There's talk of gift cards, free passes to attractions, or other incentives to get people out to Fresno County's COVID vaccination sites. Officials with the health department have seen such a drop in vaccination activity, they're shutting down a large-scale clinic at Central High School. Anther mass vaccination operation at the...
Paycheck Protection Loans: California Received Less Per Capita Than States Like North Dakota
While the total number of Paycheck Protection Program loans received is high in California, when broken down to SBA loan dollars per capita, California ranks near the bottom at $845 per capita, while a small state such as North Dakota is at $2,037 per capita. That's part of the findings of...
Borgeas Applauds Passage of COVID Tax Breaks for Businesses
A state bill promising billions in tax breaks for California businesses challenged by the pandemic unanimously passed the Senate on Monday. Passage came after the Biden administration assured officials that the proposal would not jeopardize the state's federal coronavirus aid. State Sen. Andreas Borgeas, a Fresno Republican, has championed help...
Fresno in Orange Tier. Restaurants, Movie Theaters Rise to 50% Indoor Capacity
State officials announced that Fresno County can move into the Orange tier on Wednesday — great news for businesses such as restaurants and entertainment venues under COVID-19 restrictions. Under the orange tier, restaurants can open indoors at 50% capacity. Movie theaters can also open at 50% capacity, and gyms can...
Ted Nugent, Who Once Dismissed COVID-19, Sickened by Virus
Rocker Ted Nugent is revealing he was in agony after testing positive for coronavirus — months after he said the virus was “not a real pandemic.” "I thought I was dying," Nugent says in a Facebook live video posted Monday. “I literally could hardly crawl out of bed the last...
People Who Got COVID Before Will be Exposed Again for Human Challenge Study
Researchers at the University of Oxford have launched a human challenge trial to look at what kind of immune response can stop people from becoming re-infected from COVID-19. They also want to see how the immune system reacts second time round. A human challenge trial in medical research is a carefully...
Super Liquor’s $10K COVID-19 Price Gouging Fine Is Dismissed
"Dismissed." That was the decision rendered last week by Michael Flores, an independent administrative hearing officer for the city of Fresno. The verdict came after Flores ruled that city officials failed to present evidence supporting a $10,000 price-gouging fine against Super Liquor in northwest Fresno. It took one year for...
‘Data Dump’ Held Merced Back in Most Restrictive Tier Until Wednesday Fix
Merced County moved out of the state's most restrictive COVID tier on Wednesday after California health officials corrected for delayed reporting of coronavirus test results. A sudden surge of case reports from a testing laboratory kept Merced County from moving into a less restrictive reopening tier last week, county officials...
In ‘Huge Win’ for Restaurants, Fresno County Gives Fee Credits Due to COVID-19
Fresno County is giving restaurant owners a break on Environmental Health Permit fees to help off-set financial hardships due to the pandemic. The Fresno County Board of Supervisors recently approved permit fee credits for restaurants with seating that can demonstrate closure due to COVID-19 in the calendar years 2020-2021. "It's...
Fresno Supervisors Repeal COVID-19 State of Emergency
The Fresno County Board of Supervisors voted 4 to 1 Tuesday morning (Supervisor Sal Quintero voted no) to repeal the proclamation of a local emergency due to COVID-19. Additionally, the board is asking all county departments that interact with the public to reopen. "We've seen this in Sacramento for the last year...