The Bay

The Oakland teacher’s strike ended on Monday, when the teachers union reached a tentative agreement with the district. Classes were canceled for tens of thousands of students for seven days. The deal not only includes pay raises for teachers and other school staff, but also so-called “common good” proposals that address broader community needs, like support for unhoused families and improvements to transportation access and infrastructure.Episode transcriptThis interview was produced by Natalia Navarro and Juan Carlos Lara. This episode was produced by Ericka Cruz Guevarra, Maria Esquinca, Jehlen Herdman and Alan Montecillo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Child care is too expensive and inaccessible for kids and families. That’s why in 2018, San Francisco voters approved Baby Prop. C, a tax on commercial landlords that would be used to expand access to child care, particularly for lower-and middle-income families, and to help pay early educators a living wage.After being held up in court battles spearheaded by taxpayer and business groups, money from the tax finally began trickling down to families and providers last year. And while there are still challenges to making child care accessible , this investment appears to be paying off.Guest: Daisy Nguyen, reporter covering early childhood education and care for KQEDEpisode transcriptThis 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 late April, a 24-year old transgender Black man named Banko Brown was shot and killed by an armed Walgreens security guard on San Francisco’s Market Street for allegedly shoplifting. The guard was held for a few days but has since been released. And now, community members and the Board of Supervisors are pressuring District Attorney Brooke Jenkins to release the video footage of the shooting. Jenkins has declined to file charges.Despite San Francisco’s bold commitments to support the trans community and reduce trans homelessness, Brown struggled to find safe and stable housing, even as he was an active organizer who helped others find resources. All of this adds up to what the San Francisco Chronicle’s Nuala Bishari describes as “a tragedy of San Francisco’s making.” Guest: Nuala Bishari, opinion columnist and editorial writer for the S.F. ChronicleEpisode transcriptLinks: Why couldn’t San Francisco house Banko Brown before he was killed outside Walgreens?' Killed over ‘$14 of candy’: Banko Brown’s death is a tragedy of San Francisco’s making Banko Brown's Trans Life Mattered 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

For the last 100 years, the Hetch Hetchy reservoir in Yosemite has supplied millions of Bay Area residents with some of the cleanest water in the country. A feat of human engineering, Hetch Hetchy has both an impressive and tainted history; its construction came at both an environmental and human cost to the indigenous people of the area.Now, climate change is making it harder to manage the reservoir, and scientists say something has to change to adapt Hetch Hetchy to the future.Guest: Ezra David Romero, KQED climate reporterEpisode transcriptThis episode was produced by Jehlen Herdman and Maria Esquinca, edited by Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra.Links: Celebration and Concern: Hetch Hetchy Reservoir Turns 100, But Climate Change Complicates its Future The Bay Survey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The federal COVID emergency will officially end on Thursday. But for those living with long COVID, the end of the pandemic couldn’t feel farther from reality. Dubbed by some as a “mass disabling event,” long COVID has left millions of Americans unable to work and stuck navigating the system of disability benefits in order to survive. Doctors and researchers have yet to pin down the exact cause of long COVID. Meanwhile, patients feel that not enough has been done to help find an effective treatment.Guest: Keith Mizuguchi, producer for KQED’s The California Report Episode transcriptThis 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

On Thursday morning, nearly 3,000 educators and staff at the Oakland Unified School District went on strike in a push for higher wages and better resources. The union and the district have not had an active contract since the last one expired in October. This marks the third walkout this year and the second official strike since 2019.Guest: Erin Baldassari, KQED reporterEpisode transcriptThis episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra.Links: 'Justice for Our Students': Oakland Teachers Go on Strike Amid Deadlock With District The Bay Survey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San José Mayor Matt Mahan has been pushing to build more emergency interim housing as a cost-effective approach to get unhoused residents off the streets more quickly. It’s intended to be a temporary step toward more permanent housing.But one big roadblock to building it? Local housed residents, who say they want to see solutions to homelessness...just not in their own backyards.Guest: Guy Marzorati, politics and government correspondent for KQEDEpisode transcriptLinks: The Bay Survey Emergency Calls, Complaints Are Down Near San José's Temporary Housing Sites. So Why Are They Still So Politically Risky? This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Jehlen Herdman, edited by Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

BART Board Director Lateefah Simon is running to replace East Bay Rep. Barbara Lee in Congress, who herself is running to replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein.On KQED’S Political Breakdown podcast, Simon talks with Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos about growing up with a single mom in San Francisco’s Western Addition, her early work with Kamala Harris, facing threats in office, and her run for Congress.Episode transcriptThis conversation first aired April 13, 2023.Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alameda County’s eviction moratorium helped keep hundreds, potentially thousands of people housed during the pandemic.But after increased pressure from local landlords who face hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid rent, as well as the deaths of two tenant-friendly members of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, the county has decided to officially end the eviction moratorium at midnight April 29. Some cities, like Oakland, Berkeley, and San Leandro, are phasing out their moratoriums more slowly. But the end of Alameda County’s moratorium marks the end of one of the strongest in the Bay Area, and thousands of residents will be affected.Guest: Vanessa Rancaño, housing reporter for KQEDEpisode transcriptLinks:As Bay Area Eviction Moratoriums Expire, Local Lawmakers ScrambleThis episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca. Jehlen Herdman is our intern. Ericka Cruz Guevarra is the host. Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eastwind Books, one of the nation’s first Asian American bookstores, has closed its doors after more than four decades in business.The store has been run by Harvey and Beatrice Dong, two activists who were part of civil rights movements in the Bay Area in the 1960s, including the fights over ethnic studies and evictions at the International Hotel in San Francisco.Now in their seventies, Harvey and Beatrice say higher rents and maintenance bills have prompted them to close up shop.Guest: Iris Kwok, Berkeleyside reporterEpisode transcriptThis episode was produced by Jehlen Herdman and Holly J. McDede, edited by Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra.Links: The Bay Survey In Berkeley, an Asian American Institution Plans to Close Its Doors Eastward Books of Berkeley is Closing After 41 Years Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices