When wildfires burn in our national parks, we naturally worry about the forest. But what about the photographs, maps and documents that tell the stories of our parks? How do we keep those important archives safe?

FM89’s Alice Daniel spoke with Emily Lin, librarian and head of digital curation at the University of California Merced about moving records from Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks to the university during last September's intense wildfires.

On a Thursday afternoon in mid-January, Woodland Elementary School’s cafeteria is transformed into a vaccine center. The room is sectioned off into check-in points with nursing staff and a waiting area for newly-vaccinated staff members. 

Bill Peterson, 78, is greeted by a nurse as he walks in. He holds onto his health information packet as he walks up to the cafeteria stage, behind the curtain. Nurses are stationed there with vaccines. Peterson sits down, joking with them before he rolls up his sleeve. 

Fresno County has the capacity to administer at least 30,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine weekly, according to county health officials, and yet its two mass vaccination clinics will not be open to new appointments next week. The recent revelation of no national vaccine stockpile has disrupted local supply, in Fresno and throughout the San Joaquin Valley.

Today, more people are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine than ever, and county health departments across the San Joaquin Valley have been building up the infrastructure at fairgrounds, schools, clinics and other sites in order to offer thousands of vaccinations each day.

On this week's Valley Edition: The Mariposa County Unified School District is ahead of the curve in vaccinating educators and keeping classrooms open during the pandemic.

Plus we talk about the future of Central Valley politics in a post-Trump era.

And, with hiccups in vaccine distribution and no national reserve to speak of, we look into how COVID-19 vaccinations are going in our part of the state. 

The transfer of U.S. presidential power from Trump to Biden, and the confirmation of Kamala Harris as vice president, has had political ripple effects stretching to California and the San Joaquin Valley. To discuss what has changed in our political landscape, Valley Edition Host Kathleen Schock spoke to Dezie Woods-Jones, California state president of Black Women Organized for Political Action and former vice mayor of Oakland, Ben Christopher, political reporter for Calmatters, and Lisa Bryant, associate professor of political science at Fresno State.

The Henry Madden Library at Fresno State is celebrating the tradition of spoken word poetry in the African American community with the “Lift Every Voice” virtual poetry slam Thursday, January 28 at 7 p.m. The event will be hosted by former Fresno Poet Laureate Bryan Medina. Valley Edition Host Kathleen Schock spoke to Medina about the event and the power of poetry to help us mark seminal moments in our history.  

An ordinance passed Tuesday by the Delano City Council will allow code enforcement to issue citations for people violating stay-at home-orders. It’s the first of its kind in Kern County.

The ordinance passed with a 4-to-1 vote and is similar to the state’s stay-at-home order except there are fines, starting at $100 for the first offense, $200 for the second, and $500 for the third. Outdoor gatherings of 10 or more people from different households are prohibited. And restaurants and salons aren’t allowed to provide indoor services. 

Low income communities across the San Joaquin Valley and other regions of the state are being hit hard by rising water and utility debt according to a recent survey released by the California Water Board. 

Michael Claiborne, an attorney with the Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability, says residents are having to decide which essential service to pay for amid a global pandemic. 

Tulare County is still in phase 1A of its vaccine distribution, but the county’s Health and Human Services Department is already working with other organizations on vaccine distribution for farmworkers. 

Carrie Monteiro, a spokesperson for the department, says the county wants to be prepared to vaccinate farmworkers when phase 1B starts. That’s why, in collaboration with the Community Care Coalition, it’s asking farm and agriculture employers to respond to a survey.