submitted by jessica kenagyedited by sharon burnsformatted by justin orsino I’ve lived in the Imperial Valley my whole life. More specifically, I’ve lived in Brawley my whole life. For nearly thirty years, it’s been the same families, the same events, the same streets, the same views. And now… In about a year and a half, I might…
written by gil rebollaredited by sarina e. guerra I’ve been sitting with Death. First, it was at my grandma’s bedside. Again, less than two weeks later, my mother-in-law drew her final breath.Then, on a phone screen. A young man. Father. Husband. Shot. Murdered in real-time.Three deaths. Two face-to-face. One through a screen.All too close. Each…
submitted by jessica kenagyedited by sarina e. guerraformatted by justin orsino I only have two grandparents. My grandpa (Papa) is from my dad’s side, and my grandma (Luli) is from my mom’s side. My grandma (Num Num) on my dad’s side passed away several months after I was born, so I didn’t get a chance…
written by gil rebollaredited by sarina e. guerra My name is Gil Rebollar. I’m a millennial, a father, and currently serve as the Mayor of Brawley. Since I officially took office in 2022, I have made it a point to advocate for streets, community building, and reviving our local downtown economies. The story of Brawley’s…
At this point, this story is about so much more than César Chávez—but for chronology’s sake let’s take this story back to March of this year. People’s Press was fresh off a Mid-winter Fair & Fiesta induced frenzy and I was already knee-deep in things I hadn’t done by the time the César Chávez event…
My ancestors in the Imperial Valley achieved hard-fought victories that will be celebrated years to come, but they came at a cost. It was a painful history that must never be forgotten. I, along with many others, inherited that pain, but we also carry the responsibility to learn from it, to let it inspire us,…
written by dario-felix morenoedited by sarina e. guerra Growing up as a third-generation Mexican-American in the Imperial Valley, my cultural identity has been shaped by a unique blend of family history, border dynamics, and the social realities of my community. While my roots trace back to Mexico on both sides, living near the border has…
written by heidi hayasakaedited by sarina e. guerra When I was in eighth grade, my eldest brother, Ian, would tell me all about this amazing class he had taken during his time at Southwest High School called Journalism 1 with Miss Hood. It was filled with young people writing news articles, features about people’s lives,…
escrito por sharon burnseditado por sarina e. guerratraducción por claudia garcía No me propuse ser tutora. De hecho, cuando mi esposo me sugirió por primera vez que solicitara ser tutora en Imperial Valley College, no me entusiasmó mucho la idea. Ya lo había intentado una vez cuando estaba en la universidad y… bueno… no salió…
lee la versión en español written by sharon burnsedited by sarina e. guerra I didn’t set out to be a tutor. Actually, when my husband first suggested I apply to be one at Imperial Valley College, I wasn’t all that excited. I’d tried tutoring once back when I was in college, and—well—it didn’t exactly go…
written by jessica kenagyedited by sarina e. guerra My name is Jessica, and I’m a 29 year-old resident from Brawley. My story is a testimony to the harsh reality that chronic illness here in the Imperial Valley is simply not taken seriously. I have had an undiagnosed, assumedly idiopathic chronic illness since my freshman year of…
submitted by janet stillsedited by justin orsino & sarina e. guerra My name is Janet Stills and I have lived in Brawley my entire life, excluding the four years I spent away while attending San Diego State University. I am 63 years young, and retired from a wonderful teaching career of 37 years in 2022.…
submitted by bradley scheffleredited by sarina e. guerra & justin orsino My pickleball adventure began in late 2019, on the tennis courts of Southwest High School in El Centro, not too long before Covid entered the picture. While playing tennis with some of my friends, I noticed a small group of people of all ages…
submitted by julio bracamonte jr., former fieldworkeredited by justin orsino & sarina e. guerra My name is Julio Bracamonte Jr. and I’d like to tell you about an experience I had in the 1960s during the Cesar Chavez march era. I started working in the fields picking and packing grapes in 1963 at the age…
submitted by jose m. renteriaedited by sarina e. guerra I never want to sound cliche with old sayings you especially hear when you’re growing up, but I have to admit that it has served me well. Always having creative ideas growing up, and well, still to this day, has kept me motivated and looking forward…
submitted by madison gonzalezedited by sarina e. guerra Although the term Deaf+ isn’t widely known, it represents a unique community of individuals who are Deaf and also live with blindness, Cerebral Palsy (CP), or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). While being Deaf is often seen as simply a lack of hearing, in my eight or so…
submitted by letty c. guerraedited by sarina e. guerra Politics, plane crashes, and slew of social media posts of every kind—aaahhh! It can all be too much to handle and makes a person just want to run away and scream! This past weekend, I knew I had to find a respite for my soul. A…
submitted by joseph adrian salazaredited by sarina e. guerra Many of you readers may have heard my name or seen my face somewhere in the press over the course of this last year, mainly because I have enjoyed a lot of positive attention for various projects I have been working on within Imperial County. My…
edited by sarina e. guerra When I attended #ImperialValleyCollege in 2009, fresh out of high school, it offered me the education I needed to take my first step into Journalism, and also an opportunity to meet new people and make new friends. While attending, I had no idea one of those people would be involved…
Every December for a few years now, my mother and her siblings get together for something they like to call their “Sister Weekend”. I’m not exactly sure how it all started, but it’s known throughout the family to be quite the production. Planning usually begins a few months in advance and is carried out by…
submitted by ryan perez, car culture enthusiastedited by sarina e. guerra Ever since a young age, the beauty of cars has always managed to captivate my interest. The very first car I was obsessed with was the Mach 5 from the original Speed Racer animated series when I was about 11 years old, which led…
