The California Legislature has passed the state budget that included funding to expand MediCal eligibility to undocumented residents under the age of 26. The expansion is projected to aid 90,000 young adults who are living at the brink of poverty, earning less than $16,395 per year in the state. Though a step in the...
Walters: New State Budget Has Some Big Caveats
California’s political leaders, Democrats all, are touting a new state budget that expands spending on services for the state’s poor while building reserves. That’s true, as far as it goes. However, there are some very big caveats in the $213 billion 2019-20 budget, the first by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The...
Walters: Capping High Interest Rates on Loans Doesn't Fix Poverty
Last month, the Federal Reserve System issued a report on “the economic well-being of U.S. households” and it contained a rather disturbing bit of data. “If faced with an unexpected expense of $400,” a survey of American households found, “61% of adults say they would cover it with cash, savings,...
Walters: California’s Vexing Poverty Puzzle
California, as we all should know by now, has the nation’s highest rate of poverty as measured by the Census Bureau’s supplemental – and most accurate – methodology. The primary reason is California’s horrendously high cost of living, particularly for housing, that overwhelms the relatively meager incomes of millions of...
Janz Will Kick Off Mayoral Bid at Radio Park
Andrew Janz invites residents to attend the announcement of his 2020 Fresno mayoral campaign 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Radio Park. “Fresno needs someone who is attuned to the needs of its people. Throughout my campaign for Congress and my time as a local prosecutor, I have met thousands of Fresnans...
Walters: Is San Joaquin Valley California's Poor Stepchild?
Technically, California’s San Joaquin Valley – the drainage plain of the San Joaquin River – begins a few miles south of Sacramento and ends a few miles south of Fresno. However, in political and economic terms, it stretches even further south to the Tehachapi Mountains, south of Bakersfield. The 300-mile-long...
Want to Understand Fresno Poverty? Watch This Video.
If you want to understand poverty in Fresno County and how to grow prosperity, watch the video above before reading another word. Narrated by actor Morgan Freeman, the video succinctly explains the challenges facing poor children and the teachers entrusted with giving them the education to become successful adults. Behind...
Walters: A Cautious Budget With a Bold Housing Plan
Jerry Brown is a hard act to follow but his successor as governor, Gavin Newsom, acquitted himself well – if very lengthily – in presenting his first state budget on Thursday. For nearly two hours, Newsom explained his $209.1 billion 2019-20 budget and fielded questions from reporters, displaying in minute...
AMOR and its Partners Deliver Holiday Help to Mendota Families
A team of volunteers brought smiles to the faces of five "adopted" Mendota families in the midst of a challenging holiday season. Fresno-based AMOR joined with partners United Way of Fresno and Madera Counties, Cargill, FedEx, and Industry Standard Inc., to deliver toys, household products, clothes, and Christmas trees to five...
Trump Threatens Honduran Caravan That's Moved Into Guatemala
ESQUIPULAS, Guatemala — Hundreds of Hondurans hoping to reach the United States bedded down for the night in the Guatemalan town of Esquipulas after that country's authorities blinked first in attempts to halt their advance. U.S. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, threatened on Tuesday to cut aid to Honduras if it...