KQED's The California Report

Labor Unions Lobby for Vaccine EligibilityFor weeks, labor unions like the powerful Service Employees International Union have been pressing state and local officials to provide vaccinations to their members as quickly as possible. As vaccine eligibility shifts, other groups are making pleas too.Reporter: Darrell Satzman, KCRWSupervisors got a report on Tuesday from the L.A. County counsel’s office about how Villanueva could be removed from office. County counsel said there are four possibilities to remove the elected sheriff: one would be to amend the county charter, another would be a voter recall.Reporter: Robert Garrova, KPCCA street medicine team in Bakersfield is working to educate people experiencing homelessness about the pandemic, including misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines.Reporter: Madi Bolanos, KQEDMany Californians were surprised when this week Governor Gavin Newsom announced he was lifting the state’s stay at home order. But a lot of state legislators were also surprised. They say it’s part of a pattern that’s emerged with this governor.Reporter: Katie Orr, KQEDIt’s called MyTurn. You can go online now to register… the system will notify you whenyou’re eligible for a shot. Beginning in February those who qualify can begin booking appointments.Reporter: Lesley McClurg, KQEDState Auditor Finds Agency Charged with Sending Out Unemployment Checks Still Falling ShortAccording to the audit, the Employment Development Department’s call centers still aren’t functioning efficiently, despite the agency hiring more 55,000 new staffers.Reporter: Mary Franklin Harvin, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the state works to speed up delivery of the coronavirus vaccine, Governor Gavin Newsom says California will shift its priorities for who’s at the top of the list, and put people over 65 in line to get shots first. Reporter: Molly Peterson, KQED California renters who faced the prospect of mass evictions at the end of this month might not have to worry in the short term. That after the state's top lawmakers and Governor Newsom reached a tentative agreement to extend an eviction moratorium through June. Reporter: Molly Solomon, KQEDGovernor Newsom lifted regional stay-at-home orders yesterday in favor of county-by-county restrictions. The changes mean hair and nail salons can reopen, and allows outdoor dining in many places. Local officials could choose to impose stricter rules. Guest: Anne Rimoin, Professor of Epidemiology, UCLAFresno County officials say they want to prioritize farmworkers for vaccination, but the county is facing a challenge, they are ready to vaccinate 30,000 people every week, but don't have the supply to do so. Reporter: Alex Hall, KQEDA new economic forecast says things are improving for the Los Angeles area, fed by optimism around the coronavirus vaccines. From construction, to healthcare, to retail, companies are hiring. But some sectors of the local economy are months away from recoveryReporter: Benjamin Gottlieb, KCRWNine school districts in California are starting rapid COVID-19 testing of their students and staff. It’s a pilot program that could allow more schools in the state to reopen safely. Reporter: Julia McEvoy, KQED A lot of people are struggling to pay their rent, mortgage and other bills because of the pandemic. 1.6 million California households are behind on their water bills according to a recent survey from the State Water Resources Control Board.Reporter: Nina Sparling, KQED   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California's Justice Department Launches Civil Rights Investigation Into L.A. County Sheriff DepartmentAttorney General Xavier Becerra said the inquiry comes after credible reports of excessive force, retaliation and other misconduct at the Sheriff’s Department.Reporter: Robert Garrova, KPCC Throughout the pandemic private citizens have crowdsourced everything from COVID case tallies to behavior risk calculatorsLesley McClurg, KQED COVID-19 has spread like wildfire inside a jail north of Sacramento that also holds immigrant detainees. Now, about half of all the people locked up there have tested positive for the virus.Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who Will be the Next California Attorney General?Other than Governor, being California’s Attorney General is arguably the most coveted political job in California. It makes you the Golden State’s top prosecutor, you get tons of attention, and the job can serve as a launching pad to higher office, like it did for Vice President Kamala Harris. The Attorney General’s position will soon be vacant and lots of people want the job.Reporter: Katie Orr, KQED This will mean more regular beds and ICU beds at Pacifica Hospital of the Valley in Sun Valley. And the state is reopening Pacific Gardens Medical Center in Hawaiian Gardens, which had closed four years ago.Reporter: Jackie Fortier, KPCC San Jose Senator Dave Cortese says despite the fanfare around Newsom's goal to start re-opening next month, plenty of disagreements remain. That includes a proposal for weekly testing of students. Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED Just over three thousand inmates have gotten their first dose of the vaccine so far, but it still takes a few weeks for it to take effect. Health experts fear the worst is yet to come.Reporter: Marco Siler-Gonzales, KQED COVID-19 has spread like wildfire through California’s prisons and jails. To reduce caseloads and deaths, the state has prioritized certain groups of inmates for early release. Reporter: Lucy Copp The California Report Magazine: The History of 'Amazing Grace' and U.S PresidentsFor years, there’s been this link between Amazing Grace” and U.S. presidents all along the political spectrum.Reporter: Chloe Veltman, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People Who Knew Kamala Harris Best Reflect on Watching Her Ascend to the White HouseKamala Harris represents a lot of firsts, from the first female vice president to the first Black vice-president to the first vice president of South Asian descent. But what do the people who knew Harris as a San Francisco D.A., California Attorney General, and U.S Senator think about her ascent? Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED After the new vice president was sworn in yesterday, Kamala Harris turned her attention to her first official duty: swearing in her replacement to represent California in the U.S. Senate. Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED Amanda Gorman is the 22-year-old poet from Los Angeles who recited her poem “The Hill We Climb” at the inauguration. Gorman got her start writing poetry through an LA-based non-profit called WriteGirl. Caroline Champlin, KPCC The Biden White House has unveiled an ambitious immigration agenda, including a reform bill that would set a path to legalization for the estimated 11 million undocumented people in this country. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero Overall, Latinos cast an estimated 16.6 million ballots in November and preferred Biden to Trump by a 3 to 1 margin. This new study by the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Initiative looked at counties with the most Latino voters in more than a dozen states Reporter: Darrell Satzman, KCRW  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Biden Inauguration Marks End of Political and Legal Warfare Between California and the Trump AdministrationThe presidency of Donald Trump ends Wednesday morning, and when it does, it will mark the end of four years of feuding with the Trump Administration over issues like health care, the environment, and immigration. Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQEDThe New Year’s surge is not as bad as health officials feared. The number of people requiring medical care has stabilized and declined slightly. Reporter: Lesley McClurg, KQED Under the new Trump administration rule, immigration court fees would jump by hundreds of dollars.U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta says the fee hikes would have caused plaintiffs irreparable harm, and were likely unlawful. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Health care workers are treating more COVID19 patients than ever in this pandemic, and hospitalizations from the virus are mounting more pressure on an already strained health care system.Reporter: Marco Siler Gonzales, KQEDState health officials are recommending a pause in using one batch of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine because of unexpected adverse reactions.Reporter: Molly Peterson, KQEDWeeks after Proposition 22 became law, we are already seeing the effects ripple out into industries beyond the “gig economy.” The country’s second-largest grocery store chain, Albertsons, is now laying off its grocery delivery employees and replacing them with contractors at DoorDash. Critics of the measure say they warned this would happen.Reporter: Sam Harnett, KQEDAs the sun sets on the Trump Administration, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has proposed removing the protected status of millions of acres of desert lands across California. Reporter: Ezra David Romero, CapRadio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alex Padilla Calls for Legalization of Undocumented Immigrants in Essential ServicesKamala Harris will officially resign her California U.S. Senate seat as she prepares to be sworn in as vice president on Wednesday. Harris's appointed successor, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, says undocumented immigrants working in essential services deserve not just labor protections, but the security of a path to citizenship. Reporter: Tyche Hendricks Todd Gloria is San Diego's new mayor. He's a Democrat, and the first openly gay person and person of color to lead San Diego, a city of nearly 1.5 million people. Guest: Todd Gloria, San Diego mayorFraudsters have stolen as much as $8 billion dollars and counting in unemployment benefits from the state. Now Bank of America is facing a federal lawsuit in connection with that fraud, and the impact it’s had on innocent customers. Reporter: Mary Franklin Harvin, The California Report Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris resigned her California U.S. Senate seat today, but that vacant seat won’t be vacant for long. Governor Gavin Newsom tapped current Secretary of State Alex Padilla to serve out the final two years of Harris’s Senate term. Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Los Angeles County Approaches Nearly a Million COVID-19 CasesWith around 10 million residents, L.A. is the most populous county in the U.S. As the county approaches a million cases, that also means roughly 1 in 10 Angelenos has had a confirmed case of the virus at some point throughout the pandemic. Matt Guilhem, KCRW Los Angeles County Latino Residents Now Dying from COVID-19 at Eight Times the Rate in NovemberThe region has been the epicenter of the pandemic for months, but the speed of transmission continues to alarm officials. COVID-19 has devastated communities of color more than any other, and the data is alarming.Guest: Ron Lin, Reporter, Los Angeles TimesPistachio Plant Workers Take to the Streets to Demand SafetyFarmworkers and those in food production have been left vulnerable by the pandemic. In the Central Valley, employees of the pistachio producer Primex recently made the rare, risky decision to take to the streets. Guest: Julia Lurie, Mother Jones California Fall Short on Ambitious Vaccination GoalsCounties in California aren’t giving shots to members of the public yet. To make that happen, lawmakers and county health officials say they’re going to need a lot more help from the state.Reporter: Sammy Caiola, CapRadioCalifornia Steps Up Security Prep as Biden Inauguration Draws NearNewsom activated up to one thousand of the state’s National Guard to work closely with the CHP to protect infrastructure in and around the State Capitol in Sacramento. The move comes just days after the FBI warned of possible armed violence planned by extremist groups targeting all 50 state capitals.Reporter: Scott Shafer, Politics Editor, KQEDCalifornia Lawmakers Eager for Immediate Action Begin Budget HearingsLawmakers wasted little time beginning to debate Newsom’s $227 billion budget proposal. It calls for immediate action on several pandemic relief items, including cash payments to the state’s lowest income earners. Reporter: Katie Orr, KQED . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

State Officials Announce New Approach to Getting Vaccines to People 65 or OlderThe idea is to ramp up vaccine distribution to those at greatest risk of becoming hospitalized.This comes after deaths in the state continue to climb, with nearly 600 deaths on Tuesday, according to state data. Reporter: Laura Klivans, KQED Members of California's GOP Congressional Delegation Speak Out Against ImpeachmentOut of California’s 10 Republican members of congress, only the Central Valley’s David Valadao voted for impeachment.Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED Trump Ally Kevin McCarthy Stays Loyal to TrumpWhen House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) spoke on the House floor yesterday, he said President Trump was partly to blame for inciting the insurrection. But, he added that impeaching the president would only divide the country further. Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED With Accounts Frozen, 1.4 Million Californians Wait for Unemployment BenefitsThe Employment Development Department locked the accounts in another attempt to fight potential fraud. Applicants got notices saying their claims had been frozen for suspected fraud, and that staff would send instructions on how to unfreeze accounts starting January 6th. Reporter: Mary Franklin Harvin, The California ReportLos Angeles Leaders Look to Toughen COVID-19 Mask MandateThe Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to have an ordinance drawn up that would add penalties for people who don’t cover their faces as infections reach new highs across Southern California. Reporter: Tara Atrian, KCRW Legislators Consider Whether to Continue Mailing Every Voter BallotsIn an effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus at the polls, every registered voter in California was mailed a ballot last year. State Senator Tom Umberg of Orange County is introducing a bill to continue universal vote-by-mail for any election this year. Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED Coalition of Public Defenders Urges Biden Administration to Reform Immigration SystemPublic defenders are demanding a halt in deportations for a year while repairing the damage they say was done by Trump anti-immigrant policies. The nearly 40 public defense offices also want President-Elect Joe Biden to slash the immigration detention budget and reinvest that money instead in offering lawyers to those who can’t afford one while fighting deportation. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices