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On Valley Edition: West Fresno; High Speed Rail, Chinatown & Fresno's Historic Arch; Theodore Kuchar

Ezra David Romero
/
Valley Public Radio

This week on Valley Edition we explore the issues that have plagued West Fresno and how California's future bullet train may impact one of the oldest districts in Fresno.

For years, the historically African-American community of West Fresno has borne a heavy burden. From polluting heavy industry to waste dumps, a sewage plan and superfund sites – it’s a side of Fresno quite different from the wealthy suburbs north of Herndon Avenue. Valley Public Radio Reporter Rebecca Plevin explores two controversial projects that have some asking: How much is too much for one part of the city to bear?

Valley Edition Host Joe Moore explores the issues the community of West Fresno face with Fresno State Professor John Capitman, Mary Curry with Concerned Citizens of West Fresno and Tate Hill with the Fresno Metro Black Chamber.

Later in the program we explore the changes expected to come from California’s future bullet train. FM89 Reporter Ezra Romero explores the implications of archeological digs in Fresno’s Chinatown. Moore takes a look at the possibility of the historic Fresno Arch's move to a more visible locale in the city.

Ending the program, Moore interviews Fresno’s longtime conductor Theodore Kuchar about his latest album Latin American Classics that he was nominated for a Latin Grammy for. 

Joe Moore is the President and General Manager of KVPR / Valley Public Radio. He has led the station through major programming changes, the launch of KVPR Classical and the COVID-19 pandemic. Under his leadership the station was named California Non-Profit of the Year by Senator Melissa Hurtado (2019), and won a National Edward R. Murrow Award for investigative reporting (2022).
Rebecca Plevin was a reporter for Valley Public Radio from 2013-2014. Before joining the station, she was the community health reporter for Vida en el Valle, the McClatchy Company's bilingual newspaper in California's San Joaquin Valley. She earned the George F. Gruner Award for Meritorious Public Service in Journalism and the McClatchy President's Award for her work at Vida, as well as honors from the National Association of Hispanic Publications and the California Newspaper Publishers Association. Plevin grew up in the Washington, D.C. area and is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. She is also a fluent Spanish speaker, a certified yoga teacher, and an avid rock-climber.
Ezra David Romero is an award-winning radio reporter and producer. His stories have run on Morning Edition, Morning Edition Saturday, Morning Edition Sunday, All Things Considered, Here & Now, The Salt, Latino USA, KQED, KALW, Harvest Public Radio, etc.
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