At the end of Fresno Fire Chief Kerri Doni's presentation to the city council on Monday, council president Miguel Arias apologized. What was the apology for? The arguing that ensured after the council learned Fresno Mayor Lee Brand's administration never filed for an important federal grant. The grant would have...
Brand Rolls Out Plan to Spend $92 Million in COVID-19 Funds
Mayor Lee Brand has laid out his plan to spend $92 million of federal funding from the CARES Act. The city's spending outline is in three different sections — community investment ($27 million), COVID-19 expenditures ($25 million), and reserves ($40 million). Also in Politics 101: City to spend money on...
Demands to Defund Police Pepper Fresno Budget Opener
At its first budget hearing for the next fiscal year, the Fresno City Council stepped into the "Twilight Zone" as one member put it Tuesday. Budgeting looked much different amid the pandemic and following the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis. The council started debating a...
Fresno Moves Ahead On Budget Hearings, Despite No Budget
Budget hearings start Tuesday in Fresno, but the city council will have limited information on how much revenue is available. Mayor Lee Brand has not submitted a budget, saying there is too much uncertainty because of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. He asked the council to pass a continuing...
SW Fresno Pastor Reflects on George Floyd Killing, Says Jerry Dyer Needs to ‘Switch Hats’
Pastor Paul Lawrence Binion II delivers a unique, calming, and reassuring gospel when he speaks. "God has a sense of humor," Binion said during a Tuesday morning interview via Zoom. "He brings me to Fresno and then he puts in my life all these white people who really love me."...
Fresno Rolls Back Shelter-In-Place, Readies for Tuesday Reopen
As soon as the Memorial Day weekend ends, Fresno residents will be free of the city's shelter-in-place order. Mayor Lee Brand announced the rollback — effective 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, May 26 — at a noontime news conference Thursday at City Hall. Listen to this article: However, dine-in restaurants will...
Arias Has More to Say About Defending His Family From Bergquam
Fresno City Council President Miguel Arias released this statement Wednesday evening about the Tuesday night confrontation at his downtown condominium with conservative activist Ben Bergquam: "Yesterday afternoon, as my two kids slept, the safety of our home was violated by a dozen out-of-town individuals led by Sanger resident Ben Bergquam, a...
Bredefeld Talks Fresno Reopening, Activists’ Confrontation of Arias
Councilman Garry Bredefeld said Wednesday he plans to introduce a resolution at next week's city council meeting to repeal Fresno's shelter-at-home COVID-19 ordinance and emergency orders. None of the other six councilmembers attended Bredefeld's afternoon news conference at City Hall. "We've seen tremendous anger and frustration across our city. This...
Arias Cited After Tussle With Conservative Activist Bergquam Caught on Camera
Facebook video posted at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday shows Fresno City Council President Miguel Arias in a shouting match with conservative activist Ben Bergquam. The video also shows Arias pushing a man accompanying Bergquam, who is attempting to question Arias about COVID-19 business restrictions on the stairs outside his downtown Fresno...
Council Dissension? Karbassi Blasts Colleagues for Empty Promises
Councilman Mike Karbassi took to the plaza in front of City Hall on Monday to criticize his colleagues for holding a news conference last week and making false promises about a second round of Save Our Small Businesses funding. "Certain council members just haven't learned to play nice with others...