Kerry Klein

On this week’s Valley Edition: What the research says about the risk of COVID-19 complications during pregnancy.

And mental health professionals help to process the anxiety some are feeling about reentering society post-vaccination.

Plus, a veteran journalist tells us what governor Newsom’s drought emergency declaration means for the San Joaquin Valley.

And county funding for community gardens in Fresno stops next month. We look at the impact. Listen to these stories and more in the podcast above.

More than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, many basic questions about the virus have been answered, including how it spreads, how it responds to treatment, and how it affects the body. But even those lessons learned apply mostly to generally healthy people and those with the most common pre-existing conditions, and unknowns still abound for many population subsets—including pregnant women.

Medical care at California State Prison, Corcoran received a poor rating in a recently published state watchdog review. Now, prison advocates worry that doesn’t bode well for the quality of care during the pandemic.

For a decade, the Central California Asthma Collaborative (CCAC) has aimed to reduce the burden of asthma in the San Joaquin Valley, which sits in one of the country’s most polluted air basins and reports some of the highest rates of asthma and asthma-related medical encounters in the state.

For many of us, hospitals are pillars of communities, representing safety nets that we hope will always be there. But there’s no guarantee they will be. A new report estimates that California’s hospitals have suffered billions of dollars in losses in the last year, and that they could lose billions more before 2021 is through.

On this week's Valley Edition: As candidates line up to run against the governor in the recall election, we discuss the financial costs for taxpayers and the political costs for Newsom. 

Plus, as demand for the COVID-19 vaccine in Fresno County drops, we visit the Cherry Auction to find out why some Latino residents are choosing not to get the vaccine.

And a pair of historians discuss the farm labor shortage in the 1940s. Listen to these stories and more in the podcast above. 

On this week's Valley Edition: The history of Allensworth, a Black settlement in Tulare County, is part of a new podcast that takes an in-depth look at Black pioneers in rural California.   

Plus, the story of a Vietnamese-American tailor whose generosity and foresight kept his sewing business alive during the past year.

And Fresno’s new poet laureate processes the pandemic. Listen to these stories and more in the podcast above.

*Correction 4/24: This interview inadvertently implies that Eric Bream employs undocumented workers, which he does not.*

On the next Valley Edition: Local activists discuss the status of police reform in the Valley following the conviction of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd. 

Plus, a funeral home director reflects on a surreal year and the psychological effect of the pandemic on his staff. 

And Fresno writer James Ardaiz tells us about his new historical novel, "Tears of Honor." Listen to these stories and more on the podcast above. 

As of this week, more than a half million San Joaquin Valley residents have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. For some, that means being able to more safely visit grandkids or elderly parents, while for others it’s a ticket to spending more time in public or feeling more secure in person-to-person interactions at work.

On this week's Valley Edition: Latino immigrants have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, especially in Kings County where deaths increased by 90% last year due to COVID.

Plus, filmmakers document intergenerational trauma a century after the Armenian genocide.

And a new guidebook uncovers some of the lesser-known highlights of Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks. Listen to these stories and more in the podcast above. 

The end of the pandemic may finally be approaching: With 1.2 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered in the San Joaquin Valley, 15 percent of adults have now been fully vaccinated, and another 12 percent have received at least one dose. Meanwhile, all Valley counties have now advanced out of the purple, most restrictive tier of the state’s reopening blueprint, signifying what is hopefully the last stretch in the return to normalcy for California’s businesses and places of worship before Governor Gavin Newsom plans to fully reopen the state’s economy in mid-June.

On this week's Valley Edition: Fresno leaders respond to a rise in anti-Asian racism. Why some crimes go unreported, and details of a proposal to hire a diverse outreach team.

Plus, award-winning NPR talk show host Diane Rehm discusses her new PBS documentary about medical aid in dying. 

And community organizers are providing support to street vendors after a deadly attack on one this year. Listen to these stories and more in the podcast above. 

The cab of Sunny Grewal’s 18-wheeler is neat and tidy. He’s got bunk beds with red checkered sheets and gray interior cabinets that hide a fridge, microwave, paper plates and spices for long days on the road. One plastic container holds bite-sized sweets from his native India. “We call it gur, G-U-R,” Grewal says. “You can put it in tea, or you can have a small piece after food.”

The early days of the pandemic were challenging for truck drivers. As other workers were told to stay home, truckers kept going, delivering food, clothing and cleaning supplies for stores and hospitals throughout the country. On the road for days or weeks at a time, many were fearful of bringing the virus back to their families, and the temporary closures of rest stops left them uncertain whether they’d find a safe place to use the bathroom or sleep.

On this week's Valley Edition:  They're essential, but Punjabi truckers say that without COVID-19 information translated into their native language, they're left without some critical details that could protect them on the job.

 Plus, how donations are helping one Fresno homeless encampment survive.

 And local Asian American women share their experiences of discrimination.  Listen to these stories and more in the podcast above. 

Like in so many places across the U.S., the coronavirus pandemic crept up on the San Joaquin Valley. Some of the region’s first official cases were linked to outbreaks on cruise ships that came into port in March, but as we later learned, the virus was already circulating long beforehand.

On this week's Valley Edition:  We check in with community organizations to see if the statewide effort to fix vaccination disparities is reflected in rural farm towns. 

Plus, we discuss our collective trauma as a result of living through a deadly pandemic. How might it shape our mental health in the future? 

And we look back; it’s been one year since COVID-19 upended our lives. Listen to these stories and more in the podcast above. 

Even though COVID-19 has been the dominant public health threat for a year, first with a summer surge, then a winter surge, and now with the rollout of much-anticipated vaccines, other public health problems haven’t just disappeared.

On this week's Valley Edition:  Due to federal funding, the pandemic has created an unlikely opportunity for new homeless housing in Fresno. We look at some of the programs in place.

Plus, we tell you about a Microsoft pilot program that KVPR is a part of to preserve and expand local news around the country.

And arts critic Donald Munro gives us an update on the Tower Theater sale. Listen to these stories and more in the podcast above.