By Richard Stone Sal Quintero walks me back to his office, and immediately it’s clear it is not like those of the Fresno City Council members I’ve previously interviewed. More a den than an office, [...] Continue Reading
News
Growing Marijuana Banned in Fresno County: The People Fight Back
By Michael Green In a move that could have statewide impact, the Fresno County Board of Supervisors voted to ban the cultivation of medical cannabis anywhere in the unincorporated county. Cannabis [...] Continue Reading
Obamacare: Good for the Transgender Community
By Kaylia Metcalfe Obamacare, or the Affordable Care Act (ACA), has supporters and enemies on both sides of the aisle. But one thing is for sure—the policies are more trans-inclusive—and we should [...] Continue Reading
Building a Progressive Electoral Strategy: Getting to Know the Candidates
By Dillon Savory and Chip Ashley Two unprecedented events that can change the political landscape of Fresno will take place in January and February, and you are invited to take part. A changing of [...] Continue Reading
Occupy Fresno: “Viva Liberté, Viva America!”
By Chip Ashley Mike Rhodes was walking by Courthouse Park on Dec. 12 and noticed Occupy Fresno was no longer there. On closer inspection he saw a notice taped to one of the columns of the “gazebo,” [...] Continue Reading
Implementation of the Fresno County General Plan: Death by Design
By Radley Reep A real eye-opener is a rarely viewed film entitled Death by Design. This film describes the mechanism by which our bodies replace cells at a rate of about 5,000,000 cells per [...] Continue Reading
The Much Maligned Public Defender
By Michael Weinberg (Editor’s note: A different version of this article was published previously in the Fresno Bee.) Everywhere public defenders go, they are called names. Their clients feel they [...] Continue Reading
The Elected: In Conversation with City Council Member Lee Brand
By Richard Stone (This is the fourth in a series of interviews with members of the Fresno City Council.) Lee Brand surprised me. I really knew little about him except as part of what is sometimes [...] Continue Reading
The 20 Percent Only Society
By James L. Rodgers As John Q. Adams said, “Remember democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself as there never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.” It can [...] Continue Reading
New Feature Starting in February
Starting with the February edition, the Community Alliance newspaper will have a new monthly series called “Five Heads Are Better Than One” edited by Richard Stone. A topic will have been proposed in [...] Continue Reading
Another Case of Police Misconduct
By Kevin G. Little On Nov. 27, 2013, after two hours of deliberation, a nine-person federal jury awarded Isaac Miller of Lemoore $500,000 against Hanford police officer Steven Schmitz, finding that [...] Continue Reading
A Path to Clean Air: Clearing the Air – Jan. 2014
By Tom Frantz The New Year is a time for hope. In terms of air quality, it is a good time to reflect on the path to clean air that the Central Valley could follow if the political will existed among [...] Continue Reading