Truth telling: A community in transition
Are we keeping up with our future?
Nearly two years ago, The New Valley Times asked the community to choose “which
Valley” we would leave behind for our children and future generations of
Central Valley residents.
Would it be a future filled with double-digit unemployment, declining per capita
income, underperforming schools and poor air quality? Would we watch as other
regions transformed themselves by taking control of their future, improving
their quality of life by attracting our best and brightest workforce, and
capitalizing on the economic prosperity that could be ours? Or would we do
something about it?
The first issue of The New Valley Times provided a futuristic vision set in the
year 2015 and offered a realistic set of goals for an improved community. It
boasted an involved citizenry whose collaborative efforts and commitment to
community values made a difference on every front to obtain the quality of life
we all desire.
How are we doing? Are we on course so far? Is there measurable progress? Or have
we gotten bogged down by the challenges and negativity that contributed to our
region’s struggles in the first place?
The promise
The promise made by The New Valley Times in 2004 was to report regularly on the
various aspects of our region’s progress — both positive and negative. The
Regional Jobs Initiative (RJI) identified measurable quality-of-life indicators
that were determined to most greatly affect the region’s ability to advance
competitively and provide a benchmark for future evaluation. These factors
include transportation/mobility, environmental/resources, culture/recreation,
education, economy, housing, health/safety and innovation.
The publication
The New Valley Times Community Report is a current-day indicator report
developed by the RJI Livability Task Force to spotlight the measurable
information that demonstrates our region’s progress toward improvement. Guided
by the RJI and made possible by the Fresno Business Council, Fresno State and
the Fresno Regional Foundation, this issue of The New Valley Times is intended
to educate, inspire and call our community to action. It will help us look at
who we are today and view the trends that determine what we will look like in
the future.
The progress
Fueled by hundreds of volunteers seeking to improve our region, the community’s
mind-set has already begun to shift from “It can’t happen here” to “It is
happening here” — a shift that is energizing citizen activism and stewardship,
and bringing about new levels of cooperation between government, business and
the nonprofit sector.
Many are adhering to the community’s set of values outlined in the first issue
of The New Valley Times — a list of standards and expectations to guide local
leaders and task forces in the transformation of our region. (Never
underestimate what a community can do when it commits to a plan!
Stewardship has achieved a higher profile, as decision-makers put community
interest over self-interest, and work collaboratively to solve problems. These
leaders inspire us to be more than we thought we could be, creating higher
expectations and more sustainable results than when we focus on our
limitations.
And the region is attracting change agents who are connecting and leveraging
resources to help families and children thrive in our community.
These and other small successes can lead to significant progress in alleviating
poverty and improving education, the economy, the local workforce and our
overall quality of life. Are you seeing the signs of community improvement?
Reading the following pages may open your eyes to the progress being made, open
your heart to the challenges still before us and help you find ways to
personally contribute to the improvement.
This “Community Report” and the original “2015” issues of The New Valley Times
are available for viewing online at www.newvalleytimes.com
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