Juanita Stevenson

Drivers who operate the city of Fresno’s bus service, known as Fresno Area Express will tell you that despite that some may thing, theirs is not a cushy job.

"It’s the equipment, it’s riding in a seat. You’re constantly bouncing up and down, you’re constantly turning the steering wheel. There’s a number of knee problems, shoulder problems, hand problems, by repetitive motion,"  says Rick Steitz, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1027.

This week on Valley Edition, Juanita Stevenson reports on the dispute between Fresno FAX bus drivers and the city of Fresno. Valley Public Radio’s Ezra Romero brings an updated report on the battle over Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin’s plan to outsource Fresno’s residential trash service. We also look to the effects of pollution caused by diesel in Kettleman City in a report by 89.3’s Rebecca Plevin. Jonathan London, an assistant professor of Human and Community Development at University of California, Davis, also chimes in on the discussion.

This week on Valley Edition, KVPR’s Rebecca Plevin reports on how valley counties are preparing to expand coverage to their poorest residents under the Affordable Care Act. We’ll also talk with Peter Cunningham, Ph.D., Senior Fellow and Director of Quantitative Research with The Center for Studying Health System Change about whether the San Joaquin Valley as a whole is ready to take on health reform.

Today on Valley Edition, we talk with local author Armen Bacon about her new book "Griefland" and learn how a friendship grew out of the tragic loss of her son. We'll also talk about how tragic circumstances can change lives. Peter Nazaretian, a licensed marriage and family therapist, also joins our discussion.

This week on Valley Edition we talk about the tragic shootings in Newtown, CT. Fresno Unified Superintendent Michael Hanson and Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims join us in the first segment to talk about how local schools and law enforcement have taken steps to prevent similar attacks from happening here. What have we learned from Newtown, and how can we keep our children safe in the classroom? 

This week on Valley Edition, Juanita Stevenson reports on plans by the city of Fresno to privatize residential solid waste. We also talk with Dan Stone of National Geographic who recently wrote about the city's recycling efforts, and find out why Fresno is one of the nation's leaders in this area. 

It is a dirty job, picking up the trash of Fresno’s residents.

But it is also a job that has afforded 58 year old Joe Hill a decent middle income salary. Those at the top of the scale can make $22 an hour.

“I have a good job. I make a decent wage, but I don’t feel I am overpaid. I praise god for the job I have and how much I make. And I know there’s lots of people who make a lot less, but it’s not excessive,” says Hill.

This week on Valley Edition we talk about plans by a local Native American tribe to open a casino on land north of Madera along Highway 99. The effort took a big step forward in recent days as the Bureau of Indian Affairs agreed to put the land for the new casino in trust for the tribe.

This week on Valley Edition we look at the future of politics in California, in the wake of a November election that saw Democrats gain a two-thirds majority in the Legislature, and Republican voter registration drop below 30 percent. FM89's Joe Moore brings us the second report a two-part series on the impact of California's new "top-two" election system. This week we learn how the new reforms may force some of the state's smaller political parties off the ballot entirely. 

This week on Valley Edition, we learn about how the state's new electoral reforms worked in real life following this month's election. Did the "top two" primary make the general election candidates more moderate and contests more competitive? Or did little actually change? Valley Public Radio's Joe Moore brings us a special report.