Kqeds The California Report

For the past few years, the California legislature has passed a bevy of laws aimed at cutting red tape and spurring housing construction. Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, who represents the 14th district, has been at the forefront of that work. But, it’s still really expensive to build. This year, she is chairing the newly established Select Committee on Housing and Construction Innovation. Guest: Buffy Wicks, CA Assemblymember, 14th District Immigration arrests in San Diego surged nearly 1500% in 2025. And many of the people who’ve been arrested have no history of criminal convictions. Reporter: Wendy Fry, CalMatters California lawmakers want to set new standards for cleaning homes after toxic fires. Reporter: David Wagner, LAist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California is seeing a decline in crime rates across the state, especially when it comes to homicides. So why is this happening? That answer, as it turns out, is complicated. Guest: Magnus Lofstrom, Policy Director, Public Policy Institute of California A new state bill would raise taxes on for-profit companies that operate immigration detention centers in California. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED US Congressmembers from California called for the removal of the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, at a news conference outside of ICE’s field office in San Bernardino Wednesday. Reporter: Anthony Victoria, KVCR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With insurance companies reluctant to back fire-prone parts of the state, officials and builders are looking for ways to get people into homes designed to survive wildfires. Those efforts are now extending to entire developments. In El Dorado County, that includes the opening of a “wildfire-prepared neighborhood” – the first in Northern California. Reporter: Danielle Venton, KQED A lawsuit filed this week claims people held at the federal immigration facility in Adelanto lack basic necessities like clean water, healthy food and medical care. Reporter: Jordan Rynning, LAist Democrat Ro Khanna is demanding the Trump administration turn over health and safety records for the California City immigration detention facility in the Mojave Desert, after a recent oversight visit that he described as “alarming.” Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It has been about a year since a fire burned the battery plant at Moss Landing in Monterey county. While the fire prompted many residents to move away from homes surrounding the plant, the government's stance on the aftermath of the fire is that it left no significant environmental impact. Locals are still challenging that narrative. In the wake of federal immigration agents killing another person in Minneapolis, Minnesota, over the weekend, California lawmakers are moving to place further limits on how  these agents can operate and maneuver in the state. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's been about a year since President Donald Trump began his second term in the White House. Californians that voted for him in the 2024 US presidential election weigh in on how he's doing this time around. Nurses working at Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Northern California and parts of Hawaii began their strike today, asking for better wages and more manageable workloads. The US Department of Justice has just ended its efforts to obtain the medical records for more than 3,000 people who had been provided gender-affirming care at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wine isn’t often the drink of choice in Chinese restaurants, yet the country’s immigrants played a key role in planting Northern California vineyards and building wineries after the Gold Rush. Now, a Chinese American winemaker is bringing a taste of that history — along with her Sonoma and Napa wines — to Chinatown restaurants in the Bay Area and beyond. Reporter: Tina Caputo California State University has reached a legal settlement with its faculty union over the sharing of faculty information with federal authorities. Reporter: Juan Carlos Lara, KQED After over a decade of planning, and years of construction, Butte County finally has a new jail. Reporter: Claudia Brancart, North State Public Radio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The race for California governor is coming into focus -- after Attorney General Rob Bonta and Los Angeles developer Rick Caruso announced last week that they will not join the field. But one important constituency has yet to agree on a candidate: organized labor. Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED California counties are starting their homeless point-in-time counts this week. This is the annual census where volunteers fan out statewide to try to answer the question: Is California's homelessness crisis improving…or getting worse? Reporter: Marisa Kendall, CalMatters A federal immigration agent shot at a suspect during what's being called a targeted operation in South Los Angeles Wednesday. No one was hit by the gunfire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As tensions rise over the conduct of federal immigration enforcement – and in-custody deaths are increasing – California’s two U.S. senators say they’re “aghast” at conditions inside the newest immigration detention center in the state. That’s after a visit Tuesday to the California City Detention Facility. Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED California prosecutors are expressing alarm at the Trump administration’s response to the January 7 fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by an immigration agent, including claims that ICE officials have absolute immunity from prosecution. Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you're planning on taking a domestic flight soon, there are some things you need to know. Starting February 1, if you don't have a Real ID driver's license or another federally approved document like a passport, you'll need to pay a $45 fee at the airport to be able to get on your flight. This new fee was announced by TSA back in December. Guest: Carly Severn, KQED Until this year, drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy had been covered under Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program. Now, the state says patients who only take these GLP-1 drugs for weight loss, are no longer covered. Reporter: Ana Ibarra, CalMatters Siskiyou County has reached a partial settlement in a class-action lawsuit alleging discrimination against Asian residents. Reporter: Justin Higginbottom, Jefferson Public Radio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As we celebrate and honor the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. today, we wanted to take a closer look at some of the issues that are facing Black Californians. In particular, the state’s reparations efforts. While lawmakers approved a handful of measures meant to ensure reparative justice for Black Californians, others have been tabled or vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom. So where does it all stand? Guest: Lisa Holder, civil rights attorney, former member of the California Reparations Task Force A special election is happening in Northern California this year that could further chip away at Republicans’ slim majority in the House of Representatives. Reporter: Andre Byik, North State Public Radio For the second time in four months, a group of Kaiser workers are going out on an open-ended strike at hospitals and clinics across California and Hawaii. Reporter: Daisy Nguyen, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Renters are worried after a major tenants’ rights bill died this week in Sacramento. It would have capped annual rent increases and expanded protections to more households. With affordability top of mind, some tenants are concerned about their own housing security now that relief is nowhere in sight. Reporter: Adhiti Bandlamudi, KQED The Trump administration is not entitled to sensitive information on California's 23 million voters. That's according to a federal court out of Southern California on Thursday. Reporter: Jill Replogle, LAist In a 4-3 vote, the Santa Barbara City Council approved two tenant protection ordinances this week -- a temporary rent freeze and changes to its eviction protections. Reporter: Gabriela Fernandez, KCBX Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California health officials are renewing their warning to avoid mushroom foraging this season as more people have become ill from eating death caps. They’re calling it the largest outbreak of mushroom poisonings in the country. Reporter: April Dembosky, KQED A federal court has upheld California’s voter-approved congressional redistricting map, handing Governor Gavin Newsom and state Democrats a big win. Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED Republican Assemblymember James Gallagher is running in the special election to fill the vacancy left by the death of Congressman Doug LaMalfa. Reporter: Andre Byik, North State Public Radio State fish and wildlife officials are gathering input on the first new deer conservation and management plan since 1976. Reporter: Danielle Venton, KQED Fresno is moving towards becoming a professional soccer city. City leaders gathered at city hall Tuesday to announce the next steps toward bringing the sport in a professional capacity to the Valley. Reporter: Samantha Ran

In recent days, immigration authorities have turned away members of Congress who were trying to visit a detention facility in Minnesota. But here in California, Congressman Ro Khanna recently did get inside the newest and largest immigration detention center in the state. And he said what he found was alarming. Guest, Tyche Hendricks, KQED Survivors of November's mass shooting in Stockton gathered at the state capitol Tuesday, calling on lawmakers to change what they say are misplaced priorities in California’s budget. Reporter: Chris Felts, CapRadio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A little-known database controlled by the San Diego Association of Governments has long concerned local privacy advocates. Now, as we enter the second year of President Trump’s deportation campaign, advocates are more worried than ever about how federal immigration agents use that data. Reporter: Gustavo Solis, KPBS Under state law, California residents can demand that data brokers stop selling their personal information. But there hasn’t been a way to submit these requests en masse – so consumers would have to complete each opt-out form individually. Now, the state has launched a website that offers one stop shopping for opting out. Reporter: Colin Lecher, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's been a year since the wildfires in Los Angeles County destroyed homes and communities. In order to start rebuilding their homes, everyone needs permits. A rebuild permit from the city or county determines whether a family is still in limbo waiting to start construction or is already framing up a new house. Reporter: Megan Jamerson, KCRW California Attorney General Rob Bonta says he will not be running for governor this year, ending months of speculation around one of the state’s top Democrats. Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The state of California is suing the Trump administration for freezing billions of dollars in federal child care and welfare funding. The federal government said it was withholding the funds from California and four other Democratic-led states over fraud allegations. Reporter: Daisy Nguyen, KQED San Diego is home to the nation’s second largest Somali population. And recent allegations of fraud at Somali-owned child care centers in Minnesota have now spread to their community. Somali childcare providers in San Diego say strangers are now surveilling their centers. Reporter: Katie Hyson, KPBS Governor Newsom is releasing his state budget plan Friday. This comes a day after Newsom delivered his final state of the state address at the capitol, touting California as "a marvel of invention and reinvention.” Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2005, a national report revealed that the U.S. city with the highest rate of concentrated poverty was Fresno. Now, 20 years later, we wondered: have those economic conditions changed? Reporter: Israel Cardona Hernandez, KVPR High profile defense attorney Alan Jackson has announced that he no longer represents Nick Reiner, who stands accused of murdering his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, last month. Reporter: Frank Stoltze, LAist A Central Valley grape grower has agreed to pay about $130,000 after a federal investigation into a crash that killed seven employees and severely injured another. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One year ago today, two fires erupted in Los Angeles County. The Palisades and Eaton fires would eventually become two of the most destructive and deadly fires in state history. Thousands of homes were destroyed and 31 people were killed. The rebuilding process has been slow in both Altadena and Pacific Palisades, the communities most greatly impacted by the fires. We wanted to get the perspective from longtime residents who are part of that process. Residents in the north state are likely to see a flurry of elections for Congress this year, after the passing of longtime Republican Congressman Doug LaMalfa. Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The debate over automated license plate readers in California has increasingly shifted from local crime fighting to concerns about data privacy…. when it comes to federal crackdowns on immigration and people seeking abortions or gender-related healthcare. ALPRs are now in use in hundreds of law enforcement agencies across the state, not to mention thousands of homeowner associations and business districts. So what does this all mean for civil liberties in 2026? Guest: Rachael Myrow, KQED Venezuelans in California are going through a whole range of feelings after the Trump administration’s military attack to remove President Nicolas Maduro. There’s celebration, outrage and a lot of questions. Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED Hundreds of new state laws take effect in the new year. And one in particular brings sweet validation to all of us public radio lovers. That’s because it’s going to make our tote bags even more essential. Reporter: Mary Franklin Harvin, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices

2025 was a blockbuster year for housing in California. State lawmakers took aim at the state's landmark environmental law, which they argued was one of the main culprits blocking development for years. In 2025, they approved major reforms. They also passed another law which promises to dramatically change how housing is built near train stations and along busy bus routes. Guest: Adhiti Bandlamudi, KQED More vacant home lots are going up for sale in L.A. County burn zones. And many are being scooped up by investors. Reporter: David Wagner, LAist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices