Quote of the Week
“Only in FAT City, baby!”
—Vince Mancini, Fresnoland’s new contributing food editor and author of the FAT City newsletter.
This Week in Fresnoland
Will Fresno Unified board president force a vote?
If the Fresno Unified school board president gets her way, then at least some of her fellow trustees are already running out of political cover fast.
Amid mounting pressure in the wake of a Fresnoland investigation, Board President Veva Islas says she plans to force a public vote on the district’s formal position on a massive and contentious development project that an FUSD analysis suggests could drastically alter the district’s future.
At issue, Fresnoland’s Gregory Weaver reports, is a formal resolution saying Fresno Unified opposes the Southeast Development Area (SEDA) — a 9,000-acre project the district’s own analysis says could trigger the closure of 11 schools and drain millions a year in funding.
“In February, FUSD’s trustees declined to take any position at all, quietly shelving a resolution on the project after Dyer warned them their relationship with the city would be “damaged” if they opposed him,” Greg writes. “The 4-3 tabling vote left Her without board authorization to organize against SEDA even as the city has continued to advance it toward final approval.”
Welcome to FAT City!
Friday was a big day in Fresnoland.
Our new food-focused story-telling project is officially off and running!
We’d like to make Fresnoland Food and the FAT City newsletter the best things to hit the Fresno food scene since the taco. Or at least Ranch dip.
Fresno County native Vince Mancini joined the team earlier this year as our new food scene editor. Sign up to receive his new weekly FAT City newsletter here!
In keeping with Fresnoland’s traditional more-in-depth philosophy, our goal is to go beyond happy ribbon-cuttings and tragic closure stories. Like this guide to locals-only eastside gems from one of Fresno’s all-time great east-siders, Dayana Jiselle, (also a former Fresnolander!) and this fun look at a father and son team’s Lowell-area ‘tacoasis’.
We’ll also be updating Fresnoland Food regularly on the site and on Instagram, so you can follow along there for updates.
First look at changes for Fresno arts funding
Fresno city staffers with the parks department presented draft guidelines for the next cycle of Measure P arts funding at a meeting Wednesday night, which received mixed reactions from many in the public, Fresnoland’s Julianna Morano reports.
Some changes to the grant guidelines were met with cautious optimism, including a proposal to begin paying the individuals who review grant applications and giving them rigorous training on unconscious bias and other aspects of grant review — which city staff said came from feedback from the arts community following the last grant cycle.
“But there’s more debate coming on other suggested changes to the guidelines, including a proposal to have at least two of the 20 to 25 panelists reviewing grant applications come from outside the City of Fresno,” Julianna writes, “a provision city staff said was an attempt to mitigate issues with conflicts of interest for panelists who may have ties to the Fresno organizations or artists whose applications they’re reviewing.”
“I don’t like the one about members residing outside the City of Fresno because they’re not going to know anything about those artists or the applicants,” said Kimberly McCoy.
Law firm dodges fine over improper case citations
A Fresno County judge chose not to fine a Fresno law firm after the action it took following 11 fake and improper case citations making their way into one of its court filings, Fresnoland’s Omar S. Rashad reports.
Back in February, Judge Kristi Culver Kapetan exposed a December court filing from Aleshire & Wynder, LLP for including four case citations that do not exist, along with seven other improper references.
Aleshire & Wynder, LLP parted ways with the attorney who drafted the court filing in question just two days after Culver Kapetan’s scathing February order. The law firm’s main attorneys in the lawsuit also withdrew the application that the court filing in question was a part of.
“[T]he court is satisfied that the offending application was not the result of a direct action taken by those primarily handling this matter or anyone remaining with the firm,” Culver Kapetan wrote in an April 14 tentative ruling.
‘This measure is a must’
In the race to replace Fresno County’s expiring transportation tax, one side appeared to open up a significant lead on Tuesday, Fresnoland’s Julianna Morano reports.
Fresno County Residents for Better Roads and Safe Streets collected more than 32,000 signed petitions from county residents, well over the roughly 22,000 needed to qualify for the ballot. The signatures were submitted Tuesday to the Fresno County Clerk’s Office.
Meanwhile, an opposition group working to get their own replacement tax on the November ballot did not provide an update on their signature-gathering process but said they’re continuing to work on it.
The coalition backing the plan, which is composed of a diverse set of community-based groups and Fresno County mayors, pried open a U-Haul trailer parked outside the Fresno County Clerk’s Office downtown on Tuesday morning to deliver boxes of signatures to the county official for verification.
“This measure is a must,” Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer told reporters on Tuesday before he helped hand over a box. “It is not a luxury. It is an absolute must.
“And let me just say this: There is no ‘plan B.’”
Outside the Lines
In the central San Joaquin Valley, just 13% of schools offer dual-language immersion classes but a new bill crawling through the state legislature seeks to beef up bilingual education. The Merced Focus
The Mobile Home Replacement Program offers Fresno mobile home residents interest-free loans to make badly needed repairs to their homes. ABC30
Why the San Joaquin River landed on the ‘most-endangered’ list. YourCentralValley
New enrollments in Covered California are down by nearly a third over the past year across the San Joaquin Valley. Business Journal
Yosemite’s Arch Rock entrance is open again after a pair of recent rockslides, but travelers can expect 10-minute delays until the slide is completely cleared. YourCentralValley
The Fresno County Public Library is accepting submissions for its 27th Annual Poetry Contest, inviting residents of all ages to share their writing and be recognized as part of a long-standing community tradition. Facebook
The 34th Central Valley Honor Flight will take the next group of local veterans to Washington, D.C. ABC30
The U.S. Forest Service recently announced that it would be closing three-quarters of its research facilities – including one in Fresno. KVPR
A Fresno-area legislator wants to crack down on so-called “super speeders” — California drivers with multiple speeding convictions on their records. KMPH
Donate fuzzy socks to help to keep Fresno kittens warm. YourCentralValley
U.S. soccer legend Mia Hamm will be the keynote speaker at the 26th annual Central California Women’s Conference. The Business Journal
With councilmember Lynne Ashbeck calling it a “betrayal”, a divided Clovis City Council went ahead with plans to convert a long vacant lot into a storage facility. The Fresno Bee
The offramp at westbound Highway 180 and Fowler Avenue closed Thursday afternoon for Caltrans landscaping operations. ABC30
Block Beat
Earth: A free Earth Day festival on Saturday aims to help residents better protect themselves from the air they’re forced to breathe. KMPH
West Fresno: If things (ever) go as planned, Fresno could see the area of Highway 99 and Shaw reopen by the end of the year. The Fresno Bee
Downtown: But the famously behind-schedule high-speed rail project is also disrupting business and causing a lot of headaches for the owners of one of the city’s most popular downtown restaurants. KMPH
West Fresno: A new crosswalk went up Wednesday on Grantland Avenue near Herndon-Barstow Elementary School, Fresno County’s first-ever HAWK crosswalk. ABC30
Caruthers: The 48th annual Fresno Basque Festival begins at 9 a.m. May 2. The free public event includes a parade, Basque music, dancing, and food. More info
Fresno State: Vintage Days returns. ABC30
Chinatown: Equis Botanica and Yoshi NOW announce the Chinatown Vintage Flea market, spring edition from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, April 19 at 14010 Kern St. in Chinatown. The event includes vintage vendors, arts and crafts, food and music. For more information
