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Panel delays Van Ness garage decision a 3rd time
A central Fresno garage with a loyal clientele but some angry neighbors remained in limbo late Wednesday as the Planning Commission again postponed its review of a city shutdown order.
After its third consecutive four-hour hearing, the commission delayed a final decision on Van Ness Auto Repair until Jan. 6. Commissioners gave little indication of which way they may be leaning.
Customers and other supporters of the garage’s owner, Jim Medina, waited to speak on his behalf only to be told they would have to wait.
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Historic gas station deserves a last chance
The old Russ Clements gas station on Van Ness Boulevard is part of Fresno's bones. Newcomers ask about it. Old-timers testify to its 1920s origin. Most everyone agrees that it's an interesting piece of Americana.
Nearly 30 years ago, City Hall gave the station local historic status in a bid to preserve it. Now city officials are moving to close the auto-repair business operated there by Jim Medina.
Verna Garcia, who lives on Princeton Avenue just west of Van Ness, says it would be an injustice if the city shuts down Medina's shop.
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Hopeful who criticized foe also faced workplace suit
College district candidate Richard Caglia has criticized his opponent for running for re-election despite being sued by a district employee. But court records show Caglia also has been involved in a workplace lawsuit.
In the suit, Marie Ramirez, a former employee of the Caglia family recycling business, accused Caglia, among other defendants, of retaliating against her for complaining about safety issues. The lawsuit said she was fired in December 2004.
"I had nothing to do with her termination," Caglia said Thursday. He added that he did not tell anyone else to fire Ramirez.
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Hearing over historic garage site grinds on
The longest public hearing in recent Fresno Planning Commission history was continued once more Wednesday as the future remained cloudy for a central Fresno garage that city officials have ordered to shut down.
More than eight hours of testimony from the city, the property owner and other witnesses have elapsed in the hearing's two sessions. But almost 100 people were waiting for public comment to begin when the commission recessed until Dec. 16.
Jim Medina's Van Ness Auto Repair, in an 83-year-old historic gas station at Van Ness Boulevard and Princeton Avenue, opened in 2000, two years after the station last sold gasoline.
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Vote on fate of historic Fresno garage delayed
The future of a popular central Fresno garage that has clashed with some neighbors remained uncertain late Wednesday as the Fresno Planning Commission delayed its debate on the city's order to shut it down.
The vote to recess until Dec. 2 came after a four-hour hearing during which the city presented its case and former City Council Member Tom Boyajian, representing the garage's owner, cross-examined its witnesses.
Brad Polzin, who lives across the street from Jim Medina's Van Ness Auto Repair, testified that he has seen cars repaired in the street and fluids such as oil poured into the gutter.
Thirty Shell gasoline stations in Fresno, Kings and Tulare counties are among those included in a $19.5 million judgment over violations involving underground fuel-storage tanks.
The judgment, announced Friday by state Attorney General Jerry Brown, stemmed from allegations that Shell Oil and affiliated companies failed to maintain leak-detection or spill-alarm equipment, among other violations.
The local stations -- in Clovis, Fresno, Kingsburg, Selma, Kettleman City, Tulare and Visalia -- are among more than 1,600 in the state that are subject to requirements for improved monitoring and maintenance of underground tanks, better employee training and improved recordkeeping.
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