Fresno County's transportation sales tax will be on the ballot in November 2022 — more than four years before it expires. Why? Tony Boren, executive director of the Fresno Council of Governments, says there are several reasons to seek early approval of Measure C. Listen to this article: Early...
California Families Are Hungry While a Third of Crops Rot in Fields
Maximina Molina Sanchez is worried about going hungry this winter. She depends on a food bank in Huron to feed her husband and two kids. But with most agricultural workers out of jobs during the winter, demand is bound to increase, so she worries there won’t be enough food to...
Fresno County Unemployment Rate Hits Historic Low of 5.3%
The California economy keeps humming along, and Valley communities are hopping aboard the jobs train. Officials said Friday that California's unemployment rate fell to a record low of 4% in September. It also was a record-setting month for Fresno (5.3%), Kings (5.7%), Madera (5.0%) and Merced (5.5%) counties, according to the...
Fresno County Leads the USA in Farm Production
Fresno County is America's top ag-producing county for the first time since 2013. The county's No. 1 status was cemented this week when Tulare County released its report showing $7.21 billion in farm production last year. Listen to this article: Last month, the Fresno County ag report for 2018...
Get Ready for Fresno County's New Voting System in 2020
The Voters Choice Act is an exciting new model for elections administration. California Senate Bill 450 was passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor in 2016, which authorizes counties to send every voter a mail ballot and provide ballot drop-off locations and Vote Centers throughout the county. In...
Magsig Honors Employee Volunteerism at State of County Lunch
Fresno County Board of Supervisors chairman Nathan Magsig promised to keep his State of the County speech short. For the gathering of nearly a thousand at the Fresno Convention Center for a Wednesday luncheon organized by the Fresno Chamber of Commerce, he kept to his goal relatively speaking — Magsig...
2018 Was a Record-Setting Year for Fresno County Farmers
Fresno County farmers and ranchers shattered the yearly record for the value of what they produced by nearly a billion dollars in 2018. Despite below-average surface water supplies, their crops and livestock totaled $7.888 billion last year, according to the Fresno County Department of Agriculture's annual report released Tuesday. Listen...
Opponents Force New Animal Shelter to a Different Spot
Plans for a new animal shelter in a northwest Fresno neighborhood appear over. However, the shelter currently cramped at the former county morgue now is slated to move to a much larger location just a half-mile away. And, says Brenda Mitchell, board president of Fresno Humane Animal Services, construction is expected...
2 People with West Nile Virus Confirmed in Fresno County
Fresno County health officials have received confirmed reports of two people with symptoms of the West Nile virus. There also are five suspected cases, the county's Department of Public Health announced Wednesday. "Confirmation of these cases is a strong reminder that everyone should increase efforts to protect themselves and their...
New Fresno County Librarian: No Branches Will Close
Southeast Fresno residents needn't worry. The Mosqueda branch library isn't closing. That's the word from Raman Bath, who officially took over as Fresno County librarian on July 15. A social media post went up Friday morning speculating the county might close the Mosqueda branch. Indeed, a consultant had suggested consolidating...