You may be wilting from the recent stretch of warm weather, but the Valley’s tree fruit is basking in it. The high heat has accelerated the ripening of several tree fruits, including apricots, an early season favorite. Prized for its jam-making qualities, apricots are a versatile fruit that are popular for drying, eating out of [...]

Sprouts Farmers Market will open its first grocery store in the Fresno-Clovis area at 7 a.m. Wednesday, May 15. The store is at 7477 N. Blackstone Ave., in the same shopping center as Bed Bath & Beyond. Sprouts has an emphasis on affordable natural and organic fruit and veggies and makes its produce the focus [...]

The post-baby belly is one of society’s biggest secrets, Clovis mom Kristy Dixon likes to say. Hidden under sweat pants and baggy T-shirts are the battle scars of birthing a child: Stretch marks, loose skin, C-section scars, the hormone-induced brown line that some women get, and stomachs that still look pregnant weeks after childbirth. It’s [...]

There is perhaps no better place to buy fresh, locally grown food than at a farmers market. Juicy peaches, vine-ripe tomatoes and sweet-tasting blackberries will all soon be in abundance. Following is a list of seasonal and year-round markets: Seasonal: Bass Lake Farmers Market When: 3-7 p.m. Wednesdays. May 22 through September. Where: Pines Village [...]

A dry winter forced farmers in the Westlands Water District to run their wells far more last summer than they usually would. The underground water table dropped a staggering 48 feet. After another dry winter in California, Westlands farmers this summer will pump even more water, probably enough to fill 80% of Millerton Lake. Even [...]

Ventura Avenue — a gateway to downtown Fresno — is getting some new businesses and a much-needed makeover from property owners. The southeast Fresno corridor from downtown to Cedar Avenue is a mix of storefronts, two-story houses, dirt lots and old buildings. At least two of the old, dilapidated Spanish-style houses on the street have [...]