Fresno

This week on the debut episode of the special series "The Time of Our Life", Mark Arax reads William Saroyan's The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse, originally published in 1940 as part of My Name Is Aram, a collection of short stories by Saroyan. Arax also shares recollections of his interactions with Saroyan, who was a family friend.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of plasma from a recovered COVID-19 patient as an experimental treatment for those sick with the coronavirus. The treatment is based on the concept that the recovered person now has antibodies to fight the disease.

As California’s stay-at-home directive in response to the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the pace of life has slowed for many. FM 89's Kathleen Schock spoke with journalist and author Mark Arax, who said that now is the perfect time to discover or revisit the work of the Valley’s most famous writer, Willam Saroyan.

Even before the coronavirus, Tiffani Quinto had some experience with pandemics.

“You know I lived through H1N1,” she said. “I was a buyer at the time at Valley Children’s. And it’s similar to that.”  

Now she’s the supply chain management contract coordinator for Community Medical Centers in Fresno. She says medical supply distributors operate on an allocation system based on a hospital’s previous purchase history.

What do you do if your printing business is suffering because of COVID-19? Well for one Fresno business, employees are going with the times.

Dumont Printing is still dealing in its usual trade: signage. But instead of company mailers and event announcements, it's making "Keep Distance" decals.

“Immediately we started selling social distancing floor graphics to try and help the small business who is still open and has blue tape on their floor,” said Susan Moore, Dumont’s president and owner. 

Bitwise Industries got a shout-out from Governor Gavin Newsom Thursday as he announced relief for small businesses. The Fresno-based tech company is creating a resource for those laid off due to the pandemic: OnwardCa.org. 

What’s it like to be on the frontlines of medicine during a pandemic? FM89’s News Director Alice Daniel got a firsthand account from Dr. Patil Armenian. She’s an associate professor of clinical emergency medicine at UCSF Fresno and she works at Community Regional Medical Center in downtown Fresno. 

As state and local officials advise older Americans to stay indoors and away from crowds amid coronavirus concerns, supermarkets are working to accommodate their needs. 

This week, Vallarta, an American supermarket chain that caters to Latino customers,

The city of Fresno issued a voluntary shelter in place order Wednesday to go into effect Thursday at midnight. Residents are being asked to leave their homes for essential services only.  

Three Valley districts have made the decision to close their schools starting Monday until April 13: Fresno, Clovis and Central Unified. They’re the latest across the state to announce a blanket closure of schools due to coronavirus concerns.  

In a press conference Friday, Fresno Unified Superintendent Bob Nelson said preserving the health and well-being of students is the district’s priority.   

This week on Valley Edition: COVID-19 cases are on the rise in California, but what does that mean for the San Joaquin Valley? We learn how the disease is affecting our healthcare system, education and the economy and we get some advice on how not to panic. 

We also interview an author whose latest book was inspired by murders in the 1980s committed by the so-called “Lords of Bakersfield.”

And, we check in with StoryCorp San Joaquin. You’ll hear the first of many segments  coming straight from the Valley.

Valley Public Radio has partnered with the personal history project StoryCorps and its 2020 mobile tour. Since February 12, StoryCorps has been in Fresno and Bakersfield documenting the stories of residents in the San Joaquin Valley. As part of our collaboration, we’ll be airing segments over the next year based on some of these recorded conversations.   

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.