The Bay

California Forever, the group of Silicon Valley investors and billionaires who want to build a new city from scratch in Solano County, are on something of a public relations campaign. The group held its first town hall meeting in Vallejo on Wednesday night. And it will be the first of many — because if they really want to build a new city on the county’s outskirts, they’ll need to win over the hearts and minds of voters first. Links: Episode transcript LISTEN: The Silicon Valley Giants Who Want to Build a New City in Solano County This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco has banned street vending on Mission Street for 90 days, citing concerns about crime and sales of stolen goods. It’s the latest in a long saga around public safety in the neighborhood. KQED’s Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman explains how we got here and what this means for vendors. Links: Episode transcript KQED: SF’s Mission Street Ban Begins KQED: On First Day of Mission Street Vending Ban, Vendors Implore City to Reconsider This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this edition of The Bay's monthly news roundup (our last one of the year!), Ericka, Maria and Alan talk about how public transit agencies have temporarily averted a fiscal cliff, a proposal to increase the minimum wage for incarcerated workers, and the newly unveiled Tupac Shakur Way in Oakland. Links: Episode transcript In Transit: Bay Area Transportation News on Everything That Moves KQED: California Prison Officials Aim to Raise Hourly Minimum Wage for Incarcerated Workers — to at Least 16 Cents KQED: 'Tupac Shakur Way' Unveiled in Oakland as Rap Icon Gets His Own Street This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca, Alan Montecillo and Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Starting in January, PG&E ratepayers can expect their monthly bills to increase by an average of about $30. The utility says the money will go toward important infrastructure projects, including work on power lines that will reduce the risk of wildfires. But is this the best way to pay for it? Links: PG&E Gets Green Light to Raise Rates for Wildfire Prevention Efforts Episode transcript This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca, and guest hosted by Alan Montecillo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As an anxious, homeschooled kid, Mychal Threets found a haven in his local public library. Now he’s a librarian in Fairfield, and he’s recently become famous for talking about his passion for books and libraries on TikTok. In this episode we’re re-running from Rightnowish, host Pendarvis Harshaw and producer Marisol Medina-Cadena talk to Threets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last year, Oakland returned 5 acres of Joaquin Miller Park to the Sogorea Te’ land trust and the Confederated Villages of Lisjan, marking the first time a Bay Area city has given land back to Native Americans. Despite no significant opposition to this plan, the process took more than 5 years. So what does it actually take to give land back? This episode originally aired on Nov. 28, 2022. Episode transcript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last summer, Ericka told a story live on stage at KQED, at an event hosted by the San Francisco chapter of the Asian American Journalists’ Association called “Hella Asian.” It’s a story about a camping trip she went on with her best friend during the pandemic. It’s also a story about the mental impact of the news, and her sense of safety as attacks on Asians were in the headlines. Today, we’re sharing that story again. This episode originally aired on Aug. 8, 2022. This episode was produced by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With thousands of people taking to the streets on either side of the issue of Israel’s siege of Gaza, how are the Bay Area’s representatives in Congress weighing their position on the issue? Links: Apply to be our intern! This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca, Ericka Cruz Guevarra and Guy Marzorati, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In January, a gunman killed 7 farmworkers at two mushroom farms in Half Moon Bay. Months later, one community group has been trying to use accordion classes as a way to help farmworkers heal from the trauma. Links: Apply to be our intern! Episode transcript This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A quarter of California’s carbon emissions come from homes and buildings -- from the appliances we use to keep ourselves warm and our families fed. In this episode of KQED’s Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America, we head to a neighborhood in Oakland that is taking a revolutionary approach to reducing their emissions: by electrifying together, all at once. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Next week, San Francisco is hosting its largest international event since 1945. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference — or APEC — is expected to bring tens of thousands of visitors and foreign dignitaries to the city. With lots to prove to its guests, including President Joe Biden, San Francisco has ramped up preparations that have already affected local residents. Links: Apply to be our intern! APEC 2023 San Francisco City Guide KQED: From Street Closures to Security Checks, What to Know About SF APEC 2023 This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As red states pass laws targeting transgender rights and LGBTQ-inclusive education, conservatives in the South Bay have formed their own strategy: focusing on local, nonpartisan school board races. Episode transcript This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Foster City is home to one of the largest annual gatherings of Palestinians in the Bay Area. It’s also where Councilmember Sam Hindi holds office as the only current elected official of Palestinian heritage in the region. Today, we talk with Hindi about how the war in Gaza has affected him — as an elected official, as a father, and as a Palestinian-American. This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Episode transcript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California has lifted a decades-old ban on lowrider cruising. The state, widely understood as the birthplace of lowrider culture, has also historically been unfriendly to it. For decades, lowriding was blamed for traffic and alleged connections to gang violence. KQED’s Paloma Yaritza Abarca explains the years-long fight by community members to let their cars ride freely. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mayor London Breed and Gov. Gavin Newsom have announced a plan for San Francisco to charge some drug dealers with murder starting next year. Will it scare suppliers from selling in San Francisco, or deter people from seeking help? Episode transcript Apply to be our intern! This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, KQED and the Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good at the University of San Francisco convened some of the Bay Area’s youngest elected officials — Assemblymember Alex Lee, Hercules Mayor Alexander Walker-Griffin, and Sunnyvale Councilmember Alysa Cisneros — to share their experiences in conversation with politics correspondent Guy Marzorati and USF student fellow Caitlin Kennedy. Links: Apply to be our intern! Deadline is Nov. 17. Watch the full event on YouTube For more information about KQED Live events, go to kqed.org/live Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this edition of The Bay’s monthly news roundup, Ericka, Maria and Alan talk about how Richmond became the first city in the country to pass a resolution in support of Palestinians in Gaza, the Department of Motor Vehicles decision to pull Cruise’s permit in San Francisco, and a big labor win for childcare workers in California. Episode Transcript Links: LA Times: California city first in U.S. to officially back Palestinians, accuses Israel of ‘ethnic cleansing’ KQED: How a California Child Care Workers' Union Fought for Living Wages — and Won KQED: California DMV and CPUC Pump the Brakes on Cruise Driverless Taxis in San Francisco Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a new, legally binding reform agreement with the Vallejo Police Department last week. Scott Morris with the Vallejo Sun joins us to talk about what’s in the agreement, and why meeting it will be a tall order. Links: State DOJ announces new reform agreement with Vallejo police under court supervision Episode Transcript Apply to be our intern! This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Israel-Hamas war has put Elon Musk’s transformation of Twitter to the test. Changes to its verification policy, major cuts to the company's Trust and Safety teams, and Musk’s own rhetoric have led to a worsening in the spread of misinformation on the platform — with real life consequences. Episode Transcript Links: Bloomberg: Israel-Hamas Conflict Was a Test for Musk’s X, and It Failed ‘Verified’ OSINT Accounts Are Destroying the Israel-Palestine Information Ecosystem Apply to be our intern! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To understand the Winchester Mystery House – and how it came to be – you have to understand the woman behind it. KQED’s Boo Curious (also known as Bay Curious) takes us inside to do just that. This episode of Boo Curious first published Oct. 5, 2023 Episode transcript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People across the Bay Area have been watching in horror at the war between Israel and Hamas. Today, we bring you voices from three different rallies and gatherings that took place over the weekend. Links: How to talk to children about the violence in Israel and Gaza Episode transcript This episode was hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra and produced by Alan Montecillo, Maria Esquinca and Ericka Cruz Guevarra Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ecologists, indigenous groups, and forest management agencies agree that burning more ‘prescribed fire’ – where overgrown areas of forests are burned off — is critical to preventing dangerous megafires in the future. KQED’s Dana Cronin explains how this process works, and whether we’ve done enough so far this year. Episode transcript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A full transcript will be available 1–2 workdays after the episode’s publication. A new investigation from the Bay Area News Group, KQED, and the California Reporting Project finds that the vast majority of people seriously injured or killed by San José police are either mentally ill or intoxicated. KQED’s Rachael Vasquez spoke with one of the reporters, Robert Salonga, about how that trend has only continued, if not slightly worsened, with crisis intervention training. Links: Losing control: When San Jose police confront people in mental health crisis, why do they end up hurting them so often? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen to Part 1 of this story about the killing of Richard Oakes. The 1972 killing of Richard Oakes, the face of the Red Power movement, still sticks with the people who worked on the case. The detective who was at the scene of the killing remembers feeling suspicious of Michael Morgan, the man who shot Oakes. The prosecutor remembers the holes in Morgan’s story that he shot Oakes in self-defense. And yet, Morgan was acquitted of manslaughter charges. Today, they admit that the trial was botched. In Part 2 of our two-part episode with San Francisco Chronicle reporters Julie Johnson and Jason Fagone, we talk about missteps in the investigation into Oakes’ death, and how the justice system in Sonoma County was stacked against him. Read the full story on Richard Oakes’ death in the San Francisco Chronicle. Episode transcript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Richard Oakes was the face of the burgeoning ‘Red Power’ movement when he led the famous Native occupation of Alcatraz Island in 1969. But like other civil rights leaders at the time, he died too soon. In 1972, Oakes was gunned down in in rural Sonoma County. His killer, Michael Oliver Morgan, stood trial for manslaughter and was found not guilty. The official story of Richard Oakes' death, and the circumstances surrounding Morgan's trial, are part of the reason why Oakes' legacy has been largely erased from mainstream history. Oakes' family and friends, meanwhile, never got closure. All this time, they have believed that Oakes’ death, and Morgan’s acquittal, were racially motivated. Now, thanks to new reporting from the San Francisco Chronicle, we know details about this story that have been kept secret for decades. In Part 1 of a two-part episode with reporters Julie Johnson and Jason Fagone, we discuss the events that led Oakes to rural Sonoma County, and the encounters that foreshadowed his killing. This is Part 1 of a two-part episode. Part 2 will publish on Wednesday, Oct. 11. Read the full story on Richard Oakes’ death in the San Francisco Chronicle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From San Jose to Santa Rosa, more than 22,000 Bay Area Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers walked off the job Wednesday for a three-day strike, demanding better wages to help fix what they say is an urgent understaffing crisis. The effort spans 8 states and the District of Columbia, and some are calling it the largest health care strike in US history. This episode was hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra and produced by Maria Esquinca and Alan Montecillo. Episode transcript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2006 was the height of the hyphy movement — a time of exuberant, goofy, frenetic energy. But there was so much more going on beneath the surface. Rightnowish Host Pendarvis Harshaw would know — he was a budding journalist with a front row seat to the culture. Today, he talks with us about his four-part series ‘Hyphy Kids Got Trauma.’ Links: Hyphy Kids Got Trauma: A Rightnowish Podcast Series This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Episode transcript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Thursday night, Sen. Dianne Feinstein passed away at age 90. Before becoming a U.S. Senator in 1992, she was best known for her time as San Francisco mayor. Today, we revisit an episode with KQED’s Scott Shafer about how she got her start in local politics. Links: Senator Dianne Feinstein Dies at 90: Live Updates What Feinstein’s Death Means For Control of the Senate and the Looming Government Shutdown How San Francisco Punk Reacted to Dianne Feinstein in the 1970s Gov. Newsom Names Laphonza Butler to Dianne Feinstein's Senate Seat This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Alan Montecillo, who also hosted. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this edition of The Bay’s monthly news roundup, Ericka, Maria and Alan talk about continued tensions between Martinez and the local refinery, a bill that would decriminalize certain psychedelics, and an effort to bring a WNBA team to the Bay Area. Links: Residents skeptical after toxicology report finds no ill effects from Martinez refinery incident California Decriminalizing Mushrooms and Other Psychedelics Warriors finalizing agreement to bring WNBA team to Bay Area: Sources This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sonoma County will now allow wine grape harvests in fire evacuation zones for some farmworkers, in a reversal of a contentious 2022 decision. The Press Democrat’s Phil Barber explains how it happened. This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Episode transcript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Boats are being stolen and stripped of precious metals in the Oakland Estuary, in a crime spree that has divided the community of traditional boat owners and people living in derelict boats out on the water. This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sea level rise threatens communities along the Bay and some iconic cultural heritage sites along the San Francisco shoreline. So when the water comes for iconic sites like San Francisco's Ferry Building, how do we save it? Links: NPR: Protecting Cultural Heritage in a Warming World This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Episode transcript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Jose city leaders are looking for a new site for the nearly 500 vendors at the Berryessa Flea Market, which will be moved to make way for the new Berryessa BART Urban Village. The Singleton Road landfill has risen to the top. Is an abandoned landfill the right place for a new flea market? Links: Why the Future of San José's Flea Market Could Be an Abandoned Landfill This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Ericka Cruz Guevarra, who also hosted. Episode Transcript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California might become the first state in the nation to ban discrimination based on caste, a hierarchical system based on birth that affects South Asians all over the world. Senate Bill 403, which was introduced by State Sen. Aisha Wahab, passed the state legislature and is now on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk for his signature or veto. In this episode that originally aired in June, reporter Sonia Paul breaks down the complexity of this issue and why it has divided South Asians in the Bay Area. This episode originally aired on June 5, 2023. Guest: Sonia Paul, freelance journalist Links: How a Bill to Ban Caste Discrimination Morphed Into a Fight About Wokism California lawmakers send caste discrimination bill to Newsom Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Monday, BART rolled out a new schedule and changes to its system. They’re calling it a ’reimagined’ service plan. Combine that with increased police and non-uniformed personnel, and it’s clear that BART is trying to make changes that woo riders back onto its trains. Will it work? This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra Episode Transcript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Friday's episode, we’re going to talk BART and discuss some of the big changes the agency has made, including the new scheduled that began this week. And we want to hear from you: How’s riding BART for you these days? Or have you stopped riding? If so, what would it take for you to come back? Leave us a voicemail at (415) 710-9223, and we just might play it on the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Friday, Nancy Pelosi — former Speaker, minority leader, and representative in Congress since 1987 — announced plans to run again. KQED’s Marisa Lagos breaks down what this means for San Francisco amid debate over when a politician's time is up. This episode was produced by Ericka Cruz Guevarra and Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Episode transcript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California faces a big problem in labor law enforcement: when businesses are found to have committed wage theft, many still don’t pay workers what they’re owed. KQED’s Farida Jhabvala Romero tells us how Santa Clara County is implementing a local solution to this statewide issue. This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Episode transcript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A full transcript will be available 1–2 workdays after the episode’s publication. COVID-19 cases are on the rise (again). But this isn’t the surge of years’ past..it’s more like a “swell”. We also have more immunity, there are effective treatments, and a new booster is on the way. KQED Health Correspondent Lesley McClurg explains what you need to know about this increase in COVID cases. Links: The New COVID 'Eris' Variant and Rising Cases: What You Need to Know Fueled by 'Eris,' COVID Escapes Predictability Once Again This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Alan Montecillo and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Episode transcript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode contains explicit language. Banko Brown was a Black trans man who was shot and killed by a Walgreens security guard in late April. Today, KQED’s Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez interviews three members of Banko Brown’s community from the Young Women’s Freedom Center — Xavier Davenport, Kazani Kalani Finao, and Juju Pikes-Prince — about Brown’s life, and what they believe is necessary for trans people to be truly safe in San Francisco. Links: What Banko Brown's Queer, Trans Community Says They Need for Safety, Joy in SF This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Alan Montecillo. Episode transcript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Labor Day weekend, we're sharing an episode from KQED's Bay Curious podcast about what's happening to our state's iconic redwood trees, and how we can support them. This episode originally published on June 22, 2023. Episode transcript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some of the richest, most outspoken investors in the tech world are behind a company that has bought nearly 60,000 acres of mostly farmland in Solano County. They say they want to build a new city from scratch. But who are they? And why do they want to do this? Erin Griffith with The New York Times explains. Links: The Silicon Valley Elite Who Want to Build a City From Scratch Elected Officials to Meet with Silicon Valley Investors Behind $800 Million Solano County Land Grab This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Episode transcript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Under what circumstances should San Francisco be able to clear homeless encampments? Last week, protesters and counter-protesters went head-to-head outside the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals over an injunction that limits the city’s ability to do that. KQED’s Sydney Johnson unpacks this legal battle, and explains why it has sparked such strong feelings. This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Episode transcript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2021, students at Carlmont High School in Belmont were shocked when 17-year-old senior Colin Walker died of a fentanyl overdose. In this episode of TBH, a podcast from KALW made by, for, and about teenagers, one of his classmates tells the story of how students honored Colin’s life after his death, and educated each other about the dangers of fentanyl. Subscribe to TBH at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Radio Public. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We bring you 3 stories a week, but there’s so much more that’s happening in the Bay Area than we can get to. Today, Ericka, Maria and Alan each bring a story they’ve been following in a new monthly news roundup segment. Links: Near $1 Billion Land Purchase Around California Air Base Under Investigation San Jose City Council Approves Agreements With Unions to Avoid Strike Henrietta Lacks’ Family Sues Bay Area Company Over Use of Stolen Cells Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hollywood is no stranger to changes brought on by technology. But KQED’s Rachael Myrow says that for writers and actors currently on strike, this moment is existential — thanks in no small part to Silicon Valley. Many KQED staffers are also members of SAG-AFTRA, but journalists have a different contract from Hollywood actors. This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo, Maria Esquinca and Ericka Cruz Guevarra, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oakland is looking for a new police chief after Mayor Sheng Thao fired LeRonne Armstrong back in mid-February. Whoever takes the job next will inherit a department that has been under federal oversight for 20 years. Today, we revisit a conversation with Ali Winston about the events that led to Armstrong’s downfall, and why OPD’s challenges run far deeper than who the chief is. This episode originally published on Feb. 8, 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An often-overlooked moment in Bay Area activism took place in the 1980s and 90s, when a broad coalition of activists targeted San Francisco’s coffee industry to protest the civil war in El Salvador. KQED’s Sebastian Miño-Bucheli joins us to talk about how it happened. Links: The Time a Bay Area Coffee Boycott Helped Stop a Civil War A timeline of Fred Ross Jr., executive director of Neighbor to Neighbor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode contains explicit language. San Franciscans can expect to see more driverless cars on the road after California regulators approved a permit to allow Waymo and Cruise to charge fares. Once again, the city is the testing ground for new technology. And people on both sides have strong feelings about it. Ida Mojadad from the San Francisco Standard breaks it all down for us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’laysia Vital is about to leave Oakland to start college in Texas, where she’s excited to attend a historically Black college. But Texas is also one of more than a dozen states that has banned abortion. KQED’s April Dembosky takes us inside a health clinic at Oakland Technical High School, where staff have been helping college-bound students prepare for the barriers to reproductive health that await them in other states. This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices