KQED's The California Report

When you talk about Altadena, you can't not talk about its trees. It's why one young Altadenan is documenting the stories of the community's trees in the wake of the Eaton Fire. Reporter: Erin Stone, LAist A 29-year-old man has been arrested for starting a fire that eventually became the deadly Palisades Fire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California made national headlines last month when Governor Newsom signed a bill barring law enforcement officers from wearing masks -- a law aimed at immigration agents. Federal officials say they won't comply. But the skirmish is about more than just masks. Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED New data suggests Fresno is a more prosperous city than it was 12 years ago. Reporter: Kerry Klein, KVPR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Almost nine months have passed since the Eaton Fire ripped through Los Angeles County. It destroyed more than 9,000 buildings and left billions of dollars in damages. At first, attention focused on Southern California Edison's transmission lines as the likely cause. But a new NPR investigation shows there may have been other failures, too. Guest: Chiara Eisner, NPR Another immigrant has died in the custody of federal immigration authorities in California, this time in the Imperial Valley. New questions are being raised about the care of detainees under the Trump administration's ongoing mass deportation campaign. Reporter: Kori Suzuki, KPBS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When President Donald Trump signed his sweeping policy bill this summer, it included $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid, known here as Medi-Cal. The program is recognized for helping low-income people access health care, but it also funds services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Now, many Californians with disabilities face an uncertain future. Reporter: Izzy Bloom, KQED A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deploying National Guard troops from California to Oregon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise remains California's deadliest and most destructive wildfire in history. The Northern California fire claimed the lives of 85 people. Now, a new movie depicts the real-life heroic escape of one local bus driver. Reporter: Claudia Brancart, North State Public Radio Yosemite National Park remains open during the government shutdown, but there won't be many rangers there to help visitors. Reporter: Carly Severn, KQED The US Department of Education is ending several grant programs that support minority-serving institutions. Department officials say these programs are discriminatory. California stands to lose more grant money than any other state - for programs that support Black, Latino, Asian and Native American students on college campuses. Reporter: Adam Echelman, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During the last federal government shutdown in late 2018 and early 2019, national parks here in California were greatly impacted. Some shut down completely, meaning a significant loss in potential revenue. Others remained open, but were not fully staffed. That includes Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California. Vehicles drove off-road, causing major damage to sensitive areas, and trash piled up, scattered around the park. The hope is things will be different this time around. Guest: Kenji Haroutunian, Executive Director, friends of Joshua Tree Santa Clara County prosecutors have secured a grand jury indictment against 11 pro-Palestinian Stanford University protestors who barricaded themselves in the campus president's office in 2024. Reporter: Joseph Geha, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Around the Salton Sea, dust storms have become an increasing problem, sparking dozens of public health studies. But many Imperial Valley residents have grown weary of repeated studies that all basically say the same thing: that the air quality is bad and getting worse. Reporter: Kori Suzuki, KPBS National Parks are once again caught up in the middle of the federal government shutdown. During the last shutdown – for more than 30 days in 2018 and 2019 - parks that remained open were unstaffed, leading to widespread vandalism and environmental damage. There's growing concern that an extended shutdown could once again put at serious risk of damage. Reporter: Sarah Wright, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What once was a fire season in California is now a fire year. As a result, the state is looking to combat increasing wildfires with funding for more year-round firefighters. Reporter: Rachel Livinal, KVPR California voters approved a $10 billion climate bond measure, last November. We're now getting a sense of where the first round of Prop 4 money is going. Reporter: Manola Secaira, CapRadio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Marin County, rents are among the highest in the nation.  There, a group of mobile home park residents are in a years-long fight to keep hold of one of the county's few affordable options. They're residents of the RV Park of San Rafael, where a property management company has been raising the rent, setting new rules and threatening residents with eviction. Reporter: Madi Bolaños, The California Report The Trump administration has expanded its investigation of alleged antisemitism on college campuses to the California State University system. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week a SpaceX Falcon9 rocket launched from Florida – the mission?  To study the outermost parts of the earth's atmosphere. The rocket is being driven by remote control from UC Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory. Reporter: Danielle Venton, KQED A report out this week details major failures in LA County's response to the January firestorms. Reporter: Jacob Margolis, LAist Immigration agents arrested three day laborers outside of a well-known worker center in Pomona Thursday morning. Immigration advocates say they're worried about the health and safety of the people now being detained. Reporter: Anthony Victoria, KVCR A Southern California attorney is facing a historic fine for filing a state court appeal full of fake quotations generated by the artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT. Reporter: Khari Johnson, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Healthcare workers across Southern California are struggling to provide medical care to undocumented patients, without clear guidance on how to handle encounters with immigration agents. Medical workers want hospitals to improve guidelines and provide better training so they can protect patients and themselves. Reporter: Anthony Victoria, KVCR A federal court hearing on whether or not roving immigration patrols can continue in the Los Angeles area has been postponed. Reporter: Wendy Fry, CalMatters A nearly seven mile stretch of Highway 1 near Big Sur will remain closed this winter, three years after back to back landslides wrecked the roadway. But things could improve in the spring. Reporter: Robert Garrova, LAist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As concerns continue to grow over ICE detention and enforcement in California, the agency is also ramping up its hiring efforts, as it aims to bring on 10,000 new agents by the end of the year. But some experts say the agency's recruitment strategy is filled with white nationalist messages and imagery. Reporter: Gustavo Solis, KPBS After months of delays and refinement, supervisors in Shasta County, which has for years been at the center of election integrity debates, have approved funding for new changes to the county's voting system. Reporter: Roman Battaglia, Jefferson Public Radio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Did you know, if your car gets towed in California and sold because you didn't claim it, you're entitled to the profit? And if you don't claim your money, the DMV gets to keep it. Reporter: Byrhonda Lyons, CalMatters A federal judge in San Francisco has ordered the Trump administration to restore 500 National Institutes of Health grants that it suspended at UCLA over the summer. Reporter: Mikhail Zinshteyn, CalMatters The Tulare County Public Defender's Office has agreed to overhaul an alleged culture of sexual harassment among employees, under the terms of a deal announced Monday. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Governor Gavin Newsom is poised to sign a new law lowering state cannabis taxes from 19% to 15%. Pot companies say it will bring much needed relief to an overtaxed, overregulated industry. But youth groups who are funded by this tax say kids are being betrayed. Reporter: April Dembosky, KQED Governor Gavin Newsom signed a series of bills into law on Saturday, aimed at reigning in aggressive immigration enforcement in the state. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tequila is produced exclusively in Mexico and has become a star in California's cocktail culture. More than 50 million cases of tequila were sold in the U.S. in 2023, with most of that consumed in the Golden State. And demand for tequila is growing faster than vodka, whiskey, and all other spirits combined. But this summer, several legal battles have begun which could shake up the entire industry. Guest: Carlos Cabrera Lomeli, KQED Bay Area immigrant advocates are suing the Trump administration to end its controversial immigration courthouse arrests, and stop detaining people for days in San Francisco holding rooms meant for only a few hours. Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED When immigrants are detained by the feds, families often struggle to pay rent. LA County officials are now trying to help these families. Reporter: David Wagner, LAist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Almost every night for nearly three decades in Santa Cruz, Bob and Patti Vasconcellos have gotten a little gussied up. They throw their walkers in the trunk and head to their local karaoke bar. Their performances have made them local celebrities. Reporter: Elena Neale-Sacks, KAZU California's oil industry regulator is expecting gasoline prices to rise through the end of the year– and is calling on refineries to help. Reporter: Julie Small, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Santa Barbara Senator Monique Limón is set to become the leader of the California Senate this November, and a recent housing bill she authored is raising some eyebrows because it would keep CEQA requirements in place on one tiny plot of land in her district. Reporter: Ben Christopher, CalMatters As California experiences a record number of cases of Valley Fever cases, the Salinas Valley is seeing one of the largest spikes. Clouds of dust rise up behind trucks and tractors in the fields and sweep across Highway 101 in the wind, creating the perfect conditions to spread spores of the fungus that causes Valley Fever. People who work outside, like farm and construction workers, are especially at risk. Reporter: Jerimiah Oetting in Paso Robles Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the wake of George Floyd's death and the protests that followed, California passed a law limiting the use of force against people exercising their First Amendment rights. An LAist investigation found that even when police departments appear to be breaking that law, the state doesn't have a mechanism to actually enforce it. Reporter: Yusra Farzan, LAist Two companies with thousands of permits to drill oil wells in California merged on Monday, just two days after state lawmakers loosened environmental reviews for permits in Kern County. Reporter: Julie Small, KQED UC Merced students are speaking out after several campus leaders in charge of diversity, equity and inclusion programs were laid off. Reporter: Rachel Livinal, KVPR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The world lost an icon when Latin jazz pioneer Eddie Palmieri died last month. His music lives on through recordings, but also through sheet music, thanks in part to a publisher in rural California. This pioneer has helped make the work of Palmieri and other Latin jazz artists available to the world, from his home office in Madera. Reporter: Kerry Klein, KVPR A handful of controversial bills on climate and energy are heading to Governor Gavin Newsom's desk. That's after state lawmakers passed the bills in the final hours of the legislative session on Saturday. Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED While discourse during this year's end of session at the Capitol was dominated by that package of energy measures, some other big bills were sent to the governor's desk. Reporter: Laura Fitzgerald, CapRadio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shasta County's voter-approved plan to become a charter county has been delayed by over a year because local officials failed to file necessary paperwork with the state. Local officials say the paperwork was finally filed last month. Justin Higginbottom, Jefferson Public Radio A push to build an immigration detention facility at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield is now on hold, according to the Department of Defense. Tyche Hendricks, KQED Dozens of carwash employees and their family members rallied alongside immigrant rights activists in Los Angeles on Thursday to denounce federal immigration raids at their worksites. Now, they're organizing patrols for possible future sweeps. Benjamin Gottlieb Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Across Latino communities, the fear of arrest has become a part of daily life under stepped up immigration enforcement. Advocates say that constant stress is wearing on people's mental health.. And many are carrying the burden quietly. Reporter: Anthony Victoria, KVCR Gov. Gavin Newsom's attempt to fast-track his administration's proposal for a 45-mile-long tunnel under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta failed to pass the Legislature. Reporter: Ezra David Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For two decades, the nation's solution to homelessness has been pretty straightforward: get people into housing. This approach is known as Housing First, and in California it's even written into state law. But this summer, President Trump signed an executive order reversing this policy, turning a California mandate into a liability. Reporter: Vanessa Rancaño, KQED The Garnet Fire east of Fresno has burned more than 56,000 acres, and has reached the McKinley Grove of Giant Sequoias. Reporter: Kerry Klein, KVPR A San Diego law firm filed a class action lawsuit against Immigration and Customs Enforcement – arguing that federal agents are breaking the law when they arrest asylum seekers at immigration court. Reporter: Gustavo Solis, KPBS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Immigrant communities across Southern California are once again on edge after the US Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration's roving immigration sweeps can continue. There could be broad implications from Monday's ruling. Reporter: Wendy Fry, CalMatters Business owners in the Bay Area, and across the state, have been following the dramatic workplace immigration raids in Southern California. That's left many wondering what to do if ICE shows up at their place of business. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California's farm labor force is aging  and younger generations aren't stepping in to fill those jobs. At the same time, agriculture itself is changing with new technology and immigration enforcement, leaving big questions about the future of the industry. Reporter: Madi Bolanos, The California Report John Burton, a towering figure in California politics, has died at the age of 92. A family member confirmed his death to KQED. Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Climate change and tariffs may be shaking up the coffee industry. But young people are still abuzz these days about specialty drinks like lattes and macchiatos. And a Merced coffee shop is even giving this industry a boost, by training more people to serve up the delicious drinks. Reporter: Rachel Livinal, KVPR Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles have filed suit against Southern California Edison, over its alleged role in starting a pair of deadly wildfires. Reporter: Dan Brekke, KQED A bill that would have created career pathways for incarcerated firefighters was shelved by a Senate committee on Thursday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the state capitol, negotiations are heating up over California's signature program to fight climate change. It's called cap and trade, and the state uses it to cap greenhouse gas emissions. But the program expires in 2030, and lawmakers are debating how to extend the program amid rising energy costs and concerns about the closure of oil refineries. Guest: Guy Marzorati, KQED California, Oregon, and Washington are forming a health alliance to issue their own vaccine recommendations. The move comes in response to the Trump administration's changing vaccine guidance. Reporter: Lesley McClurg, KQED A major new immigration detention facility has quietly opened in California's Mojave Desert. But advocates say the private prison company that owns it has not obtained permits to operate.  Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The federal budget allocated a record-setting $170 billion for immigration enforcement. The money is set to go toward expanding detention facilities and hiring new agents for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. After pledging in June to protect the agriculture industry from crackdowns, President Trump reversed course a few days later. Now, as California's annual grape harvest begins, the state's wine community is on edge. Reporter: Tina Caputo The only emergency room in a rural North State county is closing its doors on October 21. Glenn Medical Center serves some 30,000 people in Glenn County but federal regulators have pulled its funding. Reporter: Sarina Grossi, North State Public Radio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hundreds of volunteers in California are getting up early in the morning to stand at corners where day laborers wait for jobs. The goal? To watch out for ICE.  Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Governor Gavin Newsom has launched a new taskforce to clear homeless encampments in California. Reporter: Marisa Kendall, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Labor Day, we're taking a closer look at the labor force here in California. With increased immigration enforcement from the Trump administration, the state of the immigrant workforce has perhaps never been more in flux. Guest: Dolores Huerta, Co-Founder of United Farm Workers, President of the Dolores Huerta Foundation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Minor league baseball has a rich history in California, going back more than a century.  But minor league baseball is changing. Like other professional sports, it has become a big-money game, attracting owners looking to cash in on rising team values. One Central Valley city is witnessing what that big-money game looks like firsthand, as its longtime team plays its last few home games, before moving to Southern California.  Reporter: Keith Mizuguchi, The California Report Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California Governor Gavin Newsom is making national waves as he takes on President Donald Trump -- on social media and, soon, at the ballot box, with an initiative that would redraw congressional districts to give Democrats more seats in the House of Representatives. What does all this mean for the famously ambitious politician? Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED In a hearing in Sacramento on Wednesday, state lawmakers grilled officials tasked with protecting the health and safety of workers. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In rural Northern California, voters represented by Republican Congressman Doug LaMalfa are bracing for big changes. A proposed congressional map on the November ballot would shift them into a more Democratic-leaning territory. Reporter: Izzy Bloom, KQED Some foreign dissidents in California say they need law enforcement help when the governments they fled threaten them here on U.S. soil. A bill moving through the legislature would train police on how to respond. Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Tubbs Fire that struck the North Bay in 2017 shed light on an unseen threat that wildfires pose to clean water supplies; and a civil engineering professor out of Indiana has devised the playbook that utilities rely on to address the contamination. As the redistricting battle heats up between California and Texas, Republican legislators in the Golden State are suing to block the plan spearheaded by Governor Newsom to gerrymander California in favor of House Democrats. The move aims to offset congressional gains that Texas would get with their own redistricting plans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

State Lawmakers have paved the way for Governor Newsom's redistricting plan to go before voters on a November ballot, but not all voters are sold on the idea of taking a partisan approach to draw up California's district map--even if Texas plans to do the same in an attempt to tip the mid-term elections in the GOP's favor. Some worry the move would take California into murky political waters down the line.  Wildfire victims in Los Angeles County are starting to rebuild their lives. A bill is making its way through Sacramento to make sure that renters are not excluded from help that is extended to home owners--however, it's facing mounting criticism from both landlords and tenants. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A stunning national monument just opened to the public in Santa Cruz County. It's called Cotoni-Coast Dairies. It's opening was delayed due to the pandemic, neighbors' fears over traffic, and figuring out how to keep a herd of nearly 100 cows that graze there away from hikers and bikers. Reporter: Jerimiah Oetting California voters will decide this November whether to redraw the state's congressional lines to help Democrats pick up seats in the House of Representatives. Reporter: Guy Marzorati , KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Diego County's jail system is facing new scrutiny in a class action lawsuit that challenges nearly every aspect of daily operations. The case centers on years of reported neglect inside the jails, where at least 250 people have died since 2006. A hearing had been set for Thursday, on whether evidence from two recent jailhouse deaths can be used in the case,   but the judge canceled it, saying he already has enough information to make a ruling. Guest: Kelly Davis, Reporter, San Diego Union Tribune The California Supreme Court has ruled against state Republicans, who were attempting to slow down Governor Newsom's redistricting efforts. The state legislature is expected to approve the proposal on Thursday, after which Newsom will call for a special election on November 4. That gives local election offices less than three months to prepare. Reporter: Maya Miller, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's heating up here in California! From the deserts of Southern California to the foothills of the Sierra and parts of the Bay Area, we're looking at triple-digit temperatures and dangerous fire weather through the weekend. Reporter: Billy Cruz, The California Report It's the first few weeks of school and for some families, the usual back-to-school stress, like packing lunches and making the morning bus is now mixed with more serious concern: immigration enforcement near campuses. A group of volunteers in San Diego are trying to ease some of the stress. Reporter: Gustavo Solis, KPBS In the Inland Empire, two nurses accused of trying to stop immigration agents from arresting a man at a surgery center have pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor assault. Reporter: Anthony Victoria, KVCR A new report is highlighting how often fast food workers are subjected to dangerously high temperatures in the workplace. Reporter: Brian Krans, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Sonoma County, leaders in the wine industry are floating the idea of a Wine Improvement District. Under the proposed plan, consumers would pay 1 to 2 percent more for tasting room visits, wine club memberships within California, and every bottle purchased at a local winery. Supporters say the plan would provide much-needed collective marketing dollars to boost the industry, but many Sonoma County winery owners are not thrilled with the idea. Reporter: Tina Caputo In Sacramento, Democrats are moving quickly on a sweeping redistricting plan. And Republicans are pushing back. California Democrats formally introduced legislation on Monday to establish a new congressional map and bypass the state's independent redistricting rules. Reporter: Laura Fitzgerald, CapRadio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Imperial Valley has been growing sugar beets for more than a century. But this summer's harvest could be the region's last. The valley's only sugar beet factory is shutting down, threatening hundreds of jobs and one of its staple crops. Reporter: Kori Suzuki, KPBS San Diego Unified School District officials are condemning the recent arrest of a parent near an elementary school by immigration agents. Valley Fever is on the rise in California. State health officials say there were more than 5,500 provisional cases from January through June, continuing an upward trend after last year's record high. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Congress passed a budget bill that clawed back more than a billion dollars in federal funding for public media, radio stations across the country were put on notice. With the lack of funding, many have already laid off staff, and many smaller stations in rural areas are at risk of closing for good. That includes stations in the western United States that serve indigenous communities. Guest: Peggy Berryhill, General Manager, KGUA School is back in session for thousands of students across the state. In Los Angeles County, the start of the school year looks a bit different after a summer colored by aggressive, federal immigration enforcement. Teachers and staff are on high alert, patrolling neighborhoods around their campuses looking for ICE agents and preparing for what to do if there's a raid. Reporter: Benjamin Gottlieb Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This month marks 20 years since California implemented rules meant to protect workers from the heat amid a series of farm worker deaths. But two decades later, many employers still don't provide workers with the protections they're owed, enforcement is generally lax, climate change has brought more severe heat waves, and workers continue to die. Guest: Jessica Garrison, LA Times A federal judge in San Francisco heard final arguments Wednesday on whether President Donald Trump's deployment of troops to Los Angeles this summer violated the law. Reporter: Julie Small, KQED Ventura County supervisors are considering a package of proposals aimed at helping undocumented residents. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When California lawmakers return from summer recess on Monday, the legislature is expected to debate the future of the state's program to fight climate change. And some residents in heavily polluted communities want state leaders to focus on local air quality too. Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED One of the candidates running to be California's next governor faces potential conflicts of interest related to her spouse's business dealings. Reporter: Alexei Koseff, CalMatters If you call the Redding Fire Department for help with anything but a life-threatening medical emergency, you may now get a bill. Reporter: Justin Higginbottom, Jefferson Public Radio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices