Feature Archives

A federal judge's written order on Friday, December 14 to protect delta smelt was welcome news for the California Delta and those who are battling to protect it, in light of the continuing collapse of the Bay-Delta ecosystem revealed by the latest Dept. of Fish and Game surveys. Judge Oliver Wanger of the U.S. District Court in Fresno issued his final written order to put in place a decision he initially made on August 31. Environmental groups say this ruling will protect the smelt and the Bay-Delta Estuary ecosystem from "being further degraded by fresh water diversions."

Peace activists held a demonstration against military recruitment at a shopping center on west Shaw avenue in Fresno on December 19th. The event began with the Raging Grannies singing songs of peace and a delegation going into the military recruiting center to hand out peace cranes and cookies.

Fresno policy on homelessness is changing. This article describes what those changes are and looks at the dynamics that are motivating the changes. The article focuses on a meeting that took place on December 7, 2007. This public hearing included the mayor of Fresno, all Fresno City Council members, all but one member of the Board of Supervisors, and the executive director of the Bush administration’s Interagency Council on Homelessness, Philip Mangano.

West Fresno residents and their allies held a press conference on Monday, November 26, 2007 to respond to elected city officials identifying black gang members as terrorists.

Eric McDavid told his supporters on November 23rd that he had ended his two-week long hunger strike. Eric is still requesting vegan food and medical care from the jail, and supporters are still calling the jail in an effort to convince them to give in to these demands. Eric decided last week that he will finish the commissary food he has left in his cell, but will no longer be ordering items from commissary. The food that the jail gives him is insufficient to meet his dietary needs, and he has suffered weight loss in addition to attacks of pericarditis during his recent hunger strike.

Thousands of fish are stranded on Prospect Island, located on the northern section of Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, due to the draining of the island by a contractor hired by the Bureau of Reclamation. As of November 21st, striped bass make up the vast majority of the fish seen stranded on the island. Endangered and threatened species, including Delta smelt, salmon and steelhead, are expected to perish soon unless a fish rescue is conducted.

Students at Fresno City College held a Free Speech celebration today. They are fighting for the right to hand out flyers to their fellow students, read poetry that is not censored, and to hold a banner for whatever cause they believe in.