KQED's The California Report

As we continue to see and hear the harrowing stories coming out of Ukraine, we’re talking to Californians with connections to the region who are trying to help . One of them is Patrick Kolasinski, an immigration attorney now based in Modesto, but originally from Poland. He and other attorneys are helping Ukrainians with legal issues they might have.Guest: Patrick Kolasinski, Immigrant Attorney based out of ModestoGovernor Gavin Newsom gave his annual State of the State address on Tuesday night and used the speech to push back against critics who say California is careening out of control under his leadership. He's also proposing to help Californians who are struggling with record-high gas prices.Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQEDWith gasoline prices at record levels in California and President Biden announcing a ban on the importation of Russian oil to the U.S. in response to the invasion of Ukraine, many Californians are wondering how high gas prices will go, and whether the state can do anything to help alleviate the pain at the pump for consumers.Guest: Severin Borenstein, Professor, UC Berkeley Haas School of Business Starting next Monday, L.A. County will align with the state to allow K-12 students to go maskless when they’re inside classrooms. A new survey shows some parents are ready to see the nation’s second largest school district’s mask requirement loosened.Reporter: Tara Atrian, KCRW  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Governor Gavin Newsom will deliver his annual State of the State address from Sacramento on Tuesday. The state of the state speech is typically a chance for governors to lay out their big plans for the year ahead, but it could be a little different this year.Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED California’s seas are rising and for the first time, all 17 of the state’s agencies have come together to plan for the impact. But some long-discounted communities are yet again feeling left out of these conversations.Guest: Ezra David Romero, Reporter, KQEDA bill introduced in the state legislature would prohibit police from matching DNA from rape survivors to unrelated crimes. It comes following a scandal involving the San Francisco Police Department, which misused a rape victims' DNA to arrest her for burglary.Reporter: Alex Emslie, KQEDA San Francisco supervisor is introducing a resolution supporting a campaign to allow young immigrants to legally work while they apply for humanitarian protections known as Special Immigrant Juvenile, or SIJ status. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED California is investing billions of dollars in high-tech solutions to predict and respond to natural disasters. But residents in rural communities, facing fires, floods and winter storms, are increasingly embracing an old school technology: two-way radios.Reporter: Scott Rodd, CapRadio  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Sunday, volunteers at Los Angeles’ Ukrainian Cultural Center filled big plastic bags full of supplies dropped off by people, to help Ukraine. Ukrainian advocates in the Bay Area are welcoming news that federal authorities will offer humanitarian protections to thousands of Ukrainians already in the U.S. An estimated 75,000 Ukrainians could receive Temporary Protected Status for 18 months, if they arrived in the U.S. before March 1.Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED  Many school districts across the state are trying to figure out how to deal with budgetary issues, along with declining enrollment numbers. Some are proposing closing campuses, which has led to protests from students and their families.Guest: Michael Fine, Executive Director of California’s Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance TeamCalifornia State Parks is considering a new name for part of Folsom Lake State Recreation Area east of Sacramento. Some residents say, the current name has caused harm for decades. Reporter: Sarah Mizes-Tan, CapRadio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Los Angeles County is lifting its universal mask mandate on Friday. That means face coverings will no longer be required in public indoor settings -- whether or not you're vaccinated.Reporter: Jackie Fortier, KPCCA new podcast -- “Idolo: the Ballad of Chalino Sanchez” -- follows the remarkable story of a Mexican singer, whose career was cut short at its peak when he was murdered in the early 1990s. Both Sanchez and the creators of the podcast have deep roots in Southern California.Reporter: Blanca Torres, KQEDA recently released report shows that California is way behind in helping people with COVID-related hardships pay their back rent. The study from PolicyLink finds that in a year of operation, only 16 percent of applicants have received aid. Reporter: Kate Wolffe, KQEDImmigrant and worker rights advocates gathered in Sacramento on Thursday in support of the first-ever bill to give unemployment benefits to undocumented immigrants.Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQEDBars and restaurants have been hit hard by the pandemic -- in fact, more than 90,000 have closed across the country. And many are now seeking some type of federal funding to help keep them afloat, as COVID-19 restrictions are eased.Reporter: Keith Mizuguchi, The California Report  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Poor people and people of color have been largely kept out of neighborhoods with single family homes in Los Angeles. And a new study from UC Berkeley’s Othering and Belonging Institute confirms that LA’s single family zoning laws are to blame. Guest: David Wagner, Reporter, KPCC and LAistThe Los Angeles police commission has approved a new policy that requires officers to explain on camera why they’re making a traffic or pedestrian stop. The commission cracked down specifically on pretextual stops – that’s when an officer makes a traffic or pedestrian stop for a minor issue and uses it to search for a more serious crime. Reporter: Emily Elena Dugdale, KPCC California Attorney General Rob Bonta is joining a bipartisan coalition of state Attorneys General, investigating how TikTok promotes itself to children and young adults. He's looking itno whether TikTok possibly violated state consumer protection laws.Reporter: Rachael Myrow, KQEDCalifornia’s courts, police and other services are partially funded through fines and fees. But for low income Californians, those fines and fees could mean a push deeper into poverty, according to new research.Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQEDBack in 2020, when then-candidate Joe Biden was debating then-president Donald Trump, he came out strongly against one particular practice: separating migrant families at the border. So it was surprising when, in December, news broke that the Biden administration had suddenly dropped out of negotiations to compensate families for the harm they suffered. Advocates believe money and politics are to blame.Reporter: Michelle Wiley, KQED  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Californians who are not vaccinated do not have to wear a mask in many indoor setting, like bars, restaurants and stores. This week's announcement is welcome news to many, but also concerning for some who have tried their best to not get infected during the pandemic.Guest: Abraar Karan, Infectious Disease Expert, Stanford School of MedicineCalifornians can expect more water conservation measures this summer after another disappointing snow survey. The latest numbers show California's snowpack at 63-percent of average.Reporter: Katrina Schwartz, KQED People with ties to Ukraine here in California are busy organizing to help provide humanitarian aid. Some are even relying on their business ties back home to help.Reporter: Keith Mizuguchi, The California Report California could become the first state in the country to expand health coverage to all low-income immigrants. Right now, most undocumented adults still aren’t eligible for Medi-Cal coverage, and that's forcing some families to make life and death decisions.Reporter: Madi Bolaños, Valley Public Radio  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A gunman killed his three daughters and another person before turning the gun on himself at a church in the Sacramento area on Monday night. Law enforcement officials say there was a temporary restraining order against him, which meant he shouldn't have had access to a gun.Crime has become a key concern for many California voters ahead of this year’s election season. Earlier in the pandemic, the country saw an unprecedented spike in murders, but the story has become a little more complicated, and the political debate doesn’t necessarily reflect the data. Guest: Marisa Lagos, KQED Political Correspondent From March 12th onwards, California students can go to school without their masks, if local districts allow it. The state announced Monday it’s shifting from requiring masks, to recommending them. Reporter: Julia McEvoy, KQEDThe state’s Employment Development Department has announced it’s going to drastically expand language support for the at least 7 million Californians whose first language isn’t English.Reporter: Mary Franklin Harvin, The California Report The gap in voter turnout between white and Black Californians continues to grow, according to new research published Monday by the Center for Inclusive Democracy at USC. This after a historic year for voter turnout in 2020.Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last month, we reported that delays for state hearings in wage theft cases are hurting low-wage workers hoping to recover the money they’re owed. Now, new data obtained by KQED shows how much those wait times have ballooned in recent years.Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQEDAnti-war rallies continue across California, in support of Ukraine. Many Ukrainians living in California are worried about friends and family who are either staying to fight or struggling to get out of the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Russian forces continue their assault on Ukraine, Californians who are from the region or who have friends and family there are trying to comprehend everything that has happened over the last two days.Guest: Laryssa Reifel, President of Ukrainian Cultural Center in Los AngelesCalifornia’s reparations task force continued meeting Thursday, but many task force members were left disappointed. That's because no decision was made on who would qualify for California's reparations program.Reporter: Lakshmi Sarah, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Russia launching attacks on Ukraine on multiple fronts, these are very frightening times for anyone with family, friends and colleagues in that country. That includes thousands of people in the Bay Area with personal and business ties to Ukraine. Reporter: Rachael Myrow, KQED Federal officials are predicting a third consecutive dry year for California. And that’s led them to dramatically cut back on water allocations from a huge federal irrigation project that provides water to much of the state.Reporter: Katrina Schwartz, KQED During the pandemic, the state’s Employment Development Department has grappled with how to effectively combat fraud, while still doing right by Californians who need its services. Earlier this week, the agency once again faced this conundrum at a state Assembly hearing.Reporter: Mary Franklin Harvin, The California Report  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices