Quote of the Week

“(The Fresno City) Council’s recent decision to reject the Quality Inn Homekey project is not just disappointing from a project development standpoint. It’s financially reckless, denies immediate funding for our city, places future state proposals in jeopardy, and will have a direct, negative impact on the lives of those in our community who desperately need housing.”

— UpHoldings and RH Community Builders released a statement after the Fresno City Council rejected an affordable housing proposal at their Dec. 7 meeting. It would have created 59 new affordable housing units for Fresnans who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Their decision to reject the proposal after a resolution has been submitted will have a direct impact on future state grant approvals.

Editor’s Note: We met and surpassed our $15,000 fundraising goal for NewsMatch! Thank you to the over 100 of you who supported our campaign and make our work of providing in-depth local journalism possible. – Danielle

This Week in Fresnoland

Hmong New Year is also referred to as Noj Peb Caug, pronounced “noh pay chow,” which translates to “Eat 30” — a reference to the celebratory feast and the end of the year’s final month. Fresnoland file photo by Ntsa Iab Vang/Fresnoland

Fresno just finished hosting the largest Hmong New Year event in the United States.

Which is fitting, because we also have the largest population of Hmong people in California, Trong Yang writes for Fresnoland. During the Vietnam War, ethnic Hmong of Laos and Thailand joined the U.S. in their battle against communism. When the U.S. withdrew, they were abandoned to their fate, and many would flee persecution to parts of the United States, including the central San Joaquin Valley. 

Hmong New Year, which traditionally marks the end of the harvesting ceremony, includes ceremonies like Khi Teb (“key thay”) where elders bless children by tying red or white string around their wrist or ankle, preceded by paying tribute to ancestors with offerings. Once a private home affair, the celebration is now a very public demonstration with singing, dancing, and games. 

If you’re interested in learning more about Hmong culture and its language, consider taking a course at Fresno State. The Hmong language is considered endangered. 

A giant wooden sign welcomes people to “Squaw Valley,” eight months after a federal decision to remove the slur from the community’s name. However, county officials refuse to abide by the name change and maintain that the town’s name, on a local level, was never changed. Omar Rashad | Fresnoland

A judge was frankly unconvinced by Fresno County’s claim that naming a town after a slur was a free speech issue.

Yes, I am once again writing to you about Yokuts Valley, whose prior name is widely considered both racist and misogynistic. AB 2022 removed the word “squaw” as a location name throughout California. Diego Vargas (Fresnoland) writes that on Dec. 19 a judge ruled that Fresno County could not ignore AB 2022 on first amendment grounds, but that Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig has already signaled that they will appeal the ruling. Well, he said they would let the ruling stand but would appeal it at some undisclosed time in the future. Roman Rain Tree, a member of the Dunlap Band of Mono Indians and the Choinumni tribe led the charge to rename the spot to Yokuts Valley, and wasn’t surprised by the judge’s decision. 

This election year, this issue will be on the ballot as Measure B. Fresno County will ask voters to enshrine naming rights of unincorporated areas in the county into the county charter, the document that guides county decisionmaking and exempts the county from some state requirements. 

Magsig took pains to say that he supports whatever the community of Yokuts Valley (he used the other word,which I am trying to do as little as possible here) wants, whether they would keep the name or change the name. He frames this as a big government issue where California is interfering with the community’s wishes. What community is he talking about, given that people indigenous to the area seem to widely support the name change? 

Fresno City Council passed a resolution introducing the Fresno CHIPS Incentive Program to draw semiconductor manufacturers to set up shop in the city. Credit: Fabrizio Sciami via Flickr

Fresno is offering tax incentives to microchip manufacturers, but it’s unclear if this will actually benefit local blue collar workers.

This story by Julianna Morano (Fresnoland) is all about the Fresno CHIPS Incentive Program, which will waive taxes for semiconductor manufacturing companies in an effort to woo them to set up shop in Fresno. Wyoming-based company Tynergy is already relocating to Fresno and creating 500 jobs, thanks to a $15 million California Competes Tax Credit from the state. It is unclear where exactly Tynergy will be based and whether local workers will actually be hired for these jobs (their management could not be reached for comment). 

Salaries at Tynergy start well above the median household income in Fresno at $70,000. They would also offer significant benefits like childcare. The Cal Competes grant requires that 75% of the new full-time employees at the Fresno site must work at least 75% of the time in Fresno, but it does not stipulate that the workers be local to the area in the first place. Tim Bartik, a senior economist with W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, said that only 20% of new jobs in an average local economy actually raise the employment rate. The rest are filled by domestic migrants. Still, he expects that Fresno would benefit more because of our outsized unemployment rate, which is at 7% compared to the national average of just about 4%.

But, given that many Fresnans are out of work, will those unemployed people be ready for these types of manufacturing jobs, which promise to be more specialized. It would require a great deal of investment in recruitment and training from Tynergy and other companies that decide to make a name in Fresno.  

