Philippine government confirms its president’s visit to Fresno

As we were the first to report last night, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will stop by Fresno between San Francisco and Washington, D.C. as part of a 10-day state visit.

PGMA sets 10 day visit to U.S.

From San Francisco, the President will proceed to Fresno, California, a four-hour drive from San Francisco, to hear mass and interact with the Filipino community before proceeding to Washington D.C.

Meeting members of Filipino communities in the countries that she visits is a standard feature of the President�s trips abroad in an effort to keep them posted on developments back home and to encourage them to invest in the country, as well as thank them for their remittances that had helped improve the economy.

 

New Yorker spends a summer with Firebaugh goats

When we first started this blog, I suggested the name “Ships in the Night” because that’s how I often see the Valley. It’s full of interesting and fascinating people and happenings that no one sees because we’re all ships in the night. That name was a bit too esoteric and confusing in the end but “A Summer with goats” blog is what I mean.

It’s written by an organic farming intern who is studying divinity in New York City, but she’s spending the summer in Firebaugh! I love this fresh perspective on the Valley. Seems like she likes what she saw in Fresno, especially the Farmers Market at Shaw and Blackstone. Welcome!

What a great window into an aspect often ignored by Valley city life. Farms!

today, i was outside by 7:30 and ivan and i picked about 5 lbs of purple beans. this involved picking the pods, opening the pods and dumping the little beans into the bucket. each pod had 2-3 beans inside. we worked on this for about an hour and a half and had only 1/8 of a bucket full.

Good for you, and good luck with your adventures in the San Joaquin Valley.

 

World leader to visit Fresno this weekend

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, president of the Philippines, plans a visit to the Central Valley Sunday morning

According to closely-hugged sources– Tatay and Nanay Valley Notebook– Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will visit Fresno for a few hours Sunday morning, partaking in a Catholic ceremony at the Exhibit Hall in Downtown Fresno, and likely visiting with local leaders at Fresno’s Community Hospital. She’ll fly from the Bay Area and proceed to Washington, D.C., sources say.

Many Filipino expatriates (particularly Filipina nurses) work in the American health care profession, and our closely-hugged sources say she would like to see their working environments.

The Philippines, like the Central Valley, has a severe brain drain problem–an estimated 121 Filipinos leave the homeland every hour– and it helps fill our own shortage of health care workers.

Gloria’s second visit to Fresno

This will not be the first visit to Fresno for the diminuitive and controversial President, who is a former classmate of our former President Bill Clinton at Georgetown University.

She visited about eight years ago when she was Vice President of the Philippines. She slipped in and out without any media attention during that visit, but then-Miss Valley Notebook was in attendance.

Macapagal-Arroyo (who IS as cute as a button in person) spoke of the important ties between Filipinos and Filipino-Americans. She gave much credit to the Filipino-American community for sending money back home.

People are country’s most valuable export

Instead of cars or iPods, the Philippines’ main export for decades have been its professionals and not-so-professionals. The country relies heavily on money sent home.

Many Filipinos work abroad in the middle east in the oil industry. Although the country would like to shed this image, many Filipinas work in homes across Asia and Europe as nannys, domestic helpers, and entertainers.

This policy of exporting its best and brightest has caused a cascade of economic and social problems back home in the Philippines, including a generation of children raised by extended family in exchange for financial stability.

In America and the Central Valley, many Filipino immigrants are nurses and doctors due an immigration policy in the 1960 and 70s that encouraged foreign professionals to move to the United States. Nurses are still particularly recruited.

A few “famous” Filipino-Americans on the Internet?

Blogger David Lat of Above the Law and conservative Michelle Malkin, both children of Filipino-American doctors.

A few famous Filipinos in Fresno?

TV news broadcaster Dale Yurong and Fresno Bee writers Joan Obra, B.J. Anteloa and Tracy Correa.

Not so trivial trivia on the Philippines?

The US colonized, controlled, the Philippines for the first half of 19th century. Among other effects, the culture is very Americanized and American English is widely taught and spoken.

Recommended summer reading on Filipino culture and diaspora:

Dogeaters by Jessica Hagedorn

 

Clovis Independent ends 103-years of publication this month

Small town news for a small town girl

I got my first paycheck from the Clovis Independent. They hired me the summer after high school, and I remember feeling both humbled and haughty (like all recent high school graduates–I was pretty darned important). I didn’t do very much as their news aide, and wrote only two articles I think, but I kept this summer work on my resume as long as I could. I always made room to describe my contribution to “The Bee Swatters,” the summer softball team: “Maintained positive attitude despite zero-win record.”

On this day

I can’t remember what the feature was called, but one of my favorite things to do was to find items for its 5-year, 10-year and I think 50-year “Remember when’s” or “On this day…” I’d go to the Clovis library branch and heave down these giant binded copies of the paper, and get lost flipping through small town history. At the time, I tired of the Clovis “way of life,” but I couldn’t help loving the stories behind the stories of city politics or high school champions. The ads were as fascinating as the news. The price of beef and cans of peas were often just a few cents.

Senior Stars

I also liked proofreading (and typing into the computer) the Senior Star features, where senior citizens narrated their lives with simple profound statements like: “I married my sweetheart at 17 and left Oklahoma,” “I worked there for 43 years,” and “after my husband died.” I’m a sucker for personal histories, and hidden behind my partition, I would shed tears reading them.

As a reader

In high school, I wondered why full-grown adults with all their faculties would bother with the piddly-lives of students. I saw reporters like Jenny McGill (recently laid-off from Coalinga’s shuttered paper) and Denny Boyles (now working for the Bee) taking serious interest in things like what my tennis coach Dick Ramage had to say about our upcoming match. Apparently, I thought, there was enough paper in the world to publish that trivia.

What I never appreciated at the time was how tremendously fact-checked and fair that public service was. It wasn’t out there to upend the political system, or dig through government records to get dirt. Its mission was to document the everyday folksy life of its residents. I read about the elderly man who walked everyday on Shaw and Temperance Ave. I read about the little kid who made friends with the janitor, after it was discovered that his dad was a custodian before he died. I read about my friends and the high school stars winning things like “All-star super student…of the Valley!” Did anyone else save these clippings from the Clovis Independent?

Back to the present

Before I get even more carried away– and believe me, I can– I ask myself: But, do I read it now? No. If its death wasn’t imminent, would I have noticed? Probably not. If I lived in Clovis, I might subscribe if it were cheap enough, but then again, not until I had kids in school. According to Ulrichs periodicals (which I accessed through a library) the Independent had a circulation of 5,000 paid subscriptions in 2007.

Last night, I told a few of my Clovis expatriate friends about the paper, “Who will write about entitled students and athletes?!” I typed, semi-seriously.

And they were all shocked, as anyone can be shocked on IM.

“What?”

“You’re kidding!”

“I was on their police blotter.” They wrote.

“Really?” responded one skeptically, followed by a long pause. “I didn’t see anything about it on their website.”

At any rate, what’s done is done. Good luck Patti, who I think is still the editor of the Clovis Independent. She may not remember, but she was my boss when I was there, and I admired her and her life. What’s next for newspeople? Who knows. Maybe it’s into the blogosphere for all of us. But on this day in history, this week? A small town girl once again shed tears over memories in the Clovis Independent.

 

Fresno Bee retreats from Clovis, Tulare County and Madera: Clovis Independent to be shut down.

South Valley bureau, Clovis Independent and Madera’s Sierra Star take hit for the rest of the company

Someone just punched me in the stomach.

