FRESNO –  Mayor Ashley Swearengin today said she has directed City Manager Mark Scott to implement a “deeper layoff plan” over the next two weeks to address financial challenges faced by the City because of a delay in implementing a residential solid waste franchise. Mayor Swearengin made her remarks in response to a determination by [...]

TULARE – Rice growers in central California are among those discovering the quicker, easier way the 24 foot-long GPS controlled GK Switchblade Scraper flattens out their land. “It’s a land plane land leveler that’s GPS controlled,” said Jim Wolf with GK Machine Inc., the company out of Donald, Ore.  that manufactures the blade.  “We can [...]

CLOVIS – Jared Eben of Clovis is currently one of 52 baseball fans competing for a spot in the 2013 MLB Fan Cave. All of the applicants submitted videos of themselves in a contest where the top 30 participants earn a trip to the MLB Fan Cave and earn the distinction of being a “Cave [...]

Daniel Castro is a transplant to Fresno.  Growing up in the rough neighborhood of East Los Angeles, he focused heavily on academics and earned admittance into M.I.T. in Boston.  While there, Castro earned a bachelor’s and master’s in engineering and computer science.  He then was accepted into the prestigious UC Berkeley School of Law, where [...]

TULARE – People from 90 different countries around the world are converging on the World Ag Expo in Tulare from today through Thursday looking for exhibitors whose products they wish to purchase and learning about ways to grow their crops more efficiently. Jerry Sinift, CEO of the International Agri-Center, said this year’s show is sold out with [...]

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — A national survey of women business owners (WBOs) conducted by Web.com Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: WWWW) and the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) found a pervasive sense of economic optimism, including a prediction by most WBOs (85 percent) that more women will become entrepreneurs in 2013 than in [...]

FRESNO – Michael Butler of Chase Flower Shop in Fresno, established in 1947, says Valentine’s Day is one of the two biggest days of the year for the floral shop, alongside Mother’s Day.  It’s also not surprising to hear that recent customers, most of whom are men, are picking up classic gifts often associated with [...]

Christina Musson is a native of Fresno, and graduated from Edison Computech School in 1999.  She then went to college at New York State University and its Tisch School of the Arts, studying musical theater.  A severe case of stage fright led her to pursue another career, this time in journalism. Her first job after [...]

HANFORD/SELMA – Families of same-day surgery patients in Hanford and Selma are now kept continuously informed about the status of their loved one.                                     Adventist Health’s new SurgiNet program provides electronic surgery progress updates on a status board in waiting rooms at Adventist Medical Centers in Hanford and Selma and at the KerrOutpatientCenter in Hanford. Families [...]

FRESNO - Courtney Sorensen of Clovis is the new operations manager for the Fresno County Farm Bureau, effective Jan. 7. Sorensen comes to FCFB with experience as an administrative assistant and human resources coordinator. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mass communication and journalism from California State University, Fresno, where she also obtained a certificate [...]

FRESNO – The first meeting of the California State University search committee for a new president for Fresno State will include an open forum from 10 a.m. to noon on Monday, Feb. 11, at the Satellite Student Union on the Fresno State campus. This is the only meeting of the committee that is open to [...]

Arthur Moye is a certified public accountant, certified global management accountant and founder of MBS Accountancy Corporation. MBS provides accounting, tax and consulting services to small and nonprofit businesses. MBS Accountancy is now in its third year and continues to successfully grow.  He employs eight people and is actively involved in the Fresno Metro Black [...]

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Increasing confidence in home sales and an improved sense of job security provide further evidence of the strengthening of the housing market, according to Fannie Mae’s January 2013 National Housing Survey results. Underlying the growing sense of optimism, the percentage of survey respondents who think it is a good [...]

Claudia Ruiz is originally from Hermosillo, Sonora in Mexico, and move to Earlimart, California in 1987.  She later moved to Fresno in 2004 to take classes at California State University, Fresno. As a child she wanted to be a nurse, and was a pre-nursing student at College of the Sequoias in Visalia.  She next enrolled [...]

CLOVIS – The Clovis Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Meeting/Salute to Business Dinner at the Classic Catering Company on Monday, Feb. 11 is sold out. The yearly event celebrates the Chamber and its more than 600 members.  New board Chair Ken May will be welcomed, and outgoing Chair Rick Snow will be thanked.  Fran Blackney, business [...]

FRESNO – The Big Fresno Fair was recently honored at the Western Fairs Association’s 90th Convention & Trade Show, in which roughly 125 fairs from throughout the Western United States attend to gather new ideas, attend seminars and participate in the annual Achievement Awards. The Achievement Awards recognize the very best efforts that a fair [...]

YONKERS, N.Y., Feb. 6, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Consumer Reports Index, an overall measure of Americans’ personal financial health, showed consumer confidence is off to sluggish start in 2013, according to the February report. The Consumer Reports Index sentiment measure declined for February dropped to 48.9 from 51.2 the prior month. The most pessimistic consumers remain Americans in households [...]

FRESNO – Chukchansi Park, home of the Fresno Grizzlies, hosted the San Francisco Giants World Series 2010 and 2012 trophies yesterday evening as part of a three-month public tour that is making stops in Junior Giants communities in the northern California region. The Major League Baseball’s Commissioner’s trophy is crafted by Tiffany & Co.  Junior [...]

Alysia Sofios is an award-winning journalist who is known in the Fresno area for her exclusive stories about the Marcus Wesson murders.  She was the first reporter to hear about the story from police and the only reporter to obtain interviews with most of Wesson’s family. Sofios majored in journalism at Michigan State University, and [...]

FRESNO – Downtown Fresno supporters came together for the State of Downtown Breakfast inside The Fresno Ballroom in the Pacific Southwest Building Tuesday morning to look back at a year’s worth of progress in the downtown Fresno area, as well as to build momentum for its future. Kate Borders, president and CEO of the Downtown [...]