KQED's The California Report

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UC Strike Continues Despite Tentative Deal Dec 01, 2022

Show notes

The University of California has reached a tentative agreement with postdoctoral scholars and academic researchers to increase their pay and other benefits. Those UC workers are staying on the picket lines in solidarity with their United Auto Worker union members who still have not reached a deal. Reporter: Laura Fitzgerald, KQED

Tani Cantil-Sakauye, the chief justice of the California Supreme Court, held her annual year-end media briefing yesterday. Cantil-Sakauye used her final media conversation before she leaves the court at the end of December to urge California to address the so-called “justice gap,” the lack of financial resources to help lower-income people address their legal needs. Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED

Nearly two-thirds of California voters upheld a ban on flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes, in November. Tobacco companies are now asking the U.S. Supreme Court to stop California from enforcing the ban. Reporter: Tara Siler, KQED

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Cal Poly SLO Struggles To Attract And Retain Black Students Nov 30, 2022

Show notes

Postdoctoral scholars and academic researchers in the University of California system have reached a tentative five-year deal. But the strike continues, as two groups — graduate student researchers and academic student employees — still have not come to an agreement.

New reporting from CalMatters finds that Cal Poly San Luis Obispo enrolls the smallest percentage of Black undergraduates at any CSU or UC school. Just 146 Black students enrolled this fall out of 21,000 undergraduates. Students describe experiencing overt racism. Reporter: Mikhail Zinshteyn, CalMatters

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Team Of Trained Dogs and Archeologists Recover Cremated Remains Lost In Wildfire Nov 29, 2022

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In late September, passenger rail service from San Diego to places north of San Clemente halted. An unstable slope above the track in San Clemente posed the threat of a landslide. Bluff stabilization is ongoing, but rail service is expected to resume next month. Reporter: Thomas Fudge, KPBS

After wildfire season ends in the Western U.S., those who lost their homes begin sifting through what’s left to recover as much as they can. After the McKinney Fire this past summer, a team of trained dogs and archeologists helped recover cremated remains left in urns that were lost in the fire. Reporter: Roman Battaglia, Jefferson Public Radio

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Should California Officials Recognize The Joshua Tree As An Endangered Species? Nov 28, 2022

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During labor disputes, employers sometimes freeze health insurance benefits for workers. But a law to take effect next summer will provide striking private-sector workers with fully subsidized coverage. Reporter: Stephanie O’Neill, Kaiser Health News

New reporting shows that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation moves prisoners with serious mental illnesses three times more often than other prisoners. Reporter: Byrhonda Lyons, CalMatters

The California Fish and Game Commission has struggled to decide whether to list the western Joshua tree as an endangered species. If it is listed, it would be the first species to earn protection in the state because of climate change. Reporter: Caleigh Wells, KCRW

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California Seed Bank Insures Against Possible Future Plant Apocalypse Nov 25, 2022

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Just like animals, the world’s trees, flowers, grasses and succulents are under threat, especially as our world heats up because of climate change. About a third of California’s native plant species and populations are now endangered or threatened by development, drought, competition from invasive species and of course wildfires. In California, botanists are trying to protect the state’s native flora for future generations. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, KQED

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Performing Arts Troupe Creates Community For Students Of Color Nov 24, 2022

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For more than 20 years, the African American Theater Arts Troupe at UC Santa Cruz has provides a sense of community for Black students on campus while also celebrating Black playwrights. Often, it’s the first time Black students see plays that explore life experiences they can relate to. Reporter: Doug McKnight, KAZU

If you look out west from San Francisco, when the fog clears and the light is just right, you might be able to see a cluster of islands jutting out of the ocean, like sharp, misshapen teeth. The Farallon Islands, 27 miles west of San Francisco, are a national wildlife refuge, and home to the largest seabird breeding colony in the contiguous United States. The islands — and the waters around them — are also brimming with a variety of wildlife, including thousands of seals and sea lions, gray and humpback whales, sharks and even orcas. Reporter: Izzy Bloom, KQED

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College Food Pantries Try To Meet Increased Need Nov 23, 2022

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As Thanksgiving approaches, food pantries across the state are seeing an increase in need. Some students face a difficult choice: eating or education. A recent state law requires college campuses to direct students to CalFresh and other benefits. Reporter: Joshua Yeager, KVPR

For the second time this year, state officials are delaying the start of commercial Dungeness crab fishing, after several humpback whales were spotted off California's coast. The delay will allow time for the whales to migrate south. Reporter: Laura Klivans, KQED

Millions of Californians will sit down to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal tomorrow. And all of that food preparation will create a lot of potential food waste, from turkey bones to vegetable peelings. But the gases that are released from food waste that's trucked to landfills are a big contributor to climate change. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, KQED

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California's Last Nuclear Plant Gets $1 Billion To Stay Open Nov 22, 2022

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Scientists at Stanford are starting a new medical trial to test if the drug Paxlovid can ease the symptoms of long COVID, like brain fog, shortness of breath and body aches. It's the first medical trial in the U.S. involving an antiviral to treat long COVID. Reporter: Madi Bolaños, KQED

Governor Gavin Newsom is releasing a billion dollars in funding to fight homelessness. That comes just two weeks after he put a halt on the funds and scolded cities and counties for not having ambitious plans to solve homelessness. Cities must submit their next proposal to the state by next Tuesday to access more funding. Reporter: Adhiti Bandlamudi, KQED

California's last remaining nuclear power plant just received more than a billion dollars in conditional funding to keep it up and running for five extra years. Local supporters of the plant’s continued operation celebrated the news for helping keep the plant’s carbon-free energy on the grid, as the state faces an ongoing energy crisis. Reporter: Benjamin Purper, KCBX

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San Francisco's LGBTQ Community Holds Vigil For Victims of Colorado Nightclub Shooting Nov 21, 2022

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Last night, the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club hosted a vigil to honor the victims of the shooting in a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs. The vigil took place at Harvey Milk Plaza, one week before the 44th anniversary of the assassination of Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone.

A recent investigation from CapRadio and the California Newsroom revealed the U.S. Forest Service predicted that a wildfire could wipe out the town of Grizzly Flats. But the agency failed to deliver on plans to protect the rural Northern California town.

Reporter: Scott Rodd, CapRadio

California is one of the nation’s most linguistically diverse states. An estimated 3.4 million workers don’t speak English well, or at all. Many of them work low-wage, high-risk jobs. But the state agency tasked with protecting workers’ health and safety, is woefully understaffed in terms of bilingual inspectors.

Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED

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Farmworkers Rally In Washington D.C. Calling for Path to Citizenship Nov 18, 2022

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Hundreds of California farmworkers and growers are rallying in Washington this week. They're supporting a bipartisan bill that would create a pathway to citizenship for the nation’s undocumented farmworkers.

Reporter: Joshua Yeager, KVPR

The University of California academic workers' strike continues today and could stretch into the Thanksgiving holiday and beyond. Hear from one striking researcher who's been on the picket line all week.

Reporter: Laura Fitzgerald

In a preview of our sister show, The California Report Magazine this week checks in on immigrant detainees who say they were retaliated against for waging a labor strike at the two facilities where they’re held. One man says he faced 40 days in solitary confinement for supporting the strike.

Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED

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