KQED's The California Report

Today's regularly scheduled Los Angeles city council meeting has been canceled because two council members who are at the center of a scandal over a leaked racist conversation have not yet resigned. Both Gil Cedillo and Kevin De León have issued apologies, but nothing more. They haven’t been seen in the City Council chambers since Monday, when they were shouted at by an outraged crowd who demanded...

The former president of the Los Angeles City Council, Nury Martinez, has resigned. This comes days after a recording surfaced of her making racist remarks in a closed-door meeting. State Attorney General Rob Bonta is now investigating the redistricting process in LA, following the release of the conversation. One of the most competitive House races in California is taking place in the northern par...

During a contentious city council meeting, LA residents voiced their displeasure with three councilmembers, who were caught on a recording using racist language. The calls continue to grow for Nury Martinez, Gil Cedillo and Kevin de Leon to resign, although none have done so. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report Dozens of workers at Amazon’s largest air hub on the West Coast announced th...

Three members of the Los Angeles City Council are facing a barrage of calls to resign, after an audio recording of them making racist comments was made public.  This comes as the council is meeting for the first time on Tuesday, since the recording was released. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report Local governments should consider wildfire risk, when evaluating proposals for new housing...

Janitors who work at the facilities of Facebook and its parent company Meta have been on strike since last Wednesday. Late last week, the strikers received support from two major groups advocating for workers, Silicon Valley Rising and the South Bay Labor Council.  The National Labor Relations Board has approved a union recognition election for dancers at a topless bar in North Hollywood. If the p...

If you’ve been struggling with inflation-fueled high prices, from groceries to gasoline, some help is on the way. Starting Friday, the state will start sending out about nine and a half billion dollars worth of tax rebates to Californians to help people with their bills. The one time payments will range from $400 to $1,050 dollars for joint tax filers and between $200 and $700 dollars for those wh...

During the first months of World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. It authorized the U.S. government to relocate and incarcerate more than 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry. Now more than seven decades later, a group led by a USC professor has taken on the challenge of creating a list of every single person forced into camps and jails. Reporter: Josie Huang, KPCC ...

For years ago, then Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill into law that unsealed internal official investigations into serious use of force, dishonesty and sexual misconduct by peace officers. But California prison officials are not complying. That’s according to a lawsuit filed by KQED. Reporter: Sukey Lewis, KQED Gas prices remain sky-high in California. $6.42 on average for a regular gallon of gas...

The mid-term elections are a little more than a month away, and officials here in California and across the country are working to make sure the election process is safe and secure. But there are also concerns about threats levied against election workers and voters at the polls. Guest: Neal Kelley, Chairman, Committee for Safe and Secure Elections As the weather cools, the U.S. could be headed in...

When the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade first leaked in April, state lawmakers in California went to work. They moved forward to place a measure on the November ballot, Proposition 1, that, if passed, will enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. But such a constitutional amendment raises questions about fetal viability and whether abortion rights would actually b...

The trust representing 70,000 PG&E wildfire victims reached a nine-figure settlement this week with a group of the utility's former executives and directors. The settlement will come from liability insurance the company held for its officers and directors. Reporter: Dan Brekke Imperial County currently holds one of the world's largest lithium reserves. A recent surge in demand for the mineral, a k...

Ensenada is the birthplace of Mexican surfing. It has a rich history, but many people don’t know about it. Now, two surfers from Ensenada have set out to change that.  Reporter: Gustavo Solis, KPBS  Los Angeles is receiving millions in state funding to help launch a program to combat homelessness among the formerly incarcerated. Reporter: Keith Mizuguchi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit meg...

Gas prices remain stubbornly high in California. In fact, over the last week, the average price of a regular gallon of gasoline has jumped more than 40 cents. But some help is on the way in the form of a one-time state refund payment.  Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report In San Diego, some Black residents talk about how the city used to be known as “Harlem of the West.” Now, the city is...

Pacific Gas and Electric says it's facing a criminal investigation, for possibly starting the state's largest wildfire so far this year. The company says in a new filing with federal securities regulators that the US Forest Service has reached an "initial assessment" that the fire started near a PG&E line. Reporter: Dan Brekke, KQED   Affordable housing is hard to come by for most Californians. In...

Protests have erupted across Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who was detained by Iran’s morality police for allegedly wearing her headscarf too loosely, and later died in custody. Demonstrations here in California took place over the weekend. Reporter: Kyana Moghadam, KQED After a summer break, the State Task Force studying Reparations for Black Californians has resume...

Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a bill that eliminates the state's decades-old parking requirements for new developments near public transit stops. Environmentalists and housing advocates say this will drive down California's dependence on cars, improving the state's chances of meeting its climate goals. We're nearing the end of banned book week, an annual awareness campaign promoted by the Ameri...

Orange skies choked with soot from wildfires have become more common in the Western U.S. In a new paper, a team based at Stanford University estimates that millions of people now live where this smoke has made breathing unhealthy. Guest: Molly Peterson, The California Newsroom Changes are coming to California's masking policies. Effective on Friday, the state will be further easing its recommendat...

County supervisors in Fresno, Kern and Riverside counties will no longer have a hand in drawing district maps. That’s after Governor Newsom signed three bills transferring the power to citizen-led commissions. Reporter: Joshua Yeager, KVPR California is one of 10 states that doesn’t require schools to screen students for dyslexia. Educators say leaving learning disabilities unaddressed can overwhe...

Millions of L.A. County residents and businesses can resume outdoor watering, after news that urgent repairs to a pipeline that brings water from the Colorado River to Southern California have wrapped up early. Reporter: Darrell Satzman, KCRW    Open agricultural burning is a useful tool for farmers, but its high particulate emissions are harmful to San Joaquin Valley residents. Air regulators pla...

With the start of the work week, many state workers who are unvaccinated will not have to undergo regular testing for COVID-19. Since July of 2021, unvaccinated state employees have had to submit to weekly testing. Reporter: Matt Guilhem, KCRW Open agricultural burning is due to be phased out in California by 2025, in an effort to reduce harmful emissions. But many farmers are apprehensive of a fu...

Some 2,000 Kaiser Permanente mental health care professionals are a month into a strike. This week, negotiations between labor and management have broken down.  Reporter: Sara Hossaini, KQED  Governor Gavin Newsom has vetoed a bill that would have significantly lowered what California families pay for state subsidized childcare. The legislation would have capped the amount low income families pay...

California Attorney General Rob Bonta is suing Amazon, alleging the online retail giant engages in anticompetitive contracting, in violation of state laws. Reporter: Rachael Myrow, KQED Across the country, many families and dyslexia advocates are pushing for something called “structured literacy,” a type of early reading instruction that’s attuned to how the brain learns to read, with an emphasis...

A shift in wind led to increased activity on Tuesday, as firefighters continue to battle the Mosquito Fire in Placer and El Dorado counties. The fire jumped the Middle Fork of the American River, threatening the community of Foresthill.  State health officials are advising Californians to get a flu shot, in addition to the COVID-19 vaccination or booster. Reporter: Nimah Gobir, KQED  If you lost y...

Most Californians are feeling the effects of the drought.. But in big areas of the state, where people rely on groundwater, the pain of this drought is especially severe. Wells are going dry and there’s intense competition to find more water that’s underground. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report Federal and Los Angeles County health officials have confirmed the first death of a person...

In Placer and El Dorado counties, fire crews are making progress fighting the Mosquito Fire, which has burned more than 46,000 acres. Meanwhile, in Southern California, firefighters took advantage of wet conditions to help in the fight against the Fairview Fire. One of the bills that’s passed through the legislature on Governor Newsom’s desk would offer cash benefits to unemployed undocumented wor...