The deadline passed Friday for candidates to file to run on the March 3, 2020, ballot. And several races featuring incumbents failed to draw even a single challenger. On the Fresno City Council, District 2's Mike Karbassi and District 6's Garry Bredefeld will stand for reelection unopposed. Karbassi won a special...
Feds Say Yes to Veterans Boulevard's Final Piece of Funding
The final funding piece for a key roadway project in northwest Fresno, planned for decades, finally came through. The U.S. Dept. of Transportation awarded the Veterans Boulevard Project a $10.5 BUILD Grant on Wednesday for a project with an estimated total cost of $139 million. Listen to this article: ...
Fresno Council Revises Anti-Leaker Plan, Limits Punishment
A revision to a proposed Fresno City Council ordinance would no longer punish recipients of leaked confidential information emanating from City Hall. Following criticism from First Amendment groups, a new version released Tuesday would still hold current and former city employees accountable (including elected leaders) for unauthorized disclosure of confidential...
Swearengin Named to State Committee on Housing, Econ
Ashley Swearengin, Fresno's former mayor and current president/CEO of the Central Valley Community Foundation, will serve on a new state economic committee. Organized by California Treasurer Fiona Ma, Swearengin is part of the 12-member Housing, Economic Development, Jobs and Opportunity Zone Ad Hoc Committee. Listen to this article: "I sought creative...
Finally, Veterans Boulevard Is Going Somewhere Big and Exciting
Thirty-five years after it was envisioned by Fresno planners, long-stalled Veterans Boulevard moved forward Tuesday morning with phase one of a plan that ultimately should ease some of the city's most congested traffic. This phase is modest: a new $5.5 million section of Bullard Avenue helping residents south of Herndon...
How Valley Lawmakers Voted on Vaccine Exemption Bill
SB 276 is one of the most emotional bills debated in the state Legislature this year. It would create greater state oversight on how doctors grant medical exemptions from vaccines for public or private school students. Supporters, such as author Sen. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), say the bill is needed to...
On Second Try, Bredefeld's Anti-Panhandling Signs Approved
All it took was an election. For the second time this year, Fresno City Councilman Garry Bredefeld proposed an ordinance allowing his colleagues the discretion to place anti-panhandling signs in their respective districts. It failed the first time around in April, on a 3-3 vote. On Thursday, it passed. The...
Does Karbassi's Dominant Win Offer Clues to Key District 4 Race?
Mike Karbassi's special election victory Tuesday is particularly notable. Not only did he win, but he crushed a crowded field. With six names on the ballot, and four of them running serious campaigns, the odds weren't on Karbassi's side for avoiding a November runoff. Yet he did. As of the...
Does Karbassi's Dominant Win Offer Clues to Key District 4 Race?
Mike Karbassi's special election victory Tuesday is particularly notable. Not only did he win, but he crushed a crowded field. With six names on the ballot, and four of them running serious campaigns, the odds weren't on Karbassi's side for avoiding a November runoff. Yet he did. As of the...
Karbassi Takes Fresno District 2 Council Seat in Runaway Win
Jump to Results ↓ Perhaps the most joyous person in the room at an election return party was the elder Mike Karbassi. Neither a cane nor a stoop in his walk prevented him to going around from guest to guest telling them how proud he was of his son, the...