A Dinuba man is facing murder charges in connection with a December 2023 DUI collision that killed a mother and daughter, leaving others injured, the Tulare County DA's office announced Wednesday. Blake Benham, 43, a former school principal, is charged with two counts of murder and two counts of gross...
FUSD’s Misty Her to Students: If You’re Not in School, We Can’t Help You Learn
Fresno Unified Interim Superintendent Misty Her has a special message for the district's 69,745 students: Make sure you are in your seats on time for the first day of school Monday morning — and for every day after that. "Every single day counts," Her said at a news conference Wednesday...
Wired Wednesday: Breaking Down the Lawsuit vs. Community Health System
GV Wire Multimedia Journalist Edward Smith talks with KMPH Fox 26 “Great Day” anchor Kim Stephens about Community Health System being sued by two Fresno nonprofits. The nonprofits allege that CHS wrongfully directed Medi-Cal funding from Community Regional Medical Center to Clovis Community Medical Center. But, as Smith explains, a...
Friant Needs $90 Million to Pay for Massive Canal Project. Who Will Pony Up?
Even as work on the first phase of fixing the sinking Friant-Kern Canal is nearly done, officials are worried they won't be able to pay the bill and have come up with a plan that puts pressure on four agricultural water districts to pony up. The Friant Water Authority owes...
UCLA Can’t Let Protesters Block Jewish Students From Campus, Judge Says
A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily barred the University of California, Los Angeles, from allowing protesters to set up encampments that blocked Jewish students from having access to central parts of the campus. Issuing a preliminary injunction in favor of three Jewish students who had sued UCLA, Judge Mark C....
Ukraine’s Surprise Attack Has Forced Russia to Change Plans
KYIV, Ukraine — Since its surprise incursion into Russia more than a week ago, Ukraine has steadily gained ground, saying it advanced even deeper into Russian territory Wednesday. It says it has captured hundreds of soldiers, as Russia has evacuated more than 130,000 people from nearby communities and declared a...
Californians Will Vote on $18 Minimum Wage. Workers Want $25 and More.
California touted a victory for working people in 2016 when it enacted a sweeping series of minimum hikes, making sure the lowest-wage workers would earn at least $15 an hour by 2022. Then-Gov. Jerry Brown, while signing the law, spoke of "giving people their due;" then-Senate leader Kevin de León...
Ricardo Lara Deserves Credit for Trying to Solve California’s Home Insurance Crisis
"Father Knows Best" was a popular radio show in the post-World War era that morphed into an even more popular television series starring actor Robert Young. Young's character, Jim Anderson, was an insurance company executive — probably the only time American mass media have positively portrayed such a figure. Young...
Mark Gardner on Giants’ 2014 World Series Title, Why Fresno Turns Out Great Players
You might find Mark Gardner these days at Copper River Golf Club. The former MLB pitcher and coach still calls Fresno home. "I'm retired, so it's just play golf every once in a while, relax, and enjoy. And, I keep up with the Giants. It's always nice to be able...
Presented With Rise in Border Crossings, Kamala Harris Chose a Long-Term Approach to the Problem
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden, watching tens of thousands of migrants from Central America reach the U.S.-Mexico border just a few months into his administration, tapped his second-in-command to help address the influx — a decision that has exposed Vice President Kamala Harris to one of her biggest political liabilities....