Quote of the Week
“Regardless of the availability of bed space in this community, we will hold our unsheltered population accountable and that could and will include arresting and taking them to jail if in fact they are in violation of the ordinance.”
—Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer on the city’s new plan to clear homeless encampments
This Week in Fresnoland
What are they going to do? Arrest them? Put them in jail?’
On Thursday, Fresno County Supervisor Steve Brandau announced plans for a new ordinance allowing law enforcement to clear and penalize homeless encampments. The following day, Fresno city officials said they plan to dust off a 2017 ordinance — also penned by Brandau during his time on the City Council — that will provide the city with the same authority, Fresnoland’s Pablo Orihuela reported.
Both moves were expected following the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Grants Pass ruling that essentially cleared the way for local-level authorities to penalize outdoor camping.
City leaders took an aggressive posture during Friday’s news conference.
“Regardless of the availability of bed space in this community,” Mayor Jerry Dyer said, “we will hold our unsheltered population accountable and that could and will include arresting and taking them to jail if in fact they are in violation of the ordinance.”
City leaders also said services and help would be offered and available and officials pledged to work with anyone who accepts the help offered.
Ed Noriego of Valley Remnants & Rolls on Blackstone Avenue also described the difficulties with some of the people sleeping or staying nearby.
“I’ve been threatened on numerous occasions,” Noriego said. “I don’t have a window in my building that hasn’t been broken out. Every single one is a new window now.”
But advocates for the unhoused say the effort is simply the latest example of government efforts to criminalize homelessness.
“This is essentially a streamlined way to get the majority of what they consider lower-than full-magnum knuckle draggers in jail,” said DawnTurdivan, an unhoused Fresno resident. “It’s inhumane.”
“What are they going to do with the families that I have out here with children that have been begging for bed space?” questioned advocate Dez Martinez. “What are they going to do? Arrest them? Put them in jail?”
Fresno prepared for lawsuit after rejecting apartment project
Northwest Fresno residents fighting to block construction of a large apartment complex captured their biggest win yet this week when the City Council rejected the developer’s permit application, despite repeated acknowledgement from city staffers that the project met all legal requirements.
The council’s narrow 4-3 vote sets up a lawsuit against the city from developer James Huelskamp, owner of Land Value Management, Fresnoland’s Pablo Orihuela reported.
“Everybody here knows what I’m gonna do,” Huelskamp said following Thursday’s rejection. In a brief interview with Fresnoland, the developer confirmed he plans to sue.
Fresno City Councilmember Mike Karbassi appeared open to reconsidering a project, but said it’s up to the developer to get the community on board.
Huelskamp has noted — and city staff confirmed — the project checked off all the legal boxes. Huelskamp’s team has also noted they’re not legally required to meet with the residents.
‘At some level, I don’t think it’s ethical’
Dozens of Valley residents protested the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) unanimous approval this week for a slate of delays to clean the air in America’s dirtiest air basin, Fresnoland’s Gregory Weaver reported.
CARB board members approved multiple deadline extensions for annual PM2.5 standards in the San Joaquin Valley, extending their initial timeline made in 2018. After decades of missed deadlines, Valley residents and some board members said the request to meet a 2012 air standard by 2030 was unacceptable.
CARB and the Air District were supposed to meet the country’s first annual soot standard, from 1997, by 2010. The EPA granted the Valley regulators a first deadline request for spring 2015. The Air District and CARB failed to meet that deadline. Deadlines were extended again — and missed again — in 2015, 2020 and 2023.
After so many failures, CARB Board Member Diane Takvorian said that her vote Thursday unsettled her conscience, knowing how sick Valley residents had become by the Air District’s and CARB’s failures.
“I don’t feel comfortable,” she said about approving the deadline extension. “At some level, I don’t think it’s ethical.”
Fight over law enforcement elections
The fight for control over the election cycles of Fresno County’s sheriff and district attorney finally landed in court Friday.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued Fresno County over changes to its charter, returning both law enforcement elections to the gubernatorial cycle. Bonta argues the changes voters approved in March are “preempted” by a 2022 law requiring counties to hold those elections during the presidential cycle, “which traditionally has higher voter turnout.”
