Just four months ago, a pro-Trump mob violently stormed the U.S. Capitol in support of the former president's conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. And even after that, most of California’s Republican elected officials stuck with Trump by voting to overturn the certification of the results.

Trump may be out of office now, but many of those same Republicans — including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy from Bakersfield — are still enabling his lies, most recently when House Republicans voted to remove Wyoming’s Rep. Liz Cheney from her leadership role, for speaking out against Trump and his role in the Capitol insurrection.

This episode first aired on Jan. 8, 2021.

Guest: Marisa Lagos, KQED politics correspondent and co-host of KQED's Political Breakdown podcast

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Episode transcript here: https://bit.ly/3w45ldc. Subscribe to our newsletter here.

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The vast majority of the nearly 70,000 fire survivors are waiting for the compensation they're owed as a result of PG&E's bankruptcy settlement — while the trust responsible for managing the money racked up over $51 million in operating costs in 2020. 

Many families who have been displaced by fires caused by PG&E’s equipment are living in precarious situations. Some live unhoused or with relatives, and many have been forced to dip into savings while also experiencing the trauma of living with fear of fires.

So why are so many survivors still waiting?

Guest: Lily Jamali, Co-host and correspondent at KQED's The California Report

Episode transcript here: https://bit.ly/3bEwlbx

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When people see attacks on Asians — including a recent near-fatal stabbing on San Francisco’s Market Street — many refer to them as hate crimes, in order to call out anti-Asian racism and violence.

But the legal use of a hate crime charge is much trickier. And it raises some hard questions about whether the state should add harsher penalties for racially motivated attacks, or focus on rehabilitation and restorative justice.

Guest: Marisa Lagos, KQED politics correspondent and co-host of KQED's Political Breakdown podcast

Episode transcript here: https://bit.ly/3uF35sC

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Follow The Bay to hear more local Bay Area stories like this one. New episodes are released Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 3 a.m. Find The Bay on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, NPR One or via Alexa. 

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In the 1920s and 1930s, Stockton’s Little Manila grew into the largest Filipino community outside of Manila itself. Thousands of Filipinos worked as farm laborers in the San Joaquin Valley, and over the years they opened businesses, restaurants, hotels and organized labor unions.

Over time Stockton’s urban renewal policies led to the destruction of Little Manila. But today, Filipinx organizers in Stockton are working to preserve that centurylong history, organize the community and educate the next generation.

Guest: Shaylyn Martos, The Bay production assistant

Episode transcript here: https://bit.ly/3uuqX1W

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Indians and Indian Americans in the Bay Area are facing a dual reality when it comes to COVID-19: while businesses start to reopen here, COVID-19 cases and deaths are exploding in India — and many are worried for the safety of friends and family thousands of miles away.

The Indian diaspora is also turning that worry into action, raising money for oxygen tanks and setting up virtual doctor's visits.

Guest: Lakshmi Sarah, KQED reporter

Episode transcript here: https://bit.ly/2QWM7Ht

Read more of Lakshmi's reporting on Bay Area efforts to help stop COVID-19 in India:

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When it comes to sea level rise, East Palo Alto will be one of the first and hardest-hit areas of the Bay Area. It’s already prone to flooding now, and the city is leading the way when it comes to community-led solutions. But no matter how hard East Palo Alto works to build its resiliency against sea level rise, it won’t be enough; the Bay Area’s interconnected ecosystem suggests what its neighbors do to combat the issue matters to the entire region’s survival.

Follow the group Bay Adapt to stay updated on its work around rising sea levels.

Guests: Ezra David Romero and Kevin Stark, KQED climate reporters

Episode transcript here: https://bit.ly/2RmCd1u

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This series is part of the Pulitzer Center's nationwide Connected Coastlines reporting initiative.

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Bay Area transit agencies lost huge numbers of riders during the pandemic — and with it, enormous amounts of revenue. Federal money has saved them from big layoffs and service cuts. But as the region reopens and more people get vaccinated, public transit leaders still need to convince riders it’s safe and worth the trip.

Guest: Dan Brekke, KQED editor and reporter

Episode transcript here: https://bit.ly/3e9dMhj

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Last summer, confirmed COVID-19 cases ballooned inside San Quentin State Prison. Now, with many incarcerated people and staff now vaccinated, infections are very low and the worst of the outbreak seems to be over.

But the programs that many relied on before the pandemic still haven't returned — and incarcerated people are still coping with the scars of a traumatizing year.

Guest: Kate Wolffe, KQED reporter

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The state legislature last week confirmed East Bay assembly member Rob Bonta California’s new Attorney General. His confirmation happened the same week Derek Chauvin was convicted of murdering George Floyd. Bonta, the first Filipino American to take the position, has been a longtime supporter of more police accountability and takes over the AG role at a time when there’s momentum around police accountability in California and across the country. While there’s a lot of power in the AG position, there are also limits to the job. 

Guest: Marisa Lagos, KQED politics correspondent

Episode transcript here: https://bit.ly/3vyGnT5.

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Oakland has been the epicenter of on-the-ground anti-policing efforts since Oscar Grant was killed by BART police in 2009. That same movement saw its latest iteration after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and months of protests and organizing culminated into a rare conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. So what does the verdict mean now for Bay Area efforts against policing?

Guest: Cat Brooks, executive director of the Justice Teams Network and co-founder of the Anti Police Terror Project

Episode transcript here: https://bit.ly/3neytLi.

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Subscribe to The Bay to hear more local Bay Area stories like this one. New episodes are released Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 3 a.m. Find The Bay on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, NPR One or via Alexa.

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