KQED's The California Report

Latest Episodes:

Recent Criticism of Vice President Kamala Harris May Not Tell the Whole Story Nov 18, 2021

Show notes

Media reports this week are painting a picture of dysfunction, disappointment, and confusion surrounding Vice President Kamala Harris and her role in the Biden administration. Sources inside the White House told CNN that Harris is struggling, and low approval numbers are adding to alleged problems.

Guest: Marisa Lagos, Political Correspondent, KQED

The state’s Citizens Redistricting Commission is hearing feedback on its proposed district lines for Congress and the state legislature -- and that has major implications for the state's big and growing Latino population.

Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED

One in five Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the U.S. has experienced a hate incident in the last year. That’s according to a new report out from the California-based coalition Stop AAPI Hate.

Reporter: Mary Franklin Harvin, The California Report

One of the problems that’s causing disruptions in the global supply chain is a severe shortage of truckers. In San Diego, one driving school is working to keep up with demand.

Reporter: Alexandra Rangel, KPBS

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Governor Newsom Promotes Boosters, Warns of Winter COVID Surge Nov 17, 2021

Show notes

In the Central Valley on Tuesday, Governor Gavin Newsom was promoting COVID-19 booster shots in a community that’s seeing a higher rate of hospitalizations compared to the rest of the state. He also warned about possibly rough pandemic weeks ahead for California.

Reporter: Alex Hall, The California Report

The first in a series of public input meetings is scheduled for Wednesday, on California’s proposed redrawn electoral maps. The state's independent redistricting commission released its preliminary maps last week, based on the most recent census, and suffice it to say, not everyone is happy.

Guest: Sameena Kamal, Reporter with CalMatters

Bay Area Democratic Congresswoman Jackie Speier has announced that she will not run for reelection after serving in the House of Representatives since 2008. Speier has been an especially powerful force when it comes to gun control and violence prevention, with her views shaped by a near death incident in her own life.

Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED

Los Angeles County is looking to help small businesses that have fallen behind on their rent during the pandemic. The Small Business Rent Relief Program would provide grants of up to $40,000 for small businesses in unincorporated areas of the county.

Reporter: Keith Mizuguchi, The California Report

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Confusion Remains Over Booster Shot Eligibility in California Nov 16, 2021

Show notes

Last week, the California Department of Public Health updated its guidance on booster shots, telling providers to let people judge their own needs for a shot and not turn anyone away. But many are finding that online appointment systems aren’t making getting a booster vaccination easy.

Reporter: Carly Severn, KQED

SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, the home of the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers, is looking for thousands of workers. A recent job fair painted a clearer picture of who is looking for jobs in the state, and what employers are looking for.

Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report

In the 1950s and 60s the United States created it’s modern freeway and highway system. It was an engineering marvel, but it also brought pain and injustice like when poorer communities of color literally saw their neighborhoods paved over, forcing residents to move. A new investigation by the Los Angeles Times finds that kind of displacement still happening today when new infrastructure is built.

Guest: Liam Dillon, Reporter LA Times

After leading the state through two of its worst wildfire seasons on record, CalFire Chief Thom Porter has announced he will retire before the end of this year. Porter says he's retiring to focus on family, his aging parents, and himself.

Reporter: Scott Rodd, CapRadio

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Kaiser, Employees Reach Tentative Contract Agreement Nov 15, 2021

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Kaiser Permanente has reached a tentative deal with thousands of healthcare workers in Northern and Southern California, who were prepared to go on strike on Monday. They are still negotiating with a group of engineers, who have been off the job for two months.

Reporter: Jackie Fortier, KPCC

President Biden will sign his administration’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure package into law on Monday. California will get tens of billions of dollars in new federal spending, but will it come quick enough to fix roads, bridges and other transit issues facing the state?

Guest: David Kim, Secretary of California's State Transportation Agency

While much of the focus has been on the massive backlog at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, residents in nearby communities are also expressing major concerns about pollution from those cargo ships. But a new queuing system being launched this week at the ports could help improve air quality and safety.

Reporter: Keith Mizuguchi, The California Report

The San Joaquin Valley ranks worst in the nation when it comes to particulate air pollution, and environmental organizations say the Environmental Protection Agency is failing to do something about it. The groups have filed a lawsuit hoping to force the EPA to act.

Reporter: Soreath Hok, Valley Public Radio

Some 6,000 lecturers across the University of California system are planning to strike this week. The union representing lecturers has been in negotiations for more than two years and says the UC is refusing to negotiate issues like paid family leave and reimbursement for remote teaching expenses.

Reporter: Annelise Finney, KQED

The public comment period will close Monday on proposed new regulations requiring passenger sportfishing and whale watching boats to upgrade to cleaner engines. California’s charter boat operators say the proposed new rules will jeopardize their livelihoods.

Reporter: Greta Mart, KRCB

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Will U.N. Climate Conference Have Significant Impact on California Policies? Nov 12, 2021

Show notes

The United Nations climate change conference wraps up Friday in Scotland. And while an agreement hasn't been reached, the summit could have varying impacts on California.

Guests: Violet Saena, Executive Director of Climate Resilient Communities and Mark Hertsgaard, Executive Director of Covering Climate Now and Environment Correspondent for The Nation Magazine

Kaiser Permanente could be hit by multiple statewide labor strikes beginning on Monday. Thousands of the company's healthcare workers in California are threatening to walk off the job over contract talks.

Reporter: Tara Siler, KQED

There was a significant increase in hate crimes in Los Angeles County in 2020, mainly fueled by racially-motivated attacks. That's according to the annual crime report released this week by the L.A. County Commission on Human Relations.

Reporter: Keith Mizuguchi, The California Report

Workers in practically every sector seem to be in short supply these days, and with Christmas season around the corner, you can add Santa to that list.

Reporter: Matt Guilhem, KCRW

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State Health Officials Push For More People to Get COVID Booster Shots Nov 11, 2021

Show notes

State health officials are advising adults who want to get a COVID-19 booster shot to do so before the holiday season. This comes as the state is warning about a possible surge in COVID-19 cases this winter.

Fossil fuels are the biggest driver of human-made climate change. So why has an analysis by environmental group Global Witness tallied more than 500 gas and oil lobbyists at the United Nations climate conference in Glasgow?

Guest: Kassie Siegel, Director for the Center for Biological Diversity's Climate Law Institute

California’s state delegation to the United Nations climate conference is packed with Latino power players. Latinos in California are not of the same mind when it comes to climate policy.

Reporter: Raquel Maria Dillon, KQED

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California's Rules on Methane Emissions Produce Mixed Results Nov 10, 2021

Show notes

The United Nations has released a draft of a climate accord that urges nations to “revisit and strengthen” their plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions. That’s not just carbon dioxide, it’s methane too. And earlier at COP26, countries committed to slash methane emissions.

Guest: Rachel Becker, Environmental Reporter, CalMatters

Governor Gavin Newsom broke his silence around his absence from the United Nations climate change conference in Scotland, saying he skipped the trip to spend Halloween with his kids.

Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED

When oceans and climate change are in the same sentence, it’s usually negative. But at the international climate conference COP26, a Bay Area ecologist pointed to marine sanctuaries as a climate change solution.

Reporter: Ezra David Romero, KQED

Researchers at the Public Health Institute followed more than 18,000 women who were pregnant in Oakland in the early ‘60s, and received injections of a synthetic hormone intended to prevent miscarriages. Fast forward six decades and their offspring may face a greater cancer risk.

Reporter: Lesley McClurg, KQED

Many people in California are concerned about the widening gap between the rich and the poor in the state. A new poll from the Public Policy Institute of California finds an overwhelming majority say the gap between the haves and have-nots is getting bigger.

Reporter: Katie Orr, KQED

Fast food workers across California walked off the job Tuesday, to advocate for better working conditions. The workers are calling for the passage of an Assembly bill which would help set standards for industry wages and working conditions.

Reporter: Shehreen Karim, KQED

Former California Governor Jerry Brown has convened a group of experts and ex-government officials to tackle one of the state's biggest problems: wildfires.

Reporter: Scott Rodd, CapRadio

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Infrastructure Bill to Bring Jobs, Modernize Infrastructure in California Nov 09, 2021

Show notes

The massive infrastructure package that's awaiting President Biden's signature is expected to have a longstanding impact on California. And it won't just be fixing roads and modernizing transit projects.

Guest: Serena Alexander, Associate Professor with the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, San Jose State University

At the United Nations climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, state senators from California and their counterparts in Washington state discussed merging part of their cap-and-trade markets, as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Reporter: Kevin Stark, KQED

Fast food workers across California are walking out on Tuesday to advocate for better working conditions. The workers are calling for the passage of Assembly Bill 257, which would establish a fast food council to set standards for industry wages and working conditions.

Reporter: Shehreen Karim, KQED

After burning nearly a million acres, the Dixie Fire, which started in July northwest of Lake Tahoe, was fully contained late last month. But for many communities in Northern California, the recovery process is just beginning.

Reporter: Keith Mizuguchi, The California Report

The tri-colored blackbird, which is native to much of the Central Valley, gained protection under California’s Endangered Species Act in 2018. Since then, populations of the tri-colored blackbird appear to have stopped declining.

Reporter: Kerry Klein, Valley Public Radio

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Southern California Air Regulators Enact New Rules on Refineries Nov 08, 2021

Show notes

Southern Californians who live near oil refineries may soon be able to breathe easier. The South Coast Air Quality Management District unanimously passed its biggest emissions rule in decades on Friday.

Reporter: Caleigh Wells, KCRW

The United Nations climate change conference continues this week in Glasgow, Scotland. And one longtime observer says what happens outside of the negotiations is an important aspect of this event.

Guest: Chris Field, Director, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment

Democratic lawmakers in California once wanted to ban state contracts with border wall companies. But after the Newsom administration hired one of those firms for pandemic response, lawmakers are mostly silent on the issue.

Reporter: Scott Rodd, CapRadio

Access to banking is often an indicator of a community’s health. In Imperial County, a shortage of bank branches plus rising temperatures can lead to dangerous outcomes.

Reporter: Cristina Kim, KPBS

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Union Representing Kaiser Workers Gives Notice of Planned Strike Nov 05, 2021

Show notes

Thousands of unionized Kaiser Permanente nurses and other healthcare workers in Southern California are preparing to go on strike. This comes after months of talks and negotiations have stalled.

Reporter: Jackie Fortier, KPCC

An investigation from the Los Angeles Times has found that thousands of times a year, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies pull over bicyclists for minor violations, and then search them even though they often have no reason to suspect they’ll find something illegal. This is particularly impacting the Latino community.

Guests: Alene Tchekmedvian and Ben Poston, Reporters, LA Times

California just received the last chunk of federal COVID-19 relief dollars, aimed at helping the state’s students recover from the pandemic. The $5 billion being released is money schools are already expecting and brings the total the state has recieved to $15 billion.

Reporter: Julia McEvoy, KQED

The Self Parking Program at Long Beach City College will allow students who are living out of their cars to park overnight in one of the college’s parking structures. They'll have access to wi-fi, showers and electrical outlets.

Reporter: Keith Mizuguchi, The California Report

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