Good morning! It’s Wednesday, Nov. 5. This is Rob & Omar.
🌧️ Rain likely today (60% chance) with highs in the upper 60s. Sunnier skies should return Thursday. NOAA
🌮 Fresno’s annual Taco Truck Throwdown returns Saturday. TTT14
🎨 What’s ‘Fresno Box Art’? CBS47
🎓 Clovis FFA students win top honors — and cash. KMPH
🌱Madera Community College’s new agave program ‘creates the buzz.” ABC30
Please SHARE this free food and resource guide for locals in need. Fresnoland
1. Prop. 50 neck and neck in Fresno County
Minutes after the polls closed Tuesday, The Associated Press and Politico called it: California voters approved Proposition 50.
This means California’s congressional districts will get redrawn with a Democratic map, designed to flip five out of nine Republican congressional seats. More than 4.5 million California voters approved the statewide ballot measure — about 64% of all ballots counted early Tuesday night.
However, Fresno County voters told a different story last night, Fresnoland’s Omar S. Rashad reports.
Early tallies show just 50.7% of Fresno counted ballots were in favor of Prop. 50, and 49.3% of ballots were against it. In Madera County, voters appeared to reject Prop. 50 — with 56% voting against the ballot initiative. A similar outcome took place in Tulare and Kings counties.
Fresnoland spent all of election day speaking with voters. Click here to read how they felt about Prop. 50.
2. Fresno County cuts park entry fees for veterans
Describing it as a “small but meaningful” expression of gratitude, Fresno County supervisors moved to scrap vehicle entry fees at county parks for veterans and active-duty military.
Fresnoland’s Pablo Orihuela was on hand Tuesday at the Hall of Records as the supervisors unanimously approved the first reading of the new law, which is expected to take effect Dec. 18.
Fresno County records estimate about 34,000 military veterans call Fresno County home, with another roughly 1,700 locals currently serving active duty.
Supervisor Garry Bredefeld, a military veteran and cosponsor of the new ordinance, called it “the least we can do.”
Bredefeld: “Our veterans and active-duty service members have already paid the price of freedom through their courage and sacrifice.”
3. Fresno County ag breaks records
Fresno County’s ag industry raked in a record-breaking $9 billion in 2024, making it the top producer in the nation, county officials reported Thursday.
Department Commissioner Melissa Cagan said the almonds were the top grossing crop last year, collecting about $1.5 billion.
Fresno Farm Bureau CEO Ryan Jacobsen, called the numbers good news but also added that they’re “not necessarily reflective” of the health of the local agricultural community.
ABC30 reported farmers are facing rising costs and tough interest rates, along with the usual tensions around water supplies in California and there’s a growing divide over converting more land to solar farms.
