Transportation · Tulare County
Tulare County announced Friday that FEMA is providing approximately $33.1 million to repair roads, bridges, and other infrastructure damaged during the 2023 winter storms and flooding. The funding covers all 38 county projects tied to the disaster, which was declared a major federal disaster in April 2023. Congressmen Vince Fong (CA-20) and David Valadao (CA-22), along with Tulare County officials, had been seeking up to $42 million for the repairs over more than three years. The county's Board of Supervisors Chair Amy Shuklian credited Supervisor Larry Micari for keeping the issue before Congress and FEMA until funding was secured.
Local Politics · Porterville, CA
Porterville-area voters face races for City Council, PUSD board, Kern Community College District, and Sierra View Local Health Care District seats, plus Congressional, State Assembly, and State Senate contests covering the region. Two city charter measures ask voters whether to allow the council to determine how public works projects are performed (Measure U) and how council vacancies of one year or more are filled (Measure V). Polling places in Porterville, Lindsay, Strathmore, Springville, Terra Bella, and Tule River Reservation will be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, November 3; mail-in ballots may be dropped at designated boxes until 8 p.m. that day.
Local Politics · Lindsay, CA
At its Tuesday meeting, the Lindsay City Council addressed how it used $6.5 million received after attorney fees from a settlement with SQM North American Corporation over contamination at Well 11. After a State Water Resources Board grant covered the full cost of the Well 11 treatment plant, the council rescinded its earlier decision to dedicate all settlement funds to water improvements and instead directed money toward general fund debt payments, retirement prefunding, and reserves. City staff cited more than $15 million in growing debt and state concerns about unfunded liabilities as reasons for the reallocation. Residents including former mayor Valeriano Saucedo raised concerns that none of the funds addressed the city's estimated $100 million in water infrastructure needs or helped residents struggling to pay water bills.
Community brief · Tulare County
The Central California Blood Center's annual South Valley Battle of the Badges blood drive runs November 1 through December 31, inviting community members to donate blood and credit a participating public safety agency in a friendly competition. The campaign spans agencies across the South Valley region from Orange Cove to Porterville to Avenal. Donations can be made at the Visalia donor center and participating South Valley mobile blood drives.…
