Local Briefs: Fresno traffic court to move | The Fresno Bee

Traffic court will move from the main downtown Fresno courthouse to the courthouse at Tuolumne and M streets starting Monday.

All traffic-related matters such as driving violations, municipal code infractions and some underage drinking cases will be handled at the M Street Courthouse, court spokeswoman Sherry Spears said.

Adults charged with drunken driving and driving on a suspended license will remain in the Misdemeanor Division on the fourth floor of the main courthouse on M Street between Fresno and Tulare streets.

The court's office hours will be 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Spears said many traffic citations can be paid by credit card by calling (559) 457-1700 or online at www.fresnosuperiorcourt.org/traffic.

Politics

Fine recommended for Tule River tribe

The Fair Political Practices Commission, which acts as the state's political watchdog agency, has recommended a $7,000 fine for the Tule River Indian Tribe for failing to "timely file" seven required reports for lobbyists it employs.

The reports cover Jan. 1, 2007, through Sept. 30, 2007, and Oct. 1, 2009, through Sept. 30, 2010. The tribe failed to account for $58,500 in lobbying services during those periods.

The FPPC board will consider the recommendation at its April 11 meeting.

Tribal Administrator Fred Grund could not be reached to comment.

Education

Prescription-drug abuse to be topic

A meeting to discuss prescription-drug abuse among teens will be at 5 p.m. Monday in the Clovis High School library, 1055 Fowler Ave.

Those attending will have an opportunity to learn about the issue and ask questions of Clovis police officials, Clovis High School administrators, health-care professionals and Sherrie Rubin, whose son is a quadriplegic as a result of an overdose of prescription drugs.

A similar program will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Sanger High School cafeteria, 1045 Bethel Ave.

Details: (559) 244-3617.

Clovis North places third at mock trial

The mock trial team from Clovis North High School finished third last weekend at the statewide competition in Riverside.

Team members also earned two of the top 12 individual awards in the 32-team competition.

Last year, Clovis North represented Fresno County without any senior team members and finished in 14th place, teacher-coach Linda Linder said.

The team's individual award winners were junior Nicole Meier, who won the defense attorney award, and junior Meera Verma, who won the defense expert witness award.

The team's attorney-coach is Kevin Hansen of McCormick Barstow. The team's assistant coach is teacher Bryan Frazier.

Fresno State college honors 11 heroes

The Fresno State College of Health and Human Services honored 11 individuals for their courage at the Community Heroes Awards on Friday. They were recognized for service to the region through volunteering, or for some, a lifetime commitment to a cause. Each was selected by an academic department or institute representing the health and human services disciplines.

The 2011 Community Heroes are: Suzanne Conway, Department of Communicative Disorders and Deaf Studies; Kevin Peterson, Department of Kinesiology; Pilar De La Cruz-Reyes, Department of Nursing; Tom Beall, Department of Physical Therapy; Janice Mathurin, Department of Public Health; Theresa Milavich, Department of Recreation Administration; Audrey Riley, Department of Social Work Education; Mona Harris, Central California Center for Excellence in Nursing; Michele Cantwell-Copher, Central California Children's Institute; John C. Monteleone; Central California Sports Sciences Institute; and Edward Moreno, Central Valley Health Policy Institute.

Young Writers event set at Fresno State

Award-winning novelist Alex Espinoza will be the keynote speaker at Fresno State's 31st annual Young Writers Conference from 8:15 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday at Fresno's Satellite Student Union. Espinoza, who teaches English and Creative Writing at Fresno State, released his first novel, "Still Water Saints," in 2007 in both Spanish and English.

The conference kicks off with an awards ceremony at 9 a.m. to recognize students and teachers for excellence in creative writing. Students from area high schools will participate in writing workshops with MFA graduate students, and teachers can take workshops offered by Espinoza.

For more information, call (559) 278-2467 or email tanichols@csufresno.edu.

Visalia students get to world finals

A team of Visalia elementary students will compete on the international stage in the Odyssey of the Mind Finals.

Having advanced from the regional to statewide competition, a team of seven fourth graders from Linwood Elementary are headed to Baltimore for the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals, said team spokeswoman Kristin Hollabaugh.

Along with preparing for the challenges and activities at the World Finals, the team must raise $10,000 to pay for travel and competition expenses.

The Linwood team is accepting tax-deductible donations from the public. Address donations to Linwood Elementary School (Attn: OM World Finals), 3129 S. Linwood St., Visalia, CA 93277.

Road work

Highway 99 widening project under way

The California Department of Transportation began construction Friday on widening Highway 99 between Goshen and Kingsburg.

The project will widen 14 miles of Highway 99 from four lanes to six lanes.

The project will cost $110 million, with $69 million coming from Proposition 1B, a transportation bond approved by voters in 2006.

Also ...

Graffiti removal scheduled today

Members of the Building Healthy Communities Youth Engagement Team will work together today to remove graffiti from buildings in southeast Fresno.

Youths and adults will meet at Barrios Unidos at 4415 E. Tulare St. at 10 a.m. and will work until noon, focusing on removing graffiti from business buildings across from Roosevelt High School.

Volunteers are welcome.

Bake sale today aids Japan relief efforts

A bake sale will be held today in northeast Fresno for Japanese earthquake relief efforts.

The event will be at Yalla Yalla at Suite 101, 9447 N. Fort Washington Road, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will feature donated cakes and other baked goods from Yalla Yalla, the Elbow Room, Cakes by JoAnne, and Fresno State's Culinary Department.

The sale is part of a nationwide event in only 40 cities to raise money for Japanese aid. All proceeds will go to Peace Winds Japan and Peace Winds America.

Motorcycle run will benefit police kin

The Central California Chapter of Concerns of Police Survivors will hold its eighth annual Memorial Motorcycle Run fundraiser today in Visalia.

The run begins with a memorial ceremony at 10 a.m. at the Visalia Harley-Davidson store at 30681 Highway 99, said Fresno County sheriff's spokesman Chris Curtice.

Riders will be fed lunch at Millerton Lake between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

The event will include live entertainment and raffle prizes, and riders will receive a memorial T-shirt and pin.

More than 700 riders are expected to travel the 92-mile journey to Millerton Lake. Funds from the event will be used to send families of fallen officers to Peace Officer Memorials in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., in May. The event is open to the public.

For more information: www.centralcalcops.com.

E-waste drives set at school

St. Anthony's School in Fresno is partnering with Electronic Recyclers International, the nation's largest electronic waste recycling company, to hold two free e-waste recycling drives this month.

Drives will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday and April 10 at the school, 5680 N. Maroa Ave., in northwest Fresno. All funds raised will be donated to the school's computer department.

For a list of accepted electronics, go to www.1800recycling.com/find/recycling-locations/electronics/.