TOPAZ LAKE, Nev. — Crews were working Tuesday to reopen a major highway in the Sierra that was shut down by a huge mudslide at Topaz Lake near the Nevada-California state line. The mudslide covered U.S. Highway 395 with 100 feet of debris as deep as 5 feet in some...
Alan Autry Backs Villaraigosa for Governor
Alan Autry, former Republican Mayor of Fresno, has endorsed Antonio Villaraigosa for governor. In an interview with GV Wire, Autry said the Democratic candidate is the best choice to lead California. “He’s head and shoulders the best problem solver on the ballot,” Autry said. "There's a whole laundry list of issues here...
What Are 40 Years in Prison Worth to Wrongly Convicted Man?
SACRAMENTO — California has awarded nearly $2 million in compensation to a former inmate wrongly imprisoned for almost 40 years. Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday signed a law giving 70-year-old Craig Richard Coley $140 for each day he was in prison. Coley was wrongly convicted of killing his girlfriend, 24-year-old...
Fresno Sheriff Mims Joins Trump in Blasting California's Sanctuary State Laws
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday hammered California for its so-called sanctuary immigration policies, in what appeared to be his latest push to embolden his base leading into the midterm elections. As the debate over immigration heats up on Capitol Hill, Trump surrounded himself with mayors, sheriffs and other...
Big Brother Watching You? City Approves New Water Monitoring Plan.
Enforcement of Fresno’s water conservation rules is moving into the big data era. Critics wonder if “Big Brother” might be a better description. The Fresno City Council approved a pilot program Thursday that uses data from residential water meters to assess fines for violations of the city’s outdoor lawn watering...
DA Says California Dad Strangled, Shot With Crossbow & Waterboarded 10 Kids
FAIRFIELD — The 10 children rescued from a filthy, abusive California home were strangled, punched, shot with crossbows and subjected to waterboarding by their father and their mother did nothing to stop it, prosecutors said. The details of alleged abuse were included in a motion to increase the bail of...
Feel the Burn? STDs at All-Time High in California.
LOS ANGELES — The number of cases of sexually transmitted diseases in California reached a record high last year and officials are particularly concerned by a spike in stillbirths due to congenital syphilis, state health authorities said Monday. More than 300,000 cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis were reported in...
Forget National Dysfunction. America's Cities Are Blooming. Fresno Among Them.
You might remember that James and Deborah Fallows spent considerable time in Fresno as part of their five-year, 100,000-mile "journey into the heart of America." James Fallows, a correspondent for The Atlantic, met with then-Mayor Ashley Swearengin, interviewed local people and praised the Tower District, writing in an article that “you could...
State to Defend California Law Allowing Life-Ending Drugs
SACRAMENTO — Betsy Davis threw herself a party before becoming one of the first people to use a California law allowing her to take her own life in 2016. Her sister and other advocates fear others won't have the same choice after a Riverside County judge threw out the law...
San Diego & New Jersey Men Die in Icy Sequoia National Park
SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK — Authorities say a hiker and a climber have fallen to their deaths on icy routes in California's Sequoia National Park. The park says 29-year-old Anton Dokov of San Diego was killed on Sunday when he slipped on the Watchtower section of the Lakes Trail and plunged...