KQED's The California Report

A judge has ruled that a San Bernardino County school district must hold off on enforcing a policy that requires school staff to notify parents if a student identifies as transgender. Chino Valley Unified is being sued by the state attorney general.Reporter: Madison Aument, KVCR In San Diego, the Black Panther Party is recruiting new members. Decades ago, the U.S. government spread misinformation that caused the party to become mostly inactive. Now, the San Diego chapter is one of many reviving across the country. Reporter: Katie Hyson, KPBS  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Central Coast Congressman Salud Carbajal is unveiling new legislation on Wednesday to help communities near regional airports that have long been facing toxic chemical contamination in their groundwater. The “Clean Airport Agenda” will make sure federal agencies phase out the use of these toxic chemicals in such communities. Reporter: Benjamin Purper, KCBXState lawmakers are voting on a resolution declaring August trans history month across California.Reporter: Lesley McClurg , KQEDCalifornia is on its way to becoming the first state to explicitly ban discrimination based on caste. State lawmakers approved a bill to make it a protected class and sent it to the governor on Tuesday.Reporter: Nicole Nixon, CapRadio  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People who live behind a vast number of aging levees in the United States are more likely to be people of color and have less education compared to those who don’t. And that leaves them more vulnerable to flooding and the impacts of climate change.Reporter: Emily Zentner, California NewsroomA state bill that would require many employers in all kinds of industries to take steps to protect workers from violence at their jobs, has cleared a key hurdle and is headed for a full vote of the State Assembly. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Joe Sanchez was 8 years old, his grandmother asked him to make a promise to never forget his California Indian heritage. She was determined to see the culture live on, after watching her brothers deny their Coast Miwok ancestry, a matter of economic survival in early 20th century California. Today, at 75, Sanchez is making good on that promise in a more ambitious way than he ever imagined: He’s bought back a piece of his ancestral homeland.Reporter: Vanessa Rancaño  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This podcast discusses the high maternal mortality rate in Kern County, California and efforts to address it. It also covers the severe West Nile virus season in Sacramento and Yolo counties, including insecticide spraying. The importance of preventing stagnant water as breeding grounds for mosquitoes and the controversy surrounding the expansion plan at the Eliso Canyon gas storage field are also discussed.

The governor's office is awarding $760 million in grants for affordable housing projects in California, combating wage theft to address homelessness in Los Angeles, surge in COVID-19 infections in California and its connection to the EG5 subvariant, managing concerns about COVID-19, and an interview with infectious disease doctor Monica Gandhi about affordable housing in California.

COVID cases are on the rise in California. According to the state public health department, hospitalizations have jumped more than 80% over the last month.  Reporter: Jackie Fortier, LAistCalifornia produces millions of tons of toxic waste each year, but the state’s relying on a shrinking network of aging sites to process it. Many of the older sites have a troubling history of safety violations and polluted soil and groundwater.Reporter: Robert Lewis, CalMatters  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

State Attorney General Rob Bonta is suing Chino Valley Unified School District in San Bernardino County, over their policy of mandatory outing of trans students to family members. The policy requires teachers and staff to notify parents within three days if a student asks to use a different name or pronoun.A new political campaign to roll back several protections for transgender youth is happening across California. However transgender advocates say they’re dangerous.Reporter: Lesley McClurg, KQEDHundreds of house cleaners, nannies and home care aides are expected to descend on Sacramento on Tuesday, calling on the governor and lawmakers to pass a bill that would give domestic workers the right to health and safety protections other workers enjoy.Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQEDThe recent death of an orca held in captivity in Florida for more than five decades has invigorated calls to release other marine mammals – including Corky – an orca at San Diego’s SeaWorld. At the same time, some California lawmakers are pushing federal regulators to demand better care for marine mammals in captivity. Reporter: Greta Mart, KRCB Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A growing number of California winemakers have seen their crop ruined in recent years by wildfire smoke. The impact is huge: After fires in 2020, the California Association of Wine Grape Growers estimated that up to 325,000 tons of grapes weren’t usable, leading to over $3 billion in losses.Reporter: Manola Secaira, CapRadioThe three people who died in last week's shooting at an Orange County bar have been identified. Cook's Corner is often described as a biker bar in Trabuco Canyon. But the community ties run far deeper, stretching back to at least 1926.Reporter: Caitlin Hernandez, LAist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a 17-month labor battle, a North Hollywood strip club has reopened as the only union strip club in the U.S. But it's not the end of the road. The dancers may have union representation, but they still don't have a contract.Reporter: Robin Estrin, KCRWThe world’s largest known octopus garden is in California coastal waters, just 80 miles south of Monterey. A new study confirms these deep-sea octopuses migrate to the area to reproduce.Reporter: Alexander Gonzalez, KQEDThrough her restaurant, Crystal Wahpepah reclaims and celebrates the traditions of indigenous people, while also nourishing and educating non-native people on the history of the land they occupy.Reporter: Bianca Taylor, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices