Who Will be the Next California Attorney General? Other than Governor, being California’s Attorney General is arguably the most coveted political job in California. It makes you the Golden State’s top prosecutor, you get tons of attention, and the job can serve as a launching pad to higher office, like it did for Vice President Kamala Harris. The Attorney General’s position will soon be vacant and lots of people want the job. Reporter: Katie Orr, KQED This will mean more regular beds and ICU beds at Pacifica Hospital of the Valley in Sun Valley. And the state is reopening Pacific Gardens Medical Center in Hawaiian Gardens, which had closed four years ago. Reporter: Jackie Fortier, KPCC San Jose Senator Dave Cortese says despite the fanfare around Newsom's goal to start re-opening next month, plenty of disagreements remain. That includes a proposal for weekly testing of students. Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED Just over three thousand inmates have gotten their first dose of the vaccine so far, but it still takes a few weeks for it to take effect. Health experts fear the worst is yet to come. Reporter: Marco Siler-Gonzales, KQED

KQED's The California Report

The Search for California's Next Top Prosecutor Heats Up

People Who Knew Kamala Harris Best Reflect on Watching Her Ascend to the White HouseKamala Harris represents a lot of firsts, from the first female vice president to the first Black vice-president to the first vice president of South Asian descent. But what do the people who knew Harris as a San Francisco D.A., California Attorney General, and U.S Senator think about her ascent? Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED After the new vice president was sworn in yesterday, Kamala Harris turned her attention to her first official duty: swearing in her replacement to represent California in the U.S. Senate. Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED Amanda Gorman is the 22-year-old poet from Los Angeles who recited her poem “The Hill We Climb” at the inauguration. Gorman got her start writing poetry through an LA-based non-profit called WriteGirl. Caroline Champlin, KPCC The Biden White House has unveiled an ambitious immigration agenda, including a reform bill that would set a path to legalization for the estimated 11 million undocumented people in this country. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero Overall, Latinos cast an estimated 16.6 million ballots in November and preferred Biden to Trump by a 3 to 1 margin. This new study by the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Initiative looked at counties with the most Latino voters in more than a dozen states Reporter: Darrell Satzman, KCRW 

People Who Knew Kamala Harris Best Reflect on Watching Her Ascend to the White House

Biden Inauguration Marks End of Political and Legal Warfare Between California and the Trump Administration The presidency of Donald Trump ends Wednesday morning, and when it does, it will mark the end of four years of feuding with the Trump Administration over issues like health care, the environment, and immigration. Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED The New Year’s surge is not as bad as health officials feared. The number of people requiring medical care has stabilized and declined slightly. Reporter: Lesley McClurg, KQED Under the new Trump administration rule, immigration court fees would jump by hundreds of dollars. U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta says the fee hikes would have caused plaintiffs irreparable harm, and were likely unlawful. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED 

Political and Legal Warfare Between California and the Trump Administration Comes to an End

Health care workers are treating more COVID19 patients than ever in this pandemic, and hospitalizations from the virus are mounting more pressure on an already strained health care system. Reporter: Marco Siler Gonzales, KQED State health officials are recommending a pause in using one batch of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine because of unexpected adverse reactions. Reporter: Molly Peterson, KQED Weeks after Proposition 22 became law, we are already seeing the effects ripple out into industries beyond the “gig economy.” The country’s second-largest grocery store chain, Albertsons, is now laying off its grocery delivery employees and replacing them with contractors at DoorDash. Critics of the measure say they warned this would happen. Reporter: Sam Harnett, KQED As the sun sets on the Trump Administration, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has proposed removing the protected status of millions of acres of desert lands across California. Reporter: Ezra David Romero, CapRadio

Albertson's Dumps Drivers for Doordash, Critics Blame Prop 22

Alex Padilla Calls for Legalization of Undocumented Immigrants in Essential Services Kamala Harris will officially resign her California U.S. Senate seat as she prepares to be sworn in as vice president on Wednesday. Harris's appointed successor, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, says undocumented immigrants working in essential services deserve not just labor protections, but the security of a path to citizenship. Reporter: Tyche Hendricks Todd Gloria is San Diego's new mayor. He's a Democrat, and the first openly gay person and person of color to lead San Diego, a city of nearly 1.5 million people. Guest: Todd Gloria, San Diego mayor Fraudsters have stolen as much as $8 billion dollars and counting in unemployment benefits from the state. Now Bank of America is facing a federal lawsuit in connection with that fraud, and the impact it’s had on innocent customers. Reporter: Mary Franklin Harvin, The California Report Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris resigned her California U.S. Senate seat today, but that vacant seat won’t be vacant for long. Governor Gavin Newsom tapped current Secretary of State Alex Padilla to serve out the final two years of Harris’s Senate term. Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED 

Incoming California Senator Pushes for Citizenship Path for Undocumented Essential Workers

Alex Padilla Calls for Legalization of Undocumented Immigrants in Essential Services Kamala Harris will officially resign her California U.S. Senate seat as she prepares to be sworn in as vice president on Wednesday. Harris's appointed successor, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, says undocumented immigrants working in essential services deserve not just labor protections, but the security of a path to citizenship. Reporter: Tyche Hendricks How San Diego's New Mayor Came to Embrace an Increasingly Progressive Identity Todd Gloria is San Diego's new mayor. He's a Democrat, and the first openly gay person and person of color to lead San Diego, a city of nearly 1.5 million people. Guest: Todd Gloria, San Diego mayor 

Los Angeles County Approaches Nearly a Million COVID-19 Cases With around 10 million residents, L.A. is the most populous county in the U.S. As the county approaches a million cases, that also means roughly 1 in 10 Angelenos has had a confirmed case of the virus at some point throughout the pandemic. Matt Guilhem, KCRW Los Angeles County Latino Residents Now Dying from COVID-19 at Eight Times the Rate in November The region has been the epicenter of the pandemic for months, but the speed of transmission continues to alarm officials. COVID-19 has devastated communities of color more than any other, and the data is alarming. Guest: Ron Lin, Reporter, Los Angeles Times Pistachio Plant Workers Take to the Streets to Demand Safety Farmworkers and those in food production have been left vulnerable by the pandemic. In the Central Valley, employees of the pistachio producer Primex recently made the rare, risky decision to take to the streets. Guest: Julia Lurie, Mother Jones California Fall Short on Ambitious Vaccination Goals Counties in California aren’t giving shots to members of the public yet. To make that happen, lawmakers and county health officials say they’re going to need a lot more help from the state. Reporter: Sammy Caiola, CapRadio California Steps Up Security Prep as Biden Inauguration Draws Near Newsom activated up to one thousand of the state’s National Guard to work closely with the CHP to protect infrastructure in and around the State Capitol in Sacramento. The move comes just days after the FBI warned of possible armed violence planned by extremist groups targeting all 50 state capitals. Reporter: Scott Shafer, Politics Editor, KQED California Lawmakers Eager for Immediate Action Begin Budget Hearings Lawmakers wasted little time beginning to debate Newsom’s $227 billion budget proposal. It calls for immediate action on several pandemic relief items, including cash payments to the state’s lowest income earners. Reporter: Katie Orr, KQED .

Local Leaders Ask For Help With Vaccine Rollout

State Officials Announce New Approach to Getting Vaccines to People 65 or Older The idea is to ramp up vaccine distribution to those at greatest risk of becoming hospitalized. This comes after deaths in the state continue to climb, with nearly 600 deaths on Tuesday, according to state data. Reporter: Laura Klivans, KQED Members of California's GOP Congressional Delegation Speak Out Against Impeachment Out of California’s 10 Republican members of congress, only the Central Valley’s David Valadao voted for impeachment. Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED  Trump Ally Kevin McCarthy Stays Loyal to Trump When House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) spoke on the House floor yesterday, he said President Trump was partly to blame for inciting the insurrection. But, he added that impeaching the president would only divide the country further. Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED With Accounts Frozen, 1.4 Million Californians Wait for Unemployment Benefits The Employment Development Department locked the accounts in another attempt to fight potential fraud. Applicants got notices saying their claims had been frozen for suspected fraud, and that staff would send instructions on how to unfreeze accounts starting January 6th. Reporter: Mary Franklin Harvin, The California Report Los Angeles Leaders Look to Toughen COVID-19 Mask Mandate The Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to have an ordinance drawn up that would add penalties for people who don’t cover their faces as infections reach new highs across Southern California. Reporter: Tara Atrian, KCRW Legislators Consider Whether to Continue Mailing Every Voter Ballots In an effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus at the polls, every registered voter in California was mailed a ballot last year. State Senator Tom Umberg of Orange County is introducing a bill to continue universal vote-by-mail for any election this year. Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED Coalition of Public Defenders Urges Biden Administration to Reform Immigration System Public defenders are demanding a halt in deportations for a year while repairing the damage they say was done by Trump anti-immigrant policies. The nearly 40 public defense offices also want President-Elect Joe Biden to slash the immigration detention budget and reinvest that money instead in offering lawyers to those who can’t afford one while fighting deportation. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED 

On Impeachment, CA's GOP Sticks With Trump, With One Exception

California Lawmakers Consider Domestic Terrorism Units State Senator Tom Umberg is proposing a unit to investigate and thwart acts of domestic terrorism and criminal activities by white nationalists, anti-government militia and groups like the Proud Boys. Reporter: Alex Hall, KQED The FBI warned this week of the potential for armed protests at all 50 state Capitols. In California, local law enforcement say they are on alert to protect city and county buildings as well. Marisa Lagos, KQED Legal aid groups in California sued to block the fee hikes, and a federal court is hearing the case Thursday. Plaintiffs say low-income immigrants facing deportation will be priced out of a fair day in court. Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED 

State and Local Officials Prepare for the Possibility of Unrest

L.A. Moves from Pushing COVID-19 Testing to VaccinationCOVID-19 testing at Dodger Stadium ended Monday as L.A. transitions to more of an emphasis on the distribution of coronavirus vaccines. A vaccination center will soon be set up at the stadium parking lot, where officials hope 12,000 people a day will be able to get a shot when the facility is fully operational. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report San Luis Obispo Prison Suffers Largest COVID-19 Outbreak YetState data show about a third of the population incarcerated at the California Men’s Colony has tested positive for COVID-19 over the past two weeks.. Reporter: Alex Hall, The California Report New Biography "Kamala's Way" Looks at Kamala Harris's Path to PowerKamala Harris will soon make history as the first woman to become vice president. Journalist Dan Morain has a biography out called" Kamala's Way". Guest: Dan Morain, Sacramento Press Club president and author of "Kamala's Way"  California Lawmaker Moves to Repeal Law Requiring Public School Teachers on Extended Sick Leave to Pay for Substitutes The policy was put into the California Education Code by the Legislature and the governor back in the 1970s. The Protect School Employees and Medical Leave Act would make sure school employees could continue receiving their full pay while on extended sick leave. Reporter: Julia McEvoy, KQED Facebook Attempts to Manage Fallout from Suspending TrumpMenlo Park-based Facebook is warning employees not to wear company swag after its crackdown on content falsely claiming that Trump actually won the election. Now the company has a warning for employees. Alex Heath, The Information 

Dodger Stadium Transforms from Testing Site to Vaccination Center

Most Commonly Used COVID-19 Test in Los Angeles Prone to Inaccuracy, FDA Says The test is made by the company Curative, which was hired to provide tens of thousands of tests at city and county sites throughout Los Angeles. The Food and Drug Administration says the test poses a “risk of false results, particularly false negative results." Jackie Fortier, KPCC People who test positive for COVID-19 typically have symptoms like coughing or headaches that can last for a few days or a few weeks. But for a small number of people, the symptoms linger for months, and can cause debilitating illness even after they test negative. Sammy Caiola, CapRadio It’s notoriously difficult to get housing built in California, and that’s why lawmakers have passed a number of bills in recent years to override local opposition and clear the way for new projects. Now Governor Gavin Newsom is proposing to direct millions of dollars to ensure those laws are actually working so the state can chip away at its chronic housing shortage. Erin Baldassari, KQED 

L.A. County Stops Using Curative COVID-19 Test After FDA Warns of False Results

California Educators Help Students Make Sense of U.S Capitol Insurrection Teachers Help Students Process Violence at U.S Capitol The storming of the U.S Capital by pro-Trump mob was an awful episode in American history. It also provides a teaching moment for California educators, who are leading difficult discussions about what happened, and why. Reporter: Vanessa Rancaño, KQED Some Supporters Defend Trump after Capitol Hill Insurrection California is a progressive-leaning Blue state, but it also has big patches of red. Some Republicans in the Central Valley say the insurrection on Capitol Hill does not represent Trump supporters. Reporter: Alex Hall, KQED Doctors and Nurses Exhausted and Angry as Some Patients Ignore COVID-19 Warnings In California, the virus is claiming about 360 lives a day and infecting thousands more. In overburdened hospitals, doctors and nurses are frustrated by people who are blasé about COVID's dangers or pandemic deniers. Reporter: Lesley McClurg, KQED California Orders Hospitals in Certain Regions to Postpone Non-Essential Surgeries The state issued a new health order to try to ease the strain on over burdened hospitals. Hospitals that have room also must accept patients from other facilities that have maxed out their intensive care beds. Reporter: Jackie Fortier, KPCC How College Students Are Processing the Insurrection and Violence in D.C Cal State Los Angeles senior, Marisa Martinez got reactions from two of her fellow students after the insurrection at the Capitol. Reporter: Marisa Martinez 

Central Valley Trump Supporters React to Insurrection on Capitol Hill

After Donald Trump’s words rallied them to action, rioters bent on overturning results of the lawful election stormed the U.S. Capitol building as congress tallied the electoral college vote. Lawmakers were forced to flee the chambers, and hunker down in offices. Some were evacuated to undisclosed safe locations.  In response to yesterdays attack on the U.S. Capitol, elected officials were removed to secure locations and told to shelter in place. One California lawmaker said the experience of hiding in her office as rioters roamed the halls, reminded her of school shootings.  Guest: Los Angeles Congresswoman, Nanette Diaz Barragan Governor Gavin Newsom condemned the rioters in Washington D.C. and San Francisco Mayor London Breed tweeted that it was quote “an attempted coup encouraged by the president of the United States.” As chaos enveloped the U.S. Capitol. there were also protests in California. Reporter: Scott Rodd, CapRadio Yesterday’s insurrection has many Americans asking themselves how the country reached this point. One of them is a political scholar and author of the book “Black Nationalism in the United States: From Malcolm X to Barack Obama.”  Guest: James Taylor, Professor, African American Studies, University of San Francisco Members of California law enforcement and civil rights leaders expressed dismay and outrage at the tepid response to the insurrectionists who stormed the US Capitol in an attempt to overturn the election. They say the response would have been very different if the crowd was made up of people of color.  Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED

Insurrectionists Overrun U.S. Capital as Trump Refuses to Admit Defeat

The state’s pandemic numbers continue to worsen, with mushrooming infection rates and more than 27,000 COVID fatalities. California is averaging more than 35,000 cases per day, according to the state. Reporter: Kevin Stark, KQED Frontline health care workers are supposed to be some of the first people to get the coronavirus vaccines. But many of those workers are hesitant to get the shots. In response, the Los Angeles Fire Department has turned to prizes to encourage its personnel to get vaccinated. Reporter: Angel Carreras, KCRW  many California grocery workers could soon get a temporary pay raise under proposals cities and counties are considering. That includes parts of Los Angeles, where COVID cases are higher than ever. Reporter: David Wagner, KPCC Cash bail has long been controversial because of equity and class. If you have access to funds, you can get out of jail. If you don’t, you stay behind bars. Yesterday, California Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a landmark cash bail case that tackles that issue.  Reporter: Kate Wolffe, KQED More than 200 workers at Alphabet, the parent company of Google, have announced they are forming a union with the Communications Workers of America. In the past, service workers at companies like Apple and Facebook have joined traditional unions. But the Alphabet union is the first of its kind in Silicon Valley. Reporter: Sam Harnett, KQED

California Approaches Grim Milestone: 30,000 COVID-19 Deaths

Californians who are unhappy with the way Governor Gavin Newsom has handled the coronavirus pandemic are gathering signatures in an attempt to qualify a recall measure in a special election. 1.5 million verified signatures need to be collected by March 17th. Guest: Randy Economy, Gavin Newsom Recall Campaign California's former top elections watchdog is calling for the state to investigate the largest donor to the campaign to recall Governor Newsom. An Orange County Company is suspected of failing to follow rules regarding campaign contributions. Reporter: Guy Marzorati, KQED The California corrections department has reported 19 COVID-related deaths of incarcerated people this week, more than any other week since the pandemic began. 45 people have died over the course of the month.  Reporter: Kate Wolffe, KQED In many parts of California that were ravaged by wildfire last year, the rainy season brings a new risk: debris flows. Officials on the Monterey Peninsula are urging the public to follow debris flow evacuation orders, just as they would for a wildfire. Reporter: Michelle Loxton, KAZU California regulators have failed to meet a deadline to create new safety and health rules for oil drilling in the state. At Issue are setback rules for drilling near homes, schools, and playgrounds.   Reporter: Alex Hall, KQED 

Campaign to Recall Governor Gavin Newsom Collects Nearly A Million Signatures

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