very little state oversight as to how redevelopment money was spent by the cities, California’s cities had relatively free rein in determining what constituted a legitimate use of the money that flowed into the 425 redevelopment agencies scattered throughout the state.

Redevelopment funds were originally intended to be spent on urban renewal projects within a city, such as blighted areas or old and decaying downtowns.

But the free-spending ways of many of the state’s cities came to a sudden halt in 2011 when Gov. Jerry Brown proposed closing the agencies and diverting redevelopment funds to help close the gap in yet another of California’s chronic budget shortfalls. The state’s legislators later voted to approve the governor’s plan.

Dinuba’s Deputy City Manager Beth Nunes oversees a much more modest package of economic incentives than that of their neighbor to the north, Sanger. The city offers to waive some

fees for businesses that relocate into an existing vacant building within the city. Nunes said the city, with a population of 21,000 and an unemployment rate of just over 20%, has also worked to streamline the permitting process In addition to assisting businesses seeking information on the Tulare County Enterprise Zone.

The Dinuba City Council recently approved a plan to set aside $1 million over the next three years to accommodate new businesses by adding necessary infrastructure where none currently exists.

Exeter City Manager Randy Groom said that his city was “looking to roll out the red carpet, not the red tape,” but he noted that Exeter had no resources for offering incentives to businesses at this time.

Further to the south, Bakersfield, with 359,000 residents and an unemployment rate of just over eight percent, has no specific program in place to provide any incentives such as fee waivers, according to Community De-

velopment Director Douglas McIsaac.

“In light of the loss of redevelopment funds, we’ve had to reinvent the way we do business,” McIsaac said recently.

“But Bakersfield has always been known as a business-friendly community.”

McIsaac said that residential development in the state’s ninth largest city has begun to pick up.

The economic growth that is occurring within his community has Sanger’s Dan Spears convinced that his city has settled on the right choice to take Sanger into the future with better days ahead.

While Visalia’s Solomon and Mayor Shuklian are certain that history holds the answer. Their city has never cut or waived fees in the past during hard times, and isn’t considering doing so now.

Interestingly enough, the two cities are using entirely different approaches in order to weather tough economic times. And both are showing clear signs of economic growth.

Sales Tax Continued from p. 3

director, she informed the members that, for the first time in five years, Visalia is going to have a balanced budget. That may persuade some not to support a tax hike, but there are many vacant positions the city can’t fill in order to keep that budget balanced. For example, a much-needed economic development director would draw a salary of $150,000 a year. If Visalia had the same worker ratio as 20 years ago, the city would have 100 more workers. Also, according to Mike Olmos, assistant city manager, Visalia has reduced funding for infrastructure that supports economic development.

He stated that Visalia needs $750,000 per year for infrastructure support.

In a survey conducted last August, 60% of Visalians said they would vote yes on a half-cent sales tax increase. When deciding what services need the most money, Visalians overwhelming say that their first three priorities are public safety, jobs and water.

The survey also pointed out that, in non-presidential or gubernatorial election years, voter turnout is very low at roughly 24%. Of those people who do

vote in off-year elections, it is likely that 82% will be over 50 years old. The blue ribbon committee more than reflects the age group of likely voters. It is clear that young professionals are not going to be represented in the decision to raise taxes.

Gary Gagliolo and Janice Avila are co-chairs of the task force. Gagliolo has been very encouraged by the members’ questions and feels the city staff has given excellent presentations.

“I feel it’s going very well,” Gagliolo said. Starting in June, the task force will focus less on presentations and form breakout groups to discuss the results of a new survey and “decide if it is a go or no go.”

If the council votes to put the measure on the November ballot, city officials would have to submit the paperwork to Tulare County by August 10. To pass, the ballot measure needs to receive 50% of the vote, plus one.

Three city council seats will also be up for election in November. Those seats are currently occupied by Steve Nelson, Warren Gubler and Greg Collins.

6 June, 2013

Valley Voice • 7

Valley Voice Makes Newspaper History… Again There is much talk these days about the demise of the newspaper— technology, the argument goes, is making the print media obsolete.

Despite the obvious shift to electronic information, there are still some who value the printed word, and haven’t given up on newsprint. Catherine Doe and her husband Joseph Oldenbourg are two such people. They have boldly stepped forward and have taken over the proprietorship and publishing of the much revered Valley Voice—a newspaper that began in 1979 and then abruptly stopped in December, 2011. By rescuing the Voice, Catherine and Joseph have made history and have added their names to the long list of newspaper journalists who have for more than 150 years published a Visalia-based newspaper.

Visalia’s newspaper history has been interesting but not always pleasant. On June 25, 1859, Isaac N. Carpenter launched the Tulare County Record and Fresno Examiner in Visalia, the first newspaper in the Southern San Joaquin Valley. He owned it for about two months, and then was sold it to John Shannon and a man named Killmer. The name was quickly changed to the Visalia Weekly Delta—a name that was chosen for the fertile and water rich region around Visalia.

As the Civil War approached, the prosouth Delta openly took on a Confederate states bias and frequently was critical of President Abraham Lincoln. In response to the Delta, another newspaper called The Visalia Sun was born, and took a firm stand in support of the Union.

The two newspapers battled editorially and in 1860 Shannon and William G. Morris, who was affiliated with the Sun, took their differences to the street. The resulting gunfight cost Shannon his life.

Three years later more violence erupted involving another Visalia newspaper, the Equal Rights Expositor.

This time no one was hurt, but the printing office of this southern sympathetic newspaper was ransacked, and the printing equipment was totally destroyed by Union troops. The Expositor’s editors, Hall and Garrison, were arrested and placed in the guardhouse at nearby Camp Babbitt for treasonous reporting. After their release, they left town. In 1865, Garrison returned to Visalia and established the Tulare Times.

During the early years, other newspapers appeared in Visalia under a variety of names. Most published only a short time under names such as, Spread Eagle (1873), Iron Age (1878), Democratic Free Press (1885), San Joaquin Valley Resources (1888), Visalia Star (1891), Tulare County News (1894), Visalia Morning Courier (1905), Tulare County Press (1912), and Daily Transcript (1918.)

But the Times and Delta were different. They had a lasting quality. A form of the Times has been published since 1865 and the Delta has been present since its beginning in 1859.

In 1928 a deal was reached between, Morley Maddox, owner of the Visalia Daily Times, and Charles Whitmore, owner of the Visalia Morning Delta, and the two men merged their papers to create the Visalia Times-Delta.

The newspaper has changed hands a number of times since the merger.

William Kampe of Chicago bought it in 1944, Speidel Newspapers took over in 1948, and Gannett Co., the current owners, have published it since 1976.

In 1979 a new paper appeared in Visalia called the Valley Voice. It promised reporting on entertainment, news, views and lifestyles. According to John Lindt, one of the three partners in the venture,

they wanted “to see competition in the market” and wanted to offer alternative voices and views. He added, “In addition, I think we wanted to see coverage of business activities that went unnoticed in the region.”

The first monthly issue was published in November. John Lindt and Craig Lindaman were named as publishers and Carmel Jarvis was listed as editor. It was a 32-page tabloid with an eagle as part of the masthead. The inaugural issue listed nine staff members and the same number of contributing writers. 18,000 copies were printed. Carmel introduced the readers to the newspaper saying, “Welcome to the open pages of the Valley Voice. If it were possible I’d put a red ribbon on

every copy. A gift to Visalia with love.”

In about 1982, John bought out his

TERRY L. OMMEN

partners and became the solo owner. It is his name most closely associated with the paper. In 2005 he sold the majority of the company to a local group of investors who owed it until the Voice stopped with the December 22, 2011 issue. The sudden end stunned the community. The headline to the last issue read “Silenced” and the first sentence to the lead story told the sad news, “Visalia is losing its Voice.” George Lurie, editor and publisher, had to deliver the message. “It is with the deepest regret and sadness, especially at this time of the year, that I share with the community the disheartening news.” The 32-year old paper had become a victim of hard financial times.

For the next several months the disbelieving community waited to see if someone would take over the defunct newspaper, but no one came.

During 2012 and early 2013, there were rumors of a Valley Voice comeback, but none materialized. Finally, help came.

Catherine and Joseph decided the old established tabloid that many had given up for dead still had life.

The Visalia Delta building circa 1895. Now, Visalia has its Voice back.

8 • Valley Voice

6 June, 2013

News in Brief

STAFF REPORTS

Eric Shannon Wins Agricul- County Population Grows According to the California Departturalist of the Year The Tulare County Farm Bureau gave its most prestigious award to local farmer and developer Eric Shannon.

Shannon is a third generation farmer in Tulare County. He was chosen because of his “continuous work giving back to the community, dedication to the agriculture community and his involvement in supporting Farm Bureau’s Youth Leadership program and local scholarships,” According to the TCFB Newspaper.

“I believe in supporting local causes and California,” said Shannon. “I think Tulare County is one of the greatest places in the world and I always jump at the opportunity to support it.”

Keller – Wegley Wins TCFB Award

Keller Wegley Consulting Engineers are this year’s TCFB Agribusiness of the Year. They were chosen because of their dedicated service to the agricultural community, and their important work in advocating for farm water needs in the Valley for the past 30 years.

As reported in the Tulare County Farm Bureau Newspaper, the company has expertise in water contract negotiations, water supply transfers and exchanges, groundwater management plans, capital improvements and more.

“Our direction is dictated by our clients,” says Dennis Keller. “Our work in the firm changes from year to year based on the water conditions and what Mother Nature hands us.”

ment of Finance, Woodlake was the sixth fastest growing city in California. Although the smallest city in Tulare County, Woodlake had an increase of 3.7 percent to 7,665 residents. Tulare County’s population grew by about 1 percent last year to 455,599 residents. Visalia saw growth of 1.1 percent to reach 128,443.

Tulare grew by 0.8 percent to 61,199.

Mayor’s Monthly Office Hours Set for June 19

Visalia Mayor Amy Shuklian will hold her regular office hours on Wednesday, June 19, for Visalia residents to discuss issues of concern. Walk-ins are welcome from 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. in the large conference room at City Hall, at 707 W. Acequia Ave. Appointments from 5:15 to 6 p.m. can be scheduled in advance by contacting Gladys Ruiz at 713-4314.

Shuklian also can be reached through 713-4400, then enter 8313, or by email at ashuklian@ci.visalia.ca.us.

Odwalla Moves Corporate Operations to Dinuba

According to The Business Journal, Dinuba will reportedly host the new corporate headquarters for Odwalla Inc. of Half Moon Bay, a result of reorganization by parent company Coca Cola. The move joins Odwalla’s corporate arm with its production facility in Dinuba.

Ed Todd, Dinuba’s city manager, said he wasn’t aware of Odwalla’s decision, but he has hoped for such a move.

“It’s pretty big news for us,” Todd said.

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The Tulare Voice has returned as a weekly online journal. Frustrated that their town didn’t have its own newspaper, a group of concerned residents, including some former writers of the old Tulare Voice, has given the periodical new life.

The Tulare Voice comes out online every Wednesday.

“Any important breaking local news is put on the website immediately,” said Julie Fernandez, a staff writer.

“This publication is intended to be Tulare’s primary news and information resource. It is owned by people you know and come in contact with every day.

Together, over time, we can create a publication which truly serves our culturally diverse and agriculturally blessed community,” said Philip M. Smith, editor of the Tulare Voice.

The weekly focuses on everything Tulare--city council, school board, downtown, local organizations, street fairs, education, agriculture, healthcare, business and theater. Readers will also be updated on any state and national issues that might affect them.

If it is happening in Tulare, then it’s in the Voice.

No need to buy a subscription or look in the news stands. Just log onto www. tularevoice.com to find out the latest news in your community.

JoeAnna Todd Earns Charted Healthcare Consultant Designation JoeAnna Todd, vice president of Buckman-Mitchell Financial & Insurance Services, Inc. has earned the Chartered Healthcare Consultant (ChHC) professional designation from The American College, Bryn Mawr, PA. The ChHC program is considered the most comprehensive credential available for benefits specialists, healthcare consultants and financial advisers. Candidates for the ChHC designation must complete a minimum of six courses and 12 hours of proctored examinations, and must also meet stringent experience and ethics requirements.

Todd has been with Buckman-Mitchell since 2000.

She received her Registered Health Underwriter (RHU) JoeAnna Todd designation from The American College in 2003, and her Bachelor of Arts from Chapman University in 2004. Todd specializes in employee benefits and individual plans, which include medical, dental, life insurance and disability insurance. She lives in Visalia with her husband, Jeff, and daughter Sydney.

6 June, 2013

Valley Voice • 9

Three More Local Gun Shows Planned Visalia’s first gun show in 15 years was so well attended that three more gun shows are scheduled here this year.

Rocky Mountain Gun Shows of California, which sponsored the gun show at the Visalia Convention Center over the March 30-31 weekend, brought in vendors from all over the western United States to sell goods for the hunter and gun enthusiast. Many people gathered to pay the $12 admission fee long before the doors opened, and most seemed to have one main reason for attending.

“By 5 a.m., people were lined up around the block to be the first ones in the door when we opened at 9 a.m., but it wasn’t to buy a gun,” said a Rocky Mountain representative.

“When the doors opened, people literally ran past my table, sending my posters flying to get to the ammunition tables set up at the back of the room,” said Jenny Minihan of Asi Arms.

A nationwide ammunition shortage inspired a group sprint to that section of

the exhibit hall. An independent vendor with his own five tables stacked with ammunition sold out in the first 30 minutes. “I didn’t come prepared,” he said.

The shortage may be the result of any of several conspiracies floating around the gun-owning community and the Internet, the most popular being that the federal government is purchasing and hoarding bullets in an effort to disarm the populace. Another conspiracy is that there will be a nickel tax on each bullet, which would triple the cost of a box of ammunition. That tax rumor inflated to 10¢ per bullet at the gun show.

But these “conspiracies” have turned into self-fulfilling prophecies. Now

CATHERINE DOE

there really is an ammunition shortage.

“Walmart doesn’t sell it anymore and gun stores have run out,” explained a gun show attendee who was at the end of a five-hour line. Residents from Bakersfield to Selma arrived early to stand in line to buy boxes of the ever-decreasing comm o d i t y.

Ironically, ammunition wasn’t the only scarcity at the gun show. Precious few guns were for sale. One attendee reported only seeing one tiny handgun and it was locked in a glass showcase.

A May 11-12 gun show at the convention center was canceled

due to many vendors’ lack of stock in both arms and ammunition.

“Ever since Sandy Hook, not even the dealers can buy guns,” said Minihan, who has been creative in replacing the shortage of guns with other, more entertaining products. She now has an array of items for a zombie apocalypse party.

“I had a twenty-something couple inquiring about our zombie merchandise for their four-year-old’s birthday party, but I know it was really for them,” she said, adding that her biggest-selling item was the Obama zombie poster used for target practice. “He sells way more than the Osama Bin Laden or ex-girlfriend zombie poster,” she said.

Other items for sale at the show were magazines, bulletproof vests, stun guns and thousands of knives, hatchets and tomahawks.

Rocky Mountain Gun Shows at the Visalia Convention Center are scheduled for July 20-21, October 12-13 and December 28-29.

Townsend Farms Berries May Link to Hepatitis A Tulare County’s Health and Human Services Agency put out a notice warning Costco customers that a frozen berry product has been pulled from its shelves and those who have bought this product within the last couple of weeks should immediately discard it. Since then, the warning has extended to other stores.

California Department of Public Health (CDPH) warned consumers on May 31 not to eat Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend of frozen berries sold through Costco stores as they may be linked to a multistate outbreak of hepatitis A infections. On June 3, the Tulare County HHSA sent out another warning that this product is sold at many stores and that residents should immediately discard any of the product they might have. If residents have eaten any of this product during the last two weeks, they should talk to a health care provid-

er about getting the hepatitis A vaccine.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, “Hepatitis A vaccination can prevent illness if given within two weeks of exposure to the contaminated product. If you consumed this product in the last two weeks and have never been vaccinated, contact your health care provider to find out if you should be vaccinated. If you don’t have a health care provider (doctor), contact your health department. If you have already received the hepatitis A vaccination in the past, you are unlikely to become ill with the disease.”

To date, at least 30 cases are being investigated nationwide. In California, six confirmed illnesses in persons who consumed this product have been reported from Humboldt, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino (2), and San Diego counties.

Three of these individuals have been hos-

pitalized. No deaths have been reported.

“People who have bought this product should discard it if still found in their home,” said Dr. Ron Chapman, CDPH director and state health officer. “Anyone who has consumed this specific product in the last 14 days should contact their doctor to discuss possible hepatitis A prevention and treatment options.”

Costco has removed this product from stores and is notifying their member customers who purchased it.

CDPH will continue to work with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration on this outbreak.

Symptoms of hepatitis A virus infection include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, clay-colored bowel movements, joint pain and jaundice (a yellowing of the skin or eyes). Symptoms develop two to six weeks after

Continued on p. 10 »

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10 • Valley Voice

6 June, 2013

An Outfit to Die For Remember Kathie Lee Gifford breaking down when she saw footage of young girls working in a decrepit garment factory for slave wages? They were assembling her personal line of clothing to be sold at Walmart. Kathie Lee subsequently vowed to help put sweatshops out of business. But, 17 years later, have the dismal working conditions in poor countries improved? Experts on labor and workplace issues say no.

Case in point: the collapse of Bangladesh’s Rana Plaza garment factory killing 1,021 workers. The April 24th disaster has been described as one of the worst industrial accidents ever – in any industry, in any country. The death toll surpasses New York’s Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, which killed 146 in 1911.

It also surpassed more recent tragedies, such as a fire in a Pakistan factory that that killed 260, and one in Bangladesh that killed 112 garment workers last year.

Even the Pope has joined the debate. “This is called slave labor,” he said, on learning the average garment worker earned less than $38 a month toiling in such deadly conditions.

Seventeen years ago, Kathie Lee’s tears inspired a revolution in consumer awareness about the garment industry. Did that awareness translate into consumers getting fashionable clothing made by people who work in humane conditions for a livable wage? Did that awareness produce a demand for clothing made in the United States, where we have laws protecting our workers?

“Buy American” did become a popular slogan and an admirable goal. But

how does one go about buying American?

To find out I sent our 13-year-old daughter and our oldest son’s girlfriend shopping. I gave them $250 to buy one outfit each, but it had to be made in America. The result? After three hours, seven stores, and two pair of sore feet, they came home with one bad attitude.

“I was really bummed out. It was a really disheartening experience,” said Becca, our son’s girlfriend. “You just aren’t going to be able to go shopping in an American mall and buy American.”

Our daughter Mercedes, indignant at the plight of the downtrodden everywhere, said, “It was annoying because I wanted to buy an outfit.”

The day began auspiciously when the first store they saw at the mall was American Eagle. “Ah ha!” they thought, “can’t fool us. We will start here instead of JC Penney or Macy’s.”

Ironically, not one article of clothing in American Eagle was made in the United States. Neither could one such item be found in Arizona Original.

Plan A was to try to find clothes made in America just by reading the tags. Plan B was to ask a sales associate where the American-made lines of clothing were. After searching for 45 minutes in JC Penney, they finally asked a manager. She said she had never been asked that question but that they were probably not going to find anything there made in the USA. By the time they got to their last store, Hollister, tired and frustrated, Plan A was out the window. Becca went straight to an associate and asked

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CATHERINE DOE for anything American. The tan, blond, beautiful young sales clerk looked at Becca in disbelief, “You mean not everything in Hollister is made in the United States?” It was hard for her to believe that an American store did not carry American-made clothing. This was Twitter-worthy, but first our employee was on a mission: to find something in Hollister made in the United States. As Becca and Mercedes searched through the piles of jeans and t-shirts, the clerk ran back saying she found something made in America – perfume.

Whereas the Triangle Fire in New York was the United States’ wakeup call to improve working conditions here, perhaps Rana Plaza will be the global wake-up call. Could this be the impetus that leads to global reforms of the garment industry?

Probably not.

According to an editorial in the San Francisco Chronicle, “Consumers can play a role in pressuring companies to move. Shoppers should examine garment labels to see where they come from and ask that clothing brands explain their policies. If major brands won’t accept the need for reforms, customers should look elsewhere for fashion items.”

Yet, conscientious shoppers have few choices. The only practical way to buy ethically made clothing is to buy online.

Ethically made clothes make up only 1% of the $1 trillion global fashion industry.

Your only other option is to shop at second-hand or consignment stores. Best of luck if you don’t wear a mainstream size.

