The Bay

Inside Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish — home to historic farmworker organizing in East San Jose — we sit down with Father Jon Pedigo, a Catholic priest in the South Bay, to talk about the role of faith and houses of worship under the Trump Administration, what he’s seen in his primarily Spanish-speaking communities, and why he's leaving the pulpit to become a full-time organizer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nearly 3,000 teachers and staff from the West Contra Costa Unified School district went on strike Thursday morning after negotiations with the district broke down. It’s the latest in a series of labor disputes between educators and districts across California. Today, Jana Kadah, education reporter with Richmondside, talks to us from the field about why West Contra Costa educators walked off the job for the first time in the district’s history. Links: Richmondside: Is your family prepared for WCCUSD teachers strike? Here’s what to know Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

UC Berkeley student and animal rights activist Zoe Rosenberg will be sentenced today after facing a felony conviction for taking four chickens from a Sonoma County poultry facility 2 years ago. The case, which has garnered international attention, comes after years of tension in Sonoma County over animal rights. Links: Berkeley Animal Rights Activist Found Guilty in Sonoma Chicken Theft Case Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a new series called ‘Love You for You,’ KQED’s The California Report Magazine host Sasha Khokha sat in on conversations between trans and nonbinary kids and the people who love them. Today, we talk with Sasha about the series. Links: Check out the entire ‘Love You For You’ series Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the 1900s, the city of San Francisco eradicated native coyotes. But in more recent decades, they returned and are now a part of daily life. Scientists point out that coyotes are essential to the local ecosystem. For some residents, they’re a source of wonder, while others view them as a nuisance and a danger to pets and children. Links: The Coyotes of San Francisco How We Photographed Coyotes in San Francisco This episode originally aired on June 2, 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many Bay Area families swear by local Dungeness crab at the holiday dinner table. But for the seventh straight year, commercial crabbing season has been delayed — this time until January. So if you really want local crab for the holidays, you’ll need to either pay for a chartered boat or catch one yourself. This episode originally aired on Nov. 25, 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An estimated 6.3 million travelers are expected to pass through San Francisco International Airport between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. If you’re one of them, you can spend some time visiting the SFO Museum, the only airport museum accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. Today, we take you on a tour of some of the exhibits and meet the curators behind them. Links: If you’re interested in scheduling a free tour of SFO Museum, whether or not you’re flying, email [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alice Wong, a disability rights activist, writer, and MacArthur Genius award winner based in San Francisco, died last Friday at UCSF at the age of 51. Wong was best known as the founder of the Disability Visibility Project (DVP), a group that highlights disabled people and disability culture through storytelling projects, social media and other channels. Alice’s friend and fellow activist, Sandy Ho, wrote, “Alice Wong was a hysterical friend, writer, activist and disability justice luminary whose influence was outsized.” Today, we remember Wong by sharing a radio essay she recorded for The California Report Magazine in December 2022. Alice’s GoFundMe Disability Rights Activist and Author Alice Wong Dies at 51 | KQED Bay Area Legends: Activist Alice Wong and The Power of Bringing Visibility to Disability Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump promised to curb inflation and uplift American businesses and the economy when he announced tariffs on hundreds of goods and products earlier this year. Today we talk with The San Francisco Standard’s Jillian D’Onfro, about whether Bay Area businesses say the tariffs have lived up to their promise. Links: SF Standard: ‘Devastating’: What 7 months of tariffs have done to one popular business This episode was hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra and produced by Jessica Kariisa and Alan Montecillo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The latest Bay Area recall election took place in the Marin County town of Fairfax this November, where some residents hoped to oust the mayor and vice mayor for voting to rezone land for a six-story apartment building. This time, the recall failed, with roughly 56% of voters opting to keep Mayor Lisel Blash and Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman. KQED’s Izzy Bloom breaks down this story and explains what this fight over housing in Fairfax could mean for the entire region. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AI-generated music and artists are now getting record deals and top spots on Billboard charts, with big implications for labor in the music industry. So how are human artists adapting to this rapidly changing landscape? Links: AI Is Coming for the Music Industry. How Will Artists Adapt? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, we bring you an episode from our friends at Bay Curious about a secret biological weapons test — in San Francisco. 75 years ago, the U.S. military sprayed bacteria over the city. The test team thought it was harmless, but several people got sick and one person died. KQED’s Katherine Monahan reports on the history and impacts of this operation on one man's family. Links: The True Story of the Military's Secret 1950 San Francisco Biological Weapons Test | KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Wednesday, executives from a group called the Esmeralda Land Company will present their plans to officials in Cloverdale, a small city of roughly 9,000 residents in northern Sonoma County. The project, titled Esmeralda, is led by Devon Zuegel, a tech worker who hopes to build a hotel, new housing, and a park on a 266-acre piece of land in the southern end of the city. She describes the planned development as a “mini college campus,” reminiscent of the small resort town of Chautauqua, NY. Some residents, including local officials, are excited about the project and impressed with Esmeralda’s outreach to the community. Others worry that the development will prioritize wealthy Silicon Valley tech-types over Cloverdale residents. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California voters overwhelmingly approved Prop. 50, which will redraw our Congressional maps in an effort to push back against President Donald Trump. In Santa Clara County, voters also passed a sales tax measure to partially make up for federal funding cuts. Today, we break down how Prop. 50 will change U.S. House districts in the Bay, Santa Clara County’s Measure A, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s retirement announcement after nearly 40 years representing San Francisco. Links: How Proposition 50’s Win Reshapes California’s 2026 Elections | KQED Nancy Pelosi Retiring After 38 Years Representing San Francisco in Congress | KQED Santa Clara County Sales Tax Measure Appears Poised to Pass Amid Federal Cuts | KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The ongoing federal government shutdown has reduced and delayed SNAP benefits this month. As a result, food banks in the Bay Area are bracing for an even greater surge in demand. We join Heather Pierini, the executive director of ⁠Food Is Free Bay Area⁠, on a donation day at the Solano County Fairgrounds. Links: The Bay Area restaurants offering free meals to families using CalFresh Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Oct. 14, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors removed first-term Sheriff Christina Corpus. For more than a year, her office was mired in allegations of retaliation, misconduct, and abuse of power, largely stemming from an alleged relationship with her former chief of staff, Victor Aenlle. KQED reporter Brian Krans joins us to break down this long and bitter chapter in San Mateo county politics. Links: San Mateo County Sheriff Is Ousted in Historic Final Vote by Supervisors | KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this October edition of The Bay’s monthly news roundup, we discuss the impact of the federal government shutdown on hunger in the Bay Area, and how local governments are responding. We also discuss Uber’s plans to enter the driverless vehicle market, and how the California condor is making a comeback after near-extinction. Plus, we pay tribute to KQED transportation editor Dan Brekke, who is retiring after nearly 50 years in Bay Area journalism. Links: Contra Costa County plans to give CalFresh recipients food money if SNAP is paused San Francisco Will Cover SNAP Benefits for November Amid Federal Shutdown With SNAP Benefits Delayed, Restaurants Step Up to Feed Bay Area Families Uber will challenge Waymo’s robotaxi dominance in San Francisco For a century, they were gone. But California condors are making a comeback in these parts of the Bay Area Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There have been mixed reports of the situation at Yosemite National Park since the federal government shutdown began on Oct. 1. Some say the park is rife with unruly visitors, trash, and illegal behavior, while others say it’s perfectly normal. So KQED reporter Sarah Wright went to go see for herself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gov. Gavin Newsom is accusing the Trump Administration of “rigging” California’s special election after the Department of Justice announced its plans to send election monitors to California polling places this November. Gov. Newsom sits down with KQED’s Political Breakdown podcast in this wide-ranging interview at our studios in San Francisco. Links: Watch this interview on YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Update Friday Oct. 24, 2025 12:43 p.m.: After bracing for a surge of federal immigration actions, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee said Friday afternoon that border patrol operations have been cancelled for the entire Bay Area, including Oakland. The Bay Area started bracing for federal troops Wednesday night after the San Francisco Chronicle first reported that nearly 100 federal agents, including from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, would be coming to the U.S. Coast Guard Island in Alameda for a major immigration enforcement operation in the region. Then on Thursday morning, Mayor Daniel Lurie announced that President Donald Trump had called off the “surge” in San Francisco. Links: Federal Agents Injure Activists at Coast Guard Base During Immigration Crackdown Lurie: Trump Is ‘Calling Off’ Plans to Send Federal Troops to San Francisco Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's wine harvest season in California. And between tariffs, decreased demand, and a cooler summer, the industry has had a tough year. KQED's Elize Manoukian visits one vineyard in Healdsburg to see how the season is going. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This November, Californians are being asked to decide whether the state can redraw our congressional districts with Proposition 50. California Democrats say Prop. 50 is their answer to pressure from President Trump on red states like Texas, which redrew its congressional maps to favor Republicans in next year’s midterm elections. Opponents say it tramples on California’s independent redistricting process, which voters approved more than a decade ago. This episode originally aired on Aug. 10, 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Franciscans can expect to see up to 100 new, large temporary art installations around the city over the next three years, thanks to a billionaire-backed foundation’s project known as the Big Art Loop. These pieces are also being set up much faster — and with less public oversight — than permanent public art pieces in San Francisco. Links: Who Has a Say in the Flood of Public Art Coming to San Francisco? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The city of San Jose is coming up with a plan to make it unlawful for federal immigration officers to conceal their identities while working in the city. The ban, along with California’s new “No Secret Police Act,” tees up a potential legal showdown with the Trump administration over its immigration enforcement operations. Links: San José City Council Supports ICE Mask Ban After Plainclothes Arrest South Bay Day Laborer Center Staff ‘Devastated’ Over Immigration Arrest Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Santa Clara County officials are worried about how big cuts to Medicaid under President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act will hurt the area’s four county-run hospitals, which rely heavily on Medicaid reimbursements. Now, voters are being asked to weigh in on Measure A, which would increase the county sales tax by 0.625% over 5 years to fill in roughly one-third of the county’s projected annual losses from federal cuts. Links: Measure A voter guide Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For 38 days, UC Berkeley computer science lecturer Peyrin Kao taught classes while on a hunger strike for Palestine. He’s also one of more than 150 people whose names were sent by UC Berkeley to the Trump Administration for its investigation into alleged antisemitism — an investigation that critics say is meant to silence opposition to Israel’s invasion and siege of Gaza. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a yearslong holdup, Alameda County has started distributing funds from Measure C, a 2020 ballot measure that uses a half-cent sales tax to increase access to child care and preschool for the county’s youngest residents. Now, officials from other Bay Area counties are considering doing the same. Links: Alameda County Is Giving Cash to Child Care Providers. Other Bay Area Counties Are Envious Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last month, the Trump Administration announced a new $100,000 fee on H1-B visa applications. The news hit workers and employers in Silicon Valley especially hard as the tech industry relies heavily on H1-B visa holders. In this episode from our friends at Political Breakdown, Scott Schafer and Marisa Lagos sit down with Zeyi Yang, a senior writer at WIRED to discuss the fallout from the announcement and what this means for workers and employers going forward. Links: Winners and Losers in Trump’s $100,000 Visa Scheme Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The federal government closed late Tuesday night after Congress failed to pass a stopgap funding bill by the deadline. California’s roughly 187,000 federal workers have either been furloughed or are working without pay. Links: A Government Shutdown is Here. How Will the Bay Area Be Affected? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mabuhay Gardens was a Filipino restaurant, nightclub, and music venue that was essential to San Francisco's punk scene before its closure in 1987. Now, a group of local investors and North Beach neighbors are working to bring it back. You can find out about upcoming shows on the venue's Instagram page. Links: Legendary SF Punk Club Mabuhay Gardens Is on the Verge of Reopening Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this edition of The Bay’s news roundup, Ericka, Jessica, and KQED political correspondent Guy Marzorati discuss UC Berkeley’s decision to hand over more than 150 names to the Trump administration as part of a federal investigation into antisemitism. Plus, the Valero refinery in Benicia is on track to close, and Waymo's driverless cars could be en route to the San Francisco and San Jose airports soon. Links: UC Berkeley turns over personal information of more than 150 students and staff to federal government Major Bay Area refinery on track to close, city official says Waymo wins approval to pick up passengers at SFO, its robotaxis will start with human drivers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Girls’ flag football is exploding in popularity at high schools across the Bay Area, especially since the sport was officially sanctioned by California in 2023. It coincides with the rise of professional women’s sports teams like the Golden State Valkyries and Bay FC, cementing the Bay’s status as a leader in women's sports. Links: How the Bay became the new capital of women’s sports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood has the highest concentration of children in the city. But stories about the Tenderloin often overlook this fact. Reporter Cami Dominguez worked with a local nonprofit to give kids in the neighborhood disposable cameras for a week. Today, we talk about what the photos show. Links: Photos Capture SF’s Tenderloin Through the Eyes of Kids Who Live There Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Local food banks are about to lose a key source of fresh, local produce after the Department of Agriculture ended the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program or LFPA. The program was a key source of revenue for small, local farms that played a major role in keeping people fed during the pandemic. Links: Small Farms Fed the Bay Area During COVID. But Now Face Federal Cuts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earlier this summer, KQED in partnership with LaRussell and Good Compenny hosted a Bay Area Music Showcase in Vallejo. After more than 200 submissions, five artists from the Bay Area were selected to compete for real recognition. Today, first place winner Misa James talks with us about his music, being an artist in San Jose, and his hopes after his win. Links: Listen to Misa James’ Music LaRussell, Ruby Ibarra, Souls of Mischief, Misa James and more perform in San Jose Sunday Sept. 21 Watch Misa James perform at the KQED x Good Compenny Bay Area Music Showcase Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earlier this Spring, the Trump Administration issued an Executive Order telling U.S. National Park Service staff, including those in California, to scrub parks of any materials that “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living.” Advocates and park workers say following through has been confusing and chaotic, and many worry that a true record of California’s history is at stake. Links: As Trump Targets National Parks that 'Disparage Americans,’ Advocates Warn California History Is At Stake What’s Going on With the Muir Woods Exhibit Removal? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the early to mid-2000s Palo Alto was rocked by a cluster of teen suicides. For Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, we’re airing a documentary from audio reporter and producer I-Yun Chan, who traveled to Palo Alto to help her understand her own loss, and what it means to live on after someone losing someone to suicide. This story was edited by Shereen Marisol Meraji and was made in the audio program at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism. It was engineered by Chris Hoff. This episode discusses suicide. If you are experiencing thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Golden State Valkyries’ first season has been a huge success. Next week, they’ll be the first WNBA expansion team to appear in the playoffs. The Valkyries aren't just good; they're fun to watch. Part of their appeal is the community around the team, which embraces women and LGBTQ people. This is also reflected in the team's official DJs, whose job it is to set the mood at Chase Center, AKA Balhalla. Links: Meet the DJs Bringing the Pride and the Party to the Valkyries’ Ballhalla Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's another recall election in the Bay Area. This time, it's in San Francisco's Sunset District on the city's west side. Voters in District 4 have until Tuesday, Sept. 16 to vote in a special recall election for Supervisor Joel Engardio, who faces backlash from constituents after supporting Prop. K, which closed a portion of the Great Highway for a new park. Links: Your Guide to the Special Recall Election of San Francisco Supervisor Joel Engardio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In August 2020, a dry lightning storm kicked off an unprecedented siege of wildfires. These firestorms lasted for months, destroyed 9,000 structures and killed 31 people. Millions of