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The Fresno Bee

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The No. 1 source of news in California's central San Joaquin Valley. Your source for Fresno area news, food, sports, weather and more. #readlocal

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The Central Valley’s newest casino is intended to offer clients all the amenities they’d find if they were gaming in Las Vegas.

Inside the North Fork Mono Casino and Resort — a massive structure off Highway 99 in Madera — there are 2,400 slot machines and 40 gaming tables. Various bars are set up throughout the floor, which is surrounded by a food court featuring a Fresno-based Mexican restaurant, a sports bar with dozens of TVs and a fine dining option with a Central Valley-raised chef.

“When you come in, it’s elegant,” said Mark Ward, the casino’s general manager. “It’s also just a place where you feel like you’re at home.”

Read more at: www.fresnobee.com

✍: Erik Galicia by @thefresnobee

Lucas Antonio is lost somewhere in a maze of clowns.

There are a dozen, or more, set up at the entrance of the Fresno Fright Nights, the Halloween attraction that opened at Island Water Park this month.

The contorted bodies are dressed in stripes and polka dots, bright shocks of colored hair atop plastic white faces with wide-smiles of monster teeth. Plug them in and the animatronics come to laughing, snarling life.

“They’re all their own characters, with their own names,” says Antonio, an 18-year-old “Halloween enthusiast” who helps design and equip haunted attractions with a collection of scary animatronics that numbers in the hundreds.

“They are just so basic and goofy, and I just have to have every single one of them,” he says of the clowns, which are designed and marketed through a company called Seasonal Visions International.

Antonio has been collecting nearly his whole life and turned what had been a neighborhood haunt in his front yard into a year-round gig.

Read more at: www.fresnobee.com

✍: @joshuatehee by @thefresnobee

Local leaders across Fresno County are remembering the legacy of civil rights icon and labor leader Dolores Huerta, who has deep connections to the Central Valley, in the wake of her death.

For decades, Huerta championed farmworkers’ rights and worked to improve the lives and working conditions of migrant laborers. She died Wednesday at 96 in her Bakersfield home.

“She embodied the spirit of equality and the belief that every person deserves dignity and respect,” Fresno County Supervisor Luis Chavez said. “Her life’s work transformed the lives of generations of farmworkers and their families, and her impact can be felt throughout the Central Valley and far beyond.”

Read more at: www.fresnobee.com

✍: @lilianafannin
📸: @mortizbrionesjournalist by @thefresnobee

Dolores Huerta, a labor leader who for decades championed farmworkers rights and worked to improve the lives and working conditions of California’s migrant laborers, died Wednesday at her Bakersfield home, the New York Times reported. She was 96.

Huerta, who along with activist Cesar Chavez was instrumental in creating the United Farm Workers union and is credited by some as coining its “si se puede” slogan (Spanish for “yes we can”), has earned numerous awards for her accomplishments and her April 10 birthday since 2018 has been Dolores Huerta Day in California.

This is a developing story; check back with sacbee.com for updates.

🔗 Read more at the link in our bio.

✍️: Michael McGough
📸: Renée C. Byer by @thefresnobee

Police Chief Mindy Casto confirmed Naindeep Singh was not under the influence during a traffic stop late Saturday night. The Fresno City Council candidate, who’s running against Rob Fuentes to represent District 1, said the controversy around his now-cleared arrest was exacerbated by “false rumors.”

See full story at fresnobee.com. by @thefresnobee

Over 100 people came to show support for Fresno City Council Candidate Naindeep Singh on Monday evening in the wake of DUI allegations against him, which he denies.

Singh, a Central Unified trustee locked in a tight race for the District 1 council seat, was arrested Saturday evening on suspicion of driving under the influence of a drug, according to Fresno Police.

The news broke Sunday evening. His supporters were quick to dispute the accusation and question the timing so close to Election Day on social media.

Singh took part in an exclusive interview with a prominent California Punjabi-language radio station Monday morning, contesting the allegations against him. After a day of not otherwise addressing the arrest publicly, Singh held a community press conference at Tower Theater on Monday evening.

“I believe government transparency begins with public officials being truthful, accountable, and willing to speak directly with residents, and that’s why I’m here today,” Singh said.

Read more at: www.fresnobee.com

✍&📸: @lilianafannin by @thefresnobee

New changes are officially in effect in Fresno’s Tower District. The “Vendor Market Zone” was a ghost town around 1 a.m. Saturday morning, and groups of officers were posted throughout Olive Avenue.

One vendor said, in the four hours he had been set up, he served the same number of patrons he would’ve had in two hours at his old spot.

The zone is about 450 feet from the intersection of Olive and Broadway—an area near multiple clubs that is usually rife with people purchasing hot dogs, tacos and more after a fun night out.

Now by Olive and Van Ness, it seems like Tower-goers are less willing to make the trek to the vendors—and more likely to cross paths with groups of officers during their night out.

Read more in my latest for @thefresnobee.

#TowerDistrict #Fresno #559 #vendors #TowerDistrictFresno by @thefresnobee

The Tower Neighborhood Association is in for a big week.

The music and arts event (Fern Fest, they’re calling it) is a bit of future casting to what this long-neglected corner of the Tower District could look like with better policies in place from the city, says Steve Wilburn, a board member with the Tower Neighborhood Association, the nonprofit best known as the fiscal agent behind Tower Porch Fest.

And what those better policies might look like is also on the horizon for the group this week, as a revamped pilot program goes before Fresno city council.

Read our full story at link in bio or FresnoBee.com.

✍️: @joshuatehee
📸: @theatomicz

#towerdistrict #fresno #fresnobee #vacantbuildings #chickenpieshop by @thefresnobee

Drive anywhere around the Fresno area and you’ll eventually see an empty chain pharmacy.

It’s been a year since Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy and closed more than 2,000 stores — 17 of them in the San Joaquin Valley. And at least seven locations of CVS and Walgreens have closed in Fresno alone.

So what’s happening with those stores?

Some have new renters that haven’t moved in yet. Keep reading to find out who — including a new business that wants to move into the Rite Aid on the edge of the Tower District.

Read more at: www.fresnobee.com

✍: Bethany Clough by @thefresnobee

Brooke Payton set out on a mission three years ago to establish a public library branch in Fresno’s Tower District.

The vibrant, diverse neighborhood hasn’t had one since 1975, and the closest public branches aren’t always easy to access without a car. Payton spent hours collecting signatures, hosting outreach tables at events, talking with her local representatives and helping draft the Tower District Specific Plan to include the possibility of a library.

“Tower District is different,” Payton said. “It’s weird, and it’s wonderful, and I love our community so much, and it just didn’t seem fair that we didn’t have a space of our own to use to build people up, to let people know they’re not alone.”

Now, the county supervisor and city councilmember who represent the area have a plan — and the money — to launch what they call a “starter” library before the end of the year.

Read more at: www.fresnobee.com

✍: Liliana Fannin
🎥: Eric Zamora by @thefresnobee

Two Fresno-based groups have mobilized protesters for daily pre-dawn demonstrations outside the ICE facility in downtown Fresno. They’re there to hurl insults at agents as they come and go, an effort to make them feel uncomfortable as federal immigration sweeps continue throughout the Central Valley.

Using whistles and bullhorns, the protesters moved back and forth early Thursday between the front and back of the building, heckling any agents they saw. The Bee was there at 5 a.m. to cover Thursday’s demonstration.

“Why is it so important? Why are we making so much noise? It’s because other people that are not us are really suffering. And we bring that attention so that we can let people know that this is actually happening — this is real,” said Joseph Rodriguez — co-founder of Rehop Fresno, an organization that pivoted from artistry to activism.

Read more at: www.fresnobee.com

✍: Nick Fenley and Erik Galicia by @thefresnobee

Fresno’s increased police presence in the Tower District the past few years has led to a 940% increase in spending on policing costs on an average weekend night.

Fresno police Chief Mindy Casto says the department has made a commitment to staffing a greater presence in the district on weekend nights as they have become more party-like with larger crowds lingering outside socializing around available street vendor food.

“Just backing out and letting Tower be isn’t an option because I think that we would truly have a tragedy that we would all regret,” Casto said. “So that’s really not on the table for us.”

That increased presence comes at a cost: According to an internal city memo obtained by The Bee, Fresno Police Department spends approximately $17,550 on 31 police officers dedicated to policing the nightlife corridor on Friday or Saturday evenings, or $35,101 for both nights. This includes spending on salary, overtime, premium pay, vehicle costs, the memo said.

Read more at: www.fresnobee.com

✍: @melissainvestigates by @thefresnobee