Are you overwhelmed (or underwhelmed) by the choices on your ballot? Join Fresnoland, The Big Red Church, and CalMatters on Tuesday, May 26 for a fun, family-friendly evening at Big Red’s Fellowship Hall. Come learn about our local and statewide races over election trivia and bingo, enjoy food and refreshments, and win some prizes. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the event begins at 6 p.m. No RSVP is required.
Quote of the Week
“That is definitely doable. But I cannot promise that we will make that.”
–Fresno County Clerk James Kus, responding to questions from reporters about whether a long-awaited transportation tax measure will qualify for the fall ballot
This Week in Fresnoland
The Costco Clash: Should it stay or should it go?
Before approving a controversial effort to relocate the Shaw Avenue Costco to a northwest neighborhood, several Fresno city leaders on Thursday disputed claims from a local attorney and longtime critic of the project that City Hall was “exempting” the project from nearly $40 million in development-related fees.
Specifically, the city’s top brass said the city’s new Vehicle Miles Traveled program was not on the books at the time that Costco filed its relocation-related paperwork.
Attorney Daniel Brannick represents the Herndon-Riverside Coalition for Responsible Planning, who successfully won a lawsuit against the city over their first version of approvals for the Costco relocation.
He told the council the coalition plans to take the project back to the courthouse.
Councilmember Mike Karbassi, who represents the area where Costco is relocating, remained dismissive.
Last exit for transportation taxes in 2026?
There was a time when those with heavy ties or responsibilities to Fresno’s transportation future feared voters might face as many as three separate measures on the fall ballot.
Now, there’s at least a non-zero chance that Fresno County’s November ballot might not have even one transportation-tax measure as the county’s longtime Measure C tax expires next summer, Fresnoland’s Julianna Morano reported this week.
The group closest to the finish line failed to qualify for the November ballot in a random-sampling validation process, triggering a longer, more arduous signature counting process.
Fresno County Clerk James Kus said he remained confident in his office’s ability to get the work done, but also acknowledged that he could not promise the count would be complete before a possibly make-or-break mid-July Board of Supervisors meeting.
Fresno City Hall improves transparency
Four months after city officials promised transparency reforms, it seems they’re close to delivering, Fresnoland’s Omar S. Rashad reports.
Fresno’s first ever public transparency portal appears to be almost done via a beta test page on the City of Fresno’s website.
It doesn’t yet have all the functionality that city officials want, but Interim City Clerk Amy Aller said it should be fully up and running by June. During a Thursday workshop at Fresno City Hall, Aller said getting to this beta test stage required rounding up tens of thousands of documents in different city systems.
“This is going to be an ongoing project,” Aller said this week, “and as people begin using it and we start getting feedback, we’ll be able to make more specific adjustments.”
Fresno County ICE transfers fall 38%
Transfers of inmates from the Fresno County Jail into federal ICE custody fell by just over 38% last year, even as the Trump administration ramped up record-level arrests, Fresnoland’s Gisselle Medina reports.
Sheriff John Zanoni, in his annual report to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, said his office transferred 63 inmates to ICE last year, down from 102 transfers in 2024.
California’s TRUTH Act requires local law enforcement agencies to share with the public details about who it transfers to federal immigration authorities.
Immigration advocates acknowledged the sharp decline in Fresno County in 2025, but argued the goal should be “zero.”
Closing in
As primary election candidates race toward the campaign’s homestretch, seven politicians gathered Monday at Fresno’s Big Red Church to make one of their last major public pitches before the polls close on June 2.
Julianna Morano breaks down the two races, District 1 and District 7, and where candidates said they stand on a range of issues, from transportation and taxes to SEDA and protecting our LGBTQ+ communities.
Candidates were also asked about the city’s business dealings with Flock Safety.
Election Day for the primary is June 2, but ballots have already been mailed out, and vote centers will start to open this weekend. Check out Fresnoland’s guides to all four Fresno City Council contests, as well as other key local elections, by visiting our website.
Outside the Lines
Follow the money in Fresno’s ongoing June primary election as filings reveal more details about the donors behind a recent headline-making local PAC and its developer-backed war chest. Fresnoland
A federal judge rejected a request by attorneys to pause the Trump administration’s changes to guest farmworker wages — adjustments some researchers estimate could result in between $4.4 and $5.4 billion in wage cuts between both guest and U.S. agricultural workers. Fresnoland
A Democrat PAC has sparked controversy among Fresno’s left-leaning politicos who questioned the ethics of the group that recently gave a maximum donation to the political campaign of one of its cofounders. The Fresno Bee
Man with a knife arrested outside the City Attorney’s home. The Fresno Bee
Many Central Valley Democratic Party leaders are fuming after the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee abruptly reversed course with a buzzer-beating endorsement in a race with national implications. CalMatters
Hey, what’s with the tree nets? Fresnoland Food
The Fresno City Council on Thursday OK’d the early stages of a new effort to reduce and eventually eliminate traffic deaths in California’s fifth-largest city. ABC30
Fresno recently ranked No. 10 in the nation for small business bankruptcies. The Business Journal
Fresno Unified will provide free meals across the city during the summer, helping children maintain good nutrition even while school is out. Fresno Unified’s free summer meals program begins on Monday, June 15. More information
The rollout of a new artificial intelligence tool within newsrooms at McClatchy Media has alarmed journalists, including at Fresno’s oldest newspaper. Central Valley Podcast
The co-founder of Arte Americas passed away. He was 83. The Fresno Bee
With Memorial Day weekend approaching, a crowded Yosemite National Park braces for a long and crowded tourist season. LA Times
Why the bears might return one day. KVPR
Block Beat
Downtown: You’re invited to a panel conversation during Arte América’s “Arte, Pero Later”, moderated by Fresnoland founder and editor-in-chief Danielle Bergstrom and featuring affordable housing developer Betsy McGovern-Garcia, Fresno County Public Health Director Joe Prado, and “Shaan Punjab Di” host and Fresno Planning Commissioner Gurdeep Shergill. Fresnoland
Sanger: Fresno County secures $28 million for an affordable rental project. YouCentralValley
Central Fresno: Bobby Salazar’s shuttered Blackstone location caught fire early Friday for the second time in two years. ABC30
Clovis: Join Fresno County leaders at 5:30 p.m., June 4 at a Community Town Hall at the Clovis Transit Center, 785 Third St., Clovis. X
Downtown: The Fresno City Council on Thursday took its first steps toward creating three entertainment zones downtown, clearing the way for attendees at permitted events to consume alcohol outdoors. ABC30
