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Fresno Art Museum's Executive Director On Weathering The Pandemic And Reopening To The Public Aug 20, 2021

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Last week, the Fresno Art Museum reopened its doors to the general public. It was a long awaited moment for the institution and art lovers in Fresno. To learn how it went and what new exhibits are on the horizon, Valley Edition Host Kathleen Schock spoke with the museum’s executive director and chief curator Michelle Ellis Pracy.

Breaking Down How California Redraws Its Political Maps Aug 20, 2021

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Now that the 2020 census data has been released, the work is on to redraw California’s political maps. To learn how the process is going and the political implications for the San Joaquin Valley, Valley Edition Host Kathleen Schock spoke with Lori Pesante, director of civic engagement for the Dolores Huerta Foundation, Allen Bolar, political science professor at Bakersfield College and Don Simmons, retired sociology professor at Fresno State.

In Mariposa County, An ‘Explosive’ Jump In COVID-19 Cases Since July Aug 18, 2021

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In the last month, Mariposa County has surged from one of the state’s lowest rates of new COVID-19 cases to one of its highest. As a result, county supervisors recently approved mask and vaccine mandates for county employees. As of July 15, Mariposa County had reported 472 total cases of COVID-19 among its 17,000 residents. By August 15, that total had risen to 662 – a jump of more than 40 percent in just one month. “You’re seeing just an explosive increase in the number of COVID patients, and then seeing a similar rise in the number of patients being hospitalized,” said County Health Officer Dr. Eric Sergienko. Six county residents are currently being treated in hospitals, up from lows of one and even zero COVID-positive patients during most of the spring and early summer. This week, the county also reported its first COVID-related death since February, bringing the total now to eight fatalities since the pandemic began. Sergienko attributes the recent surge to the loosening of mask

ICE Violated Its Own Medical Standards, USC Study Shows; Mesa Verde Detainees Aren’t Surprised Aug 13, 2021

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Gabriel has been detained at the Mesa Verde Processing Facility for 15 months. He agreed to speak with KVPR but only if we didn’t use his last name. He says he’s afraid of retaliation from ICE. Detention has been especially hard during COVID. It was a battle, he says, just to get tested. “It was bad, so bad,” he says in Spanish. “They were supposed to be testing us and the employees when I got there, but they weren't.” A judge agreed it was bad. On August 6th, 2020, after several protests including hunger strikes occured, a judge issued a second temporary restraining against ICE. It stated that the agency had “avoided widespread testing of staff and detainees at the facility, not for lack of tests but for fear that positive test results would require them to implement safety measures.” The order required ICE to provide weekly COVID-19 testing and to return rapid test results to all detainees. Gabriel’s medical file shows he took a COVID test on August 3rd, three days before the order

A Wave Of Excitement As Valley Schools Reopen But COVID Concerns Still Loom Aug 13, 2021

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The school bell is ringing, signaling the end of the first day back at school at Lowell Elementary near downtown Fresno. Parents gather just outside the gates of the campus, eagerly waiting to pick up their children. Some stand under the shade, while others wait in a line of cars. Slowly, students begin filing out of class. The once-empty playground is now filled with kids and the bustle of parents and siblings arriving to pick their student out of the crowd. Martha Samaniego is a teacher on special assignment. Today, she’s the crossing guard on duty. With a watchful eye, she maneuvers groups of students and families safely across the busy street. “Felicity, how was your first day?” Samaniego asks a student as she helps her and her family cross the street. “Awesome! So glad to hear that.” Samaniego says she’s relieved that kids are finally back on campus. “This is our first day with students after being away for so long, so it’s been great,” she says as she scans the traffic on Poplar

Valley Edition - August 13, 2020 - Disability Equity Project, Mesa Verde, Stonewall Art Exhibition Aug 13, 2021

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On the next Valley Edition: In Fresno County, the Disability Equity Project is offering targeted support to those impacted by COVID-19. Plus, a new study from the USC Medical Center shows ICE violated its own internal medical care standards during a seven-year period. Current and former detainees at Mesa Verde in Bakersfield tell us they’re not surprised. And an art exhibition on the Stonewall uprising opens at Fresno State . Listen to these stories and more in the podcast above.

Stonewall Uprising Art Exhibit Travels To Fresno State Aug 13, 2021

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In 2019 the Brooklyn Museum in New York hosted an exhibition looking at art 50 years after the Stonewall uprising, a landmark moment in LGBTQ history. And on Thursday that exhibit will open for a second time at the Phebe Conley Art Gallery Fresno State. The exhibition, which runs through October, is presented by the university’s Center for Creativity and the Arts. Valley Edition Host Kathleen Schock spoke with its director, Cindy Urrutia, and Liz Looney with The James B. McClatchy Foundation, which is funding the exhibit.

Fresno County Nonprofits Provide COVID Support Through Disability Equity Project Aug 13, 2021

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This week the Fresno County Board of Supervisors voted to extend funding for the Disability Equity Project, a coalition of six local organizations that serve individuals and families living with a wide-range of disabilities. For the past year, these organizations have worked in partnership to help their clients through the pandemic. Exceptional Parents Unlimited, which supports children with special medical and developmental needs, has served as the project’s lead agency. Valley Edition Host Kathleen Schock spoke with its chief executive officer, Lowel Ens, about how how the coalition was formed and what its future holds.

KQED Reporter Alexandra Hall On Vaccine Hesitancy Aug 13, 2021

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As the Delta variant continues to spread throughout the San Joaquin Valley, so do calls from public health officials to increase vaccination rates. But as KQED’s Central Valley reporter Alexandra Hall has learned, the reasons why some are avoiding the shot can be more complicated than many think. Valley Edition Host Kathleen Schock spoke with her about what she’s found.

From New York To Tehachapi: A Traveling Nurse On The Trauma Of Treating COVID Aug 06, 2021

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Throughout the pandemic, we’ve relied not just on the medical providers based at our local hospitals, but also traveling nurses who move from place to place, filling in wherever help is needed. One such nurse, Grover Nicodemus Street, is a military veteran based in Colorado. So far during the pandemic, he has served in five different states, ranging from major population centers like New York City and Miami to the rural town of Tehachapi. He recently published a book about traveling from COVID hotspot to hotspot called Chasing the Surge . In this interview, FM89’s Kerry Klein spoke with him about his experience, first by asking why he said in another recent interview , that “war doesn’t even compare to COVID.”

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