Fee Increase for California State Universities

Last Thursday, the California State University Board of Trustees approved a proposed 2006-07 budget request to increase the State University Fee for undergraduate and credential students by 8%, and the graduate student fee by 10%.

The current 2005-06 annual State University Fee is $3,164 which includes $2,520 for tuition and the $644 average campus-based fees.

With the increase, the 2006-07 annual undergraduate fee will be $3,368 which includes $2,724 for tuition and the 2005-06 average campus-based fees of $664.

Even with the increase, these numbers are still pretty low.

Check out the 2005-06 tuition fee for the 10 most expensive colleges in the US, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. Note that the figures represent tuition and required fees for first-time, full-time undergrads and do not include room, board or other costs of attendance.

1. Landmark College - $37,738
2. George Washington University - $36,400
3. University of Richmond - $34, 850
4. Sarah Lawrence - $34, 042
5. Kenyon College - $33,930
6. Vassar College - $33,800
7. Trinity College - $33, 630
8. Bennington College - $33,570
9. Simon's Rock College of Bard - $33,364
10. Hamilton College - $33, 350

Compared to the above numbers, the California State Universities are a steal!

Keith Urban at Save Mart Center

Keith Urban will be performing at Save Mart Center on Friday Dec 16, 2005 at 7.30pm.

Tickets are priced between $27.75 to $37.75.

They will officially go on sale this Saturday Oct 29th, 2005 at 10am. There will be 2 internet presales:

• For members of Keith Urban's fan club, you may purchase tickets online starting 10 am on Thursday Oct 27, 2005. There is a $20 membership fee for his fan club.
• For others, you may purchase tickets online starting at 10 am on Friday Oct 28, 2005.

Reba McEntire at Table Mountain Casino

Reba McEntire will be performing with special guest in the Event Center at Table Mountain Casino on Sunday December 4th, 2005.

Doors open at 7pm, show begins at 8pm.

VIP tickets are $80, Reserved $70 and General Admission is $60. You get a $10 discount with the Table Mountain Club Card.

You can get tickets from the box office. Call 559-822-2485.

Bass Pro in Fresno?

Mayor Alan Autry met with Bass Pro representatives this past weekend at the company's headquarters in Springfield, Missouri.

No definite commitment from Bass Pro resulted from the meeting but the mayor says he is optimistic.

The city is hoping that Bass Pro would become an anchor tenant in the Forest City Downtown Development project.

Have a Royal Christmas with Andrea Bocelli!

The Fresno Grand Opera presents A Royal Christmas with Andrea Bocelli. Performance is scheduled for Sunday, December 11, 2005 at 7pm.

Andrea Bocelli will be accompanied by The London Royal Philharmonic and Westminster Choir.

The show will also feature principal solo dancers from London's Royal Ballet, Winnipeg's Royal Ballet, Russia's Bolshoi Ballet, Ukraine's Kyiv Ballet & Shumka (Whirlwind) Dancers performing scenes from The Nutcracker.

Tickets go on sale at Ticketmaster.com on Monday Oct 24 at 10am.

Pumpkin and Halloween Activities for October 2005

There's plenty to do in the last 10 days of October 2005...

Enjoy our lovely October weather with your family outdoors at the pumpkin patch! There's the pumpkin patch at Simonian Farms or Cobb Ranch.

And of course, Halloween is coming up and there's plenty of activities in conjuction with that. If you've not gotten your costume yet, there is still time to get it online and have it delivered before Halloween! But time runs out tomorrow Oct 23 so click on the link below and get your costume now!

If you like haunted houses, there's the Haunt in the Park, Zoo Boo and Haunted House in Clovis. Other events include Halloween in the Tower, Trick or Treat at the Sierra Vista Mall and Halloween at Fulton Mall.

For details, go to Fresno Events - October 2005

Fresnohub Reader restaurant reviews

We've added several more reviews submitted by Fresnohub readers. The new reviews posted this week were for:

• Star of Siam Thai Restaurant
• Venezia Italian Restaurant
• Citron Continental Bistro (2 reviews)

Thanks to the readers who've taken the time to submit those reviews. It's much appreciated.

If you've been to a restaurant you'd like to rave about (or not), please do let us and our readers know about it!

Submit a Restaurant Review

Bon Jovi in Fresno

And the list of big names performing at the Save Mart Center in Fresno keeps growing!

Bon Jovi will be in town on Wednesday March 01, 2006. Performance is scheduled to start at 7.30am.

Tickets officially go on sale this Saturday Oct 22 at 10 am.

But there will be an Internet Presale starting this Friday, Oct 21 at 9am. Purchase tickets at Ticketmaster this Friday to get the best seats!

New stores coming to Fresno

Several new stores are coming to Fresno's Fashion Fair Mall and the Fig Garden Village.

The renovation and expansion of Fashion Fair Mall will only be completed next spring but new stores have been announced.

New stores coming to Fashion Fair Mall are:
Anthropologie, Bebe, BEBE SPORT, Club Libby Lu, Eclipse Eyewear, MAC cosmetics kiosk, Metropark, Marche! (shoe store), Lucky Brand Jeans, Sephora.

Sorry guys, but those stores seem more catered to the women. But the good news is that there'll be 2 new restaurants coming to Fashion Fair Mall as well...The Cheesecake Factory and Fleming's Steakhouse.

So you can dine at those restaurants while waiting for your lady to finish shopping!

Coming to Fig Garden Village are:
Banana Republic, Coach and J. Jill.

P.F. Chang's China Bistro is expected to open at the Shops in Riverpark by the end of the year.

Others that have expressed an interest in coming to Fresno:
Il Fornaio (Italian Restaurant), Pottery Barn and specialty sporting goods store REI.

More stores are expected to announced soon.

Kelly Clarkson and Gwen Stefani in Fresno

Kelly Clarkson and Gwen Stefani are both scheduled to perform at the Save Mart Center.

Tickets are still available!

Gwen Stefani will be performing on Friday, Nov 25 at 8pm.

Kelly Clarkson will be here on Tuesday December 13th. Performance starts at 7.30pm.

Tickets can be purchased at the Save Mart Center box office or at Ticketmaster.