SAN FRANCISCO — The sidewalks surrounding Ahmed Al Barak's corner market in one of San Francisco's roughest neighborhoods are filled with cardboard, used syringes and homeless people who have nowhere safe to go at night. But Al Barak says it's an improvement from a year ago, before the city posted...
Overwhelmed and Understaffed, Fresno and Caltrans Discuss Highway Clutter
Caltrans representatives told members of the Fresno City Council that they also are frustrated, overwhelmed and understaffed when it comes to cleaning up the areas near highways. It wasn't an official council meeting, but about two dozen representatives from the city, Caltrans law enforcement, and state legislative staffers met at...
Council Wants Answers on Fires, Homeless, and Trash on Highways
For weeks, Fresno councilmen Miguel Arias and Garry Bredefeld have sounded the alarm on social and broadcast media about trash and homeless encampments along Caltrans property in Fresno. A conversation on the topic was supposed to come to City Hall via a special Fresno City Council meeting at 9 a.m. Thursday....
What Fresno Council Candidates Say About Homelessness
Candidates for the Fresno City Council's empty seat say one issue is consistently among the top concerns expressed by voters: the human suffering and public unease caused by homelessness. The city has more money than ever to spend on the problem, thanks to its share of a one-time injection of...
District 2 Candidates Weigh in on Homeless, Police, Potholes
Three candidates vying in a special election to fill the open District 2 seat on the Fresno City Council gathered Wednesday in a forum presented by GV Wire and CMAC to give their opinions about police, homelessness, and reaching out to residents. The forum served as an introduction for many...
Homelessness Rose in Fresno This Year. Here's What's Being Done.
There are more homeless people in Fresno than ever before, at least by an official count. The people on the front lines trying to decrease that number say help is on the way. According to the annual count, required by a U.S. agency to keep the flow of federal funds...
Paradise High Students Graduating in Town Torched by Wildfire
PARADISE — Sean Newsom's senior year of high school started with typical teenage pranks, like sticking a cup to the roof of his car with magnets just to mess with people as he drove around his small town in the Northern California mountains. It ended with him living in an...
Homeless High School Student Earns $3 Million in Scholarships
A high school valedictorian earned more than $3 million in college scholarships, even though he was homeless. Tupac Mosley received more than 50 scholarships before he graduated this month from Raleigh Egypt High School in Memphis, Tenn. All the while, he was living at a campsite and had no fixed...
Abhorred by Domestic Violence Surge? Donate to Marjaree Mason.
(Editor's Note: This is an updated version of Bill McEwen's Jan. 10, 2019, column on the financial challenges facing the Marjaree Mason Center.) Domestic violence again is sending tremors through our community. A day after she obtained a restraining order against the father of their 1-year-old daughter, a Fresno woman...
What Does Fresno Want in Next Police Chief? Everything.
Retired judge Robert Oliver summed up the 90-minute community conversation Tuesday night about picking Fresno's next police chief this way: "What I heard was, people are looking for a strong communicator, who pays attention to detail, can improve the sensitivities of patrol officers, and understands the city or can learn...