KQED's The California Report

Governors Executive Order Bans Gas-Burning Car Sales by 2035California is the largest automobile market in the country, but those cars we love so much are big contributors to climate change. That’s why Governor Newsom signed a historic executive order yesterday banning the sale of new gas-powered cars in the state by the year 2035, replacing them with zero emission vehicles. Reporter Kevin Stark, KQEDCar Dealers Push Back Against Electric Car MandateThe governors' vow to end the sale of gas-fueled cars in California has critics. They include the California New Car Dealers Association, which represents about 1,200 dealers in the state. The associations president says one problem with implementing the order is infrastructure.Guest: Brian Maas, President, California New Car Dealers AssociationNew CSU Chancellor Faces Big ChallengesThe California State University System is the country’s largest four year public university system, with 23 campuses and about 480,000 students. This mammoth system now has a new chancellor, Joseph Castro, who’s also its first leader of color. Reporter: Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, KPCCU.S. Senate Looks to California as it Considers Data Privacy LegislationThe clout of California’s tech companies are getting a lot of scrutiny in Washington D.C. right now. As U.S. senators consider federal data privacy legislation, they took testimony from California’s attorney general. California has the most comprehensive data privacy law in the country.Reporter: Rachael Myrow, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Audit Finds UC Campuses Favor Wealthy Students“Who you know” can be a big advantage in life, getting you that new job or investment tip. But it’s not supposed to help you get a spot in a University of California school. A new state audit found that four UC campuses improperly admitted dozens of wealthy students over the past six years as favors to donors, family, and friends.  Reporter: Chloe Veltman, KQEDCalifornia Counties Expand Partial ReopeningAs they meet coronavirus metrics, most of the Bay Area and Riverside County in Southern California have been given the green light by the state to partially reopen restaurants, houses of worship, fitness centers and movie theaters.Long Beach Mayor Won't Rush ReopeningEven as California makes gains against the virus and reopens, some elected officials warn not to rush that process. One of them is Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, who recently lost both his mother and stepfather to COVID.Guest: Robert Garcia, Long Beach MayorCalifornia Defends Affordable Care Act Before CongressThe head of Covered California, the state’s health insurance marketplace, will testify before a Congressional committee today about the importance of the Affordable Care Act during the pandemic. The current opening on the U.S. Supreme Court could mean an uncertain future for the law.Reporter: April Dembosky, KQEDCOVID-19 Outbreak at San Bernardino Detention Center GrowsAt least 53 detainees have tested positive for COVID-19 at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in San Bernardino County. Nine people confirmed with the coronavirus have been hospitalized so far.Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED California Votes to Protect Joshua TreesBoth climate change and development are threatening Joshua Trees in the Mojave Desert. The state's Fish and Game Commission voted to extend temporary protected status to California's Joshuas yesterday.Poll Finds California Voters Are Not Enthusiastic About Prop 22A new poll shows California voters feel lukewarm about Prop 22. Tech companies like Uber and Lyft are pushing the ballot measure, which would exempt some gig workers from employee status.Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED  How Inequity Shows Up in KindergartenAcross California, parents of school age kids face the same challenge of making sure their children get a good education virtually as schools remain closed because of the pandemic But some parents have way more time, money and resources to do that than others.Reporter: Claire Trageser, KPBS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hotshot Firefighter Dies in El Dorado BlazeA firefighter died last week fighting the El Dorado fire in San Bernardino County. Charlie Morton was a squad boss of a hotshot crew in the San Bernardino National Forest. The Bobcat Fire burning in the San Gabriel Mountains is about 13% contained. It has damaged about 30 structures.California's COVID-19 Numbers Continue To FallThough more than 15,000 Californians have died from the coronavirus, the states' COVID-19 numbers, seven-day positivity rate, and hospitalization rates continue to drop, says Governor Gavin Newsom. The state is also expanding testing, with 124,000 average daily tests over the last week.CDC Reverses Guidelines Around COVID-19 TransmissionOn Friday the CDC issued new guidelines for how coronavirus spreads, saying aerosol transmission might mean the virus could travel more than six feet through the air. On Monday, the CDC removed that information, saying it was posted in error.Reporter: Peter Arcuni, KQEDUnemployment Audit Recommends Overhaul of State AgencyCalifornia’s Employment Development Department has had a huge backlog of cases since the pandemic began. An audit by a state strike team released over the weekend recommended lots of changes at the department.Reporter: Mary Franklin Harvin, KQEDLawsuit Alleges CBP Intentionally Broke the LawA class action lawsuit filed against the Trump administration alleges that Customs and Border Protection personnel knew they were breaking the law as they reviewed migrants’ claims for asylum at the U.S. - Mexico border. Reporter: Max Rivlin-Nadler, KPBSGovernor Announces Additional Funding for Homeless Housing InitiativeGovernor Newsom has announced a second round of funding for the state’s Project Homekey. $236 million dollars will be spent turning hotels, motels, and vacant apartment buildings into housing for homeless individuals. That struggle to create more housing is explored in a new KQED podcast called “Sold Out”.Guest: Molly Solomon, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California to Temporarily Halt Accepting Unemployment ClaimsCalifornia’s Employment Development Department plans to stop accepting unemployment claims until October 5 while it tackles a massive backlog of 600,000 cases. This comes as an investigative strike team set up by Governor Gavin Newsom released a report saying the agency needs a massive overhaul.Reporter: Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, KQED Newsom Signs law to Make More Undocumented Immigrants Eligible for Tax CreditsGovernor Gavin Newsom signed the measure to expand eligibility for the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit, which benefits low-income workers. The new law removes a requirement that eligible undocumented filers must have at least one child under the age of six.Reporter: Katie Orr, KQEDMourners Gather in San Francisco's Castro Neighborhood to Honor Ruth Bader GinsburgMillions of Americans are mourning the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. On Friday evening in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood, many gathered for a candlelight vigil honoring the trailblazing Supreme Court Justice.Reporter: Kate Wolffe, KQED The History of California's Statewide Initiative System A dozen statewide propositions will appear on California's November ballot, asking voters to decide on complex issues from affirmative action to digital privacy. The state's initiative system was created in 1911, and it was pitched as a way to give voters a direct voice in governing. Guest: Joe Matthews, Connecting California columnist  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

State Prison Officials Meet with Inmate Advocates to Discuss Efforts to Contain COVID-19 OutbreaksWhat started as a handful of coronavirus cases early last month at Folsom State Prison has ballooned to over 500. Further south, Avenal State Prison in Kings County has had 22 hundred cases. That’s more than any prison in California, including San Quentin.Reporter: Kate Wolffe, KQED Adelanto Immigration Detention Center Grapples with COVID-19 OutbreakThe immigration detention center in the desert city of Adelanto, northeast of Los Angeles, continues to face a COVID-19 outbreak there. 39 individuals have tested positive.Reporter: Benjamin Purper, KVCRHow to Build in the Era of Climate Change and Raging WildfiresAs fire crews across the state continue to battle record-setting blazes, many people are asking what can be done to make sure future fires aren’t as destructive in an era of climate change. Many experts say one big solution is improved planning and not building homes where they’re threatened by fire.Guest: David Shew, CalFireCalls Grow for LA County Sheriff to ResignThere are increasingly angry calls from elected officials for LA. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, who runs the largest sheriff’s department in the country, to resign. Villanueva’s critics cite an attempt to rehire a deputy accused of domestic abuse, his threat of lawsuits against critics, gang-like cliques of deputies in the department, and controversial deputy-involved shootingsHot, Dry Summer Likely to Continue For Most of California in The FallOur state has had a hot and dry summer, and scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are forecasting that will continue for most of California in autumn. That means the wildfire threat continues.Reporter: Kevin Stark, KQEDUC Berkeley Launches New Center to Study Science of PsychedelicsBerkeley’s center will instead focus on how psychedelics affect the brain. The center will also train people to be guides or facilitators for psychedelic research and therapies.Reporter: Laura Klivans, KQEDHow the Pandemic is Shaping Dialogue Around Death and DyingThe pandemic is forcing us to have hard conversations about something no one really wants to talk about: our wishes around death and dying.Reporter: Sasha Khokha, The California Report Magazine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How Some Families are Coping with Unhealthy Air Quality in Southern CaliforniaAir quality may finally be improving in the Bay Area, but things are still smoky down in Southern California. That’s especially true in in the foothill communities of the San Gabriel Valley, where the Air Quality Index has hit 500 this week. Reporter: KCRW’s Benjamin Gottlieb, KCRWNew Poll Shows Tough Fight for Proposition to Reinstate Affirmative ActionThe poll from the Public Policy Institute of California shows just 31 percent support a proposition to reinstate affirmative action. The poll also shows a slim majority of likely voters support Proposition 15, which would change how property taxes are assessed on commercial and industrial properties in the state.Reporter: Katie Orr, KQED Neighbors Step Up to Help One Restaurant Worker Out of Work Since Pandemic BeganThe restaurant industry has been hard hit during the pandemic, losing nearly 400,000 jobs in the state since March. As some businesses reopen, those workers are competing for fewer positions. Victor Moreno is one restaurant worker finding unexpected support from people in his neighborhood. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED 250 Marines and Sailors Sent to Battle Creek Fire250 marines and sailors are being sent to Central California to help fight the Creek Fire, which has grown to over 220,000 acres and is now 18% contained.Reporter: Alex Hall, KQED Firefighters Fight to Save Historic Mount Wilson ObservatoryThe Bobcat Fire has gotten dangerously close to the observatory. It’s surrounded by firefighters and helicopters there to defend the structures, which contain scientifically important telescopes. Sharon McNary, KPCC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kamala Harris Visits Fresno to Meet with Emergency Personnel Battling WildfiresDemocratic Vice Presidential hopeful Kamala Harris met Tuesday with emergency service personnel who have been battling the Creek Fire in the mountains near Fresno. Reporter: Alex Hall, KQED Women's Groups Vow to Defend Kamala Harris from Racist, Sexist AttacksAs the first woman of color on a major party’s presidential ticket, Kamala Harris is already facing subtle and not so subtle personal attacks that observers say most white men would not encounter. Women's groups are geared up to defend her.Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED New Alliance of Progressive Prosecutors Founded to Lobby for Criminal Justice ReformA group of California prosecutors say they are fed up with their peers’ opposition to criminal justice reform and are starting a new group dedicated to pushing political change. Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trump Blames Forest Management, Dismisses Climate Change During California VisitBoth presidential nominees turned their attention Monday to the wildfires roaring across the west coast. President Donald Trump landed in Sacramento to receive a wildfire briefing. In his own address on climate issues, across the country, Democratic nominee Joe Biden said four more years of Trump would lead to more fires, floods and storms.Reporter: Katie Orr, KQEDResearchers Use 3-D Simulation to Show the Pending Catastrophe of Sea Level RiseRising sea levels could be exponentially more expensive to deal with than wildfires. Dr. Patrick Barnard, director of climate research at the U.S. Geological Survey, and executive producer Tobin Jones have set out to show rather than tell what climate change could look like.Guests: Dr. Patrick Barnard, director of climate research at the U.S Geological Survey, and animator Tobin Jones Outrage Continues after Journalist Arrested While Covering ProtestThe search continues for a man who shot two L.A. County Sheriff's Deputies in their patrol car in Compton on Saturday night. Shortly after the shooting, sheriffs’ deputies arrested KPCC reporter Josie Huang. The Sheriff’s office said she did not clearly identify herself as a member of the press, although video footage contradicts that account.Court Rules Trump Administration Can End Humanitarian Protections for ImmigrantsThe 9th circuit court of appeals has ruled on Monday that the Trump administration can end humanitarian protections for more than 400,000 immigrants nationwide. That would pave the way for their deportation.Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQEDYoung Voters More Likely to have Vote-by-Mail Ballots RejectedAs California prepares to mail every voter a ballot this fall, the issue of ballot rejections is a rising concern. Over the last decade, an average of 1.7% of mail ballots have been rejected, according to the California Voter Foundation.Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQEDQAnon Followers Threaten, Dox Scott Wiener Over Sex Offender LawSome Republican politicians stand accused of seizing on a new law, signed by the Governor late last week, as an opportunity to rally QAnon believersReporter: Rachael Myrow, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Trump Expected to Visit California as Wildfires RagePresident Donald Trump is set to visit California in Sacramento as fire fighters make progress containing wildfires. Before this Friday, President Trump went three weeks without saying anything about the wildfires  Unprecedented Fire Conditions Continue to Strain ResourcesFirefighters in California are battling nearly 30 major blazes burning across the state. Chief Dave Winnacker with the Moraga-Orinda Fire District is in the field at the Red Salmon Complex burning in Trinity County. Guest: Dave Winnacker, Fire Chief at Moraga-Orinda Fire DistrictNewsom Signs Bill to Allow More Formerly Incarcerated Firefighters to Join Professional Fire CrewsGov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill on Friday to make it easier for formerly incarcerated fire fighters to be hired by fire agencies in full time positions.Reporter: Kevin Stark, KQEDTwo Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputies Shot in ComptonTwo Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies were shot Saturday, and the suspect is still on the loose. Both deputies are in critical conditions and expected to recover. Shortly after the shooting, Josie Huang with member station KPCC was documenting the arrest of a protestor when she was arrested. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Darrell Satzman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices