After it failed to reach agreement at its July 7 meeting, a divided Hanford City Council will have to take a second look at how the city will honor its agreement with developers to split future sales tax income from the upcoming Costco. The city initially agreed to reduce developer and impact fees to the […]
Part two in the series of “who filled in Mussel Slough” was projected to be the City of Hanford’s response to the running controversy. When the Valley Voice reached out to Darlene Mata, Community Development Director, she politely said, “the city has no comment.” Several hypotheses surround the question of who ordered the back hoe […]
An important draining basin and environmentally sensitive area on the west side of Hanford, a remnant of Mussel Slough, has mysteriously been filled in. Those responsible for filling in the slough have not yet been identified. Robin Mattos, a founding member of the Hanford Environmental Awareness Team (HEAT), noticed a backhoe in the area in […]
In a 4-3 split decision, the Hanford Planning Commission will not recommend changes to zoning regulations for motels, hotels and inns that would have allowed food service and meeting rooms at new facilities constructed outside the downtown area. The vote, made at a May 26 meeting, goes against a staff recommendation from the city’s Community […]
Chris Ekk had his eye on the top job at the Hanford Fire Department for a long time. As far back as 2003, when Ekk was promoted to engineer after three years as a firefighter for HFD, he was thinking about his far future with the department. “I made the decision this is something I […]
A passion for gardening and for teaching sparked an idea for Judy Wait that developed into a learning center and visitor’s destination for the whole community. Retired from full-time teaching, Wait continued to teach through school gardening in Hanford elementary schools. She considered the possibility of opening a community garden across from Martin Luther King […]
On March 16, the California Community College Board of Governors acted to approve the application for Center status of College of the Sequoias Hanford. An official announcement ceremony was held March 17 at the COS Hanford Center. COS has been working for the past three years to submit the required Needs Assessment and application to […]
With the City Council mulling changes to decades-old zoning ordinances, the commercial landscape of Hanford could be in for some changes that may alter the flavor of the city’s unique downtown business district. At an evening town hall meeting February 24 at the Civic Auditorium, preserving the charms of Hanford’s downtown business district while keeping […]
RadioShack, known by many baby-boomers as the go-to place for electronics in the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on February 5, following 11 consistent quarterly losses. The well-known chain will be closing at least 1,784 of its 4,297 stores throughout the nation and Mexico. Included on the list for closing […]
Many city appointments were named at the January 6 meeting of the Hanford City Council. Mayor Russ Curry proposed the following, which were all approved with little discussion necessary. Those included were: Bill Gundacker – Kings Mosquito Abatement District, Dorothey Callihan-Weiss – Kings County Commission on Aging, Demeatrus Robinson and Jack Schwartz – Tree Commission, […]