The Bay

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San Francisco’s Redistricting Disaster Apr 15, 2022

Show notes

Redistricting is a once-in-a-decade opportunity to redraw a city’s political map. It’s an important yet arcane process that should ultimately lead to fair, equitable representation in local government — and it’s really hard to do.

In San Francisco, the process hasn’t just been hard; it's been chaotic, confusing, heated — and as Mission Local columnist Joe Eskenazi writes, "indefensible." Ultimately, the commission did not meet its legal deadline of April 15 to complete its maps, leaving the future of the city's district lines up in the air.

Guest: Joe Eskenazi, Mission Local editor and columnist

This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra.

Episode transcript

Recommended reading:

Task force rejects its final map, will work past legal April 15 deadline, Mission Local
Chair of Redistricting Task Force told others he felt mayor’s pressure in voting on maps, Mission Local
Redistricting has been a debacle — and we aren’t nearly done, Mission Local

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Why Does Uber Want to Team Up with Taxis? Apr 13, 2022

Show notes

The rise of Uber in San Francisco a decade ago marked the beginning of the end for much of the taxi industry. Taxi companies went bankrupt and drivers struggled to pay off their medallions, pushing many of them into debt.

But now, Uber sees an opportunity in the same industry it nearly destroyed. Uber has struck a deal with taxi hailing apps in San Francisco and New York that will allow riders to hail taxis through Uber’s app. Some taxi drivers see an opportunity to boost their pay; others are skeptical that the company can be trusted. So what’s really in it for Uber?

Guest: Levi Sumagaysay, senior reporter for Marketwatch

Episode transcript

Recommended Reading:

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Support for Mutual Aid Came and Went, But the Need is Still There Apr 11, 2022

Show notes

In 2020 call outs for mutual aid donations flooded social media, and people responded with an abundance of money, food and time. Two years later, interest and support has waned while the needs have not gone away. As government aid like the child tax credit and stimulus checks expire, organizers across the Bay look at filling in the gaps.

Guest: Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí, community engagement reporter for KQED

Episode transcript

Recommended listening:

What Mutual Aid Means — And Why It's Worth Protecting

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A Mass Shooting in Downtown Sacramento Apr 08, 2022

Show notes

It may feel a little far from the Bay Area, but Sacramento is home to our state Capitol. And just a stone’s throw away from that building, in the downtown area, is where the city experienced its deadliest mass shooting ever on Sunday. 6 people have been killed, and at least 12 have been injured.

Guest: Saul Gonzalez, host of KQED's The California Report

This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Alan Montecillo, and hosted Ericka Cruz Guevarra,

Recommended listening:

Let's Talk About Race and the Orinda Shooting, Nov. 6, 2019.
Unpacking the Rise in Gun Violence, Oct. 13, 2021.

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‘It’s Like Groundhog Day’: Another Year of Drought Apr 06, 2022

Show notes

The rainy season is over. But it didn’t feel like much of a rainy season at all. And now, California is in another year of drought. In the Bay Area, the North and South Bay are getting hit the hardest.

Being asked to save water isn’t new to Californians. So what other solutions are on the table for how we can adapt to drier winters and shrinking dams?

Guest: Ezra David Romero, climate reporter for KQED

Recommended listening:

Our Fire Conversation Needs to Change

This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra.

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Bay Curious: The History of the Bay’s 425 Shellmounds Apr 04, 2022

Show notes

Before the Emeryville shoreline was a shopping center and commercial area, it was the site of a sacred burial site belonging to the Ohlone people, natives of the San Francisco Bay Area.

There were once more than 425 of these shellmounds across the Bay Area. And today, native people are still working to protect what’s left of them. Bay Curious explores the history of these shellmounds, and what happened to them.

Episode transcript

This episode of Bay Curious originally aired Nov. 8, 2018. Since then, the California Court of Appeals ruled that a housing development could move forward on the West Berkeley Shellmound site, despite arguments by the city of Berkeley and the Confederated Villages of Lisjan. Berkeley appealed the ruling, but the State Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

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The ‘Sustained Excellence’ of Stanford Women’s Basketball Apr 01, 2022

Show notes

When it comes to basketball in the Bay Area, there’s no team that’s done more winning than Stanford’s women’s team.

Since 1990, the Cardinal have won 15 conference championships, 3 national championships, and have made the Final Four 15 times. Now, they're two wins away from back-to-back national titles, with a semifinal matchup against the UConn Huskies tonight at 6:30 pm PT. And under the helm of longtime head coach Tara VanDerveer, the winningest coach in women's college basketball history, Stanford has also played a huge role in breaking barriers in the face of inequities between women's and men's sports.

Episode Transcript

Guest: Michelle Smith, freelance women’s basketball writer

Links:

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How BART Removed — and Then Reinstated — Director Lateefah Simon Mar 30, 2022

Show notes

It’s been a weird month for BART’s Board of Directors. In the span of just 2 weeks, the agency removed — and then reinstated — Director Lateefah Simon.

A Black, legally blind, regular BART rider, Director Simon was initially removed over a mix-up with her home address, which is barely 300 feet outside her district. But this abrupt decision sparked a huge outcry from constituents, who suddenly couldn’t reach the person they elected.

Now Director Simon is back on the board, but there are still lots of unanswered questions about how any of this happened in the first place. And Director Simon has said she is committed to keeping her seat.

Episode Transcript

Guest: Dan Brekke, KQED editor and reporter

This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra.

Questions? Comments? Email us: thebay@kqed.org.

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KQED Live: Finding Asylum in California Mar 28, 2022

Show notes

Landing in a new country is never easy, even if you’re landing in a place like the Bay Area, which is already home to so many immigrants, refugees, and people who’ve sought asylum. And between Russia's invasion of Ukraine, chaos in Afghanistan, and the ongoing crisis at the US-Mexico border, this topic has been on our minds a lot.

On Wednesday, March 23, KQED Live held an event called Finding Asylum in California. It included visual art by Caleb Duarte, and a discussion moderated by KQED Newsroom host Priya David Clemens. That discussion also included KQED immigration senior editor Tyche Hendricks and JFCS East Bay refugee resettlement director Fouzia Azizi. Today, we're sharing that conversation on the show.

For more information about live events at KQED, visit https://www.kqed.org/events

Episode Transcript

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What Happened at Vallejo's Project Roomkey? Mar 25, 2022

Show notes

In April 2020, Vallejo became one of the first cities to opt into the state’s Project Roomkey, a program designed to provide hotel rooms for medically vulnerable people without homes during the pandemic.

The program was touted as a success by city leaders. But reporting from The Vallejo Sun found at least 5 people who participated in the program died in their hotel rooms, including 3 who weren’t found for days. So how did this happen?

Guest: Scott Morris, investigative journalist for The Vallejo Sun

Scott’s article: Left Alone in Their Rooms: Death and dysfunction in Vallejo’s COVID housing for the homeless
Episode transcript

This episode was produced and edited by Alan Montecillo and Ericka Cruz Guevarra, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra.

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