KQED's The California Report

A bill to hold gun manufacturers responsible for death and destruction caused by their products cleared a key Assembly committee on Tuesday. It's part of a larger package of legislation addressing gun violence in the state.Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED While health officials are hopeful that the worst of the pandemic is over, hospitals are still reeling from financial losses. One hospital in the San Joaquin Valley is warning of disaster for many facilities.Reporter: Kerry Klein, Valley Public RadioThe Kern County town of McFarland is facing the possible closure of its only public library, so the space can be used by the McFarland Police Department. While city leaders have rallied around the proposal, many in the community oppose the plan.Guest: Emma Gallegos, Central Valley Journalism Resident for EdSourceGovernor Gavin Newsom visited the Oroville Dam on Tuesday to talk about the ongoing drought and the state's plans to address it. He said California might need to shut down one of its largest hydroelectirc plants.Reporter: Alec Stutson, North State Public Radio With drier winters, hotter summers, and year-round potential for wildfires, Southern California is experiencing the effects of climate change. And the grab-bag of wild weather isn’t lost on voters, according to a new poll.Reporter: Matt Guilhem, KCRWAcross California, law enforcement agencies are under increasing scrutiny over using the DNA of sexual assault surivors in unrelated criminal investigations. Santa Clara County supervisors heard testimony on the topic on Tuesday.Reporter: Adhiti Bandlamudi, KQEDLos Angeles County’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year includes new investments in mental health. The plan is to use federal funds to assist with outreach, engagement and crisis response.Reporter: Robert Garrova, KPCC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Landlords in Los Angeles have failed in their legal quest to overturn the city’s eviction moratorium. The U.S. Supreme Court has decided not to hear a case challenging the city’s protections. Reporter: David Wagner, KPCC A San Francisco judge has ordered the release of a man who's been incarcerated for over 30 years, for a murder he's maintained he didn't commit.Reporter: Alex Emslie, KQED It’s been 16 years since Californians elected anyone but a Democrat to statewide office. But this year, Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta is facing challenges from three serious contenders in the June primary -- two Republicans and one independent. Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQEDDuring a visit to California’s Central Coast Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris announced that the U.S. will no longer conduct anti-satellite missile tests in space. She called it a reckless and dangerous practice.Reporter: Benjamin Purper, KCBX More than half of California voters would be willing to pay more for items that don’t contain single-use plastics, according to a new poll. The poll by the environmental group Oceana reveals more than 90% of California voters are concerned by the damage wrought by plastic pollution. Reporter: Darrell Satzman, KCRWThe Salinas River is home to many beavers, who are helping the area better adapt to the impacts of climate chnage.Reporter: Rachel Showalter, KCBX Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More than three million Californians could get a break on their tax bill with a proposal to boost benefits for renters. The proposal from state Senator Steve Glazer would increase the renter tax credit from $60 to $500 for single filers and from $120 to $1000 for couples and single parents.Reporter: Erin Baldassari, KQEDA new survey of more than 700 crime survivors finds that California needs to do far more to support victims -- especially those in marginalized communities. It found that more than a third of victims are never offered the resources they’re entitled to under state law, including help with funeral or housing costsReporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED Within the next two decades, all of California’s electricity needs to come from renewable sources. That makes geothermal energy, energy from heat in the earth, more appealing.Reporter: Greta Mart, Northern California Public MediaEvery year, California prisons hand over hundreds of people to immigration authorities. But in a rare exception, one Cambodian national was released on parole late last week and reunited with family without being re-detained.Reporter: Josie Huang, KPCCMillions of dollars PG&E agreed to pay in its Kincade Fire settlement with the Sonoma County district attorney will go directly to local groups.  Reporter: Kevin Stark, KQED  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Does California U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, who’s 88 and a giant of American politics, still have the mental fitness to do her job? According to reporting by San Francisco Chronicle Washington Correspondent Tal Kopan, there are many instances of the Senator’s memory failing.Guest: Tal Kopan, Washington Correspondent, San Francisco ChronicleA bill to tighten COVID-19 vaccination requirements for California school children has stalled in the state legislature. Legislation from Sacramento State Senator Richard Pan would have closed the personal beliefs exemption, like the state has done for the measles vaccine.Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED  Now that many COVID restrictions have eased in California, and all of us are trying to figure out how to live our lives going forward, The California Report wanted to check in with someone we first met at the very beginning of the pandemic. San Francisco resident Hinda Gilbert was on a cruise ship that had to be redirected to Oakland, following an outbreak on board.Reporter: Mary Franklin Harvin, The California Report The California Task Force studying reparations for the descendants of enslaved Africans has approved its report on why reparations are necessary. The report will be the first government-issued document to examine anti-black racism in more than 50 years. Reporter: Annelise Finney, KQEDState regulators are recommending that the western Joshua tree not be designated as a threatened species. It was given interim protection back in 2020 under the California Endangered Species Act.Reporter: Keith Mizuguchi, The California Report It can be hard to imagine anything living in the deepest and darkest depths of the world’s oceans. But the seafloor can teem with life. That ecosystem, though, is under threat from climate change and plastic pollution, and a new threat now looms – deep sea mining.Reporter: Erika Mahoney Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A draft of California’s first-in-the-nation roadmap for ending the sale of all new gas-powered cars in the state by 2035 has been released. The new plan requires an increase in the sales of electric vehicles starting in 2024.Reporter: Kevin Stark, KQEDIf you’re in the market for a new electric vehicle here in California right now, you’re definitely not alone. With gas prices soaring to record levels, in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, many prospective car buyers say an EV is the way to go. But are there anywhere near enough electric vehicles at California car dealerships?Reporter: Robin Estrin, KCRWCalifornia’s Reparations Task Force studying reparations for Black Californians continues meeting on Thursday at San Francisco’s historic Third Baptist Church. During Wednesday's meeting, the topic was discrimination in education.Reporter: Annelise Finney, KQEDCalifornia voters say housing affordability and homelessness are the most important issues for the state to address this year. That’s according to a new survey from the Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies. Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED People who have experienced homelessness need to be given a seat at the table when it comes to making policy decisions about Los Angeles’ homeless crisis. That's one of the recommendations to come out of a new report commissioned by the Committee for a Greater LA.Reporter: Ethan Ward, KPCC  People with certain psychiatric disorders face a heightened risk of breakthrough COVID-19 infections. That’s according to a new study from UC San Francisco.Reporter: April Dembosky, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A bill in the state legislature aims to cut some Californians' workweek down to 32 hours from the usual 40. The proposed legislation would apply to companies in the state with more than 500 employees. At the national level, similar legislation has been introduced by Riverside County Congressman Mark Takano. Guest: Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, Writer and Head of Global Programs for 4 Day Week GlobalThe California Chamber of Commerce has called the proposal to shorten the workweek in California a job killer, arguing it will drastically increase labor costs for businesses. The chamber says it could also result in major job cuts and larger companies deciding not to expand in the state.Reporter: Keith Mizuguchi, The California ReportAmazon’s warehouse workers are getting injured twice as often as workers at other warehouses across the country. And in California, the rates are even higher. That’s according to a new study out from a labor union coalition based in the Inland Empire. Reporter: Adhiti Bandlamudi, KQED California has tough new penalties on the books regarding wage theft. That’s when employers don’t pay workers what they’re actually owed. And, a state hearing on alleged wage theft at six Burger King franchises in San Francisco has started this week.Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQEDWith the rise in anti-Asian violence across the country has come a push to fight racism, through education. Many Asian American teachers in Southern California are using the moment to get their history into more schools.Reporter: Josie Huang, KPCC  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California has millions of acres of overgrown forestland. It’s raw fuel for potentially catastrophic wildfires. In late 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a new program to dramatically speed up the state’s wildfire prevention work. But an investigation from CapRadio and The California Newsroom found the program hasn’t resulted in a single completed project.Reporter: Scott Rodd, CapRadioCalifornia’s push for green energy could inadvertently harm one of its most famous species. As more and more wind turbines go up in the state, the companies behind them are looking to prevent unintended deaths of critically endangered California condors. Reporter: Matt Guilhem, KCRW Where oh where have California’s school kids gone? The state’s K-12 public school enrollment is down again this year by 110,000 students. That’s on top of a drop of 161,000 last year. Reporter: Julia McEvoy, KQEDSan Francisco tenants now have the right to organize, under legislation that took effect this week. The Board of Supervisors approved the protections for tenants to form associations like labor unions.Reporter: Maria Fernanda Bernal, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even as the highly contagious BA.2 subvariant spreads across the globe, California has not yet seen a sharp uptick in new coronavirus cases or hospitalizations. But in Los Angeles, more people who do test positive for COVID will now have access to treatment. Reporter: Jackie Fortier, KPCCFor over two years now, the closure of the US-Mexico border to most asylum-seekers has left many migrants in limbo. For young people especially, that means months without school or anyway to fill their days. One organization in Tijuana is trying to do something about that by giving young migrants a place to learn, where they can also deal with the mental toll their journeys have taken on them. Reporter: Max Rivlin-Nadler As thousands of Ukrainians seeking asylum flock to the US-Mexico border, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has conditionally opened an entry south of San Diego that has been shuttered for two years. The PedWest border crossing at the San Ysidro Port of Entry has become a welcoming area for people fleeing the war. Reporter: Kitty Alvarado, KPBSFor many transgender and nonbinary people who are dealing with medical conditions, the path to permanent housing is often met with barriers. In Los Angeles, some organizations are working to change that. Reporter: Ethan Ward, KPCC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Schools in the Los Angeles area are reporting more coronavirus outbreaks. Outbreaks have more than tripled in the past 10 days in Los Angeles schools.Reporter: Jackie Fortier, KPCCThieves have been stealing catalytic converters from cars and trucks at a much greater rate here in California, in large part because the metals in those converters, like palladium and platinum, have become so valuable to resell. But a recent event in Los Angeles aimed to help drivers who might become victims of those crimes.Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California ReportOver the past couple of years, the pandemic has highlighted big problems with the state’s often deteriorating stock of rental housing has more people have stayed home. Now, Los Angeles County is planning to crack down on landlords who neglect their buildings.Reporter: David Wagner, KPCC  The city of Fresno is launching a pilot program to help protect its street vendors, one year after a vendor was murdered while selling corn. The city will be installing livestream cameras on 20 vendor carts, hoping that they'll serve as a deterrent to harassment and violence.Reporter: Mary Franklin Harvin, The California ReportCalifornia had already announced that crab fisheries from the Sonoma-Mendocino County border on south would close on Friday. Now the Department of Fish and Wildlife is shutting down the northern parts of the state on April 20.Reporter: Nina Thorsen, KQED  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sacramento police now believe at least five individuals fired guns in the downtown shooting that left six dead and 12 injured early Sunday morning. Investigators say they believe gangs played a role in the shooting.Guest: Sam Stanton, Sacramento BeeSince 1959, California’s Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, or POST, has set rules of conduct for law enforcement in the state. The commission will hold a special meeting on Thursday to work on defining what kind of police misconduct is serious enough to revoke an officer’s badge.Reporter: Sukey Lewis, KQEDThere are more than a million unfilled tech jobs in the United States. That’s a problem for tech companies but an opportunity for IT professionals in Mexico. Reporter: Gustavo Solis, KPBSThis week, San Diego’s City Council approved a new municipal board that will oversee surveillance related issues in the city. The new board will give advice and recommendations on the city's use of surveillance technologies and personal data, as well as review how they are currently being used.Reporter: Christina Kim, KPBS A poll out this week from UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies gives new insight into concerns Californians have for farmworkers employed in wildfire evacuation zones. More than 80% of California voters polled think that farmworkers should both get hazard pay for this work – and be given safety training in their own native language.Reporter: Mary Franklin Harvin, The California Report Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices