Quote of the Week
“This is not the same Clovis as I grew up with. I recently spoke to a validated criminal street gang member, he told me, ‘Fresno gang members come to the city of Clovis because it’s safer to hang out and party in Airbnbs.”
— Jordan Hunter, president of the Clovis Police Officers’ Association, speaking out about the need for a new 1% public safety tax at a Clovis City Council meeting.
This Week in Fresnoland
Did the Clovis hospital siphon $1 billion away from Fresno?
A lawsuit filed this week accuses the board of directors of Fresno’s primary hospital of using the city’s downtown hospital like a piggy bank to fund “new lavish buildings” at Clovis Community Medical Center. Fresnoland’s Julianna Morano broke the news about the lawsuit Wednesday when the case was filed in Fresno County Superior Court.
The lawsuit brought by Fresno Building Healthy Communities and Cultiva La Salud says Community Health Systems — the operator of Fresno’s Community Regional Medical Center and Clovis Community Medical Center — drained $1 billion in public money intended to offset the costs of caring for lower-income patients. That money, the suit says, was instead used to bankroll plush upgrades at the Clovis hospital.
In a brief statement to Fresnoland, hospital officials said they were “extremely disappointed in this baseless lawsuit.”
The case against Community Health comes almost exactly two years after a Fresno Bee investigation — Care & Conflict — revealed the pattern of money flowing away from Fresno and into Clovis. The series also raised questions about potential conflicts of interest on the hospital’s board of directors.
Clovis voters asked to pony up for police
Clovis city leaders say a public safety crisis is brewing on the edge of town with slow response times for police and firefighters who say they’re stretched to the limit, Fresnoland’s Gregory Weaver reported.
In an effort to bring on more police and firefighters, Clovis city leaders are asking voters to approve a new 1% sales tax they say would raise $28 million a year to fill the staffing shortages.
“The Clovis way of life is not just a slogan, it’s a standard,” said fire Chief Trent McGill. “Think about the reason why you moved to Clovis, the other things that have been afforded to you along the way, and essentially want to keep it that way. Decide [whether] we want to keep Clovis, Clovis.”
If approved by voters in November, Clovis’ overall sales and use tax rate would climb to 8.975%, tying Clovis with six other cities—Coalinga, Fowler, Huron, Kerman, Kingsburg, and Parlier—with the second-highest tax rates in Fresno County. Reedley and Mendota have the highest sales tax in Fresno County at 9.225% each.
Business groups, developers edge out labor interests in latest campaign finance reports
Fresno labor groups want to see a lot of change this fall, Fresnoland’s Danielle Bergstron reported.
Labor unions are working to help Luis Chavez unseat Sal Quintero from the Fresno County Board of Supervisors. They’re also banking on Garry Bredefeld to beat incumbent Steve Brandau on the county board. The Fresno Teachers Association is backing challengers exclusively this fall.
Several challengers, including Chavez and Bredefeld, held significant fundraising leads over their incumbent opponents.
Business and development interests, however, continue to lead the way on political spending in Fresno. Business groups have spent about $216,000; developers about $195,000 to labor’s $154,000, according to the most recent filings.
Leading the way among individual donors is contractor and developer Richard Spencer and his affiliate companies, who sunk about $52,000 into local races in the first half of 2024.
Check out more details from the latest campaign filings here.
‘Where are we going to go?’
As expected, Fresno County took a big step this week toward a new anti-camping ordinance that business and political leaders say is desperately needed but that critics fear will inordinately affect unhoused residents, Fresnoland’s Pablo Orihuela reported.
In an unanimous vote on Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors approved plans to implement the new anti-camping law later this month. The next vote is scheduled for Aug. 20. If passed as expected, the law would go into effect around mid-September, roughly the same time that a nearly identical law would also hit the streets in the City of Fresno.
Once more widely-viewed as a conservative-backed policy, high-ranking politicians on both sides of the political aisle support issuing anti-camp laws. California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom praised the Supreme Court’s Grants Pass ruling. Newsom also issued an executive order last month encouraging local jurisdictions to use their newly gained legal powers to create anti-encampment policies.
But critics, including some who are trying to avoid living on the streets, say the city’s safety net isn’t large enough and the new ordinance will make it harder for many with nowhere to go.
“I’m in one of your resources,” one resident told the board this week. “And you’re telling me that within a week me and mines have to go? Where we going to go?”
Here is an adorable photo of goats preventing forest fires
You’re not the only one who can prevent forest fires. These goats eat safety for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Frensoland’s Charlotte Burks reported.
Operated by Southern California Edison, the program started in 2021, in the months following the Creek Fire which burned over 379,000 acres. California, which faces intense wildfires every year, has worked to prevent wildfires in different ways, including controlled burns — for SCE, though, fire fighting goats are the new frontier.
