KQED's The California Report

The governor's office is awarding $760 million in grants for affordable housing projects in California, combating wage theft to address homelessness in Los Angeles, surge in COVID-19 infections in California and its connection to the EG5 subvariant, managing concerns about COVID-19, and an interview with infectious disease doctor Monica Gandhi about affordable housing in California.

COVID cases are on the rise in California. According to the state public health department, hospitalizations have jumped more than 80% over the last month.  Reporter: Jackie Fortier, LAistCalifornia produces millions of tons of toxic waste each year, but the state’s relying on a shrinking network of aging sites to process it. Many of the older sites have a troubling history of safety violations and polluted soil and groundwater.Reporter: Robert Lewis, CalMatters  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

State Attorney General Rob Bonta is suing Chino Valley Unified School District in San Bernardino County, over their policy of mandatory outing of trans students to family members. The policy requires teachers and staff to notify parents within three days if a student asks to use a different name or pronoun.A new political campaign to roll back several protections for transgender youth is happening across California. However transgender advocates say they’re dangerous.Reporter: Lesley McClurg, KQEDHundreds of house cleaners, nannies and home care aides are expected to descend on Sacramento on Tuesday, calling on the governor and lawmakers to pass a bill that would give domestic workers the right to health and safety protections other workers enjoy.Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQEDThe recent death of an orca held in captivity in Florida for more than five decades has invigorated calls to release other marine mammals – including Corky – an orca at San Diego’s SeaWorld. At the same time, some California lawmakers are pushing federal regulators to demand better care for marine mammals in captivity. Reporter: Greta Mart, KRCB Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A growing number of California winemakers have seen their crop ruined in recent years by wildfire smoke. The impact is huge: After fires in 2020, the California Association of Wine Grape Growers estimated that up to 325,000 tons of grapes weren’t usable, leading to over $3 billion in losses.Reporter: Manola Secaira, CapRadioThe three people who died in last week's shooting at an Orange County bar have been identified. Cook's Corner is often described as a biker bar in Trabuco Canyon. But the community ties run far deeper, stretching back to at least 1926.Reporter: Caitlin Hernandez, LAist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a 17-month labor battle, a North Hollywood strip club has reopened as the only union strip club in the U.S. But it's not the end of the road. The dancers may have union representation, but they still don't have a contract.Reporter: Robin Estrin, KCRWThe world’s largest known octopus garden is in California coastal waters, just 80 miles south of Monterey. A new study confirms these deep-sea octopuses migrate to the area to reproduce.Reporter: Alexander Gonzalez, KQEDThrough her restaurant, Crystal Wahpepah reclaims and celebrates the traditions of indigenous people, while also nourishing and educating non-native people on the history of the land they occupy.Reporter: Bianca Taylor, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A gunman killed three people and wounded six in a mass shooting in Orange County last night. It happened around 7:00 p.m. at Cook’s Corner, a bar popular with motorcyclists located in Trabuco Canyon in east Orange County. The shooter also died at the scene, likely killed, law enforcement says, by responding deputies.West Coast cities, from Seattle to San Diego, have housing shortages that are driving up rents and pushing some people into homelessness. According to new data on apartment construction, that problem is getting even worse.Reporter: Anna Scott, KCRWIn 2020, the Mineral Fire burned nearly 30,000 acres over two weeks. It also caused hundreds of rural western Fresno County residents to seek shelter from the blaze’s smoke indoors. But even inside their homes, many couldn't avoid the health effects of all that smoke. Now three years later, a team of researchers is testing a new way to improve indoor air quality.Reporter: Esther Quintanilla, KVPR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A proposed plan for reparations to descendants of slaves in California; a bill aiming to protect Southeast Asian refugees from deportation; a landmark study on the extinction of megafauna in Southern California; factors contributing to extinction due to human-caused wildfires; wrapping up with thanks and sponsors.

Tropical storm Hilary brought lots of rain to parts of Southern California. In San Diego County that will help ease the risk of wildfires in the short term.Reporter: Erik Anderson, KPBSIn the Northern California town of Paradise, many survivors of the devastating 2018 Camp Fire have been watching news of wildfires in Maui with a sense of disbelief. The blaze that destroyed Lahaina has now surpassed the Camp Fire for fatalities, with more than a hundred dead and hundreds more still missing.Reporter: Jamie Jiang, North State Public RadioOn Sunday, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake rattled much of Southern California. It didn’t cause much damage or injury, but the quake was a reminder that a far more costly temblor can hit at any time. That got us thinking about earthquake insurance and we found out that the California Earthquake Authority, which administers quake coverage in the state, is making some big changes to earthquake policies.Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department advised Catalina Island residents and visitors — especially the medically vulnerable — to leave the island as soon as they could as a precaution.A big and unusual tropical storm isn’t the only worry nature is throwing at Californians. On Sunday afternoon, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck near the Ventura County community of Ojai and was felt in Los Angeles. That temblor was followed by a series of smaller quakes.San Diego got soaked on Sunday as tropical storm Hilary raced through the county. The storm had wind speeds of over 100 miles per hour at its peak, but the system was significantly weaker when it arrived in San Diego.Reporter: Erik Anderson, KPBS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hurricane Hilary, which is growing down around Baja right now, strengthened to a Category 4 storm this morning. The system had maximum sustained winds of 145 miles per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center. In the coming days, the hurricane could head toward Southern California, bringing threats of major flooding. Reporter: Jacob Margolis, LAistSan Francisco is calling on state regulators to temporarily suspend their approval of Cruise's and Waymo's unrestricted commercial expansion in the city. City Attorney David Chiu wants state regulators to first address the city's pending request for a hearing.Reporter: Rachael Myrow, KQEDWildfires have destroyed close to one-fifth of the Earth's giant sequoia trees, found only in California. The National Park Service wants to replant them, but others say that goes against the very definition of wilderness. What is natural? And how much should humans intervene?Reporter: Marissa Ortega-Welch, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices