Valley Voice
Volume XXXIX No. 15 1 August, 2019 ourvalleyvoice.com
Tulare Board of Public Utilities president resigns
Make a difference to a child — become a CASA volunteer
DAVE ADALIAN
ALEXANDRA FELLER
dave@ourvalleyvoice.com
The president of Tulare’s Board of Public Utilities (BPU) has resigned following a dispute over how to treat dangerous contamination of Tulare’s drinking water. Jim Pennington--who joined the BPU in 2016 and was the sole board member remaining after a purge of the five-member commission in 2017-says he chose to resign following a contentious meeting with Mayor Jose Sigala, Vice Mayor Dennis Mederos and City Manager Rob Hunt over the city’s approach to eliminating the carcinogen trichloropropane (TCP) from Tulare’s drinking water. The meeting took place in April, and Pennington resigned in May.
‘Asking Tough Questions’
According to Pennington, his experience and knowledge of BPU business, and the questions it caused him to ask, ultimately led to his decision to step down. He also cited a lack of support from Hunt. The clash with city leadership, he said, came after he began researching alternatives to the city’s plan to remove TCP from water drawn by seven contaminated wells. “I had a little knowledge, so I was the dangerous one,” Pennington said. “Rob (Hunt) didn’t support me at all. When I asked the staff for things and started asking tough questions, they had a surprise meeting and started chewing my butt for asking questions.” Mayor Sigala, however, said the
BPU continued on 14 »
alexandra@ourvalleyvoice.com
ing and cooking. They are not alone. It is estimated that one million Californians have no access to safe drinking water. Domestic wells and small community water systems throughout the San Joaquin Valley have been declared contaminated, a situation that was made worse by the state’s devastating drought. In a quote from the Fresno Bee Newsom said, ““The idea that we’re living in a state with a million people who don’t have access to clean, safe and affordable drinking water is a disgrace,” he said. “This is the wealthiest state. This is the wealthiest democracy in the world, and it’s happened on our watch. We own this. Those who want to criticize us are right. We’ve been neglectful, and it’s outrageous.” The bill provides for the administration of $130 million annually for the next 10 years to clean up groundwater
Although placing a child in the foster care system is the last resort for social workers, it does happen when the child is in an unstable or abusive home environment. In this instance, the foster child could be assigned a Court Appointed Special Advocate. CASA is a non-profit organization founded in an effort to advocate for the safety and well-being of children in foster care. Advocates are meant to represent the child’s best interests and voice in court. CASA of Tulare County works specifically with local foster youth cases and have offices in Porterville and Visalia. Superior Court Judge David Soukup of Seattle, WA, founded CASA in 1977 after feeling worried he was not receiving enough information to make educated decisions about the foster cases that came across his desk. According to the CASA website, “To ensure he was getting all the facts and the long-term welfare of each child was being represented, Judge Soukup came up with an idea that would change America’s judicial procedure and the lives of over a million children.” A judge must recognize and appoint a CASA volunteer to a child’s case in court. Once a volunteer has been assigned to a case, they are meant to advocate for that child’s welfare. Volunteers will maintain only a few cases at once as they take a great deal of time investment.
WATER continued on 13 »
CASA continued on 13 »
Gov. Newsom signs SB 200, is joined by Dolores Huerta, state lawmakers, safe water activists and resident leaders impacted by unsafe drinking water. Courtesy/Community Water Center
Safe, affordable drinking water bill passes with bipartisan support
STAFF REPORTS On July 25 Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 200, the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund. He chose the community of Tombstone Territory in Fresno County to sign the bill to highlight the lack of safe drinking water in rural California. Tombstone is a small neighborhood of about four blocks less than 1 mile from the town of Sanger. Sanger has a centralized community water system. But Tombstone, like many small rural communities, relies on private wells. Two years ago the community learned that its water had levels of nitrate above state health standards and high levels of bacteria. Nitrates can be especially dangerous, especially for babies, because they decrease the ability of their blood to carry oxygen. Since then Tombstone residents have had to buy bottled water for drink-
SEIU members protest Tulare Business is booming in Visalia Business Research Park County salary increases STAFF REPORTS On Friday, July 26 SEIU 521 Tulare County members held a press conference and rally in front of the Tulare County CAO’s office building. Workers from social services, roads and maintenance, health and others presented banners signed by hundreds of County workers. Messages addressed to Jason Britt highlighted the stark comparison between the county’s proposed 2% salary increase and the more than 10% increase that the Tulare County Board of Supervisors approved for the CAO. “There is a critical health and safety crisis impacting our residents across our county and it’s directly tied to our inability to recruit and retain qualified staff to support the needs of our residents,” said Tabatha Gomez, Social Worker in Child Welfare Services. “This year alone, our County CAO, Jason Britt, is scheduled to receive more than $20,000 in raises. Meanwhile, many of our Tulare County co-workers are having to
depend on public assistance themselves, cannot afford the out-of-reach healthcare costs, and are continuing to fall further behind our neighboring counties while the cost of living continues to rise.” During the last five months, Tulare County employees have repeatedly expressed their concerns directly to the board of supervisors, in petitions on behalf of concerned Tulare County employees across the county, and at a community town hall. The co-workers have highlighted issues that affect all county residents: Stagnant wages have led to turnover and short staffing that leave residents without the services they need. Employees point to inadequate staffing in Child Welfare Services where there has been an increase in allegations of child abuse and neglect by 20.5% since 2009, and to the county’s failure to adequately staff health services in a county that has been officially designated as a health care professional shortage
PROTEST continued on 16 »
MIKE SEIB Plans for a new Hilton Garden Inn Hotel have been approved by the Planning Commission of Visalia. The 113-room hotel is to be built in Visalia’s BRP (Business Research Park) and promises to bring jobs and tourism to Visalia and the surrounding areas. Planner Paul Bernal successfully managed to get the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) approved June 24 and put the ball back in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.’s court. The next step is filing for a building permit before ground is broken. “There are three different master plans in the BRP,” said Bernal. “There is the Plaza Business Park, the Square at Plaza and the Gateway Business Park, where the new Hilton will be located.” The architectural theme will be consistent with “Early California Mission Style”, incorporating smooth plaster finishes, El Dorado stone veneer and tile roofs as stated in the Gateway Business Park master plan (Planning Commission Agenda Mon-
day June 24, 2019). “We want to support growth in the area,” said city council member Brian Pochoogian. “Our hope is that guests will come into Visalia to do business, use our services and enjoy our restaurants.” The BRP is adjacent to Visalia’s booming Industrial Park just south of Hurley Street with close access to Highway 198 and State Route 99. Although the zone has existed for decades, just over 10% of the 150 acres has been built upon and 90-100 acres have been planned for and approved by the city. A study consistent with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) concluded that the environmental impacts would be negligible. A small addendum adding 13 rooms to the initial plan of 100 rooms was approved. “The UPS distribution center provides a great hub for new businesses in addition to excellent freeway access,” continued Pochoogian. “We have great infrastructure in place. Visalia has done a great job handling growth.
BUSINESS PARK continued on 4 »