KQED's The California Report

Latest Episodes:

Lawmakers Criticize Lack of Funding for Public Health in Governor's Budget Proposal May 20, 2021

Show notes

State lawmakers and county health officials are upset that the governor’s proposed budget does not include enough money to rebuild the state’s ailing public health system. The coalition says $200 million is needed to be ready for the next crisis.

Reporter: April Dembosky, KQED

The latest state budget proposal has highlighted the fact that California is flush with cash. But exactly how much? That depends on who you ask.

Guest: Scott Shafer, KQED Politics Editor

Despite many successes when it comes to vaccinating the public, in L.A. County, there are some concerns about outreach. Less than half of eligible people there are fully vaccinated.

Reporter: Jackie Fortier, KPCC

As so many school districts around the state have at least begun the process of reopening, one in the southeast L.A. County suburb of Pico Rivera is not. The population in the El Rancho Unified School District is 97% Latino and families there have been hit especially hard by the pandemic.

Guest: Melissa Gomez, Education Reporter, LA Times

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Citizen App Wrongly Accuses Man of Starting Southern California Fire May 19, 2021

Show notes

The Citizen app brands itself as a tool to report on local crimes and emergencies in your area. But it can also lead to false reporting as was the case last week, when a man was falsely accused of starting a fire in Pacific Palisades, after his picture appeared on the app.

Guest: Boone Ashworth, Contributing Writer, WIRED

Santa Clara County is one of four across the state that moved into the least restrictive yellow tier for reopening this week. Now, officials are mandating that businesses keep track of the vaccination status of employees.

Providing people a guaranteed income with no questions asked has moved from a fringe notion to the mainstream with pilot projects popping up across the state. The possibility of a Guaranteed Basic Income program in Los Angeles County took a step forward Tuesday with a vote by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors.

Reporter: Libby Denkmann, KPCC

Just months after Shirley Weber was confirmed as California's Secretary of State, she'll have to oversee her first statewide election. It's a recall election of Governor Gavin Newsom, who appointed Weber to her post back in December.

Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California Waits to Lift Mask Mandate May 18, 2021

Show notes

Despite new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, allowing vaccinated people to go maskless in most settings, California won’t change its current mask mandates until the state’s scheduled reopening on June 15th.

Since the pandemic began, workers in the grocery delivery business have been trying to organize to get more protections and benefits. Workers at the venture capital-backed Bay Area company, Imperfect Foods just voted to form a union, but it's likely not a model for the rest of the industry.

Reporter: Sam Harnett, KQED

The University of California says it’s one step closer to requiring COVID-19 vaccination of students and employees who want to return to campus in the fall.

Reporter: Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, KPCC

Two out of three Californians believe businesses like concert venues and sports stadiums should be allowed to verify their customers’ vaccination status before allowing them to come in. That’s according to a new U.C. Berkeley poll.

Reporter: April Dembosky, KQED

San Francisco is suing the state of California because regulators would like the region to forfeit some of its water supply. The State Water Board would like to see more water flow down the Tuolumne River and not stored in reservoirs.

Reporter: Ezra David Romero, KQED

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Crews Battling Large Brush Fire in Pacific Palisades May 17, 2021

Show notes

The fire has forced about a thousand people to evacuate their homes. Fire investigators are still trying to determine the cause but said that it is suspicious in nature.

The recall election for Governor Gavin Newsom has gotten most of the headlines, but there are several local recall efforts underway across the state, including in Shasta County. Three county supervisors are facing backlash for following the state's guidelines during the pandemic.

Guest : Doni Chamberlain, founder and editor of "A News Cafe" blog

Fire victims and public officials are calling for increased oversight of the Fire Victim Trust set up to distribute billions of dollars in compensation to families displaced by fires sparked by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. equipment. That’s following a KQED investigation which found the Trust spent $51 million on overhead last year, while the vast majority of fire victims haven’t received a dime.

Reporter: Lily Jamali, The California Report

The job of Lieutenant Governor tends to be a low-profile office in California. But the campaign to recall Governor Gavin Newsom will put current Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis front and center.

Reporter: Katie Orr, KQED

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California Drought Conditions Intensify May 14, 2021

Show notes

CDC Says Vaccinated People Don't Need to Wear Masks

California’s mask rules are still in place, but Governor Newsom has indicated changes are coming to the state’s mask mandate by June 15th..the target date to reopen the state.

Most of California is in Extreme or Severe Categories of Drought

Drought conditions have intensified in parts of California over the past week, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor report released Thursday. These factors have prompted Governor Newsom to expand a drought emergency declaration to 41 of California's 58 counties.

Guest: Cora Kammeyer, senior researcher at the Oakland-based Pacific Institute

The Number of Unaccompanied Children Crossing the Border Decreased in April

Emergency intake sites like the convention center have allowed the federal government to quickly move children out of ill-equipped Border Patrol facilities. Currently, only a few hundred children are in those facilities — and none for more than 72 hours.

Reporter: Max Rivlin-Nadler, KPBS

The California Report Magazine: The Year of Singing Dangerously

In a preview of our sister show, the California Report’s weekly magazine, KQED’s Chloe Veltman explores how singers across California got creative during the pandemic.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Faulconer Unveils Tax Cut Plan May 13, 2021

Show notes

Republican gubernatorial candidate Kevin Faulconer said he wants to eliminate state income taxes for low and middle-income Californians. He said this would allow Californians to keep more of their hard-earned revenue and make the state more affordable.

Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED

Hospital care at home is nothing new for patients with low-level health needs. But since the pandemic, a growing number of health providers, including California-giant Kaiser Permanente, are offering people with more serious health conditions hospital-level treatment in the comfort of their homes.

Reporter: Stephanie O’Neill

Every 4-year-old in the state would get access to transitional kindergarten under a major education spending plan announced by Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday. It's all part of his revised budget which will be released on Friday.

Reporter: Vanessa Rancaño, KQED

Identity theft, fraud, ransomware. Cybercrime is a plague upon the digital landscape. It was bad before the pandemic, and it surged during .

Reporter: Rachael Myrow, KQED

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

State Health Officials Outline Plans to Vaccinate Younger Kids May 12, 2021

Show notes

California health officials said the Pfizer vaccine could be available for 12-15 year olds as early as Thursday. This comes after the Food and Drug Administration authorized the shots for adolescents earlier this week.

Reporter: Lesley McClurg, KQED

State Senator Richard Pan of Sacramento is a pediatrician and led the effort to tighten California’s childhood immunization law. He says parents should ask questions and do research if they're concerned about getting their kids vaccinated.

Guest: State Senator Richard Pan

California’s new Attorney General has announced the formation of a Racial Justice Bureau to address racial injustice, in the wake of increased attacks in Asian communities across the state.

Reporter: Alice Woelfle, KQED

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drought Emergency Expanded Across Much of California May 11, 2021

Show notes

With more than 90% of California experiencing extreme drought conditions, Governor Gavin Newsom is expanding a state drought emergency from just two to 41 counties. The new drought proclamation represents 30% of the state’s population.

Reporter: Ezra David Romero, KQED

State Attorney General Rob Bonta has championed criminal justice reform during his time in Sacramento as a legislator. But can he implement real change as attorney general?

Guest: Rob Bonta, California Attorney General

As he fights a recall campaign to oust him from office, there’s some good news for Governor Gavin Newsom in a new poll. The Berkeley IGS Poll finds just 36% of California voters support recalling Newsom and 49% say they’ll vote no on the recall.

Reporter: Katie Orr, KQED

A map of power lines has been created that the California Public Utilities Commission and Pacific Gas & Electric think are at great risk of starting a fire.

Reporter: The California Report's Lily Jamali with KRCB Reporter Marc Albert

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Project Homekey Provides Some Hope For Californians Experiencing Homelessness May 10, 2021

Show notes

Project Homekey allows cities and counties to purchase buildings and then covert them into long-term housing for the homeless. Martha Fuentes of Los Angeles says it's been a lifesaver and sanctuary as she's had to live in her car.

Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report

Governor Gavin Newsom announced an economic stimulus plan on Monday, one that will see most Californians getting tax refunds. The governor is expected to unveil more pieces of the "California Comeback Plan" in the coming days.

Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED

Tackling COVID-19 misinformation in languages other than English has been complicated. In the South Bay, that's especially been the case for the Vietnamese community, which has been hit hard by the pandemic.

Reporter: Adhiti Bandlamudi, KQED

2020 proved to be a historic year in California and not just because of the pandemic. The state’s population dropped for the first time since it began tracking annual population estimates.

Reporter: Scott Rodd, CapRadio

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bay Area Family Provides Glimpse Into Pediatric Vaccination Trial May 07, 2021

Show notes

Young kids are starting to get their first COVID vaccines in an early clinical trial at Stanford. If all goes well widespread distribution could begin by this fall.

Reporter: Lesley McClurg, KQED

Officials in charge of monitoring air quality in Southern California officials are voting on a rule Friday that aims to hold warehouses accountable for diesel truck pollution. The rise of e-commerce has led to a warehouse boom in the Inland Empire over the last decade.

Reporter: Megan Jamerson, KVCR

The State Senate has passed a bill that would clamp down on a common feature of employment in Silicon Valley, Hollywood, and beyond: the non-disclosure agreement. It's an attempt to limit the scope of NDA's.

Reporter: Rachael Myrow, KQED

A lot of college students have been stuck at home during the pandemic but one way they’ve tried to find community is through online video games. This competitive gaming is gaining popularity on California college campuses, where professors say recreational play is leading to professional opportunities.

Reporter: Marisa Martinez, KQED and CalMatters

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

KQED’s The California Report

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected