NPR Special Report: California's Central Valley

NPR | By John McChesney,

Published November 11, 2002 at 12:00 AM EST

Beyond the glamour of Hollywood and the romance of the Golden Gate Bridge, there is another California -- and it's home to the greatest garden in the world. The 400-mile-long Central Valley supplies fully one-quarter of the food America eats. Now the region faces huge changes. NPR's John McChesney and Richard Gonzales begin a four-part series focusing on the future of California's Central Valley.

John McChesney

Since 1979 senior correspondent John McChesney has been with NPR, where he has served as national editor (responsible for domestic news) and senior foreign editor. Over the course of his career with NPR, McChesney covered a variety of beats and traveled extensively throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia. His reports can be heard on NPR's Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Weekend Edition, and newscasts.

Richard Gonzales

Richard Gonzales is NPR's National Desk Correspondent based in San Francisco. Along with covering the daily news of region, Gonzales' reporting has included medical marijuana, gay marriage, drive-by shootings, Jerry Brown, Willie Brown, the U.S. Ninth Circuit, the California State Supreme Court and any other legal, political, or social development occurring in Northern California relevant to the rest of the country.

See stories by Richard Gonzales