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…
How Don Tacha Taqueria became the Lowell neighborhood’s family-run ‘tacoasis’
Fresno is a tough place to stand out for serving great tacos. Taco Truck Throwdown has been establishing our bona fides as a taco destination since 2011, and if there’s one thing the broader world knows about the Fresno food scene, it’s probably tacos. Bringing tacos to Fresno is like bringing sand to the beach.…
Fresno law firm dodges $10,000 fine, says use of AI do not meet its standards
A law firm representing the City of Fresno will not have to pay a $10,000 fine after a Fresno County judge found 11 fake and improper case citations in one of its court filings. In an April 14 tentative ruling, Fresno County Superior Court Judge Kristi Culver Kapetan wrote that she wouldn’t subject Aleshire &…
Inside the effort to fix the Tower District’s vacant building problems
In a neighborhood like Fresno’s Tower District, where some storefronts have stood vacant since the Nixon administration, local lawmakers are seeking out new ways to tackle the blight. But are their tactics working? Some say it’s too soon to tell. Last June, Councilmembers Annalisa Perea and Miguel Arias brought forth a new one-year pilot program…