It’s Friday, Sept. 4. Omar here! Hope you stayed safe from the wildfire smoke yesterday late morning and afternoon. In case you’d like some tips on how to do that, we republished our wildfire smoke guide. Click here to read more.
☀️ Slight cool down: Yeah! You heard me, temperatures are going to slightly decrease starting with today’s high of 94 degrees. It could get as hot as 92 degrees on Saturday and and 90 degrees on Sunday. A weekend without triple digits, yippee!
😷 Don’t lose the masks just yet! You can expect wildfire smoke in Fresno again, but this time in the afternoon. Best way to stay on top of it is to check Purple Air throughout the day. Also, the National Weather Service has a smoke forecast .
🔥 Garnet Fire grows again: The Garnet Fire grew a few thousand acres again in the last day, now burning through 33,388 acres. The blaze is just under two miles away from the McKinley Grove’s giant sequoia trees, and fire crews have made special preparations to keep the fire away from them. Click here to watch today’s Garnet Fire briefing.
1. FAX ridership up so far this year
FAX ridership took a fall starting in the first year of the pandemic. But ever since then, ridership has increased annually.
So far this year, FAX ridership has rebounded to nearly pre-pandemic levels, Fresnoland’s Danielle Bergstrom reports. If the trend continues, FAX is on track to easily surpass 10 million bus trips by the end of the year.
New investments in bus rapid transit, higher frequency service and restoring night services brought riders back to FAX in the past, according to the head of the city’s bus system.
FAX Director Greg Barfield: “We didn’t cut anything during the pandemic, we kept service — even though it was 10 riders at the time, we kept them.”
2. How to apply for affordable internet service
Although the Trump administration ended Biden-era programs that sought to close the digital divide in America, there are still resources available to Fresnans seeking affordable internet plans, Fresnoland’s Diego Vargas reports.
Two California nonprofits, Everyone On and Internet for All Now, have locator tools to identify affordable plans based on zip code.
Offers are available for households that are low-income or already receiving benefits from public welfare programs.
3. Planning commission approves new 44-unit gated community in southeast
The Fresno Planning Commission approved a new 44-unit gated community development in southeast Fresno during a Wednesday night meeting, The Business Journal reports.
Fresno-based Golden State Developers has described the development as “build-to-rent,” and its project is planned to be located on South Peach Avenue between Tulare Street and Huntington Avenue.
Each of the 44 rental homes about 1,350 square feet, with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a two-car garage.
Today’s newsletter was edited by Danielle Bergstrom.
