With a flood of parks funding pouring in from the Measure P sales tax, some city leaders want to know why Fresno parks have more dirt than grass and remain in a state of disrepair. "If there was an award for park slumlord, the city of Fresno would receive...
Fresno Supervisors Move to Permit Themselves Guns in County Buildings
The Fresno County Board of Supervisors has started the process that would allow them to carry concealed weapons in county buildings. The supervisors voted Tuesday to change a county ordinance specifying who can possess or discharge a firearm, to any peace officer and "sitting Members of the Board of Supervisors...
Is This Campaign Ad Racist? Or Does It Just Call a Candidate Corrupt?
The incumbent in a race for a college trustee seat says a campaign attack ad against him, mailed to voters, is racist. The flyer in question depicts Eric Payne, who is Black and is running for his third term on the State Center Community College District board, in less than...
Police Aren’t Defunded as Fresno Approves $1.3 Billion Budget
The Fresno City Council adopted a budget on Tuesday, continuing last year's $1.3 billion spending plan for another three months. "For an elected official, this is the year from hell, but we've all done a remarkable job and all the pressure of working together," Fresno Mayor Lee Brand said. The...
Unlikely Ally? Bredefeld Proposes Spending $30M in South Fresno
In a surprising move Monday, Fresno City Councilman Garry Bredefeld, who represents the northeast district, made a motion to spend $30 million of federal stimulus funds on southeast and southwest Fresno. "If we are to successfully address the adverse consequences of emergencies, like COVID-19, in more vulnerable populations, then we...
Grizzlies Miss Rent Payments on Ballpark. City Looking at Collection Options.
The Fresno Grizzlies have not paid their rent at city-owned Chukchansi Park since the COVID-19 pandemic began, officials with Mayor Lee Brand's administration said this week. City leaders are now looking at options for how to collect. Also in Politics 101: City policy prevents commercial tenant eviction. Brand calls pending...
Demands to Defund Police Pepper Fresno Budget Opener
At its first budget hearing for the next fiscal year, the Fresno City Council stepped into the "Twilight Zone" as one member put it Tuesday. Budgeting looked much different amid the pandemic and following the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis. The council started debating a...
Fresno Council Passes $1.2B Budget. What Will Mayor Do?
The Fresno City Council approved a $1.2 billion budget Thursday, but Mayor Lee Brand said he still might use his veto pen. In their eyes, council members got around being over budget by delaying some items, rescheduling them for the mid-year budget review in January. Those include spending on a community...
No Cops, No Budget, Says City Council Candidate Karbassi
Fresno City Council hopeful Mike Karbassi wants District 2 to know he is the law and order candidate. At a fundraiser Tuesday night at the Sierra Sport and Racquet Club, having police chief Jerry Dyer and district attorney Lisa Smittcamp in attendance was a good start. Dyer himself is running...
Will Assemblyman Patterson Jump into Supervisor Race?
Update: Tuesday, Nov. 27, 10:30 a.m. Jim Patterson says he is staying put at the state Capitol. On Monday (Nov. 26), GV Wire wrote about the possibility of Patterson running for the soon-to-be-vacant Fresno County supervisor seat, held by state Sen.-elect Andreas Borgeas. Patterson, a Republican Assemblyman from Fresno, quashed all...