Valley News

Mark Arax, who’s a journalist and author, says he remembers when William Saroyan would come over to his grandfather’s house in Fresno for dinner. And when he finally got a driver’s license, he recalls picking Saroyan up at his home on Griffith Way for those dinners. “He kept the grass …

Update: 8/22/18 Officials lifted the “Do not drink” water order in Stratford on Wednesday afternoon August 22nd. However, according to Martín Chávez, only one pump is operational at this time. Original story: Residents in the unincorporated community of Stratford still don’t have running water that they can drink, nearly two …

The San Joaquin Valley is a melting pot. It’s home to diaspora from dozens of countries, and we celebrate that diversity with traditional festivals and performances throughout the year. One celebration that flies under the radar, however, is a summer camp in the Sierra foothills that teaches some traditional arts …

About eight years ago Mirsa Urias was working at a restaurant in Bakersfield. She was the only person working up front and says it was business as usual until one man entered. “He pointed a gun at me and said I had to give him money,” the 30-year-old says in …

Mount Whitney is the tallest peak in the lower 48 states. But at over 14,000 feet, hiking the mountain is anything but routine, especially in early summer. In a new piece on the website Outdoor Online, journalist Megan Michelson writes about her own close call on the mountain thanks to …

Over the course of three months in 2017, over two thousand incidents of workplace violence in health care were reported in California, which comes out to about an incident happening every other week. Some experts would say that number is probably low, because they suspect the issue is underreported, for …

The Fresno Philharmonic has launched its new season of concerts, the second under music director Rei Hotoda. Now Hotoda is also recieveing another honor – an award from the Fresno League of Women Voters for her work leading the orchestra into a new era. She joined us to talk about …

On April 13th 1997, Jocelyn Dettloff’s life changed forever. On a camping trip in Sub-Saharan Africa, an accident left her paralyzed. It also put her life on a new path, inspiring others, as she describes in her book “It Rained in the Desert: One Woman’s Story of Spirit and Resilience” …

We’re at the start of another school year. And that means more than just a focus on basic academic skills. In Fresno County there’s a new push to address mental health and wellbeing. It’s part of a five year, $ 111 million dollar campaign that’s called “All 4 Youth” that’s …

S ummers for college students usually mean part time jobs or summer school. But this year, one group of students have dedicated their time to civic engagement. While some of them are new voters themselves, they’re hoping to get other young adults to make voting a priority. This summer, 25 …

This week on Valley Edition, we learn about how the rural Fresno County community of Del Rey is working to clean up its drinking water, which is now contaminated by an agricultural chemical. We also learn about the lawsuit over Monsanto’s popular herbicide Roundup, and about new efforts to expand …

In our 2017 series Contaminated , we told the stories of communities throughout the San Joaquin Valley struggling to access safe drinking water. Since then, the state has begun regulating a new drinking water contaminant. And though that regulation represents increased accountability, it brings financial challenges to some communities—and many …

In a small boutique in downtown Bakersfield, Brenda Blanton donned a styling gown and settled into a salon chair facing a mirror. Shop owner Kelly Giblin approached, not carrying scissors or a curling iron, but a small hairpiece resembling a dirty blonde bob with dark roots. “This is an amazing …