KQED's The California Report

As a new wave of coronavirus cases engulf California, Governor Gavin Newsom has announced a new regional stay at home order. Areas of the state where ICU capacity dips below 15 percent will have to shut down bars, hair salons, and in person dining both indoor and outdoor.

Reporter: April Dembosky, KQED

The survey from Blue Shield of California was conducted in early October and found that when it came to education, nearly half of the parents were most concerned about COVID-19 health risks, followed by helping their child with remote learning, and their childs’ mental health.

Reporter: Alice Woelfle, KQED

The National Labor Relations Board complaint names two employees, both of whom Google fired just before Thanksgiving last year. One of them was organizing against Google's decision to work with a corporate consultant known for helping firms fend off unionization efforts.

Reporter: Rachael Myrow, KQED

In a letter to Governor Newsom this week, the prosecutors say it was only the results of a federal subpoena that made the scope of the fraud clear to them. They are calling for an executive order to make it easier to identify fraudulent applications.

Reporter: Mary Franklin Harvin, The California Report

Trying to guess who Governor Newsom will pick to fill Kamala Harris’ California U.S. Senate seat as she becomes Vice-President. Newsom’s under pressure to select someone who reflects the state’s diversity....but in a state as diverse as ours that’s no easy task.

Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED News

This week on our sister show, The California Report Magazine, they dedicate their whole show to a documentary about Luna Guzmán, a transgender asylum seeker from Guatemala, and her long and sometimes agonizing journey to make it to California.

Reporter: Sasha Khoka, The California Report Magazine

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California AG Sues Federal EPA Over Regulation Relaxation
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is once again suing the federal Environmental Protection Agency.... this time for saying they'll suspend enforcement of some environmental requirements during the coronavirus pandemic.
Reporter: Kate Wolffe, KQED
COVID-19 Hits State Women's Prison
The state Department of Corrections has announced a new COVID-19 outbreak at a women's prison in San Bernardino County. The California Institution for Women has tested at least 400 inmates since last Friday, and positive cases are increasing there.
Pharmacies Get Green Light to Test for COVID-19
Soon it might be as easy as stopping at a local pharmacy to find out if you have the coronavirus. The new state guidance allows tests that tell you if you have the virus or you had it in the past.
Reporter: Lesley McClurg, KQED Science
State Attempts to Test Workers and Residents of All Nursing Homes
California officials say it will take more time to test all workers and patients for coronavirus at over 1200 nursing homes statewide. They’re looking at what three counties -- LA, San Francisco and Alameda -- already are doing to inform it.
Reporter: Molly Peterson, KQED Science
State Task Force Weighs Costs of School Reopening
A state task force is working on what it will take to reopen schools safely, but it will be up to individual districts to decide when to reopen. That’s according to State Superintendent of Schools Tony Thurmond.
Reporter: Julia McEvoy, KQED
What's Next for California's Budget?
The Governor’s revised budget proposal comes out today, and one thing is sure: California's coffers have seen better days. KQED Politics reporter Katie Orr joins Lily Jamali to explain where things stand and what can be expected.
Reporter: Katie Orr, KQED Politics
One Doctor's Experience Helping Members of the Navajo Nation
The Navajo Nation in the southwestern U.S. currently has the second highest per-capita infection rate after New York state. The illness is taking a devastating toll on the community, where access to water and multi-generational housing are helping the virus spread.
Guest: Aylin Ulku, UCSF volunteer physician
Trump Administration Looks To Continue Pandemic-Policy of Sending Back Migrants
Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf toured the San Diego/Tijuana border from a Coast Guard helicopter yesterday. That’s at the same time that the Trump administration is looking to extend indefinitely its restrictive border policies that were put in place during the pandemic.
Reporter: Max Rivlin-Nadler, KPBS
Coronavirus Complicates A Ban on Cashless Restaurants
Businesses in California are taking new precautions to mitigate the spread of coronavirus. Some are no longer accepting cash. However, a bill at the state Capitol, introduced in February, would ban this practice.
Reporter: Scott Rodd, CapRadio
Republican Mike Garcia Projected to Win 25th District
The AP now projects Republican Mike Garcia will defeat Democrat Christy Smith, flipping back a seat Democrats won during the 2018 midterms. Garcia and Smith will be on the ballot again in November, facing off for a full two-year term to represent the Simi, Santa Clarita, and Antelope Valleys in Congress.
Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED

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The Feds' Help for Small Businesses: Did California Get a Fair Share?
We’ve been hearing growing calls from elected officials for a phased, responsible re-opening of California, just parts of it, for now. They’re coming from the conservative northern parts of the state, and in San Luis Obispo County along the Central Coast. These politicians are asking Governor Gavin Newsom to sign off on a gradual reopening.
Guest: Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham, San Luis Obispo
Yurok Tribe Avoids Outbreak So Far
In some places across the country, Native Americans have been hit incredibly hard by the coronavirus. But California tribes seem to have averted that catastrophe so far. We checked in on how the Yurok in Northern California are working to keep their community safe.
Reporter: Laura Klivans, KQED
The Feds' Help for Small Businesses: Did California Get a Fair Share?
California got the more PPP dollars than any other state in Round 1 of the program. But when ranked by the proportion of small businesses who got help, California ranks dead last.
Guest: Aaron Glantz, Reporter at Reveal
Ice Cream Isn't Recession-Proof
To understand what this new round of funding mean for small business owners, we talk to an ice cream maker in Truckee near Lake Tahoe who is still waiting for a loan.
Reporter: Mary Franklin Harvin, The California Report

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California Legislature to Introduce Pair of Eviction Protection Bills

The proposals would get relief into the hands of renters and landlords facing mounting debt and extend eviction protections adopted during the pandemic. Tenants who have been struggling to keep up with rent say the measures can’t come soon enough.

Molly Solomon, KQED

San Bernardino County now has the second highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the state. Instead of paramedics answering every emergency call in an ambulance, healthcare workers will do more symptom assessments over the phone.

Reporter: Benjamin Purper, KVCR

Positive COVID tests and hospitalizations are both at record highs in California. Doctors and nurses are particularly vulnerable. Medical staffers in the Bay Area, Orange County, and the Central Valley weigh in as they watch cases mount.

Reporter: Lesley McClurg, KQED

President-elect Joe Biden has chosen California’s Attorney General as his nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services. Xavier Becerra would be the first Latino to serve in that role, a critical one now as impacts of the pandemic get worse.

Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED

Becerra’s selection is getting mixed reactions from the medical community. Last week, the American Academy of Family Physicians was one of several groups that called on President-Elect Joseph Biden to select qualified physicians to serve in key health roles.

Guest: Dr. Ada Stewart, President of the American Academy of Family Physicians

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Emergency Room Doctors Have Coronavirus Homework
Turns out it’s not just the risk of infection and the long hours that makes being an hospital Emergency Room staffer draining right now. Treating COVID-19 comes with homework. Once doctors finish their shifts, they still have to try and catch up on the latest coronavirus research. Following the latest medical literature about coronavirus is exhausting and, sometimes, discouraging.
Guest: Clay Josephy, emergency medicine doctor in South Lake Tahoe
NASA Scientists Build a Better Ventilator
Months into this pandemic, there remains a national shortage of ventilators. Well, a team of engineers at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena is figuring out how to build more -- and fast.
Reporter: Jerome Campbell, KCRW
Student Volunteers Help at Monterey's Public Health Lab
Monterey County’s Public Health Laboratory has increased its COVID-19 testing capacity seven-fold over the last 5 weeks thanks to one graduate student who offered to help, after hearing a story on local public radio.
Reporter: Michelle Loxton, KAZU
The Battle of the Beaches in the War on Coronavirus
Governor Gavin Newsom says those weekend crowds at some Southern California beaches don’t help contain the coronavirus. It's shaping up to be the Battle of the Beaches, one of many in the War on Coronavirus.
Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED Politics
The Case for Expanding Medi-Cal to Protect Undocumented Seniors from Coronavirus
At the start of this year, before most of us had ever heard of COVID-19, Gov. Newsom proposed expanding the state’s health insurance, Medi-Cal, to low-income undocumented seniors. This pandemic may derail those plans, just when they need it most.
Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED

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