Good morning! And welcome back after a long holiday break! It’s Monday, Jan. 5. This is Rob.

Drying out: Partly cloudy skies over Fresno today with highs in the upper 50s. NOAA

Fresno reacts: Local leaders weigh in on the capture of Venezuela’s president on federal criminal charges. KVPR

Protests: Dozens of Fresno residents protested the US invasion of Venezuela. ABC30

Zoo prices: The Fresno Chaffee Zoo is changing its prices. KSEE24

Child safety: The Fresno County Department of Public Health received a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety to educate parents and caregivers about the importance of child safety seats and to ensure that all children travel safely. For more information on the Child Passenger Safety Program, call 559-600-3330.

Hotline app: Natalie Bonilla, a Selma High student, won the 2025 Congressional App Challenge for District 21 with her Community Support app, which compiles critical hotline numbers and community resources into one centrally located place. The Business Journal

1. ‘I can’t breathe’

Joseph Perez memorial. Credit: Rob Parsons/Fresnoland

The family of a 41-year-old Fresno man who died in 2017 — after Fresno law enforcement restrained him facedown on the ground — expects to get their day in court later this month after nearly nine long years, Fresnoland’s Rob Parsons reports this morning.

Joseph Perez died May 10, 2017, while struggling with police and high on methamphetamine.

In court filings and previous arguments, authorities have said the officers should be considered immune from liability in connection with Perez’s death, essentially arguing that Perez caused the episode by being under the influence of methamphetamine and arguing and fighting with the officers instead of following legal commands.

Attorneys for the Perez family have countered that officers should be liable because they detained and restrained Perez supposedly for his own safety and protection but ultimately killed him.

While the coroner’s office classified the death as a homicide, they also noted Perez’s methamphetamine intoxication was “10 times” above a typically lethal dose.

2. Bobby Salazar stops contracting with city police

Pexels

Last year was a tough one for embattled Fresno restaurant owner Bobby Salazar, who has pleaded not guilty to fraud-related arson charges.

Salazar landed back in the headlines during the earliest hours of 2026, too, when a New Year’s confrontation at Salazar’s Tower District bar turned violent. Two people were stabbed when an argument at the bar spilled out into the streets, The Fresno Bee reported.

In years since, Salazar has paid out thousands of dollars to hire off-duty Fresno city cops to police his bars and restaurants on the weekends — but not on New Year’s Day.

The Bee reports that Salazar last contracted with city police in the fall of 2023.

Contract police work is common in Fresno, The Bee says, at places like Walmart or the Fresno Fairgrounds, among other examples.

3. Fresno’s poverty rate is improving

Ashley Swearengin, CEO of the Central Valley Community Foundation. Pablo Orihuela | Fresnoland

Fresno has struggled with relentless poverty for generations, KVPR notes.

In 2005, a report revealed that Fresno had the highest concentration of poverty of any U.S. city, with nearly half the city living below the poverty line.

But a recent report by the Central Valley Community Foundation shows that some of that work could be making a difference.

The organization reports that the rate of concentrated poverty in Fresno has dropped by 68% since 2014.

Disclosure: The Foundation is also a Fresnoland donor.

But many people aren’t feeling those benefits.

Most who responded to a recent KVPR survey said they believe the city’s economy has either remained stagnant over the past two decades or has even gotten worse in their view, citing the rising cost of living, growing housing and utility expenses.

Today’s newsletter was edited by Omar S. Rashad.

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