A dispute in Visalia between the city and property owners threatens to delay the widening of Walnut Avenue where it intersects Mooney Boulevard and put off the day when the traffic-snarling Mooney Boulevard project can finally be finished.
City Attorney Alex Peltzer said he plans to file an eminent domain lawsuit this week against property owners resisting plans to move power lines from one side of Walnut Avenue to the other. The property owners are adhering to a "NIMBY" philosophy -- Not In My Back Yard -- Peltzer said.
The lawyer for John Barbis and other Barbis family members said the power lines will harm the value of his clients' property. They own the land where an In-N-Out Burger occupies a key corner.
"It's unsightly, it diminishes the value of the property and carries the baggage of the high-voltage lines adjacent to their tenants," said attorney Glenn Stanton. The poles can just as easily be installed across the street where the power lines already exist, he said.
But the city and Southern California Edison say the lines need to be moved for technical reasons.
Outgoing City Council member Don Landers said the city caused the problem in the first place. Landers, the only council member to vote against the resolution needed to start the lawsuit, said the city had a 10-year written agreement with Barbis to move the poles onto his property, but the city let it expire.
"Somebody dropped the ball," Landers said.
Mooney Boulevard merchant Don Wright, who owns the Hallmark card store in Visalia Mall, said installing the poles means more delays -- no matter where they wind up.
"As a Mooney Boulevard merchant, it's just a little disappointing," he said.
DIPLOMAT: Visalia Unified School District area administrator Drew Sorensen was careful about where he sat at the annual Battle for the Saddle football game.
El Diamante and Golden West high schools are the contestants, and he's the area administrator for both, so he spent the first half on Golden West's side, and the second half on El D's side.
JUDGES: All 18 judges in Tulare County voluntarily took a 4.62% salary cut to match a pay decrease for court employees, who are forced to take off one furlough day a month without pay because of the state's budget crisis.
"Nobody wants to gladly reduce their income," said Judge Gerald Sevier. "Under the circumstances, it's so clearly the right thing to do."
Judge salaries are set by law at $178,179 a year.
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