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On Quality of Life: Kern River; Foreclosures

Segment 1: The Kern River Flows Through Bakersfield Once More? - The Kern River has long been known as one of the wildest rivers in the west. But far below Lake Isabella, as the channel makes its way through the city of Bakersfield, the days of a wild river, or for much of the year a river at all, are long gone. However, a new proposal from the City of Bakersfield aims to do what many thought would never happen, return year round water to the river through the city, creating a new community amenity.

Some think the idea is long overdue, and would be a big improvement to the quality of life of city residents. Others, including farmers and small cities to the north of Bakersfield, who would be on the losing end of the proposal are crying foul, and say the proposal would hurt Kern County, cost jobs, and strain the aquifer. On this edition of Quality of Life, we talk with Lois Henry of the Bakersfield Californian who has covered the issue extensively in the paper; Florn Core, former Water Resources Manager of the City of Bakersfield, and Richard Diamond of the North Kern Water District.

Segment 2: Foreclosures & the Valley - Valley communities like Merced, Fresno and Bakersfield have been some of the hardest hit following the collapse of the real estate market. With foreclosure sales continuing to rise, what’s the current outlook for Valley homeowners who are struggling to keep their homes. Where can homeowners who need assistance turn, and what are programs like Making Home Affordable doing to help? We ask those questions and others with guests Cendy Rojos Foreclosure Prevention Counselor with the Community Housing Council Fresno, and Dan Hawkins, a Fresno area realtor and specialist in short sales.

Joe Moore is the President and General Manager of KVPR / Valley Public Radio. He has led the station through major programming changes, the launch of KVPR Classical and the COVID-19 pandemic. Under his leadership the station was named California Non-Profit of the Year by Senator Melissa Hurtado (2019), and won a National Edward R. Murrow Award for investigative reporting (2022).