KQED's The California Report

Advocates for letting public universities in California hire undocumented students, who don’t have federal work authorization, have gotten a boost from Sacramento. A new proposal would let all students work, regardless of immigration status, in the UC, CSU and state community college systems. Reporter: Danielle Venton, KQED We’ve been exploring the crisis of loneliness among Californians and findi...

Roughly a quarter of California’s greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings, including your home. That’s why the federal government wants to give homeowners money to replace gas appliances, install solar panels and replace your windows with more efficient ones. Some developers are taking low-carbon retrofits a step further, creating zero-carbon homes. Reporter: Caleigh Wells, KCRW It’s a challe...

America's growing culture wars can be seen in local politics across the state. That includes in the Orange County city of Huntington Beach, where a conservative majority on the city council has rolled back several progressive initiatives. And in March, a highly contentious measure is on the ballot. It’s a city charter amendment titled Measure 1 that if passed, would require Huntington Beach reside...

Prop 47 is a 2014 ballot measure that lowered the penalties for drug possession and shoplifting from felonies to misdemeanors. Retailers and prosecutors are collecting signatures for a November ballot measure that would roll back some portions of the law. And lawmakers have introduced more than a dozen bills to tweak it in some way or another. But what have the impacts of the measure been? Guest:...

A new immigration court opens in the Bay Area Monday. It’s part of an effort by the Biden Administration to cope with a record number of asylum seekers – and a historic backlog of 3 million cases nationwide. Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED Cal State faculty members start voting Monday on a deal that could raise wages and add more paid parental leave. But some CSU employees say it falls short of wh...

Fast food workers are officially launching a new statewide union on Friday. This comes weeks before a new law will raise the industry’s minimum wage to $20 an hour and create a statewide Fast Food Council. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Programs dedicated to the well-being of California’s youngest residents are facing major cutbacks. That’s because a ban on the sale of flavored tobacco pro...

Decades ago, the homes in a Palm Springs neighborhood known as Section 14 were deemed eyesores and officials wanted to promote tourism. So they forced out the mostly black and brown families who lived there. Crews tore down everyone’s homes, and then burned them, sometimes with people’s personal possessions still inside. The city made a public apology in 2021, but survivors are still waiting for a...

COVID eviction protections have lapsed for renters in the city of Los Angeles. Now, city outreach workers are going door-to-door,  hoping to catch renters before they’re evicted. And they’re using new data to find those most in need of help. Reporter: David Wagner, LAist  Fresno is the latest city in California to find itself on the receiving end of a bus full of asylum seekers. They were sent fro...

Rain continues to fall in Southern California, which has been drenched in this latest atmospheric river. Downtown Los Angeles has seen more than seven inches of rain the last 48 hours, one of the highest two day rain totals on record.   A California law that went into effect last January said public universities have to provide medication abortions. An LAist investigation has found a patchwork of...

Much of the worst of the latest atmospheric river has passed through Northern California. But areas of Southern California continue to be hit with heavy rain and threats of flash flooding. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report California’s public universities are required to provide abortion pills to students who want them. But LAist found few universities tell students the medication is...

There are more than 1.2 million people incarcerated in the U.S. And there are also a lot of mothers out there, living with the guilt, shame and loneliness that comes with having a child in prison. In Sacramento, one mom is turning that pain into support. Reporter: Madi Bolaños, The California Report A job fair was held this week for workers laid off by a Fresno-based agricultural company. Prima Wa...

Last year, the Biden administration introduced a mobile app called CBP One. The idea was that it would help streamline the asylum process for the government agencies and the asylum seekers. But the initial version of the app was riddled with errors. While things have improved, asylum seekers are still facing challenges with the app. Reporter: Gustavo Solis, KPBS California’s new oil industry watch...

On Thursday, the City of Los Angeles ends renter protections that were implemented during the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic. That means tenants need to start paying back the back rent they owe to their landlords. Also, the city will start allowing rent increases in units covered through its rent stabilization program. That means some tenants who live in rent-stabilized apartments will have their...

For the past two years, undocumented students at the University of California have campaigned to be allowed to work on campus. They argued that they were missing out on opportunities to work with professors and in labs, which could further their academic careers. But last week, UC Regents voted to halt a plan that would have allowed the university to hire them. Reporter: Madi Bolaños, The Californ...

The San Francisco 49ers are NFC Champions and heading to the franchise’s 8th Super Bowl. They defeated the Detroit Lions 34-31, after trailing by double digits at halftime. Reporter: Christopher Alam, KQED Journalism in Los Angeles and the entire state of California was hit with a major blow this past week. The L.A. Times laid off more than 100 journalists in its newsroom. The cuts come at a time...

We continue our series on social isolation and the search for community in California.  One place where it can be very difficult to find community is L.A.'s Skid Row neighborhood, where many people live on the streets in squalor, as they also battle mental health and addiction problems. But the Skid Row Running Club has been a place where people can find friendship while also getting healthier.  G...

Three years ago, the Creek Fire was finally contained.  It remains California’s fifth largest blaze, after destroying nearly 400,000 acres and hundreds of homes in the Sierra Nevada east of Fresno. The three years since have been a time of healing and recovery – especially for those involved in a high-stakes rescue the first weekend of the blaze. Reporter: Kerry Klein, KVPR  California has been cl...

A corner store in Los Angeles’ Skid Row neighborhood, that’s a crossroads of community life, is being sold. But instead of letting it get snatched up by the highest bidder, the Korean American family that runs the market has worked out a deal with a Black-led nonprofit. The move serves as a small step toward healing historic racial tensions in LA. Reporter: Megan Jamerson, KCRW  A big blow to jour...

Cal State faculty have called off a strike, after a tentative labor agreement was reached Monday night. Faculty had been scheduled to be off the job this entire week. The three Democrats vying to represent California in the U.S. Senate went after the only Republican on stage at Monday’s debate -- and clashed over the war between Israel and Hamas.  Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED  Many in Half Moon Ba...

In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a New York law that required people to show a need for carrying a gun when applying for a permit to carry a concealed weapon. California’s law was similar to that one. Now to get a concealed carry weapons permit, students receive 16 hours of classroom instruction in gun rules and regulations and then time on the firing range. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The...

As we age, our social networks tend to shrink, leaving us feeling disconnected from the world around us. And that can take a toll on someone’s mental health. But recent studies have shown this feeling of loneliness is also linked to an increased risk for heart disease, dementia and early death in older adults. That’s why a coalition here in California is working to change the way we address aging,...

The Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office has pulled down a public service announcement from its website warning residents about the painkiller fentanyl. This comes after the California Newsroom inquired about the accuracy of the events depicted. Reporter: Brian Krans, The California Newsroom A new poll finds most California voters do not feel that U.S. borders are effective at keeping people f...

During the COVID pandemic, ridership on California’s public transit systems plummeted.  Now, ridership levels for one agency – Los Angeles Metro – are nearly back to pre-pandemic levels, but there are still big concerns about quality of service, safety and how to deal with drug abuse and homelessness on subways, buses and light rail. The transportation agency is trying to deal with those concerns...

Kern County in the rural San Joaquin Valley is facing what one leader calls an existential threat. The county is the largest oil producer in California, but the state wants to eliminate drilling by 2045. As a result, Kern is looking to a new industry – carbon capture and storage – to secure its future.  hopes the industry will provide jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue, while helping the...

Millions of Mexicans living in the United States are eligible to vote in Mexico’s upcoming presidential elections. Some experts are calling it the most important election in Mexican history. Reporter: Gustavo Solis, KPBS Camp Fire survivors now have until April of 2025 to live in trailers full-time on their properties in the town of Paradise. That’s after the Town Council voted to allow RV living...