KQED's The California Report

Cal State Monterey Bay researchers and several partners are working to make Central Coast farming more climate resilient. The grant-funded project is focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from specialty crops - think lettuce and strawberries - by using things like compost and cover crops. Reporter: Elena Neale-Sacks, KAZU A new law in 2025 will scrub most medical debt from Californians’ cre...

It’s been nearly two months since election night, when we learned Donald Trump will be the next President of the United States. And since then, we’ve brought you coverage on how different sections of our society are preparing for this new administration. Today, we’re checking in with former US Poet Laureate and recent Genius Grant recipient Juan Felipe Herrera. He’s written extensively about the m...

If you’ve found yourself at a makeup store recently, especially in a mall after school, you might’ve noticed more young people around you. Like really young. Like elementary and middle school young. This is a trend and it has a name: Sephora Kids. And their purchases are doing damage to more than just their parents’ bank accounts. Reporter: Caleigh Wells, KCRW As the saying goes, one person’s tras...

If you grew up here in California, you've likely visited a neighborhood that goes all out for Christmas. We're talking decorations on the roof in the front yard and lining the street. In Fresno, that neighborhood is known as Christmas Tree Lane during the holidays. Groups of families or friends get in their cars and drive down the street, blasting the Christmas radio station. Or they pick one of t...

This week, many of you will be gathering with friends and family to celebrate Christmas. But what’s on your table could depend on traditions your family grew up with. Guest: Ken Albala, Food Historian and History Professor, University of the Pacific Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California is contending with a child care shortage, and the state has made efforts to increase options for families. But conflicting regulations from two state agencies are causing childcare centers to turn away thousands of infants and toddlers. Reporter: Daisy Nguyen, KQED Health officials are scheduled to provide an update Friday morning on Governor Newsom's declaration of a state of emergency...

San Mateo County leaders will soon be asking voters to remove their embattled sheriff from office. It’s likely an unprecedented move.  Reporter: Brian Krans, KQED Amazon workers across Southern California are joining a nationwide strike Thursday, just days before Christmas, as the Teamsters argue the company is denying their right to unionize.  Reporter: Anthony Victoria, KVCR Governor Gavin Newso...

The warden at a troubled prison in northern California is retiring this month, and the governor has just given the former chief deputy warden there a big promotion. KQED reporters Julie Small and Sukey Lewis investigated this prison for their podcast On Our Watch, and they have an article out this week that tells the emotional story of a pair of whistleblowers who work there and the challenges the...

The holidays are a time where we tend to eat a lot of food, and throw a lot out. Americans throw away about four pounds of waste per day, higher than anywhere in the world. But where does all that food waste go? Reporter: Erin Stone, LAist California Resources Corporation and Aera Energy joined forces to become the state’s largest oil company. But a new investigation from KVPR and Inside Climate N...

The first time Donald Trump was elected president, blue state Democrats -- particularly those from California -- asserted themselves as the frontline of the resistance. Eight years later, they say they’re making an intentional decision to stay calm, at least for now. Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED It’s official. California regulators are enforcing an agreement with the state’s largest insurance comp...

In 1990, a federal law required universities to return Native American remains to their homes. Many institutions had been using them for research and display. But a recent state audit shows many universities have been breaking that law ever since. Reporter: Rachel Livinal, KVPR The season for kissing under the mistletoe has arrived! While there’s no guarantee for holiday smooches, you can get a pe...

San Diego's police commission is reviewing the department's K-9 policy, after complaints of excessive force. Data show large racial disparities in who gets bitten by police dogs. Reporter: Katie Hyson, KPBS Former San Joaquin Valley Congressman TJ Cox has agreed to plead guilty to two financial crimes. Reporter: Kerry Klein, KVPR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California is pushing the trucking industry to electrify to cut pollution. That effort so far has focused on swapping out old trucks for shiny new electric ones. But that doesn’t always have to be the case. Reporter: Erin Stone, LAist The Franklin Fire continues to threaten homes in the Malibu area. Since starting Monday night, the fire has destroyed at least seven structures. Thousands of people...

In the late 1990s, California voters approved a law that required public schools to teach most classes only in English. After that, many public school districts across the state essentially eliminated their bilingual programs. Voters eventually repealed this law back in 2016. But a new investigation from our partner CalMatters has found that the state's bilingual education system is still recoveri...

There are more than 40,000 foreign nationals serving in our military. And most of them are just one mistake away from being deported. But some veterans are advocating for a federal law that would make it easier for foreign-born soldiers to become American citizens.  Reporter: Gustavo Solis, KPBS Los Angeles Congressman Adam Schiff will be sworn in Monday as California’s junior U.S. Senator, fillin...

Residents and authorities of California’s North Coast are assessing the aftermath from Thursday’s 7.0 earthquake centered 70 miles off the coast of Eureka. The quake triggered a tsunami warning from as far north as Oregon to Santa Cruz. In Humboldt County, business owners and residents have been hit hard by earthquakes in the past. Reporter: Sukey Lewis, KQED The man who shot two kindergarteners a...

Immigrant communities worry Donald Trump will make good on promises of mass deportations now that he has been elected to a second term in the White House. That could have big consequences for California’s agricultural communities. The state says about half of all farmworkers are undocumented. Reporter: Esther Quintanilla, KVPR  In Northern California, law enforcement authorities say two kindergart...

President-elect Trump is proposing to increase tariffs on products imported from China, Canada and Mexico. That, he says, will slash trade deficits and help domestic manufacturing compete by raising prices on imports. But imposing tariffs on imported wines and winemaking supplies could hurt California’s wine industry more than it helps.  Reporter: Tina Caputo The final congressional seat that was...

California lawmakers began both their new legislative session and a special session called by Governor Newsom on Monday, with Democrats introducing bills to prepare for another Trump presidency. But some leaders cautioned that a resistance to Trump’s policies had to be paired with a renewed focus on governing fundamentals and solving the daily challenges facing Californians. Reporter: Guy Marzorat...

Under Governor Gavin Newsom, California has taken on an environmental policy that aims to reduce its carbon footprint, and that relies heavily on zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs). But California's pathway to going green may face its biggest obstacle in the coming Trump Administration. The President-Elect has vowed to cut federal tax breaks for ZEV purchases, and de-regulate federal environmental poli...

When a developer buys a building in a working-class neighborhood with plans to tear it down and build new apartments, the current tenants can feel powerless. But, that’s not always the case. For example, a gentrification fight in the Boyle Heights community of LA County had unexpected results. Reporter: Megan Jamerson, KCRW Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For families here in California, Thanksgiving often means gathering with friends and family and celebrating with food and drinks. But the holiday has a much different meaning for California’s Native American community. Guest: Gerald Clarke, ethnic studies professor at UC Riverside and member of the Cahuilla Band of Indians Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christmas is just around the corner. So let's head to Eureka in Humboldt County, where Sequoia Park Zoo is preparing for the holidays with a living Christmas tree that may just take the title of tallest in the nation from the neighboring town of Ferndale. Guest: Jennifer Fumiko Cahill, North Coast Journal  Pacific Gas and Electric is asking the California Public Utilities Commission to approve ano...

Environmental groups and irrigation districts are working to bring more salmon back in the Tuolumne River near Modesto. Salmon used to thrive in California, but decades of environmental degradation have reduced their population to about one percent of historical levels. Now people are trying to help them recover by rebuilding their habitat, but environmentalists argue that what’s really needed is...

Renters in the small, mostly working-class Southern California city of Imperial Beach are sounding alarms after the owners of one apartment complex issued a mass eviction notice. Tenants are now urging the City Council to step in. Reporter: Kori Suzuki, KPBS The California Department of Public Health is warning consumers not to drink a specific type of raw milk due to the detection of bird flu. Th...