KQED's The California Report

293 people died from the coronavirus in California yesterday and more than 50,000 new cases were reported, setting new daily records as the virus surges. This is putting the statewide healthcare system under great strain. Next year, there are big changes coming to how California deals with young people convicted of crimes. Starting July 1st, the Department of Juvenile Justice will stop accepting virtually all new wards, leaving the state’s 58 counties to figure out how to handle those young people.Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQEDA lot of the Golden State’s history is the story of booming population growth, but according to new state figures, California's population grew at the slowest rate in more than a century.  Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQEDEarly in the pandemic some grocery store chains offered employees hazard pay to compensate workers for the health risks they faced at work during the pandemic. Now, the City of Long Beach is looking to make it a requirement for large chain stores operating in the city. Reporter: Angel Carreras, KCRWMany Americans, including hundreds of thousands of people in California, are hoping for more than just money in the new relief package being hashed out in Congress. They’re hoping they won’t have to pay back unemployment money they’ve been overpaid by their state unemployment agencies.Reporter: Mary Franklin Harvin, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

the first doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine are going out to frontline healthcare workers across the state. We’ve tracked that story all this week and this morning we look at vaccinations in San Diego.Reporter: Matt Hoffman, KPBSThe arrival of the Pfizer vaccine and the anticipated approval of Moderna's vaccine could mean people who are involved in clinical trials for other vaccines might drop out of those studies.Reporter: Tarryn Mento, KPBSA Sacramento disability rights advocate says it took him days to get a COVID-19 test because many of the county’s testing sites are not ADA accessible. Reporter: Sarah Mizes-Tan, CapRadioThe University of California, Irvine just signed an agreement with the state prison system to create the first UC bachelor’s degree program behind bars.KQED’s Vanessa Rancaño reports.There are new faces joining Los Angeles’ City Council who have vowed to confront L.A.’s homelessness crisis. They are Mark Ridley-Thomas and Nithya Raman, along with California veteran politician Kevin DeLeon.Reporter: Libby Denkman, KPCCFederal wildlife officials announced this week that Monarch butterflies qualify to be protected as an endangered species. But the iconic insect won’t get that status under the Endangered Species Act right now, because there’s a backlog of species in line for protection.Reporter: Peter Arcuni, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ICU bed capacity hit zero percent in the Central Valley over the weekend. Health officials are activating a COVID surge facility in the Tulare County town of Porterville to treat patients they don’t have room for at the local hospitals.Reporter: Alex Hall, KQEDAs coronavirus vaccinations begin in California many public health experts worry that people may start letting their guard down when it comes to social distancing and other safety measures. Guest: Dr. Kirstin Bibbins Domingo, Epidemiologist, UCSF  Frontline health care workers are first in line for the coronavirus vaccine, but which essential workers should come next? Teachers? Delivery drivers? How about the farm workers who pick California’s food crops? The state of California is working with counties to figure it out, and they may not always see eye to eye. Reporter: April Dembosky, KQED  After making progress last month, California's Unemployment Development Department is once again facing a big backlog of claims even after a new verification system showed initial promise.Reporter: Mary Franklin Harvin, KQEDCompanies like Uber warned they’d have to raise prices if Prop 22 failed and they had to pay for employee protections. Prop 22 passed last month, and Uber’s market value surged, but they're raising prices anyway. Reporter: Sam Harnett, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California Doctors Ready for Reluctant Patients as Vaccines ArriveAs people start getting vaccinated, California doctors are preparing to talk to patients about it, and the physicians are expecting some resistance. Reporter: Sammy Caiola, KQED That number of restaurants likely to close could be significantly higher in the Bay Area and Los Angeles County where immigrants make up a larger share of restaurant owners. Reporter: Benjamin Gottlieb, KCRW L.A County health officials are going to use the Moderna vaccine at nursing homes, and it’s training nursing home staff to administer it. Unlike the Pfizer vaccine, Moderna’s doesn’t require deep-freeze storage. Reporter: Jackie Fortier, KPCC Early numbers show Sacramento City Unified enrolled about 600 fewer kindergartners this year, and Los Angeles Unified has thousands fewer. Reporter: Pauline Bartolone, KQED PG&E got out of bankruptcy protection