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Orange Cove mayor stars in the name game
ORANGE COVE -- A community center. A street. A day-care center. A park bandstand. And now a football stadium?
It seems that at almost every corner in this small farming town on the eastern outskirts of Fresno County there is something named after its longtime mayor, Victor Lopez, or a relative.
Now a proposal to name the future multimillion-dollar high school football stadium after the mayor has stirred up strong feelings in this impoverished community of about 10,800.
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2008 Honorable Mention recipients
FIRST GRADE
Avery Fong, 7, Clovis
School: Mickey Cox Elementary
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Madera Co. official deemed 'a statesman'
Chowchilla City Council Member Alfred "Al" Ginsburg won 12 straight elections to non-partisan public offices from 1948 to 2004, including six terms on the Madera County Board of Supervisors, building a reputation of protecting taxpayers' money while dealing with booming growth.
Mr. Ginsburg, 87, an icon in Madera County politics, died Monday night in Chowchilla. He was serving his sixth term on the City Council.
"He was on the City Council when I married him 57 years ago," his wife, Patricia, recalled Tuesday. "I was glad he was in [politics]. We both cared about community things. ... He was known as someone who didn't like to see money wasted."
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Fresno County courts may shut branch in Kerman
Kerman city officials expressed frustration Monday after Fresno County Superior Court administrators announced they may close the court's Kerman branch and ask residents to drive 25 miles to Firebaugh for many court cases, including traffic cases.
"For us, it's going to make a mess of things," said Bill Newton, the city's police chief. He said his officers will have to spend valuable time driving to Firebaugh for cases instead of patrolling in town.
Hilary Chittick, the court's presiding judge, said the small, one-courtroom branch may have to close in March because of state budget cuts.
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In 3 Valley races, 1 vote made the difference
Don't believe every vote counts? Meet Kimberly Briggs and Edward Barela. Both lost their races in last month's election -- by a single vote.
Add in a hotel-room tax proposal in Kerman, and that makes three Fresno County elections that were decided by a single vote.
They could have been closer: In Tulare County, a race for a seat on the Earlimart Elementary School board ended up in a tie, and now officials are scrambling to avoid a costly runoff election.
Juan Rangel is an eighth-grader who likes talking about budgets.
That's a good sign, because Juan would like to pursue a career in politics someday. He's considering service as a United States or state senator, but he figures he'll start out on city council and work his way up.
"That's what I was thinking of doing to learn," he said.
Juan's writing skills are what landed him in political circles recently, fueling his plans for the future.
The Kerman Middle School student became a state finalist in the "Imagine this ... " story-writing contest through the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom.
That won him trips to the council and school board for special recognition.
During the City Council trip, Juan told Kerman's mayor he'd like to be sitting up at the council table in the future, said Nancy Gragnani, a Kerman Middle School resource specialist.
"He wants to give back to his community," she said. "I think we will see him someday up there."
Juan said he's been proud to serve on his school's council, which has allowed him to get involved in budget issues and problem-solving. He's also enjoyed getting to learn about leadership and management by serving as California Junior Scholarship Federation president at his school.
Gragnani called Juan a hardworking student who cares about helping others.
"He's just a silent leader on campus," she said. "If you need something done, you go to Juan."
-- Christina Vance
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Academic All-Stars 2007
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