KQED's Forum

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted this week to ask the state to provide the city with more latitude in moving up dates for reopening things like bars, indoor dining, and hair salons.  San Francisco is one of only six counties in the state that had not yet sought this flexibility around reopening.  The move comes at a time when officials are working to strike a balance between keeping residents safe and COVID-19 hospitalizations manageable while gradually reopening the economy.  More than 243,000 Californians filed for unemployment last week, and while many San Franciscans are struggling to stay afloat, the pandemic has also exposed long-term economic inequities.  In this hour, we talk with San Francisco health and economy officials about how they balance those concerns. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To commemorate Juneteenth, the celebration of emancipation from slavery, nearly 40 Bay Area theaters and others nationwide are collaborating on a project to bring a thought-provoking play about race into people’s homes. As part of The Juneteenth Theater Justice Project, staged readings of playwright Vincent Terrell Durham’s play, “Polar Bears, Black Boys and Prairie Fringed Orchids”, will be live streamed from theaters around the country on Zoom on June 19th. We’ll talk with the playwright and the project leader about the play and what a celebration of freedom means in a time of heightened attention to  systemic racism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Thursday, a Butte County judge imposed a $3.5 million fine on PG&E for causing the 2018 Camp Fire -- the deadliest wildfire in California's history that claimed 84 lives. The ruling came after PG&E CEO Bill Johnson entered 84 individual guilty pleas for those deaths on Tuesday. Dozens spoke during the court proceeding recounting the horrifying deaths of loved ones who perished in the blaze. While PG&E, the state's largest utility, was held responsible, no executives were charged or face jail time. Critics say the fine and punishment is too lenient given that PG&E has been linked to a number of disasters since 2015. We’ll dive into PG&E's criminal case and the company's bankruptcy proceedings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Supreme Court of the United States issued a 5-4 ruling today upholding the legality of  Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The program allows immigrants who arrived in the country as children -- but don’t have permanent legal status or a path to legal status -- to receive protection from deportation and permission to work. For the past eight years, around 800,000 people have participated in DACA, working in what are now deemed essential jobs: helping feed the nation, caring for coronavirus patients, and serving in the military.  The Obama-era program had been in limbo since 2017, when President Donald Trump announced he was ending the program and called it illegal. The program, which some studies suggest was hugely popular with Americans, can now remain in place. We discuss the decision and what could happen next for immigration reform.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Social justice educator Robin DiAngelo's book, “White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism”, is one of a number of books on race topping bestseller lists as many people seek to educate themselves amid protests against racism and racist policing. In the book, she invites white people to examine their role in upholding systemic racism and to confront the defensiveness or "fragility" she says they can exhibit when challenged on their ideas about race. We'll talk to DiAngelo about her book, the ongoing protests and her thoughts on what white people can do to address racism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As tributes to the Confederacy continue to fall in cities across the country, the city of Fort Bragg in Northern California, named for a Confederate general, is considering a name change. Those in favor of the change say the name is offensive and celebrates a racist history. Opponents argue that history is important, good or bad, and shouldn't be erased. Efforts to rename Fort Bragg gained little traction in the past, but the city council plans to hear public comment on the issue next week. We discuss the debate around Fort Bragg and other controversies surrounding historic names. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal authorities on Tuesday charged an Air Force sergeant with murdering a federal officer during an anti-police brutality protest in Oakland in late May. The FBI says Steven Carrillo is linked with the extremist "Boogaloo" movement which believes in inciting a second civil war to overthrow the government. Carrillo has also been charged with 19 felony counts for a violent ambush on police earlier this month in the Santa Cruz mountains that left a sheriff’s deputy dead.  We’ll discuss the cases and the extremist ideology of Boogaloo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the absence of clear direction from the federal government on coronavirus, state and local officials were forced to chart their own course in handling the crisis. A new report by Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting examines the early decisions that were made in two states: California and Florida. We'll talk with two reporters on the piece, KQED's Marisa Lagos and Caiti Switalski of WLRN in Miami. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Representative Jackie Speier recently introduced legislation to protect whistleblowers who expose fraud, waste, or abuse in the federal government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. Speier joins us to talk about her new legislation, the lack of progress in fighting sexual assault in the military, and how the Black Lives Matter protests can spur lasting change in America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Monday, the University of California Board of Regents unanimously voted to endorse a state measure to repeal Prop. 209, a nearly 25-year-old law that bans consideration of race in government contracts, public sector hiring, and college admissions. The measure passed the California Assembly and if ratified by the state Senate, will show up on the November ballot. Proponents argue that barring state agencies and institutions from considering race and gender has hindered equal representation and reinforced systemic advantages for white-owned businesses and white students. We discuss the prospects for restoring affirmative action in California at a time when prejudice and institutional racism in America are top of mind. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices