Construction on the North Fork Mono Casino and Resort, which sits right off Highway 99 between the Avenue 17 and Avenue 18-1/2 exits, nears completion on Tuesday, April 14, 2026.
CRAIG KOHLRUSS
ckohlruss@fresnobee.com
Last week’s top stories from The Fresno Bee cover a federal court battle over a new Madera County casino that could open this month, a Kerman mayor’s dawn confrontation with ICE agents outside a local bakery and a federal immigration agent’s not-guilty plea in a Fresno assault case. Here’s a closer look at the headlines.
Here are key takeawaysChukchansi evokes 2014 vote against Madera casino in court. North Fork says ‘enough’: Two Madera County tribes argued for hours in a Fresno federal courtroom Friday as Judge Kirk E. Sherriff weighs whether to block the opening of the North Fork Mono Casino and Resort on Highway 99. The Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians says California voters’ 2014 rejection of the state gaming compact annulled the required state concurrence for off-reservation gaming. North Fork attorneys counter that federal officials established the property’s gaming eligibility in 2012 and that Picayune has sued three times in 14 years to stop the project. The new casino promises 1,500 jobs for Madera County and new revenues for the North Fork tribe.Kerman mayor confronts ICE agents detaining immigrants near local bakery. ‘Heartbroken’: Kerman Mayor Maria Pacheco confronted ICE agents outside La Princesa Real Bakery around 6:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 8, after agents detained four customers in a dawn operation. Pacheco recorded the encounter on her phone, and the footage has since been reposted thousands of times on social media. One of the detained people was later released because he has lawful immigration status, she told The Fresno Bee. “I support peace officers,” Pacheco said. “But ICE, they are not peace officers. They are agents of chaos.”ICE agent pleads not guilty to charge of assaulting homeowner in Fresno — David Gonzalez III, a 32-year-old ICE agent, appeared in a Fresno County courtroom Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from an alleged off-duty assault in the Tower District. Judge Robert Mangano set bail at $37,000, down from the original $52,000, and ordered Gonzalez to remain in California if released. He faces three felonies and a misdemeanor — aggravated assault, vandalism, elder abuse and battery — and a maximum of 4 years and 8 months if convicted. Gonzalez is due back in court Oct. 20 for a pre-preliminary hearing.
Original stories by Nick Fenley and Erik Galicia.
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