Ballots are being recounted in the race for California’s 16th Congressional house seat, which ended in a tie for second between Assemblymember Evan Low and Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian. One or both of them will move on to face former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo in November.

KQED’s Guy Marzorati explains how the recount is working, and why it’s gotten a little ugly.

Episode transcript

This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Ellie Prickett-Morgan, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra.

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Oakland officials are moving ahead with a plan to rename the city’s airport to “San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport.” 

Residents, business groups, and airlines all have a lot to say about it, and San Francisco has also filed a lawsuit to try and stop the renaming from happening. The Oaklandside’s Eli Wolfe joins us to talk about why the name change feels existential. 

Episode transcript

Editor’s note: Oakland International Airport is a financial supporter of KQED.

This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Ericka Cruz Guevarra, edited by Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra.

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After last year’s mass shooting at two mushroom farms in Half Moon Bay, officials learned that some of the farmworkers had been living in shipping containers. State, federal, and local officials promised to do something about it.

Now, the city is close to breaking ground on housing for the survivors and other low-wage farmworkers in the area.

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This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra.

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The Federal Bureau of Prisons abruptly announced that it will shut down Federal Correctional Institution Dublin, the federal women’s prison infamous for an alleged culture of sexual abuse. KQED's Alex Hall tells us why this news took many people by surprise, and what it could mean for the hundreds of women inside.

This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Ellie Prickett-Morgan, with production support from Maria Esquinca and Ericka Cruz Guevarra, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra.

Episode transcript

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Earlier this month, San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin announced his entry into the race for mayor in November. 

Peskin has been in San Francisco politics for a long time, and is the first prominent mayoral candidate from the city’s progressive camp. KQED’s Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez tells us how Peskin shakes up this mayoral race.

Links:

This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra

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Darius Simpson is the author of the collection “Never Catch Me.” In this episode in celebration of National Poetry Month, Simpson talks about how his poetry has changed over the years, his involvement in People’s Programs in Oakland, and how he hopes his poetry can inspire people to organize towards liberation of all oppressed people. 

This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca, Alan Montecillo, and Ericka Cruz Guevarra, and guest hosted by Maria Esquinca.

Links:

• Episode transcript

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It’s official: The A’s are leaving Oakland. The Athletics announced last week that they’ll play their home games for the 2025-27 season at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento as part of bigger plans to relocate to Las Vegas for the 2028 season. But A’s fans vow to continue speaking out about the move and how its long goodbye to Oakland has been handled.

Episode Transcript

This episode was produced by Ellie Prickett-Morgan, Maria Esquinca, Ericka Cruz Guevarra and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra

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Have you ever noticed how few school buses there are in California? A survey by the Federal Highway Administration found that nationally, almost 40% of school-aged kids ride a school bus. In California, that number is only 8%. Why? It goes back to a state constitutional amendment passed in 1978. In this episode from Bay Curious, producer Katrina Schwartz dives into how this proposition led to California’s lack of school buses.

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This episode contains graphic descriptions of death and violence.

At least 33,000 Palestinians — including an estimated 13,000 children — have been killed by Israel’s bombardment and invasion of Gaza. The region’s health care infrastructure has been decimated, as an estimated 12 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are considered operational. 

Dr. Mohammad Subeh, an emergency room physician from the South Bay, recently returned from a volunteer medical mission to the city of Rafah in southern Gaza. In this episode, he talks about why he went, what he saw, and the people he met.

This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Dana Cronin, and guest hosted by Alan Montecillo.

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California’s salmon are still in decline — so much so that fishery managers may cancel the state’s salmon season for the second straight year. 

Lawmakers, environmental groups and tribes have identified one part of the problem: toxic dust that comes from our tires. KQED’s Ezra David Romero tells us how we can fix this problem.

Links:

• Toxic Dust Threatens California Salmon Population, Lawmaker Seeks Solution

This episode was produced by Ellie Prickett-Morgan, Dana Cronin, and Maria Esquinca, and guest hosted by Alan Montecillo.

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