Get the latest news from California's youth about key health issues in their community

• » Medical marijuana divides Boyle Heights and California
  The California Supreme Court is expected to rule in May on whether cities can ban marijuana dispensaries. At the same time, Los Angeles voters will weigh in on three competing medical marijuana ballot measures. The debate centers on whether or not pot shops remain operational, and to what exte... read more
• » Youth Radio podcast: Early onset puberty
  Kids all over the United States, especially girls, are entering puberty earlier than in the past. Youth Radio reporters share notes from a story in progress about early onset puberty and how its affecting education in schools, on the Youth Radio podcast. Filed under: Podcast, Youth Radio
• » School health centers, where students can let out worries
  Young people in Richmond, a city with high levels of poverty and crime, face a lot on a day-to-day basis.  A De Anza High School student describes the health center there as a place where she can talk about what’s on her mind; and talking helps her to cope and preserve mental health.  Read ... read more
• » Leap of faith pays off for Olive Crest graduate
  Youth reporter Fatima Ramirez is part of Olive Crest Academy’s first graduating class.  She says she took a leap of faith to leave her old school and start at a new charter school.  There, she took college level classes and learned life lessons from the school’s ‘family program,&... read more
• » It would be a good ideaif kids work for their lunches
  The Feed to Achieve Act (Senate Bill 663) would fund free breakfast and lunch at schools, by adding private donations to public funds. After state delegate Ray Canterbury’s (R-West Virginia) response to the bill, “It would be a good idea…if kids work for their lunches,” The ... read more
• » Adjusting to life with diabetes
  When someone in your family is diagnosed, diabetes doesn’t just require a few lifestyle “changes” — it calls for a whole new lifestyle.  Blood sugar monitoring and an eating schedule are essential, writes a youth reporter for Neighborhood News, on Access Sacramento. Filed un... read more
• » Cheating in the digital age
  Today’s youth don’t have to find an encyclopedia to look up information the way their parents did.  With the Internet and smartphones, educational technology makes it a lot easier to learn, and a lot easier to cut corners.  And schools are fighting back.  Some require students to subm... read more
• » Fighting for a crosswalk
  Walk Sacramento is an advocacy group working to make the city more safe for pedestrians.  Last year, a resident was killed at the intersection of 58th and Fruitridge, and community members are strategizing how to get a crosswalk and a traffic light installed soon.  Learn about the process on Acces... read more
• » Detention Chronicles: Episode 2
  Twenty year-old Derrick Williams looks back on his school detention days, when he accumulated enough referrals for detention by “excessive laughing and talking in class.”  Detention became a hang out for him and his friends, but he sees things slightly differently now, in this episode ... read more
• » School buses partially reinstated for the remainder of the year
  In an emergency board meeting, the Merced High School District voted to reinstate morning buses serving students who live within five miles of their schools, after these routes were cut last year.  ’Walk Your Talk’ was formed by a group of concerned parents, students and community membe... read more
• » The kNOw Youth Media story on youth participation in the Select Committee
  Today, Miguel Bibanco, Quamir Lindsay, and Kevin Shelton of The kNOw Youth Media, are at the California State Capitol. They're representing Boys and Men of Color specifically from the Central Valley - Fresno to state legislators... read more
• » KPFK radio story featuring interview with youth Jevon Wilkes around the Select Committee and BMOC issues
  New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and billionaire philanthropist George Soros are donating $30 million dollars each to their City's Young Men's Initiative. The program is designed to address the broad disparities slowing the advancement of black and Latino young men by helping them enter the economic... read more
• » Oakland Local op-ed on education and Select Committee by youth Joshua Hinton
  I am Joshua Hinton and I am a senior at Oakland Military Institute, College Prep Academy. Going to school in the inner-city is challenging considering that my school district lacks a strong education system and funding for essential supplies to make learning more effective. Oakland definitely lives up to its... read more
• » Profile in Vida en el Valle of youth Miguel Bibanco and his participation with the Select Committee and school discipline issues
  SACRAMENTO -- According to the statistics, Miguel Bibanco should not have been testifying in the state Capitol last Wednesday afternoon before the Assembly Select Committee on the Status of Boys and Men of Color in California... read more
• » Miguel Bibanco's own op-ed on school discipline for New America Media, accompanied by a video/slide show piece narrated by another young man from Fresno
  As California's fourth largest school district, Fresno Unified has recently begun revamped efforts to address its high number of school dropouts. The district is using approaches that involve listening to different individuals... read more
• » Another op-ed on school discipline by Miguel Bibanco in the Fresno Bee
  More than three years ago, a group of Fresno youths launched an effort to remake the city's public education system. We knew that too many young people were dropping out of high school and we wanted to stop this epidemic.... read more