Restaurants and food trucks can coexist if there is a fair policy | Opinion

Restaurant vs. food truck

Imagine signing a lease for your dream restaurant in Fresno – only to discover weeks later your landlord approved a food truck selling nearly identical food just steps away, undercutting your prices. This recently happened to a local small business owner, blindsided by a competitor allowed on the same property without their consent.

There was no lease warning of this, leaving the tenant vulnerable to lost sales and confused customers. This problem isn’t unique to Fresno; commercial tenants nationwide often lack protections against landlords enabling direct competitors on shared property.

Some say all mobile food vendors should be banned near restaurants in high-foot-traffic zones. But context matters. Events like farmers markets bring multiple vendors — even with overlapping menus —but are time-limited, pre-approved, and planned with local merchants, boosting business during slow hours. This is very different from surprise or permanent vendors allowed by landlords without tenant input.

To fix this, I proposed the Commercial Tenant Fair Competition Act. It would require landlords to disclose and get written consent before allowing direct competitors nearby. Tenants could then renegotiate or end leases if conflicts arise.

Food trucks are vital to Fresno’s food scene. We need fair policies that protect all vendors.

– Bryan J. Alonso Garcia, Fresno

Clean Water Act

The federal Clean Water Act became law more than 50 years ago with the goal of making sure all public waters are safe for people and wildlife. This law was needed because water pollution had become a widespread problem that was threatening public health and natural areas. Every living creature needs clean water to survive. Protecting water from pollution is common sense. The only way to make sure our water stays clean in an industrialized world is to regulate it, plain and simple.

The bad news is that decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court and President Trump have weakened these protections in recent years. The good news is that California has a chance to pass The Right to Clean Water Act (SB 601), which would restore essential clean water regulations for our state. Please join me in sending a clear message to Senator Anna Caballero. We are counting on our state leaders to right this wrong!

– Jahari Garcia, Sanger

Don’t close prison

In yet another move to make our state even more dangerous, Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed to shutter yet another prison. all because of his total mishandling of our tax dollars. But, we have a train to nowhere and a tremendous amount of unaccounted money for unhoused citizens. Then to make matters worse, he will blame the president for all of the problems we have financially in California.

How did this happen in 100 days? This didn’t happen overnight. It has accumulated over many years of his governorship and has finally come to ahead. We have sent a clear message to criminals that we don’t care if you break the law because we don’t have any place to put you, when we do get you, we don’t keep you. We let you go because you’ve been a nice person in jail.

If anything we need to build more prisons to house our criminals in a humane manner. If we do this then, maybe they’ll figure out what do the crime do the time really means. Not just a vacation to get in shape and attend the gladiator academy our system has become.

– Duane Opie, Fresno

Praise for WWII section

I am a grandma, aged 91 years. When I received my Fresno Bee on 5/11 with the attachment entitled “Remembering Our Triumph,” I started reading it and could not put it down. When World War II ended in 1945, I was a young girl of 11 years and living with my family in Pittsburgh, PA.

I remember the sirens and whistles but I never understood what was happening. During my “growing up” years, the war was always portrayed to me in books, movies and TV.

“Remembering Our Triumph” is a wonderful 24-page article explaining the entire war. It depicts the wonderful courage and tremendous skill of the many wonderful men who outwitted the enemy. The article was written in a “layman’s skill” to be understood by all. I am saving it for my grandchildren. Thank you.

– Joanne Hawkins, Fresno