The Bay

On June 2, so many people spoke during a Bay Area Air Quality Management District board meeting that the agency had to postpone a vote to regulate air pollution from two Bay Area refineries — one run by Chevron in Richmond, and one run by PBF Energy in Martinez.

The proposal would force Chevron and PBF Energy to install potentially hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of equipment to clean the particulate matter released every day by their refineries. Now, the Air District board is has been rescheduled for July 21, in this pivotal decision that affects health, jobs, and our climate.

Guest: Ted Goldberg, KQED senior editor

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On Tuesday, San Jose’s City Council will vote on a plan to rezone parts of the Flea Market on Berryessa Road, where hundreds of immigrant vendors have set up shop for more than 60 years.

The new development would include commercial and residential space near transit, including some affordable housing units. But it would also shrink the space for vendors dramatically, so much so that many fear they will lose their businesses altogether.

Guests: Adhiti Bandlamudi, KQED Silicon Valley reporter and Carlos Cabrera-Lomeli, KQED en Español reporter

Episode transcript here.

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Many live concerts and events are returning to the Bay Area, as COVID-19 cases remain low and the state ends capacity limits, social distancing and mask requirements in most places. 

But not everyone working in live events is comfortable with the idea of working indoors with unmasked guests, and independent venues are still waiting for federal relief money that was promised months ago.

Guest: Nastia Voynovskaya, KQED arts and culture associate editor

Episode transcript here. Subscribe to our newsletter here.

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California will fully reopen for “business as usual”on June 15. That means, among other things, that fully vaccinated people will no longer be required to masks in most places around the state. But there are plenty of reasons you’ll still see people in the Bay Area continuing to wear masks. We’ll tell you about some of them.

Guest: Carly Severn, KQED senior engagement editor

Episode transcript here. Subscribe to our newsletter here.

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The Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians doesn’t have its own reservation. Like many Native communities, many members also struggle with poverty and homelessness.

But recently, using funds from California’s ‘Project Homekey,’ the tribe bought an apartment building in Lake County to house members most in need. And leaders are also hoping it’ll be the start of a new community hub for the tribe.

Guest: Molly Solomon, KQED housing affordability reporter

Read the transcript here. Subscribe to our newsletter here.

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After the mass shooting at a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority rail yard in San Jose two weeks ago, some politicians started talking about California’s “Red Flag” gun control law, which uses the power of restraining orders to take guns away from people a judge deems at risk of harming themselves or others. 

Many people aren’t even aware of the red flag law. And using it as a way to prevent gun violence of all kinds — including mass shootings, suicides and domestic violence — is much more complicated than it seems. 

Guest: Adhiti Bandlamudi, KQED Silicon Valley reporter 

Episode transcript here. Subscribe to our newsletter here.

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Undocumented Californians have been mostly shut out of three rounds of federal stimulus checks. So when the ‘Golden State Stimulus’ was approved in February by the State Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom, undocumented immigrants were hopeful that they’d finally receive some direct relief. But bureaucratic hoops have prevented many people from accessing this money in a timely fashion. 

Guest: Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí, reporter for KQED en Español

Episode transcript here. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.

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The effort to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom picked up steam in late 2020, during the height of the pandemic.

Now, COVID-19 has slowed down in California, and Gov. Newsom is currently in a strong position; one recent poll showed that just 40% of likely voters support recalling him from office.

This has left some Democrats debating a thorny question: whether they should use the current recall laws to hold the election earlier, or wait until the fall, when most voters expect elections to take place.

Guest: Guy Marzorati, KQED politics reporter and producer for the Political Breakdown podcast.

Episode transcript here. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter!

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Deaths from fentanyl overdoses have been on the rise during the pandemic. In Santa Clara County, the ages of the victims are trending younger, according to an analysis by KQED and the Documenting COVID-19 project at Columbia University’s Brown Institute for Media Innovation.

Fentanyl can be laced into pills that look like common painkillers — and thanks in part to COVID-19, buying these drugs online has become even more convenient. Now, parents and officials alike are trying to educate kids and community members about how much more lethal this synthetic opioid really is.

Guest: Julie Small, KQED criminal justice & immigration reporter

Columbia University students Mohar Chatterjee and Kyra Sense contributed to this story.

Here Are Resources for Opioid Addiction in the Bay Area:

More information about opioid addiction and fentanyl can be found on the Choose Change California website. Santa Clara County Behavioral Health Services treats people struggling with stress and substance use issues, including fentanyl use, through a program called Gateway, and the phone number is 1-800-488-9919.

Elsewhere in the Bay Area, San Francisco County offers behavioral health care and services for addiction and substance abuse treatment. Alameda County offers similar services to people struggling with addiction.

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The deadliest mass shooting in Bay Area history happened Wednesday at a rail yard for the Valley Transportation Authority, the Santa Clara County transit agency made up of around 2,000 employees. The 9 victims who died were maintenance workers, light rail operators, mechanics and supervisors.

Public transit workers haven't had the privilege of sheltering at home during the pandemic, and for the past year they’ve kept transit going. Now, VTA workers are mourning the loss of friends and colleagues who they’ve worked alongside for years.

Guest: Nico Savidge, transportation reporter for the San Jose Mercury

Click here to view efforts to support victims' families. Episode transcript here. Subscribe to our newsletter here.

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