KQED's The California Report

This weekend marks the one year anniversary of the Grants Pass Supreme Court ruling. It gave cities in California and across the country more power to crack down on homeless encampments. Our California Newsroom partner CalMatters has been tracking the impact of that ruling. Guest: Marisa Kendall, CalMatters A federal judge is siding with California in the latest legal maneuvering over President Donald Trump‘s decision to send armed troops to Los Angeles. Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new California bill could force local governments in Imperial County to start translating their agendas into Spanish. The lack of translation has kept many county residents from fully participating in the democratic process. Reporter: Kori Suzuki, KPBS An immigrant worker who was arrested during a raid outside a hardware store in Pomona in April has been released from ICE custody. Now, immigrant rights advocates are pushing for the release of two other workers still in detention. Reporter: Anthony Victoria, KVCR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cities throughout California have taken different approaches on how to deal with homeless residents. That also includes those dwelling in RVs. While many plans have been slow on yielding results, Berkeley's approach may be the solution that city leaders have been looking for. California legislators have reached a tentative agreement on the state's budget proposal for the coming fiscal year, but its fate hinges on whether Governor Newsom will approve a housing reform plan that lawmakers must submit by Monday. A bill making its way through Sacramento would raise the fee car buyers in California would pay for processing paperwork, by nearly 500 percent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the Trump administration moved in April to cancel about half a billion dollars in Department of Justice grants, it said the programs didn't align with the administration's priorities. But many of the programs targeted for cuts seem to be doing exactly the things the administration says it's focused on. Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED Israel and Iran have agreed to a ceasefire after more than a week of exchanging bombs and missile fire. But President Trump lashed out at the two sides Tuesday morning, for possible violations of that agreement. This caps a whirlwind of events including the US bombing of three nuclear sites in Iran and Iran's response, launching more than a dozen missiles at a US airbase in Qatar. Iranians living in LA have mixed feelings about the conflict. Reporter: Benjamin Gottlieb Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Trump Administration's immigration raids have cast a cloud of fear over communities across the state. They've also dealt a blow to small businesses and economic life, particularly in Los Angeles County. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report The deployment of National Guard troops sent to Los Angeles by President Trump has been at the center of a see-sawing legal battle between California and the Trump Administration. For now, the soldiers are staying as the dispute is before a judge on Monday. Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday dealt a blow to California's ability to set its own vehicle emissions standards. That will likely strengthen the fossil fuel industry's ability to challenge the state's energy policies and goals. Reporter: Manola Secaira, CapRadio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

National Guard troops sent to Los Angeles by President Donald Trump can stay there, for now. That's a result of a ruling late Thursday from a federal appeals court. Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED Health care providers in California say they're worried immigration raids are keeping people from getting the medical care they need. Reporter: Ana Ibarra, CalMatters Across the country, young scientists are writing to their hometown newspapers—hoping their stories will rally public support and push back against deep federal research funding cuts. Reporter: Lesley McClurg, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Palm Springs, a historic reparations effort for Black and Brown families who were forcibly removed from their homes 60 years ago is moving closer to reality. The city made history in November when it agreed to a nearly $6 million settlement with surviving former residents and descendants of the neighborhood known as Section 14. But roughly six months later, they're still waiting on that money. Reporter: Madi Bolanos, The California Report Organizations across Northern California are celebrating Juneteenth Thursday and in the coming days. Reporter: Jane Vaughan, Jefferson Public Radio Black Surf Santa Cruz recently hosted their fifth annual liberation paddle-out to celebrate Juneteenth. Reporter: Erin Malsbury, KAZU Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many immigrant families in Los Angeles are frightened to leave their homes, as federal immigration agents continue to make daily arrests in public places. So two local non-profit executives decided to do something about it. Deliver meals. Reporter: Megan Jamerson, KCRW A group of Democratic congress members, led by Representative Judy Chu of Pasadena, visited the Adelanto Detention Facility in San Bernardino County on Tuesday. They were denied entry there last week by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. Reporter: Anthony Victoria, KVCR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal dollars that help small growers experiment with farming more sustainably are drying up. One farmer in the Salinas Valley wants to find ways to keep her land nourished despite precarious funding. Reporter: Elena Neale-Sacks, KAZU A federal appeals court will hear arguments Tuesday on President Donald Trump's decision to send armed troops to Los Angeles in response to immigration protests. Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED Governor Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature are proposing to gut California's main source of homelessness funding. Reporter: Marisa Kendall, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2,000 cities across the country participated in Saturday's No Kings protest. Organizers say five million people took to the streets. That included cities up and down the state of California. If you're arrested and charged with a crime, you have a right to an attorney to defend you in court. But what about an investigator to collect evidence to help tell your side of the story? New reporting from our partner CalMatters has found that people accused of crimes in California are routinely convicted without an investigation to verify or debunk the accusations against them. Guest: Anat Rubin, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A federal appeals court has blocked a judge's ruling regarding the Trump administration's use of the California National Guard in Los Angeles. Federal Judge Charles Breyer ruled late Thursday that President Trump must return control of the National Guard to Governor Newsom. But the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the deployment to continue, scheduling a hearing on the matter for next week. A Republican senator from Missouri is threatening to criminally investigate one of LA's leading immigrant rights groups. Reporter: Frank Stoltze, LAist California Senator Alex Padilla was forcibly removed from a Department of Homeland Security press conference Thursday, then pushed to the ground and handcuffed. Reporter: Juan Carlos Lara, KQED Legal aid groups that help immigrants are raising alarms over some fine print in the state budget bill, due for a vote Friday. Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED California's Assembly is set to consider a slate of bills that could make it harder for immigration officials to access certain places. Reporter: Jeanne Kuang, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Multiple federal immigration enforcement actions involving farm workers have taken place in recent days in multiple regions of California including those in Ventura, Kern, and Tulare counties. Workers are being detained without warning, at job sites and in the fields. U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff are calling these actions “unjustified and unconscionable,” warning they could tear families apart and destabilize the entire food supply chain.  Guest: Teresa Romero, President of United Farm Workers Union Fresno County's Sheriff says he supports the use of the national guard in the Los Angeles protests. He's one of the few sheriff's speaking out publicly. Reporter: Rachel Livinal, KVPR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Immigration and Customs Enforcement escalates its efforts to detain as many people without legal status as possible in California, immigration advocates are reminding people of their constitutional rights. Guest: Nisa Khan, KQED Thousands of migrant families across the country received a text message from Immigration and Customs Enforcement last week asking them to report for what seemed like a routine check-in. But many were detained at these check-ins, including at ICE's field office in downtown Los Angeles. Reporter: Mark Betancourt Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Protests continued across Southern California, and the rest of the state on Monday over the Trump administration's immigration actions. Reporter: Megan Jamerson, KCRW A labor leader was released from custody on Monday after his arrest during a downtown L.A. immigration raid set off a firestorm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Protests were held over the weekend across Los Angeles because of  the Trump Administration's immigration crackdown in the city. Things ratcheted up even further after President Trump announced the planned deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles, in light of the protests. Guest: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report When the immigration arrests began last week in the Los Angeles area, many of those who were detained were sent to the Adelanto Detention Facility in San Bernardino County. Lawmakers traveled to the facility on Sunday in an attempt to meet with some of the people detained.  Reporter: Anthony Victoria, KVCR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Immigrant-serving groups across the Bay Area are condemning a Trump administration travel ban that will bar most of the citizens of 19 countries from entering the U.S. Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED Immigration lawyers and advocates say at least 15 people, including some children, were arrested outside of ICE offices in San Francisco this week. Reporter: Juan Carlos Lara, KQED A Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge has approved a temporary restraining order blocking efforts to restart the Refugio Oil Spill pipeline. Reporter: Amanda Wernik, KCBX Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The fallout from the recent ICE raid on a San Diego restaurant continues as union leaders condemn the raid on Buona Forchetta, calling it cruel and an attack on workers. Reporter: Alexander Nguyen, KPBS One of the fiercest critics of the restaurant raid has been a San Diego City Councilman, who has called it terroristic and fascist, earning the condemnation of the Trump Administration. Guest: Sean Elo-Rivera, San Diego City Councilman A second man has been identified as a suspect in the bombing of a fertility clinic last month in Palm Springs. Authorities arrested him late Tuesday and say he supplied large amounts of chemicals that were used by the FBI's primary suspect to make explosives. Reporter: Madison Aument, KVCR The Trump Administration says California's high speed rail program has “no viable path” to completion. They want to pull federal funding within 37 days. But supporters of high speed rail want to fight the move. Reporter: Dan Brekke, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's an important day for the future of solar energy in California. Three environmental groups are set to go before the state Supreme Court to challenge a state policy on solar panels. Guest: Malena Corollo, CalMatters and The Markup The California Air Resources Board has launched a mobile monitoring program to collect pollution data from neighborhoods suffering from poor air quality. Reporter: Manola Secaira, CapRadio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many of us have become accustomed to giving up some personal data to access financial services accounts, like Social Security numbers and the places we were born. But a growing number of financial institutions are also asking for customers' voice samples. Reporter: Rachael Myrow, KQED Bay Area members of Congress are pushing the Trump administration to rehire National Weather Service workers it cut from its Sacramento and Hanford offices. Reporter: Kevin Stark, KQED Anyone entering a California prison could be subject to a canine search under a new policy that rolls out statewide this week. That's according to a department of corrections memo obtained by our partner, CalMatters. Reporter: Cayla Mihalovich, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Los Angeles, the clock is ticking down, faster and faster it seems, to July 14th, 2028. That's the opening day of the Summer Olympics Games, followed shortly by the Paralympic Games. And as that date draws closer, the scale of the challenges that face Los Angeles to get ready is starting to sink in. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report A transgender female athlete took home two gold medals and one silver medal at this weekend's statewide track and field championships held in Clovis. It marked a rare moment for high school sports in California. But not everyone is celebrating. Reporter: Esther Quintanilla, The Central Valley Journalism Collaborative Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brown pelicans are in trouble again — and this time it involves infant birds. This spring marks the third starvation event in four years for the iconic California seabirds. Scientists are still looking for answers. Reporter: Anna Guth, KQED Overdose deaths are falling nationwide—but in California, they continue to rise. Reporter: Lesley McClurg, KQED People applying to California's community colleges will soon be required to verify their identities when they submit their applications. The board that governs community colleges made the decision after multiple reports of scammers applying and getting into schools. Reporter: Adam Echelman, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California is home to a quarter of the nation's unhoused population. That's around 187,000 people. As the state grapples with homelessness, tensions are hitting a high point between Governor Gavin Newsom and local leaders when it comes to funding solutions. Reporter: Laura Fitzgerald, CapRadio A family in Bakersfield is facing deportation, despite entering the country legally to obtain care for their young daughter. Lawyers for the family say the 4-year-old girl could die if she's forced to leave the US. Reporter: Joshua Yeager, KVPR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Though the Trump administration has made it impossible to ask for asylum at the southern border, the U.S. is bound by international law to protect migrants who are likely to be tortured by their own governments if they go home. It's called the United Nations Convention Against Torture. But it turns out that the administration has quietly dismantled access to it for thousands of people. Guest: Mark Betancourt, The California Newsroom Temperatures in the state are expected to sizzle this week, reaching a peak on Friday. Hot and dry conditions mean increased wildfire danger. Reporter: Jacob Margolis, LAist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May marks the beginning of harvest season when some 800,000 farmworkers in California get to work picking food that lands on tables around the world. Though agriculture is a nearly $60 billion industry in the state, many farmworkers on the Central Coast don't have enough to eat. Reporter: Katie Brown, KAZU A school board in Temecula, that's been embroiled in controversy for the last two years, wants to revive a contentious policy to require schools to notify parents if their child is transgender. They're meeting Tuesday to brainstorm ideas to get around a state law that prohibits such policies. Reporter: Madison Aument, KVCR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Monday is Memorial Day. For many people, this holiday marks the unofficial start to the summer season. And no summer is truly complete without the perfect summer music playlist. Reporter: Billy Cruz, The California