The Bay

Way more people gotten sick with COVID-19 during these past few weeks. If you've tested positive, you may have felt a range of emotions: Surprise, fear...even anger.

There's also another emotion members of KQED's audience are reporting: shame. For some, it's a gut feeling upon seeing that "positive" result. Others also fear being judged by their peers after being careful for so long.

Today, we're sharing a conversation about this issue of 'COVID shame', with KQED senior engagement editor Carly Severn and KQED host Brian Watt.

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A proposal to spread the gig economy to health care could be on the ballot this fall. A group calling itself Californians for Equitable Healthcare Access has filed a measure to classify nurses, dental hygienists, occupational therapists and other health care workers who find work online as independent contractors.

The law firm that submitted this proposal also worked on Proposition 22, which allowed companies to make app-based drivers independent contractors, instead of employees with benefits like health insurance. Prop. 22 passed overwhelmingly — thanks in large part to the hundreds of millions of dollars that gig companies like Uber spent on it. So could it happen again, but with health care?

Guest: Levi Sumagaysay, MarketWatch senior reporter

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A conservation group representing Northern California tribes has gotten 523 acres of land back.

The Sinkyone call the land Tc'ih-Léh-Dûñ, meaning "Fish Run Place,” located about 170 miles north of San Francisco in northern Mendocino County. It's a pristine, ecologically rich area that Indigenous people lived in for thousands of years before white settlers violently displaced them.

Guest: Matthew Green, digital producer and editor for KQED

Corrections: This episode states, at 3:28, that the Sinkyone people historically lived inland and then moved to the coast to establish seasonal settlements in warmer months. In fact, the Sinkyone people established permanent settlements in both the inland and coastal areas. This episode also states, at 8:34, that “the tribe” owns a much larger area south of this land. The land is in fact owned by the InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council, not one individual tribe.

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

Links:

• 'A Real Blessing': Tribal Group Reclaims More Than 500 Acres of Northern California Redwoods

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The recall election of 3 San Francisco Board of Education members has motivated many Chinese voters to get involved in local politics for the first time. Early evidence suggests that much of this enthusiasm is coming from the "yes" side of the campaign. So why and how is this election speaking to first-time Chinese voters?

Guests: Han Li, reporter with the San Francisco Standard and Scott Shafer, KQED politics and government editor and co-host of the Political Breakdown podcast.

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

If you like this episode, you might also like:

• Amid SFUSD Controversies, Where Are the Student Voices?

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Whether you have a kid in San Francisco public schools or not, if you’re a registered voter, you’ll have a say in the potential recall of three San Francisco Board of Education commissioners.

Voters have between now and Feb. 15 to choose whether to individually vote ‘Yes’ or “No’ on recalling Commissioners Alison Collins, Gabriela Lopez and Faauuga Moliga.

Recall supporters say the many SFUSD controversies over the years reflect a lack of competence overall. Opponents of the recall say the campaign is a coordinated political attempt to remove progressive educators.

Guests: Vanessa Rancaño, KQED education reporter and Guy Marzorati, KQED politics and government reporter

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

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Clouds of crows have taken over downtown Sunnyvale like a scene out of The Birds. A combination of factors are leading them there, including the increase of outdoor dining due to the pandemic.

Now, the city is trying to figure out how to get them out of the area without harming them. Residents have some strong opinions about it, too. But even if the city successfully drives them out of downtown, there’s no guarantee they’ll be gone for good.

Guest: Dan Brekke, KQED editor and reporter

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

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We've all had to weigh the risks of leaving our homes during this pandemic that has lasted for nearly 2 years. For lots of people, the risk of getting severely ill from the coronavirus is currently very low, even amid the Omicron surge of the past few weeks.

But for many disabled, immunocompromised, and medically vulnerable people, the stakes of getting COVID-19 are still very high. Many also feel that public discussions about the future of the virus are not taking their health into consideration. 

Guest: Lesley McClurg, KQED health reporter

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

Links:

• 'Risk No Matter Where I Go': For Many Disabled People, a Future of Ever-Present COVID Is Daunting

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Trouble could be ahead for Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith. A civil grand jury has accused her office of 7 counts of misconduct related to corruption, and on Wednesday California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced that his office is launching a civil rights investigation. It's the latest in a long backstory of officials and members of the public attempting to hold Sheriff Smith accountable, for accusations like corruption, bribery, and even jail abuse.

Today, we’re sharing an episode from last summer, when local elected officials publicly called for investigations into the sheriff — and in some cases, called for her resignation.

Guests: KQED reporters Adhiti Bandlamudi and Alex Emslie

This episode originally aired on Aug. 23, 2021. It was originally produced by Christopher Beale and Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Devin Katayama.

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A self-driving car is not an uncommon sight in San Francisco. And it can feel like more and more of them are out there on the roads. But why?

Today, an episode from our friends at Bay Curious about this, and whether we're headed towards a driverless future.

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The U.S. currently has an immigration court backlog that surpasses 1.5 million cases — and that includes many people who are seeking asylum from violence or persecution in their home countries.

In northern California, asylum cases are typically heard at an immigration court in San Francisco’s Financial District. That’s where KQED immigration editor Tyche Hendricks met Pablo Lopez, a Nicaraguan man living in Walnut Creek as he awaits his opportunity to make his case before an immigration judge. But a recent attempt by the Biden Administration to speed up asylum claims is putting pressure on people like Pablo to find a lawyer ASAP, to better his chances of winning his claim.

Guest: Tyche Hendricks, KQED immigration editor

This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Christopher Beale, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra.

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