Tomorrow’s “Movies in the Park” presented by the City of Fresno’s PARCs Department and Comcast at Eaton Plaza has been cancelled due to the record heat wave and the poor air quality that is impacting the valley at this time. The annual program offers a free movie every Friday night during the summer and had planned to open for this summer season tomorrow night.
“Movies in the Park” will start next Friday, June 30, 2017 with a free showing of “Ghostbusters.”
Mayor Lee Brand addressed a crowd of nearly nine hundred attendees, including elected officials, business and community leaders during Wednesday’s State of the City luncheon held in Downtown Fresno. The annual event, sponsored by the Fresno Chamber of Commerce, was the first State of the City address for Mayor Brand, who officially took office in January, 2017.
California State University, Fresno and Dr. Joseph Castro were honored with the Mayor’s Community Partner Award for their work in the community and their willingness to team up with public and private organizations on projects that have improved the quality of life in Fresno. Former Mayor Ashley Swearengin, now serving as President and CEO of the Central Valley Community Foundation, was awarded the Key to the City in recognition of her vision, service and passion for our city and its residents.
In his keynote speech, Mayor Brand used the theme of collaboration and teamwork as the building blocks to a successful present and a brighter future. He reviewed the unprecedented success of the first six months of his administration, highlighted the local businesses that have chosen to stay and invest in Fresno, and urged the audience to “to join me in the spirit of collaboration so that Fresno becomes a beacon of unity and a trailblazer for teamwork, where common people attain uncommon results.” He also took a moment in the beginning of his speech to thank outgoing City Manager Bruce Rudd for his 41 years of service and to welcome incoming City Manager Wilma Quan-Schecter.
Mayor Brand announced his “10 Year Path to Prosperity,” a plan that will ultimately bring 10,000 new jobs to Fresno by the year 2027. The strategy focuses on developing the approximately 1,000 acres of industrial property in the reverse triangle between Highways 99 and 41, including building out the infrastructure to make the land shovel-ready. His goal is to make Fresno the e-commerce capital of the West Coast.
“This is a game changer and the fulfillment of my vision for Fresno,” said Mayor Brand. “This will change the narrative that has defined Fresno for too many years that includes generational poverty, high unemployment and high crime, to one of community wide prosperity.”
Mayor Brand’s list of City accomplishments over the six months included:
The City of Fresno Parks, After School, Recreation and Community Services Department (PARCS) will keep its cooling centers open through Friday due to the extreme heat expected this week.
Cooling centers are activated when the temperature in Fresno is forecast to be 105°F or above by the National Weather Service in Hanford. The cooling centers will be open Monday through Friday of this week from noon until 8:00 p.m.
Cooling centers will be open at the following locations:
In addition, the City’s FAX bus system will provide free transportation along normal routes to and from cooling center sites when the centers are open. To ride free, residents must indicate they are traveling to a cooling center.
Individuals should refer to the FAX schedule to determine the final evening departure time for buses providing service near cooling center locations. The FAX schedule is available on the City’s website.
Please note that the following City of Fresno swimming pools are free for recreational swim from 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. today through Friday:
Residents may also take advantage of the new Blue Space program, a partnership between the City of Fresno and the Fresno Unified School District (FUSD) that provides recreational swim and swim lessons at Fresno high school swimming pools.
All City pools, as well as the pools at Hoover, Fresno, Edison, Roosevelt, McLane and Sunnyside will be open and free of charge when cooling centers are open. View the hours of operation for Fresno Unified pools, as their schedule varies slightly from City pools.
For more information on our cooling centers please visit our website at:
https://www.fresno.gov/parks/activities-recreational-programs/cooling-centers/
The City of Fresno Parks, After School, Recreation and Community Services Department (PARCS) will be opening its cooling centers this weekend due to the extreme heat expected during that time.
Cooling centers are activated when the temperature in Fresno is forecast to be 105°F or above by the National Weather Service in Hanford. The cooling centers will be open this Saturday and Sunday from noon until 8:00 p.m.
Cooling centers will be open at the following locations:
In addition, the City’s FAX bus system will provide free transportation along normal routes to and from cooling center sites when the centers are open. To ride free, residents must indicate they are traveling to a cooling center.
Individuals should refer to the FAX schedule to determine the final evening departure time for buses providing service near cooling center locations. The FAX schedule is available on the City’s website.
Please note that the following City of Fresno swimming pools are free for recreational swim from 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. tomorrow and Sunday:
Residents may also take advantage of the new Blue Space program, a partnership between the City of Fresno and the Fresno Unified School District (FUSD) that provides recreational swim and swim lessons at Fresno high school swimming pools.
Please be aware that several FUSD pools will not be open to the public this weekend due to
swimming events, including water polo and swimming competitions. Those pools are: Edison, Fresno, Bullard and Sunnyside. Please help get the word out about these four pools being closed to avoid any confusion to our residents.
All City pools, as well as the pools at Hoover, McLane and Roosevelt, will be open and free of charge due to the cooling centers being open.
For more information on our cooling centers please visit our website at:
https://www.fresno.gov/parks/activities-recreational-programs/cooling-centers/
Mayor Lee Brand and Fresno Unified interim superintendent Bob Nelson introduced a new partnership at a press conference to announce the addition of Blue Space to its existing Community Open Space Program.
The City of Fresno provides recreational swimming and swim lessons at its three community pools located at Mary Ella Brown Community Center, Frank H. Ball Neighborhood Center and Mosqueda Community Center. The City also operates several learner pools and splash parks.
“This is an exciting opportunity to offer more safe and supervised swimming options for our residents by utilizing existing facilities” said Mayor Brand. “By partnering with Fresno Unified, we save taxpayer money on the construction and maintenance of new pools while making use of pools that would often sit idle during the hottest months of the year.”
Fresno Unified will make its seven high school pools available to the public starting on June 12th for recreational swimming. Swim lessons will be offered at Fresno, Hoover, Edison and Bullard high schools.
Swimming will be free on weekends, $1 on weekdays for children and $2 for adults. The City of Fresno will provide lifeguards and swim instructors.
For more information regarding location, hours of operation and cost of lessons please visit our website at www.fresno.gov/parks/ or by calling (559) 621-2900.
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) today announced plans to open its first fulfillment center in Fresno. This will be Amazon’s fifth fulfillment center in California’s Central Valley, with three operating fulfillment centers located in Tracy and Patterson, and a fourth facility under construction in Sacramento.
Other Amazon California customer fulfillment facilities are located in San Bernardino, Redlands, Moreno Valley, Rialto, Eastvale and Newark. Additionally, there are more than 460,000 authors, sellers, and developers in California growing their businesses and reaching new customers via Amazon products and services.
“We are very excited to expand our network into Fresno and throughout the San Joaquin Valley as a region,” said Akash Chauhan, Amazon’s Vice President of North American Operations. “There are several factors we consider when deciding on where to place a new fulfillment center. Most importantly, we look to see where we can improve Prime benefits with faster shipping speeds for customers and where there is a dedicated workforce that can raise the bar of our operational excellence. We know we’ll find talent in abundance in Fresno to join the Amazon team.”
Amazon employees at the 855,000-square-foot fulfillment center will specialize in handling smaller-sized items such as books, electronic devices and children’s toys.
Mayor Lee Brand said, “On behalf of the people of the City of Fresno, it is my pleasure to welcome Amazon to our wonderful city. We look forward to their fulfillment team joining our rapidly growing business community and building on the positive momentum that is energizing our economy. Amazon will not only provide quality jobs, they’ll also bring a tradition of volunteering and partnering with local small businesses that are vital to our overall success. We are thankful for the job opportunities Amazon will offer to our residents and we will embrace Amazon and make them part of the fabric of our great city.”
“In just five years, Amazon has become one of the fastest-growing and largest employers in the Central Valley, providing thousands of Californians with good-paying jobs,” said Panorea Avdis, Director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz). “Whether it’s the California Competes Tax Credit program, site selection or permitting assistance, GO-Biz partners with companies to help them expand and grow their operations. Thanks in part to a partnership with the state, Amazon continues to be a strong driver of job creation and positive economic impact, and we are thrilled to see them expand into Fresno and the lower Central Valley.”
Full-time employees at Amazon receive competitive hourly wages and a comprehensive benefits package, including healthcare, 401(k) and company stock awards starting on day one. Amazon also offers regular full-time employees maternity and parental leave benefits and access to innovative programs like Career Choice, where it will pre-pay up to 95 percent of tuition for courses related to in-demand fields, regardless of whether the skills are relevant to a career at Amazon. Since the program’s launch, more than 9,000 employees are pursuing degrees in game design and visual communications, nursing, IT programming and radiology, to name a few.
To learn more about working at an Amazon fulfillment center, visit www.AmazonDelivers.Jobs.
The project is being developed by Dermody Properties and Seefried Industrial Properties.
About Amazon
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.
The City of Fresno will begin its three-day watering schedule on June 1, and will remain in effect for the months of June, July and August.
The City of Fresno is implementing its three-day watering schedule to reflect residents need to provide more water for their gardens and lawns during the dry summer months. An above-average wet season has allowed the City to relax its watering restrictions this year. The City continues to urge its residents to conserve water as much as possible.
Residents with addresses ending in an odd number (1,3,5,7,9) are permitted to water on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Residents with addresses ending in an even number (0,2,4,6,8) are permitted to water on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. No watering is allowed on Mondays or on any day between the hours of 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Incoming City Manager Wilma Quan-Schecter today announced that Scott Mozier has been named the City of Fresno’s new Assistant City Manager, effective July 10, 2017. Mr. Mozier will be replacing Ms. Quan-Schecter, who will become City Manager on that date. A national search for his replacement will begin immediately.
“I wanted my first hire as incoming City Manager to be someone with proven experience, integrity, and a passion for local government, and Scott meets all those requirements with room to spare,” said Ms. Quan-Schecter. “He demonstrates daily all the qualities that I am looking for in my management team and he’s the perfect choice to fill this important position.”
Mr. Mozier has served as the City’s Director of Public Works since January 2014 and has overseen the successful delivery of key projects such as the Fulton Street Reconstruction, neighborhood street improvements and major infrastructure projects throughout the City. Prior to that, he served for more than seven years as the Assistant Public Works Director and City Engineer. He led a team dedicated to improving the private development approval process for subdivision maps, commercial and industrial developments, infill projects and all improvements within the public right-of-way. Mr. Mozier also previously served as the City Traffic Engineer and has worked with the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee to make Fresno more bicycle and pedestrian friendly.
Prior to joining the City of Fresno, Mr. Mozier spent several years with private engineering firms in Los Angeles and the Bay Area managing the design of numerous projects including freeway interchanges, street improvements and light rail system construction. He is licensed in the State of California as both a civil and traffic engineer.
Mr. Mozier earned his Bachelor’s Degree in civil engineering from UC Davis where he met his wife Sandy. They are celebrating 25 years of marriage and have three daughters.
The City of Fresno announced that it has entered into a multi-year agreement with 5 Bars Communities and will begin marketing the city’s assets for small cell and wireless use. This effort will enhance the ability of Fresno’s citizens to access high speed wireless connectivity throughout the city. The comprehensive program encompasses intelligent infrastructure technologies, smart city initiatives and 5G wireless planning.
“This plan allows the City of Fresno to move forward in our ‘smart city’ efforts while identifying innovative funding streams that are a part of our ongoing strategy of prudent fiscal management,” said Fresno Mayor Lee Brand.
“We are excited to move forward with 5 Bars and this agreement in order to bring greater coverage to our City, create a platform for Smart City initiatives and drive new revenue to Fresno,” said Bryon Horn, Chief Information Officer for the City of Fresno.
As wireless carriers look to densify existing networks, it is estimated that the wireless industry will deploy hundreds of thousands of small cells, making it increasingly difficult for cities to manage the application and installation process. In collaboration with the carriers, 5 Bars Communities will streamline applications with a predictable process while preserving aesthetics. As the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and State of California look to pass preemptive legislation SB 649 intended to reduce local control over rights of way, finding a proactive path to protect assets and secure streamlined permitting is imperative.
“We are excited to be working alongside the City of Fresno’s leadership as they look to advance their wireless footprint in the growing environment for 5G and smart city infrastructure,” said Monnie McGaffigan, President of 5 Bars Communities. “All of this planning will benefit the City of Fresno for years to come and advance its economic sustainability as a wired community.”
5 Bars will act as an advocate for the City, offering its intelligent platform which provides an ongoing solution that identifies opportunities for wireless collocation, while minimizing impacts from wireless facility siting decisions. The decision for Fresno to partner with 5 Bars Communities was based on maintaining local control, preventing visual blight and increasing connectivity for businesses, residents and citizens. The solution will be the basis to deploy smart city and enhance business investment, and be used to improve city services.
About 5 Bars Communities
5 Bars Communities, a DBA of XG Communities, is Headquartered in Irvine, California. As a premier provider of Small Cell Wireless Marketing Plans for Counties, Cities and Municipalities developing comprehensive wireless strategies through a unique holistic view of assets, coverage, and capacity.
The City of Fresno Code Enforcement Division and the Fresno EOC Local Conservation Corps Recycling Program, using grant funding available from CalRecycle, will hold a Waste Tire Amnesty Day event on Saturday, May 27, 2017 to allow City of Fresno citizens to dispose of their unwanted waste tires.
Some event restrictions include: Participants must be City of Fresno residents, no tractor or diesel tires, no business-generated tires, and each resident is limited to (9) tires per vehicle. Tires with rim/wheels will be accepted.
Each resident will need to provide ID such as the Waste Tire event mailer, driver’s license, or utility billing showing City of Fresno residency.
Date: Saturday, May 27, 2017
Time: 8 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
**or until the trailer is filled**
Place: Fresno EOC Local Conservation Corps
1805 E California Ave Fresno, CA 93706
Thank you for keeping Fresno clean and safe.
For more information, please contact:
Ana Manzula at (559) 621-8453 / (559)240-9246
Or
Martay Sanchez (559)621-8455 / (559)999-1485.