After months of speculation as to whether The Mesa Verde Detention Facility in Bakersfield would shutter, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement say it will stay open for at least another year.

“Fish vs farms”: It’s the perennial tug-of-war for water between environmentalists, who want to see stable ecosystems in the Sacramento-San-Joaquin River Delta, and farmers, who feel slighted that they need to fight with endangered fish in order to irrigate their fields.

March is Women’s History Month, and here at Valley Public Radio, we wanted to spend a part of it talking to women who are young leaders here in the Central Valley.

We spoke with Yasmin Mendoza, organizer of the Fresno Chapter of March for Our Lives and a community organizer with the Dolores Huerta Foundation; Alexandria Ramos-O’Casey, who most recently was a consultant on the campaign for Kingsburg City Councilmember Jewel Hurtado; and Kamaljit Kaur, who is the Fresno County community organizer for the Jakara Movement.

A new police transparency law, SB1421, requires police departments to make public internal investigation records regarding officer misconduct and use of force. Now more than 30 news agencies statewide, including Valley Public Radio, are collaborating to request and report on these records. I spoke with Alex Emslie, a criminal justice reporter at KQED who helped spearhead the project.  

On this week’s Valley Edition: More than half of California’s olive groves are right here in the San Joaquin Valley. But Tulare County growers say that with a major olive cannery set to buy more Spanish olives, the future for olive production looks grim.   

Plus, it’s Women’s History Month. We sat down with three young, dynamic leaders to ask about the women who inspire them.

And later, we learn more about President Trump’s plans to rewrite rules that govern water allocations and infrastructure in the San Joaquin Valley.  

More than half of California’s olive groves are right here in the San Joaquin Valley. But Tulare County growers say that with a major olive cannery set to buy more Spanish olives, the future for olive production looks grim.   

How do teachers even become interested in teaching, how do districts recruit them and what goes into trying to hire teachers that reflect the diversity of Valley classrooms? Today in the studio, moderator Kathleen Schock speaks with Tamela Ryatt, a photography teacher who just won Fresno Unified’s high school Educator of the Year, Laura Alamillo, Interim Dean of the Kremen School of Education at Fresno State and Tiffany Samuel, who works in teacher development for Fresno Unified.