The Bay

The debate over whether gig workers are employees or contractors has been a slow, messy conversation. Now, California’s new governor, Gavin Newsom, is trying to help broker a deal between the two sides. But some drivers aren’t happy about where they think it's going. Guest: Sam Harnett, KQED Silicon Valley reporter The Bay wants to get to know you better. Take our survey and share your opinion about the podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

PG&E says it has no choice but to enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and that it's going to file papers around Jan. 29. A lot of things led to this: from deregulation in the 1990's, to the fatal San Bruno explosion in 2010 that put the utility on probation to the 2017 and 2018 deadly wildfires in Northern California. And it brings up the question of who should ultimately be responsible for the cost. Guests: Lisa Pickoff-White, KQED data journalist, and Marisa Lagos, KQED senior politics reporter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Valero spent $200,000 in last year's Benicia city council election to help elect two candidates who were less critical of the company than others. That's created tension between the oil refiner and the city, leading people to question how much influence Valero should have in local politics. On Tuesday Benicia will discuss the possibility of new campaign finance laws that could limit corporate influence in its small town. Guest: Ted Goldberg, KQED News Editor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

About 40 percent of students in the Salinas City Elementary School District are considered homeless. This can mean living in a shelter or living in an overcrowded home, like multiple families co-existing in a single place. It's a problem that hurts schoolchildren and their ability to learn and retain information. And it stems from high and growing housing prices. Guest: Vanessa Rancaño, KQED education reporter To see more of Vanessa's reporting on Monterey County tap here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The San Mateo County district attorney is looking to reopen an investigation against a fired Burlingame police officer. The cop was accused by three women of asking them for sex in exchange for help with their alleged crimes. The case was made public this week after Bay Area reporters received police records under a new transparency law that went into effect on Jan. 1. Guest: Thomas Peele, investigative reporter with the Bay Area News Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Food says a lot about who we are. It can identify where we come from and what we like. In some cases, it may even let us know when we’re being racist. In a way, that’s a starting point for the San Francisco Chronicle's new restaurant critic Soleil Ho. The host of the podcast Racist Sandwich, Soleil tells The Bay about how food is a conduit for way more than what’s on our plates. ... Also, she likes the “gross” stuff, too. Guest: Soleil Ho, San Francisco Chronicle’s new restaurant critic, cohost of the Racist Sandwich podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Getting access to police records has never been easy. Especially when the records involve allegations of police wrongdoing. A new California law - SB 1421 - introduced by a Bay Area state senator, is supposed to give the public access to documents related to police misconduct and accountability. But law enforcement is fighting to keep documents from the past, private. This week a judge rejected an attempt to block the law from going into effect, and KQED journalists are involved. Guests: Sukey Lewis and Alex Emslie, KQED criminal justice reporters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See ya, 2018. What up, 2019! We’ve produced almost 150 episodes of The Bay covering all kinds of local news from e-scooters, to housing policies and #GrillingWhileBlack. Today, we want to pause a moment to say thanks for hanging with us. And to give you a sense of how we’re approaching the new year (hint: Erika is optimistic; Devin is pessimistic). Guests: Yours Truly Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ten years ago, in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day, Oscar Grant was shot and killed by Bart police officer, Johannes Mehserle. This was one of the first police shootings caught on cell phone video and spread around the world. It began a decade of witnessing police violence in a new way that has sparked a national conversation around police accountability and racism. Guest: Sandhya Dirks, KQED race and equity reporter Check out KQED's Forum special on Oscar Grant's legacy. And KQED Arts is asking people to write letters to Oscar Grant. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We jump into a stranger's car and take a ride over the Bay Bridge in the "casual carpool lane" to talk about higher bridge tolls. Our carpool driver and rider join in on a discussion about Regional Measure 3, which 55 percent of voters approved in the June 5 election that increased tolls on seven state bridges in the Bay Area. Guest: Dan Brekke, KQED transportation editor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices