Kqeds The California Report

COVID-19 Has Pushed Childcare Industry to the Brink A new report out today paints a grim picture of the future of child care in our state. The industry was struggling even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Now it’s been driven to the brink. Reporter: Katie Orr, KQED Cal State Moves Closer To Requiring Ethnic Studies Classes In higher education it’s looking more and more like undergrads at the 23 Cal State University campuses will be required to take an ethnic studies class. Reporter: Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, KPCC Conservative Group Sues to Reopen Schools This Fall A conservative nonprofit is suing Governor Gavin Newsom and state officials on behalf of nine parents. They claim the statewide order which prevents districts from holding in-person classes is unconstitutional. Reporter: Hannah Hagemann, KQED For Many, Working From Home Will Outlast the Pandemic Sacramento area workers say they want to keep working from home when the coronavirus threat is over. A new poll finds that employers are listening to their

Bay Area Workers Join Nationwide Action for Black Lives Matter Workers across the country protested economic and racial injustice Monday by walking off the job for eight minutes and 46 seconds, the length of time that a Minneapolis police officer knelt on the neck of George Floyd. Reporter: Sam Harnett, KQED Los Angeles Service Workers Stand In Solidarity With Black Colleagues Protests also took place in Los Angeles, where workers from the fast-food, gig work, and health care industries led several different demonstrations. Service workers supporting Black colleagues drew comparisons between the labor and racial justice movements. Reporter: Benjamin Gottlieb, KCRW Trump Says Oakland Could see Federal Law Enforcement Next All eyes are on Portland, Oregon, where the Trump administration has deployed federal law enforcement officers at police protests. Monday, President Trump indicated that Oakland was on his list of major U.S. cities that could see federal agents come in next. Reporter: Alex Emslie, KQ

Many Bay Area Teachers Relieved Classes to Stay Remote Most of the state’s largest school districts are now focusing on reopening schools this fall with distance learning. No county on the state’s monitoring watch list for increases in COVID-19 cases will be able to reopen without special approval. Reporter: Julia McEvoy, KQED Public Health Officials Warn Against Testing Mandates from Employers Public health officials say employers should not be directing their employees to free, government-run COVID-19 testing sites. Reporter: Jackie Fortier, KPCC U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services Faces Massive Furloughs California lawmakers say they’re trying to reach a bailout deal for U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency in charge of issuing green cards, work permits and U.S citizenship. More than two-thirds of the agency’s staff, including 23,000 employees in California, could soon be furloughed. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Kaiser Records Highest Number of Employee Complaints Over

Without the Opera House, Long Beach Performers Get Creative The coronavirus has shuttered live performance venues and created enormous headaches for California's theaters, symphonies, and opera companies. That includes Long Beach Opera. Guest: Jennifer Rivera, Long Beach Opera executive director Kincade Fire Caused By PG&E Power Lines, Says CalFire State fire investigators have ruled that last fall's Kincade Fire in Sonoma County was caused by power lines belonging to Pacific Gas and Electric. Lily Jamali, KQED Judge Set to Uphold California's Ban on Private Prisons A federal judge in San Diego is set to allow parts of California’s ban on private prisons to move forward. The ban includes immigration detention centers. Max Rivlin-Nadler, KPBS With Visits Off-limits, Nursing Home Staff Step Up COVID-19 cases are surging again in California, calling into question the health and safety of some of our most vulnerable: the elderly. Benjamin Gottlief, KCRW Most Nursing Home Staff Know Co-worker Infected

Many Schools Will Remain Closed This Fall There are about 1,000 public school districts in California. And Tony Thurmond, the state’s top education official is acknowledging pandemic conditions have deteriorated to a point where many of them won’t have students physically present in classrooms this fall. Trump Reverses Visa Decision, Allowing International Students to Stay After intense blowback, the Trump Administration told a federal judge on Tuesday that it’s withdrawing a plan to strip international students of their visas if they’re enrolled only in online college classes this fall because of the pandemic. Reporter: Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, KPCC California Sues Trump Administration Over Student Loan Relief The state of California filed a lawsuit yesterday against the Trump Administration eliminating the Obama-era “borrower defense” rule, which provides loan relief for students defrauded by for-profit universities. Reporter: Julie Chang, KQED Environmentalists Fight to List the Joshua Tree as Endangere

New Testing Guidelines Priorotize Vulnerable Populations Californians are now facing long lines, limited appointments, and delayed results when they get tested for coronavirus. State health officials have announced new testing guidelines that will prioritize vulnerable populations as the state faces testing backlogs. Reporter: Laura Klivans, KQED 61 injured in Fire Aboard Navy Ship The Navy says that 61 sailors and civilians have been treated for minor injuries as a fire continues to burn on board the amphibious assault ship the USS Bonhomme Richard in San Diego. The fire started Sunday morning and it’s still unclear if the ship can be saved. Reporter: Matt Hoffman, KPBS Attorney General Closes LAPD's Inaccurate Gang Database The State of California maintains a massive database of gang members called CalGang. Law enforcement agencies use it to investigate gang-related crimes and they contribute names to it. Now California Attorney General Xavier Beccera is shutting down LAPD's entries to Cal Gang after i

Governor Newsom Orders Statewide Shutdown As COVID Cases Rise If the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel is a return to some sort of normal life, that light got fainter in the last 24 hours. With COVID-19 cases rising in the state, Governor Gavin Newsom has once again ordered all California counties to shut-down indoor activities at restaurants, bars and entertainment venues. Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED Central Valley Officials Expect Public Backlash to Shutdown Seven of the California counties that will have to once again shutter businesses are in the Central Valley. Elected officials expect there will be public backlash to the closures of businesses and churches. Reporter: Alex Hall, KQED L.A. and San Diego Schools Will Be Online This Fall California’s two largest school districts, Los Angeles and San Diego Unified, announced yesterday that students would not be returning to campuses next month because of the pandemic, instead instruction will be done online. Reporter: Kyle Stokes, KPCC Judge

LA County Residents Wait in Long Lines, Eager for Covid-19 Tests People in places like Los Angeles County are struggling to make appointments at often swamped coronavirus testing facilities. Many people at a testing city in the city of Long Beach lined up well before sunrise to make sure they could be tested. Guests: Maria Solis, Marta Miranda LA Unified Teacher's Union Urges Against Reopening Classrooms Right now, classes in the country’s second largest school district, the Los Angeles Unified School District, are supposed to start again in August. But the union representing L.A. Unified school teachers says campuses should remain closed because of the coronavirus. Carla Javier, KPCC With Inmate Workforce in Quarantine, State Races To Hire Firefighters California is hiring more than 850 seasonal firefighters to make up for fire fighting work done by prisoners, who are now in coronavirus quarantine. Julie Chang, KQED Support Groups Step Up as California Inmates Prepare for Release As many as 8,000 peo

Santa Cruz Braces for Coronavirus Surge Health officials in Santa Cruz are preparing for a spike in coronavirus cases. The county's chief doctor says summer weather and beach season have contributed to the spread of Covid-19. Reporter: Hannah Hagemann, KQED Fire Officials Prepare for Wildfires Amidst Budget Woes Governor Gavin Newsom warned Thursday that the state faces a riskier-than-average fire year, following a dry winter and a hot early summer. Wildfire preparation this year has been complicated by the pandemic and resulting state budget shortfalls. Reporter: Danielle Venton, KQED San Francisco Assemblyman Slams State Agency with #EDDFailofTheDay California's Employment Development Department has been flooded with applications for unemployment benefits. But millions are still waiting for help. Assemblyman David Chiu and other state lawmakers have been documenting the agency's failure to respond on social media. Guest: Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco) California Sues Feds Over On-Site I

L.A. Faces Testing Shortages as Cases of COVID Grow Los Angeles County remains the center of the state’s coronavirus pandemic four months in. The county has more than 123,000 confirmed cases so far. But even as the toll from the virus grows, it's gotten harder for many in the L.A. area to schedule appointments to get tested. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, KQED Stanford Eliminates a Third of Its Varsity Sports Here in the Bay Area, Stanford says its cutting nearly a third of its varsity sports programs due to financial strain from the pandemic. The school says the cuts will directly impact more than two hundred and forty students, and over forty staffing and coaching positions. Reporter: Marco Siler-Gonzalez, KQED Many Workers Welcome the Option to Work From Home Permanently For some workers, the pandemic is bringing about permanent changes. Case in point: Silicon Valley-based tech company Quora, the Q&A website, is giving all of its 200 employees the option to work from home even after this is all over. Guest:

Regents Appoint First Black President to Lead UC System The University of California Board of Regents has elected its first Black president in its 152-year history. Former UC Irvine Chancellor Michael Drake will lead the 10 campus system that serves some 280,000 students. International Students Scramble Amidst In-Person Requirements Colleges and universities all across California are grappling with how to meet new federal guidelines for the fall semester. Those guidelines require international students to take at least a portion of their classes in-person. Reporter: Benjamin Gottlieb, KCRW Covid-19 Response Could Make TB Harder To Contain Los Angeles County’s top doctor is worried that the fight against the coronavirus could jeopardize decades of hard won gains in the battle against tuberculosis. Reporter: Jackie Fortier, KPCC How Geography Shapes Access to Covid-19 Testing Depending on where in California you live, it may be harder to get a COVID-19 test than it was a few weeks ago. Some counties

COVID Outbreak Shuts Down California Assembly A coronavirus outbreak in the state Legislature has indefinitely delayed the Assembly’s return to work from a scheduled summer recess. Speaker Anthony Rendon’s office says five people who work there have tested positive for COVID-19. Reporter: Angela Corral, KQED Governor Says San Quentin Outbreak is a 'Top Concern' After weeks of criticism over the state’s handling of a massive COVID-19 outbreak at San Quentin State Prison, Governor Newsom said it’s one of his top concerns. The governor said the population at the over-crowded facility has been reduced since March, adding that his office is looking at other ways to move vulnerable people out. Reporter: Kate Wolffe, KQED Lawmakers Call for Halt to ICE Transfers During Outbreak Dozens of state lawmakers are calling on the Governor to stop California prisons from transferring people to federal immigration detention during the pandemic. The coronavirus has sickened thousands in state prisons and immigration deten

PG&E is out of bankruptcy. The utility entered into Chapter 11 in January 2019, weeks after the Camp Fire, which killed 86 people and wiped out much of the town of Paradise. A California State University, Chico, study has been mapping out where survivors of the wildfire ended up. A cluster of around 20 people had moved in and around Crossville, Tennessee, a town of just 12,000 people. Reporter: Lily Jamali, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wine Industry Limps Along With Tasting Rooms Closed A report out this week from Sonoma State University estimates California wine businesses lost more than $4 billion dollars since the start of the coronavirus shutdown. More than 40,000 people, directly or indirectly involved in making, distributing and serving wine, could lose their jobs. We’re talking everyone from laborers harvesting grapes to sommeliers at upscale restaurants in L.A. and San Francisco. Saul Gonzalez visited wineries in Paso Robles to learn how they're coping. Guests: Jason Haas, Tablas Creek Vineyard, and Dorothy Schuler, Bodegas Paso Robles Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Newsom Reinstates Closures in 19 Counties As COVID Cases Surge Not so long ago California was seen as a model when it came to fighting the coronavirus pandemic. But in the last couple of weeks, COVID cases and hospitalizations have surged in many places in California. Yesterday day Governor Newsom announced a step back from reopening. Reporter: Danielle Venton, KQED Southern California Hit Hard By High Unemployment A new report shows big differences between north and south when it comes to job losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic. They’re terrible in the L.A. area, but not as bad around the Bay Area. Reporter: Matt Guilhem, KCRW Lawmakers Question Prison Officials Over San Quentin Outbreak At a state Senate oversight hearing yesterday, lawmakers asked prison officials to take responsibility for the role they may have played in increased COVID-19 cases in the state’s prisons. State Senator Nancy Skinner, chair of the Senate Public Safety Committee, called for the oversight hearing in response

What Happened to Sacramento's Focus on Housing Before the coronavirus hit, housing and housing affordability seemed to be the state's biggest problems and there were lots of proposals in Sacramento to fix them. But is getting roofs over people's heads still a priority for Governor Gavin Newsom and the state legislature? Guest: Erin Baldassari, KQED LA Wants to Divert Non-Violent 911 Calls from LAPD The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to explore replacing armed LAPD officers with unarmed first responders in some cases. They’re going to look for ways to divert non-violent 9-1-1 calls away from the police. Reporter: Anna Scott, KCRW A Third of San Diego Essential Workers Are Immigrants As the coronavirus crisis continues, there’s an even greater reliance on essential workers. In San Diego, a new report by the city and UCSD shows that more than a third of the most critical essential workers are immigrants. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED State Senate Wants to Know Why Coronavirus Is Spreading

Coronavirus Cases Spike Across The State When it comes to progress in fighting the coronavirus pandemic, the news out of Los Angeles County, where about one in four Californians live, is bad. There were more than 2,900 new COVID cases in the county reported on Monday. Fresno County Jail Hit By Coronavirus Outbreak The Fresno County Sheriff’s Department reported 507 positive COVID-19 cases at the county jail on Monday. That’s almost a quarter of the lock up’s population. But testing has been limited to just one part of the facility. Reporter: Madi Bolaños, Valley Public Radio Golden State Killer Pleads Guilty In Public Hearing Joseph DeAngelo, the defendent in the Golden State Killer case, has pleaded guilty to dozens of rape and murder charges, stemming from crimes in the 1970s and 80s. The guilty pleas were part of a deal to avoid the death penalty. Reporter: Scott Rodd, CapRadio Workers Strike Over Outbreak At Pistachio Plant Workers at a Central Valley pistachio plant say they were exposed

Reopening Halted as Coronavirus Spreads Across the State If you thought you could ease up a bit on worrying about the coronavirus pandemic, news the last few days has been like a big bucket of cold water to the face. Coronavirus Cases on the Rise at San Quentin 971 people incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison have tested positive for COVID-19. One state lawmaker is calling it a major catastrophe. Reporter: Angela Corral, The California Report Cal State University System Prepares to Reopen in the Fall How do you plan for safely educating more than 480,000 students on 23 different campuses during a pandemic? As the fall school year approaches, that's the challenge facing the California State University system, the largest four year university system in the country. Guest: Timothy White, Cal State Chancellor King City to Outfit Police Guns with Cameras Monterey County’s King City—at the southern end of the Salinas Valley—is the first California city to outfit all of its police officers with cameras on

Stuck and Scared Amid San Quentin Outbreak As of this morning, 539 inmates have contracted the coronavirus at San Quentin State Prison -- more than at any other state prison in California. Inmates are stuck and scared. Reporter: Mary Franklin Harvin, The California Report Construction Firms Offer COVID-19 Tests To Workers If you’ve tried to get a covid19 test lately, it may have felt like a scramble. But what if your job offered you one? Some Sacramento construction crews now have that option. Other employers are exploring if they should do the same. Reporter: Pauline Bartolone, CapRadio Injunction Would Make Gig Workers Into Employees California’s Attorney General is seeking a court injunction that would force ride-hailing companies Lyft and Uber to make their drivers employees immediately. Reporter: Sam Harnett, KQED Samaritan Podcast Explores Homelessness in LA A new podcast from our partners at KCRW in Los Angeles looks at homelessness through the eyes of one native Angeleno who's trying to get a r

Californians Will Vote on Affirmative Action In November California voters will decide in November whether the state should restore affirmative action. This after the state Senate voted yesterday to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. Reporter: Katie Orr, KQED Dr Fauci Says Coming Weeks Are Critical for California Perhaps no one has been as vocal during the COVID 19 pandemic than infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci. He’s often the bearer of bad, but indispensable news. Here are some highlights from a virtual Sacramento Press Club event yesterday. Reporter: Sammy Caiola, CapRadio Berkeley Lab Testing New Saliva-Based COVID Test California is experiencing a surge in reported cases of COVID-19. Three months into the pandemic tests remain scarce. Early on, at UC Berkeley, Dr. Jennifer Doudna who co-discovered CRISPR gene editing technology, transformed her lab into one focused on COVID testing. Her team has come up with a saliva-based test, they’ve been trying out on campus this week. G