KQED's The California Report

The largest is the Head Fire, which is estimated to have burned about 3,500 acres so far. Evacuation shelters have been set up for both people and animals who have been displaced by the fire.Reporter: Jane Vaughan, JPRSouthern California’s Hawaiian community is leading local fundraising efforts for Maui after its deadly wildfires.Reporter: Josie Huang, LAistKids across California are returning to school, but not all students are equally prepared. A study found that in Sonoma County, only 22% of children are ready for kindergarten when they start. Children of Latino, Black and Native American descent were less prepared than other racial groups.Reporter: Amanda Stupi, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Newsom administration says crews made up of more than one hundred people from California will be in Maui to aid in the search and recovery efforts. That includes forensic anthropologists, specialists in urban search and rescue, wildfire debris removal and hazardous waste experts and K9 teams.Reporter: Angela Corral, KQEDIn San Francisco, immigrants' rights lawyers are gearing up for a courtroom challenge to President Biden’s border policies, which they say are too restrictive and harm asylum seekers. In Los Angeles, migrants keep arriving on buses sent by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who says Biden’s policies are not restrictive enough. Guest: Tyche Hendricks, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Department of Energy has announced $100 million in funding for 19 carbon capture projects nationwide. One of those projects is destined for the Kern County foothills, near Taft. Reporter: Joshua Yeager, KVPRIt’s been one year since a Sonoma County sheriff’s deputy shot and killed local farmworker, David Pelaez-Chavez. His family and community members are calling on the District Attorney to bring charges against the deputy involved.Reporter: Tash Kimmell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the Aloha Festival in San Mateo over the weekend, members of the Bay Area's Asian American and Pacific Islander community came together to celebrate Polynesian culture and find ways to help people in Maui.Reporter: Billy Cruz, KQEDThousands of low-income California workers shorted on their paychecks may never recover that money, even when they’ve won claims with state regulators. That's why one Bay Area county is giving some employers an ultimatum: pay what you owe or don’t do business here.Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At least 55 people are confirmed dead from the wildfires that devastated the historic Maui town of Lahaina. One resident from the Central Valley moved to the popular tourist town ten years ago to open a bar that's now completely demolished. Reporter: Izzy Bloom, KQED Drive-In theaters are a staple in American history. But over the years the number of these outdoor movie theaters has diminished. Despite the shift to indoor movies and a hit from the pandemic, the Madera Drive-In where Madi spent most of her summer nights as a child is up and running.Reporter: Madi Bolaños, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Murrieta Valley School Board will discuss a policy this evening to notify parents if their child identifies as transgender. This comes after the Chino Valley school board passed a similar policy last month. Reporter: Madison Aument, KVCRMore than 100 unionized healthcare workers disrupted a Fresno County Board of Supervisors meeting yesterday. The union is demanding higher wages and healthcare benefits.Reporter: Esthern Quintanilla, KVPRHomeowners in California have been reeling from the news that large insurance carriers will no longer offer new policies in the state. Nonprofits that provide affordable housing are also feeling the squeeze, and that's threatening to make the state's housing shortage even worse. Reporter: Erin Baldassari, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Standing water in Kings and Tulare Counties in the San Joaquin Valley has led to a proliferation of mosquitoes. As a result, big bucks are being spent on abatement.Reporter: Kerry Klein, KVPRFor a lot of parents, having no one to care for their children means they often just don’t go to work, which can be bad for their employers. One study found that businesses lose $23 billion every year due to child care challenges faced by their workers. So some companies are taking matters into their own hands through employer-sponsored care.Reporter: Amanda Stupi, KQED  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Los Angeles city workers including sanitation workers, LAX employees, lifeguards at city pools and traffic officers are participating in a 24-hour strike today over unfair labor practices and bad-faith bargaining.California is one of the few states with heat standards aimed at protecting outdoor workers. But heat protections for indoor workers are limited, despite documented risks. Reporter: Nicole Foy, CalMattersIn Tijuana, a team of very young baseball players is getting ready to represent Mexico in the Little League World Series held in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.Reporter: Gustavo Solis, KPBS  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Sacramento, a budget deficit limited what California state lawmakers could fund in this year’s budget. Now, lawmakers are looking to bonds as a different strategy to pay for things like climate infrastructure, mental health beds and affordable housing. Reporter: Nicole Nixon, CapRadioA controversial Farmer John slaughterhouse in the L.A. County community of Vernon closed earlier this year after nearly a century of operations. More than 2,000 people, mostly immigrants, worked there. Months later, laid-off workers are still struggling to adjust. Reporter: Leslie Berestein Rojas, LAist  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Biden Administration program to monitor asylum-seeking families and subject them to a curfew is set to expand to several California cities next week. It’s part of an effort by the Biden Administration to signal a tough but humane approach to border enforcement.Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED Following the state’s record-breaking rainfall in the winter, and now its dry heat, public health officials are worried about an uptick in Valley fever infections. Reporter: Izzy Bloom, The California ReportIn the early 1900s, many young Americans of Japanese descent left the United States to escape discrimination and seek opportunity back in Japan. When war broke out, they experienced the violence of the U.S. offensive while trying to navigate complex, often contradictory feelings about identity and belonging. Reporter Kori Suzuki explores this period through a very personal story — that of his grandmother.Reporter: Kori Suzuki, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices