Good morning! It’s Wednesday, Feb. 25. This is Rob.
Is it almost too nice? Mostly sunny skies today with highs in the 70s. NOAA
Hmong farmers at risk: A loss of $48 million in USDA funds for small growers by this April is putting longtime small growers at risk of losing their farms. ABC30
ICE uncertainty stirs misinformation: Immigrant-serving organizations in Fresno are working hard to bring factual updates to the community as people fear the Central Valley will be targeted next. Valley Public Radio
Run with the raisins: The ‘Heard it through the Grapevine’ 5K run is set for 9 a.m. March 21 at Kearney Park. Highway City Community Development
Tire amnesty: The Fresno City Attorney’s Office hosts a Waste Tire Amnesty Day at 8 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 28 at the Hanoian Shopping Center, 4218 E. Butler Ave., giving residents the chance to dispose of unwanted waste tires free of charge.
1. One more (multi-million dollar) last chance?
A struggling downtown housing project that hasn’t been able to get off the ground in more than a decade could get yet another extension — and more than $11 million — from City Hall this week.
The project, known as The Park At South Stadium Apartments, is a proposed eight-story apartment building just south of Chukchansi Park on a parking lot at Fulton and Inyo Streets, Pablo Orihuela reports for Fresnoland.
Late last year, Mayor Jerry Dyer said the project wasn’t likely to receive any more extensions as the developer hasn’t been able to secure the funding after more than 10 years.
But the city is also desperate for downtown housing.
Dyer says loaning the project roughly $11 million will be enough for the developer to secure the remaining funding needed — about $67 million, around 80% of the project’s total costs — from unspecified bond proceeds.
The vote is scheduled for Thursday’s regular City Council meeting.
2. Teachers and Spanish speakers on Fresno Unified’s chopping block
More than 250 jobs are on the line this week as the Fresno Unified Board of Education grapples with a multi-million dollar budget deficit, Fresnoland’s Diego Vargas reports.
On Wednesday, the board will consider whether to reduce, discontinue or eliminate 190 full-time equivalent positions for classified employees.
The school board will also consider whether to terminate 84 full-time equivalent positions for certificated employees, which includes 19 preschool teachers, among other classroom jobs.
It wasn’t immediately clear how much money the district expects to save if the cuts are approved.
Union leaders have urged the district to find the money elsewhere.
They’ve also criticized the elected trustees for raising their own take-home pay to an all-time record high just weeks before debating layoffs and pay cuts.
3. Sex offender seeks wants to be Fig Garden’s city councilmember
A registered sex offender has launched a Fresno City Council campaign to represent Old Fig Garden and central Fresno neighborhoods in District 7, ABC30 reports this week.
First reported by The Fresno Bee, Rene Campos said he’s not hiding from his past criminal conviction.
“I’ve been given a chance to rehabilitate through the courts and go back into the system,” he said.
He would join a crowded field vying for the seat when Councilman Nelson Esparza’s term runs out.
“I believe Fresno deserves leaders who are honest from the very beginning, not the end,” he said. “Going into this, I am putting my life out there.”
Today’s newsletter was edited by Danielle Bergstrom.
