The Bay

At one point in Vallejo, the city was paying so much money in salaries and pensions for its police and firefighters that the city went bankrupt. It’s not just police shootings that have led to a deep sense of mistrust of Vallejo Police. So how’d it get so bad? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2017, Vallejo Police shot and killed Alicia Saddler's brother, Angel Ramos, in their mother's backyard. What began as a family gathering was quickly warped by police, whose narrative of the fatal evening prevailed in the news. Saddler and her family have spent the last few years challenging police's narrative. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Before Sean Monterrosa was shot and killed by Vallejo police on June 2, VPD officers killed Willie McCoy. Police fired 55 shots into McCoy's vehicle as it was parked in a Taco Bell drive thru where he was sleeping. But before McCoy became another face of police violence in Vallejo, he was a rising young rapper whose family said had a bright future ahead of him. Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...

Gig work is often marketed as 'flexible work.' But it's also precarious and unprotected work, and today gig workers are continuing to put themselves at risk because they struggle to earn the income they need to survive. This pandemic has shown — even more — just how unequal our economy is. So where do we go from here? "How We Got Here" is a special five-part series made by Sam Harnett, Alan Montec...

Many Americans are in deep debt. Household debt has reached an all time high at over $14 trillion. This means many workers have to do a lot more just to get by. They work longer hours, have second or multiple jobs, and they take out loans. Many people never catch up to the debt they owe. And worse, some options that seem like a light at the end of the tunnel might just sink you deeper in the hole....

Big companies spend more of their profits on enriching shareholders and executives than they do on increasing compensation for employees. Today, we talk about how this kind of capitalism became normal. This is the third in a special five-part series made by Sam Harnett, Alan Montecillo, and Chris Hoff. These five episodes are airing on The Bay from July 6-10. Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...

Only 1 in 10 workers in America are part of a union. And for many people, having one would make it a lot easier to advocate for better pay and protections during this pandemic. But worker power has slowly been dismantled by employers and politicians over the years. This is the second in a special five-part series made by Sam Harnett, Alan Montecillo, and Chris Hoff. These five episodes are airing...

Tens of millions of people in the US are either out of a job or still working without meaningful protections, benefits, or wage increases. And if something goes wrong, workers mostly have to figure it out on their own. This is the first in a special five-part series made by Sam Harnett, Alan Montecillo, and Chris Hoff. These five episodes will air on The Bay from July 6-10. Learn more about your a...

On Monday, we're airing the first in a special five-part series by KQED reporter Sam Harnett and editor Alan Montecillo. It digs into how workers in the US have lost benefits, power, and protections over the last few decades. Today, we're sharing a sneak preview. These episodes will air from July 6-10. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tech companies in Silicon Valley are turning to Black employees and other workers of color to help them respond to Black Lives Matter protests nationwide. While some employees feel good about having their company’s ear, it also exposes tech's diversity problem at the top and how the burden of responding to racism often falls on workers of color, who may be jeopardizing their careers. Guest: Nitash...

New records obtained by KQED show local Bay Area hospitals have reported supply chain problems and the need for support and equipment from public agencies to deal with the coronavirus pandemic since January. Today, local hospitals can't sufficiently rely on federal or state help for obtaining adequate supplies of personal protective equipment or PPE. So they're largely left to figure it out on the...

Within one week in June, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases at San Quentin State Prison grew more than 700 percent. Prison authorities have now reported that more than 500 incarcerated men have the virus, and that doesn't even count the dozens of guards who have contracted it too. Between prison over-crowding and prison employees entering and leaving, the implications of the outbreak at the st...

In Oakland, a city that’s seen school closures and a rapid rise in homelessness in recent years, the police budget takes up around 44% of the general fund. Among those calling to defund the police there are artists in Oakland who have plenty of ideas about what a police-free Oakland would look like if that money were reinvested into the community. Guest: Nastia Voynovskaya, reporter and editor for...

Growing up, Sarah Mizes-Tan's father encouraged her to always stand up to anti-Asian racism whenever she saw it. That's because he had experienced discrimination in the U.S. since immigrating from Singapore as a kid. After the death of George Floyd and protests for Black lives, Mizes-Tan knew the racism her dad experienced, and the racism Black folks experience, are connected struggles. So they ta...

You can’t separate labor from the police violence and oppression that’s being called out this Juneteenth - the day that commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S. That’s why local Bay Area dockworker unions in San Francisco and Oakland are joining other local unions in shutting down the West Coast ports on Friday. This kind of action isn't new. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union has...

In January, the Anti Police-Terror Project launched a community first responder program in Sacramento called Mental Health First. Throughout the night, Friday through Sunday, Mental Health First volunteers respond to people in crisis — all without police. Guests: Niki Jones, Peer Crisis Counselor/Volunteer Coordinator with Mental Health First and Asantewaa Boykin, co-founder of Anti Police-Terror...

Lisa Fagundes is a San Francisco librarian who also helps track and prevent the spread of COVID-19. As more Bay Area residents leave their homes, the state is hiring thousands of people like Lisa to contact people who have tested positive for the virus. Health officials expect the work of contact tracers to become increasingly important as shelter-in-place orders loosen and mass protests continue....

There have been dozens of Bay Area cities protesting against police violence since the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Most of the protests have taken place in the suburbs or smaller Bay Area cities not known for heavy activist scenes. But some of these cities have their own histories of police violence and activists are demanding changes to police policies. KQED Arts Senior Editor Gabe Me...

Oakland Unified is the only school district in Alameda County with its own police force. And for nearly a decade, activists with the Black Organizing Project have tried to get police out of Oakland's public schools. It hasn't happened. But now, with more calls nationally to defund the police, supporters are raising the issue with OUSD's school board once again. Guest: Ashley McBride, education equ...

Vallejo Police killed another person of color last week. Sean Monterrosa of San Francisco was shot after police say they mistook a hammer for a gun. Days later, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra issued an "expansive review" of the Vallejo Police Department, citing the recent spate of high-profile police shootings and calls from the community. We checked back in with the families of loved...

Californian police officers are rarely disciplined, even internally, when they do something wrong. That's what KQED reporters have learned by looking at records released under a law passed in 2018. The records show a system designed to protect police and discourage citizens from filing complaints in the first place. Guest: Sukey Lewis, KQED criminal justice reporter Tap here to see the California...

On Jan. 1, 2009, Oscar Grant was shot and killed by a BART police officer. The killing was recorded and the video went viral. There are so many other names here in California, too: Oscar Grant, Mario Woods, Stephon Clark, and many more. And each time, public outrage and pressure helped create some change. But it's never been enough. Guest: Alex Emslie, KQED criminal justice reporter Learn more abo...

This past week has been a lot. Several Bay Area cities joined other communities across the country protesting the police shooting of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Most of the demonstrations were peaceful, all of them were emotional. This past week has been a lot. Several Bay Area cities joined other communities across the country protesting the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Many of...

Stacey Park Milbern was an expert at organizing people. A self-identifying queer disabled woman of color, Stacey organized to help her move from North Carolina to the Bay Area so that she could live independently as a disabled person. Stacey was a well known leader within the disability justice movement. And her activism extended beyond people living with disabilities and to other communities that...

Since early 2019, 125 random Stockton residents have been receiving $500 a month to spend however they want. And while the final data hasn't been released yet, we're starting to learn a little more about how that money was spent. As many in the Bay Area struggle to pay rent or basic needs because of the coronavirus pandemic, what can we learn from this experiment in Stockton? Guest: Rich Ibarra, c...