“Because this attempt to move these elections away from the presidential election cycle violates state law and would suppress participation, we have filed this lawsuit to ensure that the rights of all voters are protected,” said California Secretary of State Shirley Weber, who joined Bonta in the lawsuit.
The fight over Fresno County’s elected cops has been fermenting since last August when the Fresno County Board of Supervisors began pushing to get the issue on the March ballot. Supervisor Steve Brandau has called it a fight for “autonomy.”
Honoring great art AND Fresno’s place in feminist art history
This weekend, artist Wendy Maruyama, a retired professor from San Diego State University whose primary medium is furniture-making, will become the next in a line of dozens of women to receive the Fresno Art Museum’s recognition of Distinguished Woman Artist.
The museum has been awarding these honors since the late 1980s to female artists over the age of 60 with a national and/or international reputation, Fresnoland’s Charlotte Burks reported.
While Maruyama’s honor is distinct, Fresno has a broader legacy of celebrating women artists, Charlotte reports.
In 1970, Fresno State (then known as Fresno State College) became home to the very first feminist art class in the country, led by renowned artist Judy Chicago.
Even though Fresno blazed a trail for women artists in this way, some told Charlotte recognition for women artists like the Fresno Art Museum’s honor still feel overdue.
“I think it’s kind of sad that women artists in general get recognized in (their) 70s and 80s and beyond,” said Karen LeCocq, an alum of Fresno State’s feminist art program, “while the men we went to CalArts with got recognized in their 20s and 30s.”
Outside the Lines
During a hectic week at Fresno City Hall, the council approved plans to expand Radio Park through eminent domain and approved an $18 million contract for Fresno police equipment and services, including body cameras. FRESNOLAND
An appeals court sided with the city of Fresno, ending a yearslong dispute with Adventure Church’s efforts to purchase the Tower Theater. The church sued the city in 2022, claiming the city illegally pressured the theater’s owners to back out of a deal with the church. KVPR
Dubbed the “perfect tailgate beer,” Fresno State announced a new partnership with Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Company along with plans to release the new canned adult beverage next month. Fresno State’s first officially licensed craft beer is brewed by Bulldog alumni and a portion of the revenue goes back to the school’s athletic department. KSEE
Block Beat
Khalra Neighborhood Park: The Jakara Movement is presenting the JSK Farmer’s Market at Jaswant Singh Khalra Neighborhood Park from 8 am to 1 pm. The market, which occurs on the last Saturday of each month, aims to “educate the importance of healthy food and nutrition by providing low cost healthy food options and supporting the community that surrounds the [Jaswant Singh Khalra Neighborhood Park]”.
McClane: The Betty Rodriguez Regional Library is hosting Veterans Connect on July 30. The event, which lasts from 9:30 to 11:30 am, offers information about benefits, services, and resources available to veterans.
Tower: Celebrate the reopening of Bookish, a used bookstore on West Olive Avenue in Fresno. First opened in 2021, store owners Vanessa Garabedian and Lorenzo Martinez closed the shop briefly earlier this year when Garabedian went on maternity leave. The reopening event is set for 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, at the store at 520 W. Olive Ave. The couple discussed their big plans for the store earlier this year with Fresnoland’s Julianna Morano.
Around Town
Music in the Garden is being hosted by Shinzen Friendship Garden on Aug. 1 from 5 to 6:30 pm. The night features music performed by the band “Ripe for the Pickin’”, who recreate the original energy and high-lonesome sound of Bluegrass music. Admission is $10 for adults, and $5 for children– reserve online here.
The Annual Iris Rhizome Sale is being hosted by the Fresno Iris Society on Aug. 3. You can find the rhizomes– locally grown, lovingly dug, trimmed and labeled by Iris Society members– at Redeemer Lutheran Church from 7:30 am to 12 pm, and the event is free to everyone.
The Betty Rodriguez Regional Library is hosting a $5 per bag book sale on Aug. 3 from 9 am to 4:45 pm. Please bring cash in order to buy books.
ArtHop will be hosted indoors in Downtown Fresno on Aug. 1, starting at 5 pm. Registration for vendors is required, and all vendors must be indoors– artists can still showcase their work, and community organizations will be present.
