Farmers have no monopoly on honesty, because that character trait is rooted in the country’s founding principles. But those roots have grown strong and deep in agriculture. Farmers are wondering why honesty doesn’t have a higher priority among political representatives.

If Marxism is a politician’s ultimate destination, he or she ought to be forthright enough to say so. Don’t count on it; saying and doing what is expedient instead makes them more electable.

Many politicians are taking large numbers of people with them to their secret collectivist destinations. Very few farmers want to go there.

via Don Curlee: Blind leadership frustrates farmers | visaliatimesdelta.com | Visalia Times-Delta and Tulare Advance-Register.

Geez “marxism”, “communism”, “socialism” – is red-baiting in the red states and counties going to be the rule of the day for a while? I am sure that is a great tactic to get your own people elected and listened to.

If farmers are such great capitalists and free marketeers, how about they look at the industry structure that they have wrought over the last 100 or so years since this land was settled? If they are so transparent, how about they share what they have learned?

The problem is that farmers have dug themselves a hole at the bottom of a heap of a distribution channel, and a complex supply chain, and as such they have no (or limited) economic leverage.

Take a look at the recent raisin price it was announced that farmers will get for their crop this year – divide the dollars by ton to get a price per ounce, then go to your favorite retailer to see what the retail price per ounce is. The difference is what the market perceives as the value added in all of the steps of the supply chain beyond the farmer. It is a lot – what is the farmer doing to capture that value for himself or herself?

The same is true of any crop.

Similarly, take a look at the risk of the capital the farmer invests in his or her crop. Are the returns earned a fair return for the risk? Has the risk changed? Most likely they have.

But the same local red-baiters are also the anti-scientists who refuse to acknowledge climactic shifts. Now are upset at political shifts too, they are not likely to find a solution in economics, science, or business and finance. They are quick to see and seek the hand of God in all their local political endeavors, when there is an opportunity to restrict someone else’s rights. It is more than a little bit surprising that they don’t see the Hand of Providence in their own fate.

However despite the prevalent “know-nothing” political approach prevailing in the Valley,  there are in fact various techniques available to them to restructure the capitalization of their industry, so that the farmers receive what they perceive as the true value they provide from the end user (if in fact they don’t already get it).

These techniques DO NOT include calling people Marxists or Communists when they are representing their own interests in a free market. Quite the opposite – doing so merely tags those who those claims as fools not capable of understanding their own situation,  let alone innovating their way out of it.

They DO  involve a careful and honest assessment of the situation and how it came to be.  In the past,  the Valley has been represented successfully from a farmer’s point of view with regards to water – they were given everything they asked for: Witness former Senator Sheridan Downey’s book of character assassination documenting his plan for the water projects that now run low and dry called “They Would Rule The Valley”.

Yes, this is the most productive farming area in the country, perhaps even the world.  But it does not live in economic isolation – there are limits to the resources available to make things grow, and increased efficiency can’t go on forever , in this or any other field of human endeavor.

It may very well be that without innovation in industry structure and capitalization, that growth and efficiency have peaked, and that water is not really the limiting issue at all.

So when I see folks calling “commie” or “marxist” as is increasingly frequent locally and in the media, I expect a recognition that these are economic terms being tossed around. If the speaker does not want to be ridiculed for using words as epithets without even knowing what they mean, then I would expect a serious analysis of the industry structure to follow.

Yet somehow it never does.

But why would that be a surprise from  anyone in a region that, according to a recent Congressional Report, compares unfavorably in just about every regard  with our other poorest region of the country, Appalachia?

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In the last of hundreds of bill actions taken before midnight Sunday, Schwarzenegger approved the two bills by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco.

The governor last year vetoed the measure declaring May 22 a state day of recognition for Milk, suggesting that the former San Francisco supervisor be honored locally. But he subsequently named him to the California Hall of Fame.

Leno’s SB 54, meanwhile, requires California to recognize marriages performed in other states where same sex marriage is legal.

