Valley Edition

On this week’s Valley Edition: A plot of land in southwest Fresno that used to be a landfill is now not just a park, but a national landmark. A historian gives us the gritty details.

Plus: How are local federal employees dealing with the shutdown?  We’ll hear from Fresno IRS workers, who say they’re watching their savings dwindle.

Later we hear from renowned folk singer John McCutcheon, who’s performing in Fresno, and we catch up with arts blogger and critic Donald Munro about the shows he’s excited to watch this winter.

On this week's Valley Edition: The San Joaquin Valley has some of the dirtiest air in the country. In Fresno and Kern Counties, a state law has introduced a new strategy to tackle the problem: putting air monitoring in the hands of the community.

Later, we look at how some undocumented high school students are navigating college applications and applying for driver licences. Some are choosing to opt out entirely.

On this week’s Valley Edition: Valley Public Radio gets trashy. Do you ever think about what happens to all of your garbage and recyclables? Well, some California cities are getting creative. And what about all of that ridiculous stuff piling up in your garage? There’s a company that wants it.  

We also explore a recycling program in Bakersfield with some novel - and controversial - labor practices.

Plus: Why is so much medical equipment thrown out before it’s expired? A Clovis organization is repurposing supplies from this enormous industry.

On this week’s Valley Edition: What does the Dust Bowl have to do with the 2018 midterm elections? A political scientist working in Abu Dhabi connects the dots.

We also learn about a program that empowers African American women in the valley to advocate for their own health. And, the 21st congressional district just flipped. How did forecasters get it wrong?

Listen to the show above to hear that and more.

On the next Valley Edition: When you think brain drain, do you think...Hanford? A recent Bloomberg article said this small farming town is at the top of the list. We head to Kings County to find out what’s really going on in terms of education and opportunity.

We also learn about a new program to fight domestic violence in the Valley, and visit a flu shot clinic to determine what’s fact and what’s fiction about this effective but highly polarizing vaccine.

It’s the week after Thanksgiving -- a time to fill up on leftovers, so to speak. On today’s show, we’re going to look inside our proverbial fridge and pull out some of our favorite stories from this year. You’ve heard of Mr. Potato Head? One of our features places him front and center.  We also revisit a woman who has run into new roadblocks seeking asylum in the U.S.

On today’s show, we look at how the San Joaquin Valley’s cultural diversity has influenced Thanksgiving traditions--and food. We also speak with a humanics professor about how to incorporate more giving into our lives. And, as wildfires force tens of thousands of Californians to face Thanksgiving without their homes or loved ones, we learn about the risk of wildfire in our part of Central California. We also hear from local companies looking to invest in social good.

On this week’s Valley Edition, we explore the consequences of last week’s elections, including embattled Measure P, a sales tax that would have improved Fresno’s depleted park system but was voted down. We also look inside Tulare Regional Medical Center, which is open again after a year of licking its wounds and trying to move beyond its scandalous past. Later, we honor Veterans Day by hearing from residents of a veterans home in Fresno.  Listen to the audio above to hear that and more.

It’s Tuesday, November 6th, 2018. Today, you can’t escape the elections.

We hear from two political science professors about the issues on the ballot in Fresno and in Bakersfield. We also talk to one very young city council candidate whose political aspirations go back to the farm worker’s movement.

Plus we talk to a group that’s addressing voting barriers for Hmong elders in Fresno, and look at the origins of the “I Voted” sticker.

On Valley Edition: A leaked memo suggests that the Trump Administration wants to narrowly define sex as unchangeable; we hear reactions from the transgender community. Plus, many rural areas in the San Joaquin Valley have little or no access to local news. What’s the impact on these news deserts -- especially in light of the midterm elections. And later, we catch up with Donald Munro, the longtime arts reporter for the Central Valley. He’s been covering the beat from his own website for a year now. We ask him, what should arts lovers should look out for this Fall?

On today’s show: California is about to elect a new governor, but where do they stand on health? We talk to a reporter from Kaiser Health News for some insight. Also, the Fresno Bee has spent the last month and a half starting conversations about the “Fresno Divide,” and we catch up with one of their reporters to find out how that went. Later, immigrants leaving impoverished countries often come to America with little or no money. And now, a proposal from the Trump Administration would make it harder for those relying on federal assistance to gain legal residency.

Coming up next on Valley Edition: Valley Public Radio is celebrating 40 years on the air! We meet one of the station’s co-founders, Von Johnson. Also, Attorney General Xavier Becerra was in Fresno to speak out against a proposed plan from the EPA. We hear from air district officials and air quality advocates about the proposed SAFE Rule. And later, two takes on Southwest Fresno: How the Running Horse Golf Course let down the community, and how a new college campus could shape its future. You can hear that and more on Valley Edition.

Coming up next on Valley Edition: Overcoming valley fever can be tough enough, but what if you get it while you’re pregnant? It affects a small but concerning demographic. Also, arsenic is in our groundwater, and some studies say it could get more concentrated over time. Water experts from across the state are gathering in Fresno this week to discuss it. Earlier this year, Kern County was sued over its county supervisor districts. Will the same thing happen in Tulare County? We explore what redistricting could mean for Latino voters.

This week on Valley Edition: A look at California’s changing wildfire season through the lens of health: Why firefighter deaths aren’t falling in California the way they are in the rest of the country. We also add context to a mailer from Devin Nunes's campaign against an unusual opponent: The Fresno Bee. Plus, Tme Magazine says it’s a book everyone will be talking about this Fall -- Nazi sympathizers in the U.S. during World War II. We hear from the author, a Fresno historian. And Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Sonia Nazario talks to us about immigration and media literacy.

This week on Valley Edition, we have a conversation with congressional candidate and Fresno County prosecutor Andrew Janz. We also talk with a UC researcher about the growing body of research examining air pollution’s effects on the brain. Later, we'll learn about the obstacles facing survivors of violence who seek asylum in the U.S., and we continue our in-depth series on violence in the healthcare workforce. Plus, in honor of California Native American day, we learn about a basket-weaving celebration happening soon in Visalia.

This week on Valley Edition, we talk with biographer Miriam Pawel, author of the new book, "The Browns of California: The Family Dynasty that Transformed a State and Helped Shape a Nation." We also talk with poet Brian Turner, about his new music project from his band, the Interplanetary Acoustic Team. And we also learn about what recent ICE arrests at local courthouses mean for immigrants and the justice system with FM89's immigration reporter, Monica Velez. 

This week on Valley Edition - we look back to when the U.S. government tried to replace migrant farmworkers with high schoolers in a conversation with journalist Gustavo Arellano. We also chat with journalist Alexandra Jaffe from Vice News Tonight on HBO, and get new insights into the war of words between Congressman Devin Nunes and The Fresno Bee, and how to restore the public’s trust in media. Plus, we continue our series on workplace violence in healthcare and learn what’s being done to make one of the jobs most plagued by violent encounters safer.

This week on Valley Edition, we begin a new series on the issue of workplace violence enountered by doctors, nurses and other medical professionals. We also hear a report about how local immigration attorneys are raising concerns about changes to the U Visa program, which helps undocumented immigrants who are victims of crimes. And Kerry Klein brings us a special report about an African drum camp in the Sierra foothills. Later in the show we learn how the community of Stratford is recovering after both of the wells that serve residents there failed earlier this month.