Monica Vaughan

This project is supported by a grant from USC Annenberg’s Center for Health Journalism 2022 California Impact Fund.

Roads in rural Fresno County are often neglected and underdeveloped. Potholes, flooding and basic safety measures go unfixed. There are no streetlights, sidewalks, bike lanes, crosswalks, center lines or even speed limit signs on many roads in rural towns, and public transit service is limited.

With a high portion of community members living in poverty and often without a reliable car, public transportation can be a lifeline for seniors, school children, people with disabilities and the general public.

Imagine taking your kids on a trolley to visit the neighborhood park. Now, picture an electric transit system that’s fast and cheap and can take you to work right from your doorstep. What if Fresno could do all that, and reduce the local rate of childhood asthma?

A section of a popular camping area in the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area will be closed off by the end of the year — and fencing is being installed this week under an emergency permit issued to protect public health.

Faced with an order to reduce dust from the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area, the State Department of Parks and Recreation is spending $437,506 to study whether ocean algae is to blame for air pollution downwind of the park.

The director of California State Parks on Monday committed to banning camping and vehicles from a section of the shoreline on the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreational Area by the end of the year to comply with orders to reduce air pollution.

This story was produced as part of a larger project led by Monica Vaughan, a participant in the 2019 California Fellowship....