(Story was originally posted November 3, 2023) During his NFL playing days, Robert Golden's job was to demolish his opponent's offense. Golden put his demolition skills to a different use: He climbed into the cab of a giant excavator and then started to claw down the front of an abandoned...
Armenian President Tours Fresno, Visits William Saroyan Gravesite and Museum
Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan visited Fresno on Wednesday, part of a six-day tour in California. Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer escorted Khachaturyan to the Ararat Cemetery to lay flowers at the William Saroyan gravesite, then they went to the William Saroyan House Museum. The visit concluded with lunch at The Palms....
Merced County Leaders Vote to Close Two Fire Stations: ‘We’re Moving into Hard Times’
The Merced County Board of Supervisors took a series of actions Tuesday that will cut the number of full-time Cal Fire stations from 19 down to 15. The board voted 4-1 to close Station 96 in the City of Livingston, with District 1 Supervisor Rodrigo Espinosa giving the sole vote...
Will Californians Get Any Relief From Nation’s Highest Gas Prices?
Californians pay more at the pump than residents of any other state — an average of $5.34 a gallon for regular unleaded, compared to the national average of $3.64, according to AAA. And in some counties, the sticker shock is even worse — $6.80 in Alpine, $6.29 in Mono and...
Planned Fresno Probation Gun Buyback Program Runs Afoul of State Law and SEIU
A Fresno County Probation Department plan to sell surplus handguns and shotguns to its officers was stopped in its tracks after complaints from union members. Selling the firearms is legal under state law within certain parameters. At the very least, only peace officers may buy surplus government agency weapons. In...
Special Report: How a 1965 Law Makes It Hard for the Poor to Get Mental Health Treatment
In 1955, the U.S. had more than 550,000 inpatient psychiatric beds. When legislators created Medicaid in 1965, they didn't want the nation's vast mental health network — along with its negative perception created by books and movies — to gobble up the new federal insurance dollars, says Alice Feller, psychiatrist,...
Did California’s Massive COVID Homeless Shelter Program Work? A New Evaluation Probes the Results
California’s massive effort to shelter homeless residents during the COVID-19 pandemic was a success, according to a new report that says the effort changed the state’s homeless services system for the better. But at the same time, the researchers pointed out a troubling dearth of available data on the program....
Fresno Charter School Wants to Increase Enrollment. But Are Its Students Lagging Their Peers?
Golden Charter Academy is asking the Fresno Unified School Board to authorize the school to expand its enrollment capacity and to move its location to a new site just south of Roeding Regional Park and the Fresno Chaffee Zoo. Superintendent Bob Nelson has recommended approval of the charter revision, which...
Three Arrested for Trespassing, Posting Flyers at Fresno Synagogue and Church
Fresno police arrested three men after they were caught attaching religious flyers at a synagogue and a Catholic church on Thursday. There was a third site hit the flyers, but police would not reveal where. The messages were posted with painters tape at Temple Beth Israel, and at nearby St....
Today’s Campus Protests Aren’t Nearly as Big or Violent as Those of the Vietnam Era
In a way, the black-and-white Palestinian scarf draped over Hannah Sattler’s shoulders this week and the tie-dyed T-shirts of 1968 are woven from a common thread. Like so many college students across the country protesting the Israel-Hamas war, Sattler feels the historic weight of the anti-Vietnam war demonstrations of the...