The Bay

It’s official: by 2035, California will end the sale of new gas-powered vehicles. State air regulators approved the plan yesterday, but it started back in 2020 when Gov. Gavin Newsom first presented the idea through an executive order. So how big of a dent could this make in addressing the climate crisis?

Guest: Kevin Stark, KQED climate editor

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This episode first aired on Sept. 25, 2020.

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Over the weekend, protesters tore down a fence that had been put up around the 24th Street Mission BART plaza at the request of San Francisco Supervisor Hilary Ronen. 

Proponents of the fence said it was necessary to curb the sale of stolen goods and improve safety. Opponents said it further marginalized people who were already struggling and who relied on the public space to make a living.

The fence was supposed to be a temporary measure before the city finishes setting up a new street vending permitting system. But the fence — and whether or not it should have ever been there — has sparked a heated debate about what this public space should be. 

Guest: Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman, KQED reporter and editor

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

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Noncitizen voting isn’t a brand new idea. White, landowning, noncitizen men were once allowed to vote in 40 states.

Today, a handful of cities have granted noncitizen residents the right to vote in various local elections. Until recently, San Francisco was one of them: in 2016, voters approved Proposition N, which granted the vote to noncitizen parents of SF Unified students in school board races. 

But late last month, a state Superior Court judge struck down San Francisco's law in a suit brought forward by conservative groups. The city has appealed the decision, and what happens next will have ripple effects across the Bay Area and the rest of the state.

Guest: Annelise Finney, KQED reporter

Correction: this episode states that noncitizens were once allowed to vote in 22 states. Research shows that the correct figure is 40 states. Our episode description has been updated accordingly.

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A heat wave that swept through the Bay Area this week made way for fires again. That, plus a slew of other fires burning across California sent smoke hovering over areas of the state. So we thought it’d be a good time to re-evaluate how we talk about fires in the first place, so that we can better understand how to address them.

Guest: Danielle Venton, Climate Reporter for KQED

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This episode first aired Aug. 20, 2021. It was hosted by Devin Katayama and produced by Alan Montecillo and Christopher Beale

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It’s been one year since the Taliban took control of Kabul. Millions of Afghans have fled the country, in many cases becoming separated from their families in the process.

Thousands of refugees have since come to northern California, thanks to the help of resettlement agencies and Afghan community organizations. But many are still in limbo, as they try to secure permanent legal status while also juggling daily life in the Bay Area and staying connected with people back with Afghanistan.

Guest: Tyche Hendricks, KQED senior immigration editor

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• 'We Are All Very Devastated': Bay Area Afghans Scramble to Contact Family After Earthquake

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

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At elite high schools in Silicon Valley, the pressure to succeed is intense. And according to Sophia Shao, a senior at Los Altos High School, her proximity to California’s tech capital is a big reason why.

In this special collaboration with KQED’s Youth Takeover, a yearlong project to highlight compelling stories written and produced by local teens, Shao talks with us about growing up in a place where everyone is expected to succeed.

Guest: Sophia Shao, senior at Los Altos High School

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

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School starts again at San Francisco Unified next week. But some teachers and staff still haven’t been fully paid what they’re owed for last year. 

Since at least January, SFUSD has had problems with its new payroll system, EmpowerSF. These problems still haven’t been fully resolved, and hundreds of teachers and staff say they’re still being shortchanged.

District leaders, including the new superintendent, say fixing this is a top priority. But this problem has left educators feeling furious, and in some cases demoralized, as another school year begins.

Guest: Ida Mojadad, reporter for the San Francisco Standard covering education and housing

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Project Roomkey is coming to an end. Its goal was to temporarily house some of the state’s most vulnerable homeless people in hotel rooms during the COVID-19 pandemic. This would also hopefully serve as a stepping stone to permanent housing. 

So, how successful was Project Roomkey at getting people out of homelessness? Today, we look at how it worked in Alameda County.

Guest: Vanessa Rancaño, KQED housing reporter

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

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Ericka here, bringing you all something different for today’s episode. 

Every week, our job here at The Bay is to tell stories about this place and the people in it. But recently, I got the chance to tell a different kind of story: one about…me. 

Earlier this summer, the San Francisco chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association hosted a live storytelling event at KQED called Hella Asian. It was a gathering of local journalists and storytellers sharing reflections on how we come back as a community after the last two and a half years.

I told a story about a camping trip I went on with my best friend during the pandemic. It’s a story about friendship and photography. It’s also a story about the mental impact of journalism and the news, especially on journalists of color like myself. The story shows how my work has affected me and my sense of safety after covering the pandemic and hate against the Asian community. And that’s the story we’re sharing with you today. 

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• Hella Asian: The Comeback

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In 1969, a group of protesters took over a plot of land owned by UC Berkeley and turned it into a green, public space now known as People’s Park. Since then, it’s become a place synonymous with Berkeley’s history of protest, resistance, and mutual aid. Over the last 2 years, it also became home to dozens of unhoused people, prompting reports of crime and complaints from some residents.

Now, UC Berkeley is planning to replace the park with student housing. Supporters say it’s necessary to address a student housing crisis. Opponents say that development would destroy an important community space and displace unhoused people. 

Guest: Supriya Yelimeli, Berkeleyside housing and homelessness reporter

A transcript of this episode is available.

This episode was produced and edited by Alan Montecillo and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra, who also produced.

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