The Price of the U.S. Presidency

May 13, 2025

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SOLD!

Orange Idiot (AKA Donald J. Trump, 47th President of the United States) has sold the Presidency of the United States to the Arab state of Qatar.

Qatar, and by extension most of the rest of the Arab world, just bought the US government for the cost of a 747 they already had. What a deal!

These planes are not something you run down to the Boeing dealership at pick up on a whim. They take years to build the plane itself, then another period of time to customize the interior (Boeing doesn’t do palaces, that’s a customizer business. Kinda like buying an empty cargo van and turning it into a luxury camper). So this means they already had this plane sitting around, ferrying various princes and maybe a king here and there. They’re not putting out anything extra to gain major shareholder status in POTUS.

They were probably thinking there had been enough orgies in that plane, and it was time to get something fresh anyway, so “gifting” it to the United States Department of Defense to be used as a temporary Air Force One wasn’t a big hit on their bank accounts.

Orange Idiot, however, sees only the gold veneer and luxury accoutrements, and that fits his self-image of King of America. He’s like a greedy, selfish kid who just got exactly what he wanted for Christmas. The security risks are not even on his radar.

MAGA is screaming that it’s a gift to the entire US, and since it will be under the “ownership” of DOD, and after Orange Idiot leaves office it will go to his “museum”, that makes it OK. Those of us who have read the United States Constitution and have even a basic understanding of it’s words, know it’s completely unconstitutional for Orange Idiot to accept this plane. He’s going to try, anyway. It will take either an act of Congress to prevent it, but that’s unlikely as long as the Republicans maintain control there, or a ruling by the Supreme Court against the deal. We can’t really trust SCOTUS these days, unfortunately. They’ve shown a smidgen of backbone in a couple of rulings against Orange Idiot, but we can’t count on that, sadly.

So, the price of the Office of the President of the United States of America is a used 747 with a garish luxury interior. One they already had parked at the airport in Qatar.

Hell of a deal.

Visalia Police encrypt all radio traffic

March 24, 2025

Jim Reeves 9-1-1, commentary, News , , , , , 1 Comment

As of March 20, 2025, the Visalia Police Department has switched from open transmission, receivable on any scanner, and on many types of consumer 2-way radios such as Amateur Radio Service equipment, GMRS, FRS, and phone apps, to fully encrypted transmissions. This prevents the general public from monitoring police transmissions.

This is in response to a 2020 California Department Of Justice requirement that certain “personally identifiable information (PII)” be encrypted. Here’s what Google’s AI said about it:

DOJ Mandate:
In October 2020, the California Department of Justice (DOJ) notified law enforcement agencies that they must encrypt any radio communications transmitting confidential Criminal Justice Information (CJI) and Personally Identifiable Information (PII).


Alternative Approaches:
While encryption is the primary method, the DOJ allows agencies to meet the requirements through alternative policies that restrict the sharing of PII while still allowing the transmission of other information through open frequencies.


Examples of Alternative Methods:
Using MDTs, department cellular phones, or landline telecommunications to transmit and receive PII .
Breaking up personal information by transmitting details such as a person’s name, birthday, and address in separate transmissions or even in different channels .


Agencies Opting for Open Radio Communications:
Some agencies, like the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and dozens of counties and cities, have opted to continue sharing their radio communications while protecting personal information through alternative methods.

Visalia PD has gone to full-time encryption, and hopes CAD (computer aided dispatch) updates on a webpage, along with press releases, will assuage the public’s displeasure over loosing the ability to monitor the transmissions.

The trouble with those plans is that information will only become available after the event, and will contain no details other than the general area of the event, and a vague incident type category.

Needless to say, many people are not happy. I’m one of them.

I dispatched law enforcement for 25 years at the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office. (BTW, this is my opinion only, not TCSO’s. While they have not gone to full encryption yet, they do have the ability to do so.)

I see no good reason to go to full encryption of all transmissions.

With the ever-growing YouTube proliferation of videos showing the interaction between police and the general public, and with the common theme of highlighting bad interactions rather than good ones, you’d think police departments would be working on improving their public relations, instead of hunkering down and, effectively, saying ‘it’s none of your business except for what we decide to tell you, later’. It give the impression that you’re hiding something. It also makes it easier to actually hide something.

Now, I think quite highly of the Visalia Police Department. I know the Chief, and worked with his wife some years ago when she was also a dispatcher. This decision, however, is very disappointing.

I can, just off the top of my head, think of two alternatives to full-time encryption.

  1. (Almost?) Every police car has a mobile data terminal computer, called various things, but I’m most familiar with MDT. PII can be transmitted there. Most MDTs these days use a cellular phone data connection, and are both encrypted and next to impossible to monitor. (no FCC type-accepted equipment can be sold or used in the US that can receive cell phone frequencies.) Use the MDT for PII.
  2. Visalia PD has two primary channels. Channel one is the main dispatch channel, and could be broadcast in the clear for non-PII information. Channel two could be fully encrypted at all times, and officers could switch to that channel for confidential information. The radios can be programmed with each channel either encrypted or not, so the officer has only to change channels. No other action on their part is required. The Tulare County Sheriff’s Office has used a secondary channel for such information requests for years. It’s easily accomplishable, and does not cut the public out of it’s ability to monitor the police.

Option 2 seems to me to be the most easily accomplished compromise between meeting the requirements of the DOJ and maintaining a positive relationship with the community.

There are also some technical issues with encryption that I would not be surprised VPD is discovering right now. Since open transmissions by VPD in the past have been analog FM, poor signal traffic can often be understood, especially by seasoned dispatchers. Weak signals, broken transmissions, noisy environments all make for difficult to hear or understand messages. An officer on the ground wrestling with a drunk suspect and is calling for help needs the ability to be heard by dispatch. Digital takes some of that away, as it’s all or nothing. A weak signal is not heard at all, and if a signal drops out, it’s simply not there anymore. The dispatcher cannot make out what their radio does not receive.

Police Captain Daniel Ford will be speaking on this subject at the next Visalia Citizen’s Advisory Committee meeting, to be held Wednesday, April 2, 2025, at the conference room of the City Offices located at 220 N. Santa Fe, in Visalia. The meeting time is 5:30pm, and it is open to the public. (the city webpage says meetings are held at the Convention Center, but this is outdated information)

Go back to open transmissions, VPD. It’s better for everyone. Especially you.

Did the White House declare us all female?

March 1, 2025

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They’re all girls?

From Executive Order 14168, issued January 20, 2025:

…

Sec. 2.  Policy and Definitions.  It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female.  These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.  Under my direction, the Executive Branch will enforce all sex-protective laws to promote this reality, and the following definitions shall govern all Executive interpretation of and application of Federal law and administration policy:

(a)  “Sex” shall refer to an individual’s immutable biological classification as either male or female.  “Sex” is not a synonym for and does not include the concept of “gender identity.”

(b)  “Women” or “woman” and “girls” or “girl” shall mean adult and juvenile human females, respectively.

(c)  “Men” or “man” and “boys” or “boy” shall mean adult and juvenile human males, respectively.

(d)  “Female” means a person belonging, at conception, to the sex that produces the large reproductive cell.

(e)  “Male” means a person belonging, at conception, to the sex that produces the small reproductive cell.

…

From an abstract of a paper hosted at https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/4470128/ (I’m assuming Musk and his minions haven’t found it yet)

”Geneticists have discovered that all human embryos start life as females, as do all embryos of mammals. About the 2nd month the fetal tests elaborate enough androgens to offset the maternal estrogens and maleness develops.”

Since all mammals are, at conception, female, Orange Idiot’s Executive Order mandates that the United States government declare and recognize all of us as female.

See what happens when you let the back-row students make the rules? Nonsense.

Porterville Mayor attacks LGBT community

February 28, 2025

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Greg Meister, Mayor of Porterville, California.

Two items on the Porterville City Council agenda for Tuesday, March 4, 2025 are listed below. At the Mayor’s behest, and with the apparent support of at least the Vice-Mayor, the council will consider two items attacking the LGBTQ community in Porterville. The city council has a long history of hate directed at it’s LGBTQ community.

On the consent agenda:

17. Request for Proclamation – Women’s Rights
Re: Considering approval of a request to proclaim Women’s Rights in the City of
Porterville

On the Scheduled Matters agenda:

24. Consideration of Proposed Establishment of Ordinance to Protect Women’s
Safe Spaces
Re: Council direction on the proposed establishment of an Ordinance to Protect
Women’s Safe Spaces

These are the first two steps in an attempt by the mayor to impose an ordinance prohibiting trans women from using women’s toilets or locker rooms, and ban them from women’s sports. Despite there being no credible examples, arrests, or convictions of trans women sexually assaulting cis women in those spaces, and that this ordinance will put the city in violation of California law, Meister has decided this is a solution he can get behind.

The head of the NCAA testified before Congress recently that in the 510,000 athletes in the association, he knew of fewer than ten who were transgender. A check of the sporting records does not show a takeover of top spots by trans women. They seem to fall in a random scale among women taking medals or setting records. There is no evidence of an ‘unfair advantage’ for trans women in any sport.

Let’s look at some research. This is posted at the National Institute of Health‘s National Library of Medicine, the National Center of Biotechnology Information:

An official website of the United States government

(Musk and his minions have obviously not stumbled upon this page. Nobody tell him, OK?)

Trans Women and Public Restrooms: The Legal Discourse and Its Violence

Abstract

Safe access to public restrooms is an essential need for participation in civic life, in the workplace, in educational settings, and other public spaces. This is no different for transgender people. However, access to public restrooms according to gender identity has sparked controversy to the extent that transgender people face embarrassment and even expulsion from these spaces. The lack of access of the transgender population to public restrooms has a negative impact on the physical and mental health of this population. Thus, this article aims to address the main consequences that the ban on the use of bathrooms has for the transgender population, specifically the access of transgender women to the women’s restroom. We covered some legal aspects of “bathroom laws” and the main arguments in this discussion. We understand that the prohibition of access to the restroom constitutes a form of gender violence and discrimination, as we conclude that the arguments that express concerns about safety are not supported.

For the entire publication, check here.

Now, I know research and facts will not sway right-wing nut jobs (not that I’m accusing the Mayor of being one, but if the shoe fits…), but the council should know that the larger LGBTQ community and our allies will not stand quietly by while they attack the trans community with lies and hatred. We will be heard and seen.

A public protest will occur before the City Council meeting, at 4:30pm, across from City Hall. The address of City Hall is 291 N. Main Street. Regular council meeting starts at 6:30 pm. Because of the way Porterville handles it’s council meetings, it could be late in the evening before the matter is handled, and public comments are heard.

Cage Rattling, 2025

February 24, 2025

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Elon’s DOGE gets my email

I asked ChatGPT for an image of Elon Musk, reading emails, with a confused look on his face. It wouldn’t create one, telling me that was a violation of it’s community guidelines. I suspect you can’t use a real person’s image as the basis for a hack job, I mean a creative interpretation. Oh well. This teenaged DOGE simulation will work almost as well.

So last week, Musk sent out that now notorious email to every federal employee, where he ordered them to respond by Friday, listing five things they did last week. He then Tweeted that if they didn’t respond by the deadline, he would take that as their resignation.

Somebody really needs to explain how the government works, because he doesn’t have a clue.

Anyway, I’m on Social Security, after paying into the program since 1974, so I better respond, right? Here’s my letter to Elon:

To: Musk, Elon

DOGE

HR@opm.gov

Here are the 5 bullet items I did last week, Elon. 
(As a Social Security recipient, I figure you’d want my response, too.)
1. I attended a City Council meeting. Two of them. The work session, and the regular session.
2. I attended a local sales tax oversight committee meeting.
3. I mowed my lawn
4. I took my husband to dinner several times during the week
5. I fed, watered, and emptied our dogs. (Thanks, David Gerrold, for the “empty the dogs” line! I love it! Sorry, I digress.)

Sincerely, (well, not THAT sincerely,)
Jim Reeves

Visalia, California

Porterville steps back into LGBTQ hate

February 23, 2025

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It’s like déjà vu all over again. Porterville’s current Mayor, Greg Meister, has proposed a new city ordinance, which he is calling “Protect Women’s Safe Spaces”. In it, he wants to bar “biological men” from using women’s facilities, locker rooms, or playing in women’s sports. Meister is quoted in the Porterville Recorder saying the ordinance is “really drawing some lines for sure”.

In 2008, Porterville became the only city in California to adopt a formal position on Proposition 8, which would have inserted into the state Constitution limits that would only recognize marriage as between a man and a woman (it passed, but was later rendered moot as SCOTUS made marriage equality the law of the land with Obergefell v. Hodges)(In 2024, California voters removed the language of Prop 8 from the state Constitution with Prop 3). The city council voted to urge Porterville voters to support Prop 8.

In 2013, then Mayor Virginia Gurrola issued a proclamation recognizing June as LGBT Pride Month in Porterville. All hell broke loose. In a fiasco-ridden panic to rescind the Mayor’s Proclamation (a proclamation she was entirely authorized to issue), it took three months for the other council members to get their act together and not only rescind the proclamation, but to remove the Mayor and Vice-Mayor from their ceremonial positions.

In 2014, then Mayor Cameron Hamilton became the right-wing echo chamber’s darling for his infamous “grow a pair” remarks, when a student-led anti-bullying program called “Safe Zones” was brought before the Council for support, by councilmember Virginia Gurrola. The conservative majority on the council wasn’t having anything to do with what they thought was a LGBT positive proposal. They shot it down, and Mayor Hamilton earned his 15 minutes of fame on Fox by uttering his now-infamous line.

In 2019, glimmers of hope were seen in Porterville, as then Mayor Martha Flores issued a proclamation recognizing May 22, 2019, as Harvey Milk Day. It was signed by the Mayor, and council members Milt Stowe, Monte Reyes, and Daniel Penaloza. Vice Mayor Brian Ward (author and instigator of many previous anti-LGBTQ actions by the Porterville City Council) did not sign the proclamation. (He was out of town at the time, but rest assured he would not have signed it regardless, in my opinion)

Also in 2019, on October 15, (a few days late due to scheduling issues) Porterville City Council recognized October 11 as National Coming Out Day. That proclamation was signed by Mayor Martha Flores, Vice Mayor Monte Reyes, council members Virginia Gurroloa, Milt Stowe, and Daniel Penaloza. Mayor Flores did throw some cold water on the festivities, however, when she, in an attempt, I assume, to sound inclusive, mentioned that she had “it” in her own family, referring to homosexuality.

We thought Porterville had turned a corner. We should have known better.

In 2021, more animus towards the LGBTQ community was on display when the city council decided that it needed to regulate billboards in the city, after The Source LGBT+ Center put up a couple of advertisements for STI testing.

Fast forward to 2025, and with a new administration in power in Washington, D.C., Porterville has decided it hasn’t been demonstrating it’s LGBTQ animus strongly enough recently. The Mayor, therefore, has decided to jump on the ‘transgender women are the devil’ bandwagon. Even though it very likely violates California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act, Meister wants the city staff and attorney to bring an ordinance before the council that would ban “biological men” from “women’s spaces”.

Here’s an email I sent to Mayor Meister and the other members of the city council:

From: Jim Reeves <jim.visalia@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, February 21, 2025 1:55:44 PM
To: Greg Meister <gregmeister@ci.porterville.ca.us>
Cc: Raymond Beltran <raymondbeltran@ci.porterville.ca.us>; Ed McKervey <edmckervey@ci.porterville.ca.us>; Stan Green <stangreen@ci.porterville.ca.us>; AJ Rivas <ajrivas@ci.porterville.ca.us>
Subject: “Protect Women’s Safe Spaces”

Greg Meister, Porterville Mayor, and members of the City Council:

If the anti-trans bathroom ordinance proposed by Mayor Meister passes, and should the person pictured below have reason to visit your city, do you REALLY want him to walk into the women’s restroom? 

Meet Luke Ireland, U.S. Air Force. Both of these pictures are from the Air Force Times, the first from about a decade ago, the other from about three years ago. 

He is a trans man, and your proposal would require him to use the women’s facilities in Porterville. This proposal is a solution in search of a problem. There are no verifiable arrests or convictions of a trans-woman sexually assaulting a cis-woman or girl in a bathroom or locker room. It’s just not a thing, but you seem determined to embarrass Porterville by adding to its already notorious reputation as anti-LGBTQ. I thought Porterville was making progress, but we’ll see if and when this comes up for a vote if that progress is real, or just fantasy. 

I want you to consider the following scenario:

A man decides to follow a woman (or a young girl) into a restroom in order to sexually assault her. He does not want to attract attention, so what does he do? Just walk in? Risky. He stands out dressed like a man. Maybe someone sees him following his target into the restroom. As the ordinances stand now, if he wants to get in without attracting attention, he’ll need to get into some kind of women’s wear. 

Under your proposed ordinance, it will be common to see people who look like men walking into the women’s restroom, because you’ve required trans-men to use them. Our bad guy can now just walk right in, and if anyone challenges him, he can claim to be a trans-man, who you required to use this restroom. Nobody will know the difference, unless you’re going to post genital inspectors at the door. 

Knock off the anti-trans discrimination and hate, Mr. Mayor. It’s a bad look for you, and sets Porterville back a decade.

Jim Reeves

Visalia

jim.visalia@gmail.com

I’ve received nothing back except the following, from the Vice-Mayor, Ed McKervery:

“Go read what HHS stated about this.

Thanks for your input”

Protest rallies are planned for the next City Council meeting, where the first of many actions to pass this proposed ordinance may occur.

The Tulare Stonewall Democrats plan a protest rally to “Standup For Our Trans Community in Porterville“, 4:30 pm, Tuesday, March 4, 2025, in front of City Hall, 219 N Main Street, Porterville.

The city council meeting starts at 6:30pm.

How do you take the “T” out of Stonewall?

February 13, 2025

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In the Trump administration’s ongoing attempt to make transgender people disappear, they’ve removed the “T” from LGBT on the Stonewall National Monument webpage. How incredibly ironic (and stupid) is that? Do they think we’ll forget who started the resistance to the police raid? Do they think they can tell the history of Stonewall without mentioning the “T”?

Martha P. Johnson is, at least apocryphally, credited with throwing the first brick (or rock, or bottle, or whatever it might have been), as police raided the Stonewall Inn in 1969.

The National Park Service, is of course, bending to the Executive Order that Orange Idiot signed recently. I don’t know how they’re going to be able to tell the story of Stonewall without mentioning transgender activists who led the fight. In moments of cynicism, I suspect they’ll figure out some way to credit the resistance to some obscure white guy, a bit like a recent movie tried to do. (whatever happened to that movie? I think it might have clunked it’s way down to the basement of forgotten films rather quickly.)

From the National Park Service’s Stonewall opening page:

“By the time of Stonewall…we had 50 to 60 gay groups in the country. A year later…1500.”
Before the 1960s, almost everything about living openly as a lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB) person was illegal. The Stonewall Uprising on June 28, 1969 is a milestone in the quest for LGB civil rights and provided momentum for a movement.

Check out our video series about the history of the Stonewall uprising, the LGB rights movement and Stonewall NM today!

Last updated: February 13, 2025

(bolding and italics added by me)

From another part of the Stonewall page on the National Park Service’s site I ran across the following:

(Someone missed some banned language and letters here.)

Stonewall National Monument

Stonewall National Monument

Read the President’s Proclamation delcaring (SIC) Stonewall National Monument

The Stonewall Inn, a bar located in Greenwich Village, New York City, was the scene of an uprising against police repression that led to a key turning point in the struggle for the civil rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans. In a pattern of harassment of LGBT establishments, the New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn in the early hours of Saturday, June 28, 1969. The reaction of the bar’s patrons and neighborhood residents that assembled in the street was not typical of these kinds of raids. Instead of dispersing, the crowd became increasingly angry and began chanting and throwing objects as the police arrested the bar’s employees and patrons. Reinforcements were called in by the police, and for several hours they tried to clear the streets while the crowd fought back. The initial raid and the riot that ensued led to six days of demonstrations and conflicts with law enforcement outside the bar, in nearby Christopher Park, and along neighboring streets. At its peak, the crowds included several thousand people.

The events of Stonewall, as the uprising is most commonly referred to, marked a major change in the struggle for “homophile rights” in the U.S., with lesbian women, gay men, bisexual and transgender people beginning to vocally and assertively demand their civil rights. Stonewall is regarded by many as the single most important catalyst for the dramatic expansion of the LGBT civil rights movement. The riots inspired LGBT people throughout the country to organize and within two years of Stonewall, LGBT rights groups had been started in nearly every major city in the U.S. Stonewall was, as historian Lillian Faderman wrote, “the shot heard round the world…crucial because it sounded the rally for the movement.”

Today, the site of the uprisings in Greenwich Village is recognized as a National Historic Landmark (NHL) by the National Park Service and is considered significant under NHL Criterion 1 because of its association with events that outstandingly represent the struggle for civil rights in America. This NHL includes the bar, Christopher Park, and the streets where the events of June 28-July 3, 1969, occurred. The Stonewall Inn is located at 51-53 Christopher Street, New York City, New York and is open to the public.

The link to the President’s Proclamation, however, leads to this page:

Now, I don’t think Trump himself is all that worked up about transgender people. It’s his minions, especially Elon Musk, who are driving this. Musk has misgendered and dead-named his trans child, so I suspect much of this erasing is coming from his personal hatred of transgenderism. He’s not a person used to not getting his way, and he’s striking out and hurting whoever he can. And he doesn’t care who gets hurt.

Oh, BTW, don’t let NPS know they missed some of the forbidden words on this page. Let us hope they’re there because someone at NPS’s IT office knows the Orange Idiot’s minions wouldn’t think to look past the splash page. shhhhhh

Even the FAA? Even the FAA.

February 10, 2025

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On 2/4/205, Chief Operating Officer, Air Traffic Organization, Timothy L. Arel of the FAA sent out the following order:

Screenshot

The Orange Idiot’s administration has decided that “Notice To Air Missions” was too inclusive and equitable for it’s administration, so it ordered the change back to “Notice To Airmen”.

Here’s the email I sent to Michael R. Beckles, Director of Policy at the FAA:

Mr. Beckles,
I am disappointed that the deliberate divisions being sown by the new Administration have been allowed to reach into the FAA.
To change “Notice To Air Missions” back to “Notice To Airmen” is a sad reflection of misogyny and disrespect being allowed to infiltrate FAA.
I assume, of course, that you are aware that women are pilots, and have been for as long as flying machines have existed. I would have included the current occupant of the office of President in that statement, but with him I’m not sure of much of anything.
While I’m aware that the President appoints the Director and Deputy Director, I have long believed the FAA was an independent agency, not manipulatable by the day-to-day political winds that blow through Washington, D.C. I was apparently incorrect in that belief.
As I said, disappointing.

Jim J. Reeves, Jr.
jim.visalia@gmail.com
Visalia, CA

I suspect the powers-that-be won’t be impressed by my email, but at least it will be logged somewhere. Maybe some historian decades from now will run across it, and wonder.

The Orange Idiot and his minions continue their attacks on everything decent and good in our country. It’s almost like a Russian dictator was pulling strings, and reviewing videos.

It’s going to be a long four years.

Note to media: knock it off!

November 15, 2024

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The 2024 vote

I just read another media post claiming Hair Furor(HF from here on out)* won the election in a “landslide”.

No such thing happened. Media outlets, stop spreading this nonsense!

Yes, the Electoral College was lopsided, but that’s a false perspective.

The difference between HF and Kamala Harris was 1.8%. Hardly a “landslide”. It was a ‘win by the skin-of-his-teeth’ margin.

HF was elected by only 23% of the American population.

He doesn’t have a “mandate” for change, and we’re already seeing buyer’s remorse setting in from the MAGA crowd.

So just stop it, already.

*Donald Trump

It’s a bit disappointing

October 23, 2024

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I’m disappointed in the Visalia CIty Council. They basically vetoed the Planning Commission’s decision to revoke the Conditional Use Permit that allowed Rookies Sports Bar and Grill to have live entertainment. After years of escalating police responses to the sports bar, the council did not support the findings of city staff and the police department, and decided to “re-negotiate” (my term, not the Council’s) the rules under which Rookies will be allowed to continue (resume?) live entertainment.

The bar was declared a “public nuisance” back in 2021, and even after numerous contacts since with the city about the problems, it has been experiencing increasing numbers of incidents requiring police response. The process of dealing with Rookies has been ongoing, resulting with the Planning Commission’s decision recently to revoke the Conditional Use Permit (first issued in 2011) to allow live entertainment. The revocation does not close Rookies, it can still operate as a restaurant and bar, which is its primary, legally permitted, business model. Only the live entertainment is affected.

It sure looks to me, standing here on the outside looking in, like the owner of Rookies has had plenty of time to correct the problems the city has been dealing with since before 2021, but has failed to do so. Some think his position on downtown association boards (private entities, not part of City government) has granted him special status, allowing him to use those positions to get special treatment. I don’t know if that’s true, but it’s easy to suspect something is going on. There’s a lot of smoke around this situation, and you know what they say about smoke.

To “renegotiate” the deal with Rookies after the Planning Commission did it’s due diligence in acting to revoke the CUP (Conditional Use Permit), sends a message to other potential trouble spots downtown that they can get away with thumbing their nose at the city.

Kudos to Councilman Soto for being the only ‘no’ vote on the motion to “renegotiate” the CUP. (Nelsen recused himself, and left the Council chambers while the issue was being discussed and voted on.)

We’ll have to see how this shakes out. Stay tuned.

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