The Bay

In Santa Clara County, there are a series of controversies surrounding Sheriff Laurie Smith. They range from abuse in jails, to bribery — to even potential allegations of corruption and political influence.Now some South Bay leaders are saying enough is enough. San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo wants Smith to resign, and county supervisors want her office investigated. Guests: Adhiti Bandlamudi, KQED Silicon Valley reporter, and Alex Emslie, KQED criminal justice editorRead the episode transcript here. Follow The Bay to hear more local Bay Area stories like this one. New episodes are released Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 3 a.m. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Several wildfires are burning in Northern California — again. Fire is now a regular part of our lives, and we need to address it with the nuance and complexity it deserves. But in order to do that, we need to rethink how we talk about and report on fire in the first place. Today, KQED Science reporter Danielle Venton shares what she’s learned in 6 years of wildfire reporting — and what needs to change.More Resources: The Karuk Used to Manage the Forest for Centuries. Now They Want To Do That Again Map: Here's Your Daily Air Quality Report for the Bay Area What to Pack in Your Emergency Bag — With COVID-19 in Mind Read the episode transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bay Area is home to some of the largest Afghan communities in the U.S. And now, as the Taliban have taken over control of Afghanistan, refugee resettlement organizations here like Jewish Family and Community Services East Bay say the pace of people seeking refuge is "like nothing we've seen in recent years."Guest: Fouzia Azizi, Director of Refugee Services for Jewish Family and Community Services East BayYou can find opportunities to donate or help JFCS here.Read the episode transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recall election is coming. Ballots have been mailed out and the last day to vote in Sept. 14.Feeling unprepared? Here’s a primer with nitty-gritty voting details, some context for the campaign, and what you’ll find on your ballot from our friends at Bay Curious.Transcript here: https://bit.ly/3sdB4I2 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the vast majority of families, this fall means a return to in-person school. But some have opted to stick with remote learning because of concerns over COVID-19. And in many cases — including in Oakland — the rollout of virtual learning this time around has been rocky.Guest: Vanessa Rancaño, KQED education reporterTranscript here: https://bit.ly/3sgb8vn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bay Area teachers have been preparing to teach in-person again. There’s so much to get ready for — whether it’s taking steps to keep people safe from COVID-19, or figuring out how to navigate student group projects. But above all, these two Bay Area teachers are excited to return to what was lost: connecting in person with their students.Guests: Andreanna Yanez-Vierra, 1st grade teacher at Hoover Elementary School in Burlingame; Ralph Bedwell, English teacher at Pinole Valley High Transcript here: https://bit.ly/3fRDmHO Follow The Bay to hear more local Bay Area stories like this one. New episodes are released Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 3 a.m. Find The Bay on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, NPR One or via Alexa.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many Bay Area students are starting school this week, and in California, classes will mostly be in-person. At the same time, COVID cases are rising due to the delta variant. But after a year of remote learning, families and students have mixed feelings about going back to school in person.Guest: Julia McEvoy, KQED senior editor of education and equity. Read the episode transcript here. Follow The Bay to hear more local Bay Area stories like this one. New episodes are released Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 3 a.m. Find The Bay on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, NPR One or via Alexa.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even before the pandemic, public transit did not feel safe to many women and girls. That’s why the #NotOneMoreGirl initiative was launched and spearheaded by Bay Area youth — and they've already helped create changes at BART.As BART service resumes at near pre-pandemic hours, advocates say keeping vulnerable people safe is more important than ever.Guests: Haleema Bharoocha, senior advocacy manager at Alliance for Girls and Santana Tapia, with the #NotOneMoreGirl campaign and co-founder of Fluid Coffee and EventsClick here to watch the bystander intervention training video produced by the Not One More Girl Campaign. Read the episode transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just when there was a palpable sense that everything might be OK, the highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19 came along.The race to vaccinate more people is now even more urgent; healthcare workers who are seeing more patients say another surge is entirely preventable, if only more people would get vaccinated. Guest: Lesley McClurg, KQED science reporterRead the episode transcript here.Follow The Bay to hear more local Bay Area stories like this one. New episodes are released Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 3 a.m. Find The Bay on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, NPR One or via Alexa. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

COVID-19 cases are on the rise again, fueled by the contagious Delta variant. And over the past few weeks, many Bay Area restaurants and bars have responded by requiring customers to prove they've been fully vaccinated before dining inside.Today, we visit one San Francisco business that recently made this decision.Guests: Eduardo Sandoval and Eva Lee of Santería margarita bar in San FranciscoRead the transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices