Fresno Famous

Tommy

Tommy Tower pretty much summed up everything I was thinking while reading the comments, and put it into words with much more wisdom and experience than I could ever muster.

While I don't like strip malls or anything aesthetically or "culturally" about North Fresno, I can understand why and how the city has turned out this way. It's unfortunate but we all need to get over ourselves, stop whining about the SUVs and conservatives, and work with what we've got, which could be a lot worse.

This town has lots of prosperity and CREATIVITY, which everyone seems to be seeking although I think the definition is a little misunderstood.

Sadly, I think what most people really desire, although they would never admit or even be aware of it, is more affluent people. Not necessarily white people, but they want the things that come with affluence. This is one of the poorest regions in the country! I'm not sure something like this is easily solved.

Being able to walk wherever you need to go isn't going to solve the city's problems. We're still lacking the industry and high-paying jobs. The most universally desirable jobs seem to be in health care or education. And to me that is much of what makes Fresno depressing. It seems all there is to do is go to school and go to the hospital.

I don't think any of us knows how to correct this or we would have done so by now! We have lots of resources and leadership needs to get cracking, but Fresno's problems are profound and complicated. Our city may have lacked good leadership over the years, but I think most of the Fresno haters are asking for miracles.

To top it off, it seems the valley has a population problem that is only going to get more dramatic. I think things like the high speed rail from SF to LA can potentially help Fresno. We can use as much outside money as possible.

Everyone here seems to want URBAN qualities in this most obviously and historically RURAL region. This sort of baffles me, although I understand and share much of the attraction.

Maybe as the world gets smaller digitally, it can get smaller physically with innovations like the rail system. I also would like to see Fresno take the lead on certain research and technology issues such as the environment. We need SOMETHING that can make use of the geniuses this city does in fact produce.

We need to stop being selfish and wishing for more entertainment and nightlife when what we really want is prettier, smarter people to hang out with. Just admit it already! I feel so bad writing this but that's what it seems like to me.

All this being said. I like Fresno and doubt I will ever move, definitely not anytime soon (who would hire me!?). I like to think I have a grip on reality, and truly enjoy every day I spend here. A lot can be done to make this place better, I think, but I think it's silly to expect SF pt. II in grape land. Maybe the big quake will hit SF or LA after all and Fresno real estate will where it's at!! Bring on the floods!

Sorry,

You mentioned Mark Arax - check this out!

Click on this link:

http://marlalk.wordpress.com/2008/08/19/open-letter-to-mark-arax-fresno-...

thanks for all the thoughtful commentary...

I'm sorry to be getting back to this blog so late after the commentary! Between the usual summer craziness and the black-yellow color scheme, it took me a while to get back! ;)

But...I really appreciate what everyone brought to this conversation.

I agree that all of us need to keep contributing to the community in whatever ways we can... For me, though, I have to admit that change has seemed maddeningly slo-o-o-ow at times.

__________________________
A Great Place to Live: F-No!

great!!

I agree that an open process is the right thing to do. Can't wait to hear some of the great things the DTA has planned. Knowing several of the new board members, I get the sense that great things are on the horizon. Good Luck!!

Abe Lopez

I'll be posting soon for all to see

your chance to contribute, take part, and most of all make a difference in this community.

I'm talking about the Downtown Association of Fresno. I'll be making an effort to bridge the gap and help keep Fresno informed on the developments of the DTA. I had to check first to make sure I could post about the goings on with the DTA and it's plans. I have the go ahead, we want to be in touch with the people we serve. It's been my contention that there should be a very open feel to the way things are done by city council or any body who's efforts are in the communities interests.

Since joining the DTA I have learned that I have taken on a history of a lot of talk and not a lot of action. That is history though, and I know for the new group of board members, they have ambition and are motivated. I got an email from Jan Minami, sent at 5am. Now that's commitment. It's silly to think things will change over night, but I know that I can report that at least there are people VOLUNTEERING their time like me, who's aim is to bring about change and progress for Downtown Fresno.

I'm in the midst of writing another post on this subject. I thought I might introduce it here a bit, and report on Brain Gain like someone above, or below depending on your settings, stated.

Diablo

Quality compensating for quantity

Fortunately for Fresno, I live here, and although I must confess to only having one brain, it is a powerful engine room capable of offsetting the loss of many intelligent people.

In my opinion, the single most significant improvement that could be made to Fresno (well, outside of Google moving their HQ here) would be for the air to be clean such that one could see the mountains year round. Aside from the obvious health benefits to our lungs, the mental and emotional boost would be profound.

What we must do is become the nation's - nay, the world's - most creatively cutting edge city in terms of going green. And you can forget about everyone riding bicycles; even if you forced people to use them, many would die in the summer heat as they peddled along Blackstone.

So, we're going to need to create a mechanism that allows people's cars to run on something that doesn't pollute the air or a filter that prevents gas-powered vehicles from polluting the air.

Truly, this will be no small task, and I anticipate much opposition. We're going to need the best scientists and engineers we can find, and we'll need a proper facility in which for them to slave away. Also, they'll want Bunsen burners and what-not, so we'll need to come up with funds for such things.

I'm a busy man so I can't do this alone - I need qualified people I can trust to whom I can delegate important tasks. The following positions are now open:

- Chief Personnel Officer (you find the right scientists and engineers; human resource skills a plus)

- Chief Resource Officer (you're good at finding and acquiring things like test tubes, facilities, etc.; basically whatever the technical people need)

- Chief Financial Officer (in addition to the traditional tasks of a CFO, you're also in charge of fund raising)

Naturally, I'm the CEO of this operation, which for now we'll call the Green Manhattan Project ("GMP"; if you have a better idea for a name, do share).

Please send applications for the aforementioned positions to me and once we have the officers in place, we'll move to Phase II.

Yours,
Famous Amos

I'm part of the Brain Gain*

And I've never had a conversation close to what "Famous Guest" is talking about since I moved here in 2002 from the Bay Area.

*props to Blake Jones on that one.

Fresnans/Generalizations/Inclusiveness

I'd like to address the post that's one or two down or up from this from a "Famous Guest"

It accused Fresnans of being non-inclusive and hung-up in affiliations that go way back hometown style to their high schools.
----Yes, I could see this being a problem. In a town whose population is less city-to-city mobile than some, you'll find folks who've been hanging out with the same crew for 20 years.
Here's my best advice:
VOLUNTEER.
Organizations are always hurting for volunteers---this could be anything from coaching soccer to helping run the Rogue Festival. Truly. You get involved as a volunteer; you show that you can get the job done, you are IN. Shoot, you'll be running the
Arts Festival/Homeless Feeding Organization/Kitten Saving organization (or whatever floats your boat) within a short while.
MANY MANY of the folks who work in the Rogue Festival (just one example) are from 'somewhere else'.

If people have been rude, not returned calls or have not been kind conversationalists, I'm sorry for you, but I find that part silly to categorize as particularly Fresnan. Rudeness exists worldwide, but so does kindness.

Hook up with something you love. Pursue it with passion. Things will happen. People will wish to work alongside you.

As Andy pointed out a post or two ago, Fresno still feels small enough to feel like your efforts could make a difference. And they can.

Am I being defensive...

...if I tell you that you're just making stuff up now?

The arguments are circular; let some air in.

Brain drain. Has anyone noticed the number of out of state, foreign and Bay Area brains getting hired and moving INTO the area?

Do you know what *they* are saying? They are saying this is a tight-knit area where people only talk to their friends from high school and CSUF, where they don't call back, where people make plans and then cancel at the last minute, where conversations (and discussions like this one) revolve around old news, high school rehashes, and group affiliations that don't include newcomers.

