Stories by Issue
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COMMENTARY: My new neighbor will be an immigration detention facility, and we won’t get along
Last month, the McFarland City Council voted to allow the GEO Group to open and operate Immigration Detention facilities in my hometown, and as a member of this community, I feel utterly betrayed knowing there will be not just one, but two immigration detention centers in my front yard.
COMMENTARY: Distance learning has proven to be more difficult than expected for students
BY AIMEE
As I begin my sixth week of distance learning, my education has become harder than ever before.
Commentary: Essential farmworkers makeup the majority of McFarland’s population GEO Group aims to profit from
By Rosa Lopez
I’m a 20-year-old college student who returned from the UC Berkeley campus this semester because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
COMMENTARY: Kern County leaders need to consider the re-entry needs of residents being released during the COVID-19 pandemic
BY UCEDRAH OSBY
The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting everyone in Kern County, and our leaders need to do everything they can to mitigate the spread of this virus, including protecting the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated population in our region.
COMMENTARY: My parents aren’t just essential for my family, they are essential to the entire community; that scares me
It’s common for children to be territorial of their parent’s time and affection. Children often fight for their parents’ attention, but children with parents who are essential workers — nurses, grocery store workers, farmworkers, first responders — can’t do that right now.
COMMENTARY: My safe place will be taken away from me if McFarland city officials grant GEO’s appeal
BY AIMEE
McFarland city officials have decided to give GEO Group another chance this week to bring in immigration detention facilities to my hometown.