City Levies Huge Fine on Visalia Resident

At the July 21st Visalia City Council Meeting, the council voted to levy a fine of $29,556 on Abigail Trevino’s residence in southwest Visalia for code and law enforcement violations. According to Tracy Robertshaw, neighborhood preservation manager, Trevino’s case is the exception. “Ninety-nine percent of the time, home owners comply when they get their first […]

Visalia Makes City Parks Safer

Visalia Neighborhood Preservation Manager Tracy Robertshaw and the Visalia Parks and Recreation Commission have been busy making Visalia a better place to live. Last year, Robertshaw presented an ordinance to ban shopping carts that has been a huge success. During the last city council meeting, she put forth an ordinance banning repeat criminals from using […]

Political Fix (17 July, 2014)

Mayor Ashley Swearengin in the Cat Bird Seat Who could have asked for a more perfect series of events? Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin discreetly sits as a candidate in the November election for California’s State Controller, while her two Democratic opponents battle it out for second place. It was generally accepted that the Democrat who […]

CEMEX Mine Drains Lemon Cove Wells

This is part one of a two-part series on CEMEX gravel mines drying up neighboring wells. Is anyone grateful for the drought? CEMEX is. Founded in Mexico in 1906, CEMEX, one of the world’s largest building material suppliers and cement producers, runs operations all across the globe. It is conveniently blaming the drought on the […]

County Employees Get Closer to a Deal

On Monday July 7, Tulare County employee negotiators and Shelline Bennett, the lawyer representing the county, returned to the negotiating table. All the employees’ hard work, outreach and testimonies paid off as the county offered a one-year contract with a 3% raise. The county employees then made an undisclosed counteroffer that Bennett was supposed to […]

Political Fix (3 July, 2014)

Pete McCracken – More than a City Council Member It was a sad day in Porterville when Renaissance Man, Pete McCracken, passed away June 21st. Mr. McCracken had just been re-elected to his third term on the Porterville City Council. Being on the city council, and having served as mayor, were just two of Mr. […]