Banners and signs were brought by La Hacienda Mobile Estates tenants in protest of the proposed closure of the mobile home park inside the Fresno City Council chambers on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023 | Photo by Pablo Orihuela Credit: Pablo Orihuela

The City of Fresno will redirect some funds towards the preservation of mobile homes.

The Fresno City Council recently rejected a $6.2 million proposal to build affordable housing in northeast Fresno because of the area the housing would exist in, Pablo Orihuela writes (Fresnoland). According to City Manager Georgeanne White, the decision to reject the proposal could have a lasting impact on future grants from the state. The applications use a point system, and failing to take a grant award from California Housing Community and Development will translate to a future 50 point deduction, which could mean that future projects won’t be funded. 

Unfortunate, but this does mean that $6.2 million are available for mobile home parks, one of the last bastions of affordable housing in Fresno. La Hacienda, which Orihuela has written about extensively, and I’ve summarized in this letter a few times, stands to gain from this situation. The monies could provide funding to a new buyer of the mobile home trailer park, preventing its closure after years of uncertainty. Recently, yet another fire broke out at La Hacienda and destroyed a mobile home. The Fresno City Council only gained regulatory power over mobile home parks after a similar fire broke out in the same park in 2021. 

Crossroads Village, a new affordable housing project at Blackstone and Dakota Avenues, was the largest benefactor of the city’s impact fee waiver programs in 2023. Credit: Pablo Orihuela / Fresnoland

According to a city report, Fresno has waived $9.9 million in developer fees in the last decade.

In the City of Fresno’s ongoing urban renewal and economic development efforts, Gregory Weaver (Fresnoland) writes, the city has waived millions of dollars in fees that would otherwise fund development-supporting services and infrastructure. While an affordable housing project called Crossroads Village got the biggest discount in 2023 – seeing $749,098 in fees waived –  huge corporations like Amazon have saved millions. Their new warehouse in south central Fresno didn’t have to pay $1.35 million in fees back in 2016 because of the city council. An Ulta Beauty warehouse got $705,535 waived in 2017. Our old friend Granville Homes received waivers worth $830,000. 

But who cares? What are these fees even for? Well, typically impact fees are meant to fund police and fire services, streets, traffic signals, water and sewage infrastructure and parks. When fees are too high, they can thwart new housing development and wane interest, according to David Garcia, policy director at Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley.  

Yet, if fees are too low, the city sees an ever tighter budget for social services and infrastructure maintenance. 

In Fresno, we have various fee waiver programs for various development ends. The Kings Canyon fee waiver program wants to transform the Ventura/Kings Canyon corridor into a sort of main street, for instance. However, only Taco Bell has benefited so far. 

You can read the full report here, which also includes information about the federal and state grants, which further reduce developer burden. 

Outside the Lines

At least 30 restaurants closed in Fresno this past year, including my beloved Hunan Chinese restaurant, whose absolutely massive orange chicken platter got me through the pandemic, as did their little cans of coke inside ice bags. 

Visalia passed an ordinance to curb downtown events. Critics are concerned about a potential conflict of interest on the Visalia city council.

Also! It’s not too late to fill out our election survey. We want to know what you want to learn from the candidates.

Block Beat

DOWNTOWN FRESNO: The Fulton Street Coffee baristas continue to strike and the owners have declined to come to the negotiating table, according to a strike update on the groups’ Instagram page. Instagram

TOWER DISTRICT: Fab, the gay nightclub with the pink wall in the Tower District, has closed for good as of Jan. 1. Instagram

ROEDING PARK: Playland, Fresno’s historic park, is closing once again just six months after its grand reopening. Helm and Sons Amusements came in last summer to oversee new events and the restoration of the more than 68-year old park, but were ultimately unsuccessful. It will close Jan. 14. Fresno Bee

Department of New Construction

WOODWARD PARK: Developers have filed permits to build 12 duplexes, or 24 homes, on Teague Avenue between Maple and Chestnut Avenues.

FASHION FAIR: Verizon Wireless has filed permits to build a new 80 foot ‘monopine’ tower and associated equipment on the north side of Shaw Avenue, east of Fresno Street.

WOODWARD PARK: Zaatar Bistro, a new restaurant at Champlain and Shepherd Avenues, has filed for permits to serve alcohol.

Around Town

The SKULLZ A/V REDUX DJ SET LIVE will debut at The Fulton on Saturday, Jan. 6. Openers include Halfway Through Omega, Exvamon and Permutations. Downtown Fresno

Burger Fest 2024, held in Downtown Fresno and hosted by Bands and Burgers, promises delicious food served by Steak and Cake along with live performances from Beyond California, Girl Named Pixie, South Six, Thrownout and Broken Glass Sanctuary. Facebook

Next Week in Public Meetings

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

Tommy is the author of Toplines, the Fresnoland newsletter curating the top stories in the Central Valley. He thinks he's very funny.