The Clovis Police Department is 75% white, twice as much as the greater Fresno metropolitan area, the Fresno County Civil Grand Jury says in a report released Monday morning. The grand jury found that Clovis PD “has made significant efforts to ethnically diversify the department to include African American...
Council Approves $55,000 Pay Hike for Themselves. Here’s How They Voted
The Fresno City Council was split on Thursday over a plan for a massive pay raise that will benefit some current members. The proposal, which passed 5-2, would raise the pay of councilmembers by 69% (from $80,000 to $135,044 annually). Increases would take effect when a member is sworn in...
Fresno Cops Killed Man After Mistaking Water Nozzle for Gun. How Much Will City Pay?
The city of Fresno will pay over a half-million dollars to settle a wrongful death case dating back to 2015, the attorney representing the family of the deceased tells GV Wire. Fresno police shot and killed Freddy Centeno, 40, because they believed he had a weapon in his hand. It...
Advance Peace Controversy at Center of Fresno PD Budget Talks
Community advocates on Monday urged the Fresno City Council to restore nearly $1 million in funding for the Advance Peace anti-violence program, which Mayor Jerry Dyer's administration stripped from the city's proposed spending plan. The requests came during the police department's budget presentation to the council. Last week, City Manager...
Cost of a New Home Is Going up in Clovis. How Big Will Hike Be?
The cost of building — and likely the cost of new homes — will rise in Clovis. Monday night, the city council voted 3-2 to raise development impact fees for new sewer, water lines and streets at 15%. The amount was a compromise — not the 27%-40% hike city staff...
10 Days Left to Sound Off on $7 Billion Local Transportation Tax Spending
Residents have 10 days — and counting down —to sound off on how $7 billion in local transportation taxes should be spent. A comment period about the 30-year extension of Measure C ends June 27. Government agencies are finalizing plans for Measure C, the half-cent Fresno County sales tax...
Hoover’s Hernandez Exemplifies the True Value of High School Sports
Michael Hernandez had never picked up a baseball bat prior to his senior year, when he and Hoover High baseball coach David Jones talked about him joining the school's varsity team. Michael, 17, was already known at the northeast Fresno high school for his athletic prowess as Hoover's starting...
Fresno Clergy Want Dyer, Council to Restore $1M for Advance Peace
Nearly three dozen Fresno faith-based and community leaders are calling on Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer to restore about $1 million to a gun violence reduction effort. In a letter written on Faith in the Valley letterhead to Dyer and the Fresno City Council, they state: "Let us be clear,...
Red-Hot County Transportation Tax Debate Comes to City Hall
One of the hottest topics in Fresno politics is the future of the countywide half-cent transportation tax. At the heart of the debate: When should a Measure C renewal go on the ballot and how should the nearly $7 billion in potential sales tax revenue be used? The Fresno...
Fresno Trustee Responds to Bullard Coach’s Defamation Claim
Fresno Unified Keshia Thomas says she's sticking by her statements that Bullard football coach Don Arax has used racial slurs before her son and other Black students, which the coach has denied. In response to Arax's defamation claim submitted to the district, Thomas told GV Wire she's confident that...