Good morning! It’s Friday, May 15. This is Rob.
Warning: The National Weather Service triggered a hazardous fire-watch warning over the upcoming weekend as 80-degree weather and 20 to 30mph winds could spark a blaze over the weekend. NOAA
Skål! Kingsburg’s 60th annual Swedish Festival is in full swing. YourCentralValley
The valley’s second door to Italy: Work is underway on a second location for Sam’s Deli. The Fresno Bee
‘Come on, R2. We’re going’: Friday’s Grizzlies’ game features lightsabers, themed entertainment, and a packed ballpark as one of the team’s most beloved promotions returns to downtown Fresno. YourCentralValley
Zoo deforestation? The Fresno Chaffee Zoo’s Tropical Rainforest Aviary will be closing down after nearly four decades. ABC30
1. FUSD interpreters call for safety improvements
Fresno Unified interpreters and classroom aides called for more urgency and improved safety plans at a Sunnyside community day school, Fresnoland’s Diego Vargas reports.
In a statement late Thursday, a Fresno Unified spokesperson confirmed the district is investigating multiple recent incidents at Phoenix Secondary Academy in the Sunnyside neighborhood, but said no other details could be released, citing student confidentiality laws and the need to protect the fledgling probe.
Chantel Cox: “When we show up to work at this particular site, we are threatened, we inform admin that we have been threatened and we need to remove ourselves because we feel unsafe and it’s documented as job abandonment.”
2. The City of Fresno has a ‘spending problem’?
That was the basic assessment Thursday from Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer, who noted the city’s revenues continue to increase but remain outpaced by the city’s spending.
That pattern led to another year of budget cuts as the city’s deficit ballooned to more than $34 million.
City leaders discussed long-term solutions to the problem, even floating the idea of trying to solve the city’s sluggish marijuana sales.
3. Down to the wire
It’s crunch time for the candidates in the ongoing June primary and Fresnoland’s voter guides are packed with everything you need to know in several key local races.
This morning, Fresnoland’s Gregory Weaver takes a deep dive into the newly-drawn Fresno-area-ish congressional district race where divided California Democrats are scrambling to unseat U.S. Rep. David Valadao.
Also, Julianna Morano sits down with the three candidates competing for the state assembly.
With dozens of races on the ballot and key issues on the table, we’ll take you past the politics and into the actual policy positions, breaking down where they stand on everything from SEDA development and school closures to housing and homeless policy.
Today’s newsletter was edited by Fresnoland’s Omar S. Rashad.
