On July 28th in Sacramento, State Senator Dean Florez (D-Shafter) convened a hearing to review rulings by the governing board of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD) and the California Air Resources Board to continue to allow the open field burning of agricultural waste products in the San Joaquin Valley.

Imagine walking through a California public school and hearing the voices of students singing “I am special” to the tune of “Frere Jacques.” One might look through the classroom window expecting to see kindergartners about to enjoy Graham crackers and milk -- or perhaps a more politically correct snack.

A letter from Jeff Eben, CEO of the Fresno Convention and Visitors Bureau, to members:

In 1819 the English publisher, bookseller, and radical Richard Carlisle was sentenced to three years in prison for blasphemy and seditious libel. Carlisle’s imprisonment was partly due to his publication of pamphlets exposing what’s now known as the Peterloo Massacre, in which a cavalry brigade attacked tens of thousands of protesters who had gathered to call for reforms to Parliament, and partly because he published the banned works of enlightenment figures such as Thomas Paine.