Fran Florez wants to be your next state senator. The veteran Kern County Democrat announced her candidacy Friday for the 16th District Senate seat vacated last month by Michael Rubio, who took a private-sector job with oil giant Chevron.

Visalia police say an elementary-school custodian has been arrested on suspicion of having inappropriate contact with children.

Two men were convicted Friday by a Kern County jury in what the district attorney's office called a "significant gang case."

Police in the Central Valley community of Visalia are releasing more details about the fatal shooting of a man last week they say was acting aggressively during a traffic stop and was later found to have a gun in his car.

A judge issued the sentence against 25-year-old Jorge Banda on Monday. Banda was convicted in August of first-degree murder in the 2007 killing of Detective Kent Haws on a rural road near Ivanhoe.

Authorities cornered Hector Celaya, 31, on a country road in the middle of citrus orchards 30 miles away from the reservation and about six hours after the Saturday night shootings, that also left two of his other children wounded.

Tulare County officials say an Asian citrus psyllid was found in a trap pulled from a tree near Strathmore, southeast of Visalia, on Friday.

Federal officials say four California clinics received steroid shots from a recalled batch linked to a deadly meningitis outbreak that has caused five deaths and 40 cases of the illness in other states.

A group that includes former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Peter O'Malley and pro golfer Phil Mickelson reached agreement Monday to buy the San Diego Padres from John Moores in a deal believed to be around $800 million.

Other Central Valley cities with high rates of new foreclosure filings were: Modesto, Merced, Bakersfield and Visalia-Porterville. Elsewhere in California, Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario and Vallejo-Fairfield made the list. The Atlanta, Phoenix...

An alleged purse snatcher was arrested Wednesday evening after his teen victim chased him down to recover her purse.

Brent Peterson might one day play professional baseball in his hometown. The Bakersfield College shortstop and Liberty High School graduate was selected this week by the Cincinnati Reds in the 12th round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — The pilot of a small plane is counting his good fortune after walking away from a crash south of Visalia.