In a signing message, Schwarzenegger said California will not recognize the couples as married but will “provide the same legal protections that would otherwise be available to couples that enter into civil unions or domestic partnerships out-of-state. In short, this measure honors the will of the People in enacting Proposition 8 while providing important protections to those unions legally entered into in other states.”

via Schwarzenegger signs gay rights bills – Latest News – sacbee.com.

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This weekend is the National Equality March  in Washington, DC - in support of the right of everyone to have equal protection under the laws. All relevant laws, particularly those laws related to marriage, military service, and health care are targeted.

Organized in a scant few months, and bringing the promise of more to come, this March has its roots right here in rural Tulare County, California and Porterville in particular.(...)
Hit the link for more: Porterville Council’s Hate Vote Sparks a National Movement

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“I have been in Jewish cemeteries,” Eliasberg continued. “There is never a cross on a tombstone of a Jew.”

From: Sharp debate at high court over cross on US land – Yahoo! News.

This case mirrors a  current situation in Porterville,  one of many that our City has managed to generate in attempts to skirt the First Amendment’s Establishment clause.

Here in Murray Park, we have a Christian Cross, where Easter Sunrise Services are annually helped on City-owned and run parkland.

If only our City could devote as much energy to innovative thoughts and solutions to real civic issues, such as:

1. Poor use of information technology (IT) by City Hall
2. Abysmal education rate
3. The lack of a strategy for marketing Porterville as part of an economic development plan
4. The lack of a sense of place and purpose in the new General Plan

Perhaps if we are all lucky, the Supreme Court will rule sensibly in this case and it will serve as a wakeup call to City leaders to find what makes Porterville best and competitive and to nurture that instead of the anti-First Amendment, anti-science, anti-equality hate they focus on so much.

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This job opening from Monster just now came across my desk

Editor – Porterville RecorderAbout the JobThe Porterville Recorder, a 9,500 daily newspaper serving the central California valley, is seeking an experienced Editor to lead our 10-person team in covering community news and issues.

As usual, anything that comes out of the Recorder is of questionable accuracy. No way this paper is 9500 circulation, I was told by a “well placed insider” this past January that the circulation had dropped far below that by then. No comment on if there is a “10 person team” or not, although I am sure that more than 10 people are still employed by the paper.

Our candidate must have experience in covering a variety of beats and be comfortable in the role of mentor to young reporters.

That much is true – I was interviewed recently by a reporter who left the Recorder for the local weekly Sierra Messenger while still in (or having recently completed) High School. The other two news reporters are interns just out of college. They are eager and working hard from what I can tell, but they are very rough around the edges, never thinking to get opposing quotes even when covering a local story that is controversial and getting national attention.

A high degree of community involvement and direct reader engagement is required.​ We have renewed our focus on community news and the people in the communities we serve.​ The successful candidate must be able to balance an active role in the community with aggressive approaches to news, sports and feature coverage.​ As the editorial page editor, our Editor will write editorials and seek out the local voices necessary to build a lively discussion across multiple platforms.

This feels about right to me.

The Editor’s job includes the continued transformation of our newsroom to “web first” publishing with deadlines that never stop coming.

This also feels accurate to me – recently, articles have been published online hours ahead of any print deadline.  If you interview for this job, expect to be told that in 12 months or less, the print edition is not likely to be around anymore.

If this doesn’t energize you, then this isn’t the right job.​ The Porterville Recorder serves print and online readers in an three-county area of central California.

No, the Recorder serves Porterville and that is all. No one in Kern or Kings or Fresno County (the 3 surrounding local counties) gives a damn about this paper, as evidence I resent both the lack of coverage in those areas and the lack of advertisers from there.

Porterville is located just 45 minutes south of Bakersfield, CA,

Uh no. This is typical of information coming from this paper – never checked by a copy editor or fact-checked before release.  If you go south from Bakersfield to get to Porterville, you will have to circumnavigate the globe to get here.

If you go North to get here, and you can do it in 45 minutes, you are hauling ass, as it is 70 miles distant.

Porterville is a stable market with good schools, located near recreational opportunities such as the Sequoia National Forrest.

No comment on the schools, but the local’s educational achievement in the aggregate is dreadful, see the City’s own Economic Development website at chooseporterville.com.

And while the Sequoia National Forest (and adjoining National Parks) are wonderful resources, “close” is a relative term. Yes, you can see the mountains from here, the foothills start in Porterville, but the mountain roads are very windy, and to get to an elevation of about 4000 feet takes about an hour, to go higher and deeper into he mountains can take easily 3 hours each way or more. Yes, people do it, but for some of the best sites, you can get to San Francisco or LA in the same time frame.

We are a destination location for visitors who like to hike, bike, and fish.

Written by someone obviously never here. Decent hikes are at least an hour away. A very bike-unfriendly city, you rarely see cyclists despite miles and miles of uncongested farm roads. That is partly because of nasty guard dogs at every farm, and partly because our air quality is among the worst in the nation.

Become a part of something greater.​ Freedom Communications is an Equal opportunity Employer.

Freedom Communications is also in Chapter 11, no guarantees they will hold onto this, among their smallest papers, for long.

We offer a very competitive compensation

Not from what I have heard from every employee, who has seen his or her compensation cut to the bone, e.g. the art department barely makes minimum wage while being severely understaffed. Interns as lead reporters, minimal sales people, dwindling circulation, this equates to “competitive compensation”?

and an outstanding benefits package with the opportunity for professional growth and development.​ Benefits include: Vacation, Sick Leave, Holiday Pay, an attractive 401k retirement savings program, medical, dental, and much more.

If you apply, ask about the “furlough” plan also!

via Editor – Porterville Recorder Job in Porterville 93258, California US.

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Earlier today I was looking for the Porterville City General Plan. It is difficult to find on the City’s own web site. Thanks to the City Officials who helped me find this important document, which cover’s the City’s vision of itself looking out to 2030.

Here is the Porterville General Plan update (64.3 mb pdf, be patient), and hopefully this will now be searchable in google so everyone so inclined can review and comment on this.

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Continues to drain city resources and reputation

Former Mayor and current Councilmember Cameron Hamilton is scheduled to introduce a resolution asking the Council to condemn same sex marriage, this time using Mark Leno’s Senate Bill 54 as a hook, at the next Porterville City Council Meeting on August 4, 2009. The meeting will take place at 7PM at City Hall on Main Street in Porterville, deep in California’s Central Valley. Local Civil Rights advocates and leaders will be available for press comments both before and after the meeting.

Unlike last September’s resolution in support of Prop 8 introduced by Councilmember Brian Ward which passed unanimously with minimal public notice, Hamilton’s new attempt is happening in full view of Civil Rights advocates from Porterville and across the state. The local advocates have been present at every public meeting for months educating City Council and Portervillians on how Council’s September Resolution hurts individuals and places the ability of the City to do its ordinary business at risk.

At the July 21, 2009 City Council meeting Hamilton asked for permission to introduce a resolution regarding Senate Bill 54. SB 54, introduced by Mark Leno (D-SF) would allow same-sex couples who were married legally in another state but who are now in California all the rights rights that California grants married couples except the right to call themselves married. This is squarely in line with Prop 8 supporting campaign materials and rank and file comments that the issue is not the rights granted to the couples but rather the name “marriage”.

During the very heated discussion at the most recent Council meeting on July 21, new Mayor Pete McCracken, and Councilmen Pedro Martinez and Felipe Martinez echoed the advocate’s arguments that they have heard many times: that Council is not the place to discuss State and Federal level matters and that damages the City’s economic development efforts. Hamilton persisted, McCracken demanded a call to order to avoid what multiple accounts have described as Councilmen nearly coming to blows.

A vote on whether Hamilton would be allowed to introduce a resolution was evenly split, with McCracken and Felipe Martinez opposed, Hamilton and Ward in favor, and Pedro Martinez abstaining. This change from September’s previous unanimous vote sets the stage for a dramatic discussion and vote at the next meeting on August 4th.

“Councilmember Hamilton and Vice Mayor Ward continue to damage the ability of Porterville’s City Government to do its job in these difficult times by bringing personal and religious concerns before Council,” said Barry Caplan, Porterville Civil Rights advocate.

“Council’s prior actions and resolutions have led to the split of Californians into 3 arbitrary classes where there should only be one:
1 – People who are free to marry those who they love
2 – People who are not free to marry those who they love
3 – People who are currently married but should they become single again through death and divorce will not be allowed to marry the person they love again

“It is well past time for Cameron Hamilton to stop wasting Porterville City time, resources, and its valuable reputation for his own and Ward’s personal crusade.”

“SB 54 does not create any new law or change the law,” said Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, who helped draft the legislation. “It simply clarifies the rights of married same-sex couples in the aftermath of Prop 8, which is essential to prevent needless cost, confusion and anxiety on the part of same-sex couples and third parties dealing with those couples.”

“Because Prop. 8 created such a confusing, unequal situation for legally married same-sex couples, it is critical that California enact this legislation so that these couples are treated fairly and businesses and others have guidance as to what the law requires,” said Equality California (EQCA) Executive Director Geoff Kors. “All legally married couples deserve to be treated respectfully. Therefore, we urge the Porterville City Council to oppose this counter-productive resolution.”

ABOUT PORTERVILLE, CA: Porterville is a town of approximately 50,000 deep in the heart of the Central Valley of California, located midway between Fresno and Bakersfield in rural Tulare County. The primary industries are citrus growing and providing mental health services for developmentally delayed individuals on behalf of the State of California.

During the 2008 campaign for Prop 8, Porterville’s City Council voted unanimously in a Resolution to urge its citizens to vote to remove existing Civil Rights from some Californians. It was the only Council in California to vote in favor of supporting Prop 8. Porterville citizens responded to the Council’s call, voting over 75% in favor of the measure. Advocates for Civil Rights have been active and present at every public meeting since the California Supreme Court ruled Prop 8 as a valid Amendment, and at most meetings prior to that dating back to September 2008. The advocates work to shine a light on the actions and effects of the Resolution on Porterville’s entire population.

Porterville’s next City Council meeting takes place Tuesday August 4th, 7PM at City Hall, 291 North Main Street in Porterville. Final Agendas are generally available the Friday afternoon before the meeting, and are available from Luisa Herrera, Deputy City Clerk. Ms. Herrera is available at Tel: (559) 782-7464, Fax: (559) 715-4010, and
email: lherrera@ci.porterville.ca.us

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Bureau of Labor Statistics releases monthly metropolitan-area data,

via 13 Cities Post Unemployment Above 15 Percent – Yahoo! Real Estate.

First, a little explanation of the chart in the link, then a comment or two.

Although the chart says “Visalia, CA” at 15.4, it actually means VISALIA-PORTERVILLE METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREA (MSA).

I wondered, with so many nearby locations on the list (in particular Hanford, but also Fresno, Modesto, and Stockton, how did Porterville manage to escape? Could it be just below the Top 13?

The answer turns out to be yes and no. I went in search of the raw data to see what it said for Porterville. First I found City Specific data for Tulare County in the form of a spreadsheet.

From that we learn that the data for Porterville and East Porterville (listed separately for some reason I don’t know, the areas are contiguous):

So, depending on if we average E. Porteville in or not, Porterville would indeed be on the list. If we don’t average it in, Porterville would in fact be just below the Top 13, probably easily making the Top 20 in the Nation.

But I noticed in the same spreadsheet that the data for Visalia did not match the article above:

So this must not be the same source of data.

Further searching led to this file (pdf) which does match the 15.4 for Visalia-Porterville.

VISALIA-PORTERVILLE METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREA (MSA)
(Tulare County)
The unemployment rate in the Tulare County was 15.4 percent in April 2009

So there you have it. Maybe it is a blessing or a curse, but Porterville’s name seems destined to be forever dropped from these charts as published in the media each month even though it is in fact included in the data.

A blessing in that no one hears of our troubles, but a curse in that our Economic Development City Staff and local private sector entrepreneurs (Including yours truly) can not grab the public’s attention if there is little evidence we exist in a short attention span world.

Even Hanford, which is both closer to Visalia than Porterville and smaller than it is at least in theory able to reap the benefits of “any publicity is good publicity”. It is not clear why they represent a separate Census Designated Place other than that they are in Kings County rather than Tulare, but they do get their names in their news to be noticed by outsiders looking to help, and that can only be a benefit.

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No one can see her before Tuesday, a full 6 days from now, and some not until Thursday, one week from today.

This has happened before when we try to schedule an appointment when one of our dogs falls ill, but I hoped it was an aberration last time. Apparently it was not. We should have a magic ball to know when our dog will take ill so we can schedule well in advance I guess.

There are 4 vets in town, and they all work bankers hours. No service in the evenings, little to no service on weekends, for emergencies during that time, Visalia 30 miles away is the closest possibility.

I am sure the doctors are doing yeoman work, and I also know as a volunteer for the new Porterville Animal Shelter, we are asking them to make time in their busy schedule to spay and neuter the strays we take in.

Still, it must be nice to be so busy that all of the vets in town can afford to project an uncaring image to responsible and loving pet owners who come in with an ill pet and are regular customers, and to give priority to abandoned dogs instead.

No advice is offered for keeping the pet comfortable during the delay, no explanation about why time can’t be made available in the evenings or weekends to meet demand, just sheer callousness on the part of front office staffs, the very staffs we trust with our pet’s health and lives. This is not the kind of image a health service should be projecting.

Now, I don’t want to offer criticism without turning it into a critique, offering practical solutions to this problem.

Recently, we were at the “Super Pet Adoption Day” with the Porterville Animal Shelter in Fresno. One of the local vet schools had a booth they were manning. Maybe it is time for a new vet to consider Porterville, as the business seems to be there, and there will be steady business spaying and neutering as many as 6 strays per day on behalf of the Shelter, many of which will find families who will make the vet their own.

Either that, or one of the existing vets ought hire some help, maybe a new vet, to assist with overflow business. This could be a very sound business decision for the vet, because it is very likely the hired vet may one day wish to buy the practice, which makes retirement that much more likely.

PS – I don’t know if it is funny or sad that one of the vets in town, not staff but the actual doctor, told me he does not believe in evolution while standing in front of a poster of 75 or so breeds of dogs.

Just how does this doctor think dogs and other animals get their distinctive features? And do we really want to place our trust in such a medical doctor who claims to not “believe” in the very science that is at the foundation of everything he does?

UPDATE: Thurs. Evening

It looks like Thunder is going to be OK. We found a vet in Tulare who is actually willing to see sick animaks and to make sure their capacity is sufficient to account for the demand for their services.

Seems a foxtail had gotten under Thunder’s tongue, and worked its way down to the front of her neck where it had become  trapped and seriously infected. We were told that had we waited until Tuesday to Thursday of next week, the infection, which was filled already with a large amount of pus, could have burst and made matters much worse. Apparently every single vet in Porterville is too concerned about something other than their own customers to explain this to us.

We were also told that we are far from the first from Porterville to make the trek – and make no mistake about it, it is a 60 mmile roundtrip trek – to Tulare while muttering about the lack of compassion of the local vets.

How sad indeed for Porterville’s pet owners that the local vets, each and every one of them,  only do procedures that can be scheduled far in advance, and that the pets have to either suffer while they wait, or the owners are forced to make a 60+ mile round trip for primary and followup visits to receive timely medical care for their loved ones.

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