Quote of the Week
“It reflects a myopic view of a very complex problem.”
— Civil rights attorney Kevin Little on the City of Fresno’s efforts to address homelessness
This Week in Fresnoland
Not great
The City of Fresno doesn’t have much to report well over a year after it outlawed camping and supposedly began offering unhoused residents a “treatment first” option.
Since late last year, Fresnoland reporter Pablo Orihuela has been looking into how the controversial anti-camping law has been working in Fresno.
There’s not a lot of good news to report.
Pablo’s investigation reveals that, since the law passed in the fall of 2024, just 18 people opted into the city’s so-called “treatment first program.”
What happened to the 18 people who chose treatment to avoid a criminal conviction?
City Hall could only guess.
One councilmember told Fresnoland that he believed all 18 were success stories, but couldn’t prove it. And the mayor’s office said they were not aware of anyone completing an anti-camping-related treatment program.
So it could be 18 success stories. Or zero.
And now even some business owners — some of whom originally welcomed the ordinances — say the policy isn’t working.
What has — and hasn’t — changed since Fresnoland’s investigation
It took the City Council just three weeks to overhaul small-dollar contract transparency at City Hall, following a major two-part Fresnoland investigation.
The big, unanimous vote came during last Thursday’s regular city council meeting. Fresnoland’s Investigative Reporter Omar S. Rashad, who led the newsroom’s contracts probe, unpacks what exactly has changed at City Hall, what changes are still in the works and, critically, what city leaders have not done yet.
And while the Jan. 29 vote over the reforms was unanimous, several councilmembers, led by Council President Mike Karbassi, criticized many of the changes, pushed hard — and successfully — for private committee meetings to discuss policy changes and complained from the dais that the transparency reforms were sparked by Fresnoland’s reporting.
But Councilmember Brandon Vang, who co-sponsored the latest package of reforms, said the process needed to change to give the public better access to how City Hall spends taxpayer dollars.
Said Vang: “This discussion came about because it took Fresnoland eight months to go through the City Attorney’s Office to get some records for them to write an article.”
First-of-its-kind study examines Fresno’s Southeast Asian businesses
Alongside several partners, Access Plus Capital is launching the first-ever study of Southeast Asian businesses in Fresno County.
The new study of Fresno County’s Southeast Asian businesses will be the first of its kind in both the county and the state, assessing needs and, hopefully, unlocking resources for the businesses owned by members of Fresno’s large Southeast Asian population, Fresnoland’s Julianna Morano reported.
Advocates, business owners and residents welcomed the news and urged their peers to participate.
“It’s long overdue in the county of Fresno,” Pao Yang, president of the Fresno Center, “long overdue probably in the state of California, long overdue in this country to gather data that is so vital to the success of our economy. I didn’t say ‘Southeast Asian economy,’ but our economy as a whole.”
Is this the future?
It’s called “Blythe Village” — a 67-home project in West Fresno that utilizes a relatively uncommon construction method aimed at slashing building costs.
Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer says it’s the future.
Fresnoland’s Pablo Orihuela writes that the man behind the housing community is Ted Moon, an investor-turned-developer from Los Angeles, and a man Dyer described as “a visionary,” a “financial guru” and “an innovative home builder,” adding that he’s “somebody I deeply respect,” and who “has found the secret sauce” in housing development.
“Ted Moon is exactly what we need in the City of Fresno,” Dyer said this week. “He has a housing solution that I think is going to be somewhat of a revelation for developers in our community.”
It’s a deal?
Members of the Service Employees International Union Local 2015 held a small rally this week, apparently to spur contract talks with a local health employer — but the deal was apparently already done, if not mostly done, Julianna Morano reports for Fresnoland.
Thursday’s demonstration followed others in Southern California as SEIU looks to finalize its first-ever “multiemployer contract” covering about 140 facilities in the state.
Two members of the Fresno City Council — Annalisa Perea and Mike Karbassi — attended Thursday’s rally, as did Supervisor Luis Chavez. SEIU Local 2015 endorsed Chavez in his successful bid to oust incumbent Sal Quintero in the 2024 elections.
Chavez said it’s important to build a stable workforce in local nursing homes to relieve pressure on other aspects of the local health care system.
Outside the Lines
The downtown Fresno library branch announced this week it will close for renovations through 2028, giving patrons only about 10 days’ notice. The Business Journal
Clovis Unified students who don’t receive formal excuses to leave campus will be considered truant and face disciplinary action. The warning comes amid a string of walkouts at Fresno Unified campuses over the immigration enforcement tactics of the Trump administration. YourCentralValley
Fresno Unified retirees can once again receive care downtown after the hospital system finally resolved its network dispute with insurance company Aetna. The Fresno Bee
Former Bitwise chief Jake Soberal can’t be a lawyer in California anymore. YourCentralValley
The Foundation for Fresno Unified Students has expanded its suit drive initiative to ensure year-round supply of professional attire for students preparing for interviews, internships and post-secondary opportunities. Foundation for Fresno Unified
Fresno-area leaders on Tuesday called for stronger federal oversight after investigators revealed ties between a recently discovered illegal biolab in Nevada with ties to the 2023 biolab discovered in Reedley. The Business Journal
One of Fresno’s most beloved taquerias celebrated a new location this week. YourCentralValley
Block Beat
FRESNO HIGH: The city’s oldest high school celebrated its new gym this week. Fresnoland
FIG GARDEN: Three Fresno sex offenders sued the county government over a new law capping the number of offenders that can live together in a single-family home. Fresnoland
HOOVER: students refused to attend class early Monday and marched towards Fashion Fair with signs and songs criticizing the Trump Administration and the escalation of immigration enforcement that has resulted in at least two recent deaths. Fresnoland
BULLARD: Students walked off their north Fresno campus Wednesday, the latest in a string of student-led protests both at home and across the nation decrying federal anti-immigrant tactics and the Trump Administration’s mass deportation effort. The Fresno Bee
DOWNTOWN: Over 50 community members gathered outside the downtown Fresno ICE office for a vigil Wednesday, mourning the lives taken by federal immigration authorities. Instagram
DOWNTOWN: The Fresno Grizzlies invite jobseekers to a job fair at the ballpark on Feb. 7. Instagram
DOWNTOWN: Community Medical Centers are once again locked into a contract fight with a major insurance carrier and Fresno residents — this time, city workers — have been left in the lurch with nothing but questions. ABC30
TOWER DISTRICT: A Catholic parish plans to install an expanded parking lot. The Fresno Bee
FRESNO HIGH: Fresno City College resumes full campus scheduled following a weekend crash. KMPH
NORTHEAST: Just weeks after reopening, a popular Fresno live music venue may have to shut down permanently. The Business Journal
