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"slug": "ca-democrats-look-to-flip-the-script-on-gas-prices",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories on Monday, October 19, 2026\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>Gas prices in California continue to be the highest in the nation. So it’s no surprise that prices at the pump are a hot topic in the state’s closest elections for Congress. But the war in Iran has given California Democrats a rare opportunity to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12104393/california-democrats-hope-iran-war-flips-the-script-on-gas-prices\">turn the tables on the issue. \u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>A surge in immigration arrests is underway in the Central Valley. Advocates say detained immigrants are \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12104940/as-central-valley-immigration-arrests-continue-advocates-say-ice-is-blocking-access-to-legal-counsel\">being denied access to legal counsel\u003c/a>, and dozens are disappearing into the detention system.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12104393/california-democrats-hope-iran-war-flips-the-script-on-gas-prices\">California Democrats hope Iran war reverses views on gas prices\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After years of bearing the political blame for the nation’s highest gas prices, California Democrats are turning the nozzle on Republicans in pivotal House battlegrounds this \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/electionsnews\">midterm election\u003c/a> cycle. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In Sacramento, Richard Pan is running ads blasting his opponent for supporting “the war that raised gas prices.” In Bakersfield, Randy Villegas stood outside a Shell station last week and pledged to suspend the federal gas tax. And \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12102409/local-loyalties-and-trump-opposition-collide-in-san-diego-house-race\">in San Diego\u003c/a>, an ad for Marni von Wilpert “shows her at a gas station, where she promises to “bring your tax dollars home, not spend them on foreign wars that cost you money.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s all part of a nationwide Democratic push to turn the tables on an issue that haunted the party in the last two elections by hounding Republicans over price increases at the pump fueled by the war in Iran. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In California, however, the GOP is not yet ceding ground on the fuel price fight. Republicans remain confident that they can land attacks on Democrats over the state’s longstanding environmental policies, gas tax and supply constraints as the cost of living weighs on voters statewide. The blame game over gas prices is taking on heightened importance as California’s congressional battlegrounds move from the upscale coastal suburbs, where the Democratic “blue wave” first made landfall in 2018, to inland working-class communities where residents tend to drive more on average.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This year, California has three House contests widely considered to be the most competitive between Democrats and Republicans. An analysis by the Brookings Institution for KQED found that all three seats fall in the top third of California congressional districts in annual vehicle miles traveled per capita. “When [gas] prices go up … those who drive longer distances, those who have less room in their household budgets feel it the most,” said Adie Tomer, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. “Those households are really taking it on the chin right now.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When gas prices spiked in 2022, GOP groups pounded Central Valley Democrats Rudy Salas, who supported the state’s cap-and-trade program, and Adam Gray, who voted in favor of the gas tax increase. Both lost their campaigns that year, though Gray came back to win the 13th District in 2024. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Republicans took us to task on gas prices,” said Bill Wong, a Democratic strategist. Wong spent years leading the campaign arm for Democrats in the state Assembly, building a supermajority that allowed the party to pass the gas tax and an ambitious environmental agenda — and protecting it amid attacks from the GOP over fuel prices. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, he sees an opening for Democrats to at least neutralize the issue, as Iran’s attacks against ships carrying crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz sent prices soaring worldwide. Average gas prices have increased $1.35 per gallon since the beginning of the war, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcnews.com/data-graphics/gas-prices-iran-war-state-national-cost-trump-rcna265835\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according\u003c/a> to NBC News. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There’s a direct tie to something that they did with the increase in gas price,” Wong said. “I think it’s time for the Democrats to really lean into it and say, ‘Hey, you held us responsible for gas prices in the past, and now you’re in charge.’” Across the country, Democrats have taken up that call to flip the script. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/19/gas-prices-midterms-affordability-ads-01041175\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Politico analysis\u003c/a> of ad transcripts from the firm AdImpact found that roughly two-thirds of ads mentioning gas or gas prices in House or Senate elections came from Democrats. In 2024, 87% of gas price ads were run by Republicans. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12104940/as-central-valley-immigration-arrests-continue-advocates-say-ice-is-blocking-access-to-legal-counsel\">As Central Valley immigration arrests continue, advocates say ICE is blocking access to legal counsel\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since federal immigration agents descended on California’s Central Valley over the last two weeks, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12103799/bay-area-officials-immigration-advocates-brace-for-ice-surge-after-central-valley-arrests\">arresting scores of people\u003c/a> at gas stations, supermarkets and near agricultural fields, immigration attorneys say those arrested have been persistently denied access to legal counsel.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lawyers say U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has also failed to update the whereabouts of all those arrested in its \u003ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https://locator.ice.gov/odls/#/search\">“detainee locator” database\u003c/a>, meaning that dozens of individuals are essentially disappearing into ICE’s vast detention system.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since the surge in arrests began on Oct. 5, pro bono immigration attorneys working with rapid response networks have spent hours each day at ICE’s Fresno — and later Bakersfield — short-term processing facilities, asking to be admitted to identify who was detained and advise them of their rights, according to María Sofía Corona Gómez, directing attorney at the UFW Foundation in Fresno. On some days, lawyers said they gained entrance at 4 or 5 p.m. to discover dozens of people inside but were only given time to meet with two or three. On other days, they were not allowed inside ICE’s holding area at all. Then, within a day or so, those arrested were moved to other detention facilities — in California or as far away as Texas, she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In some instances, Corona Gómez said, she’s been given a name by a family member of a person who was arrested, but has been unable to locate them. \u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>They’re back there, and I’m not getting access,” she said. “And after hours [of waiting], I’m then being told, ‘Oh, now they’re not here. Now they’re at this detention center.’ But then we show up at the detention center, and it’s ‘No, they’re not in my system.’ Well, this is day five. This is day nine. Where are they?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In response to a request for comment on the arrest operation and concerns that detainees are being denied access to attorneys, an ICE spokesperson who would not provide their name issued the following statement: “For operational security and the safety of our officers, ICE will not disclose or discuss law enforcement operations. Every day, DHS enforces the laws of the nation across the country, including in California.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>Gas prices in California continue to be the highest in the nation. So it’s no surprise that prices at the pump are a hot topic in the state’s closest elections for Congress. But the war in Iran has given California Democrats a rare opportunity to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12104393/california-democrats-hope-iran-war-flips-the-script-on-gas-prices\">turn the tables on the issue. \u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>A surge in immigration arrests is underway in the Central Valley. Advocates say detained immigrants are \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12104940/as-central-valley-immigration-arrests-continue-advocates-say-ice-is-blocking-access-to-legal-counsel\">being denied access to legal counsel\u003c/a>, and dozens are disappearing into the detention system.\u003c/li>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In Sacramento, Richard Pan is running ads blasting his opponent for supporting “the war that raised gas prices.” In Bakersfield, Randy Villegas stood outside a Shell station last week and pledged to suspend the federal gas tax. And \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12102409/local-loyalties-and-trump-opposition-collide-in-san-diego-house-race\">in San Diego\u003c/a>, an ad for Marni von Wilpert “shows her at a gas station, where she promises to “bring your tax dollars home, not spend them on foreign wars that cost you money.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In California, however, the GOP is not yet ceding ground on the fuel price fight. Republicans remain confident that they can land attacks on Democrats over the state’s longstanding environmental policies, gas tax and supply constraints as the cost of living weighs on voters statewide. The blame game over gas prices is taking on heightened importance as California’s congressional battlegrounds move from the upscale coastal suburbs, where the Democratic “blue wave” first made landfall in 2018, to inland working-class communities where residents tend to drive more on average.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Now, he sees an opening for Democrats to at least neutralize the issue, as Iran’s attacks against ships carrying crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz sent prices soaring worldwide. Average gas prices have increased $1.35 per gallon since the beginning of the war, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcnews.com/data-graphics/gas-prices-iran-war-state-national-cost-trump-rcna265835\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according\u003c/a> to NBC News. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Now, he sees an opening for Democrats to at least neutralize the issue, as Iran’s attacks against ships carrying crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz sent prices soaring worldwide. Average gas prices have increased $1.35 per gallon since the beginning of the war, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcnews.com/data-graphics/gas-prices-iran-war-state-national-cost-trump-rcna265835\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according\u003c/a> to NBC News. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“There’s a direct tie to something that they did with the increase in gas price,” Wong said. “I think it’s time for the Democrats to really lean into it and say, ‘Hey, you held us responsible for gas prices in the past, and now you’re in charge.’” Across the country, Democrats have taken up that call to flip the script. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/19/gas-prices-midterms-affordability-ads-01041175\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Politico analysis\u003c/a> of ad transcripts from the firm AdImpact found that roughly two-thirds of ads mentioning gas or gas prices in House or Senate elections came from Democrats. In 2024, 87% of gas price ads were run by Republicans. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Since federal immigration agents descended on California’s Central Valley over the last two weeks, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12103799/bay-area-officials-immigration-advocates-brace-for-ice-surge-after-central-valley-arrests\">arresting scores of people\u003c/a> at gas stations, supermarkets and near agricultural fields, immigration attorneys say those arrested have been persistently denied access to legal counsel.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Lawyers say U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has also failed to update the whereabouts of all those arrested in its \u003ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https://locator.ice.gov/odls/#/search\">“detainee locator” database\u003c/a>, meaning that dozens of individuals are essentially disappearing into ICE’s vast detention system.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Since the surge in arrests began on Oct. 5, pro bono immigration attorneys working with rapid response networks have spent hours each day at ICE’s Fresno — and later Bakersfield — short-term processing facilities, asking to be admitted to identify who was detained and advise them of their rights, according to María Sofía Corona Gómez, directing attorney at the UFW Foundation in Fresno. On some days, lawyers said they gained entrance at 4 or 5 p.m. to discover dozens of people inside but were only given time to meet with two or three. On other days, they were not allowed inside ICE’s holding area at all. Then, within a day or so, those arrested were moved to other detention facilities — in California or as far away as Texas, she said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In some instances, Corona Gómez said, she’s been given a name by a family member of a person who was arrested, but has been unable to locate them. \u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>They’re back there, and I’m not getting access,” she said. “And after hours [of waiting], I’m then being told, ‘Oh, now they’re not here. Now they’re at this detention center.’ But then we show up at the detention center, and it’s ‘No, they’re not in my system.’ Well, this is day five. This is day nine. Where are they?”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In response to a request for comment on the arrest operation and concerns that detainees are being denied access to attorneys, an ICE spokesperson who would not provide their name issued the following statement: “For operational security and the safety of our officers, ICE will not disclose or discuss law enforcement operations. Every day, DHS enforces the laws of the nation across the country, including in California.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Democrats in battleground House districts are taking aim at war-fueled price increases.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories on Monday, October 19, 2026\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>Gas prices in California continue to be the highest in the nation. So it’s no surprise that prices at the pump are a hot topic in the state’s closest elections for Congress. But the war in Iran has given California Democrats a rare opportunity to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12104393/california-democrats-hope-iran-war-flips-the-script-on-gas-prices\">turn the tables on the issue. \u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>A surge in immigration arrests is underway in the Central Valley. Advocates say detained immigrants are \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12104940/as-central-valley-immigration-arrests-continue-advocates-say-ice-is-blocking-access-to-legal-counsel\">being denied access to legal counsel\u003c/a>, and dozens are disappearing into the detention system.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12104393/california-democrats-hope-iran-war-flips-the-script-on-gas-prices\">California Democrats hope Iran war reverses views on gas prices\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After years of bearing the political blame for the nation’s highest gas prices, California Democrats are turning the nozzle on Republicans in pivotal House battlegrounds this \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/electionsnews\">midterm election\u003c/a> cycle. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In Sacramento, Richard Pan is running ads blasting his opponent for supporting “the war that raised gas prices.” In Bakersfield, Randy Villegas stood outside a Shell station last week and pledged to suspend the federal gas tax. And \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12102409/local-loyalties-and-trump-opposition-collide-in-san-diego-house-race\">in San Diego\u003c/a>, an ad for Marni von Wilpert “shows her at a gas station, where she promises to “bring your tax dollars home, not spend them on foreign wars that cost you money.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s all part of a nationwide Democratic push to turn the tables on an issue that haunted the party in the last two elections by hounding Republicans over price increases at the pump fueled by the war in Iran. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In California, however, the GOP is not yet ceding ground on the fuel price fight. Republicans remain confident that they can land attacks on Democrats over the state’s longstanding environmental policies, gas tax and supply constraints as the cost of living weighs on voters statewide. The blame game over gas prices is taking on heightened importance as California’s congressional battlegrounds move from the upscale coastal suburbs, where the Democratic “blue wave” first made landfall in 2018, to inland working-class communities where residents tend to drive more on average.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This year, California has three House contests widely considered to be the most competitive between Democrats and Republicans. An analysis by the Brookings Institution for KQED found that all three seats fall in the top third of California congressional districts in annual vehicle miles traveled per capita. “When [gas] prices go up … those who drive longer distances, those who have less room in their household budgets feel it the most,” said Adie Tomer, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. “Those households are really taking it on the chin right now.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When gas prices spiked in 2022, GOP groups pounded Central Valley Democrats Rudy Salas, who supported the state’s cap-and-trade program, and Adam Gray, who voted in favor of the gas tax increase. Both lost their campaigns that year, though Gray came back to win the 13th District in 2024. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Republicans took us to task on gas prices,” said Bill Wong, a Democratic strategist. Wong spent years leading the campaign arm for Democrats in the state Assembly, building a supermajority that allowed the party to pass the gas tax and an ambitious environmental agenda — and protecting it amid attacks from the GOP over fuel prices. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, he sees an opening for Democrats to at least neutralize the issue, as Iran’s attacks against ships carrying crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz sent prices soaring worldwide. Average gas prices have increased $1.35 per gallon since the beginning of the war, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcnews.com/data-graphics/gas-prices-iran-war-state-national-cost-trump-rcna265835\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according\u003c/a> to NBC News. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There’s a direct tie to something that they did with the increase in gas price,” Wong said. “I think it’s time for the Democrats to really lean into it and say, ‘Hey, you held us responsible for gas prices in the past, and now you’re in charge.’” Across the country, Democrats have taken up that call to flip the script. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/19/gas-prices-midterms-affordability-ads-01041175\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Politico analysis\u003c/a> of ad transcripts from the firm AdImpact found that roughly two-thirds of ads mentioning gas or gas prices in House or Senate elections came from Democrats. In 2024, 87% of gas price ads were run by Republicans. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12104940/as-central-valley-immigration-arrests-continue-advocates-say-ice-is-blocking-access-to-legal-counsel\">As Central Valley immigration arrests continue, advocates say ICE is blocking access to legal counsel\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since federal immigration agents descended on California’s Central Valley over the last two weeks, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12103799/bay-area-officials-immigration-advocates-brace-for-ice-surge-after-central-valley-arrests\">arresting scores of people\u003c/a> at gas stations, supermarkets and near agricultural fields, immigration attorneys say those arrested have been persistently denied access to legal counsel.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lawyers say U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has also failed to update the whereabouts of all those arrested in its \u003ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https://locator.ice.gov/odls/#/search\">“detainee locator” database\u003c/a>, meaning that dozens of individuals are essentially disappearing into ICE’s vast detention system.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since the surge in arrests began on Oct. 5, pro bono immigration attorneys working with rapid response networks have spent hours each day at ICE’s Fresno — and later Bakersfield — short-term processing facilities, asking to be admitted to identify who was detained and advise them of their rights, according to María Sofía Corona Gómez, directing attorney at the UFW Foundation in Fresno. On some days, lawyers said they gained entrance at 4 or 5 p.m. to discover dozens of people inside but were only given time to meet with two or three. On other days, they were not allowed inside ICE’s holding area at all. Then, within a day or so, those arrested were moved to other detention facilities — in California or as far away as Texas, she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In some instances, Corona Gómez said, she’s been given a name by a family member of a person who was arrested, but has been unable to locate them. \u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>They’re back there, and I’m not getting access,” she said. “And after hours [of waiting], I’m then being told, ‘Oh, now they’re not here. Now they’re at this detention center.’ But then we show up at the detention center, and it’s ‘No, they’re not in my system.’ Well, this is day five. This is day nine. Where are they?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In response to a request for comment on the arrest operation and concerns that detainees are being denied access to attorneys, an ICE spokesperson who would not provide their name issued the following statement: “For operational security and the safety of our officers, ICE will not disclose or discuss law enforcement operations. Every day, DHS enforces the laws of the nation across the country, including in California.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories on Friday, October 9, 2026\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>California now has a statewide guide for teaching about Native American history and culture. In the community of Bonsall in San Diego County, a high school teacher \u003ca href=\"https://www.kpbs.org/news/education/2026/10/02/californias-new-native-american-studies-curriculum-comes-alive-in-a-bonsall-classroom\">is weaving the curriculum into his history class.\u003c/a> \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Central Valley leaders are trying to assuage the anxieties of their constituents, who are worried about \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/community/2026-10-08/immigration-sweeps-hit-central-californias-farming-region-as-diesel-costs-also-worry-farmers\">a reported ICE crackdown\u003c/a> in the area.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kpbs.org/news/education/2026/10/02/californias-new-native-american-studies-curriculum-comes-alive-in-a-bonsall-classroom\">California’s new Native American studies curriculum comes alive in a Bonsall classroom\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Can a government legitimately claim territory, even when other people already live there? If land is not being farmed or developed, does someone else have a right to use it?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Greg Hinchliff’s 11th-grade history students grappled with these questions on a recent morning at Bonsall High School. They moved to different parts of the room depending on what they thought, gathering around signs that ranged from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Then, they repeated the activity from the perspectives of Native Americans, European settlers, monarchs and religious leaders. “European religious leaders,” Hinchliff said to a group of students. “What would they say about this statement, that explorers can claim that land?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“That they can claim it because they’re Christians, basically,” a student responded.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Right, because it goes back to that \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/03/30/1167056438/vatican-doctrine-of-discovery-colonialism-indigenous\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>doctrine of discovery\u003c/u>\u003c/a>,” Hinchliff said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The activity comes from California’s Native American Studies Model Curriculum. Published in 2025, it has hundreds of free lesson plans and teaching materials. Hinchliff helped write it. There are lessons \u003ca href=\"https://camodelcurricula.ucdavis.edu/native-american-studies/whats-in-a-name-native-place-names-and-perspectives\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">for elementary school students\u003c/a> about Indigenous and colonial place names. Eighth graders can learn about \u003ca href=\"https://camodelcurricula.ucdavis.edu/native-american-studies/tribal-governments-sovereignty-treaties-and-constitutions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tribal sovereignty and federal recognition\u003c/a>. High schoolers can learn about cultural fire practices.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 2021, the California Department of Education allocated $4 million to develop the curriculum. Joely Proudfit (Luiseño/Payómkawichum, Tongva), director of the California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center at CSU San Marcos, was one of three people from across the state selected to lead the project. “We really wanted tribal communities to take the lead in helping us write this curriculum,” Proudfit said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They held dozens of meetings with tribal communities throughout the state. There are 109 federally recognized tribes in California, plus many other tribal communities that aren’t recognized. “There’s not a lesson plan for every single tribe in the state,” Proudfit said. “This is merely the first step in the right direction.” Teachers can continue in the right direction, she said, by building relationships with members of local tribal communities.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/community/2026-10-08/immigration-sweeps-hit-central-californias-farming-region-as-diesel-costs-also-worry-farmers\">Immigration sweeps hit Central Valley\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There have been \u003ca href=\"https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article317542396.html\">reports this week\u003c/a> of a significant increase in immigration enforcement activity across the Central Valley.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In a statement, State Senator Anna Caballero said her office has received reports that upwards of 60 people have been taken into ICE custody in her district in the past few days. Her district includes Fresno, Madera and Merced counties.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Fresno City Councilman Miguel Arias cautioned Latino residents in particular during a city council meeting on Thursday. “Stay home. It’s not safe for you to be out. They’re not just picking up criminals, they’re not just picking up people who don’t have legal status, they’re picking up everyone,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Arias expressed concerns about the Big Fresno Fair, which opened this week. But in a statement, fair officials said they work diligently to provide a safe environment for the community. They also said they have not received any information about planned federal activity at the Fair. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Immigration agents appear \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/community/2026-10-08/immigration-sweeps-hit-central-californias-farming-region-as-diesel-costs-also-worry-farmers\">to be detaining farmworkers\u003c/a> along rural roads and others driving along busy city streets in Fresno County. Community-reported incidents of\u003ca href=\"https://iceout.org/en/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu> immigration agents conducting traffic stops\u003c/u>\u003c/a> have sent shock through the community. The sweeps come as farmers gear up to finish harvest for most crops in the Valley. In a statement on Thursday, the Nisei Farmers League also called on ICE to respect “the rights of farmers, farmworkers and communities.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>Central Valley leaders are trying to assuage the anxieties of their constituents, who are worried about \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/community/2026-10-08/immigration-sweeps-hit-central-californias-farming-region-as-diesel-costs-also-worry-farmers\">a reported ICE crackdown\u003c/a> in the area.\u003c/li>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Can a government legitimately claim territory, even when other people already live there? If land is not being farmed or developed, does someone else have a right to use it?\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Greg Hinchliff’s 11th-grade history students grappled with these questions on a recent morning at Bonsall High School. They moved to different parts of the room depending on what they thought, gathering around signs that ranged from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Then, they repeated the activity from the perspectives of Native Americans, European settlers, monarchs and religious leaders. “European religious leaders,” Hinchliff said to a group of students. “What would they say about this statement, that explorers can claim that land?”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“That they can claim it because they’re Christians, basically,” a student responded.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Right, because it goes back to that \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/03/30/1167056438/vatican-doctrine-of-discovery-colonialism-indigenous\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>doctrine of discovery\u003c/u>\u003c/a>,” Hinchliff said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The activity comes from California’s Native American Studies Model Curriculum. Published in 2025, it has hundreds of free lesson plans and teaching materials. Hinchliff helped write it. There are lessons \u003ca href=\"https://camodelcurricula.ucdavis.edu/native-american-studies/whats-in-a-name-native-place-names-and-perspectives\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">for elementary school students\u003c/a> about Indigenous and colonial place names. Eighth graders can learn about \u003ca href=\"https://camodelcurricula.ucdavis.edu/native-american-studies/tribal-governments-sovereignty-treaties-and-constitutions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tribal sovereignty and federal recognition\u003c/a>. High schoolers can learn about cultural fire practices.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The activity comes from California’s Native American Studies Model Curriculum. Published in 2025, it has hundreds of free lesson plans and teaching materials. Hinchliff helped write it. There are lessons \u003ca href=\"https://camodelcurricula.ucdavis.edu/native-american-studies/whats-in-a-name-native-place-names-and-perspectives\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">for elementary school students\u003c/a> about Indigenous and colonial place names. Eighth graders can learn about \u003ca href=\"https://camodelcurricula.ucdavis.edu/native-american-studies/tribal-governments-sovereignty-treaties-and-constitutions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tribal sovereignty and federal recognition\u003c/a>. High schoolers can learn about cultural fire practices.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In 2021, the California Department of Education allocated $4 million to develop the curriculum. Joely Proudfit (Luiseño/Payómkawichum, Tongva), director of the California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center at CSU San Marcos, was one of three people from across the state selected to lead the project. “We really wanted tribal communities to take the lead in helping us write this curriculum,” Proudfit said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>They held dozens of meetings with tribal communities throughout the state. There are 109 federally recognized tribes in California, plus many other tribal communities that aren’t recognized. “There’s not a lesson plan for every single tribe in the state,” Proudfit said. “This is merely the first step in the right direction.” Teachers can continue in the right direction, she said, by building relationships with members of local tribal communities.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>They held dozens of meetings with tribal communities throughout the state. There are 109 federally recognized tribes in California, plus many other tribal communities that aren’t recognized. “There’s not a lesson plan for every single tribe in the state,” Proudfit said. “This is merely the first step in the right direction.” Teachers can continue in the right direction, she said, by building relationships with members of local tribal communities.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>There have been \u003ca href=\"https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article317542396.html\">reports this week\u003c/a> of a significant increase in immigration enforcement activity across the Central Valley.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>There have been \u003ca href=\"https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article317542396.html\">reports this week\u003c/a> of a significant increase in immigration enforcement activity across the Central Valley.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In a statement, State Senator Anna Caballero said her office has received reports that upwards of 60 people have been taken into ICE custody in her district in the past few days. Her district includes Fresno, Madera and Merced counties.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Fresno City Councilman Miguel Arias cautioned Latino residents in particular during a city council meeting on Thursday. “Stay home. It’s not safe for you to be out. They’re not just picking up criminals, they’re not just picking up people who don’t have legal status, they’re picking up everyone,” he said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Fresno City Councilman Miguel Arias cautioned Latino residents in particular during a city council meeting on Thursday. “Stay home. It’s not safe for you to be out. They’re not just picking up criminals, they’re not just picking up people who don’t have legal status, they’re picking up everyone,” he said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Arias expressed concerns about the Big Fresno Fair, which opened this week. But in a statement, fair officials said they work diligently to provide a safe environment for the community. They also said they have not received any information about planned federal activity at the Fair. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Immigration agents appear \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/community/2026-10-08/immigration-sweeps-hit-central-californias-farming-region-as-diesel-costs-also-worry-farmers\">to be detaining farmworkers\u003c/a> along rural roads and others driving along busy city streets in Fresno County. Community-reported incidents of\u003ca href=\"https://iceout.org/en/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu> immigration agents conducting traffic stops\u003c/u>\u003c/a> have sent shock through the community. The sweeps come as farmers gear up to finish harvest for most crops in the Valley. In a statement on Thursday, the Nisei Farmers League also called on ICE to respect “the rights of farmers, farmworkers and communities.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Immigration agents appear \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/community/2026-10-08/immigration-sweeps-hit-central-californias-farming-region-as-diesel-costs-also-worry-farmers\">to be detaining farmworkers\u003c/a> along rural roads and others driving along busy city streets in Fresno County. Community-reported incidents of\u003ca href=\"https://iceout.org/en/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu> immigration agents conducting traffic stops\u003c/u>\u003c/a> have sent shock through the community. The sweeps come as farmers gear up to finish harvest for most crops in the Valley. In a statement on Thursday, the Nisei Farmers League also called on ICE to respect “the rights of farmers, farmworkers and communities.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories on Friday, October 9, 2026\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>California now has a statewide guide for teaching about Native American history and culture. In the community of Bonsall in San Diego County, a high school teacher \u003ca href=\"https://www.kpbs.org/news/education/2026/10/02/californias-new-native-american-studies-curriculum-comes-alive-in-a-bonsall-classroom\">is weaving the curriculum into his history class.\u003c/a> \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Central Valley leaders are trying to assuage the anxieties of their constituents, who are worried about \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/community/2026-10-08/immigration-sweeps-hit-central-californias-farming-region-as-diesel-costs-also-worry-farmers\">a reported ICE crackdown\u003c/a> in the area.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kpbs.org/news/education/2026/10/02/californias-new-native-american-studies-curriculum-comes-alive-in-a-bonsall-classroom\">California’s new Native American studies curriculum comes alive in a Bonsall classroom\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Can a government legitimately claim territory, even when other people already live there? If land is not being farmed or developed, does someone else have a right to use it?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Greg Hinchliff’s 11th-grade history students grappled with these questions on a recent morning at Bonsall High School. They moved to different parts of the room depending on what they thought, gathering around signs that ranged from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Then, they repeated the activity from the perspectives of Native Americans, European settlers, monarchs and religious leaders. “European religious leaders,” Hinchliff said to a group of students. “What would they say about this statement, that explorers can claim that land?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“That they can claim it because they’re Christians, basically,” a student responded.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Right, because it goes back to that \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/03/30/1167056438/vatican-doctrine-of-discovery-colonialism-indigenous\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>doctrine of discovery\u003c/u>\u003c/a>,” Hinchliff said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The activity comes from California’s Native American Studies Model Curriculum. Published in 2025, it has hundreds of free lesson plans and teaching materials. Hinchliff helped write it. There are lessons \u003ca href=\"https://camodelcurricula.ucdavis.edu/native-american-studies/whats-in-a-name-native-place-names-and-perspectives\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">for elementary school students\u003c/a> about Indigenous and colonial place names. Eighth graders can learn about \u003ca href=\"https://camodelcurricula.ucdavis.edu/native-american-studies/tribal-governments-sovereignty-treaties-and-constitutions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tribal sovereignty and federal recognition\u003c/a>. High schoolers can learn about cultural fire practices.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 2021, the California Department of Education allocated $4 million to develop the curriculum. Joely Proudfit (Luiseño/Payómkawichum, Tongva), director of the California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center at CSU San Marcos, was one of three people from across the state selected to lead the project. “We really wanted tribal communities to take the lead in helping us write this curriculum,” Proudfit said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They held dozens of meetings with tribal communities throughout the state. There are 109 federally recognized tribes in California, plus many other tribal communities that aren’t recognized. “There’s not a lesson plan for every single tribe in the state,” Proudfit said. “This is merely the first step in the right direction.” Teachers can continue in the right direction, she said, by building relationships with members of local tribal communities.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/community/2026-10-08/immigration-sweeps-hit-central-californias-farming-region-as-diesel-costs-also-worry-farmers\">Immigration sweeps hit Central Valley\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There have been \u003ca href=\"https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article317542396.html\">reports this week\u003c/a> of a significant increase in immigration enforcement activity across the Central Valley.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In a statement, State Senator Anna Caballero said her office has received reports that upwards of 60 people have been taken into ICE custody in her district in the past few days. Her district includes Fresno, Madera and Merced counties.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Fresno City Councilman Miguel Arias cautioned Latino residents in particular during a city council meeting on Thursday. “Stay home. It’s not safe for you to be out. They’re not just picking up criminals, they’re not just picking up people who don’t have legal status, they’re picking up everyone,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Arias expressed concerns about the Big Fresno Fair, which opened this week. But in a statement, fair officials said they work diligently to provide a safe environment for the community. They also said they have not received any information about planned federal activity at the Fair. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Immigration agents appear \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/community/2026-10-08/immigration-sweeps-hit-central-californias-farming-region-as-diesel-costs-also-worry-farmers\">to be detaining farmworkers\u003c/a> along rural roads and others driving along busy city streets in Fresno County. Community-reported incidents of\u003ca href=\"https://iceout.org/en/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu> immigration agents conducting traffic stops\u003c/u>\u003c/a> have sent shock through the community. The sweeps come as farmers gear up to finish harvest for most crops in the Valley. In a statement on Thursday, the Nisei Farmers League also called on ICE to respect “the rights of farmers, farmworkers and communities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "historians-try-to-discover-mystery-behind-central-valley-7up-signs",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories on Wednesday, September 23, 2026\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>7UP is one of the most recognizable drinks in the world. But what’s less known is a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/community/2026-09-16/this-is-the-magical-part-how-historians-are-uncovering-the-mystery-behind-valley-7up-signs\">connection in the San Joaquin Valley\u003c/a> that began almost a century ago. Billboards and signs of the once flourishing Valley industry have enticed historians for years. \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>The governor has signed legislation that \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/education/early-childhood-education-pre-k/death-palmdale-gabriel-fernandez\">strengthens protections for abused children.\u003c/a> \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>The U.S. Supreme Court has \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/surrogate-mckenna-west-texas-california-902a047c6f483cb8e03f759557b3dd21\">declined to step into a custody dispute \u003c/a>involving a California couple and the surrogate who gave birth to their baby in Texas.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/community/2026-09-16/this-is-the-magical-part-how-historians-are-uncovering-the-mystery-behind-valley-7up-signs\">How historians are uncovering the mystery behind Valley 7UP signs\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It was a bustling afternoon in the heart of downtown Merced, and Kern County historian Mike McCoy craned his neck to stare up at a billboard with faded red paint and neon casings. The billboard is advertising the soda brand 7UP. It features the decades-old slogans “Fresh Up with 7UP” and “It likes you!”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think it’s beautiful,” McCoy said in awe. “See the bubbles? The bubbles would have moved.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>McCoy stopped for lunch at the Mexican restaurant next to the sign while on a road trip. The pitstop was sort of ironic — earlier that week, he tracked down another 7UP sign for the Kern County Museum, which originally stood atop a bottling plant in Bakersfield. “It had this large, 20-foot metal tower, and at the top of that tower was this 10-foot sign that actually rotated at one point,” McCoy said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>These are among at least four vintage 7UP signs remaining in the Valley. The other two are located in Fresno. 7UP, the lemon-lime flavored soda produced by Keurig Dr Pepper, is one of the most recognizable drinks in the world. What’s less known is the connection to the San Joaquin Valley that began almost a century ago.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For years, the billboards and signs reflecting the once flourishing Valley industry have enticed some local historians, like McCoy. He said they evoke memories for locals, too. “It’s not about the sign. It’s about the business, and it’s about the people that ran that business,” McCoy said. “Sometimes the buildings were torn down, and the sign is the only thing that remains from businesses that are 100 years old.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The origins of most of the 7UP signs in the region remain a mystery — but that doesn’t stop community members from wondering about who put them up or why they’re still around. In Merced, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/groups/333987246803860/posts/2844373292431897/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>conversation\u003c/u>\u003c/a> on Facebook showed many users presumed the sign in the city was owned by Maria’s Mexican Kitchen restaurant next door. KVPR spoke to the restaurant’s manager, Miriam Valenzuela, but she dispelled that rumor and claimed it was owned by the city. But Jennifer Flachman, the city of Merced’s spokesperson, told KVPR in a written response it’s not the city’s property, either, and that the billboard is located on private property. Flachman didn’t reveal who the owner was.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sarah Lim, director at the Merced County Courthouse museum, is another historian looking into 7UP’s local ties. 7UP is almost 100 years old, but she thinks the Merced sign likely came more than a decade later. Lim estimates Merced’s sign was put up in 1941. She never found out the original owner or exact date it was erected, but a hamburger joint with fountain drinks opened nearby around that time. A 7UP distributor also operated just down the street, with another location in Mariposa. “I don’t know if the distributor put the sign up, or if the 7UP company put up the sign, but regardless, it was a great collaboration between the restaurant, the dealer and the 7UP company to promote the 7UP drinks,” Lim said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lim said the number of bubbles on the sign also gave a clue to the timeline. “This is the magical part,” Lim said, laughing. “Counting the bubbles!” 7UP logos originally had seven bubbles, but this billboard and another in Fresno both have eight. The company made this change around 1940, Lim said. These findings are significant, Lim said, but not just for her own curiosity. Lim said signs are a big pinpoint for people, but so is any artifact from a specific time.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/education/early-childhood-education-pre-k/death-palmdale-gabriel-fernandez\">New law aims to hold social workers more accountable, years after death of abused Palmdale child\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill aimed at protecting children who are abused.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB2304\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>law\u003c/u>\u003c/a>, which went into effect this week, is named “Gabriel’s Law,” after Gabriel Fernandez — an 8-year-old boy in Palmdale who died in 2013 after being tortured and abused by his mother and her boyfriend. “It devastated the community. Still has,” said State Assemblymember Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale), who worked on legislation related to Gabriel’s case for years. “It hasn’t gone away, right? It’s something we still acknowledge.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since Fernandez’s death, the Antelope Valley has seen a number of \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-03-29/noah-cuatro-mother-court-hearing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>high-profile\u003c/u>\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/criminal-justice/anthony-avalos-heather-barron-kareem-leiva-sentencing-life-in-prison\">child deaths\u003c/a> at the hands of their parents.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The new law requires social workers to make sure a child gets emergency medical care when needed, and it makes it easier to prosecute social workers who knowingly falsify records. Officials said there had been warning signs about Fernandez’s abuse, but social workers with the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services failed to follow up on them. The high-profile case prompted \u003ca href=\"https://dcfs.lacounty.gov/statement-from-the-department-of-children-and-family-services-on-the-trials-of-gabriel-fernandez-netflix-documentary-series/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>internal reforms\u003c/u>\u003c/a> in the agency.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Before this week, the law said that social workers may authorize care if a child needs immediate emergency care, but did not require it. Gabriel’s law requires a social worker to secure medical care for a child. “ They call for an ambulance or escort the child to an emergency room— make sure a physician has the opportunity to provide some level of remedy and documentation of the injury,” Lackey said. It also clarifies the law so that social workers who are guilty of falsifying or destroying public records can be imprisoned or fined.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/surrogate-mckenna-west-texas-california-902a047c6f483cb8e03f759557b3dd21\">US Supreme Court won’t intervene in custody dispute between California couple and surrogate\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to intervene \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/surrogacy-supreme-court-california-texas-2d9a55627a76f26d0079bf9c9ed99560\">in a custody dispute\u003c/a> over a 5-week-old child who was born in Texas after \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/baby-surrogacy-mckenna-ivf-texas-heart-surgery-3df649dd00acd9fec8324687be557044\">a surrogate refused\u003c/a> a California couple’s wishes to have an abortion.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Justice Elena Kagan denied the request from \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/surrogacy-supreme-court-california-texas-2d9a55627a76f26d0079bf9c9ed99560\">McKenna West\u003c/a>, who was seeking conservatorship over a baby boy she gave birth to in Dallas. The brief order did not detail the legal reasoning, as is typical in emergency appeals. The decision came from Kagan because she handles appeals of cases out of California.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Multiple courts have rejected West’s efforts to have a say in the treatment of the child, who was born with a life-threatening heart condition. She gave birth to the boy in Dallas, where most abortions are banned, after she refused the couple’s wishes to end the pregnancy. West had asked the Supreme Court to halt a California court order that recognizes Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar as the parents of the child whom she calls Gabriel and they call Rumi.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>7UP is one of the most recognizable drinks in the world. But what’s less known is a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/community/2026-09-16/this-is-the-magical-part-how-historians-are-uncovering-the-mystery-behind-valley-7up-signs\">connection in the San Joaquin Valley\u003c/a> that began almost a century ago. Billboards and signs of the once flourishing Valley industry have enticed historians for years. \u003c/li>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>The governor has signed legislation that \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/education/early-childhood-education-pre-k/death-palmdale-gabriel-fernandez\">strengthens protections for abused children.\u003c/a> \u003c/li>\n",
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"\n\u003cli>The governor has signed legislation that \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/education/early-childhood-education-pre-k/death-palmdale-gabriel-fernandez\">strengthens protections for abused children.\u003c/a> \u003c/li>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>The U.S. Supreme Court has \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/surrogate-mckenna-west-texas-california-902a047c6f483cb8e03f759557b3dd21\">declined to step into a custody dispute \u003c/a>involving a California couple and the surrogate who gave birth to their baby in Texas.\u003c/li>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It was a bustling afternoon in the heart of downtown Merced, and Kern County historian Mike McCoy craned his neck to stare up at a billboard with faded red paint and neon casings. The billboard is advertising the soda brand 7UP. It features the decades-old slogans “Fresh Up with 7UP” and “It likes you!”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It was a bustling afternoon in the heart of downtown Merced, and Kern County historian Mike McCoy craned his neck to stare up at a billboard with faded red paint and neon casings. The billboard is advertising the soda brand 7UP. It features the decades-old slogans “Fresh Up with 7UP” and “It likes you!”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I think it’s beautiful,” McCoy said in awe. “See the bubbles? The bubbles would have moved.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>McCoy stopped for lunch at the Mexican restaurant next to the sign while on a road trip. The pitstop was sort of ironic — earlier that week, he tracked down another 7UP sign for the Kern County Museum, which originally stood atop a bottling plant in Bakersfield. “It had this large, 20-foot metal tower, and at the top of that tower was this 10-foot sign that actually rotated at one point,” McCoy said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>McCoy stopped for lunch at the Mexican restaurant next to the sign while on a road trip. The pitstop was sort of ironic — earlier that week, he tracked down another 7UP sign for the Kern County Museum, which originally stood atop a bottling plant in Bakersfield. “It had this large, 20-foot metal tower, and at the top of that tower was this 10-foot sign that actually rotated at one point,” McCoy said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>These are among at least four vintage 7UP signs remaining in the Valley. The other two are located in Fresno. 7UP, the lemon-lime flavored soda produced by Keurig Dr Pepper, is one of the most recognizable drinks in the world. What’s less known is the connection to the San Joaquin Valley that began almost a century ago.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>These are among at least four vintage 7UP signs remaining in the Valley. The other two are located in Fresno. 7UP, the lemon-lime flavored soda produced by Keurig Dr Pepper, is one of the most recognizable drinks in the world. What’s less known is the connection to the San Joaquin Valley that began almost a century ago.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For years, the billboards and signs reflecting the once flourishing Valley industry have enticed some local historians, like McCoy. He said they evoke memories for locals, too. “It’s not about the sign. It’s about the business, and it’s about the people that ran that business,” McCoy said. “Sometimes the buildings were torn down, and the sign is the only thing that remains from businesses that are 100 years old.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For years, the billboards and signs reflecting the once flourishing Valley industry have enticed some local historians, like McCoy. He said they evoke memories for locals, too. “It’s not about the sign. It’s about the business, and it’s about the people that ran that business,” McCoy said. “Sometimes the buildings were torn down, and the sign is the only thing that remains from businesses that are 100 years old.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The origins of most of the 7UP signs in the region remain a mystery — but that doesn’t stop community members from wondering about who put them up or why they’re still around. In Merced, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/groups/333987246803860/posts/2844373292431897/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>conversation\u003c/u>\u003c/a> on Facebook showed many users presumed the sign in the city was owned by Maria’s Mexican Kitchen restaurant next door. KVPR spoke to the restaurant’s manager, Miriam Valenzuela, but she dispelled that rumor and claimed it was owned by the city. But Jennifer Flachman, the city of Merced’s spokesperson, told KVPR in a written response it’s not the city’s property, either, and that the billboard is located on private property. Flachman didn’t reveal who the owner was.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The origins of most of the 7UP signs in the region remain a mystery — but that doesn’t stop community members from wondering about who put them up or why they’re still around. In Merced, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/groups/333987246803860/posts/2844373292431897/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>conversation\u003c/u>\u003c/a> on Facebook showed many users presumed the sign in the city was owned by Maria’s Mexican Kitchen restaurant next door. KVPR spoke to the restaurant’s manager, Miriam Valenzuela, but she dispelled that rumor and claimed it was owned by the city. But Jennifer Flachman, the city of Merced’s spokesperson, told KVPR in a written response it’s not the city’s property, either, and that the billboard is located on private property. Flachman didn’t reveal who the owner was.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Sarah Lim, director at the Merced County Courthouse museum, is another historian looking into 7UP’s local ties. 7UP is almost 100 years old, but she thinks the Merced sign likely came more than a decade later. Lim estimates Merced’s sign was put up in 1941. She never found out the original owner or exact date it was erected, but a hamburger joint with fountain drinks opened nearby around that time. A 7UP distributor also operated just down the street, with another location in Mariposa. “I don’t know if the distributor put the sign up, or if the 7UP company put up the sign, but regardless, it was a great collaboration between the restaurant, the dealer and the 7UP company to promote the 7UP drinks,” Lim said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Sarah Lim, director at the Merced County Courthouse museum, is another historian looking into 7UP’s local ties. 7UP is almost 100 years old, but she thinks the Merced sign likely came more than a decade later. Lim estimates Merced’s sign was put up in 1941. She never found out the original owner or exact date it was erected, but a hamburger joint with fountain drinks opened nearby around that time. A 7UP distributor also operated just down the street, with another location in Mariposa. “I don’t know if the distributor put the sign up, or if the 7UP company put up the sign, but regardless, it was a great collaboration between the restaurant, the dealer and the 7UP company to promote the 7UP drinks,” Lim said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Lim said the number of bubbles on the sign also gave a clue to the timeline. “This is the magical part,” Lim said, laughing. “Counting the bubbles!” 7UP logos originally had seven bubbles, but this billboard and another in Fresno both have eight. The company made this change around 1940, Lim said. These findings are significant, Lim said, but not just for her own curiosity. Lim said signs are a big pinpoint for people, but so is any artifact from a specific time.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Lim said the number of bubbles on the sign also gave a clue to the timeline. “This is the magical part,” Lim said, laughing. “Counting the bubbles!” 7UP logos originally had seven bubbles, but this billboard and another in Fresno both have eight. The company made this change around 1940, Lim said. These findings are significant, Lim said, but not just for her own curiosity. Lim said signs are a big pinpoint for people, but so is any artifact from a specific time.\u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "New law aims to hold social workers more accountable, years after death of abused Palmdale child",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill aimed at protecting children who are abused.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill aimed at protecting children who are abused.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB2304\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>law\u003c/u>\u003c/a>, which went into effect this week, is named “Gabriel’s Law,” after Gabriel Fernandez — an 8-year-old boy in Palmdale who died in 2013 after being tortured and abused by his mother and her boyfriend. “It devastated the community. Still has,” said State Assemblymember Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale), who worked on legislation related to Gabriel’s case for years. “It hasn’t gone away, right? It’s something we still acknowledge.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB2304\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>law\u003c/u>\u003c/a>, which went into effect this week, is named “Gabriel’s Law,” after Gabriel Fernandez — an 8-year-old boy in Palmdale who died in 2013 after being tortured and abused by his mother and her boyfriend. “It devastated the community. Still has,” said State Assemblymember Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale), who worked on legislation related to Gabriel’s case for years. “It hasn’t gone away, right? It’s something we still acknowledge.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Since Fernandez’s death, the Antelope Valley has seen a number of \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-03-29/noah-cuatro-mother-court-hearing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>high-profile\u003c/u>\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/criminal-justice/anthony-avalos-heather-barron-kareem-leiva-sentencing-life-in-prison\">child deaths\u003c/a> at the hands of their parents.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Since Fernandez’s death, the Antelope Valley has seen a number of \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-03-29/noah-cuatro-mother-court-hearing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>high-profile\u003c/u>\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/criminal-justice/anthony-avalos-heather-barron-kareem-leiva-sentencing-life-in-prison\">child deaths\u003c/a> at the hands of their parents.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Before this week, the law said that social workers may authorize care if a child needs immediate emergency care, but did not require it. Gabriel’s law requires a social worker to secure medical care for a child. “ They call for an ambulance or escort the child to an emergency room— make sure a physician has the opportunity to provide some level of remedy and documentation of the injury,” Lackey said. It also clarifies the law so that social workers who are guilty of falsifying or destroying public records can be imprisoned or fined.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Before this week, the law said that social workers may authorize care if a child needs immediate emergency care, but did not require it. Gabriel’s law requires a social worker to secure medical care for a child. “ They call for an ambulance or escort the child to an emergency room— make sure a physician has the opportunity to provide some level of remedy and documentation of the injury,” Lackey said. It also clarifies the law so that social workers who are guilty of falsifying or destroying public records can be imprisoned or fined.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to intervene \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/surrogacy-supreme-court-california-texas-2d9a55627a76f26d0079bf9c9ed99560\">in a custody dispute\u003c/a> over a 5-week-old child who was born in Texas after \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/baby-surrogacy-mckenna-ivf-texas-heart-surgery-3df649dd00acd9fec8324687be557044\">a surrogate refused\u003c/a> a California couple’s wishes to have an abortion.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Justice Elena Kagan denied the request from \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/surrogacy-supreme-court-california-texas-2d9a55627a76f26d0079bf9c9ed99560\">McKenna West\u003c/a>, who was seeking conservatorship over a baby boy she gave birth to in Dallas. The brief order did not detail the legal reasoning, as is typical in emergency appeals. The decision came from Kagan because she handles appeals of cases out of California.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Multiple courts have rejected West’s efforts to have a say in the treatment of the child, who was born with a life-threatening heart condition. She gave birth to the boy in Dallas, where most abortions are banned, after she refused the couple’s wishes to end the pregnancy. West had asked the Supreme Court to halt a California court order that recognizes Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar as the parents of the child whom she calls Gabriel and they call Rumi.\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories on Wednesday, September 23, 2026\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>7UP is one of the most recognizable drinks in the world. But what’s less known is a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/community/2026-09-16/this-is-the-magical-part-how-historians-are-uncovering-the-mystery-behind-valley-7up-signs\">connection in the San Joaquin Valley\u003c/a> that began almost a century ago. Billboards and signs of the once flourishing Valley industry have enticed historians for years. \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>The governor has signed legislation that \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/education/early-childhood-education-pre-k/death-palmdale-gabriel-fernandez\">strengthens protections for abused children.\u003c/a> \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>The U.S. Supreme Court has \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/surrogate-mckenna-west-texas-california-902a047c6f483cb8e03f759557b3dd21\">declined to step into a custody dispute \u003c/a>involving a California couple and the surrogate who gave birth to their baby in Texas.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/community/2026-09-16/this-is-the-magical-part-how-historians-are-uncovering-the-mystery-behind-valley-7up-signs\">How historians are uncovering the mystery behind Valley 7UP signs\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It was a bustling afternoon in the heart of downtown Merced, and Kern County historian Mike McCoy craned his neck to stare up at a billboard with faded red paint and neon casings. The billboard is advertising the soda brand 7UP. It features the decades-old slogans “Fresh Up with 7UP” and “It likes you!”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think it’s beautiful,” McCoy said in awe. “See the bubbles? The bubbles would have moved.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>McCoy stopped for lunch at the Mexican restaurant next to the sign while on a road trip. The pitstop was sort of ironic — earlier that week, he tracked down another 7UP sign for the Kern County Museum, which originally stood atop a bottling plant in Bakersfield. “It had this large, 20-foot metal tower, and at the top of that tower was this 10-foot sign that actually rotated at one point,” McCoy said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>These are among at least four vintage 7UP signs remaining in the Valley. The other two are located in Fresno. 7UP, the lemon-lime flavored soda produced by Keurig Dr Pepper, is one of the most recognizable drinks in the world. What’s less known is the connection to the San Joaquin Valley that began almost a century ago.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For years, the billboards and signs reflecting the once flourishing Valley industry have enticed some local historians, like McCoy. He said they evoke memories for locals, too. “It’s not about the sign. It’s about the business, and it’s about the people that ran that business,” McCoy said. “Sometimes the buildings were torn down, and the sign is the only thing that remains from businesses that are 100 years old.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The origins of most of the 7UP signs in the region remain a mystery — but that doesn’t stop community members from wondering about who put them up or why they’re still around. In Merced, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/groups/333987246803860/posts/2844373292431897/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>conversation\u003c/u>\u003c/a> on Facebook showed many users presumed the sign in the city was owned by Maria’s Mexican Kitchen restaurant next door. KVPR spoke to the restaurant’s manager, Miriam Valenzuela, but she dispelled that rumor and claimed it was owned by the city. But Jennifer Flachman, the city of Merced’s spokesperson, told KVPR in a written response it’s not the city’s property, either, and that the billboard is located on private property. Flachman didn’t reveal who the owner was.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sarah Lim, director at the Merced County Courthouse museum, is another historian looking into 7UP’s local ties. 7UP is almost 100 years old, but she thinks the Merced sign likely came more than a decade later. Lim estimates Merced’s sign was put up in 1941. She never found out the original owner or exact date it was erected, but a hamburger joint with fountain drinks opened nearby around that time. A 7UP distributor also operated just down the street, with another location in Mariposa. “I don’t know if the distributor put the sign up, or if the 7UP company put up the sign, but regardless, it was a great collaboration between the restaurant, the dealer and the 7UP company to promote the 7UP drinks,” Lim said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lim said the number of bubbles on the sign also gave a clue to the timeline. “This is the magical part,” Lim said, laughing. “Counting the bubbles!” 7UP logos originally had seven bubbles, but this billboard and another in Fresno both have eight. The company made this change around 1940, Lim said. These findings are significant, Lim said, but not just for her own curiosity. Lim said signs are a big pinpoint for people, but so is any artifact from a specific time.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/education/early-childhood-education-pre-k/death-palmdale-gabriel-fernandez\">New law aims to hold social workers more accountable, years after death of abused Palmdale child\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill aimed at protecting children who are abused.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB2304\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>law\u003c/u>\u003c/a>, which went into effect this week, is named “Gabriel’s Law,” after Gabriel Fernandez — an 8-year-old boy in Palmdale who died in 2013 after being tortured and abused by his mother and her boyfriend. “It devastated the community. Still has,” said State Assemblymember Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale), who worked on legislation related to Gabriel’s case for years. “It hasn’t gone away, right? It’s something we still acknowledge.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since Fernandez’s death, the Antelope Valley has seen a number of \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-03-29/noah-cuatro-mother-court-hearing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>high-profile\u003c/u>\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/criminal-justice/anthony-avalos-heather-barron-kareem-leiva-sentencing-life-in-prison\">child deaths\u003c/a> at the hands of their parents.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The new law requires social workers to make sure a child gets emergency medical care when needed, and it makes it easier to prosecute social workers who knowingly falsify records. Officials said there had been warning signs about Fernandez’s abuse, but social workers with the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services failed to follow up on them. The high-profile case prompted \u003ca href=\"https://dcfs.lacounty.gov/statement-from-the-department-of-children-and-family-services-on-the-trials-of-gabriel-fernandez-netflix-documentary-series/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>internal reforms\u003c/u>\u003c/a> in the agency.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Before this week, the law said that social workers may authorize care if a child needs immediate emergency care, but did not require it. Gabriel’s law requires a social worker to secure medical care for a child. “ They call for an ambulance or escort the child to an emergency room— make sure a physician has the opportunity to provide some level of remedy and documentation of the injury,” Lackey said. It also clarifies the law so that social workers who are guilty of falsifying or destroying public records can be imprisoned or fined.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/surrogate-mckenna-west-texas-california-902a047c6f483cb8e03f759557b3dd21\">US Supreme Court won’t intervene in custody dispute between California couple and surrogate\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to intervene \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/surrogacy-supreme-court-california-texas-2d9a55627a76f26d0079bf9c9ed99560\">in a custody dispute\u003c/a> over a 5-week-old child who was born in Texas after \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/baby-surrogacy-mckenna-ivf-texas-heart-surgery-3df649dd00acd9fec8324687be557044\">a surrogate refused\u003c/a> a California couple’s wishes to have an abortion.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Justice Elena Kagan denied the request from \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/surrogacy-supreme-court-california-texas-2d9a55627a76f26d0079bf9c9ed99560\">McKenna West\u003c/a>, who was seeking conservatorship over a baby boy she gave birth to in Dallas. The brief order did not detail the legal reasoning, as is typical in emergency appeals. The decision came from Kagan because she handles appeals of cases out of California.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Multiple courts have rejected West’s efforts to have a say in the treatment of the child, who was born with a life-threatening heart condition. She gave birth to the boy in Dallas, where most abortions are banned, after she refused the couple’s wishes to end the pregnancy. West had asked the Supreme Court to halt a California court order that recognizes Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar as the parents of the child whom she calls Gabriel and they call Rumi.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "central-valley-farmers-are-growing-agave-to-save-water",
"title": "Central Valley Farmers are Growing Agave to Save Water",
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"headTitle": "Central Valley Farmers are Growing Agave to Save Water | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories on Tuesday, August 25, 2026\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>For centuries, Mexico has capitalized on growing and harvesting a plant often distilled into Tequila or Mezcal. It’s called agave and it thrives on little water and a lot of heat. Now, with a California law restricting water use on farms, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/environment/2026-08-19/as-state-water-law-threatens-valley-farms-farmers-say-they-are-preaching-the-gospel-of-agave\">Valley farmers are looking to agave \u003c/a>as a new revenue stream on their land, and working to localize supply.\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>California’s highest \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12096491/california-supreme-court-appears-skeptical-of-biancos-ballot-seizure\">court is weighing whether a sheriff broke the law\u003c/a> when he seized hundreds of thousands of ballots earlier this year. The court heard oral arguments Monday.\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>The Trump administration has ended a long standing agreement that kept ICE out of workplaces that are being investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor. \u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/environment/2026-08-19/as-state-water-law-threatens-valley-farms-farmers-say-they-are-preaching-the-gospel-of-agave\">“Preaching the Gospel of Agave”\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When James Hunt planted 14 acres of agave on his secluded Merced farm last year, he thought he’d harvest it for liquor. But then he did more research on the large spiky succulent, and that dream snowballed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You could have spirits, agave syrup, agave inulin, biofuel, sustainable aviation fuel,” says Hunt.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He knew these ideas needed an industry in the US, so he started preaching the gospel of agave he says, to anyone who would listen.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I was a farm manager, farm operator, and now I’m an industry advocate, trying to build out something that I think can have a lot of benefit for small farms in general,” says Hunt. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hunt knows many growers who are testing out agave right now, but it’s not just for kicks. It’s also out of necessity, and it has to do with groundwater.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Josh Viers is a professor of civil and environmental engineering at U-C Merced. “We’re taking more water out than is going back in,” he says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Viers is describing groundwater overdraft. That happens when groundwater gets taken out, but not replenished. It dries wells and sinks land.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So in 2014, California legislators enacted a law called the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, or SGMA to stabilize water use.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It gave them a drawdown period over 30 years to be able to meet that sustainability target, and also to maintain some specific guardrails, you might say, about that use,” says Viers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>SGMA created local agencies to gradually limit the use of the water. That means farmers are making cuts, like watering a few inches of soil on crops like agave instead of a few feet of soil on an almond tree.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some farmers, are more equipped than others.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Omar Ramirez is a grower in Le Grand – a community in southeast Merced County, but he also owns a Tequila line based in Mexico called Luna Yena.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“A lot of my businesses have arose from problems and there’s a common saying that if you know how to solve people’s problems, you’re always going to have work,” says Ramirez.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He lived in Mexico for a few years as a kid. In Le Grand he used to grow almonds, until profits tanked a few years ago. With SGMA in focus, he thought, ‘Why not try something familiar?’\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He planted 100 acres of agave.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“As a Mexican myself, Mexican American, that light bulb lit to say, ‘Hey, you know what? I think this is a perfect way to bring both of my cultures that I really love into one location.’\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He’s excited about conversations that go beyond alcohol. He might make spirits, but he’s also looking at animal feed and building materials.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He says opportunities that arise in the United States are a bit different than what are destined in Mexico.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hunt also feels good about agave’s destiny here. Nearly all of his plants survived the winter frost, even though some have dried up tips.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’ll be four to six years before the first batch are ready to harvest, and he’ll spend that time trying to develop the agave economy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Farming is a gamble,” says Hunt. “And I’m willing to go out on a limb for this because I believe in it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He’s lived on this land his whole life, and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12096491/california-supreme-court-appears-skeptical-of-biancos-ballot-seizure\">California Supreme Court Appear Skeptical of Bianco’s Ballot Seizure\u003c/a> \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>During oral arguments in San Francisco, the court’s justices peppered Bianco’s attorney, Bradley Hertz, with questions as to why the sheriff was not bound by state laws that restrict access to ballots during a criminal prosecution. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sheriff Chad Bianco of Riverside County took the ballots after last year’s statewide election on redistricting to favor Democrats.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bianco, who’s a Republican and was then running for governor, says he was investigating voter fraud. His attorney Hertz says Bianco had a warrant and acted within the law. Specifically, that state law limits access to ballots only during prosecutions — not investigations.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But Sonni Waknin, an attorney for the plaintiffs who spoke after the hearing, says a warrant doesn’t trump California election code. Not even an elected sheriff has the power to ignore election rules and seize cast ballots outside the view of the public.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The showdown comes as California’s expansive system of vote-by-mail \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12077846/threats-to-californias-vote-by-mail-mount-before-june-primary\">faces attacks\u003c/a> not only from President Donald Trump, who has labeled mail balloting a form of cheating, but also from local election officials aligned with the president. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The court also heard a case about whether California’s Attorney General has authority to tell Bianco to stop his investigation. The court has 90 days to issue its decisions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘Deferred Action for Labor Enforcement’ Program Shielded Workers Reporting Abuse\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Undocumented workers won’t talk to investigators about wage theft, or anything else, if they fear employers will retaliate by calling ICE.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This prompted an agreement between federal labor and immigration authorities back in 2011. But a labor spokesperson confirmed to KQED the deal is no longer in effect.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Josh Rosenthal is with the Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This agreement served as an important, if imperfect, backstop to say employers can’t use ICE as a weapon to protect their labor violations.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Retaliation is illegal, but advocates say reports of employers threatening workers with ICE have gone up in California.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories on Tuesday, August 25, 2026\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"For centuries, Mexico has capitalized on growing and harvesting a plant often distilled into Tequila or Mezcal. It’s called agave and it thrives on little water and a lot of heat. Now, with a California law restricting water use on farms, Valley farmers are looking to agave as a new revenue stream on their land, and working to localize supply.",
"California’s highest court is weighing whether a sheriff broke the law when he seized hundreds of thousands of ballots earlier this year. The court heard oral arguments Monday.",
"The Trump administration has ended a long standing agreement that kept ICE out of workplaces that are being investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor."
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>For centuries, Mexico has capitalized on growing and harvesting a plant often distilled into Tequila or Mezcal. It’s called agave and it thrives on little water and a lot of heat. Now, with a California law restricting water use on farms, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/environment/2026-08-19/as-state-water-law-threatens-valley-farms-farmers-say-they-are-preaching-the-gospel-of-agave\">Valley farmers are looking to agave \u003c/a>as a new revenue stream on their land, and working to localize supply.\u003c/li>\n",
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"\n\u003cli>For centuries, Mexico has capitalized on growing and harvesting a plant often distilled into Tequila or Mezcal. It’s called agave and it thrives on little water and a lot of heat. Now, with a California law restricting water use on farms, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/environment/2026-08-19/as-state-water-law-threatens-valley-farms-farmers-say-they-are-preaching-the-gospel-of-agave\">Valley farmers are looking to agave \u003c/a>as a new revenue stream on their land, and working to localize supply.\u003c/li>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>California’s highest \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12096491/california-supreme-court-appears-skeptical-of-biancos-ballot-seizure\">court is weighing whether a sheriff broke the law\u003c/a> when he seized hundreds of thousands of ballots earlier this year. The court heard oral arguments Monday.\u003c/li>\n",
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"\n\u003cli>California’s highest \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12096491/california-supreme-court-appears-skeptical-of-biancos-ballot-seizure\">court is weighing whether a sheriff broke the law\u003c/a> when he seized hundreds of thousands of ballots earlier this year. The court heard oral arguments Monday.\u003c/li>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>The Trump administration has ended a long standing agreement that kept ICE out of workplaces that are being investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor. \u003c/li>\n",
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"text": "“Preaching the Gospel of Agave”",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/environment/2026-08-19/as-state-water-law-threatens-valley-farms-farmers-say-they-are-preaching-the-gospel-of-agave\">“Preaching the Gospel of Agave”\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When James Hunt planted 14 acres of agave on his secluded Merced farm last year, he thought he’d harvest it for liquor. But then he did more research on the large spiky succulent, and that dream snowballed.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>When James Hunt planted 14 acres of agave on his secluded Merced farm last year, he thought he’d harvest it for liquor. But then he did more research on the large spiky succulent, and that dream snowballed.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“You could have spirits, agave syrup, agave inulin, biofuel, sustainable aviation fuel,” says Hunt.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He knew these ideas needed an industry in the US, so he started preaching the gospel of agave he says, to anyone who would listen.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>He knew these ideas needed an industry in the US, so he started preaching the gospel of agave he says, to anyone who would listen.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I was a farm manager, farm operator, and now I’m an industry advocate, trying to build out something that I think can have a lot of benefit for small farms in general,” says Hunt. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I was a farm manager, farm operator, and now I’m an industry advocate, trying to build out something that I think can have a lot of benefit for small farms in general,” says Hunt. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Hunt knows many growers who are testing out agave right now, but it’s not just for kicks. It’s also out of necessity, and it has to do with groundwater.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Hunt knows many growers who are testing out agave right now, but it’s not just for kicks. It’s also out of necessity, and it has to do with groundwater.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Josh Viers is a professor of civil and environmental engineering at U-C Merced. “We’re taking more water out than is going back in,” he says. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Viers is describing groundwater overdraft. That happens when groundwater gets taken out, but not replenished. It dries wells and sinks land.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>So in 2014, California legislators enacted a law called the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, or SGMA to stabilize water use.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It gave them a drawdown period over 30 years to be able to meet that sustainability target, and also to maintain some specific guardrails, you might say, about that use,” says Viers.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>SGMA created local agencies to gradually limit the use of the water. That means farmers are making cuts, like watering a few inches of soil on crops like agave instead of a few feet of soil on an almond tree.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>SGMA created local agencies to gradually limit the use of the water. That means farmers are making cuts, like watering a few inches of soil on crops like agave instead of a few feet of soil on an almond tree.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Omar Ramirez is a grower in Le Grand – a community in southeast Merced County, but he also owns a Tequila line based in Mexico called Luna Yena.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“A lot of my businesses have arose from problems and there’s a common saying that if you know how to solve people’s problems, you’re always going to have work,” says Ramirez.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He lived in Mexico for a few years as a kid. In Le Grand he used to grow almonds, until profits tanked a few years ago. With SGMA in focus, he thought, ‘Why not try something familiar?’\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>He lived in Mexico for a few years as a kid. In Le Grand he used to grow almonds, until profits tanked a few years ago. With SGMA in focus, he thought, ‘Why not try something familiar?’\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He planted 100 acres of agave.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“As a Mexican myself, Mexican American, that light bulb lit to say, ‘Hey, you know what? I think this is a perfect way to bring both of my cultures that I really love into one location.’\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He’s excited about conversations that go beyond alcohol. He might make spirits, but he’s also looking at animal feed and building materials.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He says opportunities that arise in the United States are a bit different than what are destined in Mexico.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Hunt also feels good about agave’s destiny here. Nearly all of his plants survived the winter frost, even though some have dried up tips.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’ll be four to six years before the first batch are ready to harvest, and he’ll spend that time trying to develop the agave economy.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Farming is a gamble,” says Hunt. “And I’m willing to go out on a limb for this because I believe in it.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He’s lived on this land his whole life, and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep it.\u003c/p>\n",
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"text": "California Supreme Court Appear Skeptical of Bianco’s Ballot Seizure",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>During oral arguments in San Francisco, the court’s justices peppered Bianco’s attorney, Bradley Hertz, with questions as to why the sheriff was not bound by state laws that restrict access to ballots during a criminal prosecution. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>During oral arguments in San Francisco, the court’s justices peppered Bianco’s attorney, Bradley Hertz, with questions as to why the sheriff was not bound by state laws that restrict access to ballots during a criminal prosecution. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Sheriff Chad Bianco of Riverside County took the ballots after last year’s statewide election on redistricting to favor Democrats.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Bianco, who’s a Republican and was then running for governor, says he was investigating voter fraud. His attorney Hertz says Bianco had a warrant and acted within the law. Specifically, that state law limits access to ballots only during prosecutions — not investigations.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Bianco, who’s a Republican and was then running for governor, says he was investigating voter fraud. His attorney Hertz says Bianco had a warrant and acted within the law. Specifically, that state law limits access to ballots only during prosecutions — not investigations.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But Sonni Waknin, an attorney for the plaintiffs who spoke after the hearing, says a warrant doesn’t trump California election code. Not even an elected sheriff has the power to ignore election rules and seize cast ballots outside the view of the public.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But Sonni Waknin, an attorney for the plaintiffs who spoke after the hearing, says a warrant doesn’t trump California election code. Not even an elected sheriff has the power to ignore election rules and seize cast ballots outside the view of the public.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The showdown comes as California’s expansive system of vote-by-mail \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12077846/threats-to-californias-vote-by-mail-mount-before-june-primary\">faces attacks\u003c/a> not only from President Donald Trump, who has labeled mail balloting a form of cheating, but also from local election officials aligned with the president. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The showdown comes as California’s expansive system of vote-by-mail \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12077846/threats-to-californias-vote-by-mail-mount-before-june-primary\">faces attacks\u003c/a> not only from President Donald Trump, who has labeled mail balloting a form of cheating, but also from local election officials aligned with the president. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The court also heard a case about whether California’s Attorney General has authority to tell Bianco to stop his investigation. The court has 90 days to issue its decisions.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Undocumented workers won’t talk to investigators about wage theft, or anything else, if they fear employers will retaliate by calling ICE.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Laws limiting the use of groundwater are resulting in sustainable, and potentially lucrative, changes. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories on Tuesday, August 25, 2026\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>For centuries, Mexico has capitalized on growing and harvesting a plant often distilled into Tequila or Mezcal. It’s called agave and it thrives on little water and a lot of heat. Now, with a California law restricting water use on farms, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/environment/2026-08-19/as-state-water-law-threatens-valley-farms-farmers-say-they-are-preaching-the-gospel-of-agave\">Valley farmers are looking to agave \u003c/a>as a new revenue stream on their land, and working to localize supply.\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>California’s highest \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12096491/california-supreme-court-appears-skeptical-of-biancos-ballot-seizure\">court is weighing whether a sheriff broke the law\u003c/a> when he seized hundreds of thousands of ballots earlier this year. The court heard oral arguments Monday.\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>The Trump administration has ended a long standing agreement that kept ICE out of workplaces that are being investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor. \u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/environment/2026-08-19/as-state-water-law-threatens-valley-farms-farmers-say-they-are-preaching-the-gospel-of-agave\">“Preaching the Gospel of Agave”\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When James Hunt planted 14 acres of agave on his secluded Merced farm last year, he thought he’d harvest it for liquor. But then he did more research on the large spiky succulent, and that dream snowballed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You could have spirits, agave syrup, agave inulin, biofuel, sustainable aviation fuel,” says Hunt.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He knew these ideas needed an industry in the US, so he started preaching the gospel of agave he says, to anyone who would listen.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I was a farm manager, farm operator, and now I’m an industry advocate, trying to build out something that I think can have a lot of benefit for small farms in general,” says Hunt. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hunt knows many growers who are testing out agave right now, but it’s not just for kicks. It’s also out of necessity, and it has to do with groundwater.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Josh Viers is a professor of civil and environmental engineering at U-C Merced. “We’re taking more water out than is going back in,” he says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Viers is describing groundwater overdraft. That happens when groundwater gets taken out, but not replenished. It dries wells and sinks land.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So in 2014, California legislators enacted a law called the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, or SGMA to stabilize water use.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It gave them a drawdown period over 30 years to be able to meet that sustainability target, and also to maintain some specific guardrails, you might say, about that use,” says Viers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>SGMA created local agencies to gradually limit the use of the water. That means farmers are making cuts, like watering a few inches of soil on crops like agave instead of a few feet of soil on an almond tree.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some farmers, are more equipped than others.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Omar Ramirez is a grower in Le Grand – a community in southeast Merced County, but he also owns a Tequila line based in Mexico called Luna Yena.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“A lot of my businesses have arose from problems and there’s a common saying that if you know how to solve people’s problems, you’re always going to have work,” says Ramirez.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He lived in Mexico for a few years as a kid. In Le Grand he used to grow almonds, until profits tanked a few years ago. With SGMA in focus, he thought, ‘Why not try something familiar?’\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He planted 100 acres of agave.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“As a Mexican myself, Mexican American, that light bulb lit to say, ‘Hey, you know what? I think this is a perfect way to bring both of my cultures that I really love into one location.’\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He’s excited about conversations that go beyond alcohol. He might make spirits, but he’s also looking at animal feed and building materials.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He says opportunities that arise in the United States are a bit different than what are destined in Mexico.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hunt also feels good about agave’s destiny here. Nearly all of his plants survived the winter frost, even though some have dried up tips.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’ll be four to six years before the first batch are ready to harvest, and he’ll spend that time trying to develop the agave economy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Farming is a gamble,” says Hunt. “And I’m willing to go out on a limb for this because I believe in it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He’s lived on this land his whole life, and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12096491/california-supreme-court-appears-skeptical-of-biancos-ballot-seizure\">California Supreme Court Appear Skeptical of Bianco’s Ballot Seizure\u003c/a> \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>During oral arguments in San Francisco, the court’s justices peppered Bianco’s attorney, Bradley Hertz, with questions as to why the sheriff was not bound by state laws that restrict access to ballots during a criminal prosecution. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sheriff Chad Bianco of Riverside County took the ballots after last year’s statewide election on redistricting to favor Democrats.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bianco, who’s a Republican and was then running for governor, says he was investigating voter fraud. His attorney Hertz says Bianco had a warrant and acted within the law. Specifically, that state law limits access to ballots only during prosecutions — not investigations.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But Sonni Waknin, an attorney for the plaintiffs who spoke after the hearing, says a warrant doesn’t trump California election code. Not even an elected sheriff has the power to ignore election rules and seize cast ballots outside the view of the public.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The showdown comes as California’s expansive system of vote-by-mail \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12077846/threats-to-californias-vote-by-mail-mount-before-june-primary\">faces attacks\u003c/a> not only from President Donald Trump, who has labeled mail balloting a form of cheating, but also from local election officials aligned with the president. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The court also heard a case about whether California’s Attorney General has authority to tell Bianco to stop his investigation. The court has 90 days to issue its decisions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘Deferred Action for Labor Enforcement’ Program Shielded Workers Reporting Abuse\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Undocumented workers won’t talk to investigators about wage theft, or anything else, if they fear employers will retaliate by calling ICE.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This prompted an agreement between federal labor and immigration authorities back in 2011. But a labor spokesperson confirmed to KQED the deal is no longer in effect.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Josh Rosenthal is with the Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This agreement served as an important, if imperfect, backstop to say employers can’t use ICE as a weapon to protect their labor violations.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Retaliation is illegal, but advocates say reports of employers threatening workers with ICE have gone up in California.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "demand-for-pistachios-clashes-with-climate-reality",
"title": "Demand for Pistachios Clashes With Climate Reality",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories on Wednesday, August 12, 2026\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>Demand for pistachios is booming worldwide – from Dubai-inspired chocolate bars to pistachio cookies and lattes. But in the Central Valley, growers are worried that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/business-economy/2026-07-20/in-californias-central-valley-the-pistachio-demand-clashes-with-climate-reality\">this year’s harvest could be smaller than anticipated.\u003c/a> That’s after some unexpected weather earlier this spring. \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>People in five Monterey County zones have been evacuated due to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12094533/big-sur-wildfire-map-evacuation-timber-fire-august-2026\">the Timber Fire in Big Sur\u003c/a>. It’s burned more than 3,000 acres and hundreds of homes are currently threatened. A portion of Highway One is now closed, due to the spread of the fire. The limited access to the area has also threatened the lives of two captive birds. \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>A bill advancing in the state Legislature \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/08/california-flock-license-plates-bill/\">would limit how long law enforcement agencies can retain data from license plate readers. \u003c/a>The proposal caps that retention period at 30 days. And it comes amid growing concern that license plate reader data is being shared and used inappropriately.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/business-economy/2026-07-20/in-californias-central-valley-the-pistachio-demand-clashes-with-climate-reality\">In California’s Central Valley, growing pistachio demand met with climate challenges\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Earlier this spring, Joe Coelho’s pistachio orchard in Fresno County seemed to be headed for a strong season. Then came an unexpected stretch of heat. It “took place right in the middle of bloom,” Coelho said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Temperatures rose into the 90s at one of the critical points of the pistachio blooming process. Recently, as Coelho walked through rows of pistachio trees, he was in a waiting period to see how much of the crop would actually fully develop this year. He carefully examined pistachio shells, looking for “a blank,” which is a shell without a pistachio kernel inside – a sign of the climate’s toll on a sensitive crop. He found some.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The uncertainty over the climate’s impact comes as the global pistachio demand continues to grow. This boom is fueled by viral food trends like Dubai-style chocolate and pistachio-filled desserts that fill internet algorithms. Scott Fryer, vice president of global marketing for American Pistachio Growers, said that in 2024, there were about 54 products on grocery store shelves across the U.S. that mentioned “Dubai-style chocolate.” In 2025, that number nearly tripled.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The trend has added to demand that was already growing before this year’s pistachio season. Fryer said it could turn out that the 2026 harvest is so low that it can’t meet demand. And much of the pressure of such demand would be on California, which produces 99% of U.S. pistachios, according to Gurreet Brar, an associate professor of pomology at Fresno State who focuses on pistachio physiology and horticulture. “Pistachio is a really economically important crop in California,” Brar said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But pistachio farmers don’t seem to be in a position to increase production to meet a growing demand. Pistachio trees, like many others, take years to produce enough nuts for a typical commercial harvest. This means that each orchard is a long-term investment with no guarantee that it will offer the crop that growers – and consumers – expect each season. But when they do have a normal blooming season, pistachios are a durable crop. “Pistachios are usually taken as a much more resilient crop than almonds or other crops grown in the Valley,” Brar said. “They’re more drought-tolerant, they’re more salt-tolerant, and we have adapted pistachios to California conditions really well.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For farmers like Coelho, a small harvest translates to a significant drop in revenue. He estimates that it costs roughly $4,000 per acre each year to farm a pistachio orchard. He needs to produce about 1,400 pounds of pistachios per acre at an average price to break even. “You have to be really thoughtful about your profitability when you’re right on the margin of potentially making money,” Coelho said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Slow growth for Timber Fire in Big Sur\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>People in five Monterey County zones have been evacuated due to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12094533/big-sur-wildfire-map-evacuation-timber-fire-august-2026\">the Timber Fire in Big Sur.\u003c/a> It’s burned more than 3,000 acres and hundreds of homes are currently threatened.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Highway 1 through the area is closed as of Tuesday afternoon, according to \u003ca href=\"http://facebook.com/CHPMontereyArea/posts/pfbid02uw4JfN9qfALuPZPfNdvpXudf2biSbDYyKpzWd4eLDa8ZL3YFNDT31v6DtGK14KVEl?__cft__%5B0%5D=AZbu4bh0otqLTgT290--IY08IZBIbun6MTi4fWvnXvz-dM2w7D8XfNYQblr0Zr3M6yAMckFePzamu63zIFgOgNM3qE51GaEWkMCj18OplAKFIAeDCZ7X4jJAGzbdm9pWAkvuAPIV9vl8CVUw2ZyLpaxu8qCj2V_zxqLk5ZL7531pkGGO7ftz-3zSZlj27cuHekY&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a Facebook post \u003c/a>by the California Highway Patrol. But visitors were being strongly advised to avoid Big Sur altogether over the past few days even when the route was open to the public.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Limited road access to the area has \u003ca href=\"https://www.kazu.org/kazu-news/2026-08-11/timber-fire-reaches-2-000-acres-new-offshore-drilling-proposal-worries-locals\">also threatened the lives of two captive birds.\u003c/a> The Ventana Wildlife Society sanctuary was caring for the condors when the fire broke out. Executive director Kelly Sorenson said he and others worked the phones to figure out how they could free the birds. “The two birds are stuck in this pen and we can’t get up there to care for them, to provide any food or water while they’re held captive,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The organization did receive good news Tuesday as its senior wildlife biologist was escorted to the sanctuary by Forest Service firefighters. Sorenson said the condors should be fine – though the sanctuary was planning to give them a little more time to recover from lead poisoning and treatment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/08/california-flock-license-plates-bill/\">‘Don’t Flock me’: California, U.S. lawmakers debate license plate reader technology\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the past year alone, they’ve helped catch suspected murderers, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sjpd.org/Home/Components/News/News/2699/262\">bank robbers\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/redwood-city-police-solve-fatal-hit-and-run/\">hit-and-run drivers\u003c/a>. They’ve located dozens of stolen cars and \u003ca href=\"https://ktla.com/news/california/wildfires/arsonist-sentenced-to-16-years-to-life-for-starting-destructive-line-fire/\">helped send\u003c/a> a wildland arsonist to prison. They’re also distrusted and despised by privacy rights activists on the left and on the right. Just last month, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ktvu.com/news/monterey-county-man-vandalizes-flock-cameras\">police accused a suspect\u003c/a> in Monterey County of yanking down three of them with his pickup.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They’re called automated license plate readers. Every day, untold numbers of Californians drive past the thousands of cameras that at least 230 police and sheriffs’ departments have posted along roadways or installed on their patrol cars. The cameras in real time capture and read plate numbers, then \u003ca href=\"https://ncric.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/California-Law-Enforcement-ALPR-FAQ.pdf\">cross-referenc\u003c/a>e them with law enforcement databases of vehicles police want to locate, such as stolen cars, getaway vehicles or those that may be carrying a missing or wanted person.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since 2019, California Democratic lawmakers have unsuccessfully sought to further restrict how police use the technology. They’re trying again this year \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb1013\">with a bill\u003c/a> that would add limits on how long police may retain license plate data, how they access it and with whom they share it. Police agencies and officers’ unions across the state oppose the latest measure, which is similar to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb274\">a bill\u003c/a> Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed last year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This bill is about one simple principle: Protecting the privacy and safety of Californians while ensuring law enforcement tools are used responsibly before it’s too late,” the author of this year’s legislation, Riverside Democratic Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/sabrina-cervantes-36813\">Sabrina Cervantes\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/hearings/279703#t=168&f=03e459111a80032d25ad98083c53988e\">told the Assembly privacy committee\u003c/a> last month. She did not respond to a request for an interview from CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Cervantes’ bill would generally limit to 30 days the amount of time agencies could keep license plate data, unless it pertains to an active investigation or is part of a search for missing people. It also sets limits around who can access the data and adds training and search-tracking requirements. Police and sheriffs’ departments would be prohibited from entering into contracts with camera companies that provide default access to plate databases that federal and out-of-state police can search.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Critics of the technology cite high-profile examples of California police using license plate data inappropriately, including to stalk or harass innocent people. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/economy/technology/2025/10/newsom-vetoes-license-plate-reader-regulations/\">As CalMatters reported last year\u003c/a>, California officers have repeatedly violated an 11-year-old state law that prohibits sharing the data with federal authorities and others outside the state. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least 39 police agencies and officers’ unions oppose \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb1013\">Senate Bill 1013\u003c/a>. Combined, they have spent at least $5.6 million on legislative campaigns since 2000, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/\">CalMatters Digital Democracy database\u003c/a>. Police say the technology has proven invaluable at helping them solve crimes.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories on Wednesday, August 12, 2026\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories on Wednesday, August 12, 2026\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n"
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"Demand for pistachios is booming worldwide – from Dubai-inspired chocolate bars to pistachio cookies and lattes. But in the Central Valley, growers are worried that this year’s harvest could be smaller than anticipated. That’s after some unexpected weather earlier this spring. ",
"People in five Monterey County zones have been evacuated due to the Timber Fire in Big Sur. It’s burned more than 3,000 acres and hundreds of homes are currently threatened. A portion of Highway One is now closed, due to the spread of the fire. The limited access to the area has also threatened the lives of two captive birds. ",
"A bill advancing in the state Legislature would limit how long law enforcement agencies can retain data from license plate readers. The proposal caps that retention period at 30 days. And it comes amid growing concern that license plate reader data is being shared and used inappropriately."
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>Demand for pistachios is booming worldwide – from Dubai-inspired chocolate bars to pistachio cookies and lattes. But in the Central Valley, growers are worried that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/business-economy/2026-07-20/in-californias-central-valley-the-pistachio-demand-clashes-with-climate-reality\">this year’s harvest could be smaller than anticipated.\u003c/a> That’s after some unexpected weather earlier this spring. \u003c/li>\n",
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"\n\u003cli>Demand for pistachios is booming worldwide – from Dubai-inspired chocolate bars to pistachio cookies and lattes. But in the Central Valley, growers are worried that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/business-economy/2026-07-20/in-californias-central-valley-the-pistachio-demand-clashes-with-climate-reality\">this year’s harvest could be smaller than anticipated.\u003c/a> That’s after some unexpected weather earlier this spring. \u003c/li>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>People in five Monterey County zones have been evacuated due to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12094533/big-sur-wildfire-map-evacuation-timber-fire-august-2026\">the Timber Fire in Big Sur\u003c/a>. It’s burned more than 3,000 acres and hundreds of homes are currently threatened. A portion of Highway One is now closed, due to the spread of the fire. The limited access to the area has also threatened the lives of two captive birds. \u003c/li>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cli>People in five Monterey County zones have been evacuated due to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12094533/big-sur-wildfire-map-evacuation-timber-fire-august-2026\">the Timber Fire in Big Sur\u003c/a>. It’s burned more than 3,000 acres and hundreds of homes are currently threatened. A portion of Highway One is now closed, due to the spread of the fire. The limited access to the area has also threatened the lives of two captive birds. \u003c/li>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>A bill advancing in the state Legislature \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/08/california-flock-license-plates-bill/\">would limit how long law enforcement agencies can retain data from license plate readers. \u003c/a>The proposal caps that retention period at 30 days. And it comes amid growing concern that license plate reader data is being shared and used inappropriately.\u003c/li>\n",
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"\n\u003cli>A bill advancing in the state Legislature \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/08/california-flock-license-plates-bill/\">would limit how long law enforcement agencies can retain data from license plate readers. \u003c/a>The proposal caps that retention period at 30 days. And it comes amid growing concern that license plate reader data is being shared and used inappropriately.\u003c/li>\n"
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"text": "In California’s Central Valley, growing pistachio demand met with climate challenges",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/business-economy/2026-07-20/in-californias-central-valley-the-pistachio-demand-clashes-with-climate-reality\">In California’s Central Valley, growing pistachio demand met with climate challenges\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/business-economy/2026-07-20/in-californias-central-valley-the-pistachio-demand-clashes-with-climate-reality\">In California’s Central Valley, growing pistachio demand met with climate challenges\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Earlier this spring, Joe Coelho’s pistachio orchard in Fresno County seemed to be headed for a strong season. Then came an unexpected stretch of heat. It “took place right in the middle of bloom,” Coelho said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Earlier this spring, Joe Coelho’s pistachio orchard in Fresno County seemed to be headed for a strong season. Then came an unexpected stretch of heat. It “took place right in the middle of bloom,” Coelho said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Temperatures rose into the 90s at one of the critical points of the pistachio blooming process. Recently, as Coelho walked through rows of pistachio trees, he was in a waiting period to see how much of the crop would actually fully develop this year. He carefully examined pistachio shells, looking for “a blank,” which is a shell without a pistachio kernel inside – a sign of the climate’s toll on a sensitive crop. He found some.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Temperatures rose into the 90s at one of the critical points of the pistachio blooming process. Recently, as Coelho walked through rows of pistachio trees, he was in a waiting period to see how much of the crop would actually fully develop this year. He carefully examined pistachio shells, looking for “a blank,” which is a shell without a pistachio kernel inside – a sign of the climate’s toll on a sensitive crop. He found some.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The uncertainty over the climate’s impact comes as the global pistachio demand continues to grow. This boom is fueled by viral food trends like Dubai-style chocolate and pistachio-filled desserts that fill internet algorithms. Scott Fryer, vice president of global marketing for American Pistachio Growers, said that in 2024, there were about 54 products on grocery store shelves across the U.S. that mentioned “Dubai-style chocolate.” In 2025, that number nearly tripled.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The uncertainty over the climate’s impact comes as the global pistachio demand continues to grow. This boom is fueled by viral food trends like Dubai-style chocolate and pistachio-filled desserts that fill internet algorithms. Scott Fryer, vice president of global marketing for American Pistachio Growers, said that in 2024, there were about 54 products on grocery store shelves across the U.S. that mentioned “Dubai-style chocolate.” In 2025, that number nearly tripled.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The trend has added to demand that was already growing before this year’s pistachio season. Fryer said it could turn out that the 2026 harvest is so low that it can’t meet demand. And much of the pressure of such demand would be on California, which produces 99% of U.S. pistachios, according to Gurreet Brar, an associate professor of pomology at Fresno State who focuses on pistachio physiology and horticulture. “Pistachio is a really economically important crop in California,” Brar said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The trend has added to demand that was already growing before this year’s pistachio season. Fryer said it could turn out that the 2026 harvest is so low that it can’t meet demand. And much of the pressure of such demand would be on California, which produces 99% of U.S. pistachios, according to Gurreet Brar, an associate professor of pomology at Fresno State who focuses on pistachio physiology and horticulture. “Pistachio is a really economically important crop in California,” Brar said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But pistachio farmers don’t seem to be in a position to increase production to meet a growing demand. Pistachio trees, like many others, take years to produce enough nuts for a typical commercial harvest. This means that each orchard is a long-term investment with no guarantee that it will offer the crop that growers – and consumers – expect each season. But when they do have a normal blooming season, pistachios are a durable crop. “Pistachios are usually taken as a much more resilient crop than almonds or other crops grown in the Valley,” Brar said. “They’re more drought-tolerant, they’re more salt-tolerant, and we have adapted pistachios to California conditions really well.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But pistachio farmers don’t seem to be in a position to increase production to meet a growing demand. Pistachio trees, like many others, take years to produce enough nuts for a typical commercial harvest. This means that each orchard is a long-term investment with no guarantee that it will offer the crop that growers – and consumers – expect each season. But when they do have a normal blooming season, pistachios are a durable crop. “Pistachios are usually taken as a much more resilient crop than almonds or other crops grown in the Valley,” Brar said. “They’re more drought-tolerant, they’re more salt-tolerant, and we have adapted pistachios to California conditions really well.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For farmers like Coelho, a small harvest translates to a significant drop in revenue. He estimates that it costs roughly $4,000 per acre each year to farm a pistachio orchard. He needs to produce about 1,400 pounds of pistachios per acre at an average price to break even. “You have to be really thoughtful about your profitability when you’re right on the margin of potentially making money,” Coelho said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For farmers like Coelho, a small harvest translates to a significant drop in revenue. He estimates that it costs roughly $4,000 per acre each year to farm a pistachio orchard. He needs to produce about 1,400 pounds of pistachios per acre at an average price to break even. “You have to be really thoughtful about your profitability when you’re right on the margin of potentially making money,” Coelho said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
"text": "Slow growth for Timber Fire in Big Sur",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Slow growth for Timber Fire in Big Sur\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Slow growth for Timber Fire in Big Sur\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>People in five Monterey County zones have been evacuated due to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12094533/big-sur-wildfire-map-evacuation-timber-fire-august-2026\">the Timber Fire in Big Sur.\u003c/a> It’s burned more than 3,000 acres and hundreds of homes are currently threatened.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>People in five Monterey County zones have been evacuated due to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12094533/big-sur-wildfire-map-evacuation-timber-fire-august-2026\">the Timber Fire in Big Sur.\u003c/a> It’s burned more than 3,000 acres and hundreds of homes are currently threatened.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Highway 1 through the area is closed as of Tuesday afternoon, according to \u003ca href=\"http://facebook.com/CHPMontereyArea/posts/pfbid02uw4JfN9qfALuPZPfNdvpXudf2biSbDYyKpzWd4eLDa8ZL3YFNDT31v6DtGK14KVEl?__cft__[0]=AZbu4bh0otqLTgT290--IY08IZBIbun6MTi4fWvnXvz-dM2w7D8XfNYQblr0Zr3M6yAMckFePzamu63zIFgOgNM3qE51GaEWkMCj18OplAKFIAeDCZ7X4jJAGzbdm9pWAkvuAPIV9vl8CVUw2ZyLpaxu8qCj2V_zxqLk5ZL7531pkGGO7ftz-3zSZlj27cuHekY&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a Facebook post \u003c/a>by the California Highway Patrol. But visitors were being strongly advised to avoid Big Sur altogether over the past few days even when the route was open to the public.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Highway 1 through the area is closed as of Tuesday afternoon, according to \u003ca href=\"http://facebook.com/CHPMontereyArea/posts/pfbid02uw4JfN9qfALuPZPfNdvpXudf2biSbDYyKpzWd4eLDa8ZL3YFNDT31v6DtGK14KVEl?__cft__[0]=AZbu4bh0otqLTgT290--IY08IZBIbun6MTi4fWvnXvz-dM2w7D8XfNYQblr0Zr3M6yAMckFePzamu63zIFgOgNM3qE51GaEWkMCj18OplAKFIAeDCZ7X4jJAGzbdm9pWAkvuAPIV9vl8CVUw2ZyLpaxu8qCj2V_zxqLk5ZL7531pkGGO7ftz-3zSZlj27cuHekY&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a Facebook post \u003c/a>by the California Highway Patrol. But visitors were being strongly advised to avoid Big Sur altogether over the past few days even when the route was open to the public.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Limited road access to the area has \u003ca href=\"https://www.kazu.org/kazu-news/2026-08-11/timber-fire-reaches-2-000-acres-new-offshore-drilling-proposal-worries-locals\">also threatened the lives of two captive birds.\u003c/a> The Ventana Wildlife Society sanctuary was caring for the condors when the fire broke out. Executive director Kelly Sorenson said he and others worked the phones to figure out how they could free the birds. “The two birds are stuck in this pen and we can’t get up there to care for them, to provide any food or water while they’re held captive,” he said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Limited road access to the area has \u003ca href=\"https://www.kazu.org/kazu-news/2026-08-11/timber-fire-reaches-2-000-acres-new-offshore-drilling-proposal-worries-locals\">also threatened the lives of two captive birds.\u003c/a> The Ventana Wildlife Society sanctuary was caring for the condors when the fire broke out. Executive director Kelly Sorenson said he and others worked the phones to figure out how they could free the birds. “The two birds are stuck in this pen and we can’t get up there to care for them, to provide any food or water while they’re held captive,” he said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The organization did receive good news Tuesday as its senior wildlife biologist was escorted to the sanctuary by Forest Service firefighters. Sorenson said the condors should be fine – though the sanctuary was planning to give them a little more time to recover from lead poisoning and treatment.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The organization did receive good news Tuesday as its senior wildlife biologist was escorted to the sanctuary by Forest Service firefighters. Sorenson said the condors should be fine – though the sanctuary was planning to give them a little more time to recover from lead poisoning and treatment.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/heading",
"attrs": {
"text": "‘Don’t Flock me’: California, U.S. lawmakers debate license plate reader technology",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/08/california-flock-license-plates-bill/\">‘Don’t Flock me’: California, U.S. lawmakers debate license plate reader technology\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/08/california-flock-license-plates-bill/\">‘Don’t Flock me’: California, U.S. lawmakers debate license plate reader technology\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In the past year alone, they’ve helped catch suspected murderers, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sjpd.org/Home/Components/News/News/2699/262\">bank robbers\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/redwood-city-police-solve-fatal-hit-and-run/\">hit-and-run drivers\u003c/a>. They’ve located dozens of stolen cars and \u003ca href=\"https://ktla.com/news/california/wildfires/arsonist-sentenced-to-16-years-to-life-for-starting-destructive-line-fire/\">helped send\u003c/a> a wildland arsonist to prison. They’re also distrusted and despised by privacy rights activists on the left and on the right. Just last month, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ktvu.com/news/monterey-county-man-vandalizes-flock-cameras\">police accused a suspect\u003c/a> in Monterey County of yanking down three of them with his pickup.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In the past year alone, they’ve helped catch suspected murderers, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sjpd.org/Home/Components/News/News/2699/262\">bank robbers\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/redwood-city-police-solve-fatal-hit-and-run/\">hit-and-run drivers\u003c/a>. They’ve located dozens of stolen cars and \u003ca href=\"https://ktla.com/news/california/wildfires/arsonist-sentenced-to-16-years-to-life-for-starting-destructive-line-fire/\">helped send\u003c/a> a wildland arsonist to prison. They’re also distrusted and despised by privacy rights activists on the left and on the right. Just last month, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ktvu.com/news/monterey-county-man-vandalizes-flock-cameras\">police accused a suspect\u003c/a> in Monterey County of yanking down three of them with his pickup.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>They’re called automated license plate readers. Every day, untold numbers of Californians drive past the thousands of cameras that at least 230 police and sheriffs’ departments have posted along roadways or installed on their patrol cars. The cameras in real time capture and read plate numbers, then \u003ca href=\"https://ncric.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/California-Law-Enforcement-ALPR-FAQ.pdf\">cross-referenc\u003c/a>e them with law enforcement databases of vehicles police want to locate, such as stolen cars, getaway vehicles or those that may be carrying a missing or wanted person.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>They’re called automated license plate readers. Every day, untold numbers of Californians drive past the thousands of cameras that at least 230 police and sheriffs’ departments have posted along roadways or installed on their patrol cars. The cameras in real time capture and read plate numbers, then \u003ca href=\"https://ncric.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/California-Law-Enforcement-ALPR-FAQ.pdf\">cross-referenc\u003c/a>e them with law enforcement databases of vehicles police want to locate, such as stolen cars, getaway vehicles or those that may be carrying a missing or wanted person.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Since 2019, California Democratic lawmakers have unsuccessfully sought to further restrict how police use the technology. They’re trying again this year \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb1013\">with a bill\u003c/a> that would add limits on how long police may retain license plate data, how they access it and with whom they share it. Police agencies and officers’ unions across the state oppose the latest measure, which is similar to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb274\">a bill\u003c/a> Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed last year.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Since 2019, California Democratic lawmakers have unsuccessfully sought to further restrict how police use the technology. They’re trying again this year \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb1013\">with a bill\u003c/a> that would add limits on how long police may retain license plate data, how they access it and with whom they share it. Police agencies and officers’ unions across the state oppose the latest measure, which is similar to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb274\">a bill\u003c/a> Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed last year.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This bill is about one simple principle: Protecting the privacy and safety of Californians while ensuring law enforcement tools are used responsibly before it’s too late,” the author of this year’s legislation, Riverside Democratic Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/sabrina-cervantes-36813\">Sabrina Cervantes\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/hearings/279703#t=168&f=03e459111a80032d25ad98083c53988e\">told the Assembly privacy committee\u003c/a> last month. She did not respond to a request for an interview from CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“This bill is about one simple principle: Protecting the privacy and safety of Californians while ensuring law enforcement tools are used responsibly before it’s too late,” the author of this year’s legislation, Riverside Democratic Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/sabrina-cervantes-36813\">Sabrina Cervantes\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/hearings/279703#t=168&f=03e459111a80032d25ad98083c53988e\">told the Assembly privacy committee\u003c/a> last month. She did not respond to a request for an interview from CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Cervantes’ bill would generally limit to 30 days the amount of time agencies could keep license plate data, unless it pertains to an active investigation or is part of a search for missing people. It also sets limits around who can access the data and adds training and search-tracking requirements. Police and sheriffs’ departments would be prohibited from entering into contracts with camera companies that provide default access to plate databases that federal and out-of-state police can search.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Cervantes’ bill would generally limit to 30 days the amount of time agencies could keep license plate data, unless it pertains to an active investigation or is part of a search for missing people. It also sets limits around who can access the data and adds training and search-tracking requirements. Police and sheriffs’ departments would be prohibited from entering into contracts with camera companies that provide default access to plate databases that federal and out-of-state police can search.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Critics of the technology cite high-profile examples of California police using license plate data inappropriately, including to stalk or harass innocent people. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/economy/technology/2025/10/newsom-vetoes-license-plate-reader-regulations/\">As CalMatters reported last year\u003c/a>, California officers have repeatedly violated an 11-year-old state law that prohibits sharing the data with federal authorities and others outside the state. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Critics of the technology cite high-profile examples of California police using license plate data inappropriately, including to stalk or harass innocent people. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/economy/technology/2025/10/newsom-vetoes-license-plate-reader-regulations/\">As CalMatters reported last year\u003c/a>, California officers have repeatedly violated an 11-year-old state law that prohibits sharing the data with federal authorities and others outside the state. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At least 39 police agencies and officers’ unions oppose \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb1013\">Senate Bill 1013\u003c/a>. Combined, they have spent at least $5.6 million on legislative campaigns since 2000, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/\">CalMatters Digital Democracy database\u003c/a>. Police say the technology has proven invaluable at helping them solve crimes.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "It's been a tough growing season for many farmers in the Central Valley.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories on Wednesday, August 12, 2026\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>Demand for pistachios is booming worldwide – from Dubai-inspired chocolate bars to pistachio cookies and lattes. But in the Central Valley, growers are worried that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/business-economy/2026-07-20/in-californias-central-valley-the-pistachio-demand-clashes-with-climate-reality\">this year’s harvest could be smaller than anticipated.\u003c/a> That’s after some unexpected weather earlier this spring. \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>People in five Monterey County zones have been evacuated due to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12094533/big-sur-wildfire-map-evacuation-timber-fire-august-2026\">the Timber Fire in Big Sur\u003c/a>. It’s burned more than 3,000 acres and hundreds of homes are currently threatened. A portion of Highway One is now closed, due to the spread of the fire. The limited access to the area has also threatened the lives of two captive birds. \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>A bill advancing in the state Legislature \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/08/california-flock-license-plates-bill/\">would limit how long law enforcement agencies can retain data from license plate readers. \u003c/a>The proposal caps that retention period at 30 days. And it comes amid growing concern that license plate reader data is being shared and used inappropriately.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/business-economy/2026-07-20/in-californias-central-valley-the-pistachio-demand-clashes-with-climate-reality\">In California’s Central Valley, growing pistachio demand met with climate challenges\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Earlier this spring, Joe Coelho’s pistachio orchard in Fresno County seemed to be headed for a strong season. Then came an unexpected stretch of heat. It “took place right in the middle of bloom,” Coelho said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Temperatures rose into the 90s at one of the critical points of the pistachio blooming process. Recently, as Coelho walked through rows of pistachio trees, he was in a waiting period to see how much of the crop would actually fully develop this year. He carefully examined pistachio shells, looking for “a blank,” which is a shell without a pistachio kernel inside – a sign of the climate’s toll on a sensitive crop. He found some.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The uncertainty over the climate’s impact comes as the global pistachio demand continues to grow. This boom is fueled by viral food trends like Dubai-style chocolate and pistachio-filled desserts that fill internet algorithms. Scott Fryer, vice president of global marketing for American Pistachio Growers, said that in 2024, there were about 54 products on grocery store shelves across the U.S. that mentioned “Dubai-style chocolate.” In 2025, that number nearly tripled.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The trend has added to demand that was already growing before this year’s pistachio season. Fryer said it could turn out that the 2026 harvest is so low that it can’t meet demand. And much of the pressure of such demand would be on California, which produces 99% of U.S. pistachios, according to Gurreet Brar, an associate professor of pomology at Fresno State who focuses on pistachio physiology and horticulture. “Pistachio is a really economically important crop in California,” Brar said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But pistachio farmers don’t seem to be in a position to increase production to meet a growing demand. Pistachio trees, like many others, take years to produce enough nuts for a typical commercial harvest. This means that each orchard is a long-term investment with no guarantee that it will offer the crop that growers – and consumers – expect each season. But when they do have a normal blooming season, pistachios are a durable crop. “Pistachios are usually taken as a much more resilient crop than almonds or other crops grown in the Valley,” Brar said. “They’re more drought-tolerant, they’re more salt-tolerant, and we have adapted pistachios to California conditions really well.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For farmers like Coelho, a small harvest translates to a significant drop in revenue. He estimates that it costs roughly $4,000 per acre each year to farm a pistachio orchard. He needs to produce about 1,400 pounds of pistachios per acre at an average price to break even. “You have to be really thoughtful about your profitability when you’re right on the margin of potentially making money,” Coelho said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Slow growth for Timber Fire in Big Sur\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>People in five Monterey County zones have been evacuated due to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12094533/big-sur-wildfire-map-evacuation-timber-fire-august-2026\">the Timber Fire in Big Sur.\u003c/a> It’s burned more than 3,000 acres and hundreds of homes are currently threatened.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Highway 1 through the area is closed as of Tuesday afternoon, according to \u003ca href=\"http://facebook.com/CHPMontereyArea/posts/pfbid02uw4JfN9qfALuPZPfNdvpXudf2biSbDYyKpzWd4eLDa8ZL3YFNDT31v6DtGK14KVEl?__cft__%5B0%5D=AZbu4bh0otqLTgT290--IY08IZBIbun6MTi4fWvnXvz-dM2w7D8XfNYQblr0Zr3M6yAMckFePzamu63zIFgOgNM3qE51GaEWkMCj18OplAKFIAeDCZ7X4jJAGzbdm9pWAkvuAPIV9vl8CVUw2ZyLpaxu8qCj2V_zxqLk5ZL7531pkGGO7ftz-3zSZlj27cuHekY&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a Facebook post \u003c/a>by the California Highway Patrol. But visitors were being strongly advised to avoid Big Sur altogether over the past few days even when the route was open to the public.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Limited road access to the area has \u003ca href=\"https://www.kazu.org/kazu-news/2026-08-11/timber-fire-reaches-2-000-acres-new-offshore-drilling-proposal-worries-locals\">also threatened the lives of two captive birds.\u003c/a> The Ventana Wildlife Society sanctuary was caring for the condors when the fire broke out. Executive director Kelly Sorenson said he and others worked the phones to figure out how they could free the birds. “The two birds are stuck in this pen and we can’t get up there to care for them, to provide any food or water while they’re held captive,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The organization did receive good news Tuesday as its senior wildlife biologist was escorted to the sanctuary by Forest Service firefighters. Sorenson said the condors should be fine – though the sanctuary was planning to give them a little more time to recover from lead poisoning and treatment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/08/california-flock-license-plates-bill/\">‘Don’t Flock me’: California, U.S. lawmakers debate license plate reader technology\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the past year alone, they’ve helped catch suspected murderers, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sjpd.org/Home/Components/News/News/2699/262\">bank robbers\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/redwood-city-police-solve-fatal-hit-and-run/\">hit-and-run drivers\u003c/a>. They’ve located dozens of stolen cars and \u003ca href=\"https://ktla.com/news/california/wildfires/arsonist-sentenced-to-16-years-to-life-for-starting-destructive-line-fire/\">helped send\u003c/a> a wildland arsonist to prison. They’re also distrusted and despised by privacy rights activists on the left and on the right. Just last month, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ktvu.com/news/monterey-county-man-vandalizes-flock-cameras\">police accused a suspect\u003c/a> in Monterey County of yanking down three of them with his pickup.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They’re called automated license plate readers. Every day, untold numbers of Californians drive past the thousands of cameras that at least 230 police and sheriffs’ departments have posted along roadways or installed on their patrol cars. The cameras in real time capture and read plate numbers, then \u003ca href=\"https://ncric.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/California-Law-Enforcement-ALPR-FAQ.pdf\">cross-referenc\u003c/a>e them with law enforcement databases of vehicles police want to locate, such as stolen cars, getaway vehicles or those that may be carrying a missing or wanted person.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since 2019, California Democratic lawmakers have unsuccessfully sought to further restrict how police use the technology. They’re trying again this year \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb1013\">with a bill\u003c/a> that would add limits on how long police may retain license plate data, how they access it and with whom they share it. Police agencies and officers’ unions across the state oppose the latest measure, which is similar to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb274\">a bill\u003c/a> Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed last year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This bill is about one simple principle: Protecting the privacy and safety of Californians while ensuring law enforcement tools are used responsibly before it’s too late,” the author of this year’s legislation, Riverside Democratic Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/sabrina-cervantes-36813\">Sabrina Cervantes\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/hearings/279703#t=168&f=03e459111a80032d25ad98083c53988e\">told the Assembly privacy committee\u003c/a> last month. She did not respond to a request for an interview from CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Cervantes’ bill would generally limit to 30 days the amount of time agencies could keep license plate data, unless it pertains to an active investigation or is part of a search for missing people. It also sets limits around who can access the data and adds training and search-tracking requirements. Police and sheriffs’ departments would be prohibited from entering into contracts with camera companies that provide default access to plate databases that federal and out-of-state police can search.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Critics of the technology cite high-profile examples of California police using license plate data inappropriately, including to stalk or harass innocent people. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/economy/technology/2025/10/newsom-vetoes-license-plate-reader-regulations/\">As CalMatters reported last year\u003c/a>, California officers have repeatedly violated an 11-year-old state law that prohibits sharing the data with federal authorities and others outside the state. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least 39 police agencies and officers’ unions oppose \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb1013\">Senate Bill 1013\u003c/a>. Combined, they have spent at least $5.6 million on legislative campaigns since 2000, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/\">CalMatters Digital Democracy database\u003c/a>. Police say the technology has proven invaluable at helping them solve crimes.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "kids-learning-to-swim-at-community-pool-in-central-valley",
"title": "Kids Learning to Swim at Community Pool in Central Valley",
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"headTitle": "Kids Learning to Swim at Community Pool in Central Valley | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories on Wednesday, July 15, 2026\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>Much of the Central Valley is under a heat advisory Wednesday, as temperatures could reach triple digits. Many of the region’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/community/2026-07-02/kids-in-this-california-farm-town-dont-know-how-to-swim-a-community-pool-is-changing-that\">unincorporated communities don’t have public swimming pools \u003c/a>where they can cool off. That also means residents don’t have a place to learn how to swim which could have tragic consequences. \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>California health officials say an outbreak of a foodborne stomach parasite — that’s generated nearly 7,000 suspected cases nationwide — \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12090791/cyclosporiasis-symptoms-california-parasite-explosive-diarrhea-foodborne-cyclospora-michigan-outbreak-fruits-vegetables-incubation-antibiotics\">has not reached the state.\u003c/a> \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Riverside County’s Board of Supervisors has agreed to create a committee to study recommendations that call for oversight of its sheriff’s department. A grand jury recently made the recommendations after investigating concerns about jail deaths and a lack of oversight.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/community/2026-07-02/kids-in-this-california-farm-town-dont-know-how-to-swim-a-community-pool-is-changing-that\">Kids in this California farm town don’t know how to swim. A community pool is changing that\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At the Orosi High School graduation last year, 201 students lined up in rows to walk onto an outdoor stage and receive their diplomas. But one student who should have been there wasn’t.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Two years ago, Alejandro Araujo and some of his friends were on a boat at Shaver Lake in the Sierra Nevada. “He had a safety vest, and he jumped in the water, and the safety vest must have just slipped right out of him and he never came up,” said Yolanda Valdez, superintendent of the Cutler Orosi Joint School District. “It was the most devastating, awful thing ever. He would have graduated this year. There was an empty chair at graduation and a moment of silence for him.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The school district encompasses two neighboring farmworker communities, Cutler and Orosi. Valdez said the fact that so many kids in her district don’t know how to swim is a symptom of poverty. But it’s something the district is changing.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Thanks to a million-dollar grant from Tulare County and other one-time funds, the district now has a brand-new aquatics complex at Orosi High. Valdez said the district built the complex to teach water safety and save lives. Only recently a toddler in Cutler drowned in an above ground pool. “We want to teach our children how to swim so they can survive,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 4,500 people in the United States die annually due to unintentional drowning. Drowning is also the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4. In areas that are rural or economically disadvantaged, drowning rates are higher. One\u003ca href=\"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12150793/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> \u003cu>CDC report\u003c/u>\u003c/a> found that in counties with high overall social vulnerability, fatal drowning rates are 1.59 times as high as counties with low social vulnerability.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This may be due to “reduced access to swimming pools, affordable swimming lessons and other evidence-based drowning prevention strategies.” Drowning rates are also about 35% higher in rural areas compared to urban areas, according to the CDC. “It’s an opportunity gap that our kids don’t know how to swim, it’s an opportunity gap that they didn’t have an aquatics complex,” said Valdez. “Swimming and being able to enjoy the waterways is also a quality of life issue.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12090791/cyclosporiasis-symptoms-california-parasite-explosive-diarrhea-foodborne-cyclospora-michigan-outbreak-fruits-vegetables-incubation-antibiotics\">What to know about the ‘explosive diarrhea’ parasite surging in the US\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Let’s face it: Headlines about “explosive diarrhea” are the headlines \u003cem>nobody \u003c/em>wants to see. But amid the current national outbreak of cyclosporiasis — a foodborne stomach parasite that’s infected thousands of people around the United States — it’s hard to avoid the updates about the severe cramping, bloating and yes, the “watery diarrhea with frequent, sometimes explosive, bowel movements” (in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s own \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/cyclosporiasis/hcp/clinical-overview/index.html\">words\u003c/a>) this disease causes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/han/php/notices/han00531.html\">announced \u003c/a>that the agency had received reports of 1,645 confirmed domestic cases of cyclosporiasis — but was aware of over 5,000 more cases that required confirmation. So far, \u003ca href=\"https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/keep-mi-healthy/infectious-diseases/infectious-disease-outbreaks\">Michigan\u003c/a> has experienced the worst rises in cyclosporiasis cases, reporting over 3,000 cases as of Tuesday. Other states reporting surges of the disease include \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/cyclosporiasis-cases-new-york-state/\">New York\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://news.wttw.com/2026/07/13/illinois-confirms-194-probable-cases-cyclosporiasis-parasitic-inspection-spreads\">Illinois\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://odh.ohio.gov/media-center/ODH-News-Releases/cyclosporiasis-news-release-070826\">Ohio\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2026/07/13/texas-cyclospora-cases-count-cyclosporiasis-symptoms-and-treatment/90904130007/\">Texas\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some good news: The California Department of Public Health says that California “is not one of the states currently experiencing an increase in cases of cyclosporiasis,” and that the state has actually seen fewer cases of cyclosporiasis this year than it did in 2025. As of Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is only \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/cyclosporiasis/php/surveillance/index.html\">reporting \u003c/a>between one and 10 cases in the whole state, although the agency’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/cyclosporiasis/php/surveillance/index.html\">map \u003c/a>of nationwide cases generally lags behind the figures being reported by the states themselves.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>CDPH said that from January to June 2026, California reported 41 provisional cases of cyclosporiasis, “compared to 80 cases during the same period in 2025.” The agency said that most of these 2026 California cases are associated with recent international travel. Since May 1, CDPH has reported four California cases of cyclospora in people who’d been infected within the United States — two of whom had visited the Midwest.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvcrnews.org/local-news/2026-07-14/riverside-county-supervisors-create-committee-to-study-sheriff-oversight\">Riverside County supervisors create committee to study sheriff oversight\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Riverside County Board of Supervisors has agreed to create a committee to study recommendations that call for oversight of its sheriff’s department. A grand jury recently made the \u003ca href=\"https://rivco.gov/sites/g/files/aldnop116/files/2026-06/Final%20Final.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recommendations\u003c/a> after investigating concerns about jail deaths and a lack of oversight.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since March 2023, 29 people have died in Riverside County jails. The spike in jail deaths prompted the civil grand jury to investigate the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The grand jury concluded the department needs more transparency and accountability. It made several recommendations to improve jail conditions and form an independent oversight authority. The grand jury recommended the county grant the oversight authority subpoena and investigatory powers. Riverside County Supervisors Jose Medina and Karen Spiegel brought forth the item to create an ad hoc committee to evaluate the options for oversight, or whether they need it. The committee must present its findings to the board in 180 days.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Medina, who ran on a platform of sheriff’s oversight, said the ad hoc committee is a step in the right direction and that public policy decisions take time. “The best public policy is shaped when people are willing to share their perspectives, listen to one another, and stay engaged in the process,” Medina said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sheriff Chad Bianco said in a statement to KVCR that his department does not need more oversight and that the issue is being pushed by those with an “anti-law enforcement agenda.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories on Wednesday, July 15, 2026\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories on Wednesday, July 15, 2026\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n"
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"Much of the Central Valley is under a heat advisory Wednesday, as temperatures could reach triple digits. Many of the region’s unincorporated communities don’t have public swimming pools where they can cool off. That also means residents don’t have a place to learn how to swim which could have tragic consequences. ",
"California health officials say an outbreak of a foodborne stomach parasite — that’s generated nearly 7,000 suspected cases nationwide — has not reached the state. ",
"Riverside County’s Board of Supervisors has agreed to create a committee to study recommendations that call for oversight of its sheriff’s department. A grand jury recently made the recommendations after investigating concerns about jail deaths and a lack of oversight."
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>Much of the Central Valley is under a heat advisory Wednesday, as temperatures could reach triple digits. Many of the region’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/community/2026-07-02/kids-in-this-california-farm-town-dont-know-how-to-swim-a-community-pool-is-changing-that\">unincorporated communities don’t have public swimming pools \u003c/a>where they can cool off. That also means residents don’t have a place to learn how to swim which could have tragic consequences. \u003c/li>\n",
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"\n\u003cli>Much of the Central Valley is under a heat advisory Wednesday, as temperatures could reach triple digits. Many of the region’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/community/2026-07-02/kids-in-this-california-farm-town-dont-know-how-to-swim-a-community-pool-is-changing-that\">unincorporated communities don’t have public swimming pools \u003c/a>where they can cool off. That also means residents don’t have a place to learn how to swim which could have tragic consequences. \u003c/li>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>California health officials say an outbreak of a foodborne stomach parasite — that’s generated nearly 7,000 suspected cases nationwide — \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12090791/cyclosporiasis-symptoms-california-parasite-explosive-diarrhea-foodborne-cyclospora-michigan-outbreak-fruits-vegetables-incubation-antibiotics\">has not reached the state.\u003c/a> \u003c/li>\n",
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"\n\u003cli>California health officials say an outbreak of a foodborne stomach parasite — that’s generated nearly 7,000 suspected cases nationwide — \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12090791/cyclosporiasis-symptoms-california-parasite-explosive-diarrhea-foodborne-cyclospora-michigan-outbreak-fruits-vegetables-incubation-antibiotics\">has not reached the state.\u003c/a> \u003c/li>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>Riverside County’s Board of Supervisors has agreed to create a committee to study recommendations that call for oversight of its sheriff’s department. A grand jury recently made the recommendations after investigating concerns about jail deaths and a lack of oversight.\u003c/li>\n",
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"\n\u003cli>Riverside County’s Board of Supervisors has agreed to create a committee to study recommendations that call for oversight of its sheriff’s department. A grand jury recently made the recommendations after investigating concerns about jail deaths and a lack of oversight.\u003c/li>\n"
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"text": "Kids in this California farm town don’t know how to swim. A community pool is changing that",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/community/2026-07-02/kids-in-this-california-farm-town-dont-know-how-to-swim-a-community-pool-is-changing-that\">Kids in this California farm town don’t know how to swim. A community pool is changing that\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/community/2026-07-02/kids-in-this-california-farm-town-dont-know-how-to-swim-a-community-pool-is-changing-that\">Kids in this California farm town don’t know how to swim. A community pool is changing that\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At the Orosi High School graduation last year, 201 students lined up in rows to walk onto an outdoor stage and receive their diplomas. But one student who should have been there wasn’t.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>At the Orosi High School graduation last year, 201 students lined up in rows to walk onto an outdoor stage and receive their diplomas. But one student who should have been there wasn’t.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Two years ago, Alejandro Araujo and some of his friends were on a boat at Shaver Lake in the Sierra Nevada. “He had a safety vest, and he jumped in the water, and the safety vest must have just slipped right out of him and he never came up,” said Yolanda Valdez, superintendent of the Cutler Orosi Joint School District. “It was the most devastating, awful thing ever. He would have graduated this year. There was an empty chair at graduation and a moment of silence for him.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Two years ago, Alejandro Araujo and some of his friends were on a boat at Shaver Lake in the Sierra Nevada. “He had a safety vest, and he jumped in the water, and the safety vest must have just slipped right out of him and he never came up,” said Yolanda Valdez, superintendent of the Cutler Orosi Joint School District. “It was the most devastating, awful thing ever. He would have graduated this year. There was an empty chair at graduation and a moment of silence for him.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The school district encompasses two neighboring farmworker communities, Cutler and Orosi. Valdez said the fact that so many kids in her district don’t know how to swim is a symptom of poverty. But it’s something the district is changing.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The school district encompasses two neighboring farmworker communities, Cutler and Orosi. Valdez said the fact that so many kids in her district don’t know how to swim is a symptom of poverty. But it’s something the district is changing.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Thanks to a million-dollar grant from Tulare County and other one-time funds, the district now has a brand-new aquatics complex at Orosi High. Valdez said the district built the complex to teach water safety and save lives. Only recently a toddler in Cutler drowned in an above ground pool. “We want to teach our children how to swim so they can survive,” she said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Thanks to a million-dollar grant from Tulare County and other one-time funds, the district now has a brand-new aquatics complex at Orosi High. Valdez said the district built the complex to teach water safety and save lives. Only recently a toddler in Cutler drowned in an above ground pool. “We want to teach our children how to swim so they can survive,” she said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 4,500 people in the United States die annually due to unintentional drowning. Drowning is also the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4. In areas that are rural or economically disadvantaged, drowning rates are higher. One\u003ca href=\"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12150793/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> \u003cu>CDC report\u003c/u>\u003c/a> found that in counties with high overall social vulnerability, fatal drowning rates are 1.59 times as high as counties with low social vulnerability.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 4,500 people in the United States die annually due to unintentional drowning. Drowning is also the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4. In areas that are rural or economically disadvantaged, drowning rates are higher. One\u003ca href=\"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12150793/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> \u003cu>CDC report\u003c/u>\u003c/a> found that in counties with high overall social vulnerability, fatal drowning rates are 1.59 times as high as counties with low social vulnerability.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This may be due to “reduced access to swimming pools, affordable swimming lessons and other evidence-based drowning prevention strategies.” Drowning rates are also about 35% higher in rural areas compared to urban areas, according to the CDC. “It’s an opportunity gap that our kids don’t know how to swim, it’s an opportunity gap that they didn’t have an aquatics complex,” said Valdez. “Swimming and being able to enjoy the waterways is also a quality of life issue.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>This may be due to “reduced access to swimming pools, affordable swimming lessons and other evidence-based drowning prevention strategies.” Drowning rates are also about 35% higher in rural areas compared to urban areas, according to the CDC. “It’s an opportunity gap that our kids don’t know how to swim, it’s an opportunity gap that they didn’t have an aquatics complex,” said Valdez. “Swimming and being able to enjoy the waterways is also a quality of life issue.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "What to know about the ‘explosive diarrhea’ parasite surging in the US",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12090791/cyclosporiasis-symptoms-california-parasite-explosive-diarrhea-foodborne-cyclospora-michigan-outbreak-fruits-vegetables-incubation-antibiotics\">What to know about the ‘explosive diarrhea’ parasite surging in the US\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Let’s face it: Headlines about “explosive diarrhea” are the headlines \u003cem>nobody \u003c/em>wants to see. But amid the current national outbreak of cyclosporiasis — a foodborne stomach parasite that’s infected thousands of people around the United States — it’s hard to avoid the updates about the severe cramping, bloating and yes, the “watery diarrhea with frequent, sometimes explosive, bowel movements” (in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s own \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/cyclosporiasis/hcp/clinical-overview/index.html\">words\u003c/a>) this disease causes.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Let’s face it: Headlines about “explosive diarrhea” are the headlines \u003cem>nobody \u003c/em>wants to see. But amid the current national outbreak of cyclosporiasis — a foodborne stomach parasite that’s infected thousands of people around the United States — it’s hard to avoid the updates about the severe cramping, bloating and yes, the “watery diarrhea with frequent, sometimes explosive, bowel movements” (in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s own \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/cyclosporiasis/hcp/clinical-overview/index.html\">words\u003c/a>) this disease causes.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/han/php/notices/han00531.html\">announced \u003c/a>that the agency had received reports of 1,645 confirmed domestic cases of cyclosporiasis — but was aware of over 5,000 more cases that required confirmation. So far, \u003ca href=\"https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/keep-mi-healthy/infectious-diseases/infectious-disease-outbreaks\">Michigan\u003c/a> has experienced the worst rises in cyclosporiasis cases, reporting over 3,000 cases as of Tuesday. Other states reporting surges of the disease include \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/cyclosporiasis-cases-new-york-state/\">New York\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://news.wttw.com/2026/07/13/illinois-confirms-194-probable-cases-cyclosporiasis-parasitic-inspection-spreads\">Illinois\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://odh.ohio.gov/media-center/ODH-News-Releases/cyclosporiasis-news-release-070826\">Ohio\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2026/07/13/texas-cyclospora-cases-count-cyclosporiasis-symptoms-and-treatment/90904130007/\">Texas\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/han/php/notices/han00531.html\">announced \u003c/a>that the agency had received reports of 1,645 confirmed domestic cases of cyclosporiasis — but was aware of over 5,000 more cases that required confirmation. So far, \u003ca href=\"https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/keep-mi-healthy/infectious-diseases/infectious-disease-outbreaks\">Michigan\u003c/a> has experienced the worst rises in cyclosporiasis cases, reporting over 3,000 cases as of Tuesday. Other states reporting surges of the disease include \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/cyclosporiasis-cases-new-york-state/\">New York\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://news.wttw.com/2026/07/13/illinois-confirms-194-probable-cases-cyclosporiasis-parasitic-inspection-spreads\">Illinois\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://odh.ohio.gov/media-center/ODH-News-Releases/cyclosporiasis-news-release-070826\">Ohio\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2026/07/13/texas-cyclospora-cases-count-cyclosporiasis-symptoms-and-treatment/90904130007/\">Texas\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Some good news: The California Department of Public Health says that California “is not one of the states currently experiencing an increase in cases of cyclosporiasis,” and that the state has actually seen fewer cases of cyclosporiasis this year than it did in 2025. As of Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is only \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/cyclosporiasis/php/surveillance/index.html\">reporting \u003c/a>between one and 10 cases in the whole state, although the agency’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/cyclosporiasis/php/surveillance/index.html\">map \u003c/a>of nationwide cases generally lags behind the figures being reported by the states themselves.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Some good news: The California Department of Public Health says that California “is not one of the states currently experiencing an increase in cases of cyclosporiasis,” and that the state has actually seen fewer cases of cyclosporiasis this year than it did in 2025. As of Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is only \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/cyclosporiasis/php/surveillance/index.html\">reporting \u003c/a>between one and 10 cases in the whole state, although the agency’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/cyclosporiasis/php/surveillance/index.html\">map \u003c/a>of nationwide cases generally lags behind the figures being reported by the states themselves.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>CDPH said that from January to June 2026, California reported 41 provisional cases of cyclosporiasis, “compared to 80 cases during the same period in 2025.” The agency said that most of these 2026 California cases are associated with recent international travel. Since May 1, CDPH has reported four California cases of cyclospora in people who’d been infected within the United States — two of whom had visited the Midwest.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>CDPH said that from January to June 2026, California reported 41 provisional cases of cyclosporiasis, “compared to 80 cases during the same period in 2025.” The agency said that most of these 2026 California cases are associated with recent international travel. Since May 1, CDPH has reported four California cases of cyclospora in people who’d been infected within the United States — two of whom had visited the Midwest.\u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "Riverside County supervisors create committee to study sheriff oversight",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvcrnews.org/local-news/2026-07-14/riverside-county-supervisors-create-committee-to-study-sheriff-oversight\">Riverside County supervisors create committee to study sheriff oversight\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Riverside County Board of Supervisors has agreed to create a committee to study recommendations that call for oversight of its sheriff’s department. A grand jury recently made the \u003ca href=\"https://rivco.gov/sites/g/files/aldnop116/files/2026-06/Final%20Final.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recommendations\u003c/a> after investigating concerns about jail deaths and a lack of oversight.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Riverside County Board of Supervisors has agreed to create a committee to study recommendations that call for oversight of its sheriff’s department. A grand jury recently made the \u003ca href=\"https://rivco.gov/sites/g/files/aldnop116/files/2026-06/Final%20Final.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recommendations\u003c/a> after investigating concerns about jail deaths and a lack of oversight.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Since March 2023, 29 people have died in Riverside County jails. The spike in jail deaths prompted the civil grand jury to investigate the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The grand jury concluded the department needs more transparency and accountability. It made several recommendations to improve jail conditions and form an independent oversight authority. The grand jury recommended the county grant the oversight authority subpoena and investigatory powers. Riverside County Supervisors Jose Medina and Karen Spiegel brought forth the item to create an ad hoc committee to evaluate the options for oversight, or whether they need it. The committee must present its findings to the board in 180 days.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The grand jury concluded the department needs more transparency and accountability. It made several recommendations to improve jail conditions and form an independent oversight authority. The grand jury recommended the county grant the oversight authority subpoena and investigatory powers. Riverside County Supervisors Jose Medina and Karen Spiegel brought forth the item to create an ad hoc committee to evaluate the options for oversight, or whether they need it. The committee must present its findings to the board in 180 days.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Medina, who ran on a platform of sheriff’s oversight, said the ad hoc committee is a step in the right direction and that public policy decisions take time. “The best public policy is shaped when people are willing to share their perspectives, listen to one another, and stay engaged in the process,” Medina said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Medina, who ran on a platform of sheriff’s oversight, said the ad hoc committee is a step in the right direction and that public policy decisions take time. “The best public policy is shaped when people are willing to share their perspectives, listen to one another, and stay engaged in the process,” Medina said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Sheriff Chad Bianco said in a statement to KVCR that his department does not need more oversight and that the issue is being pushed by those with an “anti-law enforcement agenda.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories on Wednesday, July 15, 2026\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>Much of the Central Valley is under a heat advisory Wednesday, as temperatures could reach triple digits. Many of the region’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/community/2026-07-02/kids-in-this-california-farm-town-dont-know-how-to-swim-a-community-pool-is-changing-that\">unincorporated communities don’t have public swimming pools \u003c/a>where they can cool off. That also means residents don’t have a place to learn how to swim which could have tragic consequences. \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>California health officials say an outbreak of a foodborne stomach parasite — that’s generated nearly 7,000 suspected cases nationwide — \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12090791/cyclosporiasis-symptoms-california-parasite-explosive-diarrhea-foodborne-cyclospora-michigan-outbreak-fruits-vegetables-incubation-antibiotics\">has not reached the state.\u003c/a> \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Riverside County’s Board of Supervisors has agreed to create a committee to study recommendations that call for oversight of its sheriff’s department. A grand jury recently made the recommendations after investigating concerns about jail deaths and a lack of oversight.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/community/2026-07-02/kids-in-this-california-farm-town-dont-know-how-to-swim-a-community-pool-is-changing-that\">Kids in this California farm town don’t know how to swim. A community pool is changing that\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At the Orosi High School graduation last year, 201 students lined up in rows to walk onto an outdoor stage and receive their diplomas. But one student who should have been there wasn’t.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Two years ago, Alejandro Araujo and some of his friends were on a boat at Shaver Lake in the Sierra Nevada. “He had a safety vest, and he jumped in the water, and the safety vest must have just slipped right out of him and he never came up,” said Yolanda Valdez, superintendent of the Cutler Orosi Joint School District. “It was the most devastating, awful thing ever. He would have graduated this year. There was an empty chair at graduation and a moment of silence for him.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The school district encompasses two neighboring farmworker communities, Cutler and Orosi. Valdez said the fact that so many kids in her district don’t know how to swim is a symptom of poverty. But it’s something the district is changing.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Thanks to a million-dollar grant from Tulare County and other one-time funds, the district now has a brand-new aquatics complex at Orosi High. Valdez said the district built the complex to teach water safety and save lives. Only recently a toddler in Cutler drowned in an above ground pool. “We want to teach our children how to swim so they can survive,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 4,500 people in the United States die annually due to unintentional drowning. Drowning is also the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4. In areas that are rural or economically disadvantaged, drowning rates are higher. One\u003ca href=\"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12150793/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> \u003cu>CDC report\u003c/u>\u003c/a> found that in counties with high overall social vulnerability, fatal drowning rates are 1.59 times as high as counties with low social vulnerability.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This may be due to “reduced access to swimming pools, affordable swimming lessons and other evidence-based drowning prevention strategies.” Drowning rates are also about 35% higher in rural areas compared to urban areas, according to the CDC. “It’s an opportunity gap that our kids don’t know how to swim, it’s an opportunity gap that they didn’t have an aquatics complex,” said Valdez. “Swimming and being able to enjoy the waterways is also a quality of life issue.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12090791/cyclosporiasis-symptoms-california-parasite-explosive-diarrhea-foodborne-cyclospora-michigan-outbreak-fruits-vegetables-incubation-antibiotics\">What to know about the ‘explosive diarrhea’ parasite surging in the US\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Let’s face it: Headlines about “explosive diarrhea” are the headlines \u003cem>nobody \u003c/em>wants to see. But amid the current national outbreak of cyclosporiasis — a foodborne stomach parasite that’s infected thousands of people around the United States — it’s hard to avoid the updates about the severe cramping, bloating and yes, the “watery diarrhea with frequent, sometimes explosive, bowel movements” (in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s own \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/cyclosporiasis/hcp/clinical-overview/index.html\">words\u003c/a>) this disease causes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/han/php/notices/han00531.html\">announced \u003c/a>that the agency had received reports of 1,645 confirmed domestic cases of cyclosporiasis — but was aware of over 5,000 more cases that required confirmation. So far, \u003ca href=\"https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/keep-mi-healthy/infectious-diseases/infectious-disease-outbreaks\">Michigan\u003c/a> has experienced the worst rises in cyclosporiasis cases, reporting over 3,000 cases as of Tuesday. Other states reporting surges of the disease include \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/cyclosporiasis-cases-new-york-state/\">New York\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://news.wttw.com/2026/07/13/illinois-confirms-194-probable-cases-cyclosporiasis-parasitic-inspection-spreads\">Illinois\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://odh.ohio.gov/media-center/ODH-News-Releases/cyclosporiasis-news-release-070826\">Ohio\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2026/07/13/texas-cyclospora-cases-count-cyclosporiasis-symptoms-and-treatment/90904130007/\">Texas\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some good news: The California Department of Public Health says that California “is not one of the states currently experiencing an increase in cases of cyclosporiasis,” and that the state has actually seen fewer cases of cyclosporiasis this year than it did in 2025. As of Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is only \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/cyclosporiasis/php/surveillance/index.html\">reporting \u003c/a>between one and 10 cases in the whole state, although the agency’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/cyclosporiasis/php/surveillance/index.html\">map \u003c/a>of nationwide cases generally lags behind the figures being reported by the states themselves.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>CDPH said that from January to June 2026, California reported 41 provisional cases of cyclosporiasis, “compared to 80 cases during the same period in 2025.” The agency said that most of these 2026 California cases are associated with recent international travel. Since May 1, CDPH has reported four California cases of cyclospora in people who’d been infected within the United States — two of whom had visited the Midwest.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvcrnews.org/local-news/2026-07-14/riverside-county-supervisors-create-committee-to-study-sheriff-oversight\">Riverside County supervisors create committee to study sheriff oversight\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Riverside County Board of Supervisors has agreed to create a committee to study recommendations that call for oversight of its sheriff’s department. A grand jury recently made the \u003ca href=\"https://rivco.gov/sites/g/files/aldnop116/files/2026-06/Final%20Final.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recommendations\u003c/a> after investigating concerns about jail deaths and a lack of oversight.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since March 2023, 29 people have died in Riverside County jails. The spike in jail deaths prompted the civil grand jury to investigate the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The grand jury concluded the department needs more transparency and accountability. It made several recommendations to improve jail conditions and form an independent oversight authority. The grand jury recommended the county grant the oversight authority subpoena and investigatory powers. Riverside County Supervisors Jose Medina and Karen Spiegel brought forth the item to create an ad hoc committee to evaluate the options for oversight, or whether they need it. The committee must present its findings to the board in 180 days.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Medina, who ran on a platform of sheriff’s oversight, said the ad hoc committee is a step in the right direction and that public policy decisions take time. “The best public policy is shaped when people are willing to share their perspectives, listen to one another, and stay engaged in the process,” Medina said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sheriff Chad Bianco said in a statement to KVCR that his department does not need more oversight and that the issue is being pushed by those with an “anti-law enforcement agenda.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "California Peach Growers Hope Next Farm Bill Will Do More for Specialty Crops",
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"content": "\u003cp>It’s a sweltering morning in June off State Route 70 in Marysville as Sarb Johl watches one of his employees use an excavator to push dead peach trees into ginormous, dry piles.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“He’s picking up the trees that have already been pushed out of the ground so they can be burned,” Johl said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Like a lot of farmers in Yuba and Sutter counties, Johl grows peaches — and not the kind that you buy fresh at the store or farmers’ market. These peaches are grown specifically for canning.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But Johl was forced to rip out over half of his peach acres after one of the last canneries in the state, Del Monte Foods, \u003ca href=\"https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/del-monte-files-for-bankruptcy-as-its-canned-fruit-and-vegetable-sales-slide\">filed for bankruptcy\u003c/a> and then closed earlier this year. That left growers like Johl \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article314486736.html\">without a buyer\u003c/a> for their fruit — and facing a dire economic crisis.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When the processor goes out, basically you got no place to go,” Johl said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In April, the United States Department of Agriculture threw farmers a lifeline by creating a \u003ca href=\"https://www.mynspr.org/news/2026-05-05/california-lawmakers-secure-federal-aid-for-yuba-sutter-peach-farmers-affected-by-major-cannery-closure\">$9 million program\u003c/a> to fund the removal of thousands of acres of trees.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12090778\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/IMG_1858-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12090778\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/IMG_1858-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/IMG_1858-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/IMG_1858-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A pile of dead peach trees lie in a field next to an active peach orchard in Marysville, California, on June 12, 2026.\u003cbr> (Claudia Brancart/NSPR)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" data-id=\"12090773\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/IMG_1818-scaled-e1783982597496.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12090773\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An excavator destroys a portion of Sarb Johl’s peach orchard in Marysville, California, on June 12, 2026. (Claudia Brancart/NSPR)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, farmers like Johl need to invest in growing another crop, likely a type of nut, and they’re hoping the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12088977/a-lifeline-for-californias-small-farms-just-expired-what-comes-next\">new farm bill\u003c/a> will provide some help to make the transition. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But it may not be that simple.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“So historically, the farm bill has sort of left out specialty crop growers,” said \u003ca href=\"https://jsayre.ucdavis.edu/\">James Sayre\u003c/a>, an agricultural economist at UC Davis.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sayre said that specialty crops — like some fruits, vegetables and nuts — have gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to the massive piece of agriculture legislation. He said that’s partially because a lot of the bill is dedicated to what are called \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF12047\">Title I crops\u003c/a> — think big commodities like corn, wheat and soybeans. Title I crops are federally subsidized with insurance programs and direct payments to farmers when prices fall.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The upshot is that if you are a specialty crop grower, you basically didn’t have access to many of these programs,” Sayre said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/IMG_1827-scaled-e1783983231785.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12090774\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sarb Johl holds a pair of unripe peaches at his orchard in Marysville, California, on June 12, 2026. (Claudia Brancart/NSPR)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Title I crops are grown across many Midwestern states, while specialty crops are concentrated in California. Sayre said that means lawmakers from big commodity-growing regions have more votes in Congress and therefore more political power.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One silver lining is that California Sen. Adam Schiff has a seat on the Senate’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.agriculture.senate.gov/\">Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee\u003c/a>. It’s the first time in 30 years that a lawmaker from the Golden State is at the table.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Schiff said one of his main priorities is to \u003ca href=\"https://www.schiff.senate.gov/news/press-releases/news-sen-schiff-pushes-to-level-playing-field-for-californias-farmers-in-senate-farm-bill-with-six-new-agriculture-bills/\">get more resources\u003c/a> for specialty crop farmers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There’s no reason to treat these farmers differently than we treat farmers in other parts of the country that grow different crops,” Schiff said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The senator said that specialty crop farmers face the same natural disasters and market pressures as commodity farmers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/IMG_1852.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12090781\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/IMG_1852.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/IMG_1852-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/IMG_1852-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sarb Johl reaches for an unripe peach at his orchard in Marysville, California, on June 12, 2026. \u003cbr> (Claudia Brancart/NSPR)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But getting a new farm bill across the finish line has gotten more difficult since H.R. 1, the president’s federal budget package, \u003ca href=\"https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/millions-lose-snap-benefits-as-one-big-beautiful-bills-stricter-requirements-kick-in\">significantly cut\u003c/a> the food assistance program known as SNAP. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Schiff said Democrats want to see those cuts reversed in the next farm bill.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think there’s some bipartisan interest in doing that,” Schiff said. “If Republicans are willing to meet us, then I think we have a farm bill.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But farmers like Johl can’t wait around for politicians to duke it out in the halls of the Capitol. Back at the farm, he said giving up peaches entirely would be like giving up a part of his family heritage. Johl’s dad immigrated from Punjab, India, in the 1960s, landing in Yuba City and working on a peach farm.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Eventually, he bought his own ranch. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“He had a love for peaches,” Johl said. “That got passed on to the next generation.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Johl hopes the new farm bill will include more support for specialty crop farmers, so maybe his kids can grow peaches, too.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We live by, ‘Hey, tomorrow’s gonna be a better day,’” Johl said. “‘Next year is gonna be a better season.”’\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And Johl said that maybe, in another season, he’ll get the chance to plant some more peach trees.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was edited with support from the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/californianewsroom\">\u003cem>California Newsroom\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>, a collaboration of public media outlets throughout the state.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Now, farmers like Johl need to invest in growing another crop, likely a type of nut, and they’re hoping the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12088977/a-lifeline-for-californias-small-farms-just-expired-what-comes-next\">new farm bill\u003c/a> will provide some help to make the transition. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But it may not be that simple.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“So historically, the farm bill has sort of left out specialty crop growers,” said \u003ca href=\"https://jsayre.ucdavis.edu/\">James Sayre\u003c/a>, an agricultural economist at UC Davis.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Sayre said that specialty crops — like some fruits, vegetables and nuts — have gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to the massive piece of agriculture legislation. He said that’s partially because a lot of the bill is dedicated to what are called \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF12047\">Title I crops\u003c/a> — think big commodities like corn, wheat and soybeans. Title I crops are federally subsidized with insurance programs and direct payments to farmers when prices fall.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Sayre said that specialty crops — like some fruits, vegetables and nuts — have gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to the massive piece of agriculture legislation. He said that’s partially because a lot of the bill is dedicated to what are called \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF12047\">Title I crops\u003c/a> — think big commodities like corn, wheat and soybeans. Title I crops are federally subsidized with insurance programs and direct payments to farmers when prices fall.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The upshot is that if you are a specialty crop grower, you basically didn’t have access to many of these programs,” Sayre said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The upshot is that if you are a specialty crop grower, you basically didn’t have access to many of these programs,” Sayre said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Title I crops are grown across many Midwestern states, while specialty crops are concentrated in California. Sayre said that means lawmakers from big commodity-growing regions have more votes in Congress and therefore more political power.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>One silver lining is that California Sen. Adam Schiff has a seat on the Senate’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.agriculture.senate.gov/\">Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee\u003c/a>. It’s the first time in 30 years that a lawmaker from the Golden State is at the table.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Schiff said one of his main priorities is to \u003ca href=\"https://www.schiff.senate.gov/news/press-releases/news-sen-schiff-pushes-to-level-playing-field-for-californias-farmers-in-senate-farm-bill-with-six-new-agriculture-bills/\">get more resources\u003c/a> for specialty crop farmers.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“There’s no reason to treat these farmers differently than we treat farmers in other parts of the country that grow different crops,” Schiff said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The senator said that specialty crop farmers face the same natural disasters and market pressures as commodity farmers. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/IMG_1852.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12090781\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/IMG_1852.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/IMG_1852-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/IMG_1852-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sarb Johl reaches for an unripe peach at his orchard in Marysville, California, on June 12, 2026. \u003cbr>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But getting a new farm bill across the finish line has gotten more difficult since H.R. 1, the president’s federal budget package, \u003ca href=\"https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/millions-lose-snap-benefits-as-one-big-beautiful-bills-stricter-requirements-kick-in\">significantly cut\u003c/a> the food assistance program known as SNAP. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Schiff said Democrats want to see those cuts reversed in the next farm bill.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I think there’s some bipartisan interest in doing that,” Schiff said. “If Republicans are willing to meet us, then I think we have a farm bill.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But farmers like Johl can’t wait around for politicians to duke it out in the halls of the Capitol. Back at the farm, he said giving up peaches entirely would be like giving up a part of his family heritage. Johl’s dad immigrated from Punjab, India, in the 1960s, landing in Yuba City and working on a peach farm.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But farmers like Johl can’t wait around for politicians to duke it out in the halls of the Capitol. Back at the farm, he said giving up peaches entirely would be like giving up a part of his family heritage. Johl’s dad immigrated from Punjab, India, in the 1960s, landing in Yuba City and working on a peach farm.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Eventually, he bought his own ranch. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“He had a love for peaches,” Johl said. “That got passed on to the next generation.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Johl hopes the new farm bill will include more support for specialty crop farmers, so maybe his kids can grow peaches, too.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We live by, ‘Hey, tomorrow’s gonna be a better day,’” Johl said. “‘Next year is gonna be a better season.”’\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And Johl said that maybe, in another season, he’ll get the chance to plant some more peach trees.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was edited with support from the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/californianewsroom\">\u003cem>California Newsroom\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>, a collaboration of public media outlets throughout the state.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Peach farmers in the Central Valley have pulled up their crops and are facing financial hardship. They hope a new farm bill will help keep them going after one of the last canneries in the state closed earlier this year. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>It’s a sweltering morning in June off State Route 70 in Marysville as Sarb Johl watches one of his employees use an excavator to push dead peach trees into ginormous, dry piles.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“He’s picking up the trees that have already been pushed out of the ground so they can be burned,” Johl said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Like a lot of farmers in Yuba and Sutter counties, Johl grows peaches — and not the kind that you buy fresh at the store or farmers’ market. These peaches are grown specifically for canning.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But Johl was forced to rip out over half of his peach acres after one of the last canneries in the state, Del Monte Foods, \u003ca href=\"https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/del-monte-files-for-bankruptcy-as-its-canned-fruit-and-vegetable-sales-slide\">filed for bankruptcy\u003c/a> and then closed earlier this year. That left growers like Johl \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article314486736.html\">without a buyer\u003c/a> for their fruit — and facing a dire economic crisis.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When the processor goes out, basically you got no place to go,” Johl said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In April, the United States Department of Agriculture threw farmers a lifeline by creating a \u003ca href=\"https://www.mynspr.org/news/2026-05-05/california-lawmakers-secure-federal-aid-for-yuba-sutter-peach-farmers-affected-by-major-cannery-closure\">$9 million program\u003c/a> to fund the removal of thousands of acres of trees.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12090778\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/IMG_1858-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12090778\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/IMG_1858-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/IMG_1858-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/IMG_1858-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A pile of dead peach trees lie in a field next to an active peach orchard in Marysville, California, on June 12, 2026.\u003cbr> (Claudia Brancart/NSPR)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" data-id=\"12090773\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/IMG_1818-scaled-e1783982597496.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12090773\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An excavator destroys a portion of Sarb Johl’s peach orchard in Marysville, California, on June 12, 2026. (Claudia Brancart/NSPR)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, farmers like Johl need to invest in growing another crop, likely a type of nut, and they’re hoping the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12088977/a-lifeline-for-californias-small-farms-just-expired-what-comes-next\">new farm bill\u003c/a> will provide some help to make the transition. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But it may not be that simple.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“So historically, the farm bill has sort of left out specialty crop growers,” said \u003ca href=\"https://jsayre.ucdavis.edu/\">James Sayre\u003c/a>, an agricultural economist at UC Davis.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sayre said that specialty crops — like some fruits, vegetables and nuts — have gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to the massive piece of agriculture legislation. He said that’s partially because a lot of the bill is dedicated to what are called \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF12047\">Title I crops\u003c/a> — think big commodities like corn, wheat and soybeans. Title I crops are federally subsidized with insurance programs and direct payments to farmers when prices fall.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The upshot is that if you are a specialty crop grower, you basically didn’t have access to many of these programs,” Sayre said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/IMG_1827-scaled-e1783983231785.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12090774\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sarb Johl holds a pair of unripe peaches at his orchard in Marysville, California, on June 12, 2026. (Claudia Brancart/NSPR)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Title I crops are grown across many Midwestern states, while specialty crops are concentrated in California. Sayre said that means lawmakers from big commodity-growing regions have more votes in Congress and therefore more political power.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One silver lining is that California Sen. Adam Schiff has a seat on the Senate’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.agriculture.senate.gov/\">Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee\u003c/a>. It’s the first time in 30 years that a lawmaker from the Golden State is at the table.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Schiff said one of his main priorities is to \u003ca href=\"https://www.schiff.senate.gov/news/press-releases/news-sen-schiff-pushes-to-level-playing-field-for-californias-farmers-in-senate-farm-bill-with-six-new-agriculture-bills/\">get more resources\u003c/a> for specialty crop farmers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There’s no reason to treat these farmers differently than we treat farmers in other parts of the country that grow different crops,” Schiff said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The senator said that specialty crop farmers face the same natural disasters and market pressures as commodity farmers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/IMG_1852.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12090781\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/IMG_1852.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/IMG_1852-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/IMG_1852-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sarb Johl reaches for an unripe peach at his orchard in Marysville, California, on June 12, 2026. \u003cbr> (Claudia Brancart/NSPR)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But getting a new farm bill across the finish line has gotten more difficult since H.R. 1, the president’s federal budget package, \u003ca href=\"https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/millions-lose-snap-benefits-as-one-big-beautiful-bills-stricter-requirements-kick-in\">significantly cut\u003c/a> the food assistance program known as SNAP. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Schiff said Democrats want to see those cuts reversed in the next farm bill.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think there’s some bipartisan interest in doing that,” Schiff said. “If Republicans are willing to meet us, then I think we have a farm bill.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But farmers like Johl can’t wait around for politicians to duke it out in the halls of the Capitol. Back at the farm, he said giving up peaches entirely would be like giving up a part of his family heritage. Johl’s dad immigrated from Punjab, India, in the 1960s, landing in Yuba City and working on a peach farm.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Eventually, he bought his own ranch. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“He had a love for peaches,” Johl said. “That got passed on to the next generation.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Johl hopes the new farm bill will include more support for specialty crop farmers, so maybe his kids can grow peaches, too.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We live by, ‘Hey, tomorrow’s gonna be a better day,’” Johl said. “‘Next year is gonna be a better season.”’\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And Johl said that maybe, in another season, he’ll get the chance to plant some more peach trees.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was edited with support from the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/californianewsroom\">\u003cem>California Newsroom\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>, a collaboration of public media outlets throughout the state.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cb>Here are the morning’s top stories on Tuesday, July 7, 2026\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Life in California has become more expensive, and people are trying to find ways to survive. Among the Latino diaspora – from the Bay Area to the Central Valley – \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/business-economy/2026-03-16/newer-generations-are-giving-an-old-money-saving-technique-a-modern-twist\">more people are turning to tandas\u003c/a>: an old tool, now with a modern twist. It’s a way to get out of a tight spot, save money and build credit. \u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A Bay Area carpenter who was rushed to the emergency room during an immigration arrest last year \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12089337/sunnyvale-man-deported-to-mexico-sues-trump-administration\">is suing the Trump administration\u003c/a>, saying violent treatment and months of medical neglect in immigration detention left him seriously disabled.\u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/business-economy/2026-03-16/newer-generations-are-giving-an-old-money-saving-technique-a-modern-twist\">\u003cstrong>California’s Latino community turns to an old standby to build financial security\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>David Medina, a 24-year-old from Fresno, was feeling the pressure of the holiday season last year. With Christmas approaching, he wanted to buy gifts for his family, but after checking his bank account, he realized he didn’t have enough money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s when something he had been contributing his own money to all year made a huge difference. Medina was part of a “tanda,” a community-based lending circle in which members contribute small amounts of money regularly and take turns receiving a lump-sum payout. “And then I remembered, wait. I’m about to get my money from the tanda. That money can go straight into my Christmas shopping,” Medina said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He had been paying $100 a month and received $1,000 just before the holidays. The timing helped turn a stressful situation into a manageable one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A tanda is a traditional financial system widely used across Latin America that functions as a community-based savings-and-lending circle. Participants contribute a set amount of money regularly and take turns receiving a lump-sum, similar to an interest-free savings plan or an informal loan. The system relies on trust among its members and has historically operated in cash.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, however, tandas are becoming more modernized, drawing interest from younger generations of Latinos in the Central Valley. The \u003ca class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.elfus.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cu>Education and Leadership Foundation\u003c/u>\u003c/a>, based in Fresno, partnered with \u003ca class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.missionassetfund.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cu>Mission Asset Fund\u003c/u>\u003c/a>, a Bay Area nonprofit, more than three years ago to expand access to these traditional lending circles. Both organizations use the model as a way to help communities build savings and access small, no-interest loans through structured, community-based programs. Special Projects Manager at the ELF, Vianey Barraza, explains how tandas work. “You get a group of people, usually between six and 10 individuals, and they decide to lend to each other. They decide on an amount, and usually every week or every two weeks, one person will get the full loan amount, and everybody will be paying in, including the person that receives it,” Barraza said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Traditionally, participants knew each other; they used to have family members, neighbors, friends, and coworkers within the tanda. Trust is essential because a person is less likely to take the money and never return. In the system operated by ELF, participants do not know each other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And although this method of saving money is not widely heard of, it also is not totally new; in fact, it is a very old technique. Raúl Hinojosa-Ojeda, a professor of Chicano studies at the University of California at Los Angeles, says that the origins go back centuries. “They’re not new,” Hinojosa-Ojeda said. “There’s multi-thousand year old roots of communal labor in Mexico, there’s 1000-year-old roots in Asia of communal work and communal savings and lending.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"routes-Site-routes-Post-Title-__Title__title\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12089337/sunnyvale-man-deported-to-mexico-sues-trump-administration\">\u003cstrong>Sunnyvale man deported to Mexico sues Trump administration\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>A Sunnyvale carpenter who was rushed to the emergency room during an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12028303/ice-arrest-left-bay-area-man-hospitalized-struggling-breathe-attorney-says\">immigration arrest\u003c/a> last year is suing the Trump administration, saying violent treatment by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and months of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12075152/a-year-after-ice-detained-south-bay-immigrant-family-trauma-lingers\">medical neglect in ICE detention\u003c/a> left him seriously disabled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ulises Peña López, who was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12077703/its-inhumane-after-sunnyvale-fathers-deportation-family-trauma-lingers\">deported to Mexico\u003c/a> in October after eight months in custody, said ICE officers beat him until he lost consciousness, despite the fact that he and his wife warned them that he’d been diagnosed with a life-threatening condition. ICE denies the allegations. Today, Peña López, 32, said he’s paralyzed on the right side of his body and walks with a cane, his vision and hearing are impaired, and he can’t work to support himself or pay for the medical care he needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What I want more than anything, I can’t get back: to recover my health, to be with my wife and daughter, and to be able to work again,” he said in a recent phone interview from an aunt’s home in Michoacán, where he lives now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His U.S.-born wife, Aby Peña, who has remained in California with the couple’s now-5-year-old daughter, Emily, said she doesn’t understand how ICE officers could treat another human being as her husband was treated. “It’s just inhumane,” she said. “And it also affects children because they’re being separated, and it’s a damage that is irreversible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a federal civil rights lawsuit filed Monday, his lawyers say the arrest, on Feb. 21, 2025, led to “a cascade of harms,” including lasting trauma for Peña and their daughter, who witnessed it. By law, the complaint said, ICE “bears responsibility for the safety and well-being of individuals” it detains. Yet court records indicate the arrest triggered a heart attack and stroke. And the lawsuit said ICE and private prison contractors failed to get Peña López critical follow-up care, including an urgent neurological workup and physical therapy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lawsuit also alleges that staff at both facilities where he was held — Golden State Annex and California City Detention Facility, both in Kern County — denied him disability accommodations, such as glasses and hearing aids, as required by law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages to compensate Peña López and his family and to punish the government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement emailed to KQED, an unnamed Homeland Security spokesperson said ICE arrested Peña López “during targeted operations.” It said “he resisted multiple lawful commands made by ICE officers,” but it didn’t address the lawsuit’s allegations that he was beaten. At the time of the arrest, an ICE spokesman \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12028303/ice-arrest-left-bay-area-man-hospitalized-struggling-breathe-attorney-says\">told KQED\u003c/a> the allegation that officers beat Peña López was “absolutely inaccurate.” The ICE statement said, “Any claims of subprime medical care at ICE facilities is FALSE,” and reiterated boilerplate language asserting that the agency provides comprehensive care that “for many illegal aliens … is the best healthcare they have received their entire lives.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Laura Murchie, a member of Peña López’s legal team, disputes that. She said his health worsened in detention because he did not get the medical care he needed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the university affiliation of Raúl Hinojosa-Ojeda, a professor of Chicano studies. He is a professor at the University of California at Los Angeles.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cb>Here are the morning’s top stories on Tuesday, July 7, 2026\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Life in California has become more expensive, and people are trying to find ways to survive. Among the Latino diaspora – from the Bay Area to the Central Valley – \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/business-economy/2026-03-16/newer-generations-are-giving-an-old-money-saving-technique-a-modern-twist\">more people are turning to tandas\u003c/a>: an old tool, now with a modern twist. It’s a way to get out of a tight spot, save money and build credit. \u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A Bay Area carpenter who was rushed to the emergency room during an immigration arrest last year \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12089337/sunnyvale-man-deported-to-mexico-sues-trump-administration\">is suing the Trump administration\u003c/a>, saying violent treatment and months of medical neglect in immigration detention left him seriously disabled.\u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/business-economy/2026-03-16/newer-generations-are-giving-an-old-money-saving-technique-a-modern-twist\">\u003cstrong>California’s Latino community turns to an old standby to build financial security\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>David Medina, a 24-year-old from Fresno, was feeling the pressure of the holiday season last year. With Christmas approaching, he wanted to buy gifts for his family, but after checking his bank account, he realized he didn’t have enough money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s when something he had been contributing his own money to all year made a huge difference. Medina was part of a “tanda,” a community-based lending circle in which members contribute small amounts of money regularly and take turns receiving a lump-sum payout. “And then I remembered, wait. I’m about to get my money from the tanda. That money can go straight into my Christmas shopping,” Medina said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He had been paying $100 a month and received $1,000 just before the holidays. The timing helped turn a stressful situation into a manageable one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A tanda is a traditional financial system widely used across Latin America that functions as a community-based savings-and-lending circle. Participants contribute a set amount of money regularly and take turns receiving a lump-sum, similar to an interest-free savings plan or an informal loan. The system relies on trust among its members and has historically operated in cash.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, however, tandas are becoming more modernized, drawing interest from younger generations of Latinos in the Central Valley. The \u003ca class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.elfus.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cu>Education and Leadership Foundation\u003c/u>\u003c/a>, based in Fresno, partnered with \u003ca class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.missionassetfund.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cu>Mission Asset Fund\u003c/u>\u003c/a>, a Bay Area nonprofit, more than three years ago to expand access to these traditional lending circles. Both organizations use the model as a way to help communities build savings and access small, no-interest loans through structured, community-based programs. Special Projects Manager at the ELF, Vianey Barraza, explains how tandas work. “You get a group of people, usually between six and 10 individuals, and they decide to lend to each other. They decide on an amount, and usually every week or every two weeks, one person will get the full loan amount, and everybody will be paying in, including the person that receives it,” Barraza said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Traditionally, participants knew each other; they used to have family members, neighbors, friends, and coworkers within the tanda. Trust is essential because a person is less likely to take the money and never return. In the system operated by ELF, participants do not know each other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And although this method of saving money is not widely heard of, it also is not totally new; in fact, it is a very old technique. Raúl Hinojosa-Ojeda, a professor of Chicano studies at the University of California at Los Angeles, says that the origins go back centuries. “They’re not new,” Hinojosa-Ojeda said. “There’s multi-thousand year old roots of communal labor in Mexico, there’s 1000-year-old roots in Asia of communal work and communal savings and lending.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"routes-Site-routes-Post-Title-__Title__title\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12089337/sunnyvale-man-deported-to-mexico-sues-trump-administration\">\u003cstrong>Sunnyvale man deported to Mexico sues Trump administration\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>A Sunnyvale carpenter who was rushed to the emergency room during an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12028303/ice-arrest-left-bay-area-man-hospitalized-struggling-breathe-attorney-says\">immigration arrest\u003c/a> last year is suing the Trump administration, saying violent treatment by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and months of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12075152/a-year-after-ice-detained-south-bay-immigrant-family-trauma-lingers\">medical neglect in ICE detention\u003c/a> left him seriously disabled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ulises Peña López, who was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12077703/its-inhumane-after-sunnyvale-fathers-deportation-family-trauma-lingers\">deported to Mexico\u003c/a> in October after eight months in custody, said ICE officers beat him until he lost consciousness, despite the fact that he and his wife warned them that he’d been diagnosed with a life-threatening condition. ICE denies the allegations. Today, Peña López, 32, said he’s paralyzed on the right side of his body and walks with a cane, his vision and hearing are impaired, and he can’t work to support himself or pay for the medical care he needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What I want more than anything, I can’t get back: to recover my health, to be with my wife and daughter, and to be able to work again,” he said in a recent phone interview from an aunt’s home in Michoacán, where he lives now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His U.S.-born wife, Aby Peña, who has remained in California with the couple’s now-5-year-old daughter, Emily, said she doesn’t understand how ICE officers could treat another human being as her husband was treated. “It’s just inhumane,” she said. “And it also affects children because they’re being separated, and it’s a damage that is irreversible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a federal civil rights lawsuit filed Monday, his lawyers say the arrest, on Feb. 21, 2025, led to “a cascade of harms,” including lasting trauma for Peña and their daughter, who witnessed it. By law, the complaint said, ICE “bears responsibility for the safety and well-being of individuals” it detains. Yet court records indicate the arrest triggered a heart attack and stroke. And the lawsuit said ICE and private prison contractors failed to get Peña López critical follow-up care, including an urgent neurological workup and physical therapy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lawsuit also alleges that staff at both facilities where he was held — Golden State Annex and California City Detention Facility, both in Kern County — denied him disability accommodations, such as glasses and hearing aids, as required by law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages to compensate Peña López and his family and to punish the government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement emailed to KQED, an unnamed Homeland Security spokesperson said ICE arrested Peña López “during targeted operations.” It said “he resisted multiple lawful commands made by ICE officers,” but it didn’t address the lawsuit’s allegations that he was beaten. At the time of the arrest, an ICE spokesman \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12028303/ice-arrest-left-bay-area-man-hospitalized-struggling-breathe-attorney-says\">told KQED\u003c/a> the allegation that officers beat Peña López was “absolutely inaccurate.” The ICE statement said, “Any claims of subprime medical care at ICE facilities is FALSE,” and reiterated boilerplate language asserting that the agency provides comprehensive care that “for many illegal aliens … is the best healthcare they have received their entire lives.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Laura Murchie, a member of Peña López’s legal team, disputes that. She said his health worsened in detention because he did not get the medical care he needed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the university affiliation of Raúl Hinojosa-Ojeda, a professor of Chicano studies. He is a professor at the University of California at Los Angeles.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "a-lifeline-for-californias-small-farms-just-expired-what-comes-next",
"title": "A Lifeline for California’s Small Farms Just Expired. What Comes Next?",
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"headTitle": "A Lifeline for California’s Small Farms Just Expired. What Comes Next? | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>For eight years, Angelica Estrada-Bugarin’s life moved with the lettuce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a food safety manager for one of the country’s largest salad producers, she followed the harvest the way thousands of agricultural workers do: spring and summer in California’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/salinas\">Salinas\u003c/a> Valley, winter in Yuma, Arizona, as the whole operation shifted south so the crop never stopped growing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Growing up in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/merced-county\">Merced County\u003c/a>, Estrada-Bugarin watched her parents buy produce from small farmers and truck it to terminal markets in Los Angeles and San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She went on to study managerial economics at UC Davis, learning how big food worked from the inside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, she decided to stop moving.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I realized I needed to kind of settle down,” Estrada-Bugarin said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as she settled, she noticed a problem that kept surfacing: small farmers in the Central Valley — many of them immigrants, many growing without synthetic chemicals — could grow beautiful food but had nowhere reliable to sell it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089197\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089197\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-04-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Angelica Estrada-Bugarin, founder of Sweet Valley Produce, left, smiles with her mother Maria Elena, right, at Sweet Valley Produce in Merced on June 26, 2026. Angelica felt inspired to work in agriculture after growing up watching her parents buy produce from small farmers and distribute it to a larger market. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Today, Estrada-Bugarin is the founder and president of \u003ca href=\"https://svproduceinc.com/\">Sweet Valley Produce\u003c/a>, a food hub in Merced County that aggregates fruits and vegetables from small regenerative and organic farms and finds them markets. The beauty of her line of work, she said, lies in connecting growers and eaters “without having to go through a lot of steps in the food chain.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For one year, the program that made that vision work best was a federal one, called the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program, or LFPA. It expired for Sweet Valley Produce in June.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The federal LFPA helped hundreds of California farms sell millions of pounds of locally grown food to food banks while paying growers full market prices. Now that the Trump administration has ended the program, California farmers fear losing one of their most reliable markets as state leaders weigh whether to keep it alive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For now, lawmakers have proposed extending state funding for LFPA, and the measure sits on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk. Newsom, who has publicly opposed the program’s cancellation, has until Tuesday to decide whether California will fund the program on its own.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A box of vegetables, a family fed\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>LFPA was born out of the pandemic, when federal money flowed to strengthen local food supply chains. The U.S. Department of Agriculture sent funds to states, which used them to buy food from local farmers and route it to hunger-relief programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, the program was called Farms Together, which was run by three nonprofits — the Community Alliance with Family Farmers, or CAFF, Fresh Approach and the California Association of Food Banks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Estrada-Bugarin and many other small farms, it worked like this: food banks paid Sweet Valley Produce, which assembled boxes of seven to 12 seasonal items — fruits, vegetables, herbs, plus a monthly value-added product like honey or microgreens — sourced from four or five local farms each.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089203\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089203\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-21-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-21-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-21-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-21-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A fruit and vegetable stand at Sweet Valley Produce in Merced on June 26, 2026. Sweet Valley Produce is a farm and produce aggregator in Merced County specializing in growing and distributing sweet potatoes while also supplying fresh produce from local family farms. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The boxes went to the Modesto Salvation Army, which told her that many of the recipients were elderly people who couldn’t easily get to a store by themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without the program, she said, those families mostly received dry goods. “They don’t get the nutrient value of the vegetables and the fruits, especially those that are seasonally and locally available.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The scale was substantial. By Estrada-Bugarin and CAFF’s accounts, LFPA worked with roughly 870 farms across over 50 California counties and 50 food banks, moving some 23 million pounds of food and more than $60 million in local purchases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sweet Valley Produce alone held a contract worth more than $800,000 — money to buy from farms across Stanislaus, Merced, Fresno and Madera counties, and most importantly, money remaining rooted in the region. “When the farmer gets paid that money, they go and spend it within our own economy,” she said.[aside postID=news_12087134 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-8-KQED.jpg']Nearly two hundred miles northwest, in Sonoma County, Dylan Stein watched the same program reshape a different operation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stein is the wholesale manager and a worker-owner at \u003ca href=\"https://www.feedsonoma.com/\">FEED Cooperative\u003c/a>, a Petaluma food hub jointly owned by the farmers who sell through it and the workers who run it. FEED moves produce for a network of about 70 small North Bay farms, many of them 10 acres or less — tiny by California standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In 2024, it comprised like 25% of our sales,” Stein said of LFPA. “That being there just gave an extra outlet for the farms we work with.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was kind of a thriving year for a lot of farms in the North Bay,” he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Food banks noticed the difference. Pallets that might normally have held russet potatoes instead arrived full of leafy greens and herbs picked the day before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re opening these boxes, and it’s almost like gold light is coming out,” Stein said. “It’s the best quality produce that you can find.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of FEED’s other customers are high-end restaurants, he noted, meaning that the food banks were getting the same thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>More than charity\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The deeper value of LFPA, the growers said, wasn’t just generosity. It was stability — and the price.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you pay $3 for a bunch of kale at Sprouts, usually the farmer gets like $1 of that,” Estrada-Bugarin said. “But in this case the money went directly to the farmer, so the farmer got paid $3 a bunch.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That cushion also made it possible for some growers to farm without synthetic chemicals. Regenerative practices, or rebuilding soil through crop rotation, hedgerows and minimal inputs, often result in lower yields. But the better price absorbed the difference.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089201\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089201\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-18-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-18-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-18-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-18-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sweet potatoes rest in a crate at Sweet Valley Produce in Merced on June 26, 2026. Sweet Valley Produce is based in the Central Valley and specializes in growing and distributing sweet potatoes. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I actually had at least two farmers who were transitioning to organic farming from conventional farming because they were able to be supported through this program,” Estrada-Bugarin said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Others, who previously grew a single crop, used it to start diversifying their fields.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At FEED, Stein saw similar progress. A grower with a surprise surplus — 80 cases of tomatoes in a year that usually yields 50 — suddenly had somewhere to send the extra load.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over three strong years, farmers accomplished what farm statistics rarely reflect: They expanded. They planted new fields, signed new leases and, in a few cases, bought land.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Usually when you’re hearing about farm stats, it’s like farms closing and acreage downgrading,” Stein said. “So these expansions we saw were a huge deal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mike Lavender, policy director at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, said that combination of economic and human value helped the program win bipartisan support.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089200\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089200\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-16-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-16-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-16-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-16-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cartons of sweet potatoes await sorting in a warehouse at Sweet Valley Produce in Merced on June 26, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Farmers loved it because it improved their viability,” he said. “But they also loved just being able to feed their community on a human level.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, in 2025, the second Trump administration terminated the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lavender said that the cancellation arrived at the worst possible moment in the agricultural calendar, “just as farmers were purchasing seeds and getting ready for the spring season.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stein recalled the whiplash.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even contracts that you’re in the middle of are canceled. They stop delivering.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After pushback, growers were allowed to finish existing agreements, but the roughly three additional years of funding they had planned around simply evaporated.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Land, labor and belonging\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://caff.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2026-CAFF-Policy-Report-English-Final-Single.pdf\">report\u003c/a> from CAFF found that 5% of landowners control half of California’s cropland, and that the market increasingly favors private equity firms and investors buying large parcels. For a small grower hoping to buy 10 or 20 acres, there’s often nothing within that size range to buy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Otherwise, you’re stuck renting,” Estrada-Bugarin said, “and then you’re just in this pattern of renting and never really owning the land that you farm.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CAFF also estimates that about 70% of California farmers participating in LFPA identified as socially disadvantaged, a USDA designation for groups that have historically faced barriers to land, credit and federal programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089199\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089199\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-09-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-09-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-09-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The crops of a Laotian farmer, using their harvesting techniques, grow at Sweet Valley Produce in Merced on June 26, 2026. Sweet Valley Produce is a farm and produce aggregator in Merced County, specializing in growing and distributing sweet potatoes, while also supplying fresh produce from local family farms. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For Estrada-Bugarin, the work is deeply personal. As a Mexican American, she grew up hearing that farming was a dead end.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were always told, ‘Don’t work in the fields, agriculture is bad, it’s hard work, not well paid.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One story stands out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During last year’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12043515/more-protests-held-across-southern-california-as-trump-administration-orders-more-national-guard-to-la\">immigration protests\u003c/a> that shut down parts of downtown Los Angeles, a farmer she worked with couldn’t get to his local farmers market for an entire week. He had harvested 80 boxes of plums — and had nowhere to sell them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He called her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because LFPA existed, the plums went into food-bank boxes instead of the compost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s a very strong example of the power that LFPA had to support us as farmers through these political climates,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Trump administration’s immigration crackdowns added another obstacle for farmers, Estrada-Bugarin said. Crops went unharvested. Yields and income were lost. She said immigration authorities drove past Sweet Valley Produce at least once. Her employees, although prepared, were rattled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Immigration reform and the farm bill move on separate tracks in Washington, through different congressional committees, Lavender said, so labor policy can’t simply be written into the bill — even though the two are “deeply linked” in the real world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089202\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089202\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-20-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1313\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-20-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-20-KQED-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-20-KQED-1536x1008.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A farmer tends to their crops at Sweet Valley Produce in Merced on June 26, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But Estrada-Bugarin sees the gap from the ground. The industry’s long-running answer to labor uncertainty has been automation, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But what happens with that? You’re pushing out the small farmers, because we don’t have the money to have automation either,” said Estrada-Bugarin, who would rather see programs such as the H-2A agricultural visa become easier for farmers to use. “How to make it more accessible, or how to make it work better for all of us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now she’s trying to convince the next generation that there are viable careers in agriculture. The community that Estrada-Bugarin has built reflects that ambition. The growers she works with are Hindu, Laotian, Indian, Mennonite and more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This whole business is centered around relationship building,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a first-generation American, she had to build those relationships from scratch, without the established networks that others inherit, the same way her parents farmed on passion without the language or the technology to keep up.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Farm bill uncertainty looms\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For now, the future of California’s small farms may depend as much on Sacramento as it does Washington. With Farms Together’s federal funding gone, the coalition has asked the state for $45 million to keep the program alive. Lawmakers included $15 million in their \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB109\">budget proposal\u003c/a> that Newsom is reviewing — enough, CAFF estimates, to keep it operating for about another year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an email, CAFF’s policy and organizing manager Keely Cervantes said that “farmers, food hubs, and food banks across California are urging Governor Newsom to support this vital safety net for both farmers and food insecure families.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the federal level, the picture is murkier. A new farm bill is being marked up ahead of a Sept. 30 deadline. It includes the Local Farmers Feeding Communities Act, which would create a permanent program similar to LFPA. But the proposal includes no guaranteed funding. Lavender called it “the bones of the house, but there’s no furniture. The lights won’t go on.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089196\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089196\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-03-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Angelica Estrada-Bugarin, founder of Sweet Valley Produce, poses for a portrait at the entrance to the farm in Merced on June 26, 2026. Sweet Valley Produce is a farm and produce aggregator in Merced County, specializing in growing and distributing sweet potatoes, while also supplying fresh produce from local family farms. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Estrada-Bugarin said she has heard officials talk about supporting local farmers and putting America first. She would like to see it reach the people who grow the food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to continue supporting, because California is where most of our fresh fruits and vegetables are coming from,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the funding returns, Estrada-Bugarin said, she will keep building. First refrigeration for her warehouse, food processing after that and then more partnerships with farmers. If it doesn’t, she fears some growers will simply quit. She has already watched several walk away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I see the need,” Estrada-Bugarin said. “I just work toward whatever I can do to make it happen.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At a recent industry expo, Estrada-Bugarin realized that she was the only small grower in the room. Half the buyers and suppliers, she said, were from other countries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She felt imposter syndrome creeping in. Then she pushed past it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to start taking space and being in these places,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Reporting for this story was supported by the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://lapressclub.org/\">\u003cem>Los Angeles Press Club’s\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> Charles M. Rappleye Investigative Journalism Award.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "A popular federal program turned local produce into food bank boxes and gave small farms a stable buyer. Then it was slashed.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>For eight years, Angelica Estrada-Bugarin’s life moved with the lettuce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a food safety manager for one of the country’s largest salad producers, she followed the harvest the way thousands of agricultural workers do: spring and summer in California’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/salinas\">Salinas\u003c/a> Valley, winter in Yuma, Arizona, as the whole operation shifted south so the crop never stopped growing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Growing up in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/merced-county\">Merced County\u003c/a>, Estrada-Bugarin watched her parents buy produce from small farmers and truck it to terminal markets in Los Angeles and San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She went on to study managerial economics at UC Davis, learning how big food worked from the inside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, she decided to stop moving.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I realized I needed to kind of settle down,” Estrada-Bugarin said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as she settled, she noticed a problem that kept surfacing: small farmers in the Central Valley — many of them immigrants, many growing without synthetic chemicals — could grow beautiful food but had nowhere reliable to sell it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089197\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089197\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-04-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Angelica Estrada-Bugarin, founder of Sweet Valley Produce, left, smiles with her mother Maria Elena, right, at Sweet Valley Produce in Merced on June 26, 2026. Angelica felt inspired to work in agriculture after growing up watching her parents buy produce from small farmers and distribute it to a larger market. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Today, Estrada-Bugarin is the founder and president of \u003ca href=\"https://svproduceinc.com/\">Sweet Valley Produce\u003c/a>, a food hub in Merced County that aggregates fruits and vegetables from small regenerative and organic farms and finds them markets. The beauty of her line of work, she said, lies in connecting growers and eaters “without having to go through a lot of steps in the food chain.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For one year, the program that made that vision work best was a federal one, called the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program, or LFPA. It expired for Sweet Valley Produce in June.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The federal LFPA helped hundreds of California farms sell millions of pounds of locally grown food to food banks while paying growers full market prices. Now that the Trump administration has ended the program, California farmers fear losing one of their most reliable markets as state leaders weigh whether to keep it alive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For now, lawmakers have proposed extending state funding for LFPA, and the measure sits on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk. Newsom, who has publicly opposed the program’s cancellation, has until Tuesday to decide whether California will fund the program on its own.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A box of vegetables, a family fed\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>LFPA was born out of the pandemic, when federal money flowed to strengthen local food supply chains. The U.S. Department of Agriculture sent funds to states, which used them to buy food from local farmers and route it to hunger-relief programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, the program was called Farms Together, which was run by three nonprofits — the Community Alliance with Family Farmers, or CAFF, Fresh Approach and the California Association of Food Banks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Estrada-Bugarin and many other small farms, it worked like this: food banks paid Sweet Valley Produce, which assembled boxes of seven to 12 seasonal items — fruits, vegetables, herbs, plus a monthly value-added product like honey or microgreens — sourced from four or five local farms each.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089203\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089203\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-21-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-21-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-21-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-21-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A fruit and vegetable stand at Sweet Valley Produce in Merced on June 26, 2026. Sweet Valley Produce is a farm and produce aggregator in Merced County specializing in growing and distributing sweet potatoes while also supplying fresh produce from local family farms. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The boxes went to the Modesto Salvation Army, which told her that many of the recipients were elderly people who couldn’t easily get to a store by themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without the program, she said, those families mostly received dry goods. “They don’t get the nutrient value of the vegetables and the fruits, especially those that are seasonally and locally available.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The scale was substantial. By Estrada-Bugarin and CAFF’s accounts, LFPA worked with roughly 870 farms across over 50 California counties and 50 food banks, moving some 23 million pounds of food and more than $60 million in local purchases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sweet Valley Produce alone held a contract worth more than $800,000 — money to buy from farms across Stanislaus, Merced, Fresno and Madera counties, and most importantly, money remaining rooted in the region. “When the farmer gets paid that money, they go and spend it within our own economy,” she said.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Nearly two hundred miles northwest, in Sonoma County, Dylan Stein watched the same program reshape a different operation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stein is the wholesale manager and a worker-owner at \u003ca href=\"https://www.feedsonoma.com/\">FEED Cooperative\u003c/a>, a Petaluma food hub jointly owned by the farmers who sell through it and the workers who run it. FEED moves produce for a network of about 70 small North Bay farms, many of them 10 acres or less — tiny by California standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In 2024, it comprised like 25% of our sales,” Stein said of LFPA. “That being there just gave an extra outlet for the farms we work with.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was kind of a thriving year for a lot of farms in the North Bay,” he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Food banks noticed the difference. Pallets that might normally have held russet potatoes instead arrived full of leafy greens and herbs picked the day before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re opening these boxes, and it’s almost like gold light is coming out,” Stein said. “It’s the best quality produce that you can find.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of FEED’s other customers are high-end restaurants, he noted, meaning that the food banks were getting the same thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>More than charity\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The deeper value of LFPA, the growers said, wasn’t just generosity. It was stability — and the price.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you pay $3 for a bunch of kale at Sprouts, usually the farmer gets like $1 of that,” Estrada-Bugarin said. “But in this case the money went directly to the farmer, so the farmer got paid $3 a bunch.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That cushion also made it possible for some growers to farm without synthetic chemicals. Regenerative practices, or rebuilding soil through crop rotation, hedgerows and minimal inputs, often result in lower yields. But the better price absorbed the difference.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089201\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089201\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-18-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-18-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-18-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-18-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sweet potatoes rest in a crate at Sweet Valley Produce in Merced on June 26, 2026. Sweet Valley Produce is based in the Central Valley and specializes in growing and distributing sweet potatoes. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I actually had at least two farmers who were transitioning to organic farming from conventional farming because they were able to be supported through this program,” Estrada-Bugarin said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Others, who previously grew a single crop, used it to start diversifying their fields.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At FEED, Stein saw similar progress. A grower with a surprise surplus — 80 cases of tomatoes in a year that usually yields 50 — suddenly had somewhere to send the extra load.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over three strong years, farmers accomplished what farm statistics rarely reflect: They expanded. They planted new fields, signed new leases and, in a few cases, bought land.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Usually when you’re hearing about farm stats, it’s like farms closing and acreage downgrading,” Stein said. “So these expansions we saw were a huge deal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mike Lavender, policy director at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, said that combination of economic and human value helped the program win bipartisan support.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089200\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089200\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-16-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-16-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-16-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-16-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cartons of sweet potatoes await sorting in a warehouse at Sweet Valley Produce in Merced on June 26, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Farmers loved it because it improved their viability,” he said. “But they also loved just being able to feed their community on a human level.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, in 2025, the second Trump administration terminated the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lavender said that the cancellation arrived at the worst possible moment in the agricultural calendar, “just as farmers were purchasing seeds and getting ready for the spring season.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stein recalled the whiplash.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even contracts that you’re in the middle of are canceled. They stop delivering.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After pushback, growers were allowed to finish existing agreements, but the roughly three additional years of funding they had planned around simply evaporated.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Land, labor and belonging\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://caff.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2026-CAFF-Policy-Report-English-Final-Single.pdf\">report\u003c/a> from CAFF found that 5% of landowners control half of California’s cropland, and that the market increasingly favors private equity firms and investors buying large parcels. For a small grower hoping to buy 10 or 20 acres, there’s often nothing within that size range to buy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Otherwise, you’re stuck renting,” Estrada-Bugarin said, “and then you’re just in this pattern of renting and never really owning the land that you farm.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CAFF also estimates that about 70% of California farmers participating in LFPA identified as socially disadvantaged, a USDA designation for groups that have historically faced barriers to land, credit and federal programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089199\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089199\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-09-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-09-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-09-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The crops of a Laotian farmer, using their harvesting techniques, grow at Sweet Valley Produce in Merced on June 26, 2026. Sweet Valley Produce is a farm and produce aggregator in Merced County, specializing in growing and distributing sweet potatoes, while also supplying fresh produce from local family farms. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For Estrada-Bugarin, the work is deeply personal. As a Mexican American, she grew up hearing that farming was a dead end.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were always told, ‘Don’t work in the fields, agriculture is bad, it’s hard work, not well paid.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One story stands out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During last year’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12043515/more-protests-held-across-southern-california-as-trump-administration-orders-more-national-guard-to-la\">immigration protests\u003c/a> that shut down parts of downtown Los Angeles, a farmer she worked with couldn’t get to his local farmers market for an entire week. He had harvested 80 boxes of plums — and had nowhere to sell them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He called her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because LFPA existed, the plums went into food-bank boxes instead of the compost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s a very strong example of the power that LFPA had to support us as farmers through these political climates,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Trump administration’s immigration crackdowns added another obstacle for farmers, Estrada-Bugarin said. Crops went unharvested. Yields and income were lost. She said immigration authorities drove past Sweet Valley Produce at least once. Her employees, although prepared, were rattled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Immigration reform and the farm bill move on separate tracks in Washington, through different congressional committees, Lavender said, so labor policy can’t simply be written into the bill — even though the two are “deeply linked” in the real world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089202\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089202\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-20-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1313\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-20-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-20-KQED-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-20-KQED-1536x1008.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A farmer tends to their crops at Sweet Valley Produce in Merced on June 26, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But Estrada-Bugarin sees the gap from the ground. The industry’s long-running answer to labor uncertainty has been automation, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But what happens with that? You’re pushing out the small farmers, because we don’t have the money to have automation either,” said Estrada-Bugarin, who would rather see programs such as the H-2A agricultural visa become easier for farmers to use. “How to make it more accessible, or how to make it work better for all of us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now she’s trying to convince the next generation that there are viable careers in agriculture. The community that Estrada-Bugarin has built reflects that ambition. The growers she works with are Hindu, Laotian, Indian, Mennonite and more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This whole business is centered around relationship building,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a first-generation American, she had to build those relationships from scratch, without the established networks that others inherit, the same way her parents farmed on passion without the language or the technology to keep up.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Farm bill uncertainty looms\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For now, the future of California’s small farms may depend as much on Sacramento as it does Washington. With Farms Together’s federal funding gone, the coalition has asked the state for $45 million to keep the program alive. Lawmakers included $15 million in their \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB109\">budget proposal\u003c/a> that Newsom is reviewing — enough, CAFF estimates, to keep it operating for about another year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an email, CAFF’s policy and organizing manager Keely Cervantes said that “farmers, food hubs, and food banks across California are urging Governor Newsom to support this vital safety net for both farmers and food insecure families.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the federal level, the picture is murkier. A new farm bill is being marked up ahead of a Sept. 30 deadline. It includes the Local Farmers Feeding Communities Act, which would create a permanent program similar to LFPA. But the proposal includes no guaranteed funding. Lavender called it “the bones of the house, but there’s no furniture. The lights won’t go on.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089196\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089196\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260626_CaliforniaFarmers_GC-03-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Angelica Estrada-Bugarin, founder of Sweet Valley Produce, poses for a portrait at the entrance to the farm in Merced on June 26, 2026. Sweet Valley Produce is a farm and produce aggregator in Merced County, specializing in growing and distributing sweet potatoes, while also supplying fresh produce from local family farms. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Estrada-Bugarin said she has heard officials talk about supporting local farmers and putting America first. She would like to see it reach the people who grow the food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to continue supporting, because California is where most of our fresh fruits and vegetables are coming from,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the funding returns, Estrada-Bugarin said, she will keep building. First refrigeration for her warehouse, food processing after that and then more partnerships with farmers. If it doesn’t, she fears some growers will simply quit. She has already watched several walk away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I see the need,” Estrada-Bugarin said. “I just work toward whatever I can do to make it happen.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At a recent industry expo, Estrada-Bugarin realized that she was the only small grower in the room. Half the buyers and suppliers, she said, were from other countries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She felt imposter syndrome creeping in. Then she pushed past it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to start taking space and being in these places,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Reporting for this story was supported by the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://lapressclub.org/\">\u003cem>Los Angeles Press Club’s\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> Charles M. Rappleye Investigative Journalism Award.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "‘A Perfect Storm’: Massive Tracy Medical Supply Warehouse Fire Still Burning",
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"content": "\u003cp>A massive warehouse fire that destroyed a medical supply facility in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/tracy\">Tracy\u003c/a> on Thursday could continue to burn for several days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fire officials said a water system failure contributed to the rapid spread of the blaze. No official cause has been identified yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is our largest concern when we have several million square foot warehouses,” Tracy Fire Department Chief Randall Bradley said Thursday afternoon. “My first thought was [with] an aggressive fire attack, we’d be able to stop it, but things worked against us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was a little bit of a perfect storm for this fire evolving quickly,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fire officials responded just after 1 p.m. Thursday to the 5700 block of Promontory Parkway, where a structure fire had broken out on the roof of a distribution facility for Medline, one of the largest medical supply manufacturers and distributors in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tracy, a major commuter hub for the Bay Area, is home to massive e-commerce and distribution centers, many 1 million square feet or larger. City officials said hundreds of employees work on the site.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are grateful that all Medline employees and on-site personnel were safely evacuated and accounted for,” a spokesperson for the company said in a statement. Bradley said the fire spread quickly from the roof to the rest of the building, engulfing it in flames within a 30-minute period despite an “aggressive” internal fire attack.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12087373\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1980px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12087373\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2280507113.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1485\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2280507113.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2280507113-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2280507113-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Black smoke pours into the sky from a massive commercial fire at the Medline Industries medical supply warehouse in Tracy, California, on June 11, 2026. The South San Joaquin County Fire Authority reported that the million-square-foot distribution facility on Promontory Parkway was fully engulfed, prompting the evacuation of neighboring commercial structures and nearby fulfillment centers within the industrial park. \u003ccite>(Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The firefighters battled high winds, low humidity and hot temperatures. They also lacked sufficient water supply — the facility’s two fire sprinkler systems did not activate, and its fire hydrants lacked water pressure, Bradley said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>City-operated fire hydrants outside the facility operated correctly, he said. Bradley said the water supply issues will require a post-incident investigation, but he believes the water supply issue was a facility issue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fire spread across the street to a FedEx warehouse, burning pallets and containers stacked outside. Bradley said efforts to stop the spread of flames into that warehouse were ongoing, but “promising” on Thursday afternoon, and he believed they would be able to save the structure. There were also multiple spot fires throughout the city, which Bradley said crews were able to extinguish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Between 100 and 150 firefighters responded to the scene, and Bradley said he expects personnel to remain for several days to try to stop the blaze from spreading further across the 1,800-acre industrial park.[aside postID=science_2001297 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/ControlledBurnGetty1.jpg']According to city manager Midori Lichtwardt, in addition to the Medline and FedEx facilities, the area also includes a Home Depot, Amazon and multiple other operational warehouses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the Medline facility continued to burn Thursday afternoon, billowing dark smoke into the sky, intermittent explosions could be heard outside the site.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bradley said those were likely caused by ruptured tires on distribution trucks, or explosions of some product inside the facility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not clear if any of the products stored in the facility could pose a risk to the surrounding area, Bradley said. The city is monitoring air quality and had not issued any warnings on Thursday. Local public health officials urged nearby residents to stay indoors if possible and keep windows and doors closed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Among the chemicals that were consumed in the Medline fire were an assortment of respiratory irritants, toxic gases, carcinogens, and at least one neurotoxin,” Dr. Maggie Park, San Joaquin County Public Health Services’ public health officer, said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to California Environmental Protection Agency records, Medline stores xylene, sulfuric acid and sodium hydroxide, as well as bleach, at the facility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If anyone in the vicinity of the smoke plumes inhaled the smoke and is experiencing sudden onset respiratory problems, headaches, dizziness, nausea, or throat irritation, they should report to their nearest emergency department for further evaluation and treatment,” Park said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A massive warehouse fire that destroyed a medical supply facility in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/tracy\">Tracy\u003c/a> on Thursday could continue to burn for several days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fire officials said a water system failure contributed to the rapid spread of the blaze. No official cause has been identified yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is our largest concern when we have several million square foot warehouses,” Tracy Fire Department Chief Randall Bradley said Thursday afternoon. “My first thought was [with] an aggressive fire attack, we’d be able to stop it, but things worked against us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was a little bit of a perfect storm for this fire evolving quickly,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fire officials responded just after 1 p.m. Thursday to the 5700 block of Promontory Parkway, where a structure fire had broken out on the roof of a distribution facility for Medline, one of the largest medical supply manufacturers and distributors in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tracy, a major commuter hub for the Bay Area, is home to massive e-commerce and distribution centers, many 1 million square feet or larger. City officials said hundreds of employees work on the site.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are grateful that all Medline employees and on-site personnel were safely evacuated and accounted for,” a spokesperson for the company said in a statement. Bradley said the fire spread quickly from the roof to the rest of the building, engulfing it in flames within a 30-minute period despite an “aggressive” internal fire attack.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12087373\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1980px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12087373\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2280507113.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1485\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2280507113.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2280507113-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2280507113-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Black smoke pours into the sky from a massive commercial fire at the Medline Industries medical supply warehouse in Tracy, California, on June 11, 2026. The South San Joaquin County Fire Authority reported that the million-square-foot distribution facility on Promontory Parkway was fully engulfed, prompting the evacuation of neighboring commercial structures and nearby fulfillment centers within the industrial park. \u003ccite>(Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The firefighters battled high winds, low humidity and hot temperatures. They also lacked sufficient water supply — the facility’s two fire sprinkler systems did not activate, and its fire hydrants lacked water pressure, Bradley said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>City-operated fire hydrants outside the facility operated correctly, he said. Bradley said the water supply issues will require a post-incident investigation, but he believes the water supply issue was a facility issue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fire spread across the street to a FedEx warehouse, burning pallets and containers stacked outside. Bradley said efforts to stop the spread of flames into that warehouse were ongoing, but “promising” on Thursday afternoon, and he believed they would be able to save the structure. There were also multiple spot fires throughout the city, which Bradley said crews were able to extinguish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Between 100 and 150 firefighters responded to the scene, and Bradley said he expects personnel to remain for several days to try to stop the blaze from spreading further across the 1,800-acre industrial park.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>According to city manager Midori Lichtwardt, in addition to the Medline and FedEx facilities, the area also includes a Home Depot, Amazon and multiple other operational warehouses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the Medline facility continued to burn Thursday afternoon, billowing dark smoke into the sky, intermittent explosions could be heard outside the site.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bradley said those were likely caused by ruptured tires on distribution trucks, or explosions of some product inside the facility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not clear if any of the products stored in the facility could pose a risk to the surrounding area, Bradley said. The city is monitoring air quality and had not issued any warnings on Thursday. Local public health officials urged nearby residents to stay indoors if possible and keep windows and doors closed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Among the chemicals that were consumed in the Medline fire were an assortment of respiratory irritants, toxic gases, carcinogens, and at least one neurotoxin,” Dr. Maggie Park, San Joaquin County Public Health Services’ public health officer, said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to California Environmental Protection Agency records, Medline stores xylene, sulfuric acid and sodium hydroxide, as well as bleach, at the facility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If anyone in the vicinity of the smoke plumes inhaled the smoke and is experiencing sudden onset respiratory problems, headaches, dizziness, nausea, or throat irritation, they should report to their nearest emergency department for further evaluation and treatment,” Park said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "as-californias-wine-industry-struggles-some-lodi-grape-growers-pivot-to-new-crops",
"title": "As California’s Wine Industry Struggles, Some Lodi Grape Growers Pivot to New Crops",
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"headTitle": "As California’s Wine Industry Struggles, Some Lodi Grape Growers Pivot to New Crops | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published in the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.lodinews.com/news/article_5861a96a-6744-4727-8a92-f52dcf7a6e0c.html\">\u003cem>Lodi News-Sentinel\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> and has been edited for KQED.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the Mohr-Fry Ranch, just south of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/central-valley\">Central Valley\u003c/a> city of Lodi, peacocks roamed through one vineyard on a blindingly sunny spring day. Mohrgan Fry strolled through her family’s ranch, pointing a manicured pink nail at rows of dark brown, gnarly vine branches that split off in all directions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They all look like they have a story to tell, right?” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That includes the story of her family, who have been farming grapes in the region for six decades. For the past 13 years, they’ve been cultivating grapes exclusively.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But when \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12060895/visiting-a-vineyard-to-see-how-the-bays-wine-industry-is-doing\">California’s wine industry began bottoming out \u003c/a>over the past few years, driven by what growers say is the worst industry storm they have seen in their lifetimes, the family started looking at different options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Where the industry is at, you have to be able to diversify and be willing to try something new,” Fry said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Grapes are everywhere in Lodi — in the city’s official logo. On murals downtown. They’re the namesake of the stadium and the annual “Lodi Grape Festival.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city of 66,000 has about a dozen wine tasting rooms — and that’s just within the city limits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12087157\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12087157\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-25-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1302\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-25-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-25-KQED-160x104.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-25-KQED-1536x1000.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The entrance to Mohr-Fry Ranches, a six-generation family farming operation since 1855, in Lodi on June 10, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But it’s no longer just the land of the grape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Orchards full of pistachios, almonds and olives are popping up all over the city’s outskirts as challenges in the wine industry are pushing growers to try other crops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wine consumption is down globally, according to reports from the International Organisation of Vine and Wine. National reports from the Napa-based Wine Market Council show baby boomers are drinking less as they age. Younger generations are drinking less too, as they become more health — and wallet — conscious. On the supply side, California grape growers are having to compete with cheaper foreign-grown grapes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Consequently, growers in Lodi and across the state are ripping vines out. About 10% of vines in the Lodi area were removed in the last year alone, according to a report from the California Association of Winegrape Growers.[aside postID=news_12077310 hero= 'https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/031226_DRAGONDEN-_GH_015-KQED.jpg']About a fifth of California’s vineyard acreage has been ripped out since 2022, state data shows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some smaller vineyards are closing shop altogether. Others are taking unique approaches, like leasing their land for use as water-recharge basins. But for grape growers who want to continue growing, there is one key to staying afloat — crop diversification.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s especially true for larger farming operations, according to Lodi Winegrape Commission Executive Director Stuart Spencer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We honestly think this is a good thing,” he said. “I think diversification is always good from an economic and business perspective and … ecological perspective.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a sixth-generation farmer, it’s not surprising that Fry knows so much about grapes. She grew up around the family business and always knew she wanted to be a part of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I hate sitting in the office,” she said. “But I love being outside. I love being with Mother Nature.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Given the choice, she’d spend every minute in the vineyards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You get to make decisions that are different than in an office or in a lab, because you’re out there and you’re making pruning decisions, and then you see the results within a few months,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12087149\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12087149\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-2-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-2-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-2-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-2-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bruce Fry, left, and his daughter Mohrgan Fry, right, examine grape vines at their ranch Mohr-Fry Ranches, a six-generation family farming operation since 1855, in Lodi on June 10, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>After studying the business and engineering of agriculture at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, she knew she wanted to bring what she’d learned back to her family’s ranch as operations manager.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But when she graduated two years ago, the industry was tanking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Ironically, I think it was actually the best time to come join the industry, I think for me, for my family,” she said. “It’s a time for us to really think about the decisions we’re making and how we can be more efficient, how we can save money, but still be able to provide for our employees and continue to farm.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Frys are no strangers to diversification. Over the 171 years their family has been farming, they’ve grown 30 different crops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They started out in what is now Hayward, but at the time was land claimed by the Spanish. Fry’s great-great-great-grandfather left a whaling ship in the San Francisco Bay to start farming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The family didn’t start with grapes. Instead, they grew crops like tomatoes, sugar beets and wheat. As Hayward became more urban, they moved the operation to Lodi in 1965 and got into the wine business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12087155\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12087155\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-19-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1365\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-19-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-19-KQED-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-19-KQED-1536x1048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bottles of wine, made with Mohr-Fry Ranches’ grapes, are displayed in the ranch’s office in Lodi on June 10, 2026. Mohr-Fry Ranches is a six-generation family farming operation. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It was right around that time that Mohrgan’s grandfather, Jerry Fry, took over the business. He’s seen it through labor shifts from World War II to the Bracero Program that brought workers from Mexico.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few decades later, Mohrgan’s dad, Bruce Fry, came into the business. Like Mohrgan, he’d just graduated from Cal Poly. At that time, wineries were consolidating, leaving grape growers with fewer buyers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of the same issues the family faced then have continued. Fewer wineries, increasing labor costs, damaging pests. And now, more foreign competition and decreasing wine consumption. Jerry said none of the previous threats have been quite like the current one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In my perspective, this has been the most challenging of anything that I think our family has dealt with,” Jerry said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the past, they could plant a different crop every year and rip it out if it wasn’t selling well. Now, because of the soil type and price of the land, annual crops don’t make financial sense for them. That means picking a permanent crop, one they’ll be committed to for the next two decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the past year or so, the family’s been weighing their options. They’ve been talking to neighbors, looking at research, setting up spreadsheets. At the moment, they’re leaning toward olives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12087154\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12087154\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-17-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1367\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-17-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-17-KQED-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-17-KQED-1536x1050.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A plaque awarding Marian’s Vineyard for the California State Fair’s “2025 Vineyard of the Year” is displayed at Mohr-Fry Ranches, a six-generation family farming operation, in Lodi on June 10, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And last fall, they ripped out a block of their vineyards to begin their next chapter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On another one of the Frys’ properties just north of Lodi, Mohrgan and Bruce stood on a gravel path that runs right through the past and future of their farming operation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the south side, where there once were Chardonnay grapes, little green sprouts stick up out of the dirt, far into the distance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s safflower, a transitional crop. Mohrgan explained it will help add some nutrients to the soil that the vineyards had used up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s really good for the soil health, for its porosity, all those other fun things,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Transitioning crops is a yearslong process. After the grape harvest this past fall, they ripped out the vines. For several months, they planted safflower in its place. By this time next year, the safflower will be swapped out for the new permanent crop, likely olives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The process was made possible with the aid of a regional government initiative, the Ag Burn Alternatives Grant Program, that paid to help remove the vines in an environmentally friendly way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that the program is really great because [it] saves you some money,” she said. “Getting your tax dollars back, right?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mohrgan and her family are keenly aware of what the government is — and isn’t — doing to help farmers like them. Even as they spoke with a reporter, Bruce got an alert on his phone and pulled up a livestream of a state Assembly hearing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12087150\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12087150\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-3-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-3-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-3-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-3-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bruce Fry, left, and his daughter Mohrgan Fry, right, examine grape clusters at their ranch Mohr-Fry Ranches, a six-generation family farming operation since 1855, in Lodi on June 10, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The hearing focused on \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260ab1585\">AB 1585\u003c/a>, a bill that would require wines to be made with 100% American grapes if vintners want to use an “American” designation on the label.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Fry family and many other growers in the state say it will stop wineries from blending in cheaper foreign grapes. They also hope it will encourage them to buy from American growers, most of which are in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For 40 minutes, Mohrgan held the phone on the hood of her blue Chevy truck. She and her dad watched intently as assemblymembers debated the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eventually, the committee members voted to move the bill along to the next stage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Hopefully this bill keeps going, keeps rolling,” Mohrgan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Baby steps,” Bruce said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the bill does pass, it might alleviate one of the industry’s challenges. But there’s a long way to go if grape growers and vintners are to fully bounce back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet many growers like the Frys remain optimistic. They feel connected to grapes and believe the industry could be turning the corner soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is the wine grape region, [and] it’s going to stay that way, but it’s just, it’s not going to be as big as what it was before,” Bruce said. “I think change is hard, but change makes things better.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12087158\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12087158\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-26-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1384\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-26-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-26-KQED-160x111.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-26-KQED-1536x1063.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A peacock walks through a vineyard at Mohr-Fry Ranches in Lodi on June 10, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Mohrgan said she feels encouraged by both the older generation’s willingness to pivot and her generation’s fresh ideas. Last year, the Lodi Winegrape Commission elected its youngest leadership team ever.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s just a lot of knowledge to learn from, like my grandpa and my dad, and I think because of that, we’ll make it through,” Mohrgan said. “You have, I wouldn’t say it’s a weight, but … you want to make your family proud.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With generations working together, they’re hoping to make wine feel less pretentious and more approachable for consumers. If they’re successful, Lodi could remain the land of the grape for years to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Hannah Weaver writes for the Lodi News-Sentinel as a cohort member of the California Local News Fellowship program, a multi-year, state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting in California.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published in the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.lodinews.com/news/article_5861a96a-6744-4727-8a92-f52dcf7a6e0c.html\">\u003cem>Lodi News-Sentinel\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> and has been edited for KQED.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the Mohr-Fry Ranch, just south of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/central-valley\">Central Valley\u003c/a> city of Lodi, peacocks roamed through one vineyard on a blindingly sunny spring day. Mohrgan Fry strolled through her family’s ranch, pointing a manicured pink nail at rows of dark brown, gnarly vine branches that split off in all directions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They all look like they have a story to tell, right?” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That includes the story of her family, who have been farming grapes in the region for six decades. For the past 13 years, they’ve been cultivating grapes exclusively.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But when \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12060895/visiting-a-vineyard-to-see-how-the-bays-wine-industry-is-doing\">California’s wine industry began bottoming out \u003c/a>over the past few years, driven by what growers say is the worst industry storm they have seen in their lifetimes, the family started looking at different options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Where the industry is at, you have to be able to diversify and be willing to try something new,” Fry said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Grapes are everywhere in Lodi — in the city’s official logo. On murals downtown. They’re the namesake of the stadium and the annual “Lodi Grape Festival.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city of 66,000 has about a dozen wine tasting rooms — and that’s just within the city limits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12087157\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12087157\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-25-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1302\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-25-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-25-KQED-160x104.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-25-KQED-1536x1000.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The entrance to Mohr-Fry Ranches, a six-generation family farming operation since 1855, in Lodi on June 10, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But it’s no longer just the land of the grape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Orchards full of pistachios, almonds and olives are popping up all over the city’s outskirts as challenges in the wine industry are pushing growers to try other crops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wine consumption is down globally, according to reports from the International Organisation of Vine and Wine. National reports from the Napa-based Wine Market Council show baby boomers are drinking less as they age. Younger generations are drinking less too, as they become more health — and wallet — conscious. On the supply side, California grape growers are having to compete with cheaper foreign-grown grapes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Consequently, growers in Lodi and across the state are ripping vines out. About 10% of vines in the Lodi area were removed in the last year alone, according to a report from the California Association of Winegrape Growers.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>About a fifth of California’s vineyard acreage has been ripped out since 2022, state data shows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some smaller vineyards are closing shop altogether. Others are taking unique approaches, like leasing their land for use as water-recharge basins. But for grape growers who want to continue growing, there is one key to staying afloat — crop diversification.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s especially true for larger farming operations, according to Lodi Winegrape Commission Executive Director Stuart Spencer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We honestly think this is a good thing,” he said. “I think diversification is always good from an economic and business perspective and … ecological perspective.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a sixth-generation farmer, it’s not surprising that Fry knows so much about grapes. She grew up around the family business and always knew she wanted to be a part of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I hate sitting in the office,” she said. “But I love being outside. I love being with Mother Nature.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Given the choice, she’d spend every minute in the vineyards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You get to make decisions that are different than in an office or in a lab, because you’re out there and you’re making pruning decisions, and then you see the results within a few months,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12087149\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12087149\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-2-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-2-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-2-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-2-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bruce Fry, left, and his daughter Mohrgan Fry, right, examine grape vines at their ranch Mohr-Fry Ranches, a six-generation family farming operation since 1855, in Lodi on June 10, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>After studying the business and engineering of agriculture at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, she knew she wanted to bring what she’d learned back to her family’s ranch as operations manager.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But when she graduated two years ago, the industry was tanking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Ironically, I think it was actually the best time to come join the industry, I think for me, for my family,” she said. “It’s a time for us to really think about the decisions we’re making and how we can be more efficient, how we can save money, but still be able to provide for our employees and continue to farm.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Frys are no strangers to diversification. Over the 171 years their family has been farming, they’ve grown 30 different crops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They started out in what is now Hayward, but at the time was land claimed by the Spanish. Fry’s great-great-great-grandfather left a whaling ship in the San Francisco Bay to start farming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The family didn’t start with grapes. Instead, they grew crops like tomatoes, sugar beets and wheat. As Hayward became more urban, they moved the operation to Lodi in 1965 and got into the wine business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12087155\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12087155\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-19-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1365\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-19-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-19-KQED-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-19-KQED-1536x1048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bottles of wine, made with Mohr-Fry Ranches’ grapes, are displayed in the ranch’s office in Lodi on June 10, 2026. Mohr-Fry Ranches is a six-generation family farming operation. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It was right around that time that Mohrgan’s grandfather, Jerry Fry, took over the business. He’s seen it through labor shifts from World War II to the Bracero Program that brought workers from Mexico.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few decades later, Mohrgan’s dad, Bruce Fry, came into the business. Like Mohrgan, he’d just graduated from Cal Poly. At that time, wineries were consolidating, leaving grape growers with fewer buyers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of the same issues the family faced then have continued. Fewer wineries, increasing labor costs, damaging pests. And now, more foreign competition and decreasing wine consumption. Jerry said none of the previous threats have been quite like the current one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In my perspective, this has been the most challenging of anything that I think our family has dealt with,” Jerry said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the past, they could plant a different crop every year and rip it out if it wasn’t selling well. Now, because of the soil type and price of the land, annual crops don’t make financial sense for them. That means picking a permanent crop, one they’ll be committed to for the next two decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the past year or so, the family’s been weighing their options. They’ve been talking to neighbors, looking at research, setting up spreadsheets. At the moment, they’re leaning toward olives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12087154\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12087154\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-17-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1367\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-17-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-17-KQED-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-17-KQED-1536x1050.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A plaque awarding Marian’s Vineyard for the California State Fair’s “2025 Vineyard of the Year” is displayed at Mohr-Fry Ranches, a six-generation family farming operation, in Lodi on June 10, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And last fall, they ripped out a block of their vineyards to begin their next chapter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On another one of the Frys’ properties just north of Lodi, Mohrgan and Bruce stood on a gravel path that runs right through the past and future of their farming operation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the south side, where there once were Chardonnay grapes, little green sprouts stick up out of the dirt, far into the distance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s safflower, a transitional crop. Mohrgan explained it will help add some nutrients to the soil that the vineyards had used up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s really good for the soil health, for its porosity, all those other fun things,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Transitioning crops is a yearslong process. After the grape harvest this past fall, they ripped out the vines. For several months, they planted safflower in its place. By this time next year, the safflower will be swapped out for the new permanent crop, likely olives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The process was made possible with the aid of a regional government initiative, the Ag Burn Alternatives Grant Program, that paid to help remove the vines in an environmentally friendly way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that the program is really great because [it] saves you some money,” she said. “Getting your tax dollars back, right?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mohrgan and her family are keenly aware of what the government is — and isn’t — doing to help farmers like them. Even as they spoke with a reporter, Bruce got an alert on his phone and pulled up a livestream of a state Assembly hearing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12087150\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12087150\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-3-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-3-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-3-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-3-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bruce Fry, left, and his daughter Mohrgan Fry, right, examine grape clusters at their ranch Mohr-Fry Ranches, a six-generation family farming operation since 1855, in Lodi on June 10, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The hearing focused on \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260ab1585\">AB 1585\u003c/a>, a bill that would require wines to be made with 100% American grapes if vintners want to use an “American” designation on the label.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Fry family and many other growers in the state say it will stop wineries from blending in cheaper foreign grapes. They also hope it will encourage them to buy from American growers, most of which are in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For 40 minutes, Mohrgan held the phone on the hood of her blue Chevy truck. She and her dad watched intently as assemblymembers debated the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eventually, the committee members voted to move the bill along to the next stage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Hopefully this bill keeps going, keeps rolling,” Mohrgan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Baby steps,” Bruce said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the bill does pass, it might alleviate one of the industry’s challenges. But there’s a long way to go if grape growers and vintners are to fully bounce back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet many growers like the Frys remain optimistic. They feel connected to grapes and believe the industry could be turning the corner soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is the wine grape region, [and] it’s going to stay that way, but it’s just, it’s not going to be as big as what it was before,” Bruce said. “I think change is hard, but change makes things better.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12087158\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12087158\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-26-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1384\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-26-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-26-KQED-160x111.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260610_LodiWine_GC-26-KQED-1536x1063.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A peacock walks through a vineyard at Mohr-Fry Ranches in Lodi on June 10, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Mohrgan said she feels encouraged by both the older generation’s willingness to pivot and her generation’s fresh ideas. Last year, the Lodi Winegrape Commission elected its youngest leadership team ever.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s just a lot of knowledge to learn from, like my grandpa and my dad, and I think because of that, we’ll make it through,” Mohrgan said. “You have, I wouldn’t say it’s a weight, but … you want to make your family proud.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With generations working together, they’re hoping to make wine feel less pretentious and more approachable for consumers. If they’re successful, Lodi could remain the land of the grape for years to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Hannah Weaver writes for the Lodi News-Sentinel as a cohort member of the California Local News Fellowship program, a multi-year, state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting in California.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cb>Here are the morning’s top stories on Friday, May 29, 2026\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of the most competitive primary races for Congress right now is \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/local-news/2026-05-27/a-tug-of-war-for-the-identity-of-the-party-why-a-valley-congressional-race-is-key-for-democrats\">a swing district in the Central Valley.\u003c/a> Democrats there are hoping to flip a seat long held by Republican David Valadao. But first they need a nominee. With just days until the primary , the party’s two candidates in the 22nd Congressional District are competing for who can appeal to the most voters – as the national Democratic Party contemplates its own identity. \u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">California is rolling out first-of-its-kind regulations pushing manufactures to cut plastic pollution. One of the deadlines for producers is Monday.\u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2 class=\"ArtP-headline\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/local-news/2026-05-27/a-tug-of-war-for-the-identity-of-the-party-why-a-valley-congressional-race-is-key-for-democrats\">\u003cstrong>‘A tug of war for the identity of the party’ – why a Valley congressional race is key for Democrats\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>One of the country’s most competitive primary races for Congress this year is a swing district in Central California, where Democrats are hoping to flip a seat long held by Republican David Valadao.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>District 22, which stretches across parts of four counties in California’s rural and agricultural Central Valley, is politically purple. Even though Democratic voters have held a slight majority in this district for many years, Valadao has won six of the last seven congressional elections here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But statewide redistricting last year, which rewrote California’s congressional district maps, is expected to have made this district even more favorable for Democrats. And with less than a week until the primary on June 2, the party’s two candidates are competing for who can appeal to the most voters – as the national Democratic party contemplates its own identity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of those candidates is Randy Villegas, a political science professor at a local community college – College of the Sequoias – and an elected trustee of the Visalia Unified School District. On a recent night canvassing in the Kings County town of Hanford, Villegas’s messages advocating for universal healthcare and suspending federal gas taxes seemed to resonate with voters. When he asked them if he could count on their votes, many said yes – and some even said they had already voted for him before submitting their ballots early.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the trail, Villegas says he refuses to accept campaign contributions from political action committees (PACs) funded by corporations. “I’m proud to be the only candidate in this race that has never touched a corporate PAC check, and I never will, because I want to be committed to our communities and not corporate interests,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California state Assemblymember Dr. Jasmeet Bains is also running for the Democratic nomination in District 22. She represents part of this district in the state legislature and is also a family doctor. “It’s time we elect the physician to Congress,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Sacramento, Bains has voted for Democratic priorities like access to abortion rights and public school funding. But she also bucked her party on some prominent issues, including by voting against Democratic redistricting and a legislative effort to restrict oil industry profits. She says she listens to her constituents, many of whom voted for President Trump. “The people that represent the Valley understand the importance of standing up for the Valley, not their party,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One thing she and Villegas have in common is that they both scold Valadao for his 2025 vote to slash Medicaid funding through the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill, even though his district has one of the highest Medicaid enrollments in the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Deadline for single-use packaging approaches\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Since the midcentury, the production of plastics has increased hundreds of times. It’s found in remote arctic wildlife and babies’ poop. Production is expected to triple in the next 25 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California is trying to halt the trend. A state bill passed in 2022 makes manufacturers responsible for reducing and cleaning up the plastic they use, including ensuring all of their packaging is recyclable or compostable by 2032. June 1st is a deadline for producers to submit baseline data about their use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel like every day something new comes out about the potential dangers associated with microplastics. This is an opportunity for us to reduce that material that’s being sold into the state in a very meaningful way,” said Zoe Heller, director of CalRecycle. That’s the department that is overseeing implementation of the law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The industry has asked for more time to comply and said food prices may rise. A state analysis indicated consumers would save money overall, bearing less clean up costs and avoiding illness.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cb>Here are the morning’s top stories on Friday, May 29, 2026\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of the most competitive primary races for Congress right now is \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/local-news/2026-05-27/a-tug-of-war-for-the-identity-of-the-party-why-a-valley-congressional-race-is-key-for-democrats\">a swing district in the Central Valley.\u003c/a> Democrats there are hoping to flip a seat long held by Republican David Valadao. But first they need a nominee. With just days until the primary , the party’s two candidates in the 22nd Congressional District are competing for who can appeal to the most voters – as the national Democratic Party contemplates its own identity. \u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">California is rolling out first-of-its-kind regulations pushing manufactures to cut plastic pollution. One of the deadlines for producers is Monday.\u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2 class=\"ArtP-headline\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/local-news/2026-05-27/a-tug-of-war-for-the-identity-of-the-party-why-a-valley-congressional-race-is-key-for-democrats\">\u003cstrong>‘A tug of war for the identity of the party’ – why a Valley congressional race is key for Democrats\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>One of the country’s most competitive primary races for Congress this year is a swing district in Central California, where Democrats are hoping to flip a seat long held by Republican David Valadao.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>District 22, which stretches across parts of four counties in California’s rural and agricultural Central Valley, is politically purple. Even though Democratic voters have held a slight majority in this district for many years, Valadao has won six of the last seven congressional elections here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But statewide redistricting last year, which rewrote California’s congressional district maps, is expected to have made this district even more favorable for Democrats. And with less than a week until the primary on June 2, the party’s two candidates are competing for who can appeal to the most voters – as the national Democratic party contemplates its own identity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of those candidates is Randy Villegas, a political science professor at a local community college – College of the Sequoias – and an elected trustee of the Visalia Unified School District. On a recent night canvassing in the Kings County town of Hanford, Villegas’s messages advocating for universal healthcare and suspending federal gas taxes seemed to resonate with voters. When he asked them if he could count on their votes, many said yes – and some even said they had already voted for him before submitting their ballots early.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the trail, Villegas says he refuses to accept campaign contributions from political action committees (PACs) funded by corporations. “I’m proud to be the only candidate in this race that has never touched a corporate PAC check, and I never will, because I want to be committed to our communities and not corporate interests,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California state Assemblymember Dr. Jasmeet Bains is also running for the Democratic nomination in District 22. She represents part of this district in the state legislature and is also a family doctor. “It’s time we elect the physician to Congress,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Sacramento, Bains has voted for Democratic priorities like access to abortion rights and public school funding. But she also bucked her party on some prominent issues, including by voting against Democratic redistricting and a legislative effort to restrict oil industry profits. She says she listens to her constituents, many of whom voted for President Trump. “The people that represent the Valley understand the importance of standing up for the Valley, not their party,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One thing she and Villegas have in common is that they both scold Valadao for his 2025 vote to slash Medicaid funding through the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill, even though his district has one of the highest Medicaid enrollments in the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Deadline for single-use packaging approaches\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Since the midcentury, the production of plastics has increased hundreds of times. It’s found in remote arctic wildlife and babies’ poop. Production is expected to triple in the next 25 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California is trying to halt the trend. A state bill passed in 2022 makes manufacturers responsible for reducing and cleaning up the plastic they use, including ensuring all of their packaging is recyclable or compostable by 2032. June 1st is a deadline for producers to submit baseline data about their use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel like every day something new comes out about the potential dangers associated with microplastics. This is an opportunity for us to reduce that material that’s being sold into the state in a very meaningful way,” said Zoe Heller, director of CalRecycle. That’s the department that is overseeing implementation of the law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The industry has asked for more time to comply and said food prices may rise. A state analysis indicated consumers would save money overall, bearing less clean up costs and avoiding illness.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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"title": "Rightnowish",
"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
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"soldout": {
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"title": "SOLD OUT: Rethinking Housing in America",
"tagline": "A new future for housing",
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"info": "",
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"title": "Tech Nation Radio Podcast",
"info": "Tech Nation is a weekly public radio program, hosted by Dr. Moira Gunn. Founded in 1993, it has grown from a simple interview show to a multi-faceted production, featuring conversations with noted technology and science leaders, and a weekly science and technology-related commentary.",
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"ted-radio-hour": {
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"title": "TED Radio Hour",
"info": "The TED Radio Hour is a journey through fascinating ideas, astonishing inventions, fresh approaches to old problems, and new ways to think and create.",
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