While marking time as lieutenant governor, Gavin Newsom wrote a book about how technology could transform government. “I want to make government as smart as Google,” Newsom told an interviewer after the book, “Citizenville: How to Take the Town Square and Reinvent Government,” was published in 2013. While technology “is...
8 Simple Strategies to Fuel Your Body During a Pandemic
People eat for many reasons – pleasure, emotional release, boredom or to connect with others. And then there is eating during a pandemic. Whether you find yourself working from home, in quarantine or transitioning back to an office, chances are good that COVID-19 has impacted how you eat. As a...
Nelson Talks About Leading State’s 3rd-Largest School District and His Ukulele
Fresno Unified superintendent Bob Nelson says his strategies for weathering the COVID-19 pandemic, schools closures, and critics include having thick skin, kindness, and playing the ukulele. Nelson's comments came during a recent EdSource podcast with Carl Cohn, professor emeritus and clinical professor in the School of Educational Studies at Claremont...
Rent’s Due, Again: Monthly Anxieties Deepen as Aid Falls off
Another month passes. The coronavirus pandemic marches on. And Americans struggling amid the economic fallout once again have to worry as their next rent checks come due Aug. 1. Many left jobless by the crisis are already behind on payments. And the arrival of August brings new anxieties. A supplemental...
White House, Senate GOP Try Again on $1 Trillion Virus Aid
WASHINGTON — Suggesting a narrower pandemic relief package may be all that's possible, the White House still pushed ahead with Monday's planned rollout of the Senate Republicans' $1 trillion effort as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi assailed the GOP “disarray” as time-wasting during the crisis. The administration’s chief negotiators — White House chief...
AP-NORC Poll: Nearly Half Say Jobs Lost to Virus Won't Return
WASHINGTON — Nearly half of Americans whose families experienced a layoff during the coronavirus pandemic now believe those jobs are lost forever, a new poll shows, a sign of increasing pessimism that would translate into roughly 10 million workers needing to find a new employer, if not a new occupation. It's a...
From Internet Rights to ‘Streeteries,’ How Pandemic Is Changing Working From Home
Coronavirus has reshaped how Californians live, learn and work in uneven ways. The pandemic has exposed the state’s long-standing digital divide with a significant share of low-income and rural households lacking reliable internet access. And even though employers have quickly adapted to remote work, the opportunity to work from home...
Pandemic Benefit? Fewer Strays at Local Animal Shelters
The Clovis Animal Shelter found a silver lining in the pandemic crisis — a 40% drop in strays. It's even better at the Central California SPCA, which contracts services with the city of Fresno. They say they are down 44% in strays. "Clovis community members have recently taken great initiative to...
Bredefeld Says He’s Looking to Sue to Reopen Fresno
Fresno City Councilman Garry Bredefeld will hold a news conference at 10 a.m. Tuesday to make a "major announcement" that he hopes will expedite the reopening of businesses. As part of Mayor Lee Brand's coronavirus emergency declaration on March 16, City Manager Wilma Quan ordered all "non-essential" businesses to close....
Fresno Teachers Build Website for Kindergartners. Yes, There Are ‘Baby Sharks.’
With schools closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, students of all ages are turning to the internet for online learning and lessons. But distance learning can be particularly tricky for the youngest students who are just learning how to learn, and for their parents who have had to become more...