Finding work with good wages is challenging for many Mendota residents. Located about 34 miles west of Fresno, the town's work opportunities usually consist of farm labor. But the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission is expanding the options through its Valley Apprenticeship Connections program. VAC, which started in Fresno in...
AMOR and Partners Brighten Holidays for West Fresno County Families
Fifteen families from Mendota, Cantua Creek, and San Joaquin received holiday gifts this week thanks to the Alliance for Medical Outreach & Relief. During the fourth annual Adopt-A-Family Christmas, AMOR and its community partners delivered presents made up of items from each family's wishlist. "AMOR is so grateful for...
Mendota Families in Need Receive 300 Thanksgiving Meals
For the fourth year in a row, the Alliance for Medical Outreach & Relief held their annual Thanksgiving food drive on Saturday, providing 300 holiday food boxes to families in Mendota. Beginning at the AMOR Wellness Center, volunteers from participating community organizations drove around town, knocked on doors, and greeted...
Cooks, Nurses Used as Guards at Federal Prison in Mendota
Nearly one-third of federal correctional officer jobs in the United States are vacant, forcing prisons to use cooks, teachers, nurses and other workers to guard inmates. Union officials have raised the alarm about staffing problems, even holding a rally this week outside a medium-security prison in Mendota. But federal efforts...
Mendota City Leaders Tell Rep. Valadao That MS-13 Gang Activity Has Started Again
After a three year lull, the MS-13 gang is starting to gain a foothold in Mendota. City leaders told Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, that in the last 6 months they've made arrests for extortion and other crimes. "Anything you could do to help us with that would be great," Mendota...
Supervisors Press Governor for More Vaccine After Mendota Ag Worker Clinic
A group of 50 Fresno County agricultural workers were vaccinated against COVID-19 Monday morning at the Pappas Family Farm in Mendota. This only represents .07% of about 70,000 farm and food production workers in Fresno County. "We're really planting a seed and we're really just trying to see how that seed...
Water Agency’s Land Donation Will Benefit Mendota Park Expansion
Land fallowed for several years will be transformed into two soccer fields, a splash park, two play areas, sports field lighting and additional parking in Mendota. The Westlands Water District board of directors approved donating 4.61 acres to the city of Mendota to support the planned Rojas Pierce Park expansion...
Local Cities Now Getting Share of COVID Relief Funds. How Will They Spend It?
Fresno County is sharing the wealth of its federal stimulus CARES Act dollars with the 14 other incorporated cities in the county. The city of Fresno directly received $92 million in federal relief money. The Board of Supervisors decided that the other cities needed their own funds, too. This week,...
Free COVID Test Site Opens in NW Fresno With ‘Painless’ Swabs
Quick, painless, easy, and best of all, free. COVID-19 testing in Fresno ramped up in a big way Wednesday with the addition of a drive-up testing site at United Health Centers' Fresno location near Herndon and Milburn avenues. Listen to this article: District 2 Fresno City Councilmember Mike Karbassi helped...
Mendota MS-13 Gang Leader Pleads Guilty to Multiple Charges
Mendota's MS-13 gang leader pleaded guilty Friday in a Fresno federal courtroom to assault with a deadly weapon and several drug distribution charges. Denis Barrera-Palma, 25, captained La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), a violent street gang known to engage in racketeering, murder, kidnapping, extortion, and drug trafficking. A multi-agency investigation into the...