John - Sierra2theSea

Counting your chickens

California egg production keeps dropping

-April 26,2024-USDA reports in February said California’s egg production during January totaled 185 million, down 43 million from December’s production and down 100 million from January 2023.

The big drop is in the number of layers in January 2024 that totaled 7.78 million, down 18 percent from last month, and down 37 percent from January 2023.

Eggs per 100 layers were steady during the month at 2,377, compared to 2,389 a month earlier, and 2,310 in January 2023.

As of 1998 the state’s hen flock was around 25,000.By 2012, there were some 19,000 laying chickens in California That number dropped to 13,50 in 2022 and now is about half that.

Sounds like a trend.

The big drop seen in February numbers is likely impacted by the contagious bird flu virus that wiped out whole flocks of egg laying chickens in the state.

One report said “The highly contagious virus has ravaged Sonoma County, where officials have declared a state of emergency. During the past two months, nearly a dozen commercial farms have had to destroy more than 1 million birds to control the outbreak, dealing an economic blow to farmers, workers and their customers.”

Nerd Wallet reports that there’s an egg shortage nationwide because the ongoing bird flu outbreak reduced the number of egg-laying chickens.

” As of April 17, the virus has affected more than 90.6 million birds in the U.S. since January 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most of the birds affected were egg-laying hens.

New bird flu cases continue to be reported by major U.S. egg producers. Most recently:
Cal-Maine Foods Inc., the largest U.S. egg producer, announced on April 2 that it had found cases of bird flu in chickens at a plant in Texas. More than 1.6 million egg-laying hens and 337,000 juvenile chickens were affected at the Texas plant — or about 3.6% of the company’s total flocks, Cal-Maine said in a news release.

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development reportedly found cases of bird flu at Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch, another major U.S. egg producer based in Ionia County, Michigan. The department didn’t specify how many affected birds were egg-laying hens, according to the Associated Press.

A total of 5.97 million birds were lost between the two facilities, according to the USDA’s Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook report released April 17.”

Cost of eggs

The Report continues”a dozen large white cage-free eggs cost about $3.02 per dozen in California, according to USDA market data released April 19.

Egg prices have been high in California because a string of bird flu cases in December and January were concentrated in the state. It’s possible retailers could’ve made up the losses with eggs from outside the state, but California law limits their alternatives.

In 2018, California voters passed a ballot measure setting high standards for farm animal welfare. That included requiring that only cage-free eggs be sold in the state. The share of egg layers raised in cage-free conditions has been growing, but they still make up less than half of the national population. And many of them are raised in California. USDA data show the national inventory of cage-free eggs took a big hit when California egg producers reported cases of bird flu.

Because of the diminished supply of cage-free eggs, prices went up. Weekly price data from the USDA shows California egg prices (meaning, cage-free egg prices) peaked at $5.59 per dozen during the week of Feb. 9. Since then, the supply of cage-free eggs has largely recovered, according to the USDA. That has eased egg prices in California.”

See chart showing prices in California easing.

Egg consumption nationwide is estimated at 277 eggs per person, but in California the average is 339 eggs per person. California is the number one egg consuming state in the U.S. for luck and healthy babies.

Despite challenges, production of eggs nationwide has generally been on an upward swing.(see chart)

But in California egg production was 317 million in December 2022, 277 million in February 2023 and today is down to 170 million. How much it will rebound in the state once bird flu is overcome we don’t know.

One report says “Although there has been a weekly increase in pullet flocks transferred to laying houses, hen numbers are constrained by the loss of close to 13 million hens due to HPAI on twelve complexes holding from 250,000 to 2.6 million hens during the 4th Quarter of 2023. Pullets are in short supply with losses of 2.5 million growing birds mainly in California.”

photo:Glaum Egg Ranch

Allied Grape Growers – pull 50k acres

Don’t call it sour grapes but an April Allied Grapes Growers forum suggested the California wine industry needs to pull up to 50,000 acres to right-size plantings with demand.

“The California wine industry continues to be structurally
oversupplied (too many acres), but unusually weak wine shipment
performance since 2022 has magnified our issue.
• We are not “over-planting”; we are “under-removing”.
• Plantings in 2024 and 2025 are expected to moderate significantly,
but that doesn’t help us today; we need to adjust bearing acreage.
• +/-50,000 acres need to be removed to reduce our bearing acres
by 30,000 (almost 20,000 acres are newly bearing in 2024).”

The latests USDA grape acreage report does show a downturn in bearing acres in California for all types of grapes. Wine grapes are down about 15,000 acres between 2022 and 2023.

Gasoline demand slumps in US in the latest report

More than 1 in 5 cars sold globally this year will be electric

The US Energy Information Agency (EIA) reported this week that gasoline demand slumped to 8.4 million barrels a day in the week ending April 19,2024 – down from 8.6 million barrels the week before and down more than 10% from the same date a year earlier, when gasoline use across the US was 9.5 million barrels a day.

The chart below shows demand for gasoline has been lower than the year before starting in February to the present.

A Reuters story points to higher prices at the pump and the expectation of relief as a possible reason. ”A spring surge in U.S. gasoline prices is set to fizzle out earlier than expected as geopolitical concerns abate, raising optimism that motorists will find some relief at the pump ahead of peak summer travel demand.

U.S. gasoline prices are under a microscope ahead of the country’s presidential elections in November, with stickiness in inflation among top issues plaguing consumers and policymakers.”

Looking longer-term The International Energy Agency (IEA) a few weeks ago cut crude oil demand forecasts for the year, with rates expected to fall further next year as consumption returns to the pre-COVID-19 trend, increasing the odds of a peak in oil consumption this decade, the agency said.

A key factor in oil consumption is the conversion of the world fleet of gasoline powered vehicles to electric. Critics have said EV sales are slumping but the counter view is that tough competition in the EV sector is lowering prices for those who want to enter into the market.

The electric car effect

A CNN story this past week adds that “Global electric vehicle sales are set to rise by more than a fifth to reach 17 million this year, powered by drivers in China, according to the International Energy Agency.

More than 1 in 5 cars sold globally this year will be electric

In a report Tuesday, the IEA projected that “surging demand” for EVs over the next decade was set “to remake the global auto industry and significantly reduce oil consumption for road transport.”

It expects half of all cars sold globally to be electric by 2035, up from more than one in five this year, provided charging infrastructure keeps pace. The IEA includes battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles in its definition of EVs.

The agency’s bullish long-term outlook for EVs — based on current government policies — comes just days after the world’s biggest battery EV maker Tesla slashed its prices in major markets to counter declining sales and growing competition from Chinese upstarts and established carmakers.

Recent negative headlines about slowing EV penetration are out of step with positive global trends, according to IEA executive director Fatih Birol. The data “does not at all show a reverse of the growth of electric cars. It shows an extremely robust increase of global electric car sales,” he told reporters Tuesday.

The growth is not driven just by Chinese buyers. The number of new battery electric cars sold in the European Union rose almost 4% in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period in 2023, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.

In a statement, Birol said: “Rather than tapering off, the global EV revolution appears to be gearing up for a new phase of growth.”

Despite the upbeat trends, EV makers are grappling with slim profit margins, squeezed by price wars as competition heats.

In the past few days, Tesla and Chinese EV maker Li Auto have cut prices on major models in China, the world’s biggest EV market, with Tesla also cutting prices in Germany and the United States.

In China, more than 60% of EVs sold last year were less expensive than conventional cars, but in Europe and the United States the purchase price for new cars with internal combustion engines remains lower on average.

“Intensifying market competition and improving battery technologies are expected to reduce (EV) prices in the coming years,” the IEA said.

“Growing electric car exports from Chinese automakers, which accounted for more than half of all electric car sales in 2023, could add to downward pressure on purchase prices,” it added.

And on gasoline prices.

Sequoia destinations, including Mineral King, will open this season

-April 18,2024-

From Sequoia Park to the old Tulare Lake bed, local authorities recount the same story. A deluge of biblical proportions including heavy rain and storm runoff in the past year in our basin has caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to the region’s road and bridge infrastructure.

A series of atmospheric rivers, particularly in March 2023 sent floodwaters from the foothills streaming down to the valley floor, gushing through the streets of small communities in Tulare and Kings County and into the western part of the basin, re-creating historic Tulare lake. At its peak last summer the lake sprawled over 111,000 acres, still a fraction of its historical size of nearly 512,000 acres (800 square miles), and five to seven feet deep.

One source remarked “We all prayed for rain. We just all prayed a little too hard.”

Today prayers, shovels and hot weather have brought the lake level down to about 1000 acres after it submerged farmland, roads and bridges for months.

Tulare County damage

Damage in Tulare County included repairs to 3000 miles of rural roads and washed out bridges even as the floodwaters receded. The county reported they had identified 225 locations in need of critical emergency repairs as a result of the storms. Damage was estimated at $46 million by Resource Management Agency Director Reed Schenke. The county hopes that FEMA will reimburse for many of these repairs, mostly complete or scheduled.

Still a year later, government agencies continue to struggle to repair the extensive damage requiring federal funding to make it happen. Much has been done but there are ongoing efforts. Visitors still can’t travel up Highway 190 to the top with Caltrans spending $27 million to repair the damage mile by mile hopefully before Memorial Day – the start of the busy tourist season.

As of April 4 CalTrans says Hwy 190 Is closed from Camp Nelson Rd in Camp Nelson to Quaking Aspen Camp (Tulare Co) – due to emergency repairs.

Road work inn Sequoia/Kings Canyon

In Sequoia National Park repairs to the major roads are complete or underway with some roads still closed due to the damage.The North Fork Bridge is closed. The road to Crystal Cave will still be closed until further notice. The General Highway between the two parks is already open with 21 sites repaired. After months of closure at the Wuksachi Lodge, the park’s main hotel is now open for the season. At the entrance to Kings Canyon, Grant Grove accommodations are open.

For those who love the alpine beauty of the Mineral King Valley, there is more good news. The national park with federal funding plans to make repairs to the 25 mile road that has been closed for the past year and allow the remote valley to open for visitors after Memorial Day this year. Already 18 sites along the road have been repaired.Campgrounds along the road are expected to open as well as the Silver City Resort, says park spokesperson Sintia Kawasaki-Yee. Early in the summer season there may be construction delays on the road.

The second more extensive repair of the road is scheduled for the next few years.

After being closed last year, Cedar Grove in Kings Canyon will open for visitors and the park hopes to open sections of Redwood Canyon as well. With a beautiful stand of sequoia trees in this area, damage from flooding was minor compared to the damage from horrific wildfires that destroyed thousands of mature sequoias in the past year. Hazardous tree removal will be happening at various sites around the Parks

This month there is one major construction project on the General’s Highway to be aware of. The construction project is estimated to take eight weeks and will include closure for the first four weeks between April 15 and May-10 and and delays for the second four weeks.

Mineral King Valley in Sequoia National Park: Wikipedia

Ice Cream maker will lease new Tulare cold storage plant

-April 18,2024-

The world’s largest ice cream maker – Unilever has just announced they would spin off their ice cream business, creating a separate entity who will retain famous brands like Ben & Jerry’s, Popsicle and Breyers.

So here’s the scoop! Now that new entity has made a deal in Tulare to store and distribute their frozen products to outlets all over the West Coast moving this part of their business from Nevada, says Rod Noll,VP US Cold Storage.

Noll says a previously announced construction of a new 204,000sf cold storage facility in Tulare is now underway and a portion will be ready this fall for the new ice cream user.

The 8.56 million-cubic-foot refrigerated addition is at the Tulare North warehouse in Tulare, on Walnut. This $75.7 million expansion includes some of the industry’s latest storage and retrieval automation and brings the operation’s total space to more than 24.7 million cubic feet, the largest single footprint in the company network. Even before the current expansion, US Cold Storage has 588,500sq ft. in Tulare.It also has a on-site solar farm and plans for a second one.

