KQED's The California Report

The ripple effects of President Trump’s national gerrymandering battle are being felt in California’s rich agricultural belt. Next week, voters in the state will decide whether to support Proposition 50. That’s Governor Newsom’s plan to counter surprise redistricting in Texas and other red states. If Prop 50 passes, Congressman David Valadao of the Central Valley would be one of five Republicans on the chopping block. And that worries farmers in his district. Reporter: Kerry Klein, KVPR The Los Angeles Dodgers won a marathon Game 3 of the World Series, as Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off home run in the 18th inning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Californians are deciding on a ballot measure that could reshape how our state is represented in Congress. Proposition 50 would redraw California's congressional district lines to help Democrats pick up five additional seats in the House. Prop 50 is part of a national fight over redistricting. And if it passes, political lines from Sonoma down to San Diego will be transformed. Guest: Guy Marzorati, KQED To understand what’s at stake with Proposition 50, we’re going to some of the districts that would be redrawn. It’s a series we’re calling California Divided. We begin in the state’s 3rd Congressional District, at Lake Tahoe: a blue dot in a Republican-held district. Reporter: Laura Fitzgerald, CapRadio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The World Series gets underway Friday night from Toronto as the Blue Jays take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Fall Classic. LA is looking to become the first back-to-back champs in 25 years. Toronto hasn’t won a championship since 1993. Guest: Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times President Trump says he will not be sending a surge of federal agents to San Francisco. This comes after a call with San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie. While that’s eased some concerns in San Francisco, across the Bay in Alameda County, tensions remain high. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Some of the same families that were forcibly separated at the U.S.-Mexico border during President Trump's first administration are being split up again. That's according to the ACLU, which is in a pitched battle with the government over what it says are violations of a federal settlement agreement. Reporter: Mark Betancourt, California Newsroom Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Proposition 50 would temporarily let the legislature draw new congressional maps, a move supporters, including Governor Newsom, say is meant to stop gerrymandering and protect democracy. But opponents are calling it a partisan power grab, warning it could weaken the state's independent redistricting commission. One of the most vocal critics is Charles Munger Jr., a physicist and political activist who is the top donor for the No on Prop 50 campaign. Guest: Charles Munger Jr. Bay Area officials are pushing back on news of Trump administration plans to send dozens of Border Patrol agents to the Bay Area. Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California civil rights advocates are calling on the federal courts to halt Trump administration policies leading to the arrest of asylum seekers, victims of trafficking and people attending immigration court hearings. A series of recent class action lawsuits argue: the arrests violate federal law and the U.S. Constitution. Reporter: Tyche Hendricks/KQED At an election cybersecurity forum hosted by USC, experts discussed how to maintain the system’s resiliency after the Trump administration knee-capped the federal agencies previously entrusted with that task. Reporter: Rachael Myrow/KQED Humboldt County is getting $75 million for mental health care. The hope is that it will relieve pressure on emergency departments and jails serving those in crisis. Reporter: Justin Higginbottom/Jefferson Public Radio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rebuilding after January’s fires in Los Angeles County is underway for some people. But an Altadena family is facing what may be insurmountable financial obstacles. Reporter: Erin Stone/LAist Congressional Democrats plan to investigate reports that federal agents unlawfully detained U.S. citizens during the Trump administration's ongoing immigration crackdown. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Democrats in California attempt to convince voters to approve new maps next month to give them more seats in Congress, and Republicans fight back against the redistricting measure, both sides are relying on familiar political playbooks. Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED Hundreds of thousands of people took part in No Kings rallies across California on Saturday. In the conservative stronghold of far Northern California, more than a dozen communities also participated. That includes Chico. Reporter: Ken Devol, North State Public Radio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal immigration officials could be setting their sights on Sonoma county. A local supervisor says Department of Homeland Security officials asked in a meeting if the sheriff's office would notify DHS when undocumented immigrants are arrested. Shandra Back, KRCB Farmers in wine country have been working at all hours to get their grapes off the vine before they rot. The harvest follows an especially hard season slowed by a cooler summer and made worse by other obstacles including tariffs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thousands of California families rely on in-home daycares for their kids. But after the housing market collapse in 2008, the state lost 30% of these types of child care settings, leading to a crisis. As part of its effort to rebuild, California passed a law in 2019 forbidding landlords and homeowners’ associations from refusing to rent to in-home child care providers. But that hasn’t stopped the practice. Reporter: Daisy Nguyen, KQED is joining 13 others to create an alliance aimed at coordinating public health policy-- a direct rebuke of the Trump Administration Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED 5.5 million Californians could soon lose their food assistance benefits, if Congress doesn't end the shutdown and approve a budget agreement. That's according to The California Department of Social Services, who oversees the program, CalFresh. Reporter: Nick Gerda, LAist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In San Francisco, more people are now ordering Waymo robotaxis than Lyfts with human drivers. People are getting more comfortable using driverless cars. This got us thinking - is the same thing about to happen in LA? And how do human Uber and Lyft drivers feel about it? Reporter: Megan Jamerson, KCRW A new state audit released this week finds that California’s public college systems aren’t doing enough to meet the need for student housing. Reporter: Sara Hossaini, KQED Downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea has never had street addresses. A recent vote by the city council will change that. The decision comes after multiple town hall meetings and input from residents. Reporter: Ngozi Cole, KAZU Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A tiny California town in Sacramento’s Delta has struggled for decades, and within a matter of months, could face some big decisions on its status as a city. Financial choices over the years have put Isleton in a sink or swim situation– with talks of disincorporation or bankruptcy and what that could mean for the city’s 800 residents. Reporter: Riley Palmer, CapRadio The governor vetoed a handful of bills that aimed to advance reparations for Black Californians. Reporter: Guy Marzorati , KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Trump Administration is considering a change to the federal Endangered Species Act that could create new risks for an area in California that has more sea otters than any other in the state. Last October, the state finished removing four dams from Klamath River up in far Northern California. In the year since the removal, there has been drastic changes to the area's fish population, and overall water quality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For many families experiencing homelessness, school can be a difficult hurdle to clear. Chronic absenteeism is higher, and graduation rates are lower among homeless students. But the Fresno Unified School District has been working to combat this problem. And the efforts appear to be working. Reporter: Rachel Livinal/KVPR Doctors at Adventist Health White Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles County say administrators are allowing federal immigration agents to interfere in medical decisions and block doctors from properly treating detained patients who need emergency care. Reporter: Jill Replogle/LAist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you talk about Altadena, you can’t not talk about its trees. It’s why one young Altadenan is documenting the stories of the community’s trees in the wake of the Eaton Fire. Reporter: Erin Stone, LAist A 29-year-old man has been arrested for starting a fire that eventually became the deadly Palisades Fire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California made national headlines last month when Governor Newsom signed a bill barring law enforcement officers from wearing masks -- a law aimed at immigration agents. Federal officials say they won’t comply. But the skirmish is about more than just masks. Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED New data suggests Fresno is a more prosperous city than it was 12 years ago. Reporter: Kerry Klein, KVPR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Almost nine months have passed since the Eaton Fire ripped through Los Angeles County. It destroyed more than 9,000 buildings and left billions of dollars in damages. At first, attention focused on Southern California Edison's transmission lines as the likely cause. But a new NPR investigation shows there may have been other failures, too. Guest: Chiara Eisner, NPR Another immigrant has died in the custody of federal immigration authorities in California, this time in the Imperial Valley. New questions are being raised about the care of detainees under the Trump administration’s ongoing mass deportation campaign. Reporter: Kori Suzuki, KPBS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When President Donald Trump signed his sweeping policy bill this summer, it included $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid, known here as Medi-Cal. The program is recognized for helping low-income people access health care, but it also funds services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Now, many Californians with disabilities face an uncertain future. Reporter: Izzy Bloom, KQED A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deploying National Guard troops from California to Oregon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise remains California’s deadliest and most destructive wildfire in history. The Northern California fire claimed the lives of 85 people. Now, a new movie depicts the real-life heroic escape of one local bus driver. Reporter: Claudia Brancart, North State Public Radio Yosemite National Park remains open during the government shutdown, but there won't be many rangers there to help visitors. Reporter: Carly Severn, KQED The US Department of Education is ending several grant programs that support minority-serving institutions. Department officials say these programs are discriminatory. California stands to lose more grant money than any other state - for programs that support Black, Latino, Asian and Native American students on college campuses. Reporter: Adam Echelman, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During the last federal government shutdown in late 2018 and early 2019, national parks here in California were greatly impacted. Some shut down completely, meaning a significant loss in potential revenue. Others remained open, but were not fully staffed. That includes Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California. Vehicles drove off-road, causing major damage to sensitive areas, and trash piled up, scattered around the park. The hope is things will be different this time around. Guest: Kenji Haroutunian, Executive Director, friends of Joshua Tree Santa Clara County prosecutors have secured a grand jury indictment against 11 pro-Palestinian Stanford University protestors who barricaded themselves in the campus president’s office in 2024. Reporter: Joseph Geha, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Around the Salton Sea, dust storms have become an increasing problem, sparking dozens of public health studies. But many Imperial Valley residents have grown weary of repeated studies that all basically say the same thing: that the air quality is bad and getting worse. Reporter: Kori Suzuki, KPBS National Parks are once again caught up in the middle of the federal government shutdown. During the last shutdown – for more than 30 days in 2018 and 2019 - parks that remained open were unstaffed, leading to widespread vandalism and environmental damage. There’s growing concern that an extended shutdown could once again put at serious risk of damage. Reporter: Sarah Wright, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices