Two years after an argument over credit card spending sparked accusations of harassment and abuse among Fresno City Councilmembers, an audit of the city's discretionary spending has been released. Auditors examined credit card spending and reimbursements from 2017 to 2022. They found 18% of transactions and 16% of the amount spent during...
Former NFL Player Led Demo for Charter School Near Fresno Chaffee Zoo
(Story was originally posted November 3, 2023) During his NFL playing days, Robert Golden's job was to demolish his opponent's offense. Golden put his demolition skills to a different use: He climbed into the cab of a giant excavator and then started to claw down the front of an abandoned...
Target to Reduce Number of Stores Carrying Pride-Themed Merchandise After Last Year’s Backlash
NEW YORK — Target confirmed Friday that it won't carry Pride Month merchandise at all stores in June after the discount retailer experienced a backlash and lower sales over its collection honoring LGBTQ+ communities. Target, which operates roughly 2,000 stores, said decisions about where to stock Pride-themed products, including adult...
US Pledges Money and Other Aid to Help Track and Contain Bird Flu on Dairy Farms
U.S. health and agriculture officials pledged nearly $200 million in new spending and other efforts Friday to help track and contain an outbreak of bird flu in the nation's dairy cows that has spread to more than 40 herds in nine states. The new funds include $101 million to continue...
Stock Market Today: Wall Street Coasts to the Finish Line of Another Winning Week
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks coasted to the close of another winning week on Friday. The S&P 500 rose 8.60 points, or 0.2%, to 5,222.68 to finish a third straight winning week following its mostly miserable April. It had been on pace for a bigger gain in the morning, but...
Flavor Flav Becomes Official Hype Man for US Women’s Water Polo Team at Paris Olympics
Maggie Steffens asked for more support for the U.S. women's water polo team, and the captain received one particularly surprising response. From a clock-wearing rap icon. Moved by Steffens' Instagram post, Flavor Flav has stepped forward to help the U.S. team as it goes for an unprecedented fourth consecutive gold...
California Governor Would Slash 10,000 Vacant State Jobs to Help Close $27.6 Billion Deficit
SACRAMENTO — California has a budget deficit of $27.6 billion, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday — a gap so wide that he's proposing eliminating 10,000 vacant state jobs and cutting spending across 260 state programs. The Democratic governor outlined the deficit Friday as part of his proposed $288 billion state...
US Questions Israel’s Use of US Arms, Citing Potential International Law Violations
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration said Friday that Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes. U.S. Found "Reasonable" Evidence The administration's finding of “reasonable” evidence to conclude that its ally had...
A Sustainable Future for Fresno: Rethinking Our Hydrogen Strategy
In a recent POLITICS 101 column, David Taub reported on the Fresno City Council's approval of a hydrogen fuel contract without competitive bidding. While I applaud the City Council and mayor for their initiative in adopting hydrogen as a future energy source, the terms of the contract, which locks Fresno...
Californians Will See Lower Electricity Rates and a New Fee That Won’t Vary with Power Use
State utility regulators decided Thursday to let California’s largest power providers stick their customers with a new monthly flat fee in exchange for a reduction in the overall price of electricity, a controversial change to the way that millions of households pay their utility bills with weighty implications for state...