Multiple sources have confirmed to GV Wire that Fresno’s parks director is no longer with the city. Parvin Neloms Junior’s last day was Feb. 22. The city hired Neloms in Oct. 2017 at a base salary of $150,000. “He was always a help. He cares about parks very deeply. I’m...
Walters: Is San Joaquin Valley California's Poor Stepchild?
Technically, California’s San Joaquin Valley – the drainage plain of the San Joaquin River – begins a few miles south of Sacramento and ends a few miles south of Fresno. However, in political and economic terms, it stretches even further south to the Tehachapi Mountains, south of Bakersfield. The 300-mile-long...
How Much Water Has Fallen on California? 18 Trillion Gallons in Feb.
Here in the San Joaquin Valley, we've had ample rain and, at higher elevations, heavy snowfall this winter. It's the same story throughout much of California. The Bay Area station of the National Weather Service put it into perspective with a tweet Sunday noting that February's precipitation equaled 18 trillion...
California Supreme Court Throws Cities, Including Fresno, Into Chaos Over Local Taxes
The California Supreme Court has some explaining to do. Late last year, the city of Oakland put a new land parcel tax on the books, after 62 percent of voters turned out to boost funding for public education. Now a local business group is suing the city, arguing that the new tax...
Gavin, This Bargain Project Will Make You a Water & Parks Hero
I have a $1 billion proposal for Gov. Gavin Newsom that will do a lot more for the Fresno economy than the 171-mile remnant of the state's high-speed rail project. Best of all, it involves water, which the governor prominently mentioned in his first State of the State address Tuesday...
Frenzied Save Mart Crowd Helps Propel Ramirez to Comeback Win
Jose Ramirez dug deep Sunday night to retain his world title belt and preserve his undefeated record. Sensing that he needed to do a lot more to keep his World Boxing Council 140-pound crown, Ramirez dominated the second half of the bout in a narrow 12-round victory over southpaw challenger Jose "Chon"...
If Fresno Does This, Homelessness Ends Tomorrow
(Author’s note: This fictional account illustrates the events, policy changes and political will it would take to end homelessness in our community.) The New Year started off normal enough, but before February 2019 was over it was obvious that something had changed. The Fresno City Council, which now had a majority...
Fresno Rock City. Band Shouts it Out Loud in One Last KISS-Off
Who is the most popular member of KISS? Perhaps the best way to figure it out is looking at which character fans emulated in the band's Fresno stop. Assuming the fans donned the white and black facepaint based on popularity and not ease of design, Starchild seemed the most popular....
City Audit Uncovers Problems With Granite Park Bookkeeping
A public-private partnership that helped turn a city eyesore into its fulfilled vision of beautiful sports fields may have hit a snag. A city audit says the non-profit company hired to run embattled Granite Park had a number of accounting irregularities. The audit stopped short of stating it found anything...
Has $56 Million BRT Investment Reversed Bus Free-Fall?
Nearly a year after the launch of Bus Rapid Transit, what conclusions can be drawn about the $56.2 million upgrade to Fresno's mass transit system? For starters, frequent riders praise it. So does Mayor Lee Brand. "It's a great compliment to our overall transit strategy, especially because it provides a...