Economy
All Big Fresno Fair Concerts Canceled. That’s Not Enough for This City Councilman.
The Paul Paul Theater will remain quiet at the Big Fresno Fair after an announcement that all of this year’s scheduled concerts have been canceled. But Fresno City Council President Miguel Arias says the fair board should pull the plug on the entire event.
According to the Fair’s website, “the Fair has been working with the Fresno County Department of Public Health on a satisfactory plan for concerts. However the Health Department decided it would not approve concerts in the Paul Paul Theater at the 2020 Fair event.”
“I will seek cancellation of our police service contract with the fair if they place our city’s public health at risk by operating as planned.”–Fresno City Council President Miguel Arias
Anyone that purchased tickets in advance to the concerts will get a full refund, the website said.
Call to Cancel the Fair
In response to the news, Arias tweeted, “It’s time for the Big Fresno Fair Board of Directors to cancel the whole fair. We will not have a vaccine by October and a fair with thousands of attendees only serves as a COVID-19 ‘super spreader’ disaster. There is no need to put the public at risk.”
Arias told GV Wire℠ in a text message, “I will seek cancellation of our police service contract with the fair if they place our city’s public health at risk by operating as planned. Allowing a super spread event that replicates the current overrun on our hospitals would make the repeat closure and sacrifices that our small businesses have made pointless. The fair must do its part during this pandemic and place our City’s safety ahead of their pursuit for profits.”
The Big Fresno Fair contracts annually with the Fresno Police Department to oversee and work in conjunction with other fair security operations to ensure the safety of patrons. At any given time, there are between 60 – 80 police officers throughout the grounds and at the gates.
Stacy Rianda, Deputy Manager II, The Big Fresno Fair in a statement emailed to GV Wire℠ says, “The Big Fresno Fair is working through a spectrum of operational plans with the goal to bring some aspect of this beloved tradition to our community in a healthy and safe manner, as guided by local and State officials. Public safety is paramount to our Fair – a fact that does not waiver.”
The Fair is also updating their safety plans on a website detailing their modified plans.
“The Big Fresno Fair is working through a spectrum of operational plans with the goal to bring some aspect of this beloved tradition to our community in a healthy and safe manner, as guided by local and State officials.”–Stacy Rianda, Deputy Manager II, The Big Fresno Fair
It is time for @BigFresnoFair Board of Directors to cancel the whole fair. We will not have a vaccine by October and a fair with thousands of attendees only serves as a #Covid_19 “super spreader” disaster. There is no need to place the public at risk. @FresnoCountyCA @CAgovernor
— Miguel Arias (@MiguelArias_D3) July 13, 2020
County Health Department in Consultation with Fair
Fresno County interim Health Officer Dr. Rais Vohra said he and other members of the county’s environmental health team have met with the organizers of the Big Fresno Fair about whether the event should be held.
“We realized it was still a little bit too early to determine if the curve would be flat,” said Vohra. “I think that by the end of this month we’ll come to a decision.”
“We’re going to give ourselves a couple more weeks to see if we can pull this off. If we can’t then things like the big Fresno Fair will just need to be canceled this year.”–Dr. Rais Vohra, Fresno County interim Health Officer
The Big Fresno Fair board has the final say, however.
“I will tell you it won’t look like what it did last year – even if it does go on,” says Vohra. “We’re going to give ourselves a couple more weeks to see if we can pull this off. If we can’t, then things like the big Fresno Fair will just need to be canceled this year.”
Fresno County COVID-19 Cases Rising
According to the state’s COVID-19 website, Fresno County only has 23% of its ICU beds available. Over the last 14 days, hospitalizations for confirmed and suspected cases of COVID-19 have increased by 45.2% to 241.
11 more patients are in intensive care, bringing the total to 42. That’s a 35.5% increase in the last two weeks.
An overflow facility was opened last week in Porterville that can handle about 50 patients. Currently they have 15 COVID-19 patients.
Dr. Vohra says it’s very likely Fresno County will need to activate the Fresno convention center as a field hospital to house patients based as local hospitals continue to fill. The extent and capacity of the convention center operation will be determined on how much the state can help in terms of supplies and staff, Vohra said.
Michele
July 14, 2020 at 8:51 am
People who want to stay home should, let people have a choice. Constitutional rights
James D. Mendez
July 14, 2020 at 9:10 am
Given how the number of new COVID-19 cases is expanding there is no way that the Big Fresno Fair will be able to safely open. I enjoy the Fair but I agree with Miguel Arias that it needs to be closed this year. If the Fair Board is concerned about the welfare of the community they will close the Fair for this year.
BIl
July 14, 2020 at 4:14 pm
Miguel approves of open air dining, flea markets, farmers markets he even endorses protests that he himself has attended ( so long as it supports his marxist progressive anti- American ideology) .Arias would love nothing more than to destroy or what his sick ideology calls #CancelCulture where people like Miguel who hate Fresno wish to destroy tradition and churches a repainting of Fresno on a clean canvas free of positive history & tradition.
Even destroy the Fresno Historical Museum housed at the fairgrounds. There is no logic to his hypocritical radical soapbox except to control the history and traditions of a town he nor his family had a part in building or his father, uncles never contributed to defending as proud members of military representing g our town.
Why should we be shocked with Arias erractic behavior towards Fresno, here is a person using a fake apartment address in District 3 to run in a district away from the district in which he owns a home. A person who supports Sandra Celedon’s radical terrorist tweet #BurnItDown, who has made it clear he wants to defund the police.
Hopefully the Fairboard joins a long growing list of establishments suing the City of Fresno and their illogical reasoning.
Miguel you got your $90 million for SE and SW Fresno how about actually doing something that supports the economy of those areas. Fairgrounds is a economy generator for the businesses and vendors of that district.
Miguel and his cabal have no right making decisions on Fresno.. no sense in having people speak for it at City Council meeting he won’t allow you to speak or will censor you by cutting the microphone or berate you as he does to the Chief of Police Andy Hall.
Keep barking and snarling Arias you are nothing more than a lap dog chihuahua for you buddy Newsom.
Best of luck you will need it.
mgomez
July 15, 2020 at 9:10 am
The Big Fresno Fair will proceed as scheduled and Esmeralda Soria will make sure 100 code enforcement officers are on hand at all times to issue citations to the public.
Bill
July 19, 2020 at 3:58 pm
The same code enforcement shirking their responsibilities on the homeless encampments allowing environmental waste and fires to spread by Sorias street warriors polluting Fresno. Looting and trashing up businesses . Hey Soria and Arias send code enforcement to your district instead of harassing businesses in North end of Fresno.
Let’s see how they react when the lawsuits pile up vs. City of Fresno.
What happens when radical socialists from out of town with no experience operating a business come into local city council offices.
Didn’t work so well for LA city hall they were raided by the FBI for their underhanded dealings with Chinese investors resulting in 1 city Councilman Jose Huizar being arrested and indicted in an ongoing investigation going all the way up to Mayor Garcettis office.
You grab federal money expect audits and accountability.