It’s Thursday, July 31. Danielle, here, back from a long jaunt with my family around California. My favorite spot on this trip? Courtright Reservoir.
☀️ The cool July continues: high of 97 today.
🌳 South Tower is getting a new park: city and community leaders will officially cut the ribbon on Broadway Parque at Broadway and Elizabeth Avenues this morning.
Listen up: I’m all about the Wow in the World podcast with my kids, right now.
1. Street vendors lose money as mass deportations loom
Heads up if you like getting your tacos, sandwiches and rice bowls from a truck.
Fresno’s mobile food vendors are facing rising food prices amid chaotic and uncertain times for the economy.
But that’s not why it’s getting harder to find some of your favorite local food trucks.
Fresnoland’s Giselle Medina spoke with mobile food vendors who say they’re staying home more often, working fewer hours and making even less money as the Trump Administration cracks down on immigrant families with no criminal histories, fast-tracks deportations, and curtails due process protocols.
Fresno vendor Miguel Ruiz: “There’s a struggle between needing to earn a living and wanting to stay safe,” he said. “This is how we survive. This is how we take care of our families.”
(If you want to support local food vendors, Somos El Sol is hosting a community fundraiser today from 6 to 9 p.m. with all proceeds going towards the Ocho Semillas Mutual Aid Fund. Details can be found here.)
2. Mega industrial park breaks ground
City and county leaders broke ground Wednesday on the $100 million Westgate Industrial Center, reports The Business Journal.
The forthcoming industrial park, the first in Fresno for developer Scannell Properties, is located at Highway 180 and Marks Avenue in west central Fresno.
The project’s environmental review was approved by the Fresno City Council in February 2024 with a 5-2 vote, with some discussion over whether a deal should have been made to lock in union labor via a project labor agreement. The developer said it would have made the project infeasible.
Mayor Jerry Dyer: “This is more than a building,” he said at the groundbreaking. “It creates jobs, stimulates our local economy, generates revenue for city services — and it says Fresno is open for business.”
3. Valley health leaders continue to sound alarm on Medicaid cuts
Leaders of health care facilities are continuing to sound the alarm about the potential for devastating local impacts from the cuts to Medicaid (or MediCal) as part of the ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ signed by President Trump earlier this month, as reported by ABC30 and The Intersection.
Over 52% of Fresno County residents rely on MediCal. And several local health care facilities have a majority of their patients that rely on MediCal, according to a Fresnoland analysis.
Some facilities have well over a majority of their patients using MediCal, from Community Medical Centers to Valley Childrens’ Hospital to United Health Centers.
United Health Centers speaks out: “When patients delay care because they can’t afford it, their conditions worsen and ultimately, it costs the health systems more, and this will impact all of us,” said Associate Medical Director Dr. Shabafrooz.
