There’s dissension in the ranks of a local labor unit that has petitioned to break away from Service Employees International Union Local 521 and form its own association. Twenty-six deputy public defenders, more than half of the current total, and seven of 11 investigators in the Kern County…

Cecilia Castro was raised in Bakersfield, attended Greenfield Middle School and graduated from South High. But it wasn’t until she took a course in Chicano history at University of California, Santa Barbara that she learned about two important figures of the farmworker labor and civil rights…

For decades, the names of 28 Mexican passengers who died in a plane crash in Los Gatos Canyon, 20 miles west of Coalinga in Fresno County on Jan. 28, 1948, remained largely unknown. The four others who perished in that accident — the pilot, first officer, flight attendant and an immigration …

Under the theme of “every worker is an organizer,” Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield played host to the United Farm Workers’ Union 22nd Constitutional Convention, drawing support from the Biden White House along with speakers Sen. Alex Padilla and Rep. Adam Schiff.

Think about it. How does a Delano-born girl and a 1996 graduate of Tehachapi High School end up running the presidential campaign of Kamala Harris, the person who could be elected as the first woman president of the United States? To say it's one of the most intense and scrutinizing jobs in …

Marcos Muñoz never had a formal education, learning to read just a few words in Spanish, and he struggled in English. But make no mistake, Muñoz was a highly educated man in many ways, who learned from his life experiences starting at a young age.

Monday was the first day of classes at FIELD, the Farmworkers Institute of Education & Leadership Development, and a small number of students and teachers were not in class.

Among the thousands of delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this past week, Kern County was well-represented. Once again, labor and civil rights icon Dolores Huerta — who else? — led the Kern County contingent in Chicago. Along with Huerta were fellow delegates includin…

Calling all mariachi music lovers! Students from all four corners of Kern County — and beyond, including Las Vegas and Los Angeles — will get a chance to learn from the best maestros in the business at the third annual mariachi festival sponsored by United Way of Central Eastern California a…

The Bakersfield Police Department said Friday it has closed its investigation involving former Wasco mayor Alex Garcia, who faced allegations he attempted to meet with a 15-year-old boy for a sexual encounter.

After 14 years as police chief at Cal State Bakersfield, Marty Williamson is not returning to his job after being placed on administrative leave on June 3.

Upon arriving in Chicago last month for a family visit, I was anxious to see a new exhibit at the National Museum of Mexican Art in the popular Pilsen neighborhood. The exhibit chronicles the humble beginnings in 1957 of Mariachi Potosino, among the first mariachi bands to form in Chicago, a…

Cal/OSHA, the state agency that regulates workplace safety, has issued serious safety violations against Bakersfield ag giant Grimmway Farms, labor contractors Esparza Enterprises and M&M Labor in the case of Rosa Sanchez of Bakersfield, who was run over by a truck while picking carrots …

A Thursday vote by police officers at Cal State Bakersfield points to an unfavorable work atmosphere. More than two-thirds of the 13 officers voted no confidence in their police chief, Marty Williamson, last week.

Mexico is about to usher in a new political era. Come June 2, voters will go to the polls and it's almost a given that a woman will be elected as head of state. The leading candidates are Claudia Sheinbaum, representing the governing left-of-center party Morena; Xóchitl Gálvez, representing …

Kern County is filled with numerous Spanish-speaking radio stations that generally offer a range of musical formats. Depending on your tastes, you can hear traditional regional Mexican music, "rancheras and norteño," which are closely related and somewhat similar to country music. Other genr…

What a difference a month makes. In March, Arvin city officials were poised to create a new post of assistant city manager and had offered the position to its human resources manager, Meagan Miller.

At a recent event, Bakersfield defense attorney H.A. "Beto" Sala was the main speaker, addressing a group of budding Latino entrepreneurs to offer encouragement in their new venture. For more than 30 years I've mostly heard Sala speak in court, passionately defending clients. This time was v…

Wanted: Assistant city manager for city of Arvin; pays really well, too. Apply by April 10. That's the job posted on March 28 on Arvin's website. Thing is, Arvin residents have been asking a lot of questions about the process for how the city moved forward in trying to fill this post, the ne…

The yellow house with its neatly-trimmed lawn on the 1200 block of Kensington Street in Delano appears unassuming, save for a small marker placed by the current owner on a corner of the front yard. The marker reads, "Former residence of Cesar E. Chavez and Birth of the United Farm Workers Union."

Barring any last-minute surprises such as finding thousands of ballots stuffed in garbage bins, all indications are that David Couch is not only the top vote-getter in the race for 4th District Kern County Supervisor, but he might have won it all on election night.

In 2017, Olivia Trujillo was diagnosed with cancer a second time. A doctor told her she had three months left to live.

Those who have not yet voted by mail in the primary election will go to the polls Tuesday and cast their vote. I urge all who will do so to carefully consider the candidates running for office, especially for Congress.

It may not be the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, but Delano Union School District went even further and was one of the few school districts of its type highlighted this week for its academic achievement in math — and it caught the eye of The New York Times.

“Goodbye to my Juan, goodbye, Rosalita,

The Kern County District Attorney's Office has opened an investigation of the North Kern South Tulare Hospital District in Delano. It is a public nonprofit entity that owns and operates the Delano District Skilled Nursing Facility for 141 residents, the Gloria Nelson Center Family Practice, …

The Kern County Sheriff's Office is facing serious allegations of sexual misconduct in a $25 million lawsuit filed by a senior deputy against the department and Kern County.

Myrtle Avenue School in Lamont was abuzz with excitement last month as parents, teachers, staff and students crowded into the cafeteria on a Monday night. They had come to see and hear a show-and-tell presentation, but not from just any ordinary professional. This was an astronaut, as in an …

Expect the Kern Community College District to soon, real soon, name its new chancellor. A selection committee has been going through candidates and is expected to make a finalist list and then hand it to the KCCD board of trustees, which will make the final choice.

Rosa Miriam Sanchez was no stranger to hard work nor to living under adverse conditions in her native country of El Salvador. The 58-year-old immigrated to the United States driven by hope that she could find a job to provide for her family.

We waste so much food in this country. Healthy, edible produce and other food is thrown away still wrapped or boxed up and the irony is that there are scores of families who go hungry.

The Kern Community College District is seeking a bold, visionary and forward-thinking leader for the opportunity to serve as its next chancellor. That's the direct message posted on the KCCD website as it seeks someone to succeed Sonya Christian, who left the post earlier this year to become…

A group of community activists turned out for a special Kern High School District Board of Trustees meeting Monday morning trying to convince board members to consider outside candidates for the position of district superintendent. But as the district has done for decades, it limited its sel…

For the first time in Kern County, Bakersfield is about to host a mariachi festival that is drawing interest from East Los Angeles, Sacramento, Las Vegas and Texas.

When I heard about a job opening at the Kern High School District, I decided to give it a shot. And why not? I figured that covering all sorts of issues and controversies at KHSD since 1988 makes me amply qualified to apply for the position of superintendent.

On a map, San José Avenue just west of Delano city limits appears to be a street. In reality, the half mile or so "avenue" is a dirt road riddled with potholes. Despite this, dwellings have sprung up as mostly low-income families have constructed homes. During the hot weather, dust blows all…

July 15 marked four years since the brutal death of Bakersfield businessman Jose Arredondo in Cabo San Lucas. It's a day especially difficult for his sister, Laura Arredondo.