Now, SCE wants to expand the program.
“…Over the past couple of years here we’ve found [the grazing program] to be very effective in managing our fuel loading brush species under our rights-of-way here,” said Sarah Hendrix, a Senior Utility Arborist for SCE.
The firefighting goats are part of a contract with Chasin Goat Grazing, owned by Chase Cianfichi and his wife, Emma Cianfichi. There are currently 100 goats at the site near Shaver Lake.
Outside the Lines
Fresno City Councilmember Nelson Esparza announced his bid to run for State Senate in 2026, representing the 14th district, which includes several central Fresno neighborhoods. The seat is currently occupied by Sen. Anna Caballero, who is in her last term. ABC30
The Fresnolandia podcast debuts the first book club next week, featuring Secret Harvests: A Hidden Story of Separation and Resilience of a Family Farm, by Del Rey’s own Mas Masumoto. To join in, read the book and send us your questions for Mas by 8 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 14 to tips@fresnoland.org or via phone at 559-202-3656.
How does Fresno State’s heavy debt on the Save Mart Center affect dreams of renovating Valley Children’s Stadium? The old football stadium has not seen substantial upgrades since the early 90s. The Fresno Bee
As the Central Valley sees the hottest summer in years, calls grow for more renter protections to ensure homes stay cool. KVPR
For many of us, Yosemite National Park is our happy place, but there’s been some pains over the years (including recent safety concerns about the Half Dome climb after a young woman recently slipped and fell to her death). Bloomberg dove deep into the complaints about Aramark, the hospitality company some say is responsible for the demise of the beloved park. Bloomberg
A federal court ruled against Clovis Community College this week, ruling they discriminated against conservative student groups when college administrators requested that the groups’ flyers be taken down. The college will owe $330,000 in damages and attorneys fees. Fox26
Block Beat
WOODWARD PARK: The city has installed more safety improvements along Friant Road, from high-visibility crosswalks to no-turn-on-red signs and larger signs, in a hope to eliminate accidents along the dangerous, high-speed road. | ABC30
ROOSEVELT: City leaders touted two new play structures this week at the Willow-Balch Park, after a fire destroyed the tot lot in March of 2022. X/Twitter
Department of New Construction
CENTRAL WEST: The Fresno City Council will consider at their meeting Thursday an annexation of 20.23 acres of land on the north and south sides of Ashlan Avenue between Polk and Gregory Avenues. The proposal also includes rezoning the county land from rural residential to single-family residential. A previous rezone and tentative map for 108 new single-family homes was approved for this property in 2008.
CENTRAL WEST: The City Council is also expected to approve a contract to begin design and engineering to widen Ashlan Avenue from Polk to Bryan Avenues at their meeting Thursday.
DOWNTOWN: There’s a few downtown construction projects on this Thursday’s agenda, from a new water transmission grid along Van Ness to rejecting bids to renovate Garage 9; to updating the scope of work for the downtown water/sewer infrastructure improvements project funded by the state.
SOUTHWEST: The city has plans to acquire five parcels at the council’s Thursday meeting for construction of the new Southwest Trail project.
TATARIAN ELEMENTARY/BLUFFS: The city council will consider a proposal to add more land to Orchid Park for an expansion project.
HOOVER: The council will consider a proposal to allocate $1,000,000 of state funding towards a senior living mixed-income housing project near Bullard and Millbrook Avenues.
Around Town
The Big Fresno Fair’s 13th Annual Job Fair will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 15 at the fairgrounds. The job fair serves to hire for the nearly 400 positions available at the 2024 Big Fresno Fair, the biggest event in the valley. In order to work at the fair, one must attend the job fair; make sure to bring identification. For more information, visit this link.
Shinzen Friendship Garden, found in Woodward Park, will be hosting the Tōrō Nagashi Ceremony on Aug. 17. The ceremony, celebrated at the end of the festival of Obon, celebrates the memory of past loved ones by floating paper lanterns which symbolize loved ones departing for another year.
Hosted by Dulce Upfront, Resource Sharing for Creatives will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Aug. 13 at LAByrinth Art Collective, 1470 N. Van Ness Ave. This event is meant to connect creative individuals, businesses, collectives, and art administrators. Come share ideas and resources for creatives to collaborate together!
The Fresno Public Library (Sunnyside branch) will be hosting Craft Connect on August 17 from 10 am to 12 pm. Come stop by for some crochet– all skill levels are welcome, and supplies will be provided.
The Fresno Public Library (Woodward branch) will be hosting the annual Ice Cream Social of the Fresno County Genealogical Society from 6:30 to 8:30 pm on Aug. 13. Bring your favorite ancestor and find some information about your family history!
