Rich Ibarra
Contributing Central Valley/Foothills Reporter
Rich Ibarra calls Sacramento and Stockton both his hometown. Akin to a Tale of Two Cities, Rich was born in Stockton but raised in Sacramento.
He attended All Hallows Elementary School in Sacramento, St. Pius X Seminary, and Hiram Johnson High School,.
After graduating from Hiram Johnson, Rich joined the U.S. Navy for four years as a Communications Technician and served in Vietnam in 1968-69.
Rich then attended Sacramento Community College and CSU Sacramento where he majored in History. At the same time, Rich started working for KXTV 10 as a studio camera operator and later started working on weekends as a general assignment reporter, the first Hispanic reporter on the air for KXTV.
In 1977, Rich began reporting from Stockton for KXTV as the bureau chief, and in 1978 went to KOVR 13 as a reporter.
Rich joined KCRA 3 in 1980 and stayed with the station for 31 years until he retired in December 2011.
During his lengthy career, Rich reported on countless major stories including the Laci Peterson murder case, the Jaycee Dugard story, the Sandra Cantu murder case, the Loma Prieta Earthquake, major floods, forest fires, and other disasters.
Rich has the nickname of Mr. Mayor, the unofficial mayor of Stockton, by his colleagues because he is so well known in the area.
Rich is married to Deedee, and has a daughter and two grandchildren.
San Joaquin County saw ‘substantial gains’ in 2021 agricultural production
September 19, 2022
A new report says fruit and nuts made up the highest value crops produced by the county last year, raising over $1.7 billion.
Stockton school dedicated to astronaut, hometown hero Jose Hernandez
September 1, 2022
As a part of their partnership, Hernandez will visit the school frequently, bringing with him a mobile science lab and other hands-on activities.
University of the Pacific among the colleges participating in new statewide service learning program
August 23, 2022
Nearly 100 UOP students will volunteer 450 hours in their community this coming school year, part of a new program involving more than 3,000 students across California.
Cancer patients who take opioids often struggle with constipation. These Stockton-based researchers may have a solution.
August 12, 2022
The University of the Pacific pharmacy school has discovered a breakthrough to benefit cancer patients dealing with the side effects of opioid medication.
Low-cost electric car and bike share program coming to Stockton
July 25, 2022
Renting a car would cost $4 an hour or $35 for the day. The program is paid for by a California Air Resources Board grant and could start later this year.
Food trucks in Stockton could face tougher rules, enforcement
July 21, 2022
The city is looking at new rules for the trucks, including possibly preventing them from parking within 100 feet of brick-and-mortar restaurants and more fines if they do not relocate after a few hours.
Stockton residents will have to cut water usage by 20%
July 20, 2022
The city has declared a Stage 2 Water Shortage Emergency, which will limit when and often residents can water lawns, wash cars and other water-using activities.
A small San Joaquin County town will be the guinea pig for Amazon drone delivery
July 12, 2022
The town, just east of Lodi, will be the testing ground for Amazon’s Prime Air.
Some living in 209 area code will need to switch to 350
May 24, 2022
The 209 area code stretches from El Dorado County down to just past Merced.
A billion pounds of California almonds could be stuck in warehouses instead of being exported
May 9, 2022
Shipping companies are finding more profit bringing back empty containers than filling them with almonds and other American exports. Growers statewide are looking at hundreds of millions of pounds on hand.