The Dangerous Work of Palm Workers

Aired on NPR's Latino USA on February 21, 2014.

http://latinousa.org/2014/02/21/palmeros/


It’s said that date palm trees want their feet in water, and their heads in fire. It makes sense, then that more than 90% of the dates harvested in the U.S. grow in California’s Eastern Coachella Valley. Irrigation water is pumped here from the Colorado River, and summer temperatures can top 120 degrees. I spent some time in the Eastern Coachella Valley last spring, and got curious about the history of dates here, and about the palmeros, palm workers, who tend them.

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