KQED's The California Report

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True Cost of Wildfires: Thousands Dead, and $150 Billion in Economic Losses Dec 31, 2020

Show notes

This year California saw some of the most destructive wildfires in state history, blazes that when combined scorched more than three million acres, an area larger than the state of Delaware. Fires also destroyed or damaged thousands of structures and killed dozens of people.

Guest: Yana Valachovic, UCANR Forest Advisor

A new study on the comprehensive cost of wildfires, estimates that the 2018 California wildfires led to thousands of deaths, far more than the official count. It also cost the state around $150 Billion Dollars. That larger number factors in the harm of air pollution, and the broader economic impacts of these disasters.

Reporter: Danielle Venton, KQED

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How COVID-19 Changed How We Get Around Dec 30, 2020

Show notes

This week we’re looking back on 2020 and how some of the year’s biggest news stories changed our lives. The coronavirus has had a huge impact on transportation and how Californians get from point A to point B. Public transportation systems have been hit hard. When many people began working from home, buses, trains, and subways saw dramatic decreases in ridership

Guest: Ethan Elkind, UC Berkeley Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment

Five years ago, Volkswagen was in the news for all the wrong reasons. VW's cheating was partly discovered by California air quality regulators, but not before the company had sold or leased 85,000 of its dirty diesel cars to unsuspecting drivers. Now the automaker is hoping it's new all-electric SUV will help repair its image.

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Black Lives Matter Reflects on Strength and Heartbreak in 2020 Dec 29, 2020

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As we look back on this difficult and confusing year we reflect on the events, movements, and people who helped shape it. Racial justice issues and civil unrest took center stage, and Black Lives Matter was at the forefront of the ongoing fight to end injustice against people of color.

Guest: Melina Abdullah, Professor, Cal State Los Angeles

Long before the Black Lives Matter movement, at the beginning of the 20th century, a newspaper called The Liberator served L.A.’s Black community, during a time when only a few thousand Black people lived in LA, and were barely represented in other media.

Guest: Shaya Tayefe Mohajer, L.A. Bureau Chief, Cronkite News

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How California Confronted the Pandemic in 2020 Dec 28, 2020

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A Look Back at Lessons Learned from the Pandemic

There was no bigger or more tragic story than the pandemic this year. KQED's Saul Gonzalez spoke with epidemiologist and public health expert Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo to talk about the coronavirus and how California officials responded to it.

Guest: Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo with UC San Francisco

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How a Great Depression Government Program Kept Musicians at Work Dec 25, 2020

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Richmond Museum Saves Lost Historic Mural

A mural called "Richmond: Industrial City" hung in a post office from 1941 to 1976. After it was taken off the wall while the building was renovated, it was put in a crate and put in a basement. It took four years to raise $45,000 dollars to restore the canvas.

Reporter: Raquel Maria Dillon, KQED

In 1933, Congress passed a series of reforms aimed at pulling America out of the Depression. The New Deal gave rise to the Works Progress Administration, which established the Federal Music Project to help keep musicians at work.

Reporter: Austin Cross, KPCC

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'Fire in Paradise' Illuminates the Destruction of a Town Razed by Fire Dec 24, 2020

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On November 8th, 2018 The Camp Fire destroyed the town of Paradise. It killed at least 85 people, and displaced tens of thousands. Two California-based journalists were on the ground as the fire burned and have turned their experience, as well as hundreds of interviews with locals and experts, into a book about the tragedy.

Guest: Dani Anguiano, Author, Fire in Paradise

The relationship between San Diego and Tijuana, right across the border, is often misunderstood. A new book explores the misunderstood relationship, and common cause, residents of the two cities often find.

Guest: Michael S. Malone, Author, El Tercer Pais

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Alex Padilla Will Be California's First Latino Senator Dec 23, 2020

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California Secretary of State Alex Padilla is heading to Washington to finish Senate term of vice-president-elect Kamala Harris. Governor Gavin Newsom made the historic announcement yesterday.

Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED

If the surge continues, the state could run out of intensive care beds by the end of the month. The state broke another record on Monday with more than 60,000 newly identified cases. That’s despite most of the state now under the governor’s latest regional stay-at-home order.

Reporter: Kevin Stark, KQED

In Washington, Congress finally passed a stimulus package this week. Critics say it’s not nearly enough support, but it does offer some relief. Unemployed workers-turned advocates were among those who lobbied lawmakers to do something, by taking on the cause like it’s their job.

Reporter: Mary Franklin Harvin, KQED

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Current COVID-19 Restrictions Will Likely Extend Into 2021 Dec 22, 2020

Show notes

The stay-at-home orders affecting most Californians are likely to be renewed and extended into the new year. Statewide two and a half percent of ICU beds are still available, but Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley are at zero percent capacity.

Reporter: Danielle Venton, KQED

Police use of non-lethal projectiles at demonstrations in California have injured some protestors. Now state leaders are proposing ways to restrict their use.

Reporter: Scott Rodd, CapRadio

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How the Failure to Remove a Tree Could Have Sparked Zogg Fire Dec 21, 2020

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Federal Court Filing Looks into PG&E's Role in Deadly Zogg Fire

Crews hired to remove potentially hazardous trees in Shasta County were chased away two years ago by a woman brandishing a firearm, according to information PG&E shared with a federal judge.

Reporter: Dan Brekke, KQED

Court filings reviewed by KQED show just one of the law firms representing PG&E charged more than $143 million in fees and expenses. PG&E voluntarily entered bankruptcy protection early last year because of liabilities from wildfires caused by its equipment. While PG&E has funded a trust for fire victims, just a tiny fraction of them have received any compensation.

Facebook conducted a pre-election misinformation sweep in August, deleting a bunch of groups. One woman in Walnut Creek lost 13 years worth of photos on Facebook in the process.

Reporter: Rachael Myrow, KQED

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ICU Capacity Drops to Zero Percent at Many L.A. Area Hospitals Dec 18, 2020

Show notes

The availability of intensive care beds at many Southern California hospitals has reached zero percent because of an explosion of new COVID patients. Forecasts predict if infection rates continue, there could be thousands of people in need of ICU beds in the region by early next month.

The COVID-19 Pandemic has been tough for California’s child care providers. Many have struggled to keep their doors open in order to care for the children of essential workers, and getting little support themselves.

Reporter: Katie Orr, KQED

For child care providers there is now a direct line to state officials to make the case that they need more resources to work safely during the pandemic. Yesterday, the newly ratified Child Care Providers Union had its second bargaining meeting with the state.

Reporter: Deepa Fernandes

The United Farm Workers union and two Foster Farms employees are suing the poultry company. They’re asking a judge to immediately force Foster Farms to protect workers from COVID-19 inside one of the company’s plants in the Central Valley.

Reporter: Alex Hall, KQED

Any business that serves food in San Diego County is now allowed to reopen after a superior court judge ruled in favor of two San Diego strip clubs that defied the statewide shutdown order.

Reporter: Jacob Aere, KPBS

Democratic state lawmakers are renewing a push to end mandatory prison sentences for certain drug crimes. The bill would allow judges to choose between jail time, probation, or other options for nonviolent drug offenders.

Reporter: Nicole Nixon, CapRadio

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