Few residents of Fresno County earn freestanding obituaries in the Washington Post, as did George Ballis when he died last month. That obit recounted an interesting but odd career, with moments of [...] Continue Reading
Economy
Smiling Seriously: Creative Genius at Work
[Editor: This article was originally printed in the October 2004 Community Alliance newspaper.] If you are a progressive political activist in Fresno, you have seen him with his video camera at your [...] Continue Reading
Linking Popular Democracy and Economic Development in Africa
[Richard Stone writes that Aaron Tesfaye has lived in the United States for about 30 years, including many in Fresno. He attended Fresno State and, after getting his Ph.D. at Claremont Graduate [...] Continue Reading
How Many Scholars Does It Take to Make an Omelet?
If it is true that one must crack some eggs to make an omelet, and I suppose it is, then the times we live in must be the egg industry’s biggest boom to date. When I look around, all I can see are [...] Continue Reading
Opinion and Analysis from the Grassroots
Defunding Public Education: An Arresting Development By Tim Young Americans are facing the largest economic crisis since the Great Depression. States like California have responded by pulling the [...] Continue Reading
A War Veteran and Homeless
“I’m thankful to be alive,” answered Wilson, a homeless veteran with his homeless wife, “and I’m thankful to be in Fresno.” “Huh, thankful to be in Fresno?” I ask back. Before he answered, I [...] Continue Reading
On Hold at the Housing Authority
My husband, Tom, and I are reluctant landlords. We have just been told by Preston Prince, the new director of the Fresno Housing Authority, that we have a “small portfolio” of rental properties. What [...] Continue Reading
The ACLU Goes Back to School
The Golden Westside Planning Committee and others in southwest Fresno asked the Fresno Area American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Board to support community efforts to build a new neighborhood middle [...] Continue Reading
October Poll: Do you support Proposition 19, which would will legalize marijuana and allow it to be regulated and taxed?
Please leave your thoughts and views about Proposition 19 and marijuana legalization below, in Comments. [...] Continue Reading
Progressive News Briefs
City Gives Homeless the Bum’s Rush The City of Fresno is able to create the illusion, through its capable public relations team, that it is working hard to end homelessness. It has even convinced [...] Continue Reading
Information Is Power
By Paul Boden It is hard to cut through the never-ending news cycles that bombard us daily to deliver a message. If your organization lacks resources and political clout, it becomes even harder. If [...] Continue Reading
“Losing a Family Member”
Much of society views homeless people as a burden because they set up camps around social service facilities in order to receive free meals or care. Homeless people are harassed by the police, [...] Continue Reading