Maybe they are the blues, and maybe they are the "blah”s. Whatever you call them, there is something about a let-down, a bit of cold, fog cover, and January itself that make the Central Valley the least attractive time of year for many. I almost shunned the opportunity to move here twenty-seven years ago because I came to explore in the mid-winter, specifically, January.
Last December, a group gathered downtown to read the names of and remember fifty-six identified individuals who had died homeless in Fresno between January and November 2021. The service included readings, short messages, and music from a variety of religious traditions.
Food insecurity in Fresno County is a real and a pressing problem. The irony is that those of us who live in Fresno reside in a Land of Plenty and bounty. In many ways the Fresno area is the breadbasket for the nation and the world.
Michelle Ranee Johnson and her family are longtime friends of mine, and I am a longtime admirer of Michelle’s vision and work. As a photographer and a geologist, she climbs high mountains to see what others cannot see. She captures perspectives and hidden treasures that we all miss.
I had a recent conversation with LaDonna Snow from Clovis’ Snowflake Designs. It reinforced a business conviction I have long held: If you're going to do business today in this climate, you're going to have to be flexible.
Bethany Byrd started 5 Stones Open Door after seeing five of her friends die as a result of abuse. That abuse took several forms over the years, each of which is addressed by the non-profit organization she founded several years ago. They became the five stones of an outreach to people whose lives have been touched by domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking.
Sally has an idea for a non-profit to help urban youth navigate the challenges of 21st century life. John has a dream of opening a restaurant to feature the food that generations of family members from his homeland prepared. Marcos has a talent to share with the world. Henrietta needs to expand her existing business and market her products in the light of new realities of worldwide pandemics and new opportunities on the internet. Jackson wants to use Zoom more effectively in his consulting business.
A few weeks ago, I was working at Fresno's Woodward Park branch library, but I arrived too early and it was not open. Simultaneously, I had a "hankering" for coffee. I crossed the street to the shopping center knowing that any respectable center of its kind would have, at least, a mediocre cup of coffee.
It started with one man's love of "*boujie" foods and grew to embrace a good friend who loved meat and potatoes. Mike Carriosa and his wife, Noel, have long enjoyed the fruits of their gourmand taste buds. Mike's buddy, Joey Abbs, has long loved meat and potatoes. Together, they embarked, over a year ago, on an adventure to discover and review foods that Joey could not spell.
On December 24, Christmas Eve, Jeff Aiello posted these words to his Facebook friends: “Christmas Eve marks the official end of the Creek Fire.”
It was a great Christmas gift after four months of High Sierra burning.
