This article was updated following the May 1 City Council meeting. A recent deposition of Tulare’s deputy city clerk, and its supporting documents, reveal city employees’ complaints about the burdens of the Public Records Act, and complaints regarding the city attorney’s office’s efficiency and billing practices. Roxanne Yoder, the deputy city clerk, was deposed as […]
Three months following the hiring of a special investigator to look into undisclosed issues regarding former Tulare Police Chief Wes Hensley, as well as Capt. Fred Ynclan and Lt. Jerod Boatman, the city’s attorneys have released a copy of the contract confirming the investigator to be former Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness. McGinness, currently a […]
In a letter dated April 4, the Tulare County Board of Supervisors was threatened with legal action if it does not take measures to correct an alleged violation of the Federal Voting Rights Act. The letter, signed by Marguerite Melo of the law firm Melo and Sarsfield, stated the firm represents a “group of voters […]
Attorneys keep quibbling regarding the former Tulare police chief, Wes Hensley’s possible public hearing regarding his firing. Specifically — Hensley’s attorney says he is required to have one, and the City of Tulare’s attorney disagrees. Hensley’s attorney, Michael Lampe, is pulling out all of the stops to make one happen. Heather Phillips, the city’s attorney, […]
In April for the past 12 years, Habitat for Humanity of Tulare/Kings Counties has welcomed spring with a birdhouse auction. “Everybody deserves an affordable home,” is part of their mission, so they extended that out to wildlife and now, well, it’s going to the dogs, too. It was a committee decision, said Deanna Saldana, Habitat’s […]
It has been a turbulent few weeks for the City of Tulare with citizens questioning their choice in electing council members and the city’s training of its police force. During the April 3 city council meeting public comment period, many had something to say, and each had only three minutes to comment. Patrick Isherwood, a […]
The old-fashion communication of letter writing has returned with a continued exchange between Tulare’s City Attorney Heather Phillips and Michael Lampe, the attorney for former Police Chief Wes Hensley. The former chief was fired on March 20, one week shy of one-half year following his placement on paid administrative leave, and following some two-plus months […]
Tulare’s leadership has changed yet again. Its temporary leadership, more precisely. The change happened Monday, March 26, during a special closed session city council meeting. On March 20, the city’s police chief, Wes Hensley, was fired by the then city manager, Joe Carlini. A few hours later, Carlini was himself fired by city council during […]
Following the termination of Tulare Police Chief Wes Hensley on Tuesday, March 20, Hensley’s attorney, Michael Lampe, has requested a Skelly hearing, two days later. In a letter to Tulare City Attorney Heather Phillips dated March 22, Lampe states – We view the “without cause” language in the March 20 Notice of Termination as a […]
Big shakeups hit Tulare on Tuesday, March 20, when its police chief, Wes Hensley, was fired in the late afternoon by the city manager, Joe Carlini, who was subsequently fired during a closed session of city council that evening. Hensley had been on paid administrative leave since September 27 of last year, and had been […]