Even though Fresno police received a video in June depicting then-Wolters Elementary principal Brian Vollhardt striking a student, the case didn't move to the Fresno County District Attorney's Office until Tuesday, officials said Thursday morning. Fresno Police Chief Paco Balderrama attributed the delay to “system failures” within the police...
Fresno Taxpayers Are Paying for Esparza’s Criminal Extortion Defense
Fresno taxpayers will pay for the criminal defense of city council president Nelson Esparza, according to documents obtained by GV Wire. Meanwhile, the Fresno City Council's maneuvers to cover up its decision to fund Esparza's defense contradicts the advice of outside counsel hired by the council. An opinion from...
Fresno Survives Record-Breaking Heat. Will Weekend Cooldown Bring Rain?
California's merciless heat wave delivered record-breaking temperatures on Tuesday, but the state's stressed electrical grid withstood the demand without rolling blackouts. Today's forecast calls for a drop in temperatures, and the California Independent System Operator, which oversees the grid, is indicating it will have sufficient power at peak demand...
Newsom Feels the Heat on Farm Labor Measure
Gov. Gavin Newsom will soon write a new chapter in California’s decades-long conflict over the unionization of workers in the state’s huge agricultural industry — and what he does could affect his obvious quest to become a national political figure. Assembly Bill 2183, a measure that would make it...
Salas, Valadao Trade Gas Tax Charges as TV Ad War Launches
Expect thousands of TV ads in the David Valadao-Rudy Salas congressional campaign race. Both sides launched today. Valadao, R-Hanford, is the incumbent congressman. Election analysts have called his Congressional District 22 race versus state Assemblyman Salas, D-Bakersfield, one of the tightest in the country. Each side released a new television...
Fresno Developer Lashes Out After Council Kills Major Downtown Project
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...
Will Newsom Sign Law Requiring Squaw Valley Name Change?
Gov. Gavin Newsom will now decide whether Squaw Valley in the foothills of eastern Fresno County will be renamed. Members of some indigenous tribes say that "squaw" is derogatory, but other residents counter that they like the name and don't want it changed. The decision is in Newsom's hands...
Despite Opposition, Start Date for Bullard High Cellphone Ban Now Set
Bullard High School's new cellphone policy that will require students to put their smartphones and other devices in lockable pouches during the school day now has a scheduled start date, a knowledgeable source told GV Wire Tuesday afternoon. The school will start handing out Yondr pouches to lock up...
Delayed for 13 Years, Downtown Project Likely to Get Another Extension
A downtown Fresno project 13 years in the making that was supposed to open in 2019 may receive another extension. Originally known as the South Stadium project on Fulton Street, between Inyo and Kern— south of Chukchansi Park, home of the minor league Fresno Grizzlies — developers Noyan Frazier...
After the Hottest August Ever, What’s the Forecast for Labor Day Weekend?
The roasting summer weather that has made this August the hottest ever in Fresno will continue into early September, with temperatures approaching "dangerous" levels by Wednesday, National Weather Service meteorologist David Spector said Monday. Monday's forecast high of 98 will seem relative cool compared to the scorching temperatures on...