There’s nothing new about ordering merchandise from the comfort of one’s home and having it delivered to the doorstep. Generations of Americans — especially those living in isolation on farms and ranches — pored over the inches-thick catalogs that Sears and Roebuck, Montgomery Ward and other retailing behemoths issued each...
Taxes Are Bigger Part of Online Shopping This Season
WASHINGTON — Shoppers heading online to purchase holiday gifts will find they're being charged sales tax at some websites where they weren't before. The reason: the Supreme Court. A June ruling gave states the go-ahead to require more companies to collect sales tax on online purchases. Now, more than two...
Measure P Spending Passes $2M. McDonald Loans 'Yes' $450K.
Total spending on the Measure P parks sales tax vote is now over $2 million, according to the latest campaign spending reports. Heading into the Nov. 6 vote, supporters have significantly outraised and outspent their opponents. Yes on P raised $1.5 million compared to $343,000 by opponents through Oct 20....
Step Up, Fresno: Vote 'Yes' on Measure P!
I am a new reader of GV Wire, so it was with great interest that I turned to your Voter Guide. I was quite shocked to see the content of the “No” commentary on Measure P. First, the opponents of Measure P are not giving Fresno residents much credit: They...
Measure P Ballot Error Could Wind Up in Court
Fresno’s city clerk erred when she sent the wrong ballot language to the county clerk regarding Measure P, the proposed sales tax to benefit parks, City Hall said Monday. What voters see on the ballot omits a few lines specifying areas the initiative would benefit. Now the proponents of the initiative...
Fresno Parks Boosters Off to Fast Start With Campaign Donations
Supporters of a Fresno sales tax increase to benefit parks have raised three-quarters of a million dollars, according to the latest financial filings. The Yes on P committee raised $545,000 during the latest filing period, covering July 1-Sept. 22. Central Valley Community Foundation, the Ashley Swearengin-led group spearheading the campaign,...
Tax Vote Should've Been 50/50 For Parks & Police: Ashjian
It has been said, "Two men look through the same jail cell walls, one sees mud and one sees stars." Certainly, this is the way that I see the Fresno parks sales tax initiative. First, I think some background is in order. At the ultimate fallout of the Great Recession, Fresno's...
Fresno Parks Tax All But Assured To Be on November Ballot
UPDATE: 12:40 p.m., Tuesday, July 24: This story has been updated to include why the Fresno for Parks sales-tax proposal is not on the Fresno City Council agenda for this week. A measure to raise the sales tax to boost Fresno parks is all but assured to be on the November ballot....
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...
Next Time a Fresno Kid Gets Shot, Call Your Council Tax Fighter & Give 'Em an Earful
I'm fed up with so-called leaders who complain about Fresno crime but really are more concerned about burnishing their credentials as tax fighters. As tax fighting is an essential element of getting elected in most parts of Fresno, I understand why candidates pledge to do it. But being a real leader and...