Coachella Youth and Environmental Justice

Aired on The California Report Magazine July 12, 2013:

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201307121630/c

and on NPR's Latino USA December 6th, 2013:

http://latinousa.org/2013/12/06/data-mining-in-the-coachella-valley/

It’s not every day that a group of high school students chooses to drive around with a college professor taking pictures of sewage failure. But that’s what Uriel Gutierrez and three of his friends were doing on the day I visited them this spring. They’re showing professor Ryan Sinclair of Loma Linda University around mobile home parks that are prevalent in the Eastern Coachella Valley where they live, and they’re documenting problems to try to help their community.

The History of Coachella's Iconic Dates

Aired on KQED's The California Report Magazine on October 25th, 2013:

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201310251630/d

If you drive southeast of Palm Springs through the Eastern Coachella Valley, it’s easy to get a little overwhelmed by the date palm trees. They grow as tall as 70 feet, and they’re everywhere, filling thousands of acres. Dates aren’t native to the Coachella Valley, but they’ve given this region an identity and became a top crop. When I was reporting in the region last spring, I got curious about the history of date production, and about the dangerous job of the palmero, the date palm worker.

Here, also, is an audio slideshow detailing the "Arabian Fantasy" agritourism promoted by date industry boosters starting in the early 1900s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2OD2W1gidI

If you drive southeast of Palm Springs through the Eastern Coachella Valley, it’s easy to get a little overwhelmed by the date palm trees. They grow as tall as 70 feet, and they’re everywhere, filling thousands of acres. Dates aren’t native to the Coachella Valley, but they’ve given this region an identity and became a top crop. - See more at: http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201310251630/d#sthash.rRucrqvm.dpuf

If you drive southeast of Palm Springs through the Eastern Coachella Valley, it’s easy to get a little overwhelmed by the date palm trees. They grow as tall as 70 feet, and they’re everywhere, filling thousands of acres. Dates aren’t native to the Coachella Valley, but they’ve given this region an identity and became a top crop. - See more at: http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201310251630/d#sthash.rRucrqvm.dpuf

If you drive southeast of Palm Springs through the Eastern Coachella Valley, it’s easy to get a little overwhelmed by the date palm trees. They grow as tall as 70 feet, and they’re everywhere, filling thousands of acres. Dates aren’t native to the Coachella Valley, but they’ve given this region an identity and became a top crop. - See more at: http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201310251630/d#sthash.rRucrqvm.dpuf

The Doctor Is In, and Lives Down the Road

Aired on The California Report Magazine on September 20, 2013.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201309201630/b

and on NPR's Latino USA September 27th:

http://latinousa.org/2013/09/27/drafting-rural-doctors/

Rural California has long faced a shortage of doctors, and in the San Joaquin Valley studies show the number of primary care physicians per person is about half the state’s average. But here and there, you can find physicians who really commit to their communities. We meet a couple of dedicated rural physicians, and a collaboration to cultivate more doctors like them.

Rural California has long faced a shortage of doctors, and in the San Joaquin Valley studies show the number of primary care physicians per person is about half the state?s average. But here and there, you can find physicians who really commit to their communities. We meet a couple of dedicated rural physicians, and a collaboration to cultivate more doctors like them - See more at: http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201309201630/b#sthash.6SIUV3LP.dpuf

It's Not California, it's the State of Jefferson

Aired on The California Report Magazine on August 30, 2013.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201308301630/d

Up in far Northern California and southern Oregon, if you drive through the high desert, forests and mountain valleys, you’ll take the State of Jefferson Scenic Byway. You can check out the State of Jefferson jam band. If you’re searching for the public radio station, you’ll hear the announcer say, “You’re listening to the rhythm and news service of Jefferson Public Radio, committed to supporting lifelong learning and the arts in the mythical State of Jefferson since 1969.”

That’s because many people living there don’t really identify with California or Oregon. They say they live in the State of Jefferson. It’s an idea with a long history; there’s been talk of a separate state since the 1850s, and that talk continues. Earlier this month a group brought a resolution to the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors to withdraw from California and start over. Now, some young people trying to make a life there incorporate that State of Jefferson heritage while looking forward.

Up in far Northern California and southern Oregon, if you drive through the high desert, forests and mountain valleys, you’ll take the State of Jefferson Scenic Byway. You can check out the State of Jefferson jam band. If you’re searching for the public radio station, you’ll hear the announcer say, “You’re listening to the rhythm and news service of Jefferson Public Radio, committed to supporting lifelong learning and the arts in the mythical State of Jefferson since 1969.”
That’s because many people living there don’t really identify with California or Oregon. They say they live in the State of Jefferson. It’s an idea with a long history; there’s been talk of a separate state since the 1850s, and that talk continues. Earlier this month a group brought a resolution to the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors to withdraw from California and start over.
Now, some young people trying to make a life there incorporate that State of Jefferson heritage while looking forward
- See more at: http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201308301630/d#sthash.lZ5tZLS1.dpuf

Up in far Northern California and southern Oregon, if you drive through the high desert, forests and mountain valleys, you’ll take the State of Jefferson Scenic Byway. You can check out the State of Jefferson jam band. If you’re searching for the public radio station, you’ll hear the announcer say, “You’re listening to the rhythm and news service of Jefferson Public Radio, committed to supporting lifelong learning and the arts in the mythical State of Jefferson since 1969.”
That’s because many people living there don’t really identify with California or Oregon. They say they live in the State of Jefferson. It’s an idea with a long history; there’s been talk of a separate state since the 1850s, and that talk continues. Earlier this month a group brought a resolution to the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors to withdraw from California and start over.
Now, some young people trying to make a life there incorporate that State of Jefferson heritage while looking forward.
- See more at: http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201308301630/d#sthash.lZ5tZLS1.dpuf

Up in far Northern California and southern Oregon, if you drive through the high desert, forests and mountain valleys, you’ll take the State of Jefferson Scenic Byway. You can check out the State of Jefferson jam band. If you’re searching for the public radio station, you’ll hear the announcer say, “You’re listening to the rhythm and news service of Jefferson Public Radio, committed to supporting lifelong learning and the arts in the mythical State of Jefferson since 1969.”
That’s because many people living there don’t really identify with California or Oregon. They say they live in the State of Jefferson. It’s an idea with a long history; there’s been talk of a separate state since the 1850s, and that talk continues. Earlier this month a group brought a resolution to the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors to withdraw from California and start over.
Now, some young people trying to make a life there incorporate that State of Jefferson heritage while looking forward.
- See more at: http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201308301630/d#sthash.lZ5tZLS1.dpuf

The People's Kitchen

Aired October 4, 2013 on NPR's Latino USA:

http://latinousa.org/2013/10/04/the-peoples-kitchen/

For Latino USA's series on community healthy, I visit The People’s Kitchen, an Oakland-based pay-what-you-can pop-up restaurant. Using only fresh, organic produce, the People’s Kitchen raises money for charity while raising consciousness about food issues.

Youth and Radio: Helping the High School Interns at KALW's Crosscurrents

Check out the great work -- the first radio pieces ever -- by Burton High School students created this summer as interns for KALW's Crosscurrents.  I got to spend some days with them, nudging these stories in the right direction.  Lucky me!

http://www.kalw.org/post/paintball-so-good-it-hurts

http://kalw.org/term/leland-house

http://www.kalw.org/post/bay-area-bboys-what-it-takes-stay-top-their-game

http://www.kalw.org/post/young-chinese-american-rethinks-significance-portsmouth-square

Profile: Burgeoning Activist Eduardo Guevara

Aired on The California Report on Wednedsay, July 31, 2013.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201307310850/b

The unincorporated community of Mecca, in Riverside County, struggles with a host of environmental problems, from arsenic in the well water to toxic dump sites. For years after moving to Mecca from Mexicali, Mexico, Eduardo Guevarra was not particularly worked up about it. But then his wife was hospitalized for asthma, twice.  Guevarra says his wife's suffering prompted him to get some answers.

Heat Stress and Farm Workers Across California

Aired on The California Report Magazine on July 19, 2013:
http://latinousa.org/2013/07/26/heat-stress/

and on Latino USA on July 26, 2013.
http://latinousa.org/2013/07/26/heat-stress/

We've had some record-setting heat around the state this summer -- it's more than just an annoyance for those who can't take refuge because the outdoors is their office. Recently when temperatures in California soared above 100 for almost three weeks, three farm workers died. State regulators are investigating those deaths to see if employers violated heat illness prevention laws.

The Last Days of Duroville: Farmworker Housing, Mobile Home Parks and the Eastern Coachella Valley

Aired on the California Report Magazine on May 3, 2013.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201305031630/d

And on NPR's Latino USA on May 10, 2013.

http://www.futuromediagroup.org/lusa/2013/05/10/last-days-of-duroville/

In the eastern Coachella Valley, an agricultural region east of Palm Springs, the land is rich, but most of the people are not.  Mobile home parks make up a significant amount of housing for the area's workers, and conditions vary widely.  I went down to look into the closing of a notorious park, Duroville, but found it was the tip of the iceberg.

Money Diaries

In the fall of 2012, I got to work with young adults at Game Theory Academy, a non-profit that teaches financial literacy to youth in Oakland.  They recorded their lives, and in collaboration I produced their radio diaries about their relationship with money.  KALW's Crosscurrents aired some of the results. 

Dillon: The Cost of a Breakup:

http://www.kalw.org/post/money-diaries-cost-breakup

Josh: Unemployed and on Food Stamps

http://www.kalw.org/post/money-diaries-unemployed-and-food-stamps-0

Keva: Living at Home While Finishing School

http://www.kalw.org/post/money-diaries-living-home-while-finishing-school

Caelin: Next Year Will Be Better

http://www.kalw.org/post/money-diaries-next-year-will-be-better

Zakiya: Confessions of a Shop-aholic

http://www.kalw.org/post/money-diaries-confessions-shop-aholic

Jabari: When Money Comes at a Cost
http://www.kalw.org/post/money-diaries-when-money-comes-cost

Salinas Hospital Trains Interpreters to Serve Immigrant Population

Aired on The California Report Magazine on February 8, 2013.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201302081630/b

and on NPR's Latino USA on February 22, 2013.

http://www.futuromediagroup.org/lusa/2013/02/22/the-languages-of-natividad/

In the Salinas Valley, small farm towns like Soledad and Greenfield dot highway 101. Most farmworkers here are from Mexico, and an increasing number are indigenous people from Oaxaca and other Mexican states. In fact, almost one quarter of all indigenous Mexicans in California live in this region. They speak languages like Mixteco, Zapoteco, and Triqui. If they speak Spanish at all it's as a second language. That can create complex language barriers in work, school, and healthcare.  In Salinas, one hospital is trying to serve them.

From Soldier to Activist

Aired on The California Report Magazine on December 28, 2012.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201212281630/b

A lot of us are multitasking these days. But Emily Yates takes it to a new level. The 30-year-old U.C. Berkeley student is also a musician, a writer, a photographer and an activist. All of these parts of her identity developed out of the intense experiences she had after answering a fateful phone call when she was just 19.