-October 29,2021-
Hanford Mayor tours Faraday Future plant
Start-up automaker Faraday Future(FF) recently welcomed Hanford Mayor Francisco Ramirez and City Manager Mario Cifuentez to its production facility in the industrial park to share current and future progress updates related to its production plans.The officials toured the new paint department and heard plant manager Matt Tall describe the next steps and milestones to making cars in Hanford beginning in July 2022.
Making news is hiring plans including FF to hire 50 new employees at its Hanford production facility by year end and up to an additional 350 more in 2022 as it ramps up production. About 25 work at the plant now the company says.
After the visit Ramirez said “I want to thank FF for giving me a very straightforward and thorough update tour of their FF 91 factory here in Hanford last week. I was able to see firsthand just how far they have come in a short time and also hear about their strategic milestones, including local hiring plans, as they ramp up to fully complete their production facility in the coming months,” said Hanford Mayor Ramirez. “This facility will be a first-rate production hub for their vehicles and will allow local qualified residents to be part of the workforce they are bringing in now and the near future to help deliver the FF 91 to the market next summer.”
Two-day storm made a difference
The last time Hanford saw an inch of rain was last March, seven months ago. Across the state the late October Atmospheric River storms piled up record rainfall numbers, putting out wildfires, filling back up those empty reservoirs and soaking the bone-dry land for the first time in a year.
For much of northern California it was a dramatic change of fortunes with the City of Sacramento receiving almost 70% of the rain in one day, 5.44”compared to all last water year (Oct-Sept) 7.87″.
Key reservoirs like the state’s second largest, Oroville, saw 4.57” in one day – 52% of the water they got last water year. The water level in the reservoir has risen almost 30 feet from Sunday to this Wednesday morning.
Shasta had recorded no rainfall for the water year a week ago but now measures just under 8 inches in just a few days.They got only 25 inches of rain all last water year.
Tahoe, where the forest nearly burned down a few months ago, cheered skiers as 16″ of total precipitation was recorded at the Central Sierra Snow Lab. Northstar ski resort has 4 feet of snow on the ground. Ski for Halloween?
No-one is calling the event a drought buster but it’s a “great start “says Kings River Watermaster Steve Haugen. The upper Kings watershed saw 3 to 5 inches of precip over the one day period, water that will help reverse Pine Flat’s dropping water level. The huge dam holds one million acre feet but is only 20% full but rising.
Water contractors who depend on Friant water can cheer as Huntington Lake got 4.4” in one day compared to 16.5” all last water year. That’s the difference one day makes.
Rain & snow dampen KNP Complex fire
The October 25th Atmospheric River dropped about 3.5 “ of rain as well as some snow in the Giant Forest area of Sequoia Park this week snuffing out the flames at the 88,000 acre KNP fire with wet stuff sent from the heavens.
The fires have burned much of the southern Sierra, killing Sequoia trees since early September.Only a few days earlier, the fire brought some 2000 firefighters to the area to calm the flames that a one-day storm helped put down in a few hours while firefighters sheltered in place. Firefighters are down to around 500 as they near “containment” of the fire concerned now with smoldering logs instead of out-of-control wildfire. Heavy fuels burned by wildfires can smolder for as long as a year or more after the fire has been declared “contained.” A statement Wednesday said the fire was not”out” but “nevertheless, by wetting down the fuels, even slightly, it can slow a fire’s progress very effectively and give firefighters the time they need to contain the fire and mop it up before the next dry spell.”
Meanwhile the Valley’s smokey summer has cleared, replaced by the winter blanket of Tule fog, common after the season’s first rain.
Lemoore Cannabis business keeps growing
Lemoore City Manager Olson recently told the council that an ordinance several years ago to allow cannabis operations within the City limits has resulted in over $ 20 million invested into the community. He stated that there is more to come and that the city has been strategically locating cannabis operations in areas that are not negatively affected the surrounding area, such as the latest project which is proposed to be located south of the wastewater plant. He also noted that there are only about 9 non-consecutive weeks annually, during the harvesting of outdoor crops, when odors might be noticeable.
NAS Lemoore update
NAS Lemoore Captain Peterson provided an update recently to the City of Lemoore city council regards the Economic Impact Study completed in December of 2020. It shows that there is $950 million in annual impact upon the local area-an increase of almost $250 million. The base currently has 11,900 jobs. 8,400 directly employed, 3,400 stimulated through the base. LNAS is currently hiring.
Jobless rate fall here
The unemployment rate in Kings County was 8.0 percent in September 2021, down from a revised 9.0 percent in August 2021, and below the year-ago estimate of 10.4 percent. This compares with an unadjusted unemployment rate of 6.4 percent for California and 4.6 percent for the nation during the same period. There are 1500 more jobs in the county than Sept 2020.
Kings County median prices climbs in September
California Assn of Realtors reports that the median sales price of homes in Kings County in September 2021 climbed to $320,000 compared to $310,000 in August and $264,000 in Sept 2020.
Walnut and raisin prices fall
USDA says the average price paid to farmers for both walnut and raisins, each big Central Valley crops, fell in 2020. Walnuts prices dropped to about 60 cents/lb -down from almost $1/lb in 2019 and $1.83/lb back in 2013.The trend has been down for the past few years.
As of raisins farmers saw prices around $2,000 a ton in 2018 -falling to $1100 in 2019 and $1302 a ton in 2020.
Wimpy’s opens in Lemoore
Wimpy’s burgers has opened in Lemoore at 321 S. Lemoore Ave -across from Lemoore High School. The Visalia-based \\chain has locations in Visalia,Tulare, Dinuba and Lemoore