Mehmet Noyan was in shock. A $32 million housing and retail project he's spent 13 years planning vanished with a Fresno City Council vote. Council supporters could not muster the votes needed to keep the 99-unit South Stadium project in downtown Fresno alive. Needing five votes to extend escrow...
‘We’re in the Middle of a Crime Wave.’ Fresno Leaders Voice Concerns.
Fresno City Council Member Luiz Chavez says 600 criminals have been released back into the city since April. "We're in the middle of a crime wave, and that is not a term that I use loosely because that's how it's being described here in our city. And we need to...
Fresno Asks Governor to Let Restaurants Open Indoors
Members of the Fresno City Council listened to impassioned pleas from the business community Thursday before voting to pass a resolution asking Governor Gavin Newsom to allow restaurants to reopen indoors "as soon as possible." The resolution, which takes effect immediately (Garry Bredefeld & Nelson Esparza voted no), contained three...
Fresno City Council Makes Face Masks Mandatory for Everyone Entering City Hall
The Fresno City Council voted Thursday afternoon to make masks a prerequisite to enter City Hall. Under the rule, anyone not wearing a mask will be turned away by security. This includes city councilmembers, city employees and members of the public. Councilman Mike Karbassi made a motion to amend an earlier...
Councilman Wants Fresno’s Shelter-in-Place Order Extended Through May
Bucking the trend of four of his Fresno City Council colleagues, Nelson Esparza did not make a policy announcement by holding an in-person news conference. Instead, he advocated for extending the city's shelter-in-place order through at least May 31 with a news release and subsequent Zoom interview. Esparza tells GV...
Brandau and Bredefeld Deserve to be Read the Riot Act
Can I just call in Jack Nicholson to give Steve Brandau and Garry Bredefeld the full "You Can't Handle the Truth" treatment? If anyone deserves a big-league butt-chewing from the fictional Col. Nathan Jessup, it's the north Fresno councilmen who find themselves buffeted by the city's newly liberal political winds....
Campaign Begins to Raise Funds for Fresno Veterans Memorial
Fresno leaders are embarking on a public fundraising campaign to erect a memorial at City Hall for the 277 city residents who gave their lives in America's wars. Fresno City Councilman Garry Bredefeld announced the plan Tuesday, and the council will vote Thursday on authorizing the memorial's placement on city...