Good morning! It’s Tuesday, March 17. This is Rob.
Basically, it’s summer: Mid-90s in Fresno for the rest of the work week as this stubborn March heat digs in like a tick with a grudge. NOAA
Too hot for growers? While many welcome the extra warm weather, it’s not exactly great news for everyone. ABC30
Again? City Hall tries to evict Granite Park operator amid yearslong battle between the city and the operator. The Fresno Bee
Racial Equity Townhall: California’s Racial Equity Commission with the Governor’s Office will host a town hall in Fresno on Wednesday, April 1 about “addressing racial equity and inequities affecting underserved and marginalized communities.” United Way
Fresnoland is hiring: That’s right, we’re hiring for our first-ever Senior Revenue Officer to help lead and execute our fundraising strategy with local donors and sponsors. Share with your fundraising friends! Fresnoland
1. City Hall gears up
A subcommittee under Fresno’s parks and arts commission, which plays a key role in shaping grant guidelines and awards for Measure P arts funding — is now a “standing” committee, following a 7-0 vote at a PRAC meeting on Monday, Fresnoland’s Julianna Morano reports.
That means the subcommittee must hold meetings in compliance with California’s open meeting law, known as the Brown Act.
Monday marked a relatively routine Measure P-related meeting in the aftermath of the alleged theft of $1.5 million by an ex-Fresno Arts Council employee. No arrests in the case have been reported.
The city’s PARCS Department also plans to hire at least three new staffers in connection with the new Measure P grant responsibilities. The department director responded to criticism that the jobs don’t require an arts background, saying the city plans to target applicants with arts-related experience.
2. ‘A unifying brand’
California’s central San Joaquin Valley produces some of the best food on Earth.
Everyone (locally) knows this, but the region’s smaller growers have always struggled to get the word out from season to season, at least compared to larger, corporate farms with fat-dollar advertising budgets and slick marketing campaigns.
But Fresnoland’s Vince Mancini was on hand in Ivanhoe last week at a small gathering of marketers, farmers and local politicians celebrating a new advertising effort highlighting local, seasonal produce.
F3 Local (“Food, Farms, Future”), a non-profit launched in 2022, is the main driver behind the “Central to the Valley” marketing effort.
F3 Local is also a Fresnoland funder.
Helle Petersen, F3 Local’s regional director: “Despite the diversity and abundance of produce grown here in the Central Valley, there’s never been a unifying brand to promote it.”
3. Questions swirl around Fresno EOC finances
Fresnoland’s Gregory Weaver sits down with KVPR’s Central Valley Daily podcast to discuss his recent reporting on the behind-the-scenes chaos at Fresno EOC that included the recent quiet exodus of about one-third of the nonprofit’s board of directors.
The highly-anticipated audit of Fresno EOC finances found no evidence of “abuse” but didn’t say how the New Deal-era anti-poverty agency managed to drain nearly $15 million in reserve funds in just five years.
About one-third of the EOC board abruptly quit earlier this year and the current administration has refused to answer questions about cleaning up and reorganizing the agency after years of chaos, taking the position that it’s more important to focus on the future, without actually commenting on the future.
Today’s newsletter was edited by Fresnoland’s Omar S. Rashad.
