(Burn Fresno) – When Paris Hilton was arrested two nights ago for posession of narcotics, she claimed the purse was a friends and that the cocaine did not belong to her. She was proven to be lying today when pictures surfaced of her touting the purse several weeks back via her Twitter account.
(Burn Fresno) Today Arizona and Jan Brewer will try to appeal a Federal Judges’ decision to not allow the most controversial parts of the bill to move forward. Arizona has been suffering economically since they began the implementation of the bill due to massive boycotts by organizations of all shapes and sizes. Conventions have been moved out of Phoenix, the Phoenix Suns wore “Los Suns” Jerseys and overall a lot of the US has seen this bill for what it really is – a racist and reactionary ploy to further degrade the socioeconomic status of Hispanics in the United States.
Here’s to hoping this appeal doesn’t even make it off of the ground.
More information in this AP article: http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/politics&id=7581381
(Burn Fresno) Yesterday it was announced that as part of Ashley Swearengins new budget, she will be cutting out the only AIDS clinic and recovery center in the Fresno area. The Living Room is a place where people with AIDS can get together for support and treatment, and more importantly keep them off the street and from further spreading this terrible immune system disease.
The facility is used by 1,700 patients and only costs the city $69,000 per year – that’s $40 per person, not exactly major money when it comes to the massive amounts of debt the City of Fresno currently carries. Westcare (a local drug rehabilitation organization) also works with The Living Room in helping them to get their supplies and at times to cover other monetary needs.
Let’s face it, drugs are pretty much the worst thing happening to the youth of our city right now – and this isn’t the 60′s where everyone is smoking pot and tripping on LSD – this is 2010 Fresno, where unfortunately the drugs of choice are often Methamphetamine, Oxycontin/Heroin, or Cocaine/Crack. Throw this into the mix with the total absence of quality drug education (which should begin as soon as a child is old enough to understand the concept) and you have the recipe for breeding an entire generation of drug addicts and criminals.
By closing down The Living Room they are only furthering these problems, and I’m sure Ashley Swearengin and the rest of the Fresno City Council know this. They also know they won’t be in office when the effects are finally felt.
Ashley Swearengin is the queen of trading short-term gains for long-term consequences that will be felt LONG after she has ended her reign.
Hey Ashley, here’s an idea for you: How about instead of turning off our streetlights (I bet the ones in your neighborhood are on!) and closing facilities that are bettering Fresno you instead cut out some of our bloated and overpaid police force?
I mean do you really need to send two undercover officers and a sheriff to deliver a BUSINESS CARD? I witnessed this happen in the past week, and after talking to my neighbor found out that they were simply looking for tips. This is what the tip line is for.
Or you could just fire Jerry Dyer and use his salary to keep The Living Room open, since everyone knows he’s a useless PR drone thats simply likes parading in front of the media. That is, when he’s not hiding from the press due to his nephew Damon Dyer selling large quantities of drugs out of Jerry’s sisters house (who is also a Police officer).
(Burn Fresno) – Anyone who has ever tried to merge onto this onramp between the hours of 7am and 9am probably already has an idea about where this post is going.
Looking North from the 41 onramp Courtesy CALTRANS.
The traffic congestion at this onramp is terrible, and there are 2 main issues causing the problem:
1. The Meter- This onramp has absolutely no use for a meter at the top, because the volume of traffic coming south into Fresno from Madera is minimal at best. Any commuter can attest to the fact that when this meter turns off at 8:30am, traffic begins to flow at a much more natural and comfortable pace. The City of Fresno needs to turn off this meter as soon as possible, as it has been slowing down peoples morning commutes for much too long.
2.) The cement and gravel trucks – These trucks begin early in the morning, coming from the gravel pits in and around the town of Friant. They also pose an extreme hazard to morning commuters using the Friant Rd onramp to Highway 41. These truck drivers are often rude and oblivious to the morning commuters, and have caused more than one accident on the stretch of Friant Rd. between Audobon and Blackstone.
The solution: Ban these trucks from utilizing any of the freeway onramps during the morning commute (say, 7-9am). The business can schedule it’s deliveries to coincide with this new ban and will not be harmed economically – at the same time everyone commuting from the onramp will be much happier and more productive when they get to work, increasing their productivity. It would also lead to less stress for these commuters, meaning less anxiety pills, less depression pills, and less incidents of roadrage among Fresno’s general populace.
Something needs to be done, especially considering this single onramp supports the entirety of the urban sprawl that has developed in North Fresno. Eliminating the meter alone would be enough to make a major positive change to this onramp.
It’s a well known fact that Fresno is getting much too large for its current freeway system, so why not start with a major change that will cost us nothing?
(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.
