Good morning! It’s Monday, Feb. 23. This is Rob.
If this isn’t nice: Mostly sunny today with highs near 70. NOAA
Cartel chief fallout: Airlines Aero-Mexico and Volaris cancel flights from Guadalajara to Fresno. ABC30
From Madera to Fresno: Reclaimed shop set for grand opening in Fresno. YourCentralValley
1. Layoffs on the table at Fresno Unified — and a major phone policy change
Big changes are on the table this week at Fresno Unified schools with the school board updating its phone policy for the first time since the Bush II administration and wading into murky budget waters ahead of a multi-million dollar projected deficit.
Fresnoland’s Diego Vargas breaks down the major action on the school board’s agenda for Wednesday night, which also includes a formal declaration opposing a massive land development that City Hall has pushed for decades, but that school leaders say would gut city classrooms.
Jobs cuts and potential layoff concerns for classified workers have already sparked some frustration among employees who question why the elected trustees doubled their own pay just weeks before addressing an ugly multi-million dollar deficit.
And the district’s new proposed phone policy makes it easier for schools to ban smartphones in classrooms.
2. High-speed rail wants a cut of Fresno taxes to boost downtown development
Among the many still undelivered promises of California’s never-ending high-speed rail project was the dream of reinvigorating local businesses around a bustling Fresno station, sparking a new downtown renaissance of shopping and fancy lofts.
As City Hall struggles once again with declining tax revenues, local supporters of the project have touted the expected windfall as a way to pump new money into the city’s frequently lean budgets.
But, The Fresno Bee reports, a new proposal from the Rail Authority would take that money away from City Hall and the county Hall of Records and put it in the authority’s Sacramento-based ledger.
The authority says that money would help build the decades-old project faster, among other advantages.
But it also means that money wouldn’t help local police, firefighters or public services.
3. Yosemite National Park ends its reservation system
Yosemite National Park recently ended its contentious, pandemic-era reservation system and, KVPR reports, not everybody thinks it’s a good idea.
Officials at the country’s most popular national park say more “targeted management” allows more staffing flexibility.
Some environmental advocates say the park needs strict capacity caps to protect wildlife and habitats.
Beth Pratt, a conservation leader and author of Yosemite Wildlife, called the decision “terrible” in a social media post.
Pratt: “We are putting at risk such a cherished place – and the wildlife who call it home.”
Today’s newsletter was edited by Danielle Bergstrom.
