Month: October 2011

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Survey says: South Fresno residents #1 priority = better streets

On By jamesinclair

Last night, a forum was held downtown concerning what residents of south Fresno want to see improved. The purpose of this meeting was so city officials could take into account feedback when designing the new plans that will affect how neighborhoods are designed and revitalized in the next few decades.

One of the highlights of the meeting was when one of the presenters revealed results from some surveys they did.

The first question they asked went along the lines of

“Given unlimited funding, what is the first thing you would chose to improve in your neighborhood”.
(Unfortunately I didn’t jot down the exact wording and the presentation isn’t online) Click to read more!

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Building Healthy Communities (BHC) forum tonight

On By jamesinclair

Short notice, but I’ll try to attend. This Friday, the Fulton Corridor plan will be released by the city, so we may get a preview. I guarantee many questions will be about the Fulton Mall, especially after the FBID voted to destroy it.

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In this time of economic hardship and change, we recognize the importance of being engaged in major decisions impacting the future of the city and their neighborhoods. For this reason, on Tuesday, October 11 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at the Convention Center there will be an important action meeting with the Mayor, Councilmembers and City staff focused on the city plans for downtown and surrounding neighborhoods. Click to read more!

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Teenage student hit by car, guess who gets the blame

On By jamesinclair

Last Thursday, a teenage girl was hit by a car at 6:30am while walking to her local bus stop.

Police are still trying to piece together what happened. They said incident happened just before sunrise and witnesses say the road was dark which may have contributed to the crash.

The Central High East student attempted to cross Brawley Avenue to get to a bus stop near her house. Neighbor Jeffrey Holland said he was riding his bike home from a nearby shopping center when the girl was struck near the center-divide.

“I was coming around the corner from the recycling base, heard a boom — and the paramedics were there quick,” said Jeffrey Holland, “The windshield was blown in the car, roof was smashed back, the doors were popped open, it looked really bad.” Click to read more!

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Why aren’t electric vehicles being pushed where they’d benefit most?

On By jamesinclair

According to the World Health Organization, Fresno has the 2nd worst air quality in the country. Bakersfield, our valley neighbor, is first. This is not a surprise to anyone who lives in the valley or reads the local newspapers.

But what is a surprise is how little people seem to care, especially at the local government level. The feds have established a $29 million annual penalty that the valley must pay (guaranteed for 2012 and 2013, will extend as needed) because the air quality doesn’t meet standards. The money will stay in the valley to help subsidize purchases of clean school buses, clean lawn mowers etc etc. Click to read more!

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Amtrak’s San Joaquin breaks 100,000 monthly passengers for first time ever

On By jamesinclair

Amtrak has finally released their June performance report (2 months late, apparently due to one of those classic SAP switchover screwups) and California ridership numbers continue to impress.

Most notably, the San Joaquin broke the 100,000 barrier for the first time ever, after missing it by 609 passengers in April of this year.

The San Joaquin noted 100,947 riders, a big improvement from 88,638 in June of last year, and up 3,000 from last month.

The Capitol Corridor had 145,495, an increase from 140,941 in June of last year but a small decrease from May.

The Pacific Surfliner recorded 239,984, a massive 30,000 passenger increase from June of 2010, but also less than this May. Click to read more!

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Tesla designing a dangerous distracted driving machine

On By jamesinclair

Tesla Motors is a small (but growing) automaker based in California that designs and sells only electric vehicles. Their Roadster model is already on sale, and they are ramping up production for the 2012 release of their “Model S” which will be a Sedan.

This past weekend, Tesla held an event at their Fremont plant to show the people who put down $5,000 for a preorder what their 2012 vehicle will look like.

I am interested in the move towards electric cars because of what it means for the quality of our air. As you may know, I live in Fresno, which may be named the dirtiest air in the country for the year, or maybe next. An exciting milestone for sure. We’re number 1! Click to read more!

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Review and pictures of weekend FUSE Festival

On By jamesinclair

This past weekend was the return of the Fresno Urban Sound Experience, or FUSE fest. This music festival aims to accomplish two goals: Highlight local bands, and bring people to downtown venues.

The festival has been held since 2008, and this year has been the largest. It was also my first time visiting. As $20 bought access to every show over two days, I decided it was well worth a trip.

The organizers clustered venues on the two nights. Friday was the south end of downtown, with Saturday being at the north end.

Note: Map shows Karma which dropped out and was replaced by “The Downtown Club” on the same street.
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Fresno Bee Click to read more!