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
Social Justice
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
The New Jim Crow
Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow is a brilliant history and assemblage of legal decisions, statutes, rules and practices that have incrementally grown since the 1970s to form a system of mass [...] Continue Reading
The Ben Lomond Four (Muslims Targeted During Ramadan)
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) houses prisoners of every faith imaginable: Islam, Catholic, Protestant, Episcopalian, Baptist, Jewish, Mormon, Buddhism, Hinduism, [...] Continue Reading
Meeting Energizes Peace Community
On the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the New York World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the peace movement in our politically conservative San Joaquin Valley got a big boost. One hundred [...] Continue Reading
Opinion and Analysis From the Grassroots
The Conflict in Palestine/Israel Cries Out for Justice By Meghan Walsh When people ask me about my interest and slight obsession with the Middle East, I always fumble with a response. The [...] Continue Reading
Fresno’s West Side Story
Members of Southwest Fresno H.E.A.T. are raising concerns about high-density development, the displacement of longtime residents and the misallocation of funding that was intended to improve their [...] Continue Reading
Fresno Filmmaking Guerrilla-Style
If you’re a local filmmaker and thought it safe to make a film without the City of Fresno’s official approval––even on private property with the owner’s permission––think again. At least that’s what [...] Continue Reading
Exposing Prison
There is no shortage of matters of importance that need to be brought to the attention of the public from inside California’s prison system. Its difficult to prioritize what is more important to write [...] Continue Reading
Fresno Brown Berets present “Fire Dyer!” petitions to City Council
The Brown Berets and supporters protested in front of City Hall on August 19 demanding the termination of Police Chief Jerry Dyer. They then presented the “Fire Dyer!” petitions with 875 signatures of [...] Continue Reading
Defending Our Civil Liberties: The Local ACLU in Action
Usually, I write about the activities of the Fresno Area Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). But I was at a meeting at Fresno’s West Side Library in August with Diana Tate Vermeire, [...] 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