Report A race known as the “triathlon of the art world” is underway this Memorial Day weekend in Humboldt County. Founded in 1969, it's a local tradition, where teams race homemade human-powered art vehicles over 50 miles of land, sand, water, and mud. Reporter: Anna Vignet, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Six people are presumed dead after a private jet crashed into a San Diego neighborhood early Thursday morning. Sound Talent Group, a music talent agency based in the San Diego area, confirms that it lost three employees in the crash, including co-founder Dave Shapiro. California is suing the federal government for blocking the state's ability to set its own clean air rules. Reporter: Laura Klivans, KQED The decision to take down a climate security website at Monterey's Naval Postgraduate School signals broader self-censorship there around climate research and scholarship. It comes in the wake of the U.S. Defense Department's call to eliminate so-called “climate distraction” in the military. Reporter: Elena Neale-Sacks, KAZU The state legislature is considering two new bills aimed at improving conditions for incarcerated workers. Reporter: Sukey Lewis, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Governor Gavin Newsom is proposing an extension of the state's landmark climate program known as cap-and-trade. The program limits greenhouse gas emissions and raises money from polluters. And the governor has some controversial ideas for how to spend that money. Guest: Guy Marzorati, KQED The US senate is moving ahead with plans to block California's electric vehicle mandate. Late Wednesday night, Republicans sidestepped the filibuster and voted using a simple majority to clear a path to revoke California's unique clean air rules. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lawyers for San Francisco and Santa Clara counties are back in court Wednesday. They're fighting with the Trump administration over new rules around homelessness funding. Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED Teachers in Temecula can teach about race without fear of running afoul of the school board, at least for now. This comes after a California Appeals Court ruled the district's ban on Critical Race Theory is unconstitutionally vague. Reporter: Madison Aument, KVCR A group of state lawmakers is calling for the legislature to reject Governor Newsom's proposal to fast-track a controversial project that would send more Northern California water south. Reporter: Ezra David Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Part of President Trump's self-described big, beautiful bill includes congressional Republicans' plans to change Medicaid. The proposal would cut billions from the safety net program. Many Republican lawmakers see this as a needed savings to slash what they see as waste in the system, but recent estimates show millions of Americans stand to lose their health insurance, including in Republican health districts like Kern County. (Reporter: Joshua Yeager, KVPR) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Law enforcement authorities are seeking help to piece together the timeline of their primary suspect in the explosion at a Palm Springs fertility clinic over the weekend. Authorities identified 25 year old Twentynine Palms Guy Edward Bartkus in connection with the bombing and said he was likely killed in the blast. (Reporter: Madison Aument, KVCR) President Donald Trump said he will announce tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals in the next few weeks. While big drug companies seem to have plans to weather the storm, independent pharmacists in California are trying their best to prepare with limited information. (Reporter: Jackie Fortier, KFF Health News) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the state legislature works to tackle a $12 billion budget deficit, a bill aimed at delivering vital resources right to farmworkers' front doors is being put on hold. It's modeled after an existing program run by Ayudando Latinos a Soñar, a nonprofit based in Half Moon Bay. Reporter: Madi Bolanos, The California Report The federal government and the ACLU are facing off in district court Friday over the future of a program offering legal services to undocumented families. Reporter: Juan Carlos Lara, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Across California, families have had to fight, sometimes for years, just to learn what happened to their loved ones in police custody. Darryl Mefferd wasn't under arrest when he died after an encounter with Vallejo police in 2016. Local officials ruled his death an accidental drug overdose and for years, that's where the story ended. But new records and never before seen body camera footage are challenging that version of events. Guest: Geoffrey King, Executive Editor, Open Vallejo Facing a massive $12 billion dollar budget deficit, Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled his revised budget on Wednesday. It includes scaling back safety-net health insurance for undocumented immigrants, cutting coverage for weight loss drugs like Ozempic and reducing home health services. But the governor also wants to fast-track a contentious project lawmakers have debated in California for over half a century. Reporter: Ezra David Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's budget season at the State Capitol, which means grassroots advocates from around California come to plead for the funding they need for key community programs and projects. But, participating in the budget process and public committee hearings can be a heavy lift – especially for those outside Sacramento's high-powered lobbyist class. (Reporter: Laura Fitzgerald, CapRadio) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In recent years, the population of homeless people has aged, with about 20% of them now 55 or older. Many have never been homeless before. (Reporter: Jane Vaughan, Jefferson Public Radio) Conservative activists are welcoming an announcement from Governor Gavin Newsom this week pushing cities to ban homeless encampments across California. Advocates for unhoused people are condemning the move as cruel and counterproductive. (Reporter: Vanessa Rancaño, KQED) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is a federal agency that funds programs in libraries nationwide. In March, President Trump signed an executive order to slash the agency's funding. And California's Braille and Talking Book Library, which serves the state's blind and print-disabled community, could be hit by these cuts. Reporter: Jasmine Ascencio, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism Over the weekend, Catholic churchgoers attended the first Sunday mass since the election of the first pope with Creole ancestry. Reporter: Billy Cruz, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Los Angeles County's Annenberg Wildlife Crossing is a  90-million-dollar bridge now under construction. It's designed to connect green spaces between a freeway so animals can cross safely. But animals don't need these kinds of crossings to be so expensive and fancy. There are smaller and cheaper ways to cross the road. Guest: Seth Riley, Biologist, National Park Service Some of the country's cities, including parts of San Francisco, are slowly sinking, according to a new study. But in San Francisco, tectonic activity and areas built on reclaimed land are causing the subsidence. Reporter: Ezra David Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A bill introduced in the state legislature by Sacramento Democratic Assembly member Maggy Krell aims to increase penalties for loitering to solicit minors for sex. But a provision specifically aimed at soliciting 16- and 17-year olds has divided state Democrats, and given Republicans a political opportunity to criticize their opponents.  Reporter: Laura Fitzgerald, CapRadio California's tiny home industry is experiencing a boom in production, which signals hope for a new era of homeownership. The boom also could face road blocks, such as soaring construction prices and local zoning challenges. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For a long time, California's Central Valley has been a bastion of conservative political support; the red spot in a state that's awash in blue. However, there are signs that support for the right could be wavering, as President Trump's policies on trade and immigration are impacting livelihoods in the Central Valley; and some of the biggest progressives in the country are eyeing the region as a place that is ready for change. Since Covered California went into effect more than ten years ago, millions of state residents have relied on the program to obtain healthcare, year after year. However, the trust that Californians have put into the program may start to fray, after a CalMatters investigation revealed that Covered California is sending people's personal information to private companies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, the Trump administration announced its goal of cutting $6 billion from NASA or nearly a quarter of the space agency's budget. Science programs would be hit especially hard, like the work done by NASA facilities in California. Guest: Casey Dreier, Chief of Space Policy, Planetary Society Three people are dead, four have received medical attention and at least seven remain missing after a small boat believed to be carrying migrants capsized near San Diego on Monday morning. Reporter: Gustavo Solis, KPBS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For decades, wolves were thought to have been hunted and poisoned into extinction in California with the last sighting of the animal in the 1920s. But that changed in late 2011 when a wolf wearing a radio collar crossed into the state from Oregon. In the years since, California's gray wolf population has grown into the dozens, threatening the livelihood of cattle ranchers in places as far north as Modoc County. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Weddings are pricey affairs in California — and they're about to get even more expensive. According to the National Bridal Retailers Association, about 90 percent of all wedding gowns sold in the U.S. are made in China. With 145% tariffs now being imposed on all Chinese goods coming into the U.S., that could mean big price increases for California bridal shop owners and brides-to-be. Reporter: Tina Caputo Congress is moving ahead with a plan to block California's electric vehicle mandate. Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED When Tulare Lake refilled two years ago in the middle of Kings County, two prisons narrowly avoided dangerous flooding. A new state audit now argues those prisons were not prepared for flooding or evacuation. Reporter: Kerry Klein, KVPR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nearly 40% of Californians voted for President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. Now, 100 days into his second term, how do they feel? Reporter: Izzy Bloom, KQED In San Francisco Wednesday night, former Vice President Kamala Harris laid into President Donald Trump at the 100 day mark of his presidency. Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices