Good morning! It’s Tuesday, April 7. This is Rob.
Repeat, then rise? Clear skies and highs in the 80s for the first time since yesterday. But also maybe rain later this week. NOAA
Learn to Swede? Want to create your own sweded film for Swede Fest, but don’t know where to start? CMAC has you covered. Two free classes are available to help you learn how to pick a project and build a production plan, among other tools. Class begins at 6 p.m. April 7 and 14. CMAC
Basque Fest! The 48th annual Fresno Basque Festival begins at 9 a.m. May 2. The free public event includes a parade, Basque music, dancing, and food. More info
Calling all poets: The Fresno County Public Library is accepting submissions for its 27th Annual Poetry Contest, inviting residents of all ages to share their writing and be recognized as part of a long-standing community tradition. Facebook
Cultural celebration: Bookish is celebrating Armenian culture through spoken word, family photos, artifacts, resources to trace genealogy, music and food. Bookish
Baseball and beer! Kick off the Grizzlies season at the Beer Garden at 5:30 p.m. on April 7, with live music from The Stereo Hopeful. Grab a beer and a game voucher for $15, at the Beer Garden, and stick around for fireworks after the game. Tioga Beer Garden
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 weighs the future of Advance Peace Fresno
As violent crime creeps back up after a 50-year low, some city leaders are scrambling to find the money to save a program that researchers say contributed to the city’s historic drop in murder last year.
I sat down Monday with Aaron Foster. He’s the program manager at Advance Peace Fresno, an anti-violence effort that both researchers and politicians say played a key role in the city’s dramatic gains curtailing street violence last year.
Despite the program’s successes, its future has been in doubt since the White House abruptly cut Advance Peace Fresno’s $2 million federal grant last year.
While many of the program’s fellows, mentors and counselors agreed to stay on without pay last year, Foster says they lost about 60% of their manpower.
That amounts to dozens of counselors and mentors that are no longer as routinely available to initiate conversations and interventions with residents, which Foster describes as “the most likely to try to solve issues with violence.”
The City Council is expected to vote on some short-term funding for the anti-violence program during the regularly-scheduled meeting at City Hall on Thursday.
If approved, the city would use up to $625,000 to keep the anti-violence program afloat until the end of October while supporters scramble to secure sustainable funding.
2. Immigrant truck drivers stuck in bureaucratic traffic jam
It’s been almost two months since a judge ordered the state DMV to allow thousands of immigrant truck drivers the chance to restore their commercial licenses in the wake of a Trump Administration order targeting immigrants.
But, CalMatters reports, the state DMV has yet to reissue even one license among the more than 13,000 that remain in political limbo. The new application process can take up to a year and even then there’s no guarantee the DMV will make a ruling on a license application. Meanwhile, local truck drivers are stuck, many without (consistent) work.
“The DMV is delaying because it is under pressure from the U.S. Department of Transportation,” CalMatters writes, “which has threatened to punish California if it issues commercial licenses to these immigrants.”
3. Fresno’s housing market still hot to the touch
Fresno remains one of the “hottest” housing markets in the nation, ABC30 reports, the 15th hottest, according to a new list from Construction Coverage.
Housing prices, up about 3% from last year, continue to climb as homebuyers from traditionally higher-priced markets snatch up still-relatively cheap Central Valley properties.
ABC30 says about 35% of homes sold locally last year closed above the asking price. Fresno-area homes also stayed on the market 11 fewer days than the national average.
Fresno has become an increasingly popular home-buying destination since the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has since spurred relentless price surges for both apartment renters and home-buyers.
Today’s newsletter was edited by Fresnoland’s Omar S. Rashad.
