KQED's The California Report

This fall, California voters will decide on two different proposals to legalize and tax betting on sports. Four years after the U.S. Supreme Court made it possible, voters will decide whether to legalize the multi-billion dollar industry here.Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED A controversial state bill that would make it easier to build housing in office spaces or strip malls has passed out of a Senate Committee. The bill has split the state’s construction trade unions.  Reporter: Adhiti Bandlamudi, KQEDSacramento County’s homeless population hit a new record high this winter at nearly 9300 people.  That’s according to the Homeless Point-In-Time-Count, which was released earlier this week.Reporter: Chris Nichols, CapRadioCalifornia officials urged the federal EPA to let the state enforce its own ambitious clean truck standards at a hearing on Wednesday. The EPA is considering a waiver allowing California to impose strict regulations, forcing manufacturers to limit diesel pollution and increase production of electric trucks. Reporter: Kevin Stark, KQED California nonprofits that help women access abortion care are reeling from changes to the state budget that lawmakers passed on Wednesday night. Some expenses that they thought would be covered for women traveling from out of state, won’t be.Reporter: April Dembosky, KQED The University of California has committed to hosting a voting center or ballot drop box at each of its campuses. The plan was announced as part of a partnership with the Secretary of State’s Office to encourage students to vote. Reporter: Juan Carlos Lara, KQED   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The last of California’s eviction protections expires on Friday. Lawmakers extended the deadline back in March, to give the state more time to pay out emergency rental assistance. But thousands of people who applied are still waiting, and could soon face eviction.Reporter: Erin Baldassari, KQED Reported hate crimes in California rose significantly last year, according to a report issued Tuesday by Attorney General Rob Bonta. Overall reports of hate crimes rose nearly 33% last year – to the highest level since right after the 9/11 attacks.Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED As California's craft liquor scene grows, some of the state's smaller distillers say their growth is limited by laws preventing them from shipping direct to consumers. Now, a new bill, headed back to a state assembly committee, could change that.Reporter: Benjamin Purper, KCBX  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In November, California voters will decide whether to enshrine a right to abortion in the state constitution, after the state Assembly voted on Monday to place the question on the November ballot.Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQEDWhile abortion in California will remain legal, and the state says it will champion reproductive freedoms, Arizona is looking to enact some of the most draconian abortion laws in the country. What does this mean for both states?Guest: Howard Fischer, Reporter Capitol Media Services in ArizonaLos Angeles County has allocated $50 million to start making purchases for 5,000 affordable housing units to help families reduce two big expenses - housing and transportation.Reporter: Janaya Williams/KCRW Undocumented immigrants, ages 26 to 49, will get health coverage beginning in 2024. Roughly 700-thousand people are expected to sign up – at a cost of about 2 billion dollars a year.Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQEDAdvocates are hopeful that Gov. Newsom's budget proposal will consider an increase wage replacement for workers who take time off to care for an ill relative, or bond with a new child.Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California, which has positioned itself as a bastion of reproductive rights, plans to welcome people from states where abortion services are now restricted or banned altogether, following last week's ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. The state may even help them cover the costs of traveling here.Reporter: April Dembosky, KQEDThis is an election year with control of Congress at stake. And progresssive political activists say in the wake of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, abortion and reproductive freedoms will be the biggest issue shaping the political landscape.Guest: Emiliana Guereca, CEO of the Women’s March Foundation Legal scholars say it’s unsettled whether Californians could be held legally liable for helping people from out of state get abortions. At issue is whether states have authority to criminalize behavior outside of their borders. Reporter: Danielle Venton, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California has some of the strictest gun laws in the country. Next week state lawmakers are expected to pass a bill that will make carrying a concealed weapon her even harder.Reporter: Kris Hooks, CapRadioNathan Hochman, a former prosecutor and defense lawyer, has won enough votes to face California's Democratic Attorney General, Rob Bonta, in the November general election in California. Hochman won 18% of the vote in the June 7th primary, while Bonta garnered 54.8%, according to the latest figures released on Thursday by the California Secretary of State's Office.Prosecutors say the accused gunman who attacked a Taiwanese congregation in Laguna Woods was motivated by hate. The shooting shows a painful and