Sunday's San Francisco Chronicle featured a story on how the small Valley town of Mendota, in Fresno County, is weathering the chain of disasters that is facing the nation. The challenges that the people of Mendota face are escalated as a result of the drought California faces as well as the unique challenges rural communities have during this economic crisis.
Maria DeLourdes Oregel hasn't found work since her harvesting job petered out last year, her husband's hours at the local chicken farm have been cut by a third, and even though she feeds her children meat only once a week, she runs out of cash before the end of each month...
The American Leadership Forum (ALF) is the Great Valley Center's newest leadership program. The inaugural class of the Northern San Joaquin Valley ALF Chapter features 18 outstanding leaders who have committed to strengthening their leadership skills and networks in the region over the course of the next year.
Even before the program could begin dedicated community members stepped up to take the ropes as the founding Board of Directors. Members of founding Board as well as ALF consultants are pictures below:
Front Row:
Kathy McKim, AT&T; Keni Freidman, Community Volunteer; Ron Foster, Foster Farms; Linda Lopez, Office of Congressman Cardoza; Honorable Ricardo Cordova, Superior Court of California, Stanislaus County.
Second Row:
Fred Teichert, Teichert Foundation; Doni Blumenstock, American Leadership Forum; David Hosley, Great Valley Center; Pam Stewart, American Leadership Forum; Ted Leland, University of the Pacific; John Rogers, Mary Stuart Rogers Foundation; Dennis Lee, Central Valley Asian Chamber of Commerce.
The Women's Foundation of California recently released this documentary - funded by The California Endowment - chronicling their March 2009 Sowing Change tour, which brought funders to meet the incredible women leaders of the Central Valley where their families live, work and play.
The stories featured are incredible, as are the women leaders! One of the leaders featured prominently in the documentary is Camila Chavez, executive director of the Dolores Huerta Foundation. Chavez is also an alumna of our emerging leader program IDEAL.
Newest Staff Member Will Focus on Energy Policy in
Southern San Joaquin Valley
Bakersfield (July 17, 2009) –The Great Valley Center is pleased to announce it has opened a new office in Bakersfield. Stacey Shepard, who joined the staff as the South Valley Energy Program Representative in May 2009, will be the first Great Valley Center staff member to be based out of the new office.
Shepard, a Bakersfield resident, previously worked as the environmental and energy reporter for The Bakersfield Californian newspaper. Her reporting covered topics from the area’s severe air pollution problem, water shortages, shrinking habitat for endangered species, and the burgeoning renewable energy sector. In 2008, she received the George F. Gruner Prize for Public Service in Journalism for an investigative series on groundwater contamination at a Bakersfield refinery.
Shepard's responsibilities will include working with local governments, industry and utility companies to boost energy efficiency and promote renewable energy use throughout the southern valley. As part of her work, she will also research the potential for energy independence in the vlaley and green regional economy.
“With the new office in Bakersfield we will be able to serve the entire region better,” says Great Valley Center Energy Program Director Tim Fisher. “Stacey’s background and understanding of the Southern San Joaquin Valley will help as we seek to educate policy-makers and those in the community about reducing energy consumption.”
The Great Valley Center’s new satellite office is located at UC Merced’s Bakersfield Center at 2000 K Street, Suite 300. The Bakersfield office will complement the already established Great Valley Center offices located in Modesto and Chico.
Join the Great Valley Center Energy Program in Tehama County for this free event to educate and inform about the impacts of California’s Global Warming Solutions Act (AB32) and the Sustainable Communities Strategy Bill (SB375) on local governments in the Valley.
Friday, August 7, 2009 8:15 a.m.– 1:30 p.m. Red Bluff Community Center 1500 S. Jackson Street Red Bluff, CA 96080
Space for this event is limited. For questions please contact Lindsay Buckley (530) 321-0817 or Lindsay@greatvalley.org.
→Download information on the event here →Download a registration form here
Join us for a panel on Creating a Vibrant Future: Looking Ahead During Turbulent Times and Planning in an Era of Scarce Resources
Thursday, July 16, 2009
5:00 – 6:45pm
The Great Valley Center-Community Room
201 Needham Ave.
Modesto, Ca. 95354
Featured speakers:
Jay Corey Stephen Lawton
About this month's topic:
We are in a time of turbulent change and resource scarcity. Local governments face severe budget cuts and are forced to react by cutting staff and services. At the same time, the future for land and transportation development and planning will be very different from the past and careful planning is needed. How do we marshal the resources to plan for and create our tomorrow?
Fee for the Forum:$10 (check or cash, payable at the door)
The event will be followed by an optional, no-host dinner with the speakers.
The lack of water = decline of farming = disappearing farming communities. Three years of drought and strict government regulations are slowly but surely taking a toll on the town of Huron. Police Chief Frank Steenport is pessimistic about the towns future lasting over a year before completely falling off the charts. Read what GVC President Emeritus Carol Whitesidehad to say in this New America Media article.
Complete Streets: The Road to Safer, Healthier, Livable Communities
Friday, July 10, 2009
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m Sheraton Grand Hotel
1230 J Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Communities eager to improve safety, health and livability are recognizing that “Complete Streets” are a key part of that effort. The way we build and retrofit our streets has a direct impact on walking, bicycling, transit-use and driving. At this one-day workshop, you’ll learn about the laws, policies, measures and financing mechanisms that are now on the books to help complete our streets in the Sacramento region.
San Joaquin Valley Blueprint is currently accepting nominations for plans, policies, programs and projects that reflect Blueprint principles. The Blueprint Award will be awarded and celebrated Oct. 2, 2009. Nominations must be received by 5:00 PM on August 21, 2009. Nominate a planner or specific policies or plans be recognized by those throughout the San Joaquin Valley.
The conferences will bring together local, regional, state, and federal experts from numerous industry sectors including transportation, education, broadband, workforce training, and energy. The discussions will provide practical and technical guidance on how local communities--including public agencies and private employers--can access some of the $85 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding that has already begun flowing into the state's economy.
California State University, Fresno Leon S. and Pete P. Peters Educational Center Student Recreation Center 5010 N. Woodrow Ave Fresno CA
The California Commission for Jobs and Economic Growth, in cooperation with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's Recovery Task Force, is hosting a series of three conferences focusing on transforming California's share of federal stimulus funding into new jobs.
"Save Me a Spot in College" has awarded thousands of dollars in scholarship money to encourage youths to a path of higher education. Congratulations to this years grand prize winner Karina Herrera from Sunnyside High School in Fresno for her entry titled"Helping the Valley Rise Up" .
6th-12th grade from across California entered the contest in fourth and most successful year. Student have the opportunity to answer the question, “Why should California leaders save you and your peers a spot in college?” by submitting an entry in any of the three categories: Written Word, Poster, or TV Ad. Students are eligible for a scholarship worth $500-$2500 to be used for their college educations.
The Great Valley Center's July 2009 media advisory is now available. This monthly resource for members of the media and others in the community features information on what's happening with the Great Valley and throughout the Central Valley during the month.
July's advisory includes briefs on:
* Events throughout the region * What's new at the Great Valley Center * Reports, publications, and other resources available now * Regional story ideas
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