Fresno – Page 7 – Elliott-Hart Report

Guest Column: From Fresno’s housing struggles to public safety, civility in short supply

Written by George Hostetter, June 23, 2017

My old friend Bob Farrar and his colleagues on the Fresno Housing and Community Development Commission helped me relearn an important lesson. There’s a big difference between holding our government accountable and holding our government in contempt. The former – good. The latter – bad. (Editor’s Note: This piece first appeared on CVObserver.com. View the…

Summertime, Sweet Summertime

Written by Dennis Hart, June 20, 2017

Those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer are here again – and, yes, I stole those words from the great Nat King Cole – but who better to steal from – than from the man who immortalized them back in the ’60s? Some folks don’t like summertime in Fresno. They say it’s too hot. But…

Guest Column – Don’t forget it, Jake: Fresno’s Chinatown at a crossroads

Written by George Hostetter, June 14, 2017

Fresno’s Chinatown needs help. City Hall, though, is focusing its development efforts elsewhere. The cold shoulder isn’t just my imagination. “Sadly, Chinatown does not get the same attention that Downtown does, not only from our city but from our investment community, as well,” Council Member Oliver Baines told me last week. Baines’ District 3 includes…

Fresno’s Fulton Foolishness

Written by Dennis Hart, May 22, 2017

The mess that is the Fulton Mall’s ongoing deconstruction — converting it back to a vehicle-welcoming Fulton Street — shows no sign of coming to an end. What makes that interesting is that, back in February, the Fresno Bee ran a piece under the headline, “Fresno’s painful remake of Fulton Street should be done in…

My Late Great Uncle

Written by Bud Elliott, May 11, 2017

Well, not my uncle, exactly – everybody’s uncle. Uncle Harry. It’s two weeks since they shut down Uncle Harry’s New York Bagelry in Fig Garden Village. The terse one-page letter posted on a window announcing the abrupt closure has been pulled down and covered over with butcher paper. Big plans are afoot for the…

Losing Our Senses

Written by Dennis Hart, April 12, 2017

These past few days, I’ve been wondering why so many people and institutions have seemingly lost their senses — why they’ve lost their ability to reason, and to avoid saying or doing stupid things. Example: United Airlines. Why in the world would any United employee on board that jet think it was a good idea…

Fresno’s Two Worlds

Written by Dennis Hart, March 11, 2017

I did something this bright and beautiful Saturday that I bet you didn’t do: I spent time in both downtown Fresno and “up north” — in and around Fig Garden Village. Only about five miles separate downtown from Fig Garden, but they might as well be galaxies apart. When I walked through downtown late Saturday…

Downtown’s Doldrums

Written by Dennis Hart, March 9, 2017

Something happened to me this morning during one of my long walks, and I think it exemplifies the trouble Fresno city officials will have in trying to bring downtown back to life. It was a cool, sunny day, and I was dressed in a sweatshirt, long pants and tennis shoes as I made my way…

Fresno’s Fulton Fizzle

Written by Dennis Hart, February 7, 2017

My friend Al and I took a long walk through our old Fresno High neighborhood the other day. We like trekking around the area we grew up in because it has plenty of old houses and old trees and old memories. So we walked and walked on that lovely sunny day-between-storms, and we kept walking…

Downtown’s Doldrums

Written by Dennis Hart, September 7, 2016

I like to walk a lot, and most of the time when I stroll around town, I head back to the Fresno High area where I grew up. I’ll park my car near Hamilton Jr. High and then stroll in any direction that suits my fancy that particular day. It’s not unusual for me to…