When Jennifer and Darrell Taber moved to Shaver Springs in 2017, they knew the water in the area was "not great." For decades, the state and the county have dealt with water issues ranging from high uranium levels to high gross alpha particles in the water. More recently, iron and...
Fresno Plane Aborted First Takeoff Before Crash Killed 4: NTSB
A small plane that crashed near Sierra Sky Park, killing an Auberry family of four, aborted an earlier takeoff and returned because of a reported radio problem before taking off again and struggling to gain altitude, according to a preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report. The Sept. 5 crash killed...
Selling California Voters on Raising Local Taxes Often Involves Tricks, Manipulation
California’s Nov. 3 ballot contains 14 statewide ballot measures and five of them pertain to taxes, including the much-debated Proposition 40, which would tax the wealth of the state’s billionaires. Meanwhile, local ballots are also heavily loaded with measures that would either raise taxes to benefit school districts or local...
High-Speed Rail Cannot Uplift Merced by Draining It
I have supported California high speed rail for years because I want Merced families to have better access to jobs, education and investment. Our support should not become an obligation to surrender local tax revenue or cover the costs a state project creates in our community. Gov. Gavin Newsom described...
Steve Hilton Has Harsh Criticisms, Sweeping Fixes for California Schools
Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton views California’s low third grade reading and math scores as a crisis and an indictment of the state’s “catastrophically failing system.” He places much of the blame for low scores on children’s excessive access to smartphones (a “scourge that’s destroying childhood,” he said), on teachers’...
Fresno Unified Used Foundation to Solve Field Trip Crisis. What Else Has It Done With MacKenzie Scott Money?
Fresno Unified administration found a solution to a public relations crisis after it cut field-trip spending by tapping into resources from the district's relatively young foundation. A $1.5 million gift to fill the gap in the district's $1.66 billion budget represents possibly the single-largest expense for the foundation, which says...
How to Turn the Central Valley’s Climate Challenges Into Economic Growth
For generations, families and agricultural workers in the San Joaquin Valley have fed California and the nation through hard work, ingenuity, and enterprise. Today, a changing climate is making that job harder and more expensive. Relentless summer heat, chronic water shortages, and rising energy costs are putting mounting pressure on...
No On Measure S Group Says Tax Has Too Much for Nonprofits, Not Enough for Fresno Roads
A formal opposition group to Measure S said Fresno County's proposed 30-year, half-cent, sales tax devotes too much to public transit, puts too many restrictions on road repair, and routes up to $300 million over the lifetime of the tax to nonprofits. "We can do better than what is on...
Valley Schools See Kindergarten Vaccine Rates for Measles Fall Short of ‘Herd Immunity’
Amid conflicting messages over the safety of vaccines, cases of measles have been on the rise both in California and the U.S. this year compared to 2025. And in the San Joaquin Valley, where two cases of measles have been reported so far in 2026, vaccination rates among kindergarten students...
Fuentes Disregards Legal Advice on Labor Deal, Threatening Fresno City College Accreditation
As State Center Community College District negotiates a project labor agreement with the Building Trades Council, two trustees — including Fresno City Council candidate Rob Fuentes — have insisted on inserting themselves in union negotiations. Their actions defied legal advice from the district's attorneys and are jeopardizing accreditation that allows...
