Patio dining is coming to five downtown Fresno restaurants and breweries, with owners hoping the new seating option can help pull them out of the hole created by the COVID-19 shutdown. The strong possibility that Fresno County businesses will fall back into the state's most restrictive COVID tier next week...
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,...
City’s $10.2M Plan Addresses Hunger, COVID Spread, Small Businesses
Fresno leaders hope to protect and support the city's most vulnerable residents during the coronavirus pandemic with a $10.2 million spending plan unveiled Friday morning. The funding is from the federal CARES Act. It addresses food insecurity, the spread of the virus among Black and immigrant families, and small businesses...
Fresno County Spending COVID Funds Faster Than City
In the 1985 movie "Brewster's Millions," Richard Pryor's character had a hard time spending $30 million in 30 days. His reward if he did would be $300 million. The city and county of Fresno are taking a slower approach spending $171 million in federal funds from the CARES Act for COVID-19...
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...
Opinion: Black Workers’ Jobs Matter, and GOP Wants to Cut Them
By Hayley Brown and Dean Baker The wave of protests after the police killing of George Floyd has prompted a re-examination of racism in all areas of American society. In many cases, policies that may initially seem unconnected to race are major contributors to racial disparities. Current Republican efforts to force major cuts...
State Center Sues Feds for Denying Emergency Relief Money to Students
State Center Community College District joined four other California community college districts and the California Community Colleges in suing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos over eligibility restrictions that deny COVID-19 emergency relief funds to thousands of local college students — including undocumented students with DACA status. The lawsuit was filed today...
FAA Slashes Merced Regional Airport Allocation by $13.6 Million
As Merced Mayor Mike Murphy puts it, "the fed giveth" and "taketh away." Allocated $16.9 million in CARES Act funding, the Merced Regional Airport saw its allocation slashed to $3.3 million this week. Even though that's a huge cut, Murphy says the allocation is significant and will be put toward...
It’s a Bust for Gaming Rooms Betting on Small Business Loans
It's been a bust for California's gaming industry betting on federal stimulus dollars to get through the COVID-19 pandemic. Club One Casino in Fresno laid off its employees after voluntarily shutting down March 17. The card room applied for federal loan-to-grant programs made available through the CARES Act, but ran...
American Ingenuity Will Beat COVID-19. Here’s How We’ll Get Back to Work.
The COVID-19 pandemic is putting all of us to the test emotionally and financially. We are praying for loved ones fighting the virus and grieving for those close to our hearts who are no longer with us. And we are doing what we can to support the health workers and...