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August 3, 2016 marked this year's Summer Sally, a long-time favorite that packed Zumwalt Park!
Altura Centers for Health sponsored a free backpack give-away that provided students K - 12 with a backpack that included school supplies and pulled people in from as far as Porterville. Local favorite "Flashback" provided classic rock, oldies and "cubias" for the parents while the ResCom Pest Control beer garden featured $1 beers all night.
"Elite" Barbershop at 130 E. Kern donated haircuts for elementary age boys. All Aboard Trains provided transportation from the park to the barbershop and also rides up and down Kern Ave.
The Downtown Association featured a PokemonGo "lure-a-thon" launching lures at the four "Poke-stops" in the park allowing players access to a saturated area of gaming. The event featured a variety of vendors with food, clothing and other merchandise. Many of the vendors who participated mentioned that they did well and the surrounding restaurants and gas station saw more customers.
Gainborough Studio was on-hand to capture some of the fun moments of the night. Island-Style Dancers kicked off the night providing dancers for everyone's entertainment. During the band's intermission, after the sun had gone done, they returned to the stage with fire-dancers.
Fun was had by all making it certain we'll be repeating this event!
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All Aboard Trains transports Summer Sally visitors to Elite Barbershop for boys to get free haircuts.
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Elite Barbershop Assists with Summer Sally
When Altura Centers for Health approached the office with a novel idea, I knew we'd have some difficulty implementing it. The idea was making free haircuts available to elementary boys as a part of our Summer Sally event. There was just one issue: California statue prohibits cutting hair outside a licensed barbershop.
Working to figure a way to implement the service as a great component to Summer Sally, the office staff started making phone calls and negotiating with local barbershops.
The situation presented a bumpy path as the implementation was in flux with different barbers and their shops until about a week before the event. Elite Barbershop, at 130 W. Kern, obliged the Downtown Association by volunteering to provide haircuts.
Coach Lugo and his fellow barber, Keon, worked professionally to provide haircuts to an assemblage of boys not seen in a barbershop all at the same time in ages!
Show Coach Lugo and Keon your support by visiting Elite Barbershop today. It's a veteran-owned business that's kid-friendly. Call (559) 556-3290 today for an appointment.
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New Name; Great Family Event
Every October, VIP Pizza and the TDA rock the parking lot at the corner of San Joaquin and K Street with an Oktoberfest event. This year, the event is now Family Fun Fest as we make it more family-friendly. Watch for the date coming soon. If you would like to be a vendor, or participate in the event, call the Downtown Office at 685-2350.
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Within I /Antiques and More Art Show Success
Within I and Antiques & More sponsored a highly successful art and music show Friday, August 12 at their stores at 200 and 204 North L Street in Downtown.
The Tulare Downtown Association provided the beer garden for guests while local artists and musicians demonstrated their crafts to visitors.
The shops offered food and lemonade, with seating on the sidewalk in front of their businesses. The sidewalk area was roped off for the beer garden allowing patrons to roam freely from store-to-store, visit with artists and vendors and view the bands.
If you'd like assitance to do an event like Within I and Antiques & More, call the Downtown Office at 685-2350.
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Starting Line-Up Moves "Up Town"
Starting Line-Up celebrated it's Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting on July 28th. The reception was well attended.
Roger Harris, owner and proprietor, enjoys his new location at 145 North "K" Street. Says Roger, "I'm in town doing what I do best...taking care of my clients. Who's up at bat next?"
A huge advocate of bringing business downtown, Roger posts to his Facebook page nearly every day with customer photos and encouragement to come downtown in Tulare to do business.
Future plans for the shop include a store with clothing and accessories. Roger was impressed with the recent Within I and Antiques & More event because he had hoped to bring an art show to the downtown as well in coming weeks.
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His motto is that anything that brings business downtown is something he's interested in participating.
Plan to visit Roger's shop by making an appointment today,. Call (559) 697-7684.
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Eleven Signs a City Will Succeed
Writer James Fallows reported in the March 2016 edition of The Atlantic there are eleven factors that seem to predict if a city or town will survive in the face of major economic meltdowns. His research is based on visiting and reporting on towns throughout the US. Here's the 11 important factors. #11 might surprise you! See how many you think Tulare has.
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- Divisive national politics seem a distant concern. Most successful small towns aren't worried about Washington DC.
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Rather, they are focusing on their own neck of the woods.
2. You can pick out the local patriots. It doesn't matter who that person or group that makes the town go, its only important that there's an answer to the question: "Who makes this town go>"
3. Public-private partnerships are real. Fallows reports the arrangement in Fresno where city, state and county government works with local universities and tech start-ups to train drop-outs and other unemployed people in computer skills. The more specifically a community can point to a partnership, the better off it is.
4. People know the civic story. Tulare has a history; and if you've noticed the trains on everything around town, you know what it is. How well that history connects with what's going on today indicates how successful the town is as the history gives meaning to the efforts of current citizens.
