Good morning! It’s Monday, July 13. This is Rob.
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🚇A critical hearing is set for Tuesday before the Fresno County Board of Supervisors that could make or break whether Fresno voters see a transportation tax on the 2026 ballot — or after the county’s current tax expires next year. Fresnoland
🪧Triple-digit heat did not stop community members from gathering outside the Robert E. Coyle Federal Courthouse in downtown Fresno to demand justice for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. ABC30
🎵An iconic Tower District building went up for sale in February and was purchased by community member David Brodie for the Fresno Music Academy and Arts. Munro Review
🅿️The Fresno Yosemite International Airport plans to roll out a new no-contact parking app on Tuesday. The Business Journal
🏙️Join the OCA Civic Academy – Fall 2026 and learn how Fresno’s City government works and how you can be part of the process. Meetings begin Sept. 15. Community Affairs Office
⭐The Kings River Land Trust invites the public to join them for an evening of star-gazing at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 16 at Kinney Ranch, 769 N. Piedra Road, Sanger. Kings River Land Trust
1. What’s happening at Fresno High?
It’s the city’s oldest school in one of Fresno’s most popular neighborhoods and it’s facing some of the worst enrollment declines.
New this morning, Fresnoland’s Diego Vargas takes a deep dive into the troubles facing Fresno High School, which has seen more students disappear than any other FUSD high school in recent years, despite its desirable neighborhood and long and storied history.
Fresno High has lost about 20% of its students over the past decade. Districtwide, California’s third-largest school district has lost about 4,000 over that same timespan and expects to lose another 4,000 in the next three years.
And numbers show that students aren’t necessarily moving. They’re leaving Fresno High, specifically.
And while Fresno Unified talks about program consolidation and the possibility of closing campuses in the near future, Clovis Unified is building new schools.
Read the full story from Fresnoland’s Diego Vargas here.
2. Demanding answers
The family of a Fresno man who died by suicide while in custody at the Fresno County Jail is demanding answers and justice, KVPR reports.
Kane Anthony Rubio, 22, was arrested June 11 in connection with a domestic dispute. Three days after he ended up in Fresno County Jail, he was found dead. The family says they didn’t hear from the Sheriff’s Office until hours later.
The family has filed a claim for damages against Fresno County, typically the first step in seeking legal action.
Family attorney Denisse O. Gastélum: “We’re demanding that the family be provided with answers . . . for failing to protect inmates.”
Read the full story from KVPR here.
3. One of the books
Fresno’s newest locally-owned bookstore, Judging by the Cover, made its long-awaited move to the city’s Tower District, YourCentralValley reports.
First opened in Chinatown in 2024, the store, owned by Ashley Mireles Guerrero and Carlos Mireles Guerrero has already built a loyal following.
Customer Emilia Borjas: “It’s small, it’s local, you can get to know each other’s names, you can recognize each other, you can check in. If this was, like, a Barnes and Noble… you would not get the same warmth that this is.”
For information on Judging By the Cover’s grand opening, Ashley says anyone interested should keep an eye on the bookstore’s social media linked here.
Read the full story at YourCentralValley here.
Today’s newsletter was edited by Omar S. Rashad.
