It’s back by popular demand after a nearly three year hiatus! Please join us for a lively discussion about the November election at our third Ballots and Brews, on Tuesday Oct. 18 at 6:00 p.m. at Tioga Sequoia. Register here now!
Good morning! Dani Bergstrom, policy editor here.
We have been working hard on our fall voter guide over here at Fresnoland, which we can’t wait to share with you on Oct. 17. Our guide will have everything you need to know about local candidates and ballot measures.
Have questions about voting or local elections? Check out our FAQ here.
A basic income for farmworkers takes a leap backwards: as Melissa Montalvo reports for Fresnoland/Fresno Bee, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have allocated $20 million to create the California Farmworkers Drought Resilience Pilot Project, a state-funded project to provide monthly cash payments of $1,000 for three years to eligible farmworkers.
State Sen. Melissa Hurtado, a Democrat who represents California’s 14th district, who introduced the bill earlier this year, says she’s committed to supporting farmworkers who risk losing income during the drought. Some labor critics say the bill would tether workers to the agricultural industry, instead of allowing them to get retrained for other types of higher-paying jobs.
Speaking of farming: critics say there’s not enough money being spent to fallow farmland, reports Jesse Vad for SJV Water. Some experts estimate that as many as a million acres of farmland need to be permanently taken out of production due to a lack of water. But if the state’s going to pay farmers to fallow land to meet that goal, it’s going to take a lot more than $40 million per year.
New report finds that huge rent raises are common in Fresno: research from the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley found that over half of rental listings in Fresno exceeded the state’s threshold for what would be considered a legal rent increase under AB 1482, California’s rent cap law. As we’ve reported before, a lot of Fresno’s rental housing stock – like single-family home rentals – are excluded from the law.
A new downtown housing project tests parking expectations: At their meeting this week, the Fresno Planning Commission approved a 37-unit housing development on Broadway and Stanislaus streets with just seven parking spaces. The development is a partnership between long-time Fresno developers Reza Assemi and Will Dyck. The decision was appealed by Todd Wynkoop, real estate investor who owns the Mayflower Lofts next door, over parking concerns.
This comes as Gov. Newsom signed a bill last week banning cities from requiring parking for homes built near transit.
Despite Fresno’s relatively lax parking requirements for projects in downtown and along transit corridors, few have taken advantage of the benefits, says Dan Zack, a planning consultant and former assistant director of planning for the City of Fresno. Zack said, “This project is really pushing the envelope, from what I’ve seen, on parking.”
Contracts approved to clean up water in the Madera Ranchos: After over a year of dealing with manganese contamination and water supply challenges, the Madera County Board of Supervisors approved over $5 million to construct water treatment facilities and build a water storage tank for residents in the Madera Ranchos’ MD-10A service area. Documenter Elizabeth Valdez reported that the supervisors agreed that, to date, the project is the largest the county has ever undertaken.
The state’s major anti-tax group has entered the chat on Fresno’s ballot measures: the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers’ Association is threatening a lawsuit against the City of Fresno, after the council approved $600,000 in two contracts to political consultants to educate residents about Measure M and Measure C, reports Tim Sheehan in The Fresno Bee.
A Punjabi trucker from Bakersfield recounts his experiences navigating ICE: as Ravleen Kaur reports for High Country News/The Guardian, “for Singh, 27, navigating the labyrinth of the US immigration and asylum processes means adapting his life and work to deal with constant and crushing uncertainty. But he refuses to let himself entertain the possibility of deportation.”
Help Fresno spend money on arts and culture! No, seriously. The city is asking for feedback on how to spend the money from Measure P on arts and culture programs. They can’t start spending the millions of dollars that have accumulated from the new tax until a Cultural Arts Plan is done. Fill out the survey here.
Can California help drought-stricken farmworkers following Gavin Newsom’s recent veto?
Wildfire Smoke Is Hurting Pregnant People And Babies. Can California Cities Protect Them?
Fresno City Council pushes back most of Mayor Dyer’s housing policies, for now
