KQED's The California Report

Hundreds of protesters in Los Angeles and San Francisco rallied against Governor Gavin Newsom’s veto of a bill that would have extended workplace safety protections to domestic workers. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED The only public employees in California who can’t form a union are its legislative staffers. After four previous attempts failed, Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed landmark legislation to allow them to unionize in 2026. Reporter: Laura Fitzgerald A new law was designed to make prisons safer for transgender people. However, the well-meaning law created unwelcome consequences for many transgender women in California prisons. Reporter: Lee Romney Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Attorneys representing people who reported being sexually assaulted during Uber rides are seeking safety improvements from the company, as part of a new consolidated lawsuit. Reporter: Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman, KQED Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a bill extending a state law that makes it easier to build affordable housing in cities that have failed to meet state housing goals. Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED A bill passed in 2002 created a pilot program that allowed Mexican physicians to practice in disadvantaged communities across California. Now, legislators want to expand the program to more counties and include physicians who speak Mexican indigenous languages such as Mixtec and Zapotec. Reporter: Esther Quintanilla, KVPR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California regulators are poised to shake-up the solar market for apartments, schools and farms. An administrative law judge is proposing changes that make the economics of investing in solar projects unappealing. Reporter: Erik Anderson, KPBS Officials with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation are proposing significant changes to the use of solitary confinement in the state’s prisons. But advocates say the process is rushed, and the changes don’t go far enough. Reporter: Kate Wolffe, CapRadio Pacific Gas & Electric pledged to bury ten thousand miles of power lines in California to reduce the risk of them sparking wildfires. But now, state regulators are considering two proposals that would limit that plan, in favor of cheaper and faster alternatives. Reporter: Izzy Bloom, The California Report Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Large-scale traffickers of fentanyl could soon face stiffer criminal penalties in California; that's the result of a law signed by Governor Newsom over the weekend. Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED Governor Newsom has signed a bill that delegitimizes a controversial medical diagnostic theory called "excited delirium," which has been used to defend law enforcement in cases where a person has died while in custody. Reporter: Stephanie O'Neill Patison, KFF Health News Environmentalists cheered when a ghost lake in California’s Central Valley refilled earlier this year, because it created new wetlands for birds; but now, avian botulism is brewing in Tulare Lake. It’s deadly to birds, and rescuers are in a mad dash to prevent a massive die-off. Reporter: Joshua Yeager, KVPR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As workers across industries walked off the job during this remarkable year of strikes, one union in California won big in its fight for child care providers. The organizers behind this movement were largely immigrants and women of color. Reporter: Daisy Nguyen, KQED A pair of bills signed over the weekend by Governor Gavin Newsom will require large companies in California to be more transparent about their contributions to climate change, and the risks they face as a result. Reporter: Dana Cronin, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senator Dianne Feinstein, a California political legend, was laid to rest in a private ceremony in San Francisco Thursday. Hours earlier, 1500 invited guests attended a memorial service on the steps of San Francisco’s City Hall. Those who gathered there reflected on the long arc of Feinstein's life in San Francisco, where she served as a supervisor and then mayor before being elected to the Senate. Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED At the US-Mexico border, immigrant rights activists say thousands of asylum seekers have been dropped off in San Diego by Customs and Border Protection over the last few weeks. In response, the nonprofit Casa Familiar set up a makeshift aid center at San Ysidro Community Park. But it's now at risk of shutting down, over a lack of funding. Reporter: Gustavo Solis, KPBS The Golden State Warriors have announced a new WNBA will be created and they’ll start playing in 2025. The team will practice at the Warriors facility in Oakland, and play its home games at Chase Center in san Francisco. Reporter: Madi Bolanos, The California Report 100 years ago, women mariachi bands didn’t exist. Even 50 years ago, women playing mariachi music was rare. Today though, women like Sacramento’s Dinorah Klingler are rewriting the story of male dominated mariachi culture. Reporter: Bianca Taylor, The California Report Magazine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A memorial service for Dianne Feinstein is scheduled for Thursday at San Francisco’s City Hall, where she’s been lying in state. President Joe Biden will deliver remarks by video. Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to attend, as well as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. Laphonza Butler, who was sworn in this week to replace Dianne Feinstein, is a longtime labor leader, political strategist and, most recently, the president of EMILY’s List, which fights to elect women to office who support abortion rights. One issue that's not on her resume: climate change. Reporter: Dana Cronin, KQED Sand dunes and native plants on beaches can help protect the California coast from the impacts of sea level rise – if and when they’re allowed to thrive. That's according to new research out of UC Santa Barbara. Reporter: Beth Thornton, KCBX Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In an unprecedented move in American politics – Bakersfield Republican Kevin McCarthy was ousted as House speaker on Tuesday. Despite this, many of McCarthy's constituents still support the embattled Congressman. Reporter: Joshua Yeager, KVPR Thousands of Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers in California have walked off the job, starting a three day strike. A coalition of unions representing the workers are demanding wage increases, protections against the outsourcing of jobs, and increased staffing. Laphonza Butler was sworn in Tuesday, filling the seat of Dianne Feinstein, who died last week. It's still unclear if Butler will enter the race to fill the U.S. Senate seat. Guest: Marisa Lagos, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When we think of cleaner and greener alternatives to gas-powered cars and trucks in California, electric vehicles come immediately to mind. But there is an alternative --hydrogen-powered cars. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report Governor Gavin Newsom is defending his decision to appoint Emily’s List president Laphonza Butler to Dianne Feinstein’s open Senate seat –which potentially upends the on-going campaigns for that position in next year’s election. Butler is expected to be sworn-in on Tuesday. Reporter: Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, KQED California water regulators have released support plans for the Bay-Delta watershed, which experts say is in an ecological crisis. But this doesn’t mean final solutions are in sight. Reporter: Rachel Becker, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Longtime labor leader and Democratic strategist Laphonza Butler will be California's new U.S. Senator. News of Butler's appointment -- confirmed by Governor Gavin Newsom's office Sunday night -- comes days after the death of Dianne Feinstein, which left the Senate seat vacant. Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED This week, seven California counties launch CARE Courts. They’re the new mental health courts required by the state that have the authority to mandate people with severe mental illness to receive treatment. The implementation of CARE Court will be under particular scrutiny in San Francisco, as the city wrestles with both mental health and homelessness crises. Guest: Rafael Mandelman, San Francisco Supervisor When presidential candidates travel to places like Iowa and New Hampshire, they usually spend time praising the state they’re in. But that is not what Republicans making the pilgrimage to California are saying about the Golden State. Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, who spent more than three decades in the Senate, has passed away at the age of 90. Senator Feinstein had a long career in politics even before her time in Washington, as a supervisor and mayor in San Francisco. Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As of this summer, most incarcerated people across the country can apply for a Pell Grant to pay for a higher education. Criminal justice advocates say this is a key step in keeping people from returning to prison. But in California, the demand is already exceeding the supply. Reporter: Madi Bolaños, The California Report Southern California communities are paying the cost of a rise in online shopping. More online stores, means more warehouses to store their products. And that's adding to the pollution and economic inequality in these areas. Reporter: Anthony Victoria, KVCR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tijuana has long been a refuge for priced-out Californians looking for affordable housing. But now, rents in Tijuana are rising twice as fast as in San Diego. Reporter: Gustavo Solis, KPBS A federal judge in San Francisco is ordering two former Trump administration officials to testify in a lawsuit, brought by migrant parents and children separated at the U.S.-Mexico border in 2018. Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fentanyl-related deaths are up in California. By a lot. And it's no different in Sacramento County, which jumped from 17 fentanyl related deaths in 2018, to 227 last year. One neighborhood nonprofit is trying to save lives, by getting drug users to recognize what might be causing their use in the first place. Reporter: Kate Wolffe, CapRadio The iconic Bob's Big Boy diner in Burbank has become the unofficial clubhouse for striking writers. And they're appreciative of the generosity of a Hollywood star, who's helping take care of the bill. Reporter: Yusra Farzan, LAist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After nearly 150 days on strike, a tentative deal has been reached between Hollywood writers and studios. The proposed three year deal would boost pay rates and residuals from streaming shows, and also introduce new rules on the use of artificial intelligence. Shasta County is dealing with major staffing shortages across county departments. Those shortages have forced an entire floor of the county jail to remain closed for over a year. Reporter: Roman Battaglia, Jefferson Public Radio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Governor Gavin Newsom has asked the state insurance commission to take emergency action to fix the troubled homeowner's insurance market. This comes after State Farm, Allstate and more than half of the top 12 insurance groups have paused or restricted new business in the state. Reporter: Kevin Stark, KQED More than 300,000 Californians have lost health insurance since the state resumed Medi-Cal eligibility checks it had suspended during the pandemic. The majority of Californians who lost Medi-Cal got kicked off because of paperwork. Some didn’t send in their renewal packets, while others had errors on their forms. Reporter: Shreya Agrawal, CalMatters A prestigious national laboratory is partnering with CSU Bakersfield to advance green energy research in the San Joaquin Valley. The partnership is seen by some as historic in nature. Reporter: Joshua Yeager, KVPR Jacob Rock is a non-verbal, autistic teenager from Los Angeles who wasn’t able to speak until 2020. That’s when he began to vividly type out his thoughts and feelings on an iPad. His parents were flabbergasted to realize that he could read and write and convey his emotions and creativity through text. Reporter: Sasha Khokha, The California Report Magazine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nursing homes typically help people recover after surgeries or provide round-the-clock care for people with physical disabilities. But a new LAist investigation finds that thousands of people with serious mental illness are living in California’s nursing homes. Experts call it “warehousing” and say the practice may violate federal law. Reporter: Elly Yu, LAist Farmworker advocates pushing for safer working conditions during wildfires are blasting a decision by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors that could allow crops to be harvested in evacuation zones. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Indigenous tribes are pushing back against a new plan to create a federal marine sanctuary off the Central Coast. Several years ago, the Northern Chumash Tribal Council proposed a sanctuary that would include Morro Bay. But the new federal proposal leaves it out. Reporter: Amanda Wernick, KCBX Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sacramento County’s district attorney says he’s taking the city of Sacramento to court, for failing to enforce its own homelessness laws. County DA Tien Ho says Sacramento city officials “allowed, created and enabled” a public safety crisis, by not enforcing their own laws, including the city’s ban on blocking sidewalks and camping on public property. Reporter: Chris Nichols, CapRadio More water to replenish a natural spring in a California forest - less water for the company that bottles and sells it as Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water. That's the result of a decision by California's Water Resources Control Board. Reporter: Anthony Victoria, KVCR California is suing oil and gas companies for deceiving the public for their role in climate change. The lawsuit could be a landmark for holding oil companies accountable. Reporter: Dana Cronin, KQED A federal judge this week temporarily blocked a California law meant to protect children when they use the internet. Known as the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act, the law would require social media companies to take steps to protect minors’ privacy and would limit the use of their information. Reporter: Izzy Bloom, The California Report Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been six months since the levee protecting the small Central Coast farming community of Pajaro burst, flooding the town and forcing thousands out of their homes. And while repairs are underway, a permanent fix is still years in the making. Reporter: Scott Cohn, KAZU A group of Democratic state lawmakers is asking California Attorney General Rob Bonta to take the lead on an effort to remove Donald Trump from the March primary ballot. Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED At its board meeting in Sacramento Tuesday morning, California’s Water Resources Control Board will consider issuing a ‘cease and desist’ order to end the pumping of millions of gallons of water out of the San Bernardino National Forest. Reporter: Anthony Victoria, KVCR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week marks six months since powerful storms flooded the small farming community of Pajaro in Santa Cruz County, after its aging levee system failed. The community is still facing major challenges with rebuilding. Reporter: Jerimiah Oetting, KAZU At the Climate Week NYC event, Governor Gavin Newsom announced his intention to sign a first-in-the nation climate bill awaiting his approval back in California. The measure would force U.S. corporations doing business in California that make more than $1 billion a year to publicly disclose their annual greenhouse gas emissions. Reporter: Alejandro Lazo, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nearly 60,000 Kaiser Permanente workers have overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike if there’s no agreement in contract negotiations by September 30. The healthcare workers -- most of them in California -- are pushing for a 7% wage increase in the first two years of this next contract, and 6.25% the following two years. A California appeals court has agreed to hear a challenge to the state’s recently adopted solar rules. The groups argued the rules do not recognize all the benefits of solar, encourage solar adoption or expand solar in disadvantaged communities. Reporter: Erik Anderson, KPBS It’s the end of an era along the Klamath River. Labor Day weekend was the last time the whitewater rapids on the Upper Klamath could be rafted during the summer. A group of antiquated dams are coming down on the Klamath, meaning major changes for the river rafting community. Reporter: Danielle Venton, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this final day of the legislative session, a lot of eyes in Sacramento are on one particular measure moving through the State Senate. It would allow workers who are on strike for more than two weeks, like the Hollywood writers and actors, to apply for unemployment insurance. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED In Sacramento, it’s the final day of the legislative session -- and that means the fate of dozens of bills must be decided as the hours and minutes tick down. The Assembly and Senate have until midnight to send bills to the desk of Governor Gavin Newsom. Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED A $25 minimum wage is in sight for tens of thousands of California’s lowest-paid health workers. The wage hike would be for people like nursing assistants, medical techs and janitorial workers. Reporter: Ana Ibarra, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you think of a meadow, what comes to mind? Probably a peaceful expanse of grass and flowers straight out of a postcard. A perfect place to have a picnic or read a book. But meadows are also key to the health of forests And in the Sierra Nevada most meadows have been degraded or lost. Reporter: Kerry Klein, KVPR Meeting in Long Beach Wednesday morning, California State University’s Board of Trustees is expected to vote on whether to increase tuition at all 23 CSU campuses. The proposal would include a 6% tuition hike over the next five years. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED California currently bans state-funded travel to 26 states because of their anti-LGBTQ laws. But state lawmakers have voted to repeal the travel bans after acknowledging that they haven’t been successful. Reporter: Izzy Bloom, The California Report Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After months of bitter conflict, fast food companies and labor unions have reached a deal that could raise the minimum wage for 500,000 fast food workers in California. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED If you’re a parent or caregiver in the state, chances are you’ve seen billboards urging you to talk, read and sing to your baby. Now the agency behind those ads, First Five California, is pushing a new statewide campaign to raise awareness about toxic stress. Reporter: Daisy Nguyen, KQED As cities across California struggle with a lack of affordable housing, developers are thinking micro, as in micro apartments, some smaller than 300 square feet. That includes a new five-story building in downtown Sacramento, the city's third micro apartment community. Reporter: Chris Nichols, CapRadio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The popular social media app Instagram and its parent company, Meta, use artificial intelligence to moderate content. But there are growing concerns that the “training data” for AI is biased against women and people of color. A Los Angeles photographer thinks this “algorithmic bias” is part of the reason Instagram disabled his account. Reporter: Beth Tribolet, KQED The California legislature has passed a bill that would ban the hand-counting of ballots in most elections. The legislation was targeted specifically at Northern California’s Shasta County, where supervisors did away with Dominion voting machines earlier this year. Reporter: Roman Battaglia, Jefferson Public Radio Much of the world’s highest quality cotton is grown in the San Joaquin Valley. But the return of Tulare Lake could have a devastating impact on the Central Valley's cotton industry. Reporter: Kerry Klein, KVPR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America. And according to some neighbors, it’s also one of the loudest. Homeowners in the San Diego region, and across the state, are increasingly taking legal action to resolve pickleball noise disputes. Reporter: Scott Rodd, KPBS California is set to scale back its electric car rebate program to focus more on low-income car buyers. Reporter: Alejandro Lazo, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A judge has ruled that a San Bernardino County school district must hold off on enforcing a policy that requires school staff to notify parents if a student identifies as transgender. Chino Valley Unified is being sued by the state attorney general. Reporter: Madison Aument, KVCR In San Diego, the Black Panther Party is recruiting new members. Decades ago, the U.S. government spread misinformation that caused the party to become mostly inactive. Now, the San Diego chapter is one of many reviving across the country. Reporter: Katie Hyson, KPBS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Central Coast Congressman Salud Carbajal is unveiling new legislation on Wednesday to help communities near regional airports that have long been facing toxic chemical contamination in their groundwater. The “Clean Airport Agenda” will make sure federal agencies phase out the use of these toxic chemicals in such communities. Reporter: Benjamin Purper, KCBX State lawmakers are voting on a resolution declaring August trans history month across California. Reporter: Lesley McClurg , KQED California is on its way to becoming the first state to explicitly ban discrimination based on caste. State lawmakers approved a bill to make it a protected class and sent it to the governor on Tuesday. Reporter: Nicole Nixon, CapRadio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People who live behind a vast number of aging levees in the United States are more likely to be people of color and have less education compared to those who don’t. And that leaves them more vulnerable to flooding and the impacts of climate change. Reporter: Emily Zentner, California Newsroom A state bill that would require many employers in all kinds of industries to take steps to protect workers from violence at their jobs, has cleared a key hurdle and is headed for a full vote of the State Assembly. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Joe Sanchez was 8 years old, his grandmother asked him to make a promise to never forget his California Indian heritage. She was determined to see the culture live on, after watching her brothers deny their Coast Miwok ancestry, a matter of economic survival in early 20th century California. Today, at 75, Sanchez is making good on that promise in a more ambitious way than he ever imagined: He’s bought back a piece of his ancestral homeland. Reporter: Vanessa Rancaño Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By all accounts, this year's West Nile virus season has been particularly bad. The state has reported five fatalities so far this summer. In Sacramento and Yolo Counties, the Mosquito & Vector Control District has been spraying a diluted insecticide throughout the region to kill the mosquitoes that carry the disease. Reporter: Kate Wolffe, CapRadio Kern County’s maternal mortality rate is one of the highest in the state. Family members of people who died there during childbirth have now gotten the attention of the state medical board. Reporter: Kerry Klein, KVPR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The governor’s office is awarding nearly $760 million in grants for affordable housing projects statewide. The money is expected to help create 2,500 new affordable homes, but will pay for more than just new apartments. Reporter: Chris Nichols, CapRadio Workers rights advocates are calling on Los Angeles to combat wage theft as one way to tackle the homelessness crisis in the city. New analysis by the Los Angeles Worker Center Network finds wage theft is so prevalent among the lowest-earning Angelenos, it’s contributing to the crisis. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED California is seeing a surge in COVID-19 infections. And although hospitalizations have also seen a big jump, it's a far cry from previous COVID waves. So what's behind the jump in cases? Guest: Monica Gandhi, Infectious Diseases Doctor, Professor, UC San Francisco Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

COVID cases are on the rise in California. According to the state public health department, hospitalizations have jumped more than 80% over the last month. Reporter: Jackie Fortier, LAist California produces millions of tons of toxic waste each year, but the state’s relying on a shrinking network of aging sites to process it. Many of the older sites have a troubling history of safety violations and polluted soil and groundwater. Reporter: Robert Lewis, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

State Attorney General Rob Bonta is suing Chino Valley Unified School District in San Bernardino County, over their policy of mandatory outing of trans students to family members. The policy requires teachers and staff to notify parents within three days if a student asks to use a different name or pronoun. A new political campaign to roll back several protections for transgender youth is happening across California. However transgender advocates say they’re dangerous. Reporter: Lesley McClurg, KQED Hundreds of house cleaners, nannies and home care aides are expected to descend on Sacramento on Tuesday, calling on the governor and lawmakers to pass a bill that would give domestic workers the right to health and safety protections other workers enjoy. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED The recent death of an orca held in captivity in Florida for more than five decades has invigorated calls to release other marine mammals – including Corky – an orca at San Diego’s SeaWorld. At the same time, some California lawmakers are pushing federal regulators to demand better care for marine mammals in captivity. Reporter: Greta Mart, KRCB Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A growing number of California winemakers have seen their crop ruined in recent years by wildfire smoke. The impact is huge: After fires in 2020, the California Association of Wine Grape Growers estimated that up to 325,000 tons of grapes weren’t usable, leading to over $3 billion in losses. Reporter: Manola Secaira, CapRadio The three people who died in last week's shooting at an Orange County bar have been identified. Cook's Corner is often described as a biker bar in Trabuco Canyon. But the community ties run far deeper, stretching back to at least 1926. Reporter: Caitlin Hernandez, LAist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a 17-month labor battle, a North Hollywood strip club has reopened as the only union strip club in the U.S. But it's not the end of the road. The dancers may have union representation, but they still don't have a contract. Reporter: Robin Estrin, KCRW The world’s largest known octopus garden is in California coastal waters, just 80 miles south of Monterey. A new study confirms these deep-sea octopuses migrate to the area to reproduce. Reporter: Alexander Gonzalez, KQED Through her restaurant, Crystal Wahpepah reclaims and celebrates the traditions of indigenous people, while also nourishing and educating non-native people on the history of the land they occupy. Reporter: Bianca Taylor, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A gunman killed three people and wounded six in a mass shooting in Orange County last night. It happened around 7:00 p.m. at Cook’s Corner, a bar popular with motorcyclists located in Trabuco Canyon in east Orange County. The shooter also died at the scene, likely killed, law enforcement says, by responding deputies. West Coast cities, from Seattle to San Diego, have housing shortages that are driving up rents and pushing some people into homelessness. According to new data on apartment construction, that problem is getting even worse. Reporter: Anna Scott, KCRW In 2020, the Mineral Fire burned nearly 30,000 acres over two weeks. It also caused hundreds of rural western Fresno County residents to seek shelter from the blaze’s smoke indoors. But even inside their homes, many couldn't avoid the health effects of all that smoke. Now three years later, a team of researchers is testing a new way to improve indoor air quality. Reporter: Esther Quintanilla, KVPR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A state legislator wants to create a new state agency that might one day administer reparations to the descendants of slaves. Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED Southeast Asian refugees could get protection from deportation under a bill reintroduced in Congress this week by a Los Angeles area Democrat. Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED When you visit the Los Angeles La Brea Tar Pits you see an enormous variety of fossils from mega-fauna that roamed the Southern California landscape thousands of years ago. But where did all those creatures go? And why did most go extinct so fast? A landmark new study aims to answer those questions. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tropical storm Hilary brought lots of rain to parts of Southern California. In San Diego County that will help ease the risk of wildfires in the short term. Reporter: Erik Anderson, KPBS In the Northern California town of Paradise, many survivors of the devastating 2018 Camp Fire have been watching news of wildfires in Maui with a sense of disbelief. The blaze that destroyed Lahaina has now surpassed the Camp Fire for fatalities, with more than a hundred dead and hundreds more still missing. Reporter: Jamie Jiang, North State Public Radio On Sunday, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake rattled much of Southern California. It didn’t cause much damage or injury, but the quake was a reminder that a far more costly temblor can hit at any time. That got us thinking about earthquake insurance and we found out that the California Earthquake Authority, which administers quake coverage in the state, is making some big changes to earthquake policies. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department advised Catalina Island residents and visitors — especially the medically vulnerable — to leave the island as soon as they could as a precaution. A big and unusual tropical storm isn’t the only worry nature is throwing at Californians. On Sunday afternoon, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck near the Ventura County community of Ojai and was felt in Los Angeles. That temblor was followed by a series of smaller quakes. San Diego got soaked on Sunday as tropical storm Hilary raced through the county. The storm had wind speeds of over 100 miles per hour at its peak, but the system was significantly weaker when it arrived in San Diego. Reporter: Erik Anderson, KPBS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hurricane Hilary, which is growing down around Baja right now, strengthened to a Category 4 storm this morning. The system had maximum sustained winds of 145 miles per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center. In the coming days, the hurricane could head toward Southern California, bringing threats of major flooding. Reporter: Jacob Margolis, LAist San Francisco is calling on state regulators to temporarily suspend their approval of Cruise's and Waymo's unrestricted commercial expansion in the city. City Attorney David Chiu wants state regulators to first address the city's pending request for a hearing. Reporter: Rachael Myrow, KQED Wildfires have destroyed close to one-fifth of the Earth's giant sequoia trees, found only in California. The National Park Service wants to replant them, but others say that goes against the very definition of wilderness. What is natural? And how much should humans intervene? Reporter: Marissa Ortega-Welch, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The largest is the Head Fire, which is estimated to have burned about 3,500 acres so far. Evacuation shelters have been set up for both people and animals who have been displaced by the fire. Reporter: Jane Vaughan, JPR Southern California’s Hawaiian community is leading local fundraising efforts for Maui after its deadly wildfires. Reporter: Josie Huang, LAist Kids across California are returning to school, but not all students are equally prepared. A study found that in Sonoma County, only 22% of children are ready for kindergarten when they start. Children of Latino, Black and Native American descent were less prepared than other racial groups. Reporter: Amanda Stupi, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Newsom administration says crews made up of more than one hundred people from California will be in Maui to aid in the search and recovery efforts. That includes forensic anthropologists, specialists in urban search and rescue, wildfire debris removal and hazardous waste experts and K9 teams. Reporter: Angela Corral, KQED In San Francisco, immigrants' rights lawyers are gearing up for a courtroom challenge to President Biden’s border policies, which they say are too restrictive and harm asylum seekers. In Los Angeles, migrants keep arriving on buses sent by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who says Biden’s policies are not restrictive enough. Guest: Tyche Hendricks, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Department of Energy has announced $100 million in funding for 19 carbon capture projects nationwide. One of those projects is destined for the Kern County foothills, near Taft. Reporter: Joshua Yeager, KVPR It’s been one year since a Sonoma County sheriff’s deputy shot and killed local farmworker, David Pelaez-Chavez. His family and community members are calling on the District Attorney to bring charges against the deputy involved. Reporter: Tash Kimmell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the Aloha Festival in San Mateo over the weekend, members of the Bay Area's Asian American and Pacific Islander community came together to celebrate Polynesian culture and find ways to help people in Maui. Reporter: Billy Cruz, KQED Thousands of low-income California workers shorted on their paychecks may never recover that money, even when they’ve won claims with state regulators. That's why one Bay Area county is giving some employers an ultimatum: pay what you owe or don’t do business here. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At least 55 people are confirmed dead from the wildfires that devastated the historic Maui town of Lahaina. One resident from the Central Valley moved to the popular tourist town ten years ago to open a bar that's now completely demolished. Reporter: Izzy Bloom, KQED Drive-In theaters are a staple in American history. But over the years the number of these outdoor movie theaters has diminished. Despite the shift to indoor movies and a hit from the pandemic, the Madera Drive-In where Madi spent most of her summer nights as a child is up and running. Reporter: Madi Bolaños, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Murrieta Valley School Board will discuss a policy this evening to notify parents if their child identifies as transgender. This comes after the Chino Valley school board passed a similar policy last month. Reporter: Madison Aument, KVCR More than 100 unionized healthcare workers disrupted a Fresno County Board of Supervisors meeting yesterday. The union is demanding higher wages and healthcare benefits. Reporter: Esthern Quintanilla, KVPR Homeowners in California have been reeling from the news that large insurance carriers will no longer offer new policies in the state. Nonprofits that provide affordable housing are also feeling the squeeze, and that's threatening to make the state's housing shortage even worse. Reporter: Erin Baldassari, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Standing water in Kings and Tulare Counties in the San Joaquin Valley has led to a proliferation of mosquitoes. As a result, big bucks are being spent on abatement. Reporter: Kerry Klein, KVPR For a lot of parents, having no one to care for their children means they often just don’t go to work, which can be bad for their employers. One study found that businesses lose $23 billion every year due to child care challenges faced by their workers. So some companies are taking matters into their own hands through employer-sponsored care. Reporter: Amanda Stupi, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Los Angeles city workers including sanitation workers, LAX employees, lifeguards at city pools and traffic officers are participating in a 24-hour strike today over unfair labor practices and bad-faith bargaining. California is one of the few states with heat standards aimed at protecting outdoor workers. But heat protections for indoor workers are limited, despite documented risks. Reporter: Nicole Foy, CalMatters In Tijuana, a team of very young baseball players is getting ready to represent Mexico in the Little League World Series held in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Reporter: Gustavo Solis, KPBS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Sacramento, a budget deficit limited what California state lawmakers could fund in this year’s budget. Now, lawmakers are looking to bonds as a different strategy to pay for things like climate infrastructure, mental health beds and affordable housing. Reporter: Nicole Nixon, CapRadio A controversial Farmer John slaughterhouse in the L.A. County community of Vernon closed earlier this year after nearly a century of operations. More than 2,000 people, mostly immigrants, worked there. Months later, laid-off workers are still struggling to adjust. Reporter: Leslie Berestein Rojas, LAist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices