Breaking News!

Thanks again for joining us in the Foster and Panda newsroom! This is Foster, and it looks like we’re receiving a transmission from our reporter, Panda, who is on location at Fig Garden Village here in Fresno! Let’s see what he has to say.Thanks, Foster! I’m here in front of Mom and Aunt Gail’s favorite Starbucks, and it’s now open, with some modifications. Let me show you what I mean.It appears you can do a mobile order, and they will come out and bring you your coffee. If you aren’t that “tech-savvy”, you can wait and they will let you in, one person at a time, to order and pay. Then you wait outside until they bring it to you.

Wow, Panda, that sounds like a lot of trouble for a cup of coffee! Were there a lot of people in line?Yes, Foster, there were. Everyone had on a mask too. You can see the safety practices on this sign behind me. It seemed as if everyone was cheerful and willing to maintain a  polite social distance.Plus, as you can see, they have installed a lot of hand sanitizing stations, and one of them is near Starbucks. This nice lady helped me out because it was way too high for me to reach.Well, that was nice of her. I guess Mom and Aunt Gail are glad they can at least go for coffee. Have they put the outside tables back up yet?No, Foster, most of the outdoor seating is still unavailable. The area behind me is usually filled with tables. People used to come here to meet their friends and enjoy a nice morning together.That’s too bad. I noticed you didn’t have your mask on just now. What are the rules on mask wearing? According to the shoppers I spoke with today, if you are around a lot of people or inside a public building, you are supposed to have one on. You can take it off sometimes, but just make sure you have it handy. The stores and restaurants won’t let you in without one.Well, at least you can take them off sometimes. What about the shops? Have Mom and Aunt Gail’s favorite stores opened up yet?No, they haven’t. Some of the stores are open, but not the ones they like best. I’m sitting on the window ledge here at Bath and Body Works, and they are still closed. I guess if Mom and Aunt Gail really want to, they could always order something online.  Yes, you’re right about that, Panda. Wait…Panda? Are you there? Do you copy? I can’t hear you!Oh, heh-heh, it looks like we are experiencing some technical difficulties. There, I think it’s fixed now. Panda can you hear me now?Yes, Foster, I can hear you loud and clear. I just noticed these signs on the window of CVS. They are in four languages, so I know Mom would like them. I’m not sure what they mean by “price gouging”, but it doesn’t sound very nice. I guess it’s a good thing it’s illegal.Hmm, we’ll have to look it up when you get back. So which other businesses are open?Well it looks like this cafe might be open. Let’s go take a look! If you remember, in my last report I showed you how the outdoor seating here had been put away. Now it looks as if some of the tables have been put back.That’s encouraging! Maybe things will get back to normal soon.Let’s hope so, Foster. I noticed there’s no water in the fountain, though. Not sure what that has to do with Social Distancing but anyway.
At least ice cream place is open. They only let four people in at a time, and, like Starbucks, you can see they are encouraging people to order online.Some nice ladies invited me to have some ice cream with them, so I took them up on the offer. It was delicious!And the best part was that the same nice ladies let me take a selfie with them before we left!Wait, isn’t that…um…never mind. I must be seeing things! Okay…this has been a live Social Distancing update with Foster and Panda. Please join us again for more news as  information becomes available!