Assemblyman Jim Patterson, R- Fresno, announced Monday he has selected Lorna Roush as the 23rd Assembly District’s 2021 Woman of the Year. After an accident on Highway 41 in Fresno County in November 2020 took the life of a family member, Roush started a grassroots effort calling for the widening...
Valley Mayors From Opposite Sides of the (Planned) HSR Tracks Weigh In on Project
Tuesday's virtual meeting of the California High-Speed Rail Authority was a mostly procedural affair going over a revised business plan. The authority is asking the governor and Legislature to release enough money from the state bond for high-speed rail to ensure completion of the Central Valley portion of the project....
Newsom Says Big Vaccination Site Coming to Valley, Costa Thinks It Could Be at Save Mart
California is in line to get yet-another federally supported mass vaccination site, and Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday this one is coming to the Central Valley. Rep. Jim Costa already has a spot for it — he says the large parking lot at the Save Mart Center at Fresno State...
Dangerous Stretch of Highway 41 Will Change to ‘No Passing Zone’ as Officials Seek Widening
A dangerous two-lane stretch of Highway 41 in south Fresno County will be changed to a no passing zone to help reduce accidents — some fatal —that have long plagued the roadway. To complete the conversion, about six miles of the highway between Elkhorn Avenue and Excelsior Avenue will be shut...
Creek Fire: No Out of Pocket Cost for Property Cleanup Available, But There’s a Catch
Federal and state agencies are preparing to assist with the clean up of properties impacted by the Creek Fire, with no out-of-pocket cost to homeowners, Fresno Assemblyman Jim Patterson said this week. But there's a catch, he warned. Residents can't have already begun the clean-up process using a private contractor, he...
Trump Reverses Decision to Deny Federal Aid for Creek Fire, Other State Blazes
The Trump administration has reversed itself on its decision denying California's request for a federal disaster declaration for the Creek Fire and other recent wildfires, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday. “Just got off the phone with President Trump who has approved our Major Disaster Declaration request," Newsom said in a...
As Concerns Over Unemployment Fraud Grow, Patterson Points to Auditor’s Warning
Fresno resident Amy Brooks said she was denied unemployment benefits months ago. But she has recently received 24 pieces of mail from the state's Employment Development Department. The letters all have her address but list a different name and Social Security number. At least three contain debit cards. “There’s no...
Widow’s Testimony Doesn’t Convince Senators to Back ‘Gavin’s Law’
A law championed by Assemblyman Jim Patterson to increase penalties on hit-and-run drivers after a 2018 death of a Clovis Unified educator hit a stumbling block Friday in Sacramento. The Senate Public Safety Committee failed to pass "Gavin's Law," named for Gavin Gladding, killed during a jog on Friant Road...
Salons Want to Take Their Stalled Businesses Outside. Patterson Joins Push.
This is an update. The original story continues below. Their voices are unified. Their voices are unwavering. Sometimes, their voices cracked with emotions pent up after months of turmoil in their industry. Beauty and barbering professionals from across the state joined Fresno Assembly member Jim Patterson on a video call...
Gavin's Law, Punishing Hit-and-Run Drivers, Advances in Assembly
A law to toughen criminal penalties on hit-and-run drivers inspired by a Fresno tragedy passed a major legislative hurdle Tuesday. Listen to this article: The Assembly Public Safety Committee approved "Gavin's Law" 5-0 with three members not present. "(This bill closes) a loophole and sort of change this perverse...