Supporters of Massachusetts Senator and Democratic Presidential Candidate Elizabeth Warren packed into a downtown Fresno business Monday to hear from someone who used to be her competitor.

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro addressed around 50 people at the Fulton Street Coffee shop. The 45-year-old was also a presidential candidate, but ended his bid in January. He said running alongside Elizabeth Warren proved to him that she deserves the democratic nomination.

The San Joaquin Valley lies underneath one of the two most polluted air basins in the country. That’s why, in 2018, two communities here – one in Shafter and one in south-central Fresno – were selected among the first to participate in Assembly Bill 617, an ambitious state law that enables local involvement in air protection.

Stand-up comic Paula Poundstone is coming to the Tower Theater in Fresno on Saturday. You may know her as a panelist on the hit NPR quiz show Wait Wait...Don’t Tell Me! But did you know she loves exercise? Well, once it's over! And she’s even investigated happiness, through a series of thoroughly unscientific experiments. FM89’s News Director Alice Daniel recently caught up with Poundstone.

On this week’s Valley Edition: We sit down with candidates Jim Costa and Esmerelda Soria to talk policy and politics as both vye for the 16th Congressional District seat.

Plus, you’ve heard her as a panelist on ‘Wait Wait...Don’t Tell Me!’ the NPR news quiz show: this weekend, comedian Paula Poundstone is coming to Fresno. The standup comic tells us why improvisation is key to a good show. 

We also ask if community efforts to clean up the San Joaquin Valley’s dirty air are working.

As the race to represent the 16th congressional district heats up between incumbent Jim Costa and fellow democrat Esmeralda Soria, both candidates stopped by the KVPR studio to talk with FM89's Kathleen Schock about the key issues facing the district, and the attention grabbing television ads from the Costa campaign.  

President Donald Trump was in Bakersfield for a short visit Wednesday to sign a Presidential Memorandum to commit more water to San Joaquin Valley farmers. He spoke to an invitation-only crowd of about 2,000 people.

  After a fire devastated the Porterville Public Library, the city's fire department held a processional Thursday Monring to move the body of one of their own to the Tulare County Coroner. 

25-year-old firefighter Patrick Jones’ body was recovered from the remains of the library Wednesday. He responded to the fire Tuesday afternoon, and wanted to make sure everyone was evacuated. Tulare County Incident Officer Joanne Bear says his peers remember Jones’ dedication.

This week on Young Artists Spotlight, we  welcome vocal performers from Fresno State, as well as Dr. Maria Briggs and Dr. Cari Earnhart. In addition to the performances, Briggs and Earnhart will discuss the upcoming Fresno Art Song Festival (Feb 29) and the CSUF Carmina Burana gala (Mar 13-15).

Performers:

Jordan Pulido - Ночь (Night) Op. 44 No. 1 - Anton Rubinstein 

Zueignung Op 10 No. 1 - Richard Strauss

Aunika Bull -  Sweet Suffolk Owl by Richard Hundley (1619) 

V’adoro Pupille by George Frideric Handel