The Bay

For many members of the public, COVID-19 is in the rearview mirror. People are tired. Governments have dropped things like mask and vaccine mandates. And the virus isn’t as lethal as it once was.On the other hand, this virus is still very much a part of our lives, especially for people who are vulnerable, immunocompromised, or have long COVID.Now, California is going to end its COVID state of emergency at the end of month. We’ll dive into what that means.Guest: Carly Severn, KQED senior engagement editorLinks: The Bay Survey California's COVID Emergency Ends Feb. 28. What Does That Actually Mean for You? California COVID Sick Pay Has Expired. But if You Work in San Francisco, You Still Have Options — Until Feb. 28 This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Jehlen Herdman, and guest hosted by Alan Montecillo, who also edited. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Originally from The Bronx, New York, Dave “Davey D” Cook was there when this thing we call hip-hop was in its nascent form, before it even had a name. When he arrived in the Bay Area in the early ’80s, one of his missions as a UC Berkeley student was to lend some insight to this burgeoning culture. So he put on a few events, one of which was The Day in Hip-Hop on Oct. 24, 1984. Rightnowish host Pendarvis Harshaw looks back on that day with Davey D, and traces how far hip hop has come since — in the Bay Area and beyond.  This episode of Rightnowish first published on Feb. 1, 2023. It’s part of That’s My Word, KQED’s year-long exploration of Bay Area hip-hop history, with new content dropping all throughout 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Crisis pregnancy centers, or anti-abortion centers, are designed to look like community health clinics. But the vast majority of them don’t have a medical license, and all of them have an explicit goal: to persuade people to not have an abortion. There are thousands of these centers all over the country. They advertise aggressively — especially in lower-income communities of color — and are in many cases located directly next to abortion clinics. And despite California’s reputation as a sanctuary state for abortion rights, there are more crisis pregnancy centers than abortion centers in our state.Guest: Emma Silvers, KQED digital editor/producerThis episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In November 2020, then-San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin filed criminal charges against former SFPD officer Christopher Samayoa. In 2017, Samayoa, who had been on the force for just 4 days, shot and killed 42-year old Keita O’Neil through a police vehicle window. But now, Boudin’s successor, Brooke Jenkins, has announced she plans to drop the charges, arguing that Boudin pursued the case for "political reasons and not in the interests of justice." Meanwhile, O’Neil’s aunt, April Green, says she told the DA “all that blood from killing and murders you're justifying from police are going to be on your head.” She has stated that she does not trust Jenkins to prosecute the officer who killed her nephew.Guest: Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, KQED politics reporterLinks: The Bay Survey Blaming Boudin, SF DA Brooke Jenkins Wants to Dismiss Historic Case Against SFPD Officer Who Killed Keita O'Neil This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca. Jehlen Herdman is our intern. Ericka Cruz Guevarra is the host. Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last spring, workers at Chevron’s Richmond refinery went on strike for 10 weeks, demanding higher pay, better health benefits, and safer working conditions. When the strike ended, union leaders say that Chevron initially encouraged managers and workers to put the strike behind them.But now, USW Local 5, the union representing Richmond refinery workers, alleges Chevron has fired at least 5 workers for their role in the strikes, a claim that Chevron denies.Guest: Ted Goldberg, KQED supervising senior editor for newsLinks: ‘Union Says Chevron Fired Several Richmond Refinery Workers Who Went on Strike,’ by Ted Goldberg, Feb. 5, 2023. The Bay Survey This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Here/There homeless encampment was familiar to anybody who drove between Oakland and Berkeley. The camp had its roots in the Bay Area’s Occupy movements in the early 2010s, and was founded in 2017 to highlight the problem of homelessness. It once had its own structure, rules, and a good relationship with the neighborhood.But over the last few years, the camp changed. Its founders passed away and people moved on. And last week, the city officially closed it down.Read the episode transcriptGuest: Supriya Yelimeli, Berkeleyside housing and homelessness reporterLinks: ‘South Berkeley Here There encampment closed after 6 years,’ by Supriya Yelimeli, Feb. 2, 2023. The Bay Survey Berkeley, 94700”: a deep historical dive into South Berkeley’s Here There community encampment This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca. Jehlen Herdman is our intern. Ericka Cruz Guevarra is the host. Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong was placed on administrative leave last month, after an external investigation into the handling of two police misconduct cases found he failed to hold officers accountable. This latest chapter comes two decades into the department’s reform efforts under the oversight of a federal court. Recent headlines have focused mostly on Armstrong’s suspension and his efforts to get reinstated. But as journalist and author Ali Winston puts it, this latest scandal is really a symptom of longstanding issues within OPD.  Read the episode transcriptGuest: Ali Winston, independent journalist and co-author of the book The Riders Come Out At NightThis episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sandra Castañeda was convicted for a murder she didn’t commit and was sentenced to 40 years to life. She thought she was going to spend the rest of her life in prison. In 2018, she got hopeful news: California dismissed her sentence and ordered her release. But instead of finding freedom, she was immediately detained by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after being released from prison. Even though her crimes were dismissed in California, federal immigration authorities still consider Sandra deportable. In this months-long investigation, KQED’s Tyche Hendricks reports on the thousands of immigrants whose cases have been dismissed at the state level but whose cases are still being pursued by ICE. Read the episode transcriptThis episode originally aired on KQED's The California Report Magazine on Jan. 27, 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The mass shooting last Monday in Half Moon Bay that left 7 farmworkers dead has brought renewed attention to the living conditions of California farmworkers. State and local officials say they plan to investigate potential wage theft and safety violations at the two farms.But more broadly, the issues that this mass shooting highlighted are not new: farmworkers across California make very low wages, struggle to afford housing, and are vulnerable to exploitation. And looming over it all is the fact that a majority are undocumented immigrants, with less power than most Americans.Guest: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED labor correspondentLinks: Half Moon Bay Victims Fund 'Deplorable, Heartbreaking': Officials Pledge to Investigate Labor Conditions at Mushroom Farms Targeted in Half Moon Bay Shootings The Bay Survey: Help Make The Bay Better! This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You’ve seen the news by now: tech companies are laying people off in droves. Nearly 60,000 people have been laid off from Bay Area-based tech companies since November 2022, according to the latest estimates from Layoffs.fyi, a website that has tracked tech layoffs since the start of the pandemic.Companies cite everything from the need to cut costs, to over-hiring during the pandemic, to fears of a looming recession. But what's really going on? And what does it mean for the tens of thousands of people who once worked in an industry that is famous for the perks, fancy offices, high pay, and stability?Guest: Kevin Vu Nguyen, Bay Area journalist whose work has appeared in the SF Standard, the Sacramento Bee, and the GuardianThis episode was produced by Alan Montecillo, Maria Esquinca and Jehlen Herdman, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra.Links: READ: Laid-Off Tech Workers Are Bracing for a Difficult Future, by Kevin V. Nguyen  LISTEN: A Frantic Job Hunt for H-1B Visa Holders in Tech, by Ericka Cruz Guevarra, Rachael Myrow, and Alan Montecillo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices