Greetings friends,
We live in an amazing place, filled with natural beauty. We live in a place that is adjacent to some of the most scenic vistas in the world. During the last few months, people from all over have been making their way to Modesto to see the almond blossom magic, rivalling the cherry blossoms in Washington DC and Japan. Now, it’s spring and it has sprung. We have fallen ahead to daylight saving time and our evenings are more beautiful than ever. More time to play, stroll, ride, climb, run, ride and enjoy a twilight dinner on a downtown patio. It’s just breathtaking isn’t it?
How do we make Modesto the place that that it can be. What do people want? How do we get our ideas through? How do we fund what we want? Many of us rallied to get Measure H passed, and it did. Now, Modesto has a unique chance to change our community forever. We are looking for safety. We are looking for better sidewalks. We want to address the homeless issues. We want more park rangers. We want new gathering spaces and parks. And most importantly, we want to take care of what we have and make it better. You couldn’t ask for a better time to celebrate Earth Day. It’s not one thing that makes Modesto better; it is many things, many organizations and groups all working in the same direction.
ModestoView works very hard to promote the positive things happening in our community. These events, businesses and activities are all connected to each other. Measure H funding succeeds when we spend our dollars locally. Local business you support are our lifeblood. For one example: Local taxes fund music in schools. These taxes also fund an improved Graceada Park. These two things, plus generous donations from our community are what make MoBand possible in the summer for families to enjoy in the park. Music in the schools and picnic in the park are all connected. Our park rangers make our parks safer and then more people use them and we stop for food and drink on the way to a picnic and it all is connected. When our city looks better, when people visit from out of town, thanks to the efforts of Visit Modesto, people enjoy what they see, spend their money here and even stay a while. It’s all connected.
Supporting local businesses is key. These are our friends and neighbors. Our friends at Intrinsic Elements turn 15 this month. We are excited to see the return of Sideline’s and the great memories and live music that comes with it. Let’s learn our history as our traditions are key. Now is the time to make sure that live music becomes a bigger part of our community. Off the Air is on the air again, Music In the Plaza kicks off in May and there are some great talent shows at the State Theatre this month and kids keep learning to rock at VMI and fourth graders are learning how to play trumpets and violins in school and one year olds are learning synthesizer.
Let’s embrace what makes us beautiful, energetic, creative and be a place where people want to visit, live and raise a family. I know my family had great opportunities here in Modesto and we are having so much fun with our grandkids. Hopefully yours does too. It’s up to us to make this a better place, get involved, tell the city what you want and let’s make sure it happens. We the people are the catalyst to make a difference. I know ModestoView readers are THE BEST.
Thanks for reading and being a messenger for a positive community.
With Gratitude,
Chris Murphy, Founder & Publisher- ModestoView
chrism@modestoview.com<mailto:chrism@modestoview.com>
Read my Measure H editorial in the Bee from October 2022 in the Modesto Bee.
www.modbee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/article267652932.html
