KQED's The California Report

Latest Episodes:

Modesto Loses Single-A Minor League Team Nov 27, 2025

Show notes

Minor league baseball has a rich history in California, going back more than a century. But minor league baseball is changing. Like other professional sports, it has become a big-money game, attracting owners looking to cash in on rising team values. One Central Valley city has witnessed what that big-money game looks like firsthand, losing its longtime Single-A team.

Reporter: Keith Mizuguchi, The California Report

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For Surfers, Santa Cruz Waves Are Priceless Nov 26, 2025

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Santa Cruz County’s surf breaks are free to enjoy, but worth millions. That’s one of the findings in the first report to put a price on the world-renowned surf playground.

Reporter: Katie Brown, KAZU

Humboldt County recently approved its first green cemetery. The model allows bodies to decompose in a more environmentally friendly way. Reporter: Jane Vaughan, Jefferson Public Radio

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Immigration Lawyers Organize In Effort To Free Clients Nov 25, 2025

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Lawyers from around the country are working together and organizing, to find legal strategies to free detained immigrants.

Reporter: Gustavo Solis, KPBS

A congressional hearing in downtown Los Angeles on Monday focused on what witnesses called the chilling effects of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

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Lawyers Using Habeas Corpus In Last-Ditch Efforts To Free Detained Immigrants Nov 24, 2025

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As the Trump administration continues its aggressive mass deportation campaign, immigration lawyers are increasingly turning to a law the founding fathers established to protect against a king. The use of habeas corpus petitions has skyrocketed in recent months. Reporter: Gustavo Solis, KPBS

Governor Gavin Newsom has shut down four prisons, with a fifth closure on its way. He’s said those changes, along with some other reductions, are saving the state around $900 million a year. But according to a new report, the state’s corrections department is still running a huge deficit.

Reporter: Cayla Mihalovich, CalMatters

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Advocates Fight To Save Mother Bear And Cub In Lake Tahoe Nov 21, 2025

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In Lake Tahoe, a mother bear and her cub — known as Hope and Bounce — have been breaking into homes. Now, wildlife officials want the mother euthanized, but bear advocates are fighting to save her.

Reporter: Maria Palma, KUNR

In California, dozens of stoneworkers have died and nearly 50 underwent lung transplants because of cutting engineered stone, popular in kitchen countertops. On Thursday, the state board that adopts workplace safety rules considered next steps.

Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED

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What Will School Meals Look Like Under New Law On Ultra-Processed Food Nov 20, 2025

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A new California law requires the phaseout of certain ultra-processed foods from school meals starting next year. These foods, which could include deli meat or soda, have attracted mainstream attention recently as the federal administration’s Make America Healthy Again campaign has named eliminating them a key issue. But while federal officials have expressed interest in creating a standard definition for ultra-processed foods, it hasn’t happened yet. This law marks the first in the country to give that phrase a statutory definition.

Reporter: Manola Secaira, CapRadio

A property management company with hundreds of buildings in California will have to pay $7 million as part of a settlement agreement in an antitrust lawsuit announced this week.

Reporter: Erin Baldassari, KQED

Cal State University trustees have approved a proposal for higher pay for executives, including university presidents.

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Advocates Call For Urgent Changes In Countertop Industry To Help Prevent Silicosis Nov 19, 2025

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Asbestos, lead, coal dust. All of those posed big health hazards to workers before legal protections finally rolled out. Now, thousands of stoneworkers in California who make our kitchen and bathroom countertops are breathing in something so toxic, nearly 50 had lung transplants.

Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED

Farmworker communities and environmental groups across the state are calling for stronger protections from a pesticide they say endangers public health.

Reporter: Gabriela Fernandez, KCBX

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LA Jails Scale Back Opioid Addiction Treatment Nov 18, 2025

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Los Angeles County's jail system is in the middle of one of its deadliest years on record. According to the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, there have been more than three dozen in-custody deaths so far this year, and many have involved overdoses. Now, new reporting from CalMatters reveals that access to critical opioid addiction treatment has been quietly scaled back.

Guest: Cayla Mihalovich, CalMatters

The Trump administration is suing California over a new law that bars local and federal law enforcement from wearing masks while on duty.

Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED

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Program For Veterans Faces Major Funding Cuts Nov 17, 2025

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In Oceanside in San Diego County, there’s a small nonprofit that’s become a steady place of support for Marines and veterans working through the hardest parts of coming home. The group trains dogs to work alongside service members, helping them rebuild routines, confidence, and a sense of stability. But now the program is facing a financial hit. A major source of federal funding is set to run out at the end of the year and it’s unclear how many people the nonprofit will be able to keep serving without it.

Reporter: Heidi de Marco, KPBS

A federal judge in San Francisco says the Trump administration cannot immediately cut the University of California’s funding or threaten fines over claims of discrimination.

In Los Angeles, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction in the ongoing case involving immigration raids across the region. The ruling says the federal government likely violated the Fifth Amendment by denying immigrants access to attorneys at a detention facility in downtown Los Angeles.

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Many Californians Face Uncertainty With Healthcare Coverage Nov 14, 2025

Show notes

Congress ended the shutdown this week, but it didn’t reach a deal on health care. Roughly two million Californians who buy insurance through the state’s marketplace now face steep price hikes after the Trump administration refused to extend enhanced federal tax credits. And some Californians can’t afford to keep their coverage.

Reporter: Lesley McClurg, KQED

The federal Department of Justice has joined a lawsuit seeking to overturn Proposition 50, the ballot measure approved by California voters last week, that will redraw the state's congressional maps.

Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED

Lawyers representing victims of the Eaton Fire say Southern California Edison is using delay tactics in court.

Reporter: Erin Stone, LAist

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