Embattled Fresno Police Chief Paco Balderrama applied for the head position of the Austin, Texas police department, the Austin American-Statesman reported. Balderrama, Fresno chief since Jan. 2021, is on paid administrative leave as the city investigates allegations he had an inappropriate relationship with a non-city employee. Media reports said Balderrama...
California Fines Amazon Nearly $6M, Alleging Illegal Work Quotas at 2 Warehouses
LOS ANGELES — California has fined Amazon a total of $5.9 million, alleging the e-commerce giant worked warehouse employees so hard that it put their safety at risk, officials said Tuesday. The two citations issued in May by the California Labor Commissioner’s Office said Amazon.com Services LLC ran afoul of...
Nvidia’s Stock Market Value Topped $3.3 Trillion. How It Became No. 1 in the S&P 500, by the Numbers
Nvidia’s startling ascent in the stock market reached another milestone Tuesday as the chipmaker rose to become the most valuable company in the S&P 500. Investors now say the company is worth over $3.3 trillion. Nvidia has seen soaring demand for its semiconductors, which are used to power artificial intelligence...
Two Fresnans Defrauded a Mentally Ill Man out of Millions. First Sentencing Comes Down.
A federal judge sentenced a Fresno man to 15 years in prison for defrauding a "vulnerable physician" out of more than $2.7 million before the man died. Anthony David Flores, 47, will now serve 188 months in prison after he and his former girlfriend Anna Rene Moore were arrested for...
California Governor Wants to Restrict Smartphone Usage in Schools
SACRAMENTO — California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday that he wants to restrict students' usage of smartphones during the school day, citing the mental health risks of social media. The announcement, which was first reported by Politico, comes a day after U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called on Congress to...
Fresno Trustees Prepare for Votes on $2.1 Billion Budget, $500M Bond Measure
The Fresno Unified School Board is scheduled to vote Thursday on a $2.1 billion spending plan for the 2024-25 year that includes some belt-tightening as well as dipping into reserves to cover costs. At the same meeting trustees could also green light putting a $500 million bond measure on the...
Fresno Garbage Rate Hike Vote on Thursday. Where Does Council Stand?
Fresno garbage rates could increase on July 1 unless ratepayers say no by Thursday. Or the city council decides that the hikes pose too big of a burden for ratepayers. After a six-month process, the Fresno City Council will hold a hearing at 5 p.m. The city estimates 116,957 ratepayers...
Palestinian Supporters Hang ‘Stop the Genocide’ Banner on El Capitan in Yosemite Protest
Visitors to Yosemite Valley on Tuesday morning saw a banner reading "Stop the genocide" on El Capitan, according to social media posts and the San Francisco Chronicle. A group calling themselves @ClimbersWithPalestine have hung a banner reading “Stop the Genocide” from El Capitan, the iconic 3,000-ft granite wall in Yosemite...
California Business & Labor Hammer Out a Deal on Workplace Violation Lawsuits
For years, California businesses have tried to repeal a unique state labor law that allows workers to sue their bosses over alleged workplace violations and generates hundreds of millions of dollars in employer penalties for the state. In a deal announced Tuesday to amend the law, some of those employers...
How the Teamsters and a Homegrown Union Plan to Take On Amazon
After years of organizing Amazon workers and pressuring the company to bargain over wages and working conditions, two prominent unions are teaming up to challenge the online retailer. Partnership Between ALU and Teamsters The partnership was made final after members of the Amazon Labor Union, the only union formally representing...