Lisa Lee Herrick reads from her recent essay Eating Thirty In Fresno: Finding Home At Hmong New Year in the online publication Boom California and talks with FM89’s news director Alice Daniel about why so many Hmong refugees came to Fresno after the CIA’s secret war in Laos under the …
Read More »Fresno’s Reel Pride Film Festival: 30 years of LGBTQ Films, A Sanger Native’s Debut Film
This year, the Reel Pride Film Festival is celebrating its 30th year in Fresno. It’s the sixth largest and sixth longest running LGBTQ film festival in the country. “Year 30 is extremely important because it shows the perseverance and persistence of our community,” said Kathleen Arambula Reyna, the director and …
Read More »Fresno’s Next Police Chief Is From The Department – ‘A Slap In the Face’ Says One Councilmember
After months of community meetings and a nationwide search, city officials said today that the next man to lead Fresno’s police department already works there. Protesters outside the press conference said the city’s efforts to include citizen input seem disingenuous. Inside the City Hall Annex, Jerry Dyer’s successor as police …
Read More »Fresno’s Bitwise Raises $27 Million: Now Founder Wants To Change The Face Of Tech In Bakersfield Too
T he female, Latinx co-founder of Bitwise Industries says the company’s recent $ 27 million funding milestone means it can train more people in underserved communities, and expand south. But amidst the optimism in Bakersfield, there’s also some ambivalence. Still, co-CEO of Bitwise Irma Olguin Jr. is used to challenging …
Read More »Fresno’s New Poet Laureate Wrote Her First Poem At Age 7: It’s What She Wants For Other Kids Too
On Thursday, Fresno State alumna Marisol Baca was named Fresno’s fourth poet laureate. She is the first woman to hold the title. Baca is an English instructor at Fresno City College, and the co-founder of the Women Writers of Color-Central Valley collective. Her debut book, “Tremor,” published last year, won …
Read More »Inside A Program To Hatch Fresno’s Emerging Leaders
The 35th class to participate in a yearly program to boost community leaders in Fresno is about to graduate. But before that, they must finish a group project that benefits the city. Here to tell us more about the Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Fresno program is Sara Frauenheim, a coordinator …
Read More »The Neighborhood Has Changed, But Central Fish Remains A Staple In Fresno’s Chinatown
When it comes to fulfilling the needs of a neighborhood, the neighborhood grocery store fills a big role. In Fresno’s Chinatown, that store has been Central Fish. It’s been in the community since 1950, carrying the usual kitchen staples one might expect. But the place also has some unexpected treasures. …
Read More »In Fresno’s Chinatown, Business Owners Conflicted About Promise Of High Speed Rail
Ofelia Hemme used to run Ofelia’s Cocina, a Mexican restaurant on Kern Street with red and yellow tablecloths and sunny wall murals of beaches and palm trees. Her specialty was chiles rellenos: Stuffed peppers. “Every other place, they have chiles rellenos in Mexican restaurants, but ours were different,” says Hemme, …
Read More »New Residential Facility To Address Gaps In Fresno’s Mental Health Treatment
Mental health care is a constant need here in the San Joaquin Valley, especially for those who can’t afford to go elsewhere—and for those whose symptoms are tough enough to require some treatment but not hospitalization. Last week, Fresno County opened a new crisis residential facility to house those who …
Read More »From Trash To Skate Park: Inside Fresno’s “Historic” Landfill
National Historic Landmarks are typically associated with our country’s history—sites like the infamous island Alcatraz or Manzanar, one of the camps where Japanese-Americans were imprisoned during World War II. But in Southwest Fresno, one landmark owes its historic status to trash. It’s a landfill—at least, it used to be. In …
Read More »“Can I Recycle This?” And Other Questions Addressed By Fresno’s Public Utilities Instagram
Do you know what can and can’t be recycled? Which bin do you use for your Starbucks cups, your wrapping paper or your greasy pizza box? We wondered, where does everyone go to find these answers? So we sat down with the expert behind Fresno’s Public Utilities Instagram , Xitlaly …
Read More »Reporting “Fresno’s Divide” Wraps Up With Open Community Conversations
There’s a divide in Fresno. The north part of the city – the area above Shaw Avenue — has more parks, better schools. And the meat rendering plant? It’s in Southwest Fresno. The project has been in partnership with Arizona State University’s News Co/Lab to improve transparency in journalism, and …
Read More »High-speed rail could transform Fresno’s poorest neighborhood. Will Trump get on the train?
The plan: cover one of the most destitute tracts of California’s poorest major city with a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course and watch dust turn to dollars. But soon, funding for the project known as Running Horse evaporated. Debt ballooned. Across the continent, Donald Trump smelled opportunity. He wooed city officials, …
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