Good morning! It’s Thursday, May 28. This is Rob.
Make it rain? Meteorologists say Fresno could see some rain today with highs in the low 70s once again. NOAA
Investigation: A Fresno police officer was arrested earlier this week by sheriff’s deputies on suspicion of domestic violence. YourCentralValley
Changes: CalFresh gets even more complicated. YourCentralValley
Best wishes: A popular Fresno sandwich shop has shut down as the owner confronts health issues. The Fresno Bee
1. ‘Waitin’ for the bus’?
As gasoline prices climb, Fresno’s famously car-centric habits are coming into question, but local bus ridership trends have been hard to pin down.
Fresnoland’s Pablo Orihuela spoke with transportation experts, bike shop owners and bus riders to find out how the locals are getting around.
But the early data suggests that Fresno-area commuters aren’t exactly racing away from their vehicles. At least not yet.
Check out the full story from Pablo.
2. No sign of an investigation?
A group of Fresno Unified education interpreters slammed district administrators on Wednesday, accusing them of brushing off safety concerns.
“Three weeks after the district publicly stated that there was an investigation underway, not one of us has been contacted for an interview,” said Shelly Smith, one of the interpreters who spoke during Wednesday’s regularly scheduled school board meeting.
The criticism comes after the interpreters held a news conference to call attention and pressure the district to intervene with a student the interpreters say has made numerous death threats to staff at Phoenix Secondary Academy.
The status of FUSD’s reported investigation wasn’t immediately clear Wednesday, and district officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
—Diego Vargas, education reporter
3. Judge charged with assault gets a new lawyer
A retired Fresno judge who has pleaded not guilty to sexual assault won’t return to court this summer after changing attorneys on Wednesday, with the federal public defender’s office taking over the case.
According to filings in U.S. District Court in Fresno, Aldolfo Corona, who earlier this year tried unsuccessfully to have his case thrown out, will be represented going forward by the public defender.
The longtime judge, who retired a few months before the criminal charges were filed, pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting a court employee in 2024 along with making false statements and falsifying records.
The change of attorneys keeps the case out of the courtroom during the upcoming summer as federal public defenders work to get caught up on the case and examine evidence. Both sides are due back in court Sept. 9.
—Rob Parsons, senior editor
Today’s newsletter was edited by Danielle Bergstrom.
