KQED's The California Report

Latest Episodes:

Santa Cruz Couple Are Considered Celebrities At Local Karaoke Bar Sep 18, 2025

Show notes

Almost every night for nearly three decades in Santa Cruz, Bob and Patti Vasconcellos have gotten a little gussied up. They throw their walkers in the trunk and head to their local karaoke bar. Their performances have made them local celebrities.

Reporter: Elena Neale-Sacks, KAZU

California’s oil industry regulator is expecting gasoline prices to rise through the end of the year– and is calling on refineries to help.

Reporter: Julie Small, KQED

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Valley Fever Cases Skyrocket in Salinas Valley Sep 17, 2025

Show notes

Santa Barbara Senator Monique Limón is set to become the leader of the California Senate this November, and a recent housing bill she authored is raising some eyebrows because it would keep CEQA requirements in place on one tiny plot of land in her district.

Reporter: Ben Christopher, CalMatters

As California experiences a record number of cases of Valley Fever cases, the Salinas Valley is seeing one of the largest spikes. Clouds of dust rise up behind trucks and tractors in the fields and sweep across Highway 101 in the wind, creating the perfect conditions to spread spores of the fungus that causes Valley Fever. People who work outside, like farm and construction workers, are especially at risk.

Reporter: Jerimiah Oetting in Paso Robles

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Santa Ana Police Called Out For Tactics Used During Protests Sep 16, 2025

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In the wake of George Floyd’s death and the protests that followed, California passed a law limiting the use of force against people exercising their First Amendment rights. An LAist investigation found that even when police departments appear to be breaking that law, the state doesn’t have a mechanism to actually enforce it.

Reporter: Yusra Farzan, LAist

Two companies with thousands of permits to drill oil wells in California merged on Monday, just two days after state lawmakers loosened environmental reviews for permits in Kern County.

Reporter: Julie Small, KQED

UC Merced students are speaking out after several campus leaders in charge of diversity, equity and inclusion programs were laid off.

Reporter: Rachel Livinal, KVPR

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Central Valley Publisher Preserves Music Of Latin Jazz Artists Sep 15, 2025

Show notes

The world lost an icon when Latin jazz pioneer Eddie Palmieri died last month. His music lives on through recordings, but also through sheet music, thanks in part to a publisher in rural California. This pioneer has helped make the work of Palmieri and other Latin jazz artists available to the world, from his home office in Madera. Reporter: Kerry Klein, KVPR

A handful of controversial bills on climate and energy are heading to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk. That’s after state lawmakers passed the bills in the final hours of the legislative session on Saturday.

Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED

While discourse during this year’s end of session at the Capitol was dominated by that package of energy measures, some other big bills were sent to the governor's desk.

Reporter: Laura Fitzgerald, CapRadio

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Carwash Workers Are Organizing Patrols To Watch for Immigration Sweeps Sep 12, 2025

Show notes

Shasta County's voter-approved plan to become a charter county has been delayed by over a year because local officials failed to file necessary paperwork with the state. Local officials say the paperwork was finally filed last month.

Justin Higginbottom, Jefferson Public Radio

A push to build an immigration detention facility at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield is now on hold, according to the Department of Defense.

Tyche Hendricks, KQED

Dozens of carwash employees and their family members rallied alongside immigrant rights activists in Los Angeles on Thursday to denounce federal immigration raids at their worksites. Now, they're organizing patrols for possible future sweeps.

Benjamin Gottlieb

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Latino Communities Contend with the Mental Health Toll of Increased Immigration Enforcement Sep 11, 2025

Show notes

Across Latino communities, the fear of arrest has become a part of daily life under stepped up immigration enforcement. Advocates say that constant stress is wearing on people's mental health.. And many are carrying the burden quietly.

Reporter: Anthony Victoria, KVCR

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s attempt to fast-track his administration’s proposal for a 45-mile-long tunnel under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta failed to pass the Legislature.

Reporter: Ezra David Romero, KQED

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Trump Administration's Shift On Homelessness Leaves California In Limbo Sep 10, 2025

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For two decades, the nation’s solution to homelessness has been pretty straightforward: get people into housing. This approach is known as Housing First, and in California it’s even written into state law. But this summer, President Trump signed an executive order reversing this policy, turning a California mandate into a liability. Reporter: Vanessa Rancaño, KQED

The Garnet Fire east of Fresno has burned more than 56,000 acres, and has reached the McKinley Grove of Giant Sequoias.

Reporter: Kerry Klein, KVPR

A San Diego law firm filed a class action lawsuit against Immigration and Customs Enforcement – arguing that federal agents are breaking the law when they arrest asylum seekers at immigration court.

Reporter: Gustavo Solis, KPBS

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Immigrant Advocates Vow To Continue Fight Despite Supreme Court Ruling Sep 09, 2025

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Immigrant communities across Southern California are once again on edge after the US Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration’s roving immigration sweeps can continue. There could be broad implications from Monday's ruling.

Reporter: Wendy Fry, CalMatters

Business owners in the Bay Area, and across the state, have been following the dramatic workplace immigration raids in Southern California. That’s left many wondering what to do if ICE shows up at their place of business.

Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED

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California's Aging Farm Labor Work Force Leaves Questions About The Future Of Agriculture Sep 08, 2025

Show notes

California’s farm labor force is aging and younger generations aren’t stepping in to fill those jobs. At the same time, agriculture itself is changing with new technology and immigration enforcement, leaving big questions about the future of the industry.

Reporter: Madi Bolanos, The California Report

John Burton, a towering figure in California politics, has died at the age of 92. A family member confirmed his death to KQED.

Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED

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Central Valley Coffee Shop Training The Next Baristas Sep 05, 2025

Show notes

Climate change and tariffs may be shaking up the coffee industry. But young people are still abuzz these days about specialty drinks like lattes and macchiatos. And a Merced coffee shop is even giving this industry a boost, by training more people to serve up the delicious drinks.

Reporter: Rachel Livinal, KVPR

Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles have filed suit against Southern California Edison, over its alleged role in starting a pair of deadly wildfires.

Reporter: Dan Brekke, KQED A bill that would have created career pathways for incarcerated firefighters was shelved by a Senate committee on Thursday.

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