With the recent Federal Court signing of a settlement agreement dispensing with the last lingering lawsuit still facing the city of Visalia and co-defendant VWR International, city leaders are looking to put a positive spin to the end of a tumultuous period in our city’s history. The pair of lawsuits filed in both state and […]
While more than 90 percent of the Valley’s businesses are not mandated to provide health insurance under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), better known as ObamaCare, they are not free from requirements. On October 1st, all employers must notify their employees about the existence of the Health Insurance Marketplace. This little known […]
The Allstate Insurance Company has released its ninth annual “Allstate America’s Best Drivers Report,” revealing that Visalia tops all California cities in driving safety with the lowest car collision frequency in the state. In the 2013 report, Visalia also ranks in the top ten of America’s safest driving cities, landing at number eight. Based on […]
After receiving frequent complaints from retailers about aggressive panhandling and the homeless, the Downtown Visalia Alliance and local police officers met to come up with some solutions. Don Sharp, the president of the Downtown Visalia Alliance, said, “It’s a growing problem and we have to try and alleviate it.” The problem is the growing number […]
As a fairly new resident to Visalia, Michael Brown, 33, is motivated and ready to get involved in city government. Why Visalia? First, his wife, Sarah, is a Mt. Whitney alumna, so the connection is homegrown. As newlyweds, they have chosen to settle and possibly start a family in Visalia. Sarah is currently employed by […]
Interest among baseball-playing Visalia families is already heating up over who will be assigned the playing rights at four baseball diamonds at Visalia’s popular Riverway Sports Park. The only real problem, according to city leaders, is that the baseball fields won’t even exist for at least another 3-5 years. The four as-yet-to-be-developed diamonds are at […]
To understand how our board members are elected, you need to know a little about Visalia Unified School District history. VUSD was unified in 1965, pulling together Visalia City Schools and outlying small schools. The district reaches from Goshen to Ivanhoe. Until the 2011 election, there were seven board members representing five districts. With a […]
Anyone interested in running for the Visalia City Council or the Visalia Unified School District Board can file papers until August 9. In the event that an incumbent does not file by 5 p.m. on August 9, the filing period is extended to August 14. As far as the city council is concerned, all three […]
“It’s the second year in a row that we had the highest-ever crop and livestock value,” Tulare County Agricultural Commissioner Marilyn Kinoshita told the Tulare County Board of Supervisors at its July 23 meeting. She was there to unveil and present The 2012 Tulare County Agricultural Crop and Livestock Report, which showed that last year […]
When I met with Vincent Salinas for this interview, he was full of information and ideas, and his love for the city of Visalia was apparent. Although a non-incumbent seeking a Visalia City Council seat, he is an old face to Visalia, proud to trace his family roots back to 1872 when his great-grandmother first […]