š¢ Fresno Protests Rape Culture + Businesses Wilding Out
Fresno comes out to support victims of sexual assault, businesses are making signs and recruiting lookouts, and Rep. TJ Cox REALLY just wants to go to Yosemite. What happened in Fresno, Aug 2-8
āļøĀ Good morning, Fresno! It is Sunday, August 9, 2020.
In this issue, we are proud to present another piece of original content. Weāre proud to show off newsletter editor Tommy Tribbleās writing and proud of Fresno for showing up to the protest. Stay tuned for more original content.
If you have a story idea, feel free to send us an email and pitch it: contact@fivebyfivenine.com
Of course, you donāt have to wait for the newsletter to be able to read these articles, we actually posted them earlier. We also did additional photos on our Twitter and Instagram. Make sure to follow us on those platforms.
Also, we had another great guest on the podcast last week as we talked with Dympna Ugwu-Oju, editor of the Fresnoland Lab. She talked about her interview with Jerry Dyer and her work at Fresnoland. Link on the bottom of this newsletter.
-RamĀ š§”
The crowd of over 100 people walks down Cedar Avenue as they made their way to greek row. Photo by Ram Reyes
Answering the Call
Survivors and their allies protest rape culture at Fresno State and the Greek Row
By Tommy Tribble
She said it was the kind of call she never wanted to receive. A mother picked up the phone, and the police told her that her daughter was being tested for forensic evidence of rape.Ā
Her daughter, a now-former Fresno State student,Ā alleges that she was drugged and sexually assaulted at a Kappa Sigma fraternity party. She was 17, and it was Jan. 31, 2020. She alleged that two days later she was sexually assaulted again, this time by an old friend on Superbowl Sunday.Ā
In February, she reported both incidents to the police, and in March recorded a YouTube video detailing the assaults.Ā
The college hastily placed Kappa Sigma and the studentās sorority, Phi Mu, on suspension.Ā
Five months later, the former Fresno State student was in a Title IX hearing, and she had become a symbol, as more than 125 people gathered to protest sexual violence and rape culture at Fresno Stateāand the fraternities and sororities that activists say enabled both. And the college administration that they say hasnāt done enough.Ā
They were summoned by a tweet. āI will be protesting my justice,ā the woman wrote. She has a sizable Twitter following, and her allegations have been covered extensively in the media. She asked the community to come out for her, and they answered her call.Ā
Fresno By Five
š¼ Businesses in times of Corona
Several businesses are wilding out in Fresno! Most notoriously this week, Detention Billiards caused controversy over some cheeky signs. Owner Tim Ferrigan says he has always had āhumorousā signs ever since he opened and the signs were just his way of blowing off steam. See the signs below:
ID: A sign that says āDo you feel threatened by people not wearing a mandatory Covid Mask? 1. Stay Home 2. Call 1-800-273-8255 (The Suicide Hotline)ā
ID: A sign that says āDear Governorā¦ There is a āspikeā in corona beacause there is a spike in testing. If we gave more I.Q. tests thereād be a spike in idiots too. (If you are an idiot, I apologize grouping you in with Newsom.ā
Too bad low IQ isnāt contagious, unlike the coronavirus. Also my favorite quote from Ferrigan regarding how bars interpreted the guidelines for serving alcohol:
āThe governor got butthurt because some of the bars were taking a literal translation of what restaurant food was. So some bars were selling a bag of chips and that was it. Then you could also drink.ā
Other wacky business-related news in Fresno is a gym owner allegedly posting lookouts for code enforcement officers. Warrior Fitness on Cedar had been fined on May 29 and June 3 for opening when not authorized. The fine for a first citation is $1,000 and the second is $5,000. I donāt even know how the lookouts would even work? Would all the people working out suddenly have to hide? Or run quickly out of the building?? Make it make sense.
Other businesses had been cited, per the Fresno Bee article:
The Spot Smoke Shop, 5665 N. Blackstone Ave. ($6,000)
Furniture For You, 5193 N. Blackstone Ave. ($1,000)
High Society Smoke Shop, 1124 W. Shields Ave. ($1,000)
559 Cigarettes and More, 1219 Fresno St. ($1,000)
Elbow Room, 731 W. San Jose Ave. ($1,000)
A&W Surplus, 3330 N. Duke Ave. ($1,000)
Tint Pros, 6155 N. Blackstone Ave. ($1,000)
Smoke Zone, 3777 N. Hughes Ave. ($1,000)
A Better Bed, 2686 N. Clovis Ave. ($1,000)
Crazy Bernieās Furniture, 4224 W. Shaw Ave. ($6,000)
The Shanty, 375 E. Shaw Ave. ($1,000)
Brothers Barbers, 2046 W. Bullard Ave. ($1,000)
Halo Jiu Jitsu, 3980 N. Chestnut Ave. ($1,000)
Dre36, 2940 E. Nees Ave. ($1,000)
Wine Barrel, 1105 E. Champlain Ave. ($1,000)
Satyr Vapor, 7016 N. Maple Ave. ($1,000)
Milan Nails and Spa Too, 9525 N. Sommerville Drive ($1,000)
The Waffle Shop, 4025 W. Figarden Drive ($6,000)
Club Pilates, 7735 N. Blackstone Ave. ($6,000)
Mr. Manicure & Co., 4974 E. Ashlan Ave. ($1,000)
Fit Republic, 6735 N. First St. ($1,000)
Warrior Fitness, 8039 N. Cedar Ave. ($6,000)
š· Masks Not Required for Election Season
Masks will not be required for California voters at the ballot box in November, according to Secretary of State Alex Padillaās office. Those who donāt wear a mask might be asked to use a different area of the polling place that will let distance them more from others. The guidelines clearly state that election workers may not turn away someone who doesnāt have a face covering. Alongside this, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law that will let counties offer fewer in-person polling places but will let them open earlier.
šŗ The Black Is Beautiful Beer
Full Circle Brewing Co. released on Friday a āBlack is Beautifulā beer and all the proceeds will go to two nonprofits, the Fresno Metro Black Chamber of Commerce and INROADS. This is in part of the Black is Beautiful Initiative which involves more than 1,000 breweries in 20 countries. You can order your own case for pickup on Full Circleās website: https://fullcircle2go.com/
š¬ Yosemitegate: Rep. TJ Cox In Trouble
Rep. TJ Cox, D-Fresno, is in hot water after leaked emails exposed how he tried to bypass Yosemite National Parkās lottery permits for Fourth of July weekend and after he wasnāt selected tried to use his office to push for the tickets. Originally, he requested tickets for two cars for July 4 but after Cox called Teri Austin, the deputy superintendent of Yosemite, Cox got the passes. The National Park Service staff indicated that the call pressured them to change the reason for the visit from personal to professional as Cox was a cosponsor of the Great American Outdoors Act and they were there to film a video. But no such video has been posted since on Coxās official pages. Coxās campaign manager calls it a partisan attack, but doesnāt explain how.
š¤” Sheriff Mims Lying About ICE Transfers
The Asian Americans Advancing Justice and the American Civil Liberties Union say that Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims has lied about her officeās cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims is accused of underreporting 102 immigrants transferred to ICE in 2018. Those transfers violate the California Values Act that prohibits transfers to ICE without a warrant or probable cause. Mims claims those were not transfers and they were merely released and then immediately re-arrested by ICE from within the sheriffās office facilities. A distinction without a difference.
āļø Frazier Sues Fresno
Fresno developer Terance Frazier has filed a lawsuit against Fresno alleging racism over the release of an unfinished audit related to Granite Park. Frazier claims the release of the unfinished audit cost him his reputation and $6.7 million to the Central Valley Community Sports Foundation, which runs Granite Park. The suit alleges that no white developer had been treated like that and the city had not fulfilled their end of the bargain regarding the upkeep of the park.
š We have bad roads. But not even the worst.
Fresno ranks sixth among midsize urban areas in the country, according to a report by CoPilot. Using data from the Federal Highway Administration, the report ranks cities on the percentage of roads categorized as poor. Fresno currently has 38.1% of its roads as poor. It sucks we didnāt even crack the top 5! We got beaten out by Modesto!
šØ Fresno Alliance on Police Reform
Kevin Hall from Community Alliance goes INNNNNNN on the biased attacks by various community figures and media outlets on the Police Reform Commission. Most notably he includes the San Joaquin Valley Sun and GVWireās continuous hounding of Sandra Celedon of Building Healthy Communities and the commissionās second-in-command. We have previously remarked on the Sunās pretty bad reporting about Celedonās infamous single tweet. Weāre glad Hall noticed that too, and is highlighting how shady the Sunās business operations are. Give it a read!
š„ WATCH: Lift Every Voice Mural Tour
Watch this mini-doc created by uSpark Valley and filmmaker (and friend of Fiveby) Jason Duong on the recent Lift Every Voice Mural Tour that put up 16 murals around Fresno.
šļø Wanna be a Citizen Journalist? Fresnoland wants you!
Fresnoland is looking to recruit about 15-20 citizen journalists to supplement their efforts documenting public and community meetings. Those citizen journalists will be trained in how to cover meetings, ethics, multimedia and note-taking. There will be compensation with a $20/hour stipend per event attended. Apply by Tuesday, Sept. 1: https://www.thefresnoland.com/documenters
There will be an informational Zoom meeting on Aug. 12 at 2 p.m.
š„ The Coronavirus Section
As of July 31, the most recent data available at the time of writing, there have been a total ofĀ 17,031 (+2,592 from last week) total confirmed cases and 171 (+33) deathsĀ in Fresno County. Since Fiveby has started tracking these numbers, this week sets a new record for most new cases and deaths. Currently, there areĀ 292 hospitalized.Ā A total ofĀ 6,505 (+1653) people have recovered.
Testing is available around Fresno. VisitĀ lhi.careĀ to set up an appointment.Ā Itās free even without insurance.Ā If you have insurance, you can also try these other testing sitesĀ here.
Councilmember-elect Tyler Maxwell and Fresno Unified Trustee Claudia Cazabes are hosting a no-cost COVID-19 testing on Wednesday, Aug. 12, from 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. Registration is required. No insurance required. Register here: https://unitedhealthcenters.org/
Fresno Beeās Marek Warszawski talks with 16-year-old Frankie Quintana and his battle with COVID-19.
š§ On the pod this week
Dympna Ugwu-Oju Talks Dyer and Fresnoland
This week we talked to our old journalism professor, Dr. Dympna Ugwu-Oju, the editor of the Fresnoland Lab in association with the Fresno Bee, and discuss her 30,000-word interview with Fresno Mayor-Elect Jerry Dyer about his relationship with the Black community and BLM.
This newsletter was written by Ram Reyes (@vibesradiator) and edited by Tommy Tribble (@tomiiwrites)