KQED's The California Report

A Biden Administration program to monitor asylum-seeking families and subject them to a curfew is set to expand to several California cities next week. It’s part of an effort by the Biden Administration to signal a tough but humane approach to border enforcement. Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED Following the state’s record-breaking rainfall in the winter, and now its dry heat, public health officials are worried about an uptick in Valley fever infections. Reporter: Izzy Bloom, The California Report In the early 1900s, many young Americans of Japanese descent left the United States to escape discrimination and seek opportunity back in Japan. When war broke out, they experienced the violence of the U.S. offensive while trying to navigate complex, often contradictory feelings about identity and belonging. Reporter Kori Suzuki explores this period through a very personal story — that of his grandmother. Reporter: Kori Suzuki, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After days of triple-digit heat, areas of the San Joaquin Valley, flooded from winter storms, are drying up, little by little. That includes Tulare Lake, which is receding after peaking at more than 170 square miles in size. But for many, the return to dry land doesn’t mean a return to normalcy. Reporter: Kerry Klein, KVPR A coalition of environmentalists and social justice groups have launched a statewide campaign to try to ban new oil and gas wells near schools, parks and other residential places. The group is gathering signatures to get the initiative on the 2024 ballot. Reporter: Kevin Stark, KQED Survivors of the 2021 Caldor Fire in the Sierra Foothills are pursuing legal action against the U.S. Forest Service. Many residents are still living in trailers, and few, if any have received direct federal assistance. Reporter: Scott Rodd, KPBS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The York Fire, California’s largest wildfire this year, is currently burning in the Mojave National Preserve along the border of California and Nevada. The fire is also the largest on record for the Mojave Desert, where wildfires are rare. Guest: Jacob Margolis, Reporter, LAist Former President Donald Trump will campaign in California next month, speaking at the state Republican Party’s fall convention in Anaheim. The announcement comes even as Trump faces new indictments, this time over his efforts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election, and his role in the January 6th insurrection. Reporter: Nicole Nixon, CapRadio This summer marks the 59th year that Northern California’s Yurok Tribe is holding its Klamath Salmon Festival. But this year, there won’t actually be any salmon served, because of historically low salmon stocks. Reporter: Izzy Bloom, The California Report Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In recent months we've seen an explosion of strikes and worker protests in California -- by hotel employees, Hollywood writers and actors, port workers, UC grad students in teaching positions, and health care professionals. But when you take them all together, what do these actions say about the state of organized labor in California? Guest: Lorena Gonzalez, Executive Secretary-Treasurer, California Labor Federation Tens of thousands of family child care workers overwhelmingly approved a new contract with the state of California on Monday. The deal includes significant changes for a workforce made of mostly women of color. Reporter: Daisy Nguyen, KQED A grassroots group of writers and filmmakers have created a mutual aid fund. The goal is to help their production crew colleagues keep their health insurance during the Hollywood strikes. Reporter: Jackie Fortier, LAist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Los Angeles, the strikes by film and television writers and actors continues, with no end in sight. That's brought production to a standstill. And with each passing day, the wider economic toll of the strikes continues to mount. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report In San Diego, police will begin enforcing a controversial new municipal ordinance banning outdoor camping. Under the ordinance, encampments are prohibited within two blocks of schools, homeless shelters and mass transit stations, as well as in parks, along waterways, freeways, and in canyons. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More than 250,000 Californians are still waiting on pandemic rental assistance they applied for through the state. As they wait, eviction protections are continuing to expire. Reporter: Ben Christopher, CalMatters With inflation cooling, renters in Los Angeles and Orange counties are about to get a slight reprieve from large rent hikes. The statewide Tenant Protection Act uses inflation to determine how much landlords can raise rent each year. Reporter: David Wagner, LAist San Diego is home to a world-class public art scene. Throughout the city you’ll find colorful murals stretching across entire buildings and soaring sculptures celebrating the city's heritage. You’ll also find public art sprinkled along the bowels of “America’s Finest City” — from public bathrooms to pump stations to sewage treatment plants. Reporter: Scott Rodd, KPBS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California bans state-funded travel to other states that discriminate against LGBTQ people. That list has ballooned as legislation targeting trans people sweeps the country. Now Democratic lawmakers want to change tactics. Reporter: Nicole Nixon, CapRadio Residents in Orange County’s Anaheim Hills are voting on a self-imposed tax that would fund a groundwater pump system. That pump system has protected homes from landslides for 30 years, but funding will run out at the end of this year. Reporter: Izzy Bloom, The California Report Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Legislative staff in California’s State Capitol have long been banned from unionizing. In recent years, efforts to grant them that right have been shot down. But another bill to allow staff to unionize is making its way through the state legislature. Reporter: Laura Fitzgerald, CapRadio Advocates rallied Tuesday in support of a bill California lawmakers are considering that would let workers take more paid sick days to care for themselves or family. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Operations at Diablo Canyon, California’s last nuclear power plant, were going to stop in a couple years. But Pacific Gas and Electric is applying to keep it open through 2045 to help the state meet its ambitious green energy goals. A new study says those extra years could result in significantly higher bills for PG&E's ratepayers Reporter: Caleigh Wells, KCRW Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Hollywood strikes this time are different from those of the past, and not just because the technology has changed. Silicon Valley has taken over Hollywood, and Big Tech has an established anti-union bent. Reporter: Rachael Myrow, KQED New data shows California has taken 1 in 5 people off Medi-Cal in its first month of the renewal process. Medi-Cal is the state’s health insurance program for its poorest residents. Reporter: Kate Wolffe, CapRadio California representatives in Washington D.C. have joined more than 100 lawmakers calling for new heat illness protections for workers. Lawmakers want these protections implemented right away. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This year, there's no fresh, locally caught salmon. The season was closed. So few adult fish are now in the ocean off the California coast, fisheries managers decided they all were needed to return to their natal streams and spawn. Guest: Danielle Venton, KQED Science Reporter Much of California continues to buckle under a sweltering heat wave with no end in sight. But the state’s epic snowpack isn’t going anywhere just yet. Reporter: Joshua Yeager, KVPR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The best surf spots in Santa Cruz are infamous for territorial locals and some occasionally aggressive confrontations. But lately, not all of the offenders have been human. A five-year-old sea otter has become famous for stealing surfboards, and evading capture. Reporter: Erin Malsbury, KAZU California regulators are developing emergency rules to protect workers dying from inhaling silica dust, in shops making kitchen countertops. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Wednesday's winning Powerball ticket was bought in downtown Los Angeles' Garment District. Reporter: Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, LAist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Grateful Dead’s offshoot band, Dead and Company, says this summer was their last tour. And their final stop on that tour was in San Francisco, where fans celebrated the end of an era. Reporter: Izzy Bloom, The California Report Doctors in California say a growing number of workers are getting really sick and dying from inhaling silica dust, while they sand and cut artificial stone to make kitchen countertops. State regulators are considering a petition Thursday for emergency rules. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After months of fighting, the Temecula school board once again failed to approve a new elementary social studies textbook on Tuesday night. That sets up a showdown with the governor’s office. Reporter: Madison Aument, KVCR California is dumping at least $100 million a year into its flagship rehabilitation program for former prisoners. Specialized Treatment for Optimized Programming, also known as STOP, provides housing and other support for parolees. But a new investigation from CalMatters has found the state has no idea if the program works. Reporter: Byrhonda Lyons, CalMatters The California State University system is failing to adequately protect its community from sexual harassment. That's according to a new report from the state auditor released this week. Reporter: Amy Mayer, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Starting this fall, judges in 8 counties will be put in charge of ordering treatment for people with serious psychotic illness. Some politicians say these new CARE Courts will clean up the streets, while health advocates argue a courtroom is no place for vulnerable patients. In Orange County, officials are balancing this tension as they start to implement the controversial new plan. Reporter: April Dembosky, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Central and Southern California are still not in the clear, with heat warnings in place for much of those regions. And for the state’s 115,000 unsheltered homeless residents, trying to keep cool is easier said than done. Reporter: Vanessa Rancano, KQED Construction crews are ahead of schedule on the demolition of the first of four dams on the Klamath River along the Oregon-California border. Reporter: Erik Neumann, Jefferson Public Radio Most small business owners in California support expanding benefits that help employees take care of their health and their family, like paid sick days. That’s according to the results of a new opinion poll. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED California’s latest effort to get college athletes paid is stalled in the legislature after pushback from universities. The bill would have allowed college athletes to get a share of the revenue that they create for their school. Reporter: Ryan Loyola, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents film and TV actors, announced that its 160,000 members are striking, with actors expected to form picket lines outside of studios on Friday. SAG -AFTRA members will join already striking Hollywood writers. Such a labor stoppage by both unions at the same time hasn't happened since 1960 and it basically shuts down Hollywood production. The heat wave that’s expected to blanket large swaths of the state is forecast to push temperatures in Palm Springs to more than 120 degrees this weekend. The city is struggling to keep its growing homeless population safe in the heat. Reporter: Madison Aument, KVCR What about the state’s power grid, which is always a concern during extended heat waves? California’s electric grid operator says it has more tools to make sure the power stays on. Reporter: Izzy Bloom, The California Report With temperatures reaching triple digits in much of California, state regulators are once again fanning out to inspect high-risk worksites. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Temperatures are expected to climb well above 100, especially in the state’s valleys and away from the coast the rest of this week. Officials from half a dozen state and federal agencies are warning Californians to prepare for the heat wave. Reporter: Kevin Stark, KQED What’s it like to work and try to protect others in a place that’s sometimes the hottest spot on the planet, with temperatures upwards of 130 degrees? We're talking about California’s Death Valley National Park. Guest: Nichole Andler, Death Valley Park Ranger Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

LGBTQ Pride events have been taking place across the country amid growing threats of violence towards the community. Along with being frightening, these threats are also impacting Pride organizations' financial bottom lines. One example? Skyrocketing insurance costs. Reporter: Scott Rodd, KPBS With a strike threat imminent, SAG-AFTRA, the union representing actors, has agreed to last minute federal mediation to try to reach a deal with film and television producers. If a deal isn’t struck, the impact will be widespread, including for big pop culture events like Comic Con, which is set to kick off on July 20th in San Diego. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In April, California passed a first of its kind policy to accelerate the transition to electric big rig trucks. But how does it actually feel to be behind the wheel of one? Reporter: Erin Stone, LAist After raising tuition only once in the last decade, California State University Trustees will meet on Tuesday to consider a possible tuition hike for students in the 23 campus system. The proposal is for CSU to raise annual tuition by 6% through at least spring of 2029. Reporter: Sara Hossaini, KQED Financed by Bay Area tech investors, a new professional cricket league debuts later this week. It’s part of the sport’s increased visibility in the Golden State and the rest of the country. Reporter: Holly J. McDede, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After not being seen for decades, a rare native plant was recently rediscovered on the Central Coast. Botanists say the tiny Santa Ynez groundstar grows in the city of Lompoc and nowhere else. Reporter: Beth Thornton Tent encampments on sidewalks are often the public face of the homelessness crisis in Los Angeles. But a new census of the homeless shows a big increase of the unhoused who live in parked vehicles. Reporter: David Wagner, LAist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After months of alarm, forecasters predict that Tulare Lake has peaked in size. That means the risk of flooding has likely subsided for the city of Corcoran. But questions still surround what could have happened if floodwaters had overtaken two state prisons on the outskirts of the city. Reporter: Kerry Klein, KVPR Ford, General Motors and several other truck manufacturers have agreed to abide by California’s ban on the sale of new diesel big rigs by 2036. The deal puts an industry stamp of approval on rules California solidified this year, to fight air pollution and climate change. Reporter: Kevin Stark , KQED From time to time this summer, we're talking to Californians about how they're spending their summer months. Today, we head to the Venice Beach Boardwalk. It's a place that's long been popular with street performers, and it's where we met musician Eric Gray, who's a fixture on the boardwalk. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Fresno Chaffee Zoo’s long-awaited ‘Kingdoms of Asia’ exhibit has opened. The exhibit's design was inspired by Cambodia's landmark Angkor Wat temple. Reporter: Soreath Hok, KVPR Hotel workers who had been on strike since Sunday in Los Angeles and Orange counties, have returned to work. But the union representing the workers says they could walk out at anytime, if their demands aren't met. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

About 15,000 workers employed at dozens of hotels across Los Angeles and Orange counties have walked off the job, demanding better pay and benefits. As summer temperatures start to hit triple digits, farmworkers in the Central Valley are especially vulnerable to the toll of excessive heat. And looking ahead it’s not going to get any easier because of climate change, Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The California Air Resources Board, or CARB, which regulates car and truck pollution in the state, will soon fully open its new, very expensive state-of-the-art laboratory and testing center in Riverside. The hope is that it can be a key tool in the decades-long fight against air pollution and, more recently, climate change. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This summer, the California Report will be taking you to places and talking to people from all walks of life about what they're doing in the months ahead. But first, we're looking at the dollars and cents of California’s tourism economy and how things are shaping up this summer travel season. Guest: Caroline Beteta, President and CEO of Visit California Many people enjoy spending the summer outdoors, and that can mean hiking in some of California's vast and diverse parks, trails and forests. But how can you enjoy it safely, and avoid the crowds? Guest: Chris Hazzard, Author, Professional Hiking Guide Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Homelessness is up 9 percent In LA County. Results of Los Angeles' Annual Homeless Count Are Out ...And It's Not Good. Anna Scott from KCRW has the details. The State Task Force Studying Reparations For African-Americans In California Has Submitted Its Final Report... And As KQED Politics Correspondent Guy Marzorati Tells Us -- State Legislators Now Face The Political Challenge Of Making Those Proposals A Reality. This Week, Governor Gavin Newsom And State Lawmakers Agreed On A State Budget That Includes $10 million for LGBTQ Services To Be Divided Among The State's Community Colleges. That Money Is Critical In Rural Communities Where LGBTQ Plus Services Are Typically Scarce. The Supreme Court's Decision To Do Away With Affirmative Action In College Admissions Will Likely Not Have As Deep An Impact In California Since Prop 209 Banned The Practice back In 1998. The City Of Arcata Will Be The Site Of A New Emergency Mental Health Care Facility With The Help Of A Recent $12 Million Grant. As JPR’s Jane Vaughan reports, The New Behavioral Health Crisis Triage Center Will Hopefully Open In 2026. Here's A Preview Of Our Sister Show, The California Report’s Weekly Magazine. During The Pandemic, Rhea Patel And Marcel Michel Decided To Do Something Bold.... Despite Having NO Background In Food, The Couple Started A Food Business, Bringing Flavors From Their Indian And Mexican Backgrounds To Rotisserie Chicken Dishes. They Call It - SAUCY CHICK....And, KQED’s Sasha Khoka Caught Up With Them At A Sunday Food Market in Downtown Los Angeles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People who live around several reservoirs in Siskiyou County are facing an uncertain future. Four dams on the Klamath River will be torn down over the next two years. Now, their lakefront properties will change as reservoirs turn into a free-flowing river again. Reporter: Erik Neumann, Jefferson Public Radio A new report shows California is performing almost 500 more abortions per month than in the period before Roe v. Wade was overturned. The “We Count” project has been collecting data from U.S. abortion providers, as more states implement bans and restrictions. The numbers include both medication abortion and in-clinic procedures. Reporter: Kate Wolffe, CapRadio The California task force studying reparations for Black residents is submitting its final recommendations to the State legislature on Thursday. Reporter: Annelise Finney, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New numbers out from California's Attorney General's office show a more than 20% increase in hate crimes in the state between 2021 and 2022, with more than 2,100 recorded incidents last year. Reported hate crimes targeting Black people had the sharpest rise. There were also big increases in crimes against members of the LGBTQ and Jewish communities. The majority of Californians live in places where the supply of licensed child care just does not meet the demand. And it could get worse. During the pandemic, additional federal funds helped many child care providers stay open, but that funding is coming to an end. Reporter: Amanda Stupi, KQED In recent weeks, hundreds of sea lions and more than 100 dolphins have washed up sick or dead on the beaches of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. A toxic algae bloom off the coast is thought to be the cause. Reporter: Jacob Margolis, LAist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you been recycling your food scraps? A new report finds that California’s landmark compost law that went into effect last year isn’t close to reaching its organic recycling goals. Reporter: Erin Stone, LAist What happens when an elected official essentially becomes homeless because of the cost of California housing? In the small Ventura County town of Ojai, a councilmember has fought to keep her seat, because she can’t find permanent housing she can afford that’s in her district. Guest: Alexei Koseff, Reporter, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By law, California's legislature and the governor must approve a budget by July 1st, the start of the state’s fiscal year. But with that deadline looming, lawmakers and Governor Newsom still haven't struck a budget agreement. Reporter: Nicole Nixon, CapRadio A 2017 law to streamline new housing construction and override neighborhood opposition has been hailed as one of the most successful tools in the state to help solve California’s housing crisis. But this well-intentioned legislation is producing some unintended consequences for a small and underserved community in one of the richest counties in the state. Reporter: Madi Bolaños, The California Report Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S. is now the second country in the world to approve the sale of cultivated meat. The meat from Bay Area companies Upside Foods and Good Meat doesn’t come from slaughtered animals. Rather it’s made from animal cells. Reporter: Keith Mizuguchi, The California Report In honor of Juneteenth, The California Report Magazine. is celebrating with stories of creative, powerful Black women, and the house in Oakland that has become the center of their movement. Reporters: The Kitchen Sisters, The California Report Magazine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California officials are pressuring textbook publishers