Clovis Chief of Police Curt Fleming speaks during a press conference Tuesday, July 19, 2022. Residents criticize Fleming for pursuing misdemeanor charges against parents after a student walkout protesting ICE brutality.
ERIC PAUL ZAMORA
ezamora@fresnobee.com
Disappointed in Clovis police
“Clovis, Fresno police contrasted sharply in their responses to student ICE protests,” (fresnobee.com, Feb. 16)
I am very disappointed that Clovis Police Chief Curt Fleming announced plans to pursue misdemeanor charges against parents who allegedly helped organize a local student walkout to protest recent brutality by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents across the country.
It seems like Fleming just added new fuel and motivation for continued protests. Using the department’s high-tech video equipment to record the protests and zoom in on participants is concerning.
Doesn’t the Clovis Police Department have better things to do? And what of the significant costs of investigating and prosecuting these cases? I would prefer students not give up time in the classroom for protests, but I applaud their courage to speak out against behavior by ICE.
Michael Reddin
Clovis
McClintock MIA
“McClintock’s House vote puts every American at risk of being deported | Opinion,” (fresnobee.com, June 12, 2025)
As a constituent, I have contacted Rep. Tom McClintock multiple times requesting his position on Congressional oversight in the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. I have yet to receive a response.
Constituents deserve clarity when federal agents use lethal force against U.S. citizens.
Joshua Madden
Coarsegold
All stakeholders represented
“California’s dry farmland is ideal for solar. Big Ag stands in the way | Opinion,” (fresnobee.com, Feb. 15)
The permitting of environmentally appropriate large-scale solar facilities should be expedited in California, with community-benefits frameworks collaboratively determined by impacted stakeholder groups in advance of permit applications to avoid delays.
The last shelved version of Assembly Bill 1156 egregiously crossed-out key impacted stakeholders from entering into benefits agreements in favor of exclusive and insufficient governmental provinces. All counties where large-scale solar is proposed have unique communities and deserve a place at the table.
An innovative Regional Community-Benefits Joint Powers Authority could work directly with developers, representing impacted governments, farmers and labor unions.
Jose Antonio Ramirez
Fresno
Missing voices
“California’s dry farmland is ideal for solar. Big Ag stands in the way | Opinion,” (fresnobee.com, Feb. 15)
While this piece highlights the opportunity for solar development, it overlooks a critical reality in Westside Fresno County: Once again, the poorest and working-class communities that built these regions are being pushed aside during major economic transitions.
For generations, farmworker families in Firebaugh, Mendota, San Joaquin, Huron and surrounding unincorporated areas sustained the agricultural economy that fed this state. They endured low wages, job instability, polluted air and decades of underinvestment. Now, as farmland is retired and converted to solar and energy storage, decisions about land use, revenue and benefits are being made largely without them.
Clean energy is necessary, but it must also be just. A true transition should lift up rural communities — not repeat past inequities.
Espi Sandoval
Board member, Rural Communities Rising
Budget-friendly water solution
“Central Valley farmers push Trump on Shasta Dam raise,” (sacbee.com, Feb. 9)
The livelihood of Central Valley farmers and the well-being of Californians depend on securing our water supply. For real progress though, we should look beyond multi-billion-dollar concrete infrastructure projects — which take years to complete — and improve the basic source of our water: forest watersheds. Their current condition severely compromises the amount and reliability of their water delivery to reservoirs.
Healthy forests capture and store water, reduce flood risks in high precipitation events like what hit Oroville Dam in 2017, filter contaminants and reduce catastrophic wildfires that damage watersheds for decades. Yet we’ve neglected our forests and prevented them from maturing into old-growth systems, sustaining watersheds and delivering countless public benefits.
Compared to raising dams, smart forest restoration delivers water storage naturally at a fraction of the cost. This can provide all Californians, including Central Valley farmers, with storage and supply needed, without flooding protected lands or breaking the budget.
Laurie Wayburn
President, Pacific Forest Trust
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