The Bay

In this edition of The Bay’s monthly news roundup, Ericka, Maria and Alan talk about how Richmond became the first city in the country to pass a resolution in support of Palestinians in Gaza, the Department of Motor Vehicles decision to pull Cruise’s permit in San Francisco, and a big labor win for childcare workers in California.   Episode Transcript Links: LA Times: California city first in U.S....

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a new, legally binding reform agreement with the Vallejo Police Department last week. Scott Morris with the Vallejo Sun joins us to talk about what’s in the agreement, and why meeting it will be a tall order. Links: State DOJ announces new reform agreement with Vallejo police under court supervision Episode Transcript Apply to be our intern! This epi...

The Israel-Hamas war has put Elon Musk’s transformation of Twitter to the test. Changes to its verification policy, major cuts to the company's Trust and Safety teams, and Musk’s own rhetoric have led to a worsening in the spread of misinformation on the platform — with real life consequences. Episode Transcript Links: Bloomberg: Israel-Hamas Conflict Was a Test for Musk’s X, and It Failed ‘Verifi...

To understand the Winchester Mystery House – and how it came to be – you have to understand the woman behind it. KQED’s Boo Curious (also known as Bay Curious) takes us inside to do just that.  This episode of Boo Curious first published Oct. 5, 2023 Episode transcript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People across the Bay Area have been watching in horror at the war between Israel and Hamas. Today, we bring you voices from three different rallies and gatherings that took place over the weekend. Links: How to talk to children about the violence in Israel and Gaza Episode transcript This episode was hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra and produced by Alan Montecillo, Maria Esquinca and Ericka Cruz Gu...

Ecologists, indigenous groups, and forest management agencies agree that burning more ‘prescribed fire’ – where overgrown areas of forests are burned off — is critical to preventing dangerous megafires in the future. KQED’s Dana Cronin explains how this process works, and whether we’ve done enough so far this year. Episode transcript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A full transcript will be available 1–2 workdays after the episode’s publication. A new investigation from the Bay Area News Group, KQED, and the California Reporting Project finds that the vast majority of people seriously injured or killed by San José police are either mentally ill or intoxicated. KQED’s Rachael Vasquez spoke with one of the reporters, Robert Salonga, about how that trend has on...

Listen to Part 1 of this story about the killing of Richard Oakes. The 1972 killing of Richard Oakes, the face of the Red Power movement, still sticks with the people who worked on the case. The detective who was at the scene of the killing remembers feeling suspicious of Michael Morgan, the man who shot Oakes. The prosecutor remembers the holes in Morgan’s story that he shot Oakes in self-defense...

Richard Oakes was the face of the burgeoning ‘Red Power’ movement when he led the famous Native occupation of Alcatraz Island in 1969.  But like other civil rights leaders at the time, he died too soon. In 1972, Oakes was gunned down in in rural Sonoma County. His killer, Michael Oliver Morgan, stood trial for manslaughter and was found not guilty. The official story of Richard Oakes' death, and t...

From San Jose to Santa Rosa, more than 22,000 Bay Area Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers walked off the job Wednesday for a three-day strike, demanding better wages to help fix what they say is an urgent understaffing crisis. The effort spans 8 states and the District of Columbia, and some are calling it the largest health care strike in US history. This episode was hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevar...

2006 was the height of the hyphy movement — a time of exuberant, goofy, frenetic energy. But there was so much more going on beneath the surface. Rightnowish Host Pendarvis Harshaw would know — he was a budding journalist with a front row seat to the culture. Today, he talks with us about his four-part series ‘Hyphy Kids Got Trauma.’ Links: Hyphy Kids Got Trauma: A Rightnowish Podcast Series This...

On Thursday night, Sen. Dianne Feinstein passed away at age 90. Before becoming a U.S. Senator in 1992, she was best known for her time as San Francisco mayor. Today, we revisit an episode with KQED’s Scott Shafer about how she got her start in local politics. Links: Senator Dianne Feinstein Dies at 90: Live Updates What Feinstein’s Death Means For Control of the Senate and the Looming Government...

In this edition of The Bay’s monthly news roundup, Ericka, Maria and Alan talk about continued tensions between Martinez and the local refinery, a bill that would decriminalize certain psychedelics, and an effort to bring a WNBA team to the Bay Area. Links: Residents skeptical after toxicology report finds no ill effects from Martinez refinery incident California Decriminalizing Mushrooms and Othe...

Sonoma County will now allow wine grape harvests in fire evacuation zones for some farmworkers, in a reversal of a contentious 2022 decision. The Press Democrat’s Phil Barber explains how it happened. This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Episode transcript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Boats are being stolen and stripped of precious metals in the Oakland Estuary, in a crime spree that has divided the community of traditional boat owners and people living in derelict boats out on the water. This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sea level rise threatens communities along the Bay and some iconic cultural heritage sites along the San Francisco shoreline. So when the water comes for iconic sites like San Francisco's Ferry Building, how do we save it? Links: NPR: Protecting Cultural Heritage in a Warming World This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Episode transcri...

San Jose city leaders are looking for a new site for the nearly 500 vendors at the Berryessa Flea Market, which will be moved to make way for the new Berryessa BART Urban Village.  The Singleton Road landfill has risen to the top. Is an abandoned landfill the right place for a new flea market? Links:  Why the Future of San José's Flea Market Could Be an Abandoned Landfill This episode was produced...

California might become the first state in the nation to ban discrimination based on caste, a hierarchical system based on birth that affects South Asians all over the world. Senate Bill 403, which was introduced by State Sen. Aisha Wahab, passed the state legislature and is now on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk for his signature or veto. In this episode that originally aired in June, reporter Sonia Pau...

On Monday, BART rolled out a new schedule and changes to its system. They’re calling it a ’reimagined’ service plan. Combine that with increased police and non-uniformed personnel, and it’s clear that BART is trying to make changes that woo riders back onto its trains. Will it work? This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra Episode Transcri...

On Friday's episode, we’re going to talk BART and discuss some of the big changes the agency has made, including the new scheduled that began this week. And we want to hear from you: How’s riding BART for you these days? Or have you stopped riding? If so, what would it take for you to come back? Leave us a voicemail at (415) 710-9223, and we just might play it on the show. Learn more about your ad...

On Friday, Nancy Pelosi — former Speaker, minority leader, and representative in Congress since 1987 — announced plans to run again. KQED’s Marisa Lagos breaks down what this means for San Francisco amid debate over when a politician's time is up. This episode was produced by Ericka Cruz Guevarra and Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Episode transcript Learn more about your ad c...

California faces a big problem in labor law enforcement: when businesses are found to have committed wage theft, many still don’t pay workers what they’re owed. KQED’s Farida Jhabvala Romero tells us how Santa Clara County is implementing a local solution to this statewide issue.  This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Episode transcrip...

A full transcript will be available 1–2 workdays after the episode’s publication. COVID-19 cases are on the rise (again). But this isn’t the surge of years’ past..it’s more like a “swell”.  We also have more immunity, there are effective treatments, and a new booster is on the way. KQED Health Correspondent Lesley McClurg explains what you need to know about this increase in COVID cases. Links:  T...

This episode contains explicit language. Banko Brown was a Black trans man who was shot and killed by a Walgreens security guard in late April. Today, KQED’s Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez interviews three members of Banko Brown’s community from the Young Women’s Freedom Center — Xavier Davenport, Kazani Kalani Finao, and Juju Pikes-Prince — about Brown’s life, and what they believe is necessary for tra...

On this Labor Day weekend, we're sharing an episode from KQED's Bay Curious podcast about what's happening to our state's iconic redwood trees, and how we can support them. This episode originally published on June 22, 2023. Episode transcript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices