For the third year in a row, California lawmakers will consider a controversial housing proposal that would force neighborhoods to allow taller, denser housing near public transportation and job centers. San Francisco Democratic Sen. Scott Wiener — whose Senate Bill 50 has twice been beaten back, in different forms, by an assortment of...
Brand New Sales Tax Idea for Funding Fresno's Big Needs
Fresno Mayor Lee Brand rolled out his early idea for a new sales tax in an interview Tuesday with GV Wire. Though he didn't name it such, you might call it "Triple-P" — a 0.75% hike on the November 2020 ballot raising about $69 million annually for public safety, parks,...
Iran Poised for Faster Centrifuges as Nuclear Deal Collapses
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran was poised Thursday to begin work on advanced centrifuges that will enrich uranium faster as the 2015 nuclear deal unravels further and a last-minute French proposal offering a $15-billion line of credit to compensate Iran for not being able to sell its crude oil abroad because...
Former Fresno State Star McMaryion Pops a Perfect Question
Marcus McMaryion, who led Fresno State to a Mountain West football championship six months ago, executed another perfect play last weekend — a surprise marriage proposal with a Pacific Ocean backdrop. The former Bulldog quarterback chose a picturesque scene outside Roy's at Pebble Beach restaurant, at the Spanish Bay resort....
Heating Up: Investors’ Green Targets Go Beyond Big Oil
NEW YORK — It's not just big oil and power companies that investors are pushing to do better on the environment. In the next few weeks, Amazon shareholders will vote on a proposal made by one of their own to push the company to describe how it's curbing its use...
DeVos Criticized Over Plan to Cut Special Olympics Funding
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is facing sharp pushback over a proposal to cut federal funding to the Special Olympics. Celebrities, politicians and activists have taken to social media to rebuke DeVos for her plan to cut funding for the group as part of $7 billion in reductions in 2020. The...
Proposed Ballot Measure Would Let California Parolees Vote
SACRAMENTO — Tens of thousands of parolees would be allowed to vote under a state constitutional amendment proposed Monday by California's secretary of state and Democratic lawmakers who called it the next civil rights issue. The proposal intended for the 2020 ballot would help nearly 50,000 felons who have served...
Week 5: House Dems Float '21st Century' Border Security Plan
WASHINGTON — House Democrats are putting forward a new proposal to end the government shutdown, aiming to lure President Donald Trump away from his demand for a border wall by offering billions of new dollars for other border security measures. The offer is a possible path toward a compromise even...
Californians Reject Gas Tax Repeal, Approve Farm Regulations
Voters have rejected a proposal to repeal California's gasoline tax increase that was passed by the Legislature to fund road and transportation projects. Proposition 6 failed Tuesday after Democrats campaigned to preserve $5 billion a year to fix roads and improve transit. The Republican-backed initiative sought to repeal increases in...
A Better Fresno Is Within Our Grasp. Will We Do the Smart Thing?
Fresno Mayor Lee Brand isn't giving up on seeing a half-cent public-safety and parks sales tax — split right down the middle — make it to the November ballot. Despite the rejection of his proposal by the Fresno City Council, he's determined to see the plan's resuscitation and, ultimately, $44...