Page 1 - Sanger Herald 3-14-19 E-edition

'Singing in the Rain'
Looking for a home
Meet the champion
page 8A
Lifestyles 2B
Sports 1B
WeeklyNewspaper
This is Sunshine Week.
Sunshine Week is intended to remind us that we have the right to access public information we need to first know what our government is doing and then to hold it accountable.
More on today's Opinion page 3A.
Governor threatens cities that don't meet state housing goals
Meeting this evening at community center is intended to help Sanger comply with state housing goals
Sanger(FresnoCounty)CA93657 50¢ (taxincluded)
Women's History Month
City of Sanger Honors
Dolores Leal-Martinez
"for leadership in education in the Sanger Community."
Esmeralda Hurtado
The City of Sanger has pro- claimed March to be Women's History Month.
The proclamation was read at the March 7 city council meeting by councilmember Esmeralda Hurtado who presented certificates to the honorees on behalf of the city council.
Women's History Month Events at City Hall
• March 4-29 Art display
• March 20
5-7 p.m.
Reception and Poetry Reading
Tammy Wolfe
"for hard work and dedication to the success of businesses in the Sanger Community."
Cheryl Senn
"for engagement and advocacy efforts in the Sanger Commu- nity."
By Dick Sheppard
sangerherald@gmail.com
In his first budget speech Gov. Gavin Newsom said, “Transportation is housing and housing is transporta- tion.”
Then he said he would withdraw gas tax money meant for roads from cities if they don’t meet housing targets that are set by the state but were seldom en- forced under his predecessor Jerry Brown.
The loss of that road money would mean cities like Sanger would have deplete the general fund for road upkeep.
A planning commission meeting at 6 p.m. this eve- ning at the community center is being held to inform residents about the need to comply with state housing goals and to get input about the best way to go about it.
An earlier attempt by
city planners with little com- munity input resulted in a council chamber packed with confused and angry residents and a city council demand for a do over that involved more interaction and better communication with the pub- lic.
The compliance process started over at a Feb. 28 planning commission meet- ing which was continued to this evening at the com- munity center to give more residents an opportunity to be involved.
The city is finally getting around to make an attempt
to comply with a more than two-year old state demand that the city go along with the state's "housing element law" and zone almost 63 acres of land somewhere within the city limits for affordable housing.
A lack of compliance, the state had earlier threatened, could produce sanctions that might include an imposed building moratorium or a cut off of grant funds flowing through the state to the city.
One of Gov. Gavin New- som's first acts was to sue Huntington Beach for being out of compliance with the housing element law.
Sanger city manager Tim Chapa has assured the city council that he has been given permission by the state to string out the compliance process a little longer with a planning commission do over
See REZONE, page 7A
Plenty of water this year
• March 14 - Planning commission meeting, 6 p.m. community center, 730 Recreation Ave.
Contributed
Weeks of storm activity and increasing spring runoff prospects prompted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin a small Kings River flood release from Pine Flat Dam last week.
Kings River Watermas- ter Steve Haugen said the Corps made the decision based upon the most recent department of water re- sources runoff forecast, high recent flows into Pine Flat Reservoir and overall stor- age beginning to encroach into space reserved for flood management.
The Kings River Water Association’s assistant wa- termaster, Matt Meadows, said flood release amounts will initially be relatively low, although KRWA’s 28 member agencies with Kings River entitlements are expected
to begin taking advantage of water made available as a result of the situation.
THURSDAY
MARCH 14, 2019
VOL 130 NO. 11
2 sections, 14 pages
CLASSIFIED 5B LEGALS 6,7B BUSINESS DIRECTORY 8B LIFE STYLES 2B OBITUARIES 2A OPINION 3A SPORTS 1B POLICE LOG 2A WEATHER 7A
• March 17 - St. Patrick's Day Dinner, noon-5 p.m., St. Mary's Social Hall, North and Bethel ave- nues.
Dick Sheppard/Sanger Herald
Looking east toward the hazy mountains from the Greenwood bridge. The usually empty canal at this time of year is full with swift running water.
• March 21 - City council meeting, 6 p.m., city hall, 1700 7th St.
• March 22 - District Lip Sync contest, 5:30 p.m., WAMS auditorium, 1705 10th St.
should have water available if they wish to use it, said Haugen. It is the first Kings River flood release in two years.
tions, member units gener- ally can take as much water as they wish.
5,000 c.f.s. over the next week as canal systems are filled and reach full opera- tion.
“This is a perfectly normal
• April 2 - Measure S Oversight meeting, 6 p.m. at city hall, 1700 7th St.
All Kings River units
Under flood release condi-
The KRWA anticipates releases from Pine Flat will probably increase to 4,500-
See WATER, page 7A SANGER HERALD: A MID VALLEY PUBLISHING NEWSPAPER • (559) 875-2511 • www.thsangerherald.com