almost six months ago.As part of that deal, the utility agreed to pay a billion dollars to California cities and counties harmed by the wildfires it’s equipment caused. It's unclear where all the money will go. Reporter: Lily Jamali, The California Report  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Federal Trade Commission and more than 40 states, including California, have accused Facebook of illegally squashing competition by operating as a social media monopoly. Reporter: Rachael Myrow, KQEDLatinos are almost 40% of California’s population but they make up nearly 60% of the state’s cases of COVID-19, and half of the deaths. A new survey shows Latinos are more concerned than any other group about how the pandemic is affecting them.Reporter: Katie Orr, KQEDNine months into the pandemic, COVID testing remains top of mind for Latino activists in the Bay Area. In July, we took you to a pop-up testing site set up by the Latino Task Force in San Francisco’s Mission District. Since then, they've been able to expand testing, but outcomes are still frustrating.Guest: Jon Jacobo, Health Chair, Latino Task ForceIt's December, but the 2020 Census isn’t over yet. The legal fight over the count continues to play out in court. The 34th congressional district in central L.A. had the state’s lowest response rate to this year’s census, and that has local leaders worried.Reporter: Caroline Champlin, KPCCThe closure of playgrounds has been frustrating for frazzled parents during the pandemic. Following outcry from moms, dads, and some lawmakers, the state announced yesterday it will reopen playgrounds at reduced capacity. The California Report’s Saul Gonzalaez visited a playground in L.A.’s Griffith Park.Guest: Mariah Lajara, MotherAs COVID cases surge, many hospitals in the Central Valley are approaching capacity. That’s not the case in Mariposa County, But the county’s health officer is warning that resources are becoming scarce for those who need critical care.Reporter: Kerry Klein, Valley Public Radio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Diego County Hospitals Grapple with Staffing ShortagesAlmost 900 COVID positive or suspected positive patients are hospitalized in San Diego County, more than double a month ago. Hospitals are struggling with shortages of staff, personal protective equipment, and testing supplies. Reporter: Tarryn Mento, KPBS Back in 2016, voters in Los Angeles approved Proposition HHH, a $1 billion measure to pay for thousands of new housing units for the homeless over 10 years. KCRW’s Anna Scott has been looking at one project funded with a small slice of those funds. Reporter: Anna Scott, KCRW50 states have certified their election results, and Joe Biden has won the presidency. But Texas is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to invalidate the ballots of millions of voters in four swing states, and 106 House Republicans have signed onto an amicus brief to support this. Guest: Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale)Officials in San Francisco and Los Angeles introduced resolutions last week asking for school workers to get priority in phase 1 of the vaccination roll out. That would put them right after health care workers and seniors living in congregate settings.Reporter: Kate Wolffe, KQEDPublic health and other officials in San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties want to be designated a separate region, and they want only their metrics used to determine pandemic restrictions. Reporter: Greta Mart, KCBX  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An L.A. County judge overturned a ban on outdoor dining Tuesday. In a tentative ruling, the judge called the ban an arbitrary way to control the coronavirus, adding that L.A. County public health officials failed to balance health risks with potential harm to the economy.Reporter: Kevin Stark, KQEDTo find out more about the controversy over outdoor dining, and the people on both sides of that debate, The California Report's Mary Franklin Harvin spoke to a journalist who's been following the issue closely. Guest: Farley Elliot, Senior Editor, Eater LANew research that estimates the comprehensive cost of wildfires, found that the 2018 California wildfires led to thousands of deaths, far more than the official count. That larger number factors in the harm of air pollution.Reporter: Danielle Venton, KQED Four men who were set to be released from California prisons earlier this year, were instead handed over to federal immigration authorities. Now they are seeking thousands of dollars in damages from the state.Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQEDThis week the city of Fresno named its next police chief. When he’s sworn in next year, Paco Balderrama will make history as the first Latino to lead the department. Reporter: Madi Bolaños, Valley Public RadioCalifornia lawmakers have introduced a new bill calling on the state to declare racism a public health crisis. The bill is big on goals but short on details at the moment.Reporter: April Dembosky, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

State lawmakers are introducing a bill that would give public schools a deadline for reopening campuses. The effort comes amid rising concern about the effects of distance learning on children.Reporter: Vanessa Rancaño, KQEDCalifornia is launching a new smartphone app to let people know when they’ve been in close contact with someone who tests positive for COVID-19. Governor Gavin Newsom says the app is voluntary and anonymous. Reporter: Laura Klivans, KQEDThree Foster Farms facilities in the Central Valley are seeing several cases of COVID-19. They include the site of a major COVID-19 outbreak this summer that resulted in nine deaths nearly 400 infections and.Reporter: Alex Hall, KQEDUber has struck a deal that hands the keys of its self-driving car division over to startup Aurora Innovation. The deal involves Uber making a $400 million investment in Aurora. Guest: Chris Urmson, CEO, Aurora InnovationBank of America told California lawmakers as much as $2 billion in unemployment benefits may have been stolen from the state, nearly double the amount previously thought to be lost.Reporter: Mary Franklin Harvin, KQEDOral Arguments were heard Monday in San Francisco's 9th Circuit Court of Appeals over whether video of the trial that led to legalization of same-sex marriage in California should be released.Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, KQEDA U.S.C. survey shows the percentage of people staying home hasn't changed much since June, even as public health experts have urged caution in recent weeks. As much of the state returns to lockdowns approaching what California experienced in March, some experts wonder if the approach makes sense.Guest: Dr. Monica Gandhi, Professor of Medicine and Infectious Disease, UCSF Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California Legislature to Introduce Pair of Eviction Protection BillsThe proposals would get relief into the hands of renters and landlords facing mounting debt and extend eviction protections adopted during the pandemic. Tenants who have been struggling to keep up with rent say the measures can’t come soon enough.Molly Solomon, KQEDSan Bernardino County now has the second highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the state. Instead of paramedics answering every emergency call in an ambulance, healthcare workers will do more symptom assessments over the phone.Reporter: Benjamin Purper, KVCRPositive COVID tests and hospitalizations are both at record highs in California. Doctors and nurses are particularly vulnerable. Medical staffers in the Bay Area, Orange County, and the Central Valley weigh in as they watch cases mount.Reporter: Lesley McClurg, KQEDPresident-elect Joe Biden has chosen California’s Attorney General as his nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services. Xavier Becerra would be the first Latino to serve in that role, a critical one now as impacts of the pandemic get worse.Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQEDBecerra’s selection is getting mixed reactions from the medical community. Last week, the American Academy of Family Physicians was one of several groups that called on President-Elect Joseph Biden to select qualified physicians to serve in key health roles.Guest: Dr. Ada Stewart, President of the American Academy of Family Physicians Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a new wave of coronavirus cases engulf California, Governor Gavin Newsom has announced a new regional stay at home order. Areas of the state where ICU capacity dips below 15 percent will have to shut down bars, hair salons, and in person dining both indoor and outdoor. Reporter: April Dembosky, KQED The survey from Blue Shield of California was conducted in early October and found that when it came to education, nearly half of the parents were most concerned about COVID-19 health risks, followed by helping their child with remote learning, and their childs’ mental health. Reporter: Alice Woelfle, KQED The National Labor Relations Board complaint names two employees, both of whom Google fired just before Thanksgiving last year. One of them was organizing against Google's decision to work with a corporate consultant known for helping firms fend off unionization efforts. Reporter: Rachael Myrow, KQED In a letter to Governor Newsom this week, the prosecutors say it was only the results of a federal subpoena that made the scope of the fraud clear to them. They are calling for an executive order to make it easier to identify fraudulent applications. Reporter: Mary Franklin Harvin, The California Report Trying to guess who Governor Newsom will pick to fill Kamala Harris’ California U.S. Senate seat as she becomes Vice-President. Newsom’s under pressure to select someone who reflects the state’s diversity….but in a state as diverse as ours that’s no easy task. Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED News This week on our sister show, The California Report Magazine, they dedicate their whole show to a documentary about Luna Guzmán, a transgender asylum seeker from Guatemala, and her long and sometimes agonizing journey to make it to California. Reporter: Sasha Khoka, The California Report Magazine  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices