KQED's The California Report KQED

Reaction was not surprisingly mixed to Donald Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts, marking the end of the former president’s historic hush money trial. Republicans are still standing strong behind Trump, while many Bay Area residents said they were surprised and pleased by the verdict.

Analysts say that Trump’s guilty verdicts may not sway his GOP base, but they could change how swing voters view him and the coming November election. 
Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED

Looking to fix the state’s insurance crisis, Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled a bill to speed up insurance premium rate reviews this week. Under the bill, the Insurance Department would have up to 120 days to review insurers' requests and provide a rate estimate.
Reporter: Levi Sumagaysay, CalMatters

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175 tiny homes for the unhoused are expected to be unveiled in South Sacramento this fall. That’s a year past Governor Gavin Newsom’s projected launch. But it turns out, it’s the only project delivering on the original promise.
Reporter: Kate Wolffe, CapRadio

Classes will once again be held online at UC Santa Cruz on Thursday as a group of pro-Palestinian protesters say they plan to continue to block the main entrance to the campus. On Tuesday, both roads leading into campus were blocked, leaving many stranded for hours.
Reporter: Erin Malsbury, KAZU

At UC Davis, a dozen students held a peaceful demonstration on campus on Wednesday, in support of the 125 Israeli hostages that remain in Gaza.
Reporter: Chris Nichols, CapRadio
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In March, the country’s largest stone fruit producer laid off thousands of workers in the San Joaquin Valley. The announcement came months after the Fresno-based company, Prima Wawona, declared bankruptcy. The collapse has left many in the Central Valley wondering how prepared the workforce is for industry disruptions.
Reporter: Esther Quintanilla, KVPR

California firefighters often wear protective gear that also has some amount of toxic chemicals in it. Now efforts are underway to change that. 
Reporter: Kevin Stark, KQED 
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On Tuesday at UCLA and at UC Davis, unionized student academic workers will strike. They’re protesting the UC system’s crackdowns on pro-Palestinian demonstrations, filing unfair labor practice charges. The university system has argued that the strikes are illegal.

This is the second wave of strikes on UC campuses. At UC Santa Cruz, academic workers have now been on strike for more than a week. UAW 4811 members there say morale remains high, and they appreciate other campuses joining in on the strike.
Guests: Rebecca Gross & Katherine Rogers, Grad Students and UAW 4811 members at UC Santa Cruz

As California faces a deficit in the tens of billions of dollars, Governor Gavin Newsom has proposed a number of painful spending cuts and program reductions. But advocates are calling on California lawmakers to save some programs, like one that provided In-Home Supportive Services for undocumented immigrants.
Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED
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As our weather warms over the summer, we’re approaching peak rattlesnake season in California and that means more encounters between rattlers and humans. So what should we know about snakes?
Guest: Emily Taylor, Professor of Biology, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Author of the book “California Snakes and How to Find Them”
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Since 1951, an extraordinary looking chapel made of wood, glass and stone has been perched close to the edge of the Pacific on Southern California's Palos Verdes Peninsula. Over the decades, countless weddings and other life events have played out at Wayfarers Chapel. But now the building is in danger from shifting geology, and an architectural rescue operation is underway to save it.
Guest: Katie Hauck, Architectural Historian

A second pro-Palestinian encampment was quickly taken down on Thursday at UCLA. And eight pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo after blocking traffic at one of the school's main entrances. This all came on the same day as when UCLA's chancellor testified on Capitol Hill about antisemitism on college campuses.
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