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"content": "\u003cp>Badminton, among the handful of sports the U.S. has never medaled in the Olympics, now has a majority California roster of athletes on Team U.S.A. competing in this year’s Summer Games, which begin Friday in Paris.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Five of the seven athletes hail just from the Bay Area: Vinson Chiu of Milpitas, Jennie Gai of Fremont, Annie and Kerry Xu, twin sisters from San José, and Joshua Yuan of San Mateo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rest of the team includes a fellow Californian, Howard Shu from Orange County, and Beiwen Zhang from Las Vegas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the exception of Shu and Zhang, who competed in Rio and Tokyo, respectively, their peers are first-time Olympians.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Xu sisters, who will compete in the women’s doubles, won a silver medal at the 2023 Pan American Games. Chiu and Yuan, who will compete in the men’s doubles, won a bronze medal at the XXVII YONEX Pan Am Individual Championships in 2024. Chiu and Gai, who will compete in the mixed doubles, also won a silver medal at the 2023 Pan American Games.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11996567\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11996567\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-514522952-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1833\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-514522952-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-514522952-800x573.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-514522952-1020x730.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-514522952-160x115.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-514522952-1536x1100.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-514522952-2048x1466.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-514522952-1920x1374.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Badminton player Howard Shu poses for a portrait at the 2016 Team USA Media Summit at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on March 8, 2016 in Beverly Hills. \u003ccite>(Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Our players definitely have the potential to put up a fight and really give the top players a run for their money,” said Timothy Lam of Mountain View, who grew up and trained with some of these athletes during his Olympic run, which culminated in Tokyo in 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Badminton, which has been an official Olympic sport since 1992, is popular outside the U.S. in many European and Asian countries, including China, Japan and Korea. Lam said badminton doesn’t get the same recognition as other Olympic sports in the U.S. but it has still cultivated a network in some states, like California, producing top-notch players.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He talked more about this with KQED’s Brian Watt. Here’s an excerpt of their conversation, which has been edited for brevity and clarity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Brian Watt: Many of us have probably seen badminton. It looks a bit like tennis. There are rackets and a net. But then there’s the birdie, which is different from a bouncing ball. So how would you describe badminton for people who aren’t so familiar with it?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Timothy Lam:\u003c/strong> Believe it or not, it’s actually the fastest racket sport in the world with shots going \u003ca href=\"https://olympic.ca/2014/09/11/shuttlecock-and-balls-the-fastest-moving-objects-in-sport/\">over 400 mph\u003c/a>. So it’s important to have good reflexes and train your body to be able to react in like a split second. And I think the misconception about badminton in the U.S. is that it’s played outdoors in someone’s backyard, like with a racket in your right hand and holding a beer in your left hand while the whole family is doing an outdoor barbecue kind of thing. But the reality is that professional, competitive badminton is really meant to be played indoors at a really high intensive pace and level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How did you get into badminton? What drew you to this sport so much that you eventually went on to compete in the Tokyo Olympics?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Around 6 years old, my parents wanted me to do something to stay active, as an extracurricular activity. Eventually, as I got older and started to win more competitions, it turned into an after-school, five-days-a-week thing. And then I think at that point I started winning more local, national and then international competitions. From there it just sort of progressed into something that I was really passionate about, and I wanted to see myself take it to the next level. Which is why, after college, I decided to go pro and give it a shot for competing at the Olympics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How did it come to be that California is such a big producer of badminton players?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Badminton is really popular in Europe and Asia, especially. So considering that a lot of people from Asia immigrate to either California or New York, I’d say that those two states are pretty popular in terms of badminton. And considering the high amount of resources that California has to build these badminton clubs for the players to get started in the sport, I think is a huge reason as to why California is able to produce these players at such a high level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11996570\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2400px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11996570\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-563978287.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2400\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-563978287.jpg 2400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-563978287-800x500.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-563978287-1020x638.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-563978287-160x100.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-563978287-1536x960.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-563978287-2048x1280.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-563978287-1920x1200.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2400px) 100vw, 2400px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Badminton students line up for a match during badminton practice at Orange County Badminton Club in Orange. \u003ccite>(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>We hear about support for certain Olympic sports, very high profile ones like gymnastics and swimming. But what does support for badminton look like?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is a huge lack of endorsements and sponsors. And I think that really is also due to the fact that we don’t have an official government-supported national team. I really feel like there’s a huge difference between the U.S. and countries like Japan or Korea or China, where they have a state or government-sponsored national team, whereas our players in the U.S. are all independent, self-funded, which really makes it more difficult to get the players to sacrifice all other aspects of their lives. Many of our upcoming juniors have aspirations outside of badminton to go to a top tier university. And so I think that’s probably one of the biggest things that is preventing badminton from increasing in terms of popularity in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Who are the countries to beat?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Denmark, China, Japan and Korea. But I definitely say more so China. Because in the past 20 years at the Olympics, they’ve earned medals in all five disciplines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>You can find the schedule of badminton matches \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/schedule/badminton\">\u003cem>here.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> You can learn more about the Bay Area athletes competing in the Paris Olympics \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11993783/paris-2024-olympic-games-san-francisco-bay-area-athletes-competing\">\u003cem>here.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"title": "California Dominates Team USA for Badminton in Paris Olympics | KQED",
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"headline": "California Dominates Team USA for Badminton in Paris Olympics",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Badminton, among the handful of sports the U.S. has never medaled in the Olympics, now has a majority California roster of athletes on Team U.S.A. competing in this year’s Summer Games, which begin Friday in Paris.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Five of the seven athletes hail just from the Bay Area: Vinson Chiu of Milpitas, Jennie Gai of Fremont, Annie and Kerry Xu, twin sisters from San José, and Joshua Yuan of San Mateo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rest of the team includes a fellow Californian, Howard Shu from Orange County, and Beiwen Zhang from Las Vegas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the exception of Shu and Zhang, who competed in Rio and Tokyo, respectively, their peers are first-time Olympians.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Xu sisters, who will compete in the women’s doubles, won a silver medal at the 2023 Pan American Games. Chiu and Yuan, who will compete in the men’s doubles, won a bronze medal at the XXVII YONEX Pan Am Individual Championships in 2024. Chiu and Gai, who will compete in the mixed doubles, also won a silver medal at the 2023 Pan American Games.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11996567\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11996567\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-514522952-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1833\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-514522952-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-514522952-800x573.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-514522952-1020x730.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-514522952-160x115.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-514522952-1536x1100.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-514522952-2048x1466.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-514522952-1920x1374.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Badminton player Howard Shu poses for a portrait at the 2016 Team USA Media Summit at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on March 8, 2016 in Beverly Hills. \u003ccite>(Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Our players definitely have the potential to put up a fight and really give the top players a run for their money,” said Timothy Lam of Mountain View, who grew up and trained with some of these athletes during his Olympic run, which culminated in Tokyo in 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Badminton, which has been an official Olympic sport since 1992, is popular outside the U.S. in many European and Asian countries, including China, Japan and Korea. Lam said badminton doesn’t get the same recognition as other Olympic sports in the U.S. but it has still cultivated a network in some states, like California, producing top-notch players.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He talked more about this with KQED’s Brian Watt. Here’s an excerpt of their conversation, which has been edited for brevity and clarity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Brian Watt: Many of us have probably seen badminton. It looks a bit like tennis. There are rackets and a net. But then there’s the birdie, which is different from a bouncing ball. So how would you describe badminton for people who aren’t so familiar with it?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Timothy Lam:\u003c/strong> Believe it or not, it’s actually the fastest racket sport in the world with shots going \u003ca href=\"https://olympic.ca/2014/09/11/shuttlecock-and-balls-the-fastest-moving-objects-in-sport/\">over 400 mph\u003c/a>. So it’s important to have good reflexes and train your body to be able to react in like a split second. And I think the misconception about badminton in the U.S. is that it’s played outdoors in someone’s backyard, like with a racket in your right hand and holding a beer in your left hand while the whole family is doing an outdoor barbecue kind of thing. But the reality is that professional, competitive badminton is really meant to be played indoors at a really high intensive pace and level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How did you get into badminton? What drew you to this sport so much that you eventually went on to compete in the Tokyo Olympics?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Around 6 years old, my parents wanted me to do something to stay active, as an extracurricular activity. Eventually, as I got older and started to win more competitions, it turned into an after-school, five-days-a-week thing. And then I think at that point I started winning more local, national and then international competitions. From there it just sort of progressed into something that I was really passionate about, and I wanted to see myself take it to the next level. Which is why, after college, I decided to go pro and give it a shot for competing at the Olympics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How did it come to be that California is such a big producer of badminton players?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Badminton is really popular in Europe and Asia, especially. So considering that a lot of people from Asia immigrate to either California or New York, I’d say that those two states are pretty popular in terms of badminton. And considering the high amount of resources that California has to build these badminton clubs for the players to get started in the sport, I think is a huge reason as to why California is able to produce these players at such a high level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11996570\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2400px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11996570\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-563978287.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2400\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-563978287.jpg 2400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-563978287-800x500.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-563978287-1020x638.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-563978287-160x100.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-563978287-1536x960.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-563978287-2048x1280.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-563978287-1920x1200.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2400px) 100vw, 2400px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Badminton students line up for a match during badminton practice at Orange County Badminton Club in Orange. \u003ccite>(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>We hear about support for certain Olympic sports, very high profile ones like gymnastics and swimming. But what does support for badminton look like?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is a huge lack of endorsements and sponsors. And I think that really is also due to the fact that we don’t have an official government-supported national team. I really feel like there’s a huge difference between the U.S. and countries like Japan or Korea or China, where they have a state or government-sponsored national team, whereas our players in the U.S. are all independent, self-funded, which really makes it more difficult to get the players to sacrifice all other aspects of their lives. Many of our upcoming juniors have aspirations outside of badminton to go to a top tier university. And so I think that’s probably one of the biggest things that is preventing badminton from increasing in terms of popularity in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Who are the countries to beat?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Denmark, China, Japan and Korea. But I definitely say more so China. Because in the past 20 years at the Olympics, they’ve earned medals in all five disciplines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>You can find the schedule of badminton matches \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/schedule/badminton\">\u003cem>here.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> You can learn more about the Bay Area athletes competing in the Paris Olympics \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11993783/paris-2024-olympic-games-san-francisco-bay-area-athletes-competing\">\u003cem>here.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 5 p.m. Sunday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California Democrats — from party leaders to delegates — praised President Joe Biden’s decision to end his campaign for reelection, with some calling on Democrats to unite behind Vice President Kamala Harris and elevate her to become the party’s new nominee for president.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is widely thought to have his own presidential ambitions, \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/gavinnewsom/status/1815168477562646858?s=46\">endorsed Harris on social media\u003c/a> late Sunday afternoon. “With our democracy at stake and our future on the line, no one is better to prosecute the case against Donald Trump’s dark vision and guide our country in a healthier direction than America’s Vice President, KamalaHarris,” Newsom wrote on X, referring to the vice president as “Tough. Fearless. Tenacious.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In interviews and statements, members of the party’s congressional delegation and local activists applauded Biden’s decision and paid tribute to his time in office. While Biden’s decision comes after an escalating pressure campaign by party leaders to persuade him to drop his reelection bid, Biden allies such as Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Palo Alto) framed the president’s decision to exit the race as an act of selflessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Today is a day of history — he’s the one that made it,” Eshoo said. “His patriotism, his unmatched patriotism, is the top line of today and for history as well.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eshoo said Harris was now “poised” to move ahead as the party’s nominee. Biden endorsed Harris on Sunday, shortly after he announced he would not seek a second term.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shortly after, Rep. Mike Levin (D-Oceanside), who is fighting to keep his swing seat in a district that straddles southern Orange County and northern San Diego County, \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/MikeLevin/status/1815093216208883859\">threw his support behind the vice president\u003c/a> as well. Levin had called for Biden to step down and said Harris is “the right person to lead our nation forward and defeat Donald Trump and his extremist policies.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“President Biden’s decision is incredibly patriotic and the right thing to do. He put country first. Now, we must come together to prevail against the incalculable threat Donald Trump poses to the American institutions of freedom and democracy,” he wrote on X. “I’m proud to follow President Biden’s lead in endorsing Kamala Harris to be our Democratic Presidential nominee … It is time to move forward with Kamala Harris as our new leader. Together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>U.S. Sen. Laphonza Butler also threw her support behind Harris, who previously served in the U.S. Senate and as California attorney general.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Thanks to (Biden’s) leadership, the American people have witnessed historic investments in education, infrastructure, and much more. The threat to all that progress remains, and we must now do everything we can to ensure Vice President Harris succeeds. There’s no one better prepared for this challenge,” she said in a written statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) said Harris would be the best choice for the nomination, given her experience in the White House over the last three years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She’s been part of the Biden-Harris team, which has delivered for the American people, and I believe the party needs to unify around Vice President Harris,” Lee said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco Mayor London Breed joined the chorus of support for Harris. Speaking to reporters near San Francisco’s waterfront, Breed said civil rights for LGBTQ people, women and people of color are at stake as the November election draws near.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We cannot mess around with this opportunity, there is so much at stake,” she said. “All I can think is I wish I could travel to battleground states and just go across the country and help elect Kamala Harris and whoever the vice presidential nominee will be so that we can continue to move our country and especially our city here locally in the right direction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Breed said Biden made the “right decision” to step down and endorse Harris. She did not endorse a pick for Harris’s running mate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other Democrats who, in recent days, had called on Biden to step aside over concerns about his age and mental fitness turned their attention on Sunday to celebrate Biden’s time in office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San José) was among the dozens of House Democrats who recently called on Biden to pass the torch to a new nominee, unconvinced that the 81-year-old Biden could defeat former President Donald Trump in November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After Biden’s announcement, Lofgren paid tribute to Biden as “a patriot with a lifelong commitment to our democracy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I respect him & am grateful to him,” Lofgren said in a statement. “I am confident that voters will quickly coalesce to defeat Donald Trump, who is unfit for office. For America’s future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not publicly call on Biden to abandon his reelection campaign, but \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/17/politics/nancy-pelosi-biden-conversation/index.html\">CNN reported that the San Francisco congresswoman\u003c/a> warned Biden that his standing in the polls could endanger Democrats running for the House and Senate. In a statement on Sunday, she focused on his time in office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“President Joe Biden is a patriotic American who has always put our country first. His legacy of vision, values and leadership make him one of the most consequential Presidents in American history,” she said. “With love and gratitude to President Biden for always believing in the promise of America and giving people the opportunity to reach their fulfillment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And some Democratic Party delegates — who will ultimately decide who should face President Donald Trump this fall — expressed excitement about the prospect of Harris leading the ticket.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s hard to say who would be the best candidate to win places like Pennsylvania and Arizona and Michigan,” said delegate Honey Mahogany, the former chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party. “But Republican women in places like that will be important to win over. Kamala Harris has been talking about women’s reproductive rights, and I think she’s well positioned to win over those voters.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In San José, delegate Jonathan Padilla said he will spend the next few weeks talking with Democrats in his district about who they would like to see at the top of the ticket.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I want to make sure we have a fully vetted process,” Padilla said. “I think, if I’m being honest, it’s probably Vice President Harris, but I think we’re still reeling from the last two or three hours, and I want to get a sense of what this race will look like by the end of the week.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Further south, delegate Ada Bruceño — who’s also co-president of Local 11 hotel workers in Orange County and chair of the Orange County Democratic Party — said she believes Harris will excite the base and do well in swing districts like those in Orange County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is a tremendous amount of excitement about Vice President Harris running for president. There is lots of energy that will translate into volunteering, donations, and social media,” she said, going on to praise Biden.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s Scott Shafer, Sydney Johnson, Natalia Navarro, Sara Hossaini and Elize Manoukian contributed to this report. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "California Democrats — from party leaders to delegates — praised President Joe Biden’s decision to end his campaign for reelection, and Gov. Newsom endorsed Kamala Harris.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 5 p.m. Sunday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California Democrats — from party leaders to delegates — praised President Joe Biden’s decision to end his campaign for reelection, with some calling on Democrats to unite behind Vice President Kamala Harris and elevate her to become the party’s new nominee for president.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is widely thought to have his own presidential ambitions, \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/gavinnewsom/status/1815168477562646858?s=46\">endorsed Harris on social media\u003c/a> late Sunday afternoon. “With our democracy at stake and our future on the line, no one is better to prosecute the case against Donald Trump’s dark vision and guide our country in a healthier direction than America’s Vice President, KamalaHarris,” Newsom wrote on X, referring to the vice president as “Tough. Fearless. Tenacious.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In interviews and statements, members of the party’s congressional delegation and local activists applauded Biden’s decision and paid tribute to his time in office. While Biden’s decision comes after an escalating pressure campaign by party leaders to persuade him to drop his reelection bid, Biden allies such as Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Palo Alto) framed the president’s decision to exit the race as an act of selflessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Today is a day of history — he’s the one that made it,” Eshoo said. “His patriotism, his unmatched patriotism, is the top line of today and for history as well.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eshoo said Harris was now “poised” to move ahead as the party’s nominee. Biden endorsed Harris on Sunday, shortly after he announced he would not seek a second term.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shortly after, Rep. Mike Levin (D-Oceanside), who is fighting to keep his swing seat in a district that straddles southern Orange County and northern San Diego County, \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/MikeLevin/status/1815093216208883859\">threw his support behind the vice president\u003c/a> as well. Levin had called for Biden to step down and said Harris is “the right person to lead our nation forward and defeat Donald Trump and his extremist policies.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“President Biden’s decision is incredibly patriotic and the right thing to do. He put country first. Now, we must come together to prevail against the incalculable threat Donald Trump poses to the American institutions of freedom and democracy,” he wrote on X. “I’m proud to follow President Biden’s lead in endorsing Kamala Harris to be our Democratic Presidential nominee … It is time to move forward with Kamala Harris as our new leader. Together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>U.S. Sen. Laphonza Butler also threw her support behind Harris, who previously served in the U.S. Senate and as California attorney general.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Thanks to (Biden’s) leadership, the American people have witnessed historic investments in education, infrastructure, and much more. The threat to all that progress remains, and we must now do everything we can to ensure Vice President Harris succeeds. There’s no one better prepared for this challenge,” she said in a written statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) said Harris would be the best choice for the nomination, given her experience in the White House over the last three years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She’s been part of the Biden-Harris team, which has delivered for the American people, and I believe the party needs to unify around Vice President Harris,” Lee said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco Mayor London Breed joined the chorus of support for Harris. Speaking to reporters near San Francisco’s waterfront, Breed said civil rights for LGBTQ people, women and people of color are at stake as the November election draws near.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We cannot mess around with this opportunity, there is so much at stake,” she said. “All I can think is I wish I could travel to battleground states and just go across the country and help elect Kamala Harris and whoever the vice presidential nominee will be so that we can continue to move our country and especially our city here locally in the right direction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Breed said Biden made the “right decision” to step down and endorse Harris. She did not endorse a pick for Harris’s running mate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other Democrats who, in recent days, had called on Biden to step aside over concerns about his age and mental fitness turned their attention on Sunday to celebrate Biden’s time in office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San José) was among the dozens of House Democrats who recently called on Biden to pass the torch to a new nominee, unconvinced that the 81-year-old Biden could defeat former President Donald Trump in November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After Biden’s announcement, Lofgren paid tribute to Biden as “a patriot with a lifelong commitment to our democracy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I respect him & am grateful to him,” Lofgren said in a statement. “I am confident that voters will quickly coalesce to defeat Donald Trump, who is unfit for office. For America’s future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not publicly call on Biden to abandon his reelection campaign, but \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/17/politics/nancy-pelosi-biden-conversation/index.html\">CNN reported that the San Francisco congresswoman\u003c/a> warned Biden that his standing in the polls could endanger Democrats running for the House and Senate. In a statement on Sunday, she focused on his time in office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“President Joe Biden is a patriotic American who has always put our country first. His legacy of vision, values and leadership make him one of the most consequential Presidents in American history,” she said. “With love and gratitude to President Biden for always believing in the promise of America and giving people the opportunity to reach their fulfillment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And some Democratic Party delegates — who will ultimately decide who should face President Donald Trump this fall — expressed excitement about the prospect of Harris leading the ticket.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s hard to say who would be the best candidate to win places like Pennsylvania and Arizona and Michigan,” said delegate Honey Mahogany, the former chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party. “But Republican women in places like that will be important to win over. Kamala Harris has been talking about women’s reproductive rights, and I think she’s well positioned to win over those voters.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In San José, delegate Jonathan Padilla said he will spend the next few weeks talking with Democrats in his district about who they would like to see at the top of the ticket.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I want to make sure we have a fully vetted process,” Padilla said. “I think, if I’m being honest, it’s probably Vice President Harris, but I think we’re still reeling from the last two or three hours, and I want to get a sense of what this race will look like by the end of the week.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Further south, delegate Ada Bruceño — who’s also co-president of Local 11 hotel workers in Orange County and chair of the Orange County Democratic Party — said she believes Harris will excite the base and do well in swing districts like those in Orange County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is a tremendous amount of excitement about Vice President Harris running for president. There is lots of energy that will translate into volunteering, donations, and social media,” she said, going on to praise Biden.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s Scott Shafer, Sydney Johnson, Natalia Navarro, Sara Hossaini and Elize Manoukian contributed to this report. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "In a California Gold Rush Town, Black Families Fight for Land Taken From Their Ancestors",
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"content": "\u003cp>In a tiny town where the California gold rush began, Black families are seeking restitution for land that was taken from their ancestors to make way for a state park now frequented by fourth graders learning about the state’s history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their efforts in Coloma, a town of around 300 people that’s located about 36 miles northeast of Sacramento, are one of the latest examples of Black Americans urging the government to atone for practices that have kept them from thriving long after chattel slavery was abolished.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Debates over reparations for African Americans often come back to land. That was at the center of a promise originally made — and later broken — by the U.S. government to formerly enslaved Black people in the mid-1800s: Give them up to 40 acres of land as restitution for their time enslaved. For some, the promise of reparations has been nothing more than fool’s gold, epitomized by a bill in Congress that’s stalled since it was first introduced in the 1980s, even though it’s aimed at studying reparations and named after the original promise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fight in Coloma is taking place in a state where the governor signed a first-in-the-nation law to study reparations. But advocates are pushing for the state to go further.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gold was found near Coloma in 1848 by James W. Marshall, a white carpenter, setting off the California gold rush that saw hundreds of thousands of people from across the nation and outside of the U.S. come — or be brought — to the state. Those who migrated included white, Asian, and free and enslaved Black people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11996590\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11996590\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194574152404-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1706\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194574152404-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194574152404-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194574152404-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194574152404-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194574152404-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194574152404-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194574152404-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Descendants of Nelson Bell, brothers Milford Fonza (front left) and Elmer Fonza (front right) surrounded by extended family members, show their ancestors’ pictures in Glendora, Los Angeles County, on Sept. 8, 2023. Family members standing from left: Trent Mure, with son Armani Mure, and his wife Tami Mure, William Woolery, Louie Hobbs and Carolyn Fonza. \u003ccite>(Damian Dovarganes/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Decades later, Black and white families had their land taken by the government in the town before it was turned into the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park, which opened in 1942. The park today is home to a museum, churches and cemeteries where residents were buried. A nearly 42-foot monument of Marshall stands on its grounds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the history of Black families who settled in Coloma only recently started getting increased recognition. California State Parks launched an initiative in 2020 to reexamine its past and to tell “a more thorough, inclusive, and complete history” of California, department spokesperson Adeline Yee said in an email to The Associated Press. The department created a webpage with information about properties owned by Black families at the park in Coloma.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11996591\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11996591\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-614276824.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"663\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-614276824.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-614276824-800x518.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-614276824-1020x660.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-614276824-160x104.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marshall Gold Discovery State Park where gold was first discovered in 1885, in Coloma, on Dec. 4, 2015. \u003ccite>(Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Elmer Fonza, a retiree who worked at a brewery in California before eventually relocating to Nevada, said he is the third-great grandson of Nelson Bell, a formerly enslaved Black man from Virginia who became a property owner in Coloma.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After Bell’s death in 1869, a judge determined he had no heirs in the state, and his estate was sold at an auction, according to a probate document shared by the El Dorado County Historical Museum.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11996593\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11996593\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-564090425.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-564090425.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-564090425-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-564090425-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-564090425-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of the South Fork of the American River at Coloma in El Dorado County. \u003ccite>(Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It is unclear what happened to Bell’s property in the years that followed, Fonza said, adding that the land should be returned to his family.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We rightfully believe that we have been denied the generational wealth that our family may have been entitled to if given our rightful inheritance — the land once owned by Nelson Bell,” he said at the final meeting of a \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-reparations-slavery-apology-0108745176cc1fd60eb036fba112f72b#:~:text=SACRAMENTO%2C%20Calif.,compensate%20the%20descendants%20of%20slavery.\">first-in-the-nation state reparations task force\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nancy Gooch, a Black woman, was brought to Coloma from the South in 1849 by a white man who enslaved her and her husband. Gooch was soon freed when California became a state and worked as a cook and cleaned laundry for miners. She later brought her son, Andrew Monroe, from Missouri to join them in the town. The Monroe-Gooch family would become one of the most prosperous Black landowners in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11996594\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11996594\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803735590-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803735590-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803735590-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803735590-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803735590-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803735590-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803735590-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803735590-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">People cross Mt. Murphy Road Bridge into the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park on Oct. 10, 2023, in Coloma. \u003ccite>(Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We have to bring forth the truth, because that’s reconciliation,” said Jonathan Burgess, a Sacramento resident who co-owns a barbecue catering business, and who also is claiming land in Coloma was that of his descendants. “And then once we bring forth the truth, which I’ve been doing in speaking the whole time, we’ve got to make it right.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Making it right would mean compensating families for land that can’t be returned or returning property where possible, Burgess said in an interview at the park. He said he is descended from Rufus Morgan Burgess, a Black writer who was brought to Coloma with his father, who was enslaved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jonathan Burgess also said his family is descended from Bell, but the Fonza and Burgess families say they are not related to each other. The discrepancy highlights the difficult work that could be ahead for Black residents if California ever passes reparations legislation requiring families to document their lineage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11996595\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11996595\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803713301-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803713301-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803713301-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803713301-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803713301-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803713301-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803713301-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803713301-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Family heirlooms are seen inside Matthew Burgess’ home, Oct. 9, 2023, in Sacramento. \u003ccite>(Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Cheryl Austin, a retiree living in Sacramento, said she is an heir of John A. Wilson and Phoebe Wilson, a free, married Black couple who came to Coloma during the late 1850s. After John and Phoebe Wilson died, their property was sold through probate, Austin said. The state must somehow repair harm done to families whose property was seized, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The restitution fight in California comes as lawmakers are weighing reparations proposals in the state Legislature. That includes a bill to create the California American Freedmen Affairs Agency, which would help Black residents research their family lineage. Another proposal would make any families whose land was seized unjustly by the government due to racially discriminatory motives entitled to the return of the property or compensation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The legislation, which is expected to be voted on this summer, reflects a growing push for restitution by Black families targeting the misuse of a practice known as eminent domain, where the government must pay people fairly for property it plans to make available for public use. The issue garnered attention across the state when local officials in Los Angeles County \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-climate-and-environment-government-politics-a5bebc8ede6fad0e11dacce9350c6b2d\">returned a beachfront property\u003c/a> in 2022 to a Black couple, nearly a century after it was taken by the government from their ancestors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11996596\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11996596\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803736387-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803736387-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803736387-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803736387-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803736387-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803736387-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803736387-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803736387-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A tombstone for ancestors of the Burgess family is seen at the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park cemetery, Oct. 10, 2023, in Coloma. \u003ccite>(Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Earlier this month, California marked a milestone when Democratic Gov. \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/hub/gavin-newsom\">Gavin Newsom\u003c/a> included $12 million in the state’s 2024 budget to spend on \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-reparations-slavery-apology-0108745176cc1fd60eb036fba112f72b\">reparations legislation\u003c/a>. But the budget does not specify what the money would be used for, and estimates from the state say the bills could cost millions of dollars annually.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Sen. Steven Bradford, a Los Angeles-area Democrat who authored \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-reparations-slavery-discrimination-ec3e2ee7b80e4da23c25a7e9490acc0c\">the proposals\u003c/a>, said they will help the state atone for taken land, adding that land ownership is critical to building general wealth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Reparations was never about a check,” Bradford said. “It was about land.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Austin is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Associated Press photographer Godofredo A. Vásquez contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In a tiny town where the California gold rush began, Black families are seeking restitution for land that was taken from their ancestors to make way for a state park now frequented by fourth graders learning about the state’s history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their efforts in Coloma, a town of around 300 people that’s located about 36 miles northeast of Sacramento, are one of the latest examples of Black Americans urging the government to atone for practices that have kept them from thriving long after chattel slavery was abolished.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Debates over reparations for African Americans often come back to land. That was at the center of a promise originally made — and later broken — by the U.S. government to formerly enslaved Black people in the mid-1800s: Give them up to 40 acres of land as restitution for their time enslaved. For some, the promise of reparations has been nothing more than fool’s gold, epitomized by a bill in Congress that’s stalled since it was first introduced in the 1980s, even though it’s aimed at studying reparations and named after the original promise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fight in Coloma is taking place in a state where the governor signed a first-in-the-nation law to study reparations. But advocates are pushing for the state to go further.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gold was found near Coloma in 1848 by James W. Marshall, a white carpenter, setting off the California gold rush that saw hundreds of thousands of people from across the nation and outside of the U.S. come — or be brought — to the state. Those who migrated included white, Asian, and free and enslaved Black people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11996590\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11996590\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194574152404-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1706\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194574152404-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194574152404-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194574152404-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194574152404-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194574152404-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194574152404-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194574152404-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Descendants of Nelson Bell, brothers Milford Fonza (front left) and Elmer Fonza (front right) surrounded by extended family members, show their ancestors’ pictures in Glendora, Los Angeles County, on Sept. 8, 2023. Family members standing from left: Trent Mure, with son Armani Mure, and his wife Tami Mure, William Woolery, Louie Hobbs and Carolyn Fonza. \u003ccite>(Damian Dovarganes/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Decades later, Black and white families had their land taken by the government in the town before it was turned into the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park, which opened in 1942. The park today is home to a museum, churches and cemeteries where residents were buried. A nearly 42-foot monument of Marshall stands on its grounds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the history of Black families who settled in Coloma only recently started getting increased recognition. California State Parks launched an initiative in 2020 to reexamine its past and to tell “a more thorough, inclusive, and complete history” of California, department spokesperson Adeline Yee said in an email to The Associated Press. The department created a webpage with information about properties owned by Black families at the park in Coloma.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11996591\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11996591\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-614276824.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"663\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-614276824.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-614276824-800x518.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-614276824-1020x660.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-614276824-160x104.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marshall Gold Discovery State Park where gold was first discovered in 1885, in Coloma, on Dec. 4, 2015. \u003ccite>(Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Elmer Fonza, a retiree who worked at a brewery in California before eventually relocating to Nevada, said he is the third-great grandson of Nelson Bell, a formerly enslaved Black man from Virginia who became a property owner in Coloma.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After Bell’s death in 1869, a judge determined he had no heirs in the state, and his estate was sold at an auction, according to a probate document shared by the El Dorado County Historical Museum.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11996593\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11996593\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-564090425.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-564090425.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-564090425-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-564090425-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-564090425-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of the South Fork of the American River at Coloma in El Dorado County. \u003ccite>(Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It is unclear what happened to Bell’s property in the years that followed, Fonza said, adding that the land should be returned to his family.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We rightfully believe that we have been denied the generational wealth that our family may have been entitled to if given our rightful inheritance — the land once owned by Nelson Bell,” he said at the final meeting of a \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-reparations-slavery-apology-0108745176cc1fd60eb036fba112f72b#:~:text=SACRAMENTO%2C%20Calif.,compensate%20the%20descendants%20of%20slavery.\">first-in-the-nation state reparations task force\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nancy Gooch, a Black woman, was brought to Coloma from the South in 1849 by a white man who enslaved her and her husband. Gooch was soon freed when California became a state and worked as a cook and cleaned laundry for miners. She later brought her son, Andrew Monroe, from Missouri to join them in the town. The Monroe-Gooch family would become one of the most prosperous Black landowners in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11996594\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11996594\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803735590-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803735590-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803735590-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803735590-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803735590-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803735590-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803735590-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803735590-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">People cross Mt. Murphy Road Bridge into the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park on Oct. 10, 2023, in Coloma. \u003ccite>(Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We have to bring forth the truth, because that’s reconciliation,” said Jonathan Burgess, a Sacramento resident who co-owns a barbecue catering business, and who also is claiming land in Coloma was that of his descendants. “And then once we bring forth the truth, which I’ve been doing in speaking the whole time, we’ve got to make it right.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Making it right would mean compensating families for land that can’t be returned or returning property where possible, Burgess said in an interview at the park. He said he is descended from Rufus Morgan Burgess, a Black writer who was brought to Coloma with his father, who was enslaved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jonathan Burgess also said his family is descended from Bell, but the Fonza and Burgess families say they are not related to each other. The discrepancy highlights the difficult work that could be ahead for Black residents if California ever passes reparations legislation requiring families to document their lineage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11996595\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11996595\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803713301-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803713301-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803713301-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803713301-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803713301-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803713301-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803713301-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803713301-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Family heirlooms are seen inside Matthew Burgess’ home, Oct. 9, 2023, in Sacramento. \u003ccite>(Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Cheryl Austin, a retiree living in Sacramento, said she is an heir of John A. Wilson and Phoebe Wilson, a free, married Black couple who came to Coloma during the late 1850s. After John and Phoebe Wilson died, their property was sold through probate, Austin said. The state must somehow repair harm done to families whose property was seized, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The restitution fight in California comes as lawmakers are weighing reparations proposals in the state Legislature. That includes a bill to create the California American Freedmen Affairs Agency, which would help Black residents research their family lineage. Another proposal would make any families whose land was seized unjustly by the government due to racially discriminatory motives entitled to the return of the property or compensation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The legislation, which is expected to be voted on this summer, reflects a growing push for restitution by Black families targeting the misuse of a practice known as eminent domain, where the government must pay people fairly for property it plans to make available for public use. The issue garnered attention across the state when local officials in Los Angeles County \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-climate-and-environment-government-politics-a5bebc8ede6fad0e11dacce9350c6b2d\">returned a beachfront property\u003c/a> in 2022 to a Black couple, nearly a century after it was taken by the government from their ancestors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11996596\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11996596\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803736387-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803736387-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803736387-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803736387-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803736387-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803736387-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803736387-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/AP24194803736387-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A tombstone for ancestors of the Burgess family is seen at the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park cemetery, Oct. 10, 2023, in Coloma. \u003ccite>(Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Earlier this month, California marked a milestone when Democratic Gov. \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/hub/gavin-newsom\">Gavin Newsom\u003c/a> included $12 million in the state’s 2024 budget to spend on \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-reparations-slavery-apology-0108745176cc1fd60eb036fba112f72b\">reparations legislation\u003c/a>. But the budget does not specify what the money would be used for, and estimates from the state say the bills could cost millions of dollars annually.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Sen. Steven Bradford, a Los Angeles-area Democrat who authored \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-reparations-slavery-discrimination-ec3e2ee7b80e4da23c25a7e9490acc0c\">the proposals\u003c/a>, said they will help the state atone for taken land, adding that land ownership is critical to building general wealth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Reparations was never about a check,” Bradford said. “It was about land.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Austin is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Associated Press photographer Godofredo A. Vásquez contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "california-sent-a-mentally-ill-man-to-a-state-hospital-and-charged-him-nearly-770000",
"title": "California Sent a Mentally Ill Man to a State Hospital and Charged Him Nearly $770,000",
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"headTitle": "California Sent a Mentally Ill Man to a State Hospital and Charged Him Nearly $770,000 | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>The first bill arrived in Sultan Khan’s mailbox two years after his release from Napa State Hospital. Khan had received psychiatric treatment there for three years after pleading not guilty by reason of insanity to a criminal charge stemming from an assault.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He stared in disbelief at the paper in front of him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Department of State Hospitals wanted him to pay back the cost of that stay: $769,490.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wondering if he was being scammed, Khan phoned the department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They suggested a payment plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The department’s practice of billing patients exorbitant sums after releasing them from its care has existed for decades, attorneys and advocates say. Such billing has been required under state law since 1967, and has been allowable since the 1930s. The practice has endured even though the state has passed laws in recent years preventing other government entities from charging big fees to vulnerable populations. One example: People leaving prisons and jails no longer have to pay for many of the costs of their incarceration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Here’s (the Department of State Hospitals) quietly collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars from our absolutely most, most vulnerable clients with the least ability to make any kind of payment,” said Rachel Draznin-Nagy, Khan’s public defender in Contra Costa county. “I’m so furious about it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California has five state mental health hospitals caring for more than 5,500 patients, the vast majority of them from the criminal justice system. Most have been charged with or convicted of offenses related to their serious mental illnesses; some, like Khan, are sick enough to be found not guilty by reason of insanity. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/tag/medi-cal/\">Medi-Cal\u003c/a> does not insure people who are in state hospitals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After they are released months or years later, few of these patients have the financial resources to pay off massive bills, Draznin-Nagy and other public defenders said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Department of State Hospitals refused to make anyone available to speak with CalMatters about its fee collections program. But, in an unsigned email, representatives of the department said it “recognizes the stress and concern that individuals may experience when receiving financial notifications.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They pointed to \u003ca href=\"https://codes.findlaw.com/ca/welfare-and-institutions-code/wic-sect-7275/\">statutes\u003c/a> “which require (the department) to collect upon the cost of care delivered in state hospitals.” In order to be reimbursed by Medicare, they said, state agencies must bill patients for the cost of care when such billing is required by state law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This past May, thanks to \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB184/id/2600107\">recent changes in law\u003c/a>, the department rolled out a new \u003ca href=\"https://www.dsh.ca.gov/Financial_Assistance_Program/index.html\">financial assistance program\u003c/a> that allows it to forgive some or all of a patient’s debt. But public defenders say many of their clients do not have the wherewithal to complete the paperwork required to apply for the program in a timely manner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The evening before publication, the department announced it had fully forgiven the debt of its first applicant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Data from a report to the Legislature in 2022 showed that the department collected $418,861 from an unspecified number of former patients between January 2018 and September 2021. The report also noted that the department had filed six lawsuits seeking collections during that time. It had not written off, reduced or canceled any patient debt in that period. The department did not provide CalMatters with more recent data. Its current budget is \u003ca href=\"https://www.dsh.ca.gov/About_Us/docs/DSH_2024-25_Budget_Act_Highlights.pdf\">$3.4 billion (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its email, the department’s representatives said it has neither sent former patients to collections agencies nor garnished their wages. But if patients have not made an effort to pay their bills or been in contact about making payment arrangements, contesting their bill, or applying for the financial assistance program, the department can forward a request to the Franchise Tax Board to collect unclaimed property, funds or tax returns to offset the cost of care.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Shocking’ hospital bills\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In recent years, advocates and attorneys have convinced the Legislature to overturn other policies that require billing vulnerable groups, often low-income people of color.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2018, California led the way nationally in \u003ca href=\"https://digitaldemocracy.calmatters.org/bills/ca_201720180sb190\">abolishing fees for juvenile offenders\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2022, the state halted the collection of fees from people in jail and prison for\u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB177\"> costs associated with their incarceration\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11996600\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11996600\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_72-2-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1046\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_72-2-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_72-2-copy-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_72-2-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_72-2-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_72-2-copy-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sultan Khan’s medical bills and related letters that he received from the California Department of State in Martinez, on June 27, 2024. \u003ccite>(Florence Middleton/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Stephanie Campos-Bui, a Berkeley Law professor involved with those efforts, said the size of Department of State Hospitals bills, such as the one Khan received, is “shocking.” Part of what led to legislative changes banning collection of other types of fees is that the cost to the state often negates any revenue such fees might generate, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we really think it’s in our interest as a society to be placing these people in state hospitals, that should be on the general fund, the taxpayers, to do that, not on people who are involuntarily being committed to these facilities,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Joseph Gocke, a public defender from Yolo County, said one of his clients received a bill in 2022 for $81,491 after spending months in a state hospital.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We went to court. We contested it. We lost, unfortunately,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the case law that allows the department to collect such fees dates back to the 1950s and early ’60s, he said, predating even the right to an attorney, which was \u003ca href=\"https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/372/335/\">established in 1963\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s bizarre that this is still allowed because these are clients of ours that the law also mandates that they go to the state hospital for treatment,” he said. “And to then turn around and give them a bill for something they’re not choosing seems fundamentally unfair.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elizabeth Madsen, a Placer County public defender, requested an itemized bill for one client in 2020, after he was deemed incompetent to stand trial and sent to a state hospital. The Department of State Hospitals, the bill showed, charged $520 a day for his three-month stay. State officials sent multiple bills to his parents trying to collect a total of $51,945, which included the day rate as well as the cost of medications and vaccines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11996602\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11996602\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_51-2-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1046\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_51-2-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_51-2-copy-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_51-2-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_51-2-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_51-2-copy-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sultan Khan at the Contra Costa County Public Defenders’ office in Martinez on June 27, 2024. \u003ccite>(Florence Middleton/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Madsen said this was the only such bill she was aware of any of her clients receiving over the years, leading her and other public defenders to believe such billing is unevenly implemented. She said state hospital representatives told her they sent such bills all the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The email from the Department of State Hospitals earlier this month noted that, “upon any individual’s admission to the state hospital, the Hospital’s Trust Office informs the patient about their liability for the care, support, and maintenance in a state institution.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘I’m basically going to be in debt for the rest of my life’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Khan doesn’t remember anyone telling him he’d be on the hook for so much money. He was struggling with a new diagnosis of schizophrenia and his life being upended at the time: “I had other things on my mind,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If hospital officials had explained how much debt he’d be in, he said, he might have opted to just go to prison – even though he feels the treatment he received at the state hospital ultimately helped him enormously.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I mean, $760,000, I’m basically going to be in debt for the rest of my life,” he said recently, sitting in a conference room in downtown Martinez with his public defender, Draznin-Nagy. “It’s not a good feeling, believe me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11996601\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11996601\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_68-2-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1046\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_68-2-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_68-2-copy-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_68-2-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_68-2-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_68-2-copy-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sultan Khan’s medical bills and related letters that he received from the California Department of State after he was involuntarily committed to Napa State Hospital by Contra Costa County in Martinez, on June 27, 2024. \u003ccite>(Florence Middleton/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Khan had landed in the criminal justice system soon after he returned from a stint as a Pashto interpreter at Guantanamo Bay, the controversial detention camp in Cuba where the United States military housed detainees after 9/11. The violence he saw while working there traumatized him, he said. In addition to experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and depression, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia in jail. In the state hospital, his illness responded well to medication and treatment. He was discharged in 2018, and began the process of piecing his life back together. He moved in with his family. He started collecting disability payments. He got a part-time job at a local grocery store.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He received the first bill two years later. The treatment team that worked with him in the county’s conditional release program sent the department proof of his inability to pay, he and Draznin-Nagy said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A year went by before Khan received another letter from the department informing him that it was updating its policies and would not pursue collection until that process was completed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Almost three years after that, Khan received a third letter this past May. If he did not contact the department’s Patient Cost Recovery Section to request financial help within 30 days, it said, the department would resume billing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though he has reached out to the state through his attorney, Khan says anxiety about the bill keeps him awake at night. He thinks about it while he’s working and during walks through the local park that used to help him clear his head.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s like a weight on my shoulders,” he said. “It lingers in my mind.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "California State Hospitals can bill patients for the care they receive during confinement. The charges often run in the tens of thousands of dollars, putting vulnerable people in debt for years.",
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"title": "California Sent a Mentally Ill Man to a State Hospital and Charged Him Nearly $770,000 | KQED",
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"nprByline": "\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/mental-health/2024/07/state-hospital-bill/\">Jocelyn Wiener\u003c/a>, CalMatters",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The first bill arrived in Sultan Khan’s mailbox two years after his release from Napa State Hospital. Khan had received psychiatric treatment there for three years after pleading not guilty by reason of insanity to a criminal charge stemming from an assault.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He stared in disbelief at the paper in front of him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Department of State Hospitals wanted him to pay back the cost of that stay: $769,490.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wondering if he was being scammed, Khan phoned the department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They suggested a payment plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The department’s practice of billing patients exorbitant sums after releasing them from its care has existed for decades, attorneys and advocates say. Such billing has been required under state law since 1967, and has been allowable since the 1930s. The practice has endured even though the state has passed laws in recent years preventing other government entities from charging big fees to vulnerable populations. One example: People leaving prisons and jails no longer have to pay for many of the costs of their incarceration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Here’s (the Department of State Hospitals) quietly collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars from our absolutely most, most vulnerable clients with the least ability to make any kind of payment,” said Rachel Draznin-Nagy, Khan’s public defender in Contra Costa county. “I’m so furious about it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California has five state mental health hospitals caring for more than 5,500 patients, the vast majority of them from the criminal justice system. Most have been charged with or convicted of offenses related to their serious mental illnesses; some, like Khan, are sick enough to be found not guilty by reason of insanity. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/tag/medi-cal/\">Medi-Cal\u003c/a> does not insure people who are in state hospitals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After they are released months or years later, few of these patients have the financial resources to pay off massive bills, Draznin-Nagy and other public defenders said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Department of State Hospitals refused to make anyone available to speak with CalMatters about its fee collections program. But, in an unsigned email, representatives of the department said it “recognizes the stress and concern that individuals may experience when receiving financial notifications.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They pointed to \u003ca href=\"https://codes.findlaw.com/ca/welfare-and-institutions-code/wic-sect-7275/\">statutes\u003c/a> “which require (the department) to collect upon the cost of care delivered in state hospitals.” In order to be reimbursed by Medicare, they said, state agencies must bill patients for the cost of care when such billing is required by state law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This past May, thanks to \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB184/id/2600107\">recent changes in law\u003c/a>, the department rolled out a new \u003ca href=\"https://www.dsh.ca.gov/Financial_Assistance_Program/index.html\">financial assistance program\u003c/a> that allows it to forgive some or all of a patient’s debt. But public defenders say many of their clients do not have the wherewithal to complete the paperwork required to apply for the program in a timely manner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The evening before publication, the department announced it had fully forgiven the debt of its first applicant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Data from a report to the Legislature in 2022 showed that the department collected $418,861 from an unspecified number of former patients between January 2018 and September 2021. The report also noted that the department had filed six lawsuits seeking collections during that time. It had not written off, reduced or canceled any patient debt in that period. The department did not provide CalMatters with more recent data. Its current budget is \u003ca href=\"https://www.dsh.ca.gov/About_Us/docs/DSH_2024-25_Budget_Act_Highlights.pdf\">$3.4 billion (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its email, the department’s representatives said it has neither sent former patients to collections agencies nor garnished their wages. But if patients have not made an effort to pay their bills or been in contact about making payment arrangements, contesting their bill, or applying for the financial assistance program, the department can forward a request to the Franchise Tax Board to collect unclaimed property, funds or tax returns to offset the cost of care.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Shocking’ hospital bills\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In recent years, advocates and attorneys have convinced the Legislature to overturn other policies that require billing vulnerable groups, often low-income people of color.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2018, California led the way nationally in \u003ca href=\"https://digitaldemocracy.calmatters.org/bills/ca_201720180sb190\">abolishing fees for juvenile offenders\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2022, the state halted the collection of fees from people in jail and prison for\u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB177\"> costs associated with their incarceration\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11996600\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11996600\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_72-2-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1046\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_72-2-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_72-2-copy-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_72-2-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_72-2-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_72-2-copy-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sultan Khan’s medical bills and related letters that he received from the California Department of State in Martinez, on June 27, 2024. \u003ccite>(Florence Middleton/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Stephanie Campos-Bui, a Berkeley Law professor involved with those efforts, said the size of Department of State Hospitals bills, such as the one Khan received, is “shocking.” Part of what led to legislative changes banning collection of other types of fees is that the cost to the state often negates any revenue such fees might generate, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we really think it’s in our interest as a society to be placing these people in state hospitals, that should be on the general fund, the taxpayers, to do that, not on people who are involuntarily being committed to these facilities,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Joseph Gocke, a public defender from Yolo County, said one of his clients received a bill in 2022 for $81,491 after spending months in a state hospital.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We went to court. We contested it. We lost, unfortunately,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the case law that allows the department to collect such fees dates back to the 1950s and early ’60s, he said, predating even the right to an attorney, which was \u003ca href=\"https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/372/335/\">established in 1963\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s bizarre that this is still allowed because these are clients of ours that the law also mandates that they go to the state hospital for treatment,” he said. “And to then turn around and give them a bill for something they’re not choosing seems fundamentally unfair.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elizabeth Madsen, a Placer County public defender, requested an itemized bill for one client in 2020, after he was deemed incompetent to stand trial and sent to a state hospital. The Department of State Hospitals, the bill showed, charged $520 a day for his three-month stay. State officials sent multiple bills to his parents trying to collect a total of $51,945, which included the day rate as well as the cost of medications and vaccines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11996602\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11996602\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_51-2-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1046\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_51-2-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_51-2-copy-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_51-2-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_51-2-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_51-2-copy-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sultan Khan at the Contra Costa County Public Defenders’ office in Martinez on June 27, 2024. \u003ccite>(Florence Middleton/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Madsen said this was the only such bill she was aware of any of her clients receiving over the years, leading her and other public defenders to believe such billing is unevenly implemented. She said state hospital representatives told her they sent such bills all the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The email from the Department of State Hospitals earlier this month noted that, “upon any individual’s admission to the state hospital, the Hospital’s Trust Office informs the patient about their liability for the care, support, and maintenance in a state institution.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘I’m basically going to be in debt for the rest of my life’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Khan doesn’t remember anyone telling him he’d be on the hook for so much money. He was struggling with a new diagnosis of schizophrenia and his life being upended at the time: “I had other things on my mind,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If hospital officials had explained how much debt he’d be in, he said, he might have opted to just go to prison – even though he feels the treatment he received at the state hospital ultimately helped him enormously.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I mean, $760,000, I’m basically going to be in debt for the rest of my life,” he said recently, sitting in a conference room in downtown Martinez with his public defender, Draznin-Nagy. “It’s not a good feeling, believe me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11996601\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11996601\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_68-2-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1046\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_68-2-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_68-2-copy-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_68-2-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_68-2-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/2024.06.27_Middleton_HospitalBill_68-2-copy-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sultan Khan’s medical bills and related letters that he received from the California Department of State after he was involuntarily committed to Napa State Hospital by Contra Costa County in Martinez, on June 27, 2024. \u003ccite>(Florence Middleton/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Khan had landed in the criminal justice system soon after he returned from a stint as a Pashto interpreter at Guantanamo Bay, the controversial detention camp in Cuba where the United States military housed detainees after 9/11. The violence he saw while working there traumatized him, he said. In addition to experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and depression, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia in jail. In the state hospital, his illness responded well to medication and treatment. He was discharged in 2018, and began the process of piecing his life back together. He moved in with his family. He started collecting disability payments. He got a part-time job at a local grocery store.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He received the first bill two years later. The treatment team that worked with him in the county’s conditional release program sent the department proof of his inability to pay, he and Draznin-Nagy said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A year went by before Khan received another letter from the department informing him that it was updating its policies and would not pursue collection until that process was completed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Almost three years after that, Khan received a third letter this past May. If he did not contact the department’s Patient Cost Recovery Section to request financial help within 30 days, it said, the department would resume billing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though he has reached out to the state through his attorney, Khan says anxiety about the bill keeps him awake at night. He thinks about it while he’s working and during walks through the local park that used to help him clear his head.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s like a weight on my shoulders,” he said. “It lingers in my mind.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Newsom Is 'All In' for Biden as Defections Grow. Strategists Say He's Playing the 'Long Game'",
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"content": "\u003cp>As efforts to push embattled President Joe Biden out of the race crescendo, Gov. Gavin Newsom has remained one of his most committed champions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Asked last week by CBS News’ Robert Costa about receiving appeals to jump into the fray to replace Biden as the Democratic nominee, Newsom said he hits “delete, delete, delete, delete” on the texts and emails.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m all in, no daylight” with Biden, Newsom said in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iqgFXQrDCk\">short clip released by CBS News\u003c/a> to promote the interview, which was ultimately preempted after Saturday’s attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though not a new message from Newsom, it underscores how the governor has emerged as perhaps Biden’s most forceful surrogate through the chaos that followed the president’s June 27 debate debacle. As a growing number of elected officials call for Biden to forgo his party’s nomination for a second term, Newsom has tied himself more closely to the president than almost any Democrat in the country who’s not already on the ticket — including other ascendant younger politicians who could \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/elections/2024/07/gavin-newsom-for-president-assets-liabilities/\">potentially be his rivals in a future presidential race\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Political strategists told CalMatters this is a prudent posture for Newsom, who does not have the clout to influence Biden’s decision about whether to leave the race but stands to benefit from being seen as a team player, even if Biden drops out or loses in November. In addition to shrewdly raising his own profile through aggressive advocacy for the president, Newsom’s loyalty could win him favor with party insiders positioned to boost his candidacy if he eventually runs for the Democratic nomination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Newsom wants to be seen as a loyal soldier. He doesn’t have any other cards to play,” said Matt Rodriguez, a Democratic consultant who worked on presidential campaigns for Barack Obama, Dick Gephardt and Bill Bradley. “He’s doing the thing he needs to do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for Newsom, who has publicly and repeatedly denied any interest in the presidency, said there is no strategy involved in his strong support for the Biden campaign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Governor Newsom’s advocacy for the President and his administration reflects a recognition of all that President Biden has accomplished, Governor Newsom’s loyalty to the President and the Vice President, and a clear view of the real danger a second Trump administration would have for California and democracy in America,” Nathan Click said in a text message.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-playing-the-long-game\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Playing the ‘long game’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When chatter about whether to dump Biden as the nominee exploded last month following his catastrophic performance in the televised debate against Trump, Newsom was \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/article/joe-biden-democrats-nomination-gavin-newsom-whitmer.html\">among the top tier of potential replacements\u003c/a> floated by pundits. The discourse has been dominated by politicians already viewed as strong potential contenders in the 2028 Democratic primary: Vice President Kamala Harris, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and Democratic Govs. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Andy Beshear of Kentucky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All have stood behind Biden as uncertainty grows over his political future, but the extent to which they’ve defended the president has ranged widely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Aside from the vice president, none have been a more visible cheerleader than Newsom, who immediately appeared on television to swat down concerns about the debate, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/03/us/politics/biden-meeting-democrat-governors.html\">rushed to the White House\u003c/a> for a damage-control meeting with Democratic governors that some attended remotely, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.axios.com/2024/07/10/biden-campaign-staff-morale-election-2024\">delivered a pep talk to Biden campaign staff on a conference call\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11996416\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11996416\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-Newsom-Biden-Campaign-REUTERS-CM-01-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-Newsom-Biden-Campaign-REUTERS-CM-01-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-Newsom-Biden-Campaign-REUTERS-CM-01-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-Newsom-Biden-Campaign-REUTERS-CM-01-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-Newsom-Biden-Campaign-REUTERS-CM-01-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-Newsom-Biden-Campaign-REUTERS-CM-01-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gov. Gavin Newsom, in New Hampshire to attend a fundraising event for President Joe Biden’s campaign, greets people at the Common Man Roadside Cafe & Deli in Hooksett, New Hampshire, on July 8, 2024. \u003ccite>(Reba Saldanha/Reuters via CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On a tour through Michigan, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire on the president’s behalf over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, Newsom told reporters that \u003ca href=\"https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-surrogate-newsom-says-calls-democrats-president-step-aside-not-helpful\">calls for Biden to step aside were “not helpful”\u003c/a> and he had no doubts about the president’s cognitive health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I decided instead of just rolling over and giving up, that I would step up and pick up the fight,” Newsom said \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/gavin-newsom-biden-president-democrat-new-hampshire-09d4b827dd4be869245fa790907c81be\">at one New Hampshire stop\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Others have charted a more cautious approach, appearing to maintain some distance from Biden without abandoning him. Whitmer, who is a co-chairperson of his reelection campaign, told CNN last week that \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/10/politics/gretchen-whitmer-biden-cognitive-test-cnntv/index.html\">“it wouldn’t hurt” for Biden to take a cognitive test\u003c/a> and later \u003ca href=\"https://www.crainsdetroit.com/politics-policy/gretchen-whitmer-miss-joe-biden-campaign-stop\">skipped a rally he held in Detroit\u003c/a>. Beshear, currently \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/kentucky-governor-asian-trip-d5e838e490f3009b6b6bff72ef7cbebd\">on a business trip in Asia\u003c/a>, has reiterated that Biden should take more steps to reassure Americans about his health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those officials may have different considerations because of the more conservative politics of their home states. But strategists agreed that Newsom, as governor of the biggest Democratic state in the country, is on a path that holds far more rewards than risks for his career.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Given his relatively short record as a national political figure — and his history as an \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/05/politics/campaign/some-democrats-blame-one-of-their-own.html\">upstart rattling the establishment\u003c/a> on issues such as gay marriage — Newsom has more to prove to Democrats, said Catherine Lew, a political consultant who worked on Bill\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>Clinton’s first presidential campaign in 1992. Stumping for Biden should help Newsom get in the good graces of a party establishment that still deeply values loyalty, building relationships that could pay off down the road with endorsements, fundraising and staffing up a campaign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The governor obviously has the long game in mind,” Lew said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hilary McLean, who worked on California communications for Michael Bloomberg’s 2020 presidential campaign and Bill Clinton’s 1996 reelection, said becoming a leading surrogate for Biden has signaled to the public that Newsom is “an important person for Democrats in the United States of America” going forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What people will remember is he was super eloquent; he was a feisty advocate for Democratic ideas,” she said. “They’ll remember how well he did. They’re not going to hold it against him for supporting the president.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-newsom-is-not-going-out-on-a-limb\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Newsom is not ‘going out on a limb’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The growing defections in Democratic support for Biden, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/newsletter/biden-drop-out-california-democrats/\">including California’s Rep. Adam Schiff\u003c/a> on Wednesday, and the lack of clarity, only a month before the party convention starts on Aug. 19, about whether he will remain the nominee is an unprecedented situation that has paralyzed many officials with indecision, Rodriguez said. He applauded Newsom for not overthinking his response and for sticking by Biden.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the Democratic Party wants Biden off the presidential ticket, it will take others with more sway to push him out, Rodriguez said. Newsom calling for it would just make him appear “weak and feckless,” he said, especially if Biden sees the campaign through.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s always a risk, even if you’re right, to be the whistleblower,” Rodriguez said. “Why are you going out on a limb if you don’t have leverage?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By instead remaining a vocal defender of the president through his bleakest moment, Newsom could look like a hero in the event that Biden wins a second term, though that appears increasingly unlikely. And in the meantime, the campaign may continue to elevate Newsom, such as with a prime speaking slot at next month’s Democratic National Convention — which Rodriguez noted was the launching pad for Obama’s presidential aspirations in 2004.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Politics, especially at the national level, is really about timing,” Rodriguez said. “You do the best you can with what’s in front of you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Strategists brushed off the idea that a bruising loss for Biden could hurt his top surrogates by association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of this is palace court stuff,” Lew said. “Voters’ memories are short, particularly when there are other pressing, day-to-day, quality-of-life issues.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rodriguez said that if Trump wins another term in November, no one in the country is better positioned to lead the fight against him than Newsom, who has two years left as governor. That’s likely to be far more relevant in the 2028 primaries than what candidates said about Biden years prior.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s such a lifetime away,” Rodriguez said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "A growing number of Democrats say President Biden can't win and should step aside. However, California's governor is standing steadfastly behind him, which could boost Newsom's future political prospects.",
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"title": "Newsom Is 'All In' for Biden as Defections Grow. Strategists Say He's Playing the 'Long Game' | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>As efforts to push embattled President Joe Biden out of the race crescendo, Gov. Gavin Newsom has remained one of his most committed champions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Asked last week by CBS News’ Robert Costa about receiving appeals to jump into the fray to replace Biden as the Democratic nominee, Newsom said he hits “delete, delete, delete, delete” on the texts and emails.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m all in, no daylight” with Biden, Newsom said in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iqgFXQrDCk\">short clip released by CBS News\u003c/a> to promote the interview, which was ultimately preempted after Saturday’s attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though not a new message from Newsom, it underscores how the governor has emerged as perhaps Biden’s most forceful surrogate through the chaos that followed the president’s June 27 debate debacle. As a growing number of elected officials call for Biden to forgo his party’s nomination for a second term, Newsom has tied himself more closely to the president than almost any Democrat in the country who’s not already on the ticket — including other ascendant younger politicians who could \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/elections/2024/07/gavin-newsom-for-president-assets-liabilities/\">potentially be his rivals in a future presidential race\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Political strategists told CalMatters this is a prudent posture for Newsom, who does not have the clout to influence Biden’s decision about whether to leave the race but stands to benefit from being seen as a team player, even if Biden drops out or loses in November. In addition to shrewdly raising his own profile through aggressive advocacy for the president, Newsom’s loyalty could win him favor with party insiders positioned to boost his candidacy if he eventually runs for the Democratic nomination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Newsom wants to be seen as a loyal soldier. He doesn’t have any other cards to play,” said Matt Rodriguez, a Democratic consultant who worked on presidential campaigns for Barack Obama, Dick Gephardt and Bill Bradley. “He’s doing the thing he needs to do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for Newsom, who has publicly and repeatedly denied any interest in the presidency, said there is no strategy involved in his strong support for the Biden campaign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Governor Newsom’s advocacy for the President and his administration reflects a recognition of all that President Biden has accomplished, Governor Newsom’s loyalty to the President and the Vice President, and a clear view of the real danger a second Trump administration would have for California and democracy in America,” Nathan Click said in a text message.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-playing-the-long-game\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Playing the ‘long game’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When chatter about whether to dump Biden as the nominee exploded last month following his catastrophic performance in the televised debate against Trump, Newsom was \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/article/joe-biden-democrats-nomination-gavin-newsom-whitmer.html\">among the top tier of potential replacements\u003c/a> floated by pundits. The discourse has been dominated by politicians already viewed as strong potential contenders in the 2028 Democratic primary: Vice President Kamala Harris, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and Democratic Govs. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Andy Beshear of Kentucky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All have stood behind Biden as uncertainty grows over his political future, but the extent to which they’ve defended the president has ranged widely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Aside from the vice president, none have been a more visible cheerleader than Newsom, who immediately appeared on television to swat down concerns about the debate, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/03/us/politics/biden-meeting-democrat-governors.html\">rushed to the White House\u003c/a> for a damage-control meeting with Democratic governors that some attended remotely, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.axios.com/2024/07/10/biden-campaign-staff-morale-election-2024\">delivered a pep talk to Biden campaign staff on a conference call\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11996416\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11996416\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-Newsom-Biden-Campaign-REUTERS-CM-01-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-Newsom-Biden-Campaign-REUTERS-CM-01-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-Newsom-Biden-Campaign-REUTERS-CM-01-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-Newsom-Biden-Campaign-REUTERS-CM-01-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-Newsom-Biden-Campaign-REUTERS-CM-01-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/070824-Newsom-Biden-Campaign-REUTERS-CM-01-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gov. Gavin Newsom, in New Hampshire to attend a fundraising event for President Joe Biden’s campaign, greets people at the Common Man Roadside Cafe & Deli in Hooksett, New Hampshire, on July 8, 2024. \u003ccite>(Reba Saldanha/Reuters via CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On a tour through Michigan, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire on the president’s behalf over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, Newsom told reporters that \u003ca href=\"https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-surrogate-newsom-says-calls-democrats-president-step-aside-not-helpful\">calls for Biden to step aside were “not helpful”\u003c/a> and he had no doubts about the president’s cognitive health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I decided instead of just rolling over and giving up, that I would step up and pick up the fight,” Newsom said \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/gavin-newsom-biden-president-democrat-new-hampshire-09d4b827dd4be869245fa790907c81be\">at one New Hampshire stop\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Others have charted a more cautious approach, appearing to maintain some distance from Biden without abandoning him. Whitmer, who is a co-chairperson of his reelection campaign, told CNN last week that \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/10/politics/gretchen-whitmer-biden-cognitive-test-cnntv/index.html\">“it wouldn’t hurt” for Biden to take a cognitive test\u003c/a> and later \u003ca href=\"https://www.crainsdetroit.com/politics-policy/gretchen-whitmer-miss-joe-biden-campaign-stop\">skipped a rally he held in Detroit\u003c/a>. Beshear, currently \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/kentucky-governor-asian-trip-d5e838e490f3009b6b6bff72ef7cbebd\">on a business trip in Asia\u003c/a>, has reiterated that Biden should take more steps to reassure Americans about his health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those officials may have different considerations because of the more conservative politics of their home states. But strategists agreed that Newsom, as governor of the biggest Democratic state in the country, is on a path that holds far more rewards than risks for his career.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Given his relatively short record as a national political figure — and his history as an \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/05/politics/campaign/some-democrats-blame-one-of-their-own.html\">upstart rattling the establishment\u003c/a> on issues such as gay marriage — Newsom has more to prove to Democrats, said Catherine Lew, a political consultant who worked on Bill\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>Clinton’s first presidential campaign in 1992. Stumping for Biden should help Newsom get in the good graces of a party establishment that still deeply values loyalty, building relationships that could pay off down the road with endorsements, fundraising and staffing up a campaign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The governor obviously has the long game in mind,” Lew said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hilary McLean, who worked on California communications for Michael Bloomberg’s 2020 presidential campaign and Bill Clinton’s 1996 reelection, said becoming a leading surrogate for Biden has signaled to the public that Newsom is “an important person for Democrats in the United States of America” going forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What people will remember is he was super eloquent; he was a feisty advocate for Democratic ideas,” she said. “They’ll remember how well he did. They’re not going to hold it against him for supporting the president.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-newsom-is-not-going-out-on-a-limb\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Newsom is not ‘going out on a limb’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The growing defections in Democratic support for Biden, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/newsletter/biden-drop-out-california-democrats/\">including California’s Rep. Adam Schiff\u003c/a> on Wednesday, and the lack of clarity, only a month before the party convention starts on Aug. 19, about whether he will remain the nominee is an unprecedented situation that has paralyzed many officials with indecision, Rodriguez said. He applauded Newsom for not overthinking his response and for sticking by Biden.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the Democratic Party wants Biden off the presidential ticket, it will take others with more sway to push him out, Rodriguez said. Newsom calling for it would just make him appear “weak and feckless,” he said, especially if Biden sees the campaign through.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s always a risk, even if you’re right, to be the whistleblower,” Rodriguez said. “Why are you going out on a limb if you don’t have leverage?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By instead remaining a vocal defender of the president through his bleakest moment, Newsom could look like a hero in the event that Biden wins a second term, though that appears increasingly unlikely. And in the meantime, the campaign may continue to elevate Newsom, such as with a prime speaking slot at next month’s Democratic National Convention — which Rodriguez noted was the launching pad for Obama’s presidential aspirations in 2004.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Politics, especially at the national level, is really about timing,” Rodriguez said. “You do the best you can with what’s in front of you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Strategists brushed off the idea that a bruising loss for Biden could hurt his top surrogates by association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of this is palace court stuff,” Lew said. “Voters’ memories are short, particularly when there are other pressing, day-to-day, quality-of-life issues.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rodriguez said that if Trump wins another term in November, no one in the country is better positioned to lead the fight against him than Newsom, who has two years left as governor. That’s likely to be far more relevant in the 2028 primaries than what candidates said about Biden years prior.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s such a lifetime away,” Rodriguez said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>In the wake of the recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, California lawmakers who have faced serious threats are highlighting their support for a bill that would loosen restrictions on campaign spending for security measures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you are being subjected to threats, intimidation, harassment, violence because of your role as a legislator, it makes sense to me that you should have the ability, if you chose, to use campaign funds to provide security,” said state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who has received numerous death threats over his work advocating for LGBTQ equality and other issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under current state law, campaign funds can be used to pay for home or office security systems to protect a candidate or elected official, but only after a law enforcement agency has verified a threat. Security expenses are capped at $5,000, which has not been updated since 1993.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2041\">AB 2041\u003c/a>, authored by Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Oakland), would eliminate those limitations and allow for the use of campaign funds to pay for private security and other “tangible items related to security” for a candidate or elected official or their immediate family or staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bonta said she introduced the bill because of the harassment and intimidation she has faced while running for office and during her time in public service, including threats against her family. The attack on Trump over the weekend has renewed a spotlight on her efforts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What we saw on Saturday was proof that political violence continues to plague our democracy and reaffirms to me that we urgently need to allow state candidates to invest in their safety and fund security for themselves, their families, and their staff,” Bonta said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People on both sides of the aisle recognize that we must prioritize safety in this charged political climate,” she added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB37\">vetoed\u003c/a> a version of Bonta’s proposal last year, saying it lacked clear guidance on what security expenses would be considered as a legitimate use of campaign funds. Bonta’s office said the current bill, which passed the Assembly and is expected to go before the Senate next month, has resolved those concerns. Newsom’s office declined to comment on the pending legislation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several studies show that political violence is rising. In one 2024 \u003ca href=\"https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/intimidation-state-and-local-officeholders\">study\u003c/a> by the Brennan Center for Justice, state and local officeholders across the U.S. reported they faced more frequent and severe abuse in recent years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Almost 90% of the surveyed state lawmakers and over half of local officeholders said they experienced insults, stalking and more aggressive abuse. More than 40% of state legislators said they were the target of threats of harm or physical attacks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The intimidation impacted how elected officials went about their business, constraining how freely they interacted with their constituents and the kinds of policy positions they supported, according to the study’s authors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiener, who identifies as gay and Jewish, said the more than a thousand death threats he’s received have often been fueled by the social media posts of far-right politicians and viral political conspiracies such as QAnon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His home has been the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11934374/state-sen-scott-wiener-target-of-another-death-threat\">target of bomb threats\u003c/a> that prompted SFPD searches. People suspected of at least two death threats have been criminally charged, Wiener said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s painful. I’ll admit that. But I have to take a deep breath and remember why I do this work and why I ran for office. And that is to make people’s lives better and to lift up some of the most vulnerable people in our community,” Wiener said. “And if the cost of that is death threats, then so be it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11996198\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11996198\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-1321786012.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-1321786012.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-1321786012-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-1321786012-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-1321786012-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">State Sen. Scott Wiener talking to the editorial board of the \u003cem>Chronicle\u003c/em> on Friday, Jan. 10, 2020, in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Liz Hafalia/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Members of the Legislature and other state officials receive protection from sergeant-at-arms departments at the state Assembly and Senate, and the California Highway Patrol’s Protective Services Division.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiener said those agencies have been “fantastic” in their response but added, “There’s just not enough security resources for everyone to have armed guards around them all the time at taxpayer expense.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sergeants-at-arms, who are employees of the Legislature, and the California Highway Patrol both declined to comment for security reasons on whether they would change their operations due to the shooting at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, security measures for legislators, their staff and members of the public who visit the Capitol have been tightened in recent years, according to California’s Senate Majority Leader Mike McGuire (D-North Coast).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While I can’t comment on specific security protocols, I can say we have increased protections in and around the Capitol, our district offices, and at specific community events due to an increased amount of credible threats,” McGuire said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What happened in Pennsylvania was horrific,” he added. “We must remain vigilant to keep the halls of our democracy safe, and we’ll do what it takes to protect all who work here, come to visit, or come here to exercise their First Amendment rights.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Some California legislators say a bill that would allow the use of more campaign funds to pay for security measures for themselves, staffers and family members is needed.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In the wake of the recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, California lawmakers who have faced serious threats are highlighting their support for a bill that would loosen restrictions on campaign spending for security measures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you are being subjected to threats, intimidation, harassment, violence because of your role as a legislator, it makes sense to me that you should have the ability, if you chose, to use campaign funds to provide security,” said state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who has received numerous death threats over his work advocating for LGBTQ equality and other issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under current state law, campaign funds can be used to pay for home or office security systems to protect a candidate or elected official, but only after a law enforcement agency has verified a threat. Security expenses are capped at $5,000, which has not been updated since 1993.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2041\">AB 2041\u003c/a>, authored by Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Oakland), would eliminate those limitations and allow for the use of campaign funds to pay for private security and other “tangible items related to security” for a candidate or elected official or their immediate family or staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bonta said she introduced the bill because of the harassment and intimidation she has faced while running for office and during her time in public service, including threats against her family. The attack on Trump over the weekend has renewed a spotlight on her efforts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What we saw on Saturday was proof that political violence continues to plague our democracy and reaffirms to me that we urgently need to allow state candidates to invest in their safety and fund security for themselves, their families, and their staff,” Bonta said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People on both sides of the aisle recognize that we must prioritize safety in this charged political climate,” she added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB37\">vetoed\u003c/a> a version of Bonta’s proposal last year, saying it lacked clear guidance on what security expenses would be considered as a legitimate use of campaign funds. Bonta’s office said the current bill, which passed the Assembly and is expected to go before the Senate next month, has resolved those concerns. Newsom’s office declined to comment on the pending legislation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several studies show that political violence is rising. In one 2024 \u003ca href=\"https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/intimidation-state-and-local-officeholders\">study\u003c/a> by the Brennan Center for Justice, state and local officeholders across the U.S. reported they faced more frequent and severe abuse in recent years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Almost 90% of the surveyed state lawmakers and over half of local officeholders said they experienced insults, stalking and more aggressive abuse. More than 40% of state legislators said they were the target of threats of harm or physical attacks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The intimidation impacted how elected officials went about their business, constraining how freely they interacted with their constituents and the kinds of policy positions they supported, according to the study’s authors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiener, who identifies as gay and Jewish, said the more than a thousand death threats he’s received have often been fueled by the social media posts of far-right politicians and viral political conspiracies such as QAnon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His home has been the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11934374/state-sen-scott-wiener-target-of-another-death-threat\">target of bomb threats\u003c/a> that prompted SFPD searches. People suspected of at least two death threats have been criminally charged, Wiener said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s painful. I’ll admit that. But I have to take a deep breath and remember why I do this work and why I ran for office. And that is to make people’s lives better and to lift up some of the most vulnerable people in our community,” Wiener said. “And if the cost of that is death threats, then so be it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11996198\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11996198\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-1321786012.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-1321786012.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-1321786012-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-1321786012-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-1321786012-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">State Sen. Scott Wiener talking to the editorial board of the \u003cem>Chronicle\u003c/em> on Friday, Jan. 10, 2020, in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Liz Hafalia/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Members of the Legislature and other state officials receive protection from sergeant-at-arms departments at the state Assembly and Senate, and the California Highway Patrol’s Protective Services Division.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiener said those agencies have been “fantastic” in their response but added, “There’s just not enough security resources for everyone to have armed guards around them all the time at taxpayer expense.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sergeants-at-arms, who are employees of the Legislature, and the California Highway Patrol both declined to comment for security reasons on whether they would change their operations due to the shooting at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, security measures for legislators, their staff and members of the public who visit the Capitol have been tightened in recent years, according to California’s Senate Majority Leader Mike McGuire (D-North Coast).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While I can’t comment on specific security protocols, I can say we have increased protections in and around the Capitol, our district offices, and at specific community events due to an increased amount of credible threats,” McGuire said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What happened in Pennsylvania was horrific,” he added. “We must remain vigilant to keep the halls of our democracy safe, and we’ll do what it takes to protect all who work here, come to visit, or come here to exercise their First Amendment rights.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "california-needs-a-million-ev-charging-stations-but-thats-unlikely-and-unrealistic",
"title": "Can California Build a Million EV Charging Stations to Meet Its Clean Energy Goals?",
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"headTitle": "Can California Build a Million EV Charging Stations to Meet Its Clean Energy Goals? | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>California will have to build public charging stations at an unprecedented — and some experts say unrealistic — pace to meet the needs of the 7 million electric cars expected on its roads in less than seven years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sheer scale of the build-out has alarmed many experts and lawmakers, who fear that the state won’t be prepared as Californians purchase more electric cars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A million public chargers are needed in California by the end of 2030, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/reports/electric-vehicle-charging-infrastructure-assessment-ab-2127\">state’s projections\u003c/a> — almost 10 times more than the \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/energy-almanac/zero-emission-vehicle-and-infrastructure-statistics-collection/electric\">number available to drivers\u003c/a> in December. To meet that target, 129,000 new stations — more than seven times the current pace — must be built every year for the next seven years. Then, the pace would have to accelerate again to reach a target of 2.1 million chargers in 2035.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A robust network of public chargers — akin to the state’s more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/energy-almanac/transportation-energy/california-retail-fuel-outlet-annual-reporting\">8,000 gas stations\u003c/a> — is essential to ensure that drivers will have the confidence to purchase electric vehicles over the next several years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is very unlikely that we will hit our goals, and to be completely frank, the EV goals are a noble aspiration but unrealistic,” said Stanford professor Bruce Cain, who coauthored a \u003ca href=\"https://siepr.stanford.edu/publications/policy-brief/overcoming-roadblocks-californias-public-ev-charging-infrastructure\">policy briefing\u003c/a> detailing California’s electric vehicle charging problems. “This is a wakeup call that we address potential institutional and policy obstacles more seriously before we commit blindly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under California’s landmark \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/08/electric-cars-california-to-phase-out-gas-cars/#:~:text=This%20regulation%20will%20essentially%20end,and%20100%25%20for%202035%20models.\">electric car mandate\u003c/a>, a pillar of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2020/09/california-ban-gasoline-powered-cars-in-2035/\">climate change agenda\u003c/a>, 68% of all new 2030 model cars sold in the state must be zero emissions, increasing to 100% by 2035, when 15 million electric cars are expected in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re going to look really silly if we are telling people that they can only buy electric vehicles, and we don’t have the charging infrastructure to support that,” said Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, a Democrat from Encino \u003ca href=\"https://digitaldemocracy.calmatters.org/hearings/256707?t=787&f=9187f5030274d8f03a4f6e590a116f76\">who introduced\u003c/a> a package of unsuccessful bills last year aimed at expanding access to car chargers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are way behind where we need to be,” Gabriel told CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://graphic-ev-chargers.netlify.app/?initialWidth=780&childId=pym_0&parentTitle=CA%20needs%20a%20million%20EV%20chargers%20but%20experts%20say%20that%E2%80%99s%20unlikely%20-%20CalMatters&parentUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fcalmatters.org%2Fenvironment%2Fclimate-change%2F2024%2F07%2Fcalifornia-electric-car-chargers-unrealistic-goals%2F\" width=\"800\" height=\"550\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Big obstacles stand in the way of amping up the pace of new charging stations in public places. California will need billions of dollars in state, federal and private investments, streamlined city and county permitting processes, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2023/01/california-electric-cars-grid/?series=california-electric-vehicles\">major power grid upgrades\u003c/a> and accelerated efforts by utilities to connect chargers to the grid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State officials are also tasked with ensuring that charging stations are available statewide, in \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2024/05/electric-car-chargers-california-imperial-county/\">rural and less-affluent areas\u003c/a> where private companies are reluctant to invest, and that they are reliable and functioning whenever drivers pull up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Pacific Gas & Electric’s vast service area, home to 40% of all Californians, electric car purchases are moving twice as fast as the build-out of charging stations, said Lydia Krefta, the utility’s director of clean energy transportation. Californians now own \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/energy-almanac/zero-emission-vehicle-and-infrastructure-statistics-collection/light\">more than 1.5 million\u003c/a> battery-powered cars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Patty Monahan, who’s on the Energy Commission, the state agency responsible for funding and guiding the ramp-up, told CalMatters that she is confident that California can build the chargers its residents need in time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency’s estimate of the current chargers is likely an undercount, she said. In addition, fast-charging stations could play a bigger role than initially projected, meaning hundreds of thousands of fewer chargers might be needed. Also, as the ranges and charging speeds on cars improve, there may be less demand for public chargers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California has a history of defying the odds,” Monahan said. “We have a history of advancing clean cars, clean energy, writ-large. We have naysayers left and right saying you can’t do it, and then we do it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Barriers to private investments: an uncertain market\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>On a September day last year, Monahan spoke behind a podium in the parking lot of a Bay Area grocery store. A row of newly constructed car chargers rose behind her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Let’s celebrate for a moment,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California had met its goal of 10,000 fast electric chargers statewide — two years ahead of the \u003ca href=\"https://archive.gov.ca.gov/archive/gov39/2018/01/26/governor-brown-takes-action-to-increase-zero-emission-vehicles-fund-new-climate-investments/index.html\">target\u003c/a> set in 2018.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11995800\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11995800\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/092523_EV-Fast-Charging-Event_LE_CM_10-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/092523_EV-Fast-Charging-Event_LE_CM_10-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/092523_EV-Fast-Charging-Event_LE_CM_10-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/092523_EV-Fast-Charging-Event_LE_CM_10-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/092523_EV-Fast-Charging-Event_LE_CM_10-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/092523_EV-Fast-Charging-Event_LE_CM_10-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">California Energy Commissioner Patty Monahan speaks during the launch of an EVgo fast charging station in Union City on Sept. 25, 2023. \u003ccite>(Loren Elliott for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Fast chargers, like the new ones at the grocery store, are increasingly seen as critical to meeting the needs of drivers. They can \u003ca href=\"https://www.transportation.gov/urban-e-mobility-toolkit/e-mobility-basics/charging-speeds\">power a car to 80%\u003c/a> in 20 minutes to an hour, while the typical charger in use today, a slower Level 2, takes from four to 10 hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But installing and operating fast chargers is an expensive business — one that doesn’t easily turn a profit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy23osti/85654.pdf#page=46\">Nationwide, each fast charger (PDF)\u003c/a> can cost up to $117,000, according to a 2023 study. And in California, it could be even more — between $122,000 and $440,000 each, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213624X23000238\">a separate study\u003c/a>, although the Energy Commission said the range was $110,000 to $125,000 for \u003ca href=\"https://calevip.org/\">one of its programs\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of America’s publicly traded charger companies have been forced to seek more financing, lay off workers and slow their network build-outs, analysts said. \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/finance/quote/EVGO:NASDAQ?window=MAX\">EVgo\u003c/a>, for instance, has seen its share price crater, as has \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/finance/quote/CHPT:NYSE?window=MAX\">ChargePoint\u003c/a>, which specializes in selling the slower Level 2 hardware.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California stands apart from other states — it has by far the most chargers and electric car sales and more incentives and policies encouraging them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tesla, America’s top-selling electric car manufacturer, dominates fast-charging in both California and the U.S. — but the company didn’t get into the business to sell charges to drivers; it got into the charger business to sell its electric cars. Initially Tesla Superchargers were exclusive to its drivers, but \u003ca href=\"https://www.tesla.com/support/supercharging-other-evs#charge-if-not-tesla-vehicle\">starting this year\u003c/a> other EV drivers can use them after Tesla \u003ca href=\"https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2023/05/25/ford-ev-customers-to-gain-access-to-12-000-tesla-superchargers--.html\">provided ports to Ford\u003c/a> and other automakers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tesla’s manufacturing prowess, supply chain dominance and decade-plus of experience with fast chargers have given it an edge over competitors — a coterie of unprofitable, publicly traded startups, as well as private companies that often benefit from public subsidies, according to analysts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All the automakers joined forces with their biggest competitor,” said Loren McDonald, chief executive of the consulting firm EVAdoption. “If that doesn’t tell you how bad fast-charging networks and infrastructure were, I don’t know what else does.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11995801\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11995801\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/062324_Kettleman-City-Charging-Stations_LV_CM_16-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/062324_Kettleman-City-Charging-Stations_LV_CM_16-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/062324_Kettleman-City-Charging-Stations_LV_CM_16-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/062324_Kettleman-City-Charging-Stations_LV_CM_16-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/062324_Kettleman-City-Charging-Stations_LV_CM_16-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/062324_Kettleman-City-Charging-Stations_LV_CM_16-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tesla vehicles charge at a Supercharger lot in Kettleman City on June 23, 2024. \u003ccite>(Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters/CatchLight Local)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11995832\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11995832\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/EV-DIPTYCH-1-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"834\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/EV-DIPTYCH-1-KQED-1.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/EV-DIPTYCH-1-KQED-1-800x267.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/EV-DIPTYCH-1-KQED-1-1020x340.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/EV-DIPTYCH-1-KQED-1-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/EV-DIPTYCH-1-KQED-1-1536x512.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/EV-DIPTYCH-1-KQED-1-2048x683.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/EV-DIPTYCH-1-KQED-1-1920x641.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: An EVgo fast charger at El Mercado Plaza Shopping Center in Union City. Right: A Hyundai Ioniq 6 charges at an Electrify America station in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Loren Elliott and Camille Cohen for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Now, Tesla is showing \u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/inside-story-elon-musks-mass-firings-tesla-supercharger-staff-2024-05-15/\">uncertainty about the future of its charging business\u003c/a> amid slumping car sales and \u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/inside-story-elon-musks-mass-firings-tesla-supercharger-staff-2024-05-15/\">eliminating nearly its entire\u003c/a> 500-member Supercharger team in April. Then chief executive Elon Musk said in May that he would \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1788834859110002716?lang=en\">spend $500 million\u003c/a> to expand the network and \u003ca href=\"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-13/tesla-rehires-some-supercharger-workers-weeks-after-musk-s-culling?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTcxNTYyMjU0MiwiZXhwIjoxNzE2MjI3MzQyLCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJTREVRQjJUMEFGQjQwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiIzNDVFQTA0MjNBMUQ0NTI2QjY1QkNBNUZDRUJGQThGNiJ9.2RNvF37kKk0-xvIIdZ-YnoQY2ND7fdX3l67QJ5XqjBk\">hired back\u003c/a> some fired workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, Electrify America, a privately held company, was created by Volkswagen as a settlement for \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/news/california-receive-153m-final-settlement-volkswagen\">cheating on emissions tests\u003c/a> for its gas-powered cars. The company is spending $800 million on California chargers, building a robust network of 260 stations, with more than half in lower-income communities, including \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2024/05/electric-car-chargers-california-imperial-county/\">the state’s worst charging desert\u003c/a>, Imperial County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The problem is Electrify America was ranked dead last in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2023-us-electric-vehicle-experience-evx-public-charging-study\">consumer survey\u003c/a> last year, and reliability problems and customer complaints have plagued its chargers. The California Air Resources Board in January \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/barcu/board/books/2024/012524/prores24-2.pdf#page=5\">directed Electrify America (PDF)\u003c/a> to “strive to achieve charger reliability consistent with the state of the industry.” A company spokesperson said the dissatisfaction showed “an industry in its growth trajectory.” There are signs of improvement, based on \u003ca href=\"https://www.jdpower.com/business/resources/are-recent-improvements-public-ev-charging-infrastructure-enough-reverse\">consumer data from the first three months\u003c/a> of this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Startups continue to jump into the charging business, with the number of companies offering fast chargers growing from 14 in 2020 to 41 in 2024, EVAdoption said. Seven carmakers formed a \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/26/business/energy-environment/electric-vehicles-fast-chargers-automakers.html\">$1 billion venture\u003c/a> to build a 30,000-charger network in North America. And \u003ca href=\"https://www.eenews.net/articles/big-winner-in-bidens-ev-charging-revolution-gas-stations/\">gas stations\u003c/a> such as Circle K offer more charging because electric car customers spend more time shopping while waiting for their rides to juice up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the realization that charging is a costly business has set in on Wall Street, and that doesn’t seem likely to change anytime soon. “Can public EV fast-charging stations be profitable in the United States?” the \u003ca href=\"https://www.mckinsey.com/features/mckinsey-center-for-future-mobility/our-insights/can-public-ev-fast-charging-stations-be-profitable-in-the-united-states\">consultancy McKinsey & Company asked\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The fervor, the excitement from the investor base, has definitely dwindled quite a bit, given the prospects that EV adoption in the U.S. is going to be slower, revenue growth is really slower, the path to profitability is going to be slower, and they might need more capital than everyone originally expected,” said Christopher Dendrinos, a financial analyst who covers electric car charging companies for the investment bank RBC Capital Markets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The stakes are high for California when it comes to encouraging investments in expensive fast chargers: If 63,000 additional ones were built, California might need 402,000 fewer slower Level 2 chargers in 2030, according to an alternative \u003ca href=\"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/24795161/assembly-bill-2127-second-electric-vehicle-charging-infrastructure-second-assessment-revised-staff-report.pdf#page=18\">forecast (PDF)\u003c/a> by the Energy Commission.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Billions of public dollars: Will it be enough?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Nationwide, $53 billion to $127 billion in private investments and public funding is needed by 2030 to build chargers for about 33 million electric cars, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy23osti/85654.pdf#page=7\">according to a federal estimate (PDF)\u003c/a>. Of that, about half would be for public chargers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Congress and the Biden administration have set aside $5 billion for a national network of fast chargers. So far, only 33 of the eight locations have been built, but more than 14,000 others are in the works, according to the Federal Highway Administration. California’s share of the federal money totals $384 million; about 500 fast chargers will be built with an initial $40.5 million, Energy Commission spokesperson Lindsay Buckley said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, the state has spent $584 million to build more than \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Clean-Transportation-Program-Plan.pdf#page=27\">33,000 electric car chargers (PDF)\u003c/a> through its Clean Transportation Program, funded by fees drivers pay when they register cars. The Legislature \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2023/09/hydrogen-cars-california-funding-legislature/\">extended that program\u003c/a> for an additional decade last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom has committed to spending $1 billion through 2028 on chargers with his “\u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Fact-Sheet-California-Climate-Commitment.pdf\">California Climate Commitment (PDF)\u003c/a>,” Buckley said. But this year, Newsom and the Legislature trimmed $167 million from the charger budget as the state faces a record deficit. A lobbyist for the Electric Vehicle Charging Association said, “The state pullback sends a very challenging message” to the industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s commitment to charger funding is “solid,” despite the cuts, Buckley said. They have not yet estimated the total investment needed in California to meet the targets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, Ted Lamm, a UC Berkeley Law researcher who studies electric car infrastructure, said the magnitude of building what California needs in coming years likely dwarfs the public funding available.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State and federal programs will “only fund a fraction,” and the state needs to spend that money on lower-income communities, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another possible funding source is California’s \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/our-work/programs/low-carbon-fuel-standard\">Low Carbon Fuel Standard, which is expected to be revised in November\u003c/a>. The program requires carbon-intensive fuel companies to pay for cleaner-burning transportation. Utilities get credits and use that money to pay for chargers, rebates to car buyers and grid improvements, said Laura Renger, executive director of the California Electric Transportation Coalition, which represents utilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think with that, we would have enough money,” Renger said. She said the program’s overhaul could help utilities invest “billions” in chargers and other electric car programs over the next two decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Backlogged local permits and grid delays\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>One of the biggest barriers to more chargers isn’t money. It’s that cities and counties are slow to approve plans for the vast number of stations needed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State officials only have so much political power to compel local jurisdictions to do what they want — a reality made \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/2024/01/california-zoning/\">abundantly clear\u003c/a> by the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/tag/housing-crisis/\">housing crisis\u003c/a>, for instance. California relies on grants and persuasion to accomplish its goals, and the slow build-out of chargers shows how those strategies can fall short, said Stanford’s Cain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The locals cannot be compelled by regulatory agencies to make land and resources available for what the state wants to achieve,” Cain said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The same obstacles have marked the state’s broader effort to electrify California and switch to clean energy. Local opposition and environmental reviews sometimes hold up \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/08/renewable-energy-california-counties/\">large solar projects\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2024/07/ceqa-california-energy-grid-state-parks/\">transmission projects\u003c/a> for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California has created a “culture of regulation that emphasizes the need to be extra careful and extra perfect, but this takes an incredible amount of time,” Steve Bohlen, senior director of government affairs at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, said last month at the \u003ca href=\"https://digitaldemocracy.calmatters.org/hearings/258152?t=2513&f=37ff81eefb4f72eb25bbcb88ea60fd30\">inaugural hearing of the state Assembly’s Select Committee on Permitting Reform\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re moving into a period of rapid change, and so perfect can’t be the enemy of the good.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11995836\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11995836\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/EV-DIPTYCH-2-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"834\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/EV-DIPTYCH-2-KQED-1.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/EV-DIPTYCH-2-KQED-1-800x267.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/EV-DIPTYCH-2-KQED-1-1020x340.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/EV-DIPTYCH-2-KQED-1-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/EV-DIPTYCH-2-KQED-1-1536x512.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/EV-DIPTYCH-2-KQED-1-2048x683.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/EV-DIPTYCH-2-KQED-1-1920x641.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: Workers install a transformer to power electric car chargers in Calexico. Right: A row of new public chargers there. \u003ccite>(Adriana Heldiz/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Chargers aren’t as complicated as large-scale solar or \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2023/10/california-offshore-wind-humboldt/\">offshore wind projects\u003c/a>. However, most chargers installed in public spaces need a land-use or encroachment permit, among other approvals.\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>California has \u003ca href=\"https://business.ca.gov/industries/zero-emission-vehicles/plug-in-readiness/permitting-electric-vehicle-charging-stations-best-practices/\">passed laws\u003c/a> requiring local jurisdictions to streamline permits for chargers. What’s more, the Governor’s Office of Business Development now grades cities and counties using a \u003ca href=\"https://business.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Permitting-Electric-Vehicle-Charging-Stations-Scorecard.pdf\">scorecard (PDF)\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://business.ca.gov/industries/zero-emission-vehicles/plug-in-readiness/\">maintains a map\u003c/a> displaying who has or hasn’t made life easier for car charger builders. But these strategies only go so far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It doesn’t matter how many requirements you put on [local governments],” Lamm said. “If they just don’t have the time in the day to do it … it’s going to sit in the backlog because that’s how it works.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The delays have consequences. Getting a station permitted in California, on average, \u003ca href=\"https://media.electrifyamerica.com/assets/documents/original/1160-2023CARBAnnualReportFinal43024Public2.pdf#page=19\">takes 26% longer (PDF)\u003c/a> than the national average, Electrify America reported. Designing and constructing a station in California can cost, on average, \u003ca href=\"https://media.electrifyamerica.com/assets/documents/original/1160-2023CARBAnnualReportFinal43024Public2.pdf#page=19\">37% more (PDF)\u003c/a> than in other states because of delays in permitting and grid connections. A utility, on average, takes 17 weeks after work is completed to connect chargers to the grid, Electric America said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Powering large charging projects often requires grid upgrades, which can take a year or more for approval, said Chanel Parson, a director at Southern California Edison. Supply chain issues also make getting the right equipment a challenge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Edison, which has a 10-year plan to meet expected demand, has asked the utilities commission for approval to upgrade the grid where it anticipates high charging demand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every EV charging infrastructure project is a major construction project,” Parson said. “There are a number of variables that influence how long it takes to complete the project.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Impatient with broken chargers, bad service\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Inspired to help the nation reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, Zach Schiff-Abrams of Los Angeles bought a Genesis GV60. As a renter, he has relied on public charging, primarily using Electrify America stations — and that’s been his biggest problem about owning an electric car.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Charging speeds have been inconsistent, he said, with half-hour sessions providing only a 15% to 30% charge, and he often encounters broken chargers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I believe in electrical, so I’m really actually trying to be a responsible consumer,” Schiff-Abrams said. “I want to report them when they’re down, but the customer service is horrible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11995802\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11995802\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/062324_Kettleman-Charging-Stations_LV_CM_21-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/062324_Kettleman-Charging-Stations_LV_CM_21-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/062324_Kettleman-Charging-Stations_LV_CM_21-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/062324_Kettleman-Charging-Stations_LV_CM_21-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/062324_Kettleman-Charging-Stations_LV_CM_21-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/062324_Kettleman-Charging-Stations_LV_CM_21-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Electric vehicles line up at a busy Electrify America charging station in Kettleman City, Kings County. \u003ccite>(Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters/CatchLight Local)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For years, the reliability of charging networks has been a well-documented problem. Only \u003ca href=\"https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4077554\">73% of fast chargers in the San Francisco Bay Area were functional\u003c/a> in a 2022 study. The growth of the EV market has put increasing strain on public charging stations, \u003ca href=\"https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2022-us-electric-vehicle-experience-evx-public-charging-study\">a consumer survey found\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/barcu/board/mt/2024/mt012524.pdf#page=31\">January (PDF)\u003c/a>, the California Air Resources Board approved a final $200 million spending plan for Electrify America — but not before board chair Liane Randolph scolded its CEO.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Randolph — arguably one of America’s top climate regulators — told CEO Robert Barrosa about an exchange she had with his company’s customer service line after finding a broken charger at a station along Interstate 5.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It didn’t work,” Randolph said during the board meeting. “Called the customer service line, waited like 10-ish minutes. … [The charger] was showing operable on the app and the guy goes, ‘Oh, my data is showing me that it has not had a successful charge in three days.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These issues are not easy,” Barrosa responded. “Our head is not in the sand,” he \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/barcu/board/mt/2024/mt012524.pdf#page=45\">told board members (PDF)\u003c/a> earlier. “We are listening to customers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Randolph, addressing journalists at a \u003ca href=\"https://www.sej.org/initiatives/coverage-sejs-33rd-annual-conference#mini-workshop8-04062024\">conference in Philadelphia\u003c/a>, pushed back against the idea that because the transition to electric vehicles is happening gradually that, it’s a failure. Many people will rely on charging at home or work, and batteries are becoming more efficient.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The infrastructure is continuing to be rolled out at a rapid pace,” Randolph said. “It doesn’t all have to be perfect instantly. It’s a process. And it’s a process that’s continuing to move.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Data journalists Erica Yee and Arfa Momin contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Public chargers must be built at an unprecedented pace to meet the target in less than seven years and then doubled to 2 million in 2035. The high cost is just one obstacle.",
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"title": "Can California Build a Million EV Charging Stations to Meet Its Clean Energy Goals? | KQED",
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"nprByline": "\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/author/alejandro-lazo/\">Alejandro Lazo\u003c/a>, CalMatters",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California will have to build public charging stations at an unprecedented — and some experts say unrealistic — pace to meet the needs of the 7 million electric cars expected on its roads in less than seven years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sheer scale of the build-out has alarmed many experts and lawmakers, who fear that the state won’t be prepared as Californians purchase more electric cars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A million public chargers are needed in California by the end of 2030, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/reports/electric-vehicle-charging-infrastructure-assessment-ab-2127\">state’s projections\u003c/a> — almost 10 times more than the \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/energy-almanac/zero-emission-vehicle-and-infrastructure-statistics-collection/electric\">number available to drivers\u003c/a> in December. To meet that target, 129,000 new stations — more than seven times the current pace — must be built every year for the next seven years. Then, the pace would have to accelerate again to reach a target of 2.1 million chargers in 2035.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A robust network of public chargers — akin to the state’s more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/energy-almanac/transportation-energy/california-retail-fuel-outlet-annual-reporting\">8,000 gas stations\u003c/a> — is essential to ensure that drivers will have the confidence to purchase electric vehicles over the next several years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is very unlikely that we will hit our goals, and to be completely frank, the EV goals are a noble aspiration but unrealistic,” said Stanford professor Bruce Cain, who coauthored a \u003ca href=\"https://siepr.stanford.edu/publications/policy-brief/overcoming-roadblocks-californias-public-ev-charging-infrastructure\">policy briefing\u003c/a> detailing California’s electric vehicle charging problems. “This is a wakeup call that we address potential institutional and policy obstacles more seriously before we commit blindly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under California’s landmark \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/08/electric-cars-california-to-phase-out-gas-cars/#:~:text=This%20regulation%20will%20essentially%20end,and%20100%25%20for%202035%20models.\">electric car mandate\u003c/a>, a pillar of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2020/09/california-ban-gasoline-powered-cars-in-2035/\">climate change agenda\u003c/a>, 68% of all new 2030 model cars sold in the state must be zero emissions, increasing to 100% by 2035, when 15 million electric cars are expected in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re going to look really silly if we are telling people that they can only buy electric vehicles, and we don’t have the charging infrastructure to support that,” said Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, a Democrat from Encino \u003ca href=\"https://digitaldemocracy.calmatters.org/hearings/256707?t=787&f=9187f5030274d8f03a4f6e590a116f76\">who introduced\u003c/a> a package of unsuccessful bills last year aimed at expanding access to car chargers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are way behind where we need to be,” Gabriel told CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://graphic-ev-chargers.netlify.app/?initialWidth=780&childId=pym_0&parentTitle=CA%20needs%20a%20million%20EV%20chargers%20but%20experts%20say%20that%E2%80%99s%20unlikely%20-%20CalMatters&parentUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fcalmatters.org%2Fenvironment%2Fclimate-change%2F2024%2F07%2Fcalifornia-electric-car-chargers-unrealistic-goals%2F\" width=\"800\" height=\"550\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Big obstacles stand in the way of amping up the pace of new charging stations in public places. California will need billions of dollars in state, federal and private investments, streamlined city and county permitting processes, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2023/01/california-electric-cars-grid/?series=california-electric-vehicles\">major power grid upgrades\u003c/a> and accelerated efforts by utilities to connect chargers to the grid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State officials are also tasked with ensuring that charging stations are available statewide, in \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2024/05/electric-car-chargers-california-imperial-county/\">rural and less-affluent areas\u003c/a> where private companies are reluctant to invest, and that they are reliable and functioning whenever drivers pull up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Pacific Gas & Electric’s vast service area, home to 40% of all Californians, electric car purchases are moving twice as fast as the build-out of charging stations, said Lydia Krefta, the utility’s director of clean energy transportation. Californians now own \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/energy-almanac/zero-emission-vehicle-and-infrastructure-statistics-collection/light\">more than 1.5 million\u003c/a> battery-powered cars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Patty Monahan, who’s on the Energy Commission, the state agency responsible for funding and guiding the ramp-up, told CalMatters that she is confident that California can build the chargers its residents need in time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency’s estimate of the current chargers is likely an undercount, she said. In addition, fast-charging stations could play a bigger role than initially projected, meaning hundreds of thousands of fewer chargers might be needed. Also, as the ranges and charging speeds on cars improve, there may be less demand for public chargers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California has a history of defying the odds,” Monahan said. “We have a history of advancing clean cars, clean energy, writ-large. We have naysayers left and right saying you can’t do it, and then we do it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Barriers to private investments: an uncertain market\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>On a September day last year, Monahan spoke behind a podium in the parking lot of a Bay Area grocery store. A row of newly constructed car chargers rose behind her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Let’s celebrate for a moment,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California had met its goal of 10,000 fast electric chargers statewide — two years ahead of the \u003ca href=\"https://archive.gov.ca.gov/archive/gov39/2018/01/26/governor-brown-takes-action-to-increase-zero-emission-vehicles-fund-new-climate-investments/index.html\">target\u003c/a> set in 2018.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11995800\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11995800\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/092523_EV-Fast-Charging-Event_LE_CM_10-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/092523_EV-Fast-Charging-Event_LE_CM_10-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/092523_EV-Fast-Charging-Event_LE_CM_10-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/092523_EV-Fast-Charging-Event_LE_CM_10-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/092523_EV-Fast-Charging-Event_LE_CM_10-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/092523_EV-Fast-Charging-Event_LE_CM_10-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">California Energy Commissioner Patty Monahan speaks during the launch of an EVgo fast charging station in Union City on Sept. 25, 2023. \u003ccite>(Loren Elliott for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Fast chargers, like the new ones at the grocery store, are increasingly seen as critical to meeting the needs of drivers. They can \u003ca href=\"https://www.transportation.gov/urban-e-mobility-toolkit/e-mobility-basics/charging-speeds\">power a car to 80%\u003c/a> in 20 minutes to an hour, while the typical charger in use today, a slower Level 2, takes from four to 10 hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But installing and operating fast chargers is an expensive business — one that doesn’t easily turn a profit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy23osti/85654.pdf#page=46\">Nationwide, each fast charger (PDF)\u003c/a> can cost up to $117,000, according to a 2023 study. And in California, it could be even more — between $122,000 and $440,000 each, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213624X23000238\">a separate study\u003c/a>, although the Energy Commission said the range was $110,000 to $125,000 for \u003ca href=\"https://calevip.org/\">one of its programs\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of America’s publicly traded charger companies have been forced to seek more financing, lay off workers and slow their network build-outs, analysts said. \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/finance/quote/EVGO:NASDAQ?window=MAX\">EVgo\u003c/a>, for instance, has seen its share price crater, as has \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/finance/quote/CHPT:NYSE?window=MAX\">ChargePoint\u003c/a>, which specializes in selling the slower Level 2 hardware.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California stands apart from other states — it has by far the most chargers and electric car sales and more incentives and policies encouraging them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tesla, America’s top-selling electric car manufacturer, dominates fast-charging in both California and the U.S. — but the company didn’t get into the business to sell charges to drivers; it got into the charger business to sell its electric cars. Initially Tesla Superchargers were exclusive to its drivers, but \u003ca href=\"https://www.tesla.com/support/supercharging-other-evs#charge-if-not-tesla-vehicle\">starting this year\u003c/a> other EV drivers can use them after Tesla \u003ca href=\"https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2023/05/25/ford-ev-customers-to-gain-access-to-12-000-tesla-superchargers--.html\">provided ports to Ford\u003c/a> and other automakers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tesla’s manufacturing prowess, supply chain dominance and decade-plus of experience with fast chargers have given it an edge over competitors — a coterie of unprofitable, publicly traded startups, as well as private companies that often benefit from public subsidies, according to analysts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All the automakers joined forces with their biggest competitor,” said Loren McDonald, chief executive of the consulting firm EVAdoption. “If that doesn’t tell you how bad fast-charging networks and infrastructure were, I don’t know what else does.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11995801\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11995801\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/062324_Kettleman-City-Charging-Stations_LV_CM_16-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/062324_Kettleman-City-Charging-Stations_LV_CM_16-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/062324_Kettleman-City-Charging-Stations_LV_CM_16-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/062324_Kettleman-City-Charging-Stations_LV_CM_16-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/062324_Kettleman-City-Charging-Stations_LV_CM_16-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/062324_Kettleman-City-Charging-Stations_LV_CM_16-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tesla vehicles charge at a Supercharger lot in Kettleman City on June 23, 2024. \u003ccite>(Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters/CatchLight Local)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11995832\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11995832\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/EV-DIPTYCH-1-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"834\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/EV-DIPTYCH-1-KQED-1.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/EV-DIPTYCH-1-KQED-1-800x267.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/EV-DIPTYCH-1-KQED-1-1020x340.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/EV-DIPTYCH-1-KQED-1-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/EV-DIPTYCH-1-KQED-1-1536x512.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/EV-DIPTYCH-1-KQED-1-2048x683.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/EV-DIPTYCH-1-KQED-1-1920x641.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: An EVgo fast charger at El Mercado Plaza Shopping Center in Union City. Right: A Hyundai Ioniq 6 charges at an Electrify America station in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Loren Elliott and Camille Cohen for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Now, Tesla is showing \u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/inside-story-elon-musks-mass-firings-tesla-supercharger-staff-2024-05-15/\">uncertainty about the future of its charging business\u003c/a> amid slumping car sales and \u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/inside-story-elon-musks-mass-firings-tesla-supercharger-staff-2024-05-15/\">eliminating nearly its entire\u003c/a> 500-member Supercharger team in April. Then chief executive Elon Musk said in May that he would \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1788834859110002716?lang=en\">spend $500 million\u003c/a> to expand the network and \u003ca href=\"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-13/tesla-rehires-some-supercharger-workers-weeks-after-musk-s-culling?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTcxNTYyMjU0MiwiZXhwIjoxNzE2MjI3MzQyLCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJTREVRQjJUMEFGQjQwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiIzNDVFQTA0MjNBMUQ0NTI2QjY1QkNBNUZDRUJGQThGNiJ9.2RNvF37kKk0-xvIIdZ-YnoQY2ND7fdX3l67QJ5XqjBk\">hired back\u003c/a> some fired workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, Electrify America, a privately held company, was created by Volkswagen as a settlement for \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/news/california-receive-153m-final-settlement-volkswagen\">cheating on emissions tests\u003c/a> for its gas-powered cars. The company is spending $800 million on California chargers, building a robust network of 260 stations, with more than half in lower-income communities, including \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2024/05/electric-car-chargers-california-imperial-county/\">the state’s worst charging desert\u003c/a>, Imperial County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The problem is Electrify America was ranked dead last in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2023-us-electric-vehicle-experience-evx-public-charging-study\">consumer survey\u003c/a> last year, and reliability problems and customer complaints have plagued its chargers. The California Air Resources Board in January \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/barcu/board/books/2024/012524/prores24-2.pdf#page=5\">directed Electrify America (PDF)\u003c/a> to “strive to achieve charger reliability consistent with the state of the industry.” A company spokesperson said the dissatisfaction showed “an industry in its growth trajectory.” There are signs of improvement, based on \u003ca href=\"https://www.jdpower.com/business/resources/are-recent-improvements-public-ev-charging-infrastructure-enough-reverse\">consumer data from the first three months\u003c/a> of this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Startups continue to jump into the charging business, with the number of companies offering fast chargers growing from 14 in 2020 to 41 in 2024, EVAdoption said. Seven carmakers formed a \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/26/business/energy-environment/electric-vehicles-fast-chargers-automakers.html\">$1 billion venture\u003c/a> to build a 30,000-charger network in North America. And \u003ca href=\"https://www.eenews.net/articles/big-winner-in-bidens-ev-charging-revolution-gas-stations/\">gas stations\u003c/a> such as Circle K offer more charging because electric car customers spend more time shopping while waiting for their rides to juice up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the realization that charging is a costly business has set in on Wall Street, and that doesn’t seem likely to change anytime soon. “Can public EV fast-charging stations be profitable in the United States?” the \u003ca href=\"https://www.mckinsey.com/features/mckinsey-center-for-future-mobility/our-insights/can-public-ev-fast-charging-stations-be-profitable-in-the-united-states\">consultancy McKinsey & Company asked\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The fervor, the excitement from the investor base, has definitely dwindled quite a bit, given the prospects that EV adoption in the U.S. is going to be slower, revenue growth is really slower, the path to profitability is going to be slower, and they might need more capital than everyone originally expected,” said Christopher Dendrinos, a financial analyst who covers electric car charging companies for the investment bank RBC Capital Markets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The stakes are high for California when it comes to encouraging investments in expensive fast chargers: If 63,000 additional ones were built, California might need 402,000 fewer slower Level 2 chargers in 2030, according to an alternative \u003ca href=\"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/24795161/assembly-bill-2127-second-electric-vehicle-charging-infrastructure-second-assessment-revised-staff-report.pdf#page=18\">forecast (PDF)\u003c/a> by the Energy Commission.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Billions of public dollars: Will it be enough?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Nationwide, $53 billion to $127 billion in private investments and public funding is needed by 2030 to build chargers for about 33 million electric cars, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy23osti/85654.pdf#page=7\">according to a federal estimate (PDF)\u003c/a>. Of that, about half would be for public chargers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Congress and the Biden administration have set aside $5 billion for a national network of fast chargers. So far, only 33 of the eight locations have been built, but more than 14,000 others are in the works, according to the Federal Highway Administration. California’s share of the federal money totals $384 million; about 500 fast chargers will be built with an initial $40.5 million, Energy Commission spokesperson Lindsay Buckley said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, the state has spent $584 million to build more than \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Clean-Transportation-Program-Plan.pdf#page=27\">33,000 electric car chargers (PDF)\u003c/a> through its Clean Transportation Program, funded by fees drivers pay when they register cars. The Legislature \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2023/09/hydrogen-cars-california-funding-legislature/\">extended that program\u003c/a> for an additional decade last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom has committed to spending $1 billion through 2028 on chargers with his “\u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Fact-Sheet-California-Climate-Commitment.pdf\">California Climate Commitment (PDF)\u003c/a>,” Buckley said. But this year, Newsom and the Legislature trimmed $167 million from the charger budget as the state faces a record deficit. A lobbyist for the Electric Vehicle Charging Association said, “The state pullback sends a very challenging message” to the industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s commitment to charger funding is “solid,” despite the cuts, Buckley said. They have not yet estimated the total investment needed in California to meet the targets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, Ted Lamm, a UC Berkeley Law researcher who studies electric car infrastructure, said the magnitude of building what California needs in coming years likely dwarfs the public funding available.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State and federal programs will “only fund a fraction,” and the state needs to spend that money on lower-income communities, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another possible funding source is California’s \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/our-work/programs/low-carbon-fuel-standard\">Low Carbon Fuel Standard, which is expected to be revised in November\u003c/a>. The program requires carbon-intensive fuel companies to pay for cleaner-burning transportation. Utilities get credits and use that money to pay for chargers, rebates to car buyers and grid improvements, said Laura Renger, executive director of the California Electric Transportation Coalition, which represents utilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think with that, we would have enough money,” Renger said. She said the program’s overhaul could help utilities invest “billions” in chargers and other electric car programs over the next two decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Backlogged local permits and grid delays\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>One of the biggest barriers to more chargers isn’t money. It’s that cities and counties are slow to approve plans for the vast number of stations needed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State officials only have so much political power to compel local jurisdictions to do what they want — a reality made \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/2024/01/california-zoning/\">abundantly clear\u003c/a> by the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/tag/housing-crisis/\">housing crisis\u003c/a>, for instance. California relies on grants and persuasion to accomplish its goals, and the slow build-out of chargers shows how those strategies can fall short, said Stanford’s Cain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The locals cannot be compelled by regulatory agencies to make land and resources available for what the state wants to achieve,” Cain said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The same obstacles have marked the state’s broader effort to electrify California and switch to clean energy. Local opposition and environmental reviews sometimes hold up \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/08/renewable-energy-california-counties/\">large solar projects\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2024/07/ceqa-california-energy-grid-state-parks/\">transmission projects\u003c/a> for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California has created a “culture of regulation that emphasizes the need to be extra careful and extra perfect, but this takes an incredible amount of time,” Steve Bohlen, senior director of government affairs at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, said last month at the \u003ca href=\"https://digitaldemocracy.calmatters.org/hearings/258152?t=2513&f=37ff81eefb4f72eb25bbcb88ea60fd30\">inaugural hearing of the state Assembly’s Select Committee on Permitting Reform\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re moving into a period of rapid change, and so perfect can’t be the enemy of the good.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11995836\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11995836\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/EV-DIPTYCH-2-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"834\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/EV-DIPTYCH-2-KQED-1.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/EV-DIPTYCH-2-KQED-1-800x267.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/EV-DIPTYCH-2-KQED-1-1020x340.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/EV-DIPTYCH-2-KQED-1-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/EV-DIPTYCH-2-KQED-1-1536x512.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/EV-DIPTYCH-2-KQED-1-2048x683.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/EV-DIPTYCH-2-KQED-1-1920x641.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: Workers install a transformer to power electric car chargers in Calexico. Right: A row of new public chargers there. \u003ccite>(Adriana Heldiz/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Chargers aren’t as complicated as large-scale solar or \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2023/10/california-offshore-wind-humboldt/\">offshore wind projects\u003c/a>. However, most chargers installed in public spaces need a land-use or encroachment permit, among other approvals.\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>California has \u003ca href=\"https://business.ca.gov/industries/zero-emission-vehicles/plug-in-readiness/permitting-electric-vehicle-charging-stations-best-practices/\">passed laws\u003c/a> requiring local jurisdictions to streamline permits for chargers. What’s more, the Governor’s Office of Business Development now grades cities and counties using a \u003ca href=\"https://business.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Permitting-Electric-Vehicle-Charging-Stations-Scorecard.pdf\">scorecard (PDF)\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://business.ca.gov/industries/zero-emission-vehicles/plug-in-readiness/\">maintains a map\u003c/a> displaying who has or hasn’t made life easier for car charger builders. But these strategies only go so far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It doesn’t matter how many requirements you put on [local governments],” Lamm said. “If they just don’t have the time in the day to do it … it’s going to sit in the backlog because that’s how it works.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The delays have consequences. Getting a station permitted in California, on average, \u003ca href=\"https://media.electrifyamerica.com/assets/documents/original/1160-2023CARBAnnualReportFinal43024Public2.pdf#page=19\">takes 26% longer (PDF)\u003c/a> than the national average, Electrify America reported. Designing and constructing a station in California can cost, on average, \u003ca href=\"https://media.electrifyamerica.com/assets/documents/original/1160-2023CARBAnnualReportFinal43024Public2.pdf#page=19\">37% more (PDF)\u003c/a> than in other states because of delays in permitting and grid connections. A utility, on average, takes 17 weeks after work is completed to connect chargers to the grid, Electric America said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Powering large charging projects often requires grid upgrades, which can take a year or more for approval, said Chanel Parson, a director at Southern California Edison. Supply chain issues also make getting the right equipment a challenge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Edison, which has a 10-year plan to meet expected demand, has asked the utilities commission for approval to upgrade the grid where it anticipates high charging demand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every EV charging infrastructure project is a major construction project,” Parson said. “There are a number of variables that influence how long it takes to complete the project.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Impatient with broken chargers, bad service\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Inspired to help the nation reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, Zach Schiff-Abrams of Los Angeles bought a Genesis GV60. As a renter, he has relied on public charging, primarily using Electrify America stations — and that’s been his biggest problem about owning an electric car.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Charging speeds have been inconsistent, he said, with half-hour sessions providing only a 15% to 30% charge, and he often encounters broken chargers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I believe in electrical, so I’m really actually trying to be a responsible consumer,” Schiff-Abrams said. “I want to report them when they’re down, but the customer service is horrible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11995802\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11995802\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/062324_Kettleman-Charging-Stations_LV_CM_21-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/062324_Kettleman-Charging-Stations_LV_CM_21-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/062324_Kettleman-Charging-Stations_LV_CM_21-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/062324_Kettleman-Charging-Stations_LV_CM_21-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/062324_Kettleman-Charging-Stations_LV_CM_21-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/062324_Kettleman-Charging-Stations_LV_CM_21-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Electric vehicles line up at a busy Electrify America charging station in Kettleman City, Kings County. \u003ccite>(Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters/CatchLight Local)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For years, the reliability of charging networks has been a well-documented problem. Only \u003ca href=\"https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4077554\">73% of fast chargers in the San Francisco Bay Area were functional\u003c/a> in a 2022 study. The growth of the EV market has put increasing strain on public charging stations, \u003ca href=\"https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2022-us-electric-vehicle-experience-evx-public-charging-study\">a consumer survey found\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/barcu/board/mt/2024/mt012524.pdf#page=31\">January (PDF)\u003c/a>, the California Air Resources Board approved a final $200 million spending plan for Electrify America — but not before board chair Liane Randolph scolded its CEO.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Randolph — arguably one of America’s top climate regulators — told CEO Robert Barrosa about an exchange she had with his company’s customer service line after finding a broken charger at a station along Interstate 5.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It didn’t work,” Randolph said during the board meeting. “Called the customer service line, waited like 10-ish minutes. … [The charger] was showing operable on the app and the guy goes, ‘Oh, my data is showing me that it has not had a successful charge in three days.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These issues are not easy,” Barrosa responded. “Our head is not in the sand,” he \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/barcu/board/mt/2024/mt012524.pdf#page=45\">told board members (PDF)\u003c/a> earlier. “We are listening to customers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Randolph, addressing journalists at a \u003ca href=\"https://www.sej.org/initiatives/coverage-sejs-33rd-annual-conference#mini-workshop8-04062024\">conference in Philadelphia\u003c/a>, pushed back against the idea that because the transition to electric vehicles is happening gradually that, it’s a failure. Many people will rely on charging at home or work, and batteries are becoming more efficient.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The infrastructure is continuing to be rolled out at a rapid pace,” Randolph said. “It doesn’t all have to be perfect instantly. It’s a process. And it’s a process that’s continuing to move.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Data journalists Erica Yee and Arfa Momin contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>LGBTQ+ advocacy groups lauded a new state law barring school districts from requiring that parents be notified of their child’s gender identification change, while opponents said the ban makes it harder for schools to be transparent with parents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/gender-identity-schools-california-law-af387bef5c25c14f51d1cf05a7e422eb\">first-in-the-nation law\u003c/a> on Monday, which bans districts from requiring school staff to disclose a student’s gender identity or sexual orientation to any other person without the child’s permission, with some exceptions. It also requires the state Department of Education to develop resources for families of LGBTQ+ students in grades 7 through high school. The law will take effect in January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Proponents of the ban say it will help protect transgender and gender-nonconforming students who live in unwelcoming households.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This critical legislation strengthens protections for LGBTQ+ youth against forced outing policies, provides resources for parents and families of LGBTQ+ students to support them as they have conversations on their terms, and creates critical safeguards to prevent retaliation against teachers and school staff who foster a safe and supportive school environment for all students,” Tony Hoang, executive director of LGBTQ+ advocacy group Equality California, said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, some conservative groups, including the California Family Council, said the new law violates parents’ rights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This bill undermines their fundamental role and places boys and girls in potential jeopardy,” Jonathan Keller, the council’s president, said in a statement. “Moms and dads have both a constitutional and divine mandate to guide and protect their kids, and AB 1955 egregiously violates this sacred trust.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new law comes after several California school districts passed policies requiring parents to be notified if a child requests to change their gender identification. That led to \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-sues-chino-valley-parental-notification-transgender-students-03fd6e74c62054d9bb4ba85ee92e850d\">pushback by Democratic state officials\u003c/a>, who say students have a right to privacy. Nationwide, lawmakers, families and advocates have been debating the rights of local school districts, parents and LGBTQ+ students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least six states have \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/transgender-students-pronouns-names-ec0b2c5de329d82c563ffb95262935f3\">requirements that schools notify parents\u003c/a> when minors disclose that they are transgender or ask to be referred to with a different pronoun, according to Associated Press reporting: Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Virginia asked school boards to adopt similar policies, but it has no law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Arizona and Idaho also require schools to provide certain information to parents but do not specify gender expression or sexual orientation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label='Related Coverage' tag='transgender']In New Jersey, Attorney General Matt Platkin sued four school districts last year, claiming their policies violate an anti-discrimination law that allows gender-expression information to be shared with a student’s family only with their permission or if there’s a risk to the student’s health and safety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Conservative groups, including the Pacific Justice Institute, the Goldwater Institute and the Family Policy Alliance, have attempted to intervene in the lawsuit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>States have also weighed in on lawsuits over how local school districts have handled transgender students. Last year, for instance, 23 Republican state attorneys general filed a brief to support a Chico, California, mother who claimed that school officials allowed her child to socially transition without her permission. Sixteen Democratic attorneys general filed a brief on the other side.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom spokesperson Brandon Richards said the new California law will “keep children safe while protecting the critical role of parents.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It protects the child-parent relationship by preventing politicians and school staff from inappropriately intervening in family matters and attempting to control if, when, and how families have deeply personal conversations,” Richards said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Austin is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Associated Press writer Geoff Mulvihill contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>LGBTQ+ advocacy groups lauded a new state law barring school districts from requiring that parents be notified of their child’s gender identification change, while opponents said the ban makes it harder for schools to be transparent with parents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/gender-identity-schools-california-law-af387bef5c25c14f51d1cf05a7e422eb\">first-in-the-nation law\u003c/a> on Monday, which bans districts from requiring school staff to disclose a student’s gender identity or sexual orientation to any other person without the child’s permission, with some exceptions. It also requires the state Department of Education to develop resources for families of LGBTQ+ students in grades 7 through high school. The law will take effect in January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Proponents of the ban say it will help protect transgender and gender-nonconforming students who live in unwelcoming households.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This critical legislation strengthens protections for LGBTQ+ youth against forced outing policies, provides resources for parents and families of LGBTQ+ students to support them as they have conversations on their terms, and creates critical safeguards to prevent retaliation against teachers and school staff who foster a safe and supportive school environment for all students,” Tony Hoang, executive director of LGBTQ+ advocacy group Equality California, said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, some conservative groups, including the California Family Council, said the new law violates parents’ rights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This bill undermines their fundamental role and places boys and girls in potential jeopardy,” Jonathan Keller, the council’s president, said in a statement. “Moms and dads have both a constitutional and divine mandate to guide and protect their kids, and AB 1955 egregiously violates this sacred trust.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new law comes after several California school districts passed policies requiring parents to be notified if a child requests to change their gender identification. That led to \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-sues-chino-valley-parental-notification-transgender-students-03fd6e74c62054d9bb4ba85ee92e850d\">pushback by Democratic state officials\u003c/a>, who say students have a right to privacy. Nationwide, lawmakers, families and advocates have been debating the rights of local school districts, parents and LGBTQ+ students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least six states have \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/transgender-students-pronouns-names-ec0b2c5de329d82c563ffb95262935f3\">requirements that schools notify parents\u003c/a> when minors disclose that they are transgender or ask to be referred to with a different pronoun, according to Associated Press reporting: Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Virginia asked school boards to adopt similar policies, but it has no law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Arizona and Idaho also require schools to provide certain information to parents but do not specify gender expression or sexual orientation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In New Jersey, Attorney General Matt Platkin sued four school districts last year, claiming their policies violate an anti-discrimination law that allows gender-expression information to be shared with a student’s family only with their permission or if there’s a risk to the student’s health and safety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Conservative groups, including the Pacific Justice Institute, the Goldwater Institute and the Family Policy Alliance, have attempted to intervene in the lawsuit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>States have also weighed in on lawsuits over how local school districts have handled transgender students. Last year, for instance, 23 Republican state attorneys general filed a brief to support a Chico, California, mother who claimed that school officials allowed her child to socially transition without her permission. Sixteen Democratic attorneys general filed a brief on the other side.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom spokesperson Brandon Richards said the new California law will “keep children safe while protecting the critical role of parents.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It protects the child-parent relationship by preventing politicians and school staff from inappropriately intervening in family matters and attempting to control if, when, and how families have deeply personal conversations,” Richards said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Austin is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Associated Press writer Geoff Mulvihill contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "paris-2024-olympic-games-san-francisco-bay-area-athletes-competing",
"title": "Bay Area Athletes to Watch at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games",
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"headTitle": "Bay Area Athletes to Watch at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>The Paris Olympics is almost upon us and with over 10,000 athletes competing in 32 sports, it can be tough to know what to watch and who to root for. In the interest of narrowing down your viewing options, here then are the incredible Bay Area athletes who’ll be competing in Paris.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Artistic Swimming\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jacklyn Luu\u003c/strong> hails from Milpitas, is a graduate student at Stanford University and a proud, second-generation Vietnamese American. She can also — like the rest of her artistic swimming team — hold her breath underwater for a frighteningly long time. This is one of the most captivating sports of the Summer Olympics, and this is the first year the U.S. women’s team has made it to the team event since 2008. Go, Jacklyn!\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11993805\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11993805\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/twins-badminton-scaled-e1720808610530.jpg\" alt=\"Two young women of Asian descent stand smiling together, holding up medals and commemorative toys.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1278\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Twins and badminton partners Annie Xu (left) and Kerry Xu pose with their silver medals after the women’s doubles final event of the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago. \u003ccite>(PABLO VERA/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Badminton\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Imagine being the parent of an Olympian. The pride! The awe! The near-constant desire to smugly point at your perfectly formed offspring and say, “Look what I made!” Now imagine being the parents of 24-year-old twin sisters \u003cstrong>Kerry and Annie Xu\u003c/strong>. These San José-born, UC Berkeley graduates will be playing as a doubles team, having taken up badminton at the age of 8. Their friends at Milpitas’ Bay Badminton Club, where they’ve been training for the last 14 years, will be cheering them on every step of the way — just probably not as loudly as their parents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The twins aren’t the Bay’s only badminton talent heading to Paris. Fremont’s \u003cstrong>Jennie Gai\u003c/strong> and Foster City’s \u003cstrong>Joshua Yuan\u003c/strong> will also be hitting the courts. Yuan has openly admitted that when he first started playing at South San Francisco’s Bay Badminton Center, he “didn’t like it, [but] my parents forced me to continue.” Gai also once said that her folks gave her the choice of tennis or badminton, and she landed on the latter because “tennis is too much sun.” Proof positive that wonderful things \u003cem>can\u003c/em> come from forcing your reluctant children to exercise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948154\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11948154\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1486638855.jpg\" alt=\"Basketball player pumps fist and shouts in victory with crowd behind him.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"703\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1486638855.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1486638855-800x549.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1486638855-1020x700.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1486638855-160x110.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors celebrates during the third quarter in Game 7 of the Western Conference first-round playoffs against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center on April 30, 2023, in Sacramento. \u003ccite>(Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Basketball\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Warriors head coach \u003cstrong>Steve Kerr\u003c/strong> and \u003cstrong>Steph Curry\u003c/strong> are off to Paris. It’ll be Kerr’s second Olympics, having coached at the 2021 Tokyo Games, but Curry’s first time. Grant Hill, managing director of USA Basketball, said Curry was “almost giddy” when he found out he’d make the cut. Show ’em how it’s done, Chef Curry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hayward’s \u003cstrong>Chelsea Gray\u003c/strong> and Walnut Creek’s \u003cstrong>Sabrina Ionescu\u003c/strong> will be holding things down on the women’s team. Gray already has a gold medal from Tokyo and is probably about to get another — the USA women’s basketball team has won for the last seven consecutive Olympics. Ionescu is a perfect addition to keep that roll going. Last year, she set an NBA record at the annual 3-point competition, scoring 37 out of a potential 40 points.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Decathlon\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>It takes a special kind of (masochistic?) competitor to choose the decathlon as their sport of choice. After an entire day of sprinting, running, long jump, shot put and high jump competitions, athletes have to roll right on back the next day to run hurdles, throw discus, do pole vault, throw javelins and, oh yes, partake in more running.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keep an eye on \u003cstrong>Harrison Williams\u003c/strong>, a 6-foot-5-inch Stanford graduate who’s competing in his first Olympics. He spent his entire time at Stanford breaking the university’s decathlon records, so fingers crossed he can perform similar feats in Paris.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Discus\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Technically, he’s on Team Lithuania, but \u003cstrong>Mykolas Alekna\u003c/strong> will be repping UC Berkeley at the 2024 Games, too. The psychology student is already a well-known athlete in his home country, but his profile is rising across the U.S. because of the low-key manner in which he keeps performing extraordinary feats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In April, Alekna broke the oldest world record in track and field when he threw the discus nearly 244 feet. Needless to say, Alekna’s gold prospects are pretty solid — especially when you consider that his dad, Virgilijus Alekna, won gold medals for discus throwing at both the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Olympics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11993809\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11993809\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/fencing-scaled-e1720808587710.jpg\" alt=\"A man wearing fencing gear sits on a log in a wooded area. He is smiling and casually holding a foil.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alexander Massialas in San Francisco, May 2020. \u003ccite>(Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Fencing\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Like Mykolas Alekna, \u003cstrong>Alexander Massialas\u003c/strong> had some sizable shoes to fill — his father, Greg, was on the American fencing teams that competed in the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games. Also like Alekna, Massialas — born and raised in San Francisco — is not struggling to keep up with his talented pop. The Stanford University graduate is already in possession of three Olympic medals — a silver he won in 2016 and two bronzes he earned as part of the men’s fencing team in 2016 and 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of Massialas’ most notable teammates from those last two games is \u003cstrong>Gerek Meinhardt\u003c/strong>, who, in 2008, became the youngest athlete to ever compete on a U.S. Olympic fencing team. Raised in San Francisco, Meinhardt found his love of fencing early in life and via a family friend who coached the sport. That coach? None other than Greg Massialas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Maia Chamberlain\u003c/b>, born in Menlo Park, is headed to her first Olympics as the women’s saber replacement athlete. Though she studied architecture at Princeton and now lives in New York, Chamberlain still considers the Bay Area “home turf”; she started out her Olympic year with a national gold medal at the January North American Cup in San José.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Gymnastics\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Stanford University sophomore \u003cstrong>Asher Hong \u003c/strong>is heading to Paris in search of gold this month, having placed first on rings in the Olympic trials. And it’s no wonder — head to \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C9L6DYZumnV/?hl=en\">Hong’s Instagram page\u003c/a> to see some of his truly astonishing physical feats. The 20-year-old will be accompanied by fellow Stanford gymnast \u003cstrong>Khoi Young\u003c/strong> who’ll be acting as an alternate for the U.S. team.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Hammer Throwing\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>UC Berkeley graduate \u003cstrong>Camryn Rogers\u003c/strong> will be spinning at high speeds and hurling hammers with her trademark strength and precision for Team Canada. You’ll want to root for her anyway — Rogers is the reigning world champion, has a day job working as a special education advocate, and considers her fellow Cal athletes as a second family. The \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em> once called her “the Stephen Curry of her sport — dominant and engaging and likable.” Rogers is someone you can’t help but cheer for.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11993810\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11993810\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Daniela-M-scaled-e1720808561524.jpg\" alt=\"A tanned woman kite boarding in open water.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1187\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Daniela Moroz during day 4 of the Paris 2024 sailing test event in Marseille. \u003ccite>(Clive Mason/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Kiteboarding\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For those wondering if there’s a more peculiar Olympic activity than hammer throwing, the answer to that might be kiteboarding. After all, this sport involves humans strapping small boards to their feet, large sails to their bodies, and then throwing themselves at bodies of water. One of those humans is \u003cstrong>Daniela Moroz\u003c/strong> from Lafayette, a six-time Formula Kite World Champion who won her first at the age of 15. This is the first year that kiteboarding has been included in the Olympics, and Moroz is thrilled to face the new level of competition. “I am ready for the challenge,” she recently stated on \u003ca href=\"https://www.danielamoroz.com/about\">her website\u003c/a>, “and I can’t wait to experience everything that will happen along the way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Long Jump\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Born and raised in the East Bay, \u003cstrong>Malcolm Clemons\u003c/strong> — a current student at the University of Florida in Gainesville — can’t believe how far he’s come. In a recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C9P7piJujMT/?img_index=1\">Instagram post\u003c/a>, the long jumper wrote: “From a kid with big dreams in East Oakland, California to an Olympian — what a journey. I thank God for everything. Thank you to my family for all the love and support and to everyone in my village who believed in me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11993814\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11993814\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Okeefe-scaled-e1720808653971.jpg\" alt=\"A female marathon runner smiles broadly with her arms outstretched, partially wrapped in an American flag. She has a patch of blood on the front of her shirt.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fiona O’Keeffe smiles after placing first during the 2024 US Olympic Team Trials in Florida last February. \u003ccite>(Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Marathon\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Long-distance runner \u003cstrong>Fiona O’Keeffe\u003c/strong> hails from Davis, graduated from Stanford, and qualified for this year’s Olympics in record time. The fact that the Olympic trial was her first ever professionally run marathon? No biggie, apparently. “There was some level of fear of the unknown,” O’Keeffe told NBC. “But I was really excited to just go run the marathon and see what I could do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When O’Keefe crossed the finish line \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/CitiusMag/status/1754617970481885495\">bleeding through her track top\u003c/a>, she took it with characteristic stoicism. “Yes, the red stuff on my bib was blood,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/fiona_okeeffe/p/C2-7w6-LeGf/?img_index=2\">she later explained on Instagram\u003c/a>. “[I] made the rookie move of stashing a gel in my sports bra and proceeding to drench myself with water on the course, resulting in a little chafing situation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Rowing\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ben Davison\u003c/strong> has been based in Oakland since 2019 and trains with the \u003ca href=\"https://www.californiarowingclub.com/about\">California Rowing Club\u003c/a>. This will be his second Olympic competition, having competed in the U.S. Men’s 8+ in Tokyo in 2021. He’ll be cheered on by the many rowers he trains as an assistant coach at the Oakland Strokes rowing club.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another Oakland-based rower heading to Paris is \u003cstrong>Sorin Koszyk \u003c/strong>who last year won the men’s championship singles race in record time. \u003ca href=\"https://usrowing.org/rosters/2023-senior-national-team/sorin-koszyk\">Koszyk’s U.S. Rowing profile\u003c/a> says, “Sorin enjoys spending time with friends and Jenga.” Someone had better have a tower lined up for him at the end of this.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Skiff\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If you’re not a boaty person, you might not yet know what a skiff is. Technically, skiffs are any small, open, flat-bottomed sailboats. In the Olympics, the Men’s and Women’s Skiff category describes humans operating in pairs, hanging off the side of skiffs, going at ludicrously high speeds while operating a series of wires and pulleys. Skiff looks extremely challenging, but try telling that to San Francisco’s \u003cstrong>Hans Henken\u003c/strong>, who’s competing in the Olympics for the very first time. He and teammate Ian Barrows are currently ranked second in the world and are clearly not to be trifled with — especially when you consider Henken has a master’s degree from Stanford in aeronautical and astronautical engineering. That should help move things along quite nicely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11993816\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11993816\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/minna-scaled-e1720808755545.jpg\" alt=\"A teenage girl skateboards the end of a ramp she's about to drop back into.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Minna Stess skates on day 3 of the Olympic Qualifier Series in Shanghai on May 18, 2024. \u003ccite>(Fred Lee/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Skateboarding\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Hailing from Petaluma, 18-year-old daredevil \u003cstrong>Minna Stess\u003c/strong> has been throwing herself down unfeasibly giant ramps her whole life. (Literally — she started skating as a toddler.) Egged on by a supportive family who built a mini skatepark in their backyard for her to practice on, Stess has been sponsored by the likes of Vans, Independent Trucks and Santa Cruz Skateboards since she was a pre-teen. “I’ve always been competitive,” she told \u003cem>Teen Vogue\u003c/em> earlier this year. “But I never thought the Olympics would be something that I could be doing. It’s kind of crazy that this is all happening now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also repping the Bay from his skateboard is \u003cstrong>Nyjah Huston\u003c/strong>, originally from Davis. Like Stess, Huston was a skateboarding child prodigy, on the X Games circuit by age 11, and now in possession of 13 gold medals from competing in them. He’s also earned six world championship trophies. Huston has long tried to use his platform for good. In 2010, he started a nonprofit called \u003ca href=\"https://letitflow.org/\">Let It Flow\u003c/a> with the hopes of getting clean water to communities in need all over the world.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Soccer\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Menlo Park’s \u003cstrong>Tierna Davidson\u003c/strong> and San José’s \u003cstrong>Naomi Girma\u003c/strong> will both be showing off their fancy footwork on the Parisian pitch this summer. Davidson has played for Stanford, won a bronze medal in Tokyo in 2021, and is the youngest on the women’s Olympic soccer team. (She should be used to that by now — she was also the youngest person on the 2019 World Cup women’s team.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Girma, another Stanford graduate, is known as a team player in every sense of the word. She credits her Ethiopian parents — who moved to the U.S. in the early 1980s — with instilling in her strong values and a generous spirit. “Their sacrifices are the only reason I am where I am today,” she recently told NBC Sports. Girma was declared player of the year by the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team last year because, yes, she’s just that good.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Swimming\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Bay has a healthy number of swimmers at the Paris Olympics this year, but Stanford graduate \u003cstrong>Katie Ledecky\u003c/strong> is undoubtedly the most intimidating. Ledecky has already earned seven Olympic gold medals and another 21 world championship golds. Can anyone beat that? We’re about to find out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UC Berkeley graduates \u003cstrong>Abbey Weitzel\u003c/strong> and \u003cstrong>Ryan Murphy\u003c/strong> will also be swimming in Paris. Weitzel earned two medals (one gold, one silver) at the Rio Olympics in 2016 and another two in Tokyo in 2021 (one silver, one bronze). Murphy has four Olympic golds to his name and, back in 2009, broke a backstroke world record. None of it has gone to his head, though. After marrying his college sweetheart in 2023, Murphy credited his new wife with much of his success. “I think she’s someone who definitely gets me just motivated about life,” Murphy told \u003cem>People\u003c/em> magazine. “She’s super optimistic, and I think that’s just been really helpful for me in terms of my approach to the sport.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Evgenii Somov\u003c/strong>, who was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and moved to Oakland in 2022 after swimming for the University of Louisville, will compete in Paris as an “Individual Neutral Athlete” in the 100-meter breaststroke. Since Russian (and Belarussian) athletes were banned from this year’s Olympics due to the war in Ukraine, Somov has improbably qualified and will race without any state support. Parents of swimmers he’s coached in the Bay Area launched a GoFundMe to help pay for Somov’s expenses, which include his flights and high-tech swimwear. “It comes down to, I either want to go, or I don’t want to go,” he told the \u003ci>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/i> about his drive to compete. “And I want to go.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Table Tennis\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Redwood City’s \u003cstrong>Lily Zhang\u003c/strong> started her table tennis career as the youngest female on the U.S. women’s team. She was just 12 years old at the time. Zhang, a former UC Berkeley student, was the youngest member of the U.S. team to compete in 2012’s London Olympics and also took part in the 2021 Tokyo Games. She can undoubtedly provide some inspiration to San José’s \u003cstrong>Rachel Sung\u003c/strong>, who is heading to the Olympics for the very first time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Kanak Jha\u003c/strong> from Milpitas — who was the U.S. national champion four years in a row (2016–2019) — is also heading to the Olympics, followed by a small cloud of controversy. Jha got hit with a one-year suspension in 2023 for failing three drug tests within 12 months. 2024 will not be Jha’s first Olympics, though. He also competed in 2016 and 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11993818\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11993818\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/CJ-tae-scaled-e1720808823434.jpg\" alt=\"Two men engaged in martial arts. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">CJ Nickolas (left) competes against Miguel Angel Trejos at the Pan American Games in 2022. \u003ccite>(JAVIER TORRES/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Taekwondo\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The tale of\u003cstrong> Carl “CJ” Nickolas\u003c/strong>’ athletic career is a heartwarming one of family togetherness. Born in Oakland, Nickolas started taekwondo at the age of 3 at the same time his mom Denise took up the sport. Denise’s achievements were impressive — at 43 years old, the fourth-degree black belt won a national championship. That, and her work ethic in general, has provided Nickolas with nonstop inspiration since he was a kid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s where I learned about hard work,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.marinij.com/2024/07/08/how-east-bay-taekwondo-fighter-cj-nickolas-became-a-gold-medal-contender-at-the-paris-olympics/\">he told the \u003cem>Marin Independent Journal\u003c/em>\u003c/a> earlier this year. “I wanted to work harder than her.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nickolas’ prospects at the Olympics are pretty good. He’s currently ranked number two in his weight class and entering the games focused and confident — just like his mom.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Water Polo\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area has a ridiculous amount of female talent in the water polo category this year. There’s \u003cstrong>Jewel Roemer\u003c/strong>, who hails from Martinez and competes for Stanford. There are former Stanford students \u003cstrong>Jordan Raney,\u003c/strong> \u003cstrong>Ryann Neushul \u003c/strong>and \u003cstrong>Ella Woodhead \u003c/strong>(who was born and raised in San Anselmo) — all impressive competitors. There’s also San José’s \u003cstrong>Jenna Flynn\u003c/strong>, who earned first place in the 2024 World Aquatics Championships \u003cem>and\u003c/em> the 2023 Pan American Games.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Best of all, \u003cstrong>Maggie Steffens\u003c/strong> — yet another Stanford graduate — is heading back to the Olympics with the goal of winning her fourth gold medal. Originally from San Ramon and now living in Danville, Steffens has been a top goal scorer in each of the last three Olympics. What’s more, the team captain has long been a beacon for women’s water polo. One so bright, in fact, she inspired Flavor Flav to step up as the official hype man of U.S. women’s water polo. Back in May, Flav publicly pledged to sponsor Steffens and the whole team, \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/FlavorFlav/status/1786906613971865696\">stating on X\u003c/a>: “The US Women’s Waterpolo team has won the GOLD MEDAL THREE OLYMPICS IN A ROW,,, these women should not have to be working 2-3 side jobs to be able to compete.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amen to that, Flav.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re wondering where the men are, adorable San Anselmo brothers \u003cstrong>Quinn and Dylan Woodhead\u003c/strong> are both heading to Paris, too. “When you can compete with someone out of a place of love and trust,” Dylan recently told NBC Bay Area, “it’s really easy.” Awww.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Wrestling\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Bay is represented by a major contender in women’s wrestling this summer. Born in Walnut Creek, \u003cstrong>Amit Elor\u003c/strong> has been wrestling since the age of 9 and wins gold medals seemingly everywhere she goes. In 2023 alone, Elor took gold at the World Championships, the Pan American Championships, the U23 World Championships and the Junior World Championships. Oh, and she won gold in three out of four of those competitions the year before as well. No reason why she won’t do the same in Paris.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Paris Olympics will be broadcast by NBC and Peacock between July 26 and Aug. 11. Check \u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcolympics.com/schedule\">NBC’s schedule\u003c/a> for details.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The Paris Olympics is almost upon us and with over 10,000 athletes competing in 32 sports, it can be tough to know what to watch and who to root for. In the interest of narrowing down your viewing options, here then are the incredible Bay Area athletes who’ll be competing in Paris.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Artistic Swimming\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jacklyn Luu\u003c/strong> hails from Milpitas, is a graduate student at Stanford University and a proud, second-generation Vietnamese American. She can also — like the rest of her artistic swimming team — hold her breath underwater for a frighteningly long time. This is one of the most captivating sports of the Summer Olympics, and this is the first year the U.S. women’s team has made it to the team event since 2008. Go, Jacklyn!\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11993805\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11993805\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/twins-badminton-scaled-e1720808610530.jpg\" alt=\"Two young women of Asian descent stand smiling together, holding up medals and commemorative toys.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1278\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Twins and badminton partners Annie Xu (left) and Kerry Xu pose with their silver medals after the women’s doubles final event of the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago. \u003ccite>(PABLO VERA/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Badminton\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Imagine being the parent of an Olympian. The pride! The awe! The near-constant desire to smugly point at your perfectly formed offspring and say, “Look what I made!” Now imagine being the parents of 24-year-old twin sisters \u003cstrong>Kerry and Annie Xu\u003c/strong>. These San José-born, UC Berkeley graduates will be playing as a doubles team, having taken up badminton at the age of 8. Their friends at Milpitas’ Bay Badminton Club, where they’ve been training for the last 14 years, will be cheering them on every step of the way — just probably not as loudly as their parents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The twins aren’t the Bay’s only badminton talent heading to Paris. Fremont’s \u003cstrong>Jennie Gai\u003c/strong> and Foster City’s \u003cstrong>Joshua Yuan\u003c/strong> will also be hitting the courts. Yuan has openly admitted that when he first started playing at South San Francisco’s Bay Badminton Center, he “didn’t like it, [but] my parents forced me to continue.” Gai also once said that her folks gave her the choice of tennis or badminton, and she landed on the latter because “tennis is too much sun.” Proof positive that wonderful things \u003cem>can\u003c/em> come from forcing your reluctant children to exercise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948154\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11948154\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1486638855.jpg\" alt=\"Basketball player pumps fist and shouts in victory with crowd behind him.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"703\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1486638855.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1486638855-800x549.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1486638855-1020x700.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/GettyImages-1486638855-160x110.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors celebrates during the third quarter in Game 7 of the Western Conference first-round playoffs against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center on April 30, 2023, in Sacramento. \u003ccite>(Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Basketball\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Warriors head coach \u003cstrong>Steve Kerr\u003c/strong> and \u003cstrong>Steph Curry\u003c/strong> are off to Paris. It’ll be Kerr’s second Olympics, having coached at the 2021 Tokyo Games, but Curry’s first time. Grant Hill, managing director of USA Basketball, said Curry was “almost giddy” when he found out he’d make the cut. Show ’em how it’s done, Chef Curry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hayward’s \u003cstrong>Chelsea Gray\u003c/strong> and Walnut Creek’s \u003cstrong>Sabrina Ionescu\u003c/strong> will be holding things down on the women’s team. Gray already has a gold medal from Tokyo and is probably about to get another — the USA women’s basketball team has won for the last seven consecutive Olympics. Ionescu is a perfect addition to keep that roll going. Last year, she set an NBA record at the annual 3-point competition, scoring 37 out of a potential 40 points.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Decathlon\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>It takes a special kind of (masochistic?) competitor to choose the decathlon as their sport of choice. After an entire day of sprinting, running, long jump, shot put and high jump competitions, athletes have to roll right on back the next day to run hurdles, throw discus, do pole vault, throw javelins and, oh yes, partake in more running.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keep an eye on \u003cstrong>Harrison Williams\u003c/strong>, a 6-foot-5-inch Stanford graduate who’s competing in his first Olympics. He spent his entire time at Stanford breaking the university’s decathlon records, so fingers crossed he can perform similar feats in Paris.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Discus\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Technically, he’s on Team Lithuania, but \u003cstrong>Mykolas Alekna\u003c/strong> will be repping UC Berkeley at the 2024 Games, too. The psychology student is already a well-known athlete in his home country, but his profile is rising across the U.S. because of the low-key manner in which he keeps performing extraordinary feats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In April, Alekna broke the oldest world record in track and field when he threw the discus nearly 244 feet. Needless to say, Alekna’s gold prospects are pretty solid — especially when you consider that his dad, Virgilijus Alekna, won gold medals for discus throwing at both the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Olympics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11993809\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11993809\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/fencing-scaled-e1720808587710.jpg\" alt=\"A man wearing fencing gear sits on a log in a wooded area. He is smiling and casually holding a foil.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alexander Massialas in San Francisco, May 2020. \u003ccite>(Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Fencing\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Like Mykolas Alekna, \u003cstrong>Alexander Massialas\u003c/strong> had some sizable shoes to fill — his father, Greg, was on the American fencing teams that competed in the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games. Also like Alekna, Massialas — born and raised in San Francisco — is not struggling to keep up with his talented pop. The Stanford University graduate is already in possession of three Olympic medals — a silver he won in 2016 and two bronzes he earned as part of the men’s fencing team in 2016 and 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of Massialas’ most notable teammates from those last two games is \u003cstrong>Gerek Meinhardt\u003c/strong>, who, in 2008, became the youngest athlete to ever compete on a U.S. Olympic fencing team. Raised in San Francisco, Meinhardt found his love of fencing early in life and via a family friend who coached the sport. That coach? None other than Greg Massialas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Maia Chamberlain\u003c/b>, born in Menlo Park, is headed to her first Olympics as the women’s saber replacement athlete. Though she studied architecture at Princeton and now lives in New York, Chamberlain still considers the Bay Area “home turf”; she started out her Olympic year with a national gold medal at the January North American Cup in San José.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Gymnastics\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Stanford University sophomore \u003cstrong>Asher Hong \u003c/strong>is heading to Paris in search of gold this month, having placed first on rings in the Olympic trials. And it’s no wonder — head to \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C9L6DYZumnV/?hl=en\">Hong’s Instagram page\u003c/a> to see some of his truly astonishing physical feats. The 20-year-old will be accompanied by fellow Stanford gymnast \u003cstrong>Khoi Young\u003c/strong> who’ll be acting as an alternate for the U.S. team.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Hammer Throwing\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>UC Berkeley graduate \u003cstrong>Camryn Rogers\u003c/strong> will be spinning at high speeds and hurling hammers with her trademark strength and precision for Team Canada. You’ll want to root for her anyway — Rogers is the reigning world champion, has a day job working as a special education advocate, and considers her fellow Cal athletes as a second family. The \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em> once called her “the Stephen Curry of her sport — dominant and engaging and likable.” Rogers is someone you can’t help but cheer for.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11993810\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11993810\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Daniela-M-scaled-e1720808561524.jpg\" alt=\"A tanned woman kite boarding in open water.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1187\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Daniela Moroz during day 4 of the Paris 2024 sailing test event in Marseille. \u003ccite>(Clive Mason/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Kiteboarding\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For those wondering if there’s a more peculiar Olympic activity than hammer throwing, the answer to that might be kiteboarding. After all, this sport involves humans strapping small boards to their feet, large sails to their bodies, and then throwing themselves at bodies of water. One of those humans is \u003cstrong>Daniela Moroz\u003c/strong> from Lafayette, a six-time Formula Kite World Champion who won her first at the age of 15. This is the first year that kiteboarding has been included in the Olympics, and Moroz is thrilled to face the new level of competition. “I am ready for the challenge,” she recently stated on \u003ca href=\"https://www.danielamoroz.com/about\">her website\u003c/a>, “and I can’t wait to experience everything that will happen along the way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Long Jump\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Born and raised in the East Bay, \u003cstrong>Malcolm Clemons\u003c/strong> — a current student at the University of Florida in Gainesville — can’t believe how far he’s come. In a recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C9P7piJujMT/?img_index=1\">Instagram post\u003c/a>, the long jumper wrote: “From a kid with big dreams in East Oakland, California to an Olympian — what a journey. I thank God for everything. Thank you to my family for all the love and support and to everyone in my village who believed in me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11993814\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11993814\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Okeefe-scaled-e1720808653971.jpg\" alt=\"A female marathon runner smiles broadly with her arms outstretched, partially wrapped in an American flag. She has a patch of blood on the front of her shirt.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fiona O’Keeffe smiles after placing first during the 2024 US Olympic Team Trials in Florida last February. \u003ccite>(Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Marathon\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Long-distance runner \u003cstrong>Fiona O’Keeffe\u003c/strong> hails from Davis, graduated from Stanford, and qualified for this year’s Olympics in record time. The fact that the Olympic trial was her first ever professionally run marathon? No biggie, apparently. “There was some level of fear of the unknown,” O’Keeffe told NBC. “But I was really excited to just go run the marathon and see what I could do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When O’Keefe crossed the finish line \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/CitiusMag/status/1754617970481885495\">bleeding through her track top\u003c/a>, she took it with characteristic stoicism. “Yes, the red stuff on my bib was blood,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/fiona_okeeffe/p/C2-7w6-LeGf/?img_index=2\">she later explained on Instagram\u003c/a>. “[I] made the rookie move of stashing a gel in my sports bra and proceeding to drench myself with water on the course, resulting in a little chafing situation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Rowing\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ben Davison\u003c/strong> has been based in Oakland since 2019 and trains with the \u003ca href=\"https://www.californiarowingclub.com/about\">California Rowing Club\u003c/a>. This will be his second Olympic competition, having competed in the U.S. Men’s 8+ in Tokyo in 2021. He’ll be cheered on by the many rowers he trains as an assistant coach at the Oakland Strokes rowing club.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another Oakland-based rower heading to Paris is \u003cstrong>Sorin Koszyk \u003c/strong>who last year won the men’s championship singles race in record time. \u003ca href=\"https://usrowing.org/rosters/2023-senior-national-team/sorin-koszyk\">Koszyk’s U.S. Rowing profile\u003c/a> says, “Sorin enjoys spending time with friends and Jenga.” Someone had better have a tower lined up for him at the end of this.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Skiff\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If you’re not a boaty person, you might not yet know what a skiff is. Technically, skiffs are any small, open, flat-bottomed sailboats. In the Olympics, the Men’s and Women’s Skiff category describes humans operating in pairs, hanging off the side of skiffs, going at ludicrously high speeds while operating a series of wires and pulleys. Skiff looks extremely challenging, but try telling that to San Francisco’s \u003cstrong>Hans Henken\u003c/strong>, who’s competing in the Olympics for the very first time. He and teammate Ian Barrows are currently ranked second in the world and are clearly not to be trifled with — especially when you consider Henken has a master’s degree from Stanford in aeronautical and astronautical engineering. That should help move things along quite nicely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11993816\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11993816\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/minna-scaled-e1720808755545.jpg\" alt=\"A teenage girl skateboards the end of a ramp she's about to drop back into.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Minna Stess skates on day 3 of the Olympic Qualifier Series in Shanghai on May 18, 2024. \u003ccite>(Fred Lee/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Skateboarding\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Hailing from Petaluma, 18-year-old daredevil \u003cstrong>Minna Stess\u003c/strong> has been throwing herself down unfeasibly giant ramps her whole life. (Literally — she started skating as a toddler.) Egged on by a supportive family who built a mini skatepark in their backyard for her to practice on, Stess has been sponsored by the likes of Vans, Independent Trucks and Santa Cruz Skateboards since she was a pre-teen. “I’ve always been competitive,” she told \u003cem>Teen Vogue\u003c/em> earlier this year. “But I never thought the Olympics would be something that I could be doing. It’s kind of crazy that this is all happening now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also repping the Bay from his skateboard is \u003cstrong>Nyjah Huston\u003c/strong>, originally from Davis. Like Stess, Huston was a skateboarding child prodigy, on the X Games circuit by age 11, and now in possession of 13 gold medals from competing in them. He’s also earned six world championship trophies. Huston has long tried to use his platform for good. In 2010, he started a nonprofit called \u003ca href=\"https://letitflow.org/\">Let It Flow\u003c/a> with the hopes of getting clean water to communities in need all over the world.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Soccer\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Menlo Park’s \u003cstrong>Tierna Davidson\u003c/strong> and San José’s \u003cstrong>Naomi Girma\u003c/strong> will both be showing off their fancy footwork on the Parisian pitch this summer. Davidson has played for Stanford, won a bronze medal in Tokyo in 2021, and is the youngest on the women’s Olympic soccer team. (She should be used to that by now — she was also the youngest person on the 2019 World Cup women’s team.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Girma, another Stanford graduate, is known as a team player in every sense of the word. She credits her Ethiopian parents — who moved to the U.S. in the early 1980s — with instilling in her strong values and a generous spirit. “Their sacrifices are the only reason I am where I am today,” she recently told NBC Sports. Girma was declared player of the year by the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team last year because, yes, she’s just that good.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Swimming\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Bay has a healthy number of swimmers at the Paris Olympics this year, but Stanford graduate \u003cstrong>Katie Ledecky\u003c/strong> is undoubtedly the most intimidating. Ledecky has already earned seven Olympic gold medals and another 21 world championship golds. Can anyone beat that? We’re about to find out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UC Berkeley graduates \u003cstrong>Abbey Weitzel\u003c/strong> and \u003cstrong>Ryan Murphy\u003c/strong> will also be swimming in Paris. Weitzel earned two medals (one gold, one silver) at the Rio Olympics in 2016 and another two in Tokyo in 2021 (one silver, one bronze). Murphy has four Olympic golds to his name and, back in 2009, broke a backstroke world record. None of it has gone to his head, though. After marrying his college sweetheart in 2023, Murphy credited his new wife with much of his success. “I think she’s someone who definitely gets me just motivated about life,” Murphy told \u003cem>People\u003c/em> magazine. “She’s super optimistic, and I think that’s just been really helpful for me in terms of my approach to the sport.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Evgenii Somov\u003c/strong>, who was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and moved to Oakland in 2022 after swimming for the University of Louisville, will compete in Paris as an “Individual Neutral Athlete” in the 100-meter breaststroke. Since Russian (and Belarussian) athletes were banned from this year’s Olympics due to the war in Ukraine, Somov has improbably qualified and will race without any state support. Parents of swimmers he’s coached in the Bay Area launched a GoFundMe to help pay for Somov’s expenses, which include his flights and high-tech swimwear. “It comes down to, I either want to go, or I don’t want to go,” he told the \u003ci>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/i> about his drive to compete. “And I want to go.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Table Tennis\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Redwood City’s \u003cstrong>Lily Zhang\u003c/strong> started her table tennis career as the youngest female on the U.S. women’s team. She was just 12 years old at the time. Zhang, a former UC Berkeley student, was the youngest member of the U.S. team to compete in 2012’s London Olympics and also took part in the 2021 Tokyo Games. She can undoubtedly provide some inspiration to San José’s \u003cstrong>Rachel Sung\u003c/strong>, who is heading to the Olympics for the very first time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Kanak Jha\u003c/strong> from Milpitas — who was the U.S. national champion four years in a row (2016–2019) — is also heading to the Olympics, followed by a small cloud of controversy. Jha got hit with a one-year suspension in 2023 for failing three drug tests within 12 months. 2024 will not be Jha’s first Olympics, though. He also competed in 2016 and 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11993818\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11993818\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/CJ-tae-scaled-e1720808823434.jpg\" alt=\"Two men engaged in martial arts. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">CJ Nickolas (left) competes against Miguel Angel Trejos at the Pan American Games in 2022. \u003ccite>(JAVIER TORRES/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Taekwondo\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The tale of\u003cstrong> Carl “CJ” Nickolas\u003c/strong>’ athletic career is a heartwarming one of family togetherness. Born in Oakland, Nickolas started taekwondo at the age of 3 at the same time his mom Denise took up the sport. Denise’s achievements were impressive — at 43 years old, the fourth-degree black belt won a national championship. That, and her work ethic in general, has provided Nickolas with nonstop inspiration since he was a kid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s where I learned about hard work,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.marinij.com/2024/07/08/how-east-bay-taekwondo-fighter-cj-nickolas-became-a-gold-medal-contender-at-the-paris-olympics/\">he told the \u003cem>Marin Independent Journal\u003c/em>\u003c/a> earlier this year. “I wanted to work harder than her.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nickolas’ prospects at the Olympics are pretty good. He’s currently ranked number two in his weight class and entering the games focused and confident — just like his mom.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Water Polo\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area has a ridiculous amount of female talent in the water polo category this year. There’s \u003cstrong>Jewel Roemer\u003c/strong>, who hails from Martinez and competes for Stanford. There are former Stanford students \u003cstrong>Jordan Raney,\u003c/strong> \u003cstrong>Ryann Neushul \u003c/strong>and \u003cstrong>Ella Woodhead \u003c/strong>(who was born and raised in San Anselmo) — all impressive competitors. There’s also San José’s \u003cstrong>Jenna Flynn\u003c/strong>, who earned first place in the 2024 World Aquatics Championships \u003cem>and\u003c/em> the 2023 Pan American Games.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Best of all, \u003cstrong>Maggie Steffens\u003c/strong> — yet another Stanford graduate — is heading back to the Olympics with the goal of winning her fourth gold medal. Originally from San Ramon and now living in Danville, Steffens has been a top goal scorer in each of the last three Olympics. What’s more, the team captain has long been a beacon for women’s water polo. One so bright, in fact, she inspired Flavor Flav to step up as the official hype man of U.S. women’s water polo. Back in May, Flav publicly pledged to sponsor Steffens and the whole team, \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/FlavorFlav/status/1786906613971865696\">stating on X\u003c/a>: “The US Women’s Waterpolo team has won the GOLD MEDAL THREE OLYMPICS IN A ROW,,, these women should not have to be working 2-3 side jobs to be able to compete.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amen to that, Flav.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re wondering where the men are, adorable San Anselmo brothers \u003cstrong>Quinn and Dylan Woodhead\u003c/strong> are both heading to Paris, too. “When you can compete with someone out of a place of love and trust,” Dylan recently told NBC Bay Area, “it’s really easy.” Awww.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Wrestling\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Bay is represented by a major contender in women’s wrestling this summer. Born in Walnut Creek, \u003cstrong>Amit Elor\u003c/strong> has been wrestling since the age of 9 and wins gold medals seemingly everywhere she goes. In 2023 alone, Elor took gold at the World Championships, the Pan American Championships, the U23 World Championships and the Junior World Championships. Oh, and she won gold in three out of four of those competitions the year before as well. No reason why she won’t do the same in Paris.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Paris Olympics will be broadcast by NBC and Peacock between July 26 and Aug. 11. Check \u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcolympics.com/schedule\">NBC’s schedule\u003c/a> for details.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">View the full episode transcript.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Get a behind-the-scenes peek at the reporting for On Our Watch: New Folsom as Ayesha Rascoe, host of NPR’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/series/1213771050/the-sunday-story-from-up-first\">The Sunday Story from Up First\u003c/a>, speaks with Sukey about the season and the wider context of this kind of journalism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC6251136710\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mental health resources\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you are currently in crisis, you can dial 988 [U.S.] to reach the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">SAMHSA National Help Line\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://988lifeline.org/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://www.nami.org/help\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Helpline\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://www.hhs.gov/programs/prevention-and-wellness/mental-health-substance-abuse/index.html\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">US Health and Human Services\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://warmline.org/warmdir.html\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Warmline Directory\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Whistleblower resources\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.thelamplighterproject.org\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Lamplighter Project\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://thesignalsnetwork.org/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Signals Network\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://empowr.us/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">EMPOWR\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://www.whistleblowersofamerica.org/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Whistleblowers of America\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://whistleblower.org/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Government Accountability Project\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://www.whistleblowers.org/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">National Whistleblower Center\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://whistlebloweraid.org/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Whistleblower Aid\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://journalism.berkeley.edu/programs/mj/investigative-reporting/\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Investigative Reporting Program\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism was a key partner in making Season 2 of On Our Watch.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The records obtained for this project are part of the\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://projects.scpr.org/california-reporting-project/\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> California Reporting Project\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a coalition of news organizations in California. If you have tips or feedback about this series please reach out to us at \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"mailto:onourwatch@kqed.org\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">onourwatch@kqed.org\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Hi, it’s Sukey. This will be our last bonus episode for a while, but we’ll definitely update you if there are any new developments in our reporting. And from time to time, we’ll also share some other podcasts we think you might be interested in checking out. Today I wanted to share a conversation I had on a different show, the Up First podcast from NPR, where you’ll get to hear more of the backstory behind On Our Watch. Here’s that conversation. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ayesha Rascoe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m Ayesha Rascoe, and this is a Sunday story. A warning before we get started, this episode contains mentions of suicide. In recent years, high profile cases of police brutality across the US have brought increased attention and scrutiny to police misconduct and use of force incidents. When something happens, the police often say, “We’re investigating.” But what’s really being done, or not done, to ensure police are held accountable for their actions? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In 2021, a team of reporters from KQED partnered with NPR to take a closer look at the process for how police policed themselves. They made a podcast called On Our Watch, and it was focused on select cases of police misconduct in California. Today, I’m speaking with criminal justice reporter Sukey Lewis, the host of On Our Watch. She and her team have continued to uncover thousands of previously sealed Internal Affairs law enforcement records as part of the multi-newsroom California Reporting Project. Sukey tells me about the reporting behind the new season of her show. In season two, the show digs into recent incidents at one of the most dangerous prisons in California. Our conversation about the story she found within the closed world of correctional facilities, and what it takes to investigate what happens inside of a prison… After the break. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We’re back with The Sunday Story. Here with criminal justice reporter Sukey Lewis, host of the KQED podcast On Our Watch. Sukey, welcome to the program. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thanks so much for having me on. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ayesha Rascoe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Before we get into the reporting for the season of On Our Watch, talk to me about the California Reporting Project. You co-founded that in 2018, right? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah. So in 2018, the state here in California passed a new law that would open up internal police records, you know, for the first time, basically, we’d get to see inside this black box of police internal affairs. And that law was called the Right to Know Act. And it affected certain categories of internal records, including deadly use of force incidents, serious use of force incidents, which means, you know, when somebody gets really badly injured by police, and dishonesty and sexual assault or sexual misconduct on duty by police officers. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ayesha Rascoe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This law gave you access to the paper trail that opened the window to these police departments and how they run, because there’s always a paper trail, right? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yes. And for years here in California, it was very secretive. You couldn’t see that paper trail. So some states, like Florida, have had open records laws for a long time. But here in California, because of the power of the police unions, you just could never know. You could never know if somebody was disciplined or fired or like what had happened. And so we teamed up with a group of different news organizations across the state to file blanket public records requests at all 700 law enforcement agencies across the state to start understanding how these systems work. What happens when serious police shooting happens? What happens when you file a complaint against a police officer for excessive force? And they say we’re going to investigate. How does a deadly use of force investigation unfold? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ayesha Rascoe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So. So season one of On Our Watch came directly out of this reporting. You examined select misconduct cases and and kind of the shadowy world of police discipline. So what were some of the big lessons or takeaways from your reporting on season one? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I think one of our biggest findings was that those promises that we have been made in the public that, “we’re investigating, people will be held accountable,” are really based on this false assumption that its purpose is to provide accountability and that that’s actually not its purpose. It’s a risk management tool. Basically like H.R. Right? If you’re an employee and you make a complaint to H.R., their goal isn’t necessarily to hold the person you made a complaint about to justice. Their goal is to protect the company from liability. That’s what we really found, especially in a secretive system with internal affairs in the world of policing, it was much more about protecting the police department and the city from liability. So sometimes that would mean accountability. Sometimes that would mean an officer gets fired or disciplined because that’s what would protect the city. But that was not actually the goal or the purpose of this institution or the system. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ayesha Rascoe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In this season, you focused on correctional facilities, prisons. How did you decide on that? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We decided to turn to the world of correctional facilities in California, because the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is actually the largest employer of peace officers in the state. And while we had gotten some insight into how police departments were functioning and how these internal affairs systems were working in police departments, the world of corrections is even more of a closed system. I mean, it’s literally behind walls, right? And so getting behind those walls, even if it was just through the paper trail, as you say, seemed like a really important thing to do. And to understand how these prisons, how these small cities work, and how, accountability works in a, in a system where often the people who are making complaints are incarcerated and have even less power than a civilian on the street. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ayesha Rascoe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">How did you land on the prison that you focused on? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So we ended up focusing on a prison known as New Folsom or California State Prison Sacramento. And that’s because as we are analyzing data and records from prisons all across the state, there was this pattern that kind of jumped off the page at us. And it for this category of serious use of force incidents — that’s when an officer uses deadly force or seriously injures somebody — there were three times as many of those type of incidents at this one prison than any other prison in the state. And this just kind of raised our alarm bells. We were like, you know, “What is going on at this prison? You know, why is that such an anomaly in the data? Let’s look closer.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We took our findings to some attorneys who work in this space. And these attorneys, they were also surprised. But they said this prison has been, you know, kind of known, known problem. They said, did you know about the whistleblowers that died there? There are these two whistleblowers that died there in the last year. And those two whistleblowers names were correctional officer Valentino Rodriguez and Sergeant Kevin Steele. Officer Valentino Rodriguez. His death was found to be accidental overdose due to fentanyl. And the second officer, Sergeant Kevin Steele, who died about ten months later, died by suicide. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ayesha Rascoe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So within the space of a year, two whistleblowers at this prison had died. I mean, I think that’s going to stop anybody in they tracks. What did you think when you first heard that? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You know, your first thought goes to, is there foul play? Is someone retaliating against these whistleblowers? And so we started doing, you know, what we as investigative journalists do. My colleague Julie Small reached out to the family of Valentino Rodriguez. We both started filing public records requests for the death investigations of each of these men to try and understand what had happened to them, and if there was anything in those death investigations that pointed back to the prison or to to anything else that we needed to uncover. Ultimately, we did not find any evidence of foul play in either case, but we learned a lot more about what they had each been uncovering before they died. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ayesha Rascoe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Coming up after the break, Sukey and her team follow the trail of evidence left by correctional officer Valentino Rodriguez and Sergeant Kevin Steele after their deaths. We’re back with a Sunday story. Sukey, once you heard about the two whistleblowers who’d worked at the same prison, New Folsom, you started retracing the events before their deaths. How did you go about that? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So one person who ended up being a really key source for us was the father of correctional officer Valentino Rodriguez, who has the same name. So his name is Valentino Rodriguez, Senior. And he ended up being really central to our story. My colleague Julie reached out to him and at first he was really, you know, cautious. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Valentino Rodriguez, Sr.: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I just I just want this to work both ways. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Julie Small: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Right. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Valentino Rodriguez, Sr.: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Right? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Julie Small: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Okay. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Valentino Rodriguez, Sr.: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I need to know what you’re doing. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Julie Small: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Okay. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Valentino Rodriguez, Sr.: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s all I’ve ever asked. I- nobody even knows we’re having these meetings other than my wife. Right? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When we met him, Val Senior was really clearly, you know, still in the midst of the grieving process. And I think part of that process for him was trying to understand, you know, what led to his son’s passing. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Valentino Rodriguez, Sr.: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I just can’t I just can’t turn my back on my son, you know what I mean? And, I owe that to him, and I’m going to go as far as I can. And. And then in the end, if nothing, there’s nothing I tried. Right? I’ll find my answers when my time comes. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So he started to share with us the evidence that he had been gathering, including his son’s phone. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ayesha Rascoe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What did you learn about who Valentino Rodriguez was, how he was as a person, and and this journey that he was on? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was it was really incredible. We learned a lot about him. He was a really kind of funny, goofy guy. One of the, you know, things that we found on his phone was this video of him in the Investigative Services unit offices inside this prison. It’s one of the most dangerous prisons in the state of California. And he sets up the camera, and then he steps back, and then he starts dancing, and he’s practicing. He’s learning the cumbia because he’s about to get married. And so he’s practicing the cumbia in this, you know, in this office. And, I just loved kind of coming across these little artifacts of who this person was. He also had a dog named Daisy that he loved and would sing to his dog.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Valentino Rodriguez, Jr.: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Super Dog. Super Dog. This the song about Daisy, the Super Dog. One day there was a dog named Daisy, and she was super lazy… \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And he really worked hard at the prison, like he was really wanted to get into this investigative unit. It was a big career opportunity for him. But the unit itself, once he joined, they didn’t really think he had earned the right to be there. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Valentino Rodriguez, Sr.: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So when he had his first day there, he had come over after. And, I asked him, “How’s your how was your first day?” And he goes, “It was a bunch of older guys that have been there.” He called them OGs. I says, “How do you go?” And he goes, “They asked who the f*** are you?” You know, his first day, and I just, “Eh that’s prison talk, I guess.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You know, they they had a nickname for him called “Half Patch” to indicate, like he he wasn’t a full member of the team, and he didn’t quite deserve to be there yet. And you can see in his phone, you know, he is trying really hard to fit in with this group of guys and they kind of needle him and call him names, like, just really kind of harassing behavior, you know, from work colleagues. You can see that it really does begin to take a toll on Valentino, and he starts to struggle with his mental health. So he actually has a breakdown at work one day and shares with the chief deputy warden that he is going through some, some really difficult things. And she tells him, okay, you should go out on stress leave. And so he takes some time off work from the prison. But even once he leaves the prison, he really can’t leave it all the way. Like he’s still mentally there and still kind of struggling with the effects of his time there. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mimy Rodriguez: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I remember sitting on the couch with him and him saying. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is Mimy Rodriguez, Valentino’s wife. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mimy Rodriguez: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I remember this very clearly. He said, “This is my identity.” He’s like, “I feel like I’ve given up on everything. I feel like I gave up on my job.” He wasn’t at the prison physically, but mentally he was still there. He was still talking to people from the prison. He was still reaching out to people from the- people from the prison were reaching out to him, telling him what was going on within the prison. He he had not at all let that go. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Reading through his text messages, you can see it’s not like he sets out to become a whistleblower. It’s just eating away at him and he can’t quite let it go. He can’t quite turn away from what he’s seen in the prison. And so six days before his death, he ends up going in to talk to the warden, and he tells them about the harassment that he experienced personally, and also different kinds of misconduct that he witnessed, including allegations that other officers in the unit that he worked in were involved in planting drugs and weapons on incarcerated people. And that’s really important because the unit that he worked in is kind of like the police force for the prison. They have this very special role. And so if they’re dirty, that could taint criminal cases that stem from the investigations they do. And the officers in this unit are supposed to be held to a higher standard because they have this higher level of responsibility in the prison than other officers do. So after he makes this report, the word eventually gets out that he’s talked. And he was really nervous about that happening. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mimy Rodriguez: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So he was nervous about anybody coming to the house. At one point he had put things at the door, so if someone opened it, you can hear the door open. He also like he had a gun and he would sleep with it just to make sure. And I’m like, “What? Who’s coming?” And I would ask him like, “Is everything okay?” You know, “Who’s- who are you nervous about coming? What is going on?” It’s hard to. It’s hard to see the person you love turn into something different. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The night that he died, one of the last text messages you can see he sent to his wife was, “It’s out now that I told on the team.” And then she comes home to find him slumped over in the bathroom and no longer breathing. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ayesha Rascoe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I mean, it’s I mean, it’s so horrible. Who is the other whistleblower? Tell me about him. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So the other whistleblower, his name is Sergeant Kevin Steele. He had worked for the California Department of Corrections for about 20 years at this point. He is a military veteran. Just this real kind of straight arrow guy had a very kind of rigorous sense of morality, a very rigorous sense of right and wrong. He’s seen a lot and been through a lot, and was beginning to come to this point of disillusionment with these systems that he had been promised were going to affect change and provide accountability. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And it’s in this environment that his friend Valentino Rodriguez passes away. And so I think for Steele at this point, Valentino’s death was kind of like the last straw for him. He felt like all these things he’s seen over the years and tried to report up the chain had not been properly addressed. And then there was this kind of moral failing in response to the death of an officer and how they treated Latino’s family after his death. And so Steele decides to make his last stand, basically. And what he does is he writes up a memo to the warden detailing the list of failings, as he sees it — times where the institution failed to keep its promises to the public, and times where it failed to keep people safe, and times where it failed to protect officers from harassment and things like that. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And so he writes up this memo and sends it off to the warden. And after that, he actually leaves California. He moves to Missouri, and it seems like his plan was to drop this bomb and then right off into the sunset. He was planning to retire at the end of the year and just kind of be done with the prison and with this whole institution. But much like we saw with Valentino, even though Sergeant Kevin Steele is out of the prison and, you know, even miles and miles away, he’s still trapped there mentally. And, you know, at one point, about eight months after he’s he’s left the state, things reach a head for him. And one day, Steele goes into the shed on his property in Missouri and he doesn’t come out again. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ayesha Rascoe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I mean these are, you know, two extremely tragic losses. But both of these whistleblowers, they left behind evidence for you to understand New Folsom, right? The the failures that happened there, like for Valentino, you had his phone and and Steele wrote a memo that talked about his concerns about use of force incidents going back years. What did you find out when you started looking into those? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So one of the things that was really incredible about this story is the evidence that was left behind. Steele’s memo kind of gave us this key to understanding what he saw was wrong with these incidents, which was that the injuries that people were showing up in the hospital with — incarcerated people — were not matching the reports. So we started kind of looking at our incident reports, kind of through this lens that he had left for us. And seeing how repeatedly, these incident reports had this kind of pattern to them, almost. And a lot of these incidents, that appeared very troubling, you know, occurred in areas where there was no camera coverage. And the use of force described often did not, you know, at all make sense on how they got injured. So it would be something like I think one of them was like, “We guided the man to the floor and they ended up, you know, with internal bleeding and, and broken ribs.” And you’re like, okay, like how how does that even make- make that makes sense, right? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And what we saw over and over again in these cases is that they didn’t result in discipline for officers. Well, you know, one theme that we just kind of ran into over and over again is the code of silence. And it’s basically an agreement, you know, unspoken agreement to never tell on each other. And it’s this is something that we’ve seen in policing as well with the Thin Blue line. But I would say it’s even stronger in a prison context. And because there isn’t that thing of a bystander who can kind of intercede or be an outside witness to events, that code of silence is just a really, really thick wall to break. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And so many people that we talked to, we talked to correctional officers for this story, many of whom did not want to go on the record because they fear retaliation. Even retired officers who still feel like potentially the agency could come after them for their pensions if they talk. There is no real incentive to do so. Like even institutionally, you will be reassigned. You will not be rewarded basically for for reporting things like that. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ayesha Rascoe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You’re confirming this culture of silence that both Steele and Val experienced and and tried to disrupt. What did you ultimately end up finding out about their deaths? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So again, we did not find there was any evidence of foul play. But I feel like our reporting really does clearly show that they were victims. They were victims of this system, and they were victims of this code of silence and that fear and the kind of psychosocial trauma that they experienced by having to go against this, this machine, in order to try and do what they felt was the right thing, really contributed to their deaths, and contributed to the decline of their mental health and led them to to their end. And this was, in fact, a finding that was made after their deaths. Their widows filed basically workers compensation claims with the state to get their death benefits. And during that process, they found that these deaths were industrial. These deaths were related to their jobs and their work as correctional officers for the state of California. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ayesha Rascoe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Your sources included law enforcement, former law enforcement, incarcerated people, their their family members. Like, what are the particular challenges of reporting in and about a prison? Like how does it require a different approach, especially when you’re dealing with people who likely have dealt with some very traumatic things? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, there are a lot of different challenges. I think, you know, in terms of bringing correctional officers in in to feeling like they could speak to us and trust us, it was a lot of conversations about confidentiality, how we could keep them protected, and also that we were trying to tell a deep, nuanced story that that wasn’t just a story about how correctional officers always are using excessive force or something like that. It was this story that we had found, which was very complicated, and it was about the the mental impacts of working inside a prison on officers, and that they experienced some of the same difficult things that incarcerated people experience. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And then for the incarcerated people that we spoke to, there was also a lot of different factors to consider. You know, for one thing, a lot of the phone conversations, or all the phone conversations that we had are recorded. So you know that you are being listened in on and that what they say could have impacts for their lives. Some people I talked to have been in prison for years have kind of a vague idea about what a podcast is, but not everybody does, you know? So just kind of walking people through like what- what this means, what their participation means, what going on their record means and stuff like that, so they can be informed and make informed decisions about participating or not. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And then, you know, in terms of people who have been dealing with trauma, you know, we talked to Val Senior, obviously, who was kind of in in the throes of his own grieving process. We talked to the family of Sergeant Kevin Steele as well, his brother, who agreed to go on the record with us. And we talked to Mimy, Valentino Rodriguez’s wife. And I think, you know, just in terms of having a trauma informed approach as much as possible, a lot of it was about giving them the power, not trying to be extractive, or just take their story and see how it fit in with our narrative. But to hold space for them to talk about what they had gone through and also the power to be like, “Okay, if you don’t feel like you said that right, or if you want to rethink that, like this is how you’re going to be portrayed in the story, this is the context in which your story is going to be used. Are you comfortable with that?” And saying “if you’re not, you can take it back any time.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And so it was a lot more conversation than I think you would normally have of going back to sources and playing pieces of tape for them and that kind of thing, but it really felt like the responsible thing to do. So there were no surprises when the podcast came out. And so we could also be sure that we were being accurate and that we were accurately representing the experience of our primary sources. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ayesha Rascoe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You know, people will say sunlight is the best disinfectant. Is it making the difference? Is the reporting, the transparency… How is it impacting these, these prisons? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I think it’s it’s still too soon to say. And it’s also kind of the next step. I feel like this is the first step is saying like, “Look, this is what’s happening.” And then the next step is actually beyond our power as journalists. I feel like it’s in the hands of lawmakers and the oversight bodies over the prisons, here in California or nationally. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One thing that’s interesting to know about the California prison system is that there’s there is an oversight body called the office of the Inspector General of Prisons, and they do get a lot of insight into the prisons, but they have no power. So they regularly issue these reports that say “you’re doing a bad job, you need to do better.” Or like, “this person violated policy. We don’t agree with this.” But until there is a real appetite in internally in the agency to take action or body like that has teeth, this transparency only gets you so far. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I think it’s really important again, for the public to know about it, because that is how change happens, is people taking an interest and people, taking a care about this public institution that we own. Like this is our this is our bag. And so I think that’s that’s why I do this work. But then I have to hand it off and see where it goes from there. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ayesha Rascoe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah. Well thank you so much. I think this reporting is so important. And it’s the- it’s reporting on people who truly don’t have a voice, people who have died, people who are incarcerated. And you give them a voice. So we’re so grateful to to be able to tell this story. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thank you. And and I also feel honored, you know, that people allowed me to share their stories with so many people. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ayesha Rascoe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That was criminal justice reporter Sukey Lewis, host of On Our Watch from KQED in San Francisco. You can listen to all eight episodes of their latest season at kqed.org/onourwatch, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode of The Sunday Story was produced by Justine Yan and edited by Liana Simstrom, with additional editing by Jen Chien, the director of podcasts at KQED. Production support from Chris Egusa. Our engineer was Robert Rodriguez. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Sunday Story team includes Abby Windle and our senior editor, Jenny Schmidt. Liana Simstrom is our supervising producer and Irene Noguchi is our executive producer. If you are experiencing mental health related distress or have a loved one who needs crisis support, please call or text 988. The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. I’m Ayesha Rascoe. Up First is back tomorrow with all the news you need to start your week. Until then, have a great rest of your weekend. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">View the full episode transcript.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Get a behind-the-scenes peek at the reporting for On Our Watch: New Folsom as Ayesha Rascoe, host of NPR’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/series/1213771050/the-sunday-story-from-up-first\">The Sunday Story from Up First\u003c/a>, speaks with Sukey about the season and the wider context of this kind of journalism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC6251136710\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mental health resources\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you are currently in crisis, you can dial 988 [U.S.] to reach the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">SAMHSA National Help Line\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://988lifeline.org/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://www.nami.org/help\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Helpline\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://www.hhs.gov/programs/prevention-and-wellness/mental-health-substance-abuse/index.html\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">US Health and Human Services\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://warmline.org/warmdir.html\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Warmline Directory\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Whistleblower resources\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.thelamplighterproject.org\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Lamplighter Project\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://thesignalsnetwork.org/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Signals Network\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://empowr.us/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">EMPOWR\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://www.whistleblowersofamerica.org/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Whistleblowers of America\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://whistleblower.org/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Government Accountability Project\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://www.whistleblowers.org/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">National Whistleblower Center\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://whistlebloweraid.org/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Whistleblower Aid\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://journalism.berkeley.edu/programs/mj/investigative-reporting/\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Investigative Reporting Program\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism was a key partner in making Season 2 of On Our Watch.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The records obtained for this project are part of the\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://projects.scpr.org/california-reporting-project/\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> California Reporting Project\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a coalition of news organizations in California. If you have tips or feedback about this series please reach out to us at \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"mailto:onourwatch@kqed.org\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">onourwatch@kqed.org\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-content post-body\">\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Hi, it’s Sukey. This will be our last bonus episode for a while, but we’ll definitely update you if there are any new developments in our reporting. And from time to time, we’ll also share some other podcasts we think you might be interested in checking out. Today I wanted to share a conversation I had on a different show, the Up First podcast from NPR, where you’ll get to hear more of the backstory behind On Our Watch. Here’s that conversation. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ayesha Rascoe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m Ayesha Rascoe, and this is a Sunday story. A warning before we get started, this episode contains mentions of suicide. In recent years, high profile cases of police brutality across the US have brought increased attention and scrutiny to police misconduct and use of force incidents. When something happens, the police often say, “We’re investigating.” But what’s really being done, or not done, to ensure police are held accountable for their actions? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In 2021, a team of reporters from KQED partnered with NPR to take a closer look at the process for how police policed themselves. They made a podcast called On Our Watch, and it was focused on select cases of police misconduct in California. Today, I’m speaking with criminal justice reporter Sukey Lewis, the host of On Our Watch. She and her team have continued to uncover thousands of previously sealed Internal Affairs law enforcement records as part of the multi-newsroom California Reporting Project. Sukey tells me about the reporting behind the new season of her show. In season two, the show digs into recent incidents at one of the most dangerous prisons in California. Our conversation about the story she found within the closed world of correctional facilities, and what it takes to investigate what happens inside of a prison… After the break. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We’re back with The Sunday Story. Here with criminal justice reporter Sukey Lewis, host of the KQED podcast On Our Watch. Sukey, welcome to the program. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thanks so much for having me on. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ayesha Rascoe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Before we get into the reporting for the season of On Our Watch, talk to me about the California Reporting Project. You co-founded that in 2018, right? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah. So in 2018, the state here in California passed a new law that would open up internal police records, you know, for the first time, basically, we’d get to see inside this black box of police internal affairs. And that law was called the Right to Know Act. And it affected certain categories of internal records, including deadly use of force incidents, serious use of force incidents, which means, you know, when somebody gets really badly injured by police, and dishonesty and sexual assault or sexual misconduct on duty by police officers. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ayesha Rascoe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This law gave you access to the paper trail that opened the window to these police departments and how they run, because there’s always a paper trail, right? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yes. And for years here in California, it was very secretive. You couldn’t see that paper trail. So some states, like Florida, have had open records laws for a long time. But here in California, because of the power of the police unions, you just could never know. You could never know if somebody was disciplined or fired or like what had happened. And so we teamed up with a group of different news organizations across the state to file blanket public records requests at all 700 law enforcement agencies across the state to start understanding how these systems work. What happens when serious police shooting happens? What happens when you file a complaint against a police officer for excessive force? And they say we’re going to investigate. How does a deadly use of force investigation unfold? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ayesha Rascoe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So. So season one of On Our Watch came directly out of this reporting. You examined select misconduct cases and and kind of the shadowy world of police discipline. So what were some of the big lessons or takeaways from your reporting on season one? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I think one of our biggest findings was that those promises that we have been made in the public that, “we’re investigating, people will be held accountable,” are really based on this false assumption that its purpose is to provide accountability and that that’s actually not its purpose. It’s a risk management tool. Basically like H.R. Right? If you’re an employee and you make a complaint to H.R., their goal isn’t necessarily to hold the person you made a complaint about to justice. Their goal is to protect the company from liability. That’s what we really found, especially in a secretive system with internal affairs in the world of policing, it was much more about protecting the police department and the city from liability. So sometimes that would mean accountability. Sometimes that would mean an officer gets fired or disciplined because that’s what would protect the city. But that was not actually the goal or the purpose of this institution or the system. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ayesha Rascoe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In this season, you focused on correctional facilities, prisons. How did you decide on that? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We decided to turn to the world of correctional facilities in California, because the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is actually the largest employer of peace officers in the state. And while we had gotten some insight into how police departments were functioning and how these internal affairs systems were working in police departments, the world of corrections is even more of a closed system. I mean, it’s literally behind walls, right? And so getting behind those walls, even if it was just through the paper trail, as you say, seemed like a really important thing to do. And to understand how these prisons, how these small cities work, and how, accountability works in a, in a system where often the people who are making complaints are incarcerated and have even less power than a civilian on the street. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ayesha Rascoe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">How did you land on the prison that you focused on? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So we ended up focusing on a prison known as New Folsom or California State Prison Sacramento. And that’s because as we are analyzing data and records from prisons all across the state, there was this pattern that kind of jumped off the page at us. And it for this category of serious use of force incidents — that’s when an officer uses deadly force or seriously injures somebody — there were three times as many of those type of incidents at this one prison than any other prison in the state. And this just kind of raised our alarm bells. We were like, you know, “What is going on at this prison? You know, why is that such an anomaly in the data? Let’s look closer.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We took our findings to some attorneys who work in this space. And these attorneys, they were also surprised. But they said this prison has been, you know, kind of known, known problem. They said, did you know about the whistleblowers that died there? There are these two whistleblowers that died there in the last year. And those two whistleblowers names were correctional officer Valentino Rodriguez and Sergeant Kevin Steele. Officer Valentino Rodriguez. His death was found to be accidental overdose due to fentanyl. And the second officer, Sergeant Kevin Steele, who died about ten months later, died by suicide. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ayesha Rascoe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So within the space of a year, two whistleblowers at this prison had died. I mean, I think that’s going to stop anybody in they tracks. What did you think when you first heard that? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You know, your first thought goes to, is there foul play? Is someone retaliating against these whistleblowers? And so we started doing, you know, what we as investigative journalists do. My colleague Julie Small reached out to the family of Valentino Rodriguez. We both started filing public records requests for the death investigations of each of these men to try and understand what had happened to them, and if there was anything in those death investigations that pointed back to the prison or to to anything else that we needed to uncover. Ultimately, we did not find any evidence of foul play in either case, but we learned a lot more about what they had each been uncovering before they died. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ayesha Rascoe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Coming up after the break, Sukey and her team follow the trail of evidence left by correctional officer Valentino Rodriguez and Sergeant Kevin Steele after their deaths. We’re back with a Sunday story. Sukey, once you heard about the two whistleblowers who’d worked at the same prison, New Folsom, you started retracing the events before their deaths. How did you go about that? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So one person who ended up being a really key source for us was the father of correctional officer Valentino Rodriguez, who has the same name. So his name is Valentino Rodriguez, Senior. And he ended up being really central to our story. My colleague Julie reached out to him and at first he was really, you know, cautious. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Valentino Rodriguez, Sr.: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I just I just want this to work both ways. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Julie Small: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Right. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Valentino Rodriguez, Sr.: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Right? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Julie Small: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Okay. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Valentino Rodriguez, Sr.: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I need to know what you’re doing. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Julie Small: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Okay. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Valentino Rodriguez, Sr.: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s all I’ve ever asked. I- nobody even knows we’re having these meetings other than my wife. Right? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When we met him, Val Senior was really clearly, you know, still in the midst of the grieving process. And I think part of that process for him was trying to understand, you know, what led to his son’s passing. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Valentino Rodriguez, Sr.: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I just can’t I just can’t turn my back on my son, you know what I mean? And, I owe that to him, and I’m going to go as far as I can. And. And then in the end, if nothing, there’s nothing I tried. Right? I’ll find my answers when my time comes. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So he started to share with us the evidence that he had been gathering, including his son’s phone. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ayesha Rascoe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What did you learn about who Valentino Rodriguez was, how he was as a person, and and this journey that he was on? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was it was really incredible. We learned a lot about him. He was a really kind of funny, goofy guy. One of the, you know, things that we found on his phone was this video of him in the Investigative Services unit offices inside this prison. It’s one of the most dangerous prisons in the state of California. And he sets up the camera, and then he steps back, and then he starts dancing, and he’s practicing. He’s learning the cumbia because he’s about to get married. And so he’s practicing the cumbia in this, you know, in this office. And, I just loved kind of coming across these little artifacts of who this person was. He also had a dog named Daisy that he loved and would sing to his dog.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Valentino Rodriguez, Jr.: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Super Dog. Super Dog. This the song about Daisy, the Super Dog. One day there was a dog named Daisy, and she was super lazy… \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And he really worked hard at the prison, like he was really wanted to get into this investigative unit. It was a big career opportunity for him. But the unit itself, once he joined, they didn’t really think he had earned the right to be there. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Valentino Rodriguez, Sr.: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So when he had his first day there, he had come over after. And, I asked him, “How’s your how was your first day?” And he goes, “It was a bunch of older guys that have been there.” He called them OGs. I says, “How do you go?” And he goes, “They asked who the f*** are you?” You know, his first day, and I just, “Eh that’s prison talk, I guess.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You know, they they had a nickname for him called “Half Patch” to indicate, like he he wasn’t a full member of the team, and he didn’t quite deserve to be there yet. And you can see in his phone, you know, he is trying really hard to fit in with this group of guys and they kind of needle him and call him names, like, just really kind of harassing behavior, you know, from work colleagues. You can see that it really does begin to take a toll on Valentino, and he starts to struggle with his mental health. So he actually has a breakdown at work one day and shares with the chief deputy warden that he is going through some, some really difficult things. And she tells him, okay, you should go out on stress leave. And so he takes some time off work from the prison. But even once he leaves the prison, he really can’t leave it all the way. Like he’s still mentally there and still kind of struggling with the effects of his time there. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mimy Rodriguez: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I remember sitting on the couch with him and him saying. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is Mimy Rodriguez, Valentino’s wife. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mimy Rodriguez: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I remember this very clearly. He said, “This is my identity.” He’s like, “I feel like I’ve given up on everything. I feel like I gave up on my job.” He wasn’t at the prison physically, but mentally he was still there. He was still talking to people from the prison. He was still reaching out to people from the- people from the prison were reaching out to him, telling him what was going on within the prison. He he had not at all let that go. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Reading through his text messages, you can see it’s not like he sets out to become a whistleblower. It’s just eating away at him and he can’t quite let it go. He can’t quite turn away from what he’s seen in the prison. And so six days before his death, he ends up going in to talk to the warden, and he tells them about the harassment that he experienced personally, and also different kinds of misconduct that he witnessed, including allegations that other officers in the unit that he worked in were involved in planting drugs and weapons on incarcerated people. And that’s really important because the unit that he worked in is kind of like the police force for the prison. They have this very special role. And so if they’re dirty, that could taint criminal cases that stem from the investigations they do. And the officers in this unit are supposed to be held to a higher standard because they have this higher level of responsibility in the prison than other officers do. So after he makes this report, the word eventually gets out that he’s talked. And he was really nervous about that happening. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mimy Rodriguez: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So he was nervous about anybody coming to the house. At one point he had put things at the door, so if someone opened it, you can hear the door open. He also like he had a gun and he would sleep with it just to make sure. And I’m like, “What? Who’s coming?” And I would ask him like, “Is everything okay?” You know, “Who’s- who are you nervous about coming? What is going on?” It’s hard to. It’s hard to see the person you love turn into something different. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The night that he died, one of the last text messages you can see he sent to his wife was, “It’s out now that I told on the team.” And then she comes home to find him slumped over in the bathroom and no longer breathing. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ayesha Rascoe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I mean, it’s I mean, it’s so horrible. Who is the other whistleblower? Tell me about him. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So the other whistleblower, his name is Sergeant Kevin Steele. He had worked for the California Department of Corrections for about 20 years at this point. He is a military veteran. Just this real kind of straight arrow guy had a very kind of rigorous sense of morality, a very rigorous sense of right and wrong. He’s seen a lot and been through a lot, and was beginning to come to this point of disillusionment with these systems that he had been promised were going to affect change and provide accountability. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And it’s in this environment that his friend Valentino Rodriguez passes away. And so I think for Steele at this point, Valentino’s death was kind of like the last straw for him. He felt like all these things he’s seen over the years and tried to report up the chain had not been properly addressed. And then there was this kind of moral failing in response to the death of an officer and how they treated Latino’s family after his death. And so Steele decides to make his last stand, basically. And what he does is he writes up a memo to the warden detailing the list of failings, as he sees it — times where the institution failed to keep its promises to the public, and times where it failed to keep people safe, and times where it failed to protect officers from harassment and things like that. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And so he writes up this memo and sends it off to the warden. And after that, he actually leaves California. He moves to Missouri, and it seems like his plan was to drop this bomb and then right off into the sunset. He was planning to retire at the end of the year and just kind of be done with the prison and with this whole institution. But much like we saw with Valentino, even though Sergeant Kevin Steele is out of the prison and, you know, even miles and miles away, he’s still trapped there mentally. And, you know, at one point, about eight months after he’s he’s left the state, things reach a head for him. And one day, Steele goes into the shed on his property in Missouri and he doesn’t come out again. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ayesha Rascoe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I mean these are, you know, two extremely tragic losses. But both of these whistleblowers, they left behind evidence for you to understand New Folsom, right? The the failures that happened there, like for Valentino, you had his phone and and Steele wrote a memo that talked about his concerns about use of force incidents going back years. What did you find out when you started looking into those? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So one of the things that was really incredible about this story is the evidence that was left behind. Steele’s memo kind of gave us this key to understanding what he saw was wrong with these incidents, which was that the injuries that people were showing up in the hospital with — incarcerated people — were not matching the reports. So we started kind of looking at our incident reports, kind of through this lens that he had left for us. And seeing how repeatedly, these incident reports had this kind of pattern to them, almost. And a lot of these incidents, that appeared very troubling, you know, occurred in areas where there was no camera coverage. And the use of force described often did not, you know, at all make sense on how they got injured. So it would be something like I think one of them was like, “We guided the man to the floor and they ended up, you know, with internal bleeding and, and broken ribs.” And you’re like, okay, like how how does that even make- make that makes sense, right? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And what we saw over and over again in these cases is that they didn’t result in discipline for officers. Well, you know, one theme that we just kind of ran into over and over again is the code of silence. And it’s basically an agreement, you know, unspoken agreement to never tell on each other. And it’s this is something that we’ve seen in policing as well with the Thin Blue line. But I would say it’s even stronger in a prison context. And because there isn’t that thing of a bystander who can kind of intercede or be an outside witness to events, that code of silence is just a really, really thick wall to break. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And so many people that we talked to, we talked to correctional officers for this story, many of whom did not want to go on the record because they fear retaliation. Even retired officers who still feel like potentially the agency could come after them for their pensions if they talk. There is no real incentive to do so. Like even institutionally, you will be reassigned. You will not be rewarded basically for for reporting things like that. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ayesha Rascoe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You’re confirming this culture of silence that both Steele and Val experienced and and tried to disrupt. What did you ultimately end up finding out about their deaths? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So again, we did not find there was any evidence of foul play. But I feel like our reporting really does clearly show that they were victims. They were victims of this system, and they were victims of this code of silence and that fear and the kind of psychosocial trauma that they experienced by having to go against this, this machine, in order to try and do what they felt was the right thing, really contributed to their deaths, and contributed to the decline of their mental health and led them to to their end. And this was, in fact, a finding that was made after their deaths. Their widows filed basically workers compensation claims with the state to get their death benefits. And during that process, they found that these deaths were industrial. These deaths were related to their jobs and their work as correctional officers for the state of California. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ayesha Rascoe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Your sources included law enforcement, former law enforcement, incarcerated people, their their family members. Like, what are the particular challenges of reporting in and about a prison? Like how does it require a different approach, especially when you’re dealing with people who likely have dealt with some very traumatic things? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, there are a lot of different challenges. I think, you know, in terms of bringing correctional officers in in to feeling like they could speak to us and trust us, it was a lot of conversations about confidentiality, how we could keep them protected, and also that we were trying to tell a deep, nuanced story that that wasn’t just a story about how correctional officers always are using excessive force or something like that. It was this story that we had found, which was very complicated, and it was about the the mental impacts of working inside a prison on officers, and that they experienced some of the same difficult things that incarcerated people experience. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And then for the incarcerated people that we spoke to, there was also a lot of different factors to consider. You know, for one thing, a lot of the phone conversations, or all the phone conversations that we had are recorded. So you know that you are being listened in on and that what they say could have impacts for their lives. Some people I talked to have been in prison for years have kind of a vague idea about what a podcast is, but not everybody does, you know? So just kind of walking people through like what- what this means, what their participation means, what going on their record means and stuff like that, so they can be informed and make informed decisions about participating or not. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And then, you know, in terms of people who have been dealing with trauma, you know, we talked to Val Senior, obviously, who was kind of in in the throes of his own grieving process. We talked to the family of Sergeant Kevin Steele as well, his brother, who agreed to go on the record with us. And we talked to Mimy, Valentino Rodriguez’s wife. And I think, you know, just in terms of having a trauma informed approach as much as possible, a lot of it was about giving them the power, not trying to be extractive, or just take their story and see how it fit in with our narrative. But to hold space for them to talk about what they had gone through and also the power to be like, “Okay, if you don’t feel like you said that right, or if you want to rethink that, like this is how you’re going to be portrayed in the story, this is the context in which your story is going to be used. Are you comfortable with that?” And saying “if you’re not, you can take it back any time.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And so it was a lot more conversation than I think you would normally have of going back to sources and playing pieces of tape for them and that kind of thing, but it really felt like the responsible thing to do. So there were no surprises when the podcast came out. And so we could also be sure that we were being accurate and that we were accurately representing the experience of our primary sources. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ayesha Rascoe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You know, people will say sunlight is the best disinfectant. Is it making the difference? Is the reporting, the transparency… How is it impacting these, these prisons? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I think it’s it’s still too soon to say. And it’s also kind of the next step. I feel like this is the first step is saying like, “Look, this is what’s happening.” And then the next step is actually beyond our power as journalists. I feel like it’s in the hands of lawmakers and the oversight bodies over the prisons, here in California or nationally. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One thing that’s interesting to know about the California prison system is that there’s there is an oversight body called the office of the Inspector General of Prisons, and they do get a lot of insight into the prisons, but they have no power. So they regularly issue these reports that say “you’re doing a bad job, you need to do better.” Or like, “this person violated policy. We don’t agree with this.” But until there is a real appetite in internally in the agency to take action or body like that has teeth, this transparency only gets you so far. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I think it’s really important again, for the public to know about it, because that is how change happens, is people taking an interest and people, taking a care about this public institution that we own. Like this is our this is our bag. And so I think that’s that’s why I do this work. But then I have to hand it off and see where it goes from there. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ayesha Rascoe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah. Well thank you so much. I think this reporting is so important. And it’s the- it’s reporting on people who truly don’t have a voice, people who have died, people who are incarcerated. And you give them a voice. So we’re so grateful to to be able to tell this story. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sukey Lewis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thank you. And and I also feel honored, you know, that people allowed me to share their stories with so many people. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ayesha Rascoe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That was criminal justice reporter Sukey Lewis, host of On Our Watch from KQED in San Francisco. You can listen to all eight episodes of their latest season at kqed.org/onourwatch, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode of The Sunday Story was produced by Justine Yan and edited by Liana Simstrom, with additional editing by Jen Chien, the director of podcasts at KQED. Production support from Chris Egusa. Our engineer was Robert Rodriguez. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Sunday Story team includes Abby Windle and our senior editor, Jenny Schmidt. Liana Simstrom is our supervising producer and Irene Noguchi is our executive producer. If you are experiencing mental health related distress or have a loved one who needs crisis support, please call or text 988. The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. I’m Ayesha Rascoe. Up First is back tomorrow with all the news you need to start your week. Until then, have a great rest of your weekend. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>"
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"content": "\u003cp>June may be over — but Pride is all year long.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One week after San Francisco Pride, it’s a good time to check in with yourself and friends on a few things. If you joined the celebrations at Civic Center or Dolores Park — or maybe were among big crowds at a nightclub or party — it’s a good idea to get tested for COVID-19, especially as cases \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11987343/covid-bay-area-wastewater-variant-symptoms-isolation-guidance\">are on the rise again this summer\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For decades, Pride in the Bay Area has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11878891/from-aids-to-covid-19-gay-activists-in-san-francisco-have-been-organizing-in-public-health-for-decades\">a time when LGBTQ+ people have come together to advocate for the health needs of their community\u003c/a>. Part of celebrating Pride is honoring that legacy and protecting our own sexual health and that of our partners. So, if you had sex with someone new last week, now is the time to take care of yourself and respond to any potential risks that may have come up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Did you meet new friends and want more spaces for the queer community like you saw at Pride? There are dozens of LGBTQ+-focused events happening across the Bay Area this summer. We’ve compiled a few of them here, along with tips on caring for yourself post-Pride.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Get your COVID test\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Since the start of summer, COVID-19 infections have been popping up all over California. In May, the average percentage of coronavirus tests coming back positive was less than 5%. By the start of July, that number had \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Respiratory-Viruses/RespiratoryDashboard.aspx\">more than doubled and exceeded 10%\u003c/a>. Keep in mind this number doesn’t even include the number of people who are doing at-home or antigen tests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While many people now experience less severe symptoms thanks to the COVID-19 vaccine and booster shots, this recent spike in cases worries many people who are immunocompromised or especially vulnerable to illness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health experts \u003ca href=\"https://time.com/6553232/covid-19-incubation-period-exposure-symptoms/\">estimated the incubation period for \u003c/a>COVID-19 — that is, the amount of time between exposure to COVID-19 and testing positive for the virus — was around five days. However, researchers have told KQED that as more COVID-19 variants pop up, it’s getting more complicated to estimate when exactly someone will develop COVID-19\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11954507/covid-symptoms-after-pride-how-to-find-test\"> symptoms\u003c/a> as our bodies respond to each variant differently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now that a full week has passed since the Pride celebrations check in with yourself and your friends to see if anyone has felt symptoms this week. According to the CDC, this is the full list of the possible symptoms of COVID-19:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Fever or chills\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Cough\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Fatigue\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Muscle or body aches\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Headache\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>New loss of taste or smell\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Sore throat\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Congestion or runny nose\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Nausea or vomiting\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Diarrhea\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>If you took an at-home COVID-19 test and tested negative even though you feel symptoms, you may want to test yourself again tomorrow. Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert at UCSF, told KQED earlier this year that when you experience symptoms, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11957790/the-new-covid-eris-variant-and-rising-cases-what-you-need-to-know\">which means your body’s immune system is working to get rid of COVID-19\u003c/a>. For a lot of people who have already been infected in the past, their immune system is getting better at forming an immune response to COVID-19, even when the amount of virus in our body is low.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When your body detects a burgeoning coronavirus infection now, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11957790/the-new-covid-eris-variant-and-rising-cases-what-you-need-to-know#covidincubationperiod\">Chin-Hong told KQED\u003c/a>, “your whole immune system just gets agitated and active, and you begin to get sick sooner, but you actually don’t have as much virus in your blood yet.” However, there needs to be a specific amount of coronavirus in your body for an at-home COVID-19 test to show up positive (even if the virus is already in your system).\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Talk about sexual health\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>If you met someone new during Pride weekend and were sexually active with them, public health officials recommend that you take some time to check in with yourself about any potential risks from that encounter. A few questions to ask yourself:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Did you get screened for STIs beforehand? Do you know if they did?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Did you talk with them about safe sex practices beforehand?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Did you use a condom?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Did you — or your partner — take HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (HIV PrEP)?\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>If you are unsure about some of these questions, that is okay. What matters now is checking in with your healthcare provider and letting them know that you had a new sexual partner and want to take some extra steps to know if you were potentially exposed to any STIs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Public health experts point out that there are now multiple ways to prevent an STI — even after a potential exposure. Doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (or DoxyPEP), an antibiotic taken after sex, can help prevent infections like chlamydia and syphilis. “We’ve shown through research that that strategy is very effective at preventing bacterial STIs,” said Dr. Stephanie Cohen, director of HIV and STI prevention at the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2022, cases of mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) increased following SF Pride. And while officials have not yet detected a similar outbreak, it’s important to remember that getting a first shot of the monkeypox vaccine after exposure to the virus can help prevent the disease from developing and reduce symptoms if it does develop. Timing here is critical, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11988079/2024-mpox-vaccine-formerly-monkeypox-symptoms-rash\">you can get a free mpox vaccine in San Francisco\u003c/a> — you don’t need health insurance to get this important protection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Looking for an HIV test but don’t have health insurance? Several cities in the Bay Area participate in \u003ca href=\"http://Takemehome.org\">TakeMeHome\u003c/a>, a program created by several public health groups, including the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. TakeMeHome sends eligible participants a free at-home HIV test that they can later mail in to get their results. \u003ca href=\"https://takemehome.org/see-if-you-qualify/1\">Check if you qualify.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Keep seeking out community\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Pride is so much more than what happens in downtown San Francisco on the last weekend of June.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Pride is really all year-round for us,” said Miguel Raphael Bagsit, associate director of communications at the SF LGBT Center, which, in partnership with other groups, organized a very thorough line-up of community events during June. [aside tag=\"pride, sf-pride\" label=\"More Related Stories\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bagsit points out that the Center \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfcenter.org/calendar/\">is still offering events for July and the rest of the year\u003c/a>, including open mic nights, yoga classes for trans, intersex, and gender nonconforming people, and meet-ups for trans, gender nonconforming, and questioning young folks, ages 16–24.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bagsit said that during June, the Center saw folks from all over the country visiting the Bay for Pride weekend celebrations. “Pride can often be really overwhelming for folks,” they said. “It can be a really exciting and celebratory experience, but it can also be a lot to process all at once.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bagsit encourages people to check out programming organized by local groups focused on serving the LGBTQ+ community throughout the year. “This gives folks a really great opportunity to keep building those relationships and connections they made during Pride month,” they said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This guide includes reporting from KQED’s Carly Severn.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>June may be over — but Pride is all year long.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One week after San Francisco Pride, it’s a good time to check in with yourself and friends on a few things. If you joined the celebrations at Civic Center or Dolores Park — or maybe were among big crowds at a nightclub or party — it’s a good idea to get tested for COVID-19, especially as cases \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11987343/covid-bay-area-wastewater-variant-symptoms-isolation-guidance\">are on the rise again this summer\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For decades, Pride in the Bay Area has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11878891/from-aids-to-covid-19-gay-activists-in-san-francisco-have-been-organizing-in-public-health-for-decades\">a time when LGBTQ+ people have come together to advocate for the health needs of their community\u003c/a>. Part of celebrating Pride is honoring that legacy and protecting our own sexual health and that of our partners. So, if you had sex with someone new last week, now is the time to take care of yourself and respond to any potential risks that may have come up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Did you meet new friends and want more spaces for the queer community like you saw at Pride? There are dozens of LGBTQ+-focused events happening across the Bay Area this summer. We’ve compiled a few of them here, along with tips on caring for yourself post-Pride.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Get your COVID test\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Since the start of summer, COVID-19 infections have been popping up all over California. In May, the average percentage of coronavirus tests coming back positive was less than 5%. By the start of July, that number had \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Respiratory-Viruses/RespiratoryDashboard.aspx\">more than doubled and exceeded 10%\u003c/a>. Keep in mind this number doesn’t even include the number of people who are doing at-home or antigen tests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While many people now experience less severe symptoms thanks to the COVID-19 vaccine and booster shots, this recent spike in cases worries many people who are immunocompromised or especially vulnerable to illness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health experts \u003ca href=\"https://time.com/6553232/covid-19-incubation-period-exposure-symptoms/\">estimated the incubation period for \u003c/a>COVID-19 — that is, the amount of time between exposure to COVID-19 and testing positive for the virus — was around five days. However, researchers have told KQED that as more COVID-19 variants pop up, it’s getting more complicated to estimate when exactly someone will develop COVID-19\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11954507/covid-symptoms-after-pride-how-to-find-test\"> symptoms\u003c/a> as our bodies respond to each variant differently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now that a full week has passed since the Pride celebrations check in with yourself and your friends to see if anyone has felt symptoms this week. According to the CDC, this is the full list of the possible symptoms of COVID-19:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Fever or chills\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Cough\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Fatigue\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Muscle or body aches\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Headache\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>New loss of taste or smell\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Sore throat\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Congestion or runny nose\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Nausea or vomiting\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Diarrhea\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>If you took an at-home COVID-19 test and tested negative even though you feel symptoms, you may want to test yourself again tomorrow. Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert at UCSF, told KQED earlier this year that when you experience symptoms, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11957790/the-new-covid-eris-variant-and-rising-cases-what-you-need-to-know\">which means your body’s immune system is working to get rid of COVID-19\u003c/a>. For a lot of people who have already been infected in the past, their immune system is getting better at forming an immune response to COVID-19, even when the amount of virus in our body is low.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When your body detects a burgeoning coronavirus infection now, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11957790/the-new-covid-eris-variant-and-rising-cases-what-you-need-to-know#covidincubationperiod\">Chin-Hong told KQED\u003c/a>, “your whole immune system just gets agitated and active, and you begin to get sick sooner, but you actually don’t have as much virus in your blood yet.” However, there needs to be a specific amount of coronavirus in your body for an at-home COVID-19 test to show up positive (even if the virus is already in your system).\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Talk about sexual health\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>If you met someone new during Pride weekend and were sexually active with them, public health officials recommend that you take some time to check in with yourself about any potential risks from that encounter. A few questions to ask yourself:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Did you get screened for STIs beforehand? Do you know if they did?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Did you talk with them about safe sex practices beforehand?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Did you use a condom?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Did you — or your partner — take HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (HIV PrEP)?\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>If you are unsure about some of these questions, that is okay. What matters now is checking in with your healthcare provider and letting them know that you had a new sexual partner and want to take some extra steps to know if you were potentially exposed to any STIs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Public health experts point out that there are now multiple ways to prevent an STI — even after a potential exposure. Doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (or DoxyPEP), an antibiotic taken after sex, can help prevent infections like chlamydia and syphilis. “We’ve shown through research that that strategy is very effective at preventing bacterial STIs,” said Dr. Stephanie Cohen, director of HIV and STI prevention at the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2022, cases of mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) increased following SF Pride. And while officials have not yet detected a similar outbreak, it’s important to remember that getting a first shot of the monkeypox vaccine after exposure to the virus can help prevent the disease from developing and reduce symptoms if it does develop. Timing here is critical, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11988079/2024-mpox-vaccine-formerly-monkeypox-symptoms-rash\">you can get a free mpox vaccine in San Francisco\u003c/a> — you don’t need health insurance to get this important protection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Looking for an HIV test but don’t have health insurance? Several cities in the Bay Area participate in \u003ca href=\"http://Takemehome.org\">TakeMeHome\u003c/a>, a program created by several public health groups, including the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. TakeMeHome sends eligible participants a free at-home HIV test that they can later mail in to get their results. \u003ca href=\"https://takemehome.org/see-if-you-qualify/1\">Check if you qualify.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Keep seeking out community\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Pride is so much more than what happens in downtown San Francisco on the last weekend of June.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Pride is really all year-round for us,” said Miguel Raphael Bagsit, associate director of communications at the SF LGBT Center, which, in partnership with other groups, organized a very thorough line-up of community events during June. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bagsit points out that the Center \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfcenter.org/calendar/\">is still offering events for July and the rest of the year\u003c/a>, including open mic nights, yoga classes for trans, intersex, and gender nonconforming people, and meet-ups for trans, gender nonconforming, and questioning young folks, ages 16–24.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bagsit said that during June, the Center saw folks from all over the country visiting the Bay for Pride weekend celebrations. “Pride can often be really overwhelming for folks,” they said. “It can be a really exciting and celebratory experience, but it can also be a lot to process all at once.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bagsit encourages people to check out programming organized by local groups focused on serving the LGBTQ+ community throughout the year. “This gives folks a really great opportunity to keep building those relationships and connections they made during Pride month,” they said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Despite California’s perpetual struggles with water shortages, state regulators adopted mandatory conservation measures this week that are substantially weaker and save less water than they originally planned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rules, years in the making, were mandated by a package of laws that tasked state agencies with making “\u003ca href=\"https://water.ca.gov/-/media/DWR-Website/Web-Pages/Programs/Water-Use-And-Efficiency/Make-Water-Conservation-A-California-Way-of-Life/Files/PDFs/Final-WCL-Primer.pdf?la=en&hash=B442FD7A34349FA91DA5CDEFC47134EA38ABF209\">water conservation a California way of life (PDF)\u003c/a>.” They force 405 cities and other urban water suppliers serving about 95% of Californians to meet individualized water budgets that decline over time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The regulations, adopted unanimously by the State Water Resources Control Board on Wednesday, usher in a new phase of mandatory conservation for California. They set long-term targets for water use that aim to account for myriad regional differences, from climate to ownership of llamas and other livestock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The water board’s initial proposal — \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/water/2023/10/california-water-conservation/\">unveiled last year\u003c/a> and estimated to cost $13.5 billion at the time — faced an onslaught of criticism from water suppliers and state analysts who called the rules \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2024/01/california-new-water-conservation-rules-analyst-report/\">too costly and difficult to achieve\u003c/a>. In March, the state water agency \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/water/2024/03/california-water-conservation-rules-relaxed/\">revised its proposal\u003c/a> to delay enforcement of the conservation targets and extend the timeline for tightening the water budgets based on outdoor residential use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Individual residents won’t be regulated — only suppliers, who must meet their conservation targets or face fines or other penalties. The costs of complying through 2050 are now estimated at $4.7 billion — which is largely expected to be passed onto ratepayers — but water agencies and their customers will also save about $6.2 billion, in large part from buying less water, \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/conservation_portal/regs/docs/2024/sria.pdf\">according to the agency’s analysis (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Water board staff estimate that through 2040, the measures will save 1.7 million acre-feet — enough to supply almost half the state’s population for a year. That’s about 73% less than the earlier proposal, which would have saved 6.3 million acre-feet through 2040, staff told CalMatters. Through 2050, the savings could reach about 3.9 million acre-feet — more than a year’s supply for the state’s entire population.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local water providers told the board that the targets would still be difficult to meet and warned that the costs could hit lower- and fixed-income members of their communities especially hard. They urged the board to provide more technical assistance and funding. Still, many applauded the changes, which they said will soften impacts to customers and communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Water suppliers will need to develop and implement new programs that require long-term customer behavior change and significant investments,” Chelsea Haines of the Association of California Water Agencies, which represents more than 450 public agencies, told CalMatters. “It’s an unprecedented approach that will require a level of commitment that we’ve never seen before.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, environmental groups and lawmakers say the weakened rules reduce and delay the water conservation that the drought-plagued state needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail,” said Heather Cooley, director of research at the Pacific Institute, a global water think-tank. “While surface reservoirs are full now, I think there’s a tendency to forget about water scarcity and drought.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The authors of the bills that required mandatory conservation rules — former state Sen. Bob Hertzberg and Assemblymember Laura Friedman from Burbank — \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2024-03-28/california-water-conservation-state-law-drought\">said in a March opinion piece that the water board’s changes\u003c/a> “trample on the hard-won work that’s been done so far by allowing water utilities until 2035 or later to implement meaningful reductions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The State Water Resources Control Board has decided to kick the can of California’s water future down the road at a time when we can least afford such inaction,” Friedman told CalMatters after the vote, adding that California must invest more in water efficiency or be forced to spend billions on wastewater recycling and desalination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Water board Chairman \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/about_us/board_members/\">Joaquin Esquivel\u003c/a> said, “This is not a perfect regulation. We can never have a perfect regulation. But it is a significant one and moves us into a direction here into the future that we can all be proud of — and that is nation-leading.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The arc of conservation in this state has been an incredible one. Californians know that conservation is critical,” he said during the meeting. “What this creates is really a floor. And importantly, it’s not a policy in isolation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although the rules were changed multiple times before they came up for a vote on Wednesday, the fundamental concept remains the same. Each local agency’s water budget is calculated from a combination of standards for indoor and outdoor water use at residences, certain commercial landscapes and losses like leaks. Other factors, such as livestock and recycled water, are also taken into account.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Suppliers must meet targets through a combination of rebates encouraging thriftier landscapes and appliances and rate changes penalizing thirstier water users.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A previous, more stringent version of the rule carried the hefty price tag of around \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/water/2023/10/california-water-conservation/\">$13.5 billion\u003c/a> from lost revenues and the costs of funding rebates, infrastructure improvements and other conservation measures. The benefits of having to buy less water or scrounge for expensive new supplies were tallied at around $15.6 billion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11928042,news_11923873,news_11918450\"]At the time, the state’s Legislative Analyst questioned \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2024/01/california-new-water-conservation-rules-analyst-report/\">whether the costs were truly worth the benefits\u003c/a>. “These doubts are particularly worrisome given we find that suppliers will face notable challenges complying with these requirements,” a January report said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, the water board staff told CalMatters that the staggering costs and elevated benefits were partly due to an accounting error. Combined with policy changes and new data, the latest cost estimate is about $4.7 billion, while the benefits will drop to about $6.2 billion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Water regulators revised the proposal to delay enforcement of the conservation targets by two years until 2027 and extend the deadline for ramping down outdoor water use by five years, starting in 2035.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rules also provide alternatives for the water suppliers that must make substantial cuts. Those required to reduce use by more than 20%, and who serve communities with household incomes below the state median, could cut use by only 1% per year and still comply, provided they meet other requirements. Those facing cuts of more than 30% could cut use by only 2% per year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than a third of suppliers serving about 42% of the state’s population will not need to change their water use to meet the 2035 standards — up from 18% under a previous version, according to state data. And 31%, serving about 12.5 million people, will be able to continue their current practices through 2040.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom has called for Californians in cities and towns to cut water use by about 500,000 acre-feet a year starting by 2030. Under the new rules, Californians are expected to save about \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/conservation_portal/regs/docs/2024/sria.pdf\">235,000 acre-feet of water a year (PDF)\u003c/a> 20 years later, in 2050.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, a water board analysis reported, that combined with current conservation levels and other efforts, the new rules are “estimated to save levels of water consistent with (Newsom’s) goal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The measures are substantially weaker than a previous proposal after an onslaught of criticism, but they will still save enough water through 2050 to supply the state’s entire population for a year, at a cost of $4.7 billion.",
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"title": "California Now Has Mandatory Water Conservation in Urban Areas: How Will the New Rules Affect Your Supplier? | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Despite California’s perpetual struggles with water shortages, state regulators adopted mandatory conservation measures this week that are substantially weaker and save less water than they originally planned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rules, years in the making, were mandated by a package of laws that tasked state agencies with making “\u003ca href=\"https://water.ca.gov/-/media/DWR-Website/Web-Pages/Programs/Water-Use-And-Efficiency/Make-Water-Conservation-A-California-Way-of-Life/Files/PDFs/Final-WCL-Primer.pdf?la=en&hash=B442FD7A34349FA91DA5CDEFC47134EA38ABF209\">water conservation a California way of life (PDF)\u003c/a>.” They force 405 cities and other urban water suppliers serving about 95% of Californians to meet individualized water budgets that decline over time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The regulations, adopted unanimously by the State Water Resources Control Board on Wednesday, usher in a new phase of mandatory conservation for California. They set long-term targets for water use that aim to account for myriad regional differences, from climate to ownership of llamas and other livestock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The water board’s initial proposal — \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/water/2023/10/california-water-conservation/\">unveiled last year\u003c/a> and estimated to cost $13.5 billion at the time — faced an onslaught of criticism from water suppliers and state analysts who called the rules \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2024/01/california-new-water-conservation-rules-analyst-report/\">too costly and difficult to achieve\u003c/a>. In March, the state water agency \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/water/2024/03/california-water-conservation-rules-relaxed/\">revised its proposal\u003c/a> to delay enforcement of the conservation targets and extend the timeline for tightening the water budgets based on outdoor residential use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Individual residents won’t be regulated — only suppliers, who must meet their conservation targets or face fines or other penalties. The costs of complying through 2050 are now estimated at $4.7 billion — which is largely expected to be passed onto ratepayers — but water agencies and their customers will also save about $6.2 billion, in large part from buying less water, \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/conservation_portal/regs/docs/2024/sria.pdf\">according to the agency’s analysis (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Water board staff estimate that through 2040, the measures will save 1.7 million acre-feet — enough to supply almost half the state’s population for a year. That’s about 73% less than the earlier proposal, which would have saved 6.3 million acre-feet through 2040, staff told CalMatters. Through 2050, the savings could reach about 3.9 million acre-feet — more than a year’s supply for the state’s entire population.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local water providers told the board that the targets would still be difficult to meet and warned that the costs could hit lower- and fixed-income members of their communities especially hard. They urged the board to provide more technical assistance and funding. Still, many applauded the changes, which they said will soften impacts to customers and communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Water suppliers will need to develop and implement new programs that require long-term customer behavior change and significant investments,” Chelsea Haines of the Association of California Water Agencies, which represents more than 450 public agencies, told CalMatters. “It’s an unprecedented approach that will require a level of commitment that we’ve never seen before.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, environmental groups and lawmakers say the weakened rules reduce and delay the water conservation that the drought-plagued state needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail,” said Heather Cooley, director of research at the Pacific Institute, a global water think-tank. “While surface reservoirs are full now, I think there’s a tendency to forget about water scarcity and drought.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The authors of the bills that required mandatory conservation rules — former state Sen. Bob Hertzberg and Assemblymember Laura Friedman from Burbank — \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2024-03-28/california-water-conservation-state-law-drought\">said in a March opinion piece that the water board’s changes\u003c/a> “trample on the hard-won work that’s been done so far by allowing water utilities until 2035 or later to implement meaningful reductions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The State Water Resources Control Board has decided to kick the can of California’s water future down the road at a time when we can least afford such inaction,” Friedman told CalMatters after the vote, adding that California must invest more in water efficiency or be forced to spend billions on wastewater recycling and desalination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Water board Chairman \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/about_us/board_members/\">Joaquin Esquivel\u003c/a> said, “This is not a perfect regulation. We can never have a perfect regulation. But it is a significant one and moves us into a direction here into the future that we can all be proud of — and that is nation-leading.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The arc of conservation in this state has been an incredible one. Californians know that conservation is critical,” he said during the meeting. “What this creates is really a floor. And importantly, it’s not a policy in isolation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although the rules were changed multiple times before they came up for a vote on Wednesday, the fundamental concept remains the same. Each local agency’s water budget is calculated from a combination of standards for indoor and outdoor water use at residences, certain commercial landscapes and losses like leaks. Other factors, such as livestock and recycled water, are also taken into account.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Suppliers must meet targets through a combination of rebates encouraging thriftier landscapes and appliances and rate changes penalizing thirstier water users.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A previous, more stringent version of the rule carried the hefty price tag of around \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/water/2023/10/california-water-conservation/\">$13.5 billion\u003c/a> from lost revenues and the costs of funding rebates, infrastructure improvements and other conservation measures. The benefits of having to buy less water or scrounge for expensive new supplies were tallied at around $15.6 billion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>At the time, the state’s Legislative Analyst questioned \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2024/01/california-new-water-conservation-rules-analyst-report/\">whether the costs were truly worth the benefits\u003c/a>. “These doubts are particularly worrisome given we find that suppliers will face notable challenges complying with these requirements,” a January report said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, the water board staff told CalMatters that the staggering costs and elevated benefits were partly due to an accounting error. Combined with policy changes and new data, the latest cost estimate is about $4.7 billion, while the benefits will drop to about $6.2 billion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Water regulators revised the proposal to delay enforcement of the conservation targets by two years until 2027 and extend the deadline for ramping down outdoor water use by five years, starting in 2035.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rules also provide alternatives for the water suppliers that must make substantial cuts. Those required to reduce use by more than 20%, and who serve communities with household incomes below the state median, could cut use by only 1% per year and still comply, provided they meet other requirements. Those facing cuts of more than 30% could cut use by only 2% per year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than a third of suppliers serving about 42% of the state’s population will not need to change their water use to meet the 2035 standards — up from 18% under a previous version, according to state data. And 31%, serving about 12.5 million people, will be able to continue their current practices through 2040.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom has called for Californians in cities and towns to cut water use by about 500,000 acre-feet a year starting by 2030. Under the new rules, Californians are expected to save about \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/conservation_portal/regs/docs/2024/sria.pdf\">235,000 acre-feet of water a year (PDF)\u003c/a> 20 years later, in 2050.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, a water board analysis reported, that combined with current conservation levels and other efforts, the new rules are “estimated to save levels of water consistent with (Newsom’s) goal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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}
},
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"id": "californiareportmagazine",
"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine",
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"order": 10
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
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},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
"title": "City Arts & Lectures",
"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
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"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
"subscribe": {
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/City-Arts-and-Lectures-p692/",
"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
"id": "closealltabs",
"title": "Close All Tabs",
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"info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"order": 1
},
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"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"meta": {
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnByLm9yZy9yc3MvcG9kY2FzdC5waHA_aWQ9NTEwMzEy",
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
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"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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},
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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"id": "freakonomics-radio",
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"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
"subscribe": {
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
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},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
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},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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},
"how-i-built-this": {
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"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510313/podcast.xml"
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},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
"meta": {
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"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/2p3Fifq96nw9BPcmFdIq0o?si=39209f7b25774f38",
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"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC2275451163"
}
},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549",
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
"subscribe": {
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
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"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
"subscribe": {
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
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}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
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"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "On Our Watch from NPR and KQED",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1567098962",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510360/podcast.xml"
}
},
"on-the-media": {
"id": "on-the-media",
"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/otm",
"meta": {
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"source": "wnyc"
},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-the-Media-p69/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia"
}
},
"pbs-newshour": {
"id": "pbs-newshour",
"title": "PBS NewsHour",
"info": "Analysis, background reports and updates from the PBS NewsHour putting today's news in context.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3pm-4pm",
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