Happy Heart Day, Luv
It’s Valentine’s Day and everything sucks, but at least Newsom says we’re getting a vaccine site at Reedley College and Sarah Silverman wants the Tower Theatre saved.
☀️Good morning, Fresno! It’s Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021
Hey gorge,
It’s me, the gay one who writes. Happy Valentine's Day! I am once again chronically single. My doctors say this might be it. I might be terminally single.
Despite my imminent death from no-boyfriend-having...syndrome, there’s still room to enjoy this holiday, even when you’re lonely and sad like me. Even when the world super sucks.
So many people had to live through Christmas without their families; so many had to cancel, push-back or modify their wedding plans; and everybody I know spent their birthdays just kinda vibing at home. Surely we can find a way to enjoy this holiday regardless of our relationship statuses.
Instead of celebrating couples, let us celebrate a very general sense of love and acceptance. Romantic, platonic, or even the parasocial love between oh, I don’t know, a tiny little media organization and its patrons.
Speaking of things we love this week we’re highlighting a Black-owned business called Lips by BB. They have a Valentine’s Day collection, of course, and they’re all about making lips look good. You can learn more from the questionnaire below, under our brand new video about love.
See ya on the flipside luv,
-Tommy💙
📺 Our First Video Content™️
Valentine’s Day 2021
We’re kicking off V-day right with our very first piece of video journalism. Marco Rosas interviewed people about finding love during a global Panera Bread. A parcheesi. A parachute. A panda express. A panorama. A pan’s labyrinth. A p…
💋Lips by BB feat. Bianca Camara
What first got you into the cosmetics world?
Honestly, I was never HUGE on cosmetics. If anything, it was always very minimal or natural. BUT! I always carried lip products with me. I've had a love for lip care since grade school, and it's just been essential ever since.
As far as starting Lips by BB, it was honestly a brainstorming session on "If you were to start a business, what would it be?" After researching tons of brands and YouTube videos, I decided to dive into building my own lip cosmetic brand and here we are!
As a brand, how do you want your products to make people feel when they wear them?
We want our customers to feel beautiful and confident while still owning their individuality! We're BIG on community and diversity, and while making sure there's a seat at OUR table for everyone.
Compared to other makeup brands your products seem really affordable. How can you balance quality and affordability?
When it came down to our materials and pricing, our main goal was affordability while still receiving top quality products. After researching global brands vs. smaller brands, we found a HUGE gap in pricing. Either really expensive or REALLY inexpensive and so we wanted to offer something smack dab in the middle!
Why should someone go with your local brand over a more national, corporate brand?
To each their own! There are many brands out there that have so much to offer, however, local is always best. Why? Because you're feeding back into your community, and/or to someone's passion & dream! Those national/corporate brands have so much support and $$ already, so supporting locals should always be ideal.
Lips by BB is not just a lip cosmetic brand, we're literally a community! Our products are handmade and built to last. Vegan & Cruelty free.
Our biggest love is marketing and creating our promo/commercial videos. Storytelling is key to our brand! We guarantee you won't find another cosmetic business like us.
Your product lines feature a lot of earth tones and subtle colors. When you designed the product line and chose the color story, what were you going for?
We currently have three collections! Our Signature, BDay and Fall Nude. Our Fall Nude Collection was launched October 2020 and was our biggest collection yet. Why? The collection was specifically focused on fall/nude tones, and we announced our new Liquid Matte Lipstick and Lip liners! The collection consists of 4 nude shades that are available in our Liquid Matte Lipstick option or Lip gloss option - all while being able to snag the matching lip liner as well!
We knew we had to bring something new to the table, and with COVID-19 and masks we thought matte lipsticks would be a great addition. Plus, customers were asking for nude pigments! Tons of research, mental breakdowns, and ugly cries definitely happened to execute this line, but it was all worth it.
Our B-Day and Signature Collections were focused solely on lip glosses. They offer everyday wear lip products and fun flavors to match!
What's your biggest inspiration in the beauty world?
Fenty Beauty takes the cake! After watching her fashion shows and BTS her goals are GOALS for LBB. She's HUGE on individuality and diversity and that speaks to us immensely!
Has the coronavirus affected how you do business?
We launched March 1, 2020. So, literally right before the pandemic had hit. Since we were so new to running our business, we had no idea if we would even succeed. We decided to offer local deliveries vs. pick ups, marketing like a mofo, and communication at an all time high! Having our ecommerce store has been amazing and definitely blew us out of the water. The support has been HUGE! We're so thankful, but also shocked at how well our (almost) first year in business has been!
Are you the only person involved with your business?
YES! I literally do it all - and I love it! From ordering materials, creating products, packaging, deliveries, marketing, etc.! Woo!
I do give credit to my domestic partner, as he's been my biggest supporter and best delivery driver while I drop each local order. He's my reason.
As a black-owned business, do you sometimes feel a unique pressure to succeed?
You know what, yes! I've always felt that way. My fear is failing, and proving to folks that this Black/Hispanic/Asian girl couldn't do it. I've been in many professional settings where I've felt less, not taken seriously or my voice didn't matter. Black people have been targets, still targets, so succeeding in business feels damn good! Our ancestors would be proud.
Lips by BB is my proof that we (Black folk) can do anything we set our minds to!
You can order Lips by BB through their website.
And you can follow them on instagram.
Fresno by Five
🦠 Coronavirus Updates: Newsom Says We’re Getting a Vaccine Center
Newsom was expected to announce that the Save Mart Center would become a mass vaccination site, but his much anticipated speech at the Fresno Fair Grounds only carried news about an OptumServe site at Reedley College.
The Reedley site will administer 600 doses a day.
As of Feb 9, 94,000 doses of the vaccine have been administered in Fresno. It seems like there might be some kind of major demand for vaccinations in the Central Valley. The kind of demand that would justify a large vaccine site. Crazy, that!
Good news, California is expanding the pool of vaccine eligibility.
We’re talking people between 16-65 years with severe health conditions including:
“Cancer, chronic kidney disease of stage 4 or above, down syndrome, weakened immune system from a solid organ transplant, pregnancy, sickle cell disease, heart conditions, severe obesity, and Type 2 diabetes with hemoglobin A1c greater than 7.5%,” per the Fresno Bee.
It’s important to note that healthcare providers have discretion in this matter.
As of Feb 11, there have been:
92,168 (+2,725) Total Cases
1,291 (+8) Total Deaths
357 (-12) Currently Hospitalized
⛪ Celebrities like Sarah Silverman Want to Save Tower
Comedienne Sarah Silverman and Broadway actress and singer Audra McDonald both tweeted about saving the Tower Theatre. Save from whomst? Adventure Church, the congregation we’ve been complaining about for like, five letters now.
Silverman retweeted a video by Fools Collaborative, an art-focused activist group that organizes for a variety of community-based and social justice causes.
Silverman even talked about the sale in the latest episode of her podcast, at the 36:15 mark.
Here at Fiveby we just have one question...which one of you is Sarah’s cousin?!
Thaddeus Miller at the Bee reports that Sequoia Brewing co-owner Jeremy Smith has filed an injunction to stop the Tower Theatre sale.
🚓 Body Cams? Oh, Deputies Aren’t Familiar
Joseph Perry, a pastor, alleges that he was racially profiled by sheriff's deputies without body cameras.
Perry was arrested in his driveway, apparently because his license plate light was out. Weird, but OK.
He was surprised when he learned in meetings with the sheriff’s office that it was his word against the officer’s and that no dash or body camera footage was available.
Honesty, openness and transparency is hampered and hindered due to the highly disturbing discovery that the Sheriff’s Department has been operating without body cameras or dash cameras despite legislative mandates.”
Joseph Perry, pastor and nonprofit director, in a letter to Sheriff Margaret Mims.
Mims says they just can’t afford the cameras. Personally, my favorite kind of budget cut is the kind that makes it even harder to hold me accountable. Love that!
💻 Clovis Kids Will Soon Return to In-Person School
High school and junior high school students in Clovis will return to in-person instruction in just 10 days, according to an Ed Lab article by Isabel Sophia Dieppa.
With this news, we are moving forward with plans to return secondary students the week of Feb. 22 and will use next week to allow our secondary schools to complete preparations to welcome this group of students back to campus. The additional secondary students returning to campus that week will join other elementary and secondary students already on-site for instruction at all schools in the District.”
Clovis Unified School District
This announcement came shortly after the CDC released new guidelines concerned with the safe reopening of schools.
The guidelines specify masks, social distancing and other strategies as necessary to safely reopen. Vaccinating teachers is recommended but not required because of course.
CDC standards still aren’t being met in too many of our schools. We can and must provide students the opportunity to return to in-person learning, but we also must ensure that every school has the safety measures in place to keep students and educators safe."
Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association
🔑 The City-State Partnership to House the Homeless
By the end of the first day, 34 people had been housed in 14 hotel rooms thanks to Project Off-Ramp. The Poverello House provided food and transportation, while CalTrans, Highway Patrol, and the police department cleaned the encampment.
Fresno Housing says that 275 people, including 81 children, have been housed thanks to the Project Homekey funded collaboration between the city and California.
It’s my hope that over the next 60 days, we will be able to say we’re done with the freeways, then transition into the neighborhood.”
Mayor Jerry Dyer
📰 Quick Reads, Good Vibes
A new Black-owned electric vehicle charger business is looking for help in Fresno.
This study from the University of California Davis found a correlation between higher numbers of cannabis dispensaries and fewer opioid deaths at the county level.
Friend of the Pod Danielle Bergstrom wrote about free FAX bus rides and the affordability question.
🎧The Pod Will be Delayed for 1-2 Weeks
Thank you for your patience and support.