PONT-SONDÉ, Haiti — The death toll in a brutal gang attack last week on a small town in central Haiti has risen to 115, a local official told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The attack on residents of Pont-Sondé on Oct. 3 was one of the biggest massacres that Haiti...
Time to Evacuate Is Running out as Hurricane Milton Closes in on Florida
TAMPA, Fla. — Steady rain fell and winds began to gust in the Tampa Bay area Wednesday morning as a mighty Hurricane Milton churned toward a potentially catastrophic collision with the west coast of Florida, where some residents insisted they would stay even after millions were ordered to evacuate. Stragglers...
Artisanal Cheese, Anyone? Fresno State Gets Federal Grant for New Dairy Products
Fresno State will receive a $690,000 federal grant that the university will use to help dairy farmers develop high-value products such as artisanal cheeses and organic products. The award by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, announced last week by Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, is intended to support dairy businesses in...
Fresno Unified Maintains Focus on Making Routes to School Safer for Kids
Fresno Unified School District is embarking on Year 2 of seeking solutions to improving safety for students and their families who walk and bicycle to and from school. The district, using a grant from the Office of Traffic Safety, is partnering with Toole Design Inc. to conduct Safe Routes to...
Merced’s District Attorney Wants to Establish a Family Justice Center for Crime Victims
Long before she became Merced County's top prosecutor, Nicole Silveira witnessed firsthand the level of courage it takes for victims of crime to go through the justice system. Her first felony assignment upon joining the Merced County District Attorney's Office more than a decade ago was domestic violence and sexual...
Read This Before Voting on Prop. 35, Which Promises Billions for Health Care
Among the blitz of election ads flooding TV, social media and street corners, you won't see any opposition to a ballot measure proposing to lock in billions of dollars to pay doctors more for treating low-income patients. But opponents of Proposition 35 have a warning even if they don't have...
California Fires Scorch Over 1 Million Acres in 2024, Destroying Nearly 1,500 Structures
California has seen 1,005,564 acres burn across the state this year as of Tuesday — triple the acreage in 2022 and 2023 each, according to CalFire. A total of 6,693 wildfires have ignited, resulting in the destruction of 1,437 structures, with 271 more sustaining damage. Additionally, there have been 109...
Supervisors Pick Contractor for New Clovis, Reedley Libraries. Is Highway City Next?
Fresno County Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously selected a contractor to build two new libraries, one in Clovis and one in Reedley. Supervisor Brian Pacheco, however, wanted to make it clear that Highway City is next in line. In addition, Fresno County Board Chair Nathan Magsig directed Fresno-based Harris Construction to...
Controversial Kamala Harris Portrait Returns to Big Fresno Fair Art Exhibit
Ma Ly is ready to move on. The Fresno artist and teacher submitted an acrylic portrait of Vice President Kamala Harris for the annual Big Fresno Fair art contest. By mistake — the fair admitted — it was disqualified from the annual competition and taken off display in the Fine...
She Lost Job After Talking to State Auditors. She Just Won $8.7M in Whistleblower Case.
Tamara Evans found something fishy in the expenses filed by a San Diego contractor for the state's police certification commission. Classes were reported as full to her employer, the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, even if they weren't. Meeting room space was billed, but no rooms were actually...