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On Valley Edition; Maricopa Scandal; Racial Profiling; Soul Food Festival

On this Valley Edition, we look at the big problems facing the small Kern County city of Maricopa, we examine the controversial issue of racial profiling, and find out about an upcoming soul food festival at Fresno's African American Historical and Cultural Museum.

Part 1: Kern County city of Maricopa faces uncertain future
As small cities everywhere face debilitating financial challenges, or even bankruptcy, some wonder if cityhood itself is worth the price. Disincorporation allows a city to fall back into the care of a county. That's the challenge faced by the citizens of Maricopa in Kern County. A series of scathing grand jury reports this summer criticized everything from the city's poor management and severe debt to speed traps set by the police. But last week, the Maricopa city council refused calls to disincorporate. Valley Public Radio correspondent Shellie Branco has this report from Maricopa.

Part 2: Racial Profiling – 10 years after 9/11
Nearly ten years after the events of September 11, 2001, racial profiling remains an issue in the US. Attorneys and law professors David Mugridge and Melissa White from the San Joaquin College of Law debate the issue with host Juanita Stevenson.

Part 3: Soul Food Festival
Charla Franklin chef, artist and organizer of the Soul Food Festival at the African-American Historical & Cultural Museum of Fresno joins host Juanita Stevenson to talk about the upcoming event.

Juanita Stevenson has lived and worked in Fresno for the past 24 years. She is perhaps best known to Valley residents as a longtime reporter and news anchor with local television station ABC30, and has also worked at stations KJWL, KYNO and ValleyPBS. She is the recipient of the 2001 Associated Press Award for Best Reporting, and the 1997 Radio & Television News Directors Association Regional Edward R. Murrow award for Best Reporting.