Through their diligent label read-

ing, Becca and Mercedes did find six items of clothing made in America.

“What were they like?” I asked.

“Hideous,” said our daughter.

After all this shopping with nothing to show for it, Mercedes was tired, frustrated and beyond caring where her clothes were made. She wanted something new to wear and she wanted it now.

Didn’t she care that people in poor countries risk their lives making her inexpensive, fashionable shirts and jeans?

In a word, no.

To assuage Mercedes’ disappointment at not getting a new outfit, Becca let her buy a pair of sandals at Payless. Country of origin? China. Price? $14. Final verdict? Very, very cute.

Vendors

Continued from p. 4 to providing business owners and vendors with the highest quality of service and customer care. This issue will go back to the board of supervisors on August 27th, allowing HHSA an extended amount of time to research various practices and convene stakeholder meetings with impacted food vendors.”

Landon said of the supervisors’ vote, “We feel good about it.” He will still be able to sell his popular woodfired pizzas all over the county for a one-time fee. Feeling a new confidence, he continued, “We need to band together and make a vendor’s association. We need to educate ourselves and assign ourselves an advocate.”

Breaking News

As this issue of the Valley Voice was being finished, we received the following from Congressman Devin Nunes office about a House bill he plans to sponsor this week.

“The United States needs to take greater action against drug trafficking gangs that are increasingly using America’s public lands for large-scale drug cultivation.

These activities degrade the environment and pose a growing threat to law enforcement officials as well as to every-day citizens who traverse our national parks.

Accordingly, this bill would increase the penalties for cultivating or manufacturing drugs on public lands and for associated activities.”

Hepatitis Continued from p. 9

consuming contaminated food or drink and can last from one week to several months.

Most people recover completely, but sometimes hepatitis A can lead to hospitalization and severe illness. It is very important that if you have symptoms like this you do not go to work, especially if you work in food service, health care or child care.

For more information, call the Tulare County Communicable Disease Office at 559-685-5720.

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ENTERTAINMENT

6 June, 2013

Valley Voice • 11

Local ‘Les Mis’ Production to Feature Cast of 120 When the League of Christian Actors presents “Les Miserables” in Visalia this month, the internationally acclaimed musical set in pre-revolutionary Paris will be performed by a cast of more than 150, backed by a full orchestra and surrounded by epic sets.

International opera star Edna Garabedian, artistic director of the California Opera Association, is stage director, and Debbie Janzen, former conductor of both COS and the Tulare County choruses, co-directs.

Leanna Primiani, a conductor with the National Symphony, will conduct the full orchestra.

“I am so impressed with the quality, artistry and loyalty of this theater group,” said Garabedian. “This production soars due to the exceptional dedication of the

LCA and I’m privileged to be a part of it.”

“Les Miserables” features music by Claude-Michel Schönberg and English translation by Herbert Kretzmer, and is performed by special permission from Musica.

Les Mis will be staged at the COS Theater, 915 S. Mooney Blvd., Visalia, from June 19 through June 23, starting at 7 p.m.

There will also be 2 p.m. matinees on June 22 and 23. A high energy pre-show will presented by the Jr. Company 30 minutes before the curtain rises at every show.

Tickets are $18.50 for matinees and $22.50 for evening performances, and are available at www.brownpapertickets. com or by calling 1-800-838-3006.

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David Castro Exhibition at the Cellar Door Local artist David Castro is showing his artwork in an exhibition at the Cellar Door in downtown Visalia this month.

“Bringing ’em All Home” attempts to capture the moments of spontaneity and joy that occur in life.

Included are pieces that have been shown at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Visalia’s Taste the Arts, UC Santa Cruz, the Luca Luca Holiday Show in New York, and at shows in Chicago, Miami and Sacramento.

“This is a representation of some of

the best work I created over the past five years, and I am happy that the community will be given the opportunity to see it,” Castro said.

Castro and several other local artists, students and alumni from the College of the Sequoia’s ceramics have been selected for a show titled “Transformation” at the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts in Ojai from June 8 to July 27. In addition, Castro’s miniature work will be on display at First Capital in Visalia starting in the middle of June.

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No doubt about it. The old Mt. Whitney Light and Power building in Exeter is much more fun to visit now than it was in 1915 when this photo was taken.

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12 • Valley Voice

ENTERTAINMENT

6 June, 2013

‘The Great Gatsby’ Continues to Define American Dream

HANNAH GREEN “The word Jazz in its progress toward respectability has first meant sex, then dancing, then music. It is associated with a state of nervous stimulation, not unlike that of big cities behind the lines of a war.”

F. Scott Fitzgerald F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby and coiner of the term “The Jazz Age” to describe the 1920s, also called that decade “the most expensive orgy in history.” Gatsby lambasts this orgiastic quality as a distraction from the true American Dream, and since its 1925 publication has become known, second only to Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, as the Great American Novel.

Jay Gatsby is the embodiment of commonly recognized elements of the American Dream. He is a self-starter, coming from commonplace folk, working hard, and accumulating wealth and status. He is of New Money, working the economy and social trends to his advantage while adapting the etiquette and mannerisms of one who is secure and at ease in the world. But Fitzgerald does not intend for Gatsby to glorify the obtaining of wealth. Gatsby’s greatness does not lie in his castle-like property, his blazing parties, or his lavish generosity. Gatsby’s greatness lies in the quality that allowed him to achieve his wealth, and would even if he had not become wealthy: his greatness is in his capacity to hope. The act of hoping, Fitzgerald argues, is the true American Dream.

We meet Gatsby through the novel’s narrator, Nick Carroway. Nick comes from a well-to-do family, and is working in bonds (one of the more fashionable trades of the decade). He is not successful in his job. Nick is also complacent, too comfortable in his family’s generations of social status and financial security to bother hoping for anything more, and his purpose is to observe Gatsby’s living of the Dream. In this, Fitzgerald gives the voice of the novel to those Lost Generation members who have lost their drive, their values, and their capacity to

hope. Fitzgerald gives more weight to those who are unable to live the Dream than those who are, just as the glamour of the 20s lay in those who participated in the illusions of the decade. Nick is a trustworthy narrator, however; he describes himself as an honest man, and though Gatsby is everything a member of the complacent class despises, Nick must be honest about Gatsby’s greatness even through Nick’s own distaste.

Distaste for Gatsby is a substantial component of the novel. Those coming from Old Money look down on those who have only recently acquired wealth. Those who come from poorer

Daisy five years prior to novel’s events, and loses the Old World when he loses Daisy; he loses his inheritance to a woman who comes from Old Money; he loses his life to a member of the stagnant working class. But he is sustained through his buoyancy. Though Gatsby has lost, though he was born out of favor and poor and without even the proverbial boots or bootstraps, Gatsby has sustained his concrete optimism for a wealthy life and, even more so, for Daisy’s love. Even in Gatsby’s death, Fitzgerald sustains that hope through Nick’s narration. “Tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms

backgrounds and who are socially and financially stagnant scorn Gatsby in part out of resentment and envy. Of the hundreds of those who attend Gatsby’s parties, only two come to his funeral--including Nick. The richer classes have no need for hope; the stagnant, poorer classes can’t find it. Gatsby’s hopeful nature is useless and repugnant to them, and those who encounter or seek out his company do so in order to gain from his financial success instead of from his character. Fitzgerald argues that the golden age of the 20s was a farce; the Lost Generation sought the golden calf, the materials and possessions and indulgences of life, without caring about what was real or of value. The Great Gatsby seeks to dispel this illusion, the loss of which is hard, but not without hope.

Gatsby himself is a man of loss.

He originally had a chance of entering the world of Old Money when he met

farther…. And one fine morning—“ rhapsodizes Nick, breaking off as if the reality will be too great for words, “And so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

Gatsby’s looking back into the past is eventually what kills him. Great Americans have historically been associated with manifest destiny; Americans must keep pushing onward, outward, forging new territory, always seeking, hoping, and achieving. The backward-looking habits of Gatsby are what distract him from his goal of ultimate upward mobility; had Gatsby not loved or sought Daisy after he lost her, he would have not been distracted with the carelessness, charm, and libertinism of Old Money, which is what Daisy represents. Had Gatsby not loved Daisy, he would not have abandoned his manifest destiny. In seeking Daisy, he has his hope, but has misplaced it. In the end, this is what kills him. The

Horoscope ARIES (March 21-April 19) In spite of your usual initiative, by afternoon you will find time to relax with friends.

This will backfire. While you are busy seeking connections, you can’t always anticipate what others want. Someone in your circle is tired of you. This is a good day not to answer your phone.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Grounded as you have always been, it will come as a shock to discover that a co-worker has no idea who you really are. Do not attempt to explain. Better to slip behind the scenes than be center stage

Old Money class has created the perfect scenario for the poor, working class, and complacent to destroy those who are successful in their upward mobility; those who have abandoned the American Dream are the killers of those who hope.

The latest film adaptation of this novel--staring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey McGuire, and Carey Mulligan--directed by Baz Luhrmann, plays up the traits of the 1920s that entice and satisfy both the Lost Generation and the current Millennial Generation. Known as Gen Y, or the Me Generation, what characterizes the 2000s are the values that have been surveyed and reported on: more than ever, young Americans rank wealth as a top priority in their lives, and Luhrmann takes full advantage of the opulence of the novel and its times to attract young viewers. The movie is visually stunning, with beautiful scenery, costumes, and close-ups of the staggering wealth of the country’s upper crust.

Luhrmann interposes currently popular music to fully convey the high-rolling, large-living partying of the 20s to Gen Y, and uses the glitter of the film to skilled (and thus far lucrative) effect.

Likewise, the Robert Redford film adaptation of Gatsby in 1974 takes advantage of the Baby Boomer generation.

Boomers are characterized as being one of the wealthiest generations in American history, and some of the first to expect improvement in their standard of living and the world as a whole during their lifetimes. Gatsby, as a film and as a novel, works best with those who understand the Roaring Twenties, the wealth, the excitement, and the possibility for more. But Fitzgerald does not honor the capacity for prosperity. Fitzgerald speaks to his generation and those thereafter to honor the nation’s capacity for optimism. He speaks to those who have lost the American Dream, replacing it with a golden calf, to remind the observant of the greatest American characteristic: hope.

MURPHY when a work-related project fails.

your loved ones’ weaknesses against them.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21) Your objectivity usually knows no bounds. Today will be different. What once shone as equanimity will now be shown as ignorance. It turns out you never knew what you were talking about.

A quiet tongue makes no mistakes.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Although you are adored for your zest for life, the morning will be difficult. By late afternoon you should recover your faculties. Maybe a little too much zest the night before?

CANCER (June 22-July 22) Sensitivity is your watchword. You are in touch with yourself and others. Everything will sour this afternoon. You must learn to mellow your harsh. It’s never a good idea to use

Bring this ad in before August 31, 2013 for a free Game Room Pass

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Today you throw caution to the wind. Too bad it’s a hurricane out there. Where usually so pragmatic, by afternoon you’ll be whistling past the graveyard of your best laid plans. Nobody will hear you in the howling blow.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) While normally team-oriented, today your team will trade you for someone you consider bush-league. Best to hit the shower gracefully. Tip your cap and accept it.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21) Your cosmic gift is a tremendous psychic potential. Tonight you will ask yourself: Why didn’t you see this coming?

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) It is your natural inclination to lead, but sometimes the captain steers his ship onto the shoals. Taking a chance is always part of taking control. You know this. By noon your once proud vessel will be reduced to no better than a lifeboat.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) You appreciate structure, but only to a certain point. Your sensual side threatens to bring everything down about your ears.

You can prevent this by listening to a loved one. Sometimes no really does mean no.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Your detachment is legendary.

Have your retinas examined immediately.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) Resourcefulness fills your world view, as does imagination. Like the song famously says, “Imagine no possessions.” Then you really will need to be resourceful.

6 June, 2013

Continued from Nunes, p. 1

irritated that I would bring up an election three years away. But he politely replied that he would support Ryan.

Not wanting to speculate any more about 2016, Nunes said, “We have a lot of work we have to do between now and then,” referring to the multiple challenges facing our country and our state. It’s that work ethic, and his focus on Valley issues, that got him elected to Congress four times.

Nunes thinks past mere fiscal conservatism. He also takes into consideration the feasibility of any project before him. Three of the biggest projects facing the Central Valley right now don’t pass his feasibility test: High Speed Rail (HSR), “Obamacare” and the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP).

The BDCP is a federal and state initiative aimed at restoring and protecting the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ecosystem. (See “Will the BDCP be the Death of the Delta?” article in this issue.) It also attempts to guarantee a stable water supply throughout California. Part of the BDCP includes the construction of two massive, underground, 35-mile tunnels to divert water beneath the Delta to improve delivery to Central and Southern California.

Sound crazy? So is the price: $23 to $30 billion. Part of the money would come from a water bond that is going on the ballot in November 2014; the remainder would be paid by the water contractors.

The BDCP and the water bond are relevant to the Valley because the tunnels would bring in a secure water supply to the Westlands Water district and Friant Kern Canal users. As a result, west side farmers and most southern California Republicans have praised the plan, doing fundraisers for Governor Jerry Brown and Senator Dianne Feinstein, and raising money to ensure the water bond passes.

Nunes doesn’t like the plan.

“Just because you build the tunnels doesn’t mean we can move the water,” he explained. “Why are you going to spend $30 billion on something that is going to sit like the (Tracy) pumps are sitting there now? The same thing could happen to the tunnels.”

He added that we have the capacity right now to move all the water farmers need. The problem is that the pumps at Tracy are turned off. Until the federal and state governments streamline the rules on environmental policy, neither the pumps nor the $30 billion BDCP are going to guarantee a secure water supply to Valley farmers.

The west side farmers’ support for the BDCP, as opposed to Rep. Nunes’ water legislation, HR1837, has caused tension between the two traditionally allied camps.

In the last election, west side farmers overwhelmingly supported Nunes over Democrat Otto Lee of Sunnyvale/ Clovis. But to the uninitiated in California’s water wars, it may appear – as Democrats proclaim – that Nunes is a mouthpiece for the Westlands Water District. One only needs to read snippets of the admittedly entertaining, expletive-filled email March 1 email exchange between the Westlands Water District officials and Nunes’ office to understand exactly how far apart the two sides are on water legislation.

“We put through legislation that fixes years of flawed water policy,” said

Nunes.

His bill, HR 1837, would have restored about 1.4 million acre-feet of water annually to Valley farmers who lost their supply due to environmentalists. HR 1837, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Water Reliability Act, passed the Republican-controlled House with the help of ten Democrats, including Rep. Jim Costa of Fresno. Nunes felt that this was a huge victory for the

“

Of all the issues we discussed, Obamacare gets the prize for being the most expensive. The Bay Delta Conservation Plan and the High Speed Rail combined can’t compete with the cost of Obamacare.

As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, Nunes makes policy on Medicare. His explanation of the money involved was sobering.

“Medicare is trillions of dollars in debt and at some point it is going to be $50 or $60 trillion dollars in debt. That’s bigger than the $17 trillion of our country’s acknowledged

I’ve known Devin for many years, in fact long before he was a Congressman, and I consider him a part of my extended family. He’s been in Washington, D.C., for a decade, but he has never lost sight of his roots here in the Valley. I appreciate his focus on serving the people back home who sent him to be their voice in our nation’s Capitol.

”

— Assemblywoman Connie Conway

people of California. With House passage, the bill was halfway through the legislative process, and could reasonably expect the Senate’s support. However, no lobbying effort for the bill was made by Westlands or other agricultural groups, and the Senate let the bill die.

“The agricultural groups do not hold the Senate accountable,” explained Rep. Nunes. “They are afraid of the Senate. All of the agricultural groups are afraid of upsetting the senators.

That is what I have found in my time in office and I understand why – because they threaten people. We know for a fact that senate staff, not the senators themselves, have called up water agencies and threatened them, ‘If you want our help then you are not going to support this (HR1837) legislation.’”

In normal and wet years, Nunes believes that the impressive water infrastructure developed under former Governor Pat Brown, Governor Jerry Brown’s father, while not 100 percent, is sufficient. “In drought years, some land will be idled on the west side,” but, he says, “the current water shortages are government-induced.”

The price tag and infighting over water legislation pales in comparison to that regarding California’s High Speed Rail (HSR). At $69 billion and counting, support on both the left and right has been dropping away.

Californians voted for the High Speed Rail in 2008, but when the vote came for a congressional allocation of federal money, Nunes voted against it.

Conceptually, he believes the HSR would work, but that’s where his support ends.

“Bottom line, it will be a huge waste of money because it will never be completed,” he said. “This is like nothing I’ve seen in government. They don’t even have a plan. Normally, the government has to plan things to death, but they don’t even have the specs, such as the size of the tracks, where to put the tracks, the train size, etc.”

Nunes’ sentiments are echoed up and down the state. The Contra Costa Times described the HSR as a semi-fast train to nowhere. An editorial in the Fresno Bee described it as a “high speed train to bankruptcy.”

debt.” The financial aspect alone is why the Republicans have voted to repeal Obamacare more than 35 times.

“The fatal flaw of health care is that it runs out of Washington, D.C., trying to make guys like me run health care when it should be run on the state level,” Nunes explained. “We could stay on the current program and go broke, or we could try something new that directly provides for the health care needs of the community.”

Nunes put forth his own health care bill and uses Ryan’s plan

Valley Voice • 13 as a framework. Nunes’ bill, “The Choice in Healthcare Act,” can be accessed through a link on our website.

Nunes does not fit the “party of no” stereotype that the liberal media has labeled Republicans. When he votes no on a major piece of legislation that affects the Valley, he then comes up with his own bill.

“We deal with this situation all of the time in this business, when politicians say, ‘I’m going to go do this,’ and it gets a good headline and then they do not follow up with a bill,” he said. “Something I’ve tried to do is have a plan, have ideas and put it into legislation. I will follow up with a bill.”

In addition to his Choice in Health Care Act, and his water bill HR 1837, Nunes has put forward a transportation bill that uses tax money a little more efficiently than the High Speed Rail. In 2011, he introduced H.R. 761, the “San Joaquin Valley Transportation Enhancement Act,” which would give the state of California the option to redirect federal high-speed rail funds to finance improvements to Highway 99. H.R. 761 was cosponsored by Jeff Denham and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy.

Nunes was then asked about his political aspirations.

“Earlier in my career, did I want to make a move to the Senate? Sure,” he said. “But that is not possible for Republicans in California right now. I can make a difference being on the Ways and Means Committee. I can make a difference more for California, and this area, as a senior member of the House than the very junior member of the Senate. At the end of the day, you have to do what is best for the constituents. So hopefully that’s what guides all politicians.”

14 • Valley Voice

6 June, 2013

Fox Marquee Continued from p. 1

in the form of comments made during a discussion about a comprehensive sign ordinance. Already there are strong opinions and emotions about the proposal.

“I think a lot of people in the city would like us becoming self-sufficient,” said Ryan Stillwater, house manager and talent buyer for the Visalia Fox. “Our overhead is $12,000 to $15,000 monthly and if we can recognize a sponsor, we want to be able to do that. Nobody wants their business card in a program anymore.

“It’s solely to recognize our sponsors,” he added. “And it’s only for our top sponsors.”

“It’s not for outside advertisement,” agreed Lance Martin, Fox box office manager. “It’s only a recognition for sponsors.

It won’t be utilized for ‘Get your picture taken with Santa Claus at the mall.’”

Visalia Mayor Amy Shuklian is among those against the proposed sign.

“I don’t see why an old beautiful, historic building like the Fox would put up a video display on the building,” Shuklian said. “You’re driving downtown and here’s this flashing video display. It takes away from the quaintness of downtown.”

The Visalia Fox Theatre recently sent an application to be added to the National Register of Historic Places. The state has already approved the application so “it’s already there,” according to architectural historian Chris Brewer who researched, wrote and submitted the Visalia Fox application. Shuklian, who was on the city council when it supported the Fox Theatre’s application for the National Register of Historic Places, wonders how the proposed sign might affect its eligibility.

“Had I known before they wanted to do this I would have asked if it was OK,” she said diplomatically.

Michael Kreps, an architect who

BDCP

Continued from p. 1

Governor Jerry Brown and the water contractors, including the Westlands Water District and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, are campaigning hard to get these tunnels built. Gov. Brown has promoted the tunnels as accomplishing the “co-equal goals” of restoring the Delta ecosystem and providing water supply reliability. The tunnels would be paid for by the water contractors.