to produce culturally diverse materials for California classrooms. This comes in light of book bans across the country. Reporter: Riley Palmer, KQED Last fall, Sacramento became one of the latest California cities to ban homeless encampments on public property, after voters approved a controversial law called Measure O. Enforcement of the measure is off to a sluggish start. Reporter: Chris Nichols, CapRadio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California’s sky high housing costs are the biggest contributor to homelessness, and older residents are feeling it the most. That’s according to a new study from the University of California, San Francisco. Reporter: Sydney Johnson, KQED Hospitals and workers agree - California has a healthcare staffing shortage. What they don’t agree on is how to fix it. Democrats in the state legislature are pushing to increase the minimum wage for health care workers to $25 an hour. But hospitals, counties, and business groups say now isn’t the right time. Reporter: Kate Wolffe, CapRadio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When a levee burst in a January rainstorm in the Central Valley town of Planada, floodwaters wrecked the homes of hundreds of farmworker families. In March, the same thing happened again, a levee failed in the Salinas Valley and inundated the farmworker town of Pajaro. Those communities are now pushing to get some real help in the state budget. Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED Abortion access is a Constitutional right in California. Yet lawmakers here continue to struggle to regulate so-called crisis pregnancy centers – facilities that abortion advocates say mislead women seeking abortion care. Reporter: Kristen Hwang, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Later this month, the statewide task force studying reparations for black Californians will submit its historic final report to the state legislature for consideration. Most of the focus has been on monetary reparations, but some say the task force will take a bigger picture approach. Lawmakers in the state senate will consider a bill on Tuesday that aims to help low-income teens access mental health treatment. But some affluent parents say it would take away their rights. Reporter: April Dembosky, KQED California lawmakers are now waiting for Governor Gavin Newsom to sign off on their proposed state budget. Among the countless line items – $10 million set aside for LGBTQ + services at California community colleges. Reporter: Adam Echelman, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mayors across California are feeling the pressure to reduce street homelessness and tent encampments. So, they’re increasingly turning to temporary housing as a solution. But investments in shelters could come at the expense of permanent housing. Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED California prides itself on being a diverse state. But actually connecting people who have radically different life experiences can be a challenge. The Santa Monica public library is hosting events to encourage deep one-on-one conversations between people from different backgrounds. It’s called a “Human Library.” Reporter: Claire Wiley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A busload of more than 40 migrants, sent by the state of Texas, arrived in Los Angeles Wednesday afternoon. The group included at least eight children. Questions linger about how two groups of migrants ended up on flights to Sacramento earlier this month. Some asylum seekers now say the state of Florida hired contractors to push them to get on the flights. Guest: Jack Herrera, L.A. Times national correspondent Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Local and state officials are cracking down on the use of gas-powered gardening equipment, like leaf blowers. But not everyone is thrilled about these changes. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report Tijuana’s migrant shelters are struggling to stay afloat. A few things threaten their long term future: declining donations and rising costs. Reporter: Gustavo Solis, KPBS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

20 members of Congress from California sent a letter to the EPA. They're worried that a rule intended to improve air quality could make it harder to conduct prescribed burns. Reporter: Danielle Venton, KQED The rejection of a social studies textbook by three conservative Christian school board members in Temecula is causing more upheaval. While California's Attorney General awaits a response from the board to justify its decision, some community members in Temecula are pushing for a recall of the board members. Reporter: Madison Aument, KVCR Residents are moving into an all-electric housing development in the sunny, arid city of Menifee in Riverside County. There are roughly 200 single-family homes, all designed to create zero harmful greenhouse gas emissions. Reporter: Laura Klivans, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are more than 300,000 licensed security guards in California - a number that’s been growing over the past decade. But in the wake of a fatal shooting of an alleged shoplifter in San Francisco last month by a Walgreens drug store guard, the training required by state regulators is looking increasingly outdated. Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED Thousands of unionized hotel workers in Southern California have overwhelmingly voted for a strike authorization measure. If they do walk off the job, they say it will be the biggest hotel strike in U.S. history. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The southern San Andreas Fault hasn’t generated a major earthquake in 300 years. But why? Well, new research published in the scientific journal Nature explains that might be due to the shrinking of the nearby Salton Sea. Campaigns to ban books are on the rise in the U.S. That includes the Riverside County community of Temecula. There, the school board’s decision to reject a textbook has sparked a censorship battle. Reporter: Madison Aument, KVCR Music legend Chris Strachwitz passed away last month in Marin County at the age of 91. He was the founder of Arhoolie Records. He also traveled the country making field recordings of music performed by cotton-pickers, janitors, and other working people. Reporter: The Kitchen Sisters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Should Californians have a right to housing enshrined in the state constitution? Well, a bill to do just that just passed its first legislative hurdle in Sacramento. Reporter: Vanessa Rancaño, KQED Many people living in wildfire-prone areas of California were already struggling with home insurance before the news that Allstate and State Farm would stop writing new policies. So for those who've lost homes to fire, how does this change their financial calculus? Reporter: Danielle Venton, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The administration of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says it’s responsible for sending two chartered planes of asylum seekers to Sacramento over the past week. That comes after Governor Gavin Newsom suggested that DeSantis, who’s also running for president, might be guilty of kidnapping. Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED The return of a Tulare Lake in California’s Central Valley because of flooding has caused millions of dollars in agricultural damage. But the new lake is also giving members of a Native American tribe a rare chance to get back in touch with their roots and sacred traditions. Reporter: Soreath Hok, KVPR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eviction cases are piling up in Los Angeles County courtrooms, especially now that the county’s COVID protections have ended. Landlords almost always show up with attorneys, while tenants tend to represent themselves. Reporter: David Wagner, LAist Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg says he's proud of the way community groups and local officials are stepping up, to aid the dozens of bewildered migrants who’ve arrived in his city by chartered jets in recent days. Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The CARE Court program is part of the state's big changes in how it treats the most severely mentally ill. A handful of counties are scheduled to begin the programs this year, including Los Angeles County. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report State authorities say they’ll investigate how a group of migrants, who were reportedly bused from Texas to New Mexico, before being flown to California, ended up at a church in Sacramento. Reporter: Daphne Young, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

State lawmakers are trying to make renting more affordable by capping how much landlords can charge for security deposits. Reporter: Alejandra Reyes-Velarde, CalMatters There's been some very un-California weather in the southern part of our state. Cloudy skies have filled the skies the last few weeks. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report Accessible health care is often a huge challenge in rural parts of California. That includes in Nevada County in the Sierra Foothills. Reporter: April Dembosky, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By next year, every county in California will have to implement a new statewide program called CARE Court. It focuses on getting unhoused people with severe mental health disorders into treatment. Eight counties have agreed to begin early, including San Francisco. Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Catalytic converters are a part that all gas-powered vehicles in California are required to have in order to keep their exhaust up to our air quality standards. Thousands of cars across Los Angeles have had theirs stolen, because of the part’s valuable precious metals. Reporter: Megan Jamerson, KCRW California’s record snowpack is starting to melt, and it might impact peak wildfire season. For some higher-elevation parts of the state, excess snowpack from the winter might stick around longer than usual and help in reducing severe wildfire risks. But in lower-elevation areas that dry out sooner, it’s a different story. Reporter: Manola Secaira, CapRadio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fentanyl Deaths Up in California, New Data Show New Federal data show overdose deaths in California up slightly, and drug policy experts say lasting change requires lawmakers to examine and treat underlying causes of addiction. Meanwhile, a bill to create a task force is now advancing at the State Capitol. Reporter: Stephanie O’Neill Patison, KFF Health News Carmel-by-the Sea Addresses Its Addresses The city of Carmel-by-the-Sea is known for its quaint shops, movie star residents and bohemian quirkiness. It’s that bohemian quirkiness that's causing a controversy in the coastal village. Last fall a group of residents asked the city to change a one hundred year old tradition. Reporter: Doug McKnight, KAZU Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Consider the beaver. Once thought of as a “nuisance rodent,” yes it’s a rodent, for flooding roads, farmland and other properties that we want to keep dry, the beaver is now embraced as a “climate solving hero” and an eco-engineer. Why? Well for its natural ability to help increase water storage and to create natural buffers against wildfires. Guests: Laurie Wayburn, Co-Founder of Pacific Forest Trust and Leila Phillip, Author of the book "Beaver Land: How One Weird Rodent Made America" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices