Kqeds The California Report

L.A. Faces Testing Shortages as Cases of COVID Grow Los Angeles County remains the center of the state’s coronavirus pandemic four months in. The county has more than 123,000 confirmed cases so far. But even as the toll from the virus grows, it's gotten harder for many in the L.A. area to schedule appointments to get tested. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, KQED Stanford Eliminates a Third of Its Varsity Sports Here in the Bay Area, Stanford says its cutting nearly a third of its varsity sports programs due to financial strain from the pandemic. The school says the cuts will directly impact more than two hundred and forty students, and over forty staffing and coaching positions. Reporter: Marco Siler-Gonzalez, KQED Many Workers Welcome the Option to Work From Home Permanently For some workers, the pandemic is bringing about permanent changes. Case in point: Silicon Valley-based tech company Quora, the Q&A website, is giving all of its 200 employees the option to work from home even after this is all over. Guest:

Regents Appoint First Black President to Lead UC System The University of California Board of Regents has elected its first Black president in its 152-year history. Former UC Irvine Chancellor Michael Drake will lead the 10 campus system that serves some 280,000 students. International Students Scramble Amidst In-Person Requirements Colleges and universities all across California are grappling with how to meet new federal guidelines for the fall semester. Those guidelines require international students to take at least a portion of their classes in-person. Reporter: Benjamin Gottlieb, KCRW Covid-19 Response Could Make TB Harder To Contain Los Angeles County’s top doctor is worried that the fight against the coronavirus could jeopardize decades of hard won gains in the battle against tuberculosis. Reporter: Jackie Fortier, KPCC How Geography Shapes Access to Covid-19 Testing Depending on where in California you live, it may be harder to get a COVID-19 test than it was a few weeks ago. Some counties

COVID Outbreak Shuts Down California Assembly A coronavirus outbreak in the state Legislature has indefinitely delayed the Assembly’s return to work from a scheduled summer recess. Speaker Anthony Rendon’s office says five people who work there have tested positive for COVID-19. Reporter: Angela Corral, KQED Governor Says San Quentin Outbreak is a 'Top Concern' After weeks of criticism over the state’s handling of a massive COVID-19 outbreak at San Quentin State Prison, Governor Newsom said it’s one of his top concerns. The governor said the population at the over-crowded facility has been reduced since March, adding that his office is looking at other ways to move vulnerable people out. Reporter: Kate Wolffe, KQED Lawmakers Call for Halt to ICE Transfers During Outbreak Dozens of state lawmakers are calling on the Governor to stop California prisons from transferring people to federal immigration detention during the pandemic. The coronavirus has sickened thousands in state prisons and immigration deten

PG&E is out of bankruptcy. The utility entered into Chapter 11 in January 2019, weeks after the Camp Fire, which killed 86 people and wiped out much of the town of Paradise. A California State University, Chico, study has been mapping out where survivors of the wildfire ended up. A cluster of around 20 people had moved in and around Crossville, Tennessee, a town of just 12,000 people. Reporter: Lily Jamali, KQED

Wine Industry Limps Along With Tasting Rooms Closed A report out this week from Sonoma State University estimates California wine businesses lost more than $4 billion dollars since the start of the coronavirus shutdown. More than 40,000 people, directly or indirectly involved in making, distributing and serving wine, could lose their jobs. We’re talking everyone from laborers harvesting grapes to sommeliers at upscale restaurants in L.A. and San Francisco. Saul Gonzalez visited wineries in Paso Robles to learn how they're coping. Guests: Jason Haas, Tablas Creek Vineyard, and Dorothy Schuler, Bodegas Paso Robles

Newsom Reinstates Closures in 19 Counties As COVID Cases Surge Not so long ago California was seen as a model when it came to fighting the coronavirus pandemic. But in the last couple of weeks, COVID cases and hospitalizations have surged in many places in California. Yesterday day Governor Newsom announced a step back from reopening. Reporter: Danielle Venton, KQED Southern California Hit Hard By High Unemployment A new report shows big differences between north and south when it comes to job losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic. They’re terrible in the L.A. area, but not as bad around the Bay Area. Reporter: Matt Guilhem, KCRW Lawmakers Question Prison Officials Over San Quentin Outbreak At a state Senate oversight hearing yesterday, lawmakers asked prison officials to take responsibility for the role they may have played in increased COVID-19 cases in the state’s prisons. State Senator Nancy Skinner, chair of the Senate Public Safety Committee, called for the oversight hearing in response

What Happened to Sacramento's Focus on Housing Before the coronavirus hit, housing and housing affordability seemed to be the state's biggest problems and there were lots of proposals in Sacramento to fix them. But is getting roofs over people's heads still a priority for Governor Gavin Newsom and the state legislature? Guest: Erin Baldassari, KQED LA Wants to Divert Non-Violent 911 Calls from LAPD The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to explore replacing armed LAPD officers with unarmed first responders in some cases. They’re going to look for ways to divert non-violent 9-1-1 calls away from the police. Reporter: Anna Scott, KCRW A Third of San Diego Essential Workers Are Immigrants As the coronavirus crisis continues, there’s an even greater reliance on essential workers. In San Diego, a new report by the city and UCSD shows that more than a third of the most critical essential workers are immigrants. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED State Senate Wants to Know Why Coronavirus Is Spreading

Coronavirus Cases Spike Across The State When it comes to progress in fighting the coronavirus pandemic, the news out of Los Angeles County, where about one in four Californians live, is bad. There were more than 2,900 new COVID cases in the county reported on Monday. Fresno County Jail Hit By Coronavirus Outbreak The Fresno County Sheriff’s Department reported 507 positive COVID-19 cases at the county jail on Monday. That’s almost a quarter of the lock up’s population. But testing has been limited to just one part of the facility. Reporter: Madi Bolaños, Valley Public Radio Golden State Killer Pleads Guilty In Public Hearing Joseph DeAngelo, the defendent in the Golden State Killer case, has pleaded guilty to dozens of rape and murder charges, stemming from crimes in the 1970s and 80s. The guilty pleas were part of a deal to avoid the death penalty. Reporter: Scott Rodd, CapRadio Workers Strike Over Outbreak At Pistachio Plant Workers at a Central Valley pistachio plant say they were exposed

Reopening Halted as Coronavirus Spreads Across the State If you thought you could ease up a bit on worrying about the coronavirus pandemic, news the last few days has been like a big bucket of cold water to the face. Coronavirus Cases on the Rise at San Quentin 971 people incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison have tested positive for COVID-19. One state lawmaker is calling it a major catastrophe. Reporter: Angela Corral, The California Report Cal State University System Prepares to Reopen in the Fall How do you plan for safely educating more than 480,000 students on 23 different campuses during a pandemic? As the fall school year approaches, that's the challenge facing the California State University system, the largest four year university system in the country. Guest: Timothy White, Cal State Chancellor King City to Outfit Police Guns with Cameras Monterey County’s King City—at the southern end of the Salinas Valley—is the first California city to outfit all of its police officers with cameras on

Stuck and Scared Amid San Quentin Outbreak As of this morning, 539 inmates have contracted the coronavirus at San Quentin State Prison -- more than at any other state prison in California. Inmates are stuck and scared. Reporter: Mary Franklin Harvin, The California Report Construction Firms Offer COVID-19 Tests To Workers If you’ve tried to get a covid19 test lately, it may have felt like a scramble. But what if your job offered you one? Some Sacramento construction crews now have that option. Other employers are exploring if they should do the same. Reporter: Pauline Bartolone, CapRadio Injunction Would Make Gig Workers Into Employees California’s Attorney General is seeking a court injunction that would force ride-hailing companies Lyft and Uber to make their drivers employees immediately. Reporter: Sam Harnett, KQED Samaritan Podcast Explores Homelessness in LA A new podcast from our partners at KCRW in Los Angeles looks at homelessness through the eyes of one native Angeleno who's trying to get a r

Californians Will Vote on Affirmative Action In November California voters will decide in November whether the state should restore affirmative action. This after the state Senate voted yesterday to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. Reporter: Katie Orr, KQED Dr Fauci Says Coming Weeks Are Critical for California Perhaps no one has been as vocal during the COVID 19 pandemic than infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci. He’s often the bearer of bad, but indispensable news. Here are some highlights from a virtual Sacramento Press Club event yesterday. Reporter: Sammy Caiola, CapRadio Berkeley Lab Testing New Saliva-Based COVID Test California is experiencing a surge in reported cases of COVID-19. Three months into the pandemic tests remain scarce. Early on, at UC Berkeley, Dr. Jennifer Doudna who co-discovered CRISPR gene editing technology, transformed her lab into one focused on COVID testing. Her team has come up with a saliva-based test, they’ve been trying out on campus this week. G

LA City Councilman Arrested in Bribery Scandal The FBI says longtime Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar shook down real estate developers looking to get projects approved for $1.5 million in bribes and campaign donations. Reporter: Anna Scott, KCRW New Coronavirus Cases on the Rise in California There is a spike in reported cases of COVID-19 around the state. And it’s not entirely clear why. Health experts say there’s no real evidence that recent protests led to it. Reporter: Laura Klivans, KQED Science State Budget Deal Includes Help for Undocumented Immigrants The new state budget brokered by the governor and Democratic legislative leaders this week.. includes two important victories for Undocumented immigrants in California. But advocates say the accommodations leave much to be desired. Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED Politics COVID-19 Spreads at San Quentin, Other State Prisons The coronavirus is spreading inside 19 correctional facilities in California. San Quentin has 407 inmates with active i

CA Sees Dramatic Rise In COVID-19 Cases California has seen 47 thousand new cases of COVID-19 in the past two weeks. That's a dramatic uptick, making up about a quarter of all known cases in California. This is just one troubling fact revealed in Governor Gavin Newsom’s press briefing Monday. Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED New State Budget Proposal Relies On Federal Aid At the state capitol, the pandemic has forced lawmakers to rethink a budget that’s being pared back because of the pandemic. The governor and Legislative leaders have struck a deal to close a 54 billion dollar budget deficit caused by the pandemic. Reporter: Nicole Nixon, CapRadio Guards Use Pepper Spray During Protest Inside ICE Detention Center Immigrants held at Adelanto Detention Center near Riverside report that they were pepper sprayed by guards for protesting a lockdown at the facility. ICE Says the crackdown was necessary. Reporter: Elly Yu, KPCC Health Officials Resign Under Increasing Stress and Public Scrutiny The public heal

Calls for Police Reform Echo Across California This weekend, demonstrations against police brutality continued all around the state. In Los Angeles yesterday afternoon, protests had particular urgency after the recent killing of 18-year old Andres Guardado. Last week, in the city of Gardena, an LA County Sheriff’s deputy shot Guardado in the back seven times. Protesters are calling for an independent investigation. His death has added fuel to weeks of protests demanding police reform. We get an update on reform efforts from reporters from our partner stations in Sacramento and San Diego. Guests: Claire Trageser, KPBS and Sarah Mizes-Tan, CapRadio

Governor Requires Face Masks in Public Statewide In a directive issued yesterday by Governor Gavin Newsom, most Californians everywhere in the state must wear masks when in public places. It’s a response to a worrying spikes in coronavirus cases in many parts of California. Reporter: Laura Klivans, KQED Labor Unions Shut Down West Coast Ports for Juneteenth Cargo ports up and down the West Coast are going to be pretty quiet today. That’s because workers of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union have voted to spend the day protesting police violence and racism instead of loading and unloading ships. Reporter: Nina Sparling, KQED Young Black Actvists Claim Juneteenth as 'Our Independence Day' In West Oakland some teenagers are claiming Juneteenth for themselves. A group calling themselves Black Youth for the People’s Liberation will hold a rally today in Oakland. Reporter: Vanessa Rancaño, KQED DACA Recipients Mobilize for Path to Citizenship Across California recipients of DACA are celebratin

Big Win for Dreamers in the Supreme Court Earlier this morning, the Trump Administration was dealt defeat by the U.S. Supreme Court. In a 5 to 4 decision, the justices rejected the administration’s attempt to get rid of DACA. That’s the program protecting so-called Dreamers, undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children. The decision affects about 200,000 people here in California. Guest: Kevin Johnson, Dean, UC Davis School Of Law Poway Synagogue Sues Shooter and Gun Manufacturer Victims of last year’s shooting at a synagogue in the San Diego County community of Poway are now suing the alleged shooter and the gun manufacturer that made the semi-automatic weapons used in the attack. Investigators say the attack was motivated by anti-Semitism. Reporter: Matt Hoffman, KPBS Judge Rules in Favor of Emergency Relief for Undocumented Students A federal judge in San Francisco has ruled that the Trump Administration cannot withhold pandemic-related emergency grants from undocumented college s

PG&E CEO Pleads Guilty to Involuntary Manslaughter in Camp Fire It’s pretty extraordinary to hear the CEO of a big company plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter, but it happened in a Butte County courtroom Tuesday. Pacific Gas and Electric CEO Bill Johnson entered guilty pleas again and again for the deaths of 84 people, all of them victims of the 2018 Camp Fire which was sparked by PG&E equipment near the town of Paradise. As Coronavirus Spreads in Prisons, Non-Violent Inmates Can Get Early Release The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation says it will allow for the early release of inmates who have 6 months or less left on their sentences. The non-violent offenders will have to prove they have a place to live once they’re free. Cases of COVID-19 inside California prisons continue to balloon. Reporter: Alice Woelfle, KQED Developments in Case of Black Man Found Hanging in Palmdale The family of Robert Fuller, the 24-year-old Black man found hanging from a tree in Palmdale, says they

UC Endorses Return to Affirmative Action in Admissions, Hiring UC Regents have voted to endorse reversing their past position and repealing Prop 209. That would once again allow the UC system to use affirmative action again in admissions and hiring. Legislature Passes a Budget, But Much Is Still Up-in-the-Air The State Legislature passed a budget yesterday, but that does not mean the spending discussion is over... especially in a year when California is grappling with a pandemic and the economic toll it’s taken on state finances. Reporter: Katie Orr, KQED Politics Newsom: California Is Ready for Spike in Coronavirus Cases As California continues to reopen, the number of COVID-19 cases in California is steadily increasing. But Governor Gavin Newsom says the state is well-prepared for a possible future spike. Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED Politics LA's City Council Discusses De-Funding the LAPD In the wake of police abuse cases, cities and counties across California are facing mounting public pressure to

Supreme Court Won't Take Up California's Sanctuary Law Case This morning the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the Trump Administration’s challenge to California’s so called “sanctuary state” law. That leaves in place state rules that prohibit local California law enforcement from helping federal immigration authorities apprehend and deport people in the country illegally. Guest: Prof. Jessica Levinson, Loyola Law School Protests Erupt in Palmdale and Victorville Over Two Black Men Found Hanging Amid the ongoing protests for racial justice, two Black men have been found dead, hanging from trees in desert cities outside of Los Angeles. Reporter: Cerise Castle, KCRW Should I Get Tested? And When? Mass protests and the loosening of shelter-at-home orders are bringing more people together. Public health officials recommend getting tested for COVID-19 if you think you’ve been exposed. But doctors say it’s important to know when to get a test and to understand what the results mean. Reporter: Peter Arcuni, K

Los Angeles County Reopens Gyms, Museums, Pools, And More Today is a big day for LA county. It's set to start letting a lot of places reopen for the first time since coronavirus closure orders were issued in March. Museums, Gyms, zoos and and public pools are now allowed to do business again, and the county is allowing film and television production to restart. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, KQED Sacramento School Officials Seek Out Hard-To-Reach Students This summer, educators are taking stock of just how dramatically COVID-19 has changed how kids learn. More than 1600 students in Sacramento lost touch with their public schools when the city district closed classrooms in March. Officials have had to find ways to reconnect with kids who are the hardest to reach. Reporter: Pauline Bartolone, CapRadio What Will Schools Look Like When They Reopen This Fall? Superintendents around the state are grappling with how to reopen schools safely. They’re figuring out how to keep kids learning, while getting a crash course