KQED's The California Report

There’s a beam of light bringing people together in Sacramento, where long suffering basketball fans finally have a reason to celebrate. And the Battle of Northern California kicks off on Saturday, as the Kings are facing off against the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. Reporter: Bianca Taylor, KQED Senator Dianne Feinstein is asking Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to temporarily replace her on a key committee until she fully recovers from a bout of shingles. But it might not be that simple.Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED California is experiencing a rush of solar installations as residents and installers worked to get deals in place before new rules take effect on Friday.  Reporter: Erik Anderson, KPBS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California prides itself on welcoming and including immigrants. The state is often at odds with the federal government over immigration enforcement. But there are exceptions – and a big one is that when the state prison system is releasing someone who’s not a citizen, they are allowed to turn them over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and they routinely do.Guest: Tyche Hendricks, KQEDDemonstrators from around California are expected to converge in Sacramento on Thursday to support a state bill that would offer unemployment benefits to workers, who are excluded because they’re undocumented.Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been 3 months since major flooding inundated the town of Planada in Merced County. Still, residents of this unincorporated community are struggling to stay afloat.Reporter: Madi Bolaños, The California ReportState officials are preparing for major flooding as the snowpack begins to melt. Statewide, the snowpack sits at 249% of the average for this time of year.Reporter: Ezra David Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Clean Air Act has saved hundreds of thousands of lives and avoided millions of childhood illnesses. Even so, the Environmental Protection Agency is planning to strengthen air standards. It's a move celebrated by many, but some fire experts worry that the new rules could unintentionally lead to larger wildfires and worse air. Guest: Danielle Venton, KQED Lawmakers plan to introduce a bill on Tuesday that would restrict California prison officials from transferring certain inmates to ICE. The HOME Act would protect non-citizens from being handed to ICE for deportation, if they’ve been granted clemency or released from prison under recent criminal justice reform laws.Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQEDThe state launched a program recently to get more Californians into their first homes. The only problem? Maybe the program was too popular. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More fallout from the reappearance of Tulare Lake. It was once the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi. But it's been dry for years. Now, with massive amounts of rain, and more water coming from the state's melting snowpack, nearby communities are worried they could be flooded out.  Reporter: Soreath Hok, KVPRTens of thousands of people rely on salmon fishing to make a living. The season's closure could be devastating to coastal communities - from fishing to charter boats and restaurants. Reporter: Kevin Stark, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California child care providers are still waiting on hundreds of thousands of dollars in pandemic financial relief from Governor Newsom and the Department of Social Services. Providers were supposed to receive the one-time stipend payments around the holidays, or early 2023 at the latest.Reporter: Izzy Bloom, The California Report Fast fashion trends have many Americans buying more clothes than ever. But when those clothes are discarded, thousands of tons of textiles end up in landfills each year. Reporter: Gabriela Fernandez, KCBX Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The number of K-12 students experiencing homelessness in California has surged by the thousands. That’s according to new enrollment data from the state’s Department of Education.Reporter: Joe Hong, CalMatters A new investigation finds that after police killings, many California law enforcement agencies are trained to keep news of people's deaths from family members. That way, according to the reporting, police can grill families for information that can be used to limit liability and protect departments’ reputations.Guest: Brian Howey, Investigative Reporting Program, UC Berkeley and LA Times Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A parade of atmospheric rivers has delivered record-busting levels of rain and snowfall to the Sierra Nevada this year. But with all that snow poised to melt in the coming months, communities in the Central Valley floor, which are already grappling with flooding, are bracing for the worst. Reporter: Joshua Yeager, KVPR The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has voted to expand a guaranteed income program for an additional 200 former foster youth in the area. It’ll provide recipients with $1,000 a month for two years. Reporter: Izzy Bloom, The California Report  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The latest reading of California’s snowpack is in, and the amount of snow is huge - 220% of average. The last time California had this much snow in the Sierra Nevada was in 1952.Reporter: Joshua Yeager, KVPR How many of you have had this very California problem? You really want to buy your first home, but the down payment is just too high. And the monthly mortgage payments would kill you financially. Well, the state of California has just started taking applications for a new program, where it will put down a good chunk of money to help people buy their first home. Guest: Eric Johnson, California Housing Finance Agency Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the food scraps we throw out from our kitchens get hauled to dumps, they release methane, a super-accelerant of climate change. So last year, a state law went into effect requiring California cities to slash the amount of food waste they send to landfills. But how is implementation of that law going?Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California ReportStarting Monday, California Public Health officials will no longer require masking in healthcare and correctional facilities. Also, COVID-19 vaccinations won’t be required for healthcare workers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices