‘It’s My First Time Sending a Son Off to College and I Might Be a Mess’
What is it like to be a dad and your first-born son goes off to college? That just happened for Adolfo Guzman-Lopez. He’s covered higher education for years at KPCC in Los Angeles, but when his own son moved into his freshman dorm this month, Adolfo was not prepared for the reaction he’d have.
Many California Families Can’t Access Mental Health Care for Kids. This East Palo Alto Mom Found a Way
We meet a mom from East Palo Alto named Jasmine Cuevas, who has spent years trying to help her kids cope with anxiety and trauma. They’re among a rising number of children across California struggling with their emotional and mental health. Experts and policymakers call the situation a crisis – one that was brewing before the pandemic and then intensified when schools shut down and kids spent months isolated from the outside world. KQED reporter and producer Blanca Torres has been looking into this as part of a USC health journalism fellowship. Blanca found that just as before the pandemic, most kids who need help don’t get it. She also discovered what happens when families like Jasmine’s can access care.
‘The Loss of My Family’s Farm is a Loss for California’s Japanese Agricultural Legacy’
Writer Caroline Hatano brings us an ode to the Japanese American community that once farmed all over Southern California. Hatano's grandfather farmed flowers on the Palos Verdes peninsula for 70 years. This summer, the city of Palos Verdes terminated the lease, closing the last Japanese American farm in the area. Her story comes to us as part of a collaboration with Civil Eats, a daily news source for critical thought about the American food system.