When it comes to social media and baseball, the Savannah Bananas have no peers. Not even the Los Angeles Dodgers, whose lineup includes international star Shohei Ohtani, can match the social media presence of the national traveling troupe. Yes, the Bananas are entertaining and serve up baseball with a dozen...
Local Leaders Must Put Their Shoulders Into Making Fresno ‘Education City USA’
Fresno leaders keep searching for the silver bullet that will make California's fifth-largest city sparkle. And they just keep shooting themselves in the foot. Over the past three decades, our local governments and nonprofits have spent billions of dollars trying to solve challenges such as gangs, blight, low-paying jobs, and...
State Will Monitor Crop-Rich Kings County Region to Preserve Groundwater
California officials voted Tuesday to step in to monitor groundwater use in part of the crop-rich San Joaquin Valley in a first-of-its-kind move that comes a decade after local communities were tasked with managing the precious but strained resource. The State Water Resources Control Board voted unanimously to start overseeing...
Fresno Coin Gallery Owner Reveals Why Gold & Silver Are Hot Investments
Not even gold's record-high $2,400 an ounce is enough to scare buyers away, says Stephen Foster, owner of Fresno Coin Gallery. As of Monday morning, gold prices had slipped from earlier highs, but speculators see global tensions, institutional investment, and monetary policies driving values upward. Some analysts see $3,000 an...
Why Tortillas Sold in California May Be Forced to Add a New Ingredient
Corn chips, tortillas, tamales, and pupusas — while all are delicious — may be missing a key vitamin for women of reproductive age. Folic acid has long been used to prevent serious birth defects and help babies develop. Medical and public health experts advise daily consumption during pregnancy, but also...
Costco Tries Again at City Council for Big NW Fresno Move
Costco wants to move its northwest Fresno location to a bigger, better facility. After roadblocks at a city council meeting last month, the warehouse retailer will try again this Thursday. Councilmember Mike Karbassi said he supports Costco, but he withheld approval over concerns about traffic — specifically the routing of...
Career Technical Ed, Pre-K Could Be Hardest Hit in Budget Cuts
California legislators this week are discussing how to deal with a $78 billion deficit statewide. For educators already anticipating funding cuts, they are preparing to do cuts of their own — something they haven't needed to do in a decade. At Fresno Unified, officials are looking at how to prepare...
Dr. Green Thumb’s Is Open. Sweet Flower Debuts Saturday in Fresno Cannabis Rollout.
Two more cannabis retailers are joining the Fresno market. Both have been a long time in planning. Dr. Green Thumb's opened last Saturday, five years after local owner Kacey Auston-Tibbetts leased the building in the Tower District. She partnered with legendary rapper B-Real of Cypress Hill. "I chose B-Real for...
Did You Know? Fresno Is Home to One of the Nation’s Top Bonsai Exhibits
A bonsai (miniature tree) exhibit is fast becoming one of Fresno’s don’t-miss destinations. Visitors come from all over: local families on an afternoon outing, travelers who’d discovered the Clark Bonsai Collection on smartphone apps like Tripadvisor or Yelp, enthusiasts of Japanese arts, would-be bonsai hobbyists, and folks just curious to...
Fresno Unified Trustees Expand Superintendent Search to Include External Candidates
With a plan yet to be developed, Fresno Unified trustees decided Wednesday to do both an internal and external search for Superintendent Bob Nelson's replacement. "The board is considering options for the superintendent search process and for purposes of transparency, the board will proceed with an external search for qualified...