Emma Gallegos | Journalist
News & Features
I have covered a variety of local news beats over the last decade, including health care, science, crime and education. Currently, I am focused on education in Kern County.
Rickey Taylor had been living on Skid Row for decades before lofts started going up around Spring and Main streets. But when they did, he developed into the neighborhood's unofficial ambassador. He became the pirate of downtown whose signature greeting was a hearty "argh." He was a guardian angel who would look out for the fresh recruits to the loft lifestyle, a bridge between the haves and have-nots.
Educating communities on mental health, nutrition, exercise, reproductive health, environmental health, discrimination, domestic violence, dental care, stress caused by a fear of deportation, chronic illness, disability and Valley Fever, just to name a few, are all part of the job description of a modern-day promotor.
When Bakersfield put out a call for citizens interested in serving on a committee to oversee the way the money would be spent, 82 residents answered — an avalanche of interest compared to what the city normally experiences. Seven of the people who earned spots on the committee had been endorsed by a coalition led by the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce.
Lamont residents say it has been neglected by the government and developers for decades. You can see the signs of that strain in garages converted into bedrooms, sheds rigged with air-conditioning units and plywood tacked onto the sides of houses in make-shift additions. That's why residents are excited for the new affordable 40-unit apartment complex—the first affordable housing complex in over a decade.
California’s has a new law that aims to completely phase out the mandatory arbitration clause and class action waiver that keeps workers out of court when they have a dispute with their bosses.
Kern County diluted the voting power of Latinos when it drew district lines for the Board of Supervisors in 2011, according to a lawsuit filed by attorneys with Mexican-American Legal Defense And Educational Fund. (Note: the plaintiffs won their case and districts were redrawn.)
Discount medical referral services that have been sued in California over allegations they're consumer rip-offs could see more sunshine in coming months. The popularity of discount plans exploded, while legislative efforts in California to rid the industry of abuses have failed.
Having a doctor on retainer isn't just a Beverly Hills phenomenon. A growing number of physicians have stopped accepting health insurance entirely. Instead patients enroll as members of a practice: as with a gym membership, they pay a flat monthly rate, whether or not they see their doctor. In return, they have a doctor available on retainer, and an assurance that all their routine care is covered.