It’s Tuesday, Sept 2. Omar here! Hope you had a great Labor Day weekend!
☀️ September heat says hello: Don’t let the speck of clouds and rain this morning fool you. Fresno could get as hot as 102 degrees today.
🍵 Calling all Performative Males™: Judging by the Cover is hosting a performative male contest in Fresno’s Chinatown neighborhood on Saturday, Sept. 20. Come out, bring your friends and see who’s the best as wearing a tucked white tee, pleated pants and wired headphones while holding an iced matcha latte!
1. Garnet Fire sends smoke north to Madera County
The Garnet Fire in the Sierra National Forest grew to 24,851 acres as of Tuesday morning, making it the third largest California wildfire so far this year, Fresnoland’s Omar S. Rashad reports.
So far, the Garnet Fire has not sent wildfire smoke into major population centers, however it has worsened the air quality in the foothill communities of Madera County, including Oakhurst.
The 10-day-old blaze is still at 12% containment, most of which is along the southern portion of the wildfire. One of the biggest priorities last week for California Incident Management Team 10 was to ensure that the blaze didn’t jump the Kings River and spread south.
Operations Chief Tom Browning: “Starting along the Kings River, they’ve done excellent work in securing that, maintaining it within the lines — and understand that’s steep, rugged terrain.”
2. Fresno County is on a hiring spree for poll workers
Fresno County is on a hiring spree for poll workers ahead of the statewide special election, Fresnoland’s Omar S. Rashad reports.
Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters James Kus is seeking to hire at least 50 temporary poll workers by Friday, in order to give them enough time to get trained and ready for the November election.
The State of California is covering local costs of the special election, and will pay Fresno County the estimated $4 million it needs to run the election.
Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters James Kus: “This recruitment will let Fresno County better staff our Vote Centers and if we have enough new hires, potentially open additional locations. In both situations, these hires will lead to direct improvements in the in-person voting experience for Fresno County voters.”
3. National park workers vote to unionize
Staff at Yosemite and Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks have voted to unionize, Your Central Valley reports.
The roughly 600 positions now covered by the National Federation of Federal Employees include park rangers, fee collectors, geographers and first responders, among others.
NFFE leadership cited the current climate for federal workers under the Trump administration as a main reason for why the vote to unionize was so successful.
NFFE President Randy Erwin: “Federal employees across the country have been faced with reductions in force, threats to workplace protections, and slashed agency budgets under this administration. NFFE will be taking every step possible to increase both staffing and resources, and to defend employees from actions that threaten their rights and the incredible work they do stewarding our public lands.”