They say people are defensive, instead of being gracious hosts. They see the unavailablity of information as a reflection of the desire to retain power and control.

It ain't what you got/don't got...it's how you ARE about it. If you'd get over the rehash of old discussions/arguments and actually take the risk to meet new people, not change the subject when they talk about something you don't know...and let someone else set the agenda, for a change, the whole place would change.

Fresno/Clovis has a habit of measuring themselves by themselves--defining excellence in terms of who's below them and drowning out the sound of the rest of the world.

The world is here and filling the local brain positions. Lead, follow...

or get out of the way. Change is inevitable.

I Think

I do think there is a lot to do in Fresno, much more then I can do or afford to do in one day. I do think the spread out nature of the town makes it sometimes hard to find it. One thing is happening in the Tower, another downtown, and yet another near Fresno State. The internet has made it much easier to find out what is going on around town but the town doesn't have the energy I think you would have if it what more vertically built and closer together. We cannot change the past and how Fresno (and every other town grew during the 60's -80's but we need to work harder at creating higher density and quality buildings instead of more strip malls and single family homes. I think Fresno despite its diversity needs to be more tolerant of each other.
I do think think Fresno is beginning to make this change and like you said someone has to be at the forefront of the culture that is at work here. That is one thing I do like about Fresno: It still feels small enough that you can make a change if you want to work at it enough.

Frankly?

Carolyn says:
And frankly, it's not a very fun place to live for a twenty-something.

I can tell you right now that as a twenty-something myself, I've had a fantastic time living in Fresno.

And what's with people claiming and/or implying that Fresno lacks a vibrant culture?

I consider myself an artist and I haven't had any problems whatsoever finding inspiration for what I do.

At some point, San Francisco was only a village with a mission and a fort. Someone had to be the forefront of the culture that grew there.

I do agree that Fresno is not perfect and things could definitely be incentivized but it takes hard work and time and money to build something. It also takes demand. One doesn't open a hammer store in a neighborhood full of painters. The people who want a great night life have to convince business owners that it's worth their while to stay open. The people who want boutiques and restaurants and whatever other businesses to exist have to patronize the ones that are around to prove there's a market for them.

No Carolyn is Not the Problem

Bright, creative knowledge workers like Carolyn look for location to live first and job second. These creative types crave a vibrant locale in order to be creative in their life and work. It is natural for her to leave Fresno to find the type of place that provides this for her.
I am glad she is keeping tabs on Fresno and the region as it slowly tries to create a place that may attract the next Carolyn that lives here either by birth or for school. This next Carolyn may find our efforts here have succeeded in keeping her creative juices flowing. Fresno needs a variety of entertainment options, living options, and lifestyle choices in order to do this.
I did leave Fresno for twelve years and came back to be closer to family. I did take a serious pause before moving back as I knew the problems of Fresno but I also knew the great things about it as well. I am involved in helping to create Fresno into a better place,and have met some great people in doing so, but, you have to want to do this and cannot do it only out of obligation. I am also farther along in my life then Carolyn is both in age and in having kids so perhaps my motivations to help Fresno have changed over time.
It would be great to have knowledge workers like Carolyn staying and helping to build a great Fresno for my kids but everyone needs to do what is best for themselves.

Re: Finally, we're talking about this

People like you are the very reason Fresno has problems. You demand that people in Fresno "start doing something about [the problems]." Only, rather than pitch-in and help, you took off. Now, how exactly did that contributition make Fresno a better place?

The fact is, if you want Fresno be a better place, you have to live here and make it happen. Don't rely on the government to create some sort of top-down mandate that better jobs be created, or a better nightclub, or whatever your flavor happens to be. And if your dream job doesn't exist here, you can always create it. This is America, after all. True, you have to deal with California's sometimes asinine laws, but David McDonald seemed to be able to pull down a cool half-a-billion dollars in little old Clovis.

It's also not particularly helpful to take the condescending and selfish position that if Fresno wants you back, it must do something for you. Shouldn't the question be, what are you doing for Fresno? Yes, I'm almost certain I heard something like that before...

And to avoid any confusion, let's be clear. I'm not writing off any criticism of Fresno. It's a well known fact that Fresno has warts. But what have you done to improve this place?

I suppose that's a challenge to everyone out there, not just the previous poster. Every liberal, self-aware, college-educated Fresnan who moves away, is essentially ceding this wonderful place to the very people who are destroying it. Rather than make things better, we retreat to some other "cool" place (made cool by a bunch of other individuals who didn't run) and assuage our bitterness with cynicism. But somewhere, deep down, you still care. If you didn't, you wouldn't be on this website. So do something about it.

Criticism is okay, but it's pointless without action.

Finally, we're talking about this.

It's been fun reading this thread. I always think it's interesting that some people's first reaction when anyone criticizes Fresno is to write them off or make an excuse for them having that perspective. Sometimes the truth hurts, folks, but the only way to fix a problem is to first acknowledge it.

I'm not particularly ashamed to say that my husband and I have contributed to the Fresno "brain drain." When your priority is launching your career, the decision of where to live is very much a business decision. Cost of living versus quality of life and career opportunities. Fresno just can't compare to most major (and some minor) cities when it comes to career options, cultural offerings and lifestyle. And frankly, it's not a very fun place to live for a twenty-something. It's a great place to raise a family, but most young professionals are not focused on having children yet.

If you want to attract young professionals, you have to offer them what they want and need. If you want me to move back, create some good non-service-sector jobs, get rid of the over-40-only management culture, work on city planning based on data instead of which developer has the deepest pockets, curb the massive sprawl that has made the city less livable than ever, and get your act together when it comes to downtown redevelopment and nightlife. It sounds like a lot to ask, but so many cities have done these things already, and with great success. Why Fresno can't get its act together is beyond me.

Thanks for raising the issue, all. Keep talking about it, but more importantly, start doing something about it.

How many of you went to Hands across Fresno?

I thought it was a good example of Fresno's lack of leadership and commitment to the area.
I figured the City would have done more for the block party.

To a certain extent, every

To a certain extent, every region that is not home to a global city suffers brain drain. To be sure, Fresno has a serious case of it. But the opinions reflected in the "study" are hardly representative. I don't know who was conducting the interviews, but most of the subjects of the interview are all friends of each other. How's that for a small sample size?

Of course people leave Fresno to go to school. If you're a doctor in Fresno, you had to go to school somewhere else. A lot of lawyers went to San Joaquin, but most around town did not. If you have a PhD, I'll bet that you lived somewhere else.

The problem I have with the resposnes (aside from the assumption that the subjects would have stayed in Fresno if presented with the option) is that they merely repeat stereotypical, knee-jerk liberal reactions that the rest of the state holds so dear. Obviously, stereotypes have kernel of truth. But to say that the reason Fresno has brain drain is because of its conservative values is a gross oversimplification (I should note that I am not a conversative). To be sure, Fresno, like all towns, could benefit from a larger philharmonic (which we have and which recently received a very large donation from a Pelco executive), or theater scene, or ballet, or whatever other artistic events you like.

The real issue is a lack of jobs. We have an unemployment rate roughly twice the national average. Now, is out economy retarded becase of the lack of college-educated residents (who, the argument goes, leave the area because of a lack of cultural activities)? You could also argue that California's strict environmental policies, ridiculously high income taxes, and employee-friendly laws combine to prevent new growth in a way that the sun-belt states do not.

Moreover, what about the college-educated people who come to Fresno because of its values? Do they count?

I don't want to say that Fresno is without problems. It has serious problems. I hate the sprawl and the impotent city council. I'm certainly not a fan of the fundamentalist bible-thumpers who divide our community and soil my faith. But I think Fresno should reflect the vision of people who are willing to live here, not of those who have foresaken it.

As for me, Fresno is my home. I was born here and I will die here. I've spent enough of my life in other cities and countries to know that it is a special place, nestled against the national parks and surrounded by richest farmland in America. It is integrated in a way that large cities are not. It's also the underdog. These are the reasons I work to see Fresno thrive. I don't merely wish it change from a safe distance. I'm here, everyday, with my hands right in this tangled, nasty mess. I invite you to do the same.

I should also add that I know exactly what the authors of valleynotebook are feeling. My years of living elsewhere made my longing for Fresno more intense. Interestingly, it was tri-tip that brought me back. To the authors, I would suggest the two Mark Arax books In My Father's Name and The King of California as good food for thought. I'm looking forward to contributing to their site. What's more, I hope they return to Fresno when they finish with whatever school they seem to be attending. I did and it was the best move of my life. Fresno is a place that desperately needs professionals. The other cities will be fine without you, but your presence in Fresno will make a tremendous impact (in a positive way). This town needs its best and brightest to return, much in the same way that third-world countries need their best and brightest to return home. It needs people to celebrate the good and fight the bad.

One thing is certain, you can't change anything if you aren't here.

change

559rell wrote
"There are major differences in wanting to be a part of the efforts for change and wanting to enjoy the benefits of change in your lifetime."

I agree rell, there is a major difference. There are those of us that want to make things happen, then there are those that just want to enjoy the changes others have made. I have no problem with people leaving and looking for greener pastures, more power to them. I just don't think leaving "problems" unfixed is a good way to live your life. I think there are things in life you will have to fight for, otherwise there is a good chance you will always be chasing the easy way out of things.

Abe Lopez

Well Said Thereminman

I like what you said Thereminman. In regards to a variety of living options I had a Planning Commissioner tell me that people want single family homes and not row houses or lofts. I think the people have never been offered them so how would they know if they would want them or not?
If people were asked "Do you want to be in a higher density home?" most would imagine a slum filled crime ridden ghetto. If they were instead offered a home where you could get to work, restaurants , bars , schools, parks, and concerts without having to own a second car as well as not having a large yard to take care of, I think you would get more people interested.
Home developers are reluctant to offer anything else but single family homes as they think they will not be able to sell these other options. With gasoline prices going nowhere but up, I think the developers will have a hard time selling single family homes tucked away from the center of town in the very near future.

brain drain

I think this is one of the most fascinating and interesting
Subjects around here.
It more or less gets to common heart shared by
FresnoFamous/Undercurrent/RogueFestival/KFSR/KFCF/
FresnoArtsCounil/CreativeFresno/etcetc.

City Building:
I think it’s interesting how people have mentioned transportation,
flatness, and spread-out-ness. Obviously, the way we develop
our town affects the ability to create synergy in the creative art
scene.----more jam-packed towns like San Francisco are able
to generate that sort of energy. A huge mega-lo-polis like Los
Angeles, though it has plenty of people, and plenty of creative
people, has a harder time with that same pursuit (though they
Have, apparently, gotten better at it, with some specific neighborhoods
becoming hotspots [not unlike us in our own Suburban Situation].

Going away:
I’d recommend it . Not necessarily forever, but going out, experiencing
the world…..If folks return, they bring wider horizons and new perspectives.
In-bred minds just don’t come up with new ideas as fast , nor are they accepting
of them. I hope that my children go away for college. Selfishly, I hope they
then settle nearby---but whatever, I hope the best for them.
[one can be open-minded and not all travel-ey;
folks can also travel and remain close-minded;
but, for most folks, I believe, mixing it up in places with people who are different than what they're used to....is important for bringing in new ideas]

Attracting folks:
Yeah, the hope is, that the more we can work to transform our town, the more
attractive it will be for people/businesses to settle here and continue the transformation.
And I’m not talking “make everyone just like me”, I’m sure that those that prefer
the suburban life style will have plenty of natural habitat left, I just think
the folks that want more than that should keep on developing *their* habitat.
Like…was it Abe?..said: it’s about more choices.

I really think we're on the way. As one commentor pointed out, things have changed quite a bit since 2000....let's just keep that momentum going---or, as per another, let's maybe even speed it up so we can live to enjoy it! (laughs)

I agree also Fresno leadership needs to stop living in the past.

Instead of building up and do real lofts and high rises Fresno stays flat.
Trouble is Fresno's Leadership, City, County, School Board, Office of Education, Fresno State all live in the past.
Some are stuck in the 50's and some in the 40's.
Also the transportation here bites.
You can't go anywhere late at night on buses and on weekends the service is horrible.
If you want to go Downtown at night you need to take cab or get a ride.
I see people bringing trash on the bus. Big bags filling seats.
The Downtown Courthouse park has no security at night.
Who would want to sit out there waiting for a bus?
Also on Sundays they come from the swap meet with live birds and chickens.
Your not allowed to have chickens in the City why are they allowed on the bus?
Buses are dirty and never on time.
Cabs cost too much.
It's better to relax at home then go out.
Even living near Downtown you can't get around much on weekends and have to catch bus by 5 or 530 to make sure you get home.
There are a few 6 o clock last buses but you dont want to get stuck.

Sorry Abe, I disagree...

I don't find it at all cowardly to leave Fresno for better horizons.

There are major differences in wanting to be a part of the efforts for change and wanting to enjoy the benefits of change in your lifetime.

I'm with you, in the sense that I want to build Fresno up to what I think it should be, but I totally understand someone leaving now to enjoy good pay, thriving arts and entertainment districts, smarter crowds, and a solid infrastructure while they are still in their prime.

At the rate we're going, we won't see Fresno the way that we think it should be for another decade. That's fine for me, because I want to be a part of the process, but for somebody that just wants to enjoy these things completely and while they are still 20-somethings, you've got to pack up and go...or take a lot of trips out of town on a regular basis.

Examples:

1) I love what Reza Assemi has created with his loft projects, but in the Bay Area, you can live in a five-story version, smack-dab in the middle of a thriving artistic and entertaining environment. The loft crowd in Fresno is playing the waiting game.

2) In other major cities, the hot spots are lined up within blocks of each other and public transportation can get you there and back home without much hassle. I believe one of the main reasons our drunk driving problem is so bad is because the bars and clubs are dabbled all over the place and it's tough to get to and from these places without a car. I couldn't count how many times I've heard bar/club hoppers talking about hitting up another spot in the same night and debating over going because of how far they'd have to drive to get there.

3) Synergy is missing, within the Cultural Arts Community in Fresno. Out here, we love creating a new website, community, or organization because somebody else isn't totally doing it right. Everybody suffers in this way, as it takes longer for things to come together with everybody building their own versions of everything. We're all over the place.

If Fresno were as smart as it should be, there'd be less websites covering the same issues, we'd be a smaller city (land-wise) with a much better infrastructure because of smarter/denser developments, and we wouldn't be worried about how something develops or redeveloped because the standard would have been set a long time ago.

As things are now,

I support what is here now, but it isn't as convenient or as fun as it could be if these things were the way they should be. I have a feeling that I'll be in or nearing my forties as things are where I truly want them to be.

I don't blame any smart individual for pursuing real and better opportunities elsewhere, but I also appreciate the smart people that stay and try to fix things.

There nothing and everything to do in Fresno, but it's kind of hit-and-miss out here. Elsewhere, if you know what you're doing, there's never a dull moment.

~Rell www.myspace.com/559rell www.myspace.com/trellthareallamane (music production)

mental hemorrhage

i think it's a pretty cool idea that they're collecting this info. it can help us all improve fresno if it doesn't just turn into a bash fresno situation.

in reading the responses, two things stood out to me:
-the questions may lead one to negative answers. like, you left, there must have been something wrong, tell us.
-it seemed like most of the respondents, so far, left before 2000. not that fresno has completely reinvented itself in the last 8 years, but there has been significant change. i'd be curious to read responses from people that left in the last 1-3 years.

one question, isn't it common for people to leave their hometown to go to college, no matter where they're originally from? it seems that most of these people left to go to school and didn't come back.

The newest and biggest

The newest and biggest economic driver in the world are what has been termed knowledge workers. These are the creative employees such as computer programmers, scientists, artists ,musicians, and an outer core like lawyers, teachers and those in the health care industry. These tend to be desirable higher paying jobs and a great asset to any community. They also tend to be jobs that the worker desires a vibrant and diverse place in order to bring out their creative juices useful in their chosen field. They will pick a location that spurs this creativity even before they choose the employer. In order to attract these valuable workers to your community we need to make Fresno a vibrant place to live with alternative living and lifestyle options. Currently we don't have many housing options except single family dwellings. No row houses, very few loft style houses ( Vagabond, H St. Lofts), and just the beginning of mixed use choices.
In these responses on Valley Notebook, there was mention of needing a more tolerant area then what the valley and its conservative ag roots lend itself to. Clovis Unified School District has probably the strictest dress code of any public school district in California. They have rules for how long males hair can be, length of skirts and shorts on females, no tattoos etc. Could this hyper strict code be driving all of these young creative brains out of the Fresno region for a more tolerant and diverse area of the country? Quite a few of those responding were from Clovis High Schools. One mentioned how the rote memorization at Clovis Unified was a negative.

change

I completely agree with oneoftheguys' statement on how to bring about change.

Specifically when it comes to downtown issues. Downtown won't change until people stop talking about changing downtown and start supporting those that are already trying to change it.

Me and a couple of my buddies did a little partying downtown on Friday night. We were the only three people at all three spots that we hit. And these were places that most people on here think are "cool" places. There are people are trying to make a "better" urban lifestyle here in Fresno, it's up to us to support them every chance we get.

Its not about conservative or progressive or any of that stuff. Its about choices, if the Tower Dist or Riverpark is where you decide to spend your money, thats fine. But remember that is what your chose to do. Just like the people that chose to move instead of making change come about. They are not better or worse than the people that fled the problems of an urban setting and started the mass migration to the suburbs. They chose that moving was less of a hassle than fixing the issues they wanted changed. I don't know about you guys, but I don't find their insight inspiring, I find it cowardly.

Abe Lopez

At the risk of sounding cliche

Ghandi is credited with saying, "you must be the change you want to see in the world."

There it is. You don't like the way things are, do something. I don't have a lot of money but I went to the Undercurrent birthday bash last night, paid the $10 cover and bid on a couple things at the silent auction.

When I go to live shows, I try to buy music from the bands that perform. I try to make it to art hop.

Why? Because I want to support those things and those people.

If you want cultural, artistic, and/or political change in a place, then you have to either support it, or do it. It's pretty effin' simple.

It's insulting to show up in a forum like this and say you can't wait to get out of here. Why not remember some of the things that made your town in Montana so great and implement them?

Clovis High School

I enjoyed reading the responses on Brain Drain. A lot of the responses were what I would also assume people feel about the Fresno area.
I would like to see a better cross section of people responding , though. The age range was 25-27 and all but one responder went to a Clovis High School. I left Fresno at the age of 26 but returned years later for family reasons. I would like to see if more people return as their family situation changed. Several responders stated they may return for because of a family illness or to raise a family. I believe only one had a child.
The facts that the Fresno area has a car, strip mall and conservative culture was spot on and is where I feel the areas needs to greatly improve upon.

thanks for saying what i've

thanks for saying what i've been thinking for the last 5 months i've lived here! i moved here from a liberal college town in montana and i hate to say it, but i can't wait to leave fresno.