KQED's Forum

Friday marks the first anniversary of the most destructive wildfire in California history, claiming the lives of 85 people and destroying more than 18,000 structures. But Paradise is rebuilding. Some 200 businesses have reopened and an estimated 3,000 people have moved back. We talk with folk from Butte County to hear how they have fared in the past year and get their thoughts on the future for Paradise.

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo is leading a coalition of 21 cities and five counties seeking to transform PG&E into a ratepayer-owned cooperative. In a letter to the California Public Utilities Commission this week, the group expressed skepticism that the troubled utility can emerge from bankruptcy as a creditworthy entity if it remains investor-owned. Instead, the coalition proposed a consumer takeover to enable PG&E to raise capital more efficiently, without having to pay dividends to shareholders. We'll talk to Mayor Liccardo about the plan.

In November 1994, California voters passed Proposition 187, a controversial measure that aimed to deny education, health care and other public services to undocumented immigrants. Though it was never implemented and eventually declared unconstitutional, the aftermath of the vote changed the character of the state's politics and ushered in a new wave of Latino activism and political involvement. In this hour we'll talk about the legacy of Proposition 187, now 25 years on, and how attitudes toward immigration have changed.

San Francisco residents go to the polls Tuesday to weigh in on ballot measures addressing affordable housing, e-cigarettes and a tax on ride-hailing services. They'll also elect a new district attorney and decide whether Mayor Breed gets a second term. We'll discuss the results.

Twenty percent of Alameda County residents are experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, hunger. That's according to a new study on food insecurity commissioned by the Alameda Country Community Food Bank. The report found that as high housing prices force residents out of urban areas, hunger is growing in suburban areas like Livermore, Dublin, Pleasanton, Hayward and Fremont. Forum talks about the rise and changing demographics of hunger and what needs to be done to address it.

A computer algorithm widely used by health care providers and insurers to predict health risk was biased against black patients, according to a new study. The software was meant to determine who had the most complex medical needs based on a patient's health care bills, and therefore would be most likely to benefit from additional care. But it failed to account for the fact that black patients, regardless of health status, actually generate lower costs because they tend to have a harder time accessing care in the first place, due to structural inequities. We'll talk to the study's lead author, a UC Berkeley researcher, on what these findings mean for inequality in health care as well as bias in artificial intelligence programs.

Since taking office in 2017, President Trump has called for a travel ban on nationals of Muslim countries, tried end to the country's diversity visa lottery, limited the rights of asylum seekers, and presided over an ongoing family separation crisis at the southern border. Meanwhile, according to New York Times journalists Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Michael D. Shear, border crossing remains at an all-time high. Their new book "Border Wars" documents the decisions and the hardline ideologies shaping U.S. immigration policy.

Who are the biggest landowners in Silicon Valley? Are they making life better or worse for the communities around them? Investigative reporters from The Mercury News, NBC Bay Area, KQED and other outlets set out to answer those questions in a yearlong collaboration called “Who Owns Silicon Valley?” We’ll talk with some of the lead reporters about their findings.

On Thursday, the House formally approved procedures for a public phase of the impeachment inquiry into President Trump, in a 232-196 vote divided almost completely along party lines. Meanwhile, Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton, who reportedly expressed misgivings about the Trump administration’s conversations with Ukrainian officials, was summoned to testify in the inquiry and scheduled for a deposition on Nov. 7. Forum gets the latest on the impeachment proceedings and other political news.

The Golden State Warriors were already struggling with injuries and the loss of stars Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala. Still, whenever Stephen Curry is on the floor, there is hope. But even those hopes were dashed on Wednesday when Curry broke his hand in a loss to the Phoenix Suns. In this segment, we'll talk about the star-crossed Warriors and other sports news -- including the 49ers' best start in years -- with San Francisco Chronicle columnist Bruce Jenkins.