KQED's The California Report

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending that all children ages 5 through 11 get a low-dose COVID-19 vaccine made by Pfizer-BioNTech. In California, counties across the state are preparing to deliver the shots to children.Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva continues to attack his county’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate. He claims the sheriff's department could lose thousands of employees because of the mandate, although he hasn't provided evidence that that will actually happen.It’s important to have health insurance, especially during a pandemic. At the beginning of the pandemic, some insurers chose not to charge COVID-19 patients for expensive hospital stays and therapies. A few have continued that policy as long as the public health emergency is in place, but most are quietly going back to business as usual. Reporter: Jackie Fortier, KPCCCalifornia has sent a contingent of officials to attend the United Nations climate change conference in Glasgow. The delegation includes state Senator Josh Becker, a Democrat who represents San Mateo County and part of Santa Clara County. Guest: Josh Becker, Bay Area State SenatorState utility regulators have reached proposed settlements with California's two biggest power companies, over allegations they violated safety rules before a string of destructive fires. Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric are alleged to have violated a wide range of safety regulations before the blazes, which include the Thomas and Woolsey fires in Southern California and the Kincade Fire north of San Francisco.Reporter: Dan Brekke, KQED Pacific Gas & Electric ratepayers could be stuck footing at least some of the bill for the Dixie fire. It's just the latest scandal for the troubled utility. Now, a Silicon Valley congressman says he hopes this will be the tipping point that pushes PG&E towards a public takeover.Reporter: Angela Corral, The California Report Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new report finds that climate change is chiefly responsible for the growing frequency and severity of California's wildfires. The team of researchers from UCLA and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory based that estimate on how quickly dry air sucks up moisture. Reporter: Caleigh Wells, KCRWPacific Gas and Electric says it's received a subpoena from federal prosecutors, in connection with this summer's catastrophic Dixie Fire. The fire burned nearly a million acres and has led to investigations by CalFire and by prosecutors in several counties. Reporter: Dan Brekke, KQED Like so many other places in the country, California is grappling with its racist past. It’s also looking at the idea of reparations for African Americans and Black descendents of slaves. A new task force is studying this issue, and families are coming forward to share their experiences.Reporter: Sarah Mizes-Tan, CapRadioIn the wake of the Taliban’s seizure of power in Afghanistan, Sacramento is struggling with an influx of refugees from the country. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Beccerra visited the region Monday, and heard from refugees about the struggles of finding affordable housing, getting around without a car and enrolling children in school. Reporter: Katie Orr, KQEDUsing fresh Census data, state, local and federal political maps are redrawn every ten years to account for population changes over the past decade and to even out representation. The maps by the nonpartisan commission are by no means final. But they show some potentially big shakeups in Northern California’s congressional districts.Reporter: Nicole Nixon, CapRadio Geneticists at the San Diego Zoo have found the first ever case of condor reproduction by just a single parent. Testing revealed two young condors, reared by two separate mothers, had only one parent. Their eggs were not fertilized by male sperm. Reporter: Erik Anderson, KPBS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The United Nations Climate Change Conference kicks off this week in Scotland. And while Governor Gavin Newsom canceled his trip at the last minute, the state will be well represented, as officials hope to showcase California's ambitious climate goals.Guest: Ezra David Romero, KQED Climate ReporterOver the weekend, employees of healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente staged worker solidarity rallies. Tens of thousands of Kaiser workers, like nurses, pharmacists, and physical therapists are threatening to strike across the state.This past weekend, activists and supporters gathered at Dolores Park in San Francisco to celebrate the release of the last remaining person detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Yuba County Jail. Now the “Free The Yuba 11 Coalition” is advocating that federal officials end ICE’s contract with the jail. Reporter: Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman, KQEDA new organization in California hopes to help people who have been released from prison re-integrate back into their communities. The Re-Entry Providers Association of California – or REPAC -- is the nation’s first statewide coordinated effort to help formerly incarcerated people succeed on the outside.Reporter: Keith Mizuguchi, The California ReportThe White House says it's committed to immigration reform, ultimately creating a pathway to citizenship for the 11 to 12 million undocumented immigrants who live in this country. A key figure in that effort is California’s U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, who is himself the child of immigrants from Mexico.Guest: U.S. Senator Alex Padilla from California Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The state Natural Resources and Water Committee held its first hearing Thursday on the massive oil spill off the coast of Orange County. The cause of the spill remains under investigation.Central Valley farmworkers and their families are calling on state and local officials to restrict the use of 13 pesticides that have been linked to childhood cancers. They also want to be warned ahead of time when these pesticides are used.Reporter: Keith Mizuguchi, The California ReportFacebook has changed its company name to Meta. The social media company has been under fire for spreading misinformation and other things. And the new name led to plenty of snarky Twitter comments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The state has pre-ordered 1.4 million doses of Pfizer's pediatric COVID-19 vaccine, so medical providers can start putting shots in arms as soon as federal health officials sign off.Staffing levels for federal wildland firefighters have dipped dramatically in recent years, impacting efforts to contain massive wildfires across the country, particularly in California. At a hearing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, advocates argued for two pieces of legislation aimed at helping hire more firefighters.Reporter: Keith Mizuguchi, The California Report President Joe Biden has presented a trimmed down reconciliation bill to Congress on Thursday morning. California Senator Alex Padilla joined the California Report to talk about the proposal and some of the reasons it's been so heavily debated by his Democratic colleagues in the Senate.Guest: U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, CaliforniaThe Beverly Hills Police Department has been accused of racially profiling Black shoppers on Rodeo Drive. New records from a class action lawsuit show that out of 90 people who were arrested along the shopping corridor, 80 were Black. Reporter: Tara Atrian, KCRWThe coronavirus pandemic led to record drug use across the country. Fatal overdoses rose almost 30% percent last year, driven mainly by fentanyl and other opioids. But the stimulant methamphetamine is also a huge part of the problem. It doesn’t get as much attention, though, in part because it doesn’t cause the impressive death counts that make for good headlines.Guest: Sam Quinones, Journalist and Author of the book "The Least of Us: True Tales of America and Hope in the Time of Fentanyl and Meth" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Tuesday’s FDA committee vote endorsing the use of Pfizer's Covid vaccine in kids over the age of 4, public health officials in California are getting ready to distribute the kid-size doses. It’s looking like children will be able to get their shots in the next couple weeks, as soon as the review process is completed.Guests: Jessica Nicholson and Maura Fallon McKnight, Parents in Richmond and Humboldt CountyIn Los Angeles, city employees who don’t get vaccinated by December 18 could lose their jobs. A plan approved Tuesday by the L.A. City Council would also require people who are not vaccinated to undergo regular COVID-19 testing, on their own dime.Reporter: Jackie Fortier, KPCC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California's embattled Employment Development Department says it's taking steps to fix some of what's broken there, from clogged phone lines to fraud. State lawmakers grilled agency officials at an oversight hearing in Sacramento on Monday. Reporter: Mary Franklin Harvin, The California ReportRising rents and limited affordable housing continue to put pressure on many Californians. And new research shows the housing market is particularly challenging for Black renters in San Diego.Reporter: Cristina Kim, KPBSThe atmospheric river has effectively put an end to California’s wildfire season. And there's more evidence in the Sequoia National Forest.Reporter: Soreath Hok, Valley Public RadioWildfire prevention is one of the key goals of President Biden’s trillion dollar infrastructure bill. Democrats are pushing for a vote on it in Congress this week. One of them is Josh Harder who represents California’s Central Valley. He’s been especially focused on measures that would address the health impacts from wildfire smoke.Reporter: Caleigh Wells, KCRWImmigration advocates are calling on Governor Gavin Newsom to cancel a no-bid, $350 million contract. It was awarded to a border wall company to help with the state’s COVID-19 response. Reporter: Scott Rodd, CapRadio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rain and wind wreaked havoc across Northern California and the Bay Area on Sunday, causing power outages, flooding and downed trees in several areas. Several cities saw rainfall records broken.This weekend's record-breaking rainfall is still not nearly enough to curb the state’s drought. Governor Gavin Newsom declared a drought emergency for all 58 counties in California last week. Farmers in Fresno County, like Joe Del Bosque, have been struggling for months.  Reporter: Madi Bolanos, Valley Public RadioHundreds of Hollywood artisans held a candlelight vigil in Burbank Sunday night for Halyna Hutchins. She's the 42-year-old cinematographer who was accidentally killed by actor Alec Baldwin last week on a film set in New Mexico.  An investigation is ongoing in New Mexico, but in California, it's prompted legislative action.Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California ReportTwo dozen Congressional Democrats from California are calling on the Biden Administration to shut down three immigration detention centers in the state. In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, 23 members of Congress, plus Senator Alex Padilla, note that conditions in the facilities violate health and safety standards set by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Governor Gavin Newsom wants to ban new oil drilling near schools, homes and many businesses, proposing a rule aimed at improving the health of millions of Californians. The rule would bar new drilling within 3,200 feet of houses, schools and businesses open to the public.Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED  The Bay Conservation and Development Commission has adopted a Bay Area-wide plan for adapting to rising seas. Scientists project the bay could rise by several feet by the end of the century, a result of warming temperatures. Reporter: Ezra David Romero, KQED In response to its homelessness crisis, the city of Los Angeles has opened the country's largest so-called tiny home village. It's located in northeast Los Angeles and more than 200 people will be able to live there.Guest: Amy King, CEO of Pallet, a company building many of these homes A new state audit has found that California’s Board of State and Community Corrections, which helps run the state’s adult and juvenile justice and penal systems, mismanaged nearly $60 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds. Reporter: Katie Orr, KQED The recall attempt targeting Governor Newsom is over, but there are other efforts across the state to remove elected officials from office. In Shasta County, a conservative member of the Board of Supervisors is facing a recall election promoted by members of a local militia and things have gotten ugly.Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

L.A City Employees Must Get Vaccinated by DecemberCity of L.A. workers who remain unvaccinated may be getting a reprieve from a vaccine mandate that took effect Wednesday. ..but it won’t last forever. Mayor Eric Garcetti says municipal employees who aren’t fully vaccinated by December 18th should be “prepared to lose their jobs.” Reporter: Darrell Satzman, KCRW Rainfall Arrives, And the Drought ContinuesRain has been falling in Northern California, and the National Weather Service’s Bay Area division predicts more rain later this week. That’s really good news for reducing wildfire risks, but what does it mean for the drought? Reporter: Ezra David Romero, KQED California Partners with Company that Built Border Wall for COVID-19 ResponseCalifornia has turned to an unusual partner for part of its COVID-19 response. It’s the same company that built former president Donald Trump’s border wall along the California-Mexico border. The no-bid, $350 million contract has frustrated immigration advocates and community health care leaders. Reporter: Scott Rodd, CapRadio  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices