KQED's The California Report

Alberto Carvalho is officially the new superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest school district in the country. Carvalho was the superintendent of Florida’s Miami-Dade schools, a position he held for 14 years.The California Public Utilities Commission, the state’s energy regulator, is contemplating changes to the relationship between rooftop solar owners and utilities. But critics say the changes could be disastrous for the solar industry’s future in the state. Reporter: Erik Anderson, KPBS For the first time, a spacecraft has touched the sun. Researchers from U.C. Berkeley and NASA announced new findings Tuesday.Reporter: Danielle Venton, KQEDThere’s been a lot of talk and analysis about how so many people are fleeing California to find greener pastures somewhere else. But a new report shows that since the start of the pandemic, there hasn’t been a huge exodus out of California. However, significantly fewer people have moved here. Reporter: Holly J. McDede, KQEDCalifornia’s Employment Development Department, or EDD, has been plagued with problems that have left hundreds of thousands of unemployed people furious. Now, Modesto Congressman Josh Harder wants legislation to hold the EDD accountable.Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQEDPreparations are well underway for the 2028 Summer Games and Paralympics in Los Angeles. And while it's still years away, the International Olympic Committee is already discussing which sports will and won't be involved. Reporter: Megan Jamerson, KCRW Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Starting on Wednesday, Californians will once again have to wear masks indoors at all public places, regardless of their vaccination status. It’s a response to a recent spike in COVID-19 cases and public health officials trying to get a handle on the fast-moving omicron variant.Reporter: April Dembosky, KQEDOnline gaming companies, Native American casinos, card rooms -- they're all jumping in at the opportunity to be involved in the push to legalize sports betting in the state of California.Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California ReportCalifornia is reducing its emissions that contribute to climate change. But it’s happening too slowly, as the state isn’t on track to meet its goal of reducing those emissions by 40% by the year 2030.Reporter: Laura Klivans, KQEDCalifornia would no longer be allowed to expand freeways in underserved communities that are already suffering from the negative health effects of freeways. That's the goal of State Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia's legislation, which she plans to introduce early next year. Reporter: Tara Atrian, KCRW The leading cause of death for Black Californians is homicide, and they tend to live seven fewer years than the average state resident. That’s according to a new report from Measure of America, a non-profit focused on social science research. Reporter: Lesley McClurg, KQEDProsecutors allege a father and son started this past summer’s devastating Caldor Fire, with a firearm. The blaze destroyed more than 1,000 structures.Reporter: Scott Rodd, CapRadio People who have a pet dog will probably agree that animals can really help with your mental health. A nonprofit in the Antelope Valley north of Los Angeles goes a little bigger with that idea. Reporter: Robert Garrova, KPCC  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hundreds of criminal cases could be in jeopardy following an investigation by the Los Angeles Times into racist and homophobic text messages sent by several officers who at one time worked for the Torrance Police Department.Guest: James Queally, LA Times ReporterA landmark California law aimed at lowering prescription drug prices has been put on hold by a federal judge. The law was meant to prevent drug companies from doing so-called “pay for delay” deals. Reporter: April Dembosky, KQED In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress passed the CARES Act, a more than $2 trillion aid package meant to provide an economic lifeline to the many Americans whose worlds got turned inside out by the pandemic. This legislation led to the sending out of stimulus payments, which have since been expanded, and add up to on average $3200 a person. But one group of Californians is still struggling to get what they’re due nearly two years later.Reporter: Mary Franklin Harvin, The California Report  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The coronavirus is spreading fast in Los Angeles County. The region is now back in the CDC’s highest category of transmission.Reporter: Jackie Fortier, KPCCProsecutors have announced charges against the father and son suspected of starting the Caldor Fire, which destroyed nearly 800 homes last summer.Reporter: Scott Rodd, CapRadio  Many Mexican immigrants in California are transported back home when they hear the music of Los Ángeles Azules. The cumbia band has a devoted following that can be seen at concerts across the country.Guest: Kate Linthicum, Latin America Correspondent, Los Angeles TimesIn the face of a tough election Devin Nunes announced he is stepping down this week. He’s a Republican Congressman in the Central Valley. He’s not the only one giving up his seat. He joins at least two other California representatives – Democrats Karen Bass in Los Angeles and Jackie Speier in the Bay Area. But what will the loss of seniority mean for California’s clout in Washington?Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The District Attorney in El Dorado County announced the arrest of a father and son for allegedly starting the Caldor Fire. Both are accused of "reckless arson."Reporter: Scott Rodd, CapRadio California’s Future of Abortion Council is issuing 45 recommendations on how the state can make accessing an abortion easier. The council is making its recommendation as the US Supreme Court considers the fate of Roe v. Wade.Reporter: Katie Orr, KQEDHousing prices continue to skyrocket across much of California, although there has been some leveling off in recent months. Vacation home areas have seen a big rise in sales.Guest: Oscar Wei, Deputy Chief Economist, California Association of RealtorsHistory will be made in the city of Palm Springs on Thursday night because a new mayor is on tap. When Lisa Middleton is sworn in, she will be the first transgender person to serve as mayor in the state of California. Reporter: Keith Mizuguchi, The California ReportSome vape companies are promising their products help you focus, sleep and relax. But the Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers those claims are not true.Guest: Pamela Ling, Director of the UCSF Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California continues to struggle through the ongoing drought, and that's left many ski resorts wondering about how much snow they'll actually have this winter. But a storm next week is expected to help.Guest: Bryan Allegretto, Forecaster with OpenSnowLawmakers discussed how California is going to prevent catastrophic wildfires during an oversight hearing on Tuesday. The hearing comes after a CapRadio investigation found that Governor Gavin Newsom significantly overstated his administration's accomplishments on wildfire prevention. Reporter: Scott Rodd, CapRadioIn L.A. County, residents are avoiding going outside because they don’t want to breathe dirty air. That’s one of the most recent findings from a USC Dornsife survey.Reporter: Caleigh Wells, KCRWA lawsuit filed this week in a California court asks for more than $150 billion in compensation from Meta, aka Facebook, for failing to stop the spread of hate speech on its platform against the Rohingya people in Myanmar.Reporter: Rachael Myrow, KQED While much of the attention has been on the COVID-19 vaccine, doctors are also advising everyone to get their flu shot. Cases were down significantly last year, in large part due to health orders from the pandemic.Guest: Maria Raven, chief of emergency medicine at UCSF Health Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Central Valley Republican Congressman Devin Nunes has announced he’s leaving Congress at the end of the year, before he finishes his current term. Nunes is taking a new job as CEO of Trump Media and Technology Group, a company that’s set to launch a new social media platform next year.Reporter: Alex Hall, KQED As more cases of the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus are reported in California, many people have questions about what this means for transmission of the virus. There's also another question in play -- what does this all mean for booster shots?Guest: Dr. Bob Wachter, Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at UCSFCalifornians could vote on a pretty substantial increase to the statewide minimum wage next November. That’s if a new effort can gather enough signatures to qualify as a ballot initiative. Reporter: Mary Franklin Harvin, The California ReportScientists say they’ve found possible evidence of the Omicron variant in wastewater in Sacramento and Merced. That suggests the COVID variant could be spreading in those communities. Reporter: Raquel Maria Dillon, KQEDMore than two months after they were ordered to close, following an oil spill off the coast of Huntington Beach, fishing businesses in Orange County are finally able to get back to some sense of normalcy.Reporter: Keith Mizuguchi, The California Report  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California, the state with arguably the toughest gun control laws in the country, often struggles to enforce those laws. A new investigation from CalMatters finds that the state has failed to take guns away from thousands of domestic abusers, and those failures can have deadly consequences.Reporter: Robert Lewis, CalMatters California has distributed rent relief to less than a third of the 400,000 thousand people who have applied to its assistance program. As the eviction moratorium came to a close this fall, the state encouraged anyone who had outstanding rent payments to apply for rental assistance to stave off eviction.Reporter: Kate Wolffe, KQEDThe Biden administration has announced plans to reinstate the controversial “Remain in Mexico” program along the border this week, which was first implemented by the Trump administration.  Under the program, asylum seekers must wait in Mexico, sometimes for months, before they can cross into the U.S. for their day in court. Reporter: Max Rivlin-NadlerUniversity of California scientists have found that sea level rise could flood over 400 hazardous sites across the state by the end of the century. Scientists identified power plants, refineries, and hazardous waste sites in shoreline cities like Oakland and East Palo Alto, and across the state.Reporter: Ezra David Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another confirmed case of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has been detected – this time, in Los Angeles County. According to public health officials, the infected person is an L.A. resident who had traveled to South Africa, returning to Southern California late last month.Reporter: Jackie Fortier, KPCC An investigation by KQED and the California Newsroom has been looking into the state’s failure to enforce regulations meant to protect farm workers and others exposed to wildfire smoke. Earlier this year, lawmakers tried to boost enforcement, but Governor Newsom’s administration stepped in and blocked their efforts.Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED The redistricting process is coming to a close soon, as the commission tasked with drawing new district lines gets ready to submit its final maps. One of the commission’s biggest challenges has been to draw the lines in a way that preserves the voting power of California’s growing Latino population. And a lot of those voters are in the Central Valley.Guest: Lori Pesante, Director of Civic Engagemnt & Government Relations, Dolores Huerta Foundation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The experts said it was coming, and they were right. Scientists have found the first case of the Omicron variant in the country in a San Francisco resident.Guest: Dr. Monica Gandhi, Infectious Disease Doctor, UC San FranciscoCalifornia rules meant to protect outdoor workers from the dangers of wildfire smoke are almost never enforced. That’s the finding of an investigation by KQED and The California Newsroom. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED & California NewsroomThe state Department of Water Resources is promising no water next year for rural and urban areas, unless they need it for basic necessities. This comes as the state is dealing with another year of drought.Reporter: Ezra David Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices