farmworkers Archives

Floods

State sending $20 million to aid Planada flood victims. Residents say ‘Ojalá’

July 12, 2023

• by Central Valley Journalism Collaborative

Editor’s note: This story was reported and edited by the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative, cvlocaljournalism.org, a nonprofit newsroom based in Merced, CA. By Brianna Vaccari and Michelle Morgante Central Valley Journalism Collaborative Planada, Calif. (CVJC) – “Ojalá.” The word, rooted in Arabic, is said by Spanish-speakers to mean “hopefully” or “God willing.” It is said…

Drinking Water • Drought

Farm town residents block water rate hike but are still stuck with a massive water debt

March 1, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Residents of the small town of El Porvenir in western Fresno County successfully blocked a water rate hike Tuesday at the Fresno County Board of Supervisors meeting. The western Fresno County community, where nearly half the residents live in poverty, is already carrying a water debt of $400,000. That debt has been incurred over the…

Drinking Water • Drought

Even emergency water suppliers are close to tapped out as more valley towns go dry

July 19, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Groundwater levels are dropping and domestic wells throughout the San Joaquin Valley are going dry as California’s third year of drought grinds on. That includes entire towns, such as East Orosi and Tooleville in Tulare County, which both went dry last week. It’s bad. But it may get worse. Area water suppliers are “locking down”…

SGMA

Valley could see a “mass migration” of farmworkers as land is fallowed under state groundwater law

May 2, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Advocates are sounding the alarm for what they think could be the collapse of the San Joaquin Valley’s agriculture workforce. As drought continues to hammer the state and groundwater pumping restrictions take effect, farmland will need to be retired en masse. While there have been many conversations, including legislation, on how to support farmers during…

Drinking Water • Drought

How drought forced California to mandate drinking water consolidation for Tooleville

August 31, 2021

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern

This story was produced with funding and support from Fresnoland, for the Fresno Bee. Republishing is encouraged 48 hours after initial posting. Life in Tooleville wasn’t easy before the latest drought. Residents of this tiny, two-road farmworker community, tucked into the edge of the Sierra Nevada foothills in eastern Tulare County, have been living on bottled water…

NEWS

State sending $20 million to aid Planada flood victims. Residents say ‘Ojalá’

Farm town residents block water rate hike but are still stuck with a massive water debt

Even emergency water suppliers are close to tapped out as more valley towns go dry

Valley could see a “mass migration” of farmworkers as land is fallowed under state groundwater law

How drought forced California to mandate drinking water consolidation for Tooleville

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