In addition to approving a $2 billion budget, and holding a hearing to raise garbage rates, the Fresno City Council also tackled policy issues of note on Thursday. The city council approved a moratorium on dog breeding, created a policy to restrict signs in council chambers, and increased the threshold...
Homeless Advocate Argues with Bredefeld, Is Ejected From Chambers
After homeless advocates complained about the city's homeless response team, Fresno City Councilmember Garry Bredefeld responded. He said the team does a good job and the city is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on services to homeless people. Bredefeld, a clinical psychologist, also said that homeless people — particularly...
UK Fans Wonder if Taylor Swift Will Say ‘so Long, London’ After Eras Tour
LONDON — Taylor Swift fans enjoy parsing the singer-songwriter’s lyrics for references to her romantic life and insights into her state of her mind. But the pop superstar’s fans in the U.K. didn’t have to listen closely to her latest album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” to get the sense that...
Fresno State’s New AD Says Bulldogs Will ‘Achieve New Heights of Success’
The first words from Fresno State's new athletic director, Garrett Klassy, should get the attention of Bulldogs fans. "This is an incredible moment for me and my family, and I am committed to working tirelessly to move Fresno State Athletics forward aggressively during this changing landscape of college athletics," said...
California Democrats Score Big Win as Supreme Court Blocks Anti-Tax Ballot Measure
The century-long and often tortured history of California making law through ballot measures took a new turn Thursday when the state Supreme Court blocked an initiative that would have made it much more difficult to raise state and local taxes. Unanimously, the court agreed with Gov. Gavin Newsom and a...
State Board Says Clovis Unified Violated Labor Laws, Must Disband Faculty Senate
The Public Employment Relations Board issued a ruling Thursday that Clovis Unified School District has violated state labor laws when it provided support to and exercised control over the Faculty Senate in an effort to stymie efforts by teachers to organize their own union. The ruling requires the district to...
Fresno Trustees OK $2.1B Budget & $500M Bond Measure, But Question Special Ed Contracts
The Fresno Unified School Board took mere minutes Thursday evening to approve a $2.1 billion budget for the next school year and a $500 million bond measure for November's ballot. Their speed was no surprise — the board had been receiving briefings on both the budget and the bond measure...
California Workplace Safety Board Approves Heat Protections for Indoor Workers, Excluding Prisons
LOS ANGELES — On the first day of summer with parts of California sweltering under a heat advisory, a state worker safety board approved standards Thursday that would require employers to protect workers from indoor heat, but would exempt state correctional facilities. The board of the California Division of Occupational...
Newly Named Washington Post Editor Decides Not to Take Job After Backlash, Will Stay in Britain
NEW YORK — The Washington Post said Friday that newly named editor Robert Winnett has decided not to take the job and remain in Britain instead, another upheaval at a news outlet where a reorganization plan has gone disastrously wrong. The Post’s CEO and publisher, Will Lewis, announced Winnett’s decision...
Missing 4-Year-Old Found Safe But Tired and Hungry at Huntington Lake
On Friday, at about 8 a.m., the Tulare County Search and Rescue Team found 4-year-old Christian Ramirez, who had been missing since Thursday morning, according to the Fresno Sheriff's Office. He was found about a quarter-mile from the spot where he was last seen at Rancheria Campground. Authorities reported that...