Quote of the Week
“The taboo of talking about immigrants and refugees will hopefully start slipping away, because I think every one of us living in the Central Valley knows someone that came to the valley under similar circumstances, and we should be celebrating that.”
–Elizabeth Camarena, Fresno human rights attorney, speaking to Fresnoland about the film “All We Carry,” which will be screened on Jan. 28 at The Big Red Church.
This Week in Fresnoland
Attorneys press pause on billion-dollar Clovis hospital lawsuit
A little over four months after bringing forward a David-versus-Goliath lawsuit, two local nonprofits have agreed to move talks with a major hospital operator in Fresno behind closed doors, Fresnoland’s Julianna Morano reported.
The August 2024 lawsuit accused Community Health System of diverting $1 billion in taxpayer dollars meant for the downtown Fresno hospital instead for its suburban Clovis hospital.
But what started as a tense legal battle has evolved after recent “productive conferences” between attorneys. That resulted in a joint filing requesting a “stay” on litigation until June.
“Given our shared ultimate mission of community service, we all have agreed that our time and resources are better spent working together,” the parties said in a joint statement.
You can also hear Julianna discuss the story on Thursday’s episode of Central Valley Daily.
Fresno EOC taps another CEO, again
Two months after abruptly naming a new interim CEO, the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission appointed another new interim CEO Monday, Fresnoland’s Omar S. Rashad reported.
The nonprofit poverty-fighting organization announced its old CEO Brian Angus would reprise his role as the EOC looks for a replacement for its CEO of five years, Emilia Reyes. The nonprofit has been cagey about her departure, but its board opted not to renew her contract at Monday’s meeting.
Before naming Angus, the organization’s Chief Operating Officer Michelle Tutunjian had served as interim CEO since November.
Amid the leadership shakeup, the EOC is also facing a $3.2 million deficit and unanswered questions from the board about recent financial losses.
Immigration raids coming to Fresno area
Immigration officers detained hundreds of people in Kern County as part of a large sweep that could expand next week to Fresno and beyond as the Biden administration enters its final week in office.
“The sight of federal Border Patrol agents — who could expand operations to Fresno and Sacramento — alarmed residents and undocumented immigrants across Central California who have been unaccustomed to seeing such a significant presence in recent years,” The Fresno Bee reported.
While Border Patrol officials touted the operation as a success leading to 78 arrests, including two child rapists, immigrant rights advocates in Kern County told The Bee farmworkers were also detained while going about their normal workdays.
“We are planning operations for other locals such as Fresno and especially Sacramento,” the US Border Patrol said on social media this week.
Fresno adds cricket pitches to city parks
Two city parks west of Highway 99 are getting new cricket pitches after city officials approved a construction contract at their Fresno City Council meeting Thursday, reported Omar S. Rashad for Fresnoland.
The cricket pitch would be constructed in the outfield of a baseball field at Jaswant Singh Khalra Park in west Fresno. The plan would also convert a soccer field into a cricket pitch at the new Regional Sports Complex in southwest Fresno.
City staff have recommended a $165,785 construction contract with Juarez Brothers General Engineering, Inc — funded entirely through Measure P dollars.
A lot has taken place behind the scenes over several years to finally get to this stage, said Deep Singh, the executive director of Jakara Movement — and he said all the credit goes to the local community of cricket players in Fresno.
“For nearly a decade, members of the Punjabi community and larger South Asian communities have been working with city officials to try to find a way to make cricket happen here in Fresno,” Singh told Fresnoland. “There have been a lot of promises along the way, but we seem to finally be at a place where a desire and dream of a number of players here in Fresno is finally coming to fruition.”
Singh added that Fresno is following a larger trend in the region: the City of Clovis has a cricket pitch at Sierra Bicentennial Park and the Central Unified School District has a cricket pitch at Madison Elementary School.
Clovis takes another small step toward revamping city council elections
Thursday marked the next small step in the Clovis City Council’s reluctant overhaul of how its elections have been conducted for years, Fresnoland’s Rob Parsons reported.
The city held a public Community Map-Drawing Workshop to get started on carving up the city into electoral districts, a change from its decades-old at-large election model.
The change comes after the city received a letter from a famously-undefeated attorney who has successfully sued numerous cities and schools into using electoral districts under the California Voting Rights Act of 2002.
Despite the legal pressure, Clovis officials and residents have been obstinate about the change, with the city’s mayor previously saying Clovis did a “pretty good job” procrastinating on adhering to the law for two decades.
Outside the Lines
There was a lot of back-slapping and a surprising number of cowboy hats at the Fresno City Council meeting this week, as the council bid farewell to two members who joined the county Board of Supervisors and welcomed its newest member to the dais. Fresnoland
Fresno city firefighters scored a 3% raise this week, retroactive to last July, about a month after inking a new contract with the city. Fresnoland
“A group of Fresno doctors wants to stop St. Agnes Medical Center from entering into an exclusive contract with a national staffing firm, saying the move would cause them to go out of business and disrupt care for hundreds of patients. The Fresno Bee
Dozens of firefighters from Fresno and the central San Joaquin Valley raced to Southern California this week to help overwhelmed emergency workers scrambling to save neighborhoods from the devastating string of wildfires. KSEE
Block Beat
OLD TOWN CLOVIS: “A popular Sanger brewing company will be opening a new location in Old Town Clovis. House of Pendragon Brewing Co. announced on Saturday that the Old Town Clovis location will serve as a restaurant and tap room.” The Fresno Business Journal
FRESNO HIGH: The decision to screen the documentary “All We Carry” – depicting a family’s harrowing migration journey fleeing violence in Honduras to seeking asylum in the U.S. – at Fresno’s Big Red Church in the Fresno High neighborhood later this month was deeply personal for one of the organizers with the Fresno Interdenominational Refugee Ministries, Gisselle Medina reports. Fresnoland
TOWER DISTRICT: The Central California Psychedelic Summit will return to the Tower Theatre Feb. 15 and 16 for its two-day event focused on “evidence-based and community-focused education, dialogue, and networking opportunities centered around psychedelics,” a press release from the organizations says. CCPS
DOWNTOWN: Danielle and Jordan talk with Elliott Balch about the future of ArtHop after last year’s shakeup, and how we should think about success for the district, on this week’s Fresnolandia podcast. Spotify | Apple Podcasts
Around Town
Women’s March is organizing a Fresno march beginning at noon Saturday, Jan. 18 at the Save Mart Center. The march coincides with the national “A People’s March,” a demonstration for the rights of all people living in the United States. Women’s March
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Unity Committee will hold a march on Jan. 20 in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Marchers will assemble at St. John’s Cathedral at 9:30 a.m. The march begins at 10 a.m., stops at Fresno City Hall, and then a Commemoration Program will happen from 11 a.m. to noon at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium. Empowerment Institute
The Fresno Police Department announced a DUI checkpoint beginning at 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 11 at an undisclosed location in the city. Police routinely announce checkpoints beforehand as part of a continuous effort to remind the public of the dangers of impaired driving. In a news release this week, Fresno police said first-time DUI offenders typically face fines and penalties of more than $13,000.
