Joe Moore

According to researchers at Rice University, children from high income families will experience hearing 30 million more words by age four than children of low income families. That’s from parents or others just reading or talking to young children, just describing the world around them. Researchers say this so-called “word gap” has big implications for brain development, educational achievement and long-term success.

This week on Valley Edition, we look at the the future of California’s state parks system. After years of budget cuts and closures, how should this treasured part of the Golden State reinvent itself? We hear a special report.

We’ll also learn more about a new program called Talking Is Teaching that focuses on early childhood education, and something called the "word gap." That's the estimated 30 million fewer words that children from lower income families hear compared to those from upper income families. 

Talking Is Teaching segment guests: 

Detroit has Motown, Seattle has grunge, and San Francisco has psychedelic rock. Just three examples of American cities where unique musical styles developed and thrived, gaining international attention and helping to define the very image and sound of those places.

This Sunday the sounds of Spain and Latin America will fill the William Saroyan Theatre in downtown Fresno as the Fresno Philharmonic presents a concert titled Bolero. Featuring music by composers like Astor Piazzolla (Tangazo), Joaquin Rodrigo (Concierto de Aranjuez), and Ravel (Bolero) it's a multi-continental tribute to the romance and rhythms of a fascinating culture. The concert features a performance by guitarist Charles Ramirez with Rodrigo's beloved ma

Falling oil prices could deliver a big hit to the Kern County general fund. The Board of Supervisors will consider a staff proposal to declare a fiscal emergency at its meeting next week. County property tax dollars are heavily dependent on the price of oil. 

California's air regulators are increasingly turning their attention to a greenhouse gas that has largely gone overlooked - methane. 

According to the U.S. EPA, when it comes to climate change, methane emissions have an impact 20 times greater than CO2 emissions, pound for pound.

That's why Governor Jerry Brown singled out the gas during his inaugural address this month as part of his plan to combat climate change. 

The LA Times recently called Mary Nichols a “rock star.” In 2013 Time Magazine called her one of the 100 most influential people in the world and the Thomas Edison on environmentalism. She’s the chair of the California Air Resources Board, and if it has something to do with air quality or climate change in the state, she probably has something to say about it.

This week on Valley Edition we speak with California Air Resources Board Chairmen Mary Nichols about air quality in the region and Assembly Bill 32, the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. 

Also on the program we speak with The Fresno Bee's Education Reporter Hannah Furfaro about a shortage among substitute teachers in Fresno Unified.

When you think of Kern County’s economy, you probably think of two things – oil and ag. But there’s another big player in the county’s economy – aerospace. County economic development officials estimate that around 20,000 people are employed in the sector – and one of the fastest growing areas has been in the field of commercial spaceflight.

Across the San Joaquin valley some school districts are facing a new problem. It has to do with keeping substitute teachers in the classroom.Hannah Furfaro, an education reporter for the Fresno Bee, who reported on the issue earlier this month joined Valley Edition host Joe Moore for a conversation on her reporting. 

California has announced stringent new rules on a common pesticide used in the production of strawberries, almonds, tomatoes, and peppers.

Chloropicrin is a fumigant that is used to treat the soil before crops are planted. The new rules are more stringent than those adopted by the U.S. EPA in 2012.

Under the new regulations from the state’s Department of Pesticide Regulation, farmers will be required to provide larger buffer zones when applying the chemical, and will be required to reduce the size of fields where it is applied.

This week on Valley Edition we delve into the topic of free community college with College of the Sequoias' President Stan Carrizosa and Reedley College's President Sandra Caldwell.

Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims began her third term in office last week. Since she became sheriff in 2006, law enforcement and criminal justice have seen massive changes: big budget cuts, mandatory jail releases, realignment and sentencing reform.

Last week President Obama announced a new proposal that would essentially make community college free for most students. The president spoke of the issue as extending the concept of a free public education from the K-12 grades to two-year colleges, as higher education has become increasingly important to the country’s job market.

Now that dust has settled from last week’s symbolic groundbreaking for high speed rail in Downtown Fresno – a groundbreaking that didn’t actually include any ground being broken – people across the nation are taking a fresh look at the bullet train. 

One of the most interesting perspectives came from our Josh Stephens, a journalist and commentator for the California Planning and Development Report, an online publication that focuses on the development industry and urban planning.

A decision by the U.S. Supreme Court could have big consequences for both valley farmers and the environment. The court decided today not to hear a case brought by local ag groups and southern California water agencies that sought to overturn protections for the Delta smelt under the Endangered Species Act.

The move lets stand a lower court decision that upheld restrictions on the amount of water that can be pumped out of the Sacramento San Joaquin Delta. 

Trent Orr, an attorney with Earthjustice says the decision is an important one. 

There's a new member of the Fresno CIty Council. Esmeralda Soria took the oath of office Thursday at City Hall becoming the first Latina to serve on the council since the 1990's.

In a speech delivered in both English and Spanish Soria said her success would only be possible in America. 

Soria replaces Blong Xiong for the district 1 seat. Council members Oliver Baines, Clint Olivier and Sal Quintero were also sworn in for their second terms. 

2014 was a year of ups and downs for the valley's largest industry, agriculture. The year began with virtually no rain and snow and fears of another dust bowl.

And while farmers and ranchers had a tough year, most survived and some even thrived. Rising milk prices boosted the bottom line for California dairymen and women and crops like tomatoes actually set new records.

So what will 2015 bring? We asked two industry experts to join us and offer their perspectives on six issues that will help define the valley's largest industry in the new year:

The recent drop in oil prices may be a good thing for consumers at the gas pump, but has oil producers in Kern County worried. For a look ahead at what this means for the economy of the south valley in the new year, we talked to John Cox, energy industry reporter for the Bakersfield Californian on FM89's Valley Edition. 

This week on Valley Edition we look ahead to what 2015 will hold for the San Joaquin Valley in a variety of areas from the oil industry to the arts. We start with a look at the political landscape in 2015 by talking with Fresno State political science professor Thomas Holyoke.

For a preview of what the local agriculture industry has in store we talk with Ryan Jacobsen of the Fresno County Farm Bureau and Tricia Stever Blattler of the Tulare County Farm Bureau.