Good morning! It’s Friday, Feb. 6. This is Rob.
No fog advisories this morning! Expect mostly sunny skies over the weekend with highs in the 60s. NOAA
The Fresno Grizzlies invite interested applicants to a job fair at the ballpark on Feb. 7. Instagram
The Foundation for Fresno Unified Students has expanded its suit drive initiative to ensure year-round supply of professional attire for students preparing for interviews, internships and post-secondary opportunities. Foundation for Fresno Unified
Join Fresnoland next Thursday, Feb. 12 at the Tioga-Sequoia Beer Garden from 6:30 – 8 p.m. for a conversation about the state of Fresno’s electoral and government systems. How should we think about corruption-proofing ethics in local government? How can we make City Hall more transparent?
Investigative Reporter Omar S. Rashad will discuss his Fresnoland investigations, which led to a first round of City Hall reforms just weeks later. He will then moderate a panel discussion that includes Fresno City Councilmember Nick Richardson and Dr. Thomas Holyoke, Professor of Political Science at Fresno State.
1. What are we doing?
The City of Fresno doesn’t have much to show well over a year after it outlawed camping and supposedly began offering unhoused residents a “treatment first” option.
Since late last year, Fresnoland reporter Pablo Orihuela has been looking into how the controversial anti-camping law has been working in Fresno.
There’s not a lot of good news to report.
Pablo’s investigation reveals that, since the law passed in the fall of 2024, just 18 people opted into the city’s so-called “treatment first program.”
What happened to the 18 people who chose treatment to avoid a criminal conviction?
City Hall could only speculate.
One councilmember told Fresnoland that he believed all 18 were success stories, but couldn’t prove it. And the mayor’s office said they were not aware of anyone completing an anti-camping-related treatment program.
So it could be 18 success stories. Maybe. Or zero.
And now even some business owners say the law — which was always really about protecting local shopowners — doesn’t work.
Business owner Cameron Phillips: “I cannot safely, confidently walk into my business without worrying about being approached by somebody who has a weapon, and then putting myself in a position where I may have to draw my concealed firearm and take someone’s life, potentially.”
2. About 1,500 Fresno City Hall workers in limbo
Community Medical Centers are once again locked into a contract fight with a major insurance carrier and Fresno residents. This time, city workers have been left in the lurch with nothing but questions, ABC30 reports.
Citing a letter it reviewed, ABC 30 says more than 1,500 workers have been notified that their healthcare contract was terminated as of Feb. 1 due to deadlocked contract negotiations between Community Medical Center and Blue Shield of California.
The latest contract dispute comes on the heels of Community Health System cutting a deal with Aetna that finally restored coverage for over 6,000 retirees from the Fresno Unified School District.
Now, it appears, it’s city workers’ turn to wait and wonder.
City Manager Georgeanne White: “The city employees are frankly stuck in the middle and as a result of the contract expiring, these city employees are going to be forced to pay out of network premiums, which is going to cost them more money.”
3. Clovis schools say students protesters can be considered truant
Clovis Unified students who don’t receive formal excuses to leave campus will be considered truant and face disciplinary action, YourCentralValley reports.
District officials told the television station that the district has not approved or sanctioned any student protests like the ones seen in recent weeks in Fresno and the rest of the nation.
They said students are welcome to express themselves in designated “free speech” areas on school campuses.
Student protests have been on the rise in the wake of recent violent clashes in Minnesota between citizens and masked federal immigration agents.
Today’s newsletter was edited by Fresnoland’s Omar S. Rashad.
