[Update 4/22/21, 10 a.m.: the item to change when cannabis business permit applications would become public record has been pulled by city administration to work on revisions. It will be reintroduced on May 13, with a vote scheduled for May 27. Also, Councilman Miguel Arias and City Manager Thomas Esqueda...
Baines Casts Wide Community Net for Police Reform Commission Members
Oliver Baines says he welcomes having 36 members serving with him on the Fresno Commission on Police Reform. "Anyone that wanted to serve on this commission, I pretty much said yes to. I felt like it was such an important moment in Fresno's history," Baines said Friday at City Hall....
Walters: Voters Face Hundreds of Local Tax Measures
California voters have seen a deluge of local government tax and bond measures in recent elections and will face even more this year. The California Taxpayers Association has counted 231 local sales and parcel tax increases and bond issues (which automatically increase property taxes if approved) on the March 3 primary ballot...
Could City Ordinance Punishing Leakers Also Go After Media?
A proposed Fresno City Council ordinance would punish City Hall officials and staff who reveal confidential information, as well as those who receive privileged materials. "We have problems with information that gets leaked out of our closed session items, with other information that is not supposed to be leaked," said...
Borgeas Goes to White House. Talks About Trump Meeting.
State Sen. Andreas Borgeas of Fresno isn't quite sure how he received an invitation to the White House this week. On Wednesday, Borgeas stood behind President Donald Trump while the president signed two executive orders easing government regulations and increasing transparency. Listen to this article: "I don't have any independent confirmation...
With Another Search Looming, Hall Named Fresno PD Chief
Andy Hall learned he would be named Fresno's next chief of police only two days ago. The deputy chief ascended to the top position in the department without ever applying for the job. Hall said he received a call from the mayor’s office on 3 p.m. Wednesday. "I did not...
With Another Search Looming, Hall Named Fresno PD Chief
Andy Hall learned he would be named Fresno's next chief of police only two days ago. The deputy chief ascended to the top position in the department without ever applying for the job. Hall said he received a call from the mayor’s office on 3 p.m. Wednesday. "I did not...
Are Fresno Unified Magnet School Lotteries on the Up and Up?
Fresno Unified School District's magnet schools are some of the best anywhere. They're innovative, challenging, and staffed with top-flight teachers. In many of them, naturally, applicants exceed capacity. Thus, the district uses lotteries to determine the students getting Golden Tickets. Through the years, however, some have questioned whether high-demand schools...
Walters: Bill Reduces Ballot Measure Transparency
Given their druthers, many government officials would prefer to do their business – our business, actually – behind closed doors and provide sanitized, self-serving versions of their actions after the fact. Journalists and governmental watchdogs struggle constantly to overcome the tendency toward secrecy and obfuscation, sometimes winning and often losing....
Walters: Bond Issue Transparency Still Under Assault
Two years ago, in a rare display of support for transparency in government finance, the Legislature and then-Gov. Jerry Brown required local governments and school districts to tell voters how proposed bond issues would affect their property taxes. That would seem to be just common sense and good government, but...