Minerva Canto

The scene that greeted Raymond Aguilar in his old Stockton neighborhood on his release from prison four months ago was too familiar: boarded-up windows, liquor stores, prostitutes and gang members walking the streets. Twenty-five years had passed since his conviction for second-degree murder, and nothing had changed.   “Not a lot of money is being spent on the community,” […]

First-graders at Belvedere Elementary plopped down on their assigned carpet squares, chattering in Spanish as the day’s lesson got underway. Teacher Ivon Rabago displayed the book “La Historia de Martin Luther King, Jr.” as she spoke to the San Bernardino County students—both fluent English speakers and those just learning English—entirely in Spanish. Welcome to the […]

Affordable homes with ample lots lure many families to the town of Apple Valley in the Mojave Desert. But amenities are limited—no department stores, no Costco and, more importantly, few affordable medical care options for pregnant women. For Cassandra Lindstrom, that meant scheduling the birth of her second baby at a hospital at least an […]