What's That Smell? A Stinking Pile of Self-Dealing at Fresno City Hall

What's That Smell? A Stinking Pile of Self-Dealing at Fresno City Hall

Thanks to bulldog reporting by GV Wire’s David Taub and Edward Smith and Fresnoland’s Omar S. Rashad, a stinking pile of self-dealing costing taxpayers more than half-million dollars has been exposed at City Hall. Bill McEwen Opinion Rashad’s articles this week about a loophole in the city’s rules for outside contracts follow Taub’s and Smith’s work on the cozy relationship between former councilmember Luis Chavez and campaign consultant/commun…

Fresno ‘loophole’ allows city officials to spend with little oversight

This is Part 1 of Under the radar contracts. No oversight. Stay tuned for Part 2 of Fresnoland’s investigation publishing Thursday, Jan. 8. In June 2024, Fresno City Hall was in the middle of a busy budget process — on top of being embroiled in a police chief scandal. The same day the Fresno City Council approved a then-record $2 billion budget, councilmembers also quietly passed a major policy change without any public discussion.  Then-Council…