Good morning! It’s Monday, Sept. 14. This is Rob.
Join us at October ArtHop to discuss the legacy of Fresno’s freeway-building days on Armeniantown, Chinatown and West Fresno! More details here.
Conflicting results? Sanger parents are demanding answers after several junior varsity swimmers competed in water with more than twice the amount of chlorine allowed in the pool by the CDC. KMPH
Let’s get it started: The first annual Central Valley Blackeye Pea Festival and Cook-Off will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3. Blackeye Pea Fest
Brewery District: The Dads Cookies shop opens from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Oct. 3 at its new storefront located at 760 Fulton St. YourCentralValley
Downtown: The Marjaree Mason Center invites you to the 43rd annual Top Ten Professional Women Awards from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 21 at the Fresno Convention & Entertainment Center. Marjaree Mason Center
1. Poised for growth
As Fresno Unified eyes smaller classroom sizes and the possibility of closing campuses in the coming years, Clovis Unified is growing — fast.
As the City of Clovis updates its general plan with an eye toward growth on the east and south sides of the city, the school district is preparing for a larger future as well.
The district’s plan to purchase about 250 acres near McCall and Hernadon avenues, GV Wire reports, would eclipse the district’s latest development, the 170-acre Terry Bradley Education Center.
Actual building could be as far as 20 or 30 years, but the site gives the district the flexibility to anticipate needs as the city puts together a new general plan, district spokesperson Kelly Avants told GV Wire.
Earlier this year, the city council approved its first water rate increases since 2016 — a 60% hike over the next three years.
Councilmember Drew Bessenger: “We can’t bite off more than we can chew. We need to focus on our northward Heritage Grove and also finishing up Loma Vista.”
2. Maya Cinemas by Fresno State closes
Maya Cinemas at Campus Pointe closed over the weekend, making way for the Nevada-based Galaxy Theatres to take over operations, multiple outlets reported.
A timetable for the transition was announced, the Business Journal reported.
Maya Cinemas opened in 2015 as part of the Square at Campus Pointe development at Fresno State, the results of a public-private partnership between Fresno developer Lance Kashian & Co. and the California State University system.
Galaxy Theatres operates 15 movie theaters in the Western U.S.
Four of its locations are in California, including the Porterville location, which was the first developed in 1998.
3. Fresno watch group says it’s not just about surveillance
As discussions around personal privacy, Flock cameras and mass surveillance continuously evolve, KMPH reports that traditional neighborhood watch groups, which have been around for generations, are growing in Fresno.
Fresno’s Barbara Horn told KMPH her group opened with about 17 people and quickly grew to around 70.
The group is also a way for residents to address problems in their community by working with code enforcement and the city council to find solutions.
Horn: “It was really great to see people come together. It was so nice because then you see people, you know, neighbors talking to each other, the ones they’ve never talked to.”
Today’s newsletter was edited by Danielle Bergstrom.
