A Tale of Two Cities – 2026 edition

June 15, 2026

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On June 15, 2013, I posted a blog called “A Tale of Two Cities“. I headed it “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”

That blog was about the stark difference between two local cities, and how they handled a Pride Month Proclamation. Visalia’s was historic, for all the right reasons. Porterville’s was historic as well, but for all the wrong reasons.

I just left a Visalia City Council meeting. A huge consent calendar, with several items pulled, and five regular session items. The big item on the agenda was the final budget proposal for fiscal years 26/27, and 27/28 (Visalia does a two-year budget cycle).

A $408 million budget for 26/27, and $358 million in 27/28, Visalia manages to have a surplus in it’s General Fund, even after including deposits into the emergency fund (set to maintain a balance of 30% of the yearly budget). Each year expenditures increase, and every year the City is able to either meet the reserve goals, or to only fall short a small amount. A lot of assumptions go into the budget, but Visalia has a history of managing the citizen’s tax monies, and the city, well.

Porterville, on the other hand…

The Porterville Recorder says the 2026/2027 budget for the city is over $37 million, with expenses forecast at $36.6 million. That’s not much of a cushion. The budget also includes $107 million in planned capital improvement projects for the upcoming year. Seems like a gap, but I’m no expert in city budgets.

But all of that is not what I was going to talk about.

In Visalia, the Mayor was absent for the meeting, and the air conditioning failed early in the afternoon. City staff was able to restore the A/C before the evening regular session, and the council moved on with business. With a consent agenda of 37 items, and 5 items on the regular agenda, Monday’s meeting could have gone on for seemingly forever. It did not. Two hours was all it took the Visalia City Council to pull four items from the Consent Calendar, deal with them, and then pass a two-year budget, put contested special assessments on county tax rolls, recertify a sales-tax measure, authorize a zoning change and General Plan amendment to sell some property it owns, and approve new rates and fees for City operations.

Public comments were made by several citizens (including me, twice), only one of which was hostile towards City Council members or the City Manager. One gentleman was not happy about his dealings with the city, and let them know about it. The rest of the comments were general commentary on issues before the City, but at worst were expressing disappointment with some decisions. The meeting ended at 9pm.

A well oiled, well operating machine.

Porterville, however…

Their meetings drag on. And on. And on. Public comments are often angry and upset. Many people in the City are not happy with the current council. Decisions to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on playground equipment (for parks already neglected by the City), a miniature Washington Monument, and bus wraps. $20,000 for a “celebration” of the nations 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, (how watching a MMA fight held at the White House on a big (not that big of a) TV is supposed to celebrate the Declaration of Independence I don’t know) held in a residential neighborhood. Fireworks. In a residential neighborhood. Loud music. In a residential neighborhood. Attendance in the tens, instead of the thousands expected by those on Council who arranged it. Parking headaches in the neighborhood.

In Visalia, public comments are heard by the Council, who sometimes direct City staff to take the speaker out to the hall and discuss the situation to see how the problem can be resolved. I’ve only seen one example (OK, maybe more than once, but they seem to have gotten over that and have returned to a polite decorum most of the time) of a council member chastising the public for comments made.

Porterville Council members routinely chastise the public for being “disrespectful” and “condescending”. Council members demand respect, but don’t show it to speakers. Several of them denigrate people who disagree with them politically and religiously. One council member accused a charity group of being “angry”, because when he (deliberately, no doubt) said “Merry Christmas” to them, someone responded “Happy Holidays”. That kind of thing is a regular feature of Porterville City Council meetings, and something several Council members regularly indulge in. It’s embarrassing.

This blog could go on for pages, comparing these two cities. It won’t. I’ll end it here, with the statement that I’m really glad I live in Visalia.

Tulare County Board of Supervisors Public Records Request – the road so far

June 15, 2026

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On June 5, 2026, I made a public records request of the Tulare County Board of Supervisors, regarding their resolution to stand in opposition to Proposition 50 on the California ballot. I asked for documentation on who requested the Board place the item on the agenda for the October 14, 2025 Board meeting. That request was satisfied later the same day, with the requester being identified as Supervisor Vander Poel. I immediately made another request, the same day, as to who wrote the voted-on resolution, and any emails, memos, or other documentation regarding the wording of the resolution. That request was responded to today, June 15, 2026. In it, they sent me various drafts of the resolution, and documentation from the state regarding the proposition (the same information from voter guides put out by the state of California). Those documents did not reveal who actually wrote the approved resolution, or who requested or influenced that wording. Their response to me today says they expect to have the rest of the information by June 29, 2026.

“As requested, the following documents are attached: Board Agenda Item Packet, Revised Board Agenda Item Packet, Proposition 50 Ballot Title and Summary, Opposition Resolution, Opposition Resolution Draft 1, Opposition Draft 2, Support Resolution and Support Resolution Draft 1.

The Board of Supervisors has completed an initial review of your request and pursuant to Government Code § 7922.535(a), has determined that your request, “in whole or in part, seeks copies of disclosable public records” in our possession. We estimate that disclosable records will be made available to you by June 29, 2026.

Thank you

Here are those resolutions, in draft forms, both supporting and opposing Proposition 50. You’ll notice those in opposition are more fleshed out than the ones in support. Foreshadowing?

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Porterville Mayor Greg Meister sends letter to FBI, invites Director to City event

June 14, 2026

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In his letter, he thanks the FBI and other law enforcement agencies for their arrest of a Porterville resident on terrorism charges. He also invited Kash Patel, FBI Director, to attend Porterville’s event marking the dedication of their “Washington Monument” – uh, monument, I suppose.

In his Facebook post of June 11, 2026, he said, “Today I sent a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel thanking him for protecting Americans from an ISIS-inspired terrorist plot involving a Porterville resident who was planning an attack on American soldiers.
It also got me thinking: does anyone remember the federal weapons case tied to the old Trucker’s Mini-Mart on Westfield Avenue years ago?
We often think terrorism and serious criminal activity happen somewhere else, but history reminds us that threats can surface even in small communities. We must remain vigilant, stay aware of our surroundings, and never become complacent when it comes to protecting our community and our country.”

This image immediately sprang to my mind:

Porterville, about a hundred years ago.

My, how times have changed. Or have they?

UPDATE EDIT:

I just noticed something about this picture. None of the KKK members seem to have their faces covered. They’re quite proud of their association.

VUSD – favoritism, retaliation, and nepotism?

June 8, 2026

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Image credit: VUSD

The Visalia Unified School District has been in the news a lot this year. Much of it was not good. My own blogging has been this, this, this, and this, regarding not recording ‘Special Meetings’. Then the real mess began, for me, with an incident at Redwood High School on February 12, 2026, when graduating Seniors at class pictures decided to us their lettered tshirts, originally organized to spell out “ALWAYS LEGIT CLASS OF 2026” into a homophobic slur. My blogging on that can be found here, here, and here. Another item, buried in the next School District Board of Trustees consent calendar agenda is here.

That’s only the stuff I’ve been following. Layoffs, cutbacks, and new administration-level hirings have been roiling Board of Trustee meetings for some time now.

I was contacted recently by a person who wanted to remain anonymous, about problems at El Diamante High School. The District, Board of Trustees, the Superintendent, and teachers were sent an email, from another anonymous person (not the same one that contacted me), about the issues at El D. Concerns about favoritism, nepotism, and retaliation are discussed.

Click on “MORE”, for the entire email as sent to the District, educators, the Board of Trustees, and the Superintendent.

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VUSD – $60,000 now, $26.5k every year

June 6, 2026

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Wait, what?

Visalia Unified School District’s Board of Trustees next meeting includes a consent calendar item for a “digital radio upgrade”. The packet includes information that this is a $60,781 “one-time” cost for the hardware upgrade. What the item doesn’t say, but is included in the invoice, is an annual subscription cost of $26,522 from year 2 onwards.

So what is a “digital radio upgrade” you might ask? Well, I’m glad you asked.

From their own agenda packet:


Backup Radios TransportationDownload

They want to ensure the ability of bus drivers to communicate with the District Bus office when they take the buses beyond the range of the current two-way radio system.

Reasonable.

The problem?

They want to outfit 75 buses with these new units, and have 10 handheld units.

Here’s my thoughts on the matter. While being able to communicate with the buses when they’re on what we used to call ‘field trips’ beyond the range of the currently installed two-way radios, they’ll never have a time when all 75 buses are out of range.

$60,000 initially, and $26,500 a year after that, to solve a limited problem, seems a bit pricey.

Here’s a cheaper idea. Check your records. See how many buses are on field trips out of range at once during the past two years.

Once you have that number, you know how much technology you need.

Here’s the solution. Buy that many cell phones, and assign them to the transportation division. When a bus is going out of radio range, give the driver a phone pre-programmed with 9-1-1 and the transportation office phone number.

The proposed “radios” will be using the cellular network, so a bundled cell phone plan should be a lot cheaper.

You don’t need to outfit every bus with the technology needed to leave it’s radio coverage area. And if your solution is using a cellular network to solve that problem, a relatively cheap cell phone works exactly the same way.

Or, pay drivers a stipend to carry their own cell phone with them, and use that when circumstances require communications with base.

And there’s no $26,500 annual subscription fee.

10-4?

Proclamation 1, Proclamation 2

June 5, 2026

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Here’s the text of the proclamation issued by three of the five Tulare County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, June 2, 2026:

RECOGNIZING _ LGBT+ ORGANIZATIONS
FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO TULARE COUNTY
WHEREAS, Tulare County is home to a rich and diverse community ·where compassion, belonging, and service strengthen the bonds between neighbors; and


WHEREAS, The Source LGBT+ Center, PFLAG Tulare & Kings Counties, and the Visalia Pride Lions Club have each demonstrated extraordinary leadership and commitment to ensuring that all residents are treated with dignity and respect; and


WHEREAS, PFLAG Tulare & Kings Counties offers understanding, encouragement, and education to families and allies of LGBTQ+ individuals, helping to foster acceptance and strengthen relationships across generations; and


WHEREAS, the Visalia Pride Lions Club exemplifies the spirit of service through its volunteerism, philanthropy, and outreach, uniting community members in efforts that promote inclusion and kindness for all; and


WHEREAS, The Source LGBT+ Center, celebrating their 10th anniversary, provides vital programs and services that promote health, education, advocacy, and empowerment, serving as a safe and affirming space for individuals and families throughout Tulare County; and


WHEREAS, these organizations promote understanding, cultivate vibrant communities, and champion the fundamental rights of all citizens, ensuring that everyone – regardless of who they are or whom they love – has the opportunity to live with dignity and pride.


NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Tulare County Board of Supervisors does hereby recognize PFLAG Tulare & Kings Counties, the Visalia Pride Lions Club, and The Source LGBT + Center for their dedication, advocacy, and lasting contributions to the people of Tulare County.

Here’s a proclamation Gemini AI and I created, that uses almost the exact same language as the first, but is about three other organizations in Tulare County:

Here’s the text of my faux proclamation:

County of TwoLarry
Board of Supervisors

Proclamation
RECOGNIZING FAMILY SERVICES ORGANIZATIONS FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO TWOLARRY COUNTY

WHEREAS, TwoLarry County is home to a rich and diverse community where compassion, belonging, and service strengthen the bonds between neighbors; and

WHEREAS, The Parenting Network, Inc., Family Services of Tulare County, and CSET have each demonstrated extraordinary leadership and commitment to ensuring that all residents are treated with dignity and respect; and

WHEREAS, The Parenting Network, Inc. offers understanding, encouragement, and education to families, helping to foster acceptance and strengthen relationships across generations; and

WHEREAS, CSET exemplifies the spirit of service through its volunteerism, philanthropy, and outreach, uniting community members in efforts that promote inclusion and kindness for all; and

WHEREAS, Family Services of Tulare County provides vital programs and services that promote health, education, advocacy, and empowerment, serving as a safe and affirming space for individuals and families throughout TwoLarry County; and

WHEREAS, these organizations promote understanding, cultivate vibrant communities, and champion the fundamental rights of all citizens, ensuring that everyone – regardless of who they are – has the opportunity to live with dignity and pride.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the TwoLarry County Board of Supervisors does hereby recognize The Parenting Network, Inc., CSET, and Family Services of Tulare County for their dedication, advocacy, and lasting contributions to the people of TwoLarry County.

Here are some comments on Facebook posts by various news sources about the Supervisors walking out during the presentation:

Cari – People are sick and tired of seeing this crap at EVERY turn! I could care less which way one leans, but honoring someone because of their sexuality is about the most RIDICULOUS thing I may have ever heard of, and at a Board of Supervisors meeting?!

Deborah – Keep it in the bedroom not the boardroom! Geeze people. This is sickening. Grow up! Stop pushing your sins on everyone.

Joel – Right on. We need to stop celebrating a small section of society and acknowledging them for their sexual preferences. So stupid and absurd to celebrate people not procreating and many living a life of debauchery. Celebrate mom’s and dad’s for June.

David – This is not about homophobia or bigotry it is about keeping your sex life out of politics. Proclamations like this are divisive. Should we have a heterosexual proclamation? For Christians, the Bible is very clear; no room for interpretation. I will always treat Amy with respect, but I do not agree with her life choices, and they do belong at home, not the office.

Now, in any of the text of either proclamation, is there any reference to bedrooms, sin, sexual preferences, debauchery, or life choices? If the second proclamation could be acceptable because the organizations are not LGBT related, and with barely any change in the text, why are so many up in arms about the first?

I think I know. I suspect you do, too.

Retirement can be dangerous

June 5, 2026

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Image by Gemini AI

It’s dangerous because it gives me time to start digging into things about our local government. Before I retired, I didn’t have the time or the mental bandwidth to pursue the minutiae of government. Now I do. I just submitted my fourth Public Records request. Fifth, if you count the request sent off to the municipal golf course. (It’s run by a private vendor, so I may not be able to get the information I wanted from there.)

The biggest problem right now is to not over-extend myself. I still have other things I want to pursue, but I need to limit my load to what I’ve requested so far.

I’ve got three active requests for public records in at the moment, counting the one I just emailed a few minutes ago. That one is my first to Tulare County. I have one closed and one open request at the City of Visalia, and one at Visalia Unified School District. The open requests are due to be fulfilled by the 18th and the 20th of June, so I’m still waiting.

My next project? Maybe an update to the Visalia City Charter. Lots of things need to be updated there. Starting with gender-neutral pronouns. And library trustees. But that’s for later.

(Final Jeopardy Theme Song here)

Cowardly Lions, Part 2 – Defending the indefensible

June 3, 2026

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The Dynamic Duo on the Tulare County Board of Supervisors is doubling-down. After walking out of the Board Chambers during a proclamation presentation recognizing three local LGBT organizations, both District 5 Board member Dennis Townsend and District 2 Board member Pete Vander Poel, while insisting their actions were “respectful”, have had to defend themselves in response to public outcry, and questions from newspaper reporters. For the back-story, read my previous blog post, Cowardly Lions.

Vander Poel, in an interview given to the Sun-Gazette newspaper, said he supported The Source LGBT+ Center and The Visalia Pride Lions, two of the three organizations recognized by the proclamation. He would not support the proclamation, however, because it included PFLAG Tulare & Kings Counties.

Having never heard of PFLAG before, Vander Poel says in an email response to a constituent, that he did some “research” on the group. A picture there apparently triggered Vander Poel. It showed, he said, “When you look at their home page you will see a photo. In that photo, there are individuals holding signs that say “Trump Treason=Lock Him Up” and “Fight Ignorance Not Immigrants” and “Affordable Health Care for All”. On the about link, they highlight protesting. On the PFLAG national website, they talk about “Fighting” and “Protesting”. Vander Poel went on to say, “Activism and protesting are not strategies I believe in and I did not want to recognize a seemingly political organization that focuses on that.” I find it strange that he says “activism and protesting are not strategies I believe in.” Really? What country does he live in?

That, of course, is not what PFLAG is all about. “PFLAG ​is the nation’s largest organization dedicated to supporting, educating, and advocating for LGBTQ+ people and those who love them.” – From the “About Us” page on PFLAG National’s website. Vander Poel grabbed onto one partially visible sign in one picture on one page of the website, and decided that meant the local PFLAG chapter was all about “fighting” and “protesting”.

Townsend, in the same Sun-Gazette interview, says he was not familiar with Visalia Pride Lions. He described PFLAG as a ‘far-left wing political organization, and was about the LGBT lifestyle’. He told the Board of Supervisors staff to remove his name from the proclamation form.

Channeling the ghosts of a proclamation fiasco in a city in his district, Porterville, from back in 2013, Townsend accused Board Chair Amy Shuklian of a “little sleight of hand”. In the 2013 incident, Porterville City Council members accused then-Mayor Virginia Gurrola of manipulating the procedures to present a June Pride Month Proclamation for that city. Townsend accused Shuklian of originally presenting it as a recognition of The Source LGBT+ Center’s 10th anniversary, and was a “setup” to have it presented during Pride Month. He said it was “not appropriate”.

What it boils down to, is both Vander Poel and Townsend are right-wing Republicans, and have, apparently, decided that supporting the LGBT community in such a visible manner is a bridge too far.

I let them know how I feel about their actions in public comments immediately after the proclamation.

“I find it very disturbing that Mr. Vander Poel and Mr. Townsend left the room during this presentation. The disrespect that shows is just stunning to me, that you would be leaders of the entire county and walk out of this room when the LGBT community is recognized. Thank you to the three that stayed, and made very nice comments. I think they’re fine examples of leadership in this county. Three out of five, I guess.”

The fallout is still raining down. Social media is buzzing with talk about the subject. My posts alone, in less than 30 hours, have had over 40,000 views, just on this subject.

I told members of the Board of Trustees of the Visalia Unified School District that they “needed to do better”, in a recent public comments session. Now it looks like I’ll have to direct that message to two of the Tulare County Board of Supervisors, as well.

The joys of living in a bright red part of California. *sigh*

Cowardly Lions

June 2, 2026

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Meet Tulare County Supervisors Pete Vander Poel (left), and Dennis Townsend. Today they demonstrated a glaring lack of leadership during the June 2, 2026, Board meeting. Not just that, though. They sent a very strong message to their constituents. For their MAGA compatriots, they will no doubt be hailed as heroes. For the LGBTQ community, however, they sent a very different message. One of contempt and disdain.

Board Chair Amy Shuklian, seen below, issued a proclamation recognizing three LBGTQ organizations for their “contributions to Tulare County”. It was signed by Shuklian, and Board members Larry Micari and Eddie Valero.

You’ll notice two empty chairs on the dais. (Well, three, but Amy’s doesn’t count, since she’s the one making the presentation) Those empty seats belong to Vander Poel and Townsend. They wouldn’t even stay in the room during the presentation. This is a clear abrogation of their duties as representatives of Tulare County as a whole. There are over 473,000 people living here, and if the nation-wide percentages of the queer community as part of the total population hold true here, and there’s no reason to suspect they don’t, then at least 47,300 of those constituents are a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. Townsend and Vander Poel just told them what they think of them. There’s clearly no respect there.

Here’s the proclamation they wouldn’t be in the same room for:

It’s a sad commentary on right-wing politics (because both are local Republican leaders) when something as innocuous as a proclamation recognizing three organizations for their social outreach and public service activities is a bridge too far. It’s bad enough not to sign it, but leaving the room is a slap in the face of every LGBT person in Tulare County, and those that love them.

Cowardly lions, both of them. Oz needs to give them courage, and a heart. It’s clear they have neither.

Flock Me A Little Bit

May 27, 2026

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The next chapter in our Flock Me series is here! Today I received this email from the Visalia Police Department’s lawyers. (I’m going to have to ask why they have an out-of-town law firm doing this, and not the city attorney.)(UPDATE: It’s not actually an out-of-town firm. It’s a local, Visalia law firm. Not sure why I was thinking it’s an out-of-town company. Oops.)

2026.05.27 RB Ltr to J. ReevesDownload

I’ve sent them an image of my vehicle registration, so I hope to get the images of every time my car has been photographed by the system in Visalia. We’ll see.

Here’s the data on the agencies who can access the Visalia Police Department’s camera system. I’m going to have to study it a bit to figure out exactly what it means, and it does not (so far) answer the question of who *actually* accessed the data. This seems to indicate who is allowed to have access, which is not really what I asked. We’ll see if future information dumps include that little detail.

Flock Shared NetworksDownload

For those new to the saga of the Flock Automated License Plate Readers, here’s the blog posts I’ve done so far:

What the Flock?

Well, Flock me!

More Flock, more fun

Flock you later

Flock the Lawyers

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