Fresno-area leaders on Wednesday unveiled a new website that will help investors reap big tax breaks by targeting business and development projects in federally designated Opportunity Zones. The website Opportunity Fresno will provide the means to market to potential investors nationwide by showcasing shovel-ready projects in low-income neighborhoods identified as...
Gap Doubles Its Gifts: Land for Animal Shelter, Boys & Girls Clubs
Fresno youth and pets, along with good corporate citizenship, enjoyed a banner afternoon Tuesday at City Hall. First, Mayor Lee Brand and The Gap made it official. As I reported last week, Fresno is getting 4.8 acres for a no-kill animal shelter near the airport from the global clothing retailer...
RIP, Janet Ryan: She Championed Children, Good Government
Fresno leaders are mourning the death Wednesday of Janet Martino Ryan, a champion of children and an advocate for good government. Ryan, 80, served 12 years as a Fresno Unified School District trustee representing the Hoover High School region. The district named Hoover's academic building in her honor in 2016...
Gov. Newsom Targets Fresno Needs With Big Bucks in Budget
Gov. Gavin Newsom's proposed $222 billion budget for 2020-21 includes tens of millions of dollars to improve efforts to boost economic development and medical education efforts in Fresno and the Valley — investments that local officials said Friday are highly welcome and will be put to good use. Listen to...
Mayor Brand Launches Assault on Second Amendment: Bredefeld
The misguided Brand administration is at it again — now attacking our Second Amendment Rights! The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees “… the right of the people to keep and bear Arms…” and this right “shall not be infringed.” Our Founding Fathers in crafting the Declaration of Independence...
Diverse Group Will Give Growth Plan a Second Look
City Hall announced the 17 people Thursday who are charged with taking a second look at Fresno's plan for guiding development through 2035. The committee includes a mix of developers, business leaders, planners, and advocates for people in Fresno's impoverished neighborhoods. One of the appointees is Patience Milrod. She was...
Revisiting Fresno's Sputtering Growth Plan Is a Must
Only a newspaper editorial board and others who don't operate in the real world would advocate sticking with a growth plan that isn't working. Listen to this article: Thus Fresno City Councilmembers Luis Chavez, Miguel Arias, and Mike Karbassi are to be commended for sticking their necks out and...
Whether It's Giving Blood or Money, Help Start the Healing
In the face of tragedy, resilient cities pull together. Thus I ask every Fresno resident and business to do what they can to support the families of the victims in Sunday's mass shooting that killed four men and wounded six others. Listen to this article: There are are many...
Blood Donations Needed After Fresno Mass Shooting
The Central California Blood Center needs blood following a mass shooting in southeast Fresno that killed four men and critically injured six other people Sunday. In a social media post on Monday morning, the center asked that all eligible blood donors give today or a soon as possible to alleviate...
Fresno Police Chief Search Team Will Include 3 Councilmen
Fresno Mayor Lee Brand has blessed a request that the city council have a larger role in the search for Andy Hall's successor as police chief. The compromise forged by the mayor and councilman Nelson Esparza comes amid lingering controversy about Hall's appointment after the retirement of longtime chief Jerry Dyer...