Category: Valleys

Bakersfield
Stefi Mar

Gov. Newsom Signs New Affordable Housing Legislation

Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed new legislation aimed at expanding affordable housing, reducing construction costs and speeding up housing development across California as part of the state’s 2026-27 budget.

Bakersfield
Stefi Mar

Cyclospora Boosts Fears That Worse Foodborne Outbreaks Are Ahead

The next foodborne illness outbreak could be much worse. That’s the concern of food safety leaders across the U.S. who are raising alarms over federal cuts they say have made it harder to detect and stop the spread of foodborne illnesses, such as the recent outbreaks of cyclospora, which has sickened thousands in dozens of states. And they’re especially worried the next pathogen will be much more deadly.

African Americans
Stefi Mar

COMMENTARY: We Lived It: Why a Different World Still Matters Today — an Ode to HBCUs

Some shows you watch. Others shape you. A Different World did both. It gave us one of our first real glimpses into life at an HBCU, where Black excellence, growth, struggle, and purpose all coexisted. It wasn’t just entertainment; it was a vision. It showed us that college wasn’t just possible; it was ours.

Bakersfield
Stefi Mar

Credit Union Helps Students with Finances

About 400 students attended Delta Community Credit Union’s Cool Cash Money Camps throughout June in metro Atlanta, including in Decatur.

African Americans
Stefi Mar

A Death Revives Concerns About Police Brutality Six Years After National Reckoning

Not everyone at Lloyd Gilmore’s funeral knew him well. One woman, who had ironed her clothes two days in advance, said she just wanted to be there for his family. School-age children, guided by their parents, approached his open casket in the sanctuary of Cornerstone Baptist Church and peeked inside. Other people looked away.

Bakersfield
Stefi Mar

Rep. Garamendi, House Democrats Demand Trump Administration Abandon Illegal Plans to Dismantle Civil Rights, Special Ed Offices

Congressman John Garamendi (CA-08) joined 85 House Democrats this week calling on the Department of Education to immediately abandon its plan to transfer the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Bakersfield
Stefi Mar

Medicaid Ban on Routine Care at Planned Parenthood Expires

Health care providers such as Planned Parenthood and similar clinics are once again eligible to receive Medicaid reimbursements, allowing low-income patients to resume receiving routine care at those facilities in states that permit the payments.

African Americans
Stefi Mar

Fed Court to Decide Landmark First Amendment Case

On July 22, 2026 three federal judges in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals  in Atlanta – Chief Judge William Pryor, Judge Jill Pryor and Judge Andrew Brasher – heard oral arguments in the appeal of the 2024 unconstitutional conspiracy conviction of the Uhuru 3.