KQED's The California Report

The mid-term elections are a little more than a month away, and officials here in California and across the country are working to make sure the election process is safe and secure. But there are also concerns about threats levied against election workers and voters at the polls.Guest: Neal Kelley, Chairman, Committee for Safe and Secure ElectionsAs the weather cools, the U.S. could be headed into a severe flu season. Experts say small children who haven’t been exposed due to pandemic restrictions and masking may be most at risk. Reporter: Jackie Fortier, KPCC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade first leaked in April, state lawmakers in California went to work. They moved forward to place a measure on the November ballot, Proposition 1, that, if passed, will enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. But such a constitutional amendment raises questions about fetal viability and whether abortion rights would actually be expanded.Reporter: April Dembosky, KQEDOn Friday, the deadline passed for Governor Gavin Newsom to sign or veto hundreds of bills sent to his desk by the legislature. One of the bills he signed will increase cash benefits for hundreds of thousands of working Californians who take time off to care for an ill relative or to bond with a new child.Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The trust representing 70,000 PG&E wildfire victims reached a nine-figure settlement this week with a group of the utility's former executives and directors. The settlement will come from liability insurance the company held for its officers and directors.Reporter: Dan BrekkeImperial County currently holds one of the world's largest lithium reserves. A recent surge in demand for the mineral, a key component in electric car batteries, is now leading investors from Bolivia, Chile and South Korea to the southeastern corner of California. Guest: Janet Wilson, Desert Sun reporterCalifornia is not expanding unemployment benefits to an estimated 1 million undocumented workers in the state any time soon. The bill Governor Gavin Newsom just vetoed would have created a one-year pilot program offering $300 a week, up to 20 weeks to unemployed, undocumented Californians.Reporter: Farida Jhabvala RomeroFlag football already is a sanctioned high school girls sport in states including Alabama and Nevada… but California could soon be on that list, too. Yesterday the southern section of the California Interscholastic Federation — which governs high school sports in the state —voted overwhelmingly to recognize flag football as a sport for high school girls. Reporter: Keith MizuguchiAs the regular season comes to an end, the longest tenured broadcaster in Major League baseball is getting ready to hang up his mic. Beloved Jaime Jarrin has been the voice for Spanish-language radio for the Dodgers for more than six decades.Reporter: Madi BolañosOn this week's The California Report Magazine, writer Caroline Hatano talks about her beloved grandfather, a Japanese-American flower farmer in Southern California for 70 years. This summer, the city of Palos Verdes terminated the lease, closing the last Japanese-American farm on a peninsula that was once home to hundreds of them.Host: Sasha Khokha, The California Report Magazine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ensenada is the birthplace of Mexican surfing. It has a rich history, but many people don’t know about it. Now, two surfers from Ensenada have set out to change that. Reporter: Gustavo Solis, KPBS Los Angeles is receiving millions in state funding to help launch a program to combat homelessness among the formerly incarcerated.Reporter: Keith Mizuguchi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gas prices remain stubbornly high in California. In fact, over the last week, the average price of a regular gallon of gasoline has jumped more than 40 cents. But some help is on the way in the form of a one-time state refund payment. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California ReportIn San Diego, some Black residents talk about how the city used to be known as “Harlem of the West.” Now, the city is attempting to pay homage and respect to that era – before the community was devastated by redlining and other racist policies. One way the city is doing that is by empowering one neighborhood as the newly-formed “San Diego Black Arts & Culture District.Reporter: Jacob Aere, KPBS  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pacific Gas and Electric says it's facing a criminal investigation, for possibly starting the state's largest wildfire so far this year. The company says in a new filing with federal securities regulators that the US Forest Service has reached an "initial assessment" that the fire started near a PG&E line.Reporter: Dan Brekke, KQED  Affordable housing is hard to come by for most Californians. In Sacramento, there’s also a severe lack of affordable housing for low-income seniors. But construction is underway to help ease that shortage.Reporter: Chris Nichols, CapRadio When we hear about homeowners in trouble or losing their homes, it’s usually a story about foreclosure. But there’s another process that can penalize homeowners – and sometimes result in people losing their homes. That process is called receivership. A new investigation from The Sacramento Bee found a company called the Bay Area Receivership Group has left some homeowners staring at massively excessive fees and forced them out of their homes.Guest: Theresa Clift, Reporter, Sacramento BeeA new study shows that a fault system running through coastal LA and Orange counties has the potential to produce a far more powerful earthquake than was previously known.Reporter: Darrell Satzman, KCRWSome advocates, who backed a bill that would have required children to attend kindergarten in California, say they're surprised the legislation was recently vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom.Reporter: Amanda Stupi, The California Report Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Protests have erupted across Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who was detained by Iran’s morality police for allegedly wearing her headscarf too loosely, and later died in custody. Demonstrations here in California took place over the weekend.Reporter: Kyana Moghadam, KQEDAfter a summer break, the State Task Force studying Reparations for Black Californians has resumed its groundbreaking work. Over the weekend the panel met in Los Angeles to move the conversation forward -- and talk about lessons they can draw from historical reparations work -- plus the actual economics of the plan.Guest: Annelise Finney, KQED reporterThis month marks the 20th anniversary of the passage of Paid Family Leave in California -- the first state to offer this benefit to workers taking time off to bond with a new child or care for an ill relative. Newsom is deciding now whether to sign or veto a bill that would increase payments to 90% of a person’s wages if they are low-income, or 70% for all other eligible workers. Now, it’s just 60 percent. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a bill that eliminates the state's decades-old parking requirements for new developments near public transit stops. Environmentalists and housing advocates say this will drive down California's dependence on cars, improving the state's chances of meeting its climate goals.We're nearing the end of banned book week, an annual awareness campaign promoted by the American Library Association and Amnesty International. And at the top of the most challenged books list in the United States is "Gender Queer: A Memoir."Guest: Maia Kobabe, Author of the book "Gender Queer: A Memoir" A bill is sitting on Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk that would allow people who receive an unsolicited sexually explicit image on their phone or electronic device, to sue the person who sent it.Reporter: Amanda Stupi, The California Report  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Orange skies choked with soot from wildfires have become more common in the Western U.S. In a new paper, a team based at Stanford University estimates that millions of people now live where this smoke has made breathing unhealthy.Guest: Molly Peterson, The California NewsroomChanges are coming to California's masking policies. Effective on Friday, the state will be further easing its recommendations and leaving more to personal choice.Reporter: Tara Atrian, KCRWAttorney General Rob Bonta is creating an Office of Gun Violence Prevention. The attorney general said the new initiative will use data and public health measures to implement measures aimed at reducing gun violence.Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQEDA new bill sitting on Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk could help street vendors get permits and comply with the state's food code system, essentially making it easier for them to conduct business. Reporter: Madi Bolaños, The California Report Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

County supervisors in Fresno, Kern and Riverside counties will no longer have a hand in drawing district maps. That’s after Governor Newsom signed three bills transferring the power to citizen-led commissions.Reporter: Joshua Yeager, KVPRCalifornia is one of 10 states that doesn’t require schools to screen students for dyslexia. Educators say leaving learning disabilities unaddressed can overwhelm and often frustrate students, sometimes leading to behavioral problems down the road.Reporter: Robert Garrova, KPCCIn California, we’re used to home prices going one direction -- up. But in recent months, the residential real estate market has cooled, with home prices falling and properties staying on the market longer. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California ReportThis week, the Newsom administration identified five state-owned properties that it hopes can be used for affordable housing. The administration is looking for developers to build what it believes will be hundreds of new units of affordable housing on the properties. Reporter: Chris Nichols, CapRadio  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices