The Bay

The city of Oakland plans to evict the 60 remaining residents of the Wood Street encampment on Monday, April 10. This comes after months of ramping up sweeps in order to move forward with plans to build 171 affordable housing units.At its height, Wood Street was a self-sustaining community of about 300 people and spanned several city blocks. The remaining residents, some of whom have lived there for more than a decade, are feeling an immense sense of loss and uncertainty about whether they can rebuild their community. Guest: Erin Baldassari, housing affordability correspondent for KQEDEpisode transcriptThis episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Jehlen Herdman, edited by Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra, who also produced.Links: End of an Era: Last Remaining Unhoused Residents at Oakland's Wood Street Commons Getting Evicted The Bay Survey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve delayed action on climate change for so long that scientists say eliminating greenhouse gas emissions isn’t enough anymore — we also need to explore ways of removing carbon from the atmosphere.One potential method is carbon removal, which is exactly what it sounds like. Forests and wetlands can naturally do this, and engineered approaches are starting to take shape as well. And some of these new climate technology companies have been formed here in the Bay Area.How to do it fast, and safely, is a big question. But some lawmakers are hopeful that carbon removal can not only help fight climate change, but create an economic boom at the same time.Guest: Laura Klivans, climate reporter and host of Deep LookEpisode 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

The iconic Castro Theatre faces an uncertain future. Historically operated as a movie palace, the building’s new managers want to renovate the space for more events — like concerts, performances and weddings.The plans have not been received well by everyone. Some point to the theater’s historical significance in San Francisco’s gay community as a reason to restore the space rather than renovate it, and this tension has resulted in a fight for the theater’s future.This episode of Bay Curious first published March 9, 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anti-trans hate is on the rise. Republicans have introduced more than 400 anti-trans bills in state legislatures around the country. 1 in California would force educators to out trans kids who may not be ready to come out to their parents.Last year, California became the first sanctuary state in the country for trans youth. But a transgender therapist in the Bay Area says the anti-trans hate is still having a real effect on her trans clients. Guest: Veronica Esposito, a writer, transgender advocate and associate marriage and family therapist in the Bay AreaThis episode was produced by Jehlen Herdman, Maria Esquinca, and Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra.Links: Read Veronica’s Piece: As a Therapist, I See the Damage of Anti-Trans Hate Firsthand Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode contains mentions of suicide.Too often, psychosis isn’t treated until it’s too late. But studies from early psychosis clinics show that patients see a greater reduction of symptoms, like voices or delusions, and a greater improvement in functioning at school, at work and in their social lives, compared to people who get treatment as usual.But too often, private insurers don’t cover these treatments, leaving many families to navigate the byzantine system of insurance on their own.This episode of The California Report Magazine first aired on March 1, 2023.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Residents of Pajaro in Monterey County were finally allowed to return home Thursday after destructive flooding from last week’s storms. When the levee broke, causing the town to flood, it wasn’t a huge surprise; problems with that levee have been well-known for decades, but it wasn’t enough to address the problem fast enough.The Bay Area has hundreds of its own levees. And it turns out, we don’t really know how safe or vulnerable most of them are.Guest: Ezra David Romero, climate reporter for KQEDLinks The Bay Survey Fewer Than 10% of Levees in the Greater Bay Area Have a Federal Flood Risk Rating This 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

Silicon Valley Bank is best known for its relationships with the tech industry. But the bank also had billions out in loans to developers working on affordable housing projects in the Bay Area.Unlike larger banks, regional banks like SVB are more likely to fund local affordable housing projects.But now that the bank has collapsed, the future of these projects is precarious, and calls into question how these much-needed affordable housing projects are funded in the first place.Guest: Sydney Johnson, KQED reporterEpisode transcriptLinks: MAP: Bay Area Affordable Housing Projects Impacted by Silicon Valley Bank's Collapse The Bay Survey This 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

California is in the middle of rolling out a plan to make preschool universal across the state. Also known as “transitional kindergarten,” it’s all part of an ambitious plan to make childcare more accessible, and close some big learning gaps between children from low and high income families. So far, the implementation has been mixed.But some districts have been providing transitional kindergarten already. The Alum Rock Union School District in East San Jose is one of them, and its program is attracting more and more interest from families. Today, we explain why. Guest: Daisy Nguyen, Early Childhood Education and Care reporter for KQEDEpisode transcriptLinks: The Bay Survey Universal Preschool's Off to a Bumpy Start, but East San José Is Seeing Success. Here's Why Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S. ranks 55th in the world in maternal mortality rates. Those rates are even worse for Black women, whose maternal mortality rate is more than two times higher than any other racial or ethnic group. Patients and advocates cite lower access to quality care and racism in the medical system as main drivers of these outcomes. A program in Alameda County is providing an answer to that problem. BElovedBIRTH Black Centering, operating through the Alameda Health System, is completely rethinking what birthing looks like for Black folks. The program provides group perinatal care by, for, and with Black people — and it’s leading to better outcomes for the families involved.Guest: Jyesha Wren, a midwife and co-founder and program coordinator of BElovedBIRTH Black Centering in OaklandEpisode transcriptLinks: BElovedBIRTH Black Centering web page BElovedBIRTH’s Instagram Oakland programs are supporting Black postpartum women This episode was produced by Jehlen Herdman, Maria Esquinca, Ericka Cruz Guevarra and Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As residents across California continue to cope with heavy wind and rain, perhaps no community has been hit harder than Pajaro, where thousands of residents have evacuated after a levee broke late last Friday, flooding the town.An unincorporated community in Monterey County, Pajaro is home to mainly low-income Latino farmworkers who provide a large portion of California-grown produce. They've lost not only their homes and vehicles to flooding, but also their livelihoods as farms across the county are forced to shut down. Guest: Katherine Monahan, KQED ReporterEpisode transcriptFor information and referrals to disaster relief organizations, residents of evacuated areas can call 211.Links: Breached Levee Floods Pajaro River Valley, Engulfing Towns as Communities Are Evacuated Santa Cruz County Disaster Fund: supporting residents impacted by floods, wildfires, earthquakes, mudslides, debris flows, and other disasters in Santa Cruz County and the Pajaro Valley To Donate directly to farmworkers and learn more about the reality of farmworkers in CA check out the Center for Farmworker Families DONATING ITEMS: Donations can be taken to the Raíces y Cariño center at 1205 Freedom Blvd in Watsonville. They are there each day this week until 5pm. Requested Items include: diapers, baby wipes, feminine pads, bath towels, warm blankets, new socks and underwear, bottled water, gently used clothing in good condition, and art and craft supplies for kids. If you bring food, it should be pre-packaged and non-perishable. The Bay Survey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices