A federal grand jury has charged a Houston-based oil company in connection with October's Southern California oil spill. Federal prosecutors say Amplify Energy and two of its subsidiaries were negligent by failing to respond to a series of alarms that should have alerted them to the spill, hours before a ruptured pipeline was shut off.

California is expanding its program aimed at creating more housing for unhoused people. The state has announced funding for four new projects, with more to come in the weeks ahead, as it plans to distribute almost $2.8 billion. 

Reporter: Kate Wolffe, KQED

Many Californians who work in offices haven’t been to their workplaces in nearly two years because of the pandemic. Now, with many cities like Los Angeles in the midst of a severe housing crisis, some people want to turn those vacant buildings into housing.

Reporter: David Wagner, KPCC  

California and neighboring states have agreed to take less water from the dwindling Colorado River. Roughly a quarter of the water used in areas serviced by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California comes from the Colorado River, through the country’s largest reservoir, Lake Mead.

Reporter: Keith Mizuguchi, The California Report

In Los Angeles County, there’s still a wide gap in vaccination rates between Black and Latino residents – compared to whites, Asians and Native Americans. That despite aggressive vaccine outreach. 

Reporter: Caleigh Wells, KCRW

Protesters gathered in San Francisco Wednesday to urge the Biden administration to stop detaining immigrants at a Yuba County jail. This is the last public facility in California to keep a detention contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED

Interest in cycling has boomed since the beginning of the pandemic, with sales of both regular bicycles e-bikes soaring over the past two years. While many transportation planners and environmentalists are embracing the increase in biking, advocates say there are still not enough safeguards to protect them from cars. 

Guest: Dave Snyder, Executive Director, California Bicycling Coalition

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices