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....
Mendes: A Mass Vaccination Site Would Be Great. So Long as County Gets Enough Vaccine.
The possibility that Fresno could get picked for a mass vaccination site supported by federal emergency and state public health agencies would be "great," says County Supervisor Buddy Mendes, but more shipments of vaccine would be even better. "The thing is, we'd rather have the vaccine," says Mendes, who is...
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...
Local Cities Now Getting Share of COVID Relief Funds. How Will They Spend It?
Fresno County is sharing the wealth of its federal stimulus CARES Act dollars with the 14 other incorporated cities in the county. The city of Fresno directly received $92 million in federal relief money. The Board of Supervisors decided that the other cities needed their own funds, too. This week,...
27 New COVID-19 Deaths in Fresno County, Officials Warn Against Labor Day Gatherings
Fresno County reported 27 new deaths related to COVID-19 since Friday. Dr. Rais Vohra, Interim Fresno County Health Officer says it's a sobering reality of where we are in the pandemic. Vohra says many of these recent deaths are people that have been hospitalized for several weeks. Others had underlying...
Who Wants to Be Fresno Police Chief? Salazar Applies Again
Mark Salazar still wants to be Fresno's next police chief. As he did last year, the longtime captain applied for the position, Salazar tells Politics 101. Chief Andy Hall faces mandatory retirement next spring. He was the surprise winner in last year's search to replace the retiring (and now mayor-elect)...
Will Soria Jump on High-Speed Rail Executive Position?
Last week, Caltrans announced it hired Diana Gomez as director for the region covering Fresno County and the Central Valley. Gomez left her position as the Central Valley regional director of the High-Speed Rail project. Multiple sources have told Politics 101 that Fresno councilwoman Esmeralda Soria might be a fit...
Some Still Not Satisfied After Joint City-County COVID Meeting
A Fresno assemblyman said the county isn't spending COVID funds fast enough, nor being transparent about their decisions. Elected officials from Fresno County disagreed. That dynamic was part of the largest question and answer session held locally since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with city and county leaders holding...
Arambula Uses Facebook Live Town Hall to Battle Fresno County Supervisors
A battle of approaches is playing out in Fresno County over how COVID-19 money is used. And, the fight is being waged in hallways of public buildings and through mainstream and social media while lives hang in the balance at crowded hospitals and ICU units. On one side, the Fresno...
Arambula Gives His Side of Showdown, Magsig Says It Was a ‘Setup’
A San Joaquin Valley insurance meeting is an unlikely place for a heated showdown between an Assemblymember and a county supervisor, but that's what happened Friday. Assembly Member Joaquin Arambula says he is concerned about a "lack of urgency" by the Fresno County Board of Supervisors on handling the pandemic....