In a previous post I described a breaking story – the recall of Setton Farms of Terra Bella entire 2008 crop of pistachios sold into both the wholesale and retail channel. Below are news and blog entries describing the issue that have come in via google alerts today.

Today on a lark I decided to set up a google alert on some of the local town names that I didn’t already have one set up for. When you do this, google will send you an email of new sites and blogs that match the term you specify. Little did I know that news [...]

This week a new web site was launched for the short film Tender as Hellfire, filmed in Porterville, California. With the film’s full April schedule of Film Festival playings about to begin, the new site features never before production photos, along with cast, crew, and the film’s trailer. Join me in wishing Jason wonderful success [...]

This week sees the premier of the film festival circuit for Tender as Hellfire, the short film created here in Porterville this past year by director Jason Stone. Follow here at PortervillNerd.com or TenderAsHellfire.com for updates and additions to this schedule and other Tender as Hellfire news. VAIL FILM FESTIVAL (April 2-6) Screening on April [...]

Poetry Slam – Outsider Art 1 Night 1 Chance 2 Make a Statement Wednesday, April 1: No Fool’s Day Teak & Batik and Easelheads is The Plantation Where: 320 West Main, Visalia When:6-9 PM Need More Info?: 559-734-4084 Admission: $5 Want to be on stage? Call: 559 – 738-0130 Art 559-781-2315 Poetry Sponsored by: Sequoia [...]

Date: April 4, 2009 Time: 10:00 AM Location: Debbie’s K-9 Grooming 91 W. Laurel Porterville, CA 93257 The City Of Porterville Anamial Control is holding it’s second Adopt a Pet Day. We at Debbie’s K-9 Grooming would like to welcome everyone out to look at the pets up for adoption.

Posted By Jay Berg to Jay Berg’s Cinema Diary at 3/22/200 Wednesday March 18, 2009 I first fell in love with the cinema while growing up in the 50′s watching a ton of those Grade B (and most of the time, C & D) sci-fi flicks that later became standard fare on TV in the [...]

Download pdf copies of the April newsletters here. Note that there are two files, each two pages long. These Newsletters will be available at Friday’s Shabbat Services. [drain file 24 url Beit Shalom Newsletter April 2009 Part 1 of 2] [drain file 20 url Beit Shalom Newsletter April 2009 Part 2 of 2]

The meeting room was filed to overflowing last night, more chairs set up and another section opened up as over 200 people poured into the Senior Center for the Forest Service meeting discussing the future of access around Lake Isabella and the surrounding mountains. Forest Supervisor Tina Terrel opened the meeting and asked if the [...]

Hello Chaverim (friends), Its almost time for Passover and just to get in the right frame of mind, Rabbi Weinberg will be with us at Congregation Beit Shalom for a Kabbalat Shabbat dinner and a special program on preparing ourselves to experience the Journey to Freedom. Please RSVP as soon as possible for both the [...]

Suggested Donation $7.00, Gates open 6:30PM Great Food, Silent Auction, Amazing Presentation, and Fantastic Fun for all Ages. No less an expert then John Muir said the Tulare County section of the Sierra Mountains was among his very favorites, ranking favorably with Yosemite itself. These areas are now known as Sequoia National Forest, Sequoia National [...]

I am sad for her family’s loss, but I am also at least a little disappointed to know with certainty that I am not the only person in Porterville to have been run over by their own car. While I didn’t exactly walk away, I didn’t exactly win my Man vs. Jeep battle either. UPDATE: [...]

After listening to Rossi’s mea culpa, I understand now what the Porterville City Council was thinking -hey City Council are you too ashamed of your resolution  to even bother to make sure it is posted prominently for all the public you represent to see on the city web site? It is not there at all [...]

Art and Poetry Slam Event announced for Visalia on April Fool’s Day An Art and Poetry Slam will be held to benefit Sequoia Riverlands Trust and Kaweah Oaks Preserve at The Plantation. The event will be held on Wednesday, April 1 from 6 to 9PM at 320 W. Main Street in Visalia. Admission is $5.00 [...]

Since last month’s Wild Update, I have volunteered to assist this fine organization. I encourage all readers to assist in helping Wildplaces empower the  youth of the Porterville area to understand and value the land above the town, which is so different from their home environments. WildPlaces’ Mission: WildPlaces is a community based non-profit organization [...]

At Thursday’s opening, Director Jason Stone announced the availability of Posters at the Sheltered Workers Print Shop on Olive. In the interest of keeping the cost of the posters down and getting everyone a wonderful souvenir of this special event as quickly as possible, I am negotiating a special deal Details after the jump.

Despite little more than a week’s word-of-mouth marketing, this past Thursday’s first public showing of Jason Stone’s short film “Tender as Hellfire” was a resounding success. Filmed in Porterville last summer, the film drew solid support for the last year from Porterville’s citizens. On this night, 500 of them turned out for the viewing, filling [...]

The California Supreme Court finds itself center stage this Thursday when it will hear oral arguments on whether it should uphold Proposition 8′s ban on same-sex marriage. The case touches the heart of our democracy and poses a profound question: can a bare majority of voters strip away an inalienable right through the initiative process? [...]

“Tender as Hellfire” a short thesis film by USC grad student Jason Stone, makes its silver screen debut in Porterville, CA on March 5 at 7PM at the Galaxy 9 Theater. Filmed last summer in Porterville ((trailer is www.tenderashellfire.com ), and based on the novel by Joe Meno, TaH tells the story of a 2 [...]