Got a question about Fresno?

Though I have lived in Fresno most of my life, there are still a lot of things that I do not know about this city. I have a feeling this is the case with many Fresno residents; so for a limited time I will personally research and write an article on any topic that anyone is interested in, as long as it has to do with Fresno.

Simply comment on this post with your question and I will begin my research. I will do research on a first come/first served basis.

I look forward to some interesting questions that will provide a challenge for me, so get creative!

Copper River Country Club Wastes Massive Amounts of Water

Every day I drive past Copper River Country Club on my way home from work, and everyday my car gets soaked with water from the rivers of landscaping water running from their thin grass strip across Friant road. Not only does this happen once per day, but twice, in the morning and in the evening. The strip of grass that is the subject to these ridiculous levels of watering is no more than 4 feet wide.

With all of the water problems here in the valley and people complaining about people overusing water for carwashes and other events, I was quite surprised that no one had previously noted the ridiculous watering going on at Copper River. This same level of rediculous overwatering takes place not only on Friant Road, but on the entire Copper River property.

It doesn’t take an Einstein to fix a problem like this either. With new sprinkler technologies and pulse and drip irrigation, lowering the amount of water used by a sprinkler system is as simple as replacing a few sprinkler heads and valves. We need to do everything that we can to conserve the little water we have here in the valley. It’s important that everyone does their part, especially businesses that typically use several times more water than the average home.

Copper River Country Club, please do your part and be responsible with your water usage. Having a soaking wet lawn is not worth losing the agricultural prowess this area possesses.

Subway to replace Fuzio’s in Riverpark

So apparently Johnny Rockets is going away, Yoshino’s is going into Johnny Rockets spot, retail is moving into Yoshino’s old spot, and Fuzio’s is going away to be replaced by a Subway.

I never cared too much for Johnny Rocket’s. I mean, it wasn’t bad or anything, but it was nothing amazing either. It was also a bit on the pricey side for what you actually get.
Fuzio’s is a completely different story. It’s a great place to relax and have a few drinks before a movie at Edwards and they also have great food. It’s also currently the best Italian food place in Riverpark, besting Macaroni Grill by quite a bit in my opinion.
I really want to know who allowed this to be changed into a Subway though. Who wants another Subway? If I wanted crappy, week old vegetables on a dry piece of bread with a thin layer of meat and cheese, I’d do it at home. The quality of their sandwhiches is terrible, and I personally can’t see it doing very well in such an expensive location. Hopefully it won’t stay in business there long, because not only does the food suck, but I also think it’s too tacky of a place for Riverpark.
Attention Riverpark: If you want to continue to grow and improve your shopping center, don’t allow crappy restaurants like Subway to move in to such prime locations.

I can’t wait for the foul smelling Subway trash that will follow, both outside and inside the theater.

Super Walmart Coming to Clovis

If the economy wasn’t already being hard on local businesses in Clovis, some corporate competition is about to make it a whole lot harder. Super Walmart has just won the rezoning of some land at Clovis and Herndon next to highway 168. The biggest question in making this decision was if Clovis has the ability to support another Walmart alongside its local businesses. Many people say this will only hurt local businesses, and several are likely to go out of business forever.

Just across the street is an Ace Hardware which has been there for quite some time. With Walmart bringing their super low prices into the neighborhood it’s going to be very hard for Ace to compete, as no one can really compete with the bulk which Walmart purchases its products in.

Many were saddened by the decision, as most people would rather shop and support local stores than give more money to one of the largest corporations in America. Also on the horizon in Clovis is a new Winco, which will be placed at Peach and Herndon. Clovis has been growing steadily for quite some time, but with the current economy things have slowed down some, and placing two large box stores into the town will most likely place a lot of stress on the local economy. With people trying to pinch pennies in whatever way possible, Walmart is likely to see a large amount of business in the area.

Here’s to hoping the local guys make it through this.

California Water Woes – The Delta Smelt

The Delta Smelt is a small fish that lives in the Sacramento River Delta between the Pacific Ocean and Stockton. These 5cm long fish also live up and down the entire Pacific Coast, from California to Alaska. In 1993 it was listed as a threatened species  under the Federal Endangered Species Act due to growing concern over agriculture’s effects causing their population to shrink. In 2008 the Fish and Game Commission worked to try and move the fish from threatened to endangered and in 2007 a California Federal Judge imposed limits on water pumps supplying the Central Valley with water for agricultural and residential purposes.

I consider myself to be a pretty environmentally responsible person, and in fact have not consumed a piece of meat in over six years. But when one small fish begins to threaten the entire livelyhood of California, environmentalism becomes less important than basic economic survival. California provides more agricultural products than any other state or country in the entire world. Over 99% of the worlds almonds, artichokes, dates, figs, kiwifruit, olives, persimmons, pistachios, prunes, raisins, clovers, and walnuts are grown in California. California is also the leading producer of dairy, strawberries, and garlic. 

Not only is all of this food important to sustaining supplies in our country and around the world, but the jobs that are needed to produce this food are vital to the San Joaquin Valley’s population. Small communites like Mendota and Firebaugh are heavily reliant on the money brought in by agriculture and thousands of seasonal workers migrate here every year to work in our fields. These people have communities, children in our public schools, pay taxes, and help to maintain the biggest industry in our state. Without them we would have almost no one to work our fields, seeing as how most California residents would scoff at working a job like that.

Many of the farmers in the valley come from a conservative background and likely voted for McCain and Bush before him. Conservatives rarely miss a beat when it comes to battling environmentalists, whether it be over global warming or overfishing in our oceans.

However, in this situation it seems the right wing has decided to side with the environmentalists. This position that they’re taking is certainly intriguing, but once you realize just why they’re doing it, you may want to let out a sigh, a moan, or perhaps even scream. The reason that farmers have not joined the actual farm workers in this Water March is because of straight and simple racism. They don’t want to be seen as siding with the Mexican immigrants who work our fields here in the valley.

Someone gave me a quote today that explains the situation nicely:

“Ask a Republican to choose between their Conservative values and racism and they will choose racism, every single time.”

This quote rings especially true in this water situation. I only ask the people of Fresno and the Central Valley one thing; please look past these imagined racial barriers for once and do what is right for this state. Conservatives are always talking about doing what is best for our nation, and this is a chance to step up and do that for once. The United States is in a recession, California is in a drought, so let’s help ourselves and do what we do best: farm.

For more information on the water crisis currently plaguing California visit: http://www.calwatercrisis.com/

Tax Day Tea Parties

So this planned Tax Day “Tea Party” has been getting a lot of media attention lately. For those of you who aren’t aware of what this is, it’s a gathering of people protesting some of the decisions that have/are being made by the new (Obama) Administration. One of the main things being protested is the levels of spending and taxing going on right now, people are worried that we are creating a debt that our grand children will be repaying.

I find quite a bit of humor in this whole situation. It’s like the tables were completely turned overnight and Republicans are now saying the same things that Democrats had been saying for the past eight years under the Bush Administration. I wonder if these people realize just how much exactly was spent on the was in Iraq and in other military endeavours. Now that we’re spending money on actually helping people instead of killing people, it’s like the end of the world has come for many Right Wingers.

We have to fix the current mess brought on by the Bush Administration somehow, and quite frankly I haven’t heard any viable ideas from the conservatives on this one. Also, the economy does seem to be on the up-and-up now, as it’s quite obvious from a lot of peoples attitudes. I think a lot of people have just finally adjusted to not being able to spend so carelessly, and in the end I think this economic crisis will prove to be a good lesson for current generations who have never seen the effects of such a situation before.

The fact that these people are just now beginning to realize how badly our government has been screwing us in recent years is scary. Even to the most liberal person it should be obvious that Obama hasn’t brought the radical change he spoke about during his election. Don’t get me wrong, I like a lot of the guys’ policies, but he’s making a lot of the same mistakes that all politicians make. I guess part of this could be that he just wants to maintain a more moderate public opinion so that he can pick up a second term and make some real changes without the same political consequences, but it’s too early to tell if that is the plan.

The sad part about this whole Tea Party business is that I get the feeling a lot of people are just up in arms now because we have an African American President in office and a lot of the “good old boys” just don’t take that very well. Personally, I hope they get over themselves before someone does something racist and dumb enough to embarrass the entire right wing. With the talks of White Supremacy groups being on the rise in the news lately, it seems like some things might get out of hand, I would hate to see someone become a terrorist in the name of “patriotism”.

I am glad that the right wing is actually participating in protest and voicing their opinions, as in the past most of them probably would have called any protestor a hippy simply for being against the government. Not even six months ago most of them would have called someone a terrorist for not supporting the government unconditionally, four and eight years ago they screamed cries of treason when people suggested moving out of the country because of Bush, during the Bush Administration they would have called an organized anti-government protest a terrorist act. Today the Governor of Texas, Rick Perry, said that the government “has become oppressive in it’s size, it’s intrusion into the lives of our citizens”, seemlingly forgetting that it was Bush who increased domestic spying to an all time high with wire taps and other shady methods unveiled under the Patriot Act. Today, the tables have turned and the right wing is doing all of the same things that they hated the democrats so much for doing. It’s funny how things change.

Fresno Police Department In Shambles

What exactly is going on with the Fresno Police Department lately? First there was the narcotics officers luring drug dealers to town in order to steal their cars, resulting in the Major Narcotics Unit being temporarily shut down. Then officers decided to issue an unwarranted beating on a homeless gentleman who had done nothing wrong. Now a 23 year old man was killed in a hail of 35 bullets after being confronted by police while pulling his handgun from his trunk after a day of target shooting.

To me it seems as if the Fresno Police Department no longer knows how to do actual police work. They also seem to have forgotten that their motto is “to protect and to serve”, as it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a cop from Fresno do either of these things. The modern Fresno Police Department has transformed itself into more of a business than a police department, which is quite obvious if you’ve driven much around Fresno. Officers on motorcycles line the streets (I’ve personally seen four of them within a couple hundred feet on Friant next to Woodward Lakes) issuing tickets for every traffic violation, no matter how minor, that they can muster up.

It’s no secret that Fresno can use all of the money it can get its hands on right now, but these problems need to be fixed the right way, not by giving motorcycle cops so much overtime that they make $100,000 per year. I understand being a police officer is a high risk job, but that’s a salary I would expect a tenured FBI agent to make, not a local traffic cop (who may not even see much crime at all).

It’s not surprising that nothing ever gets better within the department, with Jerry Dyer, the Chief of Police, being nothing more than a local celebrity and politician these days. It’s embarrassing to go to an event in Fresno and see Dyer and Mayor Ashley Swearengin parading in front of the press like they’re walking down the red carpet at the Oscars ( I witnessed this myself at the final day of filming for Extreme Home Makeover here in Fresno). 

For the quality of work being produced right now by the department, we certainly shouldn’t be giving them as much money as they are receiving currently. The fleets and fleets of new police vehicles and toys are nothing but slap to the face of local taxpayers in a time when most citizens cannot afford much more than paying their bills.

Even with all the money that the FPD is getting these days, they can’t seem to produce quality officers through their training. In the recent shooting death of Steven Willis by the Fresno Police Department, he was shot at 35 times by two officers after pulling a pistol out of his trunk when returning home to his apartment. That means that the officers actually emptied their clips, reloaded, and continued firing. Steven was hit with 14 bullets, 3 of which hit him in the back. Either these officers are so afraid of the local citizens that they panicked and acted unbecoming of a police officer, or they were hit men killing their target. To shoot that many bullets at someone, let alone in a heavily populated apartment complex, is completely unnecessary and over the top. I would even go as far as to say that those officers posed more danger to the residents of that apartment complex than the criminals located in Fresno ever could.

There has been local calls for hiring someone to audit the FPD, but hiring someone to audit them is just the start. The entire department needs to be reformed from top to bottom, beginning with getting rid of Jerry Dyer. People need to be able to trust the police for them to do their job well, and right now in Fresno that just isn’t possible.

Inauguration

Today is a historic day for Americans, as our 44th President, an African American, is sworn into office on the day after Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday. Never before has America made such a progressive choice in electing a President as they have all before this been white men from rural areas.
This is something that I feel has not been covered enough by traditional media sources. More than being an African American, Barack Obama is from the city, giving him a view that no previous President has had. Most Americans live in a somewhat urban environment today and I feel it is important to have someone representing us from this background. People from the countryside typically do not have as much experience dealing with people from different backgrounds as people who were raised in a city do.
Living in the city not only gives you more experiences as you come across more people, it also creates a better respect for your neighbors and other citizens as you are allowed to see deeper into their lives and make a more informed guess at exactly where they are coming from. People from more rural areas are generally more simple people with less of an understanding for what is going on in the world around them.
Not to say people from the country aren’t just as likely to be great leaders, it’s simply time for a change in our national point of view. After 8 years of dealing with Bush and his Texas cowboy vibe, the exact opposite is what a lot of people are needing and hoping for. Personally, I can almost not even remember a world without President Bush due to my age. There are tidbits of Clinton left in my memory, but most of it has been washed away by the torrent of filth that Bush has managed to spew in the past two terms.
It will be interesting to see if Obama can live up to the massive expectations that people have come to have for him. It’s extremely doubtful that he will do a worse job than George Bush Jr. did, but as the saying goes, “never say never.” In the coming months we will be able to gauge just how honest and compassionate Obama was about all the stuff he’s been talking up for the past year. I’ll hope for the best, but with politics I find it’s best to expect the worst.

Here’s to a great four(or eight) years!

Extreme Makeover Home Edition Fresno

ABC/Extreme Makeover Home Edition are doing a wonderful thing in Fresno, helping a local single mother by building her a home that fits her handicapped needs and makes her hard life more bearable. This woman is missing several limbs and has still managed to raise four kids, complete an associate’s degree, and buy her own house. ABC even went as far as to have an auction to help her pay off her old mortgage; now that’s community!
Unfortunately, it looks as though ABC/De Young Properties overlooked one major point when building this house. The new house looks like a tract home from a generic North Fresno suburban community and does not fit well at all with the style of the old neighborhood it was built in. They say they were going for a Tuscan look, at the request of the person receiving the house, but there really isn’t anything Tuscan about it.
I think they could have done a much better job if they would have made an attempt to fit the house in with the rest of the neighborhood, instead of building a modern monstrosity in its’ place. The rest of the neighborhood is one-story ranch-style homes, and this contemporary home built by EMHE simply looks out of place.
First, I think they should have put the bulk of the house on the rear of the lot, instead of putting the massive two-story section right in the front above the garage. Secondly, they should have chosen materials and colors similar to those used for the rest of the houses in the neighborhood. Right now it is painted a horrible yellow shade, and supposedly they will be changing it (most likely at the request of the offended neighbors).
What ABC/Extreme Makeover Home Edition is doing is no doubt a great thing, but with a little bit more planning on how the house would look in the neighborhood, things could have been a lot better. If I had a home on that street I would be worried, because it can only hurt the value of their homes in an already terrible housing market. Hopefully in the future they will take this into consideration and build houses that fit into their surroundings.

Fire Safe Cigarettes- Less Safe Than Before

So it appears recently that California law was changed to require cigarettes to be “fire safe”. I found this out recently when I was wondering why I’ve had a sore throat for several weeks. After some simple google searching, it seems I am not the only one being cause health problems by these cigarettes.

All over the internet there are reports of these new cigarettes causing sore throats, headaches, fainting, nausea, stomach problems, dizziness, eye problems, and so on. This is because a new chemical was introduced into cigarettes in order to help them self-extinguish more quickly.

Unfortunately, the exact opposite effect was achieved and these new cigarettes are even more of a fire hazard than before! Lots of cigarette smokers have been burned in the past few weeks (literally and figuratively), and there are reports online of many people dropping hot embers from their cigarettes all over the place. This is primarily due to the fact that the new cigarettes are made to extinguish at a certain point, and also because this chemical causes uneven burning (canoeing/boating), turning cigarettes into a MUCH more dangerous activity(including for non smokers).

This new chemical is also said to have raised the levels of several chemicals found in cigarettes, including Carbon Monoxide, by as much as 15%. Not only is this worse for the people smoking them, but also for any second hand smokers that may be around!

It seems to be that this law was passed with almost no hindsight or followup (gee you don’t say) and the general populace is going to be the ones feeling the effects. Personally, I’ve quit smoking almost altogether because of this. I’ve been trying to quit for a while recently, but I did not want to do so after smoking a torrent of chemically enhanced cigarettes. Nothing that causes this much additional pain to the lungs/throat can be anything but horrible for the human body. Congratulations lawmakers, another fine fumble.

[DISCLAIMER: It's well known that cigarettes are unhealthy, but smoking them is a personal choice, and the government/tobacco companies should be trying to make them less unhealthy if anything, not more unhealthy.]