Gregory Weaver / Fresnoland

There's a meeting on Thursday night to discuss a proposed blast mine on the San Joaquin River. The town hall opens at 5 p.m. at the River Center, near Riverpark, with food trucks and beverages.

The Williamson Act costs a lot of money with little results. Supervisor Garry Bredefeld said he is going to be looking at the program this budget season.

Joaquin Arambula, one of Fresno's state assemblymen, is trying to stop a blast mine on the San Joaquin River. Federal officials say there is a "notable risk" that the mine will spill chemicals such as lead, arsenic, and other toxic chemicals into the river.

Fresno has a 200% gravel surplus. So why does CEMEX want to dig a pit deeper than Millerton Lake along one of America’s most over-extracted rivers?

The controversial 45,000 home proposed mega-development in southeast Fresno is now on its second round of environmental review.

For the second installment of this story, Fresnoland investigates it was common knowledge for decades that California's biggest land program, known as the Williamson Act, was an expensive failure. But political support for the program has never wavered. Why the Act has survived is only explicable if set in the context of how California’s agricultural empires changed the Act in 1966, in secret, for themselves.

A Fresnoland investigation into the Williamson Act, California's biggest land program, reveals that just 120 mega-farms – less than 1% of recipients – are capturing half of the program's $5 billion tax shelter, while thousands of small farmers receive little to no benefit.

The new filings in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California detail the lead-up to the family's default, with a failed effort to build a rival pistachio plant at the heart of their woes.

According to a leaked business prospectus obtained by Fresnoland, the deal could encompass tens of thousands of acres of farmland. The family-owned business could net over $1 billion from the deal.

Fresno County's new General Plan eliminates environmental programs and promotes development that critics warn will worsen pollution and destroy the county's rural character. Despite these concerns, county supervisors unanimously approved the controversial plan on Tuesday.