Good morning! It’s Monday, Dec, 8. This is Rob & Omar.
😰Chilly: Mostly cloudy skies today with highs in the upper 40s. NOAA
🏙️Northbound: Clovis plans to submit its latest annexation request to the Fresno LAFCo by the end of the year. The application, which will be discussed at the Dec. 15 City Council meeting, proposes the annexation of Quail Run, a 40.62-acre parcel of county land located at the southwest corner of North Sunnyside Avenue and East Perrin Avenue. The Fresno Bee
📚Free books! To support winter break reading for students and help them expand their home libraries, the district is partnering with Scholastic to provide more than 100,000 books to students in preschool through fifth grade — each student gets to take home five books! The event is set for 11 a.m. Friday, Dec. 12 at McCardle Elementary School, 577 E. Sierra Ave.
1. Fresno to lose two housing projects
Two supportive housing projects will close next month in Fresno following federal funding cuts.
The Stasis Center at 4135 E. Olive Ave., and Falcon Court at 4415 N. Clark St. — housing projects managed by Turning Point of California — will close Jan. 31 due to a lack of funding, Fresnoland’s Pablo Orihuela reports.
Historically, the Fresno Madera Continuum of Care spent most of its funding on Permanent Supportive Housing solutions. A new HUD plan now directs the local continuum of care groups to spend no more than 30% of federal funding on the programs.
The federal government now prioritizes short-term, transitional housing.
Between the drastic cuts and shutdown-related delays, the Fresno-Madera region expects to lose about $5 million in funding.
Katie Wilbur, the vice chair of the Fresno Madera Continuum of Care: “It’s definitely disruptive and very disappointing… ‘devastating’ is really the word.”
2. ‘Something very special’
The holiday season is the busy time of year for many of Fresno’s beloved tamale makers — but amid an anti-immigrant crackdown, many vendors are struggling this year.
Fresnoland’s Gisselle Medina spoke with many of the city’s most popular tamale vendors, who say they’re working to keep a beloved tradition alive during the holiday season, even as sales drop amid fears of immigration enforcement.
Though making and selling tamales involves long, tiring hours, vendors say the tradition matters — it’s how families continue to celebrate and preserve their cultural roots.
Fabiola Félix still remembers the Christmases of her childhood in Culiacán, Mexico — the smell of simmering masa, pots steaming on the stove, and family crowded into the kitchen, laughing and working together.
Fabiola Félix: “I think a little of the tradition has been lost. People still want to eat tamales, of course they do, but they don’t always have the time to make them. They work a lot here.”
3. Chinatown building burns
A fire burned down a decades-old two story building in Chinatown over the weekend, ABC30 reports.
An official cause of the fire has not been determined. One local business owner said that there have been fires at the building previously.
The Fresno Police Department confirmed to Fresnoland on Monday morning that the building is owned by the State of California and the California Highway Patrol is investigating the cause.
The building, located on Tulare Street, is just one block away from popular Chinatown restaurant Central Fish Company, and a drive down from the Tulare underpass.
Fresno resident Joseph Perez: “To see the Asian hotel go up in flames is kinda sad. I remember it from when I was a kid. It’s the, I don’t know. It’s just a sad thing.”
Today’s newsletter was edited by Omar S. Rashad.
