There's a whole lot less sitting around in after-school programs at Fresno Unified School District these days after a $75,000 grant from Kaiser Permanent Fresno helped buy new equipment and hire staffers to help kids get fit — and stay there. Earlier this month students at Jefferson Elementary got to...
Walters: Politicians Mull the Future of Work
The Legislature’s 2019 session will end in two weeks and no issue will have more impact on California’s workers and economic future than Assembly Bill 5 – even if it doesn’t pass. AB 5 would place in law, with some exceptions, a landmark state Supreme Court decision that sharply tightened the legal parameters governing...
Walters: Politicians Mull the Future of Work
The Legislature’s 2019 session will end in two weeks and no issue will have more impact on California’s workers and economic future than Assembly Bill 5 – even if it doesn’t pass. AB 5 would place in law, with some exceptions, a landmark state Supreme Court decision that sharply tightened the legal parameters governing...
Walters: Politicians Mull the Future of Work
The Legislature’s 2019 session will end in two weeks and no issue will have more impact on California’s workers and economic future than Assembly Bill 5 – even if it doesn’t pass. AB 5 would place in law, with some exceptions, a landmark state Supreme Court decision that sharply tightened the legal parameters governing...
Why California Should Close Failing School Districts
School has begun for the 40,000-plus students of Sweetwater Union High School District. But the district’s crisis never ends. Sweetwater rarely makes the statewide news, but it’s California’s largest secondary school district. Sweetwater's high schools and middle schools serve oft-forgotten communities near the U.S.-Mexico border—Chula Vista, Imperial Beach, National City,...
Why California Should Close Failing School Districts
School has begun for the 40,000-plus students of Sweetwater Union High School District. But the district’s crisis never ends. Sweetwater rarely makes the statewide news, but it’s California’s largest secondary school district. Sweetwater's high schools and middle schools serve oft-forgotten communities near the U.S.-Mexico border—Chula Vista, Imperial Beach, National City,...
Airport Labor Pact Wins Unanimous Council Support
Update, 6/27/2019, 4 p.m.: The Fresno City Council unanimously passed the airport project labor agreement Thursday. Council members said they expect the expansion project to be performed on time and with no budget overages. Original story: Supporters of a labor deal for the $115 million parking and terminal expansion at...
5 Teachers Sue California Union Over Forced Dues Collection
SAN FRANCISCO — Five California educators on Monday filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the state's top teachers union from collecting dues through mandatory paycheck deductions, the latest in a series of similar legal challenges filed across the country. The lawsuit challenging the California Teachers Association's mandatory collection of dues...
Money Back Guarantee Gets 7-0 Vote, But Fine-Tuning Ahead
A proposal to guarantee that Fresno delivers planning department services on time received a 7-0 vote from the city council Thursday. But council members also made it clear that important issues must be ironed out before the "money back guarantee" plan is adopted. The bill, introduced by Garry Bredefled (District...
Bredefeld's Money-Back Guarantee Gains New Support
Two business-friendly Fresno city councilmen are putting their money where their mouth is. Technically, it’s the city’s money. Garry Bredefeld (District 6) and Steve Brandau (District 2) want a money-back-guarantee program for the planning department (officially called Development and Resource Management, or DARM). The concept: City staff will meet specified...