How California’s Drought Is Changing the Politics of the Nation’s Largest, Notoriously Thirsty Farming District
A tiny local election in the Central Valley caught our attention last month. A group of candidates promising change took over control of a big, farmer-run organization that delivers their irrigation water. Westlands Water District. It covers a stretch of land east of I-5, from Firebaugh to Kettleman City, and produces crops like tomatoes, garlic, almonds, pistachios, cantaloupes, and pomegranates. And if you talk to people who know the world of California farming, they’ll tell you Westlands is more than just a water manager. It’s an empire built on imported water and political power. It’s been the biggest, fiercest fighter in the battles that we sometimes call California’s Water Wars, facing off against environmentalists who’ve criticized the wealthy farmers of Westlands for hogging precious water. But these newly elected Westlands board members – all farmers themselves – are now saying: We need a new strategy. It’s a sign of change in the agricultural heart of California. A recognition that water is scarce, and large-scale farming will have to shrink. Reporter Dan Charles brings us this story as part of a collaboration with the Food and Environment Reporting Network.
'My Life Is in My Caregivers’ Hands': Disability Advocate Alice Wong’s Vision for a New Approach to Health Care
We hear from an author and activist in California’s disability community who’s had a tough time trying to figure out how to get the care she needs to survive. Alice Wong hosted the popular podcast Disability Visibility from her home in San Francisco. She uses a wheelchair and a ventilator to breathe, and she’s written about how people with disabilities have not just felt overlooked in the pandemic. They’ve felt expendable. Earlier this year, she was finishing the final edits to her memoir, “Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life,” when she suffered several medical crises. She spent four weeks in the intensive care unit. She lost her ability to speak and started using a text to speech app, which you’ll hear in her story.
Why One CA Woman in CA Had to Travel 500 Miles to Get an Abortion
Ever since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, California legislators have been passing bills aimed at providing abortion access for out-of-state patients. And last month, voters overwhelmingly agreed to enshrine the right to an abortion in our state’s constitution. But in some rural communities in California – like Bishop, in the Eastern Sierra – access to abortion remains extremely limited. That’s where Reporter Lauren DeLaunay Miller is from. She’s a student at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, and she started hearing from women in her hometown about how hard it’s been for them to figure out where to get an abortion for an unwanted pregnancy. She brings us a story from a woman we’re calling “Megan.”‘
'You Have to Learn to Lose and Win’: How One Soccer Fan Stays Devoted in the Diaspora
California is home to so many immigrant communities who have their eyes glued to The FIFA World Cup in Qatar right now. One of those fans who’s been rooting for his home country is KQED’s Sebastian Miño-Bucheli.