Donate

Category: Features

African Americans
Stefi Mar

Why Black Parents Should Consider Montessori

As a mother of four children, I’ve done A LOT of school shopping. I don’t mean the autumn ritual of purchasing school supplies. I mean shopping for schools – pouring over promotional materials, combing through websites, asking friends and community members for referrals to their favorite schools, attending open houses and orientations, comparing curriculums and educational philosophies, meeting teachers and principals, and students who all claim that their school is the best.

Stefi Mar February 17, 2026
Bakersfield
Stefi Mar

Meet David and Cynthia Hobdy: Birmingham Judge-and-Doctor Couple on Blessings and Lessons of a Loving Marriage

This Valentine’s Day, The Birmingham Times steps into the chambers of justice and the corridors of care to celebrate three extraordinary marriages where love lives at the intersection of duty and devotion. We shine a light on the relationships of three area judges and doctors who are building healthy bonds while serving a community shaped by history, faith, and resilience.

Stefi Mar February 17, 2026
Bakersfield
Stefi Mar

Tensions Flare at Newsom’s Signing of $90 Million Reproductive Health Bill

On Feb. 11, California Gov. Gavin Newsom held a news conference to sign a $90 million one-time emergency funding bill for Planned Parenthood and other reproductive health care clinics in the state.  The event became tense when questions from reporters veered into unrelated political issues, prompting California’s First Partner Jennifer Siebel-Newsom to step in and sharply criticize the press.

Stefi Mar February 17, 2026
Features
Stefi Mar

Ed. Dept. Dismissed 90% of Discrimination Cases, Report Says

The Education Department office responsible for protecting the rights of marginalized and minority students in the nation’s K-12 public schools dismissed nearly every discrimination complaint it received last year, due to the Trump administration’s massive reduction in force, according to a new government watchdog report.

Stefi Mar February 17, 2026
Bakersfield
Stefi Mar

When Health Insurance Costs More Than the Mortgage

When Noah Hulsman, who owns a skate shop in Louisville, Kentucky, learned he no longer qualified for federal subsidies to help him pay for his “gold” Affordable Care Act health plan, the 37-year-old opted for skimpier coverage. But the deductible is about a quarter of his yearly income.

Stefi Mar February 10, 2026
Bakersfield
James Luckey

OP-ED: Stop Corporate Consolidation Silencing Local Media Voices

Local journalism is indispensable to the protection of civil rights and equality for all Americans, and in particular for Black American communities and other communities of color across the nation. Local-owned news media is crucial to community empowerment and civic participation.

James Luckey February 10, 2026
Bakersfield
Stefi Mar

History Will Remember Who Spoke and Who Hid

America watched it happen in real time. Journalists were arrested for doing their jobs. Not in some distant dictatorship. Not under cover of night in a failed state. In the United States of America.

Stefi Mar February 3, 2026
Bakersfield
Stefi Mar

The Exit Signs Are Flashing at the Place That Wrote the Authoritarian Playbook

The Heritage Foundation is beginning to come apart in public, and what is unraveling is not simply a think tank but a long-maintained illusion. More than 60 senior staff members, fellows, and trustees have now resigned from the institution that spent decades presenting itself as the sober custodian of conservative thought. Board members tied to major donors have stepped down. Veteran policy writers have walked away. What remains is an organization forced, perhaps for the first time, to reckon with the distance between how it spoke about America and what it planned to do to it.

Stefi Mar January 27, 2026
African Americans
Stefi Mar

State Settlement Shines Light on Civil Rights Protections for Black Students

A state civil rights investigation into Yuba City Unified School District (YCUSD) has resulted in a settlement requiring districtwide corrective actions after allegations that a Black elementary school student was subjected to repeated racial harassment over multiple school years.

Stefi Mar January 27, 2026