U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill sentenced MS-13 gang member Claudia Lizaola to 10 years in prison Monday for drug trafficking. O'Neill handed down the sentence at the federal courthouse in Fresno. According to court documents, Lizaola was a member of La Mara Salvatrucha, a violent criminal street gang that engages...
Adopt-a-Family Effort Brings Gifts and Christmas Cheer to County's West Side
An abundance of holiday cheer came to the homes of a dozen families in some of Fresno County's poorest communities this week. Each family was adopted by a local company or agency, whose employees purchased and wrapped gifts that were delivered just in time for Christmas. The families were selected...
Thanksgiving Food Delivery Aids Dozens of Rural Fresno Families
Volunteers delivered food to more than 70 struggling families in Fresno County's most impoverished community this week, just in time for Thanksgiving, Over three tons of fresh and non-perishable food was collected over the past several weeks for distribution in Mendota, where recent census data shows half the population lives...
AMOR Wellness Center Aims to Make Mendota a Healthier City
MENDOTA — Mendota residents who need to see a doctor or specialist now might have to travel 40 miles to the nearest hospital or specialty care clinic, but that's about to change. Health care and other social services will be provided in the AMOR Wellness Center, a rural health clinic...
Westlands Gifts $36K to Keep Mendota Boys & Girls Club Open
There's good news for the children of Mendota: Their Boys and Girls Club no longer is at risk of closing. After Mendota Mayor Robert Silva addressed the Westlands Water District Board of Directors about the financial troubles the club faced, they stepped up with a $36,000 donation. “We are so...
Fresno County Prisoner Sentenced for Threats to Murder Judge
A man in a Fresno County prison had eight years tacked onto his sentence for threatening to murder a federal judge once he was freed. Cyrus Dennis Braswell, 57, of Anchorage, Alaska, was sentenced in Fresno on Monday by U.S. District Judge Dale Drozd. In February, after a two-day trial...
Big Rain Coming. Check Out Mendota Tornado.
Don't be fooled by today's dry weather. More rain is headed to the Valley floor Tuesday and snow will fall again in the high Sierra. Yes, it has been quite a wet winter. Seasonal Rain, Snow Totals Mendota Tornado Mendota experienced a tornado Saturday. The National Weather Service Hanford confirmed...
In First House Speech, Cox Calls for End to Federal Shutdown
Payday will come Friday without any checks for about 800,000 federal employees affected by the government shutdown, forcing workers to scale back spending, cancel trips, apply for unemployment benefits and take out loans to stay afloat. On Thursday, Rep. TJ Cox (D-Fresno) used the impact of the shutdown as the...
AMOR and its Partners Deliver Holiday Help to Mendota Families
A team of volunteers brought smiles to the faces of five "adopted" Mendota families in the midst of a challenging holiday season. Fresno-based AMOR joined with partners United Way of Fresno and Madera Counties, Cargill, FedEx, and Industry Standard Inc., to deliver toys, household products, clothes, and Christmas trees to five...
Residents Sue Over RV Park's Squalid Conditions
Residents at the squalid Jack’s Bayou Resort are fighting back. In the latest development at the RV park on the outskirts of Mendota, three women filed suit against the park’s owners. The 11 allegations range from breach of quiet enjoyment of the premises to negligent failure to provide a livable...