The city of Fresno is being criticized for levying fines against a furniture retailer for curbside pickup of online sales. Crazy Bernie Furniture, known for its zany TV ads, received a $5,000 fine Wednesday — its second since the city's shelter-in-place order deemed furniture retailers nonessential. The criticism came quickly,...
Payne Bypassed for State Center Board Presidency
The State Center Community College District were united Tuesday in their support of a single candidate to become the board president. John Leal, whose nomination was made by outgoing president Debbie Ikeda and seconded by trustee Eric Payne, faced no opposition. Payne, the board's vice president, was bypassed for the...
Will State Center Board Promote or Pass Over Trustee Payne?
Trustee Eric Payne, who now serves as vice president of State Center Community College, might not be elevated Tuesday to the board presidency — even though moving from vice president to president is somewhat of a board tradition. Several trustees, including current board president Debbie Ikeda, say that Payne's outstanding...
Campaign Watchdog Hits Payne With $54K in Fines
The state agency in charge of enforcing campaign finance law gave State Center trustee Eric Payne a break on Thursday. Facing 21 counts for various infractions, including failures to file paperwork in a timely manner and improperly spending campaign funds on himself, the Fair Political Practices Commission reduced Payne’s fine...
City Council OKs Moratorium on Fresno Water Fines
The Fresno City Council unanimously approved a moratorium on fines for excessive water usage at special meeting Thursday. The moratorium is retroactive to Oct. 1. The council will convene again on the subject in January. Council members additionally instructed city staff to inform the public about the moratorium. Water violation...
Facebook Faces UK Fine Over Cambridge Analytica Data Scandal
LONDON — Facebook is facing its first financial penalty for allowing the political consultancy Cambridge Analytica to forage through the personal data of millions of unknowing Facebook users. The social media giant faces a 500,000-pound ($663,000) fine for failing to protect the personal information of its subscribers following an investigation...