On this week's Valley Edition we talk about a new study that links dementia and air pollution, a new program that aims to help people stay in their homes, and a plan to make Highway 152 a toll road.
Valley Edition for February 21, 2012:
Segment I: Dementia & air quality
A new study in the Journal of the Archives of Internal Medicine links air pollution to the onset of dementia and cardiovascular disease. What does this mean for Valley residents, who breathe some of worst air in the nation? On this segment of Valley Edition, we talk with study author Jennifer Weuve from the Rush Institute for Healthy Aging, Jeff Yonosky Professor of Public Health Sciences at the Penn State College of Medicine, and Susanne Rust an investigative reporter for California Watch and the Center for Investigative Reporting.
Segment 2: Mortgage counseling
The Central Valley has been among the hardest hit areas of the country when it comes to the mortgage meltdown. On this segment of Valley Edition, Tim Rios from Wells Fargo joins us to talk about an upcoming free Home Preservation Workshop taking place in Fresno on February 23rd for residents in need of home loan modifications.
Segment 3: Highway 152
Plans to improve Highway 152 between Chowchilla and Gilroy have been a wish for Valley travelers for years. But as state and regional planners look at ways to pay for a new freeway bypass of Los Banos and improvements between Casa de Fruta and Gilroy, one of the options includes making the state highway a toll road. We talk about what this would mean for Valley cities like Los Banos, as well as farmers and travelers with Amanda Carvajal from Merced Farm Bureau and Lori Flanders from Merced County Association of Governments.
Special funding for this program comes from the California HealthCare Foundation
http://www.chcf.org/
