Kqeds The California Report

In the spring of 2006, a historic number of Angelenos took to the streets to stop a harsh anti-immigration bill. It worked. But where's that momentum now? Reporter: Megan Jamerson, KCRW No Kings rallies brought out tens of thousands of people across California over the weekend … to protest President Donald Trump, his administration’s policies, and the war in Iran. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It will soon be a month since the start of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran. In response to U. S. military action, the Iranian regime has restricted which trade ships can pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical passageway not only for oil moving from the Middle East to North America, but also for fertilizer, the fertilizer American farmers need to start growing crops. The agricultural industry has started to ring the alarm about the potential impacts the crisis at Hormuz could have on food prices. Guest: Daniel Sumner, UC Davis Professor The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is set to pay nearly $2 million to settle a lawsuit over a violent incident at a women’s prison in Chowchilla. Reporter: Madi Bolaños, The California Report Shasta County voters will see a proposal to change their election system on the June primary ballot. Among other things, Measure B would require residents to present photo ID when voting in person, and limit who can cast an absentee ballot. Reporte

911 dispatchers are often the first voice people hear in an emergency. But across the country, it’s getting harder to find people trained to answer those calls. Two programs in the U.S. are trying to change that, and one is right here in the San Joaquin Valley. Reporter: Samantha Rangel, KVPR An appeals court has denied the state attorney general’s request to stop Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s effort to recount ballots from last year’s special election. A new poll from the California Democratic Party shows two Republicans leading the state's crowded race for governor, and nearly a quarter of voters still undecided. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As California Governor Gavin Newsom eyes a potential 2028 presidential run, he’s been wading into more foreign policy -- even on issues that are controversial. It’s a pivot that’s helping him build a national profile. Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED Since last summer, the Trump administration has been arresting undocumented immigrants as they try to claim their children from federal custody. This has left a lot of kids — including at least a dozen in Southern California —- stranded in government shelters and foster care. Immigration attorneys say they’ve suspected for months that the arrests are part of a formal policy. And court documents that were recently discovered suggest that it is. Reporter: Mark Betancourt, The California Newsroom Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The California Condor used to range from California to Florida and from Canada all the way down to Mexico. But last century, their population crashed. Now, there are more than 600 alive, but they aren't doing as well as scientists expect it. New research explains the mystery of why, despite many protections, the birds are still struggling. Reporter: Danielle Venton, KQED Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, who’s also a Republican candidate for governor, says the state’s attorney general is interfering in his department’s investigation of alleged irregularities in the 2025 special election to redraw California’s congressional districts. Reporter: Madison Aument, KVCR California leaders want to increase investments in agriculture technology, but farmworker advocates say they’re worried about displacement. Reporter: Rachel Livinal, KVPR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As word of damning accusations against Cesar Chavez spread this week, farmworkers and advocates in California have struggled to reconcile the disturbing details with their image of a man they considered a hero. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED A coalition of leaders in East San José say the sexual assault allegations against labor leader Cesar Chavez should be a turning point for the community and the country.  Reporter: Joseph Geha, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A major investigation by the New York Times is raising serious allegations about Cesar Chavez, one of the most admired figures in Latino civil rights history. The reporting includes accounts from multiple women, including co-organizer and civil rights leader, Dolores Huerta. They say Chavez sexually abused them, in some cases, when they were children. Guest: Gustavo Arellano, LA Times Following the harrowing accounts from these women, the United Farm Workers union is now distancing itself from Chavez, its co-founder. In Sacramento, Republican lawmakers have introduced legislation to rename Cesar Chavez Day to Farmworkers Day, in light of the allegations against the civil rights leader. There are also growing calls to rename streets and other property bearing his name at the local level. Reporter: Kendra Hanna, KCBX Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The nationwide increase in gas prices since the beginning of the war in Iran is hitting especially hard in California, already home to the nation’s highest prices at the pump. It's also started a new round of political blame game between President Trump, Governor Newsom, and even some Democrats. Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED Veterans and native tribes are calling for the protection of public lands in the Mojave Desert. They say President Trump’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management could open the area to fossil fuel extraction. Reporter: Anthony Victoria, KVCR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California's housing crisis is spreading to other states. Congress is finalizing a package of bills some national housing experts say are among the most significant reforms to come out of the federal government in decades. Some of the bills are inspired by laws California has already passed. So what does this package do for us? Guest: Adhiti Bandlamudi, KQED California regulators are pushing back after the Trump Administration ordered a Texas-based oil company to restart pipeline operations along the Central Coast. Reporter: Gabriela Fernandez, KCBX Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This school year is the first in which transitional kindergarten is free and available for all 4-year-olds across California. The state has spent more than $15 billion since 2021 to offer this new grade. But in order for that investment to pay off, the skills kids gain in TK need to last throughout elementary school. One district is trying to set their students up for success by focusing on one particular subject. Reporter: Daisy Nguyen, KQED Protesters put on a concert at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in the Mojave Desert on Saturday, to call attention to the plight of undocumented detainees. Reporter: Anthony Victoria, KVCR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims around the world dedicate 30 days to prayer and reflection by fasting from sunrise to sunset. That includes in the Monterey County community of Seaside. Reporter: Ngozi Cole, KAZU State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond says he’s imploring the Trump administration to return a 6-year-old deaf boy and his family who were deported to Colombia, so the boy can return to the California School for the Deaf in Fremont. Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2024, California voters approved Proposition 1. That ballot measure set aside billions of dollars to add more mental health and addiction treatment beds across the state. But new reporting from our California newsroom partner, CalMatters, has found the initiative hasn't delivered a fraction of the support it promised. Guest: Marisa Kendall, CalMatters It’s not just gas prices rising. The attacks on Iran are also causing fertilizer prices to surge by about 30%, just as the spring planting season gets underway in California. But some farmers here have been adopting techniques that aren't just resilient to climate change, but also to the supply chain disruption of war. Reporter: Elena Neale-Sacks, KAZU Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

About one in ten K-12 students in the US attend a California public school. And those schools are seeing a lot of turmoil this year. San Francisco educators went on strike in February. Teachers in Oakland and San Diego narrowly avoided a strike themselves. And now, their colleagues in Dublin -- in the Bay Area -- have also been on strike this week. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED San Diego County has followed through on its ultimatum to the Department of Homeland Security, by suing the agency over access to the Otay Mesa Detention Center. Reporter: Alexander Nguyen, KPBS A Sacramento woman with DACA status is suing the federal government after she says she was unlawfully deported. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

School boards across California are giving their members raises, which might sound strange at a time when teachers here are striking for better pay. It's thanks to a new law that gives board members their first opportunity for a major pay increase in 40 years. Reporter: Katie Anastas, KPBS A man who was recently released from custody at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center has died. Immigrant rights advocates say this is the second death connected to the facility in two weeks. Reporter: Anthony Victoria, KVCR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the past year, we’ve watched the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown unfold violently in places like Minneapolis and Chicago. But even in Northern California, immigration arrests have more than doubled. And one of them, early last year, left a Silicon Valley carpenter gravely disabled. His family – like thousands of others – is now coping with trauma, upheaval and financial strain. Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED California's state superintendent of schools is joining calls for the return of a 6-year-old deaf student from the Bay Area, who was deported to Colombia last week without his hearing aids. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Proposition 50 is now in effect in California. The law redrew political boundaries for congressional districts. And one of the communities soon to have new congressional representation in Washington DC is Coalinga. This small, agricultural town on Fresno County’s west side is now going to be part of a district that stretches more than 100 miles to the north. Reporter: Samantha Rangel, KVPR Former state assemblymember Ian Calderon is dropping out of the governor’s race and throwing his support behind Democratic Congressmember Eric Swalwell. Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What makes a winning candidate for governor of California? Well, with the exceptions of movie stars Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger, every governor for more than 80 years has had experience in statewide office. Gavin Newsom was lieutenant governor. Pete Wilson was a U.S. Senator. Pat Brown and Jerry Brown were both attorney general. This year, the leading candidates are taking a different path. Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED In the City of Pomona, local officials are demanding the release of a man without legal documentation held at the Adelanto Processing Center. They’re concerned about his health and the lack of adequate medical care. Reporter: Anthony Victoria, KVCR San Diego County is suing the Department of Homeland Security for blocking access to the Otay Mesa Detention Center. Reporter: Alexander Nguyen, KPBS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego, authorities have shut down an underground channel that detainees used to communicate with the outside world. Reporter: Aisha Wallace-Palomares, LA Taco At a contentious Senate hearing on Capitol Hill Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended the Trump administration’s immigration policies. In Southern California, ICE has released a Cambodian genocide survivor from immigration detention following a court order. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Across California, many Iranian-Americans are still in disbelief following the US-Israeli military strikes in Iran. Some are overjoyed with the death of the country's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, but others are concerned about the safety of friends and loved ones in the region. The greater Los Angeles area has a huge concentration of Iranians. That includes LA city councilman Adrin Nazarian. He was born in Iran, but he and his family fled in 1981. Guest: Adrin Nazarian, LA City Councilman As a way to tackle California’s notoriously high rents and home prices, state lawmakers have set their sights on bringing down the cost of construction. One idea: building it in factories. Reporter: Adhiti Bandlamudi, KQED The US Supreme Court has blocked a California law that banned school employees from outing transgender students. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Trump administration tried last fall to drastically reduce the amount of federal grant money counties could use for permanent supportive housing programs. The effort was struck down in court for the current funding cycle. But if next year's requirements are similar, there could be huge ramifications across California. Reporter: Elena Neale-Sacks, KAZU Rallies were held across the state this weekend following the US-Israeli airstrikes in Iran. The LAUSD board has voted unanimously to place Superintendent Alberto Carvalho on paid administrative leave. The decision comes days after FBI agents searched Carvalho’s home in San Pedro. Reporter: Mariana Dale, LAist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices