The Bay

Our beautiful state is in danger. Human-caused climate change has dramatically increased the risk of destructive wildfires — and now we anticipate them every year. So how do we process the grief of what we’re losing? And how can we use that pain as fuel to make change?Links: Grieving California Good Grief Network This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. The interview was conducted by Erin Baldassari. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Patti Poppe started a new job as CEO of PG&E in 2021, after the company emerged from bankruptcy for the second time in two decades. She sat down with KQED’s Marisa Lagos and Scott Shafer of the Political Breakdown podcast to discuss the future of the utility. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The California State University system is the largest public university system in the nation. This week, faculty at four campuses — Cal Poly Pomona, San Francisco State, Cal State Los Angeles, and Sacramento State — launched a series of 1-day strikes. KQED’s Juan Carlos Lara takes us to Tuesday’s strike at SF State, where faculty and staff say they’re fed up with working conditions, low pay, and looming job cuts.Episode transcriptThis episode was produced by Ericka Cruz Guevarra and Maria Esquinca, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brooklyn Basin is poised to become Oakland’s largest housing project, promising 3,700 new homes on the site of a former shipping dock. In a state where building just about anything can be a challenge, how did this one finally get off the ground?Links: Episode transcript Oakland's Largest Housing Project Aims to Build 3,700 Homes On-Site This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California Forever, the group of Silicon Valley investors and billionaires who want to build a new city from scratch in Solano County, are on something of a public relations campaign.The group held its first town hall meeting in Vallejo on Wednesday night. And it will be the first of many — because if they really want to build a new city on the county’s outskirts, they’ll need to win over the hearts and minds of voters first. Links: Episode transcript LISTEN: The Silicon Valley Giants Who Want to Build a New City in Solano County This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco has banned street vending on Mission Street for 90 days, citing concerns about crime and sales of stolen goods. It’s the latest in a long saga around public safety in the neighborhood. KQED’s Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman explains how we got here and what this means for vendors.Links:  Episode transcript KQED: SF’s Mission Street Ban Begins KQED: On First Day of Mission Street Vending Ban, Vendors Implore City to Reconsider This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this edition of The Bay's monthly news roundup (our last one of the year!), Ericka, Maria and Alan talk about how public transit agencies have temporarily averted a fiscal cliff, a proposal to increase the minimum wage for incarcerated workers, and the newly unveiled Tupac Shakur Way in Oakland.Links:  Episode transcript In Transit: Bay Area Transportation News on Everything That Moves KQED: California Prison Officials Aim to Raise Hourly Minimum Wage for Incarcerated Workers — to at Least 16 Cents KQED: 'Tupac Shakur Way' Unveiled in Oakland as Rap Icon Gets His Own Street This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca, Alan Montecillo and Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Starting in January, PG&E ratepayers can expect their monthly bills to increase by an average of about $30. The utility says the money will go toward important infrastructure projects, including work on power lines that will reduce the risk of wildfires. But is this the best way to pay for it?Links: PG&E Gets Green Light to Raise Rates for Wildfire Prevention Efforts Episode transcript This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca, and guest hosted by Alan Montecillo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As an anxious, homeschooled kid, Mychal Threets found a haven in his local public library. Now he’s a librarian in Fairfield, and he’s recently become famous for talking about his passion for books and libraries on TikTok. In this episode we’re re-running from Rightnowish, host Pendarvis Harshaw and producer Marisol Medina-Cadena talk to Threets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last year, Oakland returned 5 acres of Joaquin Miller Park to the Sogorea Te’ land trust and the Confederated Villages of Lisjan, marking the first time a Bay Area city has given land back to Native Americans.Despite no significant opposition to this plan, the process took more than 5 years. So what does it actually take to give land back?This episode originally aired on Nov. 28, 2022.Episode transcript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices