Farmers, immigrant workers hopeful after Senate passes historic reform bill

Immigration reform isn't just good news for those looking to obtain citizenship, but also very good news for California's agriculture industry, On Thursday, the Democratic backed Senate passed a complete overhaul of the country's immigration law with a 68 to 32 vote, making citizenship for the 11 million illegal residents a real possibility. The 1,200 page bill is the first time comprehensive immigration reform has been ...

Supreme Court opens doors for same-sex marriage in California

Meet Gaby Farias. Farias is a recent graduate of California State University, Stanislaus, a recipient of the prestigious Judge and Alverta Hughes Humanitarian Award for her work promoting equality and diversity on campus, and as of Wednesday, she is one of the 4 million homosexual Americans who can rightfully marry their respective partners in the state of California. The United States Supreme Court released a decision on Wednesday ...

Supreme Court overturns ban on same-sex marriage

The United States Supreme Court has released a decision which effectively over-turns the state's ban on same sex marriages under Proposition 8. The California court decision declaring statutes that restrict marriage to one man and one woman unconstitutional and the remedy allowing same gender persons to marry is effectively reinstated. "Today marks another important step on the long march to justice and equality for all," said California Democratic Party Chairman ...

Lazar receives City Livability award for success of Carnegie

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Well, not when a small town in the Central Valley wins a national award. That news tends to spread fast. Both Mayor John Lazar and the City of Turlock were presented with the City Livability Award at the National Conference of Mayors held in Las Vegas last weekend. The recognition was given largely due to the city's efforts with aiding the construction of ...

New zoning ordinance calls for simpler language, more modern downtown

For the average Turlocker, the city's zoning ordinance is anything but simple to understand. City officials are hoping to change that. On Thursday, Deputy Director of Development Services Debbie Whitmore presented the Turlock Planning Commission with a comprehensive update to the current zoning ordinance, in hopes to simplify and clarify some presently muddled language in the existing ordinance. "Currently, there are little clarifications for what the community needs are," said Whitmore. ...

Council to vote on future bike path

The Turlock biking community might be in for some good news. On Tuesday, the Turlock City Council is expected to approve moving forward with the Taylor Road Bike Path project. The project will involve the completion of bike paths near and along Crowell Road and will connect existing portions on the north end of Turlock with the bike path from Tegner Road on the west to Ferreria Ranch on the east. Along with the connection, ...

Council approves building fee restructure

Developers looking to obtain a building permit in Turlock might be in luck. Earlier this month, the Turlock City Council voted 3-2 in support of subsidizing building fees in attempt to lure in more local investors. The policy comes in light of interested developers who were looking for "more control," in the permitting process, according to Turlock city principal engineer, Eric Picciano. The ...

Roads top issue at final public forum

The City of Turlock held the last of four critical issues public forums at Pitman High on Thursday, with road repairs - and how to pay for them - being the most popular topic. Although attendance for the initial meetings was low, around 20 community members attended Thursday's session, all looking for answers to their questions. When repairs would be done to Turlock's pot hole riddled streets was the most asked question. ...

Fitness parks may be coming to Turlock

Enjoy working out? Frustrated with the lack of public workout locations in Turlock? You might just be in luck. On Wednesday, members of the Turlock Parks and Recreation Commission discussed the idea of possibly building public fitness centers in two of Turlock's parks. Parks commissioner Andrew Davoodian is heading the proposed fitness project, stating that there is a definite need for fitness parks ...

Council approves deficit budget; city to find funding for firefighters

The Turlock City Council unanimously approved a budget for the 2013- 2014 fiscal year with $29.7 million in expenses and $1 million in deficit spending. Although the approved budget does not include any layoffs, it eliminates four police department positions and means reducing staffing at Fire Station No. 3 to only two personnel due to the exhaustion of overtime funds. These cuts in public safety were ...

Council considers deficit budget with cuts to police, fire

The Turlock City Council will consider adopting a fiscal year 2013-14 budget on Tuesday with slightly over $1 million in deficit spending.

County budget shows signs of growth, future concern

The Stanislaus County proposed 2013-2014 budget sees an increase in both state and federal funding for county projects and revenue. The budget, which is set to be finalized in September, totals $1 billion in appropriations and $990 million in revenue - an increase over last year's budget of $984 million in appropriations and $930 million in revenue. According to county officials, year over year growth in discretionary spending is ...

Council approves Carnegie refund

The Carnegie Arts Foundation will be getting a financial boost soon, now that the Turlock City Council has agreed to refund the majority of its security deposit.

Turlockers consider city, county roads tax

The drive to fix Turlock's roads with a new city tax is gaining momentum if the latest community forum is any indicator. About two dozen people attended Thursday night's meeting at the Turlock Senior Center to address city issues and in particular the options for improving the network of streets and roads in Turlock. Thursday's meeting was the third community forum the city has hosted and drew the largest crowd to date. ...

Council to consider Carnegie Arts refund

The Carnegie Arts Foundation's bankroll could get a bit of a boost come Tuesday if the Turlock City Council agrees to return the majority of their performance security deposit.

Food truck future in downtown looks dismal

Food trucks may not be included in the future of Turlock's downtown, following Thursday's Planning Commission meeting where the general consensus was not in favor of the mobile facilities. During Thursday's meeting, the Planning Commission and City staff held a public workshop on whether or not food trucks should be allowed in the downtown core district, running primarily along Main Street from Palm to Lander. The purpose of the meeting, said planning ...

High Speed Rail faces more setbacks

TID makes progress with Don Pedro Project

The Turlock Irrigation District continues to make significant progress with the Don Pedro Project - a relicensing process that has been moving forward since 2011. Last Tuesday, TID and the Modesto Irrigation District worked together to file their Draft License Application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. According to TID, the DLA provides an opportunity for public review and comment on the application before the two districts file the Final License Application in ...

Economic development task force reviews City’s accomplishments

Sometimes you cannot know where you are going until you know where you have been. This was the mantra of the Mayor's Economic Development Task Force on Tuesday, as the group reviewed the City's accomplishments over the past 10 years to discuss how Turlock might continue moving forward. Noting the economic development plan of 2003, members of the task force highlighted some significant changes that have occurred in Turlock in the span ...

City seeks community input on food trucks

Denham requests review of high speed rail spending

On Tuesday, Congressman Jeff Denham (R-Turlock) penned a letter requesting that the U.S. Government Accountability Office review the funding agreements between the California High Speed Rail Authority and the federal government. Denham, who has been a strong advocate for fiscal responsibility, sent the letter to Comptroller General Gene Dodaro noting that the Federal Railroad Administration and the Authority's existing grant agreement requires that federal funding is matched with 50 percent state funding. <p ...

Olsen applauds EPA move towards ethanol reduction

Since 2005, the Renewable Fuel Standard has regulated the minimum volume of renewable fuel that must be contained in transportation fuel sold in the United States. Over the past several months, Assemblymember Kristin Olsen has been calling for the reduction of these standards, noting that they are nearly impossible to achieve and negatively affecting dairies in California. The Environmental Protection Agency, who oversees the RFS, has proposed easing the annual RFS requirement ...