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☀️🔥 Good morning! Today is Wednesday, May 21. Danielle, here. It’s been windy — and with the warm temps, that means it’s fire weather. Even on the valley floor, a hot lawnmower can spark a grassfire quickly. The meteorologists at NWS Hanford have put us on a fire weather watch through Thursday, for now.
It’s stonefruit season, guys: only one of our best seasons in the Central Valley, right? I’m a little biased since I grew up on a peach farm. Anyhow, the Fresno County Fruit Trail — a self-guided tour of fruit stands through the farm country — has officially kicked off. If you haven’t taken a drive through the backcountry roads of Reedley, Sanger, and Orange Cove, here’s your sign. I’m partial to the peaches at Yokota Family Farm, on Road 24 in Kingsburg — in addition to the beauties they serve up at Masumoto Family Farm in Del Rey. Details at GoFruitTrail.com.
11th hour information dumps: Decision-makers at Fresno City Hall have received two reports in the last week on the controversial Southeast Development Area, or SEDA plan, with infrastructure costs released just yesterday — revealing crucial details about the financial viability of the project, as the planning commission is set to take a vote tonight. The meeting starts at 6pm. Read more from Gregory Weaver at Fresnoland.
Over 20,000 care workers to get a raise: Fresno County’s in-home supportive services workers, represented by SEIU, got a long-fought win yesterday as the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved their new contract. Read more from Julianna Morano at Fresnoland.
Jail transfers to ICE hit 5-year high: Before anyone goes to blame President Trump, the 102 transfers of individuals to federal immigration authorities happened in 2024, under the Biden Administration. Sheriff Zanoni, in his remarks to supervisors during a hearing Tuesday, reiterated his desire to loosen restrictions on how his office can coordinate with ICE. Read more from Julianna Morano at Fresnoland.
Misty Her says she’s ready to stay laser focused on student achievement: her tenure as superintendent of Fresno Unified may only have officially just started, but the district’s new leader came on the Fresnolandia podcast to talk about how she plans to herd everyone towards the same goals. Fresnolandia
For the budget wonks (yes, we know our audience): The public is invited to “Working Together: How the State Budget Affects Local Budgets & Policy,” an event co-hosted by The California Budget & Policy Center and Power California to help “strategize how to build a more just and equitable Golden State together.” The event runs from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 21 at the Fresno Art Museum, 2233 N. First St. RSVP at this link.
With $4.3 billion infrastructure price tag, Fresno planning commission to vote on new version of Clovis with no plan to pay it
On Wednesday, Fresno’s planning commission will take one of its most important votes of the decade: Approving the final documents for the southeast development area, known as SEDA, a massive 45,000-home development that could reshape the city for generations and potentially burden taxpayers with $4.3 billion in infrastructure costs. The […]
Fresno County Board of Supervisors approves new contract for home care workers boosting wages over $18
The Fresno County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a new three-year contract for thousands of In-Home Supportive Services workers at its meeting Tuesday. The agreement raises hourly wages from $17.10 to $18.35 and boosts union-provided health care benefits for about 2,000 of the roughly 25,000 county workers. The care workers […]
Fresno County jail transferred over 100 individuals to ICE custody in 2024, a 5-year high
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office handed over 102 individuals to the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement last year — a five-year high. The ICE transfers from the county jail in 2024 were more than double the number reported in 2023. Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni shared the 2024 […]
Fresnolandia Podcast: How Misty Her wants to fix Fresno Unified
On this week’s Fresnolandia podcast, Jordan and Danielle talk with Misty Her, Fresno Unified’s (officially) new superintendent — and the first woman and Hmong person to occupy that role — about her plans to improve academic outcomes in the state’s third largest school district. They dive into enrollment and attendance […]
