Fresno City Councilman Luis Chavez and his wife, Fresno Unified trustee Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas, are being investigated for alleged improper votes while on the school board. An anonymous complaint on Oct. 17, 2019, to the state Fair Political Practices Commission, alleges that Chavez and Jonasson Rosas, by approving improvements for...
Fresno COVID Contract Awarded Despite Objections Over Tweet, Lawsuit
The Fresno City Council approved more contracts to help the COVID-19 effort, but two councilmen objected to awarding $2 million to a community-based organization. The council voted 5-2 to award the contract to Fresno Building Healthy Communities for COVID-19 testing and contact tracing. Councilmen Garry Bredefeld and Paul Caprioglio voted...
COVID-19 Kills Parks-Safety Sales Tax Effort, Brand Says
Mayor Lee Brand says there is no chance that a successor to Measure P — the 2018 sales tax measure for parks currently ruled to have failed — will be on the November ballot. "You're going to see nothing on the November ballot. The COVID crisis and the consequence, which is...
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...
Ashjian Fined $23,500 for Failure to Disclose Conflicts
Former Fresno Unified trustee Brooke Ashjian has paid a $23,500 fine to the state's political watchdog agency for a variety of infractions, capping a three-year investigation. Listen to this article: "Although the Commission considers the violations serious in nature, the Enforcement Division found no evidence that Respondent intended to...
Tateosian Challenges Embattled Payne for Trustee Seat
State Center Community College District Trustee Eric Payne will have competition for reelection. Payne, a two-term trustee, said he intends to run again on the November 2020 ballot. Sevag Tateosian, a longtime Fresno County employee, filed his intention to run for the District 2 seat, which covers much of Fresno...
Requested Probe of Trustee Payne Falls One Vote Short
The State Center Community College District board decided — for the second time this year — not to investigate trustee Eric Payne over allegations of misconduct. Payne was accused of misuse of a rental car paid for by the district and failing to show up on time for conferences in...
Swearengin Named to State Committee on Housing, Econ
Ashley Swearengin, Fresno's former mayor and current president/CEO of the Central Valley Community Foundation, will serve on a new state economic committee. Organized by California Treasurer Fiona Ma, Swearengin is part of the 12-member Housing, Economic Development, Jobs and Opportunity Zone Ad Hoc Committee. Listen to this article: "I sought creative...
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...