Paper Trail Podcast

Paul and Ryan begin the single topic show by describing the fraying tensions on the Tulare County Regional Transit Authority , leading to it's potential collapse. Porterville, one of TCRTA's largest members chose to withdraw from the authority following a potential conflict of interest baked into an agreement that provided the city with transportation. Without Porterville the county and other citi...

Exeter Rocky Hill Community Church Pastor, David Welch, joins Paul on the podcast. David became the lead pastor for his congregation just prior to the COVID-19 shutdown in March 2020. What was a challenging time for everyone became a bewildering time for him. However, David's life has been rife with obstacles since a young age. David discusses his life in poverty,  his road to religion and how so...

In this episode, Paul and Ryan dive deep into the latest demographic and environmental shifts impacting Tulare County. They explore the county's growing population trends alongside a critical look at the first subbasin in the state to be placed under probation under the Sustainability Groundwater Management Act. Join us as we unpack the implications of these developments for local communities, ind...

Beacon Economics' forecaster, Dr. Chris Thornberg, joins Paul on the podcast today.  Dr. Thornberg has made several trips to Tulare County thanks to the Tulare County Economic Development Corporation. Over the last several years he has presented a global to local view of the economy, and given sobering analysis over inflation, California's housing crisis, immigration and the local cost of living i...

Welcome to this week's edition of the Paper Trail Podcast! Host Paul Myers, executive editor of Mineral King Publishing, and co-host Ryan Clark, a seasoned local with deep roots in both the Central Valley and Silicon Valley, delve into the latest happenings around Fresno and Tulare Counties. In today's episode, we unpack the recent upheaval in Farmersville, where the city council controversially d...

Paul interviews Visalia native David Lombardi. Together they talk about how David went from Visalia to announcing games for the Stanford Cardinals. Now he covers the San Francisco 49ers as a beat reporter for the Athletic. In his role as a beat reporter David has taken a "long game" approach to sports journalism with contextual analysis. Meanwhile incentives point to outlandish claims often contra...

Paul and Ryan talk about Congressman Jim Costa's visit to Reedley to announce the introduction of a new piece of legislation that would close the gaps in federal surveilance of biolabs; then they talk about a new ballot initative that intends to curb 2014's Proposition 47.

Paul and Ryan talk about Alpaugh's growing dog problem that has begun to plague residents in the community.  Then they discuss the decisive ruling that will allow Assemblyman Vince Fong to remain on the ballot for both is Assembly seat, and his race to replace Congressman Kevin McCarthy.

Paul and Ryan talk about the handmade BMX biking park that was demolished by the city of Visalia. As a result BMX bikers along with Olympic rider Brook Craine lobbied the council to come up with a plan to build a proper bike park. Then they discuss the odd stand off between the United Farm Workers union and Wonderful Nursuries following a vote to unionize. Wonderful is claiming that the workers we...

Paul and Ryan talk about the recent "dismantling" of a major drug operation in the Central Valley; then they go over Ryan's trip to the Nvidia Conference in San Jose, and how Silicon Valley startups are seeking ways to incorporate AI into their products.

DISCLAIMER: When Paul and Ryan were discussing the race for Congressional District 20, The Sun-Gazette or Mid Valley Times had not called the race for Mike Boudreaux in second place. Paul and Ryan run through the county's most notable elections from the March 5 primary election.

Paul and Ryan talk about Larry Micari's comments about race during a Legacy Church political forum last Sunday where he told a crowd that the board changed hiring policy based on comments made by fellow supervisor Eddie Valero. The two supervisors exchanged statement on Monday, but came to an understanding and decision to move forward during the Tulare County Board of Supervisors' meeting on Tuesd...

Paul and Ryan review Mike Boudreaux's key local endorsements that he announced last week during the World Ag Expo. They also discuss former President Donald Trump's endorsement of his challenger Vince Fong. But they take the time to defend Boudreaux's bonafidas as a full fledged Republican in today's party in light of advertisements painting him as a liberal. Then they talk about The Source LGBTQ+...

Paul and Reggie welcome Visalia Chamber President and CEO Gail Zurek back onto the podcast. This time to promote and share the beneifts of the Impact Conference in Visalia. Businesses, employees and managers can attend for various breakout discussions on HR, AI and more.

Ryan and Paul take the entire episode to talk about Lindsay's mass exodus of director staff, and a publically embarrassing reorganization at the council level leaving Hippolito Cerros out as mayor, bringing Ramona Caudillo in.

Paul and Ryan recount Reggie's article on the Tulare County District 1 Board Supervisor forum. The largest moment came at the end when challenger Joe Soria announced he did not sign the state's campaign integrity pledge, and left incumbent Larry Micari with a major opening to announce that he had signed the pledge. 

Paul and Ryan talk about Lindsay's most rash of administrative turnover . City Manager Joe Tanner was put on admin leave in December, recreation director was appointed acting city manager and then he promptly fires finance director Salvador Guzman and places chief of police Rick Carrillo on administrative leave.  This leaves the highest administrative positions at Lindsay City Hall in limbo with n...

Paul and Ryan welcome Reggie back to follow up on the Visalia community's pleas to council to update Valley Strong Ballpark in order to keep professional baseball in town; Then they talk about Reggie's story that published after New Years that explained Visalia city staff and council's willingness to correct an oversight that left three homes all but unliveable because of their proximity to four d...

Reggie joins Paul and Ryan to talk about his story between the city of Visalia and Rawhide baseball team. They touch on Judge David Mathias' ruling that put both parties back at square one; the impending deadline by Major League Baseball to improve Valley Strong Ballpark; and the lack of response by the city.

Paul and Ryan revisit the California 20 Congressional Race after the California Secretary of State rules that Vince Fong is ineligible to run for both Congress and the state assembly; Then they talk about the most recent Visalia events ordinance that all but targets the Visalia Farmers' Market.

So the Mineral King Publishing marketing manager was working on a project for us and asked Reggie, Ryan and myself to have a conversation about editorial ethics on camera. And we had no idea what we were going to say, we were just happy to talk shop. And after a little while Sarah asked if I was interested in publishing our conversation and so I listened to the audio. We talk about differences bet...

Paul and Ryan talk about Kevin McCarthy's decision to step down from his position in Congress leaving an open void for local representation; Then they talk about Freedom Elementary school's lockdown last week when 25 students fell ill following lunch, and the district's unwillingness to answer questions from The Sun-Gazette and the community.

Paul and Ryan talk about the Tulare County Board of Supervisors decision to review adding " In God We Trust " to their dais, after board members struggled whether to add "e pluribus unum" underneith it; Then they talk about the state's push to incorporate media literacy as a part of public school curriculum.

Paul and Ryan deliver their Thanksgiving episode by catching up the congressional report that pointed to an ineffective CDC and Chinese Community Party ties after investigating the lab in Reedley; then they talk about Fresno's hopes of reviving their tech sector after the fall of BitWise earlier this year.

Paul and Ryan take look at Fresno County Board Supervisor Steve Brandau's "Parents Matter Act" that seeks to move books with sexually explicit material within county libraries; and set up a 15 person committee to review books that community members might find concerning. Then they take a swing at the most recent updates to the city of Visalia and Rawhide lawsuit over stadium renovations.