The Next Republican Governor In the last issue of the Valley Voice I considered Tulare County Supervisor Allan Ishida the Republican sacrificial lamb to run for governor against the immensely popular Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom. But I forgot about Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin. She may not beat Mr. Newsom in 2016, but Democrats can’t win […]
During the Visalia City Council work session on Monday, June 1, the council discussed and voted on a policy for how a city council member can formally add an item to the agenda. Until now, the procedure has been informally handled during the “items of interests” portion of the general meeting. The Council considered establishing […]
The Visalia City Council held a public hearing Monday, June 1 to discuss allowing chickens in standard residential areas. This hearing comes on the heels of a Visalia City Planning Commission where the ordinance was rejected in its current form. The commission did not reject the idea outright, but felt the ordinance should require coops […]
Supervisor Allen Ishida Declares His Candidacy for Governor Supervisor Allen Ishida filed his intent to run for Governor of California on May 15. He can’t formally declare his candidacy until 2016, but wanted to get his campaign committee number from the Fair Political Practices Commission so he can start fundraising. His announcement is historically significant because […]
After the April 2 and May 7 Valley Voice articles concerning Mooney Grove, complaints about the park have continued. Pam Mayo decided to take her foster child to Mooney Grove and ended up regretting her decision. “I am a CASA, a Court Appointed Special Advocate for foster children,” she said. “The judge orders a CASA […]
After six months of workshops, hearings and debates, the Visalia City Council finally chose a voting district map during their May 18th meeting. Out of the four maps under consideration, the city council voted to approve NDC2, drawn by professional consultant Doug Johnson. The map sets the districts until the 2020 census when the boundaries […]
On April 14 the Tulare County Board of Supervisors (BOS) reviewed the Tulare County Grand Jury report on Mooney Grove. Members of the public have been approaching the BOS for more than a year, during which time the condition of the park has actually declined. In response to public concerns and criticisms about the management […]
Visalia Parks and Recreation Foundation has officially stepped away from the Fourth of July Freedom Celebration after 12 years of running the event. According to Carol Hoppert-Hays, Foundation president, the Foundation told the city and larger community about five years ago that it didn’t have the resources to put on such an elaborate celebration. The […]
Choosing a final district map for the 2016 elections was put on hold during Visalia City Council’s May 4 meeting. Councilmember Bob Link could not attend due to illness, and the other council members felt that this historic decision that should not be made without him. Three public hearings have been held since March, when […]
An enthusiastic pro-goat rally took place in front of Visalia’s City Hall before the May 4 City Council meeting. After the rally, participants entered the chambers to speak during public comment. At issue was the city’s ordinance on household pets. Many Visalia residents came to the meeting to encourage the council members to change the […]