NorCal-based journalist holding court @VAPwriter
‘It’s hard to see something like this.’ California's ag workers sink under flood impacts
Many Merced County residents impacted by recent floods work in the agriculture industry, the backbone of the Valley’s economy. They are among the county’s low-income residents. And while times were tough even before the floods, they are bound to get harder.
Escape from terror: Sudan through the eyes of refugees
About 3,000 Southern Sudanese refugees currently reside in San Diego County, according to the Alliance for African Assistance (AFAA), a local refugee resettlement program. Several of them spoke with CityBeat about their lives in Sudan and why they were forced to leave.
Prominent academic Cornel West backs proposed California ban on caste-based discrimination
Prominent civil rights philosopher, academic and Sacramento native Dr. Cornel West is lending his support to a proposal that would make discrimination on the basis of caste illegal in California.
Under Pressure: Depression and Black Men
Once thought by many in the Black community as a phenomenon that impacted only white people, during the past 30 years the suicide rate between African Americans and whites has narrowed.
This radio station is about more than music
At KDEE-FM 97.5, The Staples Singers live in audio immortality, along with Bobby Womack, The Stylistics, Fatback, Roy Ayers and countless other throwback funk, rhythm and blues and soul artists.
“That’s where I feel our programming is superior to others. Giving people what they can’t get anywhere else,” said Marvell Reed, KDEE’s station manager. “And doing it in a way that nobody else does it.”
California courthouse named after Harvard law professor, mentor to Barack and Michelle Obama
Ask Richard Ogletree how to describe his older brother Charles James Ogletree Jr. and he’ll cut straight to the chase with a single word.
Hero.
Bodies of kidnapped California family found. ‘Our worst fears have been confirmed’
“There’s no words right now to describe the anger I feel and the senselessness of this incident," said Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke.
Who is Jesus Manuel Salgado? What we know about suspect in California family’s killing
Court documents show the man suspected of abducting and killing a family has previously served time in prison for another crime that was eerily similar.
An Economy Failing Its Youth: Why Sacramento is one of the worst big cities for young people to find work
Although the area’s unemployment has decreased since the recession, recent data from the Greater Sacramento Economic Council suggests the region’s unemployment levels for 16- to 24-year-olds are among the nation’s worst.
After Aerojet: What happens after Sacramento's rocket maker moves 1,100 jobs from the region?
Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc.’s plan to remove 1,100 jobs from the Sacramento region by the end of 2019 is in motion — but a lot may happen between now and then that could determine how much damage to the local economy is left behind.
The Broken Promise: Some doctors are fighting to be compensated for their efforts to meet a key goal of the ACA
Reimbursements under Section 1202 have been caught up in insurance industry bureaucracy and a lack of support in Congress. The result has been millions of dollars in losses for some doctors who have taken on more low-income patients, and ongoing legal disputes.
Outside the cubicle: Why co-working spaces are proliferating in Sacramento
Whereas eight years ago the Sacramento region had only two co-working spaces, today there are easily at least a dozen, with more cropping up every year.
Cornel West on why race still matters.
West, a Sacramento native who became the country’s leading black intellectual, returns to town with a message
Hip Hop's bad rap: Are Old Sac’s nightlife concerns based on race?
Hip-hop music helped make Café New Orleans’ Hot and Spicy one of the hottest Old Sacramento nightclubs in 2000, drawing a young crowd made up of mostly African-Americans and Hispanics. Yet the club’s success has triggered a backlash from its neighbors and police.
Merced County's former education chief: What did he know? When did he know it? | The Merced Sun-Star
Did Merced County's former education chief break state law by knowing that high school students were exposed to cancer-causing asbestos?