First Five Fresno County is an independent public organization devoted to enhancing the lives of children from birth through age 5. They are currently accepting nominations for businesses in Fresno that are the most friendly to children and meet the demands and responsibilities that come with children.

There are a lot of kids in Fresno who have unfortunately irresponsible parents and these are the most important developmental years of a child’s life. It’s important that we support the businesses that do the most to make life for the little guys better to the best of their abilities.

To vote on the Fresno business you think is the most child-friendly head on over to First Five Fresno!

A man has been pulled from the rubble of his home in Haiti this morning; alive and well but looking skin and bones. The fact that he lived for so long after the earthquake is nothing short of amazing.

He is a man in his 20′s and according to sources is weak but speaking.

EDIT: More information has come to light. He was in a building where he worked selling rice and was in good condition (besides being emaciated and delirious) except for some festering wounds on his feet. It still is not clear if someone was bringing him water or if that was just a hallucination.

More information at www.abc30.com

The Problem With Fresno’s Motel Drive

(Burn Fresno) – Ask any Fresnan about “Motel Drive” and you are bound to be faced with a look of horror and interest. Most everyone knows that this is a hot spot for prostitution in our city. Not only is prostitution rampant, but methamphetamine rules the streets in this area; making the area a hot spot for many different types of criminal activities.

In a recent ABC30 story they talk about how prostitutes have changed their business plan by hiding out in hotel rooms instead of roaming the streets where Fresno PD might pick them up. The problem isn’t so much the prostitutes – driven to their dismal existence by a slew of socioeconomic factors, but rather the landlords who turn a blind eye to such activities in an effort to bring additional profit.

The manager of the Parkside Inn (one of the busiest prostitution points) managed to sidestep any meaniningful questions during an interview with Action News reporter Sontaya Rose.

Here’s an excerpt from the ABC30 interview with Sontaya Rose:

Manager Hitesh Dave replies: “I cannot, I cannot, like. I cannot see all the time. Like when I’m inside, I cannot see this way.”

Sontaya asks, “But don’t you have a surveillance system?”

Manager replies: “We have but that is like rotating and we are not watching like particular man or someone.”

The only way to end this problem is to go after property managers like Mr. Hitesh Dave and enforce ramifications upon them if they continue to let prostitutes use their rooms as brothels. This part of town has been in a bad place for a long time, most likely due to the fact that Fresno has continued to grow North while ignoring outlying areas. These prostitutes are working down the street from Roeding Park and the Fresno Chaffee Zoo; both places where children are present almost all day long.

And this is about more than saving an area of the city, this is about protecting the prostitutes who are often abused, and the Johns; who often are publically humiliated or exposed to sexually transmitted diseases due to the high amount of traffic these prostitutes see.

So, City of Fresno, tell me this: Why aren’t we going after these property owners and managers who have allowed and opened the door for long term criminal activity in an area of the city that is near Downtown and the proposed revitalization?

I believe the citizens of Fresno deserve an answer.

UPDATE: According to a new story by ABC30 Action News, their constant surveillance of the area, along with the news story they ran, have caused a decline in business and “out in the open” tactics by the prostitutes.

The City of Fresno has launched it’s latest attack at the cities growing homeless population by enacting new rules that would require people to stay off of the medians in high traffic areas. City Councilman Larry Westerlund displayed examples of students raising money for a carwash and a man playing a violin in the median for donations.

Ask any Fresno resident about the type of person they see the most in the medians and they will surely answer “the homeless’. This is one of the few spots the homeless can ask for handouts without being charged with trespassing or loitering laws. The best solution would be to get these people into homeless programs, but with the city budget deep in the red, providing a solution like this for the growing number of people just isn’t an option.

One thing about the homeless begging on the corners is that surely not all of them are actually homeless. We’ve all read reports of “homeless” actors making large wages by pretending to be something that they are not. While I’m sure this issue does exist in Fresno (and this applies to the carwashes too), it would be a poor excuse for taking away the only sustinence some of the residents of Fresno have.

And for my next song... another solo.

If the concern is with people being near the street by so many cars, then that lies on simple common sense. There is pedestrian foot traffic in these same areas already, along with crosswalks. Think of how near the people of NYC, Los Angeles, and San Francisco get to cars on a daily basis, yet they still manage. If this is a safety issue, then that issue lies on the drivers of Fresno to stay pertinent and mindful of civilians utilizing foot transport near roadways.

So what’s your opinion Fresno? Don’t forget to take into account the lack of city funds to set these homeless people up in proper programs and get them off the street. Also keep in mind that ignoring these people is as simple as rolling up your window. And if you do decide to donate – use proper etiquette and do not impede the flow of traffic.

The Washington Post has released an article detailing a study that shows most high fructose corn syrup has mercury in it, which is alarming given the amount of HFCS consumed by children and Americans in general.

For too long we’ve subsidized the corn industry to pawn this poison on us. Real sugar may be more expensive, but it has the added benefits of tasting better, and being much healthier for you to consume.

The good news is that it seems companies are able to refine the HFCS to where it contains no mercury. This will do nothing to the fattening, heart-attack inducing, diabetes-causing side effects of the vile substance though. We’ll see if businesses actually begin using higher quality HFCS, as a lot of corners are often cut in the food industry.