Major leadership shakeup at Fresno Arts Council amid embezzlement scandal
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Fresno Budget Tracker
‘They don’t have a lot of options left.’ Fresno projects $23.3 million budget deficit
The messy inside story of how City Hall discovered embezzlement allegations at the Fresno Arts Council
An ex-Fresno Arts Council employee is under investigation in $1.5 million embezzlement case, city sources say
How Fresno passed reforms after a city contracts scandal, and why some leaders had objections
HOUSING
Clovis Planning Commission clears way for mandatory affordable housing in new developments
The Clovis Planning Commission unanimously approved a new policy that aims to help the city build more affordable housing by leaning on developers of market-rate housing to include it in their developments. Among the biggest commitments that the new Mixed Income Zoning Ordinance asks of Clovis developers will be in making at least 5%of new…
‘This is dirty.’ Fresno City Council erupts over corruption allegations and legal threat
Fresno city councilmembers threw accusations of backdoor dealing and inappropriate decorum at one another Thursday in a case of mudslinging that also resurrected an old debate around a controversial city rezoning plan. Thursday’s testy council argument erupted during a hearing to adopt the Central Southeast Area Specific Plan. Specific plans are roadmap documents that City…
It’s been 16 months since Fresno outlawed camping to encourage drug treatment. It’s not going great
Responding to overwhelming criticism in the fall of 2024 that their new anti-encampment law would criminalize the homeless, Fresno leaders called a news conference to introduce a “creative solution” that they said would create a streamlined system to prevent the criminalization of the local homeless population. They called it the “Treatment First Program.” City leaders…
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Resources
Resources for Renters
How to report substandard housing conditions in Fresno
If you are a renter who thinks your housing might be in need of repairs that your landlord is refusing to fix, the City of Fresno’s Anti Slum Enforcement Team may be able to help.
ENVIRONMENT
Fresno County supervisors remain divided on transportation tax future
With elected leaders and transportation experts now placing their hopes for Measure C renewal in the rearview mirror, two competing measures have begun a race to take the 40-year-old policy’s place ahead of its summer 2027 expiration. The Fresno County Board of Supervisors held a presentation for one of those plans at their Tuesday meeting,…
WORK
Whistleblower social worker says Fresno County is mishandling cases and kids are being ‘reabused’
In 2021, the Fresno County Department of Social Services made national headlines following the revelation of poor living conditions for its foster children. First reported by The Fresno Bee, whistleblowers described children sleeping on tables inside the department’s office building, relieving themselves in water bottles, and other subpar living conditions. Now, five years later, one…
Thousands of Fresno-area truck drivers in limbo amid legal fights with California and the Trump Administration
A December lawsuit filed by the Sikh Coalition and others on behalf of the Jakara Movement and five anonymous immigrant drivers challenges the DMV’s planned cancellation of nearly 20,000 commercial driver’s licenses.
‘We should be the best in the Valley.’ State Center faculty union pushing for big salary boosts
Instructors at State Center Community College District are seeking hefty raises in a move they say is needed to stay competitive with neighboring school districts. The State Center Federation of Teachers (SCFT) Local 1533 has been in contract talks with the central San Joaquin Valley community college district for almost a year. Union leaders say…
Community
Southwest Fresno fights to defend its landmark plan
For more than three years, the owners of roughly $47 million worth of industrial property in southwest Fresno – including a minority owner of the Sacramento Kings – have been trying to rezone 55 acres of one of California’s most polluted neighborhoods back to industrial. The state’s air regulator, the city’s planning commission, city planning…
City Hall’s plans for passing out Fresno arts money begin to take shape
A Fresno city parks and arts commission on Monday enshrined the open-doored, public status of its subcommittee meetings going forward, in a break from what city officials had previously advised for the subcommittee amid community backlash over transparency. The Parks, Recreation and Arts Commission’s Cultural Arts Subcommittee — which plays a key role in shaping…
Limited oversight, no budgets: How Fresno EOC blew through a $15 million reserve during historically-high budget years
Five years ago, the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission – one of the largest anti-poverty agencies in the United States – was sitting on $15 million in unrestricted reserves. By last year, that balance had fallen to $125,000. Hundreds of invoices were delinquent. The agency needed $5 million in emergency bank loans just to keep the…
Lion dancers bring prosperity and good fortune during Fresno’s Chinese New Year celebration
The lion paused at Stephanie Duran’s doorway, its oversized head tilting as if to peer inside Casita de Todo Abuelita’s Pantry. It was Duran’s first time experiencing the lion dancers. She and her cousin, Natalie Vargas, opened the store just six months prior. Then, with a sudden dip and shake, the lion began his dance. …
