As coronavirus cases are surging, so are reports of depression, anxiety, and substance abuse. But even as mental health professionals are needed more than ever, those who graduated from one Fresno State nursing program are being told to return to school.

The Fresno City Council voted Tuesday to approve its billion dollar budget, just in time for the July 1 deadline. However, it will have to be reconsidered in three months. 

The Fresno County Sheriff’s Department reported 507 positive COVID-19 cases at the county jail on Monday. That’s almost a quarter of the total jail population, but testing has still been limited to one part of the facility. 

The sheriff’s department reported its first cases of the coronavirus on June 19th. That’s when 13 incarcerated people who were being transferred out tested positive for COVID-19. The 13 had been housed in the jail’s north annex. 

In this episode of Play On, we turn our focus to the inspiration, joy and hope we can find in vocal music. Dr. Anna Hamre and Rei Hotoda will discuss their collaboration in vocal and symphonic performance, and we’ll hear the Fresno Master Chorale and the Fresno Philharmonic perform Francis Poulenc’s Gloria.

California was one of many states to set a record this week for the number of new cases reported in a single day. For a closer look at what’s been happening in our seven-county coverage area of the San Joaquin Valley, we bring you this update for the week of June 19-26, 2020. Meanwhile, you can always find up-to-date information for your county here.

The outlook

As residents call for cities to defund police departments, some parents and students want the same in their school districts. The Kern High School District board is voting on its annual budget Monday and ahead of that meeting, community organizers have been circulating a petition to defund the district’s police department.

Kern High School District has its own police department. Only two percent of districts in the state operate one; most contract with a local city. 

Are you feeling helpless in the midst of this pandemic? Do you want to assist others, but you just don’t know how? Well, there are lots of community benefit organizations, or non-profits, that could use your help. They’re losing vital funding and human resources even as they are being asked to deliver more services. FM89’s News Director Alice Daniel spoke with Matthew Jendian, the director of the Humanics Program at Fresno State, to find out more about volunteering and giving opportunities.

This week we spoke to a musician who, like others, lost a lot of work when the pandemic hit: Performances were postponed, or cancelled altogether. Patrick Contreras, a Fresno violinist, started to offer front lawn concerts to make ends meet, and the idea has taken off. He says he’s heard from other musicians across the country, asking how he’s made it work.