Rivers in California are flowing fast and wide this year as record snowpack in the mountains melt. All that water has created flood damage and worries about more to come, but one industry is thriving after years of drought and shrinking rivers -- whitewater rafting.   

Reporter: Joshua Yeager, KVPR

California workplace health and safety regulators are holding a public hearing on Thursday on a proposed rule to prevent heat-related illness in indoor spaces.

Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED 

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 Along the Yuba River on Tuesday, California officials announced a plan to give fish access to areas they haven't swam in for more than a century. Daguerre Point Dam has blocked migrating salmon, sturgeon and Pacific lamprey since it was built in 1910.

Reporter: Danielle Venton, KQED

After a wildfire destroyed his home a few years back, a young Latino man from Santa Rosa was inspired to become a firefighter. Now, he’s well on his way to achieving his goal -- thanks to a program designed to increase diversity in California’s fire departments.

Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED

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In 2015, the Berryessa Snow Mountain region became a national monument. The monument status brought protections to the area’s biologically diverse landscape.  But one large swath of land, nestled in the monument’s center, was excluded from protection. Now environmental groups and tribes are trying to fix that.  

Reporter: Manola Secaira, CapRadio

Governor Gavin Newsom warned of a more than $31 billion shortfall when he released his revised state spending plan last week. One sector that will feel the pinch of a tighter budget is child care.

Reporter: Daisy Nguyen, KQED

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U.S. immigration officials are expressing confidence in the state of things at the U-S Mexico border. That after the Trump-era Title 42 program ended last week. It prevented migrants from seeking asylum in the U.S. But there are still plenty of concerns from people trying to cross the border.

Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report

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Now that the pandemic era border restrictions, known as Title 42, have been lifted., it’s estimated six thousand migrants are in shelters across the San Diego -Tijuana border waiting to apply for asylum. Many had been waiting for days without much food. They slept on the ground under bright lights.

Governor Gavin Newsom will be announcing how big of a budget deficit the state is expecting next year – and how he plans to close that gap.

Reporter: Alexei Koseff, CalMatters 

Fire season is fast approaching in California. As the climate warms, fires are expected to be more intense. This comes as California struggles to beef up its wildfire personnel. But a new program in the Bay Area aims to help build that workforce.

Reporter: Madi Bolanos, The California Report

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Title 42, the border policy that was put in place during the pandemic to turn asylum seekers away, ends Thursday night. Officials are expecting a surge of migrants at the border. U.S. Customs and Border Protection is already keeping 400 migrants in a makeshift camp in San Ysidro, between the primary and secondary border walls. 

Reporter: Gustavo Solis, KPBS 

Thursday marks the end of the COVID 19 federal public health emergency.  But for people who are affected by Long COVID, it’s not the end of the pandemic.  Many have lost their jobs, have no means of income, and are relying on disability checks to try to survive. But getting approved for long-term disability is becoming a major roadblock.

Reporter: Keith Mizuguchi, The California Report

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As we’re now in the fourth year of the pandemic, there is a growing sense of optimism that the worst is likely behind us. Vaccines and boosters have helped reduce the number of hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19. But for millions of Americans who are suffering from Long COVID symptoms, there’s no end in sight for their day-to-day struggles.

Reporter: Keith Mizuguchi, The California Report 

Governor Gavin Newsom is scheduled to release his revised budget on Friday. He’s warned about a major deficit, but that isn’t stopping lawmakers from putting pressure on him to increase child care funding, to the tune of a billion dollars. 

Reporter: Daisy Nguyen, KQED

After the COVID-19 public health emergency ends on Thursday, some people who were receiving medications through telehealth will need to visit a doctor in person.

Reporter: Katie Hyson, KPBS 

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California’s legislature has approved spending $150 million to help cash-strapped hospitals across the state. The money would fund a hospital loan program.

Reporter: Ana Ibarra, CalMatters

Menifee in Riverside County is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. As it's grown, the city made the decision to create its own police department from scratch. It launched in the summer of 2020 – just as policing was under intense scrutiny in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.  

Reporter: Madison Aument, KVCR

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This week will mark the end of a controversial border policy that started under President Donald Trump. Title 42 is part of the U.S. Public Health Code meant to prevent the spread of contagious diseases. But it's been used to keep hundreds of thousands of migrants from crossing the border.

Guest: Tyche Hendricks, KQED

We’re nearing the end of the first week of the Hollywood writers strike, and studios and the union representing writers stand far apart on a number of key issues. But, the strike doesn’t only threaten the financial health of those who work on TV shows or movies. It has lots of other businesses worried as well. 

Reporter: Josie Huang, LAist

The California reparations task force has approved a statewide plan for descendants of American Slavery.  The sweeping recommendations include a method to calculate money denied to Black residents by racist policies and plans for a new state agency to manage repayment.

Reporter: Annelise Finney, KQED

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Hundreds of parents and teachers in Oakland are taking to the picket line on Friday morning for day two of the citywide teachers strike. 

Reporter: Phoebe Quinton, KQED

David “Mas” Masumoto has been growing peaches, nectarines and grapes on his family farm in Del Rey, just south of Fresno, for over 40 years. He thought he knew all about his family history in the area -- the racism, imprisonment during World War II, and eventually buying some land, establishing a home. But Masumoto got a big shock in 2012. 

Reporter: Lisa Morehouse, The California Report Magazine

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