Here are the morning’s top stories on Monday, April 7, 2025…
- A Fresno mobile home park has become ground zero in a fight to save one of the last bastions of affordable housing in California. But residents there are facing an uncertain future as they wait for a federal judge to decide who will take control of the place they call home: another corporate landlord or an affordable housing non-profit.
- Thousands of people in the Bay Area joined protesters across the country over the weekend in taking to the streets to demonstrate against President Trump and Elon Musk, saying they’re taking the country in the wrong direction.
- Dozens of visas have been canceled for international students at California universities. This is part of a crackdown by the Trump administration targeting foreign students.
Ownership Of Fresno Mobile Home Park Still Up In The Air
La Hacienda Mobile Estates is tucked away on a busy street just off Highway 41 in Northeast Fresno. It sits behind a DMV and a battery storage plant. If you drive by, you might miss it. But inside, you’ll find scattered abandoned mobile homes and empty lots alongside trailers where some residents still live.
The park has been home to low income residents, farmworkers and some retired folk. It’s been in rough shape for a few years. Things got worse in 2021 when a series of fires broke out, including one that killed a resident. That’s when the city decided to step in and take over code enforcement from the state.
After several attempts to force the property owner to bring the park up to code, a receiver was appointed to oversee the clean-up. The receiver proposed selling the park. Attorney Mariah Thompson represents a group of people who live there. She says they had just one request. “The only thing we ask is that you do not sell it to Harmony Communities,” they told her. Harmony operates dozens of mobile home parks in California and Oregon. Residents were worried about the company’s history of purchasing mobile home parks, hiking up rent prices and in some cases, evicting tenants.
Despite the residents’ concerns, the city sold the park to Harmony in May 2022. After attempts to increase rent failed in court, residents said Harmony notified them of its plan to redevelop the property. The city also blocked that and then Harmony filed for bankruptcy. In November, a federal judge dismissed the case and appointed a trustee. A non-profit that works with low income families to build affordable housing agreed to purchase the park. But the trustee still has to consider other bids from other investors. And if a corporation decided to outbid the non-profit, the trustee would have to seriously consider it .
Thousands Across Bay Area Join Nationwide Rallies Slamming Trump And Musk
Thousands of people turned out at protests across the Bay Area Saturday, joining crowds across the country who say President Donald Trump is taking the country in the wrong direction.