The Fresno Bee from Fresno, California • A4

TUESDAY A4 THE FRESNO BEE-SOUTHTHE FRESNO BEE SOUTH 4 A4 Logical Page is THE FRESNO 20:42 By Marc Benjamin The Fresno Bee Clovis city officials unveiled a $3.4 million solar project Monday that will help power the headquar- ters of the police and fire de- partments. he solar panels for the building have been operating since last month. the largest public solar project in Clovis. The project is being paid for with a 14-year, interest loan of $953,238 from the California Energy Commis- sion and a second, city-financed 20-year loan for $2.45 million at 4.95% interest. The city also will get a rebate from Pacific Gas Electric Co.

that will cover $600,000 of the cost, City Manager Robert Woolley said. the loans are paid, we are looking at free he said. Clovis of ficials expect to save $3.37 million over the 25-year life of the solar panels. main thing is that we are working on sustainability and help- ing the environment by using renew- able energy Woolley said. The city expects to save more than $128,205 annually about in electricity costs for the headquar- ters.

Solar panels also are powering two city fire stations at Temperance and Alluvial avenues and at Pollasky Ave- nue and Seventh Street. At the fire stations, where solar panels were in- stalled last year, the city is exceeding initial savings projections, Woolley said. The Clovis Veterans Memorial Dis- trict completed a solar project for its downtown Clovis building in 2009. It was the largest in Clovis until now. The reporter can be reached at (559) 441-6166, or on Twitter.

By BoNhia Lee The Fresno Bee The health of Valley resi- dents has improved very lit- tle over the past 10 years and by some measures has gotten worse, according to a report released Monday by Fresno State research- ers. Adults are overweight and obese while adoles- cents get enough exer- cise, the Healthy People 2010 report said. Tobacco use among adults remains high and air quality re- mains a problem, which contributes to poor health, the report said. The Healthy People 2010 study, produced by the Cen- tral Valley Health Policy In- stitute at Fresno State, pro- filed the health of people in eight Valley counties Fresno, Kern, Kings, Mad- era, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Tulare over the past decade. It compared Valley health measures to 22 pub- lic health goals set by the U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services for the nation to reach by 2010. The Valley met the na- tional standards for only six of the goals and failed to reach the other 16. have disappointing findings in terms of nation- al health goals over the last 10 years, but we have a lot to be excited said John Amson Capitman, ex- ecutive director of the Health Policy Institute. have tools to make real changes on these mea- The study will help agen- cies such as the Fresno County Department of Pub- lic Health to develop and implement programs that will help Valley residents make healthier choices in such areas as nutrition and exercise. looking at the data and want to know where strong and where we need to focus our attention to make the big- gest said Edward Moreno, the director and county health officer.

The health department plans to use a portion of a $500,000 Community Trans- formation Grant it re- ceived last fall from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help nonprofit groups cre- ate pro rams about healthy living. One of those programs could address adult obesi- ty, one of the most glaring health problems in the re- port, both Moreno and Capitman said. The study shows that nearly of the adults in the Valley were overweight and obese in 2009, the most recent year for which data is available. In 2001, only of adults were over- weight.

far from the national target of The report does not ex- plain why the Valley does poorly when it comes to healthy behaviors, but other studies by the insti- tute suggest that relat- ed to poverty, Capitman said. Many Valley families afford healthy food or are not eating well, Capit- man said. The community, also, is not creating enough opportunities for people to exercise. Some of the solutions could include more nutri- tion education for adults and allowing families in low-income neighborhoods to use the school gym or outdoor facilities at night or during the summer to stay active, Capitman said. we create the opportu- nity people will Capitman said.

The reporter can be reached at (559) 441-6495, or on Twitter The Fresno Bee State demographers is- sued new projections Mon- day echoing earlier reports that growth in the San Joaquin Valley is slowing. The new numbers from the state Department of Fi- nance Demographic Re- search Unit predict that the eight counties will have about 7.5 million peo- ple in 2050. That is 2 million fewer than the most recent previ- ous projections, made in 2007, at the height of the housing boom. The eight counties are Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Tulare. Fresno County is predict- ed to have slightly more than 1.5 million people in 2050, compared to more than 1.9 million in the earli- er projections.

Its popula- tion in the 2010 census was 930,450. 2050 popula- tion is now projected to be 51 million, compared to just over 37 million in the 2010 census. A report ac- cepted last month by the Fresno Council of Govern- ments reached similar con- clusions about the future growth. The slowing is generally attributed to less migration from the Northern Califor- nia coast to northern Val- ley counties, and sharply lower birth rates, especial- ly among Hispanics. Clovis solar plan for police, fire THE FRESNO BEE Valley falls short The Valley is falling short of many of the goals set by the National Healthy People 2010 objectives.

Here are some of those goals. Source: Central Valley Health Policy Institute at Fresno State Physical activity Adults Adolescents 2001 2009 Target Met Yes No No No Yes Yes 80.3% 67.6% 70.5% 96.7% Adults Adolescents Substance abuse binge drinking Adolescents: No alcohol use THE FRESNO BEE Slowing population growth New projections from state demographers confirm earlier reports that growth in the San Joaquin Valley is expected to be slower than previously expected in coming decades. .8 1.1 1.4 1.7 2 million 2050 2045 2040 2035 2030 2025 2020 2015 2050 2045 2040 2035 2030 2025 2020 2015 4 6 8 10 million Projections 2007 New 1.9 million 9.5 million 1.5 million 7.5 million Fresno County San Joaquin Valley Source: California Department of Finance By Pablo Lopez The Fresno Bee A Fresno appellate court has upheld a award of more than $3.2 million to homeowners in a Madera County river bluf neigh- borhood in their nearly six- year legal battle against de- velopers over San Joaquin River access. The Fifth District Court of Appeal also af firmed Judge James E. ruling in Madera County Superior Court in 2008 that the 49-lot Sumner Hill sub- division is a private, gated community that has exclu- sive rights to the river.

Therefore, it can bar the public from going through the subdivision to get to the river, the ruling said. was an epic battle be- tween David versus Goliath and the good guys said Fresno attor ney Walter Whelan, who along with his attorney son, Brian Whelan, represented a majority of the homeown- ers. The homeowners were pitted against a partner- ship of three major builders including the McCaf frey Group, which is headed by local builder Bob McCaf- frey. Around 2004, the McCaf- frey Group and two part- ners fellow home builder Gary McDonald and com- mercial developer Lyles Di- versified bought almost 1,600 acres of the Peck Ranch, east of Highway 41 on both sides of Road 204 in the Rio Mesa area. The pro- posed development, known as Tesoro Viejo, called for about 5,200 homes, a trail, and possibly other public ac- cess ways that would pass through Sumner Hill to reach the river.

When McCaffrey made moves to prevent Sumner Hill residents from having access to the river and to record a public document inviting the general public to enter the private subdivi- sion, the homeowners sued in October 2006. The legal fight was impor- tant to the homeowners be- cause for more than 20 years, they enjoyed the pri- vacy of living in a remote, rural area, said Lynne Thaxter Brown, the appel- late counsel for the home- owners. Whelan and his son ar- gued that the partnership had put up gates and hired security guards that in ef- fect stopped Sumner Hill residents from reaching the river bottom. While the road was owned by the part- nership, Whelan said, Sum- ner Hill residents had been granted use of the road. The lead lawyer for the partnership, Gerald Mur- phy, said the actions were taken because of liability is- sues.

He said the road which is owned by the part- nership is in poor condi- tion and is dangerous. Whelan noted Monday that the partnership had three law firms to defend it. He called the homeowners, mouse that Murphy, the partner- attorney, said Mon- day that no decision has been made whether to ap- peal the Fifth rul- ing. The reporter can be reached at (559) 441-6434, or on Twitter. Solar designer Josh Troglin looks down on a array of panels, part of a project he helped create, placed on structures in the parking lot of the Clovis Police Department.

They are part of the largest public solar project in Clovis. MARK FRESNO BEE Valley health falls behind national goals Valley growth will slow, report says Homeowners win case on river access 1820 E. McKINLEY East of Blackstone 445-0206 Valley Remnants toBamboo Bamboo Bamboo! Natural Carmelized Click-loc 25YearWarranty $3.49 sqft Supe Valu Supe Savin gs! page A4 the fresno bee LOCAL tuesday, may 8, 2012 fresnobee.com.