As you may have heard, last week was a tough one for KQED, NPR, and public media across the country.

Last Tuesday, KQED announced that it is cutting 15% of its staff in response to a budget shortfall and financial uncertainty. While our team was not laid off, we are losing many beloved colleagues.

Then, just a few days later, Congress voted to take back $1.1 billion in funding for public media. These were funds that public media stations across the country had already been promised. 

It’s a huge setback for us. But we want to reassure you: We’re still here. And we will keep fighting for the mission that public media represents, and reaffirm our commitment to serving you. So if you’re reading this: Thank you for your support.

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Every year The Bay team takes some time off from making new episodes. This is time we spend planning and recharging. So there will be no new episodes in your feed in the month of July.

In the meantime, we want to thank you for letting us be part of your daily routines. We will be back Friday, August 1 with a new episode. You can still reach us via e-mail at [email protected]. We always love hearing from you.

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On this month’s edition of The Bay’s news roundup, we introduce you to the Bay Area’s first women’s sports bar, discuss Stanford’s scaling back of gender-related surgical procedures for minors, and the secret sauce of the San Francisco malls defying the ‘doom loop’ narrative.

Links:

The Bay Area’s First Women’s Sports Bar Is Open for Business

Stanford Scales Back Trans Care for Minors Amid Federal Crackdown

Asian Food Is Coming to Save a Mall Near You

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Aurora Theatre Company in Berkeley has long been seen as a launchpad for actors and artists. In 2018 the theater commissioned and premiered the Tony-Award winning play “Eureka Day.”

Now, the theater is suspending production, joining a growing list of Bay Area theaters on the brink of closure in what the San Francisco Chronicle theater critic Lily Janiak describes as the “industry’s free fall.”

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The Wood Street encampment in West Oakland was at one point the largest homeless encampment Northern California. In 2023, the city of Oakland completed final evictions of Wood Street residents.

Dozens of Wood Street residents ended up at a city-funded shelter site where part of the encampment used to be. It includes an RV park and a "community cabins" site. Now, this shelter site is scheduled to close on Monday.

Today, Oakland journalist and filmmaker Caron Creighton tells us about the cabin sites, and introduces us to two unhoused people who have been living there.

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Gwenn Craig moved to San Francisco in 1975, as a young woman eager to explore her lesbian identity. She got involved in politics and was a close collaborator of Harvey Milk. In this episode, she talks about her political organizing, what pride has meant to her over the years, and what she hopes for its future. 

This episode first aired on June 28, 2023.

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Hip-hop is nearly 52 years old — and when it comes to talking about hip-hop history, it’s no secret that the Bay Area gets overlooked.

Today, we're revisiting an episode with KQED's Eric Arnold and Nastia Voynovskaya about exploring the history of hip-hop — and how our region has shaped it through the years.

Links:

This episode first aired Aug 11, 2023.

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After the city of Berkeley ordered the clearing of RV encampments on Second Street, the city began offering cash to people living in their RVs in addition to a room at a motel shelter. Most accepted the offer, and city leaders are hopeful that this approach can expand.

Links:

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Suisun City in Solano County will begin studying annexing land owned by California Forever, the billionaire-backed group that bought up thousands of acres of land with plans to build a brand new city from scratch in Solano County. KQED’s Adhiti Bandlamudi joins us to discuss the implications of this decision and why it has divided the local community. 

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The Trump Administration’s immigration crackdown has left few safe spaces for immigrants. But in the East Bay, local soccer leagues have provided a rare sense of psychological safety for immigrant newcomers.

Links:

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