The Bay

The deadliest mass shooting in Bay Area history happened Wednesday at a rail yard for the Valley Transportation Authority, the Santa Clara County transit agency made up of around 2,000 employees. The 9 victims who died were maintenance workers, light rail operators, mechanics and supervisors. Public transit workers haven't had the privilege of sheltering at home during the pandemic, and for the pa...

For years, Black and brown parents of Oakland Unified students have been pushing the district to do more to support kids in low-income communities of color. Then the pandemic hit, prompting fears of even more disparities in learning. So a group called The Oakland REACH decided to take matters into their own hands, and use the pandemic as an opportunity to continue reimagining their kids’ education...

South Hayward has one of the highest rates of per capita deaths in Alameda County. It also has one of the lowest vaccination rates. Some aren’t sure whether they want the vaccine, but there are also many other barriers related to language, work, and access. For volunteers, county officials and community clinics, addressing these barriers is central to a monthslong, on the ground effort to get more...

Starting Friday, May 21, 130 artists in San Francisco will receive $1,000 a month for the next 6 months through the city’s Guaranteed Income Pilot Program, which was announced in March to help artists from marginalized communities who have struggled during the pandemic. Most artists agree a guaranteed income would help. But as the program officially rolls out, some arts groups are concerned that t...

It’s almost been a year since Vallejo police officer Jarrett Tonn shot and killed Sean Monterrosa on June 2, as protests against police violence were happening nationwide. Last week, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced his office would review the investigation. Monterrosa’s family — and those who have been fighting for more police reform in Vallejo — hope this is a turning point in pol...

On International Boulevard in East Oakland, just 5% of businesses received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans from April to August of 2020. Meanwhile, in the nearby, mostly white neighborhood of Montclair, 49% of businesses received a PPP loan. Advocates and small business owners point to factors like language barriers, a complicated application process, and a legacy of banks not serving comm...

Just four months ago, a pro-Trump mob violently stormed the U.S. Capitol in support of the former president's conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. And even after that, most of California’s Republican elected officials stuck with Trump by voting to overturn the certification of the results. Trump may be out of office now, but many of those same Republicans — including House Minority Leader...

The vast majority of the nearly 70,000 fire survivors are waiting for the compensation they're owed as a result of PG&E's bankruptcy settlement — while the trust responsible for managing the money racked up over $51 million in operating costs in 2020.  Many families who have been displaced by fires caused by PG&E’s equipment are living in precarious situations. Some live unhoused or with relatives...

When people see attacks on Asians — including a recent near-fatal stabbing on San Francisco’s Market Street — many refer to them as hate crimes, in order to call out anti-Asian racism and violence. But the legal use of a hate crime charge is much trickier. And it raises some hard questions about whether the state should add harsher penalties for racially motivated attacks, or focus on rehabilitati...

In the 1920s and 1930s, Stockton’s Little Manila grew into the largest Filipino community outside of Manila itself. Thousands of Filipinos worked as farm laborers in the San Joaquin Valley, and over the years they opened businesses, restaurants, hotels and organized labor unions. Over time Stockton’s urban renewal policies led to the destruction of Little Manila. But today, Filipinx organizers in...

Indians and Indian Americans in the Bay Area are facing a dual reality when it comes to COVID-19: while businesses start to reopen here, COVID-19 cases and deaths are exploding in India — and many are worried for the safety of friends and family thousands of miles away. The Indian diaspora is also turning that worry into action, raising money for oxygen tanks and setting up virtual doctor's visits...

When it comes to sea level rise, East Palo Alto will be one of the first and hardest-hit areas of the Bay Area. It’s already prone to flooding now, and the city is leading the way when it comes to community-led solutions. But no matter how hard East Palo Alto works to build its resiliency against sea level rise, it won’t be enough; the Bay Area’s interconnected ecosystem suggests what its neighbor...

Bay Area transit agencies lost huge numbers of riders during the pandemic — and with it, enormous amounts of revenue. Federal money has saved them from big layoffs and service cuts. But as the region reopens and more people get vaccinated, public transit leaders still need to convince riders it’s safe and worth the trip. Guest: Dan Brekke, KQED editor and reporter Episode transcript here: https://...

Last summer, confirmed COVID-19 cases ballooned inside San Quentin State Prison. Now, with many incarcerated people and staff now vaccinated, infections are very low and the worst of the outbreak seems to be over. But the programs that many relied on before the pandemic still haven't returned — and incarcerated people are still coping with the scars of a traumatizing year. Guest: Kate Wolffe, KQED...

The state legislature last week confirmed East Bay assembly member Rob Bonta California’s new Attorney General. His confirmation happened the same week Derek Chauvin was convicted of murdering George Floyd. Bonta, the first Filipino American to take the position, has been a longtime supporter of more police accountability and takes over the AG role at a time when there’s momentum around police acc...

Oakland has been the epicenter of on-the-ground anti-policing efforts since Oscar Grant was killed by BART police in 2009. That same movement saw its latest iteration after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and months of protests and organizing culminated into a rare conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. So what does the verdict mean now for Bay Area efforts agains...

A jury has convicted former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin of all three charges for murdering George Floyd. There’s a lot to process, so today we don’t have a new episode — just a short message. Episode transcript here: https://bit.ly/3n6nLGR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco Unified School District has been mired in several controversies over this past year, and the politics around its school board have been especially tense. Whether it's the attempt to rename 44 schools, the debate over Lowell High School's admissions process, or tweets by Commissioner Alison Collins, adults have been taking up the most space in these public debates. And some student le...

About 9,000 nursing home residents in California have died of COVID-19. At the height of the winter surge, more than 80 residents were dying every day. But now, thanks to the COVID-19 vaccines, there are now fewer than 20 confirmed cases daily. And now, many families are reuniting with loved ones after more than a year apart. Guest: Barbara Feder Ostrov, contributing writer for CalMatters Episode...

Oscar Grant’s name has been circulating after police in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center claimed that 20-year-old Daunte Wright was “accidentally” killed after a veteran officer shot him with a gun instead of her taser. It's similar to what BART police claimed after an officer shot and killed Oscar Grant in 2009. Cephus Johnson, Grant’s uncle, talked with us last September following a sum...

A corporation known for flipping houses in the Bay Area has been buying even more homes at foreclosure auctions during the pandemic. Jocelyn Foreman lives in one of these homes and is now trying to compete with Wedgewood’s bid. She has the help of a new state law, which gives potential homeowners more time to match any bid made at a foreclosure auction. But the law doesn’t include financial help....

On Tuesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that California’s economy will ‘reopen’ by June 15, as long as there’s enough vaccine supply for everyone 16 and older and COVID-19 hospitalizations across the state remain low. This doesn’t mean all precautions — like the state’s mask mandate — will get scrapped. But it is a big step towards businesses and public spaces operating like they were before the p...

After months of local and national attacks against people in the AAPI community, Oakland Chinatown has rallied together to support their elders and businesses. But the community is divided — and a generational gap exposed — over whether they want more policing to be part of the solution or not. Guest: Julie Chang, KQED reporter Episode transcript here: https://bit.ly/3dHToSN Learn more about your...

California’s Employment Development Department (or EDD) is responsible for paying out the state’s unemployment insurance. Ever since the pandemic began, the agency has struggled to close its huge backlog of claims. The system is even more frustrating for people who struggle with technology and language access, and advocates say these issues are still a big problem today.  Guest: Mary Franklin Harv...

Californians ages 50 and older are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. They have two weeks to book appointments before the state opens up eligibility to people ages 16 and older on starting April 15. But booking an appointment is easier said than done; many people have already been struggling to find them; sometimes there’s a lack of supply, technology issues, and the process can be confusing....