A support team from the state met with Fresno County leaders on Monday about how to corral the COVID-19 surge in the Central Valley. Fresno County has just 11% of its 149 ICU beds available, according to public health officials. In the past 14 days alone, the county has seen...
Some Still Not Satisfied After Joint City-County COVID Meeting
A Fresno assemblyman said the county isn't spending COVID funds fast enough, nor being transparent about their decisions. Elected officials from Fresno County disagreed. That dynamic was part of the largest question and answer session held locally since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with city and county leaders holding...
Arambula Uses Facebook Live Town Hall to Battle Fresno County Supervisors
A battle of approaches is playing out in Fresno County over how COVID-19 money is used. And, the fight is being waged in hallways of public buildings and through mainstream and social media while lives hang in the balance at crowded hospitals and ICU units. On one side, the Fresno...
Radio Ad Slams Arambula Over Run-in with Supervisors
Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula's confrontation last week with members of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors has made him the target of conservative activist and campaign consultant Tal Cloud. Also in Politics 101: Will there be a City-County workshop next week? Groups concerned over access to meeting. Two more candidates running...
As Hospitals Near Capacity, County Takes Steps to Open Convention Center
Fresno area hospitals are scrambling to make bed space available in every nook, cranny, and extra building they have. But despite their best efforts, ICU bed space continues to dwindle. The latest numbers from the state show Fresno County only has 16% of its ICU beds available. Just last week...
Fresno County Out of COVID-19 Drug, Tired Doctors Welcome Military Help
The federal government is pushing out remdesivir as fast as it can get it, and yet Fresno County says the cupboard is bare. The potentially life-saving drug, which has anecdotally helped COVID-19 patients in the Valley, is hard to come by. The hospitals that do have it are sharing it...
Arambula Gives His Side of Showdown, Magsig Says It Was a ‘Setup’
A San Joaquin Valley insurance meeting is an unlikely place for a heated showdown between an Assemblymember and a county supervisor, but that's what happened Friday. Assembly Member Joaquin Arambula says he is concerned about a "lack of urgency" by the Fresno County Board of Supervisors on handling the pandemic....
U.S. COVID-19 Cases Continue to Rise While Other Countries Trend Down
Germans have watched in horror as cases in the United States, Brazil and elsewhere surged long after Germany flattened its own curve of infections in April. COVID-19 Case Counts The country of 83 million has reported slightly over 200,000 confirmed cases and 9,077 deaths from COVID-19 since the start of...
Fresno County Wildfire Grows to More Than 30 Square Miles
A Fresno County wildfire west of Coalinga grew larger but firefighters also increased containment, authorities said Friday. The Mineral Fire expanded to more than 30 square miles and was 30% contained. Four structures have been destroyed and 60 remained threatened. No injuries were reported. Evacuations encompassed the community of Bingham Springs...
County Seeking Medically Trained Volunteers to Help With Local COVID Surge
Fresno County is building a pool of medically trained volunteers to address the possibility of staffing shortages at hospitals and other health care facilities resulting from the coronavirus outbreak. The county made the announcement as the number of local COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to rise. Over the past 14...