Judges' Special Recognition
Michael Robinson Chavez
The Los Angeles Times
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"The Driest Seasons: California's Dust Bowl"
Children have few options in Stratford. There is no recreation center or gym and a basketball court, in an abandoned building, has only recently been put up. Crime is high and there are gangs in town according to the Kings County Sheriff. Unemployment is skyrocketing as farm jobs evaporate under the prolonged and severe drought. Stratford, in California's Central, is one of many towns in the region that is being sucked dry by the state's historic drought. Businesses have shuttered and fled as have many residents. The town has no gas stations, restaurants, coffee shops or even a hardware store.
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