Local College Aims to Diversify Oakland Police Department Recuitment
Race, policing and community relations have been topics of national conversation recently. Cities say they want police departments to reflect the diversity of the community. Oakland's police department is trying to hire more officers who live in the city to help improve the department's long strained relationship with the community. One of their partners in this effort is a community college. KQED reporter Tara Siler reports on some of the challenges in getting locals from this city to become cops.
Asian-American Perspectives on Race and Policing
In these conversations about race and policing, Asian-American voices are often missing. Scott Shafer caught up with blogger Liz Lin on the UC Berkeley campus to talk about these issues and ask students what they think. Scott also spoke to residents of San Francisco's Visitacion Valley about how the conversations are developing in Asian American communities.
L.A.'s Koreatown Celebrates Lunar New Year With Folk Drum Festival
It's that time of year when Asian American communities all around California celebrate the new year. And this year, lunar year 4713, is year of the sheep. In L.A.'s Koreatown they celebrate with traditional folk drummers in a street festival called jishinbalpki. Kyung Jin Lee went along with the drummers as they visited local businesses and brings us the story.
California Ranked Third-Worst for Child Homelessness
A recent study counted more than half a million children without a home in California. That puts the state among the three worst when it comes to child homelessness. As KPCC's Deepa Fernandes explains, for these children, living on the streets has a bad effect on everything from homework to health.
Tuxedo's Debut Album Offers a Flashback to '70s Soul Sounds
This week's debut album from Los Angeles based duo "Tuxedo" drew inspiration from songs Snoop Dogg samples in his hit "Ain't No Fun." L.A.-based singer Mayer Hawthorne and producer Jake One teamed up to write their own songs around those same beats. And The California Report's pop music critic Steve Hochman says the album is reminiscent of a soundtrack for a high school prom. Here's his review of "Tuxedo."