KQED's The California Report

Just like animals, the world’s trees, flowers, grasses and succulents are under threat, especially as our world heats up because of climate change. About a third of California’s native plant species and populations are now endangered or threatened by development, drought, competition from invasive species and of course wildfires. In California, botanists are trying to protect the state’s native flora for future generations. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For more than 20 years, the African American Theater Arts Troupe at UC Santa Cruz has provides a sense of community for Black students on campus while also celebrating Black playwrights. Often, it’s the first time Black students see plays that explore life experiences they can relate to. Reporter: Doug McKnight, KAZUIf you look out west from San Francisco, when the fog clears and the light is just right, you might be able to see a cluster of islands jutting out of the ocean, like sharp, misshapen teeth. The Farallon Islands, 27 miles west of San Francisco, are a national wildlife refuge, and home to the largest seabird breeding colony in the contiguous United States. The islands — and the waters around them — are also brimming with a variety of wildlife, including thousands of seals and sea lions, gray and humpback whales, sharks and even orcas. Reporter: Izzy Bloom, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Thanksgiving approaches, food pantries across the state are seeing an increase in need. Some students face a difficult choice: eating or education. A recent state law requires college campuses to direct students to CalFresh and other benefits. Reporter: Joshua Yeager, KVPRFor the second time this year, state officials are delaying the start of commercial Dungeness crab fishing, after several humpback whales were spotted off California's coast. The delay will allow time for the whales to migrate south. Reporter: Laura Klivans, KQEDMillions of Californians will sit down to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal tomorrow. And all of that food preparation will create a lot of potential food waste, from turkey bones to vegetable peelings. But the gases that are released from food waste that's trucked to landfills are a big contributor to climate change. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scientists at Stanford are starting a new medical trial to test if the drug Paxlovid can ease the symptoms of long COVID, like brain fog, shortness of breath and body aches. It's the first medical trial in the U.S. involving an antiviral to treat long COVID. Reporter: Madi Bolaños, KQEDGovernor Gavin Newsom is releasing a billion dollars in funding to fight homelessness. That comes just two weeks after he put a halt on the funds and scolded cities and counties for not having ambitious plans to solve homelessness. Cities must submit their next proposal to the state by next Tuesday to access more funding. Reporter: Adhiti Bandlamudi, KQEDCalifornia's last remaining nuclear power plant just received more than a billion dollars in conditional funding to keep it up and running for five extra years. Local supporters of the plant’s continued operation celebrated the news for helping keep the plant’s carbon-free energy on the grid, as the state faces an ongoing energy crisis. Reporter: Benjamin Purper, KCBX Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last night, the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club hosted a vigil to honor the victims of the shooting in a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs. The vigil took place at Harvey Milk Plaza, one week before the 44th anniversary of the assassination of Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone.A recent investigation from CapRadio and the California Newsroom revealed the U.S. Forest Service predicted that a wildfire could wipe out the town of Grizzly Flats. But the agency failed to deliver on plans to protect the rural Northern California town. Reporter: Scott Rodd, CapRadioCalifornia is one of the nation’s most linguistically diverse states. An estimated 3.4 million workers don’t speak English well, or at all. Many of them work low-wage, high-risk jobs. But the state agency tasked with protecting workers’ health and safety, is woefully understaffed in terms of bilingual inspectors.Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hundreds of California farmworkers and growers are rallying in Washington this week. They're supporting a bipartisan bill that would create a pathway to citizenship for the nation’s undocumented farmworkers.Reporter: Joshua Yeager, KVPRThe University of California academic workers' strike continues today and could stretch into the Thanksgiving holiday and beyond. Hear from one striking researcher who's been on the picket line all week.Reporter: Laura FitzgeraldIn a preview of our sister show, The California Report Magazine this week checks in on immigrant detainees who say they were retaliated against for waging a labor strike at the two facilities where they’re held. One man says he faced 40 days in solitary confinement for supporting the strike. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bass, a community activist turned Congress member, defeated developer Rick Caruso in a race marked by his record spending. In a statement on her win, she pledged to solve homelessness and respond urgently to crime.California’s nonpartisan budget analyst is warning of rocky financial times ahead. California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office is projecting a $25 billion budget deficit for the next fiscal year. California released its latest ambitious climate change plan yesterday that would reduce the state’s dependence on fossil fuels. The plan calls for slashing emissions by 48% by 2030, based on 1990 levels Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva has lost his reelection bid to his opponent, Robert Luna, who continued to hold a commanding lead as the vote count continued.Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, KQEDAs votes continue to be tallied, it’s looking like Californians are on track to elect the most diverse legislature in state history. As many as 52 female candidates could take office once all the votes are counted. Eight LGBTQ candidates are also on track for election.Reporter: Ariel Gans, CalMattersActivists in Los Angeles say they’ve noticed a pattern. When a restaurant offering, say, $30 entrees, opens in a working class neighborhood, rents start to rise faster, there are more evictions, and long-time locals are forced to leave. Some restaurants are now trying hard to limit their impact on gentrification. But is it enough? Or will their presence always be problematic?Reporter: Megan Jamerson, KCRW Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thousands of Employees of the University of California Remain on StrikeAt U.C. Merced, the system’s newest campus, employees are calling on the UC Regents to raise wages so they can afford housing. Reporter: Esther Quintanilla, KVPR A U.C. Berkeley Ph.D Candidate Studying Reptiles Decides to StrikeStrikers, represented by the United Auto Workers are disrupting business on UC campuses at a pivotal time in the semester. Isaac Krone is a PHD candidate who studies reptiles, but he says he hasn't been able to focus on his research because he must teach every semester. Reporter: Jean Zamora, The California Report Border Rule Changes Could Speed Up Crossings, Impact Aslyum SeekersChange is coming to the U.S-Mexico border in our region. Mexican immigration officers on that side of the border at San Ysidro will check US-bound travelers’ documents. Reporter: Caleigh Wells, KCRW A Week Since Election Day, Multiple Statewide and Municipal Races Still in LimboCalifornia, like a handful of states across the West, mostly sends every voter a ballot in the mail, and it just takes longer to count mail in ballots. You have to take it out and compare the signature on the blue to the one on file to make sure that it matches.Reporter: Ben Christopher, CalMatters politics reporter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nearly a week after the final day of voting, several key races in California could help determine which party will control the House of Representatives. Of the remaining House contests too close to call, more than half are in California.Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQEDAfter several days of narrowly trailing in the mayoral vote count, Congressmember Karen Bass opened up a narrow lead against her opponent, shopping mall mogul, Rick Caruso, as ballots continued to be counted over the weekend. As of the most recently announced totals, Bass is nearly 9,500 votes ahead.Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, KQEDLast week Alex Padilla became the first Latino elected to the U.S. Senate from California. Patricia Guerrero is poised to become the first Latina California Supreme Court Justice. The outcome of these 2022 midterm elections is a product of "immense anger" that started in 1994 with the Anti-Immigration Proposition 187, according to an expert.Reporter: Madi Bolaños, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices