Will Voters Have Change Of Heart When It Comes To Tax For Improvements At Fresno State

Here are the morning’s top stories on Tuesday, June 18, 2024…

• Fresno State is a huge part of the Central Valley, but its campus is deteriorating. The school has amassed nearly $500 million in deferred maintenance, according to a strategic plan produced by the California State University chancellor’s office. But twice now, Fresno County residents have voted down a ballot measure that would have infused the university with more than a billion dollars for repairs. 
• Wildfire activity has picked up across California. The state’s largest wildfire this year, the Post Fire, is burning in the Tejon Pass north of Los Angeles. It’s scorched more than 15,000 acres.

Voters Rejected A Tax To Fix Fresno State University. Will They Ever Change Their Minds?

Fresno State University is facing a crisis. Its campus is deteriorating. The school has more than $500 million in deferred maintenance, according to the California State University chancellor’s office. 

Aging infrastructure is a common problem on CSU campuses. A 2023 report from the California Legislative Analyst’s Office shows that funding sources aren’t keeping up with the need for repairs–at Fresno State or across the CSU system. “From 2017‑18 to 2022‑23, CSU’s backlog [of capital renewal projects] for academic facilities and infrastructure grew by $2.4 billion [60 percent],” reads the report. 20 out of the CSU’s 23 campuses are listed as being in poor facility condition, with Fresno State ranking 8th worst.

A measure on the March 5th primary, the first of its kind to support improvements at a CSU campus, would have imposed a one cent sales tax on every four dollars spent by Fresno County residents. As a result, it would have raised a projected billion and a half dollars to cover the university’s deferred maintenance and new infrastructure projects, like HVAC replacements, a new concert hall, and affordable student housing. But it failed.

Wildfires Foreshadow A Busy Summer To Come, Climate Expert Says

Driven by gusty winds as it burns through dry brush, the Point Fire in Sonoma County has burned more than 1,200 acres amid a series of early-season wildfires as climate experts warn that California is likely to experience increased fire activity this year.

According to UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain, the Sonoma County fire foreshadows a busy fire season throughout the state, fueled by heavy grass and brush that grew during back-to-back wet winters and will dry out during a prolonged warming trend anticipated this summer and fall.

CalFire is tracking several wildfires across the state, including the Post Fire burning in the Tejon Pass north of Los Angeles. It’s scorched more than 15,000 acres so far, making it the largest wildfire in California this year.