KQED's The California Report

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

The California Public Utilities Commission has released a proposal that would gradually reduce the price utilities pay for power from rooftop solar systems. The proposal has been met with widespread criticism. Reporter: Dan Brekke, KQEDThis week, an episode from the new season of "Uncuffed," a podcast from KALW focused on intimate stories made by people incarcerated in California prisons. Edmond Richardson talks about marriage on the day before his wedding day inside San Quentin State prison.Reporter: Edmond Richardson, KALW Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Republicans will likely be in the majority in the House of Representatives come January. Bakersfield Republican Kevin McCarthy is expected to become Speaker, but his path forward is far from clear. One expert says the challenge for McCarthy, especially with a small majority, is that he lacks trust from the far right wing of his caucus.Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQEDThe largely Republican Shasta County in northern California has been the subject of national attention since the takeover of the county board of supervisors by a far-right majority earlier this year. But on election night, heightened security measures and support for poll workers seem to have contributed to a more relaxed atmosphere.Reporter: Roman Battaglia, Jefferson Public Radio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There was a sweep by Democrats in statewide races for Governor, U.S. Senate, Secretary of State, Lieutenant Governor and State Treasurer.The high-profile Los Angeles mayoral race is looking tight, with Rick Caruso at a slight lead over Karen Bass as of this morning. Meanwhile, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva is losing in his bid to stay in office against his rival, former Long Beach police chief Robert Luna.Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy delivered a short speech at 11 p.m. on Tuesday, promising that by the time people wake up, Republicans would be in the majority. But as of right now, Republicans haven’t taken control of the House and the Red Wave hasn’t materialized. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CARE Courts, a county-based initiative, will combine teams of outreach workers and therapists with civil courts. Seven California counties have already volunteered to implement the CARE Court system first.Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, KQEDThousands of low-income families could miss out on a child tax credit that became available during the pandemic. Californians have until November 17th to file for these tax credits.Reporter: Wendy Fry, CalMattersIn August, dancers at a strip club in Los Angeles filed a petition to unionize, vying to become the only unionized strip club in the country. On Monday afternoon, the dancers had their union election. Reporter: Robin Estrin, KCRW Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last year, Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified’s two most conservative board members eventually supported adopting an ethnic studies class. But around the same time, the school board banned the teaching of critical race theory. This tug-of-war over values is coming to a head this election, as the long-time incumbents face political newbies who are promising to keep race and gender identity issues out of schools.Reporter: Jill Replogle, KPCCA new poll from UC Berkeley finds that Californians of all political stripes are worried that American democracy is in crisis and is at risk of failing. And they're overwhelmingly pessimistic about the chances that people with different political views can work out their differences together. Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Less than a month before finals are meant to start, University of California student workers have voted to authorize a strike. The strike could arrive as early as November 14.Reporter: E. Okobi, KQEDAccording to new numbers from the election tracking site Ballotpedia, nationally a little more than a billion dollars have been spent on state ballot measures this election cycle. And California accounts for about 70% of the cumulative spending. Most of that has been spent fighting over Propositions 26 and 27.Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, KQEDMany potential young voters that college student Kennedy McIntyre talks to are concerned about a host of issues: affordable housing, gun control, abortion rights. But they aren't convinced that voting will make much of a difference.Reporter: Jessica Kariisa, The California Report Magazine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In several of California's most competitive races, Latino voters could be decisive, which isn’t so surprising. But more than half of Latino voters who were recently polled say no campaign has asked for their vote.Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQEDThe Central Valley has been synonymous with conservative, small-government politics for a long time. But there’s a new state Assembly district in the Central Valley and the two candidates vying for the seat are both women, Democrats and people of color.Reporter: Ariel Gans, CalMatters    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prosecutors say David DePape, the man who allegedly attacked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, claimed he was on a suicide mission, with plans to kidnap Speaker Pelosi. DePape entered a not guilty plea on Tuesday and is due back in court on Friday."Voter integrity" groups claim they're looking to root out fraud. But the targeted door-knocking in Shasta County amounts to voter intimidation and could be illegal under California election laws, according to election officials. It's also part of a broader national trend motivated by election conspiracy theorists. Reporter: Erik Neumann, Jefferson Public RadioWilliam Curry, who reportedly graduated from high school in Alabama last year, was finally escorted off campus last week. Despite multiple removals from campus since December 2021, Curry continued to return. Campus officials caught Curry on Thursday morning after he allegedly stole a TV from a dorm basement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Man Accused of Attacking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Husband Will Be Arraigned in San Francisco Superior Court Today42-year-old David De Pape is making his first appearance in court since his arrest on Friday at Pelosi’s house.  DePape faces both local and federal charges after the attack, which left Paul Pelosi with a fractured skull.Bay Area Democratic Congresswoman Jackie Speier Warns Her Colleagues In Congress That There Needs To Be A Change In The Radicalized American Political CultureRepresentative Speier knows about violence wielded by extremists. In 1978 on a trip to the South American country of Guyana to investigate Jim Jones and his People’s Temple cult, the then 28-year-old was shot five times in an ambush by followers of Jones. At the time, Speier worked for congressman Leo Ryan. Ryan and four other people were killed in the attack.This Election Season Voters In San Bernardino Will Vote To Consider Breaking Away From CaliforniaSan Bernardino County is just east of Los Angeles and is home to more than 2 million people. By area, it’s the largest county in the USA… and, is bigger than nine states.  But despite its size, some local officials say they’re not getting the state support— or resources – they deserve.  That’s partly why secession came up in the first place… and, it’s not a new idea.Powerball Soars To $1.2 Billion for Wednesday night's top prizeNo one has hit all six numbers since Aug. 3rd.  Including California, Powerball is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices