Last year, the western states were hit with a double-whammy of natural disasters: Not just the COVID-19 pandemic, but also a historically long and intense wildfire season that blanketed the region with plume after plume of noxious smoke. The confluence of those two was deadly: A study published recently in …
Read More »This Pediatrician’s Kids Got The Vaccine, And She Says Yours Should Too – COVID-19 Update For May 21
As of earlier this month, 127 kids aged 12 to 17 years old had died of COVID-19 in the United States . The number may pale in comparison to the more than half a million adults who’ve died so far, but because deaths among kids are so rare, the total …
Read More »Family of Coalinga State Hospital Resident Says They Weren’t Told He Died—Or That He Had COVID-19
In late December, Clementine Sanders called her son at Coalinga State Hospital to make sure he had received her Christmas card. That’s when his bunkmates informed her that her son, 58-year-old Shannon Starr, had died three weeks earlier. “I was just totally shocked,” she says. “Nobody called me.” Since then, …
Read More »A Fresno Woman Born One Hundred Years Ago Says ‘We’ll Get Through This’
These days, do you ever find yourself looking out the window of your house or apartment and wondering ‘how are my neighbors doing during this pandemic?’ I was thinking a lot about my neighbor Dorothy Jones so I reached out to her. She turns 100 this year and she still …
Read More »Advocates Say ICE Is Retaliating Against Strikers At Mesa Verde: ICE Says There’s No Hunger Strike
Last week, over 200 people inside a Bakersfield Detention Center participated in a hunger strike, according to advocates. Now ICE is threatening to suspend detainee privileges and it’s had a chilling effect on some of the strikers. Pablo Ramirez has been detained in Mesa Verde for six months. He joined …
Read More »The New CEO Of Fresno’s Largest Nonprofit Says Her Own Life Experiences Inform Her Work
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 …
Read More »Retiring CSU Chancellor Says He’s Leaving University “As Stable And Focused As Ever”
The California State University system is searching for its next chancellor. Timothy White announced Tuesday he’ll retire next June after more than 7 years running the 23-campus system. In an interview with Capital Public Radio, White says he’s leaving the university “as stable and focused” as ever — on students: …
Read More »Emotional Support May Help Reduce Health Disparities, Says Study Of Valley Cancer Survivors
Edelmira and Juan Ramos were teenagers when they met in the early 1970s. Juan was visiting his grandmother in Mexicali, Mexico, when he noticed Edelmira living across the street. He spoke only English, she only Spanish, and yet they both felt a spark. “My eyesight just…I liked what I saw,” …
Read More »Can You Cover The News Fairly While Also Working On Jerry Dyer’s Campaign? This Journalist Says Yes
If you’re a news junkie, you may have noticed a new online media outlet called the San Joaquin Valley Sun. The editor in chief is Alex Tavlian. He used to be a reporter for the Fresno Bee and then he became an attorney and political consultant. Now, on top of …
Read More »Fresno’s Next Police Chief Is From The Department – ‘A Slap In the Face’ Says One Councilmember
After months of community meetings and a nationwide search, city officials said today that the next man to lead Fresno’s police department already works there. Protesters outside the press conference said the city’s efforts to include citizen input seem disingenuous. Inside the City Hall Annex, Jerry Dyer’s successor as police …
Read More »In Response To Mass Shootings, Tulare County Sheriff Says CCW Holders Could Help
A Central Valley Sheriff is encouraging carriers of concealed weapons to use their guns in the event of an active shooter or other threat. It started when Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreax decided he was tired of hearing about active shooters taking innocent lives. “They’re going into situations where the …
Read More »Extremely Dry Soil Connects Forest Die-Offs To Prolonged Drought, Says New UC Study
The U.S. Forest Service estimates 147 million trees in California died following the state’s prolonged drought. New research out of UC Merced suggests a culprit: Extremely dry soil. Not all California droughts have led to massive forest die-offs. The difference this time, according to an article published Monday in the …
Read More »Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer Says He’ll Unify The City As Mayor; Protestors Call Him Divisive
Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer announced his run for mayor Wednesday as protestors rallied outside his press conference at the Manchester Center. About a dozen protesters chanted “Dyer is a liar” and booed him as he spoke about combatting homelessness, bringing more high-paying jobs to Fresno, and uniting the city. …
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