The Bay

A generation of young people has been traumatized by gun violence. Mass shootings year after year, especially at schools, draw international headlines.

But students, and even young children, are also being exposed to everyday gun violence hat an alarming rate. In the city of Richmond — which is seen as a national model for gun violence prevention efforts — 40% of shootings over the past 10 years have happened near a K-12 campus, and out of those shootings, around 80% happened within a half mile of an elementary school, according to police data. 

Today, reporter Abené Clayton with The Guardian’s Guns and Lies in America project joins us to talk about her hometown, how kids are being affected by violence, and why Richmond isn’t an outlier.

Episode transcript

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

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You’ve probably seen and heard the stories about downtown San Francisco. Fears about crime and safety, as well as low foot traffic because of the move to remote work, have left many buildings and businesses hollowed out. Downtown is in trouble, and the stakes (and dollar figures) are high. So what’s being done to save it from this so-called urban ‘doom loop’? 

Episode transcript

Guest: Kevin Truong, business and economics reporter for The SF Standard

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

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Fear of crime and blight in some of California’s biggest cities is increasing pressure on mayors to reduce visible street homelessness fast — even if it means not putting everyone into permanent affordable housing.

To do this, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and San Francisco’s London Breed have pushed for more funding for shelters and temporary housing in their city budgets. But homeless advocates worry that more funding for temporary solutions means less funding for permanent housing.

Episode transcript

Guests: Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, political reporter for KQED and Guy Marzorati, correspondent for KQED’s Politics & Government desk and producer of the Political Breakdown podcast

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

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If you have ever driven down Sacramento Street in South Berkeley, you have probably seen the statue of William Byron Rumford Sr that is prominently displayed on the median just off of Ashby Ave. Rumford was a civil rights advocate. He became the Bay Area’s first African American elected to the California Legislature in 1948. He also owned the pharmacy across the street from the site of the statue. Both are stops on the South Berkeley Legacy Project’s Black History walking tour. 

The tour is led by local historian and lifelong South Berkeley resident, Tina Jones Williams. The tour highlights cultural pillars in Berkeley’s Black community in effort to preserve their legacy. 

Episode transcript

Guest: Corey Antonio Rose, producer Its Been a Minute and Bria Suggs, a journalist at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism.

Links: 

This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Jehlen Herdman, our intern, with production assistance from Alexander Gonzalez. Ericka Cruz Guevarra is the host. 

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A spate of deadly shootings across the Bay are highlighting an ongoing surge in gun violence in the region, especially since the pandemic, which in part interrupted some of the work that had been trying to prevent gun violence.

In Oakland, community groups and the city’s Department of Violence Prevention (DVP) say it's going to take creative thinking to solve this problem — and that includes investing in arts and culture. Starting Friday and through July, DVP is bringing back Town Nights, a series of arts and culture events around Oakland that provide resources and positive social outlets. So why do some of the city’s leading gun violence prevention groups say this programming is effective at stopping gun violence? The Bay revisits this question in an episode featuring Nastia Voynovskaya, KQED associate editor of arts and culture. 

Episode transcript

Links:

• Town Nights events for Summer 2023

This episode first published October 10, 2022. It was produced by Maria Esquinca, Alan Montecillo, Alexander Gonzalez and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra

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The recent killing of Banko Brown by an armed Walgreens security guard has put a focus on the work of these employees. While they often take on similar roles to cops, armed security guards are not public employees but often low-paid civilians with few protections when they kill someone on the job, and they don’t get proper training on things like use of force or de-escalation either.

That’s all supposed to change after the 2019 killing of a man by a security officer in Sacramento, which led to a bill meant to increase the state training standards for security guards.

Episode transcript

Guest: Marisa Lagos, a politics correspondent for KQED and co-host of the political breakdown podcast. 

Links:

This episode was produced by Alexander Gonzales, Jehlen Herdman, Maria Esquinca, and Ericka Cruz Guevarra, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra

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Designated “the fastest-growing sport in America” by the Sports and Fitness Industry Association in the last three years, pickleball is blowing up here in the Bay Area, too. Local enthusiasts say the sport has helped them stay active during the pandemic and find community. 

Today on the Bay: a field trip to Bushrod Park, the heart of Oakland’s pickleball scene, to see what all the hype is about. 

Episode transcript

Guest: Alix Wall, Freelance writer, Darlene Vendegna, Oakland’s USA Pickleball Association Ambassador

Links: 

• A look inside Oakland’s booming pickleball scene

This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Jehlen Herdman. Molly Solomon guest edited. Ericka Cruz Guevarra is the host.

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So much of life is online these days, but barriers to internet access remain, especially for folks who are unhoused. Resources at public libraries, like free Wi-Fi, are aiming to fill that gap. A 2022 study by the American Library Association found that 93 percent of libraries provide or plan to provide Wi-Fi 24 hours a day because of the high demand for internet.

But San Francisco’s Eureka Valley/Harvey Milk Memorial Branch Library has moved in the opposite direction after neighbors raised concerns about homelessness, crime, and open air drug use outside of the library. Mounting public pressure prompted the Harvey Milk Library to shut off Wi-Fi after hours to try and deter homelessness in the area. So is it working?

Guest: Sydney Johnson, digital reporter for KQED 

Episode transcript

Links: 

• What Happens When Libraries Stop Sharing Wi-Fi? 

This episode was produced by Jehlen Herdman, Maria Esquinca, Molly Solomon, and Ericka Cruz Guevarra, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra

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San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood has been at the forefront of the opioid epidemic, amassing a reputation as a place of open air drug dealing, crime, and homelessness. Viral images and videos of open-air drug use have been seen around the world.

Some argue publishing pictures and videos of people experiencing addiction is dehumanizing and has long-term effects that follow them for the rest of their lives. Others argue the images raise awareness and showcase the reality of San Francisco’s overdose epidemic. 

Episode transcript

This episode originally aired on Dec. 9

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Caste is a hierarchical system, based on birth, that affects South Asians on the subcontinent and around the world. 

Many hesitate to discuss it out in the open. But over the years, people from marginalized caste backgrounds have been speaking up — including in Silicon Valley, home to thousands of workers of South Asian descent, where allegations of caste discrimination have hung over some of the area’s largest tech companies. 

Now, a bill has been introduced to ban caste discrimination in California. And it has sparked heated arguments within South Asian communities.

Episode transcript

Guest: Sonia Paul, freelance journalist

Links:

The audio used in this episode with Professor Anupama Rao originally aired in The Agenda With Steve Paikin. 

This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca. Jehlen Herdman is our intern. Ericka Cruz Guevarra is the host. 

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