The Fresno County Board of Supervisors on Friday issued a statement denying that supervisors violated the Brown Act when they attended a news conference to discuss community concerns about Pacific Gas & Electric. The Fresno County Democratic Party filed a complaint based on comments made by Mayor Jerry Dyer at...
ACLU Considers Suing Fresno City Hall for Blocking Public
Since the start of the pandemic, Fresno City Council chambers have been open, closed, open, and closed once again to the public. The most recent shutdown came on Aug. 19, with the public again banned from chambers, even though the entire council and staff meet to conduct the people's business....
Public Barred from Entry as Fresno Council Debates Meeting Transparency
On a day where the Fresno City Council debated how to make its business more transparent, the public was shut out from attending in-person. For the second consecutive meeting, the city's council chamber was opened to councilmembers. But despite language in a city order authorizing the public to attend in-person...
Newly Appointed Deputy at FUSD Said to Be Nation’s Highest-Ranking Hmong K-12 Educator
Longtime Fresno Unified administrator Mao Misty Her was named Wednesday as the district's new deputy superintendent and second-in-command to Superintendent Bob Nelson. Fresno Unified said the appointment makes Her the highest-ranking Hmong K-12 educator in the nation. Her, whose family came as refugees to the U.S. and moved to Fresno...
Reform the Brown Act to Enhance Transparency and Public Access
The Ralph M. Brown Act represented major progress for transparency in California government when it was enacted in 1953. The law has ensured that generations of Californians have access to their local officials, that the public’s business be conducted in public and that decision-makers hear from their constituents before they...
Protest Rally to Reopen Fresno Set for Wednesday
A protest rally to reopen businesses in Fresno and the state during the COVID-19 pandemic is scheduled for City Hall on Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event is being hosted by Ben Bergquam, a conservative activist with Frontline America. He said community leaders reached out to him...
Central Unified Board, Staff To Meet in Video Teleconference Like 'Brady Bunch'
It will be business not quite as usual when the Central Unified School District trustees hold their regular board meeting on Tuesday. Because of orders by Gov. Gavin Newsom for Californians to shelter in place and also to avoid large public gatherings to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus,...
FUSD Broke Open Meeting Rules in Slatic Incident, Says Bullard Student's Lawyer
The lawyer representing a student seen in a physical altercation caught on video with a school board trustee says the district is skirting the law when it discussed the case at a subsequent meeting. On the Jan. 11 afternoon in question, surveillance video showed elected FUSD trustee Terry Slatic engage...
Central Unified Recall Battle Grows. Terry Cox Is New Target.
There are now two separate recall efforts in Central Unified School District. While an advocacy group awaits the OK from the county clerk’s office for a recall of two Central Unified trustees associated with the firing of Superintendent Mark Sutton, a third trustee, Terry Cox, is the target of a...