Despite at least 200 layoffs at Fresno Unified, ‘close to zero’ will be without a job, district official says
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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 supervisor challenges local coalition’s efforts toward a new county transportation sales tax
The possibility that Fresno County voters will have to choose between rival transportation tax measures this November could be one step closer to reality. At a Fresno County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, the board’s chair, Garry Bredefeld, instructed county staff to complete a legal and fiscal analysis of placing a countywide general sales…
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
Fresnoland event sparks discussion, question about dark money in local elections
Over pints at a downtown brewery on Thursday night, a political science professor, a city council member and the county’s top elections official described for a standing-room-only crowd how money from powerful interests flows into Fresno’s local races to shape political outcomes — often without leaving a trace. The question that kept coming up for…
Fresno City Hall pledges to pay art groups affected by theft scandal but timing remains unclear
New details of an ex-Fresno Arts Council employee’s reported embezzlement of at least $1.5 million in public arts grants — and the future of that grant program — were revealed in a joint statement from the Fresno City Council and Mayor’s Office on Tuesday afternoon. Those details covered timeline clarifications, including that the embezzlement of…
Fresno protesters say it’s ‘life or death’ as local demonstrations echo national shutdown against ICE
Local demonstrations on Friday were part of a coordinated national shutdown, calling on people across the country to step away from work, shopping and school for the day in a collective act of protest.
City officials ‘consolidate’ Fresno’s long-range city planning division, stoking criticism
Fresno officials recently shuffled a key urban planning team, drawing sharp criticism from a longtime planner. On Jan. 15, city planners were informed via email that the long-range division of the city’s planning department would be consolidated into the current planning division, senior planner Casey Lauderdale shared with Fresnoland in an interview. “This really came…
