I strongly condemn the growing attacks on ICE and Border Patrol agents and the reckless political rhetoric coming from the radicals and extremists both in the media and elected office that vilify federal law enforcement for simply doing their jobs as required by the law. ICE is not a danger...
10% of California Hospitals Threatened with Closure: Industry Group
By this time next year, federal work requirements for Medi-Cal eligibility will be in place. The California Hospital Association estimates 2 million Californians will lose health care over the next decade because of those requirements, doubling the number of uninsured in the state, said David Simon, spokesman for the association....
Teachers Assail Fresno Unified Trustees for Doubling Their Own Pay
The Fresno Unified School Board adopted a state-approved stipend change, more than doubling trustees' monthly pay and generating barbs from the teachers union. Earlier this month, trustees voted, 6-1, to increase their monthly stipend from $2,110 to $4,500, or $54,000 annually, starting Feb. 1. “I don't really see it as...
Mayor Jerry Dyer to Address Policing, ICE Tactics at US Conference of Mayors Meeting
Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer will speak Wednesday at the U.S. Conference of Mayors winter meeting in Washington, D.C., delivering remarks focused on policing. Dyer is expected to echo comments he made last week criticizing Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactics used in recent high-profile deaths in Minneapolis, Minnesota. ICE agents shot...
Fresno Unified Retirees Allege Elder Abuse Via Health Care Change
Fresno Unified retirees filed a formal letter of demand Thursday against the district and School Board, alleging elder abuse and opposing the imposition of the Aetna Medicare Advantage Plan. “The main concern is that without their consent, the retirees and their beneficiaries had their medical coverage switched to an Aetna...
Republican Mayor Jerry Dyer Speaks Truth to Trump’s ICE Power
On the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday Monday, Fresno Mayor Jerry did what few Republicans are willing to do. He spoke the truth about the ICE goon squads roaming the country, terrorizing citizens — documented and undocumented — and shredding the Constitution. "Goon squad" is my term — not...
A Look Inside California Lawmakers’ High-End Bash With Lobbyists
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Assemblymember Tina McKinnor stood at the free tequila bar. The Inglewood Democrat had asked for three glasses of Patrón El Alto, “the pinnacle of luxury” priced at roughly $150 a bottle. She kept one glass, leaving the other...
Fresno County Recorder’s Unique Read of State Law Brings Big Dollars for Affordable Housing
A unique interpretation of a 2017 California law by assessor-recorder Paul Dictos has meant big money for affordable housing projects in Fresno County. Dictos, however, stands nearly alone among state recorders in how he taxes property transactions. Nearly 10 years after Senate Bill 2 passed, the state's recorders still disagree...
Fresno Unified’s $30 Million Investment to Support Students Is Paying Off
Lunchtime at Fort Miller Middle School in Fresno comes with a sense of urgency these days as dozens of students rush through their meals, eager to throw on jerseys and head outside to play basketball on the blacktop. Three months in, the lunch sports program, with coaching from High Performance Academy,...
Kaiser Permanente to Pay $556 Million in Medicare Advantage Fraud Settlement
In the largest Medicare Advantage fraud settlement to date, Kaiser Permanente has agreed to pay $556 million to settle Justice Department allegations that it billed the government for medical conditions patients didn’t have. The settlement, announced Jan. 14, resolves whistleblower lawsuits that accused the giant health insurer of mounting a...