KQED's The California Report

The Fresno Chaffee Zoo’s long-awaited ‘Kingdoms of Asia’ exhibit has opened. The exhibit's design was inspired by Cambodia's landmark Angkor Wat temple.Reporter: Soreath Hok, KVPRHotel workers who had been on strike since Sunday in Los Angeles and Orange counties, have returned to work. But the union representing the workers says they could walk out at anytime, if their demands aren't met. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

About 15,000 workers employed at dozens of hotels across Los Angeles and Orange counties have walked off the job, demanding better pay and benefits. As summer temperatures start to hit triple digits, farmworkers in the Central Valley are especially vulnerable to the toll of excessive heat. And looking ahead it’s not going to get any easier because of climate change,Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The California Air Resources Board, or CARB, which regulates car and truck pollution in the state, will soon fully open its new, very expensive state-of-the-art laboratory and testing center in Riverside. The hope is that it can be a key tool in the decades-long fight against air pollution and, more recently, climate change.Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This summer, the California Report will be taking you to places and talking to people from all walks of life about what they're doing in the months ahead. But first, we're looking at the dollars and cents of California’s tourism economy and how things are shaping up this summer travel season. Guest: Caroline Beteta, President and CEO of Visit CaliforniaMany people enjoy spending the summer outdoors, and that can mean hiking in some of California's vast and diverse parks, trails and forests. But how can you enjoy it safely, and avoid the crowds?Guest: Chris Hazzard, Author, Professional Hiking Guide Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Homelessness is up 9 percent In LA County. Results of Los Angeles' Annual Homeless Count Are Out ...And It's Not Good.   Anna Scott from KCRW has the details.The State Task Force Studying Reparations For African-Americans In California Has Submitted Its Final Report... And As KQED Politics Correspondent Guy Marzorati Tells Us -- State Legislators Now Face The Political Challenge Of Making Those Proposals A Reality.This Week, Governor Gavin Newsom And State Lawmakers Agreed On A State Budget That Includes $10 million for LGBTQ Services To Be Divided Among The State's Community Colleges. That Money Is Critical In Rural Communities Where LGBTQ Plus Services Are Typically Scarce.The Supreme Court's Decision To Do Away With Affirmative Action In College Admissions Will Likely Not Have As Deep An Impact In California Since Prop 209 Banned The Practice back In 1998.The City Of Arcata Will Be The Site Of A New Emergency Mental Health Care Facility With The Help Of A Recent $12 Million Grant. As JPR’s Jane Vaughan reports, The New Behavioral Health Crisis Triage Center Will Hopefully Open In 2026.Here's A Preview Of Our Sister Show, The California Report’s Weekly Magazine. During The Pandemic, Rhea Patel And Marcel Michel Decided To Do Something Bold.... Despite Having NO Background In Food, The Couple Started A Food Business, Bringing Flavors From Their Indian And Mexican Backgrounds To Rotisserie Chicken Dishes. They Call It - SAUCY CHICK....And, KQED’s Sasha Khoka Caught Up With Them At A Sunday Food Market in Downtown Los Angeles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People who live around several reservoirs in Siskiyou County are facing an uncertain future. Four dams on the Klamath River will be torn down over the next two years. Now, their lakefront properties will change as reservoirs turn into a free-flowing river again.Reporter: Erik Neumann, Jefferson Public Radio  A new report shows California is performing almost 500 more abortions per month than in the period before Roe v. Wade was overturned. The “We Count” project has been collecting data from U.S. abortion providers, as more states implement bans and restrictions. The numbers include both medication abortion and in-clinic procedures.Reporter: Kate Wolffe, CapRadioThe California task force studying reparations for Black residents is submitting its final recommendations to the State legislature on Thursday.Reporter: Annelise Finney, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New numbers out from California's Attorney General's office show a more than 20% increase in hate crimes in the state between 2021 and 2022, with more than 2,100 recorded incidents last year. Reported hate crimes targeting Black people had the sharpest rise. There were also big increases in crimes against members of the LGBTQ and Jewish communities.The majority of Californians live in places where the supply of licensed child care just does not meet the demand. And it could get worse. During the pandemic, additional federal funds helped many child care providers stay open, but that funding is coming to an end.Reporter: Amanda Stupi, KQEDIn recent weeks, hundreds of sea lions and more than 100 dolphins have washed up sick or dead on the beaches of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. A toxic algae bloom off the coast is thought to be the cause.Reporter: Jacob Margolis, LAist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you been recycling your food scraps? A new report finds that California’s landmark compost law that went into effect last year isn’t close to reaching its organic recycling goals.Reporter: Erin Stone, LAistWhat happens when an elected official essentially becomes homeless because of the cost of California housing? In the small Ventura County town of Ojai, a councilmember has fought to keep her seat, because she can’t find permanent housing she can afford that’s in her district.Guest: Alexei Koseff, Reporter, CalMatters  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By law, California's legislature and the governor must approve a budget by July 1st, the start of the state’s fiscal year. But with that deadline looming, lawmakers and Governor Newsom still haven't struck a budget agreement.Reporter: Nicole Nixon, CapRadioA 2017 law to streamline new housing construction and override neighborhood opposition has been hailed as one of the most successful tools in the state to help solve California’s housing crisis. But this well-intentioned legislation is producing some unintended consequences for a small and underserved community in one of the richest counties in the state.Reporter: Madi Bolaños, The California Report Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S. is now the second country in the world to approve the sale of cultivated meat. The meat from Bay Area companies Upside Foods and Good Meat doesn’t come from slaughtered animals. Rather it’s made from animal cells. Reporter: Keith Mizuguchi, The California Report In honor of Juneteenth, The California Report Magazine. is celebrating with stories of creative, powerful Black women, and the house in Oakland that has become the center of their movement. Reporters: The Kitchen Sisters, The California Report Magazine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices