The purported sale of Thresher Industries, the Hanford manufacturer of molded and pressure-cast aluminum and ceramic/aluminum composite parts for the automotive, lighting, aerospace and other industries, appears to be taking penny-stock investors on quite a roller-coaster ride over the past week.

(Right: The historic Giant Dipper at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk takes people on a wild ride. Photo from AP)

If you want to get a sense of the emotional highs and lows associated with the stock (stock symbol THRR on the Pink Sheets stock bulletin board) that just a week ago was trading at hundredths of a penny per share, take a look at some of the stock message boards that are out there.

It's quite the eye-opener. Two of the THRR message boards I've scanned over the past few days, investorshub.com and Yahoo Finance, read like some sort of Wild West shootout between the people who think the company's proclamations about the sale are legit and skeptics who fear the deal is some sort of scam. And neither side is afraid to disparage the other in terms that are far from polite.

Continue reading "Thresher is a roller-coaster ride for investors" »

At the time, it seemed innocuous: Another one of those resolutions that carry no weight -- many times introduced by an elected official seeking higher office -- and are quickly forgotten and relegated to history's dust bin.

Not this one.

On Jan. 28, the Fresno City Council approved a resolution objecting to increases in the discharge limits of the Sacramento Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant. The increases shouldn't go forward, the resolution said, until there is a scientific finding that they won't harm endangered delta fish and effective ammonia-removal equipment is installed at the plant.

The Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District -- which oversees the plant -- protested the resolution in a letter to the council, and then sent a representative to speak against it.

But the district is not conceding defeat.

Continue reading "Sanitation district takes on Fresno City Council resolution" »

The final health care bill remains under wraps, its details not yet public. The bill's cost, too, remains unknown, pending release of a Congressional Budget Office study.

But even with such minor details as cost and language unknown, Democrats are still purporting to identify the benefits to health care reform in each congressional district. The district-by-district analysis, available here, is meant to provide pressure on, and talking points for, lawmakers.

San Joaquin Valley Reps. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, and Jim Costa, D-Fresno, say they are undecided, awaiting final release of the bill's cost and language. For a bill that's not yet done, the new study seems remarkably detailed; in Costa's district, for instance, the study asserts that precisely 1,200 families will be protected from bankuptcy related to health care costs.

For the first time ever, the public will be able to carry firearms in Yosemite National Park this summer. Is that a good idea?

I'm wondering how people feel about it. A federal law passed in February lifts the tight security over guns in national parks, but state law will apply.

So, you can't carry a loaded, concealed weapon in Yosemite unless you have a permit to do that. Otherwise, according to authorities, the gun can't be concealed, and it can't be loaded.

Let me know your thoughts.

Tulare County plans to recognize organizations, schools and businesses that are making the county a healthier place to live.

The county is taking applications for Tulare County Healthy Community Champions.
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The awards are part of a series of events and activities to celebrate April as Public Health Awareness Month in Tulare County.

"This award is open to groups involved in activities and services in Tulare County," said Dr. Karen Haught, Tulare County Public Health Officer. "We feel that if we commit ourselves to building momentum for Public Health, we can create lasting change in our communities."

Nominations for Healthy Community Champion Awards will be accepted until March 29.
Community groups, schools, faith based organizations, chambers of commerce, community developers and other local agencies are encouraged to nominate themselves or others. However, religious, fraternal, or professional groups that provide services only to their members are not eligible nominees.

To submit a nomination, visit www.tularehhsa.org, or call 559-737-4660.

The bad news for Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Visalia, on Monday was that the House Budget Committee on which he sits approved a health care package. The good news is he didn't have to stick around until midnight for the substantively empty but procedurally important step. But the other bad news is that the rules panel then kept talking and talking.

The bill approved on a largely party line 21-16 vote was a shell; or, as Nunes put it, "a joke." It was not the health care legislation that will reach the House floor later this week. Rather, it was the piece of paper that will now go to the House Rules Committee, where the real legislation will be put together.

Mid-afternoon Monday, a disgruntled Nunes was predicting he would be stuck in the budget committee until midnight. In the end, with all Republicans lined up in opposition, matters moved more quickly. The main 21-16 vote was finished by mid-afternoon, but then the committee kept meeting on related matters. Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, sits on the House Rules Committee, as Republicans will be sure to remind voters in coming days and weeks.

Check out the Los Angeles column Sunday discussing "deceptive arguments" about California's water wars, aiming squarely at west-side Valley farming.

Its main point about political posturing has probably been written a dozen times since last fall -- by everyone including the New York Times. Rewriting someone else's work is common in the daily print industry.

But it is worth a read, if only to sample the opinion coming from Southern California. The opinion: The Valley's west side is last in line for Northern California water, and fish are being scapegoated for it.

UPDATE: Don McKinney filed for the State Assembly District 29 Republican race and Andy Vidak for the Congressional District 20 Republican race.

The choices for June's primary came into sharper focus Friday after the filing deadline for most federal, state and local races in California.

Three open seats on the Fresno City Council are among the offices to be contested. Two central San Joaquin Valley seats in the state Assembly are also contested.

In addition, filing deadlines for Fresno County Assessor, the 30th Assembly District and the 19th Congressional District are extended to Wednesday because eligible incumbents are not running for re-election.

Continue reading "Races come into focus" »

Trustees in the State Center Community College District are continuing a long tradition of board retreats this weekend.
Board members are expected to wrap up the two-day meeting -- open to the public -- Saturday in Bass Lake. This week, Board President Patrick Patterson said the retreat remains a smart investment even in today's tough financial times.

Continue reading "On the road again" »

Valley Democrat Dean Florez said he will drop out of the lieutenant governor's race today and endorse San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who is expected to declare his candidacy.

"I've studied the numbers, looked at the possibilities and considered all the relevant polling information which indicates that \[Newsom\] commands a formidable lead that would be hard to surmount," Florez says in a letter he plans to send to supporters today.

Continue reading "Florez drops out of LG race, endorses Newsom" »