Lina Mills recalls how she came to this country from Colombia at age 16 having never worked a day in her life. Once she arrived, she found work in restaurants. “I had to provide for myself,” Mills told CalMatters recently. “I basically ran from home.” She knew some English, learned...
Lauryn Hill, Tyla and More Will Perform at the 2024 BET Awards. Here’s What to Know About the Show
NEW YORK — The 2024 BET Awards are fast approaching. Last year's show celebrated 50 years of hip-hop with tributes to the genre’s earliest voices, late legends and new talent during a show packed with spectacular performances that consistently felt like a party. This year is stacking up to be...
From Globe Trotting to Globe Tripping: Why Psychedelic Vacations Are on Trend
More people are opting to leave 5-star resorts and cruises behind and take a different kind of vacation, one that comes with a side of mind-altering drugs. But the legal and physical implications of this sort of travel can be murky. For a moment, consider taking a slightly different kind...
Find Out Which Lobbying Groups Get Their Way Most Often in the California Legislature
Los Angeles and the Bay Area tend to get their way in the California Legislature. So do labor unions, social justice organizations and defense attorneys. On the flip side, anti-tax, police and business groups are much less successful. Those are the key findings from a data analysis of the organizations...
Here’s Why Ukraine Should Seek Peace
Opinion by A. Walter Dorn on June 14. After more than two years of death and destruction, neither side in the war in Ukraine appears close to victory: Russia will not achieve its imperial conquest of Ukraine, and Ukraine will most certainly not be able to regain control of all...
Fresno County Gets National Recognition for Poverello House Project
Fresno County has received a 2024 Achievement Award from the National Association of Counties for its help in the Poverello House kitchen renovation. This award recognizes and honors effective county government programs that improve services assisting their community. Poverello House, founded in the 1970s by "Papa Mike" Garvin, a man...
You Don’t Think Corn Dogs Are Haute Cuisine? These Chefs, Using Alligator Sausage, Beg to Differ.
NEW ORLEANS — Stefani De Palma, an award-winning chef and head of the a team vying to represent the Americas in a French culinary competition in January, knew she wanted her team's work to feature flavors of her native California. The challenge at the Bocuse d'Or Americas competition this week...
Investigators Have Name & Face for Suspected Arsonist Who Left Notes at Fresno Homes
Fresno Fire Department investigators have identified a woman whom they think left handwritten notes at homes before lighting them on fire. Investigators have an active warrant for the arrest of 32-year-old Ramona Leal related to a series of arson fires in northwest, northeast, and southwest Fresno. Leal is suspected of...
Gavin Newsom and Top Democrats Are Deciding California’s Budget Behind Closed Doors
After legislative leaders failed to reach an agreement with Gov. Gavin Newsom about how to close California’s projected multibillion-dollar deficit, the Legislature passed a placeholder state budget today, just ahead of a mandatory deadline. With only a few weeks left until the start of the new fiscal year on July...
Fresno State Is 1 of Carnegie Foundation’s 25 Leadership for Public Purpose Colleges
Fresno State is one of the 25 U.S. colleges and universities to receive the first Carnegie Leadership for Public Purpose classification in the inaugural 2024 cycle. It's the only public institution in California so honored; no other California State University or University of California institutions were selected. This selective designation...