Good morning! It’s Friday, Oct. 16. This is Rob.
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Less than a year? The off-duty ICE agent accused of attacking a Tower District family landed his federal immigration job less than one year ago. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges in Fresno County Superior Court. ABC30
‘Distressing’ A new lawsuit filed against Fresno Unified accuses a former human resources director of paying a subordinate for sex then retaliating against him. GV Wire
‘Head Chismosa’ A 26-year-old Reedley woman is building on her experiences as a domestic violence survivor to pursue a community conversation and raising money for Marjaree Mason Center in an effort she’s named the Chisme Saves Lives Project. YourCentralValley
‘Really empty’ Recent ICE raids have kept customers away from the normally popular Madera Flea Market as families stay home to avoid the federal government’s anti-immigrant onslaught. ABC30
1. ICE raids hit school attendance
From declining enrollment and looming school closures to substandard test scores, dubious severance packages and imminent budget cuts, the Fresno Unified School Board has plenty of work on its plate.
But most city residents who headed downtown Wednesday night to speak to the leaders of the city’s largest school district asked for just one thing — do more to stand with families living in fear of the federal government’s anti-immigrant dragnets.
As ICE agents rounded up Central Valley residents in an operation that no federal authority has bothered to explain (with a potentially power-shifting midterm election already underway), thousands of local families have essentially sheltered in place.
They’ve stayed home from work, avoided the grocery store, steered clear of the Big Fresno Fair and skipped school.
FUSD money chief Patrick Jensen told Fresnoland the attendance was down 2% districtwide on Friday, almost certainly in connection with the raids.
👉Read the full Fresnoland story here
2. Beer makes this midterm ballot go down easier
Back by popular demand, Fresnoland and the Maddy Institute at Fresno State are hosting Ballots and Brews — an event designed to help you demystify what’s on your ballot and why it matters, in lively conversation with leaders across the political spectrum.
We’ll be talking transportation taxes and Measure S; and, the potentially big changes coming to the Fresno City Council. Is a progressive wing coming to the council, and what could we expect to see?
Join us from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30 at Summer Fox Brewing in the Tower District.
👉Register at the link here to save your seat.
—Danielle Bergstrom, executive director and editor-in-chief
3. Over or under policing in the Tower District?
And, speaking of public safety in Fresno’s Tower District, City Hall has been throwing more money at the issue for more than a year now. A lot more money.
City spending on Tower District policing has exploded over the last year, climbing by more than 900%, but not everyone agrees that addition of two dozen extra cops on weekends actually makes anyone safer, The Fresno Bee reports.
There’s been a longstanding argument or debate among law enforcement about whether the simple presence or addition of more police officers makes a neighborhood safer.
On the one hand, law enforcement leaders like District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp don’t blink when they tell you more policing equals more public safety. Full stop.
But other experts, like Dimitrios Mastoras, vice president of Night Safe, told The Bee that simply throwing money at a problem doesn’t automatically make anything safer.
Today’s newsletter was edited by Danielle Bergstrom.
