Fresno

State Attorney General Xavier Becerra was in Fresno Friday to remind residents to fill out the 2020 Census. Fresno County is one of the hardest-to-count regions, and Becerra urged residents not to ignore their chance to be represented.

This weekend and next, take a chance on Fresno’s Rogue festival, an annual tradition in the Tower District that has performers and attendees bustling from show to show. 

To preview the fringe festival, we spoke to Donald Munro who covers art and culture in the San Joaquin Valley on his website, The Munro Review. We talk about how the festival has changed over the last 19 years, and how Munro decides what shows to see: he starts with a program, a block of time, and open expectations. 

The Armenian oud master Richard Hagopian has been playing the instrument, similar to the lute, since he was a kid. He’s 82 now. This Saturday Feb. 29, he’ll be speaking and performing at a public memory event at Fresno State documenting the history of local Armenian-American music production in the San Joaquin Valley.

On this week’s Valley Edition: With Tuesday’s primary election just days away, we look at what’s at stake for those down ballot races, and what some candidates are doing to turn out voters. And we sit down with Fresno mayoral candidate Jerry Dyer.

Plus: We hear from an Armenian oud master who is helping to preserve the history of Armenian-American music in the San Joaquin Valley. 

Listen to those stories and more on the podcast above. 

Supporters of Massachusetts Senator and Democratic Presidential Candidate Elizabeth Warren packed into a downtown Fresno business Monday to hear from someone who used to be her competitor.

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro addressed around 50 people at the Fulton Street Coffee shop. The 45-year-old was also a presidential candidate, but ended his bid in January. He said running alongside Elizabeth Warren proved to him that she deserves the democratic nomination.

The San Joaquin Valley lies underneath one of the two most polluted air basins in the country. That’s why, in 2018, two communities here – one in Shafter and one in south-central Fresno – were selected among the first to participate in Assembly Bill 617, an ambitious state law that enables local involvement in air protection.

On this week’s Valley Edition: We sit down with candidates Jim Costa and Esmerelda Soria to talk policy and politics as both vye for the 16th Congressional District seat.

Plus, you’ve heard her as a panelist on ‘Wait Wait...Don’t Tell Me!’ the NPR news quiz show: this weekend, comedian Paula Poundstone is coming to Fresno. The standup comic tells us why improvisation is key to a good show. 

We also ask if community efforts to clean up the San Joaquin Valley’s dirty air are working.

To begin the first broadcast of the 2020 season of Young Artists Spotlight, we feature three talented string soloists from Fresno's Simba School of Music: Hasina Torres, cello; Izzy Knittle, violin; and Anjeli Macaranas, violin. All three are students of violinist K.C. Simba-Torres. They perform works by J.S. Bach, Elgar and Sibelius, in this broadcast hosted by David Aus. 

Support for Young Artists Spotlight comes from The Bonner Family Foundation.

A new lawsuit has been filed in Fresno County Superior Court against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno and two of its churches for negligence and sexual battery. Although the plaintiff reported abuse in 2002 and the priest was acquitted, a law that took effect this year means she can still seek damages.

The plaintiff is now 34 years old, and referred to as Jane Doe, since the alleged abuse took place when she was a minor. She says that Father Miguel Flores raped and threatened her in 2001 at Immaculate Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church in Hanford where she worked. 

Chronic absence plagues most school districts in the San Joaquin Valley. We know that students who can’t make it to school miss out on learning, and research shows that missing even three days a month over time can put students a year or more behind their peers. Thursday, the Fresno County Office of Education hosted a conference looking at ways to reduce chronic absenteeism. 

Fresno mayoral candidate Andrew Janz came to the studio to discuss his campaign strategy and vision for the city ahead of California’s March 3 primary. Janz is facing former Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote. The Fresno League of Women Voters is kicking off its celebration with a month-long First Ladies portrait exhibit at city hall showcasing a rare collection of oil paintings. But just how active in the suffrage movement were some of the First Ladies? Here to talk with FM89’s News Director Alice Daniel is Fresno State Communication Professor Diane Blair. She studies the communications strategies, also known as rhetoric, of First Ladies. 

Fresno Police announced today that they have arrested six suspects related to the November 17 mass shooting at a house party in Southeast Fresno that left four men dead. Although police confirmed the shooting was gang related, none of the victims themselves were gang members. 

The arts can unite and heal us in immeasurable ways, and few people need more uplifting right now than Fresno’s Hmong Community. That’s in light of last month’s horrific mass shooting that left four men of Hmong descent dead and six others injured. Renee Ya is the co-founder of Tiger Byte Studios, which is putting on a seven day arts and media celebration in Fresno to coincide with the upcoming Hmong New Year.

At the Fresno Fairgrounds inside the Industrial Education building, a large photo of Xy Lee holding a guitar hung above a stage. Beneath it, family and friends gathered around an open casket. There were floral arrangements in the shape of a guitar and a huge heart. 

“Right now, they are going to start playing the ritual, the Hmong ritual, to send the spirit back to its original place,” said Yeng Lee, Xy Lee’s uncle. 

And now for the Weekend, it’s time for Fresno’s Annual Swede Fest where amateurs and sometimes expert filmmakers take scenes from their favorite movies and remake them with friends and family using lots of household props. We hear from one of the founders, Roque Rodriquez.

Fifteen-year-old Sandra Hernandez can’t get this one Tuesday morning out of her head.

“All I was thinking at that time was ‘I wanted my dad back,’” she said. “I wanted him to get in the car and for us to go to school like any other day.”

Her father, Hugo Hernandez, was pulled over by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in central-east Fresno on Nov. 5. It was about 7:30 a.m. and he was taking Sandra and her 16-year-old brother Eduardo to school. Eduardo said it was just like any other day.