KQED's The California Report

Palm Springs is known as a wealthy city filled with luxurious hotels and casinos. But lesser known is the history of its violent racism against a predominately Black and Latino neighborhood. Now, former residents are seeking reparations. Reporter: Madi Bolaños, The California Report Several large wildfires broke out across the state over the weekend, burning thousands of acres in the process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal agencies are considering a controversial rule that would restrict rock climbers from leaving gear attached to cliff walls in designated wilderness areas. This could affect some of California’s iconic routes in Yosemite and other historic climbing destinations. Reporter: Alix Soliman, KQED The state legislature passed a placeholder state budget Thursday, just ahead of a mandatory deadline. But lawmakers must still negotiate with Governor Newsom on the final deal. Reporter: Alexei Koseff, CalMatters A bill that would ban “forced outing” or “parental notification” policies in California schools has moved forward in the state legislature. At least six California school districts in the past year have adopted measures that require staff to tell parents if their child changes their gender identity at school. Reporter: Kate Wolffe, CapRadio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When a county’s only hospital closes, you might expect there to be dire, immediate effects on public health. However, since Madera Community Hospital closed its doors in early 2023, the consequences haven’t been so clear. Reporter: Kerry Klein, KVPR California insurance regulators are sharing the next phase of their plans to fix the state’s ailing insurance market. The new regulations propose to let insurance companies use the catastrophe models they want, but in exchange, require them to offer more coverage in wildfire-prone areas of the state. Reporter: Danielle Venton, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California is expanding transitional kindergarten with a vision of making it available to every four-year-old in the state by fall of 2025. The state has a long way to go to reach its goal of serving 300,000 students. And while many families are eager to sign up, they face complicated logistics. Reporter: Blanca Torres, KQED Governor Gavin Newsom has removed an outspoken occupational safety expert from the regulatory body that adopts California’s workplace health and safety rules. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When school starts in 2025, every 4-year-old in the state will be able to attend public school. It’s a new grade known as transitional kindergarten. But in the lead-up, many schools are struggling to find the necessary classroom space for these additional classes. Reporter: Elly Yu, LAist A California law that set guidelines for classifying workers did not unfairly target Uber and other gig companies. That’s according to a federal appeals court ruling that came down on Monday. Reporter: Levi Sumagaysay, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California is in the middle of an ambitious plan to offer transitional kindergarten to all four-year-olds by the 2025-2026 school year. It's poised to be the largest free preschool program in the country. A lot of the kids heading to TK are dual language learners. But a shortage of bilingual teachers could hamper the state's ambitious goals. Reporter: Daisy Nguyen, KQED A Superior Court judge has granted a temporary restraining order to the University of California, pausing the strike by thousands of academic workers who walked out over the UC’s response to pro-Palestinian protesters. But some legal experts are questioning that decision. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The California Supreme Court has ruled that UC Berkeley can start construction on student and supportive housing in People’s Park -- and also gave the green light to a much larger campus expansion project. The case has brought mixed reaction from the wider Berkeley community. Reporters: Adhiti Bandlamudi , KQED and Billy Cruz, The California Report A new report shows Sacramento County’s homeless population dropped 29% compared with two years ago. That’s one of the largest reductions statewide. Reporter: Chris Nichols, CapRadio California has funded over 4 million tax-free savings accounts for students to pay for college. But many families don’t seem to know the money’s there. Reporter: Jacqueline Munis, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are stars exploding all around us. They burst, flash and fade. Some leave visions of their spectacular journeys in telescopes. A high school student recently turned supernovae data into a piece of music. Reporter: Danielle Venton, KQED President Joe Biden signed an executive order this week that shuts off asylum to most migrants who enter the country illegally. But it has critics on both sides of the political divide. Reporter: Gustavo Solis, KPBS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Los Angeles' tourism industry, still trying to rebound from the pandemic, has gotten a gift in the form of Shohei Ohtani. Japanese fans have come by the thousands to see the superstar play for his new team, the Dodgers. Reporter: Josie Huang, LAist Votes in the election to recall the controversial conservative school board president in Temecula are still being counted. Early results show the effort to recall Joseph Komrosky winning by a 54-46 percent margin. Reporter: Madison Aument, KVCR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With two-thirds of California’s unhoused population living unsheltered, cities are increasingly turning to tiny homes to get people off the streets quickly. Now lawmakers are considering a plan to make it easier to build them. Reporter: Vanessa Rancaño, KQED For the second time, state labor officials have rejected the University of California's request to get a court order to stop the UC academic workers strike. This comes as workers from three more campuses are going on strike this week. Reporter: Billy Cruz, The California Report Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Republicans in California have struggled to gain power at the state capitol, but they’ve found more success recently on school boards. Conservatives have made gains in these local seats -- but now they’re facing pushback in the form of recall elections -- including two underway right now in Riverside County and the Bay Area. Reporters: Guy Marzorati, KQED and Madison Aument, KVCR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reaction was not surprisingly mixed to Donald Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts, marking the end of the former president’s historic hush money trial. Republicans are still standing strong behind Trump, while many Bay Area residents said they were surprised and pleased by the verdict. Analysts say that Trump’s guilty verdicts may not sway his GOP base, but they could change how swing voters view him and the coming November election. Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED Looking to fix the state’s insurance crisis, Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled a bill to speed up insurance premium rate reviews this week. Under the bill, the Insurance Department would have up to 120 days to review insurers' requests and provide a rate estimate. Reporter: Levi Sumagaysay, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

