LOCALLY OWNED American Ambulance has served Visalia for more than 30 years. It holds an established history of providing emergency and non-emergency medical transportation services in Tulare County.

WE ARE OFFICIALLY full-on into the spring gardening season. It’s been a bit of a time crunch lately, and I’ve been trying to balance time at work, with family, and trying to make sure my yard isn’t the sorriest patch on the block.

THE GRIZZLY FEST soon returns for its fifth year, and the local music festival has grown steadily – though this year proves to be a different kind of beast.

DUE TO THE efforts of Anna Jarvis and her love for her late mother, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Mother’s Day an official national holiday on May 9, 1914.

IN 1994, a group of local artists began meeting to discuss how to make art more accessible in Visalia. By 1996, they officially founded nonprofit Arts Visalia, and in another five years settled in their current location on Oak Avenue, across the street from the Depot.

THE VICTORY of indigenous Mexicans over the European invaders in the Battle of Puebla marks the origin of Cinco de Mayo, a holiday that gained popularity in the 1960s here in the States.

THE CENTRAL VALLEY has long hungered for the lively presence of professional sports teams. Soccer has finally made its way into the spotlight with the Fresno Football Club, thanks to the dream and efforts of owner Ray Beshoff.

FAST FACTS: • Gold seekers passed through Porterville after gold was discovered in California in 1848, and some decided to stick around and establish farms because of the rich soil. It was incorporated in 1902 and is now home to about 56,000 people.

IT'S NOT A USUAL NAME for a pet adoption center, but then Miss Winkles is anything but usual. From its name to its staff and to the center itself, Miss Winkles is shattering stereotypes of the common animal shelter.

WE’RE SURE ENJOYING all those May flowers that those much-appreciated April showers brought our way – Mother Nature gets an A-plus from us. Let’s take some time to smell the roses!