California Assemblymember Esmerelda Soria, D-Fresno, wore a black cross-body bag to the Problem Solvers Caucus news conference on Wednesday.

She keeps her passport there, she said, in case she needs to prove her citizenship.

“My own family members are scared,” she said. “Some are scared to go to the store, to the doctor, to simply live their lives.”

Soria is a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus, which includes 13 Democrats and 13 Republicans and meets bi-weekly to find common ground on contentious issues.

Well over 70 people — a group made up of local leaders, members of the media and neighborhood residents alike — braved the projected triple-digit forecast Monday morning to get a glimpse of American icon Dolores Huerta at a groundbreaking ceremony for a new city park named after her. 

Cameras and phones swarmed around the 95-year-old Huerta as she slowly walked toward the podium. When she finally spoke at Monday morning’s ceremony, she revealed she was unfazed by the heat that day. 

After more than two years of closure, Madera Community Hospital officially reopened its doors, marking a major milestone for the city and its residents.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Thursday to celebrate the reopening.

LOS BANOS, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – Bills aimed at protecting patients from sexual abuse in hospitals across the state are moving through the California legislature.

On Tuesday, AB 848, which would let judges give harsher sentences for those convicted of sexual abuse in a healthcare setting, passed unanimously in the Senate Public Safety Committee. It now heads to the Senate Appropriations Committee, before being sent to the floor for a vote.

Who should determine the voting districts in Merced County? Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria has introduced a bill that would take control from county supervisors and instead put it in the hands of an 11-member citizens' commission. We unpack that idea with journalist Brianna Vaccari.

Plus, the latest news headlines: What farm leaders are saying about Trump's immigration crackdown, and is livestock harming habitats in the Sierra Nevada?