The Great Depression. Unemployment was out-of-control. Banks failed. Businesses failed. Drought and huge dust storms hammered the agricultural belt. People lost their homes and were forced to live in makeshift shantytowns called Hoovervilles. People scavenged in garbage cans for food. Life was bleak. Life was hard.

That was the backdrop for the growing-up years of a man, Derrel Ridenour, who built his personal empire in the self storage business. [More]

Paul Ridenour, senior vice president for construction and development at Derrel’s Mini Storage, recently met with the Clovis city council. He requested that the city lower the development fees that the city charges mini storage businesses. He presented information that indicated that some of the fees, especially water and sewer, may be excessive for mini storage facilities. [More]