KQED's The California Report KQED

Baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays passed away on Tuesday. He was 93. Mays spent 21 years with the Giants and is considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time.
Reporter: Brian Watt, KQED

Today is Juneteenth, the day that commemorates the emancipation of enslaved people in the U.S. at the end of the Civil War. In Humboldt County, the group Black Humboldt is ready to shift its Juneteenth focus to a broader celebration of the Black experience on California’s North Coast. That's after four years of Juneteenth events aimed at educating the local community about the holiday.
Reporter: Kelby McIntosh
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Fresno State calls itself the Central Valley’s university, but campus buildings and infrastructure are increasingly dilapidated. And twice now, Fresno County residents have voted down ballot measures that would have provided the university with more than a billion dollars for repairs and maintenance. Will voters ever change their mind?
Reporter: Rachel Livinal, KVPR 

Wildfires are burning up and down the state. In Sonoma County, crews are beginning to get a better handle on the Point Fire, which has burned more than 1,200 acres. And staff from around a dozen wineries in Sonoma County are anxiously waiting to learn the fate of their businesses, after they fled the fire on Sunday. 
Reporter: Ezra David Romero, KQED
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Palm Springs is known as a wealthy city filled with luxurious hotels and casinos. But lesser known is the history of its violent racism against a predominately Black and Latino neighborhood. Now, former residents are seeking reparations. 
Reporter: Madi Bolaños, The California Report

Several large wildfires broke out across the state over the weekend, burning thousands of acres in the process.

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Federal agencies are considering a controversial rule that would restrict rock climbers from leaving gear attached to cliff walls in designated wilderness areas. This could affect some of California’s iconic routes in Yosemite and other historic climbing destinations.  
Reporter: Alix Soliman, KQED

The state legislature passed a placeholder state budget Thursday, just ahead of a mandatory deadline. But lawmakers must still negotiate with Governor Newsom on the final deal.
Reporter: Alexei Koseff, CalMatters

A bill that would ban “forced outing” or “parental notification” policies in California schools has moved forward in the state legislature. At least six California school districts in the past year have adopted measures that require staff to tell parents if their child changes their gender identity at school.
Reporter: Kate Wolffe, CapRadio 
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When a county’s only hospital closes, you might expect there to be dire, immediate effects on public health. However, since Madera Community Hospital closed its doors in early 2023, the consequences haven’t been so clear.
Reporter: Kerry Klein, KVPR

California insurance regulators are sharing the next phase of their plans to fix the state’s ailing insurance market. The new regulations propose to let insurance companies use the catastrophe models they want, but in exchange, require them to offer more coverage in wildfire-prone areas of the state.
Reporter: Danielle Venton, KQED
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California is expanding transitional kindergarten with a vision of making it available to every four-year-old in the state by fall of 2025. The state has a long way to go to reach its goal of serving 300,000 students. And while many families are eager to sign up, they face complicated logistics. 
Reporter: Blanca Torres, KQED

Governor Gavin Newsom has removed an outspoken occupational safety expert from the regulatory body that adopts California’s workplace health and safety rules.
Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED

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