KQED's The California Report

Governor Newsom has declared a state of emergency for Riverside County due to the Fairview Fire and for El Dorado and Placer counties due to the Mosquito Fire. Firefighters have been struggling to control both fires, which have grown explosively and forced extensive evacuations. Reporter: Jonathan Linden, KVCR  LA County health officials are investigating the death of a person with monkeypox. Few...

California's extended heat wave will continue on Thursday, with temperatures topping out over 100 in many inland areas. The state's power agency is also issuing another call for power conservation, for the ninth straight day. As the heat wave drags on, broken cooling systems are disrupting the school day in many parts of California. That’s forced many school districts to bring in fans and portable...

The statewide heat wave continued on Tuesday as records were broken across California, with much of the state once again facing triple digit temperatures. But the state did not have to order rolling blackouts, despite a deeply stressed power grid. Reporter: Laura Klivans, KQED While cities across the state continue to break heat records this week, there are a few places that are still comfortable,...

The brutal heat wave taking over the state is expected to last longer and reach higher temperatures than forecasters had anticipated. And that's putting a lot of stress on California's power grid, with state officials asking Californians to conserve as much as possible. Guest: Jan Null, Meteorologist, Golden Gate Weather Services and Adjunct Professor at San Jose State University  Two people have...

As California’s housing crisis becomes more dire and cities feel mounting pressure to build more housing, many are eyeing church-owned real estate as a potential solution. Reporter: Adhiti Bandlamudi, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California's State of Emergency Continues Amid Massive Heat Wave For the third day in a row officials, have issued a so-called Flex Alert, which is a call to reduce energy consumption between the hours of 4-9pm when the power grid is most stressed and solar declines. Voters to Weigh in on a Constitutional Amendment That Could End Barrier to Building Public Housing Since 1950, Article 34 of the sta...

California Awaits Excessive Heat and Potential Blackouts Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency for California as a heat wave takes hold of the state. Elliot Mainzer, president of the state’s power grid operator, says Californians need to reduce electricity use throughout the holiday weekend, especially during late afternoon and early evening. New Test Project in a Central Valley...

A controversial bill to overhaul California’s mental healthcare system cleared a major hurdle Tuesday night. The governor’s CARE Court proposal would allow judges to oversee treatment for people diagnosed with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders who are not receiving care.  Reporter: Erin Baldassari, KQED Communities of color are disproportionately impacted by crime and gun violence -- but...

The California legislature has passed what supporters call a first-of-its kind bill that could benefit half a million fast food workers. AB 257 would bring fast food worker and employer representatives together on a council that could boost wages to up to $22 an hour next year at large chains. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED  The Biden administration will pause its program to send Americans...

Over the past two decades California has completely reimagined its approach to dealing with young people who commit crimes. That remaking of juvenile justice will culminate next summer in the closure of California’s troubled state youth prisons, known as the Department of Juvenile Justice or DJJ. Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two years after Governor Gavin Newsom mandated it, the California Air Resources Board has approved a plan requiring 100% of new vehicle sales in California beginning in 2035 be zero emission. Automakers say they support California, but have encouraged the state to build out car charging infrastructure and incentives. Reporter: Kevin Stark, KQED According to the United Nations, solitary confinement...

The California Air Resources Board is set to approve a plan on Thursday to phase out the sale of new gasoline cars by the year 2035. Reporter: Daphne Young, KQED   Last week, we brought you an investigation into the U.S. Forest Service that found a stalled project could have helped protect the town of Grizzly Flats in Northern California from the Caldor Fire. Now, we head to Big Bear, a Southern C...

There’s a new poll out that shows Californians overwhelmingly support abortion access and that the issue will impact how they vote in the elections this fall.   Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED   A little over a week ago, normal life in the border city of Tijuana came to a halt as a drug cartel launched a campaign of terror in the city. Vehicles were set ablaze and gunmen blocked major thoroughfares....

