Advocates for letting public universities in California hire undocumented students, who don’t have federal work authorization, have gotten a boost from Sacramento. A new proposal would let all students work, regardless of immigration status, in the UC, CSU and state community college systems.

Reporter: Danielle Venton, KQED

We’ve been exploring the crisis of loneliness among Californians and finding community. We turn to the topic of friendship as one all important remedy to social isolation.

Guest: Rhaina Cohen, journalist and author of the book “The Other Significant Others” 

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Roughly a quarter of California’s greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings, including your home. That’s why the federal government wants to give homeowners money to replace gas appliances, install solar panels and replace your windows with more efficient ones. Some developers are taking low-carbon retrofits a step further, creating zero-carbon homes.

Reporter: Caleigh Wells, KCRW

It’s a challenge confronting some renters in California. They want to buy an electric vehicle, but they don’t have a place to plug it in where they live. In response, Assemblyman Kevin McCarty has introduced a bill aimed at increasing access to EV charging for people who live in multi-unit housing and without garage access. 

Reporter: Laura Klivans, KQED 

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America's growing culture wars can be seen in local politics across the state. That includes in the Orange County city of Huntington Beach, where a conservative majority on the city council has rolled back several progressive initiatives. And in March, a highly contentious measure is on the ballot. It’s a city charter amendment titled Measure 1 that if passed, would require Huntington Beach residents to show official identification when voting in-person.

Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report

A Fresno judge has approved a plan to reopen bankrupt Madera Community Hospital, which has been closed for more than a year. That’s despite a reopening bid from UC San Francisco announced last week.

Reporter: Kerry Klein, KVPR

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Prop 47 is a 2014 ballot measure that lowered the penalties for drug possession and shoplifting from felonies to misdemeanors. Retailers and prosecutors are collecting signatures for a November ballot measure that would roll back some portions of the law. And lawmakers have introduced more than a dozen bills to tweak it in some way or another. But what have the impacts of the measure been?

Guest: Maris Lagos, KQED

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has promised sweeping changes to try to fix the state’s insurance market and convince companies to offer more coverage. Now, he’s released proposed rule updates. 

Reporter: Danielle Venton, KQED

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A new immigration court opens in the Bay Area Monday. It’s part of an effort by the Biden Administration to cope with a record number of asylum seekers – and a historic backlog of 3 million cases nationwide.

Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED

Cal State faculty members start voting Monday on a deal that could raise wages and add more paid parental leave. But some CSU employees say it falls short of what their union is demanding.

Reporter: Mariana Dale, LAist

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Fast food workers are officially launching a new statewide union on Friday. This comes weeks before a new law will raise the industry’s minimum wage to $20 an hour and create a statewide Fast Food Council.

Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED

Programs dedicated to the well-being of California’s youngest residents are facing major cutbacks. That’s because a ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products sharply lowered revenue that’s supposed to fund First 5 California and the early childhood services it supports. 

Reporter: Daisy Nguyen, KQED

The San Francisco 49ers take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl this weekend in Las Vegas That means thousands of Niners fans are flocking to Sin City to celebrate, and one dedicated fan is hoping to welcome them all. She started a 49ers booster club in Las Vegas. 

Guest: Susan Larson, North Vegas Faithfuls 

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Decades ago, the homes in a Palm Springs neighborhood known as Section 14 were deemed eyesores and officials wanted to promote tourism. So they forced out the mostly black and brown families who lived there. Crews tore down everyone’s homes, and then burned them, sometimes with people’s personal possessions still inside. The city made a public apology in 2021, but survivors are still waiting for additional support.

Guests: Pearl Devers, Section 14 Survivor and Areva Martin, Civil Rights Attorney

A Popeyes Chicken franchisee is paying more than $200,000 for child labor and other violations at restaurants in East Oakland, Newark and Tracy.

Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED 

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COVID eviction protections have lapsed for renters in the city of Los Angeles. Now, city outreach workers are going door-to-door,  hoping to catch renters before they’re evicted. And they’re using new data to find those most in need of help.

Reporter: David Wagner, LAist 

Fresno is the latest city in California to find itself on the receiving end of a bus full of asylum seekers. They were sent from Texas, victims of Governor Greg Abbott’s immigration battle with the Biden administration.

Reporter: Esther Quintanilla, KVPR

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Rain continues to fall in Southern California, which has been drenched in this latest atmospheric river. Downtown Los Angeles has seen more than seven inches of rain the last 48 hours, one of the highest two day rain totals on record.  

A California law that went into effect last January said public universities have to provide medication abortions. An LAist investigation has found a patchwork of approaches to communicating that abortion pills are now available. Advocates say that’s hurting access.

 Reporter: Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, LAist

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Much of the worst of the latest atmospheric river has passed through Northern California. But areas of Southern California continue to be hit with heavy rain and threats of flash flooding.

Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report

California’s public universities are required to provide abortion pills to students who want them. But LAist found few universities tell students the medication is available. The lack of information caused one student weeks of anguish.

Reporter: Jackie Fortier, LAist

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