Good morning! It’s Tuesday, Sept. 8. This is Rob.
Sad news: Tragedy strikes Sierra Sky Park Airport as four members of a family, including both parents and two children, died in a plane crash Saturday. YourCentralValley
New degree: Fresno City College touted new changes and a new bachelor’s degree in Medical Imaging Supervision and Leadership, providing students another opportunity to earn a four-year degree at the community college. ABC30
Let’s get it started: The 1st annual Central Valley Blackeye Pea Festival and Cook-Off will take place on Saturday, October 3 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Blackeye Pea Fest
Toss the tusk: The event will be held at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo on Sept. 11 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and on Sept. 12 from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. KMPH
The Nightcrawler! The Fresno County Library is offering a library card with the Fresno Nightcrawler on its cover. KVPR
1. Fresno County eyes big changes to its downtown footprint
Fresno County has been a major player shaping the architecture of downtown for well over a century — and after several decades of continuity, major changes could be coming, including a demolition of county offices at Tulare and M Streets.
Fresno’s Board of Supervisors will receive a presentation for a County Facilities Master Plan — a first-of-its-kind roadmap document that should help the county assess and plan for the next 10 years of facilities and building management.
The county has never had a master plan before. The board approved plans for the master plan in 2024. The plan is being delivered by consultant M. Arthur Gensler Jr. & Associates Inc., a San Francisco-based group described as the largest architecture and design firm in the world.
The presentation offers the county multiple plans and recommendations on how to best steward the county’s large portfolio of buildings and facilities. Examples include the recommendations on how to handle the recently acquired downtown PG&E buildings on 650 O and 705 P Streets., and proposals for a potential new sheriffs and dispatch building, and the potential demolition of the Plaza Buildings.
The hearing will be held on Tuesday at the Fresno County Board Of Supervisors meeting, starting at 9:30 a.m. The meetings are held on the third floor of the Fresno County Hall of Records, inside the board’s chambers. Residents can also participate online via Zoom.
-Pablo Orihuela, Government Accountability Reporter
2. Drive-though air quality
Each day in the central San Joaquin Valley, some 1,300 fast-food and coffee drive-through lanes fill up with riding cars.
But exactly how much the fast food waiting contributes to the region’s bad air quality remains largely unstudied, CVJC reports.
“Anyone who’s lived in the Valley for even a few months can attest to the region’s stubbornly poor air quality at certain times of the year. From Stockton and San Joaquin County in the north, to Bakersfield and Kern County in the south, the Valley has long been a “nonattainment region,” meaning it is out of compliance with federal air quality standards for both ozone and PM 2.5 – fine particulate matter about 30 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair that can be inhaled and lodged in human lungs.”
Such pollutants and others are often trapped by the mountains that surround the valley.
3. ICE agents made arrest at Fresno airport
Federal immigration agents made an arrest at Fresno Yosemite International Airport after airport workers allowed the agents to pass through the security checkpoint, KVPR reports.
The Aug. 28 arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement occurred at a departure gate before the detained individual could board their flight, KVPR reported, citing unnamed sources.
“The sources were alarmed because California’s sanctuary law prohibits state and local law enforcement from assisting ICE with immigration arrests, including at airports,” KVPR says.
Fresno city spokesperson Sontaya Rose confirmed the arrest, but denied that airport security assisted ICE.
“In this instance, the role of Airport Public Safety officers was limited to allowing access into the airport required under federal airport regulations and maintaining the safety and security of the airport.”
She said federal laws “require airports to permit qualifying federal, state, and local government employees – including law enforcement officers – to access secure airport areas without an escort.”
Today’s newsletter was edited by Danielle Bergstrom.
