KQED's The California Report

Workers who are cheated on their paychecks often don’t recover the wages they are owed -- even after state regulators rule in their favor. In San Diego County, a first-of-its-kind government program aims to change that.Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQEDAcademic workers at UC Santa Cruz go on strike on Monday, becoming the first UC campus to do so following a union vote last week. The walkout is in response to what the union calls unfair labor practices at UCLA, UC San Diego, and UC Irvine, where campus leaders called for police to intervene during on-campus protests over the war in Gaza.Reporter: Elena Neale-Sacks, KAZUThe California Supreme Court will hear a new challenge to Proposition 22 on Tuesday. That’s the 2020 ballot initiative that classified gig workers as independent contractors.Reporter: Katherine Monahan, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brown pelicans are starving up and down the California coast. The Monterey Bay is a particular hot spot. A wildlife rescue center there has taken in more than a hundred sickened birds over the past month. Reporter: Alix Soliman, KQEDAdvocates for a large, self-governed homeless encampment in Sacramento are trying to stop the city from closing it. Reporter: Chris Nichols, CapRadio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Proposition 47, California's landmark critical justice reform measure, has received plenty of recent criticism. Many blame Prop 47 for shoplifting, drug use and homelessness in the state -- and are trying to roll it back with a new initiative this fall. But Prop 47 has also resulted in $800 million in state savings, because fewer people are being sent to prison and jail for drug and low-level property crimes under the law. Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQEDSonoma State University President Mike Lee has been placed on indefinite leave by Cal State University's Chancellor. It comes a day after Lee reached a divestment agreement with pro-Palestinian student protesters on campus.Reporter: Noah Abrams, KRCB Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hospitals across the state were hit hard during the pandemic, which disrupted their operations and chipped away at their finances. Maybe the most glaring example is Madera Community Hospital, which shuttered its doors over financial challenges and filed for bankruptcy in 2022. But one nearby hospital saw record profits, financial investments and executive compensation.Reporter: Omar Sheikh Rashad, Reporter FresnolandGood news for visitors and residents of Big Sur. Caltrans has completed temporary repairs on Highway 1 over a week ahead of schedule. Storms in late March caused one lane of the highway to fall into the ocean.Reporter: Jerimiah Oetting, KAZU  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California has some of the toughest gun control laws in the nation, but a Democratic state lawmaker says there’s a big loophole for some people deemed mentally ill by a state court - and he wants to fix it. The loophole - while California law prohibits someone from possessing a gun if a court finds them mentally incompetent to face a felony charge, it doesn’t apply to people being prosecuted for a misdemeanor.Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQEDThe nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office says the state could save up to a billion dollars a year by closing more prisons. This as California faces a budget deficit in the tens of billions. But Governor Gavin Newsom is taking a more cautious approach to trimming prison beds. Reporter: Nigel Duara, CalMatters  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A multi-billion dollar budget deficit in California is putting organizations across the state at risk. One program facing an uncertain future is Market Match. It works with EBT, or food stamps, to give recipients vouchers they can use at local farmers markets.Reporter: Ava Norgrove, North State Public RadioGovernor Gavin Newsom says he has a plan to deal with a staggering $27 billion state deficit next year --without cutting core services or raising taxes. Newsom says California is facing a $56 billion shortfall over the next two years. He wants lawmakers to approve a spending plan that spans those two years.Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQEDAn encampment to protest the war in Gaza was set up at the University of California Merced on Sunday. It came after the school held its commencement ceremony over the weekend.Reporter: Rachel Livinal, KVPR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

State regulators have approved a controversial proposal that will add a monthly charge of $24 to many Californian's electricity bills. But in exchange, utility customers should see reductions in charges per kilowatt hour of electricity used. As college campus protests continue over Israel's War in Gaza, students at UC Merced are asking the university to refrain from what they say is over-policing. Reporter: Rachel Livinal, KVPRIt’s finally warming up in California. As more bugs come out in the heat, so do bats to feed on them. And one bat species is emerging from hibernation with a new distinction -- the pallid bat is now the official state bat of California.Reporter: Alix Soliman, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the conflict between Israel and Hamas rages on, American protesters are accusing Silicon Valley companies like Intel and Google of complicity in the violence, and urging them to divest. But US tech has been deeply involved with Israeli tech for half a century.Reporter: Rachael Myrow, KQEDThe California Public Utilities Commission votes Thursday on a controversial flat electricity rate. Regulators say the change would lower bills for many, but critics argue it could do the opposite.Reporter: Alix Soliman, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two years ago, the northern Imperial County town of Niland lost its only post office in a fire. It was supposed to be a temporary closure. But residents are still fighting to get it back.Reporter: Kori Suzuki, KPBSCalifornia prison officials say it will cost billions of dollars to enforce new indoor heat regulations that the state’s proposed for workers. But they have declined to share exact cost estimates.Reporter: Jeanne Kuang, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been over a month since California started requiring most fast food employers in the state to pay a minimum wage of $20 dollars an hour -- a big jump from the state’s general minimum wage of $16 dollars.Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED NewsSan Francisco State University’s top administrator is promising to provide more transparency about financial ties to Israel … and to explore school divestment. That’s in a public meeting Monday with pro-Palestinian student protesters... who’ve camped out on campus for the past week.Reporter: Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, KQED News The Shasta County Board of Supervisors is set to meet today to discuss next steps now that the longstanding County Registrar of Voters has retired, but it’s unclear exactly how her position will be filled.Reporter: Alec Stutson, North State Public Radio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices