The Fresno Bee covered a range of local stories on Friday, April 17, from a craft brewery closure and nonprofit layoffs to high-speed rail construction and Fresno City Council candidate positions on SEDA.

We assemble this list each evening, so you can get caught up on the top Fresno Bee stories of the day. Enjoy! Layoff notices Visalia nonprofit laying off 81 employees

ProYouth, named Visalia’s Nonprofit of the Year last June, filed a WARN notice for 81 permanent layoffs effective June 5. The cuts come after Visalia Unified School District decided to manage its afterschool program internally rather than contracting with ProYouth. The organization had also filed a WARN notice for 247 employees in 2024. Click here for full story.

Mike Sumaya, left, and his wife Natalie Sumaya, own Incinerati Brewing Company. They brew at the incubator at 411 Broadway Ales & Spirits. Photographed Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019 in downtown Fresno. Mike Sumaya, left, and his wife Natalie Sumaya, own Incinerati Brewing Company. They brew at the incubator at 411 Broadway Ales & Spirits. Photographed Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019 in downtown Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com Another Fresno-area brewery closes

Incinerati Brewing Co. in Clovis is shutting down, with its final day set for April 26 — or whenever the beer runs out. Owner Mike Sumaya said the taproom never generated enough business for him to quit his day job. The closure follows several other recent craft brewery shutdowns across the central San Joaquin Valley. Click here for full story.

A construction alert from the California High-Speed Rail Authority shows an upcoming closure of the Herndon Avenue exit on the northbound Highway 99. A construction alert from the California High-Speed Rail Authority shows an upcoming closure of the Herndon Avenue exit on the northbound Highway 99. CALIFORNIA HIGH-SPEED RAIL AUTHORITY High-speed rail work to close Highway 99 off-ramp

The northbound Herndon Avenue off-ramp from Highway 99 will close starting April 23 as California High-Speed Rail Authority begins building a Herndon Avenue underpass. Closures of Herndon Avenue and Golden State Boulevard could last until May 4, with overall underpass work expected to continue through winter 2027. A temporary detour road is expected to open May 10. Click here for full story.

Hundreds gather for a special Fresno City Council meeting allowing the public to voice concerns for the Southeast Development Area (SEDA) plan, held at Fresno City Hall Thursday evening, Dec. 18, 2025 in Fresno. Hundreds gather for a special Fresno City Council meeting allowing the public to voice concerns for the Southeast Development Area (SEDA) plan, held at Fresno City Hall Thursday evening, Dec. 18, 2025 in Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com City Council candidates oppose Fresno’s massive development plan

Nearly all candidates running in the June 2 primary say they do not support Mayor Jerry Dyer’s Southeast Development Area plan in its current form. SEDA would add 9,000 acres and an estimated 45,000 homes in southeast Fresno. Candidates across districts cited concerns about infrastructure costs, a $3 billion funding gap and the need to invest in existing neighborhoods first. Click here for full story.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.

Original stories published by Fresno Bee reporters Bethany Clough, Joshua Tehee, Erik Galicia and Liliana Fannin.


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Christopher Kirkpatrick

The Fresno Bee

Christopher Kirkpatrick is senior editor of The Fresno Bee and Vida en el Valle.