KQED's The California Report

Meteorologists Warn of Dangerous Heatwave to Hit Labor Day Weekend From COVID-19 spread to possible blackouts, there is a lot to worry about when the forecasted heatwave hits. The National Weather Service says the temperatures will climb starting today and should peak by Monday. In Southern California, many temperature records are likely to fall. Reporter: Angela Corral, KQED Firefighters Battle T...

Poll Reveals Ethnic and Racial Disparities in COVID-19 Death Rates The coronavirus has killed more than 13,000 people in our state since the pandemic began. According to a new poll 20% of Californians know someone who’s died of COVID-19, but that number is much higher in some communities.   Reporter: Nina Sparling, KQED California Sees Declines in COVID-19 Positivity Rates and Hospitalizations Cal...

Drop in COVID Cases in the Bay Area Allows More Businesses to Reopen Top state health officials say new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to drop. in Northern California, risk in San Francisco and Napa counties is only considered “substantial” which means schools and some businesses can open sooner.  Central Valley Schools Use Day Camp Loophole to Reopen Most counties in the Central Val...

Newborn Baby Appears on Assembly Floor As Time Runs Out on Final Legislative Session Lawmakers voted to approve statewide eviction protections in the final hours of this year’s legislative session -- and just as California’s eviction ban was set to expire. In a dramatic legislative session lawmakers ran out of time to several pass bills before the midnight deadline. Guests: Katie Orr, KQED, and CA...

Deadline Nears for Lawmakers to Pass Eviction Moratorium A new state law would ban evictions for tenants who miss paying their rent due to pandemic-related hardships, like company layoffs or wage reductions. Those protections would largely be in place until the end of January. Reporter: Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, KQED  Hot, Dry Weather Expected to Return to California Fire crews have been able to t...

Foster Farms Poultry Processing Plant Ordered to Shut DownAmidst a massive COVID 19 outbreak among workers, Merced County health officials in the Central Valley have ordered a Foster Farms poultry processing plant to shut down. Reporter: Alex Hall, KQED  Newsom Boosts Funding to Aid Early Release Efforts Across State PrisonsCalifornia is releasing thousands of inmates in state prisons early. Gover...

New State Emissions Standards Move Closer to Approval After a public hearing, California’s Air Resources Board is expected to approve tough new pollution emission standards for both commercial trucks and ships docked in California ports. The standards are the state’s most stringent in ten years New Lab Would Double Statewide Testing Capacity Governor Gavin Newsom says the state will build a new la...

Firefighters Make Progress During Cooler Calm Weather Containment continues to steadily grow against the LNU, CZU and SCU fires because of cooperative weather conditions and the hard work of firefighters. But the scope of damage from these blazes and hundreds of others burning around th e state is staggering. Squaw Valley Resort To Change Racist Name That’s a piece a tape from the 1960 Winter Olym...

Over One Million Acres Scorched as Help Arrives From Out of State Firefighters are making some progress in containing the enormous wildfires burning in a ring around the Bay Area, but the toll has been immense. Governor Gavin Newsom reports 1.2 million acres have burned and at least 1,200 homes and other structures have been destroyed or damaged. Seven people have also died because of the blazes. ...

"This is an Absolute Marathon" Fire Crews Make Progress Fighting Wildfires Some of the biggest wildfires in state history continue to burn over a vast stretch of Northern California with blazes raging in counties surrounding the Bay Area and along the Central Coast.  Senior California Public Utility Regulator Claims Whistleblower Retaliation Alice Stebbins was appointed in early 2018 as the Califo...

Tens of Thousands Flee as Wildfires Rip Across Northern California The enormous wildfires burning around the Bay Area have claimed the lives of at least five people. Residents from Wine Country north of San Francisco to the edges of San Jose and Santa Cruz have been forced to evacuate.  Some Residents Stay Put to Save Their Homes from the Flames Official firefighting resources on the dozens of lig...

Northern California Grapples With Heavy Smoke, High Temperatures, and Dozens of Wildfires Hundreds of wildfires are burning across the state. The largest are concentrated in Northern California around the Bay Area, where residents are also grappling with high temperatures, and the looming threat of power outages. Rural Evacuees Pull Together at Santa Cruz Fairgrounds Meanwhile, a group of fires ha...

Californians Take Center Stage at Joe Biden's Nomination 263 California delegates were awarded to Joe Biden -- as he was officially nominated for president at last night’s Democratic National Convention. Several Californians took center stage at last night’s virtual event. Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED New Law Requires Ethnic Studies for All CSU Students Governor Newsom has signed a bill into law...

Governor Newsom Orders Investigation Following Heat-Wave Power Outages Governor Gavin Newsom has ordered an investigation into why the state’s electrical grid wasn’t ready for a heat wave-related surge in power demand over the weekend. ISO "Dropped the Ball" Says Board Governor The state didn’t end up calling for blackouts yesterday, thanks in part to Californians who conserved energy. The Califor...

Scorching Heat Sets off Power Outages Across California Hundreds of thousands of people across California lost power beginning Friday evening and again on Saturday as hot temperatures became unbearable. The California Independent Systems Operator, instructed utilities to power down parts of the system. 'Firenados' Spotted as Crews Battle Blazes Throughout State Observers of the Loyalton Fire in th...

State Lawmakers Scramble as Eviction Ban Set to EndIn the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting job losses, courts in California placed a stop on evictions and foreclosures. But evictions will soon resume again unless state lawmakers can figure out a solution. Reporter: Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, KQED  New Data Shows Disparities in Nursing Home Workers Dying from COVID-19Los Angeles Co...

Hughes Lake Fire Forces Evacuations North of L.A. This morning in rural north L.A. County, west of Palmdale, hundreds of firefighters are battling the Lake Hughes Fire. It’s scorched approximately 10,000 acres and is zero percent contained. Mandatory evacuation orders are in place for residents in the area. Uber Threatens Temporary Shutdown to Avoid Paying Overtime and Unemployment Uber and Lyft d...

Kamala Harris Makes History as Joe Biden's Running Mate Joe Biden has picked California Senator Kamala Harris to be his vice-presidential running mate. It’s the first time ever that a woman of color will be on a major party presidential ticket and the first time that a California Democrat will also be at the top of such a ticket. Guest: Scott Shafer, KQED Californians Support of Black Lives Matter...

CA Public Health Director Resigns Following Data Errors There’s much speculation about the resignation of California's top public health director last weekend, but Governor Gavin Newsom is staying tight-lipped. Her departure comes after a glitch in a disease tracking system that delayed the processing of data from hundreds of thousands of COVID 19 test results. Reporter: Katie Orr, KQED Should Ube...

California Parents Anxious as Distant Learning Begins in Some Districts This morning the Oakland Unified School District and others across the state start their school year. It won’t be typical, and all instruction is being done remotely because of the coronavirus pandemic. Guest: Parent Stephanie Campos Southern California Women's Prison COVID-19 Cases Climb to 160 The number of infections at the...

COVID-19 Cases Top 200,000 in Los Angeles County Los Angeles County has the highest number of reported COVID-19 cases of any county in the U.S. Since January, the coronavirus has killed 4,869 people in L.A. County. That makes it the second leading cause of death after coronary heart disease and far deadlier than the flu. Reporter: Jackie Fortier, KPCC  Coronavirus Outbreak Hits Santa Cruz Farmwork...

Lawmakers Demand Immediate Unemployment Reform There are new demands for immediate reform at the state’s Employment Development Department which is in charge of providing unemployment benefits to Californians who’ve lost their jobs. Those demands are coming from more than 60 California lawmakers. Reporter: Mary Franklin Harvin, KQED  Nancy Pelosi Calls For Extension Of Federal Unemployment Benefit...

Husband of L.A.'s Incumbent District Attorney Faces Criminal Charges In Los Angeles, the race for District Attorney just got more complicated for incumbent Jackie Lacey. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is filing criminal charges against Lacey’s husband after he pulled a gun on Black Lives Matter activists who had gathered outside their house in March.  Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, KQED CA A...

Apple Fire Caused By Malfunctioning Car Exhaust Pipe In Southern California the Apple Fire has burned almost 27,000 acres in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. Firefighters now have the blaze 15% contained. CalFire says it was caused by diesel soot from the exhaust pipe of a malfunctioning car on Friday Reporter: Benjamin Purper, KVCR State and Federal Workers Scramble to Contain Outbreak in C...

One Man's Desperate Pursuit of Unemployment Benefits At least seven million Californians have lost their jobs since the pandemic began earlier this year. It took Antonio Rael an estimated 5,600 calls before he could get an Employment Development Department worker on the phone to re-certify his claim. Reporter: Mary Franklin Harvin, KQED Basic Questions Are Clogging the Phone Lines, Says EDD Spokes...