5. They have a downtown. The healthier a downtown is the better off the city is doing as a whole. Across the nation cities are pouring money into their downtowns to revive them. What do you think of Tulare's downtown?
6. They are near a research university. We now have a COS extension campus in Tulare. Could we bring a university extension campus or Tulare branch to the former superior court building?
7. They have, and care about, a community college. (See 6 above)
8. They have unusual schools. That includes charters, specialty schools like our Adult School Cafe, and other educational programs.
9. They open themselves. Successful cities are highly tolerant of immigrants. They seek to include new people. For instance, in this newsletter you read a not above about how the new business packet will be produced in Spanish in the future.
10. They have big plans. Unlike national government which promises much and accomplishes little, cities still get things done. If a city has a plan for the next 20 years, chances are things will get done between now and then.
11. They have craft breweries. We have one here in Tulare. According to what I hear we could use more. I have an idea for one if someone wants to talk to me about it...
There's the list of eleven things that make a city successful. What do you think? Does Tulare have all eleven? If you don't think so, in which ones do you think we are deficient? What would you like to see to change things? And, what would you be willing to do to implement those changes? Tell us your answers below and we'll report on our findings.
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Botanical Beautification in Richmond; Why Not Tulare?
Venture Richmond saw the potential to greatly enhance a five block area with a “botanical makeover.†VR bought the plant materials and soil amendments at wholesale prices, and worked with local community partners on the execution to lower costs.
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Installation began with the planting of shrubs, perennials and a few annuals which was done over several weeks with different partners. They partnered with a nonprofit that works with at-risk youth from a housing project, horticulturalists from local business and other corporate organizations.
The Downtown Association is currently developing a Clean and Safe program to enhance the downtown and eliminate trash and the lots with dry and dead grass. If you'd like to be a part of this effort, sign up through our Googledocs Form by clicking here.
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Delta Tunnel Update
Here in the Central Valley water is a major concern. We’ve heard plenty about the Delta tunnels. Access the latest report on where the State is on building these tunnels by clicking here.
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Governor Brown signs bill creating ADA grace period for businesses
On May 10, Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 269 into law, giving businesses a new pathway to avoid ADA compliance lawsuits. The law gives companies 15 days following a complaint under the Americans With Disabilities Act to resolve alleged violations if the violations fall under certain categories, including those related to signage. The law also gives businesses 120 days of immunity from ADA penalties if the owner hired a Certified Access Specialist (CASp) to evaluate their establishment and flag any violations. If the specialist identified a violation with a fix that required a building permit, the business has 180 days to come into compliance. More information on SB 269 can be found here.
This legislative session, CDA joined statewide business groups led by California Business Properties Association, CalChamber and others to support legislation aimed to meet two important ADA reform goals:
- Promote and increase compliance with state and federal civil rights laws providing for equal access for individuals with disabilities in public accommodations; and
- Reduce unwarranted, unnecessary litigation that does not advance the goals of disability access.
Disabled Parking Placard Program Reform Moves Forward
The Joint Legislative Audit Committee approved a request by Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) and Assemblyman Eric Linder (R-Corona) to audit the Department of Motor Vehicles' (DMV) handling of the Disabled Person Parking Placard Program as part of the Legislature's efforts to address claims of rampant fraud and abuse.
On the heels of AB 2602 (Gatto) -- a bill aimed at reforming the disabled parking placard program -- and reports by several news investigations across the state that have caught swindlers abusing disabled parking placards belonging to friends and relatives, including some who are deceased, Assembly Members Gatto and Linder urged the JLAC to investigate this illegal and fraudulent behavior that eliminates on-street parking opportunities for those with legitimate disabilities and other members of the public. We suspect the audit will demonstrate what we all know: abuse and misuse is rampant.
CDA is an active supporter of AB 2602 as a critical tool to end misuse of disabled parking placards.
Bills, bills, and more bills
The Downtown Association is actively tracking more than two-dozen bills working their way through the Legislature that would have implications for California's urban centers. Learn more about a few on the top of our list:
AB 59 - Mental Health Services: AOT. This bill extends the sunset date of Laura's Law from 2017 to 2022. Laura's Law (also known as Assisted Outpatient Treatment/AOT) is a process that allows courts to compel individuals with severe mental illness and a past history of arrest or violence to stay in treatment as a condition for living in the community. The California Downtown Association supports this bill, which is currently in the Senate.
AB 1886 - California Environmental Quality Act: transit priority projects. This bill expands CEQA exemption to projects where no more than 50% of their area is farther than ½ mile from a high quality transit corridor or major transit stop. The California Downtown Association supports this bill, which is currently being considered.
SB 820 - CLRRA reauthorization. This bill extends the sunset of the "California Land Reuse and Revitalization Act of 2004" from 2017 to 2027. CLRRA provides liability protection to innocent and prospective landowners for previously occurring contamination for which they were not responsible. This Senate bill was introduced to the Governor on August 10, 2016.
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