It’s been 3 months since major flooding inundated the town of Planada in Merced County. Still, residents of this unincorporated community are struggling to stay afloat.

Reporter: Madi Bolaños, The California Report

State officials are preparing for major flooding as the snowpack begins to melt. Statewide, the snowpack sits at 249% of the average for this time of year.

Reporter: Ezra David Romero, KQED

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The Clean Air Act has saved hundreds of thousands of lives and avoided millions of childhood illnesses. Even so, the Environmental Protection Agency is planning to strengthen air standards. It's a move celebrated by many, but some fire experts worry that the new rules could unintentionally lead to larger wildfires and worse air.

Guest: Danielle Venton, KQED 

Lawmakers plan to introduce a bill on Tuesday that would restrict California prison officials from transferring certain inmates to ICE. The HOME Act would protect non-citizens from being handed to ICE for deportation, if they’ve been granted clemency or released from prison under recent criminal justice reform laws.

Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED

The state launched a program recently to get more Californians into their first homes. The only problem? Maybe the program was too popular. 

Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report

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More fallout from the reappearance of Tulare Lake. It was once the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi. But it's been dry for years. Now, with massive amounts of rain, and more water coming from the state's melting snowpack, nearby communities are worried they could be flooded out.  

Reporter: Soreath Hok, KVPR

Tens of thousands of people rely on salmon fishing to make a living. The season's closure could be devastating to coastal communities - from fishing to charter boats and restaurants. 

Reporter: Kevin Stark, KQED

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California child care providers are still waiting on hundreds of thousands of dollars in pandemic financial relief from Governor Newsom and the Department of Social Services. Providers were supposed to receive the one-time stipend payments around the holidays, or early 2023 at the latest.

Reporter: Izzy Bloom, The California Report 

Fast fashion trends have many Americans buying more clothes than ever. But when those clothes are discarded, thousands of tons of textiles end up in landfills each year. 

Reporter: Gabriela Fernandez, KCBX

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The number of K-12 students experiencing homelessness in California has surged by the thousands. That’s according to new enrollment data from the state’s Department of Education.

Reporter: Joe Hong, CalMatters

A new investigation finds that after police killings, many California law enforcement agencies are trained to keep news of people's deaths from family members. That way, according to the reporting, police can grill families for information that can be used to limit liability and protect departments’ reputations.

Guest: Brian Howey, Investigative Reporting Program, UC Berkeley and LA Times

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A parade of atmospheric rivers has delivered record-busting levels of rain and snowfall to the Sierra Nevada this year. But with all that snow poised to melt in the coming months, communities in the Central Valley floor, which are already grappling with flooding, are bracing for the worst. 

Reporter: Joshua Yeager, KVPR 

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has voted to expand a guaranteed income program for an additional 200 former foster youth in the area. It’ll provide recipients with $1,000 a month for two years. 

Reporter: Izzy Bloom, The California Report 

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The latest reading of California’s snowpack is in, and the amount of snow is huge - 220% of average. The last time California had this much snow in the Sierra Nevada was in 1952.

Reporter: Joshua Yeager, KVPR 

How many of you have had this very California problem? You really want to buy your first home, but the down payment is just too high. And the monthly mortgage payments would kill you financially. Well, the state of California has just started taking applications for a new program, where it will put down a good chunk of money to help people buy their first home. 

Guest: Eric Johnson, California Housing Finance Agency

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When the food scraps we throw out from our kitchens get hauled to dumps, they release methane, a super-accelerant of climate change. So last year, a state law went into effect requiring California cities to slash the amount of food waste they send to landfills. But how is implementation of that law going?

Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report

Starting Monday, California Public Health officials will no longer require masking in healthcare and correctional facilities. Also, COVID-19 vaccinations won’t be required for healthcare workers.

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The state says it's offering aid to communities that have been deeply impacted by this year's storms. But for many residents in the San Bernardino mountains, the challenges are mounting.

Reporter: Jill Replogle, LAist

A group of hunger strikers at two California immigration detention centers say they're pausing their protest, after what they call violent tactics by ICE officials. The 35-day hunger strike began in mid-February – with dozens of men at the Mesa Verde and Golden State Annex facilities protesting substandard conditions.

Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED

Continuing their series “Mixed! Stories of Mixed Race Californians,” The California Report Magazine spoke with Professor Reginald Daniel. He taught the nation’s longest running course on Mixed Race Studies at UC Santa Barbara.

Reporter: Sasha Khokha, The California Report Magazine

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The Shasta County Board of Supervisors will replace voting equipment targeted by former President Trump and others, promoting the lie that the 2020 election was stolen. The county is now going to be hand counting ballots.

Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED

Housing advocates say landlords have been taking advantage of a loophole in California’s Tenant Protection Act to kick renters out. Lawmakers passed the landmark legislation in 2019 to keep tenants in their homes.

Reporter: Vanessa Rancaño, KQED 

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