Morning! It’s Friday, April 24. Omar here!
Slightly warmer: We’ve got another cloudy day upon us, with temperatures getting as high as 77 degrees. NOAA
Phil Larson’s passing: Former Fresno County Supervisor Phil Larson passed away Thursday at 92. He served three terms on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors. The Business Journal
Apartment complexes up for sale: Granville Homes is selling seven downtown Fresno properties, most of which are apartment homes. Together, they grossed $3.58 million over the last year. The Business Journal
New ICE detention center: The for-profit prison company GEO Group opened up an immigration detention center in McFarland over in Kern County. That puts the number of California ICE detention centers to eight. CalMatters
1. Could Gov. Gavin Newsom’s close Fresno Unified budget gap?
Gov. Gavin Newsom is withholding about $5.6 billion from K-12 schools across the state due to revenue uncertainty, and about $57 million of that are funds that should’ve gone to Fresno Unified, Fresnoland’s Diego Vargas reports.
Education leaders and teachers unions across the state are calling on Newsom to stop withholding the funding, especially during such a tight budget year with decreased state funding.
One candidate running for state superintendent hosted a news conference Thursday afternoon at Fresno City College alongside Fresno and Madera K-12 leaders, calling on Newsom to fix the budget proposal in his May budget revision.
FTA President Manuel Bonilla: “We’ve already seen the consequences as you heard, whether it be layoff notices or disrupted classrooms — and students and educators are caught in the middle. They’re caught between a governor who refuses to deliver promised funding and school boards who all too often choose to spend on their limited resources, on things like consultants or other items over the classroom.”
2. California, Ventura and Kings Canyon are coming back
The Fresno City Council moved forward with removing Cesar Chavez from dozens of street signs, and going back to their original names: California Avenue, Ventura Avenue and Kings Canyon Road.
Those changes will impact about seven miles of road between South Marks Avenue and South Peach Avenue inside Fresno’s city limits, in the aftermath of survivors revealing Cesar Chavez sexually assaulted them, Fresnoland’s Pablo Orihuela reports.
More than a dozen community members showed up during public comment at Thursday’s city council meeting to voice their support for returning to the original street names back. Among them was Fresno Unified school board member Valerie Davis, who said the California, Ventura and Kings Canyon names have a “special meaning” to the communities that live there.
Fresno Councilmember Miguel Arias: “it is incumbent upon us to change our minds when the facts have changed.”
3. DACA renewal delays leave educators in limbo
The processing time for DACA renewals has quadrupled in the last three years, and it’s leaving educators in the lurch, EdSource reports.
DACA recipients waiting on renewals in order to legally work in the United States have been placed on unpaid administrative leave. The Fresno Teachers Association said five Fresno Unified educators are currently facing that reality.
Ayah Al-Durazi of United We Dream: “It’s much bigger than just not being able to work. It is a disruption for our kids. We know that teachers are the backbone of our classrooms. What happens overnight when you show up to your classroom and your teacher is no longer there?”
Today’s newsletter was edited by Danielle Bergstrom.
