Quote of the Week

“I didn’t really realize that there were people that didn’t have potable water; that the conditions which (farmworker advocate) Cesar Chavez was trying to improve or ameliorate are still existing in Tulare County.”

— Arlin Benavides, an AmeriCorps CivicSpark Fellow working for Tulare County’s Resource Management Agency, hoped to listen to the far flung farming communities and create an environmental justice advisory committee to address their concerns. He found that they feel largely ignored and neglected.

This Week in Fresnoland

California recently began requiring local governments to foster environmental justice. So far, the results are mixed – at best.

Tulare County, the world’s breadbasket, is among the poorest places in California and, like many poverty-stricken areas, is overburdened by pollution, Yvette Cabrera (Fresnoland/Center for Public Integrity) writes. This story is about the legislation that aims to change that, Senate Bill 1000, which requires local governments to integrate environmental justice principles into their land use policies, like their general plan, which sets priorities for development.

Thanks to a newly released study, we have some idea of how SB 1000 is being implemented across California. The bag is decidedly mixed: while some areas like Tulare County have made environmental justice advisory committees, others are seeing ineffective or inconsistent community engagement, little to no support from elected officials, and a failure to address environmental racism or resource scarcities. Fresnoland

Most of Fresno’s budget talks are happening behind closed doors this week. The city council presidents say all the decisions will happen in public.

It’s budget season and members of the Fresno City Council are trying to reconcile their districts’ priorities with Mayor Jerry Dyer’s budget, Omar Shaikh Rashad reports for Fresnoland. This week, the city council’s budget subcommittee will meet with Dyer’s Administration to balance the mayor’s $1.85 billion budget proposal behind closed doors – but Council President Tyler Maxwell says all the decision-making will happen in public.

After three meetings, the subcommittee will present its budget recommendations to the city council and the public. “I believe we’re close to $140 million over a balanced budget right now with all the motions that have been made to date,” Maxwell said. “Our job will be to either remove some of the mayor’s items and replace them with our own or take out some of the council motions.”

Councilmembers Miguel Arias, Luis Chavez and Nelson Esparza, who previously held a news conference to call Dyer’s budget “dead on arrival,” are calling for greater investments in South Fresno streets. While South Fresno already receives the most investment in its infrastructure thanks to federal and state grants, the councilmembers say more local investment is needed. Fresnoland

It’s official; Bitwise laid off all its employees.

In Fresno County, Bitwise laid off 366 employees, Tim Sheehan reports in The Fresno Bee. Identical Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notices were dispatched to several state agencies. Those notices – which warn workers and government officials of any mass layoffs – are required to be sent 60 days in advance. California-wide, 554 workers are affected. Workers in Ohio, Colorado, New York, Illinois and Washington have also been affected.

“Had we been given the proper 60-day notice, we would have immediately put forth the effort to organize a job fair, probably within two to four weeks,” Jerry Dyer said. “And I’m very confident that those 400 employees at Bitwise would be employed (at new jobs) by this time.” The Fresno Bee

Advocate calls for restructuring California water districts in the wake of flooding.

I’m listening to people complain about J.G. Boswell again, this time in an audio story from Kerry Klein at KVPR. The oft-criticized big agribusiness has been accused of deliberately imperiling smaller farmers and their communities during the historic flood events this year. Trudy Wischemann, a long-time rural advocate, has written that companies like J.G. Boswell, Vidovich and Sandridge Partners are so powerful because of the sheer amount of land they own. She’s calling for a fundamental restructuring of water districts, which she calls undemocratic, pivoting them away from granting the loudest voice to the largest landowner.

“One (kind of water district) is called property weighted voting, whereby the number of votes you get is proportional to the amount of land you own … In other districts like irrigation districts … the voting is one vote per owner,” she said. “And so it’s a much more democratic form of governance.” KVPR

Also, catch this guide about state job options in Fresno County.

Dominique Williams’s article in The Fresno Bee lays out the details for five Fresno County-based state jobs posted on CalCareers, including workers compensation judge, Caltrans equipment operator, carpenter, public safety dispatcher and district sales representative. I didn’t see a salary below $4,000 a month, and state jobs are known for their competitive benefits and participation in the nation’s largest state public pension plan.

OUTSIDE THE LINES: The Fresno Bee has a list of Independence Day celebrations. 

KFSN has some good information about Juneteenth. I didn’t know Texas has been celebrating it since the 1800s.

I was captivated by this NPR story about a satellite designed to offer near-continuous air pollution data from the entire country.

Block Beat

FRESNO UNIFIED: The public school district might see its budget balloon by just under $300 million. The Fresno Bee

MARIPOSA: A 71-year-old man has been arrested under suspicion of starting the Oak Fire, which burned nearly 20,000 acres and destroyed 120 homes and 66 outbuildings. KFSN

BAKERSFIELD: A massive number of potatoes spilled onto Highway 99 on Monday during a collision. No one was injured.  KMPH

KERN RIVER: A pro kayaker was swept away into the Kern River and is presumed dead just days after his arrival in the area to train. His body has not been retrieved. KMPH

KINGSBURG: Brothers Ernie and Adrian Perez are trying to bring a fine dining experience to Kingsburg with their new restaurant Roadhouse 99 on Smith Near Draper in downtown Kingsburg. KFSN

Department of New Construction

DOWNTOWN: A-1 Auto Electric filed a conditional use permit to eventually expand its operations to the abandoned Pro Auto Shop building on the corner of East Stanislaus Street and N Street. A-1 seeks to purchase and revitalize the abandoned building. 

SOUTH CENTRAL: A development permit was filed for the installation of level two dual port and level three electric vehicle charging stations at El Muir Motel, located off South G Street. 

WEST CENTRAL: A conditional use permit was filed for The Yard at Golden State. The mixed-use commercial development on North Golden State Blvd north of West Ashlan Ave will include a food court, grocery store, fuel islands, and a carwash. 

Around Town

The Dirty Nil and Daniel Romano’s Outfit are coming to Strummers on Wednesday. It’s an all ages event. Instagram

Also Wednesday, CMAC has a workshop about producing a news story – you know, if you’re interested in becoming a Citizen Journalist. Journalism has taken me to all sorts of unusual places – like this very inbox. Downtown Fresno

The Labyrinth Collective and Obsidian Productions have a pride-themed arts showcase Friday and Saturday. AllEvents

Next Week in Public Meetings

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Tommy is the author of Toplines, the Fresnoland newsletter curating the top stories in the Central Valley. He thinks he's very funny.