“I am thrilled for our fifth strategic expansion in Tulare,” says Noll, USCS Senior Vice President, Western Region.

The” expansion reflects the continued growth of some of our major customers who are broadening their manufacturing capabilities.”

Some months ago Noll also announced ” Specifically, we have a consumer packaged goods customer relocating its business to northern California and to this facility.”

With the local news this week, we now know who this packaged goods company is, although we don’t know details of their planned operations. The new spinoff company, as yet unnamed, will retain their famous ice cream brands like Ben and Jerrys,the nation’s largest ice cream company in sales. The iconic brand offers such flavors as Chunky Monkey and Cherry Garcia.The company was launched in 1978 by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, who were friends since their childhood from Merrick, New York. In 2000, Ben & Jerry’s was sold to the multinational conglomerate Unilever but continues to operate as an independent subsidiary.

Other well-known company brands of frozen desserts include Breyers, Magnum, Popsicle ,Yasso, Good Humor, Fudgesickle, Klondike ,Grom, Talente, Nogger and GB Glace. Unilever ice cream business has had sales of nearly $9 billion.

In the Unilever announcement of the spin off late last month,a company spokesperson said the ice cream business is “in the process of moving to a separate head office in Amsterdam.” Complaints were heard that consumers were switching to lower cost brands, and ice cream was a “troubled category”

The giant British company has many divisions, selling everything from Dove soap and Vaseline to Coleman’s Mustard.

Chill Out

The new Tulare cold storage will be chilly indeed.

There will be two new refrigerated rooms capable of storage down to -20F degrees. Officials expect by this November to complete a conventional storage space spanning 3.08 million cubic feet. A second, 5.48 million-cubic- foot room is scheduled to open in February 2025. That space will feature very narrow aisle (VNA) storage serviced by a warehouse guidance system and semi-automated, turret-style storage and retrieval forklifts.

Besides the Unilever deal, US Cold Storage will be adding more product from a number of local customers who already use the big facility. Noll says “Saputo Cheese manufacturing is expanding as well as Dreyer’s Ice Cream. Both have been long standing customers” says Noll.

Production of dairy products is big business in Tulare where seven of the 10 top companies in town by employment
are dairy-related led by Saputo Cheese.

Ice Cream Consumption

USDA says in 2021,U.S. residents consumed 20.3 pounds of frozen dairy products per capita, nearly 6 pounds less than in 2000. Per capita consumption of frozen dairy products has been declining since the 1990s, dipping to its lowest point in 2021.

But in 2022, per capita consumption increased by 1.3% compared to the previous year. The growing consumer preference for premium ice creams and international flavors has notably boosted per capita ice cream consumption in the United States over recent decades.

Cotton crop could reach 170,000 acres

-April 18,2024-

California’s cotton crop is mostly in the ground now and estimated to be about 170,000 acres – much better than last year when planting was under 100,000 acres, lowest ever.

California Cotton Growers Director Roger Isom expects most of the acreage to be Pima with only 23,000 acres planted to the upland variety.

Planting of the lakebed is widespread this year now that the lake has been drained and not expected to return anytime soon.

Upland cotton price now below 80 cents

As for prices, Isom says they” are not great” with Pima between $1.60 and $1.70 per pound this year and the export market hurt by the very strong US dollar.

New Visalia Industrial Park could hire 4000

-April 18,2024-

Atlanta-based Seefried Industries has submitted a environmental impact report to the City of Visalia to build a 284-acre industrial park at the NW corner of Shirk and Riggin. The big project would require annexation into the city limits to move forward. It would expand the Visalia industrial park to the north.

Called the Shirk and Riggin Industrial Project, the development would be the largest in City of Visalia history with plans to build 3,820,000 ft. of industrial buildings that could hire over 4000 workers once all phases are constructed. The site plan shows 3750 parking places for all types of vehicles.

The applicant plans eight industrial buildings used for warehouse, distribution, and light manufacturing; six flex industrial buildings; two drive-through restaurants; a convenience store; a recreational vehicle (RV) and self storage facility; gas station; and a car wash.

The footprint shows multiple phases of large industrial buildings with the corner of Shirk and Riggin having several retail uses located right across the street from the proposed new Costco shopping center.

The EIR says the prolect would offer via four access points along Shirk Street, five access points along Riggin Avenue, and five access points along Kelsey Street. On-site orchards would need to be removed, and appropriate landscaping and lighting would be incorporated into the overall site design consistent with applicable City requirements and guidelines.

The project’s draft EIR was filed 4/11/2024 with a comment period ending 5/28/2024. As is typical a final EIR would follow and consideration by the city council after that before the project is submitted to LAFCO for annexation.

Founded in 1984 by Ferdinand Seefried, Seefried Industrial Properties is a privately held real estate firm that focuses on the development, leasing and management of industrial properties across the U.S. The firm primarily focuses on development in core industrial markets and build-to-suits with tenants in core and second-tier markets. Seefried leases and manages approximately 25 million square feet for its institutional and European clients and has developed over 200 million square feet of space valued in excess of $18 billion across 30+ markets. Based in Atlanta, the firm has regional offices in Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Phoenix.

New $30 mil investment

In Visalia, Seefried built and leased the 1.2 million square-foot Ace Hardware distribution center on Plaza Drive – now in full operation. In related news, Ace Hardware is installing a $30 million conveyor system right now expected to automate deliveries from Visalia to all parts of California in a speedy manner. The end result is expected to be higher e-commerce sales from Visalia that could boost the city’s tax revenue.

Seefried also has plans for a second 500,000 square-foot spec warehouse nearby at Goshen Avenue and American. The company purchased the Shirk and Riggin property from the Ritchie interest.

The company’s site plan for the new industrial park indicates two huge buildings on Kelsey would be first to be constructed, adding up to about 1,800,000 sq ft. across from Amazon.

Seefried is pressing on with these massive plans despite the fact that the warehouse market has cooled in California and in Visalia.

Pot vs Beef

Marijuana growers challenge beef harvest plant

April 18,2024

Marijuana growers People’s Farm, based in Lemoore,have appealed a March 4 approval by the county planning commission of the proposed Sandridge beef harvest plant just outside of the city limits. People’s attended the Planning Commission meeting and protested the project, citing concerns about pests, odors and cross pollination of their marijuana crop.The major product here is cannabis oil.

The Commission heard the concerns, but said they believed the CEQA process was working and was sufficient. County planner Victor Hernandez said the two sides tried to negotiate, but did not come to terms. Hernandez says the appeal will go to the Kings County Board of Supervisors, likely in May.

Sources say the marijuana company feels strong enough to appeal the matter to court if the Board of Supervisors approves the project.

Sandridge Partners has been trying to build the beef plant for several years, downsizing the scale of the operation after some protest from City of Lemoore residents and the nearby college.

Ultimately supported by the city manager at the time citing the economic benefits of the project and the jobs (around 70) allowing the project to move forward without more controversy until now.

The proposed project will total approximately 135 acres and will include approximately 72,000 sf. of building space consisting of livestock loading areas, a kill floor, coolers, cold storage, dry storage, a cut room, offices, employee facilities and 1,900 sf. of retail space. This facility will be used to slaughter, butcher, process, and distribute bulk beef products using kosher and halal slaughter techniques. At capacity the beef harvesting plant would harvest a maximum of 210 cattle per day. The project site is to be located at 19868 Jackson Avenue.

Pot vs beef

It may be considered ironic that cattle farming in Kings County goes back 150 years while marijuana farming goes back about five years. Marijuana farming in this county is still controversial and not allowed in unincorporated areas (governed by the Board of Supervisors) but now the marijuana farmers are appealing to the BOS to rule against the beef guys.

Caldwell/99 Interchange could be completed in 2028

Sequoia Gateway project still stalled in neutral

April 18,2024

CalTrans has again let the latest construction date slip for the long-awaited Caldwell interchange at Hwy 99. A year ago they said construction was expected to start by August 2023.

But as everyone knows, lots has happened in California that has resulted in delays. Stuff like Covid 19, some 20 atmospheric rivers decimating roads and bridges and now a state budget crisis.

But this past week CalTrans District 6 administrator Mike Navarro said “we expect to begin construction by the end of this year.” Look for about a three-year construction period he estimates.

caption: Developers of the proposed Sequoia Gateway commercial center, along Highway 99 continue to face delays as construction of the Caldwell Interchange is now scheduled for 2028. Meanwhile, big retailers continue to favor new locations along Visalia’s traditional commercial strips, surrounded by rooftops.

So the schedule now suggests we could see the completed interchange in about four years.

Arguably, the drawn-out time frame matters most to the developers of the Sequoia Gateway business park – the huge 1.46 million square-foot commercial center that was first proposed back in 2015 at a public hearing.

In 2018, the controversial project on the outskirts of the Visalia city limits, was approved by the county Board of Supervisors.
News articles at the time reported that the developers estimated “Sequoia Gateway will create more than 2,000 jobs and $17 million in annual tax revenue.”
“It’s going to be a tremendous increase in property tax evaluation which will benefit the county now, ultimately benefit the city of Visalia and the county,” Supervisor Pete Vander Poel said. “And it’s going to increase sales tax tremendously.”
“To be located at the southeast corner of Caldwell Avenue and Highway 99, Sequoia Gateway will be built in phases over the next eight to ten years.”
“The first phase will include a Valley Children’s specialty care center, as well as gas stations and fast food restaurants. Phase two will include hotels, retail stores, and a visitor’s center.”
When approved in 2018 the only commercial activity at that corner was a Shell gas station and convenience store surrounded by ag land and the Visalia airport runway to the north.Today, about 7 years later the Shell station is still there and a Valero station has opened along with a drive-thru coffee store.
The latest delay in Caltrans construction launch estimate is not the first time dates have come and gone. In 2018 the project’s EIR cites “The Caltrans ‘Status of Projects’ Report indicates that completion of the interchange reconstruction project is scheduled for July 2024. For purposes of the programmatic analysis for the Near Term (2024) scenario, it is therefore assumed that the reconstructed interchange will be completed and open to traffic” concludes the EIR.
Indeed the developer, in their 2018 environmental document for the project, anticipated as much as 1,000,000 square feet of development by 2024 – now.
An aerial view of the project today doesn’t look a whole bunch different that it did in 2015 when this land was mostly row crop farmland, now with some internal road work installed.Price tag rises
The price tag for the interchange project itself that requires demolition of the existing freeway overcrossing bridge and replacement with a new wider bridge and 4 through-lanes has risen to $68.2 million by the latest estimate – up from $53.5 mil in 2018 and $36.8 in 2009.
After years of trying to make it happen, the existing landowners,Bill Travis and Fred Ruiz have been shopping the project around according to county economic development staffer Mike Washam and an unknown developer has been doing “due diligence” on a possible purchase of about 85 acres of the 127-acre land for almost a year. Calls to the owners requesting comment were not returned.
That due diligence would be expected to include how long it would take for consumers to access any tenants that the developer would try to attract. Obviously, the tenants want to know this too.
Now we know when that might be – 2028, not 2024.
Already significant business interests have looked at the site and walked away. That includes the Great Wolf Resort project that made splashy news a year ago.Here is a news report on what happened as of March 2023.
“This week Mike Washam, assistant director of the County of Tulare economic development agency, confirmed the Chicago-based developer of Great Wolf Resorts has decided not move forward on what had been touted as a $2-billion-impact project to build a 500-700 room resort and water park at the Sequoia Gateway Commerce Center near Caldwell Avenue and Highway 99.

As recently as December, news reports said the hotel resort project — first proposed in January 2022 — was expected to break ground in 2023 and open in 2025. As of a few months ago, Washam was still optimistic.

But Washam says he was advised last weekend that the company, which operates 19 Great Wolf Lodge resorts across the U.S., decided that “the timing was not right” on the Visalia location, suggesting they were busy breaking ground on resorts in other parts of the country.

“I don’t think they have any other potential locations in California they prefer,” instead focusing outside the state, said Washam.It makes sense that the company might give up on the idea to open in 2025 when travelers could not access a new interchange until years later and the existing outdated interchange built in the 1950s wouldn’t be able to handle the traffic.

A major challenge this shopping center has is that it is located away from any population center and totally dependent for success on its connection to Highway 99. Unlike Mooney Boulevard, a store coming into the Gateway center cannot count on existing shoppers that will be visiting hundreds of neighboring stores and restaurants, large and small along the retail trip Mooney Blvd. For example, Sam’s Club and Chick-fil-A don’t have to wait till 2028 and hope customers will come. Instead they recently selected S. Mooney Blvd. for their proposed location – near Costco,Target and three-plus miles of local and regional commercial outlets. The mass complex of stores, surrounded by thousands of homes, help float all the boats.
Two other proposed anchors for the commercial center include Valley Children’s Hospital and Kaweah Delta- each of which have said they may want to offer clinical space at the Hwy 99 center.

Valley Children’s Hospital, based in Madera, has a few Valley clinics already. The nonprofit already and a Visalia clinical location near the Visalia Medical Clinic where they serve children.

Of course Kaweah Delta too already has extensive clinical space all over Visalia, countywide and in Tulare. Valley Children’s Hospital said they supported the project and wanted to be part of it back in 2018. But as of spring 2024 there’s no sign they are moving forward with a facility here after talking about it for 9 years.

Each of the big healthcare entities have their own issues to worry about that include difficult finances and community support. Due largely to the widespread Covid epidemic, Kaweah Health has been suffering under red ink for a few years and is only now coming out of it but requiring state financial help to do so.

Valley Children’s Hospital has recently had their own problem related to the disclosure of the $5 million salary of their CEO even as most of their patients are low-income MediCal children. The publicity has hurt the hospital’s community support and likely their fundraising.

Kaweah Health continues to study opening a surgical clinic at the Gateway site based on the idea that funding for the project would come from private physicians in partnership with the health district. Some decision on this could come as soon as July, say sources.
Today the Sequoia Gateway project looks pretty much like it did back in 2015 although there is now a second gas station and in a Dutch Brothers coffee drive-thru.But there will have to be a lot of lattes served before a significant number of fellow tenants move in. As it always has been, the fate of the commercial center is dependent on what happens with the freeway interchange.

Biz news around Visalia

April 18,2024

Costco files for Conditional Use Permit in North Visalia

Costco Wholesale is one step closer to starting construction on their new North Visalia location on Riggin at Shirk. City planner Brandon Smith says the Seattle-based retailer filed in early April for a Conditional Use Permit with the city, likely to be heard by the Planning Commission in about three months time.Visalia’s top retailer hopes to be open for business by the holidays of 2025. The city is coordinating the widening of Riggin in this area where three large developments are in the works on the same corner.

Construction starts on Visalia battery storage project

American Inc. is ready to start grading the construction site for a 4.7 acre battery storage facility on Sunnyview in the Visalia industrial Park. The Shirk Battery Energy Storage System Project spans the City of Visalia and unincorporated areas of northwestern Tulare County, and is proposed by Viridity Energy Solutions Inc. (VESI), an Ormat Company. The 80-megawatt battery energy storage system (BESS) is within the City limits but would connect to a small portion of county land to run the transmission line.

Valley Strong Credit Union closes Visalia north side location – Chinese take-out will move in

Bakersfield-based Valley Strong Credit Union has shuttered their northside Visalia branch, leaving the financial institution with one location in town on Mooney Boulevard.

The departure has allowed a West Covina Chinese restaurant developer to request a city permit to move into the space in the Target shopping center on Dinuba Boulevard.

Pan Pan Wok will open in the 2100 square-foot space located at 3030 North Dinuba Blvd. space A. The small chain has a location in Victorville.Here is their menu.