KQED's The California Report

California Lawmakers Look to Tax the Ultra-Rich More than a dozen Democratic lawmakers have signed on to a bill that would tax earnings above a million dollars an extra one percent. There would also be an additional, higher tax brackets for income above two million and five million. Reporter: Nicole Nixon, CapRadio COVID-19 Spreads at Foster Farms Poultry Processing Plant A COVID-19 outbreak at a...

Governor Newsom Announces Strike Team to tackle Unemployment Backlog The state agency that sends out unemployment insurance checks. has been overwhelmed with applications since the pandemic began, which has led to lots of complaints about late checks and terrible customer service. The Newsom Administration says it’s taking actions to improve the situation. Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED Tenants Call...

Trump Administration Defies Supreme Court, Rejects New DACA Applications Advocates for immigrants in California are blasting the Trump administration for its decision to reject new applications for the DACA program, which allows undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children to stay in the country. The Administration’s decision comes in spite of a Supreme Court ruling last month striking...

Governor Newsom Will Direct Tens of Millions to Central Valley for COVID Relief When it comes to the coronavirus pandemic, L.A. county and the Bay Area often get the lion’s share of attention. But the Central Valley is also grappling with growing virus caseloads and deaths. Yesterday, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the state will direct tens of millions of dollars to the Central Valley to slow th...

California Legislators Return to Session California legislators return to Sacramento today after taking an extended summer recess because of COVID 19, and lawmakers have a lot of catching up to do. There are more than 500 bills pending in the Senate and close to 200 in the Assembly. Reporter: Katie Orr, KQED New Study Shows Impact of Pandemic on Asian-Americans A new study reports that Asian Ameri...

State Lawmaker Calls for Second Round of Lockdowns The coronavirus crisis is reaching new, bleak heights in California, where the state reported the highest daily death count on Thursday. State Senator Steve Glazer is calling for a second round of stay-at-home orders in regions where more than 2% of of COVID-19 tests come back positive. Reporter: Nicole Nixon, CapRadio UCLA Outlines Policy Priorit...

California Has More Cases of COVID-19 Than Any Other State California is now reporting more confirmed cases of COVID-19 than any other state in the nation. The state is reaching the grim milestone as it struggles to stem the spread of the virus. Reporter: Guy Marzaroti, KQED Hospital Capacity Dwindles As Cases Surge Across the State The surge is cases is wreaking havoc on healthcare facilities thr...

COVID-19 Has Pushed Childcare Industry to the Brink A new report out today paints a grim picture of the future of child care in our state. The industry was struggling even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Now it’s been driven to the brink. Reporter: Katie Orr, KQED Cal State Moves Closer To Requiring Ethnic Studies Classes In higher education it’s looking more and more like undergrads at the 23 Cal S...

Bay Area Workers Join Nationwide Action for Black Lives Matter Workers across the country protested economic and racial injustice Monday by walking off the job for eight minutes and 46 seconds, the length of time that a Minneapolis police officer knelt on the neck of George Floyd. Reporter: Sam Harnett, KQED Los Angeles Service Workers Stand In Solidarity With Black Colleagues Protests also took p...

Many Bay Area Teachers Relieved Classes to Stay Remote Most of the state’s largest school districts are now focusing on reopening schools this fall with distance learning. No county on the state’s monitoring watch list for increases in COVID-19 cases will be able to reopen without special approval. Reporter: Julia McEvoy, KQED Public Health Officials Warn Against Testing Mandates from Employers Pu...

Without the Opera House, Long Beach Performers Get Creative The coronavirus has shuttered live performance venues and created enormous headaches for California's theaters, symphonies, and opera companies. That includes Long Beach Opera. Guest: Jennifer Rivera, Long Beach Opera executive director Kincade Fire Caused By PG&E Power Lines, Says CalFire State fire investigators have ruled that last fal...

Many Schools Will Remain Closed This Fall There are about 1,000 public school districts in California. And Tony Thurmond, the state’s top education official is acknowledging pandemic conditions have deteriorated to a point where many of them won’t have students physically present in classrooms this fall. Trump Reverses Visa Decision, Allowing International Students to Stay After intense blowback,...

New Testing Guidelines Priorotize Vulnerable Populations Californians are now facing long lines, limited appointments, and delayed results when they get tested for coronavirus. State health officials have announced new testing guidelines that will prioritize vulnerable populations as the state faces testing backlogs. Reporter: Laura Klivans, KQED 61 injured in Fire Aboard Navy Ship The Navy says t...

Governor Newsom Orders Statewide Shutdown As COVID Cases Rise If the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel is a return to some sort of normal life, that light got fainter in the last 24 hours. With COVID-19 cases rising in the state, Governor Gavin Newsom has once again ordered all California counties to shut-down indoor activities at restaurants, bars and entertainment venues. Reporter: Maris...

LA County Residents Wait in Long Lines, Eager for Covid-19 Tests People in places like Los Angeles County are struggling to make appointments at often swamped coronavirus testing facilities. Many people at a testing city in the city of Long Beach lined up well before sunrise to make sure they could be tested. Guests: Maria Solis, Marta Miranda LA Unified Teacher's Union Urges Against Reopening Cla...

Santa Cruz Braces for Coronavirus Surge Health officials in Santa Cruz are preparing for a spike in coronavirus cases. The county's chief doctor says summer weather and beach season have contributed to the spread of Covid-19. Reporter: Hannah Hagemann, KQED Fire Officials Prepare for Wildfires Amidst Budget Woes Governor Gavin Newsom warned Thursday that the state faces a riskier-than-average fire...

L.A. Faces Testing Shortages as Cases of COVID Grow Los Angeles County remains the center of the state’s coronavirus pandemic four months in. The county has more than 123,000 confirmed cases so far. But even as the toll from the virus grows, it's gotten harder for many in the L.A. area to schedule appointments to get tested. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, KQED Stanford Eliminates a Third of Its Varsity...

Regents Appoint First Black President to Lead UC System The University of California Board of Regents has elected its first Black president in its 152-year history. Former UC Irvine Chancellor Michael Drake will lead the 10 campus system that serves some 280,000 students. International Students Scramble Amidst In-Person Requirements Colleges and universities all across California are grappling wit...

COVID Outbreak Shuts Down California Assembly A coronavirus outbreak in the state Legislature has indefinitely delayed the Assembly’s return to work from a scheduled summer recess. Speaker Anthony Rendon’s office says five people who work there have tested positive for COVID-19. Reporter: Angela Corral, KQED Governor Says San Quentin Outbreak is a 'Top Concern' After weeks of criticism over the st...

PG&E is out of bankruptcy. The utility entered into Chapter 11 in January 2019, weeks after the Camp Fire, which killed 86 people and wiped out much of the town of Paradise. A California State University, Chico, study has been mapping out where survivors of the wildfire ended up. A cluster of around 20 people had moved in and around Crossville, Tennessee, a town of just 12,000 people. Reporter: Li...

Wine Industry Limps Along With Tasting Rooms Closed A report out this week from Sonoma State University estimates California wine businesses lost more than $4 billion dollars since the start of the coronavirus shutdown. More than 40,000 people, directly or indirectly involved in making, distributing and serving wine, could lose their jobs. We’re talking everyone from laborers harvesting grapes to...

Newsom Reinstates Closures in 19 Counties As COVID Cases Surge Not so long ago California was seen as a model when it came to fighting the coronavirus pandemic. But in the last couple of weeks, COVID cases and hospitalizations have surged in many places in California. Yesterday day Governor Newsom announced a step back from reopening. Reporter: Danielle Venton, KQED Southern California Hit Hard By...

What Happened to Sacramento's Focus on Housing Before the coronavirus hit, housing and housing affordability seemed to be the state's biggest problems and there were lots of proposals in Sacramento to fix them. But is getting roofs over people's heads still a priority for Governor Gavin Newsom and the state legislature? Guest: Erin Baldassari, KQED LA Wants to Divert Non-Violent 911 Calls from LAP...

Coronavirus Cases Spike Across The State When it comes to progress in fighting the coronavirus pandemic, the news out of Los Angeles County, where about one in four Californians live, is bad. There were more than 2,900 new COVID cases in the county reported on Monday. Fresno County Jail Hit By Coronavirus Outbreak The Fresno County Sheriff’s Department reported 507 positive COVID-19 cases at the c...

Reopening Halted as Coronavirus Spreads Across the State If you thought you could ease up a bit on worrying about the coronavirus pandemic, news the last few days has been like a big bucket of cold water to the face. Coronavirus Cases on the Rise at San Quentin 971 people incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison have tested positive for COVID-19. One state lawmaker is calling it a major catastroph...