Free Republic

FRESNO A Fresno County Superior Court has ruled that the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District's regulation of developers for air-quality impacts is legal and valid. The lawsuit challenging the District's rule establishing development fees for air-pollution mitigation was filed by the California Building Industry Association. The lawsuit claimed that the District had no authority to regulate development and impose fees, and amounted to a tax under Proposition 13. The court disagreed Thursday in its ruling. The Valley Air District was the first in the state to put such a rule into place. other areas are now looking to...

Quintessential Alps and Switzerland. Two views. The waterfall is the Staubbach, about 900 feet high.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 26, 2007 – Coalition forces detained 10 suspects today during operations targeting al Qaeda networks along Iraq’s Tigris River Valley. The forces conducted several operations targeting associates of al Qaeda in Iraq leaders, including foreign terrorist facilitators and planners of car-bombing attacks. During the operations, coalition forces captured two wanted individuals and detained eight suspects. During one of the operations, information gathered from local citizens indicated that terrorists were using a school as a meeting location and safe house. Coalition forces briefly entered the school, but did not do any damage and left the school as it was...

Distributing water DR. T. V. PADMA How did the people of the Indus manage to water their cities? In Indus cities, each house or group of houses had a private well, made with wedge-shaped bricks that slotted together in a cylindrical shape strong enough to withstand the weight of water when the well was full. This is not a simple matter, and required calculation — otherwise a well could collapse once it was full of water. How did the Indus people keep wells and bathing facilities watertight? First, they used bricks that fitted together tightly. Second, they coated the outer...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27, 2007 – Retired Army Lt. Col. Bruce Crandall was admitted into the Pentagon Hall of Heroes today, one day after President Bush presented him the Medal of Honor for heroism in Vietnam. Retired Army Lt. Col. Bruce Crandall, who was inducted today into the Pentagon Hall of Heroes, said brotherhood and belief in their mission motivated him and his fellow soldiers in Vietnam. Crandall received the Medal of Honor during a Feb. 26 White House ceremony. Photo by Donna Miles  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Army Chief of Staff Peter J. Schoomaker praised Crandall, a...

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Silicon Valley's economy has revved up thanks to plucky Internet and alternative energy startups, according to a new report. Local technology companies created 33,000 jobs last year — the first increase since 2001, a year after the dot-com downturn. The region's median household income jumped to $76,300 last year, representing a 6.5 percent increase from 2005 and the first uptick since 2001. It decreased 13 percent from 2001 to 2004. Researchers from Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network, an alliance of business and community institutions, will discuss the report Friday at the annual "State of the Valley"...

His attorney said Friday that Talal "Ted" Ali Chammout is a U.S. citizen who loves America, adores his children and is a respectable mini-mart owner in Porterville. But federal prosecutor Carl Faller said Chammout, 47, wanted to purchase missiles and rocket launchers and other weaponry to send to terrorists in Iraq, Syria and Jordan. U.S. Magistrate Judge Lawrence O'Neill heeded Faller's advice and ordered Chammout to be detained in the downtown Fresno jail, even though Chammout's relatives were ready to put up $1 million in property as bail until his trial on weapons charges.

McALLEN — Jose Sandoval’s kidnapping has the same hallmarks of most of the other 20 kidnappings reported this year to the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Department: He knew his kidnapper and it was drug-related. And though no one will confirm that Sandoval’s Oct. 20 kidnapping is a sign the drug-related kidnappings in Laredo and Nuevo Laredo have hit the Rio Grande Valley, the Federal Bureau of Investigations in McAllen has joined the investigation. FBI agents cautioned that so far innocent bystanders in the Valley have not been caught in the crossfire. But increased cooperation between the FBI and local law enforcement...

Simi Valley Freedom Walk to Thank TroopsBy Samantha L. QuigleyAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Aug. 31, 2006 – Simi Valley, Calif. -- home of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library -- is planning a Freedom Walk to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and to show the community’s support for the nation’s servicemembers. “Simi Valley is a very patriotic city,” said Debbie Gregory, one of the event’s planners. “We respect our troops, and we want to show our support, and what a wonderful way to be able to do it.” Gregory is president of Military...

JALALABAD AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, May 10, 2006 – Defying estimates of a low turnout, more than 6,300 patients were treated during a historic six-day medical civic assistance program conducted by the Afghan National Army and coalition forces in Kunar province's Korengal Valley in Afghanistan recently. U.S. Navy Cmdr. Sandra Hearn of the cooperative medical assistance team for Combined Joint Task Force 76, treats an Afghan girl with a head injury during a six-day medial civic assistance program run by Afghan and coalition forces in Afghanistan''s Korengal Valley. More than 6,300 patients were treated. Photo by Capt. Dan Huvane, USMC  (Click photo...

The saga of a young illegal immigrant found living in Apple Valley High School continues, as he is now charged in a violent home invasion – in Boston. Francisco Serrano agreed to return to his native Mexico after a judge denied his attorney’s request to allow him to stay in the United States. Serrano was thought to have boarded a plane bound for Mexico City, but his mother told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that he had not returned. American Airlines confirmed Serrano's ticket had not been used. A Boston woman said Serrano kicked in her apartment door and threatened to attack...

Prescient words, it turned out. Mr. Robertson faced a barrage of withering questions and eventually slunk offstage to mocking laughter from the audience. "I got ambushed," he said afterward. "I didn't know it was a 'Gong Show' thing." Rambunctious technology gatherings in Manhattan? Venture capitalists on the prowl? Geeks having fun at the expense of suits? What was this, 1998? In fact, it was last Tuesday, and the bustle around the New York Tech Meetup, which began with just four attendees a little more than a year ago, is but one bit of evidence that reports of the death of...

A young man from Mexico who was found squatting at Apple Valley High School a year ago is apparently on the lam after failing to board a plane in the Twin Cities to return to his homeland. Francisco Javier Serrano, 22, whose story made news around the world, had been ordered by a judge to leave the United States because he was here illegally. Serrano first made news Jan. 7, 2005, when a custodian discovered him sleeping in the Apple Valley High School auditorium. He said he'd been camping there for three weeks because he wanted a warm place to...

WASHINGTON - After a series of reports warning of the growing economic threat from China and India, ``competitiveness'' has become the latest catch-word of Silicon Valley's high-tech industry. President Bush elevated the issue for the nation Tuesday, announcing a decadelong ``American Competitiveness Initiative'' that would pour $136 billion into scientific research and the promotion of math and science education. --snip-- High-tech leaders praised the proposal Tuesday night. ``I was heartened by the amount of time he spent talking about competitiveness,'' said Carl Guardino, head of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. ``To hear him focus on math and science, especially in...

Did you hear about the two California Valley Girls who froze to death in a drive-in movie? They went to see "Closed for the Winter." *************** Why did the California Valley Girl resolve to have only 3 children? She heard that one out of every four children born in the world is Chinese *************** Did you hear about the near-tragedy at the mall? There was a power outage, and twelve California Valley Girls were stuck on the escalators for over four hours. ***************** A California Valley Girl was driving home after a game and got caught in a really bad...

I've got several questions about Valley Forge, both during Revolutionary times and now, and I was hoping you folks could help me out.

DAVENPORT --- A developmentally disabled man riding the Ferris wheel Tuesday at the Mississippi Valley Fair in Davenport slipped out of his car and dropped between the wheel's spokes before being rescued by six employees of Evans United Rides, which operates the ride. Caleb Hill, 31, a slightly built man, was one of 120 clients of Davenport's Handicapped Development Center attending the first day of the fair called "Special Needs Day" at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds. He was not seriously injured. The dramatic incident was captured live by KWQC-TV6 in Davenport during its noon telecast, where the station was located...

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday created a task force charged with improving the economy and quality of life in California's San Joaquin Valley, a quickly developing region beleaguered by high unemployment, suburban sprawl and some of the nation's dirtiest air. The California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley establishes a 26-member panel that includes government representatives and those from the private sector. "I want to make this task force a model for how state governments can work together more effectively with local governments and the regional economy," the governor said. "The valley is home to the...

BOISE, Idaho - Sun Valley is used to hosting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually, but a planned Sept. 11 visit by the Dalai Lama could draw 100,000 for one event - and that has law enforcement and tourism officials scrambling. Details such as visitor housing and security loom large. The Nobel Peace Prize-winning spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists will visit the famous mountain resort community on the fourth anniversary of the terrorist attacks that rocked America. Walt Femling, the sheriff of rural Blaine County, met visit organizers Wednesday, accompanied by officials including his disaster services coordinator. He said he...

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - California's vast San Joaquin Valley has long been compared to the nation's Appalachian region for its levels of poverty, unemployment and lack of public funding for roads, schools and health care. In fact, according to preliminary data from a congressional report released Tuesday, the valley suffered from a higher poverty rate in 2000 than the Appalachian region - 20.5 percent compared to 13.6 percent - yet received 21 percent less federal money per capita. It's a contradiction valley congressional members say needs to be reconciled. "We, I think, have always felt for many years that the...