Quote of the Week
“That’s as close to a smoking gun as we’re ever going to get.”
— First Amendment Coalition attorney David Loy, speaking about new emails that refute claims from Fresno City Hall
This Week in Fresnoland
‘Won’t look good publicly’
Recently released emails from Fresno City Hall appear to contradict repeated claims made by city leaders that the council’s (now-defunct) budget committee was somehow exempt from state open meeting laws known as the Brown Act, Omar S. Rashad reports in an exclusive Fresnoland investigation.
Stemming from a public watchdog lawsuit filed by the First Amendment Coalition and the ACLU, the emails refute the city’s claim that its budget committee dissolved each year, as required by law. In fact, the emails reveal numerous budget committee meetings went on behind closed doors consistently throughout each calendar year between 2019 and 2023.
An April 2023 email from Councilmember Mike Karbassi to the city manager, Karbassi appears to lament that several city issues weren’t first discussed in a private budget committee meeting to avoid a public council “fight, which won’t look good publicly.”
Follow the (dark) money?
Who funded the controversial Fresno Future Forward PAC in Fresno’s March special election? A company called Blue Horsehoe (sic) Agency, according to the PAC’s latest filing.
The company, which has the same business address as three companies run by Alex Tavlian, loaned the PAC $4,439.51, the exact cost of the disparaging mailers attacking the race’s eventual winner Brandon Vang.
Fresnoland’s Omar S. Rashad didn’t find any trace of Blue Horsehoe Agency in city, county and state public business records.
“What it suggests is that this is one individual who owns, manages all these companies and is moving money between them,” said Fresno State professor Thomas Holyoke. “Whether it’s for the purpose of making it hard to track that money as it enters the political process — I couldn’t specifically say.”
South Tower wants more neighbors, fewer speculators
Fresno’s first community land trust-owned home landed on the market Wednesday in the South Tower neighborhood with a price tag well below the area’s standard market rate, Fresnoland’s Julianna Morano reported.
The land trust model aims to keep homes affordable and also in the hands of local residents, instead of investment firms and speculators, partly by selling homes while maintaining ownership of the land they’re built on.
“Our only concern is home ownership that’s affordable for real-life human beings,” said local realtor Joe Hadyock of the South Tower Community Land Trust’s property for sale — as opposed to speculators that “may or may not do a good job of renovating the home.”
You can learn more about the land trust model at the California Community Land Trust Network’s conference, which is coming to Fresno for the first time next month.
MAGA Trojan horse?
Arguing that Fresno County government offices should remain apolitical, Supervisor Garry Bredefeld is leading the local charge to change policies around department spending and which public displays would be allowed in local libraries, Fresnoland’s Pablo Orihuela reports.
But critics of the policy say it’s not apolitical, but rather part of a conservative MAGA agenda that has continuously targeted trans and LBTQ+ communities.
On Tuesday, a divided board split 3-2 on an instruction for county staff to return to a future meeting with new draft language for the county’s holiday policy.
Several Fresno residents spoke out against the policy-change effort and one person spoke in support.
‘His rights as a human being’
Fresno residents last week gathered to help deaf and hard-of-hearing residents prepare for encounters with masked and frequently unidentified federal agents amid the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown.
Fresnoland’s Diego Vargas was on hand at the workshop and spoke with a mother who worries for her son.
“It’s very, very difficult sometimes to have educational presentations that also educate deaf people,” she said. “It makes me feel good knowing he knows his rights as a human being as it relates to everything going on and in case we are ever detained.”
The event was organized by Poder LatinX, The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) and the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Service Center, along with support from state Sen. Anna Caballero.
Outside the Lines
On this week’s Fresnolandia, Jordan and Danielle speak with Rick Gustafson, a Portland-based transit expert and former legislator and regional planning executive who helped Portland get its first regional light rail system. Fresnolandia
Freshman Councilmember Brandon Vang is under investigation in connection with a conflict-of-interest complaint filed with the state Fair Political Practices Commission, but the recently elected southeast city leader said he doesn’t believe he broke any rules. The Fresno Bee
The Trump administration took its second crack at identifying “sanctuary” communities in California, just months after an error-riddled list bizarrely and falsely included non-sanctuary — and Trump-supporting — cities like Fresno and Huntington Beach. KVPR
Months after claiming no changes were planned for Fresno Unified’s diversity programs, The Bee reported this week that changes are already underway. The Fresno Bee
New plans could soon be released detailing how high-speed rail backers intend to get the long-beleaguered project across the finish line. KVPR
Valley Children’s Hospital on Monday issued a safety alert to school districts and athletic programs across the central San Joaquin Valley following a sharp rise in serious facial injuries among young football players. KMPH
Block Beat
DOWNTOWN: A booze-free wellness day party called Grand Rising is set for Saturday, Aug. 9, at Invictus Ink, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. This event offers a revitalizing, coffee-filled atmosphere with DJs, wellness vendors and nourishing bites like açaí bowls, avocado toast and cold brew from Loving Seed. While tickets are officially sold out, 15 spots will be available at the door on a first-come, first-served basis. Grand Rising Party
DOWNTOWN: The Historic Crest Theatre will be screening “The Spongebob Squarepants Movie” on Saturday, Aug. 9. The event is cash only and tickets cost $5. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the movie will begin at 7 p.m. All ages are welcome. Historic Crest Theatre Fresno
HOOVER: Fashion Fair Mall will hold a weeklong donation drive for school supplies. The drive is organized by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central California, and it runs from Friday, Aug. 8 to Friday, Aug. 15, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. The organization is asking for school supplies like backpacks, pencils and notebooks, and is also taking monetary donations directly. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central California
EAST CENTRAL FRESNO: The Fresno Animal Center partnered with the annual “Clear the Shelters” campaign to help pets find homes and to raise money to support the center’s efforts. Fresno Animal Center.
RIVER PARK: Reports of shoplifting and retail theft are down significantly this year at the River Park Shopping Center, and a recently approved law is getting the credit for the drop in crime. ABC30
DOWNTOWN: There’s still time to submit your entries for a local photography contest dubbed “Focus on Downtown,” an annual contest that takes place within the “downtown triangle” between Highways 41, 180 and 99. It is open to all cameras and skill levels with four categories to submit photos in: (1) Architecture, (2) Culture & Events, (3) Portraits: People & Pets and (4) Black & White. Submissions will be accepted until 10 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 13. Downtown Fresno
FRESNO FAIRGROUNDS: The 14th Annual Big Fresno Fair will host a job fair Thursday, Aug. 14 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Fresno Fairgrounds’ Commerce Building. Big Fresno Fair
FRESNO STATE: The university’s Creative Writing Alumni Chapter presents the third annual Fresno Writers Summit, celebrating new books by Fresno State alumni authors from 1 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27, at the Smittcamp Alumni House on campus. Tickets are $12. Fresno State
