Mid Valley Times 10-17-19 E-edition

Thursday, October 17, 2019
Vol. 1, No. 16
Reedley Fiesta 2019
50 cents
Dinuba welcomes Newsom internet tax veto
By Rick Curiel
Mid Valley Times
The city of Dinuba breathed a temporary sigh of relief over the weekend after California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have changed the appropriation of Internet tax sales.
California Senate Bill 531 reached the Governor’s desk after having been passed in the State Senate on May 16 of this year and passing in the State Assembly last month, Sept. 5.
The bill, introduced by Cali- fornia Senator Steve Glazer (D), would have prohibited lo- cal agencies from entering into agreements with incentives for retailers to locate and maintain their place of business in the agencies jurisdiction. Addition- ally, the bill would have prohib- ited local agencies from gen- erating tax revenue from the retailers if the retailer sold and delivered items to a purchaser in another local jurisdiction.
Such a bill would have been devastating to the city of Dinu- ba, who relies on nearly $4 to $5 million dollars in tax revenue from the Best Buy Distribution Center in Dinuba, with amounts to about 10 percent of the city’s yearly budget.
In his veto letter to the State Senate, Newsom stated, “Cur- rent use of these tax agree- ments are limited but also an important local tool that cap- tures additional economic ac- tivity, particularly in rural and inland California cities that continue to face significant
See VETO on page A14
'Paint the Town' the theme of city's 54th annual event
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
Residents, visitors and peo- ple of all ages filled Pioneer Park and lined the sidewalks along G Street in downtown Reedley for the 54th annual Reedley Fiesta Parade activi- ties.
The two-day event — which began the evening of Oct. 11 in the park and continued on Oct. 12 with the showcase Fiesta Pa- rade, frog jumping contest and a variety of musical and food options — once again brought large crowds into the city.
""It went great. We had beau- tiful weather, great attendance," said Erik Valencia, executive director for the Greater Reed- ley Chamber of Commerce. "We had some new events this year that were very successful and that we believe are going to grow."
New wrinkles included a Saturday morning pancake breakfast by the River City Theatre Company at the opera house. Also, the start-finish for the annual Fiesta Run and Walk was over from the intersection of11thandGto10thandG.
Valencia also was pleased with the inaugural student tal- ent show that took place Sat- urday afternoon in the Pioneer Park bandstand, drawing 12 entries.
Susan Lusk and her family served as 2019 Grand Marshal, while Ron and Kathy Nishinaka also rode near the front of the parade as the Fiesta King and Queen for this year.
See FIESTA on page A6
Photos by Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
ABOVE: Young members with Queen D's Dance of Reedley flashed their moves while performing "Baby Shark" during the annual Reedley Fiesta Parade on Oct. 12. There were 56 entries in the 2019 parade.
BELOW: Students with Great Western Elementary School waved to the crowd during Saturday's pa- rade. The school's float, featuring artwork of a number of Reedley landmarks, won the Sweepstakes Trophy for 2019.
Cox faces tough crowd at Sanger Town Hall meeting
By Rick Curiel
Mid Valley Times
While on recess, Rep. T.J. Cox, D-Fresno, took the opportunity to pay his con- stituents in Sanger a visit in the form of a town hall meeting on Oct. 8. Though the event was smaller in scale compared to other town hall meetings he’s had, the congressman ad- mitted, it could have been one of his toughest.
During the meeting, held at Sanger’s City Coun- cil chambers, Cox took written questions from the audience on issues from the current impeachment inquiry to marijuana, wa-
ter storage, health care for illegal immigrants and do- ing away with the current electoral system.
But Cox also got some pushback on some of his answers from certain members of the audience. The audience, made up of around 30 citizens, for the most part listened to the congressman’s responses to the prewritten questions.
However, some in the audience felt misled by the format of the town hall meeting, thinking Con- gressman Cox would be taking questions directly from the audience.
The meeting’s format, however, didn’t change the
response from the Sanger audience as some chal- lenged the congressman on various responses.
During one question from the audience, Cox was asked if he maybe could put pressure on Nancy Pe- losi to speak to with Gavin Newsom regarding the California governor’s re- strictive new policies, be- cause "Newsom is Pelosi’s nephew."
When Cox responded by first saying that he didn’t know Newsom was Pelo- si’s nephew, the audience gasped, some laughed, with surprise.
See COX on page A11
Rick Curiel / Mid Valley Times
Rep. T.J. Cox, D-Fresno, gestured as he answered a question during a town hall meeting in Sanger on Oct. 8. The congressman answered prewritten questions from an audience of about 30 attendees in the Sanger City Council chambers.
Classifieds - B4-5 Directory - A12 Legals - B6-10
Sports - B1-2, B11-12 Lifestyle - A7-10 Lights & Sirens - A3 Obituaries - A2-3 Opinion - A4