KQED's The California Report

Hate incidents are on the rise in San Diego, but they continue to be difficult to prosecute. Now, 911 dispatchers could play a key role in gathering evidence for these types of cases.Reporter: Cristina Kim, KPBSGovernor Gavin Newsom says the Supreme Court's anticipated roll-back of abortion rights is part of a larger attack on freedoms and privacy. The governor has reaffirmed California's support for access to reproductive services, after a leaked draft Supreme Court opinion showed a majority of justices supported overturning Roe v. Wade.As COVID-19 cases increase across the state, Los Angeles is seeing more outbreaks at workplaces and schools. Reporter: Jackie Fortier, KPCC  The Mountain View-based company behind TurboTax, Intuit, has agreed to pay more than $140 million to customers. $11 million will go to Californians, who were tricked into paying for services that should have been free.Reporter: Rachael Myrow, KQEDCalifornia voters could decide between two different approaches to legalizing sports gambling this November, after supporters of legalizing online wagers say they've collected enough signatures to make it on the ballot.Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQEDThe neat rows of grapevines in California’s wine country are just beginning to bud, as the wine industry faces another season of drought and almost certainly, wildfire. But it’s not just the flames they’re worried about. It’s the smoke too.Reporter: Jerimiah Oetting, KAZU Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Democrats in the California Legislative Women’s Caucus are pushing more than a dozen bills that they say will bolster abortion services in the state. Meanwhile, hundreds of people took part in rallies across the state, following news that Roe v. Wade could be overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.The contents of a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion that would likely strike down Roe v. Wade are still sinking in – both across the country and here in California.Guest: Radhika Rao, Law Professor, UC Hastings Los Angeles County’s Office of Diversion and Reentry houses thousands of people with mental health challenges, who would otherwise end up incarcerated. But its biggest initiative maxed out its budget last year and can’t add any new clients. Reporter: Emily Elena Dugdale, KPCC San Diego county has launched a first-in-the-nation program to provide free legal aid to detained immigrants.Reporter: Kitty Alvarado, KPBS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A draft majority opinion obtained by Politico appears to show that the U.S. Supreme Court could be poised to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. If that does occur, the effects will be felt nationwide, including in California, which is already preparing for the possibility of an influx of people looking to get an abortion.Guest: Shannon Olivieri Hovis, Director of NARAL Pro-Choice CaliforniaIn a recent op-ed for the San Francisco Chronicle, former legislative staffer Ruth Ferguson details her experiences working in the office of Bay Area Assemblymember Marc Berman. She says her experience included harassment from her direct supervisor and retaliation for reporting incidents that concerned her. Now, she's looking to help lead change in the ways these claims are investigated.Guest: Ruth Ferguson, former staffer for Bay Area Assemblymemebr Marc Berman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California’s last remaining nuclear energy facility, Diablo Canyon in San Luis Obispo County, produces enough carbon-free energy to power three million homes each year. It’s scheduled to shut down by 2025, but now, Governor Gavin Newsom may consider delaying the closure.Reporter: Rachel Showalter, KCBXChange is coming to California’s rooftop solar market, but what that change looks like remains a mystery. The state is still waiting for a reboot of efforts to overhaul its solar power system, three months after Governor Gavin Newsom essentially shut the process down.Reporter: Erik Anderson, KPBS  This upcoming June primary is the first chance to see the effects of new local campaign finance limits in California. In Shasta County, it will likely test the limits of how much influence a wealthy donor can have on races.Reporter: Roman Battaglia, Jefferson Public RadioA new study from the Stanford School of Medicine sheds some light on why it is that teens tune mom out.Reporter: Vanessa Rancaño, KQED   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week marks the 30th anniversary of one of the most painful and bloodiest chapters in LA's history. The civil unrest of 1992, also known as the riots, the rebellion and the uprising, began in response to the acquittal of four white LA police officers for the beating of a black man named Rodney King. By the time it was over, dozens were dead and hundreds of millions of dollars in damage was done.Guest: Joel Anderson, Podcast Host of Slow Burn: The LA Riots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California’s Labor Commissioner has fined poultry giant Foster Farms and three staffing agencies nearly $4 million for failing to tell thousands of workers about COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave assistance. The failure was discovered during an audit of Foster Farms’ payroll records in 2020.Reporter: Alex Hall, KQED  Researchers in San Diego County are working to stave off the worst impacts of global warming. They say cattails found in wetlands could be part of the answer.Reporter: Erik Anderson, KPBSStockton city leaders have found a new chief to lead the police department. Stanley McFadden, who is currently a deputy chief in San Jose, will be the first African American to lead the department. Reporter: Sukey Lewis, KQED To help protect it and give people more control over what companies do with their data, the state has enacted new privacy laws and created the country's very first privacy protection agency to enforce them. It's only six months old, and director Ashkan Soltani says he knows there are big challenges ahead.Guest: Ashkan Soltani, Executive Director, California Privacy Protection AgencyAn effort to shut down three oil platforms off the Orange County coast has cleared its first legislative hurdle. But there are concerns about the potential costs, even from some Democrats who oppose offshore drilling. Reporter: Darrell Satzman, KCRW  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Southern California, the Metropolitan Water District, which supplies water to millions of people in several counties, has declared a first of its kind water shortage emergency. Meanwhile, in the Bay Area, the East Bay Municipal Water District has approved a mandatory 10% reduction in water usage compared to 2020 levels. What little is known about long-COVID in children and teenagers suggests that it can be just as disabling for them as it is for older adults. One family in Los Angeles connected the dots before the doctors.Reporter: Jackie Fortier, KPCCA proposal by Governor Gavin Newsom to impose a new form of court-ordered treatment for people with severe mental illness got approval in its first state senate hearing on Tuesday. The CARE Court idea is receiving opposition from civil rights and homeless advocacy groups.  Reporter: Erin Baldassari, KQEDNurses at University of California medical centers will protest UC management on Wednesday, in response to staffing issues that the nurses say have been ongoing through the pandemic.Reporter: Shehreen Karim, KQEDA state audit of five law enforcement agencies has found racist or other biased conduct by police officers at all of them-- and inadequate investigations into that conduct. Reporter: Alex Emslie, KQED  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The mayors of California’s largest cities are calling on Governor Newsom to continue funding critical homelessness services. The state’s Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Grants have only been available for three years. But mayors from all over California say their cities rely on their unique flexibility to pay for a wide range of services.Reporter: Erin Baldassari, KQEDA study from the L.A. County Department of Public Health comparing unhoused mortality one year before, and after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic revealed that deaths among young unhoused people, aged 18 to 29, more than doubled.Reporter: Ethan Ward, KPCCWe're continuing our series examining the field of candidates running to be California Attorney General. The current AG, Democrat Rob Bonta is facing three serious challengers, including Republican hopeful Eric Early, who says the state is headed in the wrong direction.Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQEDGovernor Gavin Newsom has promised that California will halt all in-state oil and gas production by the year 2045. But the state is the country’s 7th largest oil producer. So what might that transition look like, specifically in the San Joaquin Valley towns literally built on oil?Reporter: Kerry Klein, Valley Public Radio  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Starting on Friday, masks will again be required inside L.A. County’s airports and on public transportation. The new health order comes after a Florida federal judge threw out a mask mandate on public transportation and airplanes nationwide.Reporter: Jackie Fortier, KPCCCalifornia could sanction places to do illegal drugs under the watchful gaze of a healthcare worker. The so-called “safe consumption” sites are an effort to save lives, as overdoses skyrocket across the country. But the prospect of opening them remains controversial.Reporter: Lesley McClurg, KQED   California will close its main COVID-19 testing lab next month. The facility in Los Angeles County has faced scrutiny since it opened.Reporter: Scott Rodd, CapRadio A new poll finds that 80% of Gen Z youth in California have experienced anxiety, stress or feelings of being overwhelmed as a result of learning about climate change.Reporter: Anaïs-Ophelia Lino, KQED  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California’s red hot housing market is showing some early signs of cooling. The reason for that is both good and bad news for would-be homebuyers.Reporter: Erin Baldassari, KQEDIn Los Angeles County, in the city of Inglewood, an elementary school is facing permanent closure this summer. Locals have started a petition to stop the closure, but the school district says low enrollment makes it too expensive to keep open.Reporter: Megan Jamerson, KCRWOfficials from the Biden Administration are sounding the alarm about global shortages of semiconductor chips. They're urging Congress to fast track a bill with incentives for companies to expand domestic chip production in places like Silicon Valley.Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQEDAlmonds are harvested every year in August. But this year, many growers and processors in California are still holding onto last year’s product.Reporter: Kerry Klein, Valley Public Radio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices