CBS 47: Local News

Marijuana Dispensary Opens in Fresno

Wed, 16 May 2012 00:05:39 -0700

Just when you thought they were gone, medical marijuana dispensaries are back in the city of Fresno.

The California Herbal Relief Center opened Saturday on Ashlan and Willow in a retail mall. It’s right next to Blackbeard’s Family Entertainment Center.

“There have been a couple of appellate court decisions that have ruled that counties, cities cannot ban dispensaries based solely on non-compliance with federal law which is what Fresno’s ban is based off of,” said Sean Dwyer, Director of the California Herbal Relief Center.

Fresno was one of the first cities in the valley to ban medical marijuana dispensaries back in 2004.

Businesses in the retail complex were stunned to learn a marijuana dispensary had opened.

They’re worried it will scare away customers and increase crime.

“It's not the business but it's the customer it attracts to it. So that's kind of scary,” said Yeu Cha with Hmong USA TV.

Hmong USA TV has had their studios in the mall since February.

But last week had a 32 inch TV stolen from their lobby.

“It was during business hours, it was during the day about four pm,” said Cha.

Patients of the herbal relief center say this is more convenient than driving to Los Angeles or the bay area for their medical marijuana.

“I support the people who own the place and I’m going to go wherever they're at,” said a patient who identified himself as Kevin.

But the city of Fresno is working trying to close the dispensary. And they're investigating a second dispensary operating on Shaw Avenue.

“The police department, code enforcement and the city attorney are working as diligently as possible to get these locations shut down,” said Lt. Dave Newton with the Fresno Police Department.

Clovis Gearing Up for Amgen's Force

Wed, 16 May 2012 00:03:00 -0700

The Amgen Tour of California races through the City of Clovis Wednesday, but the wheels have been spinning in town all week as businesses gear up for a temporary boom in business.

Kathy Hamlin of Clovis was pumped the night before the race. She ate at Michaelangelo’s in Clovis, watched the 3^rd leg of the tour on the big screen, and geared up for the 4^th leg of the tour Wednesday afternoon.

“These bike racers come through Pollasky Avenue at 50 miles an hour! I’ll be here all the way to the finish line!” she said.

The 7^th annual Amgen Tour is expected to generate about a million dollars to the local economy.

The owner of Michaelangelo’s is fully staffed.

“The race increases our business like 65 to 80%,” said Jose Rosales.
Hotels are just as busy. All 588 Clovis hotel rooms are full.

Christopher Mitchell of Comfort Suites said, “We got people from North America, South America…people coming overseas!”

Tens of thousands of spectators will pack Clovis for the biggest bike event the city has ever seen.

valley Gets Plugged In

Tue, 15 May 2012 18:43:45 -0700

Plug-in electric vehicles are coming to cities across the state, and right here in the valley.
But some communities are better prepared than others to accommodate them.
A workshop was held in Fresno today to discuss the needs of the new cars.
Along with the workshop, some demonstration models were also on display.

Help For Mariposa Businesses Destroyed in Fire

Tue, 15 May 2012 17:54:48 -0700

The mariposa Visitor’s Center is distributing a note to all residents, they've set up the Fifth Street Relief Fund and they're raising money to help the employees who lost their jobs because all of these businesses were destroyed.

7 businesses wiped out by the fire, about 50 people out of work, but the family who owns the building and the Pizza Factory tells CBS47 they just got great news.

“DNC from Yosemite Park, a guy named Joe Rogan, he offered everybody that is out of work right now, he offered every single one of the employees a job,” said Luke Willey, his father owns the building that burned down.

In a meeting this week employees will get the details. Meantime, the Mariposa Chamber of Commerce and the community are banding together.

They set up a bank account, pay pal and donation jars, while employees wait to start the new jobs or get unemployment.

“We want to make sure they can still put food on the table and take care of their families,” said Kathy McCorry, President of the Mariposa Chamber of Commerce.

Amazingly no one was hurt, even though there were nearly 80 people in the pizza parlor when the blaze broke out and the 150 year old building was reduced to rubble.

“That is the largest fire I've ever seen and it is a once in a career fire,” said Jessica Currier, a Fire Fighter that responded to the blaze.

But the pizza factory will be back. “We're going to do it right here exactly like it was just out of steel and with some sprinklers,” said Luke Willey.

The Mariposa County Arts Council was in that building and lost everything they owned in the fire. The organization runs the Mariposa Symphony Orchestra, Summer Concert Series, art gallery, and many other programs.

At 11 we'll tell you about the efforts to help the Arts Council rebuild.

