Kqeds The California Report

It’s a common belief that music soothes the soul. But some researchers and healthcare companies say it can be used to heal the mind, and maybe the body. Reporter: Robert Garrova, LAist Lawmakers should hit the brakes on one of Governor Gavin Newsom’s signature programs for cleaning up homeless encampments. That’s according to a report out this week from the Legislative Analyst’s Office. Reporter: Vanessa Rancaño, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More and more tents are popping up along the sides of San Diego freeways, on state property managed by the California Department of Transportation, or Caltrans. City leaders call it a growing problem. Reporter: Katie Anastas, KPBS The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the University of California for possible workplace discrimination. Leaders in Fremont have revised a controversial ban on homeless encampments in the city. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Los Angeles neighborhoods of Altadena and the Palisades are still a mess from the January fires. And some of the people out there struggling to clean it up are immigrant day laborers. They are dealing with toxic ash that can have lead and chemicals in it. What’s the best way to do that safely? One organization is training them. Reporter: Megan Jamerson, KCRW Former Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley has lost her bid to get her job back, with the City Council voting 13-2 to deny her reinstatement. Reporter: Frank Stoltze, LAist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An unhoused Bay Area woman and her advocates are claiming a big win after a judge stopped officials from clearing her elaborate shelter. It’s believed to be the first court victory of its kind since the U.S. Supreme Court last year made it harder to stop encampment sweeps. Reporter: Vanessa Rancaño, KQED California is rolling back its more flexible work from home policies that began during the pandemic. Governor Gavin Newsom has issued an executive order requiring state employees to work from the office at least four days a week. Reporter: Megan Myscofski, CapRadio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Sunday night, Hollywood had its biggest night of the year with the Academy Awards ceremony. But here’s a plot twist. None of the ten films that were up for the best picture Oscar were shot in Hollywood or the greater L.A. area. It’s just the latest example of how much film and television production now occurs outside of Los Angeles, costing local jobs and raising questions about the very future of Hollywood. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report On Saturday, people gathered at national parks across the country to protest the firing of 1,000 National Park employees. Some 90 miles east of Los Angeles at Joshua Tree National Park, hundreds joined the movement. Reporter: Madison Aument, KVCR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A federal judge in San Francisco has temporarily blocked a Trump administration directive to mass terminate thousands of federal employees. The ruling only covers some federal agencies, including Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED The Sierra Nevada Snowpack is about average for this time of year. Several storms expected in the coming days will likely add several inches. Reporter: Ezra David Romero, KQED President Trump's plans to impose tariffs on imported goods have faced heavy criticism among some experts who warn that the move will raise prices for American consumers and harm U.S. businesses that rely on imports. But the tariffs have also found support among one state industry: California grape growers. Reporter: Tina Caputo Shasta County leaders are pushing for voter identification requirements and an elimination of the state's universal mail-in ballots. They advocated for those changes in recent letters to Governor Newsom and President Trump. Repor

In Del Norte County, starting Thursday, teenagers in trouble will be held accountable by a true jury of their peers. Teen court is a diversion program run by teenagers for teenagers. Reporter: Jane Vaughan, Jefferson Public Radio California insurance commissioner Ricardo Lara says he'll make a decision soon on State Farm's request for an emergency rate increase. Reporter: Danielle Venton, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California's homeless shelters are deadlier than the state's jails and only a fraction of the people in them end up in permanent housing. Those are just a couple of the startling findings in a new investigation out this week from our California newsroom partner CalMatters. Guest: Lauren Hepler, CalMatters More than 50,000 University of California workers are set to go on strike statewide starting Wednesday. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You might think people whose homes survived the recent Los Angeles area fires might feel fortunate. But those homeowners are wrestling with their own problems, like how to make their homes livable again in largely destroyed neighborhoods. Reporter: Erin Stone, LAist Governor Newsom on Monday announced hundreds of millions of dollars in new homelessness spending, along with a new website meant to let Californians track whether it’s making a difference. Reporter: Vanessa Rancaño, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Health care workers across California are attending crash courses on constitutional law. They’re preparing for possible encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, who are now officially allowed inside health care facilities. Reporter: Jackie Fortier, KFF Health News After weeks of a fraying relationship, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has fired L.A.’s fire chief, Kristin Crowley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California's long-delayed and over budget high-speed rail project is under threat again by the Trump administration. During his first term in office, Trump tried, without success, to claw back nearly a billion dollars in federal aid for the project, which one day is supposed to connect Los Angeles and San Francisco. Now this second Trump Administration is launching an investigation into high speed rail. That could jeopardize $4 billion in funds that the feds have committed for constructing the project’s first segment in the Central Valley. Reporter: Dan Brekke, KQED Lawmakers at the state capitol are rolling out proposals to lower Californians' electricity bills, including by taking aim at the rate-increases from investor owned utilities like PG&E and Southern California Edison. But saving money for some ratepayers may come at the expense of other Californians. Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED The Los Angeles fires have renewed concerns about how well prepared California is to support older people and peopl

