Daniel Gligich

1 week ago | sjvsun.com | Daniel Gligich

Selma City Manager Fernando Santillan was fired by the city council on Tuesday in a move that he claims was purely motivated by politics. Santillan is out of his post following years of sparring with Mayor Scott Robertson. The big picture: The Selma City Council voted 4-1 in closed session to fire Santillan, with Councilman John Trujillo casting the lone vote against termination. Deputy City Manager Jerome Keene was named as the interim city manager in Santillan’s place.

1 week ago | sjvsun.com | Daniel Gligich

Central Valley farmer Dan Gerawan has sued the Maine Public Employees Retirement System to gain information about Prima Wawona, the now-bankrupt company that succeeded his family farming enterprise, Gerawan Farming and the private equity management firm that led to its demise. The Maine Public Employees Retirement System, known as MainePERS, invested in major investing firm Paine Schwartz Partners and funded the firm’s acquisition of Wawona Packing in its merger with Gerawan Farming.

1 week ago | sjvsun.com | Daniel Gligich

A Fresno Economic Opportunities staff member who works for Franklin Head Start has been cited for having children hit another child. The citation came after an unannounced visit by the California Department of Social Services. Driving the news: A staff member at Franklin Head Start made an incident report to the state claiming that there were two separate occasions where another staff member held a child while instructing two other children to hit the child back.

1 week ago | sjvsun.com | Daniel Gligich

California has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over President Donald Trump’s use of tariffs. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the lawsuit at a press conference in Stanislaus County on Wednesday. The big picture: Newsom and Bonta argue in the lawsuit that Trump does not have the authority to impose tariffs through the International Economic Emergency Powers Act. The tariffs, they argue, have inflicted billions of dollars in damages on California’s economy.

1 week ago | sjvsun.com | Daniel Gligich

KVPR morning host Elizabeth Arakelian has been named as the station’s new Director of Radio. Arakelian will oversee KVPR’s broadcast and digital radio programs and podcasts in her new role. The big picture: Arakelian joined KVPR in 2021 and has hosted the public broadcaster’s flagship morning news show Morning Edition for the last two years. Previously, Arakelian worked for the Turlock Journal and CNBC in New York City, as well as a public relations professional for higher education.