The Bay

On Tuesday, the San José City Council voted to study the possibility of giving noncitizens the right to vote in local elections. Community organizers in the city, where 40% of residents are foreign-born, have talked about the idea for years. They argue it’s time to enfranchise the city’s immigrants, regardless of their citizenship status. 

If successful, San Jose would join New York as one of the biggest cities to do this nationwide.

Guest: Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí, community engagement reporter for KQED

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

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Last week, students, teachers and staff returned to class after the winter holidays…and right in the middle of a record-high surge in confirmed COVID-19 cases across California.

The result? Lots of classroom absences and disruptions, thanks to huge numbers of positive cases among students and educators alike. So, what happens next?

Guest: Vanessa Rancaño, KQED education reporter

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

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Traxamillion, born Sultan Banks, was a producer from San Jose who helped define the Bay Area’s sound and propelled the Hyphy Movement to the national stage. If there’s a Bay Area hip-hop anthem you love, whether it’s Sideshow, Super Hyphy or San Francisco Anthem, Traxamillion had his fingerprints on it.

Traxamillion died on Jan. 2 in Santa Clara from a rare form of cancer at the age of 42. So today, we remember his legacy on the hyphy movement, the Bay Area, and local artists.

Guest: Nastia Voynovskaya, KQED Arts and Culture associate editor

Links:

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

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Rep. Zoe Lofgren was in the U.S. Capitol a year ago when a mob of Trump supporters, white supremacists, and conspiracy theorists stormed the building to try and overturn the results of the presidential election. Now she’s one of 9 House members — and the only one from the Bay Area — charged with investigating what happened leading up to that day, and who was involved.

On this episode, we share an interview between Rep. Lofgren and KQED’s Brian Watt. 

Guest: Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), representing California’s 19th Congressional District (San Jose, Morgan Hill, Gilroy)

This episode was produced by Christopher Beale, Ericka Cruz Guevarra, and Alan Montecillo. The original interview was made by Mary Franklin Harvin, Alex Gonzalez, Katie McMurran, and hosted by Brian Watt.

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Long COVID test lines and empty shelves where the rapid at-home tests used to be — all signs of another post-holiday pandemic surge.

It’s hard to know just how big of a testing deficit we’re in, but with the Omicron variant spreading and a huge spike in demand after the holidays, just how prepared were we for another testing surge?

Guests: Kristen Hwang, CalMatters health reporter and Yolanda Oviedo, COVID-19 Response Coordinator at Canal Alliance in San Rafael

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

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As of Jan. 1, 2022, it’ll cost $7 to cross a bridge in the Bay Area. But if you thought that was expensive, wait until you hear how much it has cost those who don't pay: One Bay Area resident racked up $30,000 in unpaid toll debt. A report that came out late last year shed new light on how this problem hurts low-income people the most. And it turns out that racking up thousands of dollars in debt is easier than you might think.

So what’s being done to try to help make this late payment system less punitive?

Guest: Dan Brekke, Editor and Reporter for KQED News

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New year, same pandemic. The Bay team reflects on another year of covering local news from the Bay Area, and discusses both the hard — and hopeful — stories from 2021.

Our top picks!

This episode was produced by Carlos Cabrera-Lomeli, Mary Franklin Harvin, Raquel Maria Dillon, and was hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra and Alan Montecillo.

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Alexis Madrigal was super-cautious about COVID-19 from the beginning. He co-founded the COVID Tracking Project through The Atlantic and has been reporting on the virus since the earliest days of the pandemic.

But in the summer 2021, he got invited to a wedding where he would eventually contract COVID (despite being fully vaccinated). The positive test turned his life upside down and sent ripples of anxiety through his family and extended network. His story points to where we are right now — a unique moment with Omicron looming and holiday parties enticing us to gather. Reflecting on his experience, Alexis shared his advice for how to weigh risk, make decisions deliberately, and have a plan for how to deal with an infection. 

Guest: Alexis Madrigal, co-host of KQED’s Forum

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This episode contains descriptions of police violence.

After Vallejo police officer Jarrett Tonn shot and killed Sean Monterrosa on June 2, 2020, the Vallejo Police Department hired the OIR Group, a firm that provides independent reviews of police actions, to investigate what happened the night of Monterrosa’s death.

The findings of the yearlong investigation were released earlier this month. They conclude that the officers involved in the shooting failed to follow department policy and de-escalate the situation. In response, Chief Shawny Williams has served Tonn with a letter saying that he plans to fire him, though Tonn can still appeal this decision.

Criminal investigators from Vallejo and the DA's office interviewed the officers, including Jarrett Tonn, after the shooting — and these recordings are now available. What investigators found provides some clues into Tonn’s mindset on that evening, and why Vallejo PD has decided to fire him.

Guest: Sukey Lewis, KQED criminal justice reporter and host of On Our Watch

This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo, Ericka Cruz Guevarra and Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra.

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Ericka took up roller skating during the pandemic, and a lot of other people have, too. Maybe you've seen it along Lake Merritt or in front of City Hall in San Jose.

Skating also has a long history in the Bay Area, and for more than 50 years, Richard Humphrey has been at the forefront, especially at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.

Humphrey talked with Rightnowish host Pendarvis Harshaw on what it was like to skate in the Bay Area during the 70s, what it was like skating as a Black person back then, and how skating brings together art, style and swag.

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