Valley on TV: Series explores common issues
| Wednesday, Feb 03 2010 03:43 PM
Last Updated Wednesday, Feb 03 2010 03:43 PM
How to Watch
"Great Valley" premiere
7:30 p.m. Friday; each episode is repeated at 11 p.m. Fridays and 10:30 a.m. Sundays
KVPT, Channel 18
Information: GreatValley.tv
Kern County on "Great Valley"
Steve Schilling, CEO of Clinica Sierra Vista will appear on a show about planning for the future of health care in the valley
Gary Blackburn, founder of Accu-Trans, a transportation borkerage company in Bakersfield, will appear on a show about transportation related to the movement of goods (truck traffic, etc.)
Daniela Simunovic, community organizer with the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment in Delano, will appear on a show about creating green jobs
KVPT-Valley Public Television and the Great Valley Center have joined forces for a new public affairs series called "Great Valley, debuting Friday. The program will focus on problems facing the valley and potential solutions, and feature occasional guests from Bakersfield and Kern County.
"The Central Valley's population is expected to double by 2050 and our current problems will only be magnified in the future unless we start planning and devising solutions now," said Stacey Shepard, Great Valley Center's South Valley representative and associate producer of the series. "I encourage anyone who cares about the Central Valley, and what it will look like 50 years from now, to tune into 'Great Valley' and follow the discussion on issues impacting the region and what we can do to change the valley's future for the better."
The series joins KVPT's Friday news and information block, absent a local presence since "Valley Press" aired its last episode nearly 18 months ago when long-time host Jim Tucker retired.
"Every week we hear from our viewers how much they miss having a program that delves into local issues," said KVPT President and CEO Paula Castadio.
Hosting the series will be David Hosley, president of the Great Valley Center, a nonprofit organization that supports activities and organizations benefitting the economic, social and environmental well-being of the Central Valley.
Topics for the series' first season include population growth, health care, land use, care for the environment, education, employment, civic and social engagement, agriculture and the arts. Though wide-ranging, each topic is an issue that cities across the Central Valley are grappling with every day.
"While the economy, for example, is a focus of the national news media, our objective is to offer clarity on how we are affected at the local level - and more importantly what can we do about it," Hoseley said.
Hosley comes to the series with a background in journalism as well as public television. He covered local and regional issues for two decades as a reporter and anchor for radio and television stations in California, New York and Miami.
AT&T, the San Joaquin Valley Air District and the San Joaquin Valley Council of Governments are providing funding for the series.
-- Information compiled from KVPT and Great Valley Center media releases
