Armando Celestino walks between rows of grapevines in a Madera County vineyard. He’s handing out small zip lock bags to farm workers filled with hand sanitizer, masks and information on the COVID-19 vaccine. Celestino works with Centro Binancional, a community organization that assists those who speak, indigenous languages like Mixtec …
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 »This Parlier Family Doesn’t Want You To Experience What They Did – Three Generations Got COVID-19
Brianna Cisneros is the youngest of four siblings. On this cool December evening, she’s sitting at a table in her backyard with her two sisters, her brother and her father. A dog barks nearby, there’s music playing from a neighbor’s house down the street. Signs of normalcy in a not …
Read More »This Veteran And His Wife Have Been Married 70 Years – They Tackle Challenges With Love And Laughter
Wednesday was Veterans Day. In honor of the holiday, FM89’s news director Alice Daniel spoke with a couple who live at the Fresno Veterans Home and have been married for 70 years. They’ve had their share of challenges during the pandemic, including living apart for three months. But as you’ll …
Read More »StoryCorps Is Here In The Valley – Here’s How They Produce Such Poignant Interviews
If you’re a regular NPR listener, you probably know StoryCorps. It’s a weekly radio show that produces uniquely poignant, intimate interviews. “The summary that I always give participants is that we’re a non-profit that travels the country and collects people’s stories as part of adding to this oral history that …
Read More »Court Document Fees in Kern County Are Rising. Are They Too Restrictive?
In the past, when government agencies and the media requested court records from the Kern County Superior Court, they could typically access them for free. Last month, however, that changed, due in part to a rising number of incoming record requests. According to some sources, rising court fees are becoming …
Read More »Selma City Council Split Between Two District Maps: ‘Are They Fair To The Community?’
The Selma City Council is torn between choosing a district map the community supports or picking one that keeps members from running against each other. At Monday night’s regular meeting, the council cast votes on a map created by the company it hired, the National Demographics Corporation (or NDC), and …
Read More »California Legislators Want Safe Drinking Water. They Haven’t Agreed On How To Fund It.
A state senate committee is set to vote on a bill today that would address safe and affordable drinking water throughout California, a goal Governor Gavin Newsom has also prioritized in his proposed budget. Still to be decided is how to fund it. Newsom has proposed taxing residential water users …
Read More »After TJ Cox Wins Congressional District 21, Forecasters Ask What They Got Wrong
Leading up to the November election, forecasters predicted that Republican incumbent David Valadao would win the 21st Congressional District. The District includes all of Kings County, and parts of Fresno, Tulare, and Kern Counties. It wasn’t until last week, as vote counts were finalized, that the race was decided in …
Read More »Latino USA Reports That Warehouse Jobs Are Expanding, But Are They Solid Middle-Class Jobs Yet?
There’s an industry here in the Central Valley that’s not particularly new, but has grown significantly in recent years, especially with an Amazon fulfillment center on it’s way to Fresno. That industry is in warehouses, where employees fulfill online orders. Latino USA reporter Sophia Paliza-Carre got a firsthand look at …
Read More »They Thought It Was Extinct, But This Kern County Bug Was Just Flying Under The Radar
In a small section of Kern County, outside the city of Bakersfield, a dirt ridge rises above the farmland. It’s home to a couple of cell towers, an orchard, and a creature that we didn’t know was there up until the last 25 years. In fact, it’s by chance that …
Read More »California high school grads increasingly leave state for college. Here’s where they go.
With California universities more expensive and crowded than ever, high school graduates are increasingly leaving the state to attend college. About 40,000 California high school graduates left the state for … Click to Continue »
Read More »They broke into a Merced County store, deputies say. CHP chased them to Sacramento
An interrupted burglary at a drug store in Planada turned into a pursuit from Merced County to Sacramento, the sheriff’s office said Wednesday. A burglary alarm at San Joaquin Drug … Click to Continue »
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