KQED's The California Report

More than 70, 000 Californians are still waiting on support from the state’s COVID-19 rent relief program. And now, that program could run out of money before it pays out the remaining eligible applicants. Reporter: Ben Christopher, CalMatters Heavier than expected snow is falling this week in the Lake Tahoe area, with some places getting over a foot of "powder".  That, of course, is a good thing...

Recently ousted Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has announced he’s stepping down from Congress by the end of the year. The news was met with disappointment from many of his constituents in his Central California district. Reporter: Joshua Yeager, KVPR  Temecula’s Christian conservative school board president is one step closer to being recalled. A local PAC has turned in the signatures it...

The number of L.A. residents dying from fentanyl overdoses shot up 1600% over the past six years. A record 3,220 people died of drug overdoses in Los Angeles County in 2022. Fentanyl surpassed methamphetamine to become the most common drug in fatal overdoses.  Reporter: Jackie Fortier, LAist The state’s poorest children are having to wait for weeks, sometimes months, to receive urgent mental healt...

The border wall that separates the U.S. and Mexico has long been controversial, but the barrier also causes real physical injuries when people fall from it. And with the border wall nearly twice as tall as it used to be in many places, the injuries keep getting worse.  Reporter: Gustavo Solis, KPBS The state agency that lost billions to pandemic unemployment fraud has a new plan to pay out benefit...

Four decades ago, California went to war against an enemy that wasn't human. The adversary was the Mediterranean fruit fly, an invasive pest that threatened to destroy California's agricultural economy. To fight the fly, the state launched controversial aerial pesticide spraying campaigns and set up roadblocks and quarantine zones. Fast forward to today and the fruit fly threat to California is ba...

Merced County has the highest rate of homicide in the state. It’s also severely lacking deputies. Sheriff Vernon Warnke says the shortage is so bad, he's disassembling units, like for gang enforcement, just to cover everyday patrol. Reporter: Elizabeth Arakelian, KVPR The housing crisis in California can be felt in all parts of the state. That includes at colleges and universities, where more and...

Governor Gavin Newsom is not running for president, but for some reason, Thursday night in Georgia, he will face off in a debate with a man who is in the 2024 race: Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis. What do both have to gain from the debate? Guest: Marisa Lagos, KQED The California Public Utilities Commission will vote Thursday on whether to settle their enforcement against PG&E for the ut...

There is still hope that Madera Community Hospital will reopen. It shut down and filed for bankruptcy a year ago, leaving patients with virtually no other options.  Earlier this month, a deal to save the facility fell through. But two more suitors are eyeing the hospital. Reporter: Kerry Klein, KVPR In the Bay Area, a unique childbirth education program for and by Black people is improving birth o...

Imperial Valley residents are hoping to get their cut of the profit from the future lithium industry. For them that means well paid and sustainable jobs. Reporter: Philip Salata, inewsource Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In one of the many low income rural communities struck by flooding earlier this year, residents and local officials are still wrangling over how to spend recovery money. At issue is $20 million in state funds for the Central Valley town of Planada. Reporter: Nicole Foy, CalMatters A few hundred hospice nurses, chaplains and grief counselors met in Los Angeles this month at the End Well gathering....

It's the start of holiday season, and for some that means getting together with family or loved ones and sharing a nice meal together. But for many, the holidays can amplify feelings of loneliness. The COVID 19 pandemic has changed how we interact with each other and experience events, making this time even more challenging and feelings of loneliness more common. Guest: Kory Floyd, Professor of In...

The history of Native Americans fighting for their land is as old as attempts to take it. But efforts to reclaim ancestral lands have become more visible in recent years. In California more than a dozen efforts have already succeeded. Reporter: Vanessa Rancaño, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While many Americans feel like the COVID pandemic is in the past, countless others are still feeling symptoms months or years after they were infected. They're suffering from Long COVID. One such person is Bay Area writer and author Mary Ladd, who recruited more than 40 people from across the country to share essays and poetry in The Long COVID Reader, released earlier this month.  Guests: Mary La...

A highly anticipated — and controversial — new program, championed by Governor Gavin Newsom, will begin in LA County on December 1. CARE Court will allow family members to ask a judge to step in with a treatment plan for loved ones living with severe and untreated mental illness.  Reporter: Robert Garrova, LAist A surprise inspection by a federal watchdog agency has found more than half of immigra...

It’s the first morning since a stretch of the I-10 Freeway near downtown Los Angeles reopened. The freeway was damaged by a fire and had been completely shut down in both directions for just over a week. It was originally thought that repairs might take months. Guest: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report The state Democratic Party convention this weekend in Sacramento was derailed by protesters de...

Last month, Los Angeles County ended its money bail system for many crimes.  Now, most people who are arrested in the county for what’s classified as non-violent, non-serious misdemeanors and felonies -- which includes most thefts and vehicle violations -- can be released quickly and without paying a single cent of bail. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report State energy regulators have a...

California’s largest utility wants to bury thousands of miles of power lines to prevent them from causing wildfires. That’s after Pacific Gas and Electric’s equipment caused the Camp Fire that killed 85 people in the community of Paradise.  But state regulators – who will vote on PG&E’s proposal on Thursday – say that will send rates through the roof for the company’s customers. Reporter: Kevin St...

A new law signed by Governor Gavin Newsom will make it easier for low-income teens to access mental health treatment. But some parents are protesting, saying it infringes on their rights as parents. Reporter: April Dembosky, KQED   California’s local governments are thinking about staffing up for climate change related challenges. A new report from the nonpartisan group Next 10 tried to gauge how...

Officials say it was arson that caused an enormous fire that damaged a stretch of the I-10 Freeway near downtown L.A., shutting it down to traffic. The closure has made L.A.’s already terrible congestion even worse for commuters across much of the city. State transportation officials say they're working around the clock to speed the reopening of the 10 Freeway. But they acknowledge they face a dif...

How did the state’s unemployment insurance program get conned out of billions of dollars by scammers, all while millions of Californians who had lost their jobs were stuck waiting for money they badly needed? A year-long CalMatters investigation finds that the state was primed for disaster by years of missed red flags and failed reforms. Guest: Lauren Helper, CalMatters Learn more about your ad ch...

The Biden administration promises a “worker-centered” trade policy that delivers shared prosperity for all Americans. But as San Francisco gets ready to host this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, labor advocates say worker interests are not sufficiently represented at the talks. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Scammers have been stealing millions of dollars a month from low-...

After months of picketing, SAG-AFTRA has reached a tentative deal to end the strike with the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers. In a letter to its members, the union said the new contract is valued at a billion dollars, and that the approval vote was unanimous. Guest: Robert Garrova, Reporter LAist Autonomous taxi operator Cruise says it's identified a software glitch that led...

Wednesday marks exactly five years since the Camp Fire killed 85 people and leveled Paradise. Three years ago, PG&E created the Fire Victim Trust to pay out settlements to fire survivors. But some say they’ve lost hope they’ll ever get their full payments. Reporter: Jamie Jiang, North State Public Radio A federal criminal trial is beginning Thursday for David DePape, the Bay Area man facing life i...

The city of Sacramento is among the many communities in California struggling to find answers for its growing homeless population. A shelter in the city serves hundreds of men and women, but is struggling to connect them with permanent housing. Reporter: Chris Nichols, CapRadio Governor Gavin Newsom's prominent role in national politics could be costing him support in California. According to a ne...

Earth’s hottest summer ever recorded is behind us. Now, California is headed into another potentially drenching winter… while some communities are still recovering from last year’s winter storms. As climate change makes extreme weather more common, one group of Californians is living on the frontlines: those experiencing homelessness. Vanessa Rancaño/KQED News Thousands of protestors rallied in Sa...