Paper Trail Podcast

Paul sits down with Dr. Marie Pinto, CEO of Pro Youth, to explore how the after-school program has evolved from its 1994 origins as a gang violence prevention initiative to become a comprehensive support system serving 24,000 students across 12 districts in two counties. Dr. Pinto shares how Pro Youth adapted during the COVID-19 pandemic by transforming churches into all-day learning centers for e...

Paul sits down with Chelsea Cumiford, who has built an impressive following documenting her family's journey of designing and building their dream home in Visalia's, The Lakes. What started as a pie-shaped empty lot became the foundation for an ambitious project, combining elements from their favorite places - from sports bars to coffee shops - into a uniquely personal space. The conversation foll...

In this episode of the Paper Trail Podcast, Paul Myers sits down with Shane Moss, owner of Mulligans Indoor Golf in downtown Visalia, to discuss his journey from 30-year ministry veteran to innovative business owner. Shane shares candid insights about: - The challenges of transitioning from Orange County to the Central Valley - How a simple idea for a three-simulator facility evolved into transfor...

Paul sits down with Brent Calvin, President of College of the Sequoias, who offers a unique perspective on education and leadership in the Valley. As a Visalia native who returned home after running a successful engineering firm, Brent shares insights from his seven years leading COS and the institution's remarkable decade of growth. The conversation explores COS's ambitious vision for the future,...

In this episode of the Paper Trail Podcast, hosts Paul Myers and Ryan Clark dive into the November 2024 election results across Fresno and Tulare counties. From tight congressional races like Jim Costa vs. Michael Maher, to local city council showdowns where just a handful of votes could determine the winner, the hosts break down what these results mean for Valley residents. Readers can follow the...

Paul sits down with Valley radio personality Gnarly Charlie, who recently joined KJUG's morning show. With over three decades of broadcasting experience, Charlie shares fascinating stories about his journey from sorting records at KKDJ to becoming one of the region's most recognizable voices. Charlie offers unique insights into how radio has evolved since the late 1980s, from the days of vinyl rec...

In this episode of the Paper Trail Podcast, Paul Myers and Ryan Clark dive into the Tulare County Board of Supervisors' recent unanimous endorsement of Proposition 36. The hosts explore how this reform measure aims to strengthen drug and theft penalties while emphasizing rehabilitation in California. The conversation covers the key differences between Prop 36 and its predecessor Prop 47, discussin...

Paul sits down with Zach Green of Zach Green Films to explore how he's built a thriving video production company in the Central Valley. From his early days managing house painting crews at 19 to now running a creative team producing content for major institutions, Zach shares valuable insights into growing a business while maintaining high creative standards. The conversation delves into Zach's sy...

 Paul and Ryan dive into the pressing concerns of Valley voters ahead of the 2024 election. Based on a recent survey by Mineral King Publishing, they'll explore top issues like homelessness, air quality, and education, sharing insightful quotes from local residents. From the traits voters seek in candidates to the push for civic education in schools, this episode offers a comprehensive look at the...

Paul is joined by Film Owl Productions owner, Travis Walters. Travis has spent time up and down the Golden State telling stories for businesses, advocates and educational organizations. From short documentaries to commercials, Travis has shot it all.  Travis and Paul talk about the tenents of telling a good story, and the sizable budgets the compares to Valley filmmaking. To be honest, we should a...

Paul is joined by Hand in the Community CEO Lester Moon. Lester founded the organization who puts all of their efforts into their mission of helping those in need.  Hands in the Community maintains a database of volunteers over a diverse skillset and industries. When a community member needs their lawn mowed, a ramp installed, light bulbs replaced Hands in the Community reaches out to their databa...

Paul and Ryan are joined by Serena Bettis, who has been conducting dozens of candidate interviews at the congressional, assemby, county and city council level between Tulare and Fresno Counties.  Obviously unable to go over each one, readers can find these interviews under the election tab at thesungazette.com and midvalleytimes.com . And here, Serena talks about the questions she asked, and a few...

Fresno City College PoliSci professor Nick Hernandez rejoins the podcast to talk about the election. Nick speaks to his experience with young students/voters in his class. What he's found is students care about what the economy will be like after the graduate, but also abortion. Many don't believe they'll have access to an abortion proceedure under a second Trump presidency. But another concern is...

Paul and Ryan are joined by Karis Caddell who recently talked Paul into a story on a new cafe and community services center in Tulare. Karis discusses her interview with co-owner Mimi who works in the cafe with her husband Marc.  The native French couple are living out their dream of hosting a community coffee/bakery shop in the US, because of the onorous taxes in France. And they are providing se...

COS Theatre Director Chris Mangels joins the podcast today.  Chris and Paul talk about what it was like to grow up in the ultra-insular town of Exeter. Chris shares how people would worry about whether he was doing well having taken theatre as his profession. But in reality he was getting a lifetime's worth of experience on sets in San Diego, New York and Chicago before becoming a theatre professo...

Paul and Ryan are joined by reporter Serena Bettis to talk about her story about Selma's new camping ordinance that stresses removing homeless individuals from public areas. Serena got the opportunity to speak with Governor Gavin Newsom about the matter during his stop in East Orosi to sign a bill on water infrastructure. Paul, Ryan and Serena also talk about the bill Newsom signed that is set to...

CEO for Self Help Enterprises, Tom Collishaw, joins Paul on the podcast today. Self Help Enterprises has built homes and other types of multifamily units for decades in the Valley. They have a heavy presence in Tulare County with all of it's housing needs.  Paul and Tom talk about the different means by which residents locate housing with Self Help, sweat equity, and mortgage assistance. They even...

Paul and Ryan talk about the recent law suit filed by the city of Porterville against the Tulare County Regional Transit Agency. Porterville states that TCRTA owes the city $3 million for having to provide their own transit services when TCRTA would not.  Then they talk about Sheriff Mike Boudreaux's testimony on a House justice committee hearing. Boudreaux says that he has had a "front row seat"...

Central Valley Journalism Collaborative reporter Brianna Vaccari joins Paul on the podcast.  Brianna once worked for the predecessor papers to the Mid Valley Times, before moving onto larger network papers. Her last stop before the CVJC was the Fresno Bee where she covered the Fresno City Council for several years.  Paul and Brianna swap war stories, share their thoughts on news marketing, compare...

Due to a technical snafu Sam Ramirez graciously agreed to come back to the table to talk with Paul about The Hyde brunch spot.  And at the risk of raking over some of the topics they went over during their last interview, Sam and Paul talk about the bravery it takes to open a small business in town, and what makes that successful. They also discuss the progress coming for Sam's new restaurant.

Reggie joins Paul and Ryan on the podcast today to talk about the new deal struck between Rawhide and the city of Visalia on MLB mandated stadium improvements. The deal allows Rawhide to stay in the stadium until their original lease end date of 2029. And splits some of the cost of improvements, but includes a rent increase on the part of the Rawhide. 

Ben Moore, CEO of the Valley's own The Ugly Company, joins the Paper Trail Podcast today.  The Ugly Company takes the fruit growers and grocery markets won't/can't sell and puts it to good use. Instead of letting it rot on the ground, or sit in a landfill, or just become compost, The Ugly Company dehydrates slices of peaches, cherries, mangos and plenty more and turns them into delicious snack foo...

Paul and Ryan are joined by the very familiar Reggie Ellis for their discussion over a recent deal to help local journalism in California. The deal was cut between Google, Gavin Newsom, Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks and others, but leaves local journalism as an industry wanting.   

CEO and founder of Spade Entertainment, Todd Speelman joins Paul on the podcast today. Spade Entertainment will operate the newly renovated Zumwalt Park Ampitheater in Tulare. According to Todd, he was to go-to guy for city manager Marc Mondell when mulling over the long term entertainment plans for the city of Tulare.  Todd has been running his entertainment company since before the pandemic, and...

Paul and Ryan are joind once again by Serena Bettis. Serena wrote last week's piece on Sheriff Mike Boudreaux's complaint on appearing in a Harris for President advertisement.  The ad, linked here , features Tulare County law enforcement officials (Visalia PD's Jason Salazar, DA Tim Ward and Sheriff Boudreaux) at a press conference where Harris was speaking on gangs, drugs and crime. Boudreaux app...