The Central Valley has a slavery problem of which most residents are unaware. It is a center for human trafficking, much of it focused on the sex trade, but now an effort is underway in Tulare County to change that. Centrally located in the state with an entrenched criminal element and a high population of […]
Less than a year after moving to its new west Visalia facility, the Valley Oak SPCA Low-Cost Clinic is in need of a new doctor. For the past month, the clinic has ceased offering vaccination and spay/neuter surgeries to the public, due to the lack of a veterinarian. “We’re in the process of trying to […]
Reporter’s Note: A few weeks back this reporter found a listing on Craig’s List for filing cabinets. The Visalia Rescue Mission had received a donation of an abundance of them. Since the Valley Voice was in need, a reply was made to the listing and an appointment set to check them out. Valley Voice purchased […]
By an interesting quirk of fate, two statistics regarding Tulare County are nearly identical: About 20% of the county’s land is taken up by national parks, and almost 20% of the students fail to graduate high school. While these statistics seemingly have little to do with each other, at least one local educator thinks there […]
A hearing was held on September 24 for Jonathan Smith who was facing possible charges of resisting arrest. This, one month following Smith’s altercation with members of the Tulare Police Department, where, he has said, he was severely beaten, and arrested resisting arrest. The hearing lasted only a few minutes. The lawyer representing the District […]
The whereabouts of Tulare Police Chief Jerry Breckinridge have not been known to the public since May 29. Tulare City Manager Don Dorman announced on June 23 that Breckinridge had been placed on paid administrative leave. Dorman did not explain why the police chief had been put on administrative leave or how long he would […]
Hanford Environmental Action Team (HEAT) won its case against the City of Hanford concerning the Bajun American Properties housing development. HEAT appealed the city’s decision to approve the development’s site plans without an Environmental Impact Review (EIR). The judge decided in a September 22 hearing that HEAT would be given 10 more days from the […]
Hanford is getting a much-needed new fire station and part of Hidden Valley Park will not have to be sold to fund it. At a study session held September 15, Hanford City Council directed its staff to put together a construction plan for a third station the fire department needs to decrease its response times. Construction […]
More bike lanes and better walking conditions may be in the future for some areas of the county with the Tulare County Association of Governments (TCAG) moving into the second phase of its planning project, Walk ‘n Bike Tulare County. Last June, TCAG adopted a new plan to seek transportation funding for cities and around […]
For most East Porterville residents, more permanent solutions to their water woes cannot come soon enough. However, it may not come very soon, or at least until there is a good amount of rain. For many, their wells have gone dry. Several homes now rely on potable water deliver to their temporary tanks for showers […]