The Bay

This time of year is a critical point in the run up to the November elections. Normally, campaigns would spend the next few months organizing rallies, town halls and gathering signatures for ballot measures.But COVID 19 has thrown a wrench in the entire election ecosystem. And come Novevmber, even the process of voting will feel different, whether you're voting by mail or making the trip to do it in person.Guest: Marisa Lagos, KQED politics correspondentYou can view our raw interview with Marisa in a live taping of this episode here, recorded Wednesday May 13. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More than half of confirmed COVID-19 deaths in California come from senior care homes. And for family members and workers at these facilities, the situation hasn't gotten any less stressful.Guests: Jonathan Hirsch, CEO of Neon Hum Media, and Molly Peterson, KQED science reporterThis is an update to our episode on April 10, 2020, which includes a longer introduction to Jonathan's dad, Thomas. Do you know someone in a nursing home or assisted facility and want to share your story? Click here.And thanks to all of you who came to our (virtual) live taping Wednesday night. There's a recording on Facebook Live if you missed it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Around 1.2 million California students lack adequate access to the internet right now, despite the fact that public schools have moved classes online. That's created a tough scenario for teachers who have a harder time keeping tabs on students, and some educators are worried about what this means to education inequities that existed long before COVID-19.Guest: Julia McEvoy, senior editor for KQED’s education and equity deskThe Bay won a Regional Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Innovation! Listen to our episode, “The Tiny Radio Station Relaying Critical Kincade Fire Information in Indigenous Languages.” Congratulations to KQED for winning six regional Murrow awards this year!We're hosting a live (virtual) taping of The Bay on Wednesday, May 13 at 5:30 pm. RSVP for free here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thanks to shelter-in-place orders, we car-lovin’ Californians are driving 75% less, according to one recent estimate from UC Davis. That's good for the environment in the short-term, but it's not a sustainable way to lower emissions in the long-term.So what does this pandemic mean for the environment — and will it cause the Bay Area to step up its efforts to stave off the climate crisis, or pull back?Guest: Kevin Stark, KQED science reporter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pedro Archuleta and his mother, Connie Archuleta, have gotten closer since Pedro's incarceration in 2002.But the COVID-19 pandemic has cast a shadow of worry over both of them. Connie worries about conditions inside the California Institution for Men in Chino, where Pedro, who also has a respiratory illness called Valley fever, is locked up. And Pedro worries that he can't do enough to help his 73 year-old mother right now.Guest: Robin Estrin, freelance journalist and student at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of JournalismWe're hosting a live (virtual) taping of our show on Wednesday, May 13 at 5:30 pm. RSVP for free here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

PG&E needs to reach a settlement agreement with nearly 70,000 survivors of the 2017 North Bay fires and the 2018 Camp Fire. The deal needs a two-thirds majority to pass and must be approved by May 15.But the process has been a mess. Some survivors aren't happy, some don't have their ballots, and PG&E hasn't yet committed to paying the funds at a certain time. And at the end of it all, we still don't have assurances that PG&E will be fully equipped to handle the next wildfire season.Guest: Lily Jamali, co-host and correspondent for The California Report Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This pandemic has upended the Bay Area’s restaurant industry. Huge numbers of people have been laid off, restaurants have closed, and the businesses that are still open are trying to make it work through delivery and takeout. The industry will likely be changed forever.As part of our ongoing focus on how life in the Bay Area is changing, we’re taking a look at the future of restaurants.Guest: Soleil Ho, restaurant critic for the San Francisco ChronicleOn Wednesday, May 13, we're hosting a (virtual) live taping of our show! RSVP for free here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An estimated 2 million Californians are undocumented. And whether they're essential workers or have recently lost employment, none of them are eligible for federal aid right now, including the stimulus check that was part of the CARES Act. State and local authorities — and everyday people — are trying to help fill the gap, but it's nowhere near enough. So how are undocumented people being supported right now?This episode is a collaboration with KQED’s Bay Curious podcast.Guest: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED immigration reporterTap here to ask your COVID-19 questions in English, or in Spanish. Haga clic aquí para obtener información importante de KQED e historias en Español. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brandon Lee is paralyzed from the chest down and recovering at his parent’s home in San Francisco’s Sunset District. Lee had been working as an environmental activist in the Philippines when he became what's believed to be the first U.S. citizen targeted in an extrajudicial assassination attempt under the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte. Local San Francisco officials helped get Brandon back to the Bay Area for medical care. Now, Lee is looking for affordable and disability-accessible housing in a city that has gotten more expensive since he left for the Philippines in 2010.Guests: Brandon Lee, activist and Faye Lacanilao, activist and Brandon’s friend Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Leaders at the Bay Area's public transit agencies are dealing with a massive fiscal crisis that happened seemingly overnight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices