Central Valley Daily

A Fresno native is taking the field in Friday’s opening match for the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team at the FIFA World Cup. We hear how Max Arfsten has been preparing for the game and how his upbringing in Fresno influenced his journey. Plus, the latest news headlines: The Avenal City Council meets in defiance of Kings County; and artificial intelligence is tested in California’s largest courts.

California’s meticulous ballot-counting process has dragged out the election results into a second week. The delay has triggered accusations of voter fraud from major Republican figures, including President Trump. We speak to a CalMatters reporter, Kate Wolffe, about how the counting process works and proposals on how to speed things up. Plus, the latest news headlines: A progressive Democrat will take on a Republican incumbent in a Valley House race; and a bill seeks to expand abortion access.

Medi-Cal enrollment has dropped sharply for immigrants without legal status in California. We speak with Salina Arredondo, from the nonprofit news outlet Public Health Watch, about the legislative changes driving the decline and the consequences for this population of losing access to healthcare. Plus, the latest news headlines: Valley hospitals get federal notices about price transparency; and a Democratic candidate says he’s advancing to the general election in a tossup race.

Residents in the Fresno County city of Orange Cove could soon see hydrogen being blended into the natural gas that is delivered to their homes. The pilot project is part of Southern California Gas’ efforts to reduce carbon emissions. Today, we speak with independent journalist Marek Warszawski about the proposal and how many residents are upset by it. Plus, the latest news headlines: A new report highlights residents' views on the high-speed rail project near Merced; and how California is preparing for the World Cup.

The debate over the proposed 9,000-acre Southeast Development Area (SEDA) southeast of Fresno has sparked numerous community concerns. On today’s episode, we speak with Dillon Savory of the Fresno-Madera-Tulare-Kings Central Labor Council and Veva Islas, President of the Fresno Unified School District Board of Education. They explain why they oppose the SEDA plan.

Although the results of the primary election are slowly settling, a lot still remains in the air. Today, we take a look at the progress on some key statewide and local races with an analysis from Blake Zante of the Maddy Institute at Fresno State. Plus, the latest news headlines: a Kings River gravel mining project may soon resume; and a record number of Fresno Unified graduates achieve bilingualism.

If it comes to fruition, Fresno’s Southeast Development Area (SEDA) could bring thousands of new homes to Fresno – but it also involves expanding the city limits. The project has faced significant pushback from many residents, school districts, and advocacy groups. Today, we have an extended conversation with Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer, who discusses why he supports the proposal. Plus, the latest news headlines: details emerge in the hostage situation that unfolded in Bakersfield on Tuesday; and primary election results continue to trickle in.

Tuesday marked Primary election day in California, with all state-wide elected offices on the ballot, including governor, as well as many other city and county races. Today, we speak with KVPR associate editor Kerry Klein to break down the latest election results and discuss which candidates could be on the general election ballot come November. Plus, the latest news headlines: Bakersfield authorities navigated an hours-long hostage situation at a downtown bank; and local members of Congress requested emergency federal funding to combat invasive golden mussels.

California U.S. Senator Adam Schiff anticipates a growing crisis in food aid, following deep federal cuts in the Republican megabill known as HR1. He speaks about the impact on food banks during a Fresno visit and how the Democratic party will navigate a divided Congress. Plus, the latest news headlines: Thousands of San Joaquin Valley residents cast their mail-in ballots; plus a major operation busts a Valley crime network.

The city of Dos Palos in Merced County is scrambling to resolve a fiscal crisis. Over a period of seven years, the city misspent $2.2 million generated by the city’s transportation tax, Measure V. We speak to Merced FOCUS editor Brianna Vaccari about efforts to repay the money and how taxpayers could be affected.