☀️ Good morning! Today is Wednesday, June 12. Rob, here. Fresno’s first heatwave of 2024 should peak today with an expected high of 103 before cooling slightly heading into the weekend
📖Fresno poet Michelle Patton will read from her work at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Betty Rodriguez Regional Library, 3040 N Cedar Ave. in Fresno. Patton, who also teaches English at Fresno City College, received an MFA in creative writing from Fresno State, won the Ernesto Trejo Award for poetry, and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her poems have appeared in The Atlanta Review, Southern Poetry Review, Zyzzyva, and Prairie Schooner, among others. Read more here
🚓In an open letter to Fresno police officers this week, Chief Paco Balderrama apologized for what he described as failing to meet his own standards “as a man of faith, a husband or a father.” While the chief did not specify the nature of the “inappropriate off-duty relationship” that triggered a firestorm of controversy, he said he would not “justify or defend” it. An investigation into Balderrama’s relationship was abruptly announced last week in a brief, vague statement from Mayor Jerry Dyer. The police union’s board of directors is expected to meet today to discuss the issue, but it remains unclear what, if anything, might come out of the union meeting.
Outgoing Fresno school chief Bob Nelson opens up on board politics, unions and poor test scores
Bob Nelson was superintendent of California’s third-largest school district for nearly seven years. He led the district through multiple defining moments, including the COVID-19 pandemic, two narrowly averted teachers strikes, and multiple contentious elections. Now, he’s hoping to teach future Central Valley educators about how to navigate the politics of […]
