Lanare residents lose nearby option to buy healthy drinking water

Folks in the southwest Fresno County town of Lanare avoid drinking arsenic-laced water from their taps. Four vending machines in nearby Riverdale have been their best option for healthy water — until now. The machines are gone, according to California Rural Legal Assistance, representing Lanare’s 590 residents. The machines were not filtering the water in Riverdale, [...]read more »

Fresno council member defends closed-door budget discussion

Fresno City Council Member Steve Brandau offered gracious and well-spoken introductory remarks before Mayor Ashley Swearengin’s State of the City address on Thursday. There was one problem: the first-year council member referenced a closed-door council discussion about the city budget, and city budgets are not supposed to be discussed behind closed doors, per the state’s [...]read more »

Fresno County Assessor turns 70, kicks off reelection bid

Fresno County Assessor Paul Dictos wants another two terms in office, and this week he threw himself a 70th birthday party-slash-campaign drive to underscore that point. While it’s still a year and a half before the next election, Dictos is sending a clear signal to potential adversaries that he’s not the political lightweight that narrowly [...]read more »

Fresno Co: Short on water but big on mosquitoes

A sample of mosquitoes from Fresno County tested positive for West Nile virus, according to mosquito control officials on Friday. UPDATE: Mosquito season has arrived. And there’s good news and bad news. First the good: The drought means less standing water for mosquitoes to use as breeding ponds. And an improving economy has reduced the [...]read more »