Quote of the Week

“We’re not going to save farmland at the risk of neighborhoods. There has been a fairly stern push on our local partners, including water agencies and ag folks so they understand that we are here to protect communities.”

– Brian Ferguson, a spokesman for the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, isn’t sure if the state has the authority to cut private levees owned by the J.G. Boswell Company in order to relieve pressure on the Corcoran levee. But here he signals that communities, not farmland, are the priority. 

Save the date: Fresnoland is collaborating with CalMatters on a live journalism event, Legalize Everything: Lessons from Fresno on Housing Affordability. Join us on Thursday, June 15th at the Fresno Art Museum for a thorough discussion on how housing has rapidly transformed in our region, the barriers to housing affordability, and the shape of potential solutions. The panel will take place from 6 – 7 pm and a networking session with light appetizers and drinks will immediately follow. You can learn more and RSVP here! 

This Week in Fresnoland

Bitwise furloughed all 900 members of its workforce.

Bitwise, the so-called mothership for technology entrepreneurs, has closed the doors of its Fresno offices in the face of financial pressure, Tim Sheehan reports for the Fresno Bee. 

Fresno County has filed tax liens against the company for owed property taxes. In a letter, Jerry Dyer stated that Bitwise hasn’t paid city taxes since September 2021. Also, anonymous Bitwise employees tipped the Bee that the company had stopped matching contributions to their 401(k) retirement savings programs in March, and that some checks from the most recent pay period didn’t clear. Yikes. 

Consider also that Bitwise has its hands in quite a few other enterprises. Bitwise has partnered with Fresno Pacific University and Fresno City College to provide technology classes for students, and they were awarded $1 million in federal pandemic relief money to establish a Digital Empowerment Center to improve tech literacy for small businesses. They may need to run the City of Fresno its money back. 

All of this comes as a sort of hellish omen for the planned revitalization of Downtown Fresno. Earlier this year, Bitwise planned to open a new location in Chicago. They just received $80 million from several big investors, including Goldman Sachs. One hopes they can find a way to reinvest in their workers, who find themselves staring down an uncertain future.

Mayor Dyer unveiled a new mortgage assistance program for first-time homebuyers.

If approved, applicants would receive an interest-free loan of up to $100,000 that can be applied to the purchase of a home, including the down payment, Omar Shaikh Rashad reports for Fresnoland. There are some caveats for the applicants: their household income cannot exceed 80% of the area median income (AMI), they cannot have owned a home in the last three years, and they must complete a homebuyer education class. Also, applicants need to prequalify for a home purchase from a participating lender, and the home must be their principal place of residence. Moreover, it has to be a single-family household. 

California’s Department of Housing and Community Development has provided almost a million dollars in funding for this program. The city has already applied for $1.5 million more, and plans to apply for another $1.7 million later.

Predictive models point to a less dramatic Not-So Big Melt in Tulare. 

See, it pays to be pessimistic – you’re always pleasantly surprised when things aren’t terrible. And, according to this report from Lois Henry at SJV Water, things aren’t terrible for Kern County or Corcoran. Early predictions had it that releases from the Isabella Dam into the Kern River would be more than 9,200 cubic feet per second – enough to wash through homes in the low-lying areas. But the new predictions have it at just 7,750 cfs. 

The Tulare Lake bed will peak at 181 feet, and even if it reaches the worst projection of 184.1 feet, it will still fall a little less than ten feet below the newly rebuilt Corcoran levee. Surrounding roads made little holes in the levee before, but now those roads have been pulled off. State regulators are confident we won’t see a repeat flooding disaster.

Ruiz Foods, the largest frozen Mexican food manufacturer in the United States, is moving its corporate headquarters out of the Central Valley and into the Lone Star State.  

Dan Antonelli, a top executive at Ruiz, said that the company will still have a “very strong presence,” in the Central Valley, Melissa Montalvo reports for the Fresno Bee/Fresnoland. Right now, Ruiz has a headquarters in Dinuba, but Antonelli said that Frisco, Texas makes more sense. Texas’ more central position within the US would mean day access to multiple Ruiz facilities. Plus, there’s a larger market for recruitment – the Dallas-Fort Worth area is overflowing with food and consumer packaged good companies. Antonelli hopes to fill 125 positions from this new talent pool. Also, high-ranking employees in Dinuba are free to transfer. 

Speaking of Dinuba, Antonelli pointed out that the Dinuba and Tulare manufacturing plants still employ 1600 people between them. So in a way, we’re only losing the suits overseeing the frozen tortillas, rather than the tortilla freezers themselves.

A man drowned during his shift at a Fresno-area poultry plant.

You can read about Jesus “Chuy” Salazar and the daily life he lead in this story by Melissa Montalvo (Fresno Bee/Fresnoland). Salazar died while working at Pitman Family Farms. That morning, he was tasked with checking the pipes around an indoor poultry wastebin: a large pit filled with remains and water. His body was later found in the pit, and the coroner concluded that the cause of death was drowning.  

Cal/OSHA is investigating the workplace fatality. Pitman Farms didn’t respond to a request for comment. 

Salazar is survived by his family: his son, Richard Castillo, his daughter-in-law, Lina Castillo, his daughter Clarissa Reyes, and his grandchildren Paris, Roman and Landon.

Outside the lines. It’s always nice to see someone from the Central Valley in unexpected places. Amandeep Singh, a long haul trucker from Fresno California, is featured in this Washington Post story about a vast community of Punjabi truck drivers who make their living on the long, winding roads of America.

Block Beat

EL DORADO PARK: A new Paul “Cap” Caprioglio Community Center had its ribbon cutting ceremony. The space, named for a former City Council member, will be a multi-generational space for children and seniors. KMPH

LINDSAY: Just days after Fresno County supervisors forbade raising anything other than the U.S. or California state flags at county facilities, Lindsay Mayor Hipolito Angel Cerreros said that the city will soon have a pride flag-raising ceremony at Lindsay’s City Hall. Documenters

TULARE: The Tulare County Board of Supervisors voted to initiate eminent domain proceedings to acquire a privately-owned parcel at the Goshen intersection, ignoring the landowner’s request for more time. Documenters

SOUTHEAST FRESNO: A Thai restaurant was falsely accused of serving dog meat. It’s now closing after receiving death threats. Fresno Bee

Department of New Construction

PINEDALE: A development permit was filed on behalf of West Coast Podiatry for the development of a medical office building on West Herndon Ave, west of North Blackstone Ave.

HOOVER: A conditional use permit was filed on behalf of T-Mobile for the construction of a mono-pine cell tower on North First St, south of East Bullard Ave. 

SUNNYSIDE: A conditional use permit was filed on behalf of Bottom-Line Development for the expansion of the client’s liquor license in conjunction with a new 7-Eleven gas station. It will be located on North Clovis Ave, north of East Kings Canyon Ave. 

Around Town

CMAC is hosting a philosophy of video editing workshop this Saturday, June 3, starting at 2 p.m. Downtown Fresno

Why do I include emo events in this letter? Is it a desperate, nostalgic grab for my own youth? A word I still recognize even as the world leaves me behind? Even now, as every cell in my body dies and is reborn I – oh, sorry, there’s an Emo Night Tour at Fulton 55 on Saturday at 9 p.m. Downtown Fresno

Next Week in Public Meetings

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Tommy is the author of Toplines, the Fresnoland newsletter curating the top stories in the Central Valley. He thinks he's very funny.