Valley News

In 1964, Congress passed the Economic Opportunity Act as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty. The act established nearly 900 community action agencies nationwide to address needs in education, employment, health and living conditions. Today, the largest of these agencies in California is the Fresno Economic Opportunities …

California has moved its primary election earlier in the year. Instead of June, voters will now cast their ballots in March. For Fresno and Madera Counties, there are other changes intended to update voting technology and increase voter turnout. Fresno has adopted the new Voter’s Choice Act Model , which …

California is one of the nation’s top states for human trafficking, a complex crime that is difficult to combat. But in the Central Valley, nonprofits are working with law enforcement to tackle the issue from multiple perspectives. Valley Public Radio’s Kathleen Schock spoke with Sarah Johnson from the Fresno Economic …

We’ve just heard on Valley Edition how several agencies are working to reduce human trafficking in the Valley. Now we’re going to turn to the story of a survivor. A young woman, who asked to be identified only as Hazel, spoke with Valley Public Radio’s Kathleen Schock about her journey …

The Kern County Sheriff’s Office recommended evacuation Wednesday afternoon for those within a 6-mile radius of Taft Manufacturing Co. at 19705 South Lake Road in Taft after reports of a chemical leak. Members of the Kern County Fire Department were able to stop the leak early in the afternoon, a …

Hundreds of children and their families cycle in and out of UCLA’s Mattel Children’s Hospital each week, and yet Dr. Manish Butte still remembers the day almost two years ago when he met a young boy who could barely walk or talk and needed a feeding tube to eat. “We …

Researchers have been trying to understand valley fever for decades, but the playing field remained small until recently. “When I started in valley fever research just six or seven years ago, the field was largely full of professors and senior clinicians and really didn’t have many of the junior faculty …

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. https://www.kvpr.org/sites/kvpr/files/styles/big_story/public/202001/IMG_0585.jpg

Lisa Lee Herrick reads from her recent essay Eating Thirty In Fresno: Finding Home At Hmong New Year in the online publication Boom California and talks with FM89’s news director Alice Daniel about why so many Hmong refugees came to Fresno after the CIA’s secret war in Laos under the …

Governor Gavin Newsom stopped in Fresno on Wednesday to promote his proposed $ 1.4 billion plan to tackle homelessness, which includes $ 11.5 million in emergency grants for Fresno County. Speaking at a mental health crisis facility in Southeast Fresno, Newsom said the grants, to be disbursed within the next …

Governor Gavin Newsom released his proposed 2020-2021 budget on Friday , a $ 222 billion package encompassing homelessness, affordable health care and criminal justice reform. In an accompanying briefing, the governor gave a shout-out to a newly unveiled economic development plan known as Fresno DRIVE, a collaboration among 150 organizations …

We know the San Joaquin Valley is home to diverse communities and cultures, and this year we’re bringing you audio postcards from some of the families who settled here a little more recently. Today we’re going to hear from Amanprit Singh Dhatt at his home in Kerman. The city is …

Fresno’s gangs have been in the news as details emerge about the mistaken retaliation by a Fresno street gang called Mongolian Boys Society in November that left four dead and six injured. Court documents related to arrests in the case include details about how the gang is organized and makes …