But a wide variety of organizations is campaigning against the tunnels. Besides many scientists who have studied the issue, most Northern California legislators and environmentalists say that the tunnels will ultimately lead to the death of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

“It is oxymoronic to believe you can restore a river by removing water.

Construction of the tunnels will ultimately lead to more water being taken out of an ecosystem, not less, and result in the ultimate destruction of the ecosystem,” Dan Bacher stated in a recent Fish Sniffer Magazine article, “‘Death of the Delta’ coffin will go on tour”.

The article continued, “In an effort

does work for the theater and is a main supporter of the electronic sign, said the sign would “add a lively ambiance to the downtown core.” He expressed his frustration that the mayor was unsupportive.

“I’m calling her ‘Mayor No’ because she’s told me no every time I’ve asked her,” said Kreps. “She does not want the historic nature of the Fox Theatre to be compromised by essentially new technology.”

“My main concern is to maintain the historic look of the Fox,” said Visalia Vice Mayor Steve Nelsen.

“How does that fit with an electronic sign that flashes in front of it?”

He wonders how the proposed sign would affect the building’s historic designation and said that more due diligence was needed.

“Under the current sign ordinance there’s no provision for electronic signs,” he said.

“I have no particular problem with it as long as it’s done in good taste, and done in consistency with the architectural integrity of the Fox,” said Councilmember Greg Collins.

This consistency with architectural integrity is important in keeping the Fox Theatre on the historic register, according to Brewer, who explained that the sign would need to be “put up in a manner that does not detract from its original design. SHPO (the State Historic Preservation Office) would not look favorably on it if you removed the original fabric of the building.”

Brewer defined “fabric of the building” as any part of the building that is at least 50 years old, adding that any changes have to be consistent with the appearance of the building when it was approved for the historic register. The current marquee, although not the original marquee

for the building, is the one that was included in the approved application.

He stressed the importance of doing everything correctly, especially if the Visalia Fox is looking to benefit from the tax rebates provided to historic buildings by the Mills Act. He advised those at the theater to work closely with SHPO and the state architect’s office.

“You’ll have to give them plans and tell them what it’s going to look like,” he said. “It’s not complicated, unless you make it that way, but it can be tedious.”

Brewer is strongly against allowing advertising messages from sponsors on the proposed sign, however.

“I think it’s a terrible idea,” he said.

“That would cheapen the aesthetic of the property and the community. They’re talking about putting up ‘a billboard.’ You don’t do that with a historic property.”

Currently, the city prohibits signs – other than temperature or time signs – that have any flashing or animation, or use light to display images, with limited exceptions.

“Last year, there was a zoning tax amendment initiated by city staff that had allowed electronic signs in specific locations in the city,” said Josh McDonnell, Visalia City Planner, who added that those places were schools, such as Central Valley Christian School and St. Paul School, which can only use their signs to promote school events and have “zero ads from vendors.”

The Fox sign proposal may become part of a comprehensive sign ordinance update, which the city council will deal with in the near future.

“We could have that as part of it,” McDonnell said. “There’s no certainty that electronic signs are going to be considered in a comprehensive sign update,

but the direction is now that they will.

The other option is to go it themselves.”

This second option includes submitting an application to the city requesting a zoning code amendment that would allow electronic signs for all businesses in its zone; in case of the Fox Theatre, the downtown area. Other steps include presenting the proposal to the Historic Preservation Advisory Committee, the Visalia Planning Commission and the Visalia City Council. If necessary, there is a complex appeal process, according to McDonnell.

Those at the Visalia Fox aren’t happy about the fees charged to submit an application through this process.

“This is way out of line – paying $6,000 in fees,” said Kreps.

The application fees go to city staff to research the issue and provide analysis, pay for postage and newspaper advertising to notify everyone within a 300-foot radius of a proposed change, and to hold meetings about the issue, McDonnell explained.

“We lose money, quite frankly,” he added.

If the Fox is successful in its efforts, Stillwater doesn’t envision other electronic signs popping up in downtown Visalia. “I think a restaurant, boutique or salon would have a hard time raising the money to have a sign,” he said.

Stillwater wanted to make clear that the proposed sign would have no audio and would not run 24 hours a day. He also noted that the Fox Theatre in St. Louis has an electronic sign and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

“We can’t expect to operate in the same capacity as in the 1920s and survive,” Martin said. “Business has to adapt in order to survive.”

to dramatize the impact of the tunnels on the Delta, a coalition of environmentalists, fishermen and family farmers held a “Death of the Delta” funeral and press conference before a public meeting of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan began at the Woodlake Inn in Sacramento on April 4. The centerpiece of the Restore the Delta event was a coffin emblazoned with names of the victims of the project if Gov. Brown’s plan’s goes through.

They included “NorCal Water Supply,” “SF Bay Water Quality,” “Delta Smelt,” Salmon,” “Orcas,” “Port of Stockton,” “Port of Sacramento,” “Family Farms,” and a list of Delta towns and cities.”

In Tulare County support has been mixed. Supervisor Allen Ishida will present a letter or resolution to the Tulare County Board of Supervisors opposing the Water Bond and Tunnels sometime in June.

Assemblywoman Connie Conway said, “We have a saying in the Valley: ‘Agua es vida – water is life.’ Our population has doubled in the 40 years since the state’s water system was built, and yet we continue to receive less and less

water. There’s no doubt that California needs a safe, clean and reliable water system. I’m still reviewing the draft portions of the plan that have been released, but it’s imperative that all stakeholders make their voices heard, especially after October when the final draft is issued.”

Dennis Keller, of Keller & Wegley Engineering, said that not all the studies and environmental reports concerning the BDCP have been concluded.

He did say that whatever they decide, it will have a huge impact on Tulare County’s Friant Kern Canal water users. The health of the Delta is directly linked to the Madera and Friant Canals. When water is diverted out of the Delta it doesn’t just head down to the Westlands Water District and Los Angeles, but is also pumped into the Delta Mendota Canal that feeds the Friant and Madera Canals. The Friant Kern Canal presently enjoys the number one appropriations rights from the Delta.

But, Mr. Keller says, he is too busy right now getting enough water for farmers in the Kaweah Delta Watershed to read all the reports.

Kim Loeb, the Natural Resource Conservation Manager for Visalia, said, “Anything that would reduce the water going to the Friant Kern Canal, and especially the east side farmers, would have a great impact on Visalia’s ground water.

Anything that affects the Valley’s water supply has a domino effect on everyone’s resources. When deliveries to the Friant Kern Canal are normal, farmers don’t pump water, and the left over water percolates into the underground aquifer.”

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and others have proposed an alternate plan to the tunnels that include a 3,000 cubic-footper-second tunnel and 40,000 acres of habitat restoration and preservation, both of which are being studied.

The NRDC stated, “All of California would benefit from increasing water conservation, recycling and storage.

These programs must proceed regardless of what is done in the Delta. But they cannot entirely replace water supplies diverted from the Delta, which is absolutely necessary for California’s economy.”

DEADLINE FOR NEXT ISSUE: JUNE 25, 2013

BUSINESS

6 June, 2013

Valley Voice • 15

Tulare Company Invents New Tiller HELLER SCOTT Tulare-based Tillage Management, Inc., has perfected the science of tillage as embodied in its patented Optimizer™ line of one-pass tillage equipment. The company’s founder, Kevin McDonald, a farmer and inventor, and its chief executive officer, Mark Hoffman, a Stanford-educated engineer and farmer, lead a team of engineers that continually improve and expand the Optimizer line of equipment, first developed by McDonald.

“We designed the Optimizer to lower costs by creating a quality seedbed from the post-harvest stage in just one pass,” Hoffman said. “That means less fuel, less labor, less tractor maintenance and less time for tilling. Not only does this lower costs, but fewer passes also results in better crop yields thanks to less soil compaction. The Optimizer also generates less particulate matter, qualifying for the 2008 Farm Bill and allowing the farmer to meet strict environmental regulations.”

Tillage Management offers three models of the Optimizer: the 12-footwide Model 2000, the 18-foot-wide Model 2500, and the 18-foot-wide Heavy Duty Model 4000. All models are roughly 40 feet long, requiring tractor horsepower ranging from 350 to 600 HP. The variety of widths and implement options available make it possible to customize tillage for each crop, soil type and farmer, no matter how big or small. The line of equipment offered

by Tillage Management is growing to support other tillage operations as well.

“The Optimizer is a single piece of equipment designed to simplify farming

by performing all conventional tillage operations in just one pass,” Hoffman explained. “Operating at an optimal speed of five to seven mph, the Optimizer covers eight to 12 acres per hour. Fuel and labor are reduced by 50% or more, and soil compaction is significantly reduced.

Results of an Environmental Protection Agency study show dust and air pollution are reduced by an average of 50%.”

Tillage is the process of preparing soil for the raising of crops, and in its broadest sense, involves mechanical agitation of the soil. Tilling the soil helps to reduce compaction and aerate the soil, which is necessary to promote crop growth. Tilling also serves to mix any re-

compact layers, mix in plant matter left from the last harvest, and leave a smooth, level seedbed to nurture the new crop.

Tillage Management took the conventional system to an unprecedented level by combining a series of complimentary implements to complete in one pass the work that previously required four or more passes over a field. In the 40-foot frame sit discs to cut and incorporate plant matter, chisels to loosen soil in the traffic pan layer and below, reels and baskets to break up clods, and a roller to smooth the top layer, incorporating a leveling system to leave behind a flat, perfect seedbed.

A single efficient pass also allows

sidual plant matter into the soil where it can decompose, providing nutrients for the next crop and cutting down threats of disease and crop infection. Preparing a field typically takes four or more passes using different implements to break up

the farmer to complete tillage in the ideal window, optimizing the soil conditions for the new crop. The Optimizer may also be fitted with an optional air-seeder for forage crops, leaving the field both tilled and planted in a single pass. In

light of such an accomplishment, Tillage Management took significant measures to protect its groundbreaking (both literally and figuratively) technology.

Desiring to take a Silicon Valley approach to protecting its San Joaquin Valley-generated intellectual property, the company asked its local counsel to help identify the best Silicon Valley legal counsel to pursue patent protection for its new technologies.

The search resulted in identification of patent attorney Brian Bathurst of Menlo Park law firm, Carr & Ferrell, LLP. “Ironically, I travelled all the way to Menlo Park to meet Brian, who grew-up in neighboring Visalia and who is still actively connected to the area,” Hoffman said. “In fact, all of our subsequent meetings were held here in Tulare, when he was in the area.”

Bathurst, working closely with Mark Hoffman and his team, first focused on the unique experience provided by the Optimizer: generation of the perfect seedbed in only a single pass. They next identified for potential patent protection the new technologies that enabled the unique experience provided by the Optimizer.

One such technology is the modular design of the Optimizer that makes it possible to add or exchange tillage components in the field to meet a farmer’s changing needs, crops, and soil conditions. This customizable setup will help make it possible to bring Valley-grown innovation to farmers across the United States and make Optimizer a household name in effective sustainable agriculture.

Protect Yourself from Cybercrime

MICHAEL E. RIVERA, VICE PRESIDENT, VALLEY BUSINESS BANK Nearly all banks offer online banking and electronic payment systems to their customers, and there are many benefits to using this technology. Unfortunately, criminals have developed increasingly sophisticated methods of stealing money from customer accounts.

Intrusion into computer systems for criminal purposes, also known as “cybercrime”, is becoming more prevalent.

In recent years, the theft of bank deposits has become a one billion-dollar business for sophisticated “cyber-gangs” operating on a global scale. Cash losses from traditional bank robberies are now far less than digital losses attributable to cybercrime.

Cybercrime can be committed over the internet from virtually anywhere in the world, but it is a particu-

larly well-developed business in parts of Eastern Europe and Asia. Cybercriminals are adept at duping careless or unsuspecting computer users into downloading malicious software programs known as spyware onto their computers.

A common ploy is to send out an innocent looking e-mail with an attachment or website link that, if opened, will download spyware onto the recipient’s computer. The cybercriminal then uses the spyware to monitor the victim’s browsing activity and computer keystrokes. Eventually, the cybercriminal will have enough information to initiate a fraudulent transaction.

The information stolen from a computer can potentially be used for identity theft, including the ability to utilize the victim’s e-mail

account. Even worse, the stolen information could include the log in codes needed to directly access the victim’s electronic payment systems.

In recent years, Valley Business Bank has received e-mails purportedly from customers requesting transfers of funds from their accounts for what appeared to be legitimate business purposes.

Unfortunately, the customer e-mail accounts had been compromised by cybercriminals operating over the internet. After gaining access to the customer e-mail accounts, the cybercriminals used the information to put together a very convincing transaction request.

Valley Business Bank’s control processes and knowledge of our customers fortunately prevented losses from these incidents, but we are

aware of some very significant losses that have occurred in the Central Valley and across the United States as a result of cybercrime.

Of course, there is a lot more that can be said about the issues of cybercrime and identity theft. Valley Business Bank has produced a comprehensive brochure that elaborates the preventative measures listed above and how to proceed if you are a victim of cybercrime or identity theft. It is available free of charge from any Valley Business Bank branch office.

The FDIC does not insure your deposits if you are a victim of cybercrime or identity theft. With fraudulent activity on the rise, businesses and consumers have little choice but to maintain a strong awareness of these issues.

What can you do to protect yourself from cybercrime and identity theft?

Here are the basic rules: 1. Never respond to a request for personal information even if it looks official.

2. Be suspicious of all e-mail correspondence.

3. Prevent the theft of your regular mail.

4. Dispose of sensitive information safely.

5. Protect your computer from spyware.

6. Protect your PIN numbers and other passwords.

7. Always use a secure website for online transactions.

8. Don’t be careless with the portable devices and information you carry on a daily basis.

9. Monitor your account information and billing statements.

10. Review your credit report at least annually.

16 • Valley Voice

6 June, 2013