Valley News

This week the staff at Kaiser Fresno Medical Center said goodbye to Sandra “Sandy” Oldfield, a registered nurse at the hospital who died of COVID-19 after treating an infected patient. On Wednesday evening, hundreds gathered for a candlelight vigil to honor her memory. Valley Edition Host Kathleen Schock spoke with …

In March, the COVID-19 relief bill known as the CARES Act set aside $ 900 million to help Americans pay their utility bills. Earlier this week, a broad coalition of water agencies delivered a letter to Congress advocating for more funding. The letter, submitted Monday to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, …

Although businesses are reopening, reports of new cases of COVID-19 are still on the rise throughout the San Joaquin Valley. You can find up-to-date information for your county here . Below is an update for the week of June 15-19, 2020. T he outlook As of June 18: 250 deaths …

The City of Fresno announced the 37 members of the new Police Reform Commission Friday. The city council, mayor, and mayor-elect all committed to taking the recommendations seriously. The commission’s roster includes Fresno State NAACP president D’Aungillique Jackson, retired judge Robert Oliver and representatives from non-profits, religious organizations, and law …

The Fresno Unified School District announced Thursday that on-campus instruction will resume August 17. Superintendent Bob Nelson said based on parent survey results, the district expects 75 percent of kids to return to school in the fall. However, school will be a little different. “Recommendations for safety include physical distancing …

Nikiko Masumoto and Brynn Saito founded the Yonsei Me mory Project to honor the stories of Japanese-Americans. And when the pandemic hit, they created a new program to give voice to valley writers called Valley Writers Respond. With funding from the California Wellness Foundation , they asked three writers – …

An inflammatory phrase using the n-word was one of many disruptions to a Fresno City Council meeting on June 11, held online via the videoconferencing platform Zoom. The man said “kill all n-words,” twice, before his audio was muted by city councilmembers. Another attendee used an explicit phrase including the …

As the COVID-19 caseload climbs, it’s becoming clear that some groups are more at risk than others. Early research out of the Fresno region shows one family of diseases may make Hispanics particularly vulnerable. The family is liver diseases. Dr. Marina Roytman, a liver specialist at UCSF Fresno and Community …

As of Thursday, June 11, 20 San Joaquin Valley residents had died of COVID-19 in the past week, bringing the total to 217 fatalities out of 10,304 total cases. Valley Edition Host Kathleen Schock talks with health reporter Kerry Klein about where these cases are occurring. For a COVID-19 snapshot …

Many people have lost their jobs due to the pandemic, but some have found assistance through a multi-million dollar state government program called Expanded Subsidized Employment, or ESE. However, Governor Gavin Newsom’s revised budget proposal cuts the funding to that program. If the latest budget goes through, it would affect …

With a total of more than 200 deaths and 8,000 cases tallied so far, the burden of COVID-19 continues to grow in the San Joaquin Valley and foothills. This week, the rise in numbers has put three Valley counties on the state’s watch list. The state’s goal for each county …

Following more than a week of protests over the death of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, debate continues within the African-American community about how to bring about reform in policing. To learn more about how different generations are responding to this moment, FM89’s Kathleen Schock spoke with Pastor Angelo Frazier …

As protests continue across the country, let’s not forget there’s still a pandemic in our midst. As of publication, 194 people across the San Joaquin Valley and foothills have died due to COVID-19 out of more than 8,000 known cases of the disease. In this interview, FM89’s health reporter Kerry …