Quote of the Week
“They’re detaining people who are following the legal process, people doing everything right.”
— Attorney Armida Mendoza, speaking about ICE arrests in Fresno
This Week in Fresnoland
Lots of eyes watching Fresno vote
Ballots are due Tuesday for the statewide Prop 50 election, asking California voters to draw new maps to help the Democratic Party counter GOP gerrymandering in Texas and other “red states.”
The single-issue California ballot carries national implications, and Fresno County could play a key role in next week’s drama. We’re one of just five total California counties that the Trump administration has decided to “monitor” on election night.
Omar S. Rashad broke that story last week for Fresnoland and sat down this week with KVPR’s Central Valley Daily to unpack how the federal election monitors might impact the local vote. (You can find that episode here.)
Then, City Attorney Andrew Janz announced Thursday he’ll be dispatching his staff to monitor the federal monitors (alongside state monitors from state AG Rob Bonta’s office), Omar reported.
Under Prop. 50, Fresno County would move from four to six congressional districts and the GOP’s already anemic presence in the Golden State would be further eroded.
Be sure to check out Fresnoland’s Official Voter Guide for Proposition 50 here.
They tried to do ‘everything right.’ ICE didn’t care
What happens when the government just changes the rules you’ve been following so closely for years?
If you’re trying to emigrate to the United States “the right way,” and authorities abruptly change the rules, you can land in custody in harsh conditions at immigrant detention centers that the government doesn’t describe as prisons.
Fresnoland’s Gisselle Medina spoke with exhausted, frightened families and frustrated advocates who say fear grows daily as more and more people are hauled away after attending routine immigration appointments.
Gisselle discussed their reporting this week on the latest episode of Fresnolandia, where hosts Danielle and Jordan also spoke with an immigration advocate and Fresno Bee reporter Melissa Montalvo, whose recent exclusive reporting show ICE arrests are up almost 60% in Fresno this year. (Find The Fresno Bee report here.)
As immigration captures and raids intensify, many Fresno-area church leaders rallied this week, calling for the community to support immigrants, many of whom are being targeted exclusively because of the color of their skin. (Find that story here.)
Check out Gisselle’s full story here. Find the Fresnolandia podcast discussion here.
Free food resources in Fresno County as SNAP benefits remain in limbo
Federal judges continue to weigh in on whether the Trump administration’s decision not to tap into emergency funds to keep the federal food assistance program (SNAP) afloat during the ongoing shutdown can stand.
As those deliberations continue leaving millions of Americans’ access to food in limbo, Fresnoland put together a guide of local resources Fresno County residents can turn to access free groceries and hot meals for the time being.
The list includes food distributions, a no-cost restaurant serving three meals a day, campus food pantries and donation opportunities around town.
The efforts toward filling the gap are ongoing. One Fresno councilmember announced a $50,000 donation from his office’s budget to the Central California Food Bank, Your Central Valley reported, and told Fresnoland Friday that he’ll bring forward an item at next Thursday’s council meeting to donate $250,000 total.
Fresno cuts deal with state to reimburse clearing of more homeless encampments
The Fresno City Council struck a deal with the state to reimburse up to $400,000 to clear out homeless encampments along freeway ramps in the north parts of town, Fresnoland’s Pablo Orihuela reported.
Before ultimately voting yes, councilmembers from the city’s southwest and central districts questioned why the agreement only covered the north side, saying it “feeds into the narrative” that “north Fresno is nice and clean and central and south … not so much.”
City staff said other parts of town could have an opportunity to take advantage of the state funds down the line.
The deal comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom’s SAFE task force came to town last week to clear out encampments along Highway 180 as part of a broader anti-encampment operation, Fresnoland’s Rob Parsons reported.
Leaving already?
Last year, projections estimated that some 1.5 million people would be living in Fresno County by 2050.
But that was before the federal government’s sustained immigration crackdown that experts now say could discourage or prevent thousands of people from coming to Fresno over the next three decades or so, Gregory Weaver reported for Fresnoland this week.
Updated projections from the state’s finance department show Fresno County’s population will top out at about 1.08 million by 2045 before declining to roughly 1.01 million by 2070, an enormous revision of state forecasts from 2018, which estimated 1.5 million people living in the county by 2050.
State demographer Walter Schwarm: “With a sustained period of lower immigration, some of those agricultural jobs that attracted individuals might well be automated. The demand for agricultural labor would be a little bit less in some Central Valley counties.”
Outside the Lines
Fresno County plans to study what a regional rail system might look like that would connect rural and city communities. Specifically, the rail would connect Fresno, Firebaugh, Kerman, Mendota, Reedley, San Joaquin, Fowler, Selma, Kingsburg, Sanger and Dinuba in Tulare County. Fresno County rail study info
Travelers should expect longer delays at Fresno Yosemite International Airport, as the federal government shutdown stretches on. It’s pushed some air traffic controllers to look for second jobs. ABC30
Fresno Cricket Club is a professional group that has been around since 2007 but until recently has never had a dedicated space to practice or even play while its dozens of members travel around the state for tournaments. KVPR
The City of Fresno begins its One-Day Outdoor Water Use Schedule today (Saturday, Nov. 1) The schedule remains in effect through March. CBS47
The City of Fresno Recycling Program will host a free paper shredding event at 11 a.m.Saturday, Nov. 15 at the Department of Public Utilities Operations & Maintenance Building, 1665 G St., Fresno. This service is limited to Fresno residents who pay for City of Fresno solid waste collection services. City Hall
Home flipping is booming in Kings and Madera as investors shift to rural markets, while Fresno sees sluggish growth. ABC30
Block Beat
TOWER DISTRICT: Van Ness Village businesses (between Home and Floradora) are holding a Block Party Saturday, Nov. 1, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in celebration of Día de los Muertos. Mi Cafesito
FRESNO HIGH: Dulce UpFront and the Big Red Church invite the public to a special inter-faith service and candlelit procession to celebrate Día de los Muertos at 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1 at the Big Red Church, 2131 N. Van Ness Blvd. Dulce is also keeping the celebration going all day, with community altars on display and music. Dulce Upfront
DOWNTOWN: Arte Américas’ annual Cala Gala returns this Saturday, Nov. 1 in celebration of Día de los Muertos. The event starts with a procession from Warnors Theatre to the museum, and then the celebration continues at Arte with art-making stations, food, danza and folklórico performances and more. Arte Américas
FIG GARDEN LOOP: November is National Novel Writing Month, and Judging by the Cover is hosting a series of five pop-up sessions for aspiring novelists to gather and spend an hour of silent time writing, “sandwiched between two 30-minute blocks of mingling,” where you can share what you’re working on … or leave others in suspense! The first one will happen at the Teazer’s on West Shaw. Judging by the Cover
SHAVER LAKE: Five years after the Creek Fire devastated mountain communities, the rebuilding of Cressman’s General Store near Shaver Lake is taking shape. ABC30
CLOVIS: As California launches a $10 million pilot program in an effort to rethink the more-than-a-century-old factory model of schools, one alternative school in Clovis could be a model for the future. CalMatters
