Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Will Fresno Get $20 Million for Homeless From State Budget Surplus?
gvw_david_taub
By David Taub, Senior Reporter
Published 6 years ago on
February 2, 2018

Share


Politics 101
David Taub
Mayor Lee Brand delivered the keynote speech to the Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation’s monthly breakfast Wednesday (Jan. 31). He touted his first-year accomplishments (Rental Housing Improvement Act, Citizens’ Public Safety Advisory Board) and said Business Friendly 2.0! is his top priority for 2018.
Brand also said he will partner with other California big cities to sponsor a bill in Sacramento seeking funding from the state’s budget surplus to help the homeless. Brand estimates Fresno could get up to $20 million for things like temporary and permanent housing.
The mayor also took a page from Councilman Steve Brandau’s playbook and belittled those who opposed the recently-approved Caglia industrial park project. Brand was slightly more diplomatic, however.
“There are forces out there who are always working against what we are trying to do,” Brand told the group. “Some of the motives were good. Some were basically self-perpetuation.”
“What do they want? Mitigation? They want money,” Brand said with a shrug.
Brand also discussed Recharge Fresno, the city’s water infrastructure projects to help store more of the precious resource.

Vidak Preserves Styrofoam Cups

State Sen. Andy Vidak (R-Hanford) touted on social media the defeat of a bill that would have banned Styrofoam at take-out restaurants. A photo shows him holding such a cup on the Senate floor.
The Los Angeles Times reported this is the second year in a row the bill failed to pass out of the Senate.


“Just as we saw with the plastic bag ban, which took several years to enact, it takes time to get people comfortable with this type of change,” Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) told the paper. “But we obviously need to spend more time educating my colleagues on the damaging impact of Styrofoam on our coastline.”
Allen says he will try again next year.

Notes from Grizzlies Hot Stove

Baseball season is almost here. As evidence: the Fresno Grizzlies held the 57th annual Hot Stove dinner.
Dusty Baker — with 242 career home runs as a hitter and 1,863 victories as a manager — headlined the event that drew a full crowd to the Fresno Convention Center, including some politicians.
Fresno City Council President Esmeralda Soria sat at the table of team owner Chris Cummings. State Center Community College District Trustee Richard Caglia joined them. He may have been the only person that evening wearing a baseball jersey (funny, I don’t recall a Caglia ever playing for the Giants.)
Other political types included Fresno County Supervisor Sal Quintero, and members of Mayor Lee Brand’s staff (but I did not spot the mayor himself).
Regarding Cummings: He is still technically the owner, despite the announcement of the team’s sale last year. The team says the sale has yet to be completed, but no one is panicking.

About the New Fresno City College Satellite Campus

More details about the proposed southwest satellite campus of Fresno City College will come to light at Tuesday’s SCCCD Board of Trustees meeting (Feb. 6).
The board will be asked to approve Fresno firm SIM-PBK for a $5 million architecture contract. That comes from a staff recommendation over these other finalists: Darden Architects, Paul Halajian Architects, and PMSM Architects.
In closed session, the board will negotiate with TFS Investments, LLC, over property at 2423 S. Walnut Ave., the site of the new campus. TFS, a Fresno development firm, is led by CEO Terance Frazier.
Other parts of the land still have to be negotiated with the Shehadey family, best known as the owners of Producers Dairy.
A source familiar with the negotiations tells GV Wire that for every acre State Center purchases, the TFS/Shehadey group will donate an acre. The purchase price has not been revealed.
SCCCD will also decide whether to add $27 million in contingency funds for the project.
According to a bond status presentation scheduled for the meeting, the southwest campus is scheduled to be completed in 2022.
Funding will come from the half-billion-dollar Measure C bond passed by voters in 2016. Cap-and-trade funds are also designated for the project.

Say Bye to Jim Verros, Hello to Guillermo Moreno

Jim Verros announced his resignation as editor-at-large of CV Observer, another fine digital publication covering Valley politics.
Since Politics 101 deals in facts, here are the numbers: Verros published seven stories under his byline in seven months. That includes one of his coming, one of his going, and one about me.
Guillermo Moreno, former Republican Party state official, and most recently evening host on Power Talk 96.7, takes over in Verros’ role. I’m confident we’ll read more timely and relevant stories about the happenings at 2600 Fresno Street.

DON'T MISS

Rockin’ Out or Laughing, the Valley Has Its Pick of Weekend Events

DON'T MISS

Ex-Correctional Officer at Women’s Prison in California Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Inmates

DON'T MISS

Caitlin Clark and Iowa Draw Nearly 5 Million Viewers for Second-Round NCAA Win

DON'T MISS

Canadian School Boards Sue Snapchat, TikTok and Meta for Disrupting Students’ Education

DON'T MISS

California Law Enforcement Agencies Obstruct Transparency Efforts in Use-of-Force Cases

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Tackles Animal Overpopulation with New Low-Cost Spay/Neuter Program

DON'T MISS

No Police Charges for Taylor Swift’s Dad Over Paparazzi Incident in Sydney

DON'T MISS

Biden Administration to Lend $1.5B to Restart Michigan Nuclear Power Plant, a First in the US

DON'T MISS

Tonight’s Biden Fundraiser With Obama and Clinton Already Nets a Record $25 Million

DON'T MISS

Supermom Carmi Is Ready to Be Embraced by Her Forever Family

No data was found
David Taub,
Senior Reporter
Curiosity drives David Taub. The award-winning journalist might be shy, but feels mighty with a recorder in his hand. He doesn't see it his job to "hold public officials accountable," but does see it to provide readers (and voters) the information needed to make intelligent choices. Taub has been honored with several writing awards from the California News Publishers Association. He's just happy to have his stories read. Joining GV Wire in 2016, Taub covers politics, government and elections, mainly in the Fresno/Clovis area. He also writes columns about local eateries (Appetite for Fresno), pro wrestling (Off the Bottom Rope), and media (Media Man). Prior to joining the online news source, Taub worked as a radio producer for KMJ and PowerTalk 96.7 in Fresno. He also worked as an assignment editor for KCOY-TV in Santa Maria, California, and KSEE-TV in Fresno. He has also worked behind the scenes for several sports broadcasts, including the NCAA basketball tournament, and the Super Bowl. When not spending time with his family, Taub loves to officially score Fresno Grizzlies games. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Taub is a die-hard Giants and 49ers fan. He graduated from the University of Michigan with dual degrees in communications and political science. Go Blue! You can contact David at 559-492-4037 or at Send an Email

Facebook News Tab Will Soon Be Unavailable as Meta Scales Back News and Political Content

12 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Rises to More Records to Close Out Its Latest Winning Month

12 hours ago

A Fresno County First: Kerman Council Passes Amended Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution

12 hours ago

UN Top Court Orders Israel to Open More Land Crossings for Aid into Gaza

12 hours ago

How Involved Is Southern California Consulting Firm in FUSD Executive Dealings?

13 hours ago

Biden’s Fundraiser with Obama and Clinton Nets a Record $25 Million, His Campaign Says

13 hours ago

Fresno Unified’s Self-Protection Racket Is Hurting Our Kids

14 hours ago

Rockin’ Out or Laughing, the Valley Has Its Pick of Weekend Events

14 hours ago

Ex-Correctional Officer at Women’s Prison in California Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Inmates

17 hours ago

Caitlin Clark and Iowa Draw Nearly 5 Million Viewers for Second-Round NCAA Win

17 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Riverside Golf Course Introduces Military Veterans to the Game

PGA HOPE, now underway at Fresno’s Riverside Golf Course, is designed to introduce golf to veterans and active duty military members t...

10 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Fresno's Riverside Golf Course
10 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Riverside Golf Course Introduces Military Veterans to the Game

12 hours ago

Cronenworth’s Big Hit Helps Lift the Padres to a 6-4 Win Over Melvin’s Giants

12 hours ago

Shohei Ohtani Reaches 3 Times in Home Debut as the Dodgers Rout the Cardinals 7-1

12 hours ago

Facebook News Tab Will Soon Be Unavailable as Meta Scales Back News and Political Content

12 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Rises to More Records to Close Out Its Latest Winning Month

12 hours ago

A Fresno County First: Kerman Council Passes Amended Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution

12 hours ago

UN Top Court Orders Israel to Open More Land Crossings for Aid into Gaza

13 hours ago

How Involved Is Southern California Consulting Firm in FUSD Executive Dealings?

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend