Quote of the Week
“It’s a disgrace that the CEO and his executives are enriching themselves on the back of sick and poor children.»
— Fresno City Councilmember Garry Bredefeld after calling for the state to investigate the multi-million dollar salary of Valley Children’s CEO Todd Suntrapak
This Week in Fresnoland
‘Absolute outrage’
Fresno got big mad this week when it was revealed that the CEO of Valley Children’s Hospital earned more than $5 million in 2021, Fresnoland’s Omar Shaikh Rashad reported.
Councilmembers Miguel Arias and Garry Bredefeld called executive compensation at the children’s hospital a “disgrace” and an “absolute outrage.”
Four other executives, besides CEO Todd Suntrapak, received more than $1 million in total compensation in 2021, according to hospital tax documents. The records were first published through ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer database.
Those were hard numbers to swallow for some who’ve stood on cold, busy street corners over the years, slinging damp Kid’s Day newspapers to help the hospital raise money.
Especially, Arias said, after learning the hospital also helped Suntrapak purchase a home in the swanky beach town of Carmel-by-the-Sea, described as a “loan for residence as a retention incentive in lieu of other compensation.”
A Fresnoland examination of property records confirmed that Suntrapak bought a $6.5 million home in Carmel in 2022.
A university professor who studies nonprofit hospitals told ABC30 that such loans for top executives aren’t unusual.
Suntrapak stayed silent this week and the hospital’s official media responses amounted to a kind of exasperated shrug. Yes, he’s worth it, they said. Isn’t it obvious? After all, Valley Children’s Hospital is an elite hospital.
And that’s true, The Fresno Bee’s Marek Warszawski noted, but also not the point for anyone suddenly questioning who really benefited from all those small donations over the years at places like Panda Express and Save Mart or FoodMaxx.
“We can’t help but connect the mental dots from our small contributions to those exorbitant salaries,” Warszawski wrote.
Suntrapak’s silence probably wasn’t surprising for PR-types, except that he’s never really been shy before.
This isn’t even his first clash with Bredefeld.
During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Suntrapak criticized Bredefeld and other politicians for demanding that schools reopen in July 2020. He’s spoken out on social issues, too, like the murder of George Floyd.
It’s also not the first time Suntrapak has been the focus of SJV Sun, the Fresno-area website that first published his salary locally this week. In 2021, Suntrapak weighed in on another COVID debate, this time in Clovis Unified schools, earning the website’s scrutiny.
(And credit where credit is due, if you haven’t listened to the Broeske & Musson interview on KMJ with the SJV Sun’s Alex Tavlian, it’s worth it. Tavlian – no stranger to criticism himself – shows the hospital’s Bay Area PR flack that Fresno residents are, in fact, sophisticated enough to understand that Valley Children’s didn’t simply hand the CEO a bag stuffed with five million $1 bills.)
Wednesday’s news conference was also something of a two-fer for Bredefeld, who didn’t miss a shot at District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp, a trustee on one of the hospital’s boards.
“She should have known better,” Bredefeld said.
Smittcamp didn’t respond to Fresnoland this week, but on the GOP-safe Ray Appleton show she defended Suntrapak and the salary, while saying she didn’t actually get to vote on it. She described Bredefeld’s attack as politically-motivated and “shameful.”
Bredefeld and Smittcamp feuded just last month over Bredefeld’s campaign for the Fresno County Board of Supervisors, which she reportedly called “dirty.”
It will be interesting to see when and where (and if) Suntrapak speaks out, to the news media or anywhere else. Maybe he’ll just put his feet up and wait for the storm to pass at one of Carmel’s fancy “fairytale cottages.”
And maybe hospital CEO salary caps won’t emerge as a campaign issue in 2024, for Bredefeld or anyone else, but Fresno wouldn’t be the first California city to talk about it.
‘Shameful and disgraceful’
U.S. Rep. Jim Costa has failed to meet with local Palestinian, Arab and Muslim community members and advocates, who say they have been trying to speak with him for the last five months, Fresnoland’s Omar Shaikh Rashad reported.
CAIR Sacramento Valley/Central California and the Palestine Liberation Group held a news conference outside Costa’s downtown Fresno office, calling on him to oppose genocide — especially as political pressure has made national leaders advocate for a ceasefire in Gaza.
With Costa’s voting record on Israel — which separates him from most Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives — advocates aren’t surprised he’s dodged a sit-down with constituents most impacted by Israel’s continued siege on the Gaza Strip.
“We think it’s shameful and disgraceful that Representative Costa is so far behind what we’re seeing on a national level,” said Sukaina Hussain, a deputy executive director at CAIR’s Sacramento Valley/Central California office.
Dyer drops big downtown news during Mariposa Plaza makeover groundbreaking
Once the central public square of downtown Fresno, Mariposa Plaza is finally getting a long-awaited makeover. City leaders broke ground on an over $4 million project to awaken the plaza on Fulton and Mariposa Streets, Fresnoland’s Danielle Bergstrom reported.
The plaza holds a significant place in local Fresno labor history as the site of what historians say is California’s fights over freedom of expression – the Fresno Free Speech Fight.
During Thursday’s ceremony, Mayor Jerry Dyer announced the first investments from California’s $50 million down payment on a $300 million promise for downtown revitalization: plans to replace all water and sewer infrastructure in downtown Fresno by the end of 2025. He said he anticipates a contract to be awarded for the work in June.
Fresno City Council votes to sue Fresno County
In a narrow 4-3 vote this week, the Fresno City Council moved forward with a lawsuit against Fresno County and its controversial new General Plan, Fresnoland’s Gregory Weaver reported.
Environmental groups are expected to join the lawsuit, accusing the county of abandoning essential protection programs and handing over control of the Kings River’s future to developers. At least some at City Hall fear the county’s plan could inadvertently pave the way for a massive 7,000-acre development on the Kings River in the future.
Tensions over development have been escalating between city and county politicians particularly since a 30-year tax-sharing deal expired in 2020.
Thousands of Fresno students ignoring free college money?
Despite the fanfare surrounding its launch in 2022, the California Kids Investment and Development Savings program (CalKIDS), a state initiative to help children from low income families save money for college or a career, has been underutilized as eligible families lack awareness about its existence, EdSource’s Lasherica Thornton reported this week.
In Fresno Unified, only 6.64% of eligible students have claimed their accounts — partly because the district has not publicized the program as it can and should, FUSD Trustee Andy Levine said during a March 6 board meeting.
Outside the Lines
An at times testy discussion Thursday at City Hall revealed that Fresno faces a potential $37 million deficit unless cuts are made. Attention fell on the city’s hiring expansions and employee salary increases for the city’s police and fire departments — which have both received at least a $50 million budget expansion since Mayor Jerry Dyer took office. FRESNOLAND
A community advocacy group hopes to reignite the legal debate over plans to reopen Madera’s bankrupt hospital, citing alleged gaps in the turnaround plan presented by the hospital’s new operators, American Advanced Medical, Inc. FRESNOLAND
Vince Fong, Mike Boudreaux head to May election to finish Kevin McCarthy’s congressional term. THE FRESNO BEE
Black women are at highest risk for pregnancy deaths. How a new California law addresses the problem. THE MERCED FOCUS
With nearly $40 billion in work on the way, is the Valley construction workforce ready? THE BUSINESS JOURNAL
Block Beat
TOWER DISTRICT: A community group is fighting longstanding industrial zoning of homes along the Belmont Corridor. Fresnoland
FRESNO STATE: City leaders broke ground this week on a new project expected to add 100 new trees to the Willow Avenue Trail, between Escalon and Barstow Avenues.
HIGHWAY CITY: Kids ages 5 to 17 are invited to a Bike Safety Rodeo! “Enjoy a week filled with exciting activities, educational presentations, and the highlight of the week: our awesome bike rodeo.” The event runs from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 1 to Friday, May 3. Questions? Call 559-621-PLAY (7529). FRESNOPARCS
WEST CENTRAL: The Fresno City Council approved an engineering agreement at their meeting Thursday to begin work for the new ‘Dolores Huerta Park’ located at Dakota and Milburn Avenues.
FRESNO HIGH: The city’s oldest high school is tracking student bathroom visits with an app. “Not everyone likes it.” THE FRESNO BEE
Department of New Construction
JEFFERSON: An application is under review for the proposed construction of a 90-foot “monopine cell tower” for Verizon Wireless in the 300 block of North Fresno Street.
Around Town
Vote Fresno County and Fresno Rainbow Pride are seeking couples interested in getting married at the Fresno Rainbow Pride Parade celebrations on Saturday, June 1. For more information, call 559-600-2575.
The City of Fresno is hosting a series of community meetings to discuss plans to raise rates for residential garbage pickup and other services. The first meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 27 in the Council Chambers at Fresno City Hall. Additional community meetings will be held throughout the month of April at locations within each council district. FRESNOLAND
Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer will be the keynote speaker during the annual State of Downtown event, which runs from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, April 19 at Warnors Theatre, 1400 Fulton St. Downtown Fresno
Be a part of the process. Please join City Staff to identify Climate and Environmental Justice Issues in your community. The first workshop in a series of three will be held on the Fresno City College Campus, in the Student Cafeteria. The workshop runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, March 30 at 1049 E. Weldon Ave. RSVP
