It’s a bad time to be an Oakland Athletics fan.

First off, they're just having an awful season. But the A's are also the latest pro sports team to announce plans to leave Oakland. And earlier this week, the A’s made a significant step towards a future in Las Vegas, as Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo announced a tentative agreement with the A's over public funding for a new A’s ballpark on the Las Vegas strip.

These days, the Oakland Coliseum feels pretty empty, save for some of the die-hard fans who want the team owner to know one thing: that the A’s are nothing without Oakland.

Today, we speak with KQED producer and A’s superfan and drummer Nina Thorsen about the latest news, and the heartbreak of being an A’s fan right now. 

Episode transcript

Links:

• The Bay Survey

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Two 17-year old girls working at a Popeye’s in East Oakland have filed labor complaints, alleging harassment and potential violations of child labor law. They say they’ve witnessed violence at work and experienced harassment, and that one 13-year old employee was working longer than the legal limit for minors. At least one state agency is now investigating the complaints.

For labor advocates and fast food employees, this story is just another example of why changes are needed in how the state holds fast food companies accountable for poor working conditions.

Guest: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED labor correspondent.

Episode transcript

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

Links:

• The Bay Survey

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With the end of a pandemic-era immigration policy known as Title 42, Bay Area cities and nonprofits in Santa Clara County have been preparing for the arrival of asylum seekers who’ve been waiting months, if not years, to find refuge in places like the South Bay.

Title 42 left thousands of asylum-seekers on the other side of the U.S. border or back to the countries they fled. Since the Biden administration lifted the order earlier this month, Amigos de Guadalupe in East San Jose has helped several new families find food and shelter in a community that has long welcomed immigrants.

Guest: Maritza Maldonado, founder and executive director of Amigos de Guadalupe in East San Jose

Episode transcript

Links:

• A Firsthand Look at the Border After Title 42 Ended

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

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Cleo Moore has been waiting for justice for years. On Jan. 6, 2017, SFPD Officer Kenneth Cha shot her son, Sean Moore, outside of his home after responding to a noise complaint. Moore died in 2020 from complications related to the shooting.

Moore's family saw a glimmer of hope in 2021, when then-District Attorney Chesa Boudin charged Cha with manslaughter and assault, marking the second time the city has ever filed homicide charges against an officer for an on-duty incident. 

But since Boudin’s recall, the fate of Sean Moore’s case has been in the hands of Brooke Jenkins, and Cleo and other family members are pessimistic that she will move forward with the case.

Episode transcript

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This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Ericka Cruz Guevarra, with support from Maria Esquinca. Ericka Cruz Guevarra is the host.

Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts.

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The Oakland teacher’s strike ended on Monday, when the teachers union reached a tentative agreement with the district. Classes were canceled for tens of thousands of students for seven days. The deal not only includes pay raises for teachers and other school staff, but also so-called “common good” proposals that address broader community needs, like support for unhoused families and improvements to transportation access and infrastructure.

Episode transcript

This interview was produced by Natalia Navarro and Juan Carlos Lara. This episode was produced by Ericka Cruz Guevarra, Maria Esquinca, Jehlen Herdman and Alan Montecillo.

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Child care is too expensive and inaccessible for kids and families. That’s why in 2018, San Francisco voters approved Baby Prop. C, a tax on commercial landlords that would be used to expand access to child care, particularly for lower-and middle-income families, and to help pay early educators a living wage.

After being held up in court battles spearheaded by taxpayer and business groups, money from the tax finally began trickling down to families and providers last year. And while there are still challenges to making child care accessible , this investment appears to be paying off.

Guest: Daisy Nguyen, reporter covering early childhood education and care for KQED

Episode transcript

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

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In late April, a 24-year old transgender Black man named Banko Brown was shot and killed by an armed Walgreens security guard on San Francisco’s Market Street for allegedly shoplifting. The guard was held for a few days but has since been released. And now, community members and the Board of Supervisors are pressuring District Attorney Brooke Jenkins to release the video footage of the shooting. Jenkins has declined to file charges.

Despite San Francisco’s bold commitments to support the trans community and reduce trans homelessness, Brown struggled to find safe and stable housing, even as he was an active organizer who helped others find resources. All of this adds up to what the San Francisco Chronicle’s Nuala Bishari describes as “a tragedy of San Francisco’s making.” 

Guest: Nuala Bishari, opinion columnist and editorial writer for the S.F. Chronicle

Episode transcript

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

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For the last 100 years, the Hetch Hetchy reservoir in Yosemite has supplied millions of Bay Area residents with some of the cleanest water in the country. A feat of human engineering, Hetch Hetchy has both an impressive and tainted history; its construction came at both an environmental and human cost to the indigenous people of the area.

Now, climate change is making it harder to manage the reservoir, and scientists say something has to change to adapt Hetch Hetchy to the future.

Guest: Ezra David Romero, KQED climate reporter

Episode transcript

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

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The federal COVID emergency will officially end on Thursday. But for those living with long COVID, the end of the pandemic couldn’t feel farther from reality. 

Dubbed by some as a “mass disabling event,” long COVID has left millions of Americans unable to work and stuck navigating the system of disability benefits in order to survive. Doctors and researchers have yet to pin down the exact cause of long COVID. Meanwhile, patients feel that not enough has been done to help find an effective treatment.

Guest: Keith Mizuguchi, producer for KQED’s The California Report 

Episode transcript

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

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On Thursday morning, nearly 3,000 educators and staff at the Oakland Unified School District went on strike in a push for higher wages and better resources. The union and the district have not had an active contract since the last one expired in October. This marks the third walkout this year and the second official strike since 2019.

Guest: Erin Baldassari, KQED reporter

Episode transcript

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

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