Quote of the Week
“I don’t think a lot of artists ever really get to see something like that. … It was like a studio without walls.”
— Artist Teresa Flores on the experience of painting the new murals on the 180 freeway overpass pillars in Fresno’s San Pablo Park, alongside about a dozen Fresno artists
Hey, Latines of Fresno! We want to hear from you about how we can better serve the diversity of Latino communities across our region. Fill out our short, 5-minute survey here.
This Week in Fresnoland
Fresno Reddit can’t wait to name the city’s light-rail project
Fresno transportation planners are taking a serious look at light rail for the first time in decades, Fresnoland’s Danielle Bergstrom reported.
That’s after CalTrans officials greenlit a $700,000 grant this month to study whether a light rail system makes sense for the Fresno-Clovis metro.
The study will assess whether there’s enough passenger demand for it, cost estimates for the project and potential locations for light rail lines and stations.
Commenters on Reddit and Instagram posts about the study quickly jumped in with their own recommendations of what a possible light rail should be called: Fresno Area Rapid Transit, i.e. FART?
A public draft of the study is expected by the summer of 2027.
One of Fresno’s largest public art displays meets the 180 freeway
One of Fresno’s largest public art installations now wraps around the pillars of the 180 freeway overpass in the South Tower neighborhood.
Fresnoland’s Julianna Morano spoke with several of the artists about the significance of the project for Fresno. She also talked with a South Tower community organization about the troubled legacy of the freeway for their neighborhood and their fight to give residents the green spaces they deserve.
In the murals you’ll see homages to paleteros, a 20-plus-foot elote and lots of blue skies, pushing back against the perpetual shadow the overpass casts over San Pablo Park, Julianna reports.
You can also go check out the 20 new murals for yourself (and meet some of the artists behind them) at an upcoming unveiling ceremony July 26.
Measure C chaos?
The region’s new expanded transportation tax committee is already at odds with Fresno City Hall over the ouster this week of one of the city’s three appointees, Fresnoland’s Pablo Orihuela and Julianna Morano reported.
Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer says the Fresno Council of Governments’ policy board chair — Parlier Mayor Alma Beltran — doesn’t have the authority to remove his committee pick. Beltran doesn’t see it that way. She says cities can recommend committee nominees, but selection and dismissal, she says, rest with COG.
Beltran also said the city’s committee member, Brooke Ashjian, made repeated false claims about committee members, which she described as a form of “sabotage” during an already tense and arduous process.
The Measure C steering committee formed just last month as a shaky alliance of regional government leaders and community advocacy groups meant to salvage the county’s critical, long-standing, and sunsetting transportation tax.
Fresno forced to greenlight northwest apartment project
Northwest Fresno residents fought hard to keep a new apartment complex out of their neighborhood last year. But now a Fresno County judge now says the City of Fresno is required to approve the contentious project within the next two months, Fresnoland’s Pablo Orihuela reported.
The Fresno City Council president is not happy.
“We absolutely need more housing, but we must build responsibly, with full transparency and genuine respect for the voices of the communities we serve,” Council President Mike Karbassi said in a statement this week.
The housing proposal would be on the northeast corner of West Herndon Avenue and North Prospect Avenue. Developer James Huelskamp and his company LandValue Management first applied for the project in 2021.
Funding cut could hurt Fresno schools
Fresno’s English-language learners could face a more difficult incoming school year.
Funds annually released to schools on July 1 were withheld by the Trump administration, putting English-learning services and after-school programs in limbo, Diego Vargas reported for Fresnoland.
That leaves low-income and English-learning students, who’ve historically scored lower on the SBAC, even more vulnerable.
In the 2023-2024 school year, 34.72% of students in Fresno Unified met or exceeded state standards in ELA and 25.14% for Mathematics.
In comparison, the 2021-2022 school year scores for both subjects were 32.24% for ELA and 20.83% for math.
At the same time, only 10.19% and 10.07% of students classified as English learners met or exceeded state standards for ELA and Math in the 2023-2024 school year.
Outside the Lines
Fresnoland is welcoming an education reporter to the team — and they’re a familiar face. Fresnoland
Mental health workers in Fresno and across the Central Valley are seeing more clients who are seeking support in the wake of a surge in immigration arrests. Fresnoland
Fresno County’s next law enforcement races are set for 2028 after a state court dealt a final blow to the county’s fight. Fresnoland
Fresnoland reporter Pablo Orihuela joined Jordan and Dani on this week’s episode of the Fresnolandia podcast to talk through how the city seems to be approaching a cliff in terms of federal and state funding for addressing the housing crisis. Fresnolandia
California’s High-Speed Rail Authority is suing the Trump Administration over the loss of $4 billion in funding, calling the move potentially illegal. The Los Angeles Times
The Fresno Bee reports a surge in detentions at ICE facilities in the San Joaquin Valley and most of the detainees have no criminal convictions. The Fresno Bee
A bizarre video shot last year by a Fresno County politician is going viral once again after appearing on the international television show “Paranormal Caught on Camera.” Fresno Business Journal
A new UC Merced study suggests the federal immigration crackdown is cutting into California’s farm labor workforce. KSEE
A former Fresno Unified principal asked for forgiveness at a sentencing hearing this week where he was ordered to serve time on probation for shoving a 10-year-old student to the ground in 2022. ABC30
A former Fresno Unified spokesperson is set to receive more than $160,000 as part of proposed lump sum payment in connection with her recent departure amid controversy. The district is facing criticism over the large payout to the former employee who acknowledged using an AI tool that fabricated information about the district’s teachers union. ABC30
Fresno’s city attorney had his law license briefly listed as “ineligible to practice” after the State Bar Association confirmed in an email to Fresnoland that Andrew Janz missed an administrative paperwork deadline confirming his contact information with the state. The issue was cleared up Monday and the city attorney described it as a clerical error. The Fresno Bee
Block Beat
CALWA: Cen Cal Cinema invites the public to the final showing of its inaugural season with a special showing of the 1980s classic film “Jaws,” complete with some kiddie pools available to reserve so attendees can have a more immersive, aquatic screening! The event is free to the public and begins at 8 p.m. Friday, July 26 at the Calwa Recreation and Park District. Cen Cal Cinema
CITYWIDE: July 20 is National Ice Cream Day, and Ampersand Ice Cream has eight exclusive flavors available for one day only, including an elote flavor and a peach cobbler in collaboration with Chinatown favorite Chef Paul’s. Ampersand Ice Cream
BREWERY DISTRICT: Sierra Billiards & Bar, the pool hall at Sierra and Blackstone, is opening a second location at 732 Fulton St. The building, across the street from Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Co., already has a billiards mural by FranCisco Vargas adorning it. The Fresno Bee
CLOVIS: Golf superstar Bryson DeChambeau is moving forward with plans for a “golf centered community” on the city’s outskirts. The Business Journal
