The State of California

As the summer of 2025 kicks off, we're wondering what it's going to look like in terms of risky weather patterns and dangerous storms and wondering if we'll have enough warning to save lives. On Deadline is hosted by Lauren Barry and produced by Lauren Barry and Christy Strawser.

This is a special, bittersweet edition of this show because we are saying goodbye to Doug today as he retires from radio after 40 years on the San Francisco airwaves – the last 35 of them here on KCBS. Doug joined KCBS in 1990 and has been here ever since as a reporter and anchor conducting investigations, covering trials, and breaking news. For the last 19 years he has served as the political reporter and he has hosted this program, the State of California, since the pandemic began in early 2020. Joining KCBS Radio anchor Megan Goldsby to bid Doug a fond farewell are two KCBS Radio legends: longtime anchor Stan Bunger and longtime KCBS and KPIX reporter Mike Sugerman, both of whom preceded Doug in retirement.

Today, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a "first-in-the-nation" effort, to revolutionize highway traffic management in California using artificial intelligence. For more, KCBS Radio news anchor Steve Scott, along with KCBS political reporter Doug Sovern, spoke with David McCuan, KCBS Political analyst and political science professor at Sonoma State University.

California's trailblazing program to help keep independent journalism alive is in danger of losing its funding At a time when legacy media are struggling to stay afloat and the world of journalism is shrinking by the day, the state of California has been a pioneer, funding dozens of reporters in newsrooms around the state, through its California Local News Fellowship program at UC Berkeley's School of Journalism. But that money will run out unless the state legislature re-authorizes it. All of this has been the result of a tireless campaign by former State Senator and Orinda Mayor Steve Glazer, who continues his fight to save independent journalism even though he has retired from elective office. For more, KCBS Radio news anchor Steve Scott, along with KCBS political reporter Doug Sovern, spoke with Steve Glazer.

It's not a new idea, but more and more cities and jurisdictions are giving it a try: Universal Basic Income, or UBI. The concept is that everyone is guaranteed a minimum amount of money, typically perhaps $500 a month, to help them meet their basic needs. In some places, only those below a designated economic threshold get the money. It was famously pioneered in Stockton in 2019, and one of the latest to give it a trial run was Oakland, where philanthropic organizations teamed up to give 600 families $500 a month for a year and a half. That pilot project is over now, and the results of how it worked are in. For more, KCBS Political reporter Doug Sovern spoke with Jesus Gerena, CEO of UpTogether, an organization founded in Oakland that partnered with Oakland Thrives to create and fund this program. Max Zolotukhin / Getty Images

Another candidate has thrown their hat in the ring in the very crowded race for California: Steve Hilton, a Republican who has never ran for office before. For more, KCBS Radio news anchor Steve Scott and KCBS political reporter Doug Sovern spoke with Hilton, a former British political strategist and advisor to Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron who relocated to California and became a U.S. citizen, was a fellow at Stanford, ran a Silicon Valley startup and hosted a program on Fox News.

Pope Francis passed away early this morning from a stroke, just hours after thrilling the faithful in St. Peter's Square with an Easter Sunday visit. For more on the death of Pope Francis, KCBS Radio news anchor Steve Scott, along with KCBS political reporter Doug Sovern, spoke with Dr. Richard Wood, President of the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies at USC, and a leading expert on religion, democracy, and Catholicism in the Americas.

The number of tents and tent encampments of people experiencing homelessness has plunged in San Francisco, to a record low since the city started keeping track six years ago. It's a similar situation in other major California cities, as law enforcement cracks down on illegal camping in public, empowered by a US Supreme Court decision that ruled cities can enforce those laws, even when there are not enough shelter beds available. San Francisco and other cities are being much more aggressive now in arresting people for sleeping outside and clearing homeless camps. But where are those people going? Are they getting off the streets, or are they just being shuffled somewhere else? For more on this, KCBS political reporter Doug Sovern spoke with Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness in San Francisco.

A potential major blow to the city of Benicia, as Valero announces its intent to close down its major oil refinery there The Texas-based company submitted a notice to the California Energy Commission that it plans to “idle, restructure or cease” its refining operations at the Benicia facility a year from now, in April 2026. Hundreds of people work at the refinery, which refines about nine percent of California's crude oil. Its closure could have a significant economic impact on the surrounding area as well as on the price of gasoline at the pump. For more, KCBS Radio news anchor Steve Scott and KCBS political reporter Doug Sovern spoke with Mario Giuliani, city manager for Benicia.

It is Election Day in Oakland, where voters are casting ballots for a new mayor, to finish the rest of the term of Mayor Sheng Thao, who was recalled last November For more, KCBS Radio news anchor Steve Scott spoke with KCBS political reporter Doug Sovern.

California is getting a head start on wildfire season, with a more aggressive approach to prevention. For more, KCBS Radio news anchor Megan Goldsby and KCBS political reporter Doug Sovern spoke with Scott Stephens, Professor of Wildland Fire Science at UC Berkeley and Co-Director of the Berkeley Forests department.

It was a dramatic week on Wall Street. Stocks fell precipitously, rallied yesterday after President Trump announced a 90-day pause on many of his newly levied tariffs, then fell again today. Tariffs against China remain high, with President Trump proclaiming that he had raised them by 145% since taking office, while China has placed tariffs of 84% on U.S. goods, raising fears of an all out economic showdown between the two superpowers. For more on this, KCBS Radio anchor Steve Scott spoke with Michael Yoshikami, CEO and Founder of Destination Wealth Management in Walnut Creek.

Most Californians want their kids to go to college, but in this era of rising costs and exponential tuition inflation, is it even worth it? Many California families worry about whether they can afford to send their kids to college, and are trying to pencil out whether it makes economic sense in uncertain times to spend the money, or take on potentially crushing debt to help their kids get a higher education. Well, a new study took a look at that, to do the cost-benefit analysis of investing in a college degree, and for more, KCBS Political reporter Doug Sovern spoke with one of the authors of that study. Marisol Cuellar Mejia is a research fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California, she has two masters degrees in economics.

In 2022, the state's major tribes competed with companies like FanDuel and DraftKings, as the two sides sponsored opposing bills. Those both failed, and now, the industry's major players want to work with California's tribal communities, to pursue legalization. For more on this, KCBS Radio news anchor Steve Scott spoke with Jonathan D. Cohen, historian and author of "Losing Big: America's Reckless Bet on Sports Gambling".

In the Palisades fire, we saw just how critical home fire insurance has become, and how it is the insurer of last resort for a growing number of Californians, as the big insurance companies stop writing new policies and refuse to renew existing ones. The problem is, some of those insured, when they suffer a loss, find out that FAIR does not necessarily cover what they thought it does, and that's led to a growing number of lawsuits against the plan. There was a large class action filed last summer by an Oakland attorney who specializes in these cases, on behalf of thousands of wildfire victims from around the state. Now that same lawyer is representing a couple from the Chico area who are also suing, because they say their home is uninhabitable, ruined by toxic smoke and fumes even though it survived the Park Fire and did not burn down. FAIR says the home is fine and refuses to cover the damage. For more, KCBS Radio news anchor Steve Scott spoke with KCBS political reporter Doug Sovern.

California's Republican Party made significant strides in last November's elections, flipping some seats in the state legislature and helping Donald Trump do much better here than he did in 2016 and 2020, turning some districts red. But the party did lose several swing Congressional races. Now the California GOP has a new face at the top: longtime party activist and Trump supporter Corrin Rankin of Redwood City, who now resides in Stockton, who was just elected party chair. KCBS Political Reporter Doug Sovern spoke with California Republican Party Chair Corrin Rankin.

President Trump is trying to shut down the U.S. Department of Education—or at least gut it as much as possible—cut off funding and shift some required programs to other departments. There are already multiple lawsuits filed to block the move, which critics say would have a devastating and disproportionate impact on lower-income families and the students who need the most support in school. For more on this, KCBS Radio anchors Patti Reising and Bret Burkhart spoke with Natalie Wheatfall-lum, Director of TK-12 Policy at EdTrust West, an Oakland-based organization that advocates for racial equity in education in California.

Today is Red Cross Giving Day, when thousands of people come together to help those affected by disasters. The agency has been hard at work this spring across California, including assisting with recovery from the wildfires in Southern California. For more on Giving Day and how the Red Cross helps with disaster response and recovery, KCBS Radio anchors Patti Reising and Bret Burkhart and KCBS Political reporter Doug Sovern spoke with Natalie Manier, Regional Mass Care Manager with the American Red Cross Northern California Coastal Region.

Governor Newsom has been tacking to the middle, hosting rightwing conservatives on his new podcast, and rather than challenging them, as he said he would, he is instead often agreeing with them, to the point of rewriting his own ideological history. That's got many Democrats angry and many pundits scratching their heads, wondering if what he's trying to do is moderate his own image so that he can shed his California liberal label and make himself more palatable to middle America, if he does indeed run for president. Meanwhile, Ro Khanna just went on a tour of 3 California Congressional districts represented by Republicans, places that Donald Trump won handily, to hold large, well-attended town halls in districts where the GOP incumbents are afraid to face their constituents and in fact have been told not to by their party leaders, to go into the lion's den and position himself as a standard-bearer for the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, a position that just a few months ago, Gavin Newsom seemed eager to occupy. For more, KCBS Radio news anchors Patti Reising and Bret Burkhart spoke with KCBS Political Reporter Doug Sovern.

As artificial intelligence continues to proliferate, California is still not sure how to regulate it. A new study commissioned by Governor Newsom calls for more transparency and guardrails, but stops short of endorsing specific regulatory legislation. The governor convened a special working group of leaders in the AI field, after he vetoed new regulations last year, and that group's report could have a lot of influence at the state Capitol, where there are dozens of bills in the pipeline that could change how California regulates and controls AI and protects us from its potential harms and abuses. The report calls for greater transparency into the development of new AI models and for outside testing of them with independent parties, and it suggests that the state consider whistleblower protections and potentially require that the government be informed about AI that could pose dangers to society. But it didn't specifically call for those measures to be enacted. For more, KCBS Political Reporter Doug Sovern sat down with Jonathan Mehta Stein, Chair of CITED, the California Initiative for Technology and Democracy, which is an offshoot of California Common Cause.

This is the second part of our exclusive sit down with Californian U.S senator Adam Schiff, in his first visit to the Bay Area since he took office In January. Today, we spoke to Senator Schiff about Medicaid, affordable housing, and the Republican budget plan, which narrowly passed the Senate after Minority leader Schumer supported a continuing resolution — much to the dismay of top Democrats like Schiff. For more, KCBS Political Reporter Doug Sovern sat down with Senator Adam Schiff.

President Trump continues to call for the impeachment of a federal judge who says his deportation of immigrants to El Salvador was illegal. The Trump administration is clashing on a daily basis with federal courts, who continue to rule against many of his early moves, declaring them either unconstitutional or illegal and outside either his or Elon Musk's authority. For more, KCBS Radio news anchor Patti Reising and KCBS political reporter Doug Sovern spoke with Rory Little, longtime professor of constitutional law at UC Law San Francisco, and a former clerk at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Top California Democrats gathered in the Bay Area today to denounce President Trump's budget plan and what it could mean for Medi-Cal. They are warning of dire consequences to the millions of Californians, including many seniors, who are on that government-subsidized medical insurance. For more, KCBS Radio news anchor Patti Reising and KCBS political reporter Doug Sovern spoke to Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA).

The battle lines are being drawn for next year's statewide elections, with Katie Porter jumping into the race for governor this week, and more candidates declaring for or strongly considering running for some of the other down-ballot positions. The field is already quite crowded with Democrats seeking the state's constitutional offices. Among the newcomers to the race for Lieutenant Governor is Josh Fryday, who is Chief Service Officer for California, overseeing the California Volunteers program in Governor Newsom's office. For more, KCBS Political Reporter Doug Sovern spoke with Josh Fryday.

Senate Democrats say they will not support a Republican spending bill, which could mean a shutdown of the federal government Friday night. The Democrats have been struggling to find their footing on how to best oppose President Trump's agenda, with some in the party opting for loud resistance, others relying on legal action to stop him, and others trying to work out compromises and slow Trump while minimizing their own political risks. But more and more Democratic voters are fed up and urging their representatives in Washington to fight back, as Trump dismantles more of the federal government every day, laying off thousands of workers and slashing programs he opposes. For more, KCBS Radio news anchor Patti Reising and KCBS political reporter Doug Sovern spoke with Paco Fabian, political director of the progressive grass roots organization Our Revolution, which evolved from Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign and is now the country's largest independent political organizing group.

Popular former Congresswoman Katie Porter tossed her hat into the ring for governor of California, instantly becoming the frontrunner. But there's another even bigger name out there that could knock her from that spot within a few months. For more, KCBS Radio news anchor Patti Reising spoke with KCBS political reporter Doug Sovern.

The fallout continues from President Trump's economic policies, with the stock market plunging today in reaction to the trade war he started. Meanwhile, unemployment is rising and there are many disgruntled Trump supporters among the tens of thousands of federal workers he has fired. Is this mass reduction in the federal workforce really going to make government work better and save money in the long run? For more, KCBS Radio news anchor Patti Reising and KCBS political reporter Doug Sovern spoke with William Resh, associate professor at the USC Price School of Public Policy and an expert on the presidency and policy implementation.

Doug Sovern is away today. All this week on KCBS, we've been sharing the special reports of our very own Holly Quan and Matt Bigler, who covered the firestorms earlier this year in Los Angeles. The five-part series called "Race Against the Flames," looks at how a tragedy like the Palisades and Eaton fires would impact the Bay Area, and also finds out how homeowners are preparing. To talk more about it, KCBS Radio news anchors Patti Reising and Bret Burkhart spoke with reporters Holly and Matt.

President Donald Trump has postponed 25% tariffs on many imports from Mexico and some imports from Canada for a month amid widespread fears of the economic fallout from a broader trade war. The threat of tariff's caused the stock market to crash, with the Nasdaq entering correction territory, closing 10 percent lower than its high in December. This comes as economists warned that the tariffs and trade war could plunge our economy into recession. Across California, consumers and small business owners are bracing for higher prices to cover the cost of those tariffs. For more on the potential impact of all this on the California economy, KCBS Political reporter Doug Sovern, along with KCBS Radio news anchors Patti Reising and Bret Burkhart, spoke with Caroline CHen, associate professor of Accounting and Finance at San Jose State's Lucas College and the Graduate School of Business.

A Bay Area member of Congress was among those who walked out of President Trump's speech last night in protest. She also delivered a blistering response to Trump's address, on behalf of the most progressive wing of the Democratic Party. For more, KCBS political reporter Doug Sovern spoke to that congressperson, Representative Lateefah Simon, who represents California's 12th district.

President Trump addresses a joint session of Congress tonight, after igniting a trade war with Canada, Mexico and China and cutting off military aid to Ukraine. Some Democrats in Congress say they will boycott the speech, to protest what they call President Trump's "destruction of the state of the union.” One local progressive Democrat, Oakland Congresswoman Lateefah Simon, has been tabbed to deliver the Working Families Party response to the presidential address, though the official Democratic response is coming from Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin. President Trump is expected to defend, or probably more accurately considering this is Trump, trumpet his tariff policy, his split with Ukraine, and Elon Musk's systematic dismantling of the federal bureaucracy. For more, KCBS Radio news anchors Patti Reising and Bret Burkhart and KCBS political reporter Doug Sovern spoke with David McCuan, political science professor at Sonoma State University.

House Republicans are being met by angry protesters opposed to Trump's budget plan, which envisions deep cuts to Medicaid to help pay for tax cuts. Democrats are warning that the president's plan, if approved by Congress, will gut key social programs, including health care and food assistance. For more, KCBS Radio news anchors Patti Reising and Bret Burkhart and KCBS political reporter Doug Sovern spoke with Chris Hoene, executive director of the California Budget and Policy Center.

President Trump and his unelected billionaire sidekick Elon Musk continue to remake the federal government and advance programs designed to implement the president's agenda. Musk's Department of Government Efficiency is slashing federal jobs and getting rid of people and programs they don't like, whether that saves money or not. But there is growing Democratic resistance to this, and this week a handful of Democrats in Congress introduced a bill to repeal the creation of DOGE. One of those five House Democrats is from California. For more, KCBS Radio political reporter Doug Sovern spoke with Representative Dave Min (D-CA) of Orange County.

In five years, California high school students will have to pass an ethnic studies class in order to graduate. But what will those classes teach? There's been fierce debate over that, and now Jewish lawmakers want to make sure that the curriculum is not anti-Semitic. For more, KCBS Radio news anchors Patti Reising and Bret Burkhart spoke to KCBS political reporter Doug Sovern.

San Francisco's Congresswoman, Nancy Pelosi, is leading the fight against President Trump's budget plan. House Republicans are trying to push through that spending blueprint, which could slash Medicaid and SNAP to pay for trillions of dollars in tax cuts. It's an early test of President Trump's political clout, and the Democrats' ability to thwart the Trump agenda, with Speaker Mike Johnson trying to hold his narrow majority in line and prevent any defections. The budget the president wants calls for cutting two trillion dollars in spending, and more than half of it would have to come from Medicaid and the food stamp program SNAP. It also cuts four trillion dollars in taxes, with half of that going to the richest 5% of Americans. That is not a recipe for deficit or debt reduction, which has some hard line conservative Republicans unhappy, and those proposed cuts to Medicaid also worry some Republicans from more moderate districts who fear they could lose their seats in next year's elections. Democrats are trying to peel off just a few of those Republicans to defeat the bill and keep the GOP majority from using the budget reconciliation process to pass this legislation, and Speaker Emerita Pelosi took the floor today to try to rally opposition and hand the president a key legislative defeat.

The Trump administration says it will hire more seasonal workers than usual to staff the national parks, after laying off hundreds of park employees. But park rangers and other workers at Yosemite, and across the country, are up in arms over their sudden firings, which in many cases will leave them homeless too. This is all part of the Trump-Elon Musk DOGE “government efficiency plan” which has seen tens of thousands of federal employees summarily dismissed over the last few weeks. At Yosemite, angry workers hung an upside down American flag on El Capitan over the weekend, a sign of distress. Yosemite has lost dozens of employees, from naturalists to technical support staff such as its electrician and its locksmith. The Golden Gate National Recreation Area here in the Bay Area is another popular national park hit hard by the cost-cutting move. For more, KCBS political reporter Doug Sovern, along with KCBS Radio anchors Bret Burkhart and Patti Reising, spoke with Neal Desai, Pacific Regional Director for the National Parks Conservation Association.

Even though the Bay Area just got out of a wet weather spell, compared to the last couple of winters, the one we're experiencing now has been relatively dry across the state. A light winter here means a dismal snow-pack up in the mountains, and an agency in the Tahoe Basin is working to create a more resilient community in the face of climate change. To talk more about it, KCBS Radio anchors Bret Burkhart and Patti Reising spoke with Kim Careinger, Deputy Director and Chief Partnerships Officer with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

The future of the high-speed rail project that hopes to send bullet trains from Los Angeles to San Francisco looks murky as the Trump administration announced an audit of the project. This comes after the president said he would personally investigate the high-speed rail earlier this month to ensure the project is still worth the investment. For more, KCBS Radio news anchors Patti Reising and Bret Burkhart spoke with David McCuan, chair and professor of the political science department at Sonoma State University.

From the NBA All Star game to the Super Bowl, World Cup and Summer Olympics, over the next several years the golden state will be home to the biggest sporting events in the World. Recently as part of Audacy Conversations "Big Games, Big Money", KCBS Political Reporter Doug Sovern spoke with Andrew Brandt, a sports business analyst and executive director of the Moorad Center for the Study of Sports Law at Villanova University. Listen for part two of Doug's conversation.

The Bay Area last weekend played host to the NBA All Star game. Next year it will be home to the Super Bowl and matches for the FIFA World Cup. The big games have gotten big – but the money in sports has gotten even bigger! Recently as part of Audacy Conversations "Big Games, Big Money", KCBS political reporter Doug Sovern spoke with Andrew Brandt, a sports business analyst and executive director of the Moorad Center for the study of sports law at Villanova University.

The Bay Area last weekend played host to the NBA All Star game. Next year it will be home to the Super Bowl and matches for the FIFA World Cup. The big games have gotten big – but the money in sports has gotten even bigger! The past two baseball offseasons have brought the two largest professional sports contracts in history. Record deals have also been seen in the NFL and NBA. As part of Audacy Conversations "Big Games, Big Money", KCBS political Reporter Doug Sovern spoke with longtime sports super agent Leigh Steinberg about how professional sports contracts have grown to become so large over the years.

People across the globe are celebrating World Radio Day. In 1909, Doc Herald and others launched the first broadcasting station in the country in San Jose that would later become KCBS. Radio has long been a powerful tool for communication and one non-profit organization in the Bay Area has been working to promote and preserve the history of the audio-only medium for the past 50 years. To talk more about it, KCBS Radio news anchor Bret Burkhart spoke with Rachel Lee, Executive Director of the California Historical Radio Society.