With two proposals to fund road repair in Fresno County cleared to begin collecting signatures, voters will soon see petitions to put the competing half-cent sales tax measures on the November ballot. In a presentation before the Fresno County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, former Fresno County Transportation Authority executive...
Measure C Renewal Passes Key Checkpoint. Will Competing Versions Emerge?
A panel of mayors approved how to implement Measure C, setting the next stage in getting the Fresno County transportation sales tax renewal on the ballot. The Fresno Council of Governments Policy Board voted 10-4 on Thursday to approve most of what an advisory panel recommended. The policy board includes...
Kern County Authorities Recover $1 Million in Stolen Lego Products
Kern County deputies arrested three men Wednesday after stopping two box trucks carrying stolen Lego products worth about $1 million, authorities said. The Kern County Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded to reports of suspicious vehicles on the 400 block of Silver Queen Road. When deputies arrived, the trucks fled the...
City of Fresno Asks for New Trial in $15.4 Million N-Word Verdict
Saying a federal jury relied on emotion instead of legal rationale, the city of Fresno is asking for a new trial in a $15.4 million racial discrimination case. Last month, the jury awarded the verdict to two former city employees, victims of the alleged use of the N-word by a...
Trump Administration Investigating Los Angeles Schools’ Gender Disclosure Policies
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has opened an investigation into the sex discrimination policies of the Los Angeles public school district, scrutinizing a measure that gives schools discretion in deciding whether to disclose students’ gender identities to their parents. The policy has been challenged by parents who sued the district,...
ACLU Is Winning the Court Fight for Fresno’s K-9 Police Records
On Wired Wednesday, GV Wire’s senior reporter David Taub talks with KMPH Fox 26 “Great Day” anchor Karl Cooke about a recent court ruling in favor of the ACLU's attempts at obtaining police K-9 records from the city of Fresno. The ACLU says the records are needed to evaluate police...
How Hungary’s Prime Minister Election Could Affect Israel
With long-time Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in a heated election battle, Israel could lose a reliable European ally if the far-right populist were to lose, Haaretz reported. On April 12, Hungary's parliament will decide between continuing Orban's 16-year governance or handing control of the government to EU-friendly Peter Magyar....
Tennessee Plant Is Fined $3.1 Million After Explosion That Killed 16
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee has fined an ammunition plant more than $3.1 million for a series of health and safety violations, months after an explosion at the plant killed 16 people and injured others. The fine is the largest ever issued by the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the...
Supervisors Hope to Better Protect Fresno County Foster Youth After Whistleblower Alert
Weeks after a Fresno County Department of Social Services employee said the department's practices were putting foster youth at risk, supervisors ordered an audit Tuesday to investigate claims that the county's reunification policies were putting children in danger. When social services worker Lorraine Ramirez went before supervisors in February to...
Fresno County Highway 180 Lane Closures Scheduled for Asphalt Repairs
The California Department of Transportation will conduct asphalt pavement repair operations along eastbound Highway 180 between Frankwood Avenue and the Friant Canal on Thursday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. One-way traffic control will be in effect, and maintenance crews will use flagging personnel to direct vehicles through the work...
Heat Wipes Out Western Snowpack, Raising Fears of Drought, Wildfire
After the warmest winter on record for many states and a blistering March heat wave that left almost no snow in parts of the American West, the region is facing a summer of serious wildfire risks and a drought that could force broad water restrictions. New measurements this month show...
Visalia Police Arrest 3 in Probation Search That Nets Meth, Heroin, Fentanyl
A probation search at a Visalia home led to the discovery of methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl, police said. At approximately 8:41 a.m. on Wednesday, the Visalia Police Department’s Narcotics Unit, assisted by the HOPE Team, conducted a probation check at a residence in the 1300 block of South Liberty Street....