THOMAS FIRE AG LOSSES TOP $171M
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NEW YEAR.. NEW YEAR’S BABY
First baby of 2018 at Kaweah Delta VALLEY SCENE
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$30,000+
Political Fix, page 3
on a flat-fee, monthly basis
Valley Voice
Volume XXXVIII No. 1 4 January, 2018 ourvalleyvoice.com
Opponent claims Nunes obstructing investigation
Porterville researching district elections
DAVE ADALIAN
CATHERINE DOE
dave@ourvalleyvoice.com
catherine@ourvalleyvoice.com
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C
ongressman Devin Nunes (R-Tulare) is obstructing the ongoing federal investigation into possible conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russian government to influence the 2016 presidential election, says the front-runner in the race to unseat the embattled local Republican representative. Nunes, says Andrew Janz, longtime prosecutor for the Fresno District Attorney’s office and a Democratic challenger for the 22nd District seat, has also been paid to muddy the waters.
Minority Report
As chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which is currently looking into the possibility members of Trump’s campaign worked with agents of the Russian government to illegally influence the outcome of the US presidential election in Trump’s favor, Nunes has final say on who will be subpoenaed to appear before that investigative body. Recently, Nunes has refused to grant subpoena requests by Democratic members of the Intel Committee, despite his promise to remove himself from his role in the investigation after the House Ethics Committee began its own investigation of Nunes for his possible mishandling of classi-
NUNES continued on 10 »
Joey Joslin is the new director of the Hanford Chamber of Commerce.
Besides revamping the chamber’s website -- which hasn’t been updated in two years -- Joslin plans on increasing membership. He said that right now the
s one of the last hold-outs in Tulare and Kings County, the Porterville City Council settled a lawsuit to convert from at-large to district elections. The lawsuit was brought by two Latino residents of Porterville who were represented by the Visalia Law Firm of Melo and Sarsfield. The suit was filed on December 5 and quickly settled on December 19. Porterville’s at-large elections were in violation of the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA). The CVRA passed in 2001 and requires district elections to ensure minority representation on boards and councils. Cities and special districts rarely fight these types of suits because of a court precedent set several years ago. Palmdale, located in Southern California, engaged in a three-year battle against converting to district elections that ended up costing the city’s taxpayers millions. The city paid a $4.5 million settlement plus interest to lawyers for the three plaintiffs who argued that minorities have a better chance of winning elections from districts made up of a large proportion of their peers. Voting rights advocates say that atlarge elections dilute the minority vote and prevents them from serving on city councils and county supervisor boards.
CHAMBERS continued on 9 »
ELECTIONS continued on 8 »
Monte Reyes is the new director of the Porterville Chamber of Commerce.
Porterville, Hanford hire new chamber directors CATHERINE DOE
catherine@ourvalleyvoice.com
Hanford and Porterville each have two new, fresh faces leading their Chambers of Commerce. “My goal is to rebuild the passion for the Hanford Chamber of Commerce,” said its new director, Joey Joslin. Joslin was appointed December 1; he was initially approached by the chamber’s longtime executive director Mike Bertaina in June of 2017 to take over after Bertaina’s retirement. When Bertaina retired, former board member Catherine Willis was appointed as an interim director while the organization dealt with financial issues and refined its recruitment procedure.
Willis unexpectedly passed away a few months later, leaving the directorship again open. The board, then containing several new members, appointed Joslin. Joslin said that when he started as director many of the board members had either termed out or were facing health problems and resigned, giving him some fresh faces and new energy. He states that his motto is, “New board, new director, new direction.”
Goals for 2018
Sierra View expands into new dimension Towns searching District gets closer to breaking ground on Strathmore satellite clinic
NANCY VIGRAN
nancy@ourvalleyvoice.com
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or the first time Sierra View Medical District will serve outside of Porterville. Strathmore is, however, within the district’s coverage area, and the community is currently without any type of healthcare facility. Sierra View, through its operational funds, has purchased 2.4 acres to be the official home for its Rural Health Clinic at Highway 65 and Ave. 196, across the street from Strathmore High and across the highway from The Orange Works Café. The idea of starting a rural clinic originated in a strategic planning session, “through outside the box thinking,” said Ron Wheaton, vice president of Physician Recruitment and Extended Services. “We want to provide access to all patients,” he said. The idea was continued through
multiple subsequent meetings. Clinic design plans were scheduled for perusal on January 2, with three different architectural concepts. It is up to the leadership group to make a decision on just which option will fit the bill, Wheaton said. Staff and the CFO are formulating the potential size of the clinic based on the needs of the area and the numbers of patients it could draw. “There are many patients who don’t have a physician,” he said. “We’ll take everybody,” regardless of their residential status, documentation, or their insurance. The facility will be a primary care clinic, Wheaton said, with staff trained in family medicine, internal medicine, OB/GYN and pediatrics. Sierra View President and CEO Donna Hefner grew up in the Strathmore area and said she has seen a lot growth in the community over the years.
for permanent department heads
While Strathmore is only 5-6 miles from Porterville and current Sierra View facilities, the rural clinic should make health care much more accessible for many. “We’re moving more toward outpatient access and driving down the cost of healthcare,” Hefner said. “That is the goal of every hospital in the nation.” “Every step of the process has met the approval of the [district’s] board of directors,” she added. The original goal was to have the clinic finished by the end of 2018 – however, more realistically, the Strathmore Rural Clinic should be open for business in early 2019, she said. Once completed, the facility will have to meet licensing with the Department of Public Health. “We’re excited about the opportunity,” Hefner said. As an outside note, she remarked,
Two South Valley cities are looking for new city managers in the New Year. On top of that, one of those is also looking for a new police chief. Farmersville’s city manager, John Jansons, moved to manage a Northern California city in October. Exeter’s city manager, Randy Groom, has been hired as city manager for Visalia, as of the first of the year. And Exeter’s top cop, Cliff Bush, retired last May. “We did not want him to go,” Farmersville Mayor Paul Boyer has said of Jansons. But, “he’s found a job, I think, that’s good for his career, so it makes sense.” In Farmersville, the chief of police, Mario Krstic, has been serving as interim city manager since Jansons’
SIERRA VIEW continued on 8 »
TOWNS continued on 9 »
NANCY VIGRAN
nancy@ourvalleyvoice.com