Latest news with #SanJoaquinValley
Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Southwestern inspired $6million California estate with jaw-dropping views holds a secret past
An extraordinary Southwestern inspired California estate with insane views has hit the market with a whopping $6million price tag - but the breathtaking property hides a secret about its past. The sprawling 6,362-square-foot estate, nestled in the rolling hills of Friant, California, is perched on a ridgeline with spectacular panoramic views. The Santa Fe-inspired mansion offers 360-degree views of Table Mountain, Sierra foothills, Friant Dam, and the San Joaquin Valley, according to the listing on Sarah Hedrick Realtor. The home was created when a Fresno couple made an impulse decision during a 1990s road trip that would transform both the landscape and local emergency services training forever, as reported by th e Fresno Bee. According to a news release about the property, the adventurous pair spotted a For Sale sign while driving near Lake Millerton and immediately recognized the potential of the stunning location. 'When a Fresno couple saw a For Sale sign while road-tripping near Lake Millerton in the early '90s, they didn't just see a stunning ridgeline property - they saw potential,' the press release states. They traded their existing home plus $100,000 to secure the coveted plot of land. The home's inviting pool is the perfect place to take a dip at the end of a long day 'What followed was a labor of love to design and build a private architectural compound from the ground up,' the press release continued. But the property's intriguing history continues from there. Rather than simply demolishing their previous residence, the couple donated the entire structure to local SWAT teams and fire departments, who used it for tactical training exercises. They blew it up in the name of public safety before building their dream home. The resulting architectural masterpiece now features six bedrooms and six bathrooms. Hedrick describes the home as a 'masterpiece of craftsmanship' blending 'timeless finishes w/refined architectural detail'. The property presents traditional Southwestern elements including authentic Saltillo tile flooring, hand-troweled walls and soaring ceilings throughout. It comes complete with luxury amenities including a resort-style swimming pool, jacuzzi and sauna, home theater and tennis, pickleball, basketball courts. A seating area in the sprawling home is seen above The resulting architectural masterpiece now features six bedrooms and six bathrooms. One of the bathrooms is pictured above Multiple living spaces provide accommodation for both intimate family gatherings and larger social events. A view from the property is seen above Inside, the formal dining room and gourmet chef's kitchen offers an elegant setting for entertaining. 'The chef's kitchen boasts travertine counters, a Wolf range with six burners, three ovens, a warming drawer, Subzero fridge, dual copper sinks, a mini wine fridge, ice maker and two pantries.' Multiple living spaces provide accommodation for both intimate family gatherings and larger social events. 'The living room features a gas fireplace, custom cabinetry, & double sliders opening to a resort-style pool,' the listing writes. 'A flexible living space serves as a soundproofed home theater, office, guest quarters with courtyard access.' For the wine connoisseurs, there is a dedicated cellar for storing prized bottles. And for car lovers, there is a 3,000-square-foot garage, which is the size of an average American home. An observation deck offering panoramic views completes the outdoor entertainment options The outdoor spaces are impressive, featuring a tennis court for sports enthusiasts, a putting green for golf practice and a cozy outdoor fireplace The outdoor spaces are impressive, featuring a tennis court for sports enthusiasts, a putting green for golf practice and a cozy outdoor fireplace. An observation deck offers panoramic views. Additionally, two separate guest homes provide luxurious accommodation for visitors. 'The primary suite offers a fireplace, sauna and steam shower, jetted tub, cedar-lined closets, and double sliders to the outdoors.' 'A rare retreat offering luxury, privacy, and premier amenities,' the listing concludes.
Associated Press
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Board stops California toxic waste regulators from weakening a hazardous waste rule
CYPRESS, Calif. (AP) — California shouldn't weaken hazardous waste rules to allow local landfills to accept toxic dirt that currently goes to two specialized disposal sites in the Central Valley and hazardous facilities in other states, the state Board of Environmental Safety voted Thursday. The vote went against a proposal by the Department of Toxic Substances Control that had prompted fierce opposition from environmental groups. 'I think they have been really listening to the community,' said Melissa Bumstead with the advocacy group Parents Against the Santa Susana Field Lab. California's hazardous waste laws are stricter than the federal government's, and the state has long transported much of the waste it considers hazardous to other states with more lenient rules. The Department of Toxic Substances Control said disposing more waste in state would likely reduce costs and truck emissions. But environmental advocates worried the plan could have exposed already vulnerable communities to contaminated waste and set the precedent for more rules to be weakened. 'I don't think that municipal waste landfills were ever designed to accept this kind of waste, and to deregulate it ... puts those landfill communities' at risk, said Jane Williams, executive director of California Communities Against Toxics. California only has two hazardous waste landfills — Buttonwillow and Kettleman Hills in the San Joaquin Valley — which are expected to reach capacity by 2039, according to a report by the department. An estimated 47% of California's hazardous waste is trucked across state borders. Contaminated soil, waste oil and mixed oil are the state's three largest annual sources of hazardous waste. On average, more than 567,000 tons (514,373 metric tons) of toxic soil are produced every year. Los Angeles wildfires raised awareness of the issue The hearing comes months after wildfires in Los Angeles incinerated cars, homes and everything in them, turning ordinary objects into hundreds of tons of hazardous waste requiring specialized cleanup. It was the largest wildfire hazardous materials cleanup in the EPA's history. The infernos have also raised concerns about toxic ash and soil. Just this week, the Pasadena Unified School District published soil testing results showing high levels of arsenic or brain-damaging lead in nearly half its schools. After the fires, hazardous waste was sent to temporary sites to be separated and packaged before most of it was trucked to Utah, Arizona, Nebraska and Arkansas. Two facilities were in California — in Wilmington, near the port of Long Beach, and Buttonwillow. The type and amount of waste deposited in them varies by site, but it includes oil, radioactive materials, paint residue, asbestos, controlled substances and fluorescent lamps. 'I think that the fires have really brought to the fore some long-standing issues,' said Angela Johnson Meszaros with the environmental law group Earthjustice. 'And one of them is, how are we going to deal with cleanup, right? Because fires are not the only thing that cause soil to be hazardous.' A state law passed in 2021 set out to reform the Department of Toxic Substances Control. In March, the department released a draft plan of sweeping proposals that would guide state and local hazardous management. The board is expected to make a final decision in the summer, and it's not clear if the department could go against the board's wishes not to weaken the hazardous waste disposal rule. Board member Alexis Strauss Hacker recalled how concerned people were about the proposal during their March meeting in Fresno. The fear, she said, was 'so palpable.' Although California has decreased its hazardous waste by more than 40% since 2000, lithium-ion batteries and other types of waste are expected to increase, the report says, and the state currently lacks the capacity to manage them. Lithium-ion batteries are found in common items such as electronic vehicles, cellphones and laptops. Decades of industrial environmental pollution can accumulate, too. The issue is personal for one activist Bumstead has lived near the heavily polluted Santa Susana Field Laboratory in Southern California, once a site for rocket testing and nuclear reactor development. Her 15-year-old daughter is a two-time cancer survivor, and Bumstead was born with three spleens. She believes her family's health issues are linked to pollution from the nearby site. So when she heard that California environmental regulators wanted to weaken hazardous waste disposal rules in a bid to dump toxic soil into local landfills, she was very concerned. The Los Angeles fires have made more people realize that toxic materials could end up in their backyard, Bumstead said. 'The more we see climate change, the more we see wildfires, the more this is going to become a front line issue,' she told the board. 'This is an opportunity not just for hazardous waste that is manufactured, but also hazardous waste that is created by wildfires on how to create a plan that is going to protect Californians in the future.' ——— The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP's environmental coverage, visit
Associated Press
09-05-2025
- Climate
- Associated Press
Floods exposed weaknesses in California prisons' emergency plans. They still aren't ready
