Kqeds The California Report

California has shattered previous records for new daily coronavirus cases this week and the state’s test positivity rate is higher than its been. In most places around the state, hospitalizations remain much lower than earlier surges, thanks to vaccinations and a milder variant.  Reporter: Kevin Stark, KQED With the state legislature back in session in Sacramento, Republicans are aiming to get some of their agenda items passed this year, even if they're in the clear minority in both the Assembly and Senate. Guest: Scott Wilk, California State Senate Minority Leader State water officials are asking Californians to cut back on unnecessary water use, or face fines. Water regulators have asked for 15% water cutbacks, but Californians are saving less than half of that.   Reporter: Ezra David Romero, KQED  CalFire investigators have determined that a Pacific Gas & Electric power line sparked last summer's destructive Dixie Fire in the northern Sierra. A tree came into contact with the line in the Feather River Ca

COVID-19 cases are surging among both adults and children in Los Angeles County, as kids hospitalized with COVID-19 jumped nearly 190% last month. Despite the spike in infections, school is back in session next week for students who attend the L.A. Unified School District. Reporter: Tara Atrian, KCRW  California's Senate and Assembly are back in session in Sacramento. There are a number of issues on the table, with everything from housing and homelessness, to the pandemic. Guest: Anthony Rendon, California Assembly Speaker One of the most powerful labor advocates in the California Legislature has announced a surprise departure. Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez is leaving to work with the California Labor Federation. Reporter: Nicole Nixon, CapRadio Central Valley Republican Congressman Devin Nunes has officially retired, after nearly two decades in Congress. It's still unclear when a special election will be held to decide who serves the rest of his term. Reporter: Alex Hall, KQED A state lawmaker wants to

COVID-19 cases continue to surge in California. And while hospitalizations are also on the rise, it's not the same surge as the state saw during the summer and last winter. Guest: Dr. Monica Gandhi, Infectious Disease Expert, UC San Francisco Scientists and volunteers from San Diego to the Oregon border are flocking to shorelines on Monday, to document king tides. Researchers say these king tides are increasingly important to record because they offer a look into growing threats from climate change. Reporter: Caleigh Wells, KCRW  Hospitals and blood donation centers are asking healthy Californians to give blood, amid a nationwide shortage. The pandemic closed many traditional blood drive locations for months, just as the need for blood has increased as more people undergo delayed surgeries. Reporter: Jackie Fortier, KPCC 

2021 proved to be an exciting year in the world of space exploration. From successful missions to Mars to private companies launching their own rockets, it all bodes well for the expansion of space exploration in the coming years. Guest: Danielle Venton, KQED

Sherman Indian High School in Riverside is a boarding school, where Native American students from across the country can come and earn a high school diploma while also maintaining their tribal traditions and language. They also have a museum for the school’s 100 year history, that has brought healing to many in the indigenous community. Reporter: Megan Jamerson, KCRW 

California is often a place where people resettle to live out their dreams. But following the withdrawal of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, it's been a refuge for Afghans, who have often times struggled with the culture shift of living in California and the United States. Guest: Mustafa, Former Interpreter for American organizations in Afghanistan

Groundwater is an important part of the puzzle in the state's outlook for water supplies, especially during drought years. And the state is now reviewing sustainability plans that have been put together by local agencies. Guest: Kerry Klein, Reporter KVPR

The holidays often highlight the need for kindness. There are many ways people can be kind or learn to do so. Guest: Daniel Fessler, Director, UCLA Bedari Kindness Institute 

The small city of Sanger, which is about a twenty-minute drive east of Fresno, is recognized as “The Nation’s Christmas Tree City.” But where did the name come from?  Reporter: Soreath Hok, Valley Public Radio 

All healthcare workers and nursing home staff in California will be required to get a COVID-19 booster shot by February 1. The announcement comes as cases and hospitalizations continue to surge, in large part due to the omicron variant of the coronavirus. Reporter: Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman, KQED There are a lot of scary threats Meta — aka Facebook — is trying to counter with a combination of artificial intelligence and human content moderators. But innocents are still getting deleted from the platform. Reporter: Rachael Myrow, KQED Hollywood is still reeling from the devastating shutdown brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. And according to a new report, the lull in production hit California especially hard. Reporter: Danielle Chiriguayo, KCRW It’s almost Christmas, but even if you don’t celebrate, you can still savor the holiday delicacies that abound across the state, whether in bakery shop fronts or family kitchens. In the Bay Area, the sheer variety of holiday treats says a lot about the cultural richness

California will require all healthcare workers to get the COVID vaccine booster. Healthcare workers in California are already mandated to be vaccinated. Every mile or so along Highway 101 in Central California, you can find a cast iron bell supported by a shepherd’s hook hanging next to the roadway. The bells follow a network of roads called the El Camino Real, between the 21 Spanish missions from Sonoma to San Diego. But to many Native Americans, the history of California’s missions is a painful one.  Reporter: Jerimiah Oetting, KAZU If you’re a student or staffer on a University of California campus, you’re gonna need to get a COVID-19 booster shot. The UC system announced the new booster requirement this week, citing the fast-spreading omicron variant.  Reporter: Tara Atrian, KCRW Did you know there’s a good chance your child's personal info is on the dark web? That’s because hackers target schools, along with everything else. But there are ways you can protect your child's information. Reporter: Rachae

Public school students are on break this week, and with the omicron variant rapidly on the rise, many California districts sent students home with school-issued rapid COVID-19 testing kits. The state’s department of public health is providing the kits to districts. Reporter: Julia McEvoy, KQED California Governor Gavin Newsom thinks he’s found a way to crack down on illegal guns in a way that will avoid being struck down by the federal courts. As his model, he’s using a Texas law empowering ordinary people to sue anyone who helps a woman get an abortion. Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED Walmart operates more than 300 stores across California. And according to a lawsuit from the attorney general’s office and a dozen DAs, the retail giant has been knowingly dumping hazardous waste at local landfills, despite being sued before over the very same issue. Reporter: Rachael Myrow, KQED The removal of invasive species from the Lake Tahoe basin is underway. It’s the largest effort to date. Reporter: Ed Fletcher, CapRad

More rain is on the way, first to Northern California, and then moving down to Southern California later this week. But how much will it impact the state's water resources? Reporter: Caleigh Wells, KCRW  State maps may soon show even more homes and buildings are at risk for wildfire. After years of delay, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention says it’s almost ready to release new fire hazard severity maps. Reporter: Chris Nichols, CapRadio  Health officials across the state continue to raise concerns about rising hospitalizations and positive COVID-19 cases. This comes as friends and family gather for the holidays. Street food vendors and food trucks are a way of life in Los Angeles and have been for decades. But recent shutdowns of longtime established sites in East Los Angeles have many wondering if these businesses are facing too many restrictions to operate legally. Guest: Janette Villafana, Reporter, LA Taco

This time of year, monarch butterflies from all over the U.S. migrate to coastal California, especially to the small town of Pacific Grove in Monterey County. Last year, for the most part, butterflies stayed away. But they've returned, to the delight of locals and visitors in 2021. Reporter: Erika Mahoney, KAZU  There are growing concerns about the number of people hospitalized in Southern California with COVID-19 symptoms. The numbers have spiked since the Thanksgiving holiday across multiple counties. The U.S. Supreme Court will take up a case that could sweep aside efforts to allow California workers to sue their employers, even after signing arbitration agreements.  Reporter: Rachael Myrow, KQED  While many of us were able to stay inside during this week’s storms, people living outside were struggling to stay warm and dry. In Santa Cruz, an encampment along the San Lorenzo River flooded.  Reporter: Jerimiah Oetting, KAZU 

A federal grand jury has charged a Houston-based oil company in connection with October's Southern California oil spill. Federal prosecutors say Amplify Energy and two of its subsidiaries were negligent by failing to respond to a series of alarms that should have alerted them to the spill, hours before a ruptured pipeline was shut off. California is expanding its program aimed at creating more housing for unhoused people. The state has announced funding for four new projects, with more to come in the weeks ahead, as it plans to distribute almost $2.8 billion.  Reporter: Kate Wolffe, KQED Many Californians who work in offices haven’t been to their workplaces in nearly two years because of the pandemic. Now, with many cities like Los Angeles in the midst of a severe housing crisis, some people want to turn those vacant buildings into housing. Reporter: David Wagner, KPCC   California and neighboring states have agreed to take less water from the dwindling Colorado River. Roughly a quarter of the water used i

Alberto Carvalho is officially the new superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest school district in the country. Carvalho was the superintendent of Florida’s Miami-Dade schools, a position he held for 14 years. The California Public Utilities Commission, the state’s energy regulator, is contemplating changes to the relationship between rooftop solar owners and utilities. But critics say the changes could be disastrous for the solar industry’s future in the state.  Reporter: Erik Anderson, KPBS For the first time, a spacecraft has touched the sun. Researchers from U.C. Berkeley and NASA announced new findings Tuesday. Reporter: Danielle Venton, KQED There’s been a lot of talk and analysis about how so many people are fleeing California to find greener pastures somewhere else. But a new report shows that since the start of the pandemic, there hasn’t been a huge exodus out of California. However, significantly fewer people have moved here.  Reporter: Holly J. McDede, KQED

Starting on Wednesday, Californians will once again have to wear masks indoors at all public places, regardless of their vaccination status. It’s a response to a recent spike in COVID-19 cases and public health officials trying to get a handle on the fast-moving omicron variant. Reporter: April Dembosky, KQED Online gaming companies, Native American casinos, card rooms -- they're all jumping in at the opportunity to be involved in the push to legalize sports betting in the state of California. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report California is reducing its emissions that contribute to climate change. But it’s happening too slowly, as the state isn’t on track to meet its goal of reducing those emissions by 40% by the year 2030. Reporter: Laura Klivans, KQED California would no longer be allowed to expand freeways in underserved communities that are already suffering from the negative health effects of freeways. That's the goal of State Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia's legislation, which she plans t

Hundreds of criminal cases could be in jeopardy following an investigation by the Los Angeles Times into racist and homophobic text messages sent by several officers who at one time worked for the Torrance Police Department. Guest: James Queally, LA Times Reporter A landmark California law aimed at lowering prescription drug prices has been put on hold by a federal judge. The law was meant to prevent drug companies from doing so-called “pay for delay” deals.  Reporter: April Dembosky, KQED  In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress passed the CARES Act, a more than $2 trillion aid package meant to provide an economic lifeline to the many Americans whose worlds got turned inside out by the pandemic. This legislation led to the sending out of stimulus payments, which have since been expanded, and add up to on average $3200 a person. But one group of Californians is still struggling to get what they’re due nearly two years later. Reporter: Mary Franklin Harvin, The California Report 

The coronavirus is spreading fast in Los Angeles County. The region is now back in the CDC’s highest category of transmission. Reporter: Jackie Fortier, KPCC Prosecutors have announced charges against the father and son suspected of starting the Caldor Fire, which destroyed nearly 800 homes last summer. Reporter: Scott Rodd, CapRadio   Many Mexican immigrants in California are transported back home when they hear the music of Los Ángeles Azules. The cumbia band has a devoted following that can be seen at concerts across the country. Guest: Kate Linthicum, Latin America Correspondent, Los Angeles Times In the face of a tough election Devin Nunes announced he is stepping down this week. He’s a Republican Congressman in the Central Valley. He’s not the only one giving up his seat. He joins at least two other California representatives – Democrats Karen Bass in Los Angeles and Jackie Speier in the Bay Area. But what will the loss of seniority mean for California’s clout in Washington? Reporter: Scott Shafer, K

The District Attorney in El Dorado County announced the arrest of a father and son for allegedly starting the Caldor Fire. Both are accused of "reckless arson." Reporter: Scott Rodd, CapRadio  California’s Future of Abortion Council is issuing 45 recommendations on how the state can make accessing an abortion easier. The council is making its recommendation as the US Supreme Court considers the fate of Roe v. Wade. Reporter: Katie Orr, KQED Housing prices continue to skyrocket across much of California, although there has been some leveling off in recent months. Vacation home areas have seen a big rise in sales. Guest: Oscar Wei, Deputy Chief Economist, California Association of Realtors History will be made in the city of Palm Springs on Thursday night because a new mayor is on tap. When Lisa Middleton is sworn in, she will be the first transgender person to serve as mayor in the state of California.  Reporter: Keith Mizuguchi, The California Report Some vape companies are promising their products help y