meth and milk.

Mark Arax, a former Los Angeles Times reporter and author of the book West of the West was born in and lives in Fresno, the grandson of an Armenian fruit picker.

"We're living in a region that produces the finest fruits and vegetables in the world, and yet the children of this valley rarely taste those fruits and vegetables," he says.

Alongside the most intensive farm belt the world has ever known, he says, is this stunning poverty. Some neighborhoods in Fresno have the most concentrated poverty of any city in the country, and all the pathology that goes along with it: the drugs and the gangs.

"We produce more meth and more milk than any region in the country," he says.

FRESNO HAS THE MOST CONCENTRATED POVERTY OF ANY CITY IN THE U.S.

Listen to the story here on NPR.

Greenpeace

read about it here.

a definite lose-lose situation

Monday I took my seat belt off to give a dollar to a guy on the corner of 41N and Shaw, who was holding a sign that said HARD WORKER. He refused to take my dollar. He actually shook his head at me and walked away. I had this feeling I had insulted him somehow.

Before my back wheels hit Shaw a motorcycle cop had his lights whirling on me. He cited me for driving without my seat belt.

Yeah. A definite lose-lose. The guy on the corner lost out on one dollar, and I will likely lose out on 100 times that.

But here is the issue...

At first, I thought to myself, "Well I guess that guy really does want to work. He doesn't want me to hand him money at all."

Further reflection (and some snickering from acquaintances) has led me to believe that the gentleman on the corner saw that cop way before I did. And that he knows a lot more than I do as well.

So...is panhandling illegal? I've heard conflicting stories. Some involving $90 fines. What is YOUR understanding of the issue?