Central Valley Daily

Sept. 9: The Valley Has An Air Quality Problem. Drive-Thrus Are Not Helping.

By Kerry Klein,

Published September 9, 2026 at 4:45 AM PDT

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Although highway traffic is one of the main contributors to air pollution in the San Joaquin Valley, thousands of cars also line up at drive-through burger restaurants, taco joints and coffee places each day. Central Valley Journalism Collaborative Reporter Tim Sheehan compiled some data on how all these restaurants may be contributing to the Valley’s air pollution problem.

Plus, the latest news headlines: A woman is ordered to pay Fresno after an embezzlement investigation; and Rep. David Valadao says he can win his House race in November. Today’s episode is hosted by Kerry Klein and produced by Jonathan Linden.

Central Valley Daily

Kerry Klein

Kerry Klein is an award-winning reporter whose coverage of public health, air pollution, drinking water access and wildfires in the San Joaquin Valley has been featured on NPR, KQED, Science Friday and Kaiser Health News. Her work has earned numerous regional Edward R. Murrow and Golden Mike Awards and has been recognized by the Association of Health Care Journalists and Society of Environmental Journalists. Her podcast Escape From Mammoth Pool was named a podcast “listeners couldn’t get enough of in 2021” by the radio aggregator NPR One.

See stories by Kerry Klein

Jonathan Linden

Jonathan Linden is a podcast producer at KVPR. Born and raised in Riverside, he's a Southern California native. Jonathan's passion for public radio began at a young age when his brother would play NPR while driving him home from middle school. He earned his B.A. in journalism from Biola University in 2019.

See stories by Jonathan Linden