I’m winded because The Fresno Bee is laying off 44 of its staff to keep pace with McClatchy’s directive to cut 10% of its workforce. But more personally, it’s because the Bee is concentrating that pain on the Clovis Independent, Madera paper, and the South Valley bureau (Visalia) where I worked for two-and-a-half years as a business reporter.

Those were the days

I was there at it’s zenith. Just a few years ago, at the height of the real estate advertising revenue, the Bee was pushing hard to conquer new territory in the South Valley. Visalia, bursting with new housing developments and served by the Times-Delta (known for overworked and inexperienced reporters) seemed like good pickings. At one time, I think we had almost as many journalists (13) working in the bureau as the Times-Delta did for its daily paper. The competition was fun and friendly. But the competition made everyone better.

Down to 3 journalists

In 2006, as the economy and advertising revenue slowed down, the bureau stopped filling positions from attrition. The bureau, as of today, is almost half that size: 4 reporters, two photographers, and one editor. In a few weeks it will be down to three. Two photographers and two undecided reporters will be laid off. Its editor is being transferred to Fresno.

I don’t have details, but I have also heard that The Clovis Independent–a fine, weekly publication that gave me my first job– will be completely shuttered by the end of June and that Sierra Star in the North Valley will go from twice a week to once a week starting the first week of July.

Why am I writing this? No, I’m not a vulture, hungry for a juicy scoop. I’m not that kind of journalist anymore. I’m writing this because this is information that in today’s media environment, is begging to be released. As librarian Meredith Farkas says, “Information wants to be free.” If I don’t write it, someone else will and should. This is news in today’s times. The Bee and McClatchy in general has been struggling to make a transition to online journalism. Although Fresno’s online community isn’t developed enough to have a dedicated blogger serving as a watchdog on traditional media, it’s only a matter of time before someone takes up that necessary role.

Another reason is to list, as an outsider now, my ideas on how I’d like to see the Fresno Bee evolve to serve my current needs as a news consumer. This list is short. I’m not a futurist, and I’m also hampered by my history. I think like an old-fashioned journalist. I encourage anyone who is reading this to also send ideas to the Fresno Bee on what they would like to see in its news outlet of the future. If the Fresno Bee is to survive, and believe me, it may not, they need to give us what we want and need.

All these suggestions could have been made in 2007, but here are some ideas inspired by what I’ve experienced as a consumer trying to READ the Bee, and also heavily influenced by USC’s Online Journalism Review, which for some reason is ALSO shutting down today…(Is nothing sacred in online media?)

Ten ways I’d like to see the Fresno Bee improve online:

1. The entire website needs to change. It makes no sense to me, I see national stories on the front page, when I have already seen those played out everywhere else and on my news feeds. It’s a major turn-off period. Even when I figure it out, I can’t bear to navigate past the first page.

2. More in-depth packages like the Saroyan package. Unlike the birth of Christ, multimedia packages should not arrive just once a year. But also, write more about less, like McClatchy’s DC bureau recent work on Guantanamo. Leave the minutiae for bloggers.

3. More user-generated content. The Bee should have gotten the hint from one-man-band Adrian Rodriguez at Lateupdate.com on how possible it is to be a hub for Fresno-made YouTube, blogs, etc.

4. Create deep, informative pages where I can see past coverage of what a reporter has written and what beat he or she covers. Reporters such as EJ Schultz, the Sacramento correspondant, should have his own page where I can see at a glance the status of 5-10 different bills pertaining to the Valley. And a running list of stories he has written about them. Or for Mike Oz fans, how about a page dedicated to all things Mike, music and more Mike.

5. A better pipeline of citizen bloggers. Online Journalism Review does a good job of explaining how to encourage them, but the Bee should anoint someone to be a head blogger/volunteer coordinator inspiring, motivating, and rewarding quality posts. There are SO MANY smart, inspired professionals already blogging: scientists, policy wonks, food lovers. Wouldn’t it be neat to read blogs from homeless people in Fresno, or teenagers, or farmers? I’d like to see all these blogs collated at Fresnobee.com.

6. More transparancy. The Bee should be frank with its readers about its challenges. Why, for instance, is it taking so long to redesign the site. And why is it so hard to find the “news” beehive–the blog for most of the news reporters? If there’s a good reason, let it be known, otherwise, please make it easy to find. I LOOK for it, and I still can’t find it sometimes.

7. This is also an idea I’ve seen on OJR, but I’d like to see “evergreen” stories updated and maintained by reporters or copyeditors, maybe on a wiki. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to see the most recent update of the Fresno mayoral race without gerrymandering a google search for “fresno mayoral AND race site:fresnobee.com” and “fresno mayoral race site:fresnobeehive.com”?

8. WRITE FOR THE WEB!!! There aren’t even any hyperlinks in the online version of the news stories. Add the recommended reading that served as the foundation for your reporting.

9. Make the archives free. Sure you can find it at your local library, but it’d be nice to be able to search without the hassle. It’s also silly to let all those in-depth articles wither away because it’s past the two week searching period. How can anyone link to them from their blogs, knowing that they’ll be inaccessible in a few weeks?

10. Make more mistakes. Take more risks online! Would readership drop any more?

So I’ve just blown this out of my a$#, really I’m just shaken up about my poor colleagues–both victims and survivors– that I could think of little else to do. I really loved working with my colleagues and professionals at the Bee.

What ideas do any of you have? I’d really like to see the Fresno Bee around for years and years. Writing this blog reminds me of how time consuming it must be to produce one story and to fact check (which is pretty much absent from blogging, including this one). At the same time, I find it shocking how out of touch its online presence is. I hadn’t visited in two years and when I returned, it seemed like I had never left. In the meantime, I am encouraged by the aggressive and relevent work of bloggers like Mike Lukens at San Joaquin Valleyfornia. That’s a citizen journalist that makes me hopeful for the future.

 

Brain Drain Chronicles: Tom, 63

Editors’ note:

We found a very special treat in our in-box today, yet another reader submitted survey for our on-going series of posts on the central valley brain drain. We are exploring why people leave and what would help them move back home.

If you are part of the brain drain and would like to participate, answer the questions you see below and send them to valley.notes AT gmail DOT com.

Reader surveys help us increase the diversity of our interviewees. We’re never going to be scientific, but we’d like to include a variety from all ages, neighborhoods, interests and backgrounds. Thank you Tom for taking the time to share your perspective!

Name: Tom

Age: 63

Where did you attend high school? Tulare Union High School

What is your educational background? BA Asian History UC Santa Cruz; BFA Photography San Francisco Art Institute. Also attended Fresno State, College of the Sequoias, Mills College.

What is your current occupation? Semi-retired

Where and how long did you live in the central valley? From 1955 to 1976 in Tulare, and Fresno.

Where do you live now? Oakland.

Why do you (don’t you) live in the central San Joaquin Valley?
1) Never had much luck finding work.
2) Frustrating creative environment.

What are the secondary reasons?
The Bay Area is a nice place to live. Great weather. Good art scene. More liberals. More book stores and theater.

What are the top 5-10 adjectives that come to mind when you think of the central valley?
Limited, Hot, foggy, fertile, reactionary, narrow (at least then), xenophobic.

What changes/acts of God would need to occur in order for you to move back?
People joining the world of the 20th Century, their reaching the 21st is too much to hope for.

What price would make it worthwhile to move back?
Being able to make a decent living from my art…

Feel free to add any comments.
I still have friends from those days in the valley. It might be a nice place to visit, but it’s been 20 years, so I’m not likely to do so. I doubt that any of us will be living there much longer (age).

