Valley Edition

This week on Valley Edition, we look at the dangers of crime this holiday season, talk about how holiday shopping is boosting the sales of local Valley merchants, and profile the ImagineU Children's Museum in Visalia. 

Valley Edition for December 20, 2011:

This week on Valley Edition we talk about the challenges of balancing academics and athletics at NCAA Division I schools, and hear from Fresno State President John Welty and CSUB President Horace Mitchell. We also talk about efforts to help those in need this holiday season.

This week on Valley Edition we talk about why many Fresno roadways are getting smaller, thanks to something called "road diets" and the move towards "complete streets." We'll also learn about how a recent court case is good news for Fresno's First 5 program, and talk about stories of service from Valley veterans. 

This week on Valley Edition we talk about solutions to the truancy problems that plague local school districts, as well as efforts to boost shoppers at locally owned businesses, as well as the annual "holiday lights" show at the California Living Museum in Bakersfield. 

This week on Valley Edition we talk with the organizers of Occupy Fresno and Occupy Bakersfield and learn more about their protests. We also talk about the controversial plan to consolidate academic programs at Fresno State and other CSU campuses. We also talk about the effort to stop litter with Keep Bakersfield Beautiful.

This week on Valley Edition, we hear an in-depth report on Fresno County's decision to become the only county in the state not to pursue federal funding for a new low-income health program. We'll also hear about a new theater program that takes on the issue of obesity in the Valley's Latino community.

This week on Valley Edition we talk about the state's new prison "realignment" plan and also efforts to amend California's 3 Strikes law. We also learn more about the on-going saga of sewage sludge from Southern California that is being trucked to Kern County and spread on area farmland. 

This week on Valley Edition we talk about the recent resurgence of an old idea, splitting up the Golden State, with the authors of a new book called "California Crackup." We'll also talk about the continuing effort to revitalize downtown Fresno.

This week on Valley Edition we talk about the state's new law, the "California Dream Act" which would allow students who came to the country as children illegally access to financial aid at state colleges and universities. We also hear about the link between the recession and an increase in cases of child abuse. And we close our program with a story on the Hmong American Writers Circle, and a new literary anthology called "How Do I Begin."

This week on Valley Edition we talk about how political gridlock in Washington D.C. has created an unprecedented backlog at the Federal Courthouse in Fresno. Recently retired justice Oliver Wanger joins us for this special report. We also look at a new study that links spikes in air pollution with stays at local hospitals.