On June 6, 2013, a small group of people put out the first issue of the revived Valley Voice: news veteran Steve Pastis, journalism student Tony Maldonado, my late husband Joseph Oldenbourg, and me. Included in the first issue was a piece by local historian Terry Ommen, lending some historical insight into Visalia’s newspaper landscape, […]
In the face of widespread economic strain, national conflicts and social unrest, surveys indicate that confidence in the future is at an all-time low in many countries, including the United States. According to the 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer, 24 of the 28 countries surveyed are seeing “all-time lows in the number of people who think […]
Dear Editor, I’m writing to you today to brag about some exceptional young adult women in our county. Congratulations are in order to the following sorority women for earning an academic scholarship from Tulare County Panhellenic. Our organization awarded a total of $4,000 in scholarship awards. These women are leaders in their organizations and academic […]
It’s hard to truly understand the struggles that children go through. The issues that burden kids now are vastly different and hard to relate to compared to youth growing up 10 or 15 years ago. There are some caught in a constant battle with the judicial system from judges who hardly know them or parents […]
College of the Sequoias Bond Measure C passed with over 55% of the vote during the November 2022 election. COS would like to share a sincere Thank You to all voters who supported Measure C. Bringing a four-year University Center to Tulare County was made possible by you. College of the Sequoias University Center will […]
If you drive along every street or alley in Visalia east of Mooney Blvd from as far north as Ferguson to as far south as Walnut, you will not find any debris, trash, graffiti or abandoned items. And, if you do, it may be gone the very next day! It is not because of the […]
Dear Editor, “The only title in our democracy superior to that of President is the title of citizen.” This quote by Louis Brandeis, US Supreme Court Justice (1916-1939), reminds us of our power to invoke change. When was the last time you exited out of your social media dissatisfied or disgusted at the state of […]
Hello Visalia Unified School District Team and Community, Happy New Year! As we look to the new year, I want to take a moment to reflect on 2022. The start of the 2022-23 school year saw a return to normalcy with school operations and activities all proceeding without COVID-related modifications. While we celebrated this, we […]
The scariest thing that happened to me wasn’t really seeing a rat in New York City. It was scarier, and most likely a more dangerous time when a guy chased me down the street with a knife when I was living in Istanbul, Turkey. My friend, Lesley, and I were walking home from work one […]
I am writing this letter to congratulate Jevon Price for his win in the election for the Tulare Local Health Care District 3 seat. Although I am sad that I am not able to continue serving on this board seat, I am honored that I was given the opportunity to serve to fill out the […]