KQED's The California Report

If you've been following the fires in Los Angeles, online or on TV, you've likely seen videos of gridlocked roads filled with abandoned cars. As the Palisades Fire closed in, residents trying to escape were forced to leave their vehicles behind and flee on foot. Bulldozers were later used to clear the roads. This chaotic scene highlights a troubling reality. Many communities, especially those with narrow, winding roads, are unprepared for large scale evacuations. Guest: Lauren Sommer, NPR Climate Desk The fires raging in Southern California have affected thousands of people who have lost their homes. But those losses also affect a wider community of people, namely a population of largely immigrant and Latino workers. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More fires have sparked in Los Angeles as fire crews work tirelessly through the day and night to contain them. Tens of thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate their homes. Thousands of homes and structures have been destroyed and five people have been killed in the fires. Guest: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report Thousands of Los Angeles County residents at risk of losing their homes to fires are on the state’s insurance plan of last resort. That’s according to reporting from our California Newsroom partner, CalMatters. Reporter: Jeremia Kimelman, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The city of Los Angeles is under a state of emergency following several rapidly growing wildfires that sparked early Tuesday. Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate from the two biggest fires - one burning in Pacific Palisades and the other near Pasadena. Guest: Saul Gonzalez/The California Report Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Californians are remembering the legacy of late president Jimmy Carter as his family and his remains make their way from the Jimmy Carter Center in Atlanta to Washington DC. After facing two years of multi-billion dollar deficits, Governor Gavin Newsom says Califonia's state budget for the upcoming fiscal year can be balanced without new cuts or taxes. Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED Southern Californians are bracing for what forecasters are calling dangerous and "life-threatening" wind conditions over the next few days. A widespread red flag warning is in effect through Thursday due to the Santa Ana wind event, which could bring gusts of more than 80 miles per hour. President Joe Biden is visiting the Eastern Coachella Valley Tuesday, where he’ll formally dedicate a new national monument. Reporter: Anthony Victoria, KVCR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Monday marks four years since a mob of supporters of then President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol. It was an attempt to keep Trump in office, after he lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden. 140 law enforcement officers were injured and five people died during or soon after the riot. Since the insurrection, more than 1,000 people have been sentenced for crimes they committed that day. That includes many Californians. Guest: Tom Dreisbach, NPR Investigative Correspondent The Santa Cruz Wharf reopened on Saturday, less than two weeks after 150 feet of it collapsed into the ocean during a storm. That area had already been closed to the public for nearly a year because of previous storms. Still, about 20 businesses had to close as a result. Reporter: Erin Malsbury, KAZU Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the Trump administration takes office later this month, it'll be on a collision course with California cities that have vowed to protect their undocumented residents from Donald Trump's plans for mass deportation. But when the city says it will protect immigrants, what does that practically mean? Guest: Eunisses Hernandez, Los Angeles City Council Two people were killed and 19 injured when a small aircraft crashed into a furniture manufacturing building in the Orange County city of Fullerton on Thursday afternoon. California's snowpack near Lake Tahoe is higher than it was this time last year, but still just below average for early January. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Several new laws went into effect on January 1, dealing with everything from workplace issues to education. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report The future of foreign labor in the tech sector could hinge on the outcome of a debate now raging in the orbit of President-elect Donald Trump, over the H1-B, a temporary visa for skilled workers. Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scientists project the Bay Area could rise more than a foot over the next few decades. Solutions implemented now can help communities prepare for a wetter future. This is especially true for the most vulnerable places, like San Francisco’s iconic waterfront. Reporter: Ezra David Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To end homelessness, California’s political leaders have championed a seemingly simple solution: build homes for people who don’t have them. Even better, put those homes in places where unhoused folks are already living — in cities, close to public transportation and services. But insurers are increasingly eyeing those properties as too risky to serve — not because of potentially catastrophic storms or wildfires — but because of who lives there and the urban neighborhoods where they’re located. Reporter: Erin Baldassari, KQED A new law that goes into effect in the new year could give tenants facing eviction a better shot at staying in their homes. Reporter: Felicia Mello, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since the Supreme Court gave local governments greater power to police homelessness this summer, some 40 cities across California have passed anti-camping laws, according to the National Homelessness Law Center. In the Central Valley, the city of Fresno is home to one of the state’s harshest crackdowns, banning public camping anywhere, anytime. Reporter: Vanessa Rancaño, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cal State Monterey Bay researchers and several partners are working to make Central Coast farming more climate resilient. The grant-funded project is focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from specialty crops - think lettuce and strawberries - by using things like compost and cover crops. Reporter: Elena Neale-Sacks, KAZU A new law in 2025 will scrub most medical debt from Californians’ credit reports. Reporter: Ana Ibarra, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been nearly two months since election night, when we learned Donald Trump will be the next President of the United States. And since then, we’ve brought you coverage on how different sections of our society are preparing for this new administration. Today, we’re checking in with former US Poet Laureate and recent Genius Grant recipient Juan Felipe Herrera. He’s written extensively about the migrant experience in California. Guest: Juan Felipe Herrera, former US Poet Laureate Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you’ve found yourself at a makeup store recently, especially in a mall after school, you might’ve noticed more young people around you. Like really young. Like elementary and middle school young. This is a trend and it has a name: Sephora Kids. And their purchases are doing damage to more than just their parents’ bank accounts. Reporter: Caleigh Wells, KCRW As the saying goes, one person’s trash is another’s treasure. And that’s true at a landfill in Riverside County. Workers at the Lamb Canyon Landfill have started rescuing items to resell at a new store. Reporter: Madison Aument, KVCR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you grew up here in California, you've likely visited a neighborhood that goes all out for Christmas. We're talking decorations on the roof in the front yard and lining the street. In Fresno, that neighborhood is known as Christmas Tree Lane during the holidays. Groups of families or friends get in their cars and drive down the street, blasting the Christmas radio station. Or they pick one of the walking days, stop at the Starbucks just outside the neighborhood, and walk the lane to really soak up its Christmas magic. Guest: Dean Alexander, Christmas Tree Lane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, many of you will be gathering with friends and family to celebrate Christmas. But what’s on your table could depend on traditions your family grew up with. Guest: Ken Albala, Food Historian and History Professor, University of the Pacific Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California is contending with a child care shortage, and the state has made efforts to increase options for families. But conflicting regulations from two state agencies are causing childcare centers to turn away thousands of infants and toddlers. Reporter: Daisy Nguyen, KQED Health officials are scheduled to provide an update Friday morning on Governor Newsom's declaration of a state of emergency over bird flu. Although details are scant, public health experts say it’s likely a good thing. Reporter: Kerry Klein, KVPR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Mateo County leaders will soon be asking voters to remove their embattled sheriff from office. It’s likely an unprecedented move. Reporter: Brian Krans, KQED Amazon workers across Southern California are joining a nationwide strike Thursday, just days before Christmas, as the Teamsters argue the company is denying their right to unionize. Reporter: Anthony Victoria, KVCR Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday declared a state of emergency to aid California's response to the bird flu outbreak. The governor says recent cases were detected in cows at four Southern California dairies, meaning the virus has spread from the Central Valley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The warden at a troubled prison in northern California is retiring this month, and the governor has just given the former chief deputy warden there a big promotion. KQED reporters Julie Small and Sukey Lewis investigated this prison for their podcast On Our Watch, and they have an article out this week that tells the emotional story of a pair of whistleblowers who work there and the challenges they faced. Guest: Julie Small, KQED The co-founders of failed Fresno startup Bitwise Industries have been sentenced to prison for wire fraud. Reporter: Kerry Klein, KVPR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The holidays are a time where we tend to eat a lot of food, and throw a lot out. Americans throw away about four pounds of waste per day, higher than anywhere in the world. But where does all that food waste go? Reporter: Erin Stone, LAist California Resources Corporation and Aera Energy joined forces to become the state’s largest oil company. But a new investigation from KVPR and Inside Climate News finds that the merger could leave taxpayers on the hook for millions. Reporter: Joshua Yeager, KVPR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first time Donald Trump was elected president, blue state Democrats -- particularly those from California -- asserted themselves as the frontline of the resistance. Eight years later, they say they’re making an intentional decision to stay calm, at least for now. Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED It’s official. California regulators are enforcing an agreement with the state’s largest insurance companies that they hope will stem the insurance crisis. Reporter: Kevin Stark, KQED Crews have been working around the clock in the community of Scotts Valley in the Santa Cruz Mountains after a rare tornado touched down in the city on Saturday. At least five people were injured. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices