The coronavirus pandemic will cause a $32 million deficit for the next city of Fresno budget. "It is enormous. It will be a real challenge for the city to deal with that," assistant city manager Jane Sumpter told the Fresno City Council on Thursday. Also in Politics 101: Fresno City...
Battle Lines Are Drawn Over Oil Drilling in California
Two announcements with implications for California’s oil industry whizzed past each other in recent weeks, revealing starkly conflicting visions for energy development. After a five-year hiatus on auctions for oil-drilling rights on federal land, Washington finalized a plan to allow them on more than 700,000 acres in 11 Central California counties. A more...
Judge Temporarily Stops 1st Federal Executions Since 2003
WASHINGTON — A judge has temporarily halted the first federal executions in 16 years as a lawsuit on how the government intends to carry them out continues. U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan said in a Wednesday evening ruling that the public is not served by “short-circuiting” legitimate judicial process....
Court Won’t Block Death Penalty Trials Despite Moratorium
SACRAMENTO — The California Supreme Court refused Wednesday to block death penalty cases from proceeding during Gov. Gavin Newsom's moratorium on executions. The justices rejected defense attorneys' arguments that jurors can't realistically gauge the seriousness of imposing a death sentence if they think it's never actually going to be carried...
DA Smittcamp: Newsom Death Penalty Moratorium Is a Disgrace
Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp joined three other California district attorneys to author an op-ed for CNN. In the piece, they state their strong opposition to Gov. Gavin Newsom's death penalty moratorium, saying it "is disheartening to victims and their families who have waited years for justice." There are...
Victims' Parents Urge Newsom to Stop Death Penalty Reprieve
SACRAMENTO — Parents of Californians murdered by people now on death row shared gruesome details of their loved ones' killings Thursday as they launched a statewide tour to urge Gov. Gavin Newsom to reverse his moratorium on executions. "He was like a thief in the night that stole justice from...
Walters: Newsom Does It Again With Death Row Reprieve
Gavin Newsom is fond of making grandiloquent, headline-grabbing gestures couched in moralistic terms. His tendency first surfaced in 2004 when, as the newly elected mayor of San Francisco, he directed officials to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in defiance of a state law passed by California voters just a...
Newsom’s Order Is Reprieve for Fresno’s Worst Mass Killer
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed placing a moratorium on executions in the state Wednesday. Here are some notable inmates out of the 737 people on the nation's largest death row: — Marcus D. Wesson. Now 70 years old, Fresno's worst mass murderer horrified the nation and the world when he...
Newsom Puts Moratorium on California Executions
SACRAMENTO — The 737 inmates on California's largest-in-the-nation death row are getting a reprieve from Gov. Gavin Newsom, who plans to sign an executive order Wednesday placing a moratorium on executions. Newsom also is withdrawing the lethal injection regulations that death penalty opponents already have tied up in courts and...
City Council OKs Moratorium on Fresno Water Fines
The Fresno City Council unanimously approved a moratorium on fines for excessive water usage at special meeting Thursday. The moratorium is retroactive to Oct. 1. The council will convene again on the subject in January. Council members additionally instructed city staff to inform the public about the moratorium. Water violation...