Former Vice President Kamala Harris has returned home to Los Angeles after losing to Donald Trump in the November election. The question now is what will she do next? Many pundits are speculating about a possible run for California governor. Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED Insurers have already paid out around $7 billion in claims to people who lost homes or suffered property damage in the LA fires. Reporter: Levi Sumagaysay, CalMatters Another fire flared up Tuesday night at a Monterey County battery storage facility, one month after a massive blaze damaged it and caused major health concerns in the region. Reporter: Joseph Geha, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During Donald Trump’s first term in office, his administration pursued a controversial policy of forcibly separating migrant family members, including young children, at the U.S.-Mexico border. The Biden Administration then set up a task force to help reunite those families. But with Trump’s return to office, one of his first executive actions dissolved that Biden family reunification task force. This has legal experts and immigrants’ rights advocates worried. Guest: Mark Betancourt, The California Newsroom California’s U.S. Senators, Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, are both “demanding answers” from the Trump administration about the abrupt cutoff of federal funding meant to expand zero emission vehicle infrastructure in the state Reporter: Kevin Stark, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In recent decades, Dr. Bronner’s evolved from a niche soap company to a powerhouse home brand with a worldwide following. But a recent wrongful death lawsuit makes some troubling allegations against the San Diego County-based company. The lawsuit alleges the company has turned a blind eye to an internal culture of drug use. Reporter: Scott Rodd, KPBS Riverside County’s firebrand sheriff is the first high-profile Republican to join the 2026 race for California governor. Chad Bianco kicked off his campaign on Monday at a banquet hall in Riverside. Reporter: Madison Aument, KVCR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The tiny town of Scotia, California on the state’s remote redwood coast was built up entirely around a large sawmill. An attached biomass plant that burns the wood waste for electricity stands in the middle of a climate debate in the region. Reporter: Roman Battaglia, Jefferson Public Radio Some college aid experts in California are tying a recent drop in student aid applications to fears around immigration enforcement. Reporter: Mikhail Zinshteyn, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

American society often feels divided. But sometimes, even the most surprising things can bring us together. For a small Central Sierra Nevada community, residents recently found themselves rallying around an unlikely source. Reporter: Rachel Livinal, KVPR Communities across California are waking up this morning to the damage left behind from Thursday's powerful storm system. The brunt of the damage was in Southern California. We'll learn on Friday the results of a strike vote by 20,000 University of California healthcare and other workers. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Artificial Intelligence is being touted as the next big advancement to take almost every industry into a new direction, and at one of the world's largest agriculture expos, AI evangelists see the new tech as the next big advancement in farming. Authorities in Southern California have issued evacuation warnings for parts of Los Angeles County that were scorched by wildfires last month, as heavy rains in the region increase the risks of dangerous mudslides in those areas. Meanwhile, in the Bay Area, an atmospheric river is pounding the region, causing roadway flooding and blackouts across the region. The National Weather Service said the storm could bring down as much as an inch of rain per hour in some parts of the Bay Area, as well winds reaching up to speeds of 60 to 70 miles per hour. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thousands of people are attending this week's World Ag Expo in Tulare County. There’s plenty to choose from, depending on what you’re looking for. And for many in the farming industry, a big issue right now is bird flu. Guest: Lucas Fuess, Senior Dairy Analyst, Rabobank California's FAIR Plan, the state's insurer of last resort, is asking for help paying customer claims due to the Eaton and Palisades fire. Reporter: Danielle Venton, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The flames have died down at the Moss Landing battery storage plant in Monterey County, after a massive fire last month. But the environmental impacts may be just beginning. In neighboring Elkhorn Slough, a sanctuary for endangered wildlife, researchers have already found heavy metal concentrations up to a thousand times higher than before the fire. Reporter: Katherine Monahan, KQED Starting Tuesday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and US Army Corps of Engineers will begin removing fire debris from private properties that were damaged or destroyed in the January wildfires in Los Angeles. The federal agencies will enter the properties of residents who submitted a Rights of Entry form. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s a growing club you don’t want to be a part of. They’re the people who’ve lost their homes and had their lives turned upside down because of natural catastrophes. But getting through these events, whether they’re fires or floods, also means you can be a source of hope for others in their moment of crisis. One group is linking these extreme weather survivors, the veterans with the newcomers. Reporter: Laura Klivans, KQED On Tuesday, the Bay Area city of Fremont is expected to vote on a new ordinance that would make it a crime to “aid or abet” an illegal homeless encampment. Reporter: Marisa Kendall, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices