Enforcement of the Fresno vacant building ordinance started with an inward look. The Gottschalks building downtown, vacant for the better part of 35 years and owned by the city, was one of the first buildings inspected. The ordinance, approved by the city council last month, went into effect on Saturday....
Tower Purchase Hopeful Will Get Day in Court — in 2023
Although one judge denied blocking the sale of Tower Theatre, a lawsuit over the transaction continues. The parent company of Sequoia Brewing Company will have their day in court on Feb. 21, 2023 to show how the possible sale of the theater harmed them. The restaurant sued when the sale...
Tulare Woman Nabbed After Morro Bay Tip Jar Theft Caught on Video
A Tulare County woman accused of stealing a tip jar from a Morro Bay seafood restaurant was arrested Saturday after video of the incident was shared on social media. Brittany Renee Doyle, 21, is alleged to be the woman seen in the video grabbing a tip jar off the outdoor...
Who’s In? California Recall Candidate List Draws Confusion
The official list of who's running in California's recall election of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom remained unsettled Sunday, with conservative talk radio host Larry Elder maintaining he should be included but state officials saying he submitted incomplete tax returns, a requirement to run. Elder's next recourse is to go to...
Walters: Will California Get Tough on Housing Quotas?
Having more or less completed work on the state budget, legislators abandoned the Capitol last week for their annual summer vacation. They will return in mid-August, presumably, tanned, rested and ready to vigorously tackle other pending matters in the final month of the 2021 session. High on the agenda is...
In First Valley Visit, U.S. Senator Gets Pushed on Farm Water
Alex Padilla made his first official visit to the Central Valley as U.S. Senator, holding several discussions about water. Padilla, along with other elected officials, held a media availability at his only public event of the day — a tour of the Dos Palos water treatment plant. There, he spoke...
Court Rejects ‘Warrior’ Lawsuit; Group Threatens School Board Recalls
Supporters of Fresno High School's traditional mascot, a Native American warrior image, are now 0 for 3 after a Fresno County Superior Court judge on Wednesday dismissed their civil lawsuit claiming the School Board violated the Brown Act in its vote to change the mascot. Judge Gabriel Brickey found that...
Fresno Professor Aims to Give Canada an Edge in Olympic Sport’s Return
It's been almost five years since softball was discontinued as a sport in the Olympics only to be reintroduced at this year's Tokyo Games with top contending teams like the U.S., Japan, and Canada vying for gold. Fresno State professor Wade Gilbert will be there — doing his part to...
Walters: Will Bullet Train Survive Budget Wrangle?
Using a singular noun “budget” no longer describes the tortuous process by which the governor and state legislators decide how to spend the state’s money. We now have “budgets” almost too numerous to list – a budget proposed by the governor in January, a “May revise” that’s virtually an entirely...
Fresno Wants to Watch You as You Park at the Park
Update, 7/15/21: the Fresno City Council approved installing vehicle license plate readers at Roeding and Woodward parks by a 6-0 vote. Councilman Garry Bredefeld was not present, as he is out of town. Original story: Fresno officials wants to implement new parking technology for visitors at two of the city's...