Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

2 days ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

2 days ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

3 days ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

3 days ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

3 days ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

3 days ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

3 days ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

3 days ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

3 days ago
Bredefeld Says He's Looking to Sue to Reopen Fresno
David Taub Website photo 2024
By David Taub, Senior Reporter
Published 5 years ago on
April 27, 2020

Share

Fresno City Councilman Garry Bredefeld will hold a news conference at 10 a.m. Tuesday to make a “major announcement” that he hopes will expedite the reopening of businesses.

As part of Mayor Lee Brand’s coronavirus emergency declaration on March 16, City Manager Wilma Quan ordered all “non-essential” businesses to close. While places like grocery and hardware stores and chain retailers such as Target are open, other businesses had to shutter.

The economic hardships endured by mom-and-pops, barbershops, hairstylists, gyms, and dine-in restaurants — among many others — are acute.

Photo of GV Wire's David Taub

David Taub

Politics 101


Also in Politics 101:

  • Lawsuit calls COVID-19 business closures unconstitutional.
  • Mandatory temperature screenings at city buildings.
  • Congressman Harder endorses Biden for president

“I am looking to sue as well. I think that’s what it’s going to require to fight back,” Bredefeld said on KMJ radio Friday.

But Bredefeld on Monday would not divulge further details about his announcement.

“These have been arbitrary decisions, often in conflict with other communities,” Bredefeld said in a news release Monday. “This has resulted in trampling our citizens’ constitutional rights, civil liberties, and violates their freedoms. This is authoritarian government!

“While we must remain vigilant in fighting COVID-19, we must also strike the right balance between protecting public health, businesses and livelihoods, and our civil liberties, which has not been done. Unless these unconstitutional policies are rescinded quickly, the economic and societal damage will be catastrophic and potentially irreversible.”

City Hall spokesman Mark Standriff told GV Wire that “as a policy, we don’t discuss ongoing lawsuits and we certainly don’t discuss potential lawsuits.”

Lawsuit Filed in Southern California

On Friday, several plaintiffs sued the state and other southern California officials in federal court over their businesses being declared non-essential. Those business owners are represented by attorneys Harmeet Dhillon and Mark Geragos.

After Bredefeld spoke on KMJ on Friday, council President Miguel Arias tweeted that he looks forward to the impending litigation.

“I hope this goes forward funded by campaign funds. The public deserves to see all the material of discovery. Who knew what and when and what actions they took,” Arias wrote.

Bredefeld responded that campaign dollars couldn’t be used in a lawsuit. And, he would use his own money.

The southern California lawsuit says the government is acting unconstitutionally by closing their operations.

“Our country was built on the premise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and today in 2020 those freedoms are being stripped away from law-abiding citizens and businesses without rational thought or a rational basis,” Geragos said in a news release. “We filed this action to enforce the Constitution and ask that our public officials do the same.”

City Hall: Take Temperature or Risk Firing

The latest emergency order from Quan requires everyone entering a city facility to have their temperature taken. Anyone with a temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or above will be denied admittance.

The order says that “any employee who violates this order may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.”

While the order calls for a “non-contact” screening, it does not specify if it will be taken with a temperature gun or other device, who will administer the screening, and what training or credentials they will have, other than screeners “shall wear an approved mask, gloves and face shield.”

Harder Supports Biden

Congressman Josh Harder (D-Turlock) became the latest Democrat to line up behind his party’s presidential nominee, Joe Biden.

“Joe was instrumental in the effort to reform our broken health care system and ensure people with preexisting conditions can get access to health care coverage. Without his efforts, nearly 100,000 people in my Central Valley district wouldn’t have health care right now,” Harder said in a weekend news release.

Harder joins Valley Congressman Jim Costa (D-Fresno) in his support for Biden. Costa announced his endorsement just before California’s March primary.

(Editor’s Note: This article was updated at 2:08 p.m. to reflect that Bredefeld has not definitively said that he will sue the city of Fresno.)

 

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

DON'T MISS

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

DON'T MISS

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

DON'T MISS

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

DON'T MISS

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

DON'T MISS

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

DON'T MISS

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

DON'T MISS

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

UP NEXT

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

UP NEXT

Fresno Police to Conduct DUI Checkpoint on Fourth of July, Boost Holiday Patrols

UP NEXT

Fresno Crash Involving Unlicensed Teen Driver Sends Woman to Hospital

UP NEXT

Madre Fire Burns More Than 52,000 Acres in San Luis Obispo County

UP NEXT

RIP John Harris: Fresno County Rancher, Racehorse Breeder Was a Visionary Leader Who Leaves a ‘Profound Legacy’

UP NEXT

Valadao, Costa Spar on What Passage of Trump’s Bill Means for Medicaid Recipients

UP NEXT

Kaweah Health Names Its New Chief Nurse. She’s From Texas

UP NEXT

Clovis Police Say At-Risk Missing Woman Found Dead in Mariposa County

UP NEXT

Fresno Police Recover Some of the $40,000 in Fireworks Stolen From Bullard High Team

David Taub,
Senior Reporter
Curiosity drives David Taub. The award-winning journalist might be shy, but feels mighty with a recorder in his hand. He doesn't see it his job to "hold public officials accountable," but does see it to provide readers (and voters) the information needed to make intelligent choices. Taub has been honored with several writing awards from the California News Publishers Association. He's just happy to have his stories read. Joining GV Wire in 2016, Taub covers politics, government and elections, mainly in the Fresno/Clovis area. He also writes columns about local eateries (Appetite for Fresno), pro wrestling (Off the Bottom Rope), and media (Media Man). Prior to joining the online news source, Taub worked as a radio producer for KMJ and PowerTalk 96.7 in Fresno. He also worked as an assignment editor for KCOY-TV in Santa Maria, California, and KSEE-TV in Fresno. He has also worked behind the scenes for several sports broadcasts, including the NCAA basketball tournament, and the Super Bowl. When not spending time with his family, Taub loves to officially score Fresno Grizzlies games. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Taub is a die-hard Giants and 49ers fan. He graduated from the University of Michigan with dual degrees in communications and political science. Go Blue! You can contact David at 559-492-4037 or at Send an Email

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

2 days ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

2 days ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

2 days ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

2 days ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

2 days ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

2 days ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

2 days ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

2 days ago

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

2 days ago

Boxer Chavez Jr Expected to Be Deported to Mexico to Serve Sentence, Mexican President Says

2 days ago

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

Can you hear it — that loud roar coming from the East? It’s the sound of 1.4 billion Chinese laughing at us. Thomas L. Friedman The New Yo...

20 hours ago

Solar Farm in Riesel, Texas
20 hours ago

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

Caitlin Clark Signs T-Shirt
20 hours ago

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 days ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

The Madre Fire burning near New Cuyama has scorched 70,801 acres as of Friday, July 4, 2025, afternoon, making it California’s largest wildfire of the year, with only 10% containment and multiple evacuation zones in place. (CalFire)
2 days ago

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

2 days ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

A pumpjack operates at the Vermilion Energy site in Trigueres, France, June 14, 2024. (Reuters File)
2 days ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

Palestinians gather to collect what remains of relief supplies from the distribution center of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 5, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 days ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

Billy Wayne Sinisgalli, a 54-year-old transient known locally as Wayne, was found dead along a rural Fresno road Wednesday in what authorities are investigating as a suspicious death. (Fresno County SO)
2 days ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend