Coronavirus is getting worse + Fresno celebrates BLM Day
What happened in Fresno from June 14-19, 2020
☀️ Good morning, Fresno! It is Saturday, June 20, 2020.
Another week has gone by. Wow! Every time I sit down to write this newsletter, it always seems like there’s just too many things going on in Fresno for just one email per week. I’ve been thinking of adding another day just for brevity.
If you’ve read each newsletter from the past three weeks, I want to say thank you! All the feedback has been great and I’m having fun doing this. Technically, this is still a beta test but in July I’ll kick it into high gear on social media so watch out for that.
Anyways, let’s get down to business what happened in Fresno this last week.
🏥 Coronavirus Updates: It’s getting worst
Y’all… It is not looking good.
As of June 19, the most recent data available at the time of writing, there have been a total of 3,187 (+709 from last week) total confirmed cases and 66 (+14 from last week) deaths in Fresno County. This is the biggest jump of confirmed cases and death. A total of 921 people have recovered and 294 have ever been hospitalized.
From Fresno interim health officer Dr. Rais Vohra:
“Looking at the numbers for this week, I was really perplexed, and I remained perplexed. And I’m hoping that we can really all work together as a community to try to contain – as best as we can, with the limited tools that we have – the number of infections and the spread of infections.”
Testing is available around Fresno. Visit lhi.care to set up an appointment. It’s free even without insurance. If you have insurance, you can also try these other testing sites here.
😷 Mask on
Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an order on Thursday that all Californians MUST wear a mask while in public or high-risk settings. What are these high-risk settings?
According to the California Department of Public Health, these are the situations where you have to wear a mask:Inside of, or in line to enter, any indoor public space
Obtaining services from the healthcare sector in settings including, but not limited to, a hospital, pharmacy, medical clinic, laboratory, physician or dental office, veterinary clinic, or blood bank
Waiting for or riding on public transportation or paratransit or while in a taxi, private car service, or ride-sharing vehicle;
Engaged in work, whether at the workplace or performing work off-site, when:
Interacting in-person with any member of the public;
Working in any space visited by members of the public, regardless of whether anyone from the public is present at the time;
Working in any space where food is prepared or packaged for sale or distribution to others;
Working in or walking through common areas, such as hallways, stairways, elevators, and parking facilities;
In any room or enclosed area where other people (except for members of the person’s own household or residence) are present when unable to physically distance.
Driving or operating any public transportation or paratransit vehicle, taxi, or private car service or ride-sharing vehicle when passengers are present. When no passengers are present, face coverings are still strongly recommended.
While outdoors in public spaces when maintaining a physical distance of 6 feet from persons who are not members of the same household or residence is not feasible.
For more information, the full document can be read here.
Under this new order, residents that do not comply will be charged with a misdemeanor and potentially face a financial penalty.
Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims and other California sheriffs said they won’t enforce the mask order, citing that their “agency does not have the resources to direct toward this type of enforcement.”
An aerial shot of the Black Lives Matter painting on P street in front of Fresno City Hall. Image via The Fresno Bee/Craig Kohlruss
🖤 Fresno Celebrates Black Lives Matter Day
The Fresno City Council proclaimed June 18 as “Black Lives Matter Day” and coincided with the Black Lives Matter Annual Proclamation and Street Art Event
The art event was led by DJ Kay Rich from Q97.1 and about 200 people, composed of Black community leaders, some Fresno council members, and the general public, helped in painting the letters of “BLACK LIVES MATTER.” The folks that helped consisted of leaders from the Black community, some Fresno council members and the general public.
Unfortunately, the very same night a bunch of Karens tried defacing the mural. The incident was captured by a Fresno resident named Monica and her husband. Here is the video:
🎨 Mural Tour Painting the Downtown
Several murals have been put up around downtown Fresno as part of the “Lift Every Voice” mural tour put on by Dulce Upfront. Two murals have already been painted this week with another being put up today.
A third mural event is happening with three murals being painted at Fresno Barrios Unidos. Three new murals will adorn three different walls with, portraying three different subjects: Breonna Taylor, Black Trans Live Matter and Isiah Murrietta-Golding.
If you’d like to help or come for the performances at 5 p.m., here are the details:
🏛️ Highlights from the Fresno City Council Budget Meetings
The first series of budget meetings for Fresno’s 2021 budget started and there was just… A LOT that happened but here are the highlights. Each of the City’s department gave presentations on the overview of their departments
The Fresno Fire Department is underfunded and understaffed. The Fire Department has had the same staffing since the 1980s despite having to cover twice the area and twice the population since Fresno’s growth
To make matters worse, Mayor Brand’s administration failed to apply for the SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Firefighters and Emergency Response) Grant, despite the Fresno City Council’s vote to do so.
The grant would have given the city $6.5 million over the next five years.
The Fresno Police Department, on the other hand, gave their report of their bloated department with their budget of $184 M and they also said they wish they had more for their horse unit.
Over 100 people called in for public comment. The callers advocated for defunding the police and decried the effects of policing on Fresno’s communities of color.
There was also a visual and art demonstration outside of Fresno City Hall with the names of all the people Fresno police had killed.
Former congressional candidate Dary Rezvani wrote a great summary and his thoughts on the budget meetings which can be read here.
A final vote for the budget is set on June 25.
The art demonstration outside of Fresno City Hall on Tuesday, June 16, 2020. Image via uSpark Valley
🤢 Confederate Monuments in the Central Valley
Across the country, people have been taking down statues glorifying racists and Confederates. Community organizer and all-around great person Yasmin Mendoza located two monuments dedicated to the losers of the Civil War.
This one:And this one:
Mark Johnson, president of Sanger Del Rey Cemetary where the monuments are located, said they cannot remove it as it isn’t public property or even the cemetary’s. The family that owns the monuments must give their consent to take it down.
📰 Long-er Reads Worth Your Time
Here are two excellent stories from The Fresno Bee with their partnership Report for America and their new policy lab, Fresnoland. Both of them explain how the history of racial inequality magnifies the effects of the two biggest issues we face today: police brutality and the coronavirus.
Read ‘em! They’re great! (Disclaimer: Dympna Ugwu-Oju used to be my journalism advisor and is a personal friend soooooo I’m a bit biased.)
Systemic racism isn’t just about police brutality — and it has a long history in Fresno by Manuela Tobias, Report for America
How a pandemic exposed racial inequality, food insecurity in California’s Central Valley by Dympna Ugwu-Oju, Fresnoland
🧡 Have a good weekend!
That’s it for this week. I’m working on getting original content for Fiveby in the next coming weeks. If you haven’t already, follow our social media accounts in advance before I start posting on them.
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Also, I might change the schedule for this newsletter and start sending it Sunday and introducing a Wednesday issue. Watch out for that if that actually happens!
Anyways, love y’all and please forward this email to a friend if you enjoyed it!
Thanks,
Ram <3