Valley visitors spend $6B in 2012

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Published on 06/14/2013 - 10:41 am

Written by Leah Canseco

Visitor spending increased almost 3 percent in 2012 compared to the year before, a new report showed.
According to the latest California travel impact report by Dean Runyan Associates, visitors to the Central Valley—stretching from Kern County in the south to Glenn County in the north—spent a record $6 billion in the region last year.

Mitch Meyer

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Published on 06/14/2013 - 10:28 am

Written by Leah Canseco

Developer
Quail Lake

Education:
I got both my B.A. in Internatioanal Relations and M.A. in Linguistics from the University of Michigan and a law degree from Hastings.

Age:
I’m 56.

Family:
My wife and I have a son and 2-year-old and one-month-old grandsons.

Tell me about Quail Lake and its history and your role in its development.
Quail Lake originated in the early ‘90s when we became aware of the property and studied its features. We found that the property, about seven miles from Highway 168 off of Shaw Avenue, had access to large amounts of water from the Enterprise Canal and the deep aquifer. It also featured high-quality wetlands.

Knowing the Valley’s audience

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Published on 06/14/2013 - 10:19 am

Written by Chuck Harvey

Spanish-language advertising carries unique benefits

The growth of the Hispanic population and Latino TV programming in the Fresno area makes advertising on Spanish-language television a logical part of a marketing plan for products and services.
Hispanics comprise nearly half the area’s population and their spending power has surged.
Still, advertising on Spanish-language TV stations and targeting of the Hispanic audience may not be on the top of the mind of many business owners. But that may be changing.
One reason is the sheer number of viewers.

Big Kahuna Yogurt opens fourth Valley location

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Published on 06/14/2013 - 10:12 am

Written by Clay Moffitt

Big Kahuna Yogurt opened its latest store on May 26 in the Hanford Mall, in what the company expects to be a proliferation of the Central Valley region.
The frozen yogurt retailer opened its first location in the Valley in Visalia in 2010. The next year its Tulare store opened and last year it opened a shop in Clovis near the Sierra Vista Mall movie theater.
“We started opening up more locations in response to our customers,” said Freddy Garcia, franchise owner. “Our customers were saying to us ‘Come to Fresno! Come to Tulare! Come to Hanford!’”

$5.1M OKd for Tulare Co. digester

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Published on 06/14/2013 - 10:09 am

Written by Leah Canseco

The Tulare County Board of Supervisors this week denied an appeal from Sundale Vineyards, a neighbor of Harvest Power’s facility near Tulare, to deny a permit to build a biomethane digester and expand its composting facility.

Local restaurateurs look to new technology

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Published on 06/14/2013 - 10:05 am

Written by Clay Moffitt

With the opening of Dave Fansler’s newest venture Westwoods BBQ & Spice Company in the coming months, the Fresno restaurateur eyes the occasion as the perfect opportunity to test and find out which software products will pave the way for the future of the industry.

High Hopes

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Published on 06/14/2013 - 9:57 am

Written by Ben Keller

Business community pleased with new Fresno State president

While he hasn’t officially filled the position yet, incoming Fresno State President Joseph Castro understands the influence the university has on the Valley’s economy and in bringing both business and community leaders together to promote the region to the world.

Reedley College president picked

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Published on 06/07/2013 - 1:49 pm

Written by Leah Canseco

The State Center Community College District trustees voted in Dr. Sandra Caldwell as Reedley College’s new president.

Caldwell, currently the associate vice president for planning and improvement at Western Wyoming Community College, replaces Dr. Mitjl Capet, who stepped down after less than a year on the job.

Paul DIctos

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Published on 06/07/2013 - 1:38 pm

Written by Leah Canseco

Assessor-Recorder 

Fresno County

What we do:

We evaluate taxable properties ensuring equal treatment for all homeowners, businesses and agricultural taxpayers.

We maintain official records to provide a public record and to give constructive notice of transactions relating to real property in Fresno County. We serve as the local registrar of marriages and keep birth and death records for Fresno County. We make records available to the public for property searches and for genealogical research. 

Safe and sound

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Published on 06/07/2013 - 1:28 pm

Written by Clay Moffitt

Local gun safe makers busier than ever

Anticipation of stricter gun control laws has proven lucrative to a pair of Central Valley gun safe manufacturers.

The Gun Safe Co., a manufacturer based in Exeter, and Sturdy Gun Safe, a Fresno manufacturer, both report they’ve struggled to manufacture at a rate to keep up with demand.