Top Fresno stories from Tuesday. Here’s what to know
The Fresno Bee’s coverage Tuesday spans transportation, business and the courts. From regulatory hurdles slowing California’s bullet train to a new blowout salon at The Avenue and a legal shakeup over a countywide tax measure.
Here are the top stories of the day
- ‘More and more’ regulation at root of High-Speed Rail delays, CEO says in Fresno speech: California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO Ian Choudri told the Rotary Club of Fresno on Monday that decades of expanding regulation have slowed the project since voters approved it nearly 20 years ago. He is pushing lawmakers for a CEQA exemption covering the future energy generation system that will power the trains. The Merced-to-Bakersfield segment is targeted for completion by 2033 at roughly $35.7 billion, though costs could grow without regulatory relief.
- Drybar Fresno opens at The Avenue as latest venture for this entrepreneurial family: Lauren and Andrew Caviglia opened the first Drybar in the Fresno area on June 12 at The Avenue shopping center near Willow and Shepherd avenues. The salon specializes in blowout styling without cuts or color, completing most services within an hour and offering complimentary wine or champagne. The couple plans to open another Drybar in Oxnard by next year.
- Judge in Fresno transportation tax measure case forced out by California AG. Now what?: California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office filed a motion disqualifying Fresno County Superior Court Judge Robert Whalen from deciding the Measure S lawsuit. The case now goes to Judge Virna Santos, who previously represented four Fresno City Councilmembers, including Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria, author of the law at issue. Fresno County plans to file its own motion to disqualify Santos, with a Sept. 9 ballot-printing deadline looming.
Original stories by Erik Galicia, Bryant-Jon Anteola and David Taub…