12/4/09 AVID Friday

Well, you'd think that after a busy week, I'd have had a great night of sleep. No dice, too much to think about or worry over to bother with sleep. I finally decided to get up about 4:15 and go for a jog with the dog. It felt good to get out into the morning air.




It was great to see the Bee's coverage the urban entrepreneurship students' presentations. Thanks for the great story Sandy Nax and the photo Mark Crosse!



http://www.fresnobee.com/business/story/1735392.html?qwxq=6658250&pageNum=1&&mi_pluck_action=page_nav#Comments_Container

Why are the people who comment on the Bee articles so incredibly negative?  Wouldn't you think that people would be encouraging when they see a group of young people who are interested in their community?  It's beyond my understanding.

9:00 I met with Council Member Xiong and his assistant Kyle Loreto, along with Wilma Quan or Urban Planning Specialist. Out meeting with to give the Councilmember an update on the upcoming items that will be coming to the City Council on December 17th: Specific Plan, Downtown Development Incentives, Hotel Fresno lawsuit, Freeway Signage approval.



10:00 Our department signed up for a webinar from the International Downtown Association. The webinar featured Friend of Fresno Rebecca Ryan. The focus was on the role of downtowns as attractions for young professionals. A revitalized downtown that is an entertainment district is a key reason for young people to stay or come back to a community as well as to draw new, young talent. 20 people attended, mostly members of Fresno's Leading Young Professionals and Creative Fresno.



12:45-2:30 I spoke to two AVID classes at Tenaya Middle School (Advancement Via Individual Determination) and the definition for avid is listed as eager for knowledge.



The students and I talked about: doing what you love, interested is interesting and bored is boring, college is REALLY fun so you should work hard to get there, we're working hard to revitalize downtown so that they have fun stuff to do when they get a little older.



3:00 Elliott Balch and I met with Paul and Cherie Fountaine at the Warnors Theater. Paul and Cherie are managing the Warnors and we are hopeful that they will also want to promote other downtown events too. We all know that the Warnors is an incredible facility and want Paul and Cherie to have huge success.



4:00 Elliott and I met with Mr. Edward Fanucchi a local attorney, downtown property owner and former Honorary Vice Consul of Italy. Mr. Fanucchi was the latest property owner to sign onto the Property Based Improvement District! We also discussed the other revitalization efforts and even the possibility of a Little Italy weekend on the Fulton Mall.



5:00 I recapped the week with Elliott Balch, Amy Huerta and Elaine Robles, 3 of our department's managers. We have so many balls in the air that our coordination and communication are very important. We also have to communicate our way through the ups and downs of the current and future budget realities.



7:00 My wife and I went to the Bullard football game. Go Knights! Great victory for the Fresno team.