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PRESENTED BY THE VALLEY FUTURE FOUNDATION

Sunrise AM
by Alex Tavlian · 07/11/19

☕️ Top O' the Morning!

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VEEP IN THE VALLEY
Pences zig-zag across the Valley: Vice President Mike Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence spared no moment during their one-day blitz of the San Joaquin Valley.

The Veep headed to Coalinga for a fundraising lunch and round table hosted at Harris Ranch by John Harris and his wife, Carole. 

The Big Stat: $550,000. That's the rough estimated haul from Wednesday's fundraiser at Harris Ranch.

Trade talk: Pence left the fundraiser for an event at the Freitas Family Farm in Lemoore to pitch the USMCA, the new North American trade pact aiming to replace NAFTA.

Joining him to talk trade was former Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford).

Pence added to the Trump administration's continued pressure on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to bring the agreement to a vote. Thus far, she has signaled she wants additional changes before her chamber will make a decision on it.

Said Pence: “We’re not going to allow outdated trade deals to hurt American farmers or American workers anymore. The President’s done his job, our neighbors have done their job, now it’s time for Congress to do their job.

DRIVE THE CONVERSATION
Fresno economic plan kickoff features little business input: The Fresno DRIVE (Developing the Region’s Inclusive and Vibrant Economy) initiative kicked off at downtown Fresno's DoubleTree hotel on Wednesday.

The effort is led by the Central Valley Community Foundation and is working to develop a 10-year investment plan by November's California Economic Summit.

Attendees reviewed a data snapshot of Fresno's current economic conditions before launching into a discussion on issues facing the region.


The summit Wednesday featured sparse attendance from leaders business community.

Conversation dominated by racial disparity issues: After a quick review of economic issues, the conversation tilted into a freewheeling discussion on race and the discomfort in the Fresno area about discussing race.

Two attendees particular at the center of the discussion: Fresno Unified Superintendent Bob Nelson, focusing on the recent blackface scandal at Bullard High School, and former Fresno City Councilman Oliver Baines.
BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD ROCK
Tejon Tribe begins outreach to garner support for Hard Rock Casino: While there are a number of hurdles before the Tejon Indian Tribe receives the OK from the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs to begin work to build a casino and resort near Mettler, work is already underway to build support for the project.

The team behind the development has already garnered the support of the biggest real estate developer in the area – the Tejon Ranch Company, operators of that growing travel stop you've undoubtedly visited en route to Los Angeles.

Now, it's focused on recruiting members of the public along with key interest groups – including contractors and labor – to back the project.  
GREEN FOR GREEN
Inside our first Sunlight Series: Yesterday, we debuted the first part of our initial Sunlight Series: "Green for green," a behind-the-scenes look at Fresno's failed parks tax.

A few big takeaways from Part I include...

– The trajectory for Fresno' 2018 parks tax was set with a 2016 feasibility study commissioned by Mayor Ashley Swearengin and conducted by The Trust for Public Land.

– But they didn't just study a sales tax increase. The full study provided on a wide array of options to finance parks in Fresno.

– A poll, funded by the Trust for Public Land with heavy input from Team Swearengin, found that "maintaining parks" was Fresnans' sixth-most important issue of eight total issues.

– Key activist groups, such as Fresno Building Healthy Communities, first butted heads with the Swearengin administration before becoming highly-intertwined allies and paid consultants to the city.
TRIPLE-A BASEBALL
Break time is over: The Fresno Grizzlies return to action today, following the baseball All-Star break. They kickoff a four-game road series at Raley Field against the Sacramento RiverCats tonight. First pitch is 7:05 p.m.

Thus far, the PCL standings have proven to be a shuffle between Fresno, Sacramento, and occasionally Tacoma. Currently, the RiverCats have a half-game lead over the Grizzlies.
WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
An honorary ESPY for 12-year-old who swam San Luis Reservoir: Los Banos open water, long-distance swimmer James Savage earned himself an honorary ESPY, an award issued by ESPN.

Savage has grown in notoriety since he became the youngest swimmer to swim to Alcatraz and back at age 8. This year, at age 12, he swam the seven miles across the San Luis Reservoir.


The honorary ESPY is presented to young, inspirational athletes across America.
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2037 W Bullard Ave. #215 · Fresno, CA 93711

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