The Bay

The Bay Area has a long history of providing refuge to migrants seeking asylum. And for some, like Luna Guzmán, a transgender woman who left Guatemala at 22, places like San Francisco are one of the few places where they feel safe. But the journey to seek asylum can be dangerous, especially when U.S. immigration policy fails to protect people who live outside the gender binary. Now, the Trump Administration plans to issue new rules for asylum that would restrict access to the U.S. even more. Today, we share Guzmán's journey.This documentary originally ran on The California Report Magazine. You can subscribe to that podcast here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the weekend, another surge in COVID-19 cases once again led to playgrounds being closed in many communities across California and in five Bay Area counties.But some parents felt like this part of the new stay-at-home order goes too far — especially because some indoor shopping stayed open. Many also worried that losing access to a safe and free outdoor space could harm both kids and families.Guest: Matthias Gafni, reporter for the San Francisco ChronicleUPDATE:  On Wednesday morning, the California Department of Public Health changed its stay-at-home guidance to let counties keep outdoor playgrounds open. Check out Matthias' story here.Read the transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the third episode of By The People, The Bay podcast’s new series highlighting the way democracy shows up in the places around us, and how we can all plug in.A vote in Oakland today goes farther than it did prior to 1980. That’s when voters passed Measure H, which moved the city from at-large to district-based elections . The change was huge for Black and brown voters, who now had the opportunity to elect candidates from their neighborhoods instead of being represented by white men backed by money and power. The reason why Measure H passed can be traced back through decades of organizing by Black activists seeking political representation.Guest: Darwin BondGraham, editor of The OaklandsideRead the transcript here. You can read Darwin’s full article hereDonate to KQED and support The Bay or subscribe to our weekly newsletter!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California is planning its rollout of a coronavirus vaccine. Healthcare workers have already been prioritized, but figuring out who comes next and how that decision will be made is now in the hands of an advisory committee made up of health and community leaders. One factor they’ll use to decide who gets the vaccine next? A look at the nation’s history of social injustice, and which groups have been overlooked, and wronged, in the past.Guest: April Dembosky, Health Correspondent for KQEDRead the transcript here.Sign up for our weekly newsletter!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's always been difficult to charge a police officer after they've killed someone while on the job. But in the Bay, it's happened a few times within the last three months. For example, in September, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley charged San Leandro police officer Jason Fletcher for killing Steven Taylor in April 2020, and last week San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin charged Christopher Samayoa for shooting and killing Keita O'Neil in 2017. So what led these two Bay Area DAs to file charges when it's been so rare in the past?Guest: Alex Emslie, KQED Criminal Justice EditorRead the transcript here. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the second episode of By The People, The Bay podcast's new series highlighting the way democracy shows up in the places around us, and how we can all plug in.Many activists work their whole lives from outside the systems they want changed. That’s what Shakira Simley did, until recently. Simley is now Director of San Francisco’s Office of Racial Equity and says she brought a lot of the lessons she learned as an activist with her into City Hall. Simley talks with us about why it’s important to see public institutions as ours to behold — and change.Guest: Shakirah Simley, Director of San Francisco’s Office of Racial EquityRead the transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Evelyn Legarte migrated from the Philippines to the Bay Area in 1980, she was part of a growing number of Filipinos that now make up about 20% of nurses in California. As the holidays approach, we want to acknowledge the many Filipino nurses on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic who are caring for people like they’ve done in past public health crises. This episode originally ran on May 22, 2020.Guest: Evelyn Legarte, retired Bay Area nurse Subscribe to our newsletter here!Read the transcript here.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One way to change your hometown? Run for office. That’s what Alex Lee, James Coleman, and Lucy Shen decided to do in the 2020 elections. All three are among a number of young, queer candidates of color who ran in local races this year.They’re from different parts of the Bay Area – with unique relationships to their hometowns – but they all found themselves looking for change and diving into politics.This is the first episode of By The People, The Bay’s new series highlighting the way democracy shows up in the places around us, and how we can all plug in.Guest: Adhiti Bandlamudi, KQED Silicon Valley reporterSubscribe to our newsletter here!Read the transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the pandemic hit, thousands of unsheltered people were moved into hotels under a plan known as Project Roomkey. Gov. Gavin Newsom said the goal was to eventually move people into permanent housing. But early data from eight Bay Area counties analyzed by KQED shows that most people discharged from hotels have not found a more secure home.Now, some of those hotels are closing, and as coronavirus cases surge again the question still remains: where will the unhoused go?Guest: Erin Baldassari, KQED housing reporter and co-host of Sold Out, a podcast about the challenges and solutions to our housing crisis.Read the transcript here. And sign up for our newsletter here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom said that California has seen the fastest two-week increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases since the pandemic started. Now, most counties, including six in the Bay Area, are under the state’s most restrictive pandemic mandates.Guest: Katie Orr, KQED politics and government reporterRead the transcript: https://bit.ly/2UzUKpp Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices