LEMOORE – The summer session of classes at the West Hills College Lemoore campus officially kicked off today, with 29 additional classes in the West Hills Community College District combined.  Classes at the Coalinga campus will commence next Monday, June 17. The addition of the 29 extra classes, which will also affect the North District [...]

WASHINGTON, June 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Fannie Mae’s Economic & Strategic Research Group today released a new research study that investigates the impact of consumer attitudes toward renting and homeownership on the future of housing in America. Data from Fannie Mae’s National Housing Survey provides insights into whether current renters, particularly younger Americans, aspire to become homeowners [...]

WHITING, Ind., June 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ – For most people, summer means long days, warm weather and vacation. For others, it means tuxes, registries and booked weekends – otherwise known as wedding season. Nearly half (48 percent) of U.S. adults plan on attending at least one wedding in the next 12 months, with 58 percent of 18-34 year [...]

ARMONK, N.Y., June 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a definitive agreement to acquire SoftLayer Technologies, Inc., the world’s largest privately held cloud computing infrastructure provider. The acquisition will strengthen IBM’s leadership position in cloud computing and will help speed business adoption of public and private cloud solutions. Financial terms were not [...]

FRESNO – Four of California’s top agricultural lenders have partnered to support Fresno State in the recruitment and training of the next generation of students in agriculture. American AgCredit, Farm Credit West, Fresno Madera Farm Credit and CoBank have teamed up to support the Multicultural Scholars in Agriculture program in the Jordan College of Agricultural [...]

VISALIA – The Visalia Chamber of Commerce has announced the 2013 Man and Woman of the Year finalists. The winners are kept top secret until the Annual Awards Celebration on June 20 at the Visalia Convention Center, and are sure to be one of the highlights of the evening.  The Chamber received many nominations for [...]

WASHINGTON, June 4, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — As the temperatures rise and schools close down, over 126 million Americans are planning to vacation in a city this year – a seven percent increase over 2012.  The American Public Transportation Association’s (APTA) annual “Travel Like a Local” Summer Travel Survey shows that around 56 percent (70 million) of [...]

WASHINGTON, June 3, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ – Driven by higher same-store sales and an improving outlook among restaurant operators, the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) hit a 10-month high in April.  The RPI – a monthly composite index that tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry – stood at 101.0 in April, up 0.4 [...]

FRESNO  – Fresno State President-Designate Joseph I. Castro announced he will create a transition team to assist in his move into the presidency on Aug. 1 and his first six months in office. Castro has asked California State University Trustees Peter G. Mehas and Hugo Morales, both of Fresno, to co-chair the team. Mehas chaired [...]

FRISCO, TEXAS – After three seasons in Fresno, the North American Hockey League has announced the Fresno Monsters hockey team are reactivating and relocating their membership to Wenatchee, Washington and will play as the Wenatchee Wild beginning in the 2013-2014 season. “Our family still had a desire to give back to the players and remain [...]

REDMOND, Wash., May 31, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — It doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman: The way people use (or misuse) their mobile phones can really grate on your nerves. A Microsoft Safer Online Facebook poll revealed that many smartphone users don’t mind their mobile manners — but men and women both find people who constantly check [...]

TULARE – Through a grant awarded to Tulare Joint Union High School District, junior high and high school students will be able to apply for paid internships in the medical field. This award was funded through the State of California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, Health Careers Training Program grant. The Tulare Health [...]

FRESNO – The awards reception the central California healthcare industry anticipates every year is making its way to Holiday Inn Fresno Downtown’s Skyroom Lounge tomorrow evening at 6 p.m. The 2013 “Heroes in HealthCare” awards reception is presented by Business Street Online, and is a celebration of the accomplishments of the honorees.  The awards are [...]

MADERA – Dr. Gregory Watts has been with Children’s Hospital Central California for 32 years, first arriving when it was located on Shields and Millbrook in Fresno.  His mother was a nurse, and his aunt was a chief nurse at Charity Hospital in New Orleans for 50 years, and Dr. Watts decided to enter the [...]

FRESNO – Reza Beheshti was a nursing student at Fresno State, during which time he worked in different departments at different hospitals.  He found himself drawn to the emergency department the most, because of its fast-paced and hands-on work. Upon graduating from Fresno State in 2009, he began working in the Emergency Department at Community [...]

 FRESNO – The 2013 Big Fresno Fair Exhibits Handbook is now available for the 2013 Fair, which runs October 2 – 14. All individuals desiring to participate competitively as a Big Fresno Fair exhibitor – such as 4-H and FFA members, bakers, craftsmen, cooks, gardeners, seamstresses, quilters, painters, photographers and others – can pick up [...]

OAKHURST – Community Medical Center-Oakhurst has added diagnostic ultrasound to its services for the mountain communities near Yosemite National Park. The urgent care center, open seven days a week, now has the latest in ultrasound technology and an experienced sonographer available by appointment. “This will save local people the time, money and expense of driving [...]

On this Memorial Day, while enjoying the company of friends and family, let’s not forget the fallen men and women in the Armed Forces who have made the celebration of this day possible.  They are not just names without faces.  They are our mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles, cousins and friends [...]

TULARE – Dr. Parmod Kumar with Tulare Regional Medical Center is originally from Jalandhar, India and entered medical school at age 16, inspired by attacks of Pakistani forces on his hometown.  His mother took him to a hospital to do volunteer work, and he eventually became acclimated to working with the sick and injured. Dr. [...]

FRESNO – Sources say that the stabbing homicide victim near The Hashtag cafe in the Tower District has been identified as local filmmaker Eric Catlapp. Catlapp operated The Filmmakers Workshop, and was also a member of the Community Media Access Collaborative in downtown Fresno. He moved to Fresno just 2 years ago from Southern California.  [...]