KQED's The California Report

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Research: More Coronavirus Cases Than Previously Thought Apr 21, 2020

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Research Shows More People Had Coronavirus Than Previously Thought
What if far more people are infected with coronavirus than previously thought? A preliminary study that tested more than 800 adults in L.A. County for COVID-19 antibodies suggests that’s the case. Those antibodies indicate someone’s been exposed to the virus.
Reporter: Robert Garrova, KPCC
Legislators Want More Oversight of Pandemic Spending
In a legislative hearing yesterday, members of both parties said they wanted more oversight over how Governor Newsom is responding to the pandemic, especially when it comes to how money is being spent, like a recent deal to buy millions of masks from China.
Reporter: Katie Orr, KQED Politics
City Officials Watch Dwindling Tax Revenues
As tax revenues dwindle because of the business shutdown, the state’s largest cities are getting financial help from the federal government through the CARES Act. But smaller cities, at least for now, are on their own. So what’s like to run a smaller city during the pandemic?
Guest: Peter Weiss, Mayor of Oceanside
Judge: ICE Should Release Detainees at High Risk of COVID-19
A federal judge in southern California has ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement to consider releasing all detainees nationwide who are at high risk of contracting Covid-19.
Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED

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Cities and Counties Brace for Budget Cuts Due to Coronavirus Apr 20, 2020

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Cities and Counties Brace for Budget Cuts Due to Coronavirus
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti gave a sobering warning in his State of teh City address Sunday. Because of cratering municipal revenue during the coronavirus shutdown, the city plans to enact furlough days for thousands of employees and make painful cuts to municipal services. L.A. is just the biggest example of how California’s 482 cities and towns are wrestling with the consequences of the pandemic on their budgets.
Guest: Carolyn Coleman, Executive Director, League of California Cities
California Prisons Try to Keep Inmates Coronavirus-Free
The first California inmate has died from health complications related to COVID-19. He was incarcerated at the California Institution for Men in San Bernardino. That comes after a federal judge denied an emergency motion that would have forced state prison officials to reduce the state’s prison population by thousands to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The judge wants to see first if changing up prison housing works.
Reporter: Julie Small, KQED
State Nursing Home Regulators Release COVID-19 Infection Counts
The coronavirus has sickened thousands of workers and residents at long-term care facilities. More than 20 percent of the state’s nursing homes now report cases of COVID-19. That’s according to a list released by the Department of Public Health this weekend.
Reporter: Molly Peterson, KQED Science
Delivering COVID-19 Information in All Languages
Immigrant residents of California speak more than 200 different languages and many aren’t fluent in English. So, how do you get pandemic information to them, especially if their language isn’t widely spoken?
Reporter: Alex Hall, The California Report's Fresno reporter

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What the Pandemic Means for Firefighters This Season Apr 17, 2020

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Newsom: Food Workers To Get Paid Sick Leave
Governor Gavin Newsom has announced that food workers in California will get two weeks of paid sick leave to help them deal with the outbreak of COVID 19.
Reporter: Katie Orr, KQED Politics
Safeway Reports COVID-19 Outbreak at Warehouse
In San Joaquin County, a worker at a grocery distribution center belonging to Safeway has died of COVID-19. The grocery chain also confirms that several other workers at that same warehouse have also tested positive.
Reporter: Haley Gray
Megadrought Conditions Have Returned to the West, Scientists Say
There’s new research that shows climate change is pushing California and much of the American West into a drought like we haven’t experienced in centuries.
Reporter: Kevin Stark, KQED Science
Chief Worries About Pandemic's Effect on Firefighting Efforts
After the record blazes Californians have lived through these last few years, firefighters now have to factor in the COVID-19 outbreak as they plan for the coming fire season.
Guest: Fire Chief Dave Winnacker, Moraga-Orinda Fire District
How Much Data Privacy Will You Sacrifice to Beat the Coronavirus?
How do we all feel about saying goodbye to our data privacy during the covid-19 pandemic? We give away a lot of data already to all sorts of companies, but not typically sensitive health information to those tracking infections. That looks like it’s about to change.
Reporter: Rachael Myrow, KQED Silicon Valley Editor
Kids of Healthcare Workers Worry About Their Parents
This week, our sister show, The California Report Magazine, takes an up-close look at how the COVID-19 pandemic has touched the lives of front-line workers and their children. The kids of those workers have to worry about the risks their parents face. That’s on top of the constraints of just living during the outbreak.
Guest: Sasha Khokha, The California Report Magazine host

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California To Provide Disaster Relief for Undocumented Immigrants Apr 16, 2020

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Newsom To Provide Disaster Relief for Undocumented Immigrants
California will be the first state in the nation to offer COVID-19 disaster relief to undocumented immigrants. Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled a fund of $125 million Wednesday, including $75 million in state money and the rest from philanthropic sources.
Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED
Uber and Lyft Aren’t Paying for Drivers’ Unemployment: You Are, Confirms Newsom
Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Employment Development Department are giving Uber, Lyft and other gig companies what they hoped for: unemployment coverage for drivers paid by federal taxpayers through the CARES act, instead of state unemployment funds.
Reporter: Sam Harnett, KQED
Federal Prison in Lompoc Struggling to Contain Outbreak
The U-S Bureau of Prisons is scrambling to control the coronavirus at several of its institutions, with the largest outbreak now at a federal prison in Santa Barbara County. Officials are planning to establish a temporary hospital at the prison to treat the growing number of sick inmates.
Reporter: Alex Emslie, KQED
State Legislators Consider Costs of COVID-19
Today, California senators will be meeting, some of them virtually, to talk about how expenses related to the coronavirus pandemic will hit the state’s budget.
Guest: Katie Orr, KQED Politics Desk
Immigration Detainees Call for COVID-19 Protection
The worst coronavirus outbreak at a federal immigration detention center is unfolding in San Diego. California’s U.S. Senators are calling for an investigation into reports that guards mistreated detained women who were asking for protective masks. Panic is spreading among the more than 32,000 people in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, Immigration Editor, KQED

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Animal Shelters Emptying As Humans Shelter-In-Place Apr 15, 2020

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CA Won't Go Back To 'Normal' Anytime Soon
Governor Gavin Newsom is laying out a road map for what the easing of California’s coronavirus lockdown might look like. At his daily briefing on the state’s approach towards managing the pandemic, he ruled out a return to the way things were just a month ago.
Reporter: Guy Marzaroti, KQED
Bailout For Airports As Passenger Numbers Plummet
Airports around California have taken a huge hit as the coronavirus crisis has all but shut down air travel. They’re about to get some help thanks to the federal government’s recently passed two-trillion-dollar relief package.
Reporter: Dan Brekke, KQED
What Does The Coronavirus Mean For California Real Estate?
There is no industry in California that hasn’t been touched by the coronavirus pandemic including residential real estate. Some of the hottest housing markets in the state are reeling from the shock, but this doesn't necessarily mean lower housing prices.
Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, KQED
L.A. Rolls Out Stricter Guidelines For Masks And Sanitation
All businesses in Los Angeles County that have remained open during the coronavirus outbreak must now provide face coverings for their employees. That’s according to a new order issued by the county’s health department. The directive is just one part of new, stricter guidelines set to go into effect by the end of today.
Reporter: Benjamin Gottlieb, KCRW
California's Early Shelter-In-Place Order May Help Its Economic Future
With the economy thrust into turmoil by the pandemic, we’re spending a lot of time wondering what the way out of this moment might look like. One thing is clear, the road to recovery will be a long one.
Guest: Mary Daly, President, Federal Reserve Bank Of San Francisco
Pet Adoption Is Through The Roof During Shelter-In-Place
Since quarantine started in the US, people everywhere have rushed to take in new pets, and it’s not just adoptions. According to a site that tracks data from animal wellness agencies, the rates of fostering have exploded too.
Reporter: Danielle Chiriguayo, KCRW

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Newsom To Work With Neighboring Governors to Reopen States Apr 14, 2020

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Newsom To Work With Neighboring Governors to Reopen States
At a time when President Donald Trump is claiming “total” authority over how states will reopen following the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. On Tuesday, Governor Gavin Newsom is expected to outline his own plan to get California moving again. Newsom says he’s coordinating with the governors of Oregon and Washington. He says they’ve agreed to a framework that lets science guide their decisions.
Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED
Census Bureau Wants More Time to Complete Count
The Census Bureau is trying to cope with disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s asking Congress for four extra months to complete the 2020 count, but that raises concerns about accuracy.
Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED
Insurance Companies Must Provide Refunds
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has ordered insurance companies to provide refunds to customers for March, April, and possibly May, if the shelter-in-place directive is extended.
Reporter: Alice Woelfle, KQED
Law Enforcement Officers Cope with Coronavirus
One of many jobs that are changing in the COVID-19 era is policing. Law enforcement officers have to enforce stay at home orders, while also keeping the peace at food banks and grocery stores. And when they do make arrests, there's a new level of danger -- the slightest touch brings with it the risk of possible transmission.
Reporter: Claire Trageser, KPBS

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Amid Pandemic, State Releases Thousands of Prisoners Apr 13, 2020

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Amid Pandemic, State Releases Thousands of Prisoners — But Will They Have Support at Home?
Thousands of nonviolent inmates are being released from California’s prisons and jails as the state grapples with the pandemic. Advocates are worried about the fate of those men and women once they’re out.
Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED Politics
Families of Patients in State's Mental Health Hospitals Worry
State mental hospitals face similar challenges. Families of patients worried that their loved ones aren't able to practice physical distancing inside.
Reporter: Lee Romney, KALW
Essential Fishing Industry Seeks Silver Lining to Coronavirus
Commercial fishermen and women on the Central Coast are among the many who could use some clarity right now. Their salmon season is launching in just a few weeks, in early May. Even though California’s fishing industry is designated as essential, it’s biggest customers are not. Restaurants are all but shut down because of the pandemic. Some of the people who make their livings in commercial fishing are looking for a silver lining right about now.
Reporter: Erika Mahoney, KAZU
How Carlee's Restaurant is Feeding Borrego Springs
The town of Borrego Springs, population 3,000, is smack in the middle of Anza Borrego State Park. "Panic buying" during quarantine has been especially tough on residents in rural towns. There’s often just one or maybe two grocery stores in some communities. So a restaurant owner there took matters into his own hands. Carlee’s is helping feed Borrego Springs in a way its owner probably never expected.
Reporter: Nina Sparling, KQED
Remembering KCRW's Matt Holtzman
This weekend, our friends at KCRW in Los Angeles lost a friend and colleague, producer Matt Holzman, to cancer.
Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report co-Host

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Meeting Spiritual Needs During the Pandemic Apr 10, 2020

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Hospital Chaplains Re-Imagine Their Jobs During Pandemic
Most days since this pandemic started, we share the latest grim numbers: how many Californians have Covid-19, and how many have died from it. Because the coronavirus is so contagious and dangerous, many people have died in hospitals without loved ones by their sides. But there are people who provide comfort, like Sister Donna Maria Moses, a Catholic nun and the senior chaplain at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. She manages staff and volunteer chaplains of all faiths at the hospital. She described how her job has changed as we’ve learned more about the virus.
Guest: Sister Donna Maria Moses, Dominican nun and Senior Chaplain, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center
Hotel Rooms for Healthcare Workers Treating COVID-19 Patients
Health care workers battling the coronavirus could soon get free hotel stays under a program announced by Governor Newsom.
Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED
Oakland Teachers Donate Stimulus Checks to Their Students
Undocumented workers who’ve lost jobs during the coronavirus pandemic are left out of unemployment benefits and the federal stimulus package... even if they pay taxes. Now, teachers and principals at Oakland Unified are pledging to donate their stimulus checks to struggling families.
Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED
Meditation Is Popular During Tough Times
In times of high stress and anxiety, experts, including the California Surgeon General, say having a mindfulness practice, like meditation, can be helpful. So it’s no surprise that Google searches for the word “meditation” are at an all time high, now that we have a global pandemic on our hands.
Reporter: Chloe Veltman, KQED

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Tele-Medicine Gets a Boost During Pandemic Apr 09, 2020

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Tele-Medicine Gets a Boost from Coronavirus
The pandemic is changing how we interact with medical professionals. For instance, Medicare and Medicaid have expanded access to tele-health appointments for their members. This means more elderly and low-income people can now get healthcare from practitioners without visiting a clinic or hospital.
Reporter: Nina Sparling, KQED
State Cuts Deals to Provide Masks to Hospitals
California has started to cut its own deals with manufacturers to dramatically increase the number of N-95 and surgical masks it can provide to hospitals and front line workers during the pandemic.
Reporter: Katie Orr, KQED Politics
Riverside Skilled Nursing Facility Evacuated
Staying in Riverside, a skilled nursing facility there that’s had an outbreak of the coronavirus has been evacuated. That after employees didn’t come to work two days in a row.
Reporter: Benjamin Purper, KVCR
From Inside a Hospital Bracing for a Surge of COVID-19 Patients
Medical centers across the state continue to brace for a surge of COVID19 patients. But predictions on when exactly that peak hits keep changing. Now statistical modeling experts say hospitalizations might not crest until mid-May. But the looming surge weighs heavily on the minds of healthcare workers, especially in large public hospitals who serve the neediest patients. An ER nurse at Highland Hospital in Oakland says hasn’t seen the sharp uptick in visits he expected... at least not yet.
Reporter: Lesley McClurg, KQED Science

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Zoom-Bombing Leads To Vigilant Zoom-Bouncers Apr 08, 2020

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Governor Anticipates Tough Economic Times In California
As California responds to the coronavirus pandemic, state and local governments are burning through enormous amounts of money. Governor Gavin Newsom says all that spending now means painful fiscal times later.
Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED
Los Angeles County Rolls Out Self-Administered COVID-19 Tests
Los Angeles County has become the center of the coronavirus pandemic in California, If you live there and think you might have COVID-19 you can now get tested. Formerly, testing was largely reserved for at risk populations like the elderly and those with compromised immune systems.
Reporter: Kathryn Barnes, KCRW
After 9-Month Pause, California Issuing Fracking Permits Again
California officials are granting fracking permits again. The state had put a hold on applications for the controversial oil extraction technique last July because of growing safety and environmental concerns.
Reporter: Ted Goldberg, KQED
Zoom-Bombing gives rise to Zoom-Bouncers
you’ve heard of “zoom-bombing,” where trolls hijack an online video conference and post awful things. But have you heard of zoom-bouncing? It’s a new word for the coronavirus pandemic lexicon:
Reporter: Rachael Myrow, KQED

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