Quote of the Week
“If you think it’s such a name of honor — one of integrity and respect — I challenge you to go to a powwow or another native function and walk up and call a native woman that. I challenge you to go to a powwow or another native function and walk up and call a native woman that (word). See what kind of reaction you get — it’s not going to be a positive one.”
— Roman Rain Tree, a member of the Dunlap Band of Mono Indians and the Choinumni tribe who has been at the forefront of the local effort to change the name of a town in eastern Fresno County
Save the date:
In association with The Central Valley Community Foundation and Fresno DRIVE, Fresnoland is sponsoring A Conversation with Heather McGhee, best-selling author of The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together. Check it out tonight at Fresno High School Royce Hall, at 6:30 p.m. EventBrite
This Week in Fresnoland
The Fresno County town that kinda has two names (for now)
About nine months ago, a decades-old community in the eastern foothills of Fresno County was renamed Yokuts Valley. Kind of.
Federal officials banned the use of a word widely acknowledged as a slur for Native American women, removing it from federal agencies and maps.
But that move didn’t actually change the town’s name in Fresno County, Omar Shaikh Rashad reports for Fresnoland.
A majority of Fresno County’s supervisors want to keep the fight alive over the town’s traditional name.
As Supervisor Nathan Magsig put it: “Fresno County recognizes Squaw Valley as Squaw Valley.”
In addition to a lawsuit filed earlier this year, the supervisors will ask voters in March to formalize the local-level authority over community names by amending the county charter.
In the Fresnoland article, Magsig argues there’s no consensus over whether the word is actually offensive.
Roman Rain Tree is a member of the Dunlap Band of Mono Indians and the Choinumni tribe. He’s been at the forefront of the local effort to change the town’s name. Rain Tree acknowledged some generational differences regarding the word, but said only a small minority of Native Americans take no offense at its use.
“If you think it’s such a name of honor — one of integrity and respect — I challenge you to go to a powwow or another native function and walk up and call a native woman that,” Rain Tree said. “See what kind of reaction you get — it’s not going to be a positive one.”
The federal government slides $202 million for high speed rail across the table.
The Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) award will purchase, design and construct six major structures to eliminate railroad crossings in the southern San Joaquin Valley, per this report from Tim Sheehan at The Fresno Bee. The grant, courtesy of the U.S. Department of Transportation, will pay for about 80% of the anticipated costs to build these structures. Once complete, a line from Merced to Bakersfield will cut through Fresno at 220 mph.
Several other grant applications are still pending. The high-speed rail agency wants to buy six electric-powered train sets, construct a second set of tracks, build a new station in downtown Fresno at Mariposa Street, among other plans.
Kaiser workers plan to strike for in October if they can’t cut a deal by Saturday
Julianna Morano (Fresnoland) writes that the strike would be between Oct. 4 and Oct. 6, and would impact 75,000 workers – “the largest healthcare strike in U.S. history,” according to a news release from the coalition of unionized healthcare workers.
The coalition is demanding higher wages to combat an ongoing staffing crisis. For their part, Kaiser says that they’ve already filled 9,700 union-represented jobs this year.
Why some want to expand California’s groundwater trading market
The thinking goes that by expanding California’s groundwater trading market, i.e. giving smaller vegetable and field growers the ability to sell stored water to much larger and more lucrative nut farms, climate change’s volatility could be put to good use, expanding the Valley’s agribusiness economy to the tune of $1 billion by 2040. Currently, that economy is set to shrink by as much as $4 to $6 billion.
There are some obvious criticisms.
The system would highly favor large agribusiness, particularly almond and pistachio farmers at the expense of smaller vegetable growers, according to a new report by the Public Policy Institute of California. That report was a key discussion topic at a recent water policy summit at Fresno State, Gregory Weaver reported for Fresnoland.
What to know about the new COVID-19 shot in Fresno County
A COVID-19 story! Pfizer and Moderna have produced a new vaccine for targeting the nascent XBB 1.6 and XBB 2.3 variants, Oscar Alexander reports for Fresnoland.
The vaccine is still free and the Biden Administration started taking orders for more free at-home COVID tests on Monday. We had a 12.2% positivity rate in COVID cases last week, down 2.6% from the week before. Get the shot so we can drop it even further.
Outside the Lines
A 48-year-old Clovis man pleaded guilty this week to stealing $1.4 million in COVID-19 relief funds.
Ruben Mireles, owner and operator of Calzona Ag Management Inc., a farm labor contracting business in Kings County made false statements on applications that ended with his company receiving $1.4 million in COVID-19 relief funds in 2021, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
He faces a fine of up to $250,000 and 10 years in prison at a sentencing hearing in February in federal court.
Block Beat
YOKUTS VALLEY: A tabernacle with a ciborium holding 20 wafers, along with a chalice and two bottles of wine were stolen from St. Rita Indian Mission Catholic Church. The diocese hopes for their return and promises no questions asked. KMPH
DEL MAR: Fresno City Councilmember Annalisa Perea will join representatives from various Fresno departments on a panel to answer questions at 2 p.m. Oct. 2 in the Aspen Charter Auditorium (1400 E Saginaw). Instagram
FRESNO HIGH: They’re renaming the park at the northeast corner of Echo and Weldon Avenues, and they want your help. Forms
Around Town
If you’re interested in fashion upcycling and a taste of mindfulness in a queer-friendly space, please check out @fresnoeoc.lgbtq’s Mindfulness Workshop, hosted by case manager Savun Sean and cosplay expert Theo Hill. Instagram
Arte Américas is hosting their own Son Jarocho Workshop at 6:30 p.m. this evening. Son Jarocho is a genre of music from Veracruz in the Gulf Coast of Mexico. It combines elements from Spanish, indigenous and African cultures. Instagram
Also, CMAC is holding a Final Cut Pro X workshop. I’m more of an Adobe Premiere gal, but if you own a Mac and want to learn about video editing, Thursday could be your chance. Downtown Fresno
Oh and @Ella.Fresno will teach you how to pour paint. They’ll even provide two canvases and all necessary materials. Downtown Fresno
And in a total change of pace, check out this Learning Conference for Safe Infant Sleep Facts, Practices and Trends. It will be held virtually. EventBrite
The Fresno High Neighborhood Party, organized by @moto_fresno, is an opportunity to meet your neighbors on Van Ness Ave. BYO chair, blankets and snacks. Instagram
Next Week in Public Meetings
- Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023 at 9 a.m. | Fresno City Council
- Monday, Oct. 2, 2023 at 6 p.m. | Clovis City Council
- Monday, Oct. 2, 2023 at 7 p.m. | Visalia City Council
- Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023 at 9 a.m. | Tulare County Board of Supervisors
- Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023 at 9 a.m. | Kings County Board of Supervisors
- Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023 at 10 a.m. | Madera County Board of Supervisors
