Courtroom 5 in Fresno’s Robert E. Coyle Federal Courthouse was standing room only on Dec. 17 when former Bitwise CEOs Jake Soberal and Irma Olguin Jr. were sentenced for wire fraud and conspiracy to [...] Continue Reading
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March for Peace
In early November, on a beautiful Central California afternoon, Peace Fresno led a group of local residents in a peace march and demonstration on the sidewalks at the corner of Blackstone and Nees [...] Continue Reading
Students Rally for Peace
A week before their Thanksgiving break, Fresno City College (FCC) students organized an “End the Genocide” demonstration and rally where they walked through campus holding up signs that read “Free [...] Continue Reading
“Hated Just for Being Homeless”
In the early morning of Aug. 26, while he was sound asleep in front of Cuca’s Mexican Restaurant on Olive Avenue in the Tower District, an unhoused 47-year-old Latino, Fred “Freddy” F. De La Rosa, was [...] Continue Reading
Bitwise: A Dream Dies Hard
Irma Olguin Jr. wore a black top with a white dress jacket and gray slacks. Her co-defendant, Jake Soberal, wore a dark blue suit. In federal court in Fresno on July 17 they looked calm and confident, [...] Continue Reading
Bitwise: Fact versus Fantasy
Fresno’s infamous Bitwise Industries saga continues as court proceedings are scheduled this summer, and chatter persists about the embroiled company and its scheming co-CEOs, Jake Soberal and Irma [...] Continue Reading
Bitwise: No One Belongs Here More Than You
A dozen or so stunned techies gathered early during the evening of May 29 last year at Root Access Hackerspace, a modest location in Fresno’s Tower District where they were surrounded by computers, 3D [...] Continue Reading
Fresno’s Cannabis Condition
It’s April and everyone knows how cannabis, aka marijuana, aficionados love their unofficial “4/20” holiday, which happens to fall on the 111th day of 2024, a “holy” day for cannabis consumers. Tokers [...] Continue Reading
The One and Only Rogue
You might know a thing or two about typical fringe festivals, but do you know Rogue? To those who don’t know, there are fringe festivals worldwide, but there is only one Rogue Festival—an [...] Continue Reading
Resurrecting a Library
The Fresno County Public Library is a special place with 34 branches throughout Fresno County. The library’s motto? “A place to grow.” The library is a place for anyone with something for everyone [...] Continue Reading
Hate Is to Be Stopped
On Jan. 25, the Community Alliance newspaper and the San Joaquin Valley Media Alliance held their second “stop the hate” town hall at Central East High School in Fresno. Expert panelists and [...] Continue Reading
Let’s Promote Businesses That Treat People Well
Last month, I wrote about an awful experience that I had at a popular local restaurant, and from multiple responses to my letter, it looks like I’m not the only one who has experienced such [...] Continue Reading