residents throughout the region breathed in toxic smoke as the sky turned orange and the pandemic raged on. As we mark five years since the sky turned orange, we’re bringing you stories from people who lived through the 2020 fires, in their own words. Links: The Summer That Changed California Forever Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hundreds of people are signing up to 'adopt' street corners near where day laborers gather to find work. Their goal? To keep an eye out for ICE agents. KQED labor correspondent Farida Jhabvala Romero takes us to one intersection in East Oakland to meet some of these volunteers. Links: Volunteers ‘Adopt’ Street Corners To Monitor For ICE Activity Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A decade ago, most major tech companies swore off working with the U.S. military. Google, Meta and OpenAI even once had policies banning the use of AI in weapons. But times have changed, and now Silicon Valley is fully embracing contracts and collaborations with the military. Sheera Frenkel, tech reporter with the New York Times, explains how and why this shift occurred. Links: The Militarization of Silicon Valley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the last 102 years, the Hetch Hetchy reservoir in Yosemite National Park has supplied millions of Bay Area residents with some of the cleanest water in the country. But climate change has made it harder to manage the reservoir. This episode originally aired on May 10, 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this edition of The Bay’s monthly news roundup, Ericka is joined by The Bay’s senior editor Alan Montecillo and KQED associate arts and culture editor Nastia Voynovskaya. We talk about the Pickett Fire currently burning in Napa, scheduling and payment changes to public transit across the Bay, and why some local artists have decided to take their music off Spotify. Links: Pickett Fire Did ‘escaped control burn’ cause Napa County’s Pickett Fire? Dispatch records raise questions about blaze’s origin Starting This Week, You Can Tap Onto BART With a Credit Card — Here’s How SF Band Ditches Spotify Over CEO’s $700M Military AI Investment Bay Area transit’s latest Big Sync improves transfers, saving riders up to 20 minutes per trip Bay Area artists turn down S.F. Boiler Room show, throw their own party instead Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Artificial intelligence inside California schools feels a lot like building the plane as it's flying. Students who are familiar with tools like ChatGPT are using it faster than teachers and administrators can regulate it. Jesse Dukes, co-host of the Homework Machine podcast, talked with dozens of students and teachers across the country about their thoughts on AI in the classroom. Links: TeachLab Presents: The Homework Machine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the Arms Down program at the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, formerly San Quentin State Prison, “firearm addiction” is treated like an alcohol addiction. Its founders, all of whom are currently incarcerated men, say that talking about why perpetrators of gun violence carry guns in the first place is their contribution to gun violence prevention from behind bars. Links: The revolutionary prison program where men help each other put down their guns: ‘Don’t end up like me’ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fremont is the fourth largest city in the Bay Area and it’s also home to one of the largest populations of Afghans in the U.S. Today, we’re running an episode from our friends at Bay Curious that traces the history of the Afghan community in Fremont over 40 years. We meet Afghan refugees and learn what makes”Little Kabul” unique. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After pressure from President Donald Trump, Texas Republicans unveiled a new map redrawing the state’s congressional districts 5 years early, in order to win more GOP seats in next year’s midterm elections. We talk with KQED's Guy Marzorati about how California Democrats are clapping back with their own redrawn maps. If the state legislature approves this new map, voters will have the final say in a special election this November. Links: California Redistricting Plan May Swing on This Sonoma County Shakeup Find out if your vote could be affected by Newsom’s redistricting plans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Before the pandemic, casual carpool was a completely organic system of pickup spots and patient passengers looking for a quick, comfortable way to head into San Francisco. Casual carpool collapsed when the pandemic hit. But now it’s been relaunched. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Music festivals in the Bay Area are upon us. And it takes a lot to leave no trace after a 3-day festival like Outside Lands. As Golden Gate Park prepares for another music event this weekend, SFGate’s Melissa Cho takes us behind the scenes at Outside Lands, where the majority of waste is diverted from landfills. Links: This is Where Your Trash at Outside Lands Goes LaRussell and Good Compenny Present: A Bay Area Music Showcase Tickets! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices