There are more than 1.2 million people incarcerated in the U.S. And there are also a lot of mothers out there, living with the guilt, shame and loneliness that comes with having a child in prison. In Sacramento, one mom is turning that pain into support.

Reporter: Madi Bolaños, The California Report

A job fair was held this week for workers laid off by a Fresno-based agricultural company. Prima Wawona, which grows and packages peaches, nectarines, plums and apricots, filed for bankruptcy in October. A few weeks ago, it warned its employees they’d all be laid off in March.

Reporter: Kerry Klein, KVPR

One of the mushroom farms where a mass shooting took place in Half Moon Bay a year ago has paid more than $126,000 to federal regulators. The U.S. Department of Labor says that California Terra Garden paid $84,000 in back wages for dozens of workers, and more than $42,000 in penalties.

Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED  

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Last year, the Biden administration introduced a mobile app called CBP One. The idea was that it would help streamline the asylum process for the government agencies and the asylum seekers. But the initial version of the app was riddled with errors. While things have improved, asylum seekers are still facing challenges with the app.

Reporter: Gustavo Solis, KPBS

California’s new oil industry watchdog is recommending reforms to prevent spikes in gas prices at the pump.  Tai Milder heads the watchdog agency. He says the state should publish a market price report and require refineries to store a minimum amount of reserve gas.

Reporter: Kevin Stark, KQED 

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On Thursday, the City of Los Angeles ends renter protections that were implemented during the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic. That means tenants need to start paying back the back rent they owe to their landlords. Also, the city will start allowing rent increases in units covered through its rent stabilization program. That means some tenants who live in rent-stabilized apartments will have their rents raised for the first time in four years.

Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report

A new report says state corrections officials have used inappropriate tactics to reduce a backlog of staff misconduct cases. When a person held in a state prison files a complaint alleging staff misconduct, it’s supposed to go to the Department of corrections’ s Office of Internal Affairs or trained investigators. But a report by the state inspector general says prison officials dealt with a backlog by reclassifying hundreds of complaints as routine grievances.

Reporter: Alex Hall, KQED 

A bill that would let state legislators shield their property holdings from disclosure forms is advancing in the Legislature this week.  

Reporter: Alexei Koseff, CalMatters

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For the past two years, undocumented students at the University of California have campaigned to be allowed to work on campus. They argued that they were missing out on opportunities to work with professors and in labs, which could further their academic careers. But last week, UC Regents voted to halt a plan that would have allowed the university to hire them.

Reporter: Madi Bolaños, The California Report

The federal government is awarding California $600 million to fight homelessness. The funding represents a 14% increase over last year’s allocation to the state.

Reporter: Erin Baldassari, KQED 

A 2023 law made it legal for DACA recipients to become police officers in California. But a new investigation from CalMatters shows, uptake has been slow across the state. 

Reporter: Justo Robles, CalMatters

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The San Francisco 49ers are NFC Champions and heading to the franchise’s 8th Super Bowl. They defeated the Detroit Lions 34-31, after trailing by double digits at halftime.

Reporter: Christopher Alam, KQED

Journalism in Los Angeles and the entire state of California was hit with a major blow this past week. The L.A. Times laid off more than 100 journalists in its newsroom. The cuts come at a time when journalism will play a vital role in informing the public about the upcoming 2024 election.

Guest: Margaret Sullivan, executive director of the Newmark Center for Journalism, Ethics and Society at Columbia University

Mental health counselors gained some wins in the tentative agreement between the California Faculty Association and Cal State University management. CSU said they'll make an effort to boost the ratio of counselors to students.

Reporter: Yusra Farzan, LAist

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We continue our series on social isolation and the search for community in California.  One place where it can be very difficult to find community is L.A.'s Skid Row neighborhood, where many people live on the streets in squalor, as they also battle mental health and addiction problems. But the Skid Row Running Club has been a place where people can find friendship while also getting healthier. 

Guest: Jeremy Price, Skid Row Running Club

University of California Regents voted to suspend work on a proposal that would have allowed the university to hire students who don't qualify for federal work authorizations like the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. 

Reporter: Madi Bolanos, The California Report 

According to the latest numbers, more than 350, 000 Californians now get their fire insurance through California’s FAIR Plan. The number of FAIR policyholders has nearly tripled over the last five years. So why the increase?

Reporter: Levi Sumagaysay, CalMatters

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Three years ago, the Creek Fire was finally contained.  It remains California’s fifth largest blaze, after destroying nearly 400,000 acres and hundreds of homes in the Sierra Nevada east of Fresno. The three years since have been a time of healing and recovery – especially for those involved in a high-stakes rescue the first weekend of the blaze.

Reporter: Kerry Klein, KVPR 

California has been closing prisons to save money. But the state’s spending 90% more per year on each prisoner kept locked up than it was a decade ago. That’s according to a new analysis from CalMatters. 

Reporter: Nigel Duara, CalMatters

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A corner store in Los Angeles’ Skid Row neighborhood, that’s a crossroads of community life, is being sold. But instead of letting it get snatched up by the highest bidder, the Korean American family that runs the market has worked out a deal with a Black-led nonprofit. The move serves as a small step toward healing historic racial tensions in LA.

Reporter: Megan Jamerson, KCRW 

A big blow to journalism in Los Angeles, as the LA Times has cut about 20% of its newsroom. The paper's Washington bureau and sports and photography departments saw big cuts. And several journalists of color were also impacted.

Reporter: Yusra Farzan, LAist

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Cal State faculty have called off a strike, after a tentative labor agreement was reached Monday night. Faculty had been scheduled to be off the job this entire week.

The three Democrats vying to represent California in the U.S. Senate went after the only Republican on stage at Monday’s debate -- and clashed over the war between Israel and Hamas. 

Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED 

Many in Half Moon Bay are gathering Tuesday to commemorate the first anniversary of the mass shooting that killed seven farmworkers in the community south of San Francisco.

Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero

A controversial school board president in the Riverside County community of Temecula will face a recall election this spring. A group opposed to his conservative agenda collected enough signatures to force a vote.

Reporter: Madison Aument, KVCR

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In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a New York law that required people to show a need for carrying a gun when applying for a permit to carry a concealed weapon. California’s law was similar to that one. Now to get a concealed carry weapons permit, students receive 16 hours of classroom instruction in gun rules and regulations and then time on the firing range.

Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report

Monday is the first day of the spring semester for most California State University campuses. But instead of teaching classes, tens of thousands of CSU faculty members from all 23 schools are on strike this week.

Reporter: Juan Carlos Lara, KQED

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