Most Fresno Pacific University classes will be online only starting Wednesday and continuing through Feb. 4, the university announced Tuesday. Faculty had been asked earlier this month to prepare for online lessons again in the event that the coronavirus surge reoccurred, as it has with the omicron variant. In an...
Fresno, Kern Residents Win $50K Each in Vaccination Lottery
Residents from Fresno and Kern counties were among 15 people winning $50,000 each on Friday in California's lottery among the nearly 22 million Californians who have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. State officials identified the winners by what county they lived in, with plans to contact...
The Latest: Germany Reports 24,000 Daily Coronavirus Cases
BERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called on citizens to help ease the strain on nurses and doctors caring for the rising number of COVID-19 patients by respecting pandemic rules over Easter. Germany’s disease control agency reported 24,300 newly confirmed cases in the past day, and 201 deaths. The...
‘Tip of the Iceberg’ : More Dangerous Virus Variant Confirmed in 3 Fresno County Patients.
The so-called UK variant of the coronavirus has been confirmed in three Fresno County patients, interim health officer Dr. Rais Vohra said Friday. The B.1.1.7 variant is more contagious and may cause more severe symptoms than the original COVID-19 coronavirus strain, could infect people who have already been vaccinated for...
Local Schools Leader Says New COVID 3-Foot Desk Rule is ‘Game Changer’
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday that desks in elementary schools now may be set 3 feet apart instead of 6 without risking the spread of the coronavirus among students — even in counties like Fresno where the risk of infection remains high. Desks at middle and...
Opinion: Legislative Staff Right to Unionize: What Could Go Wrong?
After handing unions a brightly wrapped gift in 2019 with Assembly Bill 5, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez is putting the bow on another present, Assembly Bill 314, which would allow legislative staffers to organize. Had she first asked a legendary labor leader what he thought about it, she would have likely...
Opinion: California Vaccine Rollout and the Failure of Government
A pundit could almost make a career out of pointing out how California routinely lands in last place or just a few spots from the bottom on various lists. From the state’s miserable business climate to its worst-in-the-country tax and regulation policies to poverty, low rankings have come to be...
Virus Variant From South Africa Detected in US for 1st Time
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A new variant of the coronavirus emerged Thursday in the United States, posing yet another public health challenge in a country already losing more than 3,000 people to COVID-19 every day. The mutated version of the virus, first identified in South Africa, was found in two cases...
US Economy Shrank 3.5% in 2020 After Growing 4% Last Quarter
WASHINGTON — Stuck in the grip of a viral pandemic, the U.S. economy grew at a 4% annual rate in the final three months of 2020 and shrank last year by the largest amount in 74 years. For 2020 as a whole, a year when the coronavirus inflicted the worst...
Virus Aid Package Tests Whether Biden, Congress Can Deliver
WASHINGTON — More than a sweeping national rescue plan, President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package presents a first political test — of his new administration, of Democratic control of Congress and of the role of Republicans in a post-Trump political landscape. For Biden, the outcome will test the strength of...