Quote of the Week
“If they take our insurance, we don’t know what we would do. The stress and anxiety can make you sicker.”
— Lorenza Cortez, in a Fresnoland interview about the looming health care cuts facing about half of Fresno County
Editors’ note: An earlier version of this newsletter reported that Mark Keppler is an attorney. He is a mediator and arbitrator. We regret the error.
This Week in Fresnoland
The police department with a landlord
Fresno police need a new home from which to police Fresno.
Mayor Jerry Dyer, the former longtime city police chief, says talks about a new police headquarters began at least 15 years ago.
This week, the Fresno City Council attempted to abruptly solve the longstanding issue via a sudden vote with minimal debate on Thursday afternoon that ended with the police department committed to a 21-year lease downtown, Fresnoland’s Pablo Orihuela and Danielle Bergstrom reported.
Real estate experts who spoke with Fresnoland said it’s not necessarily unusual for government bodies to rent office space, but a few (of the known) details about the lease raised eyebrows.
For example, the city agreed to pick up the check for a new AC unit as part of about $12 million in renovations to convert the downtown building into a police station.
Medi-Cal cuts will hit over half of Fresno County
President Donald Trump’s cuts to Medicaid could hit just over half of Fresno County — or about 52% — with higher medical bills and more limited access to preventative care and prescription drugs while increasing wait times in already-overburdened emergency rooms, Fresnoland’s Gisselle Medina reported this week.
New federal work requirements also create new ways for lower-income homes to lose their health insurance altogether.
Those cuts come on top of cuts to state programs under Gov. Gavin Newsom that further restrict access to health care for undocumented immigrants.
With the multi-billion-dollar cuts looming, Gisselle broke down the known impacts and created a practical guide or tip sheet to prepare for the upcoming cuts, which can be found here.
Gisselle also spoke with a Fresno couple already dealing with the fears of losing access to their life-saving medicines and care. You can find that story here.
A (sports) complex park problem on Peach?
Calling it the “best way for everyone to feel included,” the Fresno City Council this week formally named the city’s newest part the “Southeast Fresno Sports Complex,” Fresnoland’s Pablo Orihuela reported.
Southeast Fresno councilmember Brandon Vang said the name is an accurate representation of the new 49-acre park on Peach Avenue.
City Clerk Todd Stermer said most of the 110 public comments submitted on the subject supported Vang’s choice, but it wasn’t universal.
Thursday’s vote came over the objections of a southeast community group that urged Vang and the council to name the park after their old boss, Jose Leon Barraza. He played a pivotal role in the yearslong fight to bring a park to the Peach Avenue neighborhood.
Earlier this year, Barraza placed third in the special southeast election that Vang won.
Crosstown traffic
Thousands of residents along Church Avenue finally landed on the city’s crosstown bus routes this week as Fresno leaders launched the city’s 19th bus route.
Running from Walnut Avenue to Fowler Avenue since Monday, the new route serves about 44,000 residents and nearly 8,000 jobs, Gregory Weaver reported for Fresnoland.
The new route connects with four established routes, generating a crosstown alternative long absent from Fresno’s bus system, Greg writes.
The new route is part of a larger effort fueled by a $52.1 million grant from the California State Transportation Agency.
Under the plan, FAX will deploy 67 battery electric buses and 56 hydrogen fuel cell buses for fixed routes, while converting its entire 65-vehicle paratransit fleet to battery electric power.
Management vs. labor
Fresno-area health care executives and administrators pushed back this week on a union-backed effort they say would further undermine local clinics already facing potentially devastating Medicaid cuts, Julianna Morano reported for Fresnoland this week.
But the health care workers union — SEIU-UHW — brushed off criticism made during this week’s administrative news conference, arguing that the measure, if passed, would force clinics to spend nearly all their total revenue on direct patient care, while capping “bloated executive pay.”
During Tuesday’s news conference at United Health Centers’ northwest Fresno admin office, clinic executives described the initiative as a “dangerous” plan that would actually lead to cuts in patient care.
Outside the Lines
A recent CalMatters analysis found that Fresno Democratic Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula has been among the quietest voices in the state legislature this year. But, in a recent interview with Fresnoland, the veteran legislator and city council hopeful discussed recent accomplishments and pushed back, saying assembly floor speaking time isn’t a valid metric of productivity. Fresnoland
California struck a deal with the feds to let several billions of dollars in funding for the state’s high-speed rail project sit on the shelf until a lawsuit plays out. Cap Radio
In another shakeup to the folks working on a Measure C renewal plan, Fresno mediator and former Maddy Institute director Mark Keppler took over facilitation for the 38-member steering committee that’s giving recommendations on Fresno County’s multibillion-dollar transportation tax. His appointment came after the previous facilitator, Kendall Flint of DKS Associates (and an alumna of Madera County’s successful transportation tax renewal efforts in 2024), reached a “mutual agreement” with the Fresno Council of Governments to resign.
Residents of a local mobile home park may have just closed the loop on a years-long fight to keep their homes. Fresno City Council Vice President Miguel Arias announced during Thursday’s council meeting that local developer Self-Help Enterprises had just finished purchasing La Hacienda Mobile Estates from an owner whose tenants alleged they were pursuing aggressive actions to get them all removed from the park — including wrongful eviction claims, letting the property experience blight and harassment. Fresno City Hall
Block Beat
SOUTH TOWER: On this week’s Fresnolandia podcast, hosts Danielle and Jordan speak with Kiel Lopez-Schmidt, a longtime Fresno community organizer and the executive director of the South Tower Community Land Trust, about his decades of experience working in community development. Fresnolandia
FRESNO HIGH: Moto Delicatessen & Bodega will celebrate its fourth anniversary from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, including a Fresno Beer Runners 2-mile run in the morning with special cocktails and food specials throughout the day at 1916 N. Echo Ave. Moto
ROEDING: Have you seen the TikTok about the best comida oaxaqueña in Fresno being in “someone’s tía’s backyard”? I had a while ago, and it languished in my bookmarks until this week when KVPR paid a visit to 3425 N Hughes Ave. and met Teresa Cruz, the woman cooking up the popular Oaxacan fare in her own backyard. Central Valley Daily
CLOVIS: Fresno County will break ground on the new Clovis Regional Library Wednesday, Aug. 27 at 11 a.m. at 755 3rd Street behind the Clovis Senior Center. Fresno County Public Library
FRESNO STATE: The university’s athletics team shared some data from last week’s historic Shakira concert at Valley Children’s Stadium, including that 28% of fans traveled over 50 miles to attend the show and that concert-goers spent over $2.1 million. ABC30
CHINATOWN: On Saturday, Sept. 13, bookstore Judging by the Cover will host Latine Bookfair, “celebrating the power, stories, and resilience of local Latine authors.” The celebration will last from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 1029 F St. Judging by the Cover
