CBS 47: Local News

Valley Hmong’s in Sacramento for Support

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:52:42 GMT

A group of Valley Hmong residents traveled to Sacramento on Monday to show their support for leaders in their community.

The group left Fresno around 4:00 a.m. to show support during a federal case being heard in the State Capitol.

Several Hmong leaders are facing charges connected with conspiracy to overthrow the Laotian government.

Hmong’s in the Valley say they hope the charges will be dropped.

Hmong spokesperson Paula Yang said, “The family victims; every one of them has been suffering the last two years. The court has not come to a conclusion to support the people or to go ahead and have this case dismissed or move forward, so their life is just hanging onto this situation. That’s why we’re all here, to show support for the Hmong people.”

Originally the U.S. government accused General Vang Pao of being the key backbone for the case but all charges against the general were dropped last year.

Pink Slips Sent to Teachers Around California

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:52:49 GMT

Close to 22,000 teachers in California may be receiving pink slips.

Teachers across the state, including dozens in the Central Valley, are learning they may not have a job next year.

Members of teachers unions and school district administrators rallied at the State Capitol Monday morning to protest pending state budget cuts.

Monday was the deadline for school districts to send layoff notices to teachers who may lose their jobs at the end of the academic year.

Fresno Unified is expected to give pink slips to 16 teachers, 18 at Merced Unified and 116 at Sanger Unified. Clovis Unified says they're not giving out any pink slips.

Stay with cbs47 for updates on this developing story.

Google Fiber Test Market

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 03:48:42 GMT

Google Fiber is the internet company's new ultra-high speed network.

In a community, the network would make available 1 gigabite-per-second connections, more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today in their homes.

The city of Fresno wants to be a test market for the network but other Valley cities could also qualify.

Competition around the country for this service is fierce, so Fresno wants your help to make it a contender. On Monday, between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., you're asked to bring creative sign that says "I want my Google Fiber" to Fresno City Hall and hold up your sign in front of a camera, so the big wigs at Google can see it.

Google is expected to select its test cities sometime this year.

You don't have to go to city hall to be part of the campaign; you can also do it from the comfort of your home.

Just follow our link to learn more about making your community a trial location.

Possible Nuclear Power Plant

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:05:42 GMT

Plans are still forming to bring a nuclear power plant to Fresno County. Later this month, the head of a French nuclear power firm will be speaking in Fresno. Anne Lauvergeon is the head of Arvea.

Arvea, a leading builder of nuclear power plants was formed in mid-2001. Areva has agreed to work with the Fresno Energy Group to develop plans for two nuclear reactors in the county.

Lauvergeon will be speaking on March 23rd at a luncheon hosted by the Fresno County Economic Development Corporation.

Imagination to the Test

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:10:48 GMT

About 650 local students of all grade levels competed in the Destination ImagiNation Tournament held at Buchanan High School. Every year, student from the nation and more than 30 countries compete in local and state tournaments.

"Diving into Creativity" was the theme behind the massive competition. The students had to figure out how to use a rubber band, wad of gum, and toothpick to escape from certain death.

The goal is to solve complex challenges in various categories. These challenges require critical thinking, creativity and problem-solving skills.

Winners head to Knoxville, Tennessee for global finals in May.

Memorial Benefit For Poverello House

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 19:29:01 GMT

Dozens of generous community members came out to Fresno's Poverello House for the "2ns Annual George Garza Memorial Benefit."

Garza was a volunteer at the Poverello house and died in 2008. This was the second year Garza's son has organized the benefit to honor his father and help those in need.

" Helping was a big part of who my dad was. He was always willing to help friends, family and strangers alike, and did so out of the kindness of his heart. I believe that's why he was so comfortable volunteering at the Poverello House. You can feel the hope it generates in the community that kept him and so many others coming back," said Julian George Garza.

The event consisted of a block-party style music festival. Admission was free but food and clothing donations were collected.

Valley Water Crisis & Education

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:34:35 GMT

A group of speakers tried to make sense of the valley's water crisis for people at a water forum held at Fresno City College on Saturday. The forum gave people a chance to share their thoughts and concerns.

In November, voters will have a big decision to make in the November election. On the ballot will a be an $11 million bond that could transform California's water system. One of the speakers, Lloyd Carter of California's Save Our Streams Council focused on how the valley should not be so wasteful. " 60-percent of our household water use goes just for landscaping, " said Carter.

A visitor said this forum gave me a him a new outlook on the crisis. " It made me think that its not quite as desperate as people have been making it out to be and there are ways of dealing with the situation, " said Gerry Bill.

The $11 million bond package would create more water storage . If the bond is passed, taxpayers will spend $800 million a year over the next 30 years to pay it off.

SUV Crashes into Building in Central Fresno

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:29:10 GMT

Two people were taken into custody Friday night after their SUV plowed into a building in Central Fresno. It happened just after 10 p.m. in the area of Belmont and Palm Avenue.

It all started around 10 p.m. when Fresno Police were following a white SUV. Police knew there was a wanted parolee gang member inside. They tried to pull over the wanted gang member at Palm and Princeton, but the vehicle wouldn’t stop.

A police helicopter was following from above. Officers said they backed off and waited for the car to slow down. The vehicle got to the intersection and couldn’t make the turn and crashed into Producer’s Dairy.

“He has minor injuries. There’s also another gentleman in the car so we took both of them into custody,” said Fresno Police Lt. Joe Gomez.

The wanted gang member and a passenger were arrested. Both were taken away by ambulance. Fresno Police said the gang member was a member of a north Fresno gang and was wanted for making terrorist threats.

Streets in the area were closed for a few hours as Fresno Police took the SUV out of the building and completed their investigation.

Fresno Police Officer Continues to Recover

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 22:24:05 GMT

A Fresno Police officer continued to recover Friday night after a fiery crash. Officer Mike Roberts was riding his motorcycle near Bullard and Fruit when a car turned in front of him. The 42-year-old slammed into the side of the car. He flew off the bike just as it burst into flames. He has several injuries including fractured ribs and 2nd and 3rd degree burns.

"I believe it was a result of good equipment and God's grace that Mike Roberts is not more seriously injured or even killed," said Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer.

Police are still investigating the accident. No charges have been filed.

Sisterhood of the Travelling B.D.U.s Conference

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 21:53:24 GMT

100 teenage girls will gather this weekend in Clovis. They each have a family member in the military who’s been deployed overseas. They call themselves “The Sisterhood of the Traveling B.D.U.s” which stands for “Battle Dress Uniforms.”

Alexandria Gonzalez’s father is in the military. “I don’t really know anybody else like any of my friends that have parents or anybody else that’s in the military,” she said.

“You can say you understand something, but in reality you can’t understand it unless you’re experiencing the same thing,” Carina Trujillo said, who has her mom in the military.

That’s exactly why Moranda Hern of Clovis and Kaylie Deakin of Elk Grove formed the Sisterhood of the Travelling B.D.U.’s. Both of their fathers are in the military. Moranda’s dad was deployed overseas in 2007 and Kaylie’s dad in 2005.

“Through our dad’s deployments it was really difficult not having any teens that understood how we feel…friends, counselors, nobody in our school districts,” said Deakin.

The girls met at a conference, realized they had something in common, and put together the “Sisterhood” this summer and now this conference.

“Having girls who understand and be around and have that connection is instrumental,” Hern said.

There are a series of workshops to build self-esteem and leadership skills

“I am looking forward to it because there are other girls my age who are going through the same thing or have gone through the same thing,” Belynda Olea said, who has a brother in the military.

“I hope the girls get that pride of belonging to something and how proud they are of their parents and being military teens,” Deakin said.