In 2023, amid record-breaking rain and snow, two prisons in the southern San Joaquin Valley faced a serious risk of flooding. But neither prison, California State Prison, Corcoran or the Substance Abuse Treatment Facility, had a robust evacuation plan on hand and ready for the looming disaster. Instead, the prisons developed a joint plan to transfer roughly 8,000 incarcerated people to other state prisons within 11 to 14 days — or longer. Wheelchair-bound individuals, the plan stated, would take six days to evacuate. And department buses intended to shuttle people to safety could take up to a day to arrive. The floods that year ultimately did not reach the prisons, but the threat they posed illustrated how California's 90,000-prisoner corrections system has failed to prepare for natural disasters. That's according to a report issued last week by an independent agency that oversees the department's disciplinary process and internal investigations. 'While California's prisons are vulnerable to wildfires, floods, and earthquakes, we found they are not adequately prepared to respond to emergencies posed by natural disasters,' stated the report by the Office of Inspector General, which reviewed emergency plans for 30 state prisons after fielding concerns about the department's disaster response. The report detailed deep fractures in the department's emergency preparedness, including issues of transportation, varied risk assessment methodologies, lacking mutual aid agreements, timely evacuations, and prison overcrowding. As of December, California's prison system was operating at roughly 120% – or 16,000 people – over its designed capacity, according to the report. 'Not only are some prisons overcrowded, but the department is unable to evacuate the incarcerated population and staff at most prisons within the first critical 72 hours of an emergency,' the report noted. 'Without the ability to quickly evacuate prisons, it is likely that wildfires, floods, and earthquakes will result in loss of life within the incarcerated population.' Notably, the inspector general found that none of the prisons included a plan to evacuate incarcerated people outside their gates, but rather focused on moving 'the incarcerated population to and from locations within the prison.' The report concluded with a list of 18 recommendations, including ones that would bring the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation into compliance with California regulations around emergency planning. Carlee Purdum, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Houston who researches how disasters impact incarcerated people, said the report is a 'first step' in identifying more resources to support prisons and corrections agencies as they plan and prepare. 'I've never seen anything like this before,' Purdum said. 'Prisons and corrections agencies are very marginalized and isolated in the emergency and disaster planning space. The significant takeaway should be that we have not engaged in these kinds of discussions, and put forth the kind of state level resources and accountability into these institutions.' Advocates for years have been sounding the alarm over the ways in which California prisons are ill-equipped to confront climate hazards due to issues such as overcrowding and aging infrastructure. A 2023 report by the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and the nonprofit organization Ella Baker Center for Human Rights chronicled those concerns and urged the state to implement safeguards. 'People inside have a fear that the actual plan is to abandon them in the case of an emergency. It is deeply troubling,' said James King, director of programs for the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. 'In these public health crises, it's not just going to affect the people in the prisons, either incarcerated there or working there. It's going to impact the entire county, the entire community.' Those concerns were echoed by Dax Proctor, statewide coordinator for Californians United for a Responsible Budget, a statewide coalition of organizations that view climate hazards as a key reason to close prisons. 'The number one solution to address these issues at hand is to reduce the number of people locked up in California prisons as rapidly as possible,' Proctor said. 'A good starting place would be those most vulnerable to climate hazards.' Officials from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services answered questions about the report before lawmakers at a hearing Thursday. They assured lawmakers that the department would not work alone in a large-scale emergency. 'California has a vast amount of resources and we would rely heavily on our federal, state and local partners to assist us with the evacuation of an entire prison,' said Melissa Prill, special agent-in-charge at the corrections department's Office of Correctional Safety. But Sen. Laura Richardson, a Democrat from Inglewood, said that in an unpredictable situation, those partners 'may be busy assisting other people.' 'To assume that these other agencies are going to be available to help you, or to help us in a prison environment is not something, going forward, we have the freedom to assume,' Richardson said. 'I would give this (office of inspector general)'s report of your organization — I would consider it an 'F' — frankly.' Sen. Kelly Seyarto, a Republican from Murrieta, said he wasn't 'extremely critically concerned.' 'I think we're getting a little overboard in terms of thinking that we are going to have to evacuate entire prisons,' Seyarto said. 'It's just not a practical thing to think that somehow the whole prison is going to catch on fire.' In a statement to CalMatters, department spokesperson Mary Xjimenez said prisons take an 'all-hazards' approach to emergency planning and that it coordinates its plans with the Governor's Office of Emergency Services. The department 'follows the FEMA National Incident Management System, which is the national doctrine that provides all federal, state, and local response agencies with a consistent set of principles, management structures, and a systematic approach to emergency response.' King said the department has a history of being unprepared for climate hazards and instead reacts to them once they inevitably occur. 'These are simply facts,' King said. The department 'could accept these facts and do something about them — or they could try to manage their response to the report. Disappointedly, it seems like they've chosen the latter. This is an opportunity to improve their response, to see the gaps and to create plans that address the gaps. ' ___ This story was originally published by CalMatters and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