175 tiny homes for the unhoused are expected to be unveiled in South Sacramento this fall. That’s a year past Governor Gavin Newsom’s projected launch. But it turns out, it’s the only project delivering on the original promise. Reporter: Kate Wolffe, CapRadio Classes will once again be held online at UC Santa Cruz on Thursday as a group of pro-Palestinian protesters say they plan to continue to block the main entrance to the campus. On Tuesday, both roads leading into campus were blocked, leaving many stranded for hours. Reporter: Erin Malsbury, KAZU At UC Davis, a dozen students held a peaceful demonstration on campus on Wednesday, in support of the 125 Israeli hostages that remain in Gaza. Reporter: Chris Nichols, CapRadio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In March, the country’s largest stone fruit producer laid off thousands of workers in the San Joaquin Valley. The announcement came months after the Fresno-based company, Prima Wawona, declared bankruptcy. The collapse has left many in the Central Valley wondering how prepared the workforce is for industry disruptions. Reporter: Esther Quintanilla, KVPR California firefighters often wear protective gear that also has some amount of toxic chemicals in it. Now efforts are underway to change that. Reporter: Kevin Stark, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Tuesday at UCLA and at UC Davis, unionized student academic workers will strike. They’re protesting the UC system’s crackdowns on pro-Palestinian demonstrations, filing unfair labor practice charges. The university system has argued that the strikes are illegal. This is the second wave of strikes on UC campuses. At UC Santa Cruz, academic workers have now been on strike for more than a week. UAW 4811 members there say morale remains high, and they appreciate other campuses joining in on the strike. Guests: Rebecca Gross & Katherine Rogers, Grad Students and UAW 4811 members at UC Santa Cruz As California faces a deficit in the tens of billions of dollars, Governor Gavin Newsom has proposed a number of painful spending cuts and program reductions. But advocates are calling on California lawmakers to save some programs, like one that provided In-Home Supportive Services for undocumented immigrants. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As our weather warms over the summer, we’re approaching peak rattlesnake season in California and that means more encounters between rattlers and humans. So what should we know about snakes? Guest: Emily Taylor, Professor of Biology, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Author of the book “California Snakes and How to Find Them” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since 1951, an extraordinary looking chapel made of wood, glass and stone has been perched close to the edge of the Pacific on Southern California's Palos Verdes Peninsula. Over the decades, countless weddings and other life events have played out at Wayfarers Chapel. But now the building is in danger from shifting geology, and an architectural rescue operation is underway to save it. Guest: Katie Hauck, Architectural Historian A second pro-Palestinian encampment was quickly taken down on Thursday at UCLA. And eight pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo after blocking traffic at one of the school's main entrances. This all came on the same day as when UCLA's chancellor testified on Capitol Hill about antisemitism on college campuses. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the last seven years, about 31% of police shootings in Los Angeles involved people who officers believed showed signs of mental illness. Some experts are calling for more de-escalation training for officers, while activists would like to see police removed from such interactions. Reporter: Robert Garrova, LAist Should California doctors be required to report domestic abuse to police? That’s the question at the center of a bill advancing in the state Legislature. Reporter: Ryan Sabalow, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Next month, voters will go to the polls in Mexico to select the country's next president. The election is already historic because the two leading candidates, Claudia Sheinbaum and Xóchitl Gálvez, are women. The election will also be notable because of the likely record number of Mexican citizens living in California and the rest of the U.S. who will cast ballots. Guest: Tony Payan, director of Center for the U.S. and Mexico, Rice University Ousted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s one-time staffer will replace him in Congress, at least for now. In a decisive victory for Assemblymember Vince Fong in a special congressional election, the Associated Press called the race for the Bakersfield Republican just minutes after polls closed in California. Reporter: Joshua Yeager, KVPR The California Supreme Court appears hesitant to strike the state’s Proposition 22, a voter-backed initiative that has allowed gig companies to classify their workers as independent contractors. Justices heard oral arguments in the case on Tuesday. Reporter: Levi Sumagaysay, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Close races in California this year could decide who controls the U.S. House of Representatives. One of those competitive races is District 13, a sprawling area between Stockton and Fresno. Climate change is among voters' top priorities. But some liberal voters say they face an ethical dilemma as they are disillusioned by U.S. support of Israel and may choose not to vote in November. Reporter: Ezra David Romero, KQED The official start date for incrementally increasing the minimum wage to $25 an hour for about 500,000 healthcare workers in California will likely be delayed for at least a month. Los Angeles State Senator Maria Elena Durazo is introducing a bill to start implementing the wage increases on July 1 instead of June 1. This gives Governor Gavin Newsom and lawmakers more time to negotiate the projected costs to the state, which faces a nearly $28 billion dollar budget deficit. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices