Reporting

<p>After being addicted to heroin and alcohol for 26 years, Kevin Smith has spent the last 19 years of his life sober, and helping those in Santa Barbara County battle the same demons he faced two decades before.</p>

<p>The first in a three part series on the causes behind Oklahoma's lack of access to health care, including a physician shortage, geographic disparities and lack of transportation options.</p>

<p>Farmers in Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties donate thousands of tons of fresh fruits and vegetables to food banks every year, supply feeding centers as far away as Washington and Colorado. It’s a massive foodlift operation that all began 38 years ago with a freezer full of slightly

<p>Maria Martinez and her husband and three sons live in a colorful stucco home in a subsidized housing development near San Diego Bay. But as soon as she steps outside, Martinez and her neighbors are confronted with an onslaught of environmental health hazards.</p>

<p>As the staff and volunteers at Second Harvest Food Bank work to combine food distribution with community-based nutrition education, the obvious questions arise: Do these peer education programs actually make a difference? Do participants change their eating habits for the better? And do these

<p>Meet Bill, and learn how a typical St. Louisan's life and health depend on -- and affect -- his neighborhood and the overall welfare of the region.</p>

<p>It was once perceived as a rite of passage of sorts, but adolescence and substance use are now considered a toxic combination. More and more research is revealing that choices made at an early age — generally in the early teenage years — can have lasting effects, few of them positive.</p>

<p>Shereen Khatapoush chose her career path when she was 15 years old, after a friend died in a drunk driving-related car accident.</p>

<p>As a Santa Barbara County deputy district attorney who works with young offenders, Von Nguyen knows what the community’s children are up to.</p>