The News
Fertilizer fraud hits organic farm industry
- Details
- Published on 01/04/2013 - 8:55 am
- Written by Michael Kincheloe
A Bakersfield man was recently sentenced to 6 ½ years in prison and ordered to pay a $9 million judgment for a scheme that defrauded organic farmers and other customers who bought fertilizer allegedly made purely from materials approved for organic agriculture.
Kenneth Nelson’s Port Organic Products sold fertilizers to growers who otherwise would not have bought a product that contained synthetics instead of true organic ingredients such as fishmeal or bird guano. Likewise, those who bought a supposed organic product from California Liquid Fertilizer would have looked elsewhere had they known the mixture contained ammonium chloride and ammonium sulfate rather than fish and feathermeal.
Despite frost, Valley citrus crop looks promising
- Details
- Published on 01/04/2013 - 8:54 am
- Written by Chuck Harvey
The Valley’s citrus season is off to a strong start despite intermittent frosts, some drenching recent rains and a threat from an insect pest called Asian citrus psyllid.
High quality and heavy volume are expected for the important navel and mandarin orange croups. Fruit set up well this year and growers describe fruit sizes and sweetness as excellent.
Sprouts to open in Fresno
- Details
- Published on 12/21/2012 - 10:43 am
- Written by John Lindt
Phoenix-based Sprouts Farmers Market — an organic and natural foods supermarket competing in the same space as Whole Foods — will open a new 35,000 square-foot store in North Fresno by May.
Sprouts has nearly 150 locations and 11,000 employees in the West. Earlier this year it acquired the 36-store Sunflower Farmers Market chain.
Taxes, ADA-compliance reform top new biz laws for ‘13
- Details
- Published on 12/21/2012 - 10:42 am
- Written by Clay Moffitt
Uncertainty reigns in the tax laws for the New Year, but one certainty for California businesses will come in the form of lawsuit reform for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Gov. Jerry Brown signed State Bill 1186 into law on Sept. 19, much to the relief of many businesses that have been slammed with ADA compliance lawsuits.
According to the Sacramento Bee, more than 40 percent of the ADA compliance lawsuits in the U.S. are filed in the State of California.
Report: Great outdoors a magnet for West
- Details
- Published on 12/14/2012 - 11:09 am
- Written by Ben Keller
The San Joaquin Valley is well known for its proximity to national parks, beaches and wide-open spaces.
Until recently, those things have been thought of as solely a magnet for tourists who come to see the sights and then pack up again for their homes across the country or overseas.
A report released last month by nonprofit research group Headwaters Economics lays out evidence that communities near publicly protected lands where natural wonders and wilderness are accessible have a greater economic advantage for those living there.
Fresno Bee starts paywall for website
- Details
- Published on 12/14/2012 - 11:06 am
- Written by Chuck Harvey
McClatchy Co. newspapers — including The Fresno Bee — have adopted an online paywall system that requires a paid subscription in order to continue reading stories after a set number of visits to the digital site.
Readers have the option of bundling their print subscription with digital service or subscribing to digital only. The Bee calls the digital service Fresno Bee+.
Sandwich franchise expands to South Valley
- Details
- Published on 12/14/2012 - 11:06 am
- Written by Clay Moffitt
Fresno-based franchise Deli Delicious will open its first South Valley sandwich shop next week in Visalia.
The 1,100 square-foot store will be located at 4130 S Mooney Blvd. in Visalia. The chain currently operates 12 locations between Fresno and Clovis.
Visalia shopping center seeks megaplex movie theater
- Details
- Published on 12/14/2012 - 11:02 am
- Written by John Lindt
Visalia shopping center owner DBO Development is in advanced discussions with three movie theater chains to open a multi-screen theater on the south end of town to anchor the next phase of its Packwood Creek Shopping Center.
“We expect to have a commitment from one of the chains by February,” said Patrick Orosco of DBO.
Orosco has been marketing the next phase of Packwood Creek — Visalia’s largest retail complex — called The Grove at Packwood Creek, a 25-acre, 278,300 square-foot center with the help of Fresno-based Commercial Retail Associates.
Fresno’s brewing legacy comes full-circle
- Details
- Published on 12/14/2012 - 10:58 am
- Written by Charles McCarthy
A two-story office building remains empty at M Street and Heaton Avenue, marking the spot of Fresno’s first and largest commercial brewery, but a three-story building that once housed the second-largest brewery survives at Blackstone and Hedges avenues, amid mystery and rumors.
Meanwhile, nearly 80 years after Prohibition’s end, Fresno is seeing an emergence of micro brewing. Plenty of the suds now served in Fresno are brewed on-the-spot in downtown Fresno and the Tower District.
Building on strengths, architecture firms merge
- Details
- Published on 12/07/2012 - 9:35 am
- Written by Chuck Harvey
Architects Teter LLP and Canby Architectural Studio, Inc., have merged to form a full-service design and engineering shop for public and private builders.
Operating from offices in Fresno and Visalia, the firm provides architectural, engineering and construction management services for construction of buildings, facilities and custom homes. It offers green, sustainable designs for builders planning environmentally friendly projects or seeking LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
