Animal rescue groups battle the Central California SPCA over contracts, medical marijuana enforcement is the target of two Fresno County lawsuits and two men die in a murder-suicide in northwest Fresno after years of enmity.

The U.S. Air Force is considering eliminating the California Air National Guard's 144th Fighter Wing, a multimillion-dollar operation in Fresno and a major player in West Coast security, Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer said Thursday.

Jail violence

Two homeless men call for ambulances in Fresno nearly twice a day -- at huge cost; California High Speed Rail officials try to mend political fences; and Mexico's ambassador talks about the strong economic ties between his country and the U.S. and th

Some stories really stir people up. Three stories in particular fueled heated discussion online last week: a case of student vandalism, a conflict-of-interest concern about a top school district administrator and a sex-discrimination suit against the Fresno Fire Department.

News of the past week included emotional funeral services for a police officer killed last month and a pair of important political developments, including a state probe into possible campaign-finance violations by two of Fresno’s most prominent leaders.

The news last week was mostly sad -- or at least serious. A very public funeral, a horrific car crash and yet another dispute involving the Fresno Metropolitan Museum were among the events that drew the most attention.

Some weeks are so dominated by a single news event that almost nothing else matters. That’s what happened last week with a standoff in the Fresno County hamlet of Minkler that left a deputy and the suspected shooter dead. The news continued to unfold in succeeding days, crowding other stories -- including a major development in the Valley’s water struggle -- to the margins.

With the President’s Day holiday on Monday, it was a quiet week for news. We saw some key developments in long-running issues, however -- including water, jail staffing and the death of the Fresno Metropolitan Museum.