WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced the SBA Veteran Pledge Initiative, a commitment by its top national, regional and community lenders to collectively increase their lending activity to veterans by five percent per year for the next 5 years. Oftentimes, veterans face challenges in raising capital or have trouble receiving a conventional [...]

FRESNO – Mark Zamora began his career as an EMT shortly after graduating high school.  Over the past seven years, he has been a paramedic for American Ambulance, participating on the STAR Rescue Team, Swift Water Rescue Team, and Fresno Police Department SWAT Team.  Zamora was also a flight paramedic for Skylife Air Ambulance. In [...]

TULARE – Workstations on Wheels, used at Tulare Regional Medical Center, are basically mobile workstations that offer quicker responses for patients’ care.  The wireless mobile technology increases the amount of time clinicians and nursing staff can spend with patients, and improves the quality of care while adding to patient safety. Previously, hospital staff had to [...]

FRESNO – Fresno State’s Mediator Mentors program will thank 1,240 student mediators for their service to Central Valley schools at the Fresno Grizzlies baseball game, 7:05 p.m. June 1 at Chukchansi Park in downtown Fresno. The Grizzlies will wear special, Star Wars-themed jerseys that will be auctioned off after the game to benefit Mediator Mentors, [...]

ARMONK, N.Y., May 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced new software to help organizations extend crucial business applications running on System z mainframes to web, cloud and mobile environments. The software’s performance improvements will enable companies to significantly reduce operating costs while helping businesses seamlessly and efficiently extend services for support of [...]

REEDLEY – It was a childhood moment when Melba Bergthold’s family doctor told her she would be a good nurse that got the idea of someday entering the profession churning in her mind. “So that was my goal from the time I was a little girl,” Bergthold said. She was born in Long Beach, Calif. [...]

VISALIA – Public officials, industry stakeholders, and local tourism representatives will congregate on May 23 at Rawhide Stadium’s Hall of Fame Club for the first ‘State of the Industry’ tourism event, hosted by the Sequoia Tourism Council. The breakfast marks the first time in many years that Tulare County will welcome a representative from Visit [...]

NEW YORK, May 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — As summer travel season approaches, Americans planning vacations – particularly those planning on flying – have a lot of decisions ahead. With the increasing “a la carte”-ization of air travel, flyers are faced with an ever increasing number of choices as to what levels of comfort and convenience [...]

BASS LAKE – A tradition that has quickly gained a following in the mountain communities resumes May 22 as the Certified Bass Lake Farmer’s Market prepares to start its sixth year. Put on by the Bass Lake Chamber of Commerce, the weekly market takes place at The Pines Village and includes numerous vendors as well [...]

WHITING, Ind., May 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Mobile devices are practical for many reasons, and with thousands of game options available, they’re a popular source of entertainment. A new CouponCabin.com survey reveals that more than half (51 percent) of mobile device owners ever play games (e.g. Angry Birds, Words with Friends, Candy Crush Saga, etc…) on their [...]

VISALIA – Each year the Visalia Chamber of Commerce honors those businesses and individuals who consistently go above and beyond to support our community.  This year dozens of businesses have been nominated for these prestigious awards. Winners will be announced at the 60th Annual Awards Celebration presented by the Visalia Chamber of Commerce on June [...]

OAKHURST – Food enthusiasts in the Central Valley have a chance to enjoy some delicious creations from a popular Oakhurst restaurant while also helping a local nonprofit. Crab Cakes is hosting a dinner on Wednesday, May 22, the proceeds from which will go to the Children’s Museum of the Sierra via the Steve 4 Mayor [...]

NEW YORK and LONDON, May 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — With monetary policy likely to remain supportive of economic expansion for an extended period of time, BNY Mellon Chief Economist Richard Hoey expects a prolonged multi-year global economic expansion, according to his most recent Economic Update. “In the short run, the global economy has been in a subcycle of slower growth within [...]

FRESNO – Fresno State will receive cash and securities from the estate of Dr. Marion Kremen valued in excess of $2 million. Kremen, an educator and philanthropist, made the bequest in her will to provide for an endowment supporting scholarships benefiting the Kremen School of Education and Human Development. Kremen passed away June 15, 2012 [...]

FRESNO – Fresno State has installed new interpretive signage that provides additional descriptive text about special points of interest on the campus grounds such as the Peace Garden where the first of seven signs was unveiled today. In addition to the Peace Garden, signs now identify the Memorial Court and Fountain, the Native Plant Garden near [...]

LONDON, May 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ – The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) boosted crude output by 250,000 barrels per day (b/d) to 30.5 million b/d in April, a just-released Platts survey of OPEC and oil industry officials and analysts showed. Production increases in April halted a recent downward trend, during which overall output slid from 31.17 [...]

FRESNO – Lance Cardoza, president and publisher of Business Street Online conducts a special audio interview with John Shegerian, chairman and CEO of Fresno-based Electronic Recyclers International.  Mr. Cardoza and Mr. Shegerian will discuss the launch of “e-cycleNYC,” a new electronic waste partnership between ERI and the City of New York, as well as what [...]

FRESNO – Each spring the mayor of Fresno delivers a State of the City address to leaders, entrepreneurs, non-profits, local businesses, students, and others devoted to the City of Fresno. On Thursday, May 16 the Fresno Chamber of Commerce presents this year’s annual State of the City Luncheon. Featuring the honorable Mayor Ashley Swearengin, this [...]

WASHINGTON, May 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — The U.S. Postal Service ended the second quarter of its 2013 fiscal year (Jan. 1 – March 31) with a net loss of $1.9 billion. The Postal Service continues to grow revenue and reduce expenses by using the tools available to it under existing law. However, without passage of comprehensive legislation to provide the [...]

FRESNO – The seven-person IMB Smarter Cities Challenge Team wrapped up its three-week stay in Fresno with a presentation at Fresno City Hall where they offered suggestions as to how Fresno could be more economically viable. Team member Brian Snitzer said that because of Fresno’s strong agricultural community, which produces more than 350 different crops, [...]