 

Brain Drain Chronicles: Dan, 43

Editors’ note:

This is part of an on-going series of posts on the Valley’s creative movement and its counterpart the central valley brain drain. We are exploring why people leave and what would help them move back home.

If you are part of the brain drain and would like to participate, answer the questions you see below and send them to valley.notes AT gmail DOT com. This is our second reader submitted survey, and our first from a Tulare County native.

Thank you Dan for taking the time to share your perspective!

Name: Dan

Age: 43

Where did you attend high school? Tulare Union High School

What is your educational background? MS in Engineering, San Jose State; BS in Mathematics, University of South Carolina. Also attended Fresno State, College of the Sequoias, Chico State, and Shasta College.

What is your current occupation? Software engineer at a Motorola subsidiary.

Where and how long did you live in the central valley? From 1973 to 1985 in Hanford, Tulare, and Clovis, 1987/88 up norte, and also in Yosemite from 1990 to 1992.

Where do you live now? San Jose.

Why do you (don’t you) live in the central San Joaquin Valley?

1) Not enough jobs, good or otherwise.

2) My wife has zero interest in the Valley, and she probably couldn’t get a good job within her specialization there.

3) Honestly, I would be concerned about the impact of air pollution on my kids.

What are the secondary reasons?

The Bay Area is not a bad place to live. Great weather. Nice trails. More liberals.Roads with curves.

What are the top 5-10 adjectives that come to mind when you think of the central valley? Nevada (that’s the adj in “Sierra Nevada”), Hot, foggy, fertile, reactionary.

What changes/acts of God would need to occur in order for you to move back?

The real miracle would be convincing my wife.

What price would make it worthwhile to move back?

Two good jobs, I suppose.

Feel free to add any comments.

I would love to live among the grove on the eastern edge of the valley. It’s a genuine fantasy, but maybe not very realistic.

 

Brain Drain Chronicles: Bryan, 23

Editors’ note:

This is part of an on-going series of posts on the Valley’s creative movement and its counterpart the central valley brain drain. We are exploring why people leave and what would help them move back home.

If you are part of the brain drain and would like to participate, answer the questions you see below and send them to valley.notes AT gmail DOT com. This is our first reader submitted survey. Thank you Bryan!

Name: Bryan

Age: 23

Where did you attend high school? Clovis West High School

What is your educational background? BA in Mass Communication and Journalism (Video Production emphasis) from Cal State Univ-Fresno. Minor in History.

What is your current occupation? Production Coordinator with FOX Entertainment Group.

Where and how long did you live in the central valley? From birth to the end of college. 1984 – 2007.

Where do you live now? Studio City, California (Los Angeles).

Why do you (don’t you) live in the central San Joaquin Valley? There’s no major film or television industry in the valley.

What are the secondary reasons? No other reason really.  But the weather is a lot nicer in Southern California.

What are the top 5-10 adjectives that come to mind when you think of the central valley? Hot, conservative, rural, affordable, potential

What changes/acts of God would need to occur in order for you to move back? A much more vibrant local film and television industry. Art house theaters. Location shooting from Hollywood studios. The city film commission is making baby steps, but it’s not something I see happening too soon. They don’t even have public access television for starters!

What price would make it worthwhile to move back? If I could make just as much money in my industry and still be happy, it may be worthwhile. But the industry lives and breaths in Los Angeles, so I could never see myself leaving here for good.

Feel free to add any comments. Those of us born in the valley will always posses some strange bond and weird desire to return. Whether or not we will is the question.

 

And they call it, Pappy Love…

Valley native Pappy’s Seasoning vacations in historic Philadelphia after a busy Memorial Day Weekend.

Photo credit: Mr. Valley Notebook.

 

UC Merced medical school makes moving home easier for Valley medical student

We caught up with Scott Matthew Summers, a 26-year-old Valley native and (of course) former classmate after he sent us an excited e-mail regarding U.C. Merced’s medical school.

“You’re probably familiar with this, but it’s relevant to your blog and really exciting for me,” he wrote.

We took notice, one because we can’t remember the last time we talked to Scott online or in person. And two, because from what we remember, Scott doesn’t wear excitement on his sleeve.

Here’s our e-mail/facebook messenger interview with Scott, an MD/PhD student at U.C. Irvine.

One-sentence summary: A Valley medical school means he could live both his dreams–to live in the Valley and flourish professionally.

It means that returning to the Central Valley will likely become considerably easier for me…

— Scott Matthew Summers, sixth-generation Valley native

What year are you in school?

I’m just starting my 7th year in the MD/PhD program at UC Irvine. Meaning I’ve completed the PhD and two years of med school. I have two years of med school left there.

What are you researching?

My PhD is in pharmacology, specifically cardiovascular pharmacology centered around treating orthostatic intolerance, a.k.a. fainting when you stand up.

Why is this news exciting?
The Central Valley desperately needs not only more physicians, but also some sort of biomedical research facility. A medical school tends to foster much greater biomedical research opportunities, particularly in the basic sciences, than are available at a university without a medical school or a hospital that only offers resident training such as what is currently available at UCSF-Fresno.

What does this news mean for you, personally?

It means that returning to the Central Valley will likely become considerably easier for me in terms of career opportunities.

Do you plan to move back to the Valley? Why or why not?

Yeah. I’m a 6th generation Central Valley native. My family on all sides still lives in the area around Fresno and Sanger. I really can’t imagine living somewhere other than where they are for the long term. Further, I had a great childhood here and I would want my kids to have that as well.

What in particular did you like about your childhood in the Fresno area?

I liked the open space. I played in the furrows between grape vines on grandfather’s farm. The people are nicer than a lot of other places in the state.

How did you think you’d move to the Valley before this?

I thought my research would probably be more clinical. But such as it is, this might allow me to do the goal that most MD/PhDs have which is 80% research and 20% clinical activities.

Ok, let me get this straight, before UC Merced’s Med school, you thought your only option to move back to the Valley with an MD/phD would be to work at a Community hospital doing clinical research?

The other option was to work at UC Merced, but do only basic science. Now I could actually do both.

The whole bench-to-bedside process that MD/PhDs dream about.

 

Google Map for independent and locally-owned businesses in the San Joaquin Valley

Community Activism Cartography:

A Guide for San Joaquin Valley Local-holics

I just started a custom Google map for Independent and Locally-owned businesses in the San Joaquin Valley. Normally, I would only include the central San Joaquin Valley, but since I made this map public (and maybe others would help add and update), then I included the whole enchilada of the San Joaquin Valley. We’ll see how it goes!

Here’s the description I wrote for it:

“Promoting local efforts, local economy and local culture in the San Joaquin Valley of central California. This list is open to the public for editing. (Please no national franchises.) Thank you for adding and updating this list!”

I have about 75 businesses that added just today, it was really easy. The larger benefit is that people (Valley residents or visitors) can use this map to purposely shop, eat and drink local.

Google’s reach is so vast that it’s been only a few hours since the Independent and Locally-owned Businesses in the San Joaquin Valley map’s birth and it’s had 442 page views. As searchers stumble upon one entry, they’ll be linked to this network of local-licious options. The way I see it, a tourist could be eating at my favorite local diner instead of Applebee’s because of this.

For Google Map newbies

For those of your unfamiliar with Google maps, the icons will link to the businesses’ name, address and website and picture if it exists. Google also aggregates as many reviews as it can find. So for Dam Diner, for instance, you can read reviews from tripadvisor.com and fresno.citysearch.com in one place.

Here’s where we come in: We can add even more! So if you have another picture of the Dam Diner, you can upload it here. You can leave a review. If Dam Diner’s information or location is out of date you can change it. Etc.

For those of you interested in contributing to this, it’s easy, you:

• Sign into a google account
• Go to the map itself
• Search for the businesses you want to list, i.e. Irene’s
• When you bring up Irene’s placemarker, click, “Save to My Maps”
• Choose “Independent and locally-owned businesses in the San Joaquin Valley”
• Add or update extra information (another review, updated hours, the businesses’ website if you like
• Feel smug!

Let me know what you think, please, I’m enamored with all this fancy Internet stuff.

 

Would Jesus slash Darwin’s tires?

In learning about Central Valley Cafe Scientifique, we stumbled upon a startling incident that may or may not reflect on the scientific climate in the Valley.

The cafe’s next speaker, Fresno State professor Dr. Ryan Earley, found his car tire punctured this week and with a nasty note on his windshield saying: “Fuck you Darwinist. Take your car to heaven.”

(Editors’ Note: Please excuse the profanity, but we thought it was a necessary evil in this case.)

Earley, who displays a bumper sticker of a Darwin fish chasing a Jesus fish on his car, says its not the first time he’s received this sort of reaction to the sticker he meant lightheartedly. “I’ve gotten a bunch of notes on my car, especially when I lived in Georgia and Kentucky.” This is the second note he’s received in less than two years working in Fresno. A similar, but less profane note was left on his car while he was shopping at Borders, he says.

Earley, an expert on behavioral ecology, appears to be shrugging the incident off. He didn’t report it to authorities, but simply took it to the dealership since his car was still under warranty. (We heard about it in passing from another Fresno State professor, while learning more about Cafe Scientifique and other science projects). Earley says he found the incident humorous, only in that it reflects what he thinks is a larger issue of science illiteracy and a misunderstanding that religion and science are at odds.

“Honestly, my whole take on the issue is: It’s not just the Central Valley, it’s everywhere.”

Earley says, “If you went to Europe, you’d never ever see this sort of thing…Certainly, it’s symptomatic of a greater problem. The biggest problem is education. People are not educated to be open-minded and to think and to be able to recognize that when something is opposing your beliefs–[that] that’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

 

Is the San Joaquin Valley starved for science?

Unlike the newest chain store to open in Fresno, we’re always hungry for happenings that gets us excited—I mean really excited–about returning to the San Joaquin Valley. When we heard about Central Valley Cafe Scientifique, we had to learn more: mostly the who, what, where, when, why and how can we help out.

That’s because Central Valley Cafe Scientifique is a free monthly forum for the public to hear lectures and ask questions of local scientists. The talks are half-a-year-old, have no advertising budget and garnered no major media coverage, but organizers tell me that meetings have attracted as many as 60 to 80 participants and counting.

“It’s been an embarrassment of riches,” said Scott Hatfield, a Bullard High School science teacher, an evolution activist, and one of the organizers.

“It just shows that Fresno County is really starved for opportunites to hear science.”

A Worldwide Trend

Cafe Scientifique is a concept that started ten years ago in England and is catching on worldwide in Uganda, Japan, Hungary, Poland and now Fresno, California . The idea is to take science out of the classroom and into public spaces. It’s commonly held in cafes, bars and restaurants, where people can munch on chips and salsa while contemplating the cosmos.

A Growing Audience

Hatfield says people who have attended are part of the Fresno State community, but they are also members of the public–people who might watch public television, or be active in their communities. The crowd has grown so large that the group has stopped actively promoting its meetings to make sure the venues don’t overflow. They might even branch off into two cafes to meet the demand, and also become more accessible to participants in the north Valley– such as near U.C. Merced.

Think Globally; Learn Science Locally

One important draw is that the cafe will feature local scientists from academic institutions, private industry and also the local branches of governmental organizations– such those at the US Dept. of Agriculture, Dept. of Fish and Game and US Forest Service.

The cafe’s first topics demonstrate the depth of our science community. They’ve spanned the gamut of forensic biochemistry, social psychology, global warming and sexual diversity. The talks are billed as provokative, but also playful. The next meeting on June 2 is on “Finding your inner fish.” Reading the promo, we’re already intrigued and educated: Fish use tools? They can switch gender mid-life?

Would you like some Central Valley with your science?

Now, it’s no secret that since this is the Central Valley’s Cafe Scientifique, this is all going on in the midst of the creationism/evolution controversy. We’re not well-schooled in creationist battlegrounds, but at least one of the topics seem to take the religious alternative head on with lectures on the age of the universe. Hatfield says they welcome participants from all backgrounds to engage in mature scientific discourse.

If you’re interested in attending the next Central Valley Cafe Scientifique it’ll be held:

Monday, June 2

6:30 to 8:30pm

at Lucy’s Lair

10063 N Maple Ave

Fresno, CA 93730

(559) 433-9775

 

Former illegal immigrant makes good as brain surgeon

Dr. Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa was a farm worker in the Central Valley before moving onto Berkeley, Harvard, UCSF and John Hopkins University.

He’s caught the attention of various media, but sometimes it doesn’t hurt to spread an interesting life story with a Valley connection.

• Here’s a link to an interview from the New York Times

I was a farm laborer in the San Joaquin Valley, seven days a week, sunup to sundown. I lived in this little trailer I paid $300 a month for. It didn’t take long to see that farm work was a dead end.

-Dr. Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa

Here are links to other articles about Dr. Quinones-Hinojosa:

• Reader’s Digest
• Hopkins Medical Magazine– A magazine for the John Hopkins Hospital and the Johns Hopkins Medical School.
  
• Johns Hopkins Medicine’s Bio of Dr. Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa
  
• DOME, a Johns Hopkins’ In-house publication
  
• Science Daily
• NPR

 

But is your website Valley-friendly? It is if you show us $3.5 million.

Web surfers probably know what it’s like to find a great website, only to discover that the information on the San Joaquin Valley is scant or suspiciously presented.

Did a robot do this? Did someone in Montana write this “local” piece?

Well we at Valley Notebook want to feature national websites that DO make sense for the San Joaquin Valley, or at least provide worthwhile content.

Fortune 535, a project released this week from the Sunlight Foundation, provides the public with an easy way to search congress’ personal net worth.

Some data we found about three local congressmen (Devin, George and Jim) according to Fortune 535:

• Jim Costa blows his three club-mates out of the water with an avg. net worth of $3.5 million in 2006.

• George Radanovich‘s 2006 avg. net worth comes in at a respectable $331,000.

• Devin Nunes‘ 2006 avg. net worth is nothing to sneeze at at $91,002, but his net worth actually dropped after joining congress. (Hm… did his marriage have something to do with it??)

Don’t believe us? Search for yourself.

And you can also do the fun work of analyzing their research methods, the data, and even the actual financial documents themselves. The most recent PDFs of the financial documents are available. Whoever works for Devin has beautiful handwriting.

Sunlight Foundation admits themselves that the data is inscrutable and spotty. According to the submitted documents, Nancy Pelosi could either be wealthy or bankrupt, they say. They’re advocating for stricter guidelines on disclosure.

Fortune 535 also compares congress members’ wealth to the average American family’s.

(Congress wins.)

 

Unauthorized supplement to Brain Drain Chronicles

Also, we weren’t sure how to approach this, since this whole blogging protocol is so new, but there’s a really good thread about our Brain Drain Chronicles going on at the online community FresnoFamous.com.

We put the link in one of our comments, but it’s too hard to see, so here it is for those on the run.

Also, we’re probably speaking to the choir, but another place where engaged citizens could discuss issues raised by the interviews is Creative Fresno’s Mindhub, an email list-serve you can sign up for here.

For some reason that mimics our entire nerdy childhoods, people would rather talk about us, than to us. And maybe that’s why we left you, Fresno cool crowd. That’s right, we left Y-O-U. (And just so you know we’re now super-skinny and much hotter than when we left.)

Kidding aside, we understand that sometimes it makes sense to talk to a crowd of friends versus a super-square couple you haven’t met. That’s why we have each other, and as we always say, “@7 l3@57 We GoTz EaCh 07H3R “

 

Brain Drain? Brain-storm!

We’ll keep publishing interviews with the Valley diaspora— it seems to be of interest to us and many people– but our intention was not to build a site solely around the brain drain. It can be a bit of a downer, and a little misleading about our true feelings about the Valley. (Hint: It is the navel of our universe.)

In fact, we got into a little brain-storming session this weekend on Valley bumper sticker slogans. Husbands and wives are known to create a language of their own, so at the risk of not making sense to anyone at all…

The San Joaquin Valley!:

• Not just where your rental lives
• It’s what’s for dinner
• Plant your roots in fertile soil
• For people who like a challenge
• Home is not a four-letter word
• Don’t hate us because we’re bountiful
• Flat is beautiful
• God’s Gift Basket to the World
• Eat your food on its own turf
• Where money grows on trees

and last but not least,

• Make love; not meth

What do you think, shall we sink our (future) life savings into a jingle-writing business?

Vote for your favorite here at Twiigs.

 

Brain Drain Chronicles: Dara Purvis, editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal

We had the fortunate opportunity to catch up via email and telephone with Dara Purvis, the outgoing editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal and a 1999 Edison High school graduate. For those of you outside the legal profession, landing this position at the nation’s top ranked law school is as superstar as it gets.

(Barack Obama’s position as editor-in-chief at the Harvard Law Review is often used as a stamp of his intellectual and leadership credibility.)

Since leaving Fresno, Dara graduated from the University of Southern California. She received a MPhil in Political Thought and Intellectual History at the University of Cambridge before starting at Yale Law in 2005.

However none of this intellectual prowess will likely trickle down to Fresno. Those of you who follow Fresno brain drain issues might recognize her name from a candid column she wrote in 2005 for The Raw Story entitled: “How Fresno Drained my Brain.”

We thought it would be fun to interview her ourselves for this on-going feature and see if she feels any different after three years at Yale.

Brain Drain Chronicles: Dara Purvis, current editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal

Have your feelings about moving to Fresno changed since your column was published?

Not really, although rereading the column it sounds a bit more negative than I think I meant it to! When I think about Fresno, I have a vaguely positive feeling, since I’m very close with my family and like going back to see them, but I don’t see myself ever moving back there.

Why or why not?

One obvious factor would be employment—I’m planning to become a law professor, and because my father is a law professor at San Joaquin College of Law I have a very clear picture of what being a law professor in Fresno is like. He loves his job and really enjoys teaching, but the opportunities I’d have in Fresno lack a lot of the professorial support that I’ve seen professors at Yale benefit from, that I would definitely look for at the point I was entering academia. I also feel like Fresno has less social and cultural activity than other places I’ve lived. To make myself sound really ancient, I remember when it was the most exciting thing in town was that Broadway Faire had opened! I’m definitely not some club-hopping hipster, but when I’m home during the holidays and want to meet up with friends, the discussions of what to do and where to go cycle back around to “well we could go to a bookstore or we could go to a coffee shop.” And I’m also sure that another reason I don’t feel any desire to move back is that virtually none of my friends live there now—even California in general feels impossibly far away from my friends on the east coast and in England.

What did studying at Yale, Cambridge and USC reveal to you about your hometown?

It’s definitely unique, and it makes a great punchline! I know that’s flippant, but there’s some truth in it—my friends from big cities don’t have anywhere near the number of “let me tell you about where I grew up…” stories that I do. The contrast with the other places I’ve lived certainly reveals the contrast between there and Fresno—on the one hand they have emphasized the familiarity I feel with Fresno. I don’t think I’ll ever feel as confident driving anywhere else, because I know the city so well. But on the other hand, the contrast highlights some of Fresno’s shortcomings. In a way it has made Fresno much more connected with my family in my mind, because that’s what I go back for.

Are you the first Fresnan to hold that position at Yale?

(I assume this means EIC—correct me if not!) As far as I know I am indeed the only Fresnan to be EIC, although the institutional memory is so short since the membership turns over completely every two years that I can’t be sure. (I do know the names of all the past EICs, but I don’t know all of their backgrounds.)

What perspective do you bring as a Fresnan to those settings?

Good question…to be honest, I’m not sure exactly what about my perspective makes it Fresnan! I can definitely identify things about myself that are due to parts of Fresno—I’d say that going to Edison has affected my perspective greatly, and in a very positive way—but I’m not even sure what exactly the Fresnan perspective would be.

You alluded to a few things in your column that Fresno would need to change. Can you expand on that: What would need to happen for Fresno to be an appealing place to live for you, or someone like you?

One thing that has become more apparent over time is how hard it is to get to Fresno! Obviously Fresno does have an airport, but it’s expensive and there aren’t that many flights. The contrast with New Haven is shocking in that regard—New Haven has an even smaller airport, and while it isn’t perfect, the shuttle flights to a major hub are at least frequent and not prohibitively expensive. And New Haven is only an hour away from the Hartford airport, which is big and has plenty of flights going all over the country, and two hours from several New York airports that are huge! When I come home I always fly into the Bay area or Los Angeles and one of my parents drives to get me, which seems ridiculous but actually makes sense both money- and time-wise, so long as you have very generous parents who don’t mind making the round trip!

Another thing I wish was different about Fresno is the lack of much cultural and social activity. There is some there, but it’s not very well-supported, and in a city of Fresno’s size should really be stronger. The Fresno Philharmonic should be more popular and thus more active; the Fresno Ballet should be thriving, there should be more community organizations and businesses so children and adults in the area grow up with the arts as part of their life. There should be an independent movie theater, and the Tower Theatre‘s showings should be more popular. There should be more good restaurants in Fresno, and the ones that are there shouldn’t coalesce around strip malls!

What do you think of the Creative Fresno movement? Do you know about it?

I hadn’t known about it before now, although I just looked at their website and it looks like they’re working on some great stuff.

What ideas would you give to someone about how to get the most out of childhood or life in Fresno?

Well, I can speak more to childhood, just because I haven’t spent really any of my adult life in Fresno. There are definitely great opportunities for children in Fresno; it just takes a lot more legwork than some other places. My parents made a big point of having my sisters and I in piano and dance lessons and choirs as we grew up, and even sports teams before I made it very clear (probably when I was about 6!) that I had zero desire or aptitude toward athletics. My mom worked part-time at the public library when I was young, so as a kid I thought of it as a big exciting outing when I got to go to work with her and hang out at the library all day. I think it’s just a matter of putting effort into learning about and taking advantage of the best parts of Fresno; get involved in something like Creative Fresno and the other websites out there and take part in everything Fresno has to offer! Try all the new restaurants before they close, go to the Fresno Pride Parade, buy season tickets to the Philharmonic, volunteer at the Poverello House or Planned Parenthood. And get a dog from the CCSPCA!

Are you graduating this year?

Yes, I am! (Assuming I make it through all these papers….)

What are your plans after graduation?

I’m actually headed back to California for a bit—I’m taking the bar exam in New York, so I’ll be in New Haven through most of the summer studying for that, but next year I’m clerking for Raymond C. Fisher, a judge on the Ninth Circuit who sits in Pasadena. My partner Jeff and I will be moving back in August and living with my best friend from college, which will be really great. But I know we’ll only be there for a year, because the year after I’m clerking for a Gerard Lynch, a judge in the Southern District of New York. But I might actually have Thanksgiving in Fresno this year, which I haven’t done for about five years!

——————-

Valley Notebook’s supplementary reading links to this interview

How Fresno Drained my Brain by Dara Purvis, no date on the webpage, but it references an LA Times story published late 2005.

Years at Edison taught me the true value of diversity by Dara Purvis, originally published in the Fresno Bee, July 19, 2003.

More about Dara from her homepage – Read columns and see her bio (does not include recent information on law school career as of this post).

New York Times article on Barack Obama’s election to editor-in-chief/President of Harvard Law Review – This also includes background on what law reviews do and the prestige of holding the top position.

More on Law Review and Journals from Wikipedia – Note: Wikipedia’s entries are edited by the public, not all information included can be trusted as fact.

 

Brain Drain Chronicles: Garth, 26

Editors’ note:

This is part of an on-going series of posts on the Valley’s creative movement and its counterpart the central valley brain drain.

If you are part of the brain drain and would like to participate, answer the questions you see below and send them to valley.notes AT gmail DOT com. Please give us ideas on how we can improve this series.

Brain Drain Chronicles: Garth, 26

Name (first name OK): Garth

Age: 26

Where did you attend high school? Clovis High School

What is your educational background?

I graduated from California State University, Fresno in Spring of 2005 with my B.S. in Criminology and an option of Victimology.

What is your current occupation? Supervising Counselor at a group home in Boston for children who have been abused and neglected.

Where and how long did you live in the central valley?

I lived in Clovis, Ca for 18 years.

Where do you live now? I live in Boston, Ma

Why do you (don’t you) live in the central San Joaquin Valley?

I don’t live in the central valley anymore, because I just got tired of the lifestyle in that area. Many other parts of Ca are beautiful, but for me right now, I like living in a city with less sprawl and more forward thinking as far as city development.

What are the secondary reasons?

I am enjoying exploring a part of the country that is much different from where I grew up. The changes in weather as well as the differences in people’s attitudes on the east coast are fun.

What are the top 5-10 adjectives that come to mind when you think of the central valley?

hot, dry, sprawling, conservative, grid-like.

How often do you visit? (Editor’s Note: New question!)

Usually about twice a year.

If you do not currently live in the central San Joaquin Valley, what changes/acts of God would need to occur in order for you to move there?

I would need to have no other choice but to return. So for instance, to help my direct family members because of sickness or death. Or if for some reason I absolutely needed their support and lost all my money or had some illness which required me to be taken care of.

If you do not currently live in the central San Joaquin Valley, what price would make it worthwhile?

The central valley already has a pretty low cost of living. Especially comparing it to my current residence in Boston. With that said, I don’t think I would move back despite how cheap it is. I value what I have in Boston too much to move back.

 

Car theft reminds us of the Valley too…

Stolen in Bakersfield, CA May 8, 2008

Originally uploaded by Riverrider

Modesto and Stockton made the top 10 lists of U.S. Metropolitan areas with the highest auto theft, according to a 2008 National Insurance Crime Bureau study released in April, but car theft has always been part of our Valley memories.

At least these owners had some scenery to enjoy while waiting for a ride.

 

Brain Drain Chronicles: Arthur, 26

Editors’ note:

This is part of an on-going series of posts on the Valley’s creative movement and its counterpart the central valley brain drain.

If you are part of the brain drain and would like to participate, answer the questions you see below and send them to valley.notes AT gmail DOT com. Please give us ideas on how we can improve this series.

Brain Drain Chronicles: Arthur, 26

Name: Arthur

Age: 26

Where did you attend high school? Clovis High School

What is your educational background?

Attended Stanford University as an undergrad, was majoring in English Literature, but I didn’t complete the degree. Maybe I’ll finish it some other time in the distant future.

What is your current occupation?

Administrative Assistant at Space Systems Loral (they design satellites).

Where and how long did you live in the central valley?

I was born in Fresno and pretty much lived there until I left for college. I briefly moved back for a year or so before leaving yet again.

Where do you live now?

San Mateo, CA

Why do you (don’t you) live in the central San Joaquin Valley?

After moving to the bay area, Fresno became a much smaller space to me. When I visit home these days, time feels like it’s slowed down and I get irritated by the monotonousness. I prefer to immerse myself within a more diverse environment, which I feel the bay area offers at the moment.

What are the secondary reasons?

Aside from my family, nobody I am close to stayed behind. Most of my Fresno/Clovis friends have moved on themselves. I feel like I have a much more defined social network where I currently live.

Also, I noticed some people mentioned the heat. The heat during the summer is absolutely unbearable for me now that I’ve experienced less scorching summers.

What are the top 5-10 adjectives that come to mind when you think of the central valley?

Negatives: slow, synthetic, lacking. Positives: fertile (referring to the actual countryside), comfortable, homely.

If you do not currently live in the central San Joaquin Valley, what changes/acts of God would need to occur in order for you to move there?

I think maybe with age I’d consider returning to Fresno. Well, maybe I’d just own property that I could visit at my convenience.

I guess also, if any of my immediate family ever required assistance, I’d return.

If you do not currently live in the central San Joaquin Valley, what price would make it worthwhile?

Maybe if I was financially set up that I could travel outside of Fresno with ease and frequency.

Feel free to add any comments.

Fresno will always be home. And I genuinely feel satisfied with my upbringing there. I hope to see it flourish culturally. There’s a lot of potential that just needs to be fully realized.

 

Brain Drain Chronicles: Madeline, 27

Editors’ note:

This is part of an on-going series of posts on the Valley’s creative movement and its counterpart the central valley brain drain. We’re tracking down former Valley residents (with a preference on educated “creative class”-types) and finding out what they’re doing, why they don’t live in the Valley, and what it would take for them to move back.

If you are part of the brain drain and would like to participate, answer the questions you see below and send them to valley.notes AT gmail DOT com. We’re working on tracking down a more diverse array of participants (i.e. not our classmates) but alas, you have to start somewhere!

Please give us ideas on how we can improve this series. We admit that this is sub-scientific, but we’re finding the answers enlightening nonetheless.

Brain Drain Chronicles: Madeline, 27

Name: Madeline

Age: 27

Where did you attend high school? Clovis High School

What is your educational background?

B.A. Literature in English with a minor in Vocal
Music and Spanish Literature from U. C. San Diego.
Master’s in Library and Information Science (MLIS)
from San Jose State University.

What is your current occupation?

Youth Services Librarian II, San Jose Public Library

Where and how long did you live in the central valley?

First grade–12th grade (1986-1999). I consider Clovis
my hometown.

Where do you live now?

Los Gatos, CA (Silicon Valley).

Why do you (don’t you) live in the central San Joaquin Valley?

I always felt judged in Clovis… for not being Christian enough or conservative enough or middle America enough….

What are the secondary reasons?
No major university, lacking diversity (or least a supportive environment to encourage it), car culture, chain store culture, suburban sprawl, poor air quality.

Actually, the heat never bothered me…
What are the top 5-10 adjectives that come to mind when you think of the central valley?
Close-minded, flat, religious, uniform, hot

If you do not currently live in the central San Joaquin Valley, what changes/acts of God would need to occur in order for you to move there?

The fact that God factors into this sentence is so
telling…

I think the entire culture of the Valley would need to change before I’d feel comfortable there. If it suddenly filled with progressive people, I’d make an easy transition back.

If you do not currently live in the central San Joaquin Valley, what price would make it worthwhile?

A higher paying job couldn’t lure me back. The Bay Area pays me well enough, and my current high cost-of-living seems worth it considering the amount of beauty and culture I regularly experience here.

Feel free to add any comments.

I do love to visit the Valley. I feel like I’ll always have a special bond with the friends I made in Clovis, especially those who went away for college, experienced something new, and returned to experience Clovis in a new light.

 

Brain Drain Chronicles: Jay, 26

Editors’ note:

This is part of an on-going series of posts on the Valley’s creative movement and its counterpart the central valley brain drain. We’re tracking down former Valley residents (with a preference on educated “creative class”-types) and finding out what they’re doing, why they don’t live in the Valley, and what it would take for them to move back.

If you are part of the brain drain and would like to participate, answer the questions you see below and send them to valley.notes at gmail.com. We know using our network alone will have an inherent bias.

Please give us ideas on how we can improve this series.

Brain Drain Chronicles: Jay, 26

Name: Jay

Age: 26

Where did you attend high school?
Clovis High

What is your educational background?

B.A. Northwestern, Economics

What is your current occupation?

Policy Researcher. I work at a think tank where I do economic and demographic research on poverty and welfare issues.

Where and how long did you live in the central valley?

Fresno. 18 years, 1982-2000.

Where do you live now?

San Francisco

Why do you (don’t you) live in the central San Joaquin Valley?
I left for college. Moved to DC for a job. Then moved to San Francisco for my current job.

What are the secondary reasons?
For an ethnically diverse county of about a million residents, Fresno still manages to be uninteresting. It’s a combination of suburban sprawl, terrible air quality, high unemployment, high concentrations of poverty (#1 in the US), conservative myopia, struggling schools and an obdurate religiosity (I should note that this combination makes it incredibly interesting for sociological/economic/demographic research, but not an incredibly interesting place to live). I don’t think I would be able to advise a 20-something college graduate to live there without feeling a considerable amount of guilt. Seeing the latest box office hit at Edwards passes as a cultural outing. Finding food takes a tremendous amount of effort and driving if you don’t want to eat at a chain restaurant. Only the Tower District seems to show a glimmer of progress and hope.

To be fair, there are a few very brave and intelligent people that are capable of creating interesting and meaningful lives in Fresno. However, I have neither motivation nor the creative capacity to do the same. Give me the beauty of urban living with its infinite cultural options, great food, great bars, public transit systems and progressive people with an eclectic array of interests.

What are the top 5-10 adjectives that come to mind when you think of the central valley?

Conservative, ag-based, slow, rural/suburban, characterless, religious, air pollution-y, hot (temperature)

If you do not currently live in the central San Joaquin Valley, what change/acts of God would need to occur for you to move there?
An act of God indeed. Just about everything.

If you do not currently live in the central San Joaquin Valley, what price would make it worthwhile?

I’m guessing you’re referring to the cost-of-living. As an unmarried 26 year old without children, cost-of-living isn’t my greatest concern. Since there are no employment options in the valley that interest me, there’s really no price that would get me to move back. I can almost understand moving to the valley if you have a family and your line of work is more ubiquitous or somehow related to agriculture. However, if I had a child, education would be a greater consideration than the affordability of housing. There were a small handful of administrators and teachers in Clovis that were able to inspire and educate me enough to get into a good college, which was no small feat. But looking back at my overall experience, the school system encouraged rote memorization over intellectual curiosity and fostered very little tolerance and compassion in its students.

Feel free to add any comments.

Only 14% of people over 25 years old in the valley (this includes Sacramento Valley) have at least a bachelor’s degree compared to 28% in the rest of California. Even the Inland Empire, which is boasting an upward trend in educational attainment, has a higher proportion of college-educated residents (19%). The brain drain in the valley is severe.

 

Brain Drain Chronicles: Justin, 27

Editors’ note:

This is part of an on-going series of posts on the Valley’s creative movement and its counterpart the central valley brain drain. We’re tracking down former Valley residents (with a preference on educated “creative class”-types) and finding out what they’re doing, why they don’t live in the Valley, and what it would take for them to move back.

If you are part of the brain drain and would like to participate, answer the questions you see below and send them to valley.notes at gmail.com. We know using our network alone will have an inherent bias.

Please give us ideas on how we can improve this series.

Brain Drain Chronicles: Justin, 27

Name (First name or shortened name OK): Justin

Age: 27

Where did you attend high school?

Buchanan High

What is your educational background?

BA, High Honors, Swarthmore College (Music Major, English Literature Minor)

MM, University of Nevada-Las Vegas (Music Composition/Theory)

DMA, University of Texas at Austin — Beginning in Fall 2008 (Music Composition)

What is your current occupation?

Assistant Director of a Huntington Learning Center
Where and how long did you live in the central valley?

I was born in Fresno in 1980, but moved away before I was 1. We moved back to Fresno in 1990 and then to Clovis in 1992. I left for college in 1998 and my family was no longer there as of July 2000.

Where do you live now?

Henderson, Nevada (soon to be Austin, Texas)

Why do you (don’t you) live in the central San Joaquin Valley?

When I left, I was eager to get away from the social, political, and ideological identity that the valley held in my eyes. I wanted to go to a “good school”, and in the sort of elitism to which young people are often predisposed, that meant I had to go somewhere else. It was valuable because it gave me a broader worldview and a set of different experiences, but it was a bit wrongheaded.

What are the secondary reasons?

There’s no reason left for me to return. Without family attachments and without real job prospects in my chosen field, Fresno and Clovis are novelties — places where I can go and see that the city and town I knew aren’t there anymore.

What are the top 5-10 adjectives that come to mind when you think of the central valley?

Changed

Boomerang (Not an adjective, but I feel like people struggle to stay away once they’ve been there for a long time)

Hot

Agrarian

Close-ish to “Home”

Reactionary

If you do not currently live in the central San Joaquin Valley, what changes/acts of God would need to occur in order for you to move there?

There would have to be an extraordinary opportunity as a composer or professor, or I would have to be seized by a horrible fit of nostalgia and my wife and daughter would have to agree to the terms of fog and heat.

If you do not currently live in the central San Joaquin Valley, what price would make it worthwhile?

There would have to be sufficient pay to allow a ridiculous standard of living, replete with waterfront home, measurable land, and a fully-equipped music studio.

Feel free to add any comments.

I misjudged the Valley when I left. In my youthful posturing, I convinced myself that it was nothing but a breeding ground for early breeding, mental mediocrity, and provincial political ideas, and that was not an altogether accurate assessment. However, for the foreseeable future, there’s no conceivable reason or justification for us (my wife, Emma, and our daughter, Zoë) to move back. Interesting side note about Minkler — I discovered it while aimlessly driving out toward Reedley for an Honor Band rehearsal, and was amused (I suppose) by the statistical happenstance that would lead Minkler (then population 34) to attain the highest murder rate in the country if one person snapped over some sort of cooking mishap.

 

Brain Drain Chronicles: Sarah, 27

Editors’ note:

This is part of an on-going series of posts on the Valley’s creative movement and its counterpart the central valley brain drain. We’re tracking down former Valley residents (with a preference on educated “creative class”-types) and finding out what they’re doing, why they don’t live in the Valley, and what it would take for them to move back.

If you are part of the brain drain and would like to participate, answer the questions you see below and send them to valley.notes@gmail.com. We know using our network alone will have an inherent bias.

Please give us ideas on how we can improve this series.

Brain Drain Chronicles: Sarah, 27

Name (first name OK):
Sarah

Age:
27

Where did you attend high school?

Clovis High, Class of 99

What is your educational background?

BS Electrical Engineering, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo

What is your current occupation?

I integrate satellite payloads for Northrop Grumman, as an RF Test Engineer

Where and how long did you live in the central valley?

I lived in Clovis for 19 years.

Where do you live now?

I live in El Segundo, CA

Why do you (don’t you) live in the central San Joaquin Valley?

I got recruited by Northrop Grumman in Redondo Beach 5 months before I graduated from Cal Poly.

What are the secondary reasons?

My chosen specialty of aerospace engineering isn’t readily offered by the Central Valley companies.

What are the top 5-10 adjectives that come to mind when you think of the central valley?

Home,
Hot,
Reasonable,
Foggy

If you do not currently live in the central San Joaquin Valley, what changes/acts of God would need to occur in order for you to move there?

Job-loss,
Starting a family

If you do not currently live in the central San Joaquin Valley, what price would make it worthwhile?

If a major aerospace company started satellite production in the valley.
Standard of living remains stable.

 

Brain Drain Chronicles: Bret, 26

Editors’ note:

This is part of an on-going series of posts on the Valley’s creative movement and its counterpart the central valley brain drain. We’re tracking down former Valley residents (with a preference on educated “creative class”-types) and finding out what they’re doing, why they don’t live in the Valley, and what it would take for them to move back.

If you are part of the brain drain and would like to participate, answer the questions you see below and send them to valley.notes@gmail.com. We know using our network alone will have an inherent bias.

Please give us ideas on how we can improve this series.

Brain Drain Chronicles: Bret, 26

Name (first name OK): Bret

Age: 26

Where did you attend high school? Clovis High

What is your educational background? I have a BA in music from UCLA and an MM (Master of Music) degree with a focus in clarinet performance from USC. I’m in my first year of law school at Yale.

What is your current occupation? Law student.

Where and how long did you live in the central valley? I lived in Clovis from the time I was born until I graduated from high school (1982-2000).

Where do you live now? New Haven, CT.

Why do you (don’t you) live in the central San Joaquin Valley? School, primarily.

What are the secondary reasons? I’m in New Haven almost solely because of school, although I did have a general desire to experience life on the East Coast. If I wasn’t in New Haven I would probably be living in LA: great weather, good job opportunities, fair amount of cultural events, and friends from college and grad school.

What are the top 5-10 adjectives that come to mind when you think of the central valley?

Hot
Affordable
Flat
Conservative
Midwestern
Agricultural
Diverse

If you do not currently live in the central San Joaquin Valley, what changes/acts of God would need to occur in order for you to move there?

Generally, I would need to find an extremely promising career opportunity. The most interesting and exciting legal jobs tend to be clustered in the nation’s largest metropolitan areas (NY, LA, DC, SF, Chicago, Boston, etc.) However, I would consider moving back to the Valley for personal reasons such as an illness in the family.

If you do not currently live in the central San Joaquin Valley, what price would make it worthwhile?

Same as my answer to the last question.

Feel free to add any comments.

I think the Valley is generally a nice place to live, especially if you are raising a family. The cost of living is relatively low, the schools are decent, it’s easy to get around. In my opinion, Valley weather is much better than the long winters of the East Coast. But for young people who want to build a career and/or party through their twenties or thirties, the Valley can seem like a dead-end. There just seem to be more jobs with a chance for advancement, and a more vibrant social scene, in other parts of the country.

 

Introducing the “Brain Drain Chronicles”

The Creative Movement

We’re happy to introduce an ongoing series of posts on the Valley’s creative movement and its counterpart the Central Valley Brain Drain. We’ll be tracking down former Valley residents (with a preference on educated “creative class”-types) and finding out what they’re doing, why they don’t live in the Valley, and what would it take for them to move back.

It’s our first foray into this type of content, so expect it to evolve as the posts continue.

Note: Our concept for this humble site is to provide content on issues facing the central San Joaquin Valley. Since we are not currently located in the Valley (we left too!), a natural theme to pursue included the brain drain phenomena, and the work that Creative Fresno and others are doing to combat this. Expect a posting with more interviews and background material.

Note: This was sent and returned as an e-mail survey. If you have suggestions on how to improve the questions/process, please let us know. We’re blogging novices.

Brain Drain Chronicles: Robyn, 25

Name : Robyn

Age: 25

Where did you attend high school? Clovis High School

What is your educational background? B.A. Columbia University 2004, J.D. NYU 2008

What is your current occupation? Law Student; Public Defender

Where and how long did you live in the central valley? Clovis 1986-2000

Where do you live now? New York City

Why do you (don’t you) live in the central San Joaquin Valley? I moved to go to college and then stayed away for law school.

What are the secondary reasons? The food is better, the air is better, there is more diversity, the bars are better, the cultural options are more plentiful, there is more to do, my job is here, most of my close friends live here now (or at least not in the Valley). I’m never bored.

What are the top 5-10 adjectives that come to mind when you think of the central valley? Dusty, hot, Mormon (adj.), agricultural, driving-based, truck-y, conservative, and Tsing Tao (adj.).

If you do not currently live in the central San Joaquin Valley, what changes/acts of God would need to occur in order for you to move there? New York City would need to be located in the Valley.

If you do not currently live in the central San Joaquin Valley, what price would make it worthwhile? If I ever moved back to the Valley, it wouldn’t be because of cost of living. I’m acutely aware that the place I live now is ridiculously expensive, but after seven years, it has never tempted me to move back to the Valley.

Feel free to add any comments. The Valley is where I grew up, New York is my home.

 

Yosemite virtual road trip

One of my favorite features of Google maps is Streetview. It is has been particularly helpful when driving to new areas in Philadelphia. Type in the address and you can preview the neighborhood. This is no small thing when so much of the city is … not as fun to visit alone on a dark night.

Unfortunately, this feature is only available in “select locations.” No surprise that Fowler, Minkler, Kerman or anywhere in the central San Joaquin Valley don’t make the list.

However, Yosemite National Park does. Play the 360-degree rotational feature on Yosemite’s valley floor.

 

Valley Notebook Wiki

We’ve decided to work around the technical issues of putting up a “real” website, and start housing content on a wiki: ValleyNotebook.pbwiki.com. Our idea is to create a website that houses original content and annotated links about and around the central San Joaquin Valley. I found a few today and will be adding some over the next few weeks.

• Fresno Coalition for Art, Science and History
• Discover the site for a Fresno Bee special publication that led me to a long list of notable Central Valley natives–my favorite was the link to Famous people with Valley ties: Barbara Morgan, a NASA teacher/astronaut
• attended Hoover High!

The best way to describe our project is a site dedicated to sharing the serendipity of the San Joaquin Valley. That may not make sense at first, but if you have ever had moment where you thought: “I didn’t know that about Fresno (Clovis/Kerman/Dinuba/Unincorporatedville)” then you know where we’re heading. We’re not the first to do this, nor the last. But we think it will be fun and shamelessly educational.

 

Hello Valley!

We’re a couple of Valley natives living in Philadelphia. The dreary winter and drawn out spring has us dreaming about home. To help appease thelonging, here’s a list of what I miss the most.

1. Sunshine

2. The option of wearing socks or jackets.

3. View of my upper arms.

4. Taquerias

5. In-person family visits in 30 minutes or less.

Have you ever left home to much fanfare and realized you missed the Valley too? What was it that you missed?