The Universe of Lost Socks

Where is the country now, more than two weeks after President-elect Joe Biden’s decisive victory? That place where the lost sock has decamped to, leaving its mate forlorn and forever unselected in the drawer. I could say the country resembles the abandoned sock, ever unworn, except for two things. First, unlike the locus of the […]

Tribute to Mayor Link

Visalia’s retiring Mayor, Bob Link, leaves behind an extraordinary legacy of a lifetime of service to our city. He has been a member of the City Council for the last 21 years – including 3 terms as Mayor. Over the last 60 years he has donated countless hours to non-profit organizations, service clubs, religious organizations […]

The View from Westlands: Voluntary Agreements

Voluntary Agreements (VAs) have been proposed as a collaborative, modern and holistic alternative to the State Water Resources Control Board’s (SWRCB) staff proposed update to the Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan (WQCP). From August 2018 until early 2020, state and federal agencies, public water agencies, and non-governmental organizations were engaged in robust discussions to identify the best path forward regarding the WQCP update. Westlands and […]

Snapshot of Catastrophe

At press time, what most disappoints me about the 2020 Presidential Election is, actually, the electorate. Sure, Joe Biden has so far garnered north of 73 million votes–an all-time record–but more than 69 million have voted, inconceivably, after everything, for the incumbent. An incumbent who, at press time, is dishonoring the process with lies, lawsuits […]

Mothertruckers

A letter to the Editor from Steve Pendleton Recently Mooney Blvd was afflicted by another visitation by Trump motorists. The most annoying we now call mothertrucks. They’re huge, have never seen the inside of a farm field, and are festooned with all kinds of flags. I haven’t seen any swastikas, but American flags are much […]

This is Not an Article

Back in the day, as the saying goes, when we were actually in print, my wife, The Chief, used to pen a column called “Political Fix.” I remain convinced it was the best feature of the paper. She has abstained from that effort, largely because we have been shifted to an online presence, but I’ve […]

I support Drew Phelps

The water issue is on everyone’s mind these days and we are at a critical crossroads in our area. As a farmer and Mid-Kaweah GSA water board member, I know firsthand the challenges and the need for strong leadership. We need an exceptional assemblymember with a solid grasp of the complexities of SGMA, storage and […]