Tower District residents grill Fresno city leaders on police presence at tense town hall in wake of recent shooting
Fresno’s Tower District residents brought the heat to city leaders in a packed Tower Theatre Wednesday evening, raising questions about the city’s policing strategies as more police presence hasn’t stymied a string of violence on the Olive Avenue corridor. In the hours following a nightclub shooting last weekend outside a Tower District nightclub, Fresno leaders…
More cops? Shutdowns? City Hall scrambles to save the Tower District from street violence
Early Monday morning, Fresno restaurateur Bobby Salazar paused while wiping down the front door of his Olive Avenue club to consider a question he’s been asked before. Would adding more city cops to patrol the Tower District on nights and weekends make the popular neighborhood safer in the wake of recent shootings? Salazar didn’t blink.…
After years of struggle, Fresno’s Tower District finally gets its own ‘starter’ library
After years of advocacy from residents, the Tower District is getting its own library branch. Fresno County plans to open a location in Tower as soon as December, starting at a smaller, temporary site before finding a larger, permanent home, Supervisor Luis Chavez told Fresnoland. That starting place will be at the Ted C. Wills…
Kids drinking water and fuse-blowing rock concerts — welcome to The Belmont in Fresno’s Tower District
A couple dozen bands have put on memorable shows in the first year-and-change since Christian Honetschlager and his wife, Natalie Jahanbani, opened The Belmont in Fresno’s Tower District. But the performance Honetschlager remembers most fondly was from his not-yet-2-year-old son. It was 30 minutes before doors opened for the venue’s Aug. 6 show. The couple…
How a Community Land Trust Brought an Indie Bookstore to Fresno’s Tower District
This story was co-published with Next City, a nonprofit newsroom reporting on solutions for equitable and just cities. It was Ashley Mireles-Guerrero’s dream to open a bookstore in the Tower District, the neighborhood where she lives. That dream came true in July, when her bookstore, Judging By The Cover, moved in as the first commercial…
What one particularly stubborn vacancy in the Tower District tells Fresno about one of the city’s biggest economic challenges
Steve Wilburn studied theoretical physics in college. They don’t teach you in theoretical physics programs how to revitalize buildings in your Fresno neighborhood that have sat vacant for decades. But he tried anyway. Wilburn had been working remotely for a tech company from his home in Fresno’s Tower District when he started dreaming of putting…
What’s going on at Fresno High? Inside the enrollment declines at the city’s oldest high school
No matter what he tried, Simon Biasell couldn’t convince his daughter to attend Fresno High School. He tried, he said, but her heart was set on Bullard High. Biasell, who serves as the lead pastor at the Big Red Church, “lives, works and worships” within the Fresno High neighborhood, where he and his family have…
An IPA hater’s guide to Fresno and Clovis breweries
A guide to the Fresno area’s breweries from the perspective of a non-hops lover.
Will Fresno’s Tower District get a library? Councilmember’s support increases momentum
More than three years ago, Brooke Payton began a grassroots effort to establish a library in the Tower District. On Tuesday, the work gained momentum when a city councilmember backed the effort, and also put money toward it. During the final day of budget hearings, Councilmember Annalisa Perea issued a budget request to put $50,000…
The ‘hermit crab’ restaurants of Fresno
To a large extent, Fresno enjoys a mostly-deserved reputation as Anytown, USA. Many things you’d find here you’d also find in most mid-sized American cities – suburbs, strip malls, easy livin’. Fresno does have its unique qualities, however, and whenever I run into something that feels like it could only happen here, I try to…