Father Arrested For Alleged Child Neglect

Tue, 15 May 2012 17:32:39 -0700

A North Fork man has been arrested after an incident yesterday at a picnic area at Bass Lake.
He's facing felony child neglect charges for allegedly leaving his 9 month old son alone in a van.
33-year old Mark McMurrain was also arrested for assaulting a member of the local media.
Officers say McMurrain went to the lake for a picnic, but then left the child alone in the vehicle.
They say that's when the child managed to crawl out of an open window, and fall on his head.
The child had to be airlifted to a nearby hospital.
The infant is expected to be alright, in spite of the dangerous fall.
Asof Tuesday evening, McMurrain is still in the Madera County Jail.

Old Town Clovis Gears Up for Amgen

Tue, 15 May 2012 17:22:42 -0700

Dozens of workers transform the old DMV parking lot in Old Town Clovis into "Tent City" on Tuesday. All day Wednesday it'll serve as a festival area with a variety of booths to visit. The streets of Old Town Clovis will be filled with over a hundred professional cyclists and about 40,000 spectators.

"It's an electric vibe, even if you don't follow professional cycling; just the atmosphere of having a world class event in Clovis. It's live on TV, the international media is here and it's truly a spectacle, said volunteer organizer, Greg Newman.

Newman is one of over 700 volunteer putting on the event. The race finishing in Clovis could bring $1 million dollars to the city. Part of it is in food purchases. The owner of Corner Cafe says he'll open early and close late. He'll also have a separate food booth outside the restaurant.

"We're expecting a big crowd; it should triple our business. I'm already getting a lot of phone calls about tomorrow asking what time will be open and closed," said Scott Fox of Corner Cafe.

Longtime cyclist George Chinn is pumped for the big race.

"We're talking olympic-caliber athletes that are going to be here," said Chinn, who works at Steven's Bicycles.

He says the best places to watch the action are anywhere in Old Town near the finish line. That's when racers reach their top speeds.

"To see these riders coming in at 40 MPH is awe inspiring and it will give you goosebumps because you will get blown by their wind as they blow by you," said Chinn.

Organizers warn to get to Old Town early, so you don't risk missing the action.

"If you try to get here at 3:45 to see the finish, chances are you aren't going to be able to find parking," said Newman.

There is a free shuttle from Sierra Vista Mall to Old Town. It begins running at noon on Wednesday.

CBS47 Special Report: The True Cost of Crime

Mon, 14 May 2012 23:25:00 -0700

Whenever there is a shooting, whether it kills someone or not, the impact is huge. It brings fear into neighborhoods, eats up resources and taxpayer dollars, and alters lives forever.

Violent crimes happen far too often in our community. It's something we should not have to accept and if we can prevent things like shootings, we will all benefit in the end.

CBS47's Tony Botti is On Your Side, exploring the true cost of crime.

To understand the true impact of gun violence, we visited 15-year-old Andrew Mitchell. He’s just one of many who has had to pay the price for this senseless behavior. The student at New Millennium Institute of Education has relied on a wheelchair to get around ever since a bullet left him partially paralyzed.

The shooting happened on Lorena Avenue in Southwest Fresno, the day after Christmas in 2002. Andrew was only 6-year old and was playing with one of his new toys. Shots rang out from a drive-by shooting and people scattered but Andrew froze. One of the rounds severed his spine and lodged in his arm.

Andrew’s father, Bruce Mitchell said, “It stays very fresh. That is something that changed our lives forever.” Bruce says now, even basic activities for Andrew are difficult. “It's not that we can get up and get out of here in 30 minutes, it's a process,” said Bruce. The burden is lessened, thanks to Andrew's "never give up” attitude. “Y'all might have to do something and I'll just have to find a different way to do it, but I can still do it,” said Andrew.

Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said, “I don't know how he keeps such a positive outlook and attitude, but Andrew does.” Chief Dyer uses situations like Andrew's as motivation each day that he works. “We can never become tolerant to crime, especially violent crime,” said Dyer.

Fresno's violent crime is down 13% from a year ago, however, shootings are on the rise. In 2011, there were 321 shootings. There have already been 137 shootings this year. Gangs are responsible for 82 shootings and taggers for 17 more.

Physical and mental damage from shootings are just part of pain. These crimes cost the community in countless other ways by eating up precious resources. Detective Ignacio Ruiz with the Fresno Police Department said, “I personally have worked a shooting investigation for hundreds of hours in one week and that's on top of my regularly scheduled 40 hour week. -- it takes a toll on the body, emotionally and physically. It's tough.”

Detective Ruiz says shootings not only pull patrol officers away from protecting your homes and vehicles, they also spread fear on the streets. “We have small children hearing these shots fired in the middle of the night. Maybe they even witness the shooting and it changes their attitude and personality and you can't put a price on that,” said Ruiz.

Violent crimes, which are shootings, stabbings and assaults, account for 14% of all traumas in Fresno County each year and all of them wind up at Fresno's Community Regional Medical Center.

Dan Lynch, Fresno County’s Director of Emergency Medical Services says CRMC has 24-hour surgical support, neuro-surgical support, and orthopedic support and world class care begins with an ambulance ride. “It’s going to cost somewhere between $600 and a $1,000 depending on the distance to the hospital,” said Lynch.

Lynch also says it can cost up to four times that amount if a helicopter is needed to transport the victim. Once in the emergency room, expenses really rack up depending on the level of surgery that is required following a violet crime. “It goes from thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars,” said Lynch.

Many of these victims do not have health insurance, so the hospital foots the bill. “There's a level of charity that hospitals and ambulance services end up providing. They're essentially writing off the bill because they can't recover those costs,” said Lynch. It adds up to millions and millions of dollars each year. So what happens once a hospital's threshold is reached? Everyone else pays for it in the form of rising emergency and medical costs.

As long as the violence continues, Fresno's name pays for it too. “If we establish a reputation throughout the state or throughout the nation of being a high crime area, a gang infested city, we will never attract the types of businesses we need to ultimately sustain this city,” said Chief Dyer.

Dyer also added that Fresno loses some of its good residents in the process.

Bruce Mitchell says through teamwork, we can make a positive change. “It's going to take the community working together with the police department as well as non-profit organizations, the churches. It's going to take a full effort,” said Mitchell.

To those thinking of pulling the trigger, Andrew Mitchell sends this message: “Don't do it, it's not cool.”

Longtime Fruit Processing Plant Closing

Tue, 15 May 2012 00:29:00 -0700

The sour economy is forcing the Del Monte Foods Fruit Processing Plant in Kingsburg to close. The famous canned fruit cans have been processed in Kingsburg for the last century. 70 full time and 1100 seasonal workers will be out of work when the plant consolidates its Kingsburg operation into its main Modesto plant.

The news was hard to swallow for people in the community who rely on the plant for jobs.

Sarah Lane worked at the plant after High School. “It’s heartbreaking. Young people my age and older…it was their first job,” she said.

Mindy Bishop said working at the plant put her and her siblings through college.

The Kingsburg Chamber of Commerce said the closure will bite into the local ag economy.

"It's an ag based economy we live in in this area. Agribusiness is so critical and important to the economics of the entire San Joaquin valley," said Jess Chambers.

Del Monte sources 25% of its peaches from Kingsburg growers. The company says it’ll continue those partnerships.

The plant will close after the valley’s summer peach season.

Father arrested after child falls from car window

Mon, 14 May 2012 22:50:18 -0700

Update: 33-year-old Marc McMurrain has been arrested and is facing felony child neglect charges for leaving his 9-month-old son along in a van.

McMurrain is also facing charges for assaulting a member of the media.

A 9-month-old boy is hospitalized after he was left alone in a car and climbed out an open window. The child fell, head first, to the pavement.

The child’s father drove to the Pine Slope picnic area at Bass Lake to meet his family. The man walked away from the car, leaving the child alone inside.

A Good Samaritan found the bleeding child on the ground.

“It just so happened, thank god, that someone was in the area and came to the child's side and called 9-1-1 immediately,” said Erica Stuart with the Madera County Sheriff’s Department.

The child was airlifted to the hospital.

Deputies questioned the child’s father 33-year old Marc McMurrian.

CBS47 has learned that McMurrian was jailed last year on three charges of willful cruelty to a child. He served two months in jail.

The last time a child was left alone in a car in Madera County was in May of 2008, four years ago this month. A Fresno couple left their 10 month old and two year old daughters in a car in the parking garage of Chukchansi casino while the parents gambled.

At Bass Lake Monday afternoon, temperatures were in the low 70s.

But CBS47s medical expert says this time of year it can get very hot in a car very fast.

“There's no safe amount of time to leave your child or pet in a car. Small body size of children makes them more susceptible to heat related injuries or illnesses,” said Dr. Giatri Dave.

Other picnickers were shocked to hear what happened.

“People just aren't thinking these days just not very safety conscious,” said Jan Cheney, who was at the lake with a high school sports team.

McMurrian could face new charges of child endangerment.

The child is expected to recover from his injuries.

He is in the custody of child protective services.

Homecoming for Valley Olympian

Tue, 15 May 2012 09:32:25 -0700

He’s making his Olympic dreams come true.

Family and friends gathered at Fresno Yosemite International airport Monday night to welcome home Jose Ramirez.

The Avenal native qualified for the Olympics during the World Boxing Championships in Brazil.

Ramirez will represent the U.S. when the games begin in London in July.

Ramirez said, “It's an amazing feeling knowing that I got it done. A lot of people believed in me over the past two years and we made it you know. Me, myself, my family, all Avenal, Central Valley's gonna be in London this summer.”

There was also a homecoming celebration for Ramirez at Avenue High School Monday night.