KQED's The California Report

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Court Halts School District's Gender Notification Policy Sep 07, 2023

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A judge has ruled that a San Bernardino County school district must hold off on enforcing a policy that requires school staff to notify parents if a student identifies as transgender. Chino Valley Unified is being sued by the state attorney general.

Reporter: Madison Aument, KVCR

In San Diego, the Black Panther Party is recruiting new members. Decades ago, the U.S. government spread misinformation that caused the party to become mostly inactive. Now, the San Diego chapter is one of many reviving across the country.

Reporter: Katie Hyson, KPBS

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California Congressman Looks To Help Communities Near Airports Dealing With Toxic Chemical Contamination Sep 06, 2023

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Central Coast Congressman Salud Carbajal is unveiling new legislation on Wednesday to help communities near regional airports that have long been facing toxic chemical contamination in their groundwater. The “Clean Airport Agenda” will make sure federal agencies phase out the use of these toxic chemicals in such communities.

Reporter: Benjamin Purper, KCBX

State lawmakers are voting on a resolution declaring August trans history month across California.

Reporter: Lesley McClurg , KQED

California is on its way to becoming the first state to explicitly ban discrimination based on caste. State lawmakers approved a bill to make it a protected class and sent it to the governor on Tuesday.

Reporter: Nicole Nixon, CapRadio

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Levee Failures Likely To Affect Communities Of Color Disproportionately Sep 05, 2023

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People who live behind a vast number of aging levees in the United States are more likely to be people of color and have less education compared to those who don’t. And that leaves them more vulnerable to flooding and the impacts of climate change.

Reporter: Emily Zentner, California Newsroom

A state bill that would require many employers in all kinds of industries to take steps to protect workers from violence at their jobs, has cleared a key hurdle and is headed for a full vote of the State Assembly.

Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED

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Miwok Group Buys Back Ancestral Land In Marin County Sep 04, 2023

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When Joe Sanchez was 8 years old, his grandmother asked him to make a promise to never forget his California Indian heritage. She was determined to see the culture live on, after watching her brothers deny their Coast Miwok ancestry, a matter of economic survival in early 20th century California. Today, at 75, Sanchez is making good on that promise in a more ambitious way than he ever imagined: He’s bought back a piece of his ancestral homeland.

Reporter: Vanessa Rancaño

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California Residents Look To Fight West Nile Sep 01, 2023

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By all accounts, this year's West Nile virus season has been particularly bad. The state has reported five fatalities so far this summer. In Sacramento and Yolo Counties, the Mosquito & Vector Control District has been spraying a diluted insecticide throughout the region to kill the mosquitoes that carry the disease.

Reporter: Kate Wolffe, CapRadio

Kern County’s maternal mortality rate is one of the highest in the state. Family members of people who died there during childbirth have now gotten the attention of the state medical board.

Reporter: Kerry Klein, KVPR

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Millions Earmarked For Affordable Housing In California Aug 31, 2023

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The governor’s office is awarding nearly $760 million in grants for affordable housing projects statewide. The money is expected to help create 2,500 new affordable homes, but will pay for more than just new apartments.

Reporter: Chris Nichols, CapRadio

Workers rights advocates are calling on Los Angeles to combat wage theft as one way to tackle the homelessness crisis in the city. New analysis by the Los Angeles Worker Center Network finds wage theft is so prevalent among the lowest-earning Angelenos, it’s contributing to the crisis.

Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED

California is seeing a surge in COVID-19 infections. And although hospitalizations have also seen a big jump, it's a far cry from previous COVID waves. So what's behind the jump in cases?

Guest: Monica Gandhi, Infectious Diseases Doctor, Professor, UC San Francisco

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COVID Cases On The Rise In California Aug 30, 2023

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COVID cases are on the rise in California. According to the state public health department, hospitalizations have jumped more than 80% over the last month.

Reporter: Jackie Fortier, LAist

California produces millions of tons of toxic waste each year, but the state’s relying on a shrinking network of aging sites to process it. Many of the older sites have a troubling history of safety violations and polluted soil and groundwater.

Reporter: Robert Lewis, CalMatters

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State Sues Southern California School District Over Transgender Student Policy Aug 29, 2023

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State Attorney General Rob Bonta is suing Chino Valley Unified School District in San Bernardino County, over their policy of mandatory outing of trans students to family members. The policy requires teachers and staff to notify parents within three days if a student asks to use a different name or pronoun.

A new political campaign to roll back several protections for transgender youth is happening across California. However transgender advocates say they’re dangerous.

Reporter: Lesley McClurg, KQED

Hundreds of house cleaners, nannies and home care aides are expected to descend on Sacramento on Tuesday, calling on the governor and lawmakers to pass a bill that would give domestic workers the right to health and safety protections other workers enjoy.

Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED

The recent death of an orca held in captivity in Florida for more than five decades has invigorated calls to release other marine mammals – including Corky – an orca at San Diego’s SeaWorld. At the same time, some California lawmakers are pushing federal regulators to demand better care for marine mammals in captivity.

Reporter: Greta Mart, KRCB

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California Looks For Solutions To Combat Wildfire-Tainted Wine Aug 28, 2023

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A growing number of California winemakers have seen their crop ruined in recent years by wildfire smoke. The impact is huge: After fires in 2020, the California Association of Wine Grape Growers estimated that up to 325,000 tons of grapes weren’t usable, leading to over $3 billion in losses.

Reporter: Manola Secaira, CapRadio

The three people who died in last week's shooting at an Orange County bar have been identified. Cook's Corner is often described as a biker bar in Trabuco Canyon. But the community ties run far deeper, stretching back to at least 1926.

Reporter: Caitlin Hernandez, LAist

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California Coast Is Home To World's Largest Octopus Garden Aug 25, 2023

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After a 17-month labor battle, a North Hollywood strip club has reopened as the only union strip club in the U.S. But it's not the end of the road. The dancers may have union representation, but they still don't have a contract.

Reporter: Robin Estrin, KCRW

The world’s largest known octopus garden is in California coastal waters, just 80 miles south of Monterey. A new study confirms these deep-sea octopuses migrate to the area to reproduce.

Reporter: Alexander Gonzalez, KQED

Through her restaurant, Crystal Wahpepah reclaims and celebrates the traditions of indigenous people, while also nourishing and educating non-native people on the history of the land they occupy.

Reporter: Bianca Taylor, KQED

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