🍨 Good morning! It’s Thursday, Aug. 21. This is Rob, wishing you a happy National Spumoni Day!
♨️ Thoughts and Prayers: 102ish today, but the real pain starts Friday.
📚 Book it: Fresno County will break ground on the new Clovis Regional Library at 11 a.m. next Wednesday, Aug. 27, at 755 Third St., behind the Clovis Senior Center. Fresno County Public Library
🎧 Listen up: Julianna, here. I’m hearing a number of music lovers in Fresno sound off on how influential Fresno rapper Aesop (aka Derrick McElroy) of Living Legends was, in the wake of news of his tragic passing earlier this week. There’s nothing I appreciate more about Fresno than its resilient local art scene, and even in the face of sad news like this, that love and reverence for the artists that grew up in this community (and never really left) is all I’ve been hearing.
1. ‘Canary in a coal mine’
For years, Fresno Unified schools have struggled with one of the worst chronic absenteeism rates in the state, Fresnoland’s Gisselle Medina and Diego Vargas report.
And that was before the Trump Administration began targeting noncriminal undocumented residents with a string of high-profile raids, including raids that started before Trump returned to the White House.
A recent Stanford-led study found a 22% increase in absences since immigration raids began in early January, a pattern the researchers say foreshadows long-term educational issues across large swaths of the region.
Fresno Unified Superintendent Misty Her called it a major problem in Fresno.
Said Her: “[Absenteeism is] definitely a problem and we’ve been dealing with it ever since the pandemic, and it’s been elevated [by] all of the immigration issues that have been happening.”
2. Complaint filed against judge in apartment ruling
A prominent conservative judge in Fresno County has been accused of violating ethics rules for failing to properly disclose political contributions from a local developer who received a favorable ruling from him just last month, The Fresno Bee reports.
The allegation centers around a relationship between Judge Robert Whalen and developer James Huelskamp.
Whalen ruled last month that the City of Fresno violated state laws when they refused to greenlight construction of a luxury apartment complex in northwest Fresno, angering many in and around the Tatarian Elementary School neighborhood.
The city’s controversial decision came after the Fresno city attorney’s office changed its legal guidance mid-process, first saying that Huelskamp had checked off all the legally-required boxes, meaning the city was obligated to approve his project. Then in July 2024, the City Attorney’s Office suddenly didn’t know what the city’s legal requirements were, saying the office’s official position was “we’re not sure.”
Even the planning commission’s rejection last year came with an acknowledgement that the commissioners planned to “ignore the rules.”
3. Fresno-area nonprofits brace for impact
San Joaquin Valley nonprofits do a lot of work in and around the Fresno area.
And much of that work has been jeopardized by the Trump Administration’s massive cuts, especially to programs that don’t align with the White House’s MAGA philosophy — and more cuts are expected in the coming months, KVPR reports.
Data from the Urban Institute shows that, in 2023, San Joaquin Valley non-profits received nearly $2 billion in government funding.
And with more cuts promised, organizations like Self-Help Enterprises, which helps people with housing assistance, are worried about what the future might look like.
CEO Tom Collishaw said cuts can affect “who can apply for our housing opportunities, who can live in our housing when it’s rental housing, and, going forward, who can aspire to live in that housing.”
This newsletter was edited by Fresnoland’s Julianna Morano.
