Quote of the Week
“Our SEDA conversations can continue without having to worry about whether or not data centers are involved.”
–Councilmember Nick Richardson, speaking during a workshop Thursday
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This Week in Fresnoland
Does this ‘get rid of that conversation’?
Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer lost a key vote this week in his yearslong effort to greenlight a massive new growth area for homes and industrial development in southeast Fresno.
Southeast Fresno City Councilmember Brandon Vang announced his formal opposition to the so-called SEDA specific plan after more than a year of questions and waiting for the city staffers to release financial planning documents in connection with the $4 billion super project.
Vang, a former Sanger Unified school board trustee, also said the district formally opposes the project, leaving the mayor with a narrow path to victory through the current Fresno City Council.
“This is a very hot subject matter,” said Vang. “Based on my recollection of the people who sent me here to represent them, they were loud and clear that they are against SEDA.”
“Four council members would have to side with the mayor,” writes Fresnoland’s Gregory Weaver, “and against nearly all the school districts in the city, organized labor, residents from across the city who have repeatedly packed city hall to oppose SEDA, and now even the city council member who is responsible for southeast Fresno’s families.
“Sixteen months ago, such a situation was one of Dyer’s worst fears when it came to SEDA.”
The council also took its first steps towards a potential decade-long ban on data centers, which Councilmember Nick Richardson said was a move that could quell fears that the mayor’s signature development project is some kind of Trojan Horse full of water-sucking AI data centers.
Read the full Fresnoland story here.
Is Fresno’s vacant building problem fixable?
For generations, Fresno city leaders have tried different incentives and approaches to inspire redevelopment among the city’s many aging, vacant building owners, but nothing has worked in any meaningful way.
So efforts and relative success of The Belmont in Fresno’s Tower District should make city leaders take note.
Christian Honetschlager and his wife, Natalie Jahanbani, opened The Belmont in Fresno’s Tower District and have seen a lot of success bringing new music and events to the neighborhood.
But it hasn’t been easy and the challenges seem to be getting harder, not easier, as time goes on.
Pricey renovations have drained their savings and they’re switching gears to look for a tenant, preferably a tenant serving the public.
The experience opening The Belmont has also given Honetschlager a better idea of what kinds of city investments could better help families like his, who are delivering the infill development that Fresno officials regularly praise.
Read the full Fresnoland story here.
‘Hopes and dreams’
A project more than five years in the making launched Tuesday morning by knocking down one building to put up a new commercial kitchen for the city’s mobile food vendors.
The demolition project on Tuesday morning on Fresno Street marked the first phase of development for a long-awaited community kitchen for Fresno’s mobile food vendors.
The $5 million project has raised $4.2 million to date, mostly through philanthropic help from places like the Vesper Society and 11th Hour Project.
The move highlights the city’s at times tense relationship with its mobile food vendors. The Fresno City Council has increased regulations and fines for sidewalk vendors multiple times in recent years.
Read the full Fresnoland story here.
Fresno judge sides with Measure S supporters in legal arguments
This week’s surprisingly decisive victory in the long-running fight over Fresno County transportation tax futures could be short lived as the bickering now turns to the ballot box.
Judge Jonathan Skiles sided with the State of California on Monday, ruling that the new Fresno County-only state law requiring Measure S appear on the upcoming November ballot was legally binding.
But perhaps the more surprising move came shortly after the judge’s ruling was announced and Fresno County Board Chair Garry Bredefeld said the board of supervisors would not appeal the superior court ruling.
The legal battle is over,” Bredefeld said. “The November election battle begins today.”
Measure S will appear on the ballot alongside a Fresno city-only general tax measure that the mayor and others have suggested could be used to back-fill transportation funding in the city.
Critics have long worried that the appearance of multiple transportation tax measures could tank the chances of either measure winning voter approval.
Read the full story from Fresnoland here.
‘A festival for everyone’
Diwali is a traditional South Asian holiday celebrated in Fresno and around the world, but has struggled to capture formal recognition in California, sometimes described as the “festival of lights,”
The festival is celebrated with family gatherings, prayers, food, gift-giving, colorful decorations and the lighting of diyas.
Anyone is welcome to celebrate Diwali, Fresno State student Armaan Arora says, regardless of whether the festival is part of your formal religion.
“Aside from the prayer and the story of the festival, it’s really about using colors on your floor to make designs, lighting everything up and gift-giving.”
Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 268 into law, making Diwali eligible to become California’s 12th state-recognized holiday.