Proponents are calling Governor Gavin Newsom’s veto of a bill that would have allowed supervised drug injection sites in San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles a tragic, “missed opportunity” to prevent overdose deaths.  Reporter: Kevin Stark, KQED A new report finds that most early childcare workers in California make far less than a living wage and that many earn less than they did before the pan...

The California Department of Public Health is issuing new home isolation guidance for people with confirmed or suspected cases of monkeypox. State public health director Dr. Tomás Aragón says the state’s guidelines are more detailed than the CDC’s national recommendations. California is adding Georgia to its already lengthy list of states where publicly-funded travel is banned because of anti-LGBT...

Residents of a Siskiyou County community, ravaged by wildfire last month, are suing the Oregon-based electrical utility they say is to blame. The McKinney Fire started the afternoon of July 29th just outside the hamlet of Klamath River, near power lines owned by Portland's Pacificorp.  Reporter: Dan Brekke, KQED Starting next year, Californians will be able to sue people who distribute ghost guns...

Monkeypox cases have tripled in California over the past month. Most vaccine doses have been sent to larger cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles. But other communities across the state say they're feeling left out. Reporter: Kristen Hwang, CalMatters LA County will get far fewer monkeypox vaccine doses than it expected. The county's monkeypox vaccine shipment is being slashed to just 40% of t...

The state’s power grid operator is calling on Californians to conserve energy on Wednesday. The California Independent System Operator, which oversees the state's electrical grid, says it expects above average temperatures to increase demand for electricity. Reporter: Angela Corral, The California Report Former Central Valley Congressman TJ Cox pleaded not guilty Tuesday to more than two dozen fed...

Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon will not face a recall election, county officials announced on Monday. Critics of Gascon, led by prosecutors in his own office, have once again failed to get the more than 560,000 signatures necessary to place a recall before voters. Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED   New research suggests climate change is increasing the likelihood of California-wide megafl...

Governor Gavin Newsom has a plan to extend the operation of California’s last nuclear power plant. Diablo Canyon on the Central Coast is scheduled for closure by 2025. Reporter: Benjamin Purper, KCBX  For several years now, undocumented immigrants in California have been able to get a driver’s license, which doubles as a critical piece of ID. But what about immigrants who don’t drive? Reporter: Jo...

One of the most closely watched housing bills has cleared a key legislative hurdle and is now headed to the state senate for a vote. Supporters say it could help developers build millions of housing units across the state. Reporter: Adhiti Bandlamudi, KQED Roses are red, violets are blue. Most flowers smell nice, but not all of them do. And that’s especially true for a rare tropical flower at the...

San Francisco has won a landmark lawsuit against Walgreens pharmacy over its role in fueling the opioid epidemic in the city. A federal judge found that Walgreens filled hundreds of thousands of suspicious prescriptions for powerful painkillers over 15 years, without taking steps to prevent their misuse. California’s Supreme Court may soon get its first Latina Chief Justice. Patricia Guerrero curr...

An L.A. City Council meeting turned chaotic Tuesday when members of the public started shouting at council members and one person made an attempt to lunge at the dais. The council was preparing to vote on an ordinance that would ban homeless encampments near schools and daycare centers. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report  More than 4,250 COVID-19 deaths in California could have been pr...

California’s Employment Development Department was too slow delivering unemployment insurance payments to roughly 5 million workers during the pandemic. That’s from a new report by the Legislative Analyst's Office.  Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED More than 22,000 Ukrainians have crossed the border from Mexico into California since the Russian invasion in February. Many have come to the Sac...

Los Angeles voters will decide whether they want to require hotels across the city to provide vacant rooms to unhoused people. The City Council voted Friday to put the contentious hotel voucher program on the 2024 ballot. Reporter: Megan Jamerson, KCRW  Farmworkers from across the state have joined the “March for the Governor’s Signature,” a 335 mile trek from Kern County to Sacramento, to show su...