Good morning! Today is Tuesday, September 29. It’s Danielle, here.
Random note: I’m writing this at a city park where my kid practices soccer, and I just have to say, the people watching is always top tier in public spaces in Fresno. Highly recommend.
Touching grass works: Just weeks into implementing a new cellphone ban, Central Unified leaders are reporting that the overall school climate has improved significantly. ABC30
Even more carnitas: Zamora’s Carnitas on Belmont near the zoo has a near cult following. Now residents in Fowler will soon be able to benefit, too. KMPH
For the book and library lovers: (Isn’t that all of us? At least, for most of you reading this, I hope you’re in this group.) Tower bookstore Judging by the Cover is hosting a ‘Banned Books Read-In’ on Saturday, Oct. 10 from 11:00 to 4:00 p.m. Website
If it can happen in Stockton: We don’t normally share news about our friends up in the north valley, but it seemed notable that residents of the delta city might be getting an ethics commission soon. Stocktonia
1. Supervisor candidates spar over drinking water at west area forum
Candidates competing for an open seat on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors traded barbs over water quality (though notably not in Shaver Springs, where residents are sounding the alarm) at a well-attended candidate forum in Highway City on Monday night.
Mike Karbassi, a Fresno City Councilmember running for supervisor, brought a stack of red folders with him to the forum at the Teague Community Resource Center. He brandished one of them in response to comments from his opponent, Kerman Mayor Maria Pacheco, that the water in her city is clean while other rural communities like San Joaquin need improvements. In it was a 2025 report showing that Kerman’s water supply had levels of hexavalent chromium above the legal limit.
“Elected officials should be honest, even when there are problems in their own backyard,” Karbassi said.
Pacheco called Karbassi’s comments an “unfair shot.” After the forum, she added that Kerman’s levels exceeded the legal limit after recent changes to state standards and is working to remedy that.
“But Kerman’s drinking water is safe,” she said. “I still make my Kool-Aid with tap water.”
The other half of the candidate forum hosted by Highway City Community Development was less heated — but that’s only because it was missing a candidate.
The organizers invited those running to represent their neighborhood on Fresno City Council to the forum, too, but only one — Naindeep Singh — attended. Organizers said the other candidate, Rob Fuentes, declined to attend due to a prior commitment.
This wasn’t the only forum Fuentes has missed recently, which Singh didn’t hesitate to point out.
“You’ll never get that with me,” Singh said. “Whether we agree, whether we disagree, I’ll face you.”
Check back with Fresnoland next week where we’ll start publishing guides on all the candidates for the county board, city council and other local races. And keep an eye out for your ballots, which the clerk will start mailing out next Monday!
— Julianna Morano, labor and economy reporter
2. Is it going to get harder to get an immigration attorney in the valley?
That’s what some immigration advocates are asking this week, as Gov. Gavin Newsom just vetoed a bill that would have made permanent a pilot program that trains new attorneys and legal service providers in the Central Valley.
It’s not that Newsom is against legal defense for immigrants — his recent budget included $7.5 million for the program, called the Immigrant Justice Legal Fellowship. But the money in the budget doesn’t set aside any of those dollars for rural or underserved regions like the Central Valley, and that’s what’s making advocates nervous.
Jackie Gonzalez, with Immigrant Defense Advocates: “People would drive from the Central Valley just to do a free consultation with an immigration attorney. Both because they didn’t have the dollars to hire a private one, but also because so many of the legal resources they would have access to were like notaries and not actually lawyers. And when you’re in immigration court, you really need the assistance of a lawyer.”
Read the whole story from Fresnoland’s Gisselle Medina here.
3. Show me the 497s
Excuse the technical jargon, readers. A 497 is political consultant parlance for the form candidates have to file if you receive a political contribution more than $1,000.
Anyway, the contributions are rolling in for some of the hotter races. And who exactly are the big donors right now in the last few weeks? Maybe not surprisingly, labor groups — but in most city races, they’re split.
The Fresno Police Officers’ Association maxed out at $5,900 for Rob Fuentes in the Fresno City Council, District 1 race while the bus drivers’ union Amalgamated Transit Union kicked in $1,500 to Naindeep Singh, his opponent. The Fresno City Employees Professional Union gave the max of $5,900 to both Nav Gurm and Ariana Martinez Lott in the Fresno City Council, District 7 race, and did the same for Singh and also Dr. Joaquin Arambula in the District 3 race. (They also gave a stunning $30,000 to the Yes on Measure S campaign on Sept. 9.)
Both the local building trades’ union and the plumbers and pipefitters union threw in the max $5,900 for Keshia Thomas in the Fresno City Council, District 3 race.
Youth Save Democracy PAC kicked in $5,900 to one of its former leaders, Gurm, this September.
There’s more to report, and we’ll be sharing our full analysis with our readers as our voter guide launches next week.