But the law establishing the state holiday was quickly struck down by a Sacramento County judge who sided with a conservative taxpayers group that the law, as written, favored particular religions.
Puneet Kaur, senior state policy manager at the Sikh Coalition, said the court took a narrow view of the legislation, which Kaur included multiple faith communities that celebrate Diwali.
Read the full Fresnoland story here.
Outside the Lines
Childcare commission: Wednesday’s inaugural meeting of the City of Fresno’s Commission on Family Affordability and Childcare Access formally introduced an 11-person panel that will spend the next year looking for affordable child care solutions. Fresnoland
Restored: Fresno Unified tried to end a field trip controversy this week when the superintendent reversed course on the decision to cut $2 million in spending on student field trips by taking the money from the district’s fundraising nonprofit, the Foundation for Fresno Unified Students. Fresnoland
Dessert first! Here’s Fresnoland’s staff guide to some of the treats we reserve for the moments we are able to step out of the circulation of information. Fresnoland
Water fight? U.S. Rep. Jim Costa, D- Fresno, highlighted legislation examining how rapid expansion of artificial intelligence and data centers could affect energy supplies, including water in rural communities. The Business Journal
Retaliation? Six months after the Fresno city police union settled a sexual-harassment-related wrongful termination lawsuit — and just before union leadership elections — the City of Fresno has launched an investigation into the officer at the center of the claims. The Fresno Bee
How Flocked Are We? One of the most persistent questions surrounding the Flock camera debate in Fresno is where exactly are those 70-some cameras actually located. YourCentralValley
Unsettled: Fresno Unified Trustee Keshia Thomas and former Bullard High football coach Don Arax didn’t reach a settlement on Monday in the now-years-old defamation case after Thomas falsely accused the coach of using the “n-word.” GVWire
Dark Sky Fest: The 13th annual Dark Sky Festival will be returning to the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and, for the first time, to Three Rivers beginning Sept. 11. YourCentralValley
The flying flowers: The California State Parks Foundation is asking the public to observe and report sightings of western monarch butterflies. Western Monarch Count
Language violations? Platinum Plus Truck Driving School in Fresno was closed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration reported violations tied to English-language proficiency among its trainees. KMPH
‘More valuable’: Fresno State hopes to help address the region’s shortage of healthcare workers with a beefed up nursing and education training program. KVPR
“How we gonna pay?” Fluctuations in the Fresno-Clovis rental market are falling along income lines, with pricier leases climbing and lower-income apartment rates slacking. The Business Journal
Blood Drive: The Big Fresno Fair and Central California Blood Center have joined forces for the “Pint for a Pass” Blood Drive, between Aug. 25 and Oct. 18, all blood donors will receive a “Buy One, Get One Free” admission voucher redeemable for the 2026 Big Fresno Fair. YourCentralValley
Block Beat
Downtown: More than 50 colleges, universities, trade schools and career programs are expected to participate in Fresno Unified’s upcoming Fresno Latino College Expo; an event dedicated to connecting students with colleges, scholarships and other resources to help plan for life after high school. The event is set for 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8 at Fresno Convention Center’s Valdez Hall, 702 M. St., Fresno. More information
River Park: Oktoberfest is just around the corner so, mark your calendars for Saturday, Sept. 19 for a day of “ice-cold beer, live music, delicious food, and unforgettable Good Times” at Barrel House Brewing at the River Park Shopping Center. Barrel House
Clovis: United Skates of America in Clovis is renovating and will be closed for at least the month of September as the work gets underway. ABC30
Downtown: The Alliance for California Traditional Arts brings a three-day folklife festival to downtown Fresno next month. YourCentralValley
Yosemite: A piece of land in Yosemite National Park could be sold to a private developer, multiple news outlets have reported since the news website NOTUS first revealed the potential sale on Friday, KVPR reports, but the federal government has disputed the claim, YourCentralValley reports.
Clovis: A group of Clovis Unified educators seeking to unionize with the California Teachers Association filed a petition with the state’s Public Employment Relations Board challenging the eligibility of its rival group’s union petition, The Fresno Bee
Blackstone: Several elderly residents and tenants with disabilities at The Link at Blackstone apartments have been stuck at home too much this summer with the complex’s only two elevators going in and out of service this summer. KMPH
Downtown: Fresno’s old Radisson hotel building on Van Ness Avenue is up for sale again with a $19.5 million sticker price. The Fresno Bee
Sanger: “If a peacock presents an immediate threat to public safety, contact the Sanger Police Department.” YourCentralValley
This weekend’s newsletter was edited by Danielle Bergstrom.
