George F. Gruner, who led The Fresno Bee newsroom at a time when the newspaper dominated the Valley's media, died Sunday at the age of 99, family members said. He capped a 44-year career in journalism with 33 years at The Bee, retiring in 1988. Mr. Gruner, a Battle of...
Is Your PG&E Bill Painfully High This Summer? You’re Not Alone
Anger over sky-high Pacific Gas & Electric bills and the company's record profits is sparking a grassroots movement in Northern and Central California as well as a possible effort by Gov. Gavin Newsom to find temporary relief for customers facing big bills. The group Stop PG$E has scheduled a rally...
Explore Clovis Unified’s New Satoshi Hirayama Elementary and Its Namesake’s Legacy
Clovis Unified School District marked a significant milestone in its history with the grand opening of its latest educational facility, Satoshi Hirayama Elementary School, on Thursday. The event brought together educators, students, and community members to celebrate and honor the legacy of Satoshi "Fibber" Hirayama. “This is an exciting day...
10 Ex-Fresno Courthouse Workers Have Rare Cancers. Lawsuit Points to Underground Gas Station.
Many may not know, but there's a gas station beneath the Fresno County Courthouse. Now, the safety of that gas station and its underground storage tanks is under question. Fresno attorney Warren Paboojian has sued the county, saying his 10 clients —all of whom once worked at the courthouse —...
CART Is the Local School World Famous for Preparing Students to Succeed
One of the Fresno area’s biggest educational success stories is tucked away in a former pump factory just south of Sierra Vista Mall in Clovis. The Center for Advanced Research and Technology sounds like it’s something out of Silicon Valley rather than a career technical education option that has introduced...
Unions Try to Protect Jobs in CA With a Bill to Limit Self-Service Checkouts
When the industrial revolution erupted in 18th century Britain — replacing handwork with machinery in the manufacture of goods — many of the affected textile workers responded by attacking and disabling the machines. The rebels became known as Luddites, so named for "General Ned Ludd" or "King Ludd," a mythical...
Nonprofits’ Lawsuit Against Community Health System Misstates Medi-Cal Funding Rules
Medi-Cal funding at Clovis Community Hospital falls behind that of other area hospitals, yet it beats the state average of care for low-income patients, a GV Wire investigation found. In addition, 57% of Clovis Community's revenue comes from government-funded health care — either Medi-Cal or Medicare. Community Health System's decision...
Kurt Angle Takes You Inside the Olympics, WWE, and 13 Years of Sobriety
Kurt Angle will once again be in the main event in Fresno, but he will be on the diamond instead of the ring. Angle — a 12-time pro wrestling world champion, Olympic wrestling gold medalist, WWE and National Wrestling hall of famer — will be a special guest of the...
Former Fresno Police Chief Balderrama Makes His Next Career Move
Former Fresno Police Chief Paco Balderrama has formed a consulting company. One day before his official last day with Fresno, Balderrama filed papers with the California Secretary of State to create El Matador Consulting LLC, on July 24. He listed his Tesoro Viejo address in Madera County for the business...
Lawsuit Alleges Community Health Diverted $1B from the Needy to ‘Whiter’ Clovis Hospital
A lawsuit from two nonprofit groups alleges that Community Health took funding intended for its downtown Fresno hospital, which serves many of the region's poorest residents, and diverted those resources to the system's hospital in suburban Clovis. The lawsuit from Cultiva La Salud and Fresno Building Healthy Communities claims that...