The Bay

In response to arrests of street vendors and day laborers by federal immigration authorities, thousands of volunteers have mobilized to ‘adopt’ a street corner. KQED’s labor correspondent Farida Jhabvala Romero takes us to one corner in East Oakland to meet the volunteers offering their time to watch out for ICE and Border Patrol agents.

This episode originally aired on Sept. 5, 2025.

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

Girls’ flag football is exploding in popularity at high schools across the Bay Area. It coincides with the rise of professional women’s sports teams like the Golden State Valkyries and Bay FC, which have cemented the Bay’s status as the new capital of women’s sports.

This episode first aired on Sept. 26, 2025.

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

If you want solar power in your home, you usually need to be a homeowner with a good roof and a decent amount of cash to pay up front.

But some Bay Area residents are trying out plug-in solar, which can hang from an apartment balcony, out a window, or be tented in the backyard.

This episode originally aired on August 13, 2025.

Links:

Forget Rooftops — Bay Area Residents Are Plugging Solar Into the Wall

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

San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood, often in the news for headlines associated with crime, homelessness and drug use, has the highest concentration of kids in all of San Francisco. So a reporter decided to give Tenderloin kids disposable cameras to see the neighborhood from their perspective. 

This episode first aired on Sept. 24, 2025.

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

In 1969, Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz and his first wife Joyce built Snoopy’s Home Ice in Santa Rosa. Since then, generations of locals — including KQED’s Gabe Meline — have made it a tradition to visit the skating rink, especially during the holidays.

This episode first aired on Dec. 18, 2024.

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

In the Bay’s final news roundup of 2025, Ericka, Alan and Jessica discuss the recent series of small earthquakes in San Ramon and Sonoma County, Oakland’s decision to expand its network of license plate reader cameras, and new upgrades to the Clipper card system.

Links:

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

You’re not imagining it — your Pacific Gas & Electric bill really is going up. In fact, according to a KQED analysis, the average PG&E utility bill went up nearly 70% between 2020 and March 2025.

But it’s not just the cost: understanding what’s actually in your bill can be confusing. Today, KQED climate reporter Laura Klivans helps Ericka decode her PG&E bill.

Links:

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

Engineered stone is a man-made material made with high concentrations of silica that is commonly used to make kitchen countertops in the U.S. 

But doctors are seeing more and more workers in the countertop industry developing silicosis, an often deadly lung disease linked to inhaling toxic dust the material releases when powercut. Even though California has safety rules in place to reduce the risk to workers, some say it’s time to ban the use of engineered stone altogether.

Links:

California Doctors Urge Ban on Engineered Stone as Silicosis Cases Surge | KQED

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

The Ukraine-Russia war has been called the most technologically advanced war in history. In an episode from KQED’s Close All Tabs podcast, Bay Area journalist Erica Hellerstein visits Ukraine to learn about how the nation’s culture of tech innovation — and its surprising ties to Silicon Valley — are fueling the country’s resistance through an army of engineers, coders, hackers, and tinkerers.

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

San Francisco could see taller and more dense buildings in the city’s north and west side after the Board of Supervisors approved Mayor Daniel Lurie’s ‘Family Zoning’ plan last week. 

Some believe it will lead to more housing and lower rents, while others worry that new construction will change their neighborhoods and lead to displacement. But how soon — and how much — could it really change the city? 

Links:

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