KQED's The California Report

California is often a place where people resettle to live out their dreams. But following the withdrawal of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, it's been a refuge for Afghans, who have often times struggled with the culture shift of living in California and the United States.Guest: Mustafa, Former Interpreter for American organizations in Afghanistan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Groundwater is an important part of the puzzle in the state's outlook for water supplies, especially during drought years. And the state is now reviewing sustainability plans that have been put together by local agencies.Guest: Kerry Klein, Reporter KVPR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The holidays often highlight the need for kindness. There are many ways people can be kind or learn to do so.Guest: Daniel Fessler, Director, UCLA Bedari Kindness Institute  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The small city of Sanger, which is about a twenty-minute drive east of Fresno, is recognized as “The Nation’s Christmas Tree City.” But where did the name come from? Reporter: Soreath Hok, Valley Public Radio  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All healthcare workers and nursing home staff in California will be required to get a COVID-19 booster shot by February 1. The announcement comes as cases and hospitalizations continue to surge, in large part due to the omicron variant of the coronavirus.Reporter: Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman, KQEDThere are a lot of scary threats Meta — aka Facebook — is trying to counter with a combination of artificial intelligence and human content moderators. But innocents are still getting deleted from the platform.Reporter: Rachael Myrow, KQEDHollywood is still reeling from the devastating shutdown brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. And according to a new report, the lull in production hit California especially hard.Reporter: Danielle Chiriguayo, KCRWIt’s almost Christmas, but even if you don’t celebrate, you can still savor the holiday delicacies that abound across the state, whether in bakery shop fronts or family kitchens. In the Bay Area, the sheer variety of holiday treats says a lot about the cultural richness of the region. Guest: Luke Tsai, KQED Food Editor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California will require all healthcare workers to get the COVID vaccine booster. Healthcare workers in California are already mandated to be vaccinated.Every mile or so along Highway 101 in Central California, you can find a cast iron bell supported by a shepherd’s hook hanging next to the roadway. The bells follow a network of roads called the El Camino Real, between the 21 Spanish missions from Sonoma to San Diego. But to many Native Americans, the history of California’s missions is a painful one. Reporter: Jerimiah Oetting, KAZUIf you’re a student or staffer on a University of California campus, you’re gonna need to get a COVID-19 booster shot. The UC system announced the new booster requirement this week, citing the fast-spreading omicron variant. Reporter: Tara Atrian, KCRWDid you know there’s a good chance your child's personal info is on the dark web? That’s because hackers target schools, along with everything else. But there are ways you can protect your child's information.Reporter: Rachael Myrow, KQED  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Public school students are on break this week, and with the omicron variant rapidly on the rise, many California districts sent students home with school-issued rapid COVID-19 testing kits. The state’s department of public health is providing the kits to districts.Reporter: Julia McEvoy, KQEDCalifornia Governor Gavin Newsom thinks he’s found a way to crack down on illegal guns in a way that will avoid being struck down by the federal courts. As his model, he’s using a Texas law empowering ordinary people to sue anyone who helps a woman get an abortion.Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQEDWalmart operates more than 300 stores across California. And according to a lawsuit from the attorney general’s office and a dozen DAs, the retail giant has been knowingly dumping hazardous waste at local landfills, despite being sued before over the very same issue.Reporter: Rachael Myrow, KQEDThe removal of invasive species from the Lake Tahoe basin is underway. It’s the largest effort to date.Reporter: Ed Fletcher, CapRadio  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More rain is on the way, first to Northern California, and then moving down to Southern California later this week. But how much will it impact the state's water resources?Reporter: Caleigh Wells, KCRW State maps may soon show even more homes and buildings are at risk for wildfire. After years of delay, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention says it’s almost ready to release new fire hazard severity maps.Reporter: Chris Nichols, CapRadio Health officials across the state continue to raise concerns about rising hospitalizations and positive COVID-19 cases. This comes as friends and family gather for the holidays.Street food vendors and food trucks are a way of life in Los Angeles and have been for decades. But recent shutdowns of longtime established sites in East Los Angeles have many wondering if these businesses are facing too many restrictions to operate legally.Guest: Janette Villafana, Reporter, LA Taco Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This time of year, monarch butterflies from all over the U.S. migrate to coastal California, especially to the small town of Pacific Grove in Monterey County. Last year, for the most part, butterflies stayed away. But they've returned, to the delight of locals and visitors in 2021.Reporter: Erika Mahoney, KAZU There are growing concerns about the number of people hospitalized in Southern California with COVID-19 symptoms. The numbers have spiked since the Thanksgiving holiday across multiple counties.The U.S. Supreme Court will take up a case that could sweep aside efforts to allow California workers to sue their employers, even after signing arbitration agreements. Reporter: Rachael Myrow, KQED While many of us were able to stay inside during this week’s storms, people living outside were struggling to stay warm and dry. In Santa Cruz, an encampment along the San Lorenzo River flooded. Reporter: Jerimiah Oetting, KAZU  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A federal grand jury has charged a Houston-based oil company in connection with October's Southern California oil spill. Federal prosecutors say Amplify Energy and two of its subsidiaries were negligent by failing to respond to a series of alarms that should have alerted them to the spill, hours before a ruptured pipeline was shut off.California is expanding its program aimed at creating more housing for unhoused people. The state has announced funding for four new projects, with more to come in the weeks ahead, as it plans to distribute almost $2.8 billion. Reporter: Kate Wolffe, KQEDMany Californians who work in offices haven’t been to their workplaces in nearly two years because of the pandemic. Now, with many cities like Los Angeles in the midst of a severe housing crisis, some people want to turn those vacant buildings into housing.Reporter: David Wagner, KPCC  California and neighboring states have agreed to take less water from the dwindling Colorado River. Roughly a quarter of the water used in areas serviced by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California comes from the Colorado River, through the country’s largest reservoir, Lake Mead.Reporter: Keith Mizuguchi, The California ReportIn Los Angeles County, there’s still a wide gap in vaccination rates between Black and Latino residents – compared to whites, Asians and Native Americans. That despite aggressive vaccine outreach. Reporter: Caleigh Wells, KCRWProtesters gathered in San Francisco Wednesday to urge the Biden administration to stop detaining immigrants at a Yuba County jail. This is the last public facility in California to keep a detention contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQEDInterest in cycling has boomed since the beginning of the pandemic, with sales of both regular bicycles e-bikes soaring over the past two years. While many transportation planners and environmentalists are embracing the increase in biking, advocates say there are still not enough safeguards to protect them from cars. Guest: Dave Snyder, Executive Director, California Bicycling Coalition Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices