By Chip Ashley In early 2008, a diverse collective of Sierra foothill people from Fresno, Tulare and Kern counties organized the Save the Foothills Coalition to oppose the building of a massive [...] Continue Reading
Environment
Friant Ranch a Disaster in the Making for Lost Lake Park and Fresno County
Virtually unknown to the citizens of Fresno County is the impending decision facing the Fresno County Board of Supervisors on February 1. The Board is being asked to approve a zoning change that will [...] Continue Reading
China Syndrome or Chinatown?
Conflict and Contradiction for Fresno’s Nuclear Ambitions Fresnans looking for some cozy holiday movie watching might consider curling up with two classic California films from the 1970s—The China [...] Continue Reading
Green Chemistry—What It Is and What It Isn’t
Green! Green! Green! It seems as if green is everywhere. With the 40th anniversary of Earth Day (April 22, 2010), concern with solar and other forms of alternative energy, global climate change, [...] Continue Reading
From the Editor
Last month, I spoke at the Metro Ministry’s 40th anniversary celebration. It was an honor to share some of my thoughts with the 300+ people at the event. Metro Ministry is one of those progressive [...] Continue Reading
State Report Fails to Find Underlying Cause of Kettleman City Birth Defects; Activists Demand Further Action
After nearly a year of investigating the cluster of birth defects in Kettleman City, state environmental agencies have completed a draft report on the cause of the problem. Their conclusion was that [...] Continue Reading
Letters to the Editor
Remembering George “Elfie” Ballis I just got to the mailbox yesterday and saw the final result of the feature article you did on George. It is a relief to have the scope of his/our work [...] Continue Reading
Electric Cars: The Future Is Rolling into Fresno
Plug-in all-electric cars are now affordable, and they may be a great deal if you are in the market for a new car. These automobiles are not the golf carts or the $100,000+ roadsters that were the [...] Continue Reading
Poetry Corner
Edited by Richard Stone Richard Iyall has given us another powerful poem concerning his Native American ancestry. While repeaters are welcome, I give priority to newcomers—anyone out there? (I do [...] Continue Reading
Hungarian Red Mud Alumina Flood
Shortly after noon on October 4, a toxic waste reservoir at the Ajka Timföldgyár alumina plant in western Hungary collapsed, releasing a “red river from hell”—a 3- to 7- foot-high tsunami of about a [...] Continue Reading
George “Elfie” Ballis: A Personal Recollection
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
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