KQED's The California Report

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With New Laws In Place, Lawmakers Look At Solutions For Housing Shortage Jan 30, 2026

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For the past few years, the California legislature has passed a bevy of laws aimed at cutting red tape and spurring housing construction. Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, who represents the 14th district, has been at the forefront of that work. But, it’s still really expensive to build. This year, she is chairing the newly established Select Committee on Housing and Construction Innovation.

Guest: Buffy Wicks, CA Assemblymember, 14th District

Immigration arrests in San Diego surged nearly 1500% in 2025. And many of the people who’ve been arrested have no history of criminal convictions.

Reporter: Wendy Fry, CalMatters

California lawmakers want to set new standards for cleaning homes after toxic fires.

Reporter: David Wagner, LAist

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Still Unclear What's Behind California's Declining Crime Rate Jan 29, 2026

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California is seeing a decline in crime rates across the state, especially when it comes to homicides. So why is this happening? That answer, as it turns out, is complicated.

Guest: Magnus Lofstrom, Policy Director, Public Policy Institute of California

A new state bill would raise taxes on for-profit companies that operate immigration detention centers in California.

Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED

US Congressmembers from California called for the removal of the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, at a news conference outside of ICE’s field office in San Bernardino Wednesday.

Reporter: Anthony Victoria, KVCR

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Sierra Foothills Community Could Provide Blueprint For Building Homes In Era Of Megafires Jan 28, 2026

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With insurance companies reluctant to back fire-prone parts of the state, officials and builders are looking for ways to get people into homes designed to survive wildfires. Those efforts are now extending to entire developments. In El Dorado County, that includes the opening of a “wildfire-prepared neighborhood” – the first in Northern California. Reporter: Danielle Venton, KQED

A lawsuit filed this week claims people held at the federal immigration facility in Adelanto lack basic necessities like clean water, healthy food and medical care.

Reporter: Jordan Rynning, LAist

Democrat Ro Khanna is demanding the Trump administration turn over health and safety records for the California City immigration detention facility in the Mojave Desert, after a recent oversight visit that he described as “alarming.”

Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED

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Residents Challenge Official Response a Year After Moss Landing Battery Plant Fire Jan 27, 2026

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It has been about a year since a fire burned the battery plant at Moss Landing in Monterey county. While the fire prompted many residents to move away from homes surrounding the plant, the government's stance on the aftermath of the fire is that it left no significant environmental impact. Locals are still challenging that narrative.

In the wake of federal immigration agents killing another person in Minneapolis, Minnesota, over the weekend, California lawmakers are moving to place further limits on how these agents can operate and maneuver in the state.

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California Trump Voters Grade President's First Year of Second Term Jan 26, 2026

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It's been about a year since President Donald Trump began his second term in the White House. Californians that voted for him in the 2024 US presidential election weigh in on how he's doing this time around.

Nurses working at Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Northern California and parts of Hawaii began their strike today, asking for better wages and more manageable workloads.

The US Department of Justice has just ended its efforts to obtain the medical records for more than 3,000 people who had been provided gender-affirming care at Children's Hospital Los Angeles.

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Bay Area Winemaker Tried To Bridge Food And Wine Gap At Chinese Restaurants Jan 23, 2026

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Wine isn’t often the drink of choice in Chinese restaurants, yet the country’s immigrants played a key role in planting Northern California vineyards and building wineries after the Gold Rush. Now, a Chinese American winemaker is bringing a taste of that history — along with her Sonoma and Napa wines — to Chinatown restaurants in the Bay Area and beyond.

Reporter: Tina Caputo

California State University has reached a legal settlement with its faculty union over the sharing of faculty information with federal authorities.

Reporter: Juan Carlos Lara, KQED

After over a decade of planning, and years of construction, Butte County finally has a new jail.

Reporter: Claudia Brancart, North State Public Radio

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No Consensus From Labor Unions On Gubernatorial Candidates Jan 22, 2026

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The race for California governor is coming into focus -- after Attorney General Rob Bonta and Los Angeles developer Rick Caruso announced last week that they will not join the field. But one important constituency has yet to agree on a candidate: organized labor.

Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED

California counties are starting their homeless point-in-time counts this week. This is the annual census where volunteers fan out statewide to try to answer the question: Is California's homelessness crisis improving…or getting worse?

Reporter: Marisa Kendall, CalMatters

A federal immigration agent shot at a suspect during what's being called a targeted operation in South Los Angeles Wednesday. No one was hit by the gunfire.

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Senators Decry Conditions On Tour Of California City ICE Facility Jan 21, 2026

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As tensions rise over the conduct of federal immigration enforcement – and in-custody deaths are increasing – California’s two U.S. senators say they’re “aghast” at conditions inside the newest immigration detention center in the state. That’s after a visit Tuesday to the California City Detention Facility.

Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED

California prosecutors are expressing alarm at the Trump administration’s response to the January 7 fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by an immigration agent, including claims that ICE officials have absolute immunity from prosecution.

Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED

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Changes Coming For Travelers Without Real ID Jan 20, 2026

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If you're planning on taking a domestic flight soon, there are some things you need to know. Starting February 1, if you don't have a Real ID driver's license or another federally approved document like a passport, you'll need to pay a $45 fee at the airport to be able to get on your flight. This new fee was announced by TSA back in December.

Guest: Carly Severn, KQED

Until this year, drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy had been covered under Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program. Now, the state says patients who only take these GLP-1 drugs for weight loss, are no longer covered.

Reporter: Ana Ibarra, CalMatters

Siskiyou County has reached a partial settlement in a class-action lawsuit alleging discrimination against Asian residents.

Reporter: Justin Higginbottom, Jefferson Public Radio

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Push For Reparations For Black Californians Continues Despite Setbacks Jan 19, 2026

Show notes

As we celebrate and honor the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. today, we wanted to take a closer look at some of the issues that are facing Black Californians. In particular, the state’s reparations efforts. While lawmakers approved a handful of measures meant to ensure reparative justice for Black Californians, others have been tabled or vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom. So where does it all stand?

Guest: Lisa Holder, civil rights attorney, former member of the California Reparations Task Force

A special election is happening in Northern California this year that could further chip away at Republicans’ slim majority in the House of Representatives.

Reporter: Andre Byik, North State Public Radio

For the second time in four months, a group of Kaiser workers are going out on an open-ended strike at hospitals and clinics across California and Hawaii.

Reporter: Daisy Nguyen, KQED

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