Quote of the Week
“Let me be clear. If the FUSD takes a formal position against SEDA the relationship between the city and FUSD will be damaged. No way around it.”
— Mayor Jerry Dyer’s “friendly reminder” to the school board not to cross him publicly on the SEDA development
This Week in Fresnoland
‘No way around it’
Why don’t Fresno Unified’s elected trustees have any opinion about a mega-development that district staff say would aggressively accelerate the district’s slumping enrollment and force double-digit school closures in the coming years?
According to text messages obtained by Fresnoland’s Gregory Weaver, the Fresno Unified school board can’t figure out how it feels about closing nearly a dozen schools because of political pressure from Mayor Jerry Dyer.
The highly contentious SEDA megadevelopment — a massive $4.3 billion, 9,000-acre housing plan roughly the size of Clovis — has been in the works in various forms for decades now.
In February, the FUSD school board briefly debated taking a formal position opposing the sprawl development widely expected to fuel the district’s enrollment demise, but ultimately took no action.
The night before FUSD’s vote, Dyer sent text messages to at least most of the board — which he told Fresnoland weren’t “intended to be a threat” — urging them to stay out of the issue.
“When we start, as government entities, making comments about each other’s operations, all it does is create a divide,” Dyer told Fresnoland. “And the last thing we need in government today is a divide.”
Trustees Keisha Thomas, Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas, Susan Witrupp and Claudia Cazares acquiesced to the mayor’s demands and voted to table the issue indefinitely.
Three FUSD trustees pushed back against Fresno’s two-term mayor, with Veva Islas and Andy Levine telling the mayor that SEDA was bad for FUSD students and families.
Islas, Levine and Trustee Valarie Davis voted to oppose the urban-sprawl development, despite Dyer’s “friendly reminder.”
“Let me be clear,” Dyer wrote to Levine. “If the FUSD takes a formal position against SEDA the relationship between the city and FUSD will be damaged. No way around it.”
Ex-Fresno Arts Council bookkeeper admits wire fraud
The former Fresno Arts Council bookkeeper has agreed to plead guilty to one felony count of wire fraud in connection with the $1.82 million that went missing at the nonprofit arts organization back in February.
Defendant Suliana Caldwell’s signature is on a plea agreement that was entered into federal court earlier this week, Fresnoland’s Omar S. Rashad reports.
According to charging documents, Caldwell siphoned the large sum of money through hundreds of unauthorized transactions to her PayPal account for over three years.
Caldwell also misrepresented sums in the Fresno Arts Council’s bank account in financial reports.
“Specifically, she altered and misreported the financial figures in the reports to make the reports appear as though no unauthorized transfers occurred from the FAC’s bank accounts when, in fact, she was taking the funds for the benefit of herself,” the charging documents say.
The plea agreement, first reported Thursday by The Fresno Bee, requires at least some time in federal prison for Caldwell, but it doesn’t specify how long. That’s likely going to be determined by a judge.
Caldwell is set for an arraignment and change-of-plea hearing on April 20 in U.S. District Court in Fresno.
Studying institutional ownership in Fresno
Fresno leaders want to know whether corporate mega-landlords are actually a problem locally.
“There’s a lot of criticism thrown at corporate landlords – from locking prospective homebuyers out of the market through competitive cash offers, to using AI-driven algorithms to set higher prices for rent,” Fresnoland’s Danielle Bergstrom writes.
But some housing experts are skeptical.
In a Fresnoland interview, one state housing expert noted that corporate landlords still only comprise about 2% of the statewide housing market.
Councilmember Annalisa Perea, whose proposed market study received unanimous support from the City Council last month, says she’s motivated by the hundreds or thousands of stories of institutional investors overpaying with literal bags of cash to outbid prospective and especially first-time home buyers.
Investment expert Robin Kane says that the angst towards corporate landlords in the housing market is understandable, but misplaced. Kane and others say the real culprit is a scarcity of supply.
“If you’re raising rents 8 to 10% year over year in an economy where salaries are only going up 2 to 3% a year – this movie isn’t gonna end well,” Kane said.
City Hall invests in Advance Peace Fresno
One of the city’s most effective anti-violence programs won at least a temporary reprieve this week when the Fresno City Council extended the program’s funding through the fall and hinted more money could soon be in the works.
Fresnoland’s Pablo Orihuela spoke with Advance Peace Fresno’s program manager, Aaron Foster, who said he was hopeful following Thursday’s meeting and the $250,000 cash injection that will keep the lights on at least until the end of October.
The program’s future has been in jeopardy since last year when it abruptly lost $2 million amid a series of financial cuts to criminal violence intervention programs across the country on the orders of President Donald Trump.
The City of Fresno’s homicide count saw a 50-year low last year. That decline can be, at least partially, attributed to the work of Advance Peace, researchers have said.
Fresno County orders child-abuse case audit
An outside auditor will take a look at Fresno County’s Department of Social Services, investigating multiple public claims from social workers and other insiders who say children have been routinely placed in dangerous situations that department leaders have refused to address.
The audit, approved Tuesday by the Fresno County Board of Supervisors, comes about six weeks after a well-known department whistleblower raised the issue at the county Hall of Records, Pablo Orihuela reports for Fresnoland.
DSS Director Sanja Bugay told the board that the “workload for our social workers has really increased when it comes to the amount of work per case.”
“My goal in this audit is not to ascribe blame to anyone, but define what changes are needed and make them…” Supervisor Garry Bredefeld. “We must be committed to having accountability and having positive outcomes for these children. Our children deserve this, and we’re going to make sure they get it.”
Outside the Lines
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
The county supervisors on Tuesday also launched plans to purchase new office space for the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office downtown. Fresnoland
A new study has found that wages have stagnated for farmworkers, who have to make tough choices between paying for medical care or utility bills and other fixed expenses. The study projects farmworkers’ health outcomes to improve with wage increases. Fresnoland
Fresno Unified’s scramble to close massive budget deficits will be put on ice for at least the next month while the district awaits new budget numbers from the governor’s office. Fresnoland
About 40,000 pounds of food will be delivered to the Catholic Charities Diocese of Fresno and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to distribute in nine communities in the central San Joaquin Valley. YourCentralValley
It’s been almost two months since a judge ordered the state DMV allow thousands of immigrant truck drivers the chance to restore their commercial licenses in the wake of a Trump Administration order targeting immigrants. Little progress has been made. CalMatters
A Fresno judge ruled that local environmental groups filed their CEQA lawsuit too late. GV Wire
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
Fresno wants a new trial in the $15 million racism verdict, despite public objections. GV Wire
Madera County launches $100 million Highway 41 expansion project. YourCentralValley
Fresno remains one of the “hottest” housing markets in the nation. ABC30
Block Beat
Downtown: 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 14. CMAC
Caruthers: 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
West Fresno: Tickets for R and B in the Park (6725 W. Kearney Blvd.) are available for purchase online via Eventbrite, starting at $25, plus a $3.52 fee. Gates open at 1 p.m., and the event is scheduled to run from 2 to 7 p.m. Fresnoland
Southwest: As tributes to disgraced labor rights leader Cesar Chavez continue falling quickly in the wake of devastating rape and abuse allegations, multiple Fresno residents slammed the school district for dragging its feet on Edison High School’s prominent mural. Fresnoland
Downtown: Fresno’s Easter weekend festivities included a Good Friday procession outside the downtown ICE office with prayer, song, and scripture, centering their message on compassion for immigrant families. Fresnoland
Selma: Look, there hasn’t exactly been a ton of good news recently so when a Fresno sheriff’s detective rescues half a dozen starving orphan kittens, you should check out the photos. Fresno County Sheriff’s Office
Clovis: Fresno DA won’t prosecute a man Clovis police accused of aiding student truancy during recent anti-ICE protests. The Fresno Bee
South Tower: One of Fresno’s most colorful sandwich chefs is recovering in the hospital after a health emergency. KMPH
Downtown: The Fresno Grizzlies threw out the first pitch of their milestone 25th season inside Chukchansi Park. ABC30
Clovis: A brand new newspaper? KMPH
Omar S. Rashad edited today’s newsletter
