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Good morning! It’s Thursday, June 25. This is Rob.
Hot and sunny. High around 96. NOAA
Fresno love: “As the former poet laureate of Fresno, I’m a dutiful ambassador for my city and one of its harsher critics.” Fresnoland
It’s free: The Fresno County Department of Public Health is promoting education on proper car seat installation and provides free child safety seats to qualifying families. YourCentralValley
New look: The County of Fresno and Self-Help Enterprises will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the grand opening of the newly renovated Lanare Community Center at 4 p.m. on Friday, June 26 at 20620 S. Grantland Ave., Riverdale. Instagram
1. ‘Harm reduction’?
Fresno City Council candidate Rob Fuentes says ICE has become “unhinged” and should be abolished.
That stance is fairly common amongst Democratic Party candidates seeking public office at every level of government.
But Fuentes isn’t like most Democratic Party candidates calling to abolish ICE because the 40-year-old civil rights attorney has also helped ICE prosecute immigrants under the Trump administration in at least 124 cases.
In an interview Wednesday with Fresnoland, Fuentes said he is not being disingenuous with voters in his district because, he said, ICE cases are not his primary responsibility and only make up a relatively small portion of his caseload.
“I would reject the premise that I’m taking the opposite position in my campaign life versus my professional life,” he said.
Fuentes goes on to say that he has considered leaving the Justice Department but still feels he can have a net-positive impact on cases and help “reduce harm.”
Check out the full story from Fresnoland here.
2. Save the rainforest (exhibit)?
Some Fresno residents are hoping to pressure the Fresno Chaffee Zoo to reverse a recent decision to close the Tropical Rainforest Aviary, ABC30 reports.
“It is no longer meeting modern standards for animals,” said CEO Jon Forrest Dohlin “It’s very difficult to care for the birds. There are a lot of water conservation issues, there are a lot of labor costs, so we are re-imagining that exhibit.”
ABC30 reports that zoo officials plan to convert the space into a “botanical exhibit about the rainforest.”
The birds will be moved to a different facility for their safety.
But residents like Cody Windwalker are fighting to keep the birds where they are.
3. A City Hall bistro!
Cracked Pepper Bistro is expected to open a new location inside Fresno City Hall in the coming months, pending council approval, The Fresno Bee reports. They’re getting free rent for the first three years of the contract.
The restaurant’s full menu won’t make it to City Hall to help keep prices affordable. “Although not dictating specific food or price points, the city lease calls for affordable options” The Bee reports. “He is planning items ranging from $5 to $14.”
Chef Vatche Moukhtarian: “We want to make it more elevated for all the employees that work there, and even the visitors that come to the city to get paperwork done.”
Today’s newsletter was edited by Danielle Bergstrom.
