VISALIA – Visalia’s Mayor Steve Nelson will be speaking at the Tulare County Library’s Visalia Branch at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 27 as part of the “Getting to Know” series. The “Getting to Know” series is a Tulare County Library initiative that is designed to give residents an opportunity to get to know the people [...]

FRESNO – The City of Fresno joins with Valley Center for the Blind (VCB) to provide a unique training opportunity for Public Works Department employees, “Understanding Independent Travel in the Right-Of-Way.” The Public Works Department plays a crucial role in our citizens’ abilities to move about confidently and safely within our Right-of-Way.  On Tuesday, Feb. [...]

MENLO PARK, Calif., Feb. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ – Facebook today announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire WhatsApp, a rapidly growing cross-platform mobile messaging company, for a total of approximately $16 billion, including $4 billion in cash and approximately $12 billion worth of Facebook shares.  The agreement also provides for an additional $3 billion in restricted stock units to be granted to [...]

MADERA – Children’s Hospital Central California attained Magnet recognition for a third time as part of the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s (ANCC) Magnet Recognition Program. With this prestigious honor, Children’s remains among the most elite healthcare organizations in the nation that have earned Magnet recognition. This voluntary credentialing program for hospitals recognizes excellence in nursing [...]

WASHINGTON, Feb. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The U.S. Census Bureau today released a beta version of its new census.gov website. With a new look and topic-based navigation, the redesigned site provides easier access to statistics on America’s people, places and economy. The Census Bureau conducted both industry and customer research to create the new site. The beta site [...]

REEDLEY – The Reedley College Entrepreneurship Center is sponsoring its first internship program and it’s looking for selected host sites to provide a meaningful internship experience.  Host sites can be new startup businesses, existing businesses and nonprofits. The focus of the program will be to assist selected businesses analyze a business process and develop recommendations [...]

HANFORD - To help patients from throughout our region who struggle with chronic pain, Adventist Health has opened a Spine and Pain Center in the Kerr Outpatient Center in Hanford. The center is led by Dr. Rupinder Singh, who is fellowship-trained and board-certified in pain management. The Spine and Pain Center offers a multi-faceted approach to reduce [...]

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Content theft sites made nearly a quarter of a billion dollars last year from advertising on rip-off sites, according to a new report from the Digital Citizens Alliance.  According to the study, the 30 largest sites that profit exclusively from advertising dollars by pushing stolen movies, music, and television programs will [...]

REDMOND, Wash. and SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Microsoft Corp. and DocuSign on Monday announced a long-term strategic partnership to make DocuSign’s industry-leading eSignature apps widely available from within Microsoft Office 365. DocuSign’s eSignature apps for Office 365, available in the Office Store in early March, will provide customers with the ability to submit and sign documents without leaving [...]

COALINGA – West Hills Community College Coalinga Athletic Trainer Tracey Jaurena was named Athletic Trainer of the Year by the California Community College Athletic Trainers’ Association and will be honored during a luncheon April 3. Jaurena was nominated after responding to a medical incident during a WHCC basketball practice earlier this season. According to the [...]

TULARE – World Ag Expo closed its 47th annual show last week after three days of big crowds, warm weather and new innovations. More than 50 countries were represented at this year’s Expo, which boasts 2.6 million square feet of exhibit space on 260 acres of show grounds.  With 1,500 exhibitors and 100,000 attendees, World [...]

PORTLAND, Ore., Feb. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ – Rentrak (NASDAQ: RENT), the leader in precisely measuring movies and TV everywhere, today announced the top ten digital movie purchases and rentals of the year based on consumer transaction rate. The report includes Internet Video on Demand (iVOD) and Electronic Sell-Through (EST), for both Standard-Definition and Digital HD movie purchases and [...]

NEW YORK, Feb. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ – Mortgage rates broke a five-week long streak of declines, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate increasing 4.48 percent, according to Bankrate.com’s weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.33 discount and origination points. The average 15-year fixed mortgage notched higher to 3.53 percent, and the [...]

FRESNO — Fresno State senior Stephanie Gabriela Lopez was awarded the Gates Cambridge Scholarship, a full-ride graduate scholarship to Cambridge University, making her the first Fresno State student to receive the prestigious academic honor. The scholarship is awarded to 95 students worldwide each year. Lopez was announced yesterday as one of 40 United States students representing 35 institutions.The other [...]

PASADENA –Majestic Mountain Loop was awarded the prestigious 2014 Poppy Award from Visit California for the “Best Regional Collaborative Marketing Campaign” on Thursday, Feb. 6.  A collaborative partnership between the Visalia Convention and Visitors Bureau, Yosemite Sierra Visitors Bureau, Fresno Yosemite International Airport and Delaware North Parks and Resorts, Majestic Mountain Loop promotes visiting three [...]

SOUTHLAKE, Texas, Feb. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Travelocity released its annual spring break travel data, which indicates a 14.7% year-over-year increase in domestic airfare while international airfare for spring break is flat year-over-year (.1% decrease). The traditional spring break travel period in the United States falls between March 1 and April 15. From a top destinations standpoint, Travelocity data reveals [...]

VISALIA – Mike Cox, the membership and sales director at the Visalia Chamber of Commerce, was among the 28 chamber executives to graduate last Friday from Academy, a professional development program presented by the Western Association of Chamber Executives (W.A.C.E.). Academy is an interactive 3-day (three year) training program on chamber management essentials designed for today’s chamber [...]

MENLO PARK, Calif., Feb. 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ – Trends like big data and mobile media are translating into growing paychecks for some professionals, according to the recently released 2014 Salary Guides from Robert Half Technology and The Creative Group. Employers are prepared to offer increased compensation this year to skilled information technology (IT) and digital professionals who can help organizations meet [...]

CARSON, Calif., Feb. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — AutoMD.com today released its list of the Top Ten Auto Repair Jobs for 2013. Standard wear and tear jobs dominated, with Brake Pad replacement coming in at number one, and other cyclical repair jobs, such as Alternator, Water Pump, Timing Belt and Spark Plug replacement rounding out the list. The [...]

TULARE – World Ag Expo and E.M. Tharp, Inc. have teamed up for the eighth year to provide the “We Believe in Growing” scholarship which supports local high school students who will be attending four-year universities to major in an agricultural field. This year’s winners,Adrianna Santos and Garrison Fernandes, will each receive $2,500 scholarships to [...]