Youth Non-Profit Grants Awarded

The City Council has voted to approve the Citizen Advisory Committee's (CAC) award recommendations for the 2015-16 youth non-profit grants. Totaling $65,000 for the Youth Non-Profit Grant Program for FY 2015-16, 26 grants with amounts ranging from $1,000 to $5,500 were awarded.

Included in these were awards for the Northside Boxing Club to provide boxing activities that encourage physical fitness and discourage gang involvement and affiliation, Crowley After School Strings program to provide violin instruction to at-risk 4th and 5th grade students at Crowley Elementary School and Valley Community Outreach to provide scholarships for at-risk youth to participate in outdoor sports programs. See the full list of awarded grants.

Grant Helps Local Law Enforcement Combat Drunk and Drugged Driving

Drunk and drugged driving remains the number one killer on the roadway. To help law enforcement combat this problem, the City has been awarded two grants from the California Office of Traffic Safety.

The “Avoid the 18” grant of $180,000 and the Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) of $208,500 were awarded to the City of Visalia and accepted by the City Council. The grant activities will specifically target those who get behind the wheel after drinking too much or using drugs that impair driving. Officers will be staffing DUI/Driver License Checkpoints, multi-agency DUI Task Force deployments, and local DUI saturation patrols for each partnering.

No Watering After Storms

As storms start to hit Visalia, it’s important to remember that there is no watering during, or up to 48 hours after, measurable rainfall.

Both State of California law and City of Visalia ordinance, no watering can take place during this time period. Measurable rainfall is 1/8 of an inch or more. For more information on the watering schedule, visit City of Visalia Natural Resources.

This and That

- Plug In, Charge and Go! Coming soon to the East Acequia parking structure is a multiport, electric vehicle charging facility. At no cost to the City, these stations will allow drivers to pay and plug in to three separate charging stations. Once charged, it's back on the road.

- City Recognized As Energy Leader Lauded by the Institute for Local Government and the Statewide Energy Efficiency Collaborative, Visalia received two Beacon Program Gold Spotlight Awards and the Energy Efficiency Participation Award from SoCal Edison.

- Prepping for Storm Season Sand and bags are now available for City residents. The self-serve sand bag station is located on Cain Street between Goshen and Main Street; just north of the City Corporation Yard. The station is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Please remember to bring your own shovel, there is a 15 bag limit per person.