(Burn Fresno) – On April 17th, a law came into effect (introduced by Larry Westerlund – it failed previously under Calhoon) in the City of Fresno barring people from soliciting on the medians of the roadways without a permit. Done correctly, this is a great idea. No one should be standing on the median in areas that are busy with commuters and other traffic.

The City of Fresno assured the community it was a safety issue and not just another ploy to get rid of the homeless without actually addressing the problem. Critcs with skeptical as to the intentions and it’s beginning to look like the critics and skeptics were correct. People violating the ordinance were fined beginning the day it came into effect.

Now here’s the problem:

The City of Fresno has introduced a special permit that organizations and groups can get to utilize the medians for purposes such as fundraising with strict rules that the permit holders must follow while remaining on the median. Getting this permit is nigh impossible unless you are affiliated with an organization that carries clout, and don’t think that a permit from the City of Fresno comes free (it doesnt).

Here are a few of the other requirements:

• The city determines which median islands solicitors can use.
• Solicitors fill out an application and pay a fee to occupy a specific median island. Permit prices will depend on staff-time costs, Westerlund said.
• The person must wear orange-colored safety clothing, including orange-colored or reflective vests or shirts.

This morning the Fresno Fire Department was soliciting donations on the corner of Friant and Audobon, one of the busiest intersections in Fresno during the morning commute. Not one single person had orange or any safety gear on and no permit was displayed.

The firemen were running around the road to collect donations, and drivers were swerving and diverting their attention from the road. Obviously the firemen provide a VERY valuable service to us, but that does not mean that they are above the law. Although I’m guessing this comes down to the City not wanting to pay for a permit for a law that they passed themselves.

These permits are for events like Kids Day, but those are the most dangerous times. No one should be allowed on a median, permit or not. By allowing people to acquire a permit they are building bias into their system. A bias that follows a long trend of the City of Fresno trying to cover up problems and brush things under the rug.

I hope Ashley Swearengin is enjoying being a “sorta local celebrity”, because she sure as hell isn’t doing anything else. Thanks for tricking people into voting a dimwit like you into office Ashley.

(Burn Fresno - 4/26/2010) With five shootings and three people dead since Saturday, April 24th the Fresno Police Department has decided to counteract the activity by ramping up patrols in neighborhoods known for violence. They now have 55 officers patrolling crime-ridden areas each and every night which just gives them further justification for keeping more of their disproportionaly large portion of the cities’ budget.

And once again their plan fails to strike at the root of the problem. Increasing police patrols on the street simply adds more heat an already boiling situation. By coming down hard with police on this area, they are putting all of the criminals on edge; meaning they will be more likely to pull the trigger if they feel they are being threatened (even if they actually aren’t).

If you’ve never seen a Fresno Police Department operation in the neighborhood where the most recent shootings happened (Church/Elm), you’re truly missing out on an amazing spectacle: dozens of officers in full tactical gear with m4′s, armored vehicles, police helicopters flying tight loops. Like something straight out of Baghdad.

This does not relax the criminals (who generally are in it for the money – which they lack due to socioeconomic circumstances or poor motivation in some individuals). This makes criminals acquire more guns, more body armor, and become more paranoid. All of these things lead to more murder and an increased homicide rate.

And all of THOSE things lead to an increased demand for the Fresno Police Department, and therefor an increased budget.

There are so many guns on our streets that when the Fresno Police Department holds a community “turn in a gun and get paid” event, the criminals send their relatives/girlfriends/wives to sell the guns to the police that they don’t want. That sounds like a joke, only sadly it isn’t.

The best way to attack this situation is to stop using military tactics in that neighborhood, and then slowly introduce opportunities to the youth to make something of themselves and get out of that area that doesn’t require selling drugs. This is the only way to inspire true change in an area that sometimes resembles the streets of Jaurez, Mexico in terms of violence and police action.

Here’s a story on the recent shootings from ABC30.com:

(Burn Fresno) – Today Twist in North West Fresno at Palm and Nees received a 1-year permit to allow dancing. This is great news for the nightlife in North Fresno and great news for Twist, who must have been sweating bullets (no pun intended) over their dance permits after the recent shooting at neighboring club Roe.

I’m glad the city realized the real problem here isn’t the restaurants, it’s the gang bangers coming from the south end of town and ruining peoples time out of jealousy. The same thing happens in NYC, LA, Las Vegas, and even Six Flags Magic Mountain.

Not allowing the dance permit would have allowed the criminals to win (maybe the people causing trouble are related to people who own clubs downtown that are afraid of losing business because they haven’t invested in their business), so I’m glad the right thing was done in the end.

See you all on the dance floor!

Fresno’s Crack Cocaine Hot Spot: Tulare Between G and F

(Burn Fresno) – Many people know where Central Fish is located in Downtown Fresno. A quick turn from the Fresno and 99 offramp and you’re in their secured parking lot walking in to purchase some of the freshest fish available in town. They serve fish to many of the restaurants in Fresno, and they are not the only booming business in the area. Chukchansi Park – at the heart of the Downtown Fresno Revitalization, is a mere 2 blocks away from Central Fish.

What many people do not know, is that on Tulare Street between G and F Streets and on F Street between Tulare and Kern Streets, exists the single most popular place in Fresno for buying and selling crack cocaine. Many of the shop owners around there know what is going on and even sell the glass pipes required for smoking the crack under the counter, away from the eyes of anyone who might not be interested in buying or selling crack.

People linger on the street corners, glancing nervously and waiting for their next customer to make the strong eye contact with them that indicates they would like to make a purchase. People from all walks of life stop to make purchases – construction workers, bank tellers, gang members – and most leave without being harassed. However, these street dealers are not the actual dealers. They are simply homeless addicts looking to make something on the side; a tip for their services.

Red Marks Dealers

The crack cocaine is distributed to them by runners, often driving newer model sedans or more obvious cars with large rims and stereo systems to match. These runners play a small role as middlemen, collecting cash off of the top by initiating a miscommunication between their supplier and their street level dealers verifiable only by their own word of mouth.

There is more than one supplier, as the area is known for it’s ability to pull in large amounts of money. Most of them spend the day being driven by a lady friend around the area to keep an eye on the operation. Beyond that, it’s the people the Fresno Police Major Narcotics Squad are after, and your guess is as good as mine as to their lifestyle and identities.

If you simply park on the street during your lunch hour and watch, you’ll probably see 25-50 deals go down. Even if those deals are only $20 each, thats $1,000 per hour being made on this single block.

To the Fresno Police Department’s credit, they do patrol the area on bikes (their station is 2 blocks away on Fresno Street) and can sometimes be seen making busts on some of the low level homeless dealers.

If there’s one block in Fresno that needs cameras, this is it. If Fresno wants to take the revitalization of downtown seriously (which I assume they are considering the removal of the tent cities), they need to make sure crack cocaine isn’t readily available for purchase two blocks from Chukchansi Park. With the Fresno Grizzlies starting their season out there, there are sure to be a lot of families and children. And none of them need to be exposed to crack addicts or the violent lifestyle that surrounds them.

Mayor Swearengin had called it a “failed urban renewal experiment”, and the Fresno City Council concurred.

The council on Thursday unanimously rejected a proposal to add Fresno’s Fulton Mall to the National Register of Historic Places.

This was one of the major pieces of the downtown revitalization, although that mall has been so decrepit for so long I couldn’t see them turning it into a landmark. It would need a lot of work.