KQED's The California Report

A single payer healthcare bill passed its first legislative hurdle in Sacramento Tuesday night. It’s one of two new proposals that would dramatically increase access to healthcare for Californians.Reporter: Nicole Nixon, CapRadio Hundreds of thousands of Californians might lack access to safe drinking water. That’s according to recent study from UCLA and UC Berkeley. And the drinking water problem disproportionately affects communities of color.Reporter: Caleigh Wells, KCRWAgriculture is one of the industries hit hardest by supply chain snarls. New research shows that losses from so-called “containergeddon” have reached the billions here in California.Reporter: Kerry Klein, Valley Public RadioCOVID-19 has affected our mental health in ways we’re only just beginning to understand. For some, the stressors of the pandemic created an added layer of anxiety on top of an already deeply uncertain world. Reporter: Robert Garrova, KPCC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Governor Gavin Newsom has released his proposed $286 billion state budget for the coming fiscal year. It includes an expansion of healthcare access to all California residents, regardless of immigration status.Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQEDHospitals in the U.S. are seeing a record number of children hospitalized with COVID-19, and California is no exception. In San Diego, the numbers are especially high, but most of the children are testing positive after being admitted to the hospital.Reporter: Kitty Alvarado, KPBS The unprecedented surge in new COVID-19 cases has led to a test shortage at retail stores. Over the weekend, Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order that gives consumers price-gouging protections.Reporter: Jackie Fortier, KPCC Grocery stores have been some of the few retailers that have stayed consistently open during the pandemic. Now, a new report highlights how workers at one chain, Kroger’s, which owns Ralph’s and Food 4 Less, are faring and how the virus has impacted their work. Reporter: Michelle Wiley, KQEDGovernor Newsom is expected to issue an executive order this week that could help schools get substitute teachers into classrooms. The executive order would do three things, according to a source in the Newsom administration: extend the time long-term subs can stay in schools, shorten the time retired teachers must wait before they become eligible to return as subs, and make it easier to credential new substitutes. Reporter: Julia McEvoy, KQEDDr. Bob Wachter with UC San Francisco has been tracking COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. He recently shared a personal story about the virus, after his son tested positive.Guest: Bob Wachter, Chair of the Department of Medicine at UC San Francisco  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Statewide, some hospitals are buckling under the pressure of Omicron. As the highly contagious variant continues to sweep through the state, a growing number of hospital staffers are testing positive.Reporter: Jackie Fortier, KPCC When Governor Gavin Newsom releases his new state budget on Monday, it will include $2.7 billion to expand the state’s COVID-19 response.Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED Over the weekend, Los Angeles Unified teachers and students lined up at schools across L.A. to get a COVID test. They’re trying to beat a deadline to get a now required test before school starts on Tuesday.Reporter: Caleigh Wells, KCRWIn an era of mounting student debt, a community college in Stockton is offering a little help. Administrators at San Joaquin Delta College have announced that COVID-19 relief dollars will be used to erase more than $3.5 million of student debt.Reporter: Alice Woelfle, KQEDFor months, the state of California has been working to help renters hurt by the pandemic. Now it’s launching a program to assist homeowners. Reporter: David Wagner , KPCC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California has extended its indoor mask mandate through at least February 15. State health officials sid the move reflects increasing pressure on hospitals, as roughly 8,000 people are hospitalized for COVID-19 statewide.Reporter: Laura Klivans, KQED Thursday marks the one year anniversary of the January 6th insurrection, when a mob of pro-Trump supporters violently stormed Congress to try to overturn the lawful 2020 presidential election results. There were many Californians who participated in the insurrection, and some of their cases are still in limbo.Guest: Tom Dreisbach, NPR Investigative CorrespondentOn the anniversary of the Capitol insurrection, State Senator Scott Wiener is proposing to punish groups that support undermining elections in the future. Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An Overwhelmed Testing Site in RichmondThe spread of omicron has people scrambling to get tested for COVID-19. But the lines are long, appointments get scooped up fast, and rapid antigen tests are really really hard to find. Reporter: Raquel Maria Dillon, KQED Surge of COVID-19 Cases Among City of Los Angeles Emergency RespondersAmid the “unprecedented” wave of Covid infections, nearly 1,000 police officers, firefighters and paramedics in the city of Los Angeles aren’t on the job. But Mayor Eric Garcetti says both the police and fire departments have enough staffing to keep the city safe. Reporter: Darrell Satzman, KCRW Federal Prosecutors Opt Not to Extend PG&E Criminal ProbationFederal prosecutors have announced they will not try to extend Pacific Gas and Electric’s criminal probation beyond its scheduled end later this month. Reporter: Dan Brekke, KQED  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California has shattered previous records for new daily coronavirus cases this week and the state’s test positivity rate is higher than its been. In most places around the state, hospitalizations remain much lower than earlier surges, thanks to vaccinations and a milder variant. Reporter: Kevin Stark, KQEDWith the state legislature back in session in Sacramento, Republicans are aiming to get some of their agenda items passed this year, even if they're in the clear minority in both the Assembly and Senate.Guest: Scott Wilk, California State Senate Minority LeaderState water officials are asking Californians to cut back on unnecessary water use, or face fines. Water regulators have asked for 15% water cutbacks, but Californians are saving less than half of that.  Reporter: Ezra David Romero, KQED CalFire investigators have determined that a Pacific Gas & Electric power line sparked last summer's destructive Dixie Fire in the northern Sierra. A tree came into contact with the line in the Feather River Canyon. Reporter: Dan Brekke, KQEDHotel workers in the city of West Hollywood now earn the highest minimum wages in the country. That’s thanks to a new local law.  Reporter: Benjamin Gottlieb, KCRW Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

COVID-19 cases are surging among both adults and children in Los Angeles County, as kids hospitalized with COVID-19 jumped nearly 190% last month. Despite the spike in infections, school is back in session next week for students who attend the L.A. Unified School District.Reporter: Tara Atrian, KCRW California's Senate and Assembly are back in session in Sacramento. There are a number of issues on the table, with everything from housing and homelessness, to the pandemic.Guest: Anthony Rendon, California Assembly SpeakerOne of the most powerful labor advocates in the California Legislature has announced a surprise departure. Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez is leaving to work with the California Labor Federation.Reporter: Nicole Nixon, CapRadioCentral Valley Republican Congressman Devin Nunes has officially retired, after nearly two decades in Congress. It's still unclear when a special election will be held to decide who serves the rest of his term.Reporter: Alex Hall, KQEDA state lawmaker wants to change how schools are funded. He says the proposal would lead to an additional $3 billion a year for school districts. Reporter: Vanessa Rancaño, KQED  A judge in San Francisco has signaled he may be willing to extend Pacific Gas and Electric’s federal court probation, beyond its scheduled end later this month. Reporter: Dan Brekke, KQED Thousands of residents in Nevada, Placer and El Dorado counties are still without power, more than a week after massive snow storms pounded the region. Reporter: Chloe Veltman, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

COVID-19 cases continue to surge in California. And while hospitalizations are also on the rise, it's not the same surge as the state saw during the summer and last winter.Guest: Dr. Monica Gandhi, Infectious Disease Expert, UC San FranciscoScientists and volunteers from San Diego to the Oregon border are flocking to shorelines on Monday, to document king tides. Researchers say these king tides are increasingly important to record because they offer a look into growing threats from climate change.Reporter: Caleigh Wells, KCRW Hospitals and blood donation centers are asking healthy Californians to give blood, amid a nationwide shortage. The pandemic closed many traditional blood drive locations for months, just as the need for blood has increased as more people undergo delayed surgeries.Reporter: Jackie Fortier, KPCC  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2021 proved to be an exciting year in the world of space exploration. From successful missions to Mars to private companies launching their own rockets, it all bodes well for the expansion of space exploration in the coming years.Guest: Danielle Venton, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sherman Indian High School in Riverside is a boarding school, where Native American students from across the country can come and earn a high school diploma while also maintaining their tribal traditions and language. They also have a museum for the school’s 100 year history, that has brought healing to many in the indigenous community.Reporter: Megan Jamerson, KCRW  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices