Valley Edition

Segment 1: Valley Professionals Struggle to Find Work - Among the groups hit the hardest in the economic downturn are business professionals. From April 2010 to April 2011 the business and professional sectors in Fresno County lost 1,800 jobs. Host Juanita Stevenson reports on how some Valley professionals are looking to re-enter the workforce and having success finding work. Guests include Ginny Burdick, Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Community Hospitals of Central California; Cathy Frost, President, Bennett Frost Personnel Services and Dr.

Part 1: Obesity - We hear the term "obesity epidemic" often in the news these days. It's an issue that hits close to home. About 40 percent of Fresno County kids ages five to 19 are overweight or obese. And so are their parents. 57 percent of Fresno adults are overweight. On this edition of Quality of Life, reporter Lauren Whaley brings us the story of one Fresno teenager who suffers from obesity, and how getting sick changed his life - for the better.

Segment 1: Human Trafficking - On Monday the US State Department released a report that estimates that up to 100,000 people in the US are victims of human trafficking. They range from those working in forced labor, to women and children trapped in the world of sex trafficking. California is one of the top three states in the nation for human trafficking, according to Cal EMA. Joining us to talk about the extent of this problem in the San Joaquin Valley is Ronna L. Bright, from the group Central Valley Against Human Trafficking and the Central Valley Freedom Coalition.

Segment 1: California's long running budget battle entered a new chapter last week, when Governor Jerry Brown vetoed a budget sent to him by the Democratic controlled Legislature. On this edition of Quality of Life, we talk with Democrat Assembly member Henry T. Perea of Fresno, and Republican Assembly Leader Connie Conway of Tulare about what's next in the budget debate. We also get political analysis on the budget from Professor Jeff Cummins of Fresno State and Nathan W. Monroe of UC Merced.

Segment 1 – County Jails & State Prisons - Last month the US Supreme Court ruled that California must reduce its prison population by 33,000 inmates by 2013, to improve inmate health care. And a new state law plans to shift much of that burden to county jails. We talk about the future of the state's corrections system and what it means for the Valley, with Kern County Sheriff Joel Youngblood, Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims and prisoner rights advocate Rebecca Evenson of the Prison Law Office.

Part I: High Speed Rail - As California's high speed rail system inches ever closer to breaking ground in 2012, criticism and opposition to the project is growing on a number of fronts. Valley farmers in Kings County have objected to the proposed alignment of the tracks through farms and dairies near Hanford. The State Senate voted last week to radically remake the High Speed Rail Authority and its board of directors. And in May, the non-partisan Legislative Analyst's Office issued a highly critical report of the project and its management.

Segment I: California State University Budget Cuts - California's publicly funded state university system, the CSU was once the envy of the nation, providing accessible and affordable higher education to millions of Californians. While the 23 campus system is still the largest in the country, the recent budget crisis has taken its toll. Under Governor Brown's latest "May Revise" budget, the system faces as much a $1 billion budget cut (36 percent) and a potential student fee increase of as much as 32 percent for the coming year. We ask Fresno State President Dr.

Part I: National Parks - Central California's National Parks are known worldwide and attract millions of visitors each year. In 2010, over 4 million people visited Yosemite National Park, just short of breaking the park's all-time record. But those visitors bring big city problems with them, from traffic jams, to pollution and safety concerns. This week on Quality of Life, we examine the difficult task of balancing public access with preservation of natural resources, in Yosemite and beyond.

Segment 1: Diabetes - Californians spend $24 billion each year on diabetes care, and the Valley's diabetes rates are some of the highest in the state, around 10 percent. For people struggling with the disease, the financial and emotional burdens of diabetes make for a difficult combination. When the costs of diabetes testing supplies add up, some bypass the pharmacy and turn to the street to get what they need. On this edition of Quality of Life, correspondent Shellie Branco reports on how some Valley residents are dealing with their disease. And later, Dr.

Segment I - Redistricting - While it doesn't get nearly as much attention as the state's on-going budget debate, behind the scenes, work is underway on a set of maps that could dramatically alter California politics for a decade to come. The State's 14 member Citizens Redistricting Commission is currently at work on redrawing the lines of the state's assembly, state senate and congressional districts. And in a state where major decisions such as the budget and big social issues often are decided by just one or two votes, the stakes for all those are high.

Segment I Nuclear Power In the Valley? - The State of California has a long love-hate relationship with nuclear power. It's now been 26 years since Diablo Canyon, the state's newest nuclear power plant, came online on the Central Coast. In the intervening years, reactors at Rancho Seco, near Sacramento, and San Onofre near San Diego have been decommissioned, and the state's moratorium on the construction of new plants still remains in effect.

Segment 1: The Kern River Flows Through Bakersfield Once More? - The Kern River has long been known as one of the wildest rivers in the west. But far below Lake Isabella, as the channel makes its way through the city of Bakersfield, the days of a wild river, or for much of the year a river at all, are long gone. However, a new proposal from the City of Bakersfield aims to do what many thought would never happen, return year round water to the river through the city, creating a new community amenity.

Segment 1: School Health Programs - When we hear about budget problems in California schools, we usually think of teachers losing their jobs. But school nurses are also worried about job security and cuts to student health services. On this edition of Quality of Life, correspondent Shellie Branco brings us a feature report on school health, and talks with school nurses and one Visalia family who relies on them.

Segments 1 & 2: Mark Arax - Journalist and author Mark Arax has spent much of his career exposing the dark secrets of life in the Central Valley, from corrupt politicians to secretive land barons. A former senior writer with the LA Times, Arax joins us on this edition of Valley Public Radio’s Quality of Life, to talk about his books, the Valley, and the troubled Fresno Unified School District.

Last week, California Governor Jerry Brown declared that the wet winter has officially put an end to the state’s drought. But with the annual April 1 Sierra snowpack at 165 percent of average, does that mean California’s water woes are behind it, or are just getting started. This week on Quality of Life, UC Merced hydrologist Dr. Roger C. Bales tells us about the science of measuring snow, and what global warming might mean for the our water supply.

California is known worldwide as a state especially prone to earthquakes. The 1994 Northridge quake and the 1989 Loma Prieta quake are still fresh in the mind of many Californians. But deep in California's Central Valley, far from the San Andreas, and the state's major population centers, what are the risks to residents and our infrastructure? In our first segment we talk with Dr.

California's cities have been hit hard in recent years. The housing bust, the economic downturn, and perennial state budget crises are just a few of the factors that have helped batter the balance sheets of municipalities up and down the Golden state. Valley cities are no exception, especially given the region’s perennially high levels of unemployment, even in so called "good" times. Many large cities, like Fresno have been forced to make drastic cuts to city services, and have been forced to lay off hundreds of employees.

Segment 1: Last month, Forbes magazine released its ranking of the nation’s ten "most toxic" cities, and Bakersfield and Fresno were ranked #2 and #3. While concerns about the Valley's air and water quality are nothing new, this report brings new national attention to the efforts to deal with these problems. In this segment, we examine the efforts to clean up the air with Sayed Sadredin, Executive Director and Air Pollution Control Officer for the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.

Part 1: Health Care Reform, 1 Year Later - Last March, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law. This sweeping and controversial law aims to expand health coverage to millions of previously uninsured Americans, with the bulk of the new programs beginning in 2014. But many Valley residents, who currently lack coverage, or lost their insurance after losing a job in the recession, have yet to feel the impact of the legislation.