Quote of the Week
“I do not believe there’s going to be mass deportations. It would be devastating to our economy. It would be devastating to many of these families who have come here to America for a better life, to help their families.”
— Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni, in an interview with Fresnoland last week
This Week in Fresnoland
Presidential campaign preview?
California Gov. Gavin Newsom didn’t announce a 2028 presidential campaign run on Thursday in Fresno, but he might as well have.
The 57-year-old two-term governor came to announce a $120 million grant program aimed at fueling job-creating projects under the California Jobs First initiative early next year, Fresnoland’s Danielle Bergstrom and Pablo Orihuela reported.
“But the set piece — a liberal politician standing in front of heavy machinery, talking blue-collar jobs in a county that backed President-elect Donald Trump on Nov. 5 — appeared to be a response to the election, in which Democrats took a drubbing after critics said they were out of touch on economic issues,” the Times’ Julia Wick wrote.
Newsom acknowledged that while economists and other experts insist the economy remains strong, too many still struggle to make ends meet in an aggressively expensive state.
“That’s cold comfort for certain regions in this state that don’t feel that they’re fully participating in that economic output,” Newsom told reporters, “that don’t feel like they’re fully engaged in the prosperity that is the state of California.”
Newsom also reiterated his commitment to finishing a $250 million promise of state funds for downtown, after a question from Fresnoland’s Pablo Orihuela.
Fresno police say they don’t plan to work with ICE
With Donald Trump headed to the White House in January, there’s growing concern over the promised mass deportations that helped fuel his campaign victory, Fresnoland’s Omar Shaikh Rashad reported.
Trump’s plans for the largest mass deportation in American history, would rely, in some part, on local law enforcement cooperation.
But in California, there’s more at play.
In 2018, state legislators passed SB 54 — more commonly known as the California Values Act — which prohibits local law enforcement from playing a role in federal immigration enforcement, with exceptions for undocumented people convicted of serious or violent felonies and a number of misdemeanors.
Under California law, Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni and Interim Fresno Police Chief Mindy Casto both told Fresnoland that they do not think the role of local law enforcement will change under a second Trump presidency.
Fresno’s messiest food fight
A controversial new ordinance regulating sidewalk vendors in Fresno narrowly passed an initial vote from the city council on Thursday, but the fight isn’t over with more last-minute changes to the law expected, Fresnoland’s Julianna Morano reported.
The new “Sidewalk Vending Ordinance,” which restricts where the city’s vendors can sell food, passed through a 4-3 vote, with one of the law’s own sponsors voting against it Thursday.
The regulations have drawn sharp criticism from Fresno’s Mobile Food Vendor Association and advocates over the past month. A dozen spoke out in opposition to the ordinance Thursday, most of whom were active vendors.
“We’re asking for more help and more time,” said Miguel Lopez, president of the vendors association, through a Spanish interpreter, “to learn what we need to do.”
Councilmember Miguel Arias, one of the ordinance’s three sponsors who voted to approve it, said that despite the opposition from vendors, the regulations are needed to address a number of bad actors concentrated in the Tower District particularly.
“It is a handful of people that continue to violate basic rules,” Arias said.
The biggest election winners not on the ballot
Who holds power in Fresno politics? That’s the question we’re always trying to answer before, during and after every local election at Fresnoland.
Each cycle comes with new donors as well as old ones. New alliances as well as old alliances emerge. Upsets happen. So with just a few thousand ballots left to count, and the vast majority of races decided, here’s our assessment on the true winners and losers in this cycle.
The Nov. 5 General Election worked out well for SEIU Local 2015, the union representing thousands of caregivers employed through the county’s In-Home Supportive Services (or IHSS) program. The union got almost everything it wanted on its election wishlist this year, Fresnoland’s Julianna Morano reported.
The union backed winning campaigns in the state Assembly, the Fresno Unified School Board, and the Fresno County Board of Supervisors race.
Alex Tavlian, a candidate for most-employed man in Fresno, emerged as another big winner on Election Night. Tavlian, the political operative-slash-lobbyist-slash-communications consultant- slash-website publisher, racked up several major wins in this election cycle – in addition to raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars for his political consulting firm, Park West Associates, Fresnoland’s Danielle Bergstrom reported.
Check out the rest of this year’s biggest political winners and losers in Fresno.
Bitwise employees might get some money back
“A federal bankruptcy judge has approved the terms of a $20 million settlement that will benefit former Bitwise Industries employees who abruptly lost their jobs when the Fresno-based technology company collapsed in May 2023,” The Fresno Bee reported.
About 750 employees in Fresno and across the U.S. are expected to receive settlement money.
Most of the settlement money is coming from a string of insurance policies taken out by Bitwise officers and directors totaling about $11.5 million, The Bee reported.
Nearly 900 Bitwise employees, including almost 400 in the greater Fresno area, lost their jobs when the company that once promised to “save” Fresno finally collapsed after years of fraud by the company’s co-CEOs. Many employees said their final paycheck bounced.
Earlier this year, Jake Soberal and Irma Olguin Jr. pleaded guilty to wire fraud. They’re scheduled for sentencing next month in U.S. District Court in Fresno.
Outside the Lines
“The city of Fresno, with more than 500,000 residents, is in some ways a test case of what happens when a city cracks down on homelessness without growing systematic efforts to increase the affordable housing stock.” The Los Angeles Times
The head of the Central Valley’s largest healthcare system has announced his retirement. Community Health System President and CEO Craig Castro, head of the Central Valley’s largest healthcare system, plans to retire in 2025. KMPH
San Joaquin Valley Republican Vince Fong won his race for the Assembly but now no longer wants it so Kern and Tulare County taxpayers in Assembly District 32 will end up paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for a special election to fill the seat. CalMatters
Budget airline Allegiant announced new nonstop service from Fresno to Portland this week. The Fresno Business Journal
Don’t want to cook for Thanksgiving? Here’s a list of alternatives. The Fresno Bee
Block Beat
CHINATOWN: Judging By the Cover, Fresno’s newest locally-owned, independent bookstore, is offering local educators 15% on purchase until Christmas Eve (Dec. 24). “Simply show us your work badge (or some other proof) showing that you are a teacher, librarian, paraeducator, counselor, or school admin,” the store owners said in a social media post.Judging by the Cover is located at 1029 F St. in Chinatown and opens from noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays.
EL DORADO PARK: The public is invited to the fourth annual Operation Gobble — which offers free groceries for a full Thanksgiving meal, including turkey, corn, green beans, and mixes for stuffing, gravy and mashed potatoes —- beginning at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 24 at Wesley United Methodist Church, 1343 E. Barstow Ave. Walk-up and drive-through lines will be available. Up to two families can receive groceries per vehicle at a time.
FRESNO STATE: The public is invited to Mujeres Market at Small Business Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. on Nov. 30 at Campus Pointe. More info
NORTHWEST: A new Golden Corral Buffet and Grill restaurant is now open to customers in northwest Fresno. ABC30
REEDLEY: “The first performer at the McClarty Center for Fine and Performing Arts on Tuesday was tree fruit grower Harold McClarty, reading a poem written by his 10-year-old granddaughter.” The Fresno Business Journal
