Good morning! It’s Tuesday, Jan. 13. This is Rob.
🌤️Some clouds: Fresno expects daytime highs in the 60s today, with “decreasing clouds.” NOAA
💉CDC’s credibility problem: Valley Children’s Healthcare is one of many institutions across the country whose pediatricians will not follow new childhood vaccine recommendations published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. KVPR
🏓Park courts reopen: Fresno City Councilmember Annalisa Perea hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday celebrating the reopening of the newly resurfaced multi-sport courts at Lions Park in the Marks-area neighborhood, near Shaw Avenue.
😷Flu season: Fresno County health officials on Monday reported the first influenza-related death of the season and urged the public to vaccinate. ABC30
🏥Hospital fined: Fresno-area hospital fined for ‘avoidable death’ of patient. The Fresno Bee
1. Nothing to see here? Chavez speaks out
Fresno County Supervisor Luis Chavez broke his long silence recently in an interview with Fresnoland, finally responding to long-standing questions about his repeated use of small-dollar city contract spending while campaigning for county office in 2024.
Chavez spoke with Fresnoland’s Investigative Reporter Omar S. Rashad, who led our newsroom’s two-part investigation into a city policy that critics — including some current councilmembers — describe as a “loophole” through which hundreds of thousands in city dollars have quietly — and repeatedly — passed through behind closed doors.
Five of the seven current councilmembers spoke with Fresnoland in its investigation and said they’d support reforming the City of Fresno’s transparency regarding all no-bid contracts.
Omar recently sat down with Dani and Jordan to discuss his investigation on the Fresnolandia podcast. You can hear that episode on Apple podcasts here or Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Omar also discussed his recent investigative report with KVPR’s Central Valley Daily podcast. And you can listen to that episode here.
2. Is CRMC using retired teachers as ‘bargaining chips’?
Frustrated Fresno Unified School District leaders on Monday slammed the Community Health System for refusing to care for hundreds of retired educators amid stalled negotiations between Fresno’s hospital and insurance carrier Aetna.
Fresnoland’s Diego Vargas first broke the story last year as the district continues to scramble to find answers for hundreds of retirees on Medicare.
On Jan. 1, Community’s facilities were rendered out-of-network for about 1,500 FUSD retirees on Medicare who received care primarily at Community.
District officials will meet on Thursday to vote on alternative options to provide care to retirees, but exactly what might be on the table this week remained unclear Tuesday.
The Fresno teachers union president demanded Community treat the district’s elderly retirees, saying refusal would “only further expose that our retirees are being used as bargaining chips in a contract dispute.”
3. ‘A tidal wave in downtown Fresno’
Johnny Quiroz has dedicated his life to musical and creative spaces. He has brought Fresno residents together for the last two years at Jazz Tuezdayz, Fresnoland’s Gisselle Medina reports.
The event mixes live music, art, and vendors, to “create a tidal wave in downtown Fresno’s local economy” where a “rising tide lifts all boats.”
That spirit is the foundation of Jazz Tuezdayz, a weekly event he founded in Fresno almost two years ago and now oversees as it grows into a full-scale venue collaboration.
Jazz Tuezdayz returned to its original location, now reimagined and renamed, The Layover, a travel-themed pub. But the music and community only continued to grow.
Quiroz: “It’s more than an event, it’s something that needs to keep going.”
Today’s newsletter was edited by Fresnoland’s Omar S. Rashad.
