The Bay

San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin has been recalled. This race has gotten a ton of attention both inside and outside the Bay Area, which is uncommon for a local DA race. And shortly after election night, national outlets proclaimed that these results show an indictment of criminal justice reforms in California.

But the truth is a lot more complicated. Today, we’ll dig into the many different reasons why Boudin was voted out of office.

Guest: Marisa Lagos, KQED political correspondent and co-host of the Political Breakdown podcast

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

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In California, tens of thousands of workers aren’t getting paid what they’re owed by their employers. Many of these workers are low-wage earning immigrants in industries like construction, home care, and food service.

The state actually has a system in place where people can file claims of wage theft. But the system currently has a huge backlog, leaving people waiting years before they can try and and recover their money. In some cases, workers claim their employers stole tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars from them. 

The result? Many low-wage Californians miss out on rent, food, and can even lose their homes.

Guest: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED labor correspondent

Related links:

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

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California’s mental health care system is a mess. And at the same time, unsheltered homelessness is increasing and voters want their leaders to do something about it.

Those are some of the reasons why Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a proposal called the Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment Court — or CARE Court. The idea is to provide a coordinated mental health treatment plan for a patient, under the supervision of a judge.

But there’s also a catch: if the patient refuses that treatment, that could also be used as grounds for conservatorship, where the judge appoints someone to manage a patient’s care and finances. That has created big concerns among civil liberties and mental health advocates, who worry that this new court system could cause even more problems in a system rife with racial disparities.

Guest: Erin Baldassari, KQED housing affordability reporter

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

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There are so many horrifying incidents of attacks on Asians that have gone viral. Many of them took place in San Francisco. There’s a lot of fear, anxiety, and anger among Asian communities in the city. And many people want justice for these attacks.

Whether that is truly or happening or not is a huge sticking point in Tuesday’s recall election of District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who ran on a progressive platform and says incarcerating people should be a last resort.

KQED and The San Francisco Standard reviewed 12 local, high-profile criminal cases involving Asian victims in 2020 and 2021. In this episode, we discuss what these cases show, and what the path forward might look like.

Guests: Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, reporter and producer for KQED News and Han Li, reporter for the San Francisco Standard

A transcript of this episode is available.

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

Links:

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For the first time since 2014, the race for mayor in San Jose has no incumbent running, since Mayor Sam Liccardo is term-limited. On June 7, San Jose voters will decide between 7 candidates, ranging from current elected officials to complete outsiders. If no candidate wins a majority of the votes in the June primary, the top 2 finishers face a November runoff.

Today, we’ll hear from voters and from the candidates who think they should be mayor of the Bay Area’s largest city.

Guests: Carlos Cabrera-Lomeli, community engagement reporter for KQED and Guy Marzorati, reporter and producer for KQED’s politics & government desk

This episode was edited and produced by Alan Montecillo and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra, who also produced. Candidate audio comes from forums hosted by the San Jose Spotlight and SPUR.

A transcript of this episode is available.

Links:

• KQED 2022 voter guide

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In Solano County, two high-profile police killings loom large over the race for District Attorney on June 7. That’s because the incumbent, Krishna Abrams, recused herself from investigating the deaths of Willie McCoy in 2019 and Sean Monterrosa in 2020, citing the public’s lack of confidence in her office.Now she’s running against her own chief deputy DA, Sharon Henry, who argues that the DA’s office hasn’t been independent enough to make tough, politically fraught decisions. 

 Guest: Scott Morris, investigative reporter with the Vallejo Sun 

Related links:

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

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On Tuesday, an armed gunman killed at least 18 children and 3 adults at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

There’s still a lot of questions about what happened. But here’s what we do know: That Robb Elementary is 90% Hispanic. That the students’ last day of school was scheduled for Thursday. And that when the camera crews move on, and the national media leave, this community will be coping with this for the rest of their lives.

Because we as a nation have done so little to stop gun violence, this kind of trauma is a reality for millions of surviving families and children.

So today, instead of our usual coverage of local news, we’re sharing an episode by KQED’s Mindshift podcast from back in 2018. It’s set in Richmond, and it’s about how people in the community provide love and support to kids who’ve experienced trauma, especially from violence.

This episode first aired on Oct. 23, 2018.

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More than 35,000 people are living unhoused across the Bay Area – up 9 percent in the last three years, according to an annual count of folks living on the streets.

In light of the release of those most recent statistics, we wanted to re-up an episode of Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America that asks: what are your biggest ideas on how to solve the housing crisis?

This episode first published on Apr 25, 2022

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Just because COVID sick pay exists doesn't necessarily mean employees always feel comfortable using it. Between Americans’ unhealthy relationship with work and a sense that the world is opening back up again, employers have a lot to gain from the lack of widespread knowledge of COVID sick pay benefits in California.

But if you work in California and get infected with COVID, you may be able to claim up to 80 hours of paid leave. And now that the Bay Area isin another COVID surge because of the omicron BA.2 variant, learning your rights about sick pay is more important than ever. 

Guest: Carly Severn, senior engagement editor for KQED

Links: 

• COVID Sick Pay in California: How to Claim This New Paid Leave

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The threat of domestic extremist violence is all over the country. Just last weekend, an 18-year old white man drove to a predominantly Black part of Buffalo, New York, and shot 13 people at a grocery store. 10 have died.

The Bay Area is not immune to this threat. Last year, two men who worked at an auto shop in Napa were arrested and accused of plotting to blow up the California Democratic Party headquarters in Sacramento. 

Guests: Julie Small and Alex Hall, KQED reporters

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

Links: 

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