UPDATE, 3/20/2019: Councilmembers Miguel Arias, Esmeralda Soria and Nelson Esparza formally announced their opposition to the ordinance written about below. They are holding news conference Wednesday (March 20) afternoon. With councilmen Steve Brandau, Paul Caprioglio and Luis Chavez sponsoring the measure, that leaves the seventh council member, Garry Bredefeld as...
Council Asks Why It Wasn’t Told of Audit Before Spiral Garage Sale
A Fresno City Council subcommittee wondered aloud why it didn’t have access to an internal audit of the city’s parking program before selling the spiral garage last December. The council's Finance and Audit Committee heard two hours of presentations from city staff Monday on the parking audit released last month....
Will This West Fresno Church Block Major Homebuilder?
UPDATE, 3/13/2019 During a presentation to city council on Thursday (March 14), city planner Israel Trejo said a meeting between the city, council members Steve Brandau and Esmeralda Soria, and God's Family Church produced an agreement. The church balked at having its parsonage (home used by church staff) annexed into...
Valley House Delegation Joins in Omar-less Anti-Hate Vote
The Central Valley congressional delegation all supported a House resolution Thursday (March 7) condemning hate — anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and just about all other forms. That put the likes of House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) and TJ Cox (D-Fresno) in step with Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota). Approval came strongly on...
Next! Candidates Line Up for NW Fresno Council Seat
With Steve Brandau holding a commanding lead in the special election for Fresno County supervisor, attention now turns to his Fresno City Council seat. At least five candidates are planning to run in the subsequent special election to fulfill the remainder of Brandau’s term. Brandau has a 5,731-vote lead over...
Brandau Apparent Winner for Vacant Supervisor Seat
Fresno city councilman Steve Brandau appears ready for an upgrade. With 100% of precincts reporting, Brandau leads in the special election for the vacant Fresno County Board of Supervisors District 2 seat with 57.5% of the votes. Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission publicist Nasreen Johnson is in second place with 31.8%;...
Is Clovis Economic Boom Headed for Slow Down?
At tonight’s Clovis council meeting (March 4), the board will hear a five-year economic forecast. The report indicates trouble looming: “The General Fund forecast continues to be much more constrained during the forecast period than it has been during recent years … sales tax is projected to grow at a...
Face-Off for Fresno Supervisor: Brandau, Hosey, Johnson
The election for a vacant Fresno County supervisorial seat is less than six weeks away. And, the three candidates vying to represent north and central Fresno and parts of Clovis are getting ready. Fresno City Councilman Steve Brandau may have some built-in advantages. He has name recognition as an elected...
Board Flip-Flops on River Access Plan, More Delays Ahead
Brett Frazier stormed out of Fresno City Hall chambers, his face as red as his hair. Angry, he didn’t want to talk about the previous five hours chairing the San Joaquin River Conservancy Board meeting. The Madera County supervisor and his colleagues from various local and state agencies endured what...
Absentee Returns Suggest Strong Interest in Supervisor Race
The election clerk’s office reports that voters have returned nearly 11,000 absentee ballots in the March 5 election for a vacant Fresno County supervisor seat. That is a 15% return rate of the approximately 71,600 sent out. In all, District 2 has 113,596 registered voters, meaning 63% received mail-in ballots. The...