complex past for Taiwanese immigrants and their American children.Reporter: Josie Huang, KPCC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Paradise homeowner is one of the first to get her home fire proofed. It's part of a program that helps residents who lost homes during the 2018 Camp Fire pay for safety improvements.Reporter: Danielle Venton, KQEDThe trustee for a more than $13-billion-dollar fund set up to compensate Pacific Gas and Electric wildfire victims is stepping down. Retired Judge John K. Trotter has overseen the "Fire Victim Trust" for the past two years, but next week he leaves the post.Reporter:  Dan Brekke, KQEDCalifornia’s public pension systems won’t have to divest their funds from fossil fuels anytime soon. A bill that would have forced the state's public pension systems to sell their oil and gas holdings by the end of the decade died in the state assembly this week.Reporter: Tara Atrian, KCRWLos Angeles renters may have to start paying back payments owed for rent during the pandemic now that the LA City Council is considering reversing measures that protected renters for the past two years.Reporter: David Wagner, KPCCAs the LGBTQ community continues to celebrate Pride Month here in California, an event that’s scheduled to feature drag queens at Fresno’s Chaffee Zoo has sparked controversy in the city. Opposing rallies were held near Fresno City Hall on Wednesday.The pandemic is having a brutal impact on many school closures, especially for Catholic schools. We take a look at what the closure of one Catholic School in L.A.’s Boyle Heights neighborhood means for an immigrant community. Reporter: Robin Estrin, KCRW Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cal Fire is not only dealing with an increasing amount of wildfires across California, but many of its firefighters are facing their own mental health crisis. An investigation by CalMatters looked at the trauma these firefighters are facing and how it's affecting fire crews across the state.Guest: Julie Cart, Reporter, CalMattersGovernor Gavin Newsom's plan to compel severely mentally ill Californians into treatment has cleared its latest legislative hurdle, despite concerns from civil liberties advocates. The CARE Court proposal is now headed to its next committee hearing in Sacramento.Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED  Los Angeles County health officials are being urged to be more aggressive in their efforts to help stop the spread of Monkeypox. Currently, there are at least a dozen confirmed, or suspected, Monkeypox cases in LA County, and 37 total cases across the state. California health authorities are being asked to work harder on getting the word out about the disease, and the Aids Health Foundation wants to remind more people to use condoms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California has the highest gasoline prices in the country. Now, a bipartisan group of state lawmakers is investigating whether price gouging by energy companies is the biggest factor.Reporter: Nicole Nixon, CapRadioCal Fire responds to thousands of fires every year, often at great risk to firefighters. That’s earned the agency a heroic image in the public’s eye. But Cal Fire is also responsible for work that helps prevent catastrophic fire damage, and an investigation by the California Newsroom has found that the agency has failed to meet many of those responsibilities.Guest: Danielle Venton, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thousands of people will line the streets of downtown San Francisco on Monday to celebrate the Golden State Warriors NBA Championship. This is the team's fourth title in the last eight years.At least one bill that would legalize sports betting in California will go before voters in November. And while California could join more than two dozen states with some form of legalized wagering on sports, some are concerned it could have a negative effect on those struggling to kick the habit of sports betting and gambling addiction.Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Golden State Warriors went on the road and defeated the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, 103-90, to clinch their fourth NBA title in the last eight seasons. Guard Stephen Curry was named Finals MVP, after leading the team with 34 points in the finale.A Bay Area state senator is introducing a bill that would require California gun owners to have liability insurance. The bill from Senator Nancy Skinner of Berkeley would make gun owners take out policies similar to car insurance, that would make them financially responsible for injuries, damages, or deaths caused by the negligent or accidental use of their weapons. Reporter: Nina Thorsen, KQEDImmigrant detainees who work at two privately run detention facilities around Bakersfield have confirmed they are on strike. This comes as California’s workplace health and safety regulators have opened an investigation into their working conditions at one of the detention centers.Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQEDGlenn Burke is not a household name for most baseball fans, even though he played for both the L.A. Dodgers and Oakland A’s in the late 70's. But Burke’s legacy off the field resonates today, especially during Pride month. That's because Burke was the first Major League Baseball player to come out publicly as gay. Guest: Andrew Maraniss, Author of the book "Singled Out: The True Story of Glenn Burke"  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices