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BRAND AIMS TO BREAK THE CHAINS
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Bringing all players to the table to end human trafficking: Last summer, Fresno Mayor Lee Brand began to put the pieces together for a full-court press on human trafficking in the state's fifth largest city.
Wednesday, he and representatives from 24 agencies and organizations launched their initiative to end human trafficking. The group has already seen success in coordinated efforts to root out modern-day slavery along Parkway Drive, home to a number of motels and a hub for human traffickers, with more than 25 arrests.
A key element to the effort was the formation of the Motel Owners Association and the City's renewed code enforcement crackdown in the motel corridor.
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Fresno County taps former second-in-command: Melissa Creagan, whose 2019 includes holding three titles in a span of three months, was appointed by the Fresno County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
Creagan, a north state native and alum of UC Davis, has served as a deputy ag commissioner in both Madera and Fresno counties prior to her appointment.
As outgoing commish Les Wright's retirement date neared in late January, Creagan was promoted to Assistant Ag Commissioner and then interim Ag Commissioner.
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NOW SERVING THE DMV AT WINDOW NUMBER 4
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Audit shish kebabs the DMV: California's Department of Finance took a deep dive into the DMV's hectic culture, exacerbated by the implementation of federal REAL ID regulations.
Auditors found that the DMV failed to prioritize implementing REAL ID, a federal law enacted in 2005, until late 2017. The DMV's program would roll out in January 2018 and create ballooning wait times by the summer.
Asm. Jim Patterson (R-Fresno), a regular DMV critic: "DMV directors were asleep at the switch for a decade leading up to the Real ID rollout and customers paid the price with exploding wait times."
The Big Stat: 30%. The estimated percentage of DMV windows that were observed closed during operating hours over the course of the audit.
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BORGEAS SETS SIGHTS ON CEQA
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It all started with "Just the Facts": a joint Senate committee hearing in Sacramento aimed to make sense of CEQA, the California Environmental Quality Act, the state's marquee environmental law. During the meeting, Sen. Andreas Borgeas (R-Fresno) laid bare some of the struggles he saw with the law in moving projects through the Fresno City Council and County Board of Supervisors.
Behind the four little letters: The 70s era law has long been a cudgel for anti-development interests to kill projects with lawsuits or legal threats.
During his first State of the State, Gov. Gavin Newsom pushed for reforming the law to strike a balance between genuine environmental concerns and critical development needs, specifically affordable housing.
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FARMER GIVES BACK TO MERCED
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Merced College picked up its single largest contribution: A $5 million check from pistachio and almond farmer Raj Kahlon.
After receiving approval from the Merced College Board of Trustees, Kahlon's contribution is headed to fund the community college's ag programs and fund the creation of a 20,000 square foot Ag and Industrial Technology Center.
Hands-on education: as part of the funding agreement, the College will be working to develop 100 acres of pistachios as an agricultural lab helping create a consistent revenue stream for ag programs moving forward and provide technical, hands-on experience to students.
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Baseball crushes CSU Bakersfield 9-3: The Bulldogs held the Roadrunners to just three hits, while putting up 12 of their own. Pitcher McCarthy Tatum helped his own cause by batting 2-3 with four RBIs.
Mike Batesole's boys head to San Diego to face off against the Aztecs of San Diego State for a three-game stand. They currently hold an 11-7 record.
Softball starts Fresno State Invitational today: The Dogs faceoff against half of the West Coast Conference during its home tournament with University of San Diego, Santa Clara, and University of the Pacific in the mix. The invitational runs through Sunday.
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Bakersfield Condors knocking on AHL Playoff doors: Bakersfield's minor-league hockey team is on the verge of making its first AHL Playoff run. While the Condors have played in Bakersfield for many years, this is their second season in the NHL's development league.
The Condors have an opportunity clinch that first playoff berth on Friday in San Diego.
Quotable from Condors head coach Jay Woodcroft after tonight's 5-2 win over Edmonton: "We're gonna enjoy this win tonight for about 15 minutes."
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