The Bay

This year in news has changed us all in so many ways. And as we wrap up 2020 with our final episode of the year, we thought we'd take some time to reflect on the stories that have stuck with us the most.

Remembering San Francisco Lesbian Rights Activist Phyllis Lyon — Ericka Cruz Guevarra

'These Kids are Fearless': Vallejo Families Seeking Justice for Police Killings Reflect on Protests — Devin Katayama

Meet the Poll Workers Who Made Election Day in the Bay Area Possible — Alan Montecillo

Guests: Devin Katayama, Ericka Cruz Guevarra, Alan Montecillo, and Kyana Moghadam

Read the transcript here. 

We've off for the next two weeks, and our next episode will be on Jan. 4, 2021.

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In August, a Foster Farms poultry processing plant in Livingston was temporarily shut down because of a a COVID-19 outbreak where at least 392 workers tested positive and 9 workers died. Now, Foster Farms is facing outbreaks at three of the company’s plants in the Central Valley.

But it’s been really hard to get basic information about what’s going on about things like worker safety and who makes the final decisions. Today, we talk about what we do and don’t know about these outbreaks, and what this lack of information means for the general public and the company’s workers.

Guest: Alexandra Hall, KQED Central Valley reporter

Read the transcript here. 

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This is the fourth episode of By The People, The Bay podcast’s new series highlighting the way democracy shows up in the places around us, and how we can all plug in.

It's been called one of the biggest protests the world has ever seen. Farmers in India have been protesting for months over new agriculture laws passed by the Indian Parliament in September, which farmers feel would destroy their livelihoods.

People around the world are showing solidarity with them, including here in the Bay Area. On Dec. 5, some thousands of protestors led by Sikh Americans — many who have personal connections to what's happening in India — marched to the Indian Consulate in San Francisco, using the Bay Area as a platform to help boost awareness abroad.

Guest: Lakshmi Sarah, KQED reporter

Read the transcript here.

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The Bay Area has a long history of providing refuge to migrants seeking asylum. And for some, like Luna Guzmán, a transgender woman who left Guatemala at 22, places like San Francisco are one of the few places where they feel safe. But the journey to seek asylum can be dangerous, especially when U.S. immigration policy fails to protect people who live outside the gender binary. Now, the Trump Administration plans to issue new rules for asylum that would restrict access to the U.S. even more. Today, we share Guzmán's journey.

This documentary originally ran on The California Report Magazine. You can subscribe to that podcast here.

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Over the weekend, another surge in COVID-19 cases once again led to playgrounds being closed in many communities across California and in five Bay Area counties.

But some parents felt like this part of the new stay-at-home order goes too far — especially because some indoor shopping stayed open. Many also worried that losing access to a safe and free outdoor space could harm both kids and families.

Guest: Matthias Gafni, reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle

UPDATE:  On Wednesday morning, the California Department of Public Health changed its stay-at-home guidance to let counties keep outdoor playgrounds open. 

Check out Matthias' story here.

Read the transcript here.

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This is the third episode of By The People, The Bay podcast’s new series highlighting the way democracy shows up in the places around us, and how we can all plug in.

A vote in Oakland today goes farther than it did prior to 1980. That’s when voters passed Measure H, which moved the city from at-large to district-based elections . The change was huge for Black and brown voters, who now had the opportunity to elect candidates from their neighborhoods instead of being represented by white men backed by money and power. The reason why Measure H passed can be traced back through decades of organizing by Black activists seeking political representation.

Guest: Darwin BondGraham, editor of The Oaklandside

Read the transcript here. You can read Darwin’s full article here

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California is planning its rollout of a coronavirus vaccine. Healthcare workers have already been prioritized, but figuring out who comes next and how that decision will be made is now in the hands of an advisory committee made up of health and community leaders. One factor they’ll use to decide who gets the vaccine next? A look at the nation’s history of social injustice, and which groups have been overlooked, and wronged, in the past.

Guest: April Dembosky, Health Correspondent for KQED

Read the transcript here.

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It's always been difficult to charge a police officer after they've killed someone while on the job. But in the Bay, it's happened a few times within the last three months. For example, in September, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley charged San Leandro police officer Jason Fletcher for killing Steven Taylor in April 2020, and last week San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin charged Christopher Samayoa for shooting and killing Keita O'Neil in 2017. So what led these two Bay Area DAs to file charges when it's been so rare in the past?

Guest: Alex Emslie, KQED Criminal Justice Editor

Read the transcript here. 

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This is the second episode of By The People, The Bay podcast's new series highlighting the way democracy shows up in the places around us, and how we can all plug in.

Many activists work their whole lives from outside the systems they want changed. That’s what Shakira Simley did, until recently. Simley is now Director of San Francisco’s Office of Racial Equity and says she brought a lot of the lessons she learned as an activist with her into City Hall. Simley talks with us about why it’s important to see public institutions as ours to behold — and change.

Guest: Shakirah Simley, Director of San Francisco’s Office of Racial Equity

Read the transcript here.

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When Evelyn Legarte migrated from the Philippines to the Bay Area in 1980, she was part of a growing number of Filipinos that now make up about 20% of nurses in California. As the holidays approach, we want to acknowledge the many Filipino nurses on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic who are caring for people like they’ve done in past public health crises. This episode originally ran on May 22, 2020.

Guest: Evelyn Legarte, retired Bay Area nurse 

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Read the transcript here. 

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