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"content": "\u003cp>A wildfire \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2026/7/26/dove-fire\">burning in the hills near Sonora\u003c/a> has stopped growing as firefighters work to contain the blaze that forced evacuations across parts of Tuolumne County.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Dove Fire broke out just before 3 p.m. Sunday southwest of Sonora, near Highway 108 and Mill Villa Road, spreading quickly through dry fuels, prompting mandatory evacuations and road closures within and around the city. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Cal Fire said Monday that the blaze now sits around 224 acres, with the initial cause still under investigation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot of smoldering debris still within the fire perimeter,” said Emily Kilgore, a public information officer for Cal Fire’s Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit, who had just returned from the fire lines on Monday. “Firefighters are still installing a containment line and strengthening that perimeter.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"alignleft size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260727-DOVE-FIRE-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12092760\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260727-DOVE-FIRE-01-KQED.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260727-DOVE-FIRE-01-KQED-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260727-DOVE-FIRE-01-KQED-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Dove Fire burns in the hills near Sonora in Tuolumne County on July 26, 2026. (Courtesy of CalFire via Facebook)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>The fire was at 0% containment on Monday afternoon, with 484 personnel assigned, Kilgore said. But it had not moved since Sunday afternoon. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Dove Fire is the latest in a string of wildfires testing Bay Area and Northern California crews during a hot, dry stretch. Last week, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12092319/little-fire-near-pleasanton-no-longer-a-threat-alameda-county-says\">Little Fire\u003c/a> scorched more than 1,000 acres near Pleasanton and Sunol before crews were able to halt its spread.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Two firefighters were hurt Sunday, Kilgore said. One suffered an ankle injury, and the other showed symptoms of heat illness; both were taken for medical evaluation and have since been released. Damage inspections are underway, and Kilgore said it was not yet clear whether any structures had been affected.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12092689/a-bay-area-heat-wave-is-coming-along-with-beach-hazards-and-wildfires\">heat wave settling over Northern California this week\u003c/a>, with temperatures inland climbing toward 100 degrees and humidity dropping, Kilgore said forecasters’ warnings are more of a concern for new fires than for this one. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“For this particular fire, firefighters are doing good work on getting that containment installed, so we don’t anticipate that affecting the fire behavior,” she said. The heat and dry fuels, she added, are “a prime source of contributing to wildfire ignitions” across the region, and she urged people doing outdoor work to use caution and shift activity to the cooler morning hours.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One hazard crew is watching within the fire’s footprint is old mine shafts, Kilgore said, a legacy of the Gold Country terrain, which firefighters are working around as they build line.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite headlines placing the fire “near Yosemite,” it is not affecting access to the national park, which sits about 70 miles east, Kilgore confirmed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/07/26/california-secures-federal-assistance-to-support-response-to-dove-fire-in-tuolumne-county/\">announced Sunday \u003c/a>that California had secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant from FEMA to help cover the response, allowing local, state and tribal agencies to recover up to 75% of eligible firefighting costs. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The Fire Management Assistance Grant is an important tool that helps ensure local and state agencies responding to fast-moving wildfires have the resources needed to keep communities safe,” Cal OES Director Caroline Thomas Jacobs said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>According to a Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office update on Monday afternoon, Highway 108 fully reopened, with some evacuation orders issued over the weekend downgraded to warnings. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mandatory evacuations remain in place for a cluster of streets including Golden Dove Lane, Silver Pine Drive, Southgate Drive and parts of Stockton Road, with warnings covering additional areas. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>An evacuation center is open at the Tuolumne Community Resilience Center at 18241 Bay Ave. in Tuolumne, where evacuees can bring small pets. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The National Weather Service has warned that as heat peaks, fire danger will build across the region through the following weekend.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kilgore urged residents to keep an evacuation kit ready and to monitor Cal Fire’s website and the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office for the latest. “If you live in the area and do not feel safe, please leave,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/tuolumnecountysheriff/posts/pfbid07AAMBQtUfm2NTzUYX15cEJZj7qcViFUEV3naghxMfphA3W18gzJL1mNZMPBGYapcl\">the office wrote\u003c/a> in a Facebook post. “Do not wait to be told to evacuate.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“For this particular fire, firefighters are doing good work on getting that containment installed, so we don’t anticipate that affecting the fire behavior,” she said. The heat and dry fuels, she added, are “a prime source of contributing to wildfire ignitions” across the region, and she urged people doing outdoor work to use caution and shift activity to the cooler morning hours.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“For this particular fire, firefighters are doing good work on getting that containment installed, so we don’t anticipate that affecting the fire behavior,” she said. The heat and dry fuels, she added, are “a prime source of contributing to wildfire ignitions” across the region, and she urged people doing outdoor work to use caution and shift activity to the cooler morning hours.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>One hazard crew is watching within the fire’s footprint is old mine shafts, Kilgore said, a legacy of the Gold Country terrain, which firefighters are working around as they build line.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Despite headlines placing the fire “near Yosemite,” it is not affecting access to the national park, which sits about 70 miles east, Kilgore confirmed.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/07/26/california-secures-federal-assistance-to-support-response-to-dove-fire-in-tuolumne-county/\">announced Sunday \u003c/a>that California had secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant from FEMA to help cover the response, allowing local, state and tribal agencies to recover up to 75% of eligible firefighting costs. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The Fire Management Assistance Grant is an important tool that helps ensure local and state agencies responding to fast-moving wildfires have the resources needed to keep communities safe,” Cal OES Director Caroline Thomas Jacobs said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The Fire Management Assistance Grant is an important tool that helps ensure local and state agencies responding to fast-moving wildfires have the resources needed to keep communities safe,” Cal OES Director Caroline Thomas Jacobs said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>According to a Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office update on Monday afternoon, Highway 108 fully reopened, with some evacuation orders issued over the weekend downgraded to warnings. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Mandatory evacuations remain in place for a cluster of streets including Golden Dove Lane, Silver Pine Drive, Southgate Drive and parts of Stockton Road, with warnings covering additional areas. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>An evacuation center is open at the Tuolumne Community Resilience Center at 18241 Bay Ave. in Tuolumne, where evacuees can bring small pets. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The National Weather Service has warned that as heat peaks, fire danger will build across the region through the following weekend.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Kilgore urged residents to keep an evacuation kit ready and to monitor Cal Fire’s website and the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office for the latest. “If you live in the area and do not feel safe, please leave,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/tuolumnecountysheriff/posts/pfbid07AAMBQtUfm2NTzUYX15cEJZj7qcViFUEV3naghxMfphA3W18gzJL1mNZMPBGYapcl\">the office wrote\u003c/a> in a Facebook post. “Do not wait to be told to evacuate.”\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Kilgore urged residents to keep an evacuation kit ready and to monitor Cal Fire’s website and the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office for the latest. “If you live in the area and do not feel safe, please leave,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/tuolumnecountysheriff/posts/pfbid07AAMBQtUfm2NTzUYX15cEJZj7qcViFUEV3naghxMfphA3W18gzJL1mNZMPBGYapcl\">the office wrote\u003c/a> in a Facebook post. “Do not wait to be told to evacuate.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "The wildfire that forced evacuations in Tuolumne County on Sunday hasn’t grown since Monday afternoon, Cal Fire says, and is not threatening national park access.",
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"title": "Dove Fire Burns 224 Acres, 70 Miles West of Yosemite | KQED",
"description": "The wildfire that forced evacuations in Tuolumne County on Sunday hasn’t grown since Monday afternoon, Cal Fire says, and is not threatening national park access.",
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"headline": "Dove Fire Burns 224 Acres, 70 Miles West of Yosemite",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A wildfire \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2026/7/26/dove-fire\">burning in the hills near Sonora\u003c/a> has stopped growing as firefighters work to contain the blaze that forced evacuations across parts of Tuolumne County.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Dove Fire broke out just before 3 p.m. Sunday southwest of Sonora, near Highway 108 and Mill Villa Road, spreading quickly through dry fuels, prompting mandatory evacuations and road closures within and around the city. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Cal Fire said Monday that the blaze now sits around 224 acres, with the initial cause still under investigation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot of smoldering debris still within the fire perimeter,” said Emily Kilgore, a public information officer for Cal Fire’s Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit, who had just returned from the fire lines on Monday. “Firefighters are still installing a containment line and strengthening that perimeter.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"alignleft size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260727-DOVE-FIRE-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12092760\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260727-DOVE-FIRE-01-KQED.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260727-DOVE-FIRE-01-KQED-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260727-DOVE-FIRE-01-KQED-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Dove Fire burns in the hills near Sonora in Tuolumne County on July 26, 2026. (Courtesy of CalFire via Facebook)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>The fire was at 0% containment on Monday afternoon, with 484 personnel assigned, Kilgore said. But it had not moved since Sunday afternoon. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Dove Fire is the latest in a string of wildfires testing Bay Area and Northern California crews during a hot, dry stretch. Last week, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12092319/little-fire-near-pleasanton-no-longer-a-threat-alameda-county-says\">Little Fire\u003c/a> scorched more than 1,000 acres near Pleasanton and Sunol before crews were able to halt its spread.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Two firefighters were hurt Sunday, Kilgore said. One suffered an ankle injury, and the other showed symptoms of heat illness; both were taken for medical evaluation and have since been released. Damage inspections are underway, and Kilgore said it was not yet clear whether any structures had been affected.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12092689/a-bay-area-heat-wave-is-coming-along-with-beach-hazards-and-wildfires\">heat wave settling over Northern California this week\u003c/a>, with temperatures inland climbing toward 100 degrees and humidity dropping, Kilgore said forecasters’ warnings are more of a concern for new fires than for this one. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“For this particular fire, firefighters are doing good work on getting that containment installed, so we don’t anticipate that affecting the fire behavior,” she said. The heat and dry fuels, she added, are “a prime source of contributing to wildfire ignitions” across the region, and she urged people doing outdoor work to use caution and shift activity to the cooler morning hours.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One hazard crew is watching within the fire’s footprint is old mine shafts, Kilgore said, a legacy of the Gold Country terrain, which firefighters are working around as they build line.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite headlines placing the fire “near Yosemite,” it is not affecting access to the national park, which sits about 70 miles east, Kilgore confirmed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/07/26/california-secures-federal-assistance-to-support-response-to-dove-fire-in-tuolumne-county/\">announced Sunday \u003c/a>that California had secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant from FEMA to help cover the response, allowing local, state and tribal agencies to recover up to 75% of eligible firefighting costs. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The Fire Management Assistance Grant is an important tool that helps ensure local and state agencies responding to fast-moving wildfires have the resources needed to keep communities safe,” Cal OES Director Caroline Thomas Jacobs said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>According to a Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office update on Monday afternoon, Highway 108 fully reopened, with some evacuation orders issued over the weekend downgraded to warnings. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mandatory evacuations remain in place for a cluster of streets including Golden Dove Lane, Silver Pine Drive, Southgate Drive and parts of Stockton Road, with warnings covering additional areas. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>An evacuation center is open at the Tuolumne Community Resilience Center at 18241 Bay Ave. in Tuolumne, where evacuees can bring small pets. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The National Weather Service has warned that as heat peaks, fire danger will build across the region through the following weekend.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kilgore urged residents to keep an evacuation kit ready and to monitor Cal Fire’s website and the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office for the latest. “If you live in the area and do not feel safe, please leave,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/tuolumnecountysheriff/posts/pfbid07AAMBQtUfm2NTzUYX15cEJZj7qcViFUEV3naghxMfphA3W18gzJL1mNZMPBGYapcl\">the office wrote\u003c/a> in a Facebook post. “Do not wait to be told to evacuate.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "why-california-prisons-are-using-their-own-employees-as-human-fire-alarms",
"title": "Why California Prisons Are Using Their Own Employees as Human Fire Alarms",
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"headTitle": "Why California Prisons Are Using Their Own Employees as Human Fire Alarms | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/prisons\">California prisons\u003c/a> are increasingly relying on an unusual fire alarm system: humans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Between 2020 and 2025, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has spent nearly $50 million on “fire watch” staffing costs. In recent years, prison employees have spent roughly 270,000 hours monitoring for smoke or fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They patrol prisons and visually inspect different areas during their shifts, according to job postings reviewed by CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s because the majority of California’s 31 prisons have deficient fire alarm systems and it would cost $1.5 billion to replace them all, according to the department’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/fpcm/wp-content/uploads/sites/184/2026/01/2025_MPAR-ADA_Final.pdf\">annual report\u003c/a> submitted in January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the face of outdated, malfunctioning and inoperable fire alarm systems, the Office of the State Fire Marshal ordered the department to run fire watch coverage until it repairs or replaces its fire alarm systems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This process has come at a significant expense to the department in staff costs for fire watch coverage,” corrections officials wrote in a \u003ca href=\"https://bcp.dof.ca.gov/2627/FY2627_ORG5225_BCP8797.pdf\">recent $15.2 million budget request\u003c/a> to support next year’s coverage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12090740\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12090740\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260630-CCWFTOUR-34-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260630-CCWFTOUR-34-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260630-CCWFTOUR-34-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260630-CCWFTOUR-34-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Incarcerated women walk through a Receiving and Release (R&R) yard at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla, California, on June 30, 2026. The prison is the largest women’s correctional facility in California, and the R&R yard is used to process incarcerated people entering and leaving the facility. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It’s a drop in the bucket for the department’s $14.6 billion budget, but costs continue to balloon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The department in June said it was on track to spend roughly $40 million for last year’s fire watch coverage, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office. That’s roughly $25 million over its budgeted authority, the office said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Replacing a single prison’s fire alarm system costs between $3 million and $87 million, according to estimates in the system’s facilities master plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Caitlin O’Neil, who monitors the corrections budget as a principal fiscal and policy analyst at the Legislative Analyst’s Office, said the department has historically used correctional officers for fire coverage because the assignment requires keys and access to move about the prison freely. Their fire watch hours are typically coded to overtime.[aside postID=news_12088448 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/bailey-photo-2-scaled-e1782232782432.jpeg']The base pay for an experienced correctional officer is $9,647 a month, \u003ca href=\"https://www.calhr.ca.gov/about-calhr/divisions-programs/financial-management-division/compensation-surveys/2024-correctional-officer-total-compensation-survey/\">according to a 2024 salary survey\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But O’Neil said the department is exploring whether it can achieve fire watch coverage with a lower cost job classification — recognizing that correctional officers have more capabilities than just looking for fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to O’Neil, the department is piloting a fire watch program at Solano State Prison. There, fire watch positions are classified as an “office assistant” and report to a correctional sergeant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pay for that position tops out at $4,357 a month, according to a job ad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Royal Ramey, a formerly incarcerated firefighter who co-founded the nonprofit organization Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program, said fire safety inside correctional institutions is non-negotiable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People who are incarcerated, as well as the staff inside these facilities deserve reliable systems and strong emergency protections that keep everyone safe,” he said. “In situations involving fire emergency response, there can be no gaps in protection. But the priority must also remain protecting lives while continuing to advance permanent and reliable infrastructure solutions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Matt Cate, who was California’s corrections secretary under former Govs. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown, said he was skeptical about the spending because people are paid to stand around and look for a problem that doesn’t exist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12045131\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12045131\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/110822-KernValleyPrison-LV_CM_04-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/110822-KernValleyPrison-LV_CM_04-copy.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/110822-KernValleyPrison-LV_CM_04-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/110822-KernValleyPrison-LV_CM_04-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Guard towers outside of Kern Valley State Prison on Nov. 15, 2022. \u003ccite>(Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters/CatchLight Local)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Large-scale fires in prisons are extremely rare because prisons are made of concrete and steel,” he said. “There’s a fire department attached to each prison and there are people throughout the prison who are there all the time. It’s staffed 24-7.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Cate, the state has “very strict” regulations to manage fire risk in prisons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said that puts the department in a position of either upgrading its fire alarm systems for hundreds of millions of dollars or requesting incremental cash each year to meet those regulations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a little like deciding, do we buy the house or do we rent?” he said. “It’s ultimately the governor’s office and the Legislature who have to decide how much to invest versus how much to plug the problem through adding additional staff.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kristen Cowan, who studies the impacts of \u003ca href=\"https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2025GH001569\">extreme weather disasters in prisons and jails\u003c/a> as an assistant professor at the University of Buffalo, said she did not know it was legal for prisons to have inoperable fire alarm systems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is baseline disaster preparedness,” she said. “It’s certainly concerning to know that that (technology) is missing. It makes you wonder what else is missing in the facilities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12039575\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12039575\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/050525-Corcoran-State-Prison-GR-Getty-01-CM-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/050525-Corcoran-State-Prison-GR-Getty-01-CM-copy.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/050525-Corcoran-State-Prison-GR-Getty-01-CM-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/050525-Corcoran-State-Prison-GR-Getty-01-CM-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/050525-Corcoran-State-Prison-GR-Getty-01-CM-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/050525-Corcoran-State-Prison-GR-Getty-01-CM-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/050525-Corcoran-State-Prison-GR-Getty-01-CM-copy-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Two California state prisons had to create evacuation plans in 2023 when flooding approached them. They did not ultimately evacuate, but the near-disaster raised concerns about emergency planning. Here, rising water from the intermittent Tulare Lake approached one of the prisons on April 13, 2023. \u003ccite>(George Rose/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Cowan said the department’s reliance on fire watch positions in lieu of up-to-date technology could create big delays in fire detection, risking more injuries, deaths, and detrimental health impacts from smoke exposure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We wouldn’t let anyone else live in a place that doesn’t have a smoke detector,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Cayla Mihalovich is a California Local News fellow.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/justice/2026/07/prisons-fire-watch/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "California spends tens of millions dollars every year paying prison employees to look for smoke and fire. Replacing fire alarms costs much more.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/prisons\">California prisons\u003c/a> are increasingly relying on an unusual fire alarm system: humans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Between 2020 and 2025, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has spent nearly $50 million on “fire watch” staffing costs. In recent years, prison employees have spent roughly 270,000 hours monitoring for smoke or fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They patrol prisons and visually inspect different areas during their shifts, according to job postings reviewed by CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s because the majority of California’s 31 prisons have deficient fire alarm systems and it would cost $1.5 billion to replace them all, according to the department’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/fpcm/wp-content/uploads/sites/184/2026/01/2025_MPAR-ADA_Final.pdf\">annual report\u003c/a> submitted in January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the face of outdated, malfunctioning and inoperable fire alarm systems, the Office of the State Fire Marshal ordered the department to run fire watch coverage until it repairs or replaces its fire alarm systems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This process has come at a significant expense to the department in staff costs for fire watch coverage,” corrections officials wrote in a \u003ca href=\"https://bcp.dof.ca.gov/2627/FY2627_ORG5225_BCP8797.pdf\">recent $15.2 million budget request\u003c/a> to support next year’s coverage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12090740\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12090740\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260630-CCWFTOUR-34-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260630-CCWFTOUR-34-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260630-CCWFTOUR-34-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260630-CCWFTOUR-34-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Incarcerated women walk through a Receiving and Release (R&R) yard at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla, California, on June 30, 2026. The prison is the largest women’s correctional facility in California, and the R&R yard is used to process incarcerated people entering and leaving the facility. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It’s a drop in the bucket for the department’s $14.6 billion budget, but costs continue to balloon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The department in June said it was on track to spend roughly $40 million for last year’s fire watch coverage, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office. That’s roughly $25 million over its budgeted authority, the office said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Replacing a single prison’s fire alarm system costs between $3 million and $87 million, according to estimates in the system’s facilities master plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Caitlin O’Neil, who monitors the corrections budget as a principal fiscal and policy analyst at the Legislative Analyst’s Office, said the department has historically used correctional officers for fire coverage because the assignment requires keys and access to move about the prison freely. Their fire watch hours are typically coded to overtime.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The base pay for an experienced correctional officer is $9,647 a month, \u003ca href=\"https://www.calhr.ca.gov/about-calhr/divisions-programs/financial-management-division/compensation-surveys/2024-correctional-officer-total-compensation-survey/\">according to a 2024 salary survey\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But O’Neil said the department is exploring whether it can achieve fire watch coverage with a lower cost job classification — recognizing that correctional officers have more capabilities than just looking for fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to O’Neil, the department is piloting a fire watch program at Solano State Prison. There, fire watch positions are classified as an “office assistant” and report to a correctional sergeant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pay for that position tops out at $4,357 a month, according to a job ad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Royal Ramey, a formerly incarcerated firefighter who co-founded the nonprofit organization Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program, said fire safety inside correctional institutions is non-negotiable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People who are incarcerated, as well as the staff inside these facilities deserve reliable systems and strong emergency protections that keep everyone safe,” he said. “In situations involving fire emergency response, there can be no gaps in protection. But the priority must also remain protecting lives while continuing to advance permanent and reliable infrastructure solutions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Matt Cate, who was California’s corrections secretary under former Govs. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown, said he was skeptical about the spending because people are paid to stand around and look for a problem that doesn’t exist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12045131\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12045131\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/110822-KernValleyPrison-LV_CM_04-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/110822-KernValleyPrison-LV_CM_04-copy.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/110822-KernValleyPrison-LV_CM_04-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/110822-KernValleyPrison-LV_CM_04-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Guard towers outside of Kern Valley State Prison on Nov. 15, 2022. \u003ccite>(Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters/CatchLight Local)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Large-scale fires in prisons are extremely rare because prisons are made of concrete and steel,” he said. “There’s a fire department attached to each prison and there are people throughout the prison who are there all the time. It’s staffed 24-7.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Cate, the state has “very strict” regulations to manage fire risk in prisons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said that puts the department in a position of either upgrading its fire alarm systems for hundreds of millions of dollars or requesting incremental cash each year to meet those regulations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a little like deciding, do we buy the house or do we rent?” he said. “It’s ultimately the governor’s office and the Legislature who have to decide how much to invest versus how much to plug the problem through adding additional staff.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kristen Cowan, who studies the impacts of \u003ca href=\"https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2025GH001569\">extreme weather disasters in prisons and jails\u003c/a> as an assistant professor at the University of Buffalo, said she did not know it was legal for prisons to have inoperable fire alarm systems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is baseline disaster preparedness,” she said. “It’s certainly concerning to know that that (technology) is missing. It makes you wonder what else is missing in the facilities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12039575\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12039575\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/050525-Corcoran-State-Prison-GR-Getty-01-CM-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/050525-Corcoran-State-Prison-GR-Getty-01-CM-copy.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/050525-Corcoran-State-Prison-GR-Getty-01-CM-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/050525-Corcoran-State-Prison-GR-Getty-01-CM-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/050525-Corcoran-State-Prison-GR-Getty-01-CM-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/050525-Corcoran-State-Prison-GR-Getty-01-CM-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/050525-Corcoran-State-Prison-GR-Getty-01-CM-copy-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Two California state prisons had to create evacuation plans in 2023 when flooding approached them. They did not ultimately evacuate, but the near-disaster raised concerns about emergency planning. Here, rising water from the intermittent Tulare Lake approached one of the prisons on April 13, 2023. \u003ccite>(George Rose/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Cowan said the department’s reliance on fire watch positions in lieu of up-to-date technology could create big delays in fire detection, risking more injuries, deaths, and detrimental health impacts from smoke exposure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We wouldn’t let anyone else live in a place that doesn’t have a smoke detector,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Cayla Mihalovich is a California Local News fellow.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/justice/2026/07/prisons-fire-watch/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "theyre-on-our-flag-but-do-long-gone-grizzly-bears-belong-in-modern-california",
"title": "They’re on Our Flag, but Do Long-Gone Grizzly Bears Belong in Modern California?",
"publishDate": 1785160800,
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"headTitle": "They’re on Our Flag, but Do Long-Gone Grizzly Bears Belong in Modern California? | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The grizzly bear on California’s flag went extinct a century ago in the Golden State. Now, a group of tribes and environmentalists is urging the Legislature to study whether it’s possible to bring them back.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Grizzlies once lived across most of California. As many as 10,000 may have roamed before the Gold Rush. They were so prevalent that when California settlers tried to form their own nation, they called it the Bear Flag Republic. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Settlers systematically exterminated the animals, and they were gone by the 1920s, leaving the smaller black bear as the only surviving bear species.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A century and 34.5 million more people later, Inglewood Democratic Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/laura-richardson-187466\">Laura Richardson\u003c/a>’s \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb1305\">Senate Bill 1305\u003c/a> would task the California Department of Fish and Wildlife with creating a “roadmap that evaluates whether, and under what conditions, reintroduction of the grizzly bear is feasible and advisable.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The measure provides no funding to carry out the study, which could be provided by a future Legislature or an outside group. And even if it were funded and its recommendations acted on, it would be several years and require help from a potentially adversarial federal government before a grizzly bear’s claws ever cut tracks in California.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1339\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-MONARCH-THE-BEAR-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12076801\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-MONARCH-THE-BEAR-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-MONARCH-THE-BEAR-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-MONARCH-THE-BEAR-04-KQED-1536x1028.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">It is often said that the bear on the modern California state flag is based on “Monarch,” one of the last grizzly bears to live in the state. But researchers now believe it was based on the drawing of another bear, Samson. (Joseph Sohm/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The proposal’s hypothetical nature has done little to ease tensions over the prospect of some day returning the continent’s second-largest land predator to the nation’s most populous state. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On one side are organizations representing rural communities, hunting organizations and ranchers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They argue it’s preposterous to consider reintroducing aggressive 800-pound bears to California’s degraded, drought- and fire-prone landscapes. Rural areas, they say, are already overwhelmed with conflicts with \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/mountain-lion-attacks-2-people-in-california-foothills-killing-1/\">mountain lions\u003c/a> and growing \u003ca href=\"https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Mammals/Black-Bear\">black bear\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article316446094.html\">wolf populations\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I just don’t think that our California today is ready for a grizzly bear,” Republican Assemblymember \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/heather-hadwick-187417\">Heather Hadwick\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/hearings/279747#t=1192&f=ea737d404cb65c8e1f0d48a47f0e4922\">told the Assembly wildlife committee\u003c/a> last month. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hadwick’s sprawling rural district in northeastern California has faced years of tensions over predators, especially wolves, killing livestock and frightening small towns.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Environmentalists, tribes support \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At least 40 groups, including tribes, environmentalists and animal welfare organizations, support the bill, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/\">CalMatters Digital Democracy database\u003c/a>.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>They say bringing back the state’s biggest apex land predator would improve the ecosystem and right an ecological wrong from California’s past.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I can see the ways in which my homeland has suffered from the loss of iconic species such as the grizzly, and that this loss lingers in our heart and in the attenuation of a millennia-old relationship,” Tiana Williams-Claussen, director of the Yurok Tribe’s wildlife department, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/hearings/279747#t=27&f=ea737d404cb65c8e1f0d48a47f0e4922\">told lawmakers last month\u003c/a>. The Yurok and Tejon tribes are the bill’s cosponsors.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/Yurok-Tribe-Getty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12092588\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/Yurok-Tribe-Getty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/Yurok-Tribe-Getty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/Yurok-Tribe-Getty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Brook Thompson of the Yurok Tribe overlooks the removal site of the Iron Gate Dam, allowing the Klamath River to run in its original path in that area for the first time in nearly a century, near Hornbrook, California, on Aug. 14, 2024. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.calgrizzly.org/feasibility-study\">A 2025 study\u003c/a> from a coalition of tribes, environmentalists and university researchers found that the Yurok lands on the north coast as well as the nearby Klamath Mountains and Trinity Alps could be suitable grizzly habitat. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The study also singled out the southern Sierra Nevada, including Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia national parks, as well as the Transverse Mountains that span from San Bernardino County to Santa Barbara County.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>It estimated the habitats could sustain between 424 and 1,713 grizzlies, though it recommends bringing in a population of 25 grizzlies to start. Grizzlies can be found in Alaska, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Washington.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Supporters of the proposal say grizzlies would help California’s ecosystem. The giant omnivorous bears till soil as they root up meals, helping restore conifer forests, prairies and oak savannas, easing fire danger.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Grizzlies also serve as a check on overpopulation of prey. Grizzlies could reduce California’s human conflicts with black bears since grizzlies compete for food with their smaller cousins. Grizzlies also kill and eat black bears.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The loss of grizzlies might have been one of those contributing factors to that (black bear population) overgrowth,” Williams-Claussen said in an interview.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Grizzlies and the urban-rural divide\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Supporters’ arguments have appealed to the Democrats who control the Legislature. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Only Republicans have voted against the bill, which is pending before the Assembly Appropriations Committee when the Legislature returns Aug. 3.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Richardson didn’t return an interview request for this story. The measure’s Democratic coauthors are lawmakers from Southern California representing predominantly urban districts.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/072126-Stern-and-Richardson-Split-01-CM-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"A side-by-side split image showing a person on the left in a blue suit and a red tie holding a cell phone in their hand. The person on the right is wearing a black blazer over a blouse with a black-and-white pattern while speaking on the California Assembly floor into a microphone.\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">From left, state Sen. Henry Stern and state Sen. Laura Richardson. Photos by Fred Greaves for CalMatters\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This spring, one of the coauthors, Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/henry-stern-36368\">Henry Stern\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/hearings/279103#t=1532&f=20798ddeaaa55218d15cdbf945d9f503\">told the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee\u003c/a> that a mountain lion recently attacked one of his neighbors, so he understands rural concerns about predators.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Even so, learning to coexist with them is just part of living in a beautiful state filled with wildlife, Stern said.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“We want to live in a California where — that risk — there’s some beauty in it,” said Stern, who represents the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles. “To have that element in our lives, as opposed to just sterilizing our landscapes and our nature so that nothing else could ever be a risk … I think it makes us more human to have wildness in our lives.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Elizabeth Washoe, a Native American from Modoc County, hears that kind of talk from urban residents and rolls her eyes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There’s nothing I would love more than to see grizzly bears on the beach at Santa Barbara chasing rich people,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But she said that would be cruel — to the bears.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Like many in California, Washoe’s people still pay homage to grizzlies through ceremonial bear dances, but she said it’s not “ethically right to bring them back.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She hopes lawmakers consider what life would be like for the grizzlies they’d have captured and brought to California, where they would face a landscape radically different and eight times more populated than when the bears last lived here.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The bears don’t have any say in it,” Washoe said. “Where they’re at, they’re living a pretty good life, and we’d take them and put them here in a landscape that is so dramatically changed from what it was the last time that the bears were truly living a good life here … I understand the idea of it, but to me it feels egotistical.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">State wildlife officials wary\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The California agency that would be responsible for studying grizzly bear reintroduction does not appear eager to take it on. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Department of Fish and Wildlife, which hasn’t taken an official position on the legislation, does not comment on pending bills, spokesperson Peter Tira told CalMatters this week. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office also declined to comment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But there’s no indication the department’s position on grizzlies has changed since a former spokesperson told a reporter in 2023 that wildlife officials can barely keep up with existing predator conflicts.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GavinNewsomAP.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12084670\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GavinNewsomAP.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GavinNewsomAP-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GavinNewsomAP-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks about his state budget proposal on Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Sacramento, California. (Jeff Chiu/AP)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Bringing another predator into the state that we would have to manage and come up with some program to figure out what happens when the grizzly attacks a human or kills livestock does not seem feasible for us,” then-spokesperson Jordan Traverso told \u003ca href=\"https://www.altaonline.com/dispatches/a43127739/grizzly-bear-return-california-peter-alagona/\">the Alta Journal\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The department is chronically underfunded and understaffed. A legislative analysis for this year’s bill notes that Fish and Wildlife has enough cash and staff to complete just 38% of its existing duties. The department “would be unable to absorb the demand this roadmap would have on staff time and resources” according to the analysis.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>David Bess, who recently retired as its top law enforcement officer overseeing California’s game wardens, said the department is “drowning in work,” much of it trying to manage conflicts with predators already on the landscape.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I just don’t see where the department even has the capacity to do it,” Bess said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Trump’s grizzly proposal\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, President Donald Trump’s administration has added a new wrinkle to the debate. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Earlier this month, the administration issued a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/07/15/nx-s1-5893400/trump-administrations-proposal-to-shift-management-of-grizzly-bears-causes-confusion\">proposed rule change\u003c/a> that seeks to return management of grizzlies to states, despite the bears being protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Environmentalists fear Trump’s proposal would allow conservative states to begin killing grizzlies to appease ranchers and big game hunters. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1111\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy-5.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12019868\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy-5.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy-5-800x556.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy-5-1020x708.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy-5-160x111.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy-5-1536x1067.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A grizzly bear mother and her cub in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. (Karen Bleier/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The proposed federal rule wouldn’t impact California’s grizzly proposal, since the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would be in charge of any reintroduction program, said Andrea Zaccardi, carnivore conservation legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity, which supports Richardson’s legislation. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But having the bears in environmentally friendly states such as California could prove helpful if other states begin aggressively killing them off, she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Hopefully, they would be managed more responsibly there,” said Zaccardi, whose organization has \u003ca href=\"https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/mammals/grizzly_bear/bring_back_the_bears.html\">unsuccessfully petitioned the feds\u003c/a> to return grizzly bears to California. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/07/california-grizzly-bear-reintroduction-bill/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The grizzly bear on California’s flag went extinct a century ago in the Golden State. Now, a group of tribes and environmentalists is urging the Legislature to study whether it’s possible to bring them back.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The grizzly bear on California’s flag went extinct a century ago in the Golden State. Now, a group of tribes and environmentalists is urging the Legislature to study whether it’s possible to bring them back.\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Grizzlies once lived across most of California. As many as 10,000 may have roamed before the Gold Rush. They were so prevalent that when California settlers tried to form their own nation, they called it the Bear Flag Republic. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Grizzlies once lived across most of California. As many as 10,000 may have roamed before the Gold Rush. They were so prevalent that when California settlers tried to form their own nation, they called it the Bear Flag Republic. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Settlers systematically exterminated the animals, and they were gone by the 1920s, leaving the smaller black bear as the only surviving bear species.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Settlers systematically exterminated the animals, and they were gone by the 1920s, leaving the smaller black bear as the only surviving bear species.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A century and 34.5 million more people later, Inglewood Democratic Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/laura-richardson-187466\">Laura Richardson\u003c/a>’s \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb1305\">Senate Bill 1305\u003c/a> would task the California Department of Fish and Wildlife with creating a “roadmap that evaluates whether, and under what conditions, reintroduction of the grizzly bear is feasible and advisable.” \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>A century and 34.5 million more people later, Inglewood Democratic Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/laura-richardson-187466\">Laura Richardson\u003c/a>’s \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb1305\">Senate Bill 1305\u003c/a> would task the California Department of Fish and Wildlife with creating a “roadmap that evaluates whether, and under what conditions, reintroduction of the grizzly bear is feasible and advisable.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The measure provides no funding to carry out the study, which could be provided by a future Legislature or an outside group. And even if it were funded and its recommendations acted on, it would be several years and require help from a potentially adversarial federal government before a grizzly bear’s claws ever cut tracks in California.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The measure provides no funding to carry out the study, which could be provided by a future Legislature or an outside group. And even if it were funded and its recommendations acted on, it would be several years and require help from a potentially adversarial federal government before a grizzly bear’s claws ever cut tracks in California.\u003c/p>\n"
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-MONARCH-THE-BEAR-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-MONARCH-THE-BEAR-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-MONARCH-THE-BEAR-04-KQED-1536x1028.jpg 1536w",
"sizes": "(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-MONARCH-THE-BEAR-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12076801\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-MONARCH-THE-BEAR-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-MONARCH-THE-BEAR-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-MONARCH-THE-BEAR-04-KQED-1536x1028.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">It is often said that the bear on the modern California state flag is based on “Monarch,” one of the last grizzly bears to live in the state. But researchers now believe it was based on the drawing of another bear, Samson.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-MONARCH-THE-BEAR-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12076801\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">It is often said that the bear on the modern California state flag is based on “Monarch,” one of the last grizzly bears to live in the state. But researchers now believe it was based on the drawing of another bear, Samson.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The proposal’s hypothetical nature has done little to ease tensions over the prospect of some day returning the continent’s second-largest land predator to the nation’s most populous state. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The proposal’s hypothetical nature has done little to ease tensions over the prospect of some day returning the continent’s second-largest land predator to the nation’s most populous state. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On one side are organizations representing rural communities, hunting organizations and ranchers.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>On one side are organizations representing rural communities, hunting organizations and ranchers.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>They argue it’s preposterous to consider reintroducing aggressive 800-pound bears to California’s degraded, drought- and fire-prone landscapes. Rural areas, they say, are already overwhelmed with conflicts with \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/mountain-lion-attacks-2-people-in-california-foothills-killing-1/\">mountain lions\u003c/a> and growing \u003ca href=\"https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Mammals/Black-Bear\">black bear\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article316446094.html\">wolf populations\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>They argue it’s preposterous to consider reintroducing aggressive 800-pound bears to California’s degraded, drought- and fire-prone landscapes. Rural areas, they say, are already overwhelmed with conflicts with \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/mountain-lion-attacks-2-people-in-california-foothills-killing-1/\">mountain lions\u003c/a> and growing \u003ca href=\"https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Mammals/Black-Bear\">black bear\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article316446094.html\">wolf populations\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I just don’t think that our California today is ready for a grizzly bear,” Republican Assemblymember \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/heather-hadwick-187417\">Heather Hadwick\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/hearings/279747#t=1192&f=ea737d404cb65c8e1f0d48a47f0e4922\">told the Assembly wildlife committee\u003c/a> last month. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>“I just don’t think that our California today is ready for a grizzly bear,” Republican Assemblymember \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/heather-hadwick-187417\">Heather Hadwick\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/hearings/279747#t=1192&f=ea737d404cb65c8e1f0d48a47f0e4922\">told the Assembly wildlife committee\u003c/a> last month. \u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Hadwick’s sprawling rural district in northeastern California has faced years of tensions over predators, especially wolves, killing livestock and frightening small towns.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At least 40 groups, including tribes, environmentalists and animal welfare organizations, support the bill, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/\">CalMatters Digital Democracy database\u003c/a>.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>They say bringing back the state’s biggest apex land predator would improve the ecosystem and right an ecological wrong from California’s past.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>At least 40 groups, including tribes, environmentalists and animal welfare organizations, support the bill, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/\">CalMatters Digital Democracy database\u003c/a>.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>They say bringing back the state’s biggest apex land predator would improve the ecosystem and right an ecological wrong from California’s past.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I can see the ways in which my homeland has suffered from the loss of iconic species such as the grizzly, and that this loss lingers in our heart and in the attenuation of a millennia-old relationship,” Tiana Williams-Claussen, director of the Yurok Tribe’s wildlife department, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/hearings/279747#t=27&f=ea737d404cb65c8e1f0d48a47f0e4922\">told lawmakers last month\u003c/a>. The Yurok and Tejon tribes are the bill’s cosponsors.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I can see the ways in which my homeland has suffered from the loss of iconic species such as the grizzly, and that this loss lingers in our heart and in the attenuation of a millennia-old relationship,” Tiana Williams-Claussen, director of the Yurok Tribe’s wildlife department, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/hearings/279747#t=27&f=ea737d404cb65c8e1f0d48a47f0e4922\">told lawmakers last month\u003c/a>. The Yurok and Tejon tribes are the bill’s cosponsors.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/Yurok-Tribe-Getty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12092588\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/Yurok-Tribe-Getty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/Yurok-Tribe-Getty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/Yurok-Tribe-Getty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Brook Thompson of the Yurok Tribe overlooks the removal site of the Iron Gate Dam, allowing the Klamath River to run in its original path in that area for the first time in nearly a century, near Hornbrook, California, on Aug. 14, 2024.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.calgrizzly.org/feasibility-study\">A 2025 study\u003c/a> from a coalition of tribes, environmentalists and university researchers found that the Yurok lands on the north coast as well as the nearby Klamath Mountains and Trinity Alps could be suitable grizzly habitat. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.calgrizzly.org/feasibility-study\">A 2025 study\u003c/a> from a coalition of tribes, environmentalists and university researchers found that the Yurok lands on the north coast as well as the nearby Klamath Mountains and Trinity Alps could be suitable grizzly habitat. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The study also singled out the southern Sierra Nevada, including Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia national parks, as well as the Transverse Mountains that span from San Bernardino County to Santa Barbara County.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>It estimated the habitats could sustain between 424 and 1,713 grizzlies, though it recommends bringing in a population of 25 grizzlies to start. Grizzlies can be found in Alaska, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Washington.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The study also singled out the southern Sierra Nevada, including Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia national parks, as well as the Transverse Mountains that span from San Bernardino County to Santa Barbara County.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>It estimated the habitats could sustain between 424 and 1,713 grizzlies, though it recommends bringing in a population of 25 grizzlies to start. Grizzlies can be found in Alaska, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Washington.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Supporters of the proposal say grizzlies would help California’s ecosystem. The giant omnivorous bears till soil as they root up meals, helping restore conifer forests, prairies and oak savannas, easing fire danger.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Supporters of the proposal say grizzlies would help California’s ecosystem. The giant omnivorous bears till soil as they root up meals, helping restore conifer forests, prairies and oak savannas, easing fire danger.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Grizzlies also serve as a check on overpopulation of prey. Grizzlies could reduce California’s human conflicts with black bears since grizzlies compete for food with their smaller cousins. Grizzlies also kill and eat black bears.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Grizzlies also serve as a check on overpopulation of prey. Grizzlies could reduce California’s human conflicts with black bears since grizzlies compete for food with their smaller cousins. Grizzlies also kill and eat black bears.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The loss of grizzlies might have been one of those contributing factors to that (black bear population) overgrowth,” Williams-Claussen said in an interview.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The loss of grizzlies might have been one of those contributing factors to that (black bear population) overgrowth,” Williams-Claussen said in an interview.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/heading",
"attrs": {
"text": "Grizzlies and the urban-rural divide",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Grizzlies and the urban-rural divide\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Supporters’ arguments have appealed to the Democrats who control the Legislature. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Only Republicans have voted against the bill, which is pending before the Assembly Appropriations Committee when the Legislature returns Aug. 3.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Richardson didn’t return an interview request for this story. The measure’s Democratic coauthors are lawmakers from Southern California representing predominantly urban districts.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Richardson didn’t return an interview request for this story. The measure’s Democratic coauthors are lawmakers from Southern California representing predominantly urban districts.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image\">\u003cimg src=\"https://calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/072126-Stern-and-Richardson-Split-01-CM-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"A side-by-side split image showing a person on the left in a blue suit and a red tie holding a cell phone in their hand. The person on the right is wearing a black blazer over a blouse with a black-and-white pattern while speaking on the California Assembly floor into a microphone.\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">From left, state Sen. Henry Stern and state Sen. Laura Richardson. Photos by Fred Greaves for CalMatters\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image\">\u003cimg src=\"https://calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/072126-Stern-and-Richardson-Split-01-CM-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"A side-by-side split image showing a person on the left in a blue suit and a red tie holding a cell phone in their hand. The person on the right is wearing a black blazer over a blouse with a black-and-white pattern while speaking on the California Assembly floor into a microphone.\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">From left, state Sen. Henry Stern and state Sen. Laura Richardson. Photos by Fred Greaves for CalMatters\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This spring, one of the coauthors, Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/henry-stern-36368\">Henry Stern\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/hearings/279103#t=1532&f=20798ddeaaa55218d15cdbf945d9f503\">told the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee\u003c/a> that a mountain lion recently attacked one of his neighbors, so he understands rural concerns about predators.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>This spring, one of the coauthors, Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/henry-stern-36368\">Henry Stern\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/hearings/279103#t=1532&f=20798ddeaaa55218d15cdbf945d9f503\">told the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee\u003c/a> that a mountain lion recently attacked one of his neighbors, so he understands rural concerns about predators.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Even so, learning to coexist with them is just part of living in a beautiful state filled with wildlife, Stern said.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“We want to live in a California where — that risk — there’s some beauty in it,” said Stern, who represents the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles. “To have that element in our lives, as opposed to just sterilizing our landscapes and our nature so that nothing else could ever be a risk … I think it makes us more human to have wildness in our lives.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Even so, learning to coexist with them is just part of living in a beautiful state filled with wildlife, Stern said.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“We want to live in a California where — that risk — there’s some beauty in it,” said Stern, who represents the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles. “To have that element in our lives, as opposed to just sterilizing our landscapes and our nature so that nothing else could ever be a risk … I think it makes us more human to have wildness in our lives.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Elizabeth Washoe, a Native American from Modoc County, hears that kind of talk from urban residents and rolls her eyes.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Elizabeth Washoe, a Native American from Modoc County, hears that kind of talk from urban residents and rolls her eyes.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“There’s nothing I would love more than to see grizzly bears on the beach at Santa Barbara chasing rich people,” she said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“There’s nothing I would love more than to see grizzly bears on the beach at Santa Barbara chasing rich people,” she said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But she said that would be cruel — to the bears.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Like many in California, Washoe’s people still pay homage to grizzlies through ceremonial bear dances, but she said it’s not “ethically right to bring them back.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Like many in California, Washoe’s people still pay homage to grizzlies through ceremonial bear dances, but she said it’s not “ethically right to bring them back.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She hopes lawmakers consider what life would be like for the grizzlies they’d have captured and brought to California, where they would face a landscape radically different and eight times more populated than when the bears last lived here.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>She hopes lawmakers consider what life would be like for the grizzlies they’d have captured and brought to California, where they would face a landscape radically different and eight times more populated than when the bears last lived here.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The bears don’t have any say in it,” Washoe said. “Where they’re at, they’re living a pretty good life, and we’d take them and put them here in a landscape that is so dramatically changed from what it was the last time that the bears were truly living a good life here … I understand the idea of it, but to me it feels egotistical.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The bears don’t have any say in it,” Washoe said. “Where they’re at, they’re living a pretty good life, and we’d take them and put them here in a landscape that is so dramatically changed from what it was the last time that the bears were truly living a good life here … I understand the idea of it, but to me it feels egotistical.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/heading",
"attrs": {
"text": "State wildlife officials wary",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">State wildlife officials wary\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">State wildlife officials wary\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The California agency that would be responsible for studying grizzly bear reintroduction does not appear eager to take it on. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The California agency that would be responsible for studying grizzly bear reintroduction does not appear eager to take it on. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Department of Fish and Wildlife, which hasn’t taken an official position on the legislation, does not comment on pending bills, spokesperson Peter Tira told CalMatters this week. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office also declined to comment.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Department of Fish and Wildlife, which hasn’t taken an official position on the legislation, does not comment on pending bills, spokesperson Peter Tira told CalMatters this week. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office also declined to comment.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But there’s no indication the department’s position on grizzlies has changed since a former spokesperson told a reporter in 2023 that wildlife officials can barely keep up with existing predator conflicts.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>But there’s no indication the department’s position on grizzlies has changed since a former spokesperson told a reporter in 2023 that wildlife officials can barely keep up with existing predator conflicts.\u003c/p>\n"
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GavinNewsomAP.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GavinNewsomAP-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GavinNewsomAP-1536x1024.jpg 1536w",
"sizes": "(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GavinNewsomAP.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12084670\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GavinNewsomAP.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GavinNewsomAP-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GavinNewsomAP-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks about his state budget proposal on Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Sacramento, California. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GavinNewsomAP.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12084670\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks about his state budget proposal on Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Sacramento, California. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Bringing another predator into the state that we would have to manage and come up with some program to figure out what happens when the grizzly attacks a human or kills livestock does not seem feasible for us,” then-spokesperson Jordan Traverso told \u003ca href=\"https://www.altaonline.com/dispatches/a43127739/grizzly-bear-return-california-peter-alagona/\">the Alta Journal\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Bringing another predator into the state that we would have to manage and come up with some program to figure out what happens when the grizzly attacks a human or kills livestock does not seem feasible for us,” then-spokesperson Jordan Traverso told \u003ca href=\"https://www.altaonline.com/dispatches/a43127739/grizzly-bear-return-california-peter-alagona/\">the Alta Journal\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The department is chronically underfunded and understaffed. A legislative analysis for this year’s bill notes that Fish and Wildlife has enough cash and staff to complete just 38% of its existing duties. The department “would be unable to absorb the demand this roadmap would have on staff time and resources” according to the analysis.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The department is chronically underfunded and understaffed. A legislative analysis for this year’s bill notes that Fish and Wildlife has enough cash and staff to complete just 38% of its existing duties. The department “would be unable to absorb the demand this roadmap would have on staff time and resources” according to the analysis.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>David Bess, who recently retired as its top law enforcement officer overseeing California’s game wardens, said the department is “drowning in work,” much of it trying to manage conflicts with predators already on the landscape.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>David Bess, who recently retired as its top law enforcement officer overseeing California’s game wardens, said the department is “drowning in work,” much of it trying to manage conflicts with predators already on the landscape.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I just don’t see where the department even has the capacity to do it,” Bess said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I just don’t see where the department even has the capacity to do it,” Bess said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
"text": "Trump’s grizzly proposal",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Trump’s grizzly proposal\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Now, President Donald Trump’s administration has added a new wrinkle to the debate. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Earlier this month, the administration issued a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/07/15/nx-s1-5893400/trump-administrations-proposal-to-shift-management-of-grizzly-bears-causes-confusion\">proposed rule change\u003c/a> that seeks to return management of grizzlies to states, despite the bears being protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Earlier this month, the administration issued a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/07/15/nx-s1-5893400/trump-administrations-proposal-to-shift-management-of-grizzly-bears-causes-confusion\">proposed rule change\u003c/a> that seeks to return management of grizzlies to states, despite the bears being protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Environmentalists fear Trump’s proposal would allow conservative states to begin killing grizzlies to appease ranchers and big game hunters. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Environmentalists fear Trump’s proposal would allow conservative states to begin killing grizzlies to appease ranchers and big game hunters. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The proposed federal rule wouldn’t impact California’s grizzly proposal, since the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would be in charge of any reintroduction program, said Andrea Zaccardi, carnivore conservation legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity, which supports Richardson’s legislation. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But having the bears in environmentally friendly states such as California could prove helpful if other states begin aggressively killing them off, she said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Hopefully, they would be managed more responsibly there,” said Zaccardi, whose organization has \u003ca href=\"https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/mammals/grizzly_bear/bring_back_the_bears.html\">unsuccessfully petitioned the feds\u003c/a> to return grizzly bears to California. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/07/california-grizzly-bear-reintroduction-bill/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Democrats are advancing a bill over objections from rural residents, ranchers and Republicans that would study whether California should bring back grizzly bears.",
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"title": "They’re on Our Flag, but Do Long-Gone Grizzly Bears Belong in Modern California? | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The grizzly bear on California’s flag went extinct a century ago in the Golden State. Now, a group of tribes and environmentalists is urging the Legislature to study whether it’s possible to bring them back.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Grizzlies once lived across most of California. As many as 10,000 may have roamed before the Gold Rush. They were so prevalent that when California settlers tried to form their own nation, they called it the Bear Flag Republic. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Settlers systematically exterminated the animals, and they were gone by the 1920s, leaving the smaller black bear as the only surviving bear species.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A century and 34.5 million more people later, Inglewood Democratic Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/laura-richardson-187466\">Laura Richardson\u003c/a>’s \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb1305\">Senate Bill 1305\u003c/a> would task the California Department of Fish and Wildlife with creating a “roadmap that evaluates whether, and under what conditions, reintroduction of the grizzly bear is feasible and advisable.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The measure provides no funding to carry out the study, which could be provided by a future Legislature or an outside group. And even if it were funded and its recommendations acted on, it would be several years and require help from a potentially adversarial federal government before a grizzly bear’s claws ever cut tracks in California.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1339\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-MONARCH-THE-BEAR-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12076801\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-MONARCH-THE-BEAR-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-MONARCH-THE-BEAR-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-MONARCH-THE-BEAR-04-KQED-1536x1028.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">It is often said that the bear on the modern California state flag is based on “Monarch,” one of the last grizzly bears to live in the state. But researchers now believe it was based on the drawing of another bear, Samson. (Joseph Sohm/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The proposal’s hypothetical nature has done little to ease tensions over the prospect of some day returning the continent’s second-largest land predator to the nation’s most populous state. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On one side are organizations representing rural communities, hunting organizations and ranchers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They argue it’s preposterous to consider reintroducing aggressive 800-pound bears to California’s degraded, drought- and fire-prone landscapes. Rural areas, they say, are already overwhelmed with conflicts with \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/mountain-lion-attacks-2-people-in-california-foothills-killing-1/\">mountain lions\u003c/a> and growing \u003ca href=\"https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Mammals/Black-Bear\">black bear\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article316446094.html\">wolf populations\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I just don’t think that our California today is ready for a grizzly bear,” Republican Assemblymember \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/heather-hadwick-187417\">Heather Hadwick\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/hearings/279747#t=1192&f=ea737d404cb65c8e1f0d48a47f0e4922\">told the Assembly wildlife committee\u003c/a> last month. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hadwick’s sprawling rural district in northeastern California has faced years of tensions over predators, especially wolves, killing livestock and frightening small towns.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Environmentalists, tribes support \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At least 40 groups, including tribes, environmentalists and animal welfare organizations, support the bill, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/\">CalMatters Digital Democracy database\u003c/a>.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>They say bringing back the state’s biggest apex land predator would improve the ecosystem and right an ecological wrong from California’s past.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I can see the ways in which my homeland has suffered from the loss of iconic species such as the grizzly, and that this loss lingers in our heart and in the attenuation of a millennia-old relationship,” Tiana Williams-Claussen, director of the Yurok Tribe’s wildlife department, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/hearings/279747#t=27&f=ea737d404cb65c8e1f0d48a47f0e4922\">told lawmakers last month\u003c/a>. The Yurok and Tejon tribes are the bill’s cosponsors.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/Yurok-Tribe-Getty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12092588\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/Yurok-Tribe-Getty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/Yurok-Tribe-Getty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/Yurok-Tribe-Getty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Brook Thompson of the Yurok Tribe overlooks the removal site of the Iron Gate Dam, allowing the Klamath River to run in its original path in that area for the first time in nearly a century, near Hornbrook, California, on Aug. 14, 2024. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.calgrizzly.org/feasibility-study\">A 2025 study\u003c/a> from a coalition of tribes, environmentalists and university researchers found that the Yurok lands on the north coast as well as the nearby Klamath Mountains and Trinity Alps could be suitable grizzly habitat. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The study also singled out the southern Sierra Nevada, including Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia national parks, as well as the Transverse Mountains that span from San Bernardino County to Santa Barbara County.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>It estimated the habitats could sustain between 424 and 1,713 grizzlies, though it recommends bringing in a population of 25 grizzlies to start. Grizzlies can be found in Alaska, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Washington.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Supporters of the proposal say grizzlies would help California’s ecosystem. The giant omnivorous bears till soil as they root up meals, helping restore conifer forests, prairies and oak savannas, easing fire danger.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Grizzlies also serve as a check on overpopulation of prey. Grizzlies could reduce California’s human conflicts with black bears since grizzlies compete for food with their smaller cousins. Grizzlies also kill and eat black bears.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The loss of grizzlies might have been one of those contributing factors to that (black bear population) overgrowth,” Williams-Claussen said in an interview.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Grizzlies and the urban-rural divide\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Supporters’ arguments have appealed to the Democrats who control the Legislature. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Only Republicans have voted against the bill, which is pending before the Assembly Appropriations Committee when the Legislature returns Aug. 3.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Richardson didn’t return an interview request for this story. The measure’s Democratic coauthors are lawmakers from Southern California representing predominantly urban districts.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/072126-Stern-and-Richardson-Split-01-CM-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"A side-by-side split image showing a person on the left in a blue suit and a red tie holding a cell phone in their hand. The person on the right is wearing a black blazer over a blouse with a black-and-white pattern while speaking on the California Assembly floor into a microphone.\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">From left, state Sen. Henry Stern and state Sen. Laura Richardson. Photos by Fred Greaves for CalMatters\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This spring, one of the coauthors, Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/henry-stern-36368\">Henry Stern\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/hearings/279103#t=1532&f=20798ddeaaa55218d15cdbf945d9f503\">told the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee\u003c/a> that a mountain lion recently attacked one of his neighbors, so he understands rural concerns about predators.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Even so, learning to coexist with them is just part of living in a beautiful state filled with wildlife, Stern said.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“We want to live in a California where — that risk — there’s some beauty in it,” said Stern, who represents the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles. “To have that element in our lives, as opposed to just sterilizing our landscapes and our nature so that nothing else could ever be a risk … I think it makes us more human to have wildness in our lives.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Elizabeth Washoe, a Native American from Modoc County, hears that kind of talk from urban residents and rolls her eyes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There’s nothing I would love more than to see grizzly bears on the beach at Santa Barbara chasing rich people,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But she said that would be cruel — to the bears.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Like many in California, Washoe’s people still pay homage to grizzlies through ceremonial bear dances, but she said it’s not “ethically right to bring them back.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She hopes lawmakers consider what life would be like for the grizzlies they’d have captured and brought to California, where they would face a landscape radically different and eight times more populated than when the bears last lived here.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The bears don’t have any say in it,” Washoe said. “Where they’re at, they’re living a pretty good life, and we’d take them and put them here in a landscape that is so dramatically changed from what it was the last time that the bears were truly living a good life here … I understand the idea of it, but to me it feels egotistical.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">State wildlife officials wary\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The California agency that would be responsible for studying grizzly bear reintroduction does not appear eager to take it on. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Department of Fish and Wildlife, which hasn’t taken an official position on the legislation, does not comment on pending bills, spokesperson Peter Tira told CalMatters this week. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office also declined to comment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But there’s no indication the department’s position on grizzlies has changed since a former spokesperson told a reporter in 2023 that wildlife officials can barely keep up with existing predator conflicts.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GavinNewsomAP.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12084670\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GavinNewsomAP.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GavinNewsomAP-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GavinNewsomAP-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks about his state budget proposal on Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Sacramento, California. (Jeff Chiu/AP)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Bringing another predator into the state that we would have to manage and come up with some program to figure out what happens when the grizzly attacks a human or kills livestock does not seem feasible for us,” then-spokesperson Jordan Traverso told \u003ca href=\"https://www.altaonline.com/dispatches/a43127739/grizzly-bear-return-california-peter-alagona/\">the Alta Journal\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The department is chronically underfunded and understaffed. A legislative analysis for this year’s bill notes that Fish and Wildlife has enough cash and staff to complete just 38% of its existing duties. The department “would be unable to absorb the demand this roadmap would have on staff time and resources” according to the analysis.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>David Bess, who recently retired as its top law enforcement officer overseeing California’s game wardens, said the department is “drowning in work,” much of it trying to manage conflicts with predators already on the landscape.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I just don’t see where the department even has the capacity to do it,” Bess said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Trump’s grizzly proposal\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, President Donald Trump’s administration has added a new wrinkle to the debate. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Earlier this month, the administration issued a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/07/15/nx-s1-5893400/trump-administrations-proposal-to-shift-management-of-grizzly-bears-causes-confusion\">proposed rule change\u003c/a> that seeks to return management of grizzlies to states, despite the bears being protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Environmentalists fear Trump’s proposal would allow conservative states to begin killing grizzlies to appease ranchers and big game hunters. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1111\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy-5.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12019868\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy-5.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy-5-800x556.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy-5-1020x708.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy-5-160x111.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy-5-1536x1067.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A grizzly bear mother and her cub in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. (Karen Bleier/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The proposed federal rule wouldn’t impact California’s grizzly proposal, since the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would be in charge of any reintroduction program, said Andrea Zaccardi, carnivore conservation legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity, which supports Richardson’s legislation. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But having the bears in environmentally friendly states such as California could prove helpful if other states begin aggressively killing them off, she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Hopefully, they would be managed more responsibly there,” said Zaccardi, whose organization has \u003ca href=\"https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/mammals/grizzly_bear/bring_back_the_bears.html\">unsuccessfully petitioned the feds\u003c/a> to return grizzly bears to California. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/07/california-grizzly-bear-reintroduction-bill/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "california-cant-replant-its-forests-fast-enough-to-keep-up-with-wildfires",
"title": "California Can’t Replant Its Forests Fast Enough to Keep Up With Wildfires",
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"headTitle": "California Can’t Replant Its Forests Fast Enough to Keep Up With Wildfires | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A windowless warehouse on the outskirts of Davis shelters pieces of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California’s\u003c/a> forests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Icy air swirls and fogs around 42,000 pounds of seeds — the past and the future of these trees, frozen in cardboard boxes. It smells like the woods on a snowy day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is like the mothership of forestry in California right here,” said Stewart McMorrow, staff chief for wildfire resilience at Cal Fire, standing outside the heavy metal door of the state seed bank at Cal Fire’s Lewis A. Moran Reforestation Center in Davis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Private landowners especially rely on these seeds — some now more than a half-century old — to reforest property destroyed by wildfire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the pace California is burning, it’s \u003ca href=\"https://sbud.senate.ca.gov/system/files/2026-04/04.16.2026-agenda-apr16-cnra-ii-wildfire-4.14.pdf\">nowhere near enough\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate change and more than a century of overzealous fire suppression are now fueling wildfires so severe that they’re \u003ca href=\"https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2532829123\">wiping out the very forests\u003c/a> that need fire to thrive — leaving iconic landscapes at risk of turning into brush and scrub, permanently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the past quarter century, high-severity wildfires have burned 2.3 million acres of California’s forestland so completely that the trees are unlikely to return on their own — according to a working draft of the state’s new reforestation strategy obtained by CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12092570\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12092570\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_01.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_01.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_01-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_01-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sheet of Douglas fir seeds are scanned by x-ray for insect larvae by Lily Hessl, a Cal Fire forestry aide, at the Lewis A. Moran Reforestation Center in Davis on July 15, 2026. \u003ccite>(Anna Hoch-Kenney/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>California is counting on these forests to store carbon, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/tracking-headwaters-management-for-wildfire-resilience-in-california/\">protect water supplies\u003c/a>, clean the air, and shelter wildlife. By 2071, \u003ca href=\"https://datastories.americanforests.org/california-forests/\">one recent analysis reports\u003c/a>, half of California’s forest area could be gone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Reforestation,” said Malcolm North, a scientist with the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station, “is pretty damn important.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet to replant even a quarter of the privately owned forestlands in the state, California would need to increase seed bank capacity by roughly 300%, \u003ca href=\"https://34c031f8-c9fd-4018-8c5a-4159cdff6b0d-cdn-endpoint.azureedge.net/-/media/calfire-website/what-we-do/natural-resource-management/wildfire-resilience/reforestation-services/2025_rsp_at_a_glance.pdf?rev=d9519c34d3164306bf9feafb3e6ed81f&hash=0785BB05DE064440D7DA93D1E74FD147\">according to Cal Fire\u003c/a> — which means more seeds, more people, more space. And that wouldn’t solve the problem on federal land, which accounts for more than half the forests in the state and most of the lands that need replanting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But both Sacramento and Washington have spent decades letting the money and staff needed to grow back California’s forests wither.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to focus on reforestation as an emergency, as a state,” McMorrow said. “We are slowly losing our forestland, and we’re not catching up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Bleeding the federal workforce\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Timber harvests once paid for much of the U.S. Forest Service’s efforts to replant trees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as new laws tightened \u003ca href=\"https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/57828.pdf\">endangered species and other public lands protections\u003c/a>, logging in national forests declined. Severe wildfires also increased.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The combination devoured the \u003ca href=\"https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/64690.pdf\">Forest Service’s resources, and people\u003c/a>: from 1998 to 2015, non-fire staff tasked with managing National Forest System lands decreased by 39%, \u003ca href=\"https://www.fs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/2015-Fire-Budget-Report.pdf\">according to a 2015 report\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12092571\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12092571\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_08.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_08.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_08-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_08-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Assistant Nursery Manager Maya Hotz examines white fir seedlings in a greenhouse at the Lewis A. Moran Reforestation Center in Davis on July 15, 2026. \u003ccite>(Anna Hoch-Kenney/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>With ever-increasing demands, a \u003ca href=\"https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/64690.pdf\">2022 Forest Service document warned\u003c/a>, there is a “critical need” to increase the number of staff “substantially dedicated” to reforestation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Congress and the Biden Administration \u003ca href=\"https://www.agriculture.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/REPLANT%20Factsheet.pdf\">unstoppered additional money\u003c/a> for a reforestation trust fund in 2021, a move championed by the conservation non-profit American Forests. Just a few years later, the Forest Service reported that it had replanted roughly 285,000 acres nationwide — \u003ca href=\"https://www.fs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/fs-fy27-congressional-budget-justification.pdf\">the highest yearly total\u003c/a> in more than a quarter century.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the need still dwarfs action, and federally-directed work is lengthy and intense. Crews must clear dead and dying trees quickly to reduce the danger to people and the chance of reburns, a Forest Service spokesperson said.[aside postID=news_12092116 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/LittleFireGetty3.jpg']Finding seeds and growing seedlings can take a year or two, even before planting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The federal government’s capacity to replant forests eroded away over time, and it will take time to rebuild it, said Solomon Dobrowski, a professor of landscape ecology at the University of Montana. Dobrowski’s research found that the reforestation gap spans \u003ca href=\"https://northlab.faculty.ucdavis.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/195/2024/05/Mind-the-gap-reforestation-needs-vs-capacity-Dobrowski-Front-For-Clim-Change-2024.pdf\">millions of acres\u003c/a> across the West and is likely to double or even triple in the coming decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You don’t turn that ship around on a dime,” Dobrowski said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, the Trump administration cut the Forest Service significantly. The agency lost \u003ca href=\"https://files.gao.gov/reports/GAO-26-107993/index.html?_gl=1*sas2py*_ga*MTQyODQzNDg2MC4xNzgxODg1NzIy*_ga_V393SNS3SR*czE3ODM0NDMxODckbzMkZzEkdDE3ODM0NDMzMTEkajkkbDAkaDA\">20% of its staff last year\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It just makes me cry at night … it’s basically a child swinging a wrecking ball,” said Hugh Safford, a forest and fire ecologist with the UC Davis Environmental Science and Policy Department and a former regional ecologist for the Forest Service. “Morale is down, capacity already was really minimal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And California keeps burning.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A widening gap\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The loss of forests “is one of the least-known impacts of climate change and megafires,” said wildfire task force director Patrick Wright.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The draft strategy for California obtained by CalMatters comes with no dedicated funding. The goal, Wright said, is to put every agency and organization trying to replant California’s scorched forests on the same page.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The strategy calls for streamlining planning, prioritizing projects tackling critical human safety concerns and ecosystem issues like water supply, and increasing the supply of seeds, seedlings and workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12092572\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12092572\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_11.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_11.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_11-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_11-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Burned and fallen trees leave a section of hillside bare near Pollock Pines on July 15, 2026. \u003ccite>(Anna Hoch-Kenney/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It urges land managers to avoid adding more fuel to the fires, and recommends replanting at lower densities and with more natural spacing instead of the classic, closely-packed “pines in lines” grid. Scientists have linked \u003ca href=\"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.70400\">high-density plantings\u003c/a> to high-severity fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most startling pieces, though, come from the draft strategy’s look at the current landscape. California would need to scale up reforestation by 35% annually to meet the state’s existing \u003ca href=\"https://resources.ca.gov/-/media/CNRA-Website/Files/Initiatives/Expanding-Nature-Based-Solutions/NBS-Climate-Targets-Appendix-1---Methodology.pdf\">post-fire replanting goals\u003c/a>, which start at 280,000 acres per year in 2030. The increase would take “significant funds,” the report said, because reforestation can cost up to $6,400 an acre.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the current pace is lagging. Statewide, land managers have replanted roughly 254,000 acres of severely burned forest since 2020 — or around 16% of the area stripped of forest cover by high severity fires between 2020 and 2024 alone. The number is just 8% on federal lands, outside of wilderness areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Safford said the numbers are actually even more dire: Factoring in both wilderness areas and excluding forests likely to regrow on their own, \u003ca href=\"https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/forests-and-global-change/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2026.1764379/full\">his recent study reports\u003c/a> that the U.S. Forest Service replanted just 1.2% of the agency’s California lands that wildfire denuded between 2016 and 2023.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It wasn’t always like this, said Safford. The Forest Service’s replanting efforts mostly kept pace with wildfires until around 2006.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And then,” Safford said, “it just falls to shit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Nowhere near prepared’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For all the vitriol between Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Donald Trump over \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/07/01/governor-newsom-challenges-president-trump-to-adopt-model-executive-order-to-help-make-america-rake-again/\">the care and raking of California’s forests\u003c/a>, state and federal money — and people — often intersect on the landscape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On California’s end, Cal Fire \u003ca href=\"https://reforestationtools.org/climate-adapted-seed-tool/\">funds\u003c/a> and conducts research, and provides \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/what-we-do/grants/forest-health\">grants\u003c/a> for forest restoration on \u003ca href=\"https://www.grants.ca.gov/grants/2026-wildfire-resilience-block-grants/\">private\u003c/a>, state and even federal land. Cal Fire also runs the reforestation center in Davis, where flats of glossy young conifers are gently misted with water in the summer heat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McMorrow — tall and crisp in his navy Cal Fire uniform — can’t help but dig his hands into the dirt to pull out weeds tangling with the seedlings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12092575\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12092575\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_05.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_05.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_05-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_05-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Assistant Nursery Manager Maya Hotz checks on a batch of Douglas fir seedlings in a nursery at the Lewis A. Moran Reforestation Center in Davis on July 15, 2026. \u003ccite>(Anna Hoch-Kenney/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One of the most challenging chokepoints, McMorrow said, is finding the right seeds to grow these seedlings — getting climbers to the right spot, at the right time, to pluck ripe cones from the treetops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Believe me, I do it,” said McMorrow, who created a tree-climbing program at Cal Fire. “We are trying to meet the demand that’s in front of us, and it’s crushing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet the money for Cal Fire’s efforts — cobbled together from the state budget, federal grants and other one-time funds — represents a relatively \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/handouts/resources/2026/State-Wildfire-Resilience-Funding-051326.pdf\">small and ever-changing fraction\u003c/a> of Cal Fire’s \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4952#How_has_state_spending_on_wildfire_resilience_changed_over_time.3F\">multibillion-dollar budget\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The nursery in Davis shut down \u003ca href=\"https://34c031f8-c9fd-4018-8c5a-4159cdff6b0d-cdn-endpoint.azureedge.net/-/media/calfire-website/what-we-do/natural-resource-management/wildfire-resilience/reforestation-services/cal_fire_seed_bank_aon_2025_v5_20_signed.pdf?rev=8965d92777cb4ffab11b3387e4987b5e&hash=558CF1247F1837FA3E954E453DD2CE20\">in the early 2000s\u003c/a>, a casualty of across-the-board state budget cuts. Though the seed bank freezer stayed on, the reforestation center didn’t fully reopen until after the Legislature in 2017 tapped a 2012 fee \u003ca href=\"https://resources.ca.gov/Initiatives/Forest-Stewardship/Timber-Regulation-and-Forest-Restoration-Program\">on wood products\u003c/a> to bring it back online.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scaling up and upgrading the facility now carries an estimated\u003ca href=\"https://bcp.dof.ca.gov/2627/FY2627_ORG3540_BCP8896.pdf\"> $26.2 million\u003c/a> price tag; this year’s state budget included about\u003ca href=\"https://abgt.assembly.ca.gov/system/files/2026-06/floor-report-of-the-2026-27-budget-june-27-2026_5.pdf\"> $1.2 million\u003c/a> to fund preliminary planning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, other funding is on the line. California’s climate regulators — chaired by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/climate-change/2025/09/air-resources-board-chair-transition/\">Newsom appointee Lauren Sanchez\u003c/a> — voted in May to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/water/2026/05/newsom-california-safe-drinking-water/\">overhaul a key climate program \u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://senv.senate.ca.gov/system/files/2026-05/lao-handout.pdf\">in ways that\u003c/a> could substantially reduce, or even eliminate, up to $200 million a year for wildfire resilience. Grants for reforestation are among the many competing priorities for this funding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12092576\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12092576\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_09.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_09.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_09-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_09-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Leilani Villeda prepares to fire a weighted line into the high branches of a pine tree using an air-powered launcher during Cone Camp, an annual training session where participants learn how to survey and collect pine cones, in Pollock Pines on July 15, 2026. \u003ccite>(Anna Hoch-Kenney/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While \u003ca href=\"https://wildfiretaskforce.org/california-passes-proposition-4-providing-1-5-billion-for-wildfire-resilience/\">the Proposition 4\u003c/a> climate bond includes \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5115\">$1.5 billion\u003c/a> for wildfire and forest resilience, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/11/california-budget-earmarks-2025/\">state leaders\u003c/a> are \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/handouts/resources/2026/State-Wildfire-Resilience-Funding-051326.pdf\">spending down the bond quickly\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The truth of the matter is that California is probably, infrastructurally speaking, in a better place than any other western state,” Safford said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What that tells you is how piss-poor the capacity is in general in the Western U.S., because California is nowhere near prepared for the scale of this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Cone hunting\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>On the banks of \u003ca href=\"https://www.jenkinsonlake.com/\">Jenkinson Lake\u003c/a> in the Sierra Nevada foothills, Stella Krone and Elyse Wohlenberg wrestled with a slingshot that towered over the two of them. It took their combined strength to slot the bungee into position, then Wohlenberg stepped back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All clear?” Krone asked, kneeling in a clearing and pointing the slingshot at a Douglas fir 50 yards away. “Firing!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Krone, Wohlenberg, and dozens of other hard-hatted people were there, crunching over conifer needles, \u003ca href=\"https://www.americanforests.org/article/the-camp-thats-training-a-new-generation-of-cone-collectors/\">for Cone Camp\u003c/a> — a training program led by American Forests with support from Cal Fire and the Forest Service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12092578\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12092578\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_10.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_10.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_10-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_10-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cone Camp participants search for the right pine tree to collect cones from on the shores of Jenkinson Lake in Pollock Pines on July 15, 2026. Cone collection helps contribute to Cal Fire’s seed bank and reforestation program. \u003ccite>(Anna Hoch-Kenney/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The campers — some forestry professionals, some interested laypeople — peeled off with oversized slingshots and souped-up potato guns to learn how to knock cones loose from tree branches. That’s how they check the cones for ripeness and viability, before sending someone up the tree to collect them for a seed bank.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The problem was, there were hardly any. Last year’s dry cones rattled to the forest floor as Krone and another camper jiggled the rope they’d shot into the canopy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So far, not a great cone year,” said Leana Weissberg, American Forests’ California director.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the clearing, the instructor asked whether the group was ready to try again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Let’s go,” Krone said. “We’re cone hunters for a reason.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/wildfires/2026/07/wildfires-california-forest-reforestation-seed/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "California’s wildfires are destroying forests faster than the state can replant them, and federal cuts are making the gap worse.",
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"title": "California Can’t Replant Its Forests Fast Enough to Keep Up With Wildfires | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A windowless warehouse on the outskirts of Davis shelters pieces of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California’s\u003c/a> forests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Icy air swirls and fogs around 42,000 pounds of seeds — the past and the future of these trees, frozen in cardboard boxes. It smells like the woods on a snowy day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is like the mothership of forestry in California right here,” said Stewart McMorrow, staff chief for wildfire resilience at Cal Fire, standing outside the heavy metal door of the state seed bank at Cal Fire’s Lewis A. Moran Reforestation Center in Davis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Private landowners especially rely on these seeds — some now more than a half-century old — to reforest property destroyed by wildfire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the pace California is burning, it’s \u003ca href=\"https://sbud.senate.ca.gov/system/files/2026-04/04.16.2026-agenda-apr16-cnra-ii-wildfire-4.14.pdf\">nowhere near enough\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate change and more than a century of overzealous fire suppression are now fueling wildfires so severe that they’re \u003ca href=\"https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2532829123\">wiping out the very forests\u003c/a> that need fire to thrive — leaving iconic landscapes at risk of turning into brush and scrub, permanently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the past quarter century, high-severity wildfires have burned 2.3 million acres of California’s forestland so completely that the trees are unlikely to return on their own — according to a working draft of the state’s new reforestation strategy obtained by CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12092570\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12092570\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_01.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_01.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_01-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_01-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sheet of Douglas fir seeds are scanned by x-ray for insect larvae by Lily Hessl, a Cal Fire forestry aide, at the Lewis A. Moran Reforestation Center in Davis on July 15, 2026. \u003ccite>(Anna Hoch-Kenney/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>California is counting on these forests to store carbon, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/tracking-headwaters-management-for-wildfire-resilience-in-california/\">protect water supplies\u003c/a>, clean the air, and shelter wildlife. By 2071, \u003ca href=\"https://datastories.americanforests.org/california-forests/\">one recent analysis reports\u003c/a>, half of California’s forest area could be gone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Reforestation,” said Malcolm North, a scientist with the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station, “is pretty damn important.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet to replant even a quarter of the privately owned forestlands in the state, California would need to increase seed bank capacity by roughly 300%, \u003ca href=\"https://34c031f8-c9fd-4018-8c5a-4159cdff6b0d-cdn-endpoint.azureedge.net/-/media/calfire-website/what-we-do/natural-resource-management/wildfire-resilience/reforestation-services/2025_rsp_at_a_glance.pdf?rev=d9519c34d3164306bf9feafb3e6ed81f&hash=0785BB05DE064440D7DA93D1E74FD147\">according to Cal Fire\u003c/a> — which means more seeds, more people, more space. And that wouldn’t solve the problem on federal land, which accounts for more than half the forests in the state and most of the lands that need replanting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But both Sacramento and Washington have spent decades letting the money and staff needed to grow back California’s forests wither.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to focus on reforestation as an emergency, as a state,” McMorrow said. “We are slowly losing our forestland, and we’re not catching up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Bleeding the federal workforce\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Timber harvests once paid for much of the U.S. Forest Service’s efforts to replant trees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as new laws tightened \u003ca href=\"https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/57828.pdf\">endangered species and other public lands protections\u003c/a>, logging in national forests declined. Severe wildfires also increased.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The combination devoured the \u003ca href=\"https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/64690.pdf\">Forest Service’s resources, and people\u003c/a>: from 1998 to 2015, non-fire staff tasked with managing National Forest System lands decreased by 39%, \u003ca href=\"https://www.fs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/2015-Fire-Budget-Report.pdf\">according to a 2015 report\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12092571\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12092571\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_08.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_08.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_08-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_08-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Assistant Nursery Manager Maya Hotz examines white fir seedlings in a greenhouse at the Lewis A. Moran Reforestation Center in Davis on July 15, 2026. \u003ccite>(Anna Hoch-Kenney/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>With ever-increasing demands, a \u003ca href=\"https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/64690.pdf\">2022 Forest Service document warned\u003c/a>, there is a “critical need” to increase the number of staff “substantially dedicated” to reforestation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Congress and the Biden Administration \u003ca href=\"https://www.agriculture.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/REPLANT%20Factsheet.pdf\">unstoppered additional money\u003c/a> for a reforestation trust fund in 2021, a move championed by the conservation non-profit American Forests. Just a few years later, the Forest Service reported that it had replanted roughly 285,000 acres nationwide — \u003ca href=\"https://www.fs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/fs-fy27-congressional-budget-justification.pdf\">the highest yearly total\u003c/a> in more than a quarter century.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the need still dwarfs action, and federally-directed work is lengthy and intense. Crews must clear dead and dying trees quickly to reduce the danger to people and the chance of reburns, a Forest Service spokesperson said.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Finding seeds and growing seedlings can take a year or two, even before planting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The federal government’s capacity to replant forests eroded away over time, and it will take time to rebuild it, said Solomon Dobrowski, a professor of landscape ecology at the University of Montana. Dobrowski’s research found that the reforestation gap spans \u003ca href=\"https://northlab.faculty.ucdavis.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/195/2024/05/Mind-the-gap-reforestation-needs-vs-capacity-Dobrowski-Front-For-Clim-Change-2024.pdf\">millions of acres\u003c/a> across the West and is likely to double or even triple in the coming decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You don’t turn that ship around on a dime,” Dobrowski said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, the Trump administration cut the Forest Service significantly. The agency lost \u003ca href=\"https://files.gao.gov/reports/GAO-26-107993/index.html?_gl=1*sas2py*_ga*MTQyODQzNDg2MC4xNzgxODg1NzIy*_ga_V393SNS3SR*czE3ODM0NDMxODckbzMkZzEkdDE3ODM0NDMzMTEkajkkbDAkaDA\">20% of its staff last year\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It just makes me cry at night … it’s basically a child swinging a wrecking ball,” said Hugh Safford, a forest and fire ecologist with the UC Davis Environmental Science and Policy Department and a former regional ecologist for the Forest Service. “Morale is down, capacity already was really minimal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And California keeps burning.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A widening gap\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The loss of forests “is one of the least-known impacts of climate change and megafires,” said wildfire task force director Patrick Wright.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The draft strategy for California obtained by CalMatters comes with no dedicated funding. The goal, Wright said, is to put every agency and organization trying to replant California’s scorched forests on the same page.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The strategy calls for streamlining planning, prioritizing projects tackling critical human safety concerns and ecosystem issues like water supply, and increasing the supply of seeds, seedlings and workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12092572\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12092572\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_11.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_11.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_11-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_11-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Burned and fallen trees leave a section of hillside bare near Pollock Pines on July 15, 2026. \u003ccite>(Anna Hoch-Kenney/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It urges land managers to avoid adding more fuel to the fires, and recommends replanting at lower densities and with more natural spacing instead of the classic, closely-packed “pines in lines” grid. Scientists have linked \u003ca href=\"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.70400\">high-density plantings\u003c/a> to high-severity fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most startling pieces, though, come from the draft strategy’s look at the current landscape. California would need to scale up reforestation by 35% annually to meet the state’s existing \u003ca href=\"https://resources.ca.gov/-/media/CNRA-Website/Files/Initiatives/Expanding-Nature-Based-Solutions/NBS-Climate-Targets-Appendix-1---Methodology.pdf\">post-fire replanting goals\u003c/a>, which start at 280,000 acres per year in 2030. The increase would take “significant funds,” the report said, because reforestation can cost up to $6,400 an acre.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the current pace is lagging. Statewide, land managers have replanted roughly 254,000 acres of severely burned forest since 2020 — or around 16% of the area stripped of forest cover by high severity fires between 2020 and 2024 alone. The number is just 8% on federal lands, outside of wilderness areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Safford said the numbers are actually even more dire: Factoring in both wilderness areas and excluding forests likely to regrow on their own, \u003ca href=\"https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/forests-and-global-change/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2026.1764379/full\">his recent study reports\u003c/a> that the U.S. Forest Service replanted just 1.2% of the agency’s California lands that wildfire denuded between 2016 and 2023.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It wasn’t always like this, said Safford. The Forest Service’s replanting efforts mostly kept pace with wildfires until around 2006.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And then,” Safford said, “it just falls to shit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Nowhere near prepared’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For all the vitriol between Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Donald Trump over \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/07/01/governor-newsom-challenges-president-trump-to-adopt-model-executive-order-to-help-make-america-rake-again/\">the care and raking of California’s forests\u003c/a>, state and federal money — and people — often intersect on the landscape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On California’s end, Cal Fire \u003ca href=\"https://reforestationtools.org/climate-adapted-seed-tool/\">funds\u003c/a> and conducts research, and provides \u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/what-we-do/grants/forest-health\">grants\u003c/a> for forest restoration on \u003ca href=\"https://www.grants.ca.gov/grants/2026-wildfire-resilience-block-grants/\">private\u003c/a>, state and even federal land. Cal Fire also runs the reforestation center in Davis, where flats of glossy young conifers are gently misted with water in the summer heat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McMorrow — tall and crisp in his navy Cal Fire uniform — can’t help but dig his hands into the dirt to pull out weeds tangling with the seedlings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12092575\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12092575\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_05.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_05.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_05-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_05-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Assistant Nursery Manager Maya Hotz checks on a batch of Douglas fir seedlings in a nursery at the Lewis A. Moran Reforestation Center in Davis on July 15, 2026. \u003ccite>(Anna Hoch-Kenney/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One of the most challenging chokepoints, McMorrow said, is finding the right seeds to grow these seedlings — getting climbers to the right spot, at the right time, to pluck ripe cones from the treetops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Believe me, I do it,” said McMorrow, who created a tree-climbing program at Cal Fire. “We are trying to meet the demand that’s in front of us, and it’s crushing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet the money for Cal Fire’s efforts — cobbled together from the state budget, federal grants and other one-time funds — represents a relatively \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/handouts/resources/2026/State-Wildfire-Resilience-Funding-051326.pdf\">small and ever-changing fraction\u003c/a> of Cal Fire’s \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4952#How_has_state_spending_on_wildfire_resilience_changed_over_time.3F\">multibillion-dollar budget\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The nursery in Davis shut down \u003ca href=\"https://34c031f8-c9fd-4018-8c5a-4159cdff6b0d-cdn-endpoint.azureedge.net/-/media/calfire-website/what-we-do/natural-resource-management/wildfire-resilience/reforestation-services/cal_fire_seed_bank_aon_2025_v5_20_signed.pdf?rev=8965d92777cb4ffab11b3387e4987b5e&hash=558CF1247F1837FA3E954E453DD2CE20\">in the early 2000s\u003c/a>, a casualty of across-the-board state budget cuts. Though the seed bank freezer stayed on, the reforestation center didn’t fully reopen until after the Legislature in 2017 tapped a 2012 fee \u003ca href=\"https://resources.ca.gov/Initiatives/Forest-Stewardship/Timber-Regulation-and-Forest-Restoration-Program\">on wood products\u003c/a> to bring it back online.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scaling up and upgrading the facility now carries an estimated\u003ca href=\"https://bcp.dof.ca.gov/2627/FY2627_ORG3540_BCP8896.pdf\"> $26.2 million\u003c/a> price tag; this year’s state budget included about\u003ca href=\"https://abgt.assembly.ca.gov/system/files/2026-06/floor-report-of-the-2026-27-budget-june-27-2026_5.pdf\"> $1.2 million\u003c/a> to fund preliminary planning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, other funding is on the line. California’s climate regulators — chaired by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/climate-change/2025/09/air-resources-board-chair-transition/\">Newsom appointee Lauren Sanchez\u003c/a> — voted in May to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/water/2026/05/newsom-california-safe-drinking-water/\">overhaul a key climate program \u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://senv.senate.ca.gov/system/files/2026-05/lao-handout.pdf\">in ways that\u003c/a> could substantially reduce, or even eliminate, up to $200 million a year for wildfire resilience. Grants for reforestation are among the many competing priorities for this funding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12092576\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12092576\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_09.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_09.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_09-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_09-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Leilani Villeda prepares to fire a weighted line into the high branches of a pine tree using an air-powered launcher during Cone Camp, an annual training session where participants learn how to survey and collect pine cones, in Pollock Pines on July 15, 2026. \u003ccite>(Anna Hoch-Kenney/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While \u003ca href=\"https://wildfiretaskforce.org/california-passes-proposition-4-providing-1-5-billion-for-wildfire-resilience/\">the Proposition 4\u003c/a> climate bond includes \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5115\">$1.5 billion\u003c/a> for wildfire and forest resilience, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/11/california-budget-earmarks-2025/\">state leaders\u003c/a> are \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/handouts/resources/2026/State-Wildfire-Resilience-Funding-051326.pdf\">spending down the bond quickly\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The truth of the matter is that California is probably, infrastructurally speaking, in a better place than any other western state,” Safford said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What that tells you is how piss-poor the capacity is in general in the Western U.S., because California is nowhere near prepared for the scale of this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Cone hunting\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>On the banks of \u003ca href=\"https://www.jenkinsonlake.com/\">Jenkinson Lake\u003c/a> in the Sierra Nevada foothills, Stella Krone and Elyse Wohlenberg wrestled with a slingshot that towered over the two of them. It took their combined strength to slot the bungee into position, then Wohlenberg stepped back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All clear?” Krone asked, kneeling in a clearing and pointing the slingshot at a Douglas fir 50 yards away. “Firing!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Krone, Wohlenberg, and dozens of other hard-hatted people were there, crunching over conifer needles, \u003ca href=\"https://www.americanforests.org/article/the-camp-thats-training-a-new-generation-of-cone-collectors/\">for Cone Camp\u003c/a> — a training program led by American Forests with support from Cal Fire and the Forest Service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12092578\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12092578\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_10.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_10.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_10-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/071526_Reforestation_AHK_CM_10-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cone Camp participants search for the right pine tree to collect cones from on the shores of Jenkinson Lake in Pollock Pines on July 15, 2026. Cone collection helps contribute to Cal Fire’s seed bank and reforestation program. \u003ccite>(Anna Hoch-Kenney/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The campers — some forestry professionals, some interested laypeople — peeled off with oversized slingshots and souped-up potato guns to learn how to knock cones loose from tree branches. That’s how they check the cones for ripeness and viability, before sending someone up the tree to collect them for a seed bank.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The problem was, there were hardly any. Last year’s dry cones rattled to the forest floor as Krone and another camper jiggled the rope they’d shot into the canopy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So far, not a great cone year,” said Leana Weissberg, American Forests’ California director.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the clearing, the instructor asked whether the group was ready to try again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Let’s go,” Krone said. “We’re cone hunters for a reason.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/wildfires/2026/07/wildfires-california-forest-reforestation-seed/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three years ago a federal jury threw the book at a man who allegedly carried out a $1 million \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/covid\">COVID\u003c/a> fraud scheme while running a rehab home for parolees under a state program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He was sentenced to 17 years in prison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Attila Colar’s conviction fell apart this week when the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found the judge in the case allowed \u003ca href=\"https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2026/07/21/24-396.pdf\">a juror with a disqualifying bias\u003c/a> to participate in the trial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CalMatters \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/justice/2023/09/california-rehab-covid-fraud-conviction/\">exposed Colar’s Bay Area operation\u003c/a>, called All Hands on Deck, in a 2023 investigation into parolee rehabilitation programs. The investigation showed California had spent \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/justice/2023/07/california-prisoner-rehabilitation-centers/\">hundreds of millions of dollars\u003c/a> on the programs, but couldn’t say whether they helped anyone find a job or stay away from crime.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Colar was \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/ceo-company-providing-homes-parolees-and-probationers-sentenced-17-years-prison-bank\">convicted on 44 felony counts\u003c/a> of defrauding the Paycheck Protection Program and attempting to obstruct a federal investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Colar, who is Black and Muslim, represented himself during parts of his trial. He asked jurors if they believed “law enforcement has a history of persecuting Black religious organizations,” according to the 9th Circuit. Colar also made statements to prospective jurors suggesting he believed he was unfairly targeted by law enforcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12092556\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12092556\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/081623-Colar-AHOD-AH-CM-01.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/081623-Colar-AHOD-AH-CM-01.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/081623-Colar-AHOD-AH-CM-01-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/081623-Colar-AHOD-AH-CM-01-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation paid Attila Colar, 51, to house and rehabilitate parolees through his Bay Area nonprofit, All Hands on Deck. A federal jury later found that Colar submitted fraudulent documents to win the contract, and that he used the identities of his tenants in a COVID benefits scheme that netted $1 million. \u003ccite>(Adriana Heldiz/CalMatters via iStock)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One juror reacted negatively to those statements, saying when Colar spoke, “all that came out was discrimination, conspiracy theories, and police corruption.” The juror told the judge he could be impartial and had his own personal experiences with discrimination, but expressed strong skepticism to Colar’s claims of police bias and corruption.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Colar contested the juror’s participation, but the judge allowed him to stay. Three weeks later, the jury handed up its guilty verdict.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 9th Circuit found the juror who reacted to Colar’s discrimination claim should have been removed. The appeals court noted the man’s views “were rooted in his personal experience and emotion, and he told the court in plain terms that he would not be able to set them aside.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 9th Circuit order allows for prosecutors to put Colar on trial again. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Northern California has not yet responded to a request for comment about the decision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/justice/2026/07/covid-fraud-conviction-overturned/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three years ago a federal jury threw the book at a man who allegedly carried out a $1 million \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/covid\">COVID\u003c/a> fraud scheme while running a rehab home for parolees under a state program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He was sentenced to 17 years in prison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Attila Colar’s conviction fell apart this week when the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found the judge in the case allowed \u003ca href=\"https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2026/07/21/24-396.pdf\">a juror with a disqualifying bias\u003c/a> to participate in the trial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CalMatters \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/justice/2023/09/california-rehab-covid-fraud-conviction/\">exposed Colar’s Bay Area operation\u003c/a>, called All Hands on Deck, in a 2023 investigation into parolee rehabilitation programs. The investigation showed California had spent \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/justice/2023/07/california-prisoner-rehabilitation-centers/\">hundreds of millions of dollars\u003c/a> on the programs, but couldn’t say whether they helped anyone find a job or stay away from crime.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Colar was \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/ceo-company-providing-homes-parolees-and-probationers-sentenced-17-years-prison-bank\">convicted on 44 felony counts\u003c/a> of defrauding the Paycheck Protection Program and attempting to obstruct a federal investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Colar, who is Black and Muslim, represented himself during parts of his trial. He asked jurors if they believed “law enforcement has a history of persecuting Black religious organizations,” according to the 9th Circuit. Colar also made statements to prospective jurors suggesting he believed he was unfairly targeted by law enforcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12092556\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12092556\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/081623-Colar-AHOD-AH-CM-01.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/081623-Colar-AHOD-AH-CM-01.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/081623-Colar-AHOD-AH-CM-01-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/081623-Colar-AHOD-AH-CM-01-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation paid Attila Colar, 51, to house and rehabilitate parolees through his Bay Area nonprofit, All Hands on Deck. A federal jury later found that Colar submitted fraudulent documents to win the contract, and that he used the identities of his tenants in a COVID benefits scheme that netted $1 million. \u003ccite>(Adriana Heldiz/CalMatters via iStock)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One juror reacted negatively to those statements, saying when Colar spoke, “all that came out was discrimination, conspiracy theories, and police corruption.” The juror told the judge he could be impartial and had his own personal experiences with discrimination, but expressed strong skepticism to Colar’s claims of police bias and corruption.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Colar contested the juror’s participation, but the judge allowed him to stay. Three weeks later, the jury handed up its guilty verdict.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 9th Circuit found the juror who reacted to Colar’s discrimination claim should have been removed. The appeals court noted the man’s views “were rooted in his personal experience and emotion, and he told the court in plain terms that he would not be able to set them aside.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 9th Circuit order allows for prosecutors to put Colar on trial again. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Northern California has not yet responded to a request for comment about the decision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/justice/2026/07/covid-fraud-conviction-overturned/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "california-rejected-150000-mail-ballots-marking-highest-rate-since-2014",
"title": "California Rejected 150,000 Mail Ballots, Marking Highest Rate Since 2014",
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"headTitle": "California Rejected 150,000 Mail Ballots, Marking Highest Rate Since 2014 | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>California \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/electionsnews\">election\u003c/a> officials rejected nearly 150,000 ballots in the June 2 primary election, an increase of tens of thousands over recent elections, according to a report from the secretary of state’s office. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That accounted for 1.7% of all vote-by-mail ballots cast, marking the state’s highest rejection rate since 2014, according to the California Voter Foundation. Most of the rejected ballots were reported as “not received on time,” which can mean that the ballot was either postmarked after Election Day or arrived in election offices after the June 9 receipt deadline.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s always troubling to see an increase,” said Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation. “Ballots rejected due to lateness are almost always because they’re postmarked too late — not because they don’t arrive during the grace period.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CaliforniaBallotsSupremeCourtAP.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12089274\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CaliforniaBallotsSupremeCourtAP.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CaliforniaBallotsSupremeCourtAP-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CaliforniaBallotsSupremeCourtAP-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ballots are sorted the day after California’s primary election at the L.A. County Ballot Processing Center on June 3, 2026, in City of Industry, California. (Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Election officials and voting advocates attribute late ballots to changes in U.S. Postal Service practices that could result in mailpieces not being postmarked on the same day they were mailed, as well as a competitive primary for governor that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12084978/california-democrats-anxious-about-wasted-votes-are-clinging-to-their-ballots\">left many voters undecided\u003c/a> until the final days of the campaign. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Our experience in this election was that voters were waiting until the last minute to vote a lot more than what we’ve seen in past elections,” said Matt Moreles, the registrar of voters in Santa Clara County, which had the highest rate of vote-by-mail ballot rejections in the Bay Area at 2.6%. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, every voter receives a ballot in the mail by default, roughly a month before Election Day. Ballots returned in the mail must be postmarked by Election Day and arrive at the county registrar’s office \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12089268/supreme-court-ruling-allows-california-to-continue-accepting-ballots-after-election-day\">within a week\u003c/a> after that. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Last year, USPS officials announced \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12085378/usps-changes-ballot-drop-box-near-me-deadline-california-primary-vote-for-governor\">a change in “transportation operations”\u003c/a> that resulted in some mailpieces not arriving at central processing facilities, where postmarks are applied, on the same day they are mailed. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As a result, a ballot dropped in a mailbox on Election Day in a community far from one of those hubs could receive a postmark the following day, making it ineligible to be counted. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Of the 148,241 vote-by-mail ballots left uncounted in California, 93,497 were rejected for late arrival. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We are going to look at that as far as — is there anything we can do in our messaging to voters and in terms of educating voters about the importance of returning their ballots?” Moreles said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A smaller number — 52,290 — were rejected because the voter either failed to sign their ballot envelope or because that signature did not match their signature on file. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>California law allows election officials to resolve signature issues for weeks after Election Day. Under the process known as ballot “curing,” registrars are allowed to contact voters with a missing or mismatched signature and give them a chance to fix it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Voting advocates argue that ballot rejections are a far more pertinent issue for state lawmakers to address than exceedingly rare cases of voter fraud. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1320\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2256657926.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12070782\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2256657926.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2256657926-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2256657926-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to the press on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on Jan. 20, 2026. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In each of California’s last five statewide elections, more than 100,000 residents did not have their vote counted because their ballot arrived too late or had a signature issue. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“To me it’s always disappointing to see ballot rejection happening, because it’s a lot of work to be a California voter,” Alexander said. “But the fact that you see all of these ballots being rejected is evidence of the careful work election officials undertake each election to make sure that only valid ballots cast are counted and that nobody is voting more than once.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers are hoping that an infusion of $10 million for voter education will help persuade Californians \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12087984/three-ways-california-could-speed-up-vote-counting\">to vote early\u003c/a> and avoid ballot issues. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The budget signed by Newsom in June includes $5 million each for the secretary of state’s office and county officials for the purpose of encouraging an earlier vote.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>California \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/electionsnews\">election\u003c/a> officials rejected nearly 150,000 ballots in the June 2 primary election, an increase of tens of thousands over recent elections, according to a report from the secretary of state’s office. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>California \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/electionsnews\">election\u003c/a> officials rejected nearly 150,000 ballots in the June 2 primary election, an increase of tens of thousands over recent elections, according to a report from the secretary of state’s office. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That accounted for 1.7% of all vote-by-mail ballots cast, marking the state’s highest rejection rate since 2014, according to the California Voter Foundation. Most of the rejected ballots were reported as “not received on time,” which can mean that the ballot was either postmarked after Election Day or arrived in election offices after the June 9 receipt deadline.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That accounted for 1.7% of all vote-by-mail ballots cast, marking the state’s highest rejection rate since 2014, according to the California Voter Foundation. Most of the rejected ballots were reported as “not received on time,” which can mean that the ballot was either postmarked after Election Day or arrived in election offices after the June 9 receipt deadline.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s always troubling to see an increase,” said Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation. “Ballots rejected due to lateness are almost always because they’re postmarked too late — not because they don’t arrive during the grace period.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It’s always troubling to see an increase,” said Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation. “Ballots rejected due to lateness are almost always because they’re postmarked too late — not because they don’t arrive during the grace period.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CaliforniaBallotsSupremeCourtAP.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12089274\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CaliforniaBallotsSupremeCourtAP.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CaliforniaBallotsSupremeCourtAP-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CaliforniaBallotsSupremeCourtAP-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ballots are sorted the day after California’s primary election at the L.A. County Ballot Processing Center on June 3, 2026, in City of Industry, California.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Election officials and voting advocates attribute late ballots to changes in U.S. Postal Service practices that could result in mailpieces not being postmarked on the same day they were mailed, as well as a competitive primary for governor that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12084978/california-democrats-anxious-about-wasted-votes-are-clinging-to-their-ballots\">left many voters undecided\u003c/a> until the final days of the campaign. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Election officials and voting advocates attribute late ballots to changes in U.S. Postal Service practices that could result in mailpieces not being postmarked on the same day they were mailed, as well as a competitive primary for governor that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12084978/california-democrats-anxious-about-wasted-votes-are-clinging-to-their-ballots\">left many voters undecided\u003c/a> until the final days of the campaign. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Our experience in this election was that voters were waiting until the last minute to vote a lot more than what we’ve seen in past elections,” said Matt Moreles, the registrar of voters in Santa Clara County, which had the highest rate of vote-by-mail ballot rejections in the Bay Area at 2.6%. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Our experience in this election was that voters were waiting until the last minute to vote a lot more than what we’ve seen in past elections,” said Matt Moreles, the registrar of voters in Santa Clara County, which had the highest rate of vote-by-mail ballot rejections in the Bay Area at 2.6%. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In California, every voter receives a ballot in the mail by default, roughly a month before Election Day. Ballots returned in the mail must be postmarked by Election Day and arrive at the county registrar’s office \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12089268/supreme-court-ruling-allows-california-to-continue-accepting-ballots-after-election-day\">within a week\u003c/a> after that. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In California, every voter receives a ballot in the mail by default, roughly a month before Election Day. Ballots returned in the mail must be postmarked by Election Day and arrive at the county registrar’s office \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12089268/supreme-court-ruling-allows-california-to-continue-accepting-ballots-after-election-day\">within a week\u003c/a> after that. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Last year, USPS officials announced \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12085378/usps-changes-ballot-drop-box-near-me-deadline-california-primary-vote-for-governor\">a change in “transportation operations”\u003c/a> that resulted in some mailpieces not arriving at central processing facilities, where postmarks are applied, on the same day they are mailed. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Last year, USPS officials announced \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12085378/usps-changes-ballot-drop-box-near-me-deadline-california-primary-vote-for-governor\">a change in “transportation operations”\u003c/a> that resulted in some mailpieces not arriving at central processing facilities, where postmarks are applied, on the same day they are mailed. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As a result, a ballot dropped in a mailbox on Election Day in a community far from one of those hubs could receive a postmark the following day, making it ineligible to be counted. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>As a result, a ballot dropped in a mailbox on Election Day in a community far from one of those hubs could receive a postmark the following day, making it ineligible to be counted. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Of the 148,241 vote-by-mail ballots left uncounted in California, 93,497 were rejected for late arrival. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Of the 148,241 vote-by-mail ballots left uncounted in California, 93,497 were rejected for late arrival. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We are going to look at that as far as — is there anything we can do in our messaging to voters and in terms of educating voters about the importance of returning their ballots?” Moreles said. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>“We are going to look at that as far as — is there anything we can do in our messaging to voters and in terms of educating voters about the importance of returning their ballots?” Moreles said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A smaller number — 52,290 — were rejected because the voter either failed to sign their ballot envelope or because that signature did not match their signature on file. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>A smaller number — 52,290 — were rejected because the voter either failed to sign their ballot envelope or because that signature did not match their signature on file. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>California law allows election officials to resolve signature issues for weeks after Election Day. Under the process known as ballot “curing,” registrars are allowed to contact voters with a missing or mismatched signature and give them a chance to fix it.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>California law allows election officials to resolve signature issues for weeks after Election Day. Under the process known as ballot “curing,” registrars are allowed to contact voters with a missing or mismatched signature and give them a chance to fix it.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Voting advocates argue that ballot rejections are a far more pertinent issue for state lawmakers to address than exceedingly rare cases of voter fraud. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Voting advocates argue that ballot rejections are a far more pertinent issue for state lawmakers to address than exceedingly rare cases of voter fraud. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In each of California’s last five statewide elections, more than 100,000 residents did not have their vote counted because their ballot arrived too late or had a signature issue. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“To me it’s always disappointing to see ballot rejection happening, because it’s a lot of work to be a California voter,” Alexander said. “But the fact that you see all of these ballots being rejected is evidence of the careful work election officials undertake each election to make sure that only valid ballots cast are counted and that nobody is voting more than once.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“To me it’s always disappointing to see ballot rejection happening, because it’s a lot of work to be a California voter,” Alexander said. “But the fact that you see all of these ballots being rejected is evidence of the careful work election officials undertake each election to make sure that only valid ballots cast are counted and that nobody is voting more than once.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers are hoping that an infusion of $10 million for voter education will help persuade Californians \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12087984/three-ways-california-could-speed-up-vote-counting\">to vote early\u003c/a> and avoid ballot issues. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The budget signed by Newsom in June includes $5 million each for the secretary of state’s office and county officials for the purpose of encouraging an earlier vote.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "In the June primary, 1.7% of vote-by-mail ballots cast were rejected, in most cases because the ballot was not received on time. Election officials and advocates pointed to USPS changes and late-deciding voters.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/electionsnews\">election\u003c/a> officials rejected nearly 150,000 ballots in the June 2 primary election, an increase of tens of thousands over recent elections, according to a report from the secretary of state’s office. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That accounted for 1.7% of all vote-by-mail ballots cast, marking the state’s highest rejection rate since 2014, according to the California Voter Foundation. Most of the rejected ballots were reported as “not received on time,” which can mean that the ballot was either postmarked after Election Day or arrived in election offices after the June 9 receipt deadline.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s always troubling to see an increase,” said Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation. “Ballots rejected due to lateness are almost always because they’re postmarked too late — not because they don’t arrive during the grace period.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CaliforniaBallotsSupremeCourtAP.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12089274\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CaliforniaBallotsSupremeCourtAP.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CaliforniaBallotsSupremeCourtAP-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CaliforniaBallotsSupremeCourtAP-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ballots are sorted the day after California’s primary election at the L.A. County Ballot Processing Center on June 3, 2026, in City of Industry, California. (Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Election officials and voting advocates attribute late ballots to changes in U.S. Postal Service practices that could result in mailpieces not being postmarked on the same day they were mailed, as well as a competitive primary for governor that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12084978/california-democrats-anxious-about-wasted-votes-are-clinging-to-their-ballots\">left many voters undecided\u003c/a> until the final days of the campaign. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Our experience in this election was that voters were waiting until the last minute to vote a lot more than what we’ve seen in past elections,” said Matt Moreles, the registrar of voters in Santa Clara County, which had the highest rate of vote-by-mail ballot rejections in the Bay Area at 2.6%. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, every voter receives a ballot in the mail by default, roughly a month before Election Day. Ballots returned in the mail must be postmarked by Election Day and arrive at the county registrar’s office \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12089268/supreme-court-ruling-allows-california-to-continue-accepting-ballots-after-election-day\">within a week\u003c/a> after that. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Last year, USPS officials announced \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12085378/usps-changes-ballot-drop-box-near-me-deadline-california-primary-vote-for-governor\">a change in “transportation operations”\u003c/a> that resulted in some mailpieces not arriving at central processing facilities, where postmarks are applied, on the same day they are mailed. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As a result, a ballot dropped in a mailbox on Election Day in a community far from one of those hubs could receive a postmark the following day, making it ineligible to be counted. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Of the 148,241 vote-by-mail ballots left uncounted in California, 93,497 were rejected for late arrival. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We are going to look at that as far as — is there anything we can do in our messaging to voters and in terms of educating voters about the importance of returning their ballots?” Moreles said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A smaller number — 52,290 — were rejected because the voter either failed to sign their ballot envelope or because that signature did not match their signature on file. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>California law allows election officials to resolve signature issues for weeks after Election Day. Under the process known as ballot “curing,” registrars are allowed to contact voters with a missing or mismatched signature and give them a chance to fix it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Voting advocates argue that ballot rejections are a far more pertinent issue for state lawmakers to address than exceedingly rare cases of voter fraud. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1320\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2256657926.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12070782\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2256657926.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2256657926-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2256657926-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to the press on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on Jan. 20, 2026. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In each of California’s last five statewide elections, more than 100,000 residents did not have their vote counted because their ballot arrived too late or had a signature issue. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“To me it’s always disappointing to see ballot rejection happening, because it’s a lot of work to be a California voter,” Alexander said. “But the fact that you see all of these ballots being rejected is evidence of the careful work election officials undertake each election to make sure that only valid ballots cast are counted and that nobody is voting more than once.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers are hoping that an infusion of $10 million for voter education will help persuade Californians \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12087984/three-ways-california-could-speed-up-vote-counting\">to vote early\u003c/a> and avoid ballot issues. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The budget signed by Newsom in June includes $5 million each for the secretary of state’s office and county officials for the purpose of encouraging an earlier vote.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">View the full episode transcript.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Greglon Lee peered through the gaps in a black, wrought-iron fence enclosing an empty corner lot on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/oakland\">Oakland’s\u003c/a> Auto Row. More than half a century ago, the martial arts legend Bruce Lee — then still unknown — ran a kung fu studio here with Greglon’s father. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Though they were peers and close friends, Greglon’s father was one of Bruce’s most fervent disciples.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The main teacher was Bruce,” Greglon said. “My dad was 20 years older, and had just as much experience, but he let Bruce run things. Because Bruce knew what he was doing and it was obvious that Bruce had it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01191-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12086153\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01191-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01191-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01191-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Greglon Lee stores James Lee’s old Mook Jong, a training tool in martial arts, in the garage of the apartment complex he lives at in Berkeley on June 1, 2026. Greglon Lee is the son of James Lee, a martial artist who once was Bruce Lee’s training partner. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The studio served as the ring of what may have been one of the most important fights of Bruce Lee’s life: the Showdown in Oakland. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is the school where Bruce fought Wong Jack-man,” Greglon said. “Bruce took it personally.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bruce Lee was born in San Francisco when his parents were on tour with an opera company from Hong Kong. He returned to the Bay Area as a young man to study and train, making a name for himself as a martial artist. But only recently has California made an effort to recognize and celebrate the Hollywood star’s early roots here. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Earlier this summer, San Francisco officials and Chinatown community members, along with Bruce’s daughter, Shannon, led the effort to commemorate May 17 — the day Bruce moved back to the city from Hong Kong as a teen — as Bruce Lee Day — becoming the first Chinese American to be honored with a namesake day in state history. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2BKNDc48N4\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Though the Hollywood icon and martial artist’s time here in the Bay Area was brief, it was formative. Among the best-known chapters is the Showdown in Oakland, when he exchanged blows with a martial artist from San Francisco. The fight has become lore in the martial arts world, the subject of books, magazine articles and films, and is well-known to Bruce Lee fans around the world. More than 60 years after it happened, it remains controversial and hotly debated within dojos and on online forums. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s the story of how gung fu — let’s call it by its English name — how kung fu becomes American,” said Berkeley-based historian and cultural critic Jeff Chang, who wrote the recent biography \u003cem>Water, Mirror, Echo: Bruce Lee and the Making of Asian-America, \u003c/em>of the fight. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Like the classic Akira Kurosawa film \u003cem>Rashomon\u003c/em>, which explores truth and self-interest among characters who give contradictory accounts of an event they witness, the story of the fight reads like a case study in selective human memory. Countless retellings, each drawing from legend and third-hand accounts, have inevitably added a bit to the hero’s journey, turning the story into its own myth. Here’s what really happened: \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Moving back to the heart of the martial arts scene \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 1964, Bruce was a student at the University of Washington, but spent more time fighting than studying. Through his work as a cha-cha instructor, which would occasionally bring him to the Bay Area to make money, he met an Oakland resident named James Yimm Lee — Greglon’s dad. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>James, who grew up in Oakland, came from the world of blue-collar bodybuilding and weightlifting. But he was also a skilled martial artist who wanted to modernize and popularize the sport. When he met Bruce, James realized he “was the real deal,” Greglon said, “kind of like the [martial arts] Michael Jordan.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"alignleft size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1442\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12091696\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-03-KQED.jpg 1442w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-03-KQED-160x222.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-03-KQED-1107x1536.jpg 1107w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1442px) 100vw, 1442px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bruce Lee in long-sleeved shirt, smiling in a family portrait. His wife, Linda Lee Caldwell, holds her daughter, Shannon, with Brandon on the left. (Courtesy of the Bruce Lee Family Archive)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite sharing a surname, the men weren’t related but became fast friends and instant collaborators. So, James convinced Bruce to move, along with his wife Linda Lee Caldwell — who was then eight months pregnant — to the Bay Area, to live with James and his two children. James’ wife had just died of cancer, so Linda helped care for Greglon and his sister. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The Bay Area, at that point,” said Chang, is “the heart of the U.S. martial arts movement. You have like all of these folks who are working class fighters … security guards or policemen or military. And they’re all mixing up into a martial arts scene that now is desegregating — and it’s created a lot of ferment. Bruce wanted to be down there.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bruce and James spent countless hours together, training and dissecting their craft. The two articulated a shared vision of martial arts: one that fluidly changed between styles and forms, and drew upon Daoism as a philosophy for how to live. To practice these ideas, they set up a kung fu school together in Oakland, which at first they ran out of James’ garage. When they started to pick up more students, they opened up the storefront at 4157 Broadway Street. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The two shared a belief that martial arts should be more adaptable, not as fixed in style or form. And they both chafed at what they perceived as rigidity among other martial arts teachers — particularly in San Francisco. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As a young man, Bruce had run afoul of some of the San Francisco Chinatown koons — or kung fu schools. The community, at that time, was extremely wary of outsiders, and, due to decades of anti-Chinese racism, protective of their schools, Chang said. Exclusionary policies had heavily \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11443320/as-chinese-exclusion-act-turns-135-experts-point-to-parallels-today\">restricted Chinese immigration\u003c/a>, siloing off the community from newer waves of Chinese from the mainland and surrounding territories. San Francisco residents didn’t know what to make of Bruce, Chang said — “a loud, brash immigrant from Hong Kong.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Sun Sing Theater demonstration\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Tensions came to a head in August 1964, when Bruce gave a martial arts demonstration at San Francisco Chinatown’s \u003ca href=\"https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/3939/\">Sun Sing Theater\u003c/a> at 1021 Grant Ave. — one of San Francisco’s oldest opera houses, and where his father had performed opera nearly two decades earlier (though the building’s gorgeous facade remains, it’s boarded up today).\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bruce had been there on tour with Diana Chang, known as the “Mandarin Marilyn Monroe,” to dance the cha-cha. But after they finished their performance, Bruce had a surprise for the crowd: he took to the stage to demonstrate his style of martial arts for the packed house. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A fight nearly broke out on stage, and the crowd hurled cigarette butts and insults at Bruce, then only 24 years old. As Chang describes it, Bruce scrambled to get the situation back under control.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1338\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12091695\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-02-KQED-1536x1028.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bruce Lee in a yellow jumpsuit in action while directing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the set of “Game of Death.” (Courtesy of the Bruce Lee Family Archive)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I would like to let everybody know that any time my Chinatown brothers want to try out my Wing Chun,” Bruce said, as retold in Chang’s book, “they are welcomed to come find me at my school in Oakland.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>To the riled-up crowd, this sounded like a challenge.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>To the San Francisco martial artists, a fight seemed inevitable. And they chose a promising young fighter, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.jingmo.com/\">\u003cem>jing wu\u003c/em>\u003c/a> star named Wong Jack-man, to challenge the “young dissident,” as the elders in the city called him. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wong was known for being stoic, polished — a picture of grace and power — in comparison with Bruce’s more back-alley style of brawling. To this day, it’s not clear why he agreed to the proposal when his Chinatown friends came to the Jackson Cafe, at 633 Battery, where he worked as a waiter, and asked him to represent the big city in the challenge against Bruce Lee.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The ‘Showdown in Oakland’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The match-up — wrote Charles Russo, San Francisco journalist and author of \u003cem>Striking Distance: Bruce Lee and the Dawn of Martial Arts in America\u003c/em> — was “spectacular,” pitting two talented young martial artists with a uniquely yin-yang-like symmetry together. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Bruce’s style was compact and economical. Wong’s expansive and acrobatic,” Russo said. “Collectively, it had all the characteristics of a fight promoter’s dream.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At the end of a cold day in November 1964, Wong Jack-man and his friends piled into a crimson Pontiac Tempest and drove to the Broadway studio in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01676-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12086152\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01676-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01676-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01676-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bruce Lee’s old home on Monticello Avenue in East Oakland on June 1, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Waiting inside were a “very pregnant Linda,” James, and Bruce, Chang said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wong was dressed formally, in a dark, high-collared, long-sleeved uniform with lacing down the middle. Bruce wore white jeans and a white tank top. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There were a total of nine people in the studio, only one of whom is alive today, Bruce’s wife Linda. And she did not speak Cantonese, the \u003cem>lingua franca\u003c/em> of the fight, so undoubtedly some context was lost. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>However, everyone can agree on what happened next: David Chin, one of Wong’s friends and an instigator of the fight, began enumerating rules. Bruce “kept the tone harsh,” martial arts journalist Russo said: “You came to my school to challenge me, and now you want to set the rules?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When Wong reached out to shake hands, the tense Bruce Lee threw out a feint that crashed right above Wong’s eye — immediately setting the tone for the rest of the fight. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1539\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12091693\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-01-KQED-160x123.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-01-KQED-1536x1182.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bruce Lee during the Hall of Mirrors scene on the set of “Enter the Dragon.” (Courtesy of the Bruce Lee Family Archive)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At one point, wrote Rick Wing, one of Wong’s students and another chronicler of the fight, Wong got Bruce into a headlock, though eventually, he let go.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Wong considered Lee to be a sparring opponent only, and not a mortal enemy,” Wing said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wong later told Wing about Bruce: “He would never say he lost until you killed him.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A final detail of the fight that everyone agrees with: once Bruce got out of the headlock, he lunged after Wong, who turned and tried to evade the attack. Then, he tripped on a floorboard. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The two scuffled on the edge of the studio, with Bruce pummeling Wong with punches and yelling, “Admit it, you lost!”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Whether Wong actually surrendered is up for debate. However, multiple kung fu students of San Francisco Chinatown have relayed third-hand that if Wong had won, the neighborhood would have been celebrating. Instead, it was silent the next day, like a funeral. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The aftermath of the fight\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The details are somewhat unremarkable — a messy fight in a small Oakland studio with a murky victory — but rumors of the fight, and what caused it, would spread like wildfire through the martial arts community and ultimately reach Hong Kong.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The rumor mill claimed over and over — in tabloids, martial arts magazines and even major Hollywood films — that Chinatown’s old guard took issue with Bruce teaching kung fu to non-Chinese people. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01619-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12086154\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01619-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01619-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01619-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Greglon Lee poses for a portrait at the apartment complex he lives at in Berkeley on June 1, 2026. Greglon Lee is the son of James Lee, a martial artist who once was Bruce Lee’s training partner. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Those who peddle this narrative often point to discrimination Bruce may have faced growing up in Hong Kong, due to his own background as a quarter-Dutch on his mom’s side. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But Chang questioned whether this narrative holds up to scrutiny. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Very famously, the fight has been portrayed as this thing where Bruce was defending his right to teach non-Chinese people,” Chang said. “I just think that’s not true at all. The record shows that the koons in San Francisco had already opened themselves to non-Chinese for a long time.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the fight did have a big effect on Bruce’s life and career.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For all of his bluster, the fight against Wong Jack-man was a huge reality check for Bruce, who realized his technique and conditioning came up short of his own expectations. His sloppy “victory” would forever alter his approach to martial arts, his biographers have said, and came at the right time, just as his Hollywood star was about to rise. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Iron sharpens iron,” Greglon said. “You always have to have an adversary, an opponent in fighting to get better. [After] the fight with Wong Jack-man, Bruce changed his training completely. It helped Bruce go to another level.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Just months after The Showdown in Oakland, Bruce Lee got a call from a Hollywood producer asking him to audition for a part. It was his first big break and the beginning of a distinguished film career that ultimately led to Bruce starring in his most famous film, \u003cem>Enter the Dragon\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Whether or not the story bears the weight of the facts, “there’s a great mythology here,” Chang said, that may represent its power to this day. In the showdown, Bruce Lee’s fans found a battle over culture and change, one that matched the upheaval of the times, and wider shifts within Asian America. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Although that context was real, the more meaningful transformation was within Bruce himself. He went on to dedicate his life to becoming one of the best that ever lived. As an actor, he challenged stereotypes in Hollywood, refusing roles that typecast him. In his short life, he paved the way for future generations and set an example that continues to inspire and comfort fans to this day.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cp>[baycuriousquestion]\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode transcript\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>There was always something special about Bruce Lee.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Enter the Dragon theme song plays\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>The martial artist and actor was one of the first Asian stars in Hollywood. His path to fame wasn’t easy, but it paved the way for other Asian Americans to do the same today. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There’s this famous thing Bruce said…\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee archival:\u003c/strong> I said empty your mind…be formless, shapeless…like water. Water can flow or crash. Be water, my friend…”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>It’s the cornerstone of his martial arts philosophy…as much a mantra for how to live as a fighting technique. Be adaptable. Go with the flow … even if you’re riding a tidal wave.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bruce was a disruptor in the kung fu world…a young upstart who wanted to do things differently. Though he would eventually become this legendary figure in American culture, it took him years to hone his own style and philosophy. And many of the early moments that shaped him, the ones that made him \u003cem>the\u003c/em> Bruce Lee we see on the silver screen, they took place in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sam Hopkins: \u003c/strong>I assume there’s people alive still in Oakland and San Francisco who know him and have great stories to share. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>That’s Bay Curious listener Sam Hopkins. Sam’s first exposure to Bruce Lee was in the star’s most famous film — Enter the Dragon.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sam Hopkins: \u003c/strong>Most people would say like the defining one in the one that first like drew me into him and pulled me in. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>As a kid, he loved Bruce’s kung-fu moves. But as an adult he’s come to appreciate how brave Bruce was. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sam Hopkins: \u003c/strong>The thing that really inspires me about him is that he changed how people think. And that’s so powerful, like how they view themselves and how they view others and pushed against like all these stereotypes and all these limitations that Hollywood was putting on him and society was putting on him. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>Sam’s become kind of obsessed. He’s watched documentaries about Bruce Lee, been to museum exhibits about him and located local spots in San Francisco and Oakland that were meaningful in Bruce’s life. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sam Hopkins: \u003c/strong>And I just have always wondered though, why isn’t there more in terms of honoring his legacy and all the great things that he did in his time here? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>There’s this one story Sam has heard over and over about “The Showdown in Oakland,” a fight between Bruce and a kung fu fighter from San Francisco that has become lore in the martial arts world. It’s one of the early moments in Bruce’s career that puts him on the map, and it’s practically a legend at this point. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sam Hopkins: \u003c/strong>I’ve heard different versions of it. So I’m just so curious, like which one is like the most accurate?\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>This is Bay Curious. The show where we answer listener questions about the San Francisco Bay Area. I’m Olivia Allen-Price.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>KQED’s Elize Manoukian set out to separate fact from fiction and understand what role the Bay Area played in Bruce Lee’s life.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian:\u003c/strong> There’s an interview Bruce Lee gives in 1966, right as his star is about to rise. He’s still a bit of an unknown…it seems like the interviewer doesn’t know who he is.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee interviewer archival: \u003c/strong>I think his name is Bruce Lee…\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>In the interview, Bruce explains to a mainstream American audience what kung fu is, using the Chinese pronunciation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee archival: \u003c/strong>Well, gung fu is a Chinese form of combat. Arts like karate or jiu jitsu derive from gung fu. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Then the journalist asks him: \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee interviewer archival: \u003c/strong>Don’t you have some karate schools in San Francisco or something?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>There are multiple issues with that question, but Bruce homes in on just one.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee archival: In Oakland, really. \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Even at this early point in his Hollywood career, the difference between the two Bay Area cities was important to him. You’ll soon hear why.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bruce lived in the Bay Area only a short while — just a few years — but his time in Oakland and San Francisco would go on to have a major influence on his career, and some have argued, on the way we think about martial arts in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang:\u003c/strong> It’s a story in a way of how gung fu…how Kung Fu becomes American\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>That’s historian and cultural critic Jeff Chang, the author of a recent Bruce Lee biography, “Water, Mirror, Echo: Bruce Lee and the Making of Asian America.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I asked him to tell me about Bruce’s life here, starting from the very beginning. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>Bruce was born in the Bay Area. He is there because his parents are on a tour. His dad is a famous Cantonese opera singer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>And while his dad is performing in San Francisco, his mom becomes pregnant\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>So he’s born in this segregated hospital in 1940.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>In San Francisco’s Chinese Hospital, which is still open today. His mom, Grace, names her baby Bruce. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Soon after, the family heads back to Hong Kong, which is quickly becoming the heart of Asia’s film industry. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bruce’s dad, Hoi Cheun, transitions from singing opera to acting in movies. And at a young age, Bruce starts acting too.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>So the directors are looking at who’s this kid. He’s so, he’s so fascinating. He’s got so much energy. He loves to be. He’s like a born showperson. Let’s put him in the movies. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Bruce Lee speaking Cantonese in The Kid\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>That’s Bruce at age 10, in a movie called the Kid. It’s about a tough street urchin with a heart of gold. The film premieres in 1950, and it’s a smash success in Hong Kong. But being famous is hard on Bruce, and he starts getting picked on in school.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This is Bruce Lee’s martial arts origin story. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>And so he learns to try to figure out ways of protecting himself.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And eventually, he meets a seifu, a Gongfu seifu named Yipman. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Yipman is a legendary figure in 1950s Hong Kong. He trains Bruce in a discipline called Wing Chun. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At this point, Hong Kong’s youth culture is obsessed with kung fu and streetfighting. Kids would literally challenge each other and battle on school rooftops.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>Turns out that Bruce really loves the taste of blood on his lips.\u003cbr>\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\u003c/strong>\u003cem>Music end\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Bruce has a short fuse and loves “talking with his hands,”. During his teen years, he gets a bad boy, James-Dean-kinda reputation in Hong Kong. He even gets kicked out of school for fighting. One day, when Bruce is 18 years old, the police come to his parents house, and tell them that if he stays in Hong Kong, he’ll be arrested. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>And his parents are like, that’s it. You know, the police are after you, like the gangs are after you. You’re not, you’re not going to be here anymore. We’re going to send you back to the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Remember, Bruce was born in the U.S., so he’s a citizen. In 1959, his parents give him $100 and send him to live with one of their friends in San Francisco Chinatown.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bruce gets a job, his first non-acting job, at a restaurant.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>He hates it. He can’t take it. Like, this is beneath me. You know, I’ve been on the movie screen, and now you got me cutting carrots. Like, no, I’m not, I’m not about that life. So he quits in a day. And his guardian is like, OK, — Well, I guess we have to have you teach cha-cha then.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Oh, I forgot to mention: Bruce is an amazing dancer. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Cha-cha was a huge craze in 1950s Hong Kong, and Bruce is super athletic. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So while learning English, Bruce starts teaching cha-cha to San Francisco’s Chinese community to make money. But he’s bored. And restless. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>And he’s like, where are the fighters here? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>He can’t help himself. There’s some part of him that just needs to feel the \u003cem>rush\u003c/em> of a real, flesh-and-blood fight again. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So he walks into a kung fu school and challenges the other students to a fight. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>And they run him out immediately.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>It’s the first in a long list of grievances San Francisco’s kung fu community will have with Bruce. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As if his parents read the writing on the wall, they decide to send him to Seattle.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>His parents are like, OK, you’re going to get in trouble again. We’re sending you to a place where there’s less Chinese, there’s less distractions. And you’re going to finish your fricking diploma, and you’re going to get a college degree.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian:\u003c/strong> He never gets that diploma. In fact, Bruce doesn’t last long in Seattle, although he does end up getting married to a woman named Linda while he’s there. The Bay Area is the heart of the West Coast’s martial arts scene, and Bruce wants to get back there. So he drops out of the University of Washington, moves his young family, and gambles everything…on the Bay. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen Price: \u003c/strong>Back in Oakland, Bruce meets some folks who help him refine his theories and practice of martial arts. More on that when we come back. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sponsor break\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> The year is 1964, a time of major cultural change. Young people are questioning everything about U.S. society. And Bruce Lee, who has just moved back to the Bay Area as a 24-year-old college dropout, is going through his own personal revolution. He isn’t just studying martial arts; he has some radical ideas about its future. And he finds some enthusiastic disciples in the Bay Area. Elize Manoukian takes us to Oakland. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>Yeah, this is the old house: 3039 Monticello. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>That’s Greglon Lee, a kung fu sifu based in Berkeley. He’s showing me the funky, yellow bungalow in the East Oakland hills where he once lived with Bruce Lee. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>Bruce spent a lot of time here, and he was basically training 10-12 hours a day.\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Even as a college student, Bruce had picked up kung fu students across the West Coast. And one of the most dedicated was a man named James Yimm Lee, Greglon’s dad. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>My dad was one of his top students; my dad had been training with him for a few years.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>James was a local streetfighter and bodybuilder. He became fascinated with kung fu, wanted to modernize and popularize it. He knew Bruce could help. So he convinced Bruce and his family to move in with him and his kids in the East Bay. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>You come down to Oakland. We got you covered, roof over your head, and you can train and do whatever you want.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>James filled his garage with a bunch of diy equipment — punching pads, shields, leg stretchers. The two men scrutinized reels of Mohammed Ali boxing fights. They practiced what worked from classical styles of martial arts and threw away the rest. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>To get better when you’re already good ain’t easy. You really have to break things down completely. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>James was helping Bruce invent a NEW style of martial arts that tried to break away from set technique completely. Classical kung fu was too rigid, they said. Instead, they experimented with fusing wing chun, boxing, street fighting with some heavy doses of Daoist philosophy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>The individual has to really do their own work. There’s no magic pill. There’s no magic movement to martial arts. It’s getting to know yourself. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Bruce’s homegrown fighting style would eventually become known as Jeet Kun Do, or as Greg calls it, JKD. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>And you’ve got to remember the Cha Cha taught him really good footwork and how to change timing, which is really the key to J. K. D. It’s not static.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Bruce and James gain some attention for their new fighting style. Students come from hundreds of miles away to study with them. They pick up enough disciples that they decide to open up a little studio on Broadway Street in Oakland, near what’s now auto row. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>My dad was twenty years older, but he let Bruce run everything. Because Bruce knew what he was doing and it was obvious that Bruce had it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>In Oakland, Bruce gains confidence in his approach to martial arts, and he’s convinced the San Francisco kung fu scene is \u003cem>backwards … \u003c/em>he’s not shy about sharing that opinion. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Here’s Bruce Lee biographer Jeff Chang again: \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>He’s basically saying, all of your schools, all the stuff they teach you: That’s all garbage. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>And some people in San Francisco get wind of this.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>They don’t have short-term memories. Like, they remember when Bruce first was there.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>It all comes to a head in the summer of 1964. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bruce is promoting his Oakland school, in a kung fu demonstration at San Francisco’s Sun Sing Theater, the same stage where his dad performed opera, two decades earlier. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>During his demo, he starts critiquing the style of teaching in San Francisco, but in kind of a brash, 24-year-old way. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>Everything that you’ve been taught is no good. Let me show you how a real martial artist does things. Provocative, right?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>The air in the theater is hazy with cigarette smoke. And the crowd is full of San Francisco martial artists.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>They’re just waiting for Bruce to make a wrong move.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Then he invites somebody on stage, and says, try to defend yourself using your style, and I’ll show you why mine’s better\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>He wants to show the speed and accuracy of his punch. As it turns out, the guy that comes up to be on stage with him is somebody who’s deeply affiliated with the Chinatown koons.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>The koons are kung fu schools\u003cstrong>. \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The volunteer blocks Bruce’s punch. Bruce tries again, and the kid blocks it again. Then, the kid puts up his fists, ready for a fight.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>And everybody starts hooting and hollering, ’cause they’re cheering for the guy who came up from the audience. That’s their guy, right? He’s like a ringer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Bruce is embarrassed. But he stops and collects himself… trying to refocus the message on what his school has to offer. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>And he says, “If you want more, come and see me in Oakland.” And what he really means is, “My school is in Oakland. You’re welcome to come, we’ll train and that kind of thing.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>But at this point, tempers are high. And to the riled-up crowd it sounds like Bruce is saying: “let’s finish what we started, meet me in Oakland.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>This spreads through the sort of underground pipeline, right? The coconut wireless really fast.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Soon every martial artist in the Bay Area is talking about what happened at the theater. And some San Francisco guys decide to challenge Bruce to a fight. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>They want to see Bruce get his ass beaten.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>So they recruit an up-and-coming martial artist named Wong Jack-man, telling him, you’re our best hope to take this guy down. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, Wong wasn’t at the Sun Sing Theater, and by all accounts, didn’t really seem to know what he was walking into.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>WongJack-man thinks he’s going to Oakland to fight a comparison fight. It’s a friendly kind of thing. Everybody goes out and has tea and dim sum afterwards, right?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Instead, he’s an unwitting participant in one of Bruce Lee’s most famous fights. The Showdown in Oakland. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Here’s what happened according to Jeff and Greglon: \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>They come to the studio at dusk on a November evening. And at the studio are James, James Yimm Lee, Bruce and Linda. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>I know that my dad did bring a gun just in case, just in case things got out of control.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Elize: It starts out friendly enough…\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>Wong Jack-man reaches his hand out, and that Bruce, uh, sort of gives a faint instead. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>And lashes out with a punch \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>That is directed at Wong Jack-man’s eyes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian:\u003c/strong> So hard it leaves a mark.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>And the realization that, Oh, Bruce is actually out for blood, like this is something serious. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Bruce presses in. He uses low kicks and close-up punches.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>Most people Bruce dealt with, he could take them out in about five seconds. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>But Wong sidesteps the assault and deflects with his forearms. He uses long and graceful kicks and wide diagonal blows — like axes coming down — he hits Bruce HARD in the neck, and gets Bruce into a headlock.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>Like holding his neck under his arm.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Wong Jack-man could have won right there. But he lets go. He considers Bruce an opponent, not a mortal enemy. Bruce seizes the opportunity and attacks.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>Wong Jack-man started running.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>And he trips on a floorboard and falls down. Bruce pounces on him. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>They’re on the floor, with Bruce yelling, “You lost, admit it!” Their friends jump in and separate the two. And that was that. A pretty messy fight, ended by a floorboard. Not at all the resolution to the Oakland- San Francisco rivalry. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Except the story doesn’t end there. The fight at the studio was just the beginning. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>It became a story that just passed word of mouth. The word gets back to Hong Kong.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>The magazines picked up about Bruce and Wong Jack-man, all kinds of rumors. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>In one story, Wong Jack-man kills Bruce. In others, Bruce is defending the honor of an actress from Hong Kong. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the biggest story — the one that has prevailed — is that the fight was about who gets to learn kung fu. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>Very famously, the fight has been portrayed as this thing where Bruce was defending his right to teach non-Chinese people.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>It’s part of the mythology around Bruce Lee, that he not only popularizes kung fu…\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>He opens the doors for non-Chinese to kind of study it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Though it’s a compelling story, it’s just not true. After all, this is San Francisco in the 60s we’re talking about here. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang:\u003c/strong> The record shows that the koons in San Francisco had already opened themselves to non-Chinese. And so it just doesn’t stand up to, to that kind of scrutiny.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>So a lot of the myths surrounding the Showdown are not true. But for Bruce, it was still a turning point.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The fight was the first true test of his ideas. Wong Jack-man represented all of the things Bruce and James had been arguing needed to change. But it wasn’t the easy victory he had expected, says Greglon. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>Bruce changed his training completely. So actually, the fight with Wong Jack-man helped Bruce go to another level. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Martial arts is ultimately about fighting yourself, Bruce Lee would write later in life. You train to control your impulses, to empty your mind. And this fight showed him he wasn’t there yet. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He knew he needed to work harder. And get better. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee:\u003c/strong> Iron sharpens iron. You don’t sharpen your knife or sword on wood or a piece of butter. So you always have to have an adversary, an opponent in fighting to get better.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>The timing of the Showdown would turn out to be important for Bruce. Because he would need these lessons as he embarked on a new phase of his career. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Shortly after the Showdown in Oakland, something unexpected happens. Bruce’s wife gets a call.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>Out of the blue one afternoon. Linda gets a call, and it’s this Hollywood producer. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>The producer’s barber saw Bruce do a kung fu demonstration earlier that year…and Bruce gets the role of Kato, the sidekick of a TV superhero named the Green Hornet.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sounds of martial arts fighting from The Green Hornet.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>The show only ran one season. And Kato doesn’t have many lines. But Bruce’s character, who uses martial arts to save the Green Hornet episode after episode, becomes a hit. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>As the management looks at the numbers of toys being sold, they’re like, well, Kato’s outselling the Green Hornet.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>The show gives Bruce a chance to show off his kung fu to a national audience. For many viewers, it’s their first time seeing martial arts. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But Bruce still can’t break into the mainstream. When the show gets canceled, Bruce struggles to find new work.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>He can’t get a single job in Hollywood for a while unless it’s as a fight choreographer or in a sort of stereotypically, like, you know, oriental type role that he would refuse to play. And he comes to realize at some point, well, actually, they don’t see me as a main character. And so he has to, at that point, make a choice.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>So at age 29, he decides, forget this. I’m going back to Asia, where I’m gonna be a superstar. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And in Hong Kong, his career explodes. He does a movie called \u003cem>Big Boss\u003c/em>, and then another called \u003cem>Fist of Fury.\u003c/em> After one screening, the audience was so excited, they actually tore the seats out of the movie theater. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>At this point that, Bruce is the largest star by far in Asia.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>After a few years of mega-stardom, he writes, directs and stars in a third movie called \u003cem>The Way of the Dragon\u003c/em>, where he faces off against a then-unknown actor named Chuck Norris. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>He joked with his mother. Mom, in this movie, I get to beat up a white guy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>The Way of the Dragon\u003c/em> was Bruce’s crossover hit. Suddenly Bruce’s movies are being watched back in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>They’re being imported, they’re dubbed, and they’re packing the theatres.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Finally, Hollywood notices and comes crawling back. Warner Bros approaches him and his manager in Hong Kong about a new film they want him to star in. And this time, Bruce Lee gets to call the shots. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Here he is in an interview from 1971:\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee interviewer archival:\u003c/strong> So are you going to go to the United States and be famous or you going to try and eat your cake and have it too?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee archival:\u003c/strong> I am going to do both because you see I have already made up my mind that in the United States something about the Oriental needs to be shown.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee interviewer archival:\u003c/strong> Hollywood sure hasn’t.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee archival:\u003c/strong> You better believe it man, it’s all chop chop and with the eyes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>He directs the fight scenes, negotiates higher pay and takes ownership of the script. And he names the movie — \u003cem>Enter the Dragon\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Originally, the writer and director saw Bruce’s character as an Asian James Bond. But Bruce Lee thought that that was too Western … too imperialist. The character, he said, should be a Shaolin monk. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>These are ideas that he’s adopted from Taoism that he’s been teaching to other folks since he was 19 years old.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Enter the Dragon clip:\u003c/strong> Don’t think, feel. It’s like a finger pointing to the moon. Don’t concentrate on the finger or you will miss all of the heavenly glory.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Bruce knew he was on the cusp of global stardom. But in his intense focus on his career, he may have ignored signs from his body that something was deeply wrong. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In May 1973, he has a seizure on set. The doctors can’t find any reason for it, so they allow him to return to work. He continues traveling and working hard. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A few months later, he has a headache, so he takes an aspirin and a tranquilizer and falls asleep. He never wakes up. He’s only 32 years old. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee: The Man and The Legend clip:\u003c/strong> Hong Kong was stunned, and as the word spread, people read with shock and disbelief that Bruce Lee was dead.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian:\u003c/strong> A 1973 documentary “Bruce Lee: The Man and The Legend” shows a crowd gathering outside the funeral parlor.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee: The Man and The Legend clip: \u003c/strong>Several hundred extra police were detailed to try to control the crowd; no one could believe that someone like Bruce Lee, so young, so fit, could just die.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>His death is still a mystery. The autopsy reveals a cerebral edema, which is a swelling of the brain caused by trauma, and other factors, but could not determine a cause.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Enter the Dragon, Bruce’s triumphant return to Hollywood, premieres just days later. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Enter the Dragon trailer:\u003c/strong> What do you know about Han? We are investigating corruption….\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>The film was a box office hit and cemented Bruce Lee’s legacy as not just a martial artist, but as a Hollywood star. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For the first time, Americans finally see Bruce Lee as he wants to be seen: his confidence, his physique, and his philosophy all on display. Here he is in 1971 on the Pierre Berton Show. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee archival: \u003c/strong>You see, the idea is running water never grow stale, so you got to just keep on flowing.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>If you watch Bruce Lee movies now, this is the man you see: disciplined, polished, cool. But Hollywood only got the finished product. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Bay Area’s Bruce was much more raw, reckless, full of dreams and ambition. Though his time here was brief, the battles he fought shaped his philosophy and honed his skills so he could become the superstar we know today. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>That was KQED’s Elize Manoukian. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Thanks to Sam Hopkins for asking today’s question. And he’ll be glad to know Bruce Lee is getting a little more recognition locally.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>California recently designated May 17 Bruce Lee Day to commemorate the date the fighter moved to the U.S. as a teenager. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At the site of Bruce Lee’s Oakland studio, there’s a street sign designating the intersection “Bruce Lee Way.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And the Chinese Historical Society of America also has a cool exhibit about Bruce’s life and career at their museum in San Francisco’s Chinatown.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Thanks also to Charlie Russo, and Rick Wing, whose writing about Bruce Lee and the showdown in Oakland were helpful in the making of this story.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bay Curious is a production of member-supported KQED in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Our show is produced by Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale, and me, Olivia Allen-Price. With extra support from Maha Sanad, Katie Sprenger, Jen Chien, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone at KQED.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m Olivia Allen-Price. Have a great week.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The main teacher was Bruce,” Greglon said. “My dad was 20 years older, and had just as much experience, but he let Bruce run things. Because Bruce knew what he was doing and it was obvious that Bruce had it.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Bruce Lee was born in San Francisco when his parents were on tour with an opera company from Hong Kong. He returned to the Bay Area as a young man to study and train, making a name for himself as a martial artist. But only recently has California made an effort to recognize and celebrate the Hollywood star’s early roots here. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Earlier this summer, San Francisco officials and Chinatown community members, along with Bruce’s daughter, Shannon, led the effort to commemorate May 17 — the day Bruce moved back to the city from Hong Kong as a teen — as Bruce Lee Day — becoming the first Chinese American to be honored with a namesake day in state history. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Though the Hollywood icon and martial artist’s time here in the Bay Area was brief, it was formative. Among the best-known chapters is the Showdown in Oakland, when he exchanged blows with a martial artist from San Francisco. The fight has become lore in the martial arts world, the subject of books, magazine articles and films, and is well-known to Bruce Lee fans around the world. More than 60 years after it happened, it remains controversial and hotly debated within dojos and on online forums. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Like the classic Akira Kurosawa film \u003cem>Rashomon\u003c/em>, which explores truth and self-interest among characters who give contradictory accounts of an event they witness, the story of the fight reads like a case study in selective human memory. Countless retellings, each drawing from legend and third-hand accounts, have inevitably added a bit to the hero’s journey, turning the story into its own myth. Here’s what really happened: \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Like the classic Akira Kurosawa film \u003cem>Rashomon\u003c/em>, which explores truth and self-interest among characters who give contradictory accounts of an event they witness, the story of the fight reads like a case study in selective human memory. Countless retellings, each drawing from legend and third-hand accounts, have inevitably added a bit to the hero’s journey, turning the story into its own myth. Here’s what really happened: \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In 1964, Bruce was a student at the University of Washington, but spent more time fighting than studying. Through his work as a cha-cha instructor, which would occasionally bring him to the Bay Area to make money, he met an Oakland resident named James Yimm Lee — Greglon’s dad. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>James, who grew up in Oakland, came from the world of blue-collar bodybuilding and weightlifting. But he was also a skilled martial artist who wanted to modernize and popularize the sport. When he met Bruce, James realized he “was the real deal,” Greglon said, “kind of like the [martial arts] Michael Jordan.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image alignleft size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12091696\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-03-KQED.jpg 1442w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-03-KQED-160x222.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-03-KQED-1107x1536.jpg 1107w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bruce Lee in long-sleeved shirt, smiling in a family portrait. His wife, Linda Lee Caldwell, holds her daughter, Shannon, with Brandon on the left. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The Bay Area, at that point,” said Chang, is “the heart of the U.S. martial arts movement. You have like all of these folks who are working class fighters … security guards or policemen or military. And they’re all mixing up into a martial arts scene that now is desegregating — and it’s created a lot of ferment. Bruce wanted to be down there.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The Bay Area, at that point,” said Chang, is “the heart of the U.S. martial arts movement. You have like all of these folks who are working class fighters … security guards or policemen or military. And they’re all mixing up into a martial arts scene that now is desegregating — and it’s created a lot of ferment. Bruce wanted to be down there.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Bruce and James spent countless hours together, training and dissecting their craft. The two articulated a shared vision of martial arts: one that fluidly changed between styles and forms, and drew upon Daoism as a philosophy for how to live. To practice these ideas, they set up a kung fu school together in Oakland, which at first they ran out of James’ garage. When they started to pick up more students, they opened up the storefront at 4157 Broadway Street. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Bruce and James spent countless hours together, training and dissecting their craft. The two articulated a shared vision of martial arts: one that fluidly changed between styles and forms, and drew upon Daoism as a philosophy for how to live. To practice these ideas, they set up a kung fu school together in Oakland, which at first they ran out of James’ garage. When they started to pick up more students, they opened up the storefront at 4157 Broadway Street. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The two shared a belief that martial arts should be more adaptable, not as fixed in style or form. And they both chafed at what they perceived as rigidity among other martial arts teachers — particularly in San Francisco. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The two shared a belief that martial arts should be more adaptable, not as fixed in style or form. And they both chafed at what they perceived as rigidity among other martial arts teachers — particularly in San Francisco. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As a young man, Bruce had run afoul of some of the San Francisco Chinatown koons — or kung fu schools. The community, at that time, was extremely wary of outsiders, and, due to decades of anti-Chinese racism, protective of their schools, Chang said. Exclusionary policies had heavily \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11443320/as-chinese-exclusion-act-turns-135-experts-point-to-parallels-today\">restricted Chinese immigration\u003c/a>, siloing off the community from newer waves of Chinese from the mainland and surrounding territories. San Francisco residents didn’t know what to make of Bruce, Chang said — “a loud, brash immigrant from Hong Kong.” \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>As a young man, Bruce had run afoul of some of the San Francisco Chinatown koons — or kung fu schools. The community, at that time, was extremely wary of outsiders, and, due to decades of anti-Chinese racism, protective of their schools, Chang said. Exclusionary policies had heavily \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11443320/as-chinese-exclusion-act-turns-135-experts-point-to-parallels-today\">restricted Chinese immigration\u003c/a>, siloing off the community from newer waves of Chinese from the mainland and surrounding territories. San Francisco residents didn’t know what to make of Bruce, Chang said — “a loud, brash immigrant from Hong Kong.” \u003c/p>\n"
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{
"blockName": "core/heading",
"attrs": {
"text": "The Sun Sing Theater demonstration",
"level": 2
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Sun Sing Theater demonstration\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Sun Sing Theater demonstration\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Tensions came to a head in August 1964, when Bruce gave a martial arts demonstration at San Francisco Chinatown’s \u003ca href=\"https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/3939/\">Sun Sing Theater\u003c/a> at 1021 Grant Ave. — one of San Francisco’s oldest opera houses, and where his father had performed opera nearly two decades earlier (though the building’s gorgeous facade remains, it’s boarded up today).\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Tensions came to a head in August 1964, when Bruce gave a martial arts demonstration at San Francisco Chinatown’s \u003ca href=\"https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/3939/\">Sun Sing Theater\u003c/a> at 1021 Grant Ave. — one of San Francisco’s oldest opera houses, and where his father had performed opera nearly two decades earlier (though the building’s gorgeous facade remains, it’s boarded up today).\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Bruce had been there on tour with Diana Chang, known as the “Mandarin Marilyn Monroe,” to dance the cha-cha. But after they finished their performance, Bruce had a surprise for the crowd: he took to the stage to demonstrate his style of martial arts for the packed house. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Bruce had been there on tour with Diana Chang, known as the “Mandarin Marilyn Monroe,” to dance the cha-cha. But after they finished their performance, Bruce had a surprise for the crowd: he took to the stage to demonstrate his style of martial arts for the packed house. \u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A fight nearly broke out on stage, and the crowd hurled cigarette butts and insults at Bruce, then only 24 years old. As Chang describes it, Bruce scrambled to get the situation back under control.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>A fight nearly broke out on stage, and the crowd hurled cigarette butts and insults at Bruce, then only 24 years old. As Chang describes it, Bruce scrambled to get the situation back under control.\u003c/p>\n"
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{
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"attrs": {
"id": 12091695,
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"imageCredit": "Courtesy of the Bruce Lee Family Archive",
"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-02-KQED-1536x1028.jpg 1536w",
"sizes": "(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12091695\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-02-KQED-1536x1028.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bruce Lee in a yellow jumpsuit in action while directing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the set of “Game of Death.” \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12091695\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bruce Lee in a yellow jumpsuit in action while directing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the set of “Game of Death.” \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I would like to let everybody know that any time my Chinatown brothers want to try out my Wing Chun,” Bruce said, as retold in Chang’s book, “they are welcomed to come find me at my school in Oakland.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I would like to let everybody know that any time my Chinatown brothers want to try out my Wing Chun,” Bruce said, as retold in Chang’s book, “they are welcomed to come find me at my school in Oakland.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>To the riled-up crowd, this sounded like a challenge.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>To the riled-up crowd, this sounded like a challenge.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>To the San Francisco martial artists, a fight seemed inevitable. And they chose a promising young fighter, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.jingmo.com/\">\u003cem>jing wu\u003c/em>\u003c/a> star named Wong Jack-man, to challenge the “young dissident,” as the elders in the city called him. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>To the San Francisco martial artists, a fight seemed inevitable. And they chose a promising young fighter, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.jingmo.com/\">\u003cem>jing wu\u003c/em>\u003c/a> star named Wong Jack-man, to challenge the “young dissident,” as the elders in the city called him. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Wong was known for being stoic, polished — a picture of grace and power — in comparison with Bruce’s more back-alley style of brawling. To this day, it’s not clear why he agreed to the proposal when his Chinatown friends came to the Jackson Cafe, at 633 Battery, where he worked as a waiter, and asked him to represent the big city in the challenge against Bruce Lee.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Wong was known for being stoic, polished — a picture of grace and power — in comparison with Bruce’s more back-alley style of brawling. To this day, it’s not clear why he agreed to the proposal when his Chinatown friends came to the Jackson Cafe, at 633 Battery, where he worked as a waiter, and asked him to represent the big city in the challenge against Bruce Lee.\u003c/p>\n"
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{
"blockName": "core/heading",
"attrs": {
"text": "The ‘Showdown in Oakland’",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The ‘Showdown in Oakland’\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The ‘Showdown in Oakland’\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The match-up — wrote Charles Russo, San Francisco journalist and author of \u003cem>Striking Distance: Bruce Lee and the Dawn of Martial Arts in America\u003c/em> — was “spectacular,” pitting two talented young martial artists with a uniquely yin-yang-like symmetry together. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The match-up — wrote Charles Russo, San Francisco journalist and author of \u003cem>Striking Distance: Bruce Lee and the Dawn of Martial Arts in America\u003c/em> — was “spectacular,” pitting two talented young martial artists with a uniquely yin-yang-like symmetry together. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Bruce’s style was compact and economical. Wong’s expansive and acrobatic,” Russo said. “Collectively, it had all the characteristics of a fight promoter’s dream.” \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>“Bruce’s style was compact and economical. Wong’s expansive and acrobatic,” Russo said. “Collectively, it had all the characteristics of a fight promoter’s dream.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At the end of a cold day in November 1964, Wong Jack-man and his friends piled into a crimson Pontiac Tempest and drove to the Broadway studio in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>At the end of a cold day in November 1964, Wong Jack-man and his friends piled into a crimson Pontiac Tempest and drove to the Broadway studio in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01676-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01676-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01676-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w",
"sizes": "(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01676-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12086152\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01676-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01676-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01676-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bruce Lee’s old home on Monticello Avenue in East Oakland on June 1, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01676-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12086152\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bruce Lee’s old home on Monticello Avenue in East Oakland on June 1, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Waiting inside were a “very pregnant Linda,” James, and Bruce, Chang said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Waiting inside were a “very pregnant Linda,” James, and Bruce, Chang said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Wong was dressed formally, in a dark, high-collared, long-sleeved uniform with lacing down the middle. Bruce wore white jeans and a white tank top. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Wong was dressed formally, in a dark, high-collared, long-sleeved uniform with lacing down the middle. Bruce wore white jeans and a white tank top. \u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>There were a total of nine people in the studio, only one of whom is alive today, Bruce’s wife Linda. And she did not speak Cantonese, the \u003cem>lingua franca\u003c/em> of the fight, so undoubtedly some context was lost. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>There were a total of nine people in the studio, only one of whom is alive today, Bruce’s wife Linda. And she did not speak Cantonese, the \u003cem>lingua franca\u003c/em> of the fight, so undoubtedly some context was lost. \u003c/p>\n"
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>However, everyone can agree on what happened next: David Chin, one of Wong’s friends and an instigator of the fight, began enumerating rules. Bruce “kept the tone harsh,” martial arts journalist Russo said: “You came to my school to challenge me, and now you want to set the rules?”\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>However, everyone can agree on what happened next: David Chin, one of Wong’s friends and an instigator of the fight, began enumerating rules. Bruce “kept the tone harsh,” martial arts journalist Russo said: “You came to my school to challenge me, and now you want to set the rules?”\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When Wong reached out to shake hands, the tense Bruce Lee threw out a feint that crashed right above Wong’s eye — immediately setting the tone for the rest of the fight. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>When Wong reached out to shake hands, the tense Bruce Lee threw out a feint that crashed right above Wong’s eye — immediately setting the tone for the rest of the fight. \u003c/p>\n"
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{
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"attrs": {
"id": 12091693,
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"imageCredit": "Courtesy of the Bruce Lee Family Archive",
"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-01-KQED-160x123.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-01-KQED-1536x1182.jpg 1536w",
"sizes": "(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12091693\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-01-KQED-160x123.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-01-KQED-1536x1182.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bruce Lee during the Hall of Mirrors scene on the set of “Enter the Dragon.”\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12091693\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bruce Lee during the Hall of Mirrors scene on the set of “Enter the Dragon.”\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At one point, wrote Rick Wing, one of Wong’s students and another chronicler of the fight, Wong got Bruce into a headlock, though eventually, he let go.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>At one point, wrote Rick Wing, one of Wong’s students and another chronicler of the fight, Wong got Bruce into a headlock, though eventually, he let go.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Wong considered Lee to be a sparring opponent only, and not a mortal enemy,” Wing said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Wong considered Lee to be a sparring opponent only, and not a mortal enemy,” Wing said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Wong later told Wing about Bruce: “He would never say he lost until you killed him.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Wong later told Wing about Bruce: “He would never say he lost until you killed him.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A final detail of the fight that everyone agrees with: once Bruce got out of the headlock, he lunged after Wong, who turned and tried to evade the attack. Then, he tripped on a floorboard. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>A final detail of the fight that everyone agrees with: once Bruce got out of the headlock, he lunged after Wong, who turned and tried to evade the attack. Then, he tripped on a floorboard. \u003c/p>\n"
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The two scuffled on the edge of the studio, with Bruce pummeling Wong with punches and yelling, “Admit it, you lost!”\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The two scuffled on the edge of the studio, with Bruce pummeling Wong with punches and yelling, “Admit it, you lost!”\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Whether Wong actually surrendered is up for debate. However, multiple kung fu students of San Francisco Chinatown have relayed third-hand that if Wong had won, the neighborhood would have been celebrating. Instead, it was silent the next day, like a funeral. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Whether Wong actually surrendered is up for debate. However, multiple kung fu students of San Francisco Chinatown have relayed third-hand that if Wong had won, the neighborhood would have been celebrating. Instead, it was silent the next day, like a funeral. \u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/heading",
"attrs": {
"text": "The aftermath of the fight",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The aftermath of the fight\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The aftermath of the fight\u003c/h2>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The details are somewhat unremarkable — a messy fight in a small Oakland studio with a murky victory — but rumors of the fight, and what caused it, would spread like wildfire through the martial arts community and ultimately reach Hong Kong.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The details are somewhat unremarkable — a messy fight in a small Oakland studio with a murky victory — but rumors of the fight, and what caused it, would spread like wildfire through the martial arts community and ultimately reach Hong Kong.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The rumor mill claimed over and over — in tabloids, martial arts magazines and even major Hollywood films — that Chinatown’s old guard took issue with Bruce teaching kung fu to non-Chinese people. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The rumor mill claimed over and over — in tabloids, martial arts magazines and even major Hollywood films — that Chinatown’s old guard took issue with Bruce teaching kung fu to non-Chinese people. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01619-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12086154\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01619-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01619-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01619-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Greglon Lee poses for a portrait at the apartment complex he lives at in Berkeley on June 1, 2026. Greglon Lee is the son of James Lee, a martial artist who once was Bruce Lee’s training partner.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01619-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12086154\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Greglon Lee poses for a portrait at the apartment complex he lives at in Berkeley on June 1, 2026. Greglon Lee is the son of James Lee, a martial artist who once was Bruce Lee’s training partner.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Those who peddle this narrative often point to discrimination Bruce may have faced growing up in Hong Kong, due to his own background as a quarter-Dutch on his mom’s side. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Those who peddle this narrative often point to discrimination Bruce may have faced growing up in Hong Kong, due to his own background as a quarter-Dutch on his mom’s side. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But Chang questioned whether this narrative holds up to scrutiny. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Very famously, the fight has been portrayed as this thing where Bruce was defending his right to teach non-Chinese people,” Chang said. “I just think that’s not true at all. The record shows that the koons in San Francisco had already opened themselves to non-Chinese for a long time.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Very famously, the fight has been portrayed as this thing where Bruce was defending his right to teach non-Chinese people,” Chang said. “I just think that’s not true at all. The record shows that the koons in San Francisco had already opened themselves to non-Chinese for a long time.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But the fight did have a big effect on Bruce’s life and career.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For all of his bluster, the fight against Wong Jack-man was a huge reality check for Bruce, who realized his technique and conditioning came up short of his own expectations. His sloppy “victory” would forever alter his approach to martial arts, his biographers have said, and came at the right time, just as his Hollywood star was about to rise. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For all of his bluster, the fight against Wong Jack-man was a huge reality check for Bruce, who realized his technique and conditioning came up short of his own expectations. His sloppy “victory” would forever alter his approach to martial arts, his biographers have said, and came at the right time, just as his Hollywood star was about to rise. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Iron sharpens iron,” Greglon said. “You always have to have an adversary, an opponent in fighting to get better. [After] the fight with Wong Jack-man, Bruce changed his training completely. It helped Bruce go to another level.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Iron sharpens iron,” Greglon said. “You always have to have an adversary, an opponent in fighting to get better. [After] the fight with Wong Jack-man, Bruce changed his training completely. It helped Bruce go to another level.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Just months after The Showdown in Oakland, Bruce Lee got a call from a Hollywood producer asking him to audition for a part. It was his first big break and the beginning of a distinguished film career that ultimately led to Bruce starring in his most famous film, \u003cem>Enter the Dragon\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Just months after The Showdown in Oakland, Bruce Lee got a call from a Hollywood producer asking him to audition for a part. It was his first big break and the beginning of a distinguished film career that ultimately led to Bruce starring in his most famous film, \u003cem>Enter the Dragon\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Whether or not the story bears the weight of the facts, “there’s a great mythology here,” Chang said, that may represent its power to this day. In the showdown, Bruce Lee’s fans found a battle over culture and change, one that matched the upheaval of the times, and wider shifts within Asian America. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Whether or not the story bears the weight of the facts, “there’s a great mythology here,” Chang said, that may represent its power to this day. In the showdown, Bruce Lee’s fans found a battle over culture and change, one that matched the upheaval of the times, and wider shifts within Asian America. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Although that context was real, the more meaningful transformation was within Bruce himself. He went on to dedicate his life to becoming one of the best that ever lived. As an actor, he challenged stereotypes in Hollywood, refusing roles that typecast him. In his short life, he paved the way for future generations and set an example that continues to inspire and comfort fans to this day.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Although that context was real, the more meaningful transformation was within Bruce himself. He went on to dedicate his life to becoming one of the best that ever lived. As an actor, he challenged stereotypes in Hollywood, refusing roles that typecast him. In his short life, he paved the way for future generations and set an example that continues to inspire and comfort fans to this day.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>There was always something special about Bruce Lee.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>There was always something special about Bruce Lee.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Enter the Dragon theme song plays\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>The martial artist and actor was one of the first Asian stars in Hollywood. His path to fame wasn’t easy, but it paved the way for other Asian Americans to do the same today. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>The martial artist and actor was one of the first Asian stars in Hollywood. His path to fame wasn’t easy, but it paved the way for other Asian Americans to do the same today. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>There’s this famous thing Bruce said…\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>There’s this famous thing Bruce said…\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee archival:\u003c/strong> I said empty your mind…be formless, shapeless…like water. Water can flow or crash. Be water, my friend…”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee archival:\u003c/strong> I said empty your mind…be formless, shapeless…like water. Water can flow or crash. Be water, my friend…”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>It’s the cornerstone of his martial arts philosophy…as much a mantra for how to live as a fighting technique. Be adaptable. Go with the flow … even if you’re riding a tidal wave.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>It’s the cornerstone of his martial arts philosophy…as much a mantra for how to live as a fighting technique. Be adaptable. Go with the flow … even if you’re riding a tidal wave.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Bruce was a disruptor in the kung fu world…a young upstart who wanted to do things differently. Though he would eventually become this legendary figure in American culture, it took him years to hone his own style and philosophy. And many of the early moments that shaped him, the ones that made him \u003cem>the\u003c/em> Bruce Lee we see on the silver screen, they took place in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Bruce was a disruptor in the kung fu world…a young upstart who wanted to do things differently. Though he would eventually become this legendary figure in American culture, it took him years to hone his own style and philosophy. And many of the early moments that shaped him, the ones that made him \u003cem>the\u003c/em> Bruce Lee we see on the silver screen, they took place in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sam Hopkins: \u003c/strong>I assume there’s people alive still in Oakland and San Francisco who know him and have great stories to share. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sam Hopkins: \u003c/strong>I assume there’s people alive still in Oakland and San Francisco who know him and have great stories to share. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>That’s Bay Curious listener Sam Hopkins. Sam’s first exposure to Bruce Lee was in the star’s most famous film — Enter the Dragon.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>That’s Bay Curious listener Sam Hopkins. Sam’s first exposure to Bruce Lee was in the star’s most famous film — Enter the Dragon.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sam Hopkins: \u003c/strong>Most people would say like the defining one in the one that first like drew me into him and pulled me in. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sam Hopkins: \u003c/strong>Most people would say like the defining one in the one that first like drew me into him and pulled me in. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>As a kid, he loved Bruce’s kung-fu moves. But as an adult he’s come to appreciate how brave Bruce was. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>As a kid, he loved Bruce’s kung-fu moves. But as an adult he’s come to appreciate how brave Bruce was. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sam Hopkins: \u003c/strong>The thing that really inspires me about him is that he changed how people think. And that’s so powerful, like how they view themselves and how they view others and pushed against like all these stereotypes and all these limitations that Hollywood was putting on him and society was putting on him. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sam Hopkins: \u003c/strong>The thing that really inspires me about him is that he changed how people think. And that’s so powerful, like how they view themselves and how they view others and pushed against like all these stereotypes and all these limitations that Hollywood was putting on him and society was putting on him. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>Sam’s become kind of obsessed. He’s watched documentaries about Bruce Lee, been to museum exhibits about him and located local spots in San Francisco and Oakland that were meaningful in Bruce’s life. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>Sam’s become kind of obsessed. He’s watched documentaries about Bruce Lee, been to museum exhibits about him and located local spots in San Francisco and Oakland that were meaningful in Bruce’s life. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sam Hopkins: \u003c/strong>And I just have always wondered though, why isn’t there more in terms of honoring his legacy and all the great things that he did in his time here? \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sam Hopkins: \u003c/strong>And I just have always wondered though, why isn’t there more in terms of honoring his legacy and all the great things that he did in his time here? \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>There’s this one story Sam has heard over and over about “The Showdown in Oakland,” a fight between Bruce and a kung fu fighter from San Francisco that has become lore in the martial arts world. It’s one of the early moments in Bruce’s career that puts him on the map, and it’s practically a legend at this point. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>There’s this one story Sam has heard over and over about “The Showdown in Oakland,” a fight between Bruce and a kung fu fighter from San Francisco that has become lore in the martial arts world. It’s one of the early moments in Bruce’s career that puts him on the map, and it’s practically a legend at this point. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sam Hopkins: \u003c/strong>I’ve heard different versions of it. So I’m just so curious, like which one is like the most accurate?\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>This is Bay Curious. The show where we answer listener questions about the San Francisco Bay Area. I’m Olivia Allen-Price.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sam Hopkins: \u003c/strong>I’ve heard different versions of it. So I’m just so curious, like which one is like the most accurate?\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>This is Bay Curious. The show where we answer listener questions about the San Francisco Bay Area. I’m Olivia Allen-Price.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>KQED’s Elize Manoukian set out to separate fact from fiction and understand what role the Bay Area played in Bruce Lee’s life.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>KQED’s Elize Manoukian set out to separate fact from fiction and understand what role the Bay Area played in Bruce Lee’s life.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian:\u003c/strong> There’s an interview Bruce Lee gives in 1966, right as his star is about to rise. He’s still a bit of an unknown…it seems like the interviewer doesn’t know who he is.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian:\u003c/strong> There’s an interview Bruce Lee gives in 1966, right as his star is about to rise. He’s still a bit of an unknown…it seems like the interviewer doesn’t know who he is.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee interviewer archival: \u003c/strong>I think his name is Bruce Lee…\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee interviewer archival: \u003c/strong>I think his name is Bruce Lee…\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>In the interview, Bruce explains to a mainstream American audience what kung fu is, using the Chinese pronunciation.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>In the interview, Bruce explains to a mainstream American audience what kung fu is, using the Chinese pronunciation.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee archival: \u003c/strong>Well, gung fu is a Chinese form of combat. Arts like karate or jiu jitsu derive from gung fu. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee archival: \u003c/strong>Well, gung fu is a Chinese form of combat. Arts like karate or jiu jitsu derive from gung fu. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Then the journalist asks him: \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Then the journalist asks him: \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee interviewer archival: \u003c/strong>Don’t you have some karate schools in San Francisco or something?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee interviewer archival: \u003c/strong>Don’t you have some karate schools in San Francisco or something?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>There are multiple issues with that question, but Bruce homes in on just one.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>There are multiple issues with that question, but Bruce homes in on just one.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee archival: In Oakland, really. \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee archival: In Oakland, really. \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Even at this early point in his Hollywood career, the difference between the two Bay Area cities was important to him. You’ll soon hear why.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Even at this early point in his Hollywood career, the difference between the two Bay Area cities was important to him. You’ll soon hear why.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Bruce lived in the Bay Area only a short while — just a few years — but his time in Oakland and San Francisco would go on to have a major influence on his career, and some have argued, on the way we think about martial arts in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Bruce lived in the Bay Area only a short while — just a few years — but his time in Oakland and San Francisco would go on to have a major influence on his career, and some have argued, on the way we think about martial arts in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang:\u003c/strong> It’s a story in a way of how gung fu…how Kung Fu becomes American\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang:\u003c/strong> It’s a story in a way of how gung fu…how Kung Fu becomes American\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>That’s historian and cultural critic Jeff Chang, the author of a recent Bruce Lee biography, “Water, Mirror, Echo: Bruce Lee and the Making of Asian America.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>That’s historian and cultural critic Jeff Chang, the author of a recent Bruce Lee biography, “Water, Mirror, Echo: Bruce Lee and the Making of Asian America.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>I asked him to tell me about Bruce’s life here, starting from the very beginning. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>Bruce was born in the Bay Area. He is there because his parents are on a tour. His dad is a famous Cantonese opera singer.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>Bruce was born in the Bay Area. He is there because his parents are on a tour. His dad is a famous Cantonese opera singer.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>And while his dad is performing in San Francisco, his mom becomes pregnant\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>And while his dad is performing in San Francisco, his mom becomes pregnant\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>So he’s born in this segregated hospital in 1940.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>In San Francisco’s Chinese Hospital, which is still open today. His mom, Grace, names her baby Bruce. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>In San Francisco’s Chinese Hospital, which is still open today. His mom, Grace, names her baby Bruce. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Soon after, the family heads back to Hong Kong, which is quickly becoming the heart of Asia’s film industry. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Soon after, the family heads back to Hong Kong, which is quickly becoming the heart of Asia’s film industry. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Bruce’s dad, Hoi Cheun, transitions from singing opera to acting in movies. And at a young age, Bruce starts acting too.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Bruce’s dad, Hoi Cheun, transitions from singing opera to acting in movies. And at a young age, Bruce starts acting too.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>So the directors are looking at who’s this kid. He’s so, he’s so fascinating. He’s got so much energy. He loves to be. He’s like a born showperson. Let’s put him in the movies. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>So the directors are looking at who’s this kid. He’s so, he’s so fascinating. He’s got so much energy. He loves to be. He’s like a born showperson. Let’s put him in the movies. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Bruce Lee speaking Cantonese in The Kid\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Bruce Lee speaking Cantonese in The Kid\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>That’s Bruce at age 10, in a movie called the Kid. It’s about a tough street urchin with a heart of gold. The film premieres in 1950, and it’s a smash success in Hong Kong. But being famous is hard on Bruce, and he starts getting picked on in school.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>That’s Bruce at age 10, in a movie called the Kid. It’s about a tough street urchin with a heart of gold. The film premieres in 1950, and it’s a smash success in Hong Kong. But being famous is hard on Bruce, and he starts getting picked on in school.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This is Bruce Lee’s martial arts origin story. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>This is Bruce Lee’s martial arts origin story. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>And so he learns to try to figure out ways of protecting himself.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>And so he learns to try to figure out ways of protecting himself.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And eventually, he meets a seifu, a Gongfu seifu named Yipman. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>And eventually, he meets a seifu, a Gongfu seifu named Yipman. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Yipman is a legendary figure in 1950s Hong Kong. He trains Bruce in a discipline called Wing Chun. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Yipman is a legendary figure in 1950s Hong Kong. He trains Bruce in a discipline called Wing Chun. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At this point, Hong Kong’s youth culture is obsessed with kung fu and streetfighting. Kids would literally challenge each other and battle on school rooftops.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>At this point, Hong Kong’s youth culture is obsessed with kung fu and streetfighting. Kids would literally challenge each other and battle on school rooftops.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>Turns out that Bruce really loves the taste of blood on his lips.\u003cbr>\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\u003c/strong>\u003cem>Music end\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>Turns out that Bruce really loves the taste of blood on his lips.\u003cbr>\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\u003c/strong>\u003cem>Music end\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Bruce has a short fuse and loves “talking with his hands,”. During his teen years, he gets a bad boy, James-Dean-kinda reputation in Hong Kong. He even gets kicked out of school for fighting. One day, when Bruce is 18 years old, the police come to his parents house, and tell them that if he stays in Hong Kong, he’ll be arrested. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Bruce has a short fuse and loves “talking with his hands,”. During his teen years, he gets a bad boy, James-Dean-kinda reputation in Hong Kong. He even gets kicked out of school for fighting. One day, when Bruce is 18 years old, the police come to his parents house, and tell them that if he stays in Hong Kong, he’ll be arrested. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>And his parents are like, that’s it. You know, the police are after you, like the gangs are after you. You’re not, you’re not going to be here anymore. We’re going to send you back to the U.S.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>And his parents are like, that’s it. You know, the police are after you, like the gangs are after you. You’re not, you’re not going to be here anymore. We’re going to send you back to the U.S.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Remember, Bruce was born in the U.S., so he’s a citizen. In 1959, his parents give him $100 and send him to live with one of their friends in San Francisco Chinatown.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Remember, Bruce was born in the U.S., so he’s a citizen. In 1959, his parents give him $100 and send him to live with one of their friends in San Francisco Chinatown.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Bruce gets a job, his first non-acting job, at a restaurant.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Bruce gets a job, his first non-acting job, at a restaurant.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>He hates it. He can’t take it. Like, this is beneath me. You know, I’ve been on the movie screen, and now you got me cutting carrots. Like, no, I’m not, I’m not about that life. So he quits in a day. And his guardian is like, OK, — Well, I guess we have to have you teach cha-cha then.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>He hates it. He can’t take it. Like, this is beneath me. You know, I’ve been on the movie screen, and now you got me cutting carrots. Like, no, I’m not, I’m not about that life. So he quits in a day. And his guardian is like, OK, — Well, I guess we have to have you teach cha-cha then.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Oh, I forgot to mention: Bruce is an amazing dancer. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Oh, I forgot to mention: Bruce is an amazing dancer. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Cha-cha was a huge craze in 1950s Hong Kong, and Bruce is super athletic. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Cha-cha was a huge craze in 1950s Hong Kong, and Bruce is super athletic. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>So while learning English, Bruce starts teaching cha-cha to San Francisco’s Chinese community to make money. But he’s bored. And restless. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>So while learning English, Bruce starts teaching cha-cha to San Francisco’s Chinese community to make money. But he’s bored. And restless. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>And he’s like, where are the fighters here? \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>And he’s like, where are the fighters here? \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>He can’t help himself. There’s some part of him that just needs to feel the \u003cem>rush\u003c/em> of a real, flesh-and-blood fight again. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>He can’t help himself. There’s some part of him that just needs to feel the \u003cem>rush\u003c/em> of a real, flesh-and-blood fight again. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>So he walks into a kung fu school and challenges the other students to a fight. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>So he walks into a kung fu school and challenges the other students to a fight. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>And they run him out immediately.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>And they run him out immediately.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>It’s the first in a long list of grievances San Francisco’s kung fu community will have with Bruce. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>It’s the first in a long list of grievances San Francisco’s kung fu community will have with Bruce. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As if his parents read the writing on the wall, they decide to send him to Seattle.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>As if his parents read the writing on the wall, they decide to send him to Seattle.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>His parents are like, OK, you’re going to get in trouble again. We’re sending you to a place where there’s less Chinese, there’s less distractions. And you’re going to finish your fricking diploma, and you’re going to get a college degree.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>His parents are like, OK, you’re going to get in trouble again. We’re sending you to a place where there’s less Chinese, there’s less distractions. And you’re going to finish your fricking diploma, and you’re going to get a college degree.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian:\u003c/strong> He never gets that diploma. In fact, Bruce doesn’t last long in Seattle, although he does end up getting married to a woman named Linda while he’s there. The Bay Area is the heart of the West Coast’s martial arts scene, and Bruce wants to get back there. So he drops out of the University of Washington, moves his young family, and gambles everything…on the Bay. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian:\u003c/strong> He never gets that diploma. In fact, Bruce doesn’t last long in Seattle, although he does end up getting married to a woman named Linda while he’s there. The Bay Area is the heart of the West Coast’s martial arts scene, and Bruce wants to get back there. So he drops out of the University of Washington, moves his young family, and gambles everything…on the Bay. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen Price: \u003c/strong>Back in Oakland, Bruce meets some folks who help him refine his theories and practice of martial arts. More on that when we come back. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen Price: \u003c/strong>Back in Oakland, Bruce meets some folks who help him refine his theories and practice of martial arts. More on that when we come back. \u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sponsor break\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sponsor break\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> The year is 1964, a time of major cultural change. Young people are questioning everything about U.S. society. And Bruce Lee, who has just moved back to the Bay Area as a 24-year-old college dropout, is going through his own personal revolution. He isn’t just studying martial arts; he has some radical ideas about its future. And he finds some enthusiastic disciples in the Bay Area. Elize Manoukian takes us to Oakland. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> The year is 1964, a time of major cultural change. Young people are questioning everything about U.S. society. And Bruce Lee, who has just moved back to the Bay Area as a 24-year-old college dropout, is going through his own personal revolution. He isn’t just studying martial arts; he has some radical ideas about its future. And he finds some enthusiastic disciples in the Bay Area. Elize Manoukian takes us to Oakland. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>Yeah, this is the old house: 3039 Monticello. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>Yeah, this is the old house: 3039 Monticello. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>That’s Greglon Lee, a kung fu sifu based in Berkeley. He’s showing me the funky, yellow bungalow in the East Oakland hills where he once lived with Bruce Lee. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>That’s Greglon Lee, a kung fu sifu based in Berkeley. He’s showing me the funky, yellow bungalow in the East Oakland hills where he once lived with Bruce Lee. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>Bruce spent a lot of time here, and he was basically training 10-12 hours a day.\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>Bruce spent a lot of time here, and he was basically training 10-12 hours a day.\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Even as a college student, Bruce had picked up kung fu students across the West Coast. And one of the most dedicated was a man named James Yimm Lee, Greglon’s dad. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Even as a college student, Bruce had picked up kung fu students across the West Coast. And one of the most dedicated was a man named James Yimm Lee, Greglon’s dad. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>My dad was one of his top students; my dad had been training with him for a few years.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>My dad was one of his top students; my dad had been training with him for a few years.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>James was a local streetfighter and bodybuilder. He became fascinated with kung fu, wanted to modernize and popularize it. He knew Bruce could help. So he convinced Bruce and his family to move in with him and his kids in the East Bay. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>James was a local streetfighter and bodybuilder. He became fascinated with kung fu, wanted to modernize and popularize it. He knew Bruce could help. So he convinced Bruce and his family to move in with him and his kids in the East Bay. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>You come down to Oakland. We got you covered, roof over your head, and you can train and do whatever you want.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>You come down to Oakland. We got you covered, roof over your head, and you can train and do whatever you want.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>James filled his garage with a bunch of diy equipment — punching pads, shields, leg stretchers. The two men scrutinized reels of Mohammed Ali boxing fights. They practiced what worked from classical styles of martial arts and threw away the rest. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>James filled his garage with a bunch of diy equipment — punching pads, shields, leg stretchers. The two men scrutinized reels of Mohammed Ali boxing fights. They practiced what worked from classical styles of martial arts and threw away the rest. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>To get better when you’re already good ain’t easy. You really have to break things down completely. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>To get better when you’re already good ain’t easy. You really have to break things down completely. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>James was helping Bruce invent a NEW style of martial arts that tried to break away from set technique completely. Classical kung fu was too rigid, they said. Instead, they experimented with fusing wing chun, boxing, street fighting with some heavy doses of Daoist philosophy. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>James was helping Bruce invent a NEW style of martial arts that tried to break away from set technique completely. Classical kung fu was too rigid, they said. Instead, they experimented with fusing wing chun, boxing, street fighting with some heavy doses of Daoist philosophy. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>The individual has to really do their own work. There’s no magic pill. There’s no magic movement to martial arts. It’s getting to know yourself. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>The individual has to really do their own work. There’s no magic pill. There’s no magic movement to martial arts. It’s getting to know yourself. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Bruce’s homegrown fighting style would eventually become known as Jeet Kun Do, or as Greg calls it, JKD. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Bruce’s homegrown fighting style would eventually become known as Jeet Kun Do, or as Greg calls it, JKD. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>And you’ve got to remember the Cha Cha taught him really good footwork and how to change timing, which is really the key to J. K. D. It’s not static.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>And you’ve got to remember the Cha Cha taught him really good footwork and how to change timing, which is really the key to J. K. D. It’s not static.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Bruce and James gain some attention for their new fighting style. Students come from hundreds of miles away to study with them. They pick up enough disciples that they decide to open up a little studio on Broadway Street in Oakland, near what’s now auto row. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Bruce and James gain some attention for their new fighting style. Students come from hundreds of miles away to study with them. They pick up enough disciples that they decide to open up a little studio on Broadway Street in Oakland, near what’s now auto row. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>My dad was twenty years older, but he let Bruce run everything. Because Bruce knew what he was doing and it was obvious that Bruce had it.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>My dad was twenty years older, but he let Bruce run everything. Because Bruce knew what he was doing and it was obvious that Bruce had it.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>In Oakland, Bruce gains confidence in his approach to martial arts, and he’s convinced the San Francisco kung fu scene is \u003cem>backwards … \u003c/em>he’s not shy about sharing that opinion. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>In Oakland, Bruce gains confidence in his approach to martial arts, and he’s convinced the San Francisco kung fu scene is \u003cem>backwards … \u003c/em>he’s not shy about sharing that opinion. \u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Here’s Bruce Lee biographer Jeff Chang again: \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Here’s Bruce Lee biographer Jeff Chang again: \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>He’s basically saying, all of your schools, all the stuff they teach you: That’s all garbage. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>He’s basically saying, all of your schools, all the stuff they teach you: That’s all garbage. \u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>And some people in San Francisco get wind of this.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>And some people in San Francisco get wind of this.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>They don’t have short-term memories. Like, they remember when Bruce first was there.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>They don’t have short-term memories. Like, they remember when Bruce first was there.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>It all comes to a head in the summer of 1964. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>It all comes to a head in the summer of 1964. \u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Bruce is promoting his Oakland school, in a kung fu demonstration at San Francisco’s Sun Sing Theater, the same stage where his dad performed opera, two decades earlier. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Bruce is promoting his Oakland school, in a kung fu demonstration at San Francisco’s Sun Sing Theater, the same stage where his dad performed opera, two decades earlier. \u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>During his demo, he starts critiquing the style of teaching in San Francisco, but in kind of a brash, 24-year-old way. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>During his demo, he starts critiquing the style of teaching in San Francisco, but in kind of a brash, 24-year-old way. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>Everything that you’ve been taught is no good. Let me show you how a real martial artist does things. Provocative, right?\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>Everything that you’ve been taught is no good. Let me show you how a real martial artist does things. Provocative, right?\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>The air in the theater is hazy with cigarette smoke. And the crowd is full of San Francisco martial artists.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>The air in the theater is hazy with cigarette smoke. And the crowd is full of San Francisco martial artists.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>They’re just waiting for Bruce to make a wrong move.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>They’re just waiting for Bruce to make a wrong move.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Then he invites somebody on stage, and says, try to defend yourself using your style, and I’ll show you why mine’s better\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Then he invites somebody on stage, and says, try to defend yourself using your style, and I’ll show you why mine’s better\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>He wants to show the speed and accuracy of his punch. As it turns out, the guy that comes up to be on stage with him is somebody who’s deeply affiliated with the Chinatown koons.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>He wants to show the speed and accuracy of his punch. As it turns out, the guy that comes up to be on stage with him is somebody who’s deeply affiliated with the Chinatown koons.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>The koons are kung fu schools\u003cstrong>. \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>The koons are kung fu schools\u003cstrong>. \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n"
],
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The volunteer blocks Bruce’s punch. Bruce tries again, and the kid blocks it again. Then, the kid puts up his fists, ready for a fight.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The volunteer blocks Bruce’s punch. Bruce tries again, and the kid blocks it again. Then, the kid puts up his fists, ready for a fight.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>And everybody starts hooting and hollering, ’cause they’re cheering for the guy who came up from the audience. That’s their guy, right? He’s like a ringer.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>And everybody starts hooting and hollering, ’cause they’re cheering for the guy who came up from the audience. That’s their guy, right? He’s like a ringer.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Bruce is embarrassed. But he stops and collects himself… trying to refocus the message on what his school has to offer. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Bruce is embarrassed. But he stops and collects himself… trying to refocus the message on what his school has to offer. \u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>And he says, “If you want more, come and see me in Oakland.” And what he really means is, “My school is in Oakland. You’re welcome to come, we’ll train and that kind of thing.”\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>And he says, “If you want more, come and see me in Oakland.” And what he really means is, “My school is in Oakland. You’re welcome to come, we’ll train and that kind of thing.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>But at this point, tempers are high. And to the riled-up crowd it sounds like Bruce is saying: “let’s finish what we started, meet me in Oakland.”\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>But at this point, tempers are high. And to the riled-up crowd it sounds like Bruce is saying: “let’s finish what we started, meet me in Oakland.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>This spreads through the sort of underground pipeline, right? The coconut wireless really fast.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>This spreads through the sort of underground pipeline, right? The coconut wireless really fast.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Soon every martial artist in the Bay Area is talking about what happened at the theater. And some San Francisco guys decide to challenge Bruce to a fight. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Soon every martial artist in the Bay Area is talking about what happened at the theater. And some San Francisco guys decide to challenge Bruce to a fight. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>They want to see Bruce get his ass beaten.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>They want to see Bruce get his ass beaten.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>So they recruit an up-and-coming martial artist named Wong Jack-man, telling him, you’re our best hope to take this guy down. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>So they recruit an up-and-coming martial artist named Wong Jack-man, telling him, you’re our best hope to take this guy down. \u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Now, Wong wasn’t at the Sun Sing Theater, and by all accounts, didn’t really seem to know what he was walking into.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Now, Wong wasn’t at the Sun Sing Theater, and by all accounts, didn’t really seem to know what he was walking into.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>WongJack-man thinks he’s going to Oakland to fight a comparison fight. It’s a friendly kind of thing. Everybody goes out and has tea and dim sum afterwards, right?\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>WongJack-man thinks he’s going to Oakland to fight a comparison fight. It’s a friendly kind of thing. Everybody goes out and has tea and dim sum afterwards, right?\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Instead, he’s an unwitting participant in one of Bruce Lee’s most famous fights. The Showdown in Oakland. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Instead, he’s an unwitting participant in one of Bruce Lee’s most famous fights. The Showdown in Oakland. \u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Here’s what happened according to Jeff and Greglon: \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Here’s what happened according to Jeff and Greglon: \u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>They come to the studio at dusk on a November evening. And at the studio are James, James Yimm Lee, Bruce and Linda. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>They come to the studio at dusk on a November evening. And at the studio are James, James Yimm Lee, Bruce and Linda. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>I know that my dad did bring a gun just in case, just in case things got out of control.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>I know that my dad did bring a gun just in case, just in case things got out of control.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Elize: It starts out friendly enough…\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Elize: It starts out friendly enough…\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>Wong Jack-man reaches his hand out, and that Bruce, uh, sort of gives a faint instead. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>Wong Jack-man reaches his hand out, and that Bruce, uh, sort of gives a faint instead. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>And lashes out with a punch \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>And lashes out with a punch \u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>That is directed at Wong Jack-man’s eyes. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>That is directed at Wong Jack-man’s eyes. \u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian:\u003c/strong> So hard it leaves a mark.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian:\u003c/strong> So hard it leaves a mark.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>And the realization that, Oh, Bruce is actually out for blood, like this is something serious. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>And the realization that, Oh, Bruce is actually out for blood, like this is something serious. \u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Bruce presses in. He uses low kicks and close-up punches.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Bruce presses in. He uses low kicks and close-up punches.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>Most people Bruce dealt with, he could take them out in about five seconds. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>Most people Bruce dealt with, he could take them out in about five seconds. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>But Wong sidesteps the assault and deflects with his forearms. He uses long and graceful kicks and wide diagonal blows — like axes coming down — he hits Bruce HARD in the neck, and gets Bruce into a headlock.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>But Wong sidesteps the assault and deflects with his forearms. He uses long and graceful kicks and wide diagonal blows — like axes coming down — he hits Bruce HARD in the neck, and gets Bruce into a headlock.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>Like holding his neck under his arm.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>Like holding his neck under his arm.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Wong Jack-man could have won right there. But he lets go. He considers Bruce an opponent, not a mortal enemy. Bruce seizes the opportunity and attacks.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Wong Jack-man could have won right there. But he lets go. He considers Bruce an opponent, not a mortal enemy. Bruce seizes the opportunity and attacks.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>Wong Jack-man started running.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>Wong Jack-man started running.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>And he trips on a floorboard and falls down. Bruce pounces on him. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>And he trips on a floorboard and falls down. Bruce pounces on him. \u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>They’re on the floor, with Bruce yelling, “You lost, admit it!” Their friends jump in and separate the two. And that was that. A pretty messy fight, ended by a floorboard. Not at all the resolution to the Oakland- San Francisco rivalry. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>They’re on the floor, with Bruce yelling, “You lost, admit it!” Their friends jump in and separate the two. And that was that. A pretty messy fight, ended by a floorboard. Not at all the resolution to the Oakland- San Francisco rivalry. \u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Except the story doesn’t end there. The fight at the studio was just the beginning. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Except the story doesn’t end there. The fight at the studio was just the beginning. \u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>It became a story that just passed word of mouth. The word gets back to Hong Kong.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>It became a story that just passed word of mouth. The word gets back to Hong Kong.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>The magazines picked up about Bruce and Wong Jack-man, all kinds of rumors. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>The magazines picked up about Bruce and Wong Jack-man, all kinds of rumors. \u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>In one story, Wong Jack-man kills Bruce. In others, Bruce is defending the honor of an actress from Hong Kong. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>In one story, Wong Jack-man kills Bruce. In others, Bruce is defending the honor of an actress from Hong Kong. \u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But the biggest story — the one that has prevailed — is that the fight was about who gets to learn kung fu. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>But the biggest story — the one that has prevailed — is that the fight was about who gets to learn kung fu. \u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>Very famously, the fight has been portrayed as this thing where Bruce was defending his right to teach non-Chinese people.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>Very famously, the fight has been portrayed as this thing where Bruce was defending his right to teach non-Chinese people.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>It’s part of the mythology around Bruce Lee, that he not only popularizes kung fu…\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>It’s part of the mythology around Bruce Lee, that he not only popularizes kung fu…\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>He opens the doors for non-Chinese to kind of study it. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>He opens the doors for non-Chinese to kind of study it. \u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Though it’s a compelling story, it’s just not true. After all, this is San Francisco in the 60s we’re talking about here. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Though it’s a compelling story, it’s just not true. After all, this is San Francisco in the 60s we’re talking about here. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang:\u003c/strong> The record shows that the koons in San Francisco had already opened themselves to non-Chinese. And so it just doesn’t stand up to, to that kind of scrutiny.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang:\u003c/strong> The record shows that the koons in San Francisco had already opened themselves to non-Chinese. And so it just doesn’t stand up to, to that kind of scrutiny.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>So a lot of the myths surrounding the Showdown are not true. But for Bruce, it was still a turning point.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>So a lot of the myths surrounding the Showdown are not true. But for Bruce, it was still a turning point.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The fight was the first true test of his ideas. Wong Jack-man represented all of the things Bruce and James had been arguing needed to change. But it wasn’t the easy victory he had expected, says Greglon. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The fight was the first true test of his ideas. Wong Jack-man represented all of the things Bruce and James had been arguing needed to change. But it wasn’t the easy victory he had expected, says Greglon. \u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>Bruce changed his training completely. So actually, the fight with Wong Jack-man helped Bruce go to another level. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>Bruce changed his training completely. So actually, the fight with Wong Jack-man helped Bruce go to another level. \u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Martial arts is ultimately about fighting yourself, Bruce Lee would write later in life. You train to control your impulses, to empty your mind. And this fight showed him he wasn’t there yet. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Martial arts is ultimately about fighting yourself, Bruce Lee would write later in life. You train to control your impulses, to empty your mind. And this fight showed him he wasn’t there yet. \u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He knew he needed to work harder. And get better. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>He knew he needed to work harder. And get better. \u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee:\u003c/strong> Iron sharpens iron. You don’t sharpen your knife or sword on wood or a piece of butter. So you always have to have an adversary, an opponent in fighting to get better.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee:\u003c/strong> Iron sharpens iron. You don’t sharpen your knife or sword on wood or a piece of butter. So you always have to have an adversary, an opponent in fighting to get better.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>The timing of the Showdown would turn out to be important for Bruce. Because he would need these lessons as he embarked on a new phase of his career. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>The timing of the Showdown would turn out to be important for Bruce. Because he would need these lessons as he embarked on a new phase of his career. \u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Shortly after the Showdown in Oakland, something unexpected happens. Bruce’s wife gets a call.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Shortly after the Showdown in Oakland, something unexpected happens. Bruce’s wife gets a call.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>Out of the blue one afternoon. Linda gets a call, and it’s this Hollywood producer. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>Out of the blue one afternoon. Linda gets a call, and it’s this Hollywood producer. \u003c/p>\n"
],
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},
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>The producer’s barber saw Bruce do a kung fu demonstration earlier that year…and Bruce gets the role of Kato, the sidekick of a TV superhero named the Green Hornet.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>The producer’s barber saw Bruce do a kung fu demonstration earlier that year…and Bruce gets the role of Kato, the sidekick of a TV superhero named the Green Hornet.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sounds of martial arts fighting from The Green Hornet.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sounds of martial arts fighting from The Green Hornet.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>The show only ran one season. And Kato doesn’t have many lines. But Bruce’s character, who uses martial arts to save the Green Hornet episode after episode, becomes a hit. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>The show only ran one season. And Kato doesn’t have many lines. But Bruce’s character, who uses martial arts to save the Green Hornet episode after episode, becomes a hit. \u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>As the management looks at the numbers of toys being sold, they’re like, well, Kato’s outselling the Green Hornet.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>As the management looks at the numbers of toys being sold, they’re like, well, Kato’s outselling the Green Hornet.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>The show gives Bruce a chance to show off his kung fu to a national audience. For many viewers, it’s their first time seeing martial arts. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>The show gives Bruce a chance to show off his kung fu to a national audience. For many viewers, it’s their first time seeing martial arts. \u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But Bruce still can’t break into the mainstream. When the show gets canceled, Bruce struggles to find new work.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>But Bruce still can’t break into the mainstream. When the show gets canceled, Bruce struggles to find new work.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>He can’t get a single job in Hollywood for a while unless it’s as a fight choreographer or in a sort of stereotypically, like, you know, oriental type role that he would refuse to play. And he comes to realize at some point, well, actually, they don’t see me as a main character. And so he has to, at that point, make a choice.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>He can’t get a single job in Hollywood for a while unless it’s as a fight choreographer or in a sort of stereotypically, like, you know, oriental type role that he would refuse to play. And he comes to realize at some point, well, actually, they don’t see me as a main character. And so he has to, at that point, make a choice.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>So at age 29, he decides, forget this. I’m going back to Asia, where I’m gonna be a superstar. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>So at age 29, he decides, forget this. I’m going back to Asia, where I’m gonna be a superstar. \u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And in Hong Kong, his career explodes. He does a movie called \u003cem>Big Boss\u003c/em>, and then another called \u003cem>Fist of Fury.\u003c/em> After one screening, the audience was so excited, they actually tore the seats out of the movie theater. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>And in Hong Kong, his career explodes. He does a movie called \u003cem>Big Boss\u003c/em>, and then another called \u003cem>Fist of Fury.\u003c/em> After one screening, the audience was so excited, they actually tore the seats out of the movie theater. \u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>At this point that, Bruce is the largest star by far in Asia.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>At this point that, Bruce is the largest star by far in Asia.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>After a few years of mega-stardom, he writes, directs and stars in a third movie called \u003cem>The Way of the Dragon\u003c/em>, where he faces off against a then-unknown actor named Chuck Norris. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>After a few years of mega-stardom, he writes, directs and stars in a third movie called \u003cem>The Way of the Dragon\u003c/em>, where he faces off against a then-unknown actor named Chuck Norris. \u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>He joked with his mother. Mom, in this movie, I get to beat up a white guy.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>He joked with his mother. Mom, in this movie, I get to beat up a white guy.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>The Way of the Dragon\u003c/em> was Bruce’s crossover hit. Suddenly Bruce’s movies are being watched back in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>The Way of the Dragon\u003c/em> was Bruce’s crossover hit. Suddenly Bruce’s movies are being watched back in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>They’re being imported, they’re dubbed, and they’re packing the theatres.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>They’re being imported, they’re dubbed, and they’re packing the theatres.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Finally, Hollywood notices and comes crawling back. Warner Bros approaches him and his manager in Hong Kong about a new film they want him to star in. And this time, Bruce Lee gets to call the shots. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Finally, Hollywood notices and comes crawling back. Warner Bros approaches him and his manager in Hong Kong about a new film they want him to star in. And this time, Bruce Lee gets to call the shots. \u003c/p>\n"
],
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},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Here he is in an interview from 1971:\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Here he is in an interview from 1971:\u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee interviewer archival:\u003c/strong> So are you going to go to the United States and be famous or you going to try and eat your cake and have it too?\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee interviewer archival:\u003c/strong> So are you going to go to the United States and be famous or you going to try and eat your cake and have it too?\u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee archival:\u003c/strong> I am going to do both because you see I have already made up my mind that in the United States something about the Oriental needs to be shown.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee archival:\u003c/strong> I am going to do both because you see I have already made up my mind that in the United States something about the Oriental needs to be shown.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee interviewer archival:\u003c/strong> Hollywood sure hasn’t.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee interviewer archival:\u003c/strong> Hollywood sure hasn’t.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee archival:\u003c/strong> You better believe it man, it’s all chop chop and with the eyes.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee archival:\u003c/strong> You better believe it man, it’s all chop chop and with the eyes.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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},
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>He directs the fight scenes, negotiates higher pay and takes ownership of the script. And he names the movie — \u003cem>Enter the Dragon\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>He directs the fight scenes, negotiates higher pay and takes ownership of the script. And he names the movie — \u003cem>Enter the Dragon\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Originally, the writer and director saw Bruce’s character as an Asian James Bond. But Bruce Lee thought that that was too Western … too imperialist. The character, he said, should be a Shaolin monk. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Originally, the writer and director saw Bruce’s character as an Asian James Bond. But Bruce Lee thought that that was too Western … too imperialist. The character, he said, should be a Shaolin monk. \u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>These are ideas that he’s adopted from Taoism that he’s been teaching to other folks since he was 19 years old.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>These are ideas that he’s adopted from Taoism that he’s been teaching to other folks since he was 19 years old.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Enter the Dragon clip:\u003c/strong> Don’t think, feel. It’s like a finger pointing to the moon. Don’t concentrate on the finger or you will miss all of the heavenly glory.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Enter the Dragon clip:\u003c/strong> Don’t think, feel. It’s like a finger pointing to the moon. Don’t concentrate on the finger or you will miss all of the heavenly glory.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Bruce knew he was on the cusp of global stardom. But in his intense focus on his career, he may have ignored signs from his body that something was deeply wrong. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Bruce knew he was on the cusp of global stardom. But in his intense focus on his career, he may have ignored signs from his body that something was deeply wrong. \u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In May 1973, he has a seizure on set. The doctors can’t find any reason for it, so they allow him to return to work. He continues traveling and working hard. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>In May 1973, he has a seizure on set. The doctors can’t find any reason for it, so they allow him to return to work. He continues traveling and working hard. \u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A few months later, he has a headache, so he takes an aspirin and a tranquilizer and falls asleep. He never wakes up. He’s only 32 years old. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>A few months later, he has a headache, so he takes an aspirin and a tranquilizer and falls asleep. He never wakes up. He’s only 32 years old. \u003c/p>\n"
],
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},
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee: The Man and The Legend clip:\u003c/strong> Hong Kong was stunned, and as the word spread, people read with shock and disbelief that Bruce Lee was dead.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee: The Man and The Legend clip:\u003c/strong> Hong Kong was stunned, and as the word spread, people read with shock and disbelief that Bruce Lee was dead.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian:\u003c/strong> A 1973 documentary “Bruce Lee: The Man and The Legend” shows a crowd gathering outside the funeral parlor.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian:\u003c/strong> A 1973 documentary “Bruce Lee: The Man and The Legend” shows a crowd gathering outside the funeral parlor.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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},
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee: The Man and The Legend clip: \u003c/strong>Several hundred extra police were detailed to try to control the crowd; no one could believe that someone like Bruce Lee, so young, so fit, could just die.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee: The Man and The Legend clip: \u003c/strong>Several hundred extra police were detailed to try to control the crowd; no one could believe that someone like Bruce Lee, so young, so fit, could just die.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>His death is still a mystery. The autopsy reveals a cerebral edema, which is a swelling of the brain caused by trauma, and other factors, but could not determine a cause.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>His death is still a mystery. The autopsy reveals a cerebral edema, which is a swelling of the brain caused by trauma, and other factors, but could not determine a cause.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Enter the Dragon, Bruce’s triumphant return to Hollywood, premieres just days later. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Enter the Dragon, Bruce’s triumphant return to Hollywood, premieres just days later. \u003c/p>\n"
],
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Enter the Dragon trailer:\u003c/strong> What do you know about Han? We are investigating corruption….\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Enter the Dragon trailer:\u003c/strong> What do you know about Han? We are investigating corruption….\u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>The film was a box office hit and cemented Bruce Lee’s legacy as not just a martial artist, but as a Hollywood star. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>The film was a box office hit and cemented Bruce Lee’s legacy as not just a martial artist, but as a Hollywood star. \u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For the first time, Americans finally see Bruce Lee as he wants to be seen: his confidence, his physique, and his philosophy all on display. Here he is in 1971 on the Pierre Berton Show. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>For the first time, Americans finally see Bruce Lee as he wants to be seen: his confidence, his physique, and his philosophy all on display. Here he is in 1971 on the Pierre Berton Show. \u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee archival: \u003c/strong>You see, the idea is running water never grow stale, so you got to just keep on flowing.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee archival: \u003c/strong>You see, the idea is running water never grow stale, so you got to just keep on flowing.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>If you watch Bruce Lee movies now, this is the man you see: disciplined, polished, cool. But Hollywood only got the finished product. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>If you watch Bruce Lee movies now, this is the man you see: disciplined, polished, cool. But Hollywood only got the finished product. \u003c/p>\n"
],
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Bay Area’s Bruce was much more raw, reckless, full of dreams and ambition. Though his time here was brief, the battles he fought shaped his philosophy and honed his skills so he could become the superstar we know today. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The Bay Area’s Bruce was much more raw, reckless, full of dreams and ambition. Though his time here was brief, the battles he fought shaped his philosophy and honed his skills so he could become the superstar we know today. \u003c/p>\n"
],
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>That was KQED’s Elize Manoukian. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Thanks to Sam Hopkins for asking today’s question. And he’ll be glad to know Bruce Lee is getting a little more recognition locally.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>California recently designated May 17 Bruce Lee Day to commemorate the date the fighter moved to the U.S. as a teenager. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At the site of Bruce Lee’s Oakland studio, there’s a street sign designating the intersection “Bruce Lee Way.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And the Chinese Historical Society of America also has a cool exhibit about Bruce’s life and career at their museum in San Francisco’s Chinatown.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Thanks also to Charlie Russo, and Rick Wing, whose writing about Bruce Lee and the showdown in Oakland were helpful in the making of this story.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Bay Curious is a production of member-supported KQED in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Our show is produced by Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale, and me, Olivia Allen-Price. With extra support from Maha Sanad, Katie Sprenger, Jen Chien, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone at KQED.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Our show is produced by Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale, and me, Olivia Allen-Price. With extra support from Maha Sanad, Katie Sprenger, Jen Chien, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone at KQED.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>I’m Olivia Allen-Price. Have a great week.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Bruce Lee was born in San Francisco, but found his people in the East Bay. His legendary 1964 Oakland fight reshaped his martial arts philosophy and stoked rumors about race and kung fu.",
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"title": "The Bruce Lee Fight in Oakland That Became Martial Arts Legend | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">View the full episode transcript.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Greglon Lee peered through the gaps in a black, wrought-iron fence enclosing an empty corner lot on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/oakland\">Oakland’s\u003c/a> Auto Row. More than half a century ago, the martial arts legend Bruce Lee — then still unknown — ran a kung fu studio here with Greglon’s father. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Though they were peers and close friends, Greglon’s father was one of Bruce’s most fervent disciples.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The main teacher was Bruce,” Greglon said. “My dad was 20 years older, and had just as much experience, but he let Bruce run things. Because Bruce knew what he was doing and it was obvious that Bruce had it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01191-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12086153\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01191-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01191-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01191-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Greglon Lee stores James Lee’s old Mook Jong, a training tool in martial arts, in the garage of the apartment complex he lives at in Berkeley on June 1, 2026. Greglon Lee is the son of James Lee, a martial artist who once was Bruce Lee’s training partner. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The studio served as the ring of what may have been one of the most important fights of Bruce Lee’s life: the Showdown in Oakland. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is the school where Bruce fought Wong Jack-man,” Greglon said. “Bruce took it personally.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bruce Lee was born in San Francisco when his parents were on tour with an opera company from Hong Kong. He returned to the Bay Area as a young man to study and train, making a name for himself as a martial artist. But only recently has California made an effort to recognize and celebrate the Hollywood star’s early roots here. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Earlier this summer, San Francisco officials and Chinatown community members, along with Bruce’s daughter, Shannon, led the effort to commemorate May 17 — the day Bruce moved back to the city from Hong Kong as a teen — as Bruce Lee Day — becoming the first Chinese American to be honored with a namesake day in state history. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/k2BKNDc48N4'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/k2BKNDc48N4'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Though the Hollywood icon and martial artist’s time here in the Bay Area was brief, it was formative. Among the best-known chapters is the Showdown in Oakland, when he exchanged blows with a martial artist from San Francisco. The fight has become lore in the martial arts world, the subject of books, magazine articles and films, and is well-known to Bruce Lee fans around the world. More than 60 years after it happened, it remains controversial and hotly debated within dojos and on online forums. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s the story of how gung fu — let’s call it by its English name — how kung fu becomes American,” said Berkeley-based historian and cultural critic Jeff Chang, who wrote the recent biography \u003cem>Water, Mirror, Echo: Bruce Lee and the Making of Asian-America, \u003c/em>of the fight. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Like the classic Akira Kurosawa film \u003cem>Rashomon\u003c/em>, which explores truth and self-interest among characters who give contradictory accounts of an event they witness, the story of the fight reads like a case study in selective human memory. Countless retellings, each drawing from legend and third-hand accounts, have inevitably added a bit to the hero’s journey, turning the story into its own myth. Here’s what really happened: \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Moving back to the heart of the martial arts scene \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 1964, Bruce was a student at the University of Washington, but spent more time fighting than studying. Through his work as a cha-cha instructor, which would occasionally bring him to the Bay Area to make money, he met an Oakland resident named James Yimm Lee — Greglon’s dad. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>James, who grew up in Oakland, came from the world of blue-collar bodybuilding and weightlifting. But he was also a skilled martial artist who wanted to modernize and popularize the sport. When he met Bruce, James realized he “was the real deal,” Greglon said, “kind of like the [martial arts] Michael Jordan.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"alignleft size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1442\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12091696\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-03-KQED.jpg 1442w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-03-KQED-160x222.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-03-KQED-1107x1536.jpg 1107w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1442px) 100vw, 1442px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bruce Lee in long-sleeved shirt, smiling in a family portrait. His wife, Linda Lee Caldwell, holds her daughter, Shannon, with Brandon on the left. (Courtesy of the Bruce Lee Family Archive)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite sharing a surname, the men weren’t related but became fast friends and instant collaborators. So, James convinced Bruce to move, along with his wife Linda Lee Caldwell — who was then eight months pregnant — to the Bay Area, to live with James and his two children. James’ wife had just died of cancer, so Linda helped care for Greglon and his sister. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The Bay Area, at that point,” said Chang, is “the heart of the U.S. martial arts movement. You have like all of these folks who are working class fighters … security guards or policemen or military. And they’re all mixing up into a martial arts scene that now is desegregating — and it’s created a lot of ferment. Bruce wanted to be down there.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bruce and James spent countless hours together, training and dissecting their craft. The two articulated a shared vision of martial arts: one that fluidly changed between styles and forms, and drew upon Daoism as a philosophy for how to live. To practice these ideas, they set up a kung fu school together in Oakland, which at first they ran out of James’ garage. When they started to pick up more students, they opened up the storefront at 4157 Broadway Street. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The two shared a belief that martial arts should be more adaptable, not as fixed in style or form. And they both chafed at what they perceived as rigidity among other martial arts teachers — particularly in San Francisco. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As a young man, Bruce had run afoul of some of the San Francisco Chinatown koons — or kung fu schools. The community, at that time, was extremely wary of outsiders, and, due to decades of anti-Chinese racism, protective of their schools, Chang said. Exclusionary policies had heavily \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11443320/as-chinese-exclusion-act-turns-135-experts-point-to-parallels-today\">restricted Chinese immigration\u003c/a>, siloing off the community from newer waves of Chinese from the mainland and surrounding territories. San Francisco residents didn’t know what to make of Bruce, Chang said — “a loud, brash immigrant from Hong Kong.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Sun Sing Theater demonstration\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Tensions came to a head in August 1964, when Bruce gave a martial arts demonstration at San Francisco Chinatown’s \u003ca href=\"https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/3939/\">Sun Sing Theater\u003c/a> at 1021 Grant Ave. — one of San Francisco’s oldest opera houses, and where his father had performed opera nearly two decades earlier (though the building’s gorgeous facade remains, it’s boarded up today).\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bruce had been there on tour with Diana Chang, known as the “Mandarin Marilyn Monroe,” to dance the cha-cha. But after they finished their performance, Bruce had a surprise for the crowd: he took to the stage to demonstrate his style of martial arts for the packed house. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A fight nearly broke out on stage, and the crowd hurled cigarette butts and insults at Bruce, then only 24 years old. As Chang describes it, Bruce scrambled to get the situation back under control.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1338\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12091695\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-02-KQED-1536x1028.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bruce Lee in a yellow jumpsuit in action while directing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the set of “Game of Death.” (Courtesy of the Bruce Lee Family Archive)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I would like to let everybody know that any time my Chinatown brothers want to try out my Wing Chun,” Bruce said, as retold in Chang’s book, “they are welcomed to come find me at my school in Oakland.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>To the riled-up crowd, this sounded like a challenge.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>To the San Francisco martial artists, a fight seemed inevitable. And they chose a promising young fighter, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.jingmo.com/\">\u003cem>jing wu\u003c/em>\u003c/a> star named Wong Jack-man, to challenge the “young dissident,” as the elders in the city called him. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wong was known for being stoic, polished — a picture of grace and power — in comparison with Bruce’s more back-alley style of brawling. To this day, it’s not clear why he agreed to the proposal when his Chinatown friends came to the Jackson Cafe, at 633 Battery, where he worked as a waiter, and asked him to represent the big city in the challenge against Bruce Lee.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The ‘Showdown in Oakland’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The match-up — wrote Charles Russo, San Francisco journalist and author of \u003cem>Striking Distance: Bruce Lee and the Dawn of Martial Arts in America\u003c/em> — was “spectacular,” pitting two talented young martial artists with a uniquely yin-yang-like symmetry together. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Bruce’s style was compact and economical. Wong’s expansive and acrobatic,” Russo said. “Collectively, it had all the characteristics of a fight promoter’s dream.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At the end of a cold day in November 1964, Wong Jack-man and his friends piled into a crimson Pontiac Tempest and drove to the Broadway studio in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01676-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12086152\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01676-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01676-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01676-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bruce Lee’s old home on Monticello Avenue in East Oakland on June 1, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Waiting inside were a “very pregnant Linda,” James, and Bruce, Chang said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wong was dressed formally, in a dark, high-collared, long-sleeved uniform with lacing down the middle. Bruce wore white jeans and a white tank top. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There were a total of nine people in the studio, only one of whom is alive today, Bruce’s wife Linda. And she did not speak Cantonese, the \u003cem>lingua franca\u003c/em> of the fight, so undoubtedly some context was lost. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>However, everyone can agree on what happened next: David Chin, one of Wong’s friends and an instigator of the fight, began enumerating rules. Bruce “kept the tone harsh,” martial arts journalist Russo said: “You came to my school to challenge me, and now you want to set the rules?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When Wong reached out to shake hands, the tense Bruce Lee threw out a feint that crashed right above Wong’s eye — immediately setting the tone for the rest of the fight. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1539\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12091693\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-01-KQED-160x123.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-BRUCE-LEE-01-KQED-1536x1182.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bruce Lee during the Hall of Mirrors scene on the set of “Enter the Dragon.” (Courtesy of the Bruce Lee Family Archive)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At one point, wrote Rick Wing, one of Wong’s students and another chronicler of the fight, Wong got Bruce into a headlock, though eventually, he let go.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Wong considered Lee to be a sparring opponent only, and not a mortal enemy,” Wing said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wong later told Wing about Bruce: “He would never say he lost until you killed him.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A final detail of the fight that everyone agrees with: once Bruce got out of the headlock, he lunged after Wong, who turned and tried to evade the attack. Then, he tripped on a floorboard. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The two scuffled on the edge of the studio, with Bruce pummeling Wong with punches and yelling, “Admit it, you lost!”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Whether Wong actually surrendered is up for debate. However, multiple kung fu students of San Francisco Chinatown have relayed third-hand that if Wong had won, the neighborhood would have been celebrating. Instead, it was silent the next day, like a funeral. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The aftermath of the fight\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The details are somewhat unremarkable — a messy fight in a small Oakland studio with a murky victory — but rumors of the fight, and what caused it, would spread like wildfire through the martial arts community and ultimately reach Hong Kong.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The rumor mill claimed over and over — in tabloids, martial arts magazines and even major Hollywood films — that Chinatown’s old guard took issue with Bruce teaching kung fu to non-Chinese people. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01619-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12086154\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01619-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01619-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260601-BRUCELEE-TV-01619-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Greglon Lee poses for a portrait at the apartment complex he lives at in Berkeley on June 1, 2026. Greglon Lee is the son of James Lee, a martial artist who once was Bruce Lee’s training partner. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Those who peddle this narrative often point to discrimination Bruce may have faced growing up in Hong Kong, due to his own background as a quarter-Dutch on his mom’s side. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But Chang questioned whether this narrative holds up to scrutiny. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Very famously, the fight has been portrayed as this thing where Bruce was defending his right to teach non-Chinese people,” Chang said. “I just think that’s not true at all. The record shows that the koons in San Francisco had already opened themselves to non-Chinese for a long time.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the fight did have a big effect on Bruce’s life and career.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For all of his bluster, the fight against Wong Jack-man was a huge reality check for Bruce, who realized his technique and conditioning came up short of his own expectations. His sloppy “victory” would forever alter his approach to martial arts, his biographers have said, and came at the right time, just as his Hollywood star was about to rise. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Iron sharpens iron,” Greglon said. “You always have to have an adversary, an opponent in fighting to get better. [After] the fight with Wong Jack-man, Bruce changed his training completely. It helped Bruce go to another level.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Just months after The Showdown in Oakland, Bruce Lee got a call from a Hollywood producer asking him to audition for a part. It was his first big break and the beginning of a distinguished film career that ultimately led to Bruce starring in his most famous film, \u003cem>Enter the Dragon\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Whether or not the story bears the weight of the facts, “there’s a great mythology here,” Chang said, that may represent its power to this day. In the showdown, Bruce Lee’s fans found a battle over culture and change, one that matched the upheaval of the times, and wider shifts within Asian America. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Although that context was real, the more meaningful transformation was within Bruce himself. He went on to dedicate his life to becoming one of the best that ever lived. As an actor, he challenged stereotypes in Hollywood, refusing roles that typecast him. In his short life, he paved the way for future generations and set an example that continues to inspire and comfort fans to this day.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-content post-body\">\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode transcript\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>There was always something special about Bruce Lee.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Enter the Dragon theme song plays\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>The martial artist and actor was one of the first Asian stars in Hollywood. His path to fame wasn’t easy, but it paved the way for other Asian Americans to do the same today. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There’s this famous thing Bruce said…\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee archival:\u003c/strong> I said empty your mind…be formless, shapeless…like water. Water can flow or crash. Be water, my friend…”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>It’s the cornerstone of his martial arts philosophy…as much a mantra for how to live as a fighting technique. Be adaptable. Go with the flow … even if you’re riding a tidal wave.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bruce was a disruptor in the kung fu world…a young upstart who wanted to do things differently. Though he would eventually become this legendary figure in American culture, it took him years to hone his own style and philosophy. And many of the early moments that shaped him, the ones that made him \u003cem>the\u003c/em> Bruce Lee we see on the silver screen, they took place in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sam Hopkins: \u003c/strong>I assume there’s people alive still in Oakland and San Francisco who know him and have great stories to share. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>That’s Bay Curious listener Sam Hopkins. Sam’s first exposure to Bruce Lee was in the star’s most famous film — Enter the Dragon.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sam Hopkins: \u003c/strong>Most people would say like the defining one in the one that first like drew me into him and pulled me in. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>As a kid, he loved Bruce’s kung-fu moves. But as an adult he’s come to appreciate how brave Bruce was. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sam Hopkins: \u003c/strong>The thing that really inspires me about him is that he changed how people think. And that’s so powerful, like how they view themselves and how they view others and pushed against like all these stereotypes and all these limitations that Hollywood was putting on him and society was putting on him. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>Sam’s become kind of obsessed. He’s watched documentaries about Bruce Lee, been to museum exhibits about him and located local spots in San Francisco and Oakland that were meaningful in Bruce’s life. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sam Hopkins: \u003c/strong>And I just have always wondered though, why isn’t there more in terms of honoring his legacy and all the great things that he did in his time here? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>There’s this one story Sam has heard over and over about “The Showdown in Oakland,” a fight between Bruce and a kung fu fighter from San Francisco that has become lore in the martial arts world. It’s one of the early moments in Bruce’s career that puts him on the map, and it’s practically a legend at this point. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sam Hopkins: \u003c/strong>I’ve heard different versions of it. So I’m just so curious, like which one is like the most accurate?\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>This is Bay Curious. The show where we answer listener questions about the San Francisco Bay Area. I’m Olivia Allen-Price.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>KQED’s Elize Manoukian set out to separate fact from fiction and understand what role the Bay Area played in Bruce Lee’s life.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian:\u003c/strong> There’s an interview Bruce Lee gives in 1966, right as his star is about to rise. He’s still a bit of an unknown…it seems like the interviewer doesn’t know who he is.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee interviewer archival: \u003c/strong>I think his name is Bruce Lee…\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>In the interview, Bruce explains to a mainstream American audience what kung fu is, using the Chinese pronunciation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee archival: \u003c/strong>Well, gung fu is a Chinese form of combat. Arts like karate or jiu jitsu derive from gung fu. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Then the journalist asks him: \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee interviewer archival: \u003c/strong>Don’t you have some karate schools in San Francisco or something?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>There are multiple issues with that question, but Bruce homes in on just one.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee archival: In Oakland, really. \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Even at this early point in his Hollywood career, the difference between the two Bay Area cities was important to him. You’ll soon hear why.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bruce lived in the Bay Area only a short while — just a few years — but his time in Oakland and San Francisco would go on to have a major influence on his career, and some have argued, on the way we think about martial arts in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang:\u003c/strong> It’s a story in a way of how gung fu…how Kung Fu becomes American\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>That’s historian and cultural critic Jeff Chang, the author of a recent Bruce Lee biography, “Water, Mirror, Echo: Bruce Lee and the Making of Asian America.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I asked him to tell me about Bruce’s life here, starting from the very beginning. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>Bruce was born in the Bay Area. He is there because his parents are on a tour. His dad is a famous Cantonese opera singer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>And while his dad is performing in San Francisco, his mom becomes pregnant\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>So he’s born in this segregated hospital in 1940.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>In San Francisco’s Chinese Hospital, which is still open today. His mom, Grace, names her baby Bruce. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Soon after, the family heads back to Hong Kong, which is quickly becoming the heart of Asia’s film industry. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bruce’s dad, Hoi Cheun, transitions from singing opera to acting in movies. And at a young age, Bruce starts acting too.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>So the directors are looking at who’s this kid. He’s so, he’s so fascinating. He’s got so much energy. He loves to be. He’s like a born showperson. Let’s put him in the movies. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Bruce Lee speaking Cantonese in The Kid\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>That’s Bruce at age 10, in a movie called the Kid. It’s about a tough street urchin with a heart of gold. The film premieres in 1950, and it’s a smash success in Hong Kong. But being famous is hard on Bruce, and he starts getting picked on in school.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This is Bruce Lee’s martial arts origin story. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>And so he learns to try to figure out ways of protecting himself.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And eventually, he meets a seifu, a Gongfu seifu named Yipman. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Yipman is a legendary figure in 1950s Hong Kong. He trains Bruce in a discipline called Wing Chun. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At this point, Hong Kong’s youth culture is obsessed with kung fu and streetfighting. Kids would literally challenge each other and battle on school rooftops.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>Turns out that Bruce really loves the taste of blood on his lips.\u003cbr>\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\u003c/strong>\u003cem>Music end\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Bruce has a short fuse and loves “talking with his hands,”. During his teen years, he gets a bad boy, James-Dean-kinda reputation in Hong Kong. He even gets kicked out of school for fighting. One day, when Bruce is 18 years old, the police come to his parents house, and tell them that if he stays in Hong Kong, he’ll be arrested. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>And his parents are like, that’s it. You know, the police are after you, like the gangs are after you. You’re not, you’re not going to be here anymore. We’re going to send you back to the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Remember, Bruce was born in the U.S., so he’s a citizen. In 1959, his parents give him $100 and send him to live with one of their friends in San Francisco Chinatown.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bruce gets a job, his first non-acting job, at a restaurant.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>He hates it. He can’t take it. Like, this is beneath me. You know, I’ve been on the movie screen, and now you got me cutting carrots. Like, no, I’m not, I’m not about that life. So he quits in a day. And his guardian is like, OK, — Well, I guess we have to have you teach cha-cha then.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Oh, I forgot to mention: Bruce is an amazing dancer. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Cha-cha was a huge craze in 1950s Hong Kong, and Bruce is super athletic. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So while learning English, Bruce starts teaching cha-cha to San Francisco’s Chinese community to make money. But he’s bored. And restless. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>And he’s like, where are the fighters here? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>He can’t help himself. There’s some part of him that just needs to feel the \u003cem>rush\u003c/em> of a real, flesh-and-blood fight again. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So he walks into a kung fu school and challenges the other students to a fight. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>And they run him out immediately.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>It’s the first in a long list of grievances San Francisco’s kung fu community will have with Bruce. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As if his parents read the writing on the wall, they decide to send him to Seattle.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>His parents are like, OK, you’re going to get in trouble again. We’re sending you to a place where there’s less Chinese, there’s less distractions. And you’re going to finish your fricking diploma, and you’re going to get a college degree.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian:\u003c/strong> He never gets that diploma. In fact, Bruce doesn’t last long in Seattle, although he does end up getting married to a woman named Linda while he’s there. The Bay Area is the heart of the West Coast’s martial arts scene, and Bruce wants to get back there. So he drops out of the University of Washington, moves his young family, and gambles everything…on the Bay. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen Price: \u003c/strong>Back in Oakland, Bruce meets some folks who help him refine his theories and practice of martial arts. More on that when we come back. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sponsor break\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> The year is 1964, a time of major cultural change. Young people are questioning everything about U.S. society. And Bruce Lee, who has just moved back to the Bay Area as a 24-year-old college dropout, is going through his own personal revolution. He isn’t just studying martial arts; he has some radical ideas about its future. And he finds some enthusiastic disciples in the Bay Area. Elize Manoukian takes us to Oakland. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>Yeah, this is the old house: 3039 Monticello. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>That’s Greglon Lee, a kung fu sifu based in Berkeley. He’s showing me the funky, yellow bungalow in the East Oakland hills where he once lived with Bruce Lee. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>Bruce spent a lot of time here, and he was basically training 10-12 hours a day.\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Even as a college student, Bruce had picked up kung fu students across the West Coast. And one of the most dedicated was a man named James Yimm Lee, Greglon’s dad. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>My dad was one of his top students; my dad had been training with him for a few years.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>James was a local streetfighter and bodybuilder. He became fascinated with kung fu, wanted to modernize and popularize it. He knew Bruce could help. So he convinced Bruce and his family to move in with him and his kids in the East Bay. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>You come down to Oakland. We got you covered, roof over your head, and you can train and do whatever you want.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>James filled his garage with a bunch of diy equipment — punching pads, shields, leg stretchers. The two men scrutinized reels of Mohammed Ali boxing fights. They practiced what worked from classical styles of martial arts and threw away the rest. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>To get better when you’re already good ain’t easy. You really have to break things down completely. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>James was helping Bruce invent a NEW style of martial arts that tried to break away from set technique completely. Classical kung fu was too rigid, they said. Instead, they experimented with fusing wing chun, boxing, street fighting with some heavy doses of Daoist philosophy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>The individual has to really do their own work. There’s no magic pill. There’s no magic movement to martial arts. It’s getting to know yourself. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Bruce’s homegrown fighting style would eventually become known as Jeet Kun Do, or as Greg calls it, JKD. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>And you’ve got to remember the Cha Cha taught him really good footwork and how to change timing, which is really the key to J. K. D. It’s not static.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Bruce and James gain some attention for their new fighting style. Students come from hundreds of miles away to study with them. They pick up enough disciples that they decide to open up a little studio on Broadway Street in Oakland, near what’s now auto row. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>My dad was twenty years older, but he let Bruce run everything. Because Bruce knew what he was doing and it was obvious that Bruce had it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>In Oakland, Bruce gains confidence in his approach to martial arts, and he’s convinced the San Francisco kung fu scene is \u003cem>backwards … \u003c/em>he’s not shy about sharing that opinion. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Here’s Bruce Lee biographer Jeff Chang again: \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>He’s basically saying, all of your schools, all the stuff they teach you: That’s all garbage. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>And some people in San Francisco get wind of this.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>They don’t have short-term memories. Like, they remember when Bruce first was there.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>It all comes to a head in the summer of 1964. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bruce is promoting his Oakland school, in a kung fu demonstration at San Francisco’s Sun Sing Theater, the same stage where his dad performed opera, two decades earlier. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>During his demo, he starts critiquing the style of teaching in San Francisco, but in kind of a brash, 24-year-old way. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>Everything that you’ve been taught is no good. Let me show you how a real martial artist does things. Provocative, right?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>The air in the theater is hazy with cigarette smoke. And the crowd is full of San Francisco martial artists.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>They’re just waiting for Bruce to make a wrong move.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Then he invites somebody on stage, and says, try to defend yourself using your style, and I’ll show you why mine’s better\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>He wants to show the speed and accuracy of his punch. As it turns out, the guy that comes up to be on stage with him is somebody who’s deeply affiliated with the Chinatown koons.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>The koons are kung fu schools\u003cstrong>. \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The volunteer blocks Bruce’s punch. Bruce tries again, and the kid blocks it again. Then, the kid puts up his fists, ready for a fight.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>And everybody starts hooting and hollering, ’cause they’re cheering for the guy who came up from the audience. That’s their guy, right? He’s like a ringer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Bruce is embarrassed. But he stops and collects himself… trying to refocus the message on what his school has to offer. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>And he says, “If you want more, come and see me in Oakland.” And what he really means is, “My school is in Oakland. You’re welcome to come, we’ll train and that kind of thing.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>But at this point, tempers are high. And to the riled-up crowd it sounds like Bruce is saying: “let’s finish what we started, meet me in Oakland.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>This spreads through the sort of underground pipeline, right? The coconut wireless really fast.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Soon every martial artist in the Bay Area is talking about what happened at the theater. And some San Francisco guys decide to challenge Bruce to a fight. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>They want to see Bruce get his ass beaten.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>So they recruit an up-and-coming martial artist named Wong Jack-man, telling him, you’re our best hope to take this guy down. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, Wong wasn’t at the Sun Sing Theater, and by all accounts, didn’t really seem to know what he was walking into.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>WongJack-man thinks he’s going to Oakland to fight a comparison fight. It’s a friendly kind of thing. Everybody goes out and has tea and dim sum afterwards, right?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Instead, he’s an unwitting participant in one of Bruce Lee’s most famous fights. The Showdown in Oakland. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Here’s what happened according to Jeff and Greglon: \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>They come to the studio at dusk on a November evening. And at the studio are James, James Yimm Lee, Bruce and Linda. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>I know that my dad did bring a gun just in case, just in case things got out of control.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Elize: It starts out friendly enough…\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>Wong Jack-man reaches his hand out, and that Bruce, uh, sort of gives a faint instead. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>And lashes out with a punch \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>That is directed at Wong Jack-man’s eyes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian:\u003c/strong> So hard it leaves a mark.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>And the realization that, Oh, Bruce is actually out for blood, like this is something serious. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Bruce presses in. He uses low kicks and close-up punches.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>Most people Bruce dealt with, he could take them out in about five seconds. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>But Wong sidesteps the assault and deflects with his forearms. He uses long and graceful kicks and wide diagonal blows — like axes coming down — he hits Bruce HARD in the neck, and gets Bruce into a headlock.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>Like holding his neck under his arm.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Wong Jack-man could have won right there. But he lets go. He considers Bruce an opponent, not a mortal enemy. Bruce seizes the opportunity and attacks.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>Wong Jack-man started running.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>And he trips on a floorboard and falls down. Bruce pounces on him. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>They’re on the floor, with Bruce yelling, “You lost, admit it!” Their friends jump in and separate the two. And that was that. A pretty messy fight, ended by a floorboard. Not at all the resolution to the Oakland- San Francisco rivalry. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Except the story doesn’t end there. The fight at the studio was just the beginning. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>It became a story that just passed word of mouth. The word gets back to Hong Kong.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>The magazines picked up about Bruce and Wong Jack-man, all kinds of rumors. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>In one story, Wong Jack-man kills Bruce. In others, Bruce is defending the honor of an actress from Hong Kong. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the biggest story — the one that has prevailed — is that the fight was about who gets to learn kung fu. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>Very famously, the fight has been portrayed as this thing where Bruce was defending his right to teach non-Chinese people.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>It’s part of the mythology around Bruce Lee, that he not only popularizes kung fu…\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>He opens the doors for non-Chinese to kind of study it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Though it’s a compelling story, it’s just not true. After all, this is San Francisco in the 60s we’re talking about here. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang:\u003c/strong> The record shows that the koons in San Francisco had already opened themselves to non-Chinese. And so it just doesn’t stand up to, to that kind of scrutiny.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>So a lot of the myths surrounding the Showdown are not true. But for Bruce, it was still a turning point.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The fight was the first true test of his ideas. Wong Jack-man represented all of the things Bruce and James had been arguing needed to change. But it wasn’t the easy victory he had expected, says Greglon. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee: \u003c/strong>Bruce changed his training completely. So actually, the fight with Wong Jack-man helped Bruce go to another level. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Martial arts is ultimately about fighting yourself, Bruce Lee would write later in life. You train to control your impulses, to empty your mind. And this fight showed him he wasn’t there yet. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He knew he needed to work harder. And get better. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Greglon Lee:\u003c/strong> Iron sharpens iron. You don’t sharpen your knife or sword on wood or a piece of butter. So you always have to have an adversary, an opponent in fighting to get better.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>The timing of the Showdown would turn out to be important for Bruce. Because he would need these lessons as he embarked on a new phase of his career. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Shortly after the Showdown in Oakland, something unexpected happens. Bruce’s wife gets a call.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>Out of the blue one afternoon. Linda gets a call, and it’s this Hollywood producer. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>The producer’s barber saw Bruce do a kung fu demonstration earlier that year…and Bruce gets the role of Kato, the sidekick of a TV superhero named the Green Hornet.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sounds of martial arts fighting from The Green Hornet.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>The show only ran one season. And Kato doesn’t have many lines. But Bruce’s character, who uses martial arts to save the Green Hornet episode after episode, becomes a hit. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>As the management looks at the numbers of toys being sold, they’re like, well, Kato’s outselling the Green Hornet.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>The show gives Bruce a chance to show off his kung fu to a national audience. For many viewers, it’s their first time seeing martial arts. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But Bruce still can’t break into the mainstream. When the show gets canceled, Bruce struggles to find new work.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>He can’t get a single job in Hollywood for a while unless it’s as a fight choreographer or in a sort of stereotypically, like, you know, oriental type role that he would refuse to play. And he comes to realize at some point, well, actually, they don’t see me as a main character. And so he has to, at that point, make a choice.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>So at age 29, he decides, forget this. I’m going back to Asia, where I’m gonna be a superstar. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And in Hong Kong, his career explodes. He does a movie called \u003cem>Big Boss\u003c/em>, and then another called \u003cem>Fist of Fury.\u003c/em> After one screening, the audience was so excited, they actually tore the seats out of the movie theater. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>At this point that, Bruce is the largest star by far in Asia.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>After a few years of mega-stardom, he writes, directs and stars in a third movie called \u003cem>The Way of the Dragon\u003c/em>, where he faces off against a then-unknown actor named Chuck Norris. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>He joked with his mother. Mom, in this movie, I get to beat up a white guy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>The Way of the Dragon\u003c/em> was Bruce’s crossover hit. Suddenly Bruce’s movies are being watched back in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>They’re being imported, they’re dubbed, and they’re packing the theatres.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Finally, Hollywood notices and comes crawling back. Warner Bros approaches him and his manager in Hong Kong about a new film they want him to star in. And this time, Bruce Lee gets to call the shots. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Here he is in an interview from 1971:\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee interviewer archival:\u003c/strong> So are you going to go to the United States and be famous or you going to try and eat your cake and have it too?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee archival:\u003c/strong> I am going to do both because you see I have already made up my mind that in the United States something about the Oriental needs to be shown.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee interviewer archival:\u003c/strong> Hollywood sure hasn’t.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee archival:\u003c/strong> You better believe it man, it’s all chop chop and with the eyes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>He directs the fight scenes, negotiates higher pay and takes ownership of the script. And he names the movie — \u003cem>Enter the Dragon\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Originally, the writer and director saw Bruce’s character as an Asian James Bond. But Bruce Lee thought that that was too Western … too imperialist. The character, he said, should be a Shaolin monk. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jeff Chang: \u003c/strong>These are ideas that he’s adopted from Taoism that he’s been teaching to other folks since he was 19 years old.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Enter the Dragon clip:\u003c/strong> Don’t think, feel. It’s like a finger pointing to the moon. Don’t concentrate on the finger or you will miss all of the heavenly glory.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>Bruce knew he was on the cusp of global stardom. But in his intense focus on his career, he may have ignored signs from his body that something was deeply wrong. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In May 1973, he has a seizure on set. The doctors can’t find any reason for it, so they allow him to return to work. He continues traveling and working hard. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A few months later, he has a headache, so he takes an aspirin and a tranquilizer and falls asleep. He never wakes up. He’s only 32 years old. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee: The Man and The Legend clip:\u003c/strong> Hong Kong was stunned, and as the word spread, people read with shock and disbelief that Bruce Lee was dead.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian:\u003c/strong> A 1973 documentary “Bruce Lee: The Man and The Legend” shows a crowd gathering outside the funeral parlor.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee: The Man and The Legend clip: \u003c/strong>Several hundred extra police were detailed to try to control the crowd; no one could believe that someone like Bruce Lee, so young, so fit, could just die.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>His death is still a mystery. The autopsy reveals a cerebral edema, which is a swelling of the brain caused by trauma, and other factors, but could not determine a cause.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Enter the Dragon, Bruce’s triumphant return to Hollywood, premieres just days later. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Enter the Dragon trailer:\u003c/strong> What do you know about Han? We are investigating corruption….\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>The film was a box office hit and cemented Bruce Lee’s legacy as not just a martial artist, but as a Hollywood star. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For the first time, Americans finally see Bruce Lee as he wants to be seen: his confidence, his physique, and his philosophy all on display. Here he is in 1971 on the Pierre Berton Show. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bruce Lee archival: \u003c/strong>You see, the idea is running water never grow stale, so you got to just keep on flowing.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Elize Manoukian: \u003c/strong>If you watch Bruce Lee movies now, this is the man you see: disciplined, polished, cool. But Hollywood only got the finished product. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Bay Area’s Bruce was much more raw, reckless, full of dreams and ambition. Though his time here was brief, the battles he fought shaped his philosophy and honed his skills so he could become the superstar we know today. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>That was KQED’s Elize Manoukian. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Thanks to Sam Hopkins for asking today’s question. And he’ll be glad to know Bruce Lee is getting a little more recognition locally.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>California recently designated May 17 Bruce Lee Day to commemorate the date the fighter moved to the U.S. as a teenager. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At the site of Bruce Lee’s Oakland studio, there’s a street sign designating the intersection “Bruce Lee Way.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And the Chinese Historical Society of America also has a cool exhibit about Bruce’s life and career at their museum in San Francisco’s Chinatown.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Thanks also to Charlie Russo, and Rick Wing, whose writing about Bruce Lee and the showdown in Oakland were helpful in the making of this story.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bay Curious is a production of member-supported KQED in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Our show is produced by Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale, and me, Olivia Allen-Price. With extra support from Maha Sanad, Katie Sprenger, Jen Chien, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone at KQED.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m Olivia Allen-Price. Have a great week.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>"
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"slug": "why-do-these-uc-professors-want-college-standardized-testing-back",
"title": "Why Do These UC Professors Want College Standardized Testing Back?",
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"headTitle": "Why Do These UC Professors Want College Standardized Testing Back? | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>In May 2020, the University of California regents \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11820185/uc-admissions-to-phase-out-sat-and-act-requirement\">voted\u003c/a> unanimously to phase out the SAT and ACT as admission requirements. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Considered a rite of passage in high school \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/education/530951/should-colleges-still-require-the-sats-and-acts\">since the 1940s\u003c/a> for students planning to continue their education, the standardized tests were also \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/education/530951/should-colleges-still-require-the-sats-and-acts\">long criticized\u003c/a> as insufficient predictors of college performance and discriminatory to low-income students who didn’t have the same access to test-prep materials and classes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The UC system wasn’t alone. At the end of 2021, Harvard University announced it would waive \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/harvard-test-optional-sat-act-scores-college-admission/\">the testing requirement through 2026.\u003c/a> Institutions like \u003ca href=\"https://www.nyu.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/how-to-apply/standardized-tests.html\">New York University\u003c/a>, the \u003ca href=\"https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/apply/application/required-materials/\">University of Chicago\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://admissions.nd.edu/apply/\">Notre Dame University\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://admissions.northwestern.edu/faqs/standardized-testing-policy/\">Northwestern University\u003c/a> are all currently test-optional for this application cycle. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/021822-UCLA-Campus-File-RN-CM-45-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11996136\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/021822-UCLA-Campus-File-RN-CM-45-copy.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/021822-UCLA-Campus-File-RN-CM-45-copy-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/021822-UCLA-Campus-File-RN-CM-45-copy-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/021822-UCLA-Campus-File-RN-CM-45-copy-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/021822-UCLA-Campus-File-RN-CM-45-copy-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/021822-UCLA-Campus-File-RN-CM-45-copy-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The UCLA campus in Los Angeles on Feb. 18, 2022. \u003cbr> (Raquel Natalicchio for CalMatters)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But tides are shifting for these schools — and possibly for the UCs, too. Over the summer, more than 3,000 faculty members at University of California schools have signed \u003ca href=\"https://ucstudentsuccess.org/\">a pair of open letters\u003c/a> supporting admissions testing. \u003ca href=\"https://ucstudentsuccess.org/\">One letter\u003c/a> — signed by more than 2,300 people — called for the return of the mathematics test for STEM majors, saying that testing is a “critical baseline” and “a common external check that students have the core mathematical fluency required for university-level STEM coursework.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The SAT/ACT mathematics requirement is not an obstacle to equity; rather, it is a prerequisite for it,” the letter reads. “Failing to measure preparation gaps does not remove barriers; it moves them into the classroom, where they become harder to overcome.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What fairness looks like\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>2020 was also a year when the country was in the middle of a “racial justice reckoning” after \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/george-floyd\">the killing of George Floyd by police officers\u003c/a>, explained \u003cem>Berkeleyside \u003c/em>higher education reporter Felicia Mello on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101914438/should-the-ucs-reinstate-the-sat\">KQED’s Forum\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There was a lot of discussion about equity happening,” Mello said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She also added that a year prior, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/09/30/914061484/lies-money-and-cheating-the-deeper-story-of-the-college-admissions-scandal\">the infamous Varsity Blues college admissions scandal\u003c/a> took place, in which federal authorities cracked down on wealthy parents who had been cheating the application process through bribes and rigged standardized test scores. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/240125-UC-REGENTS-UNDOCUMENTED-WORK-MD-11-KQED.jpg?ver=1706236237\" alt=\"A bald person with glasses speaks into a microphone at a long table.\" class=\"wp-image-11973813\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/240125-UC-REGENTS-UNDOCUMENTED-WORK-MD-11-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/240125-UC-REGENTS-UNDOCUMENTED-WORK-MD-11-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/240125-UC-REGENTS-UNDOCUMENTED-WORK-MD-11-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/240125-UC-REGENTS-UNDOCUMENTED-WORK-MD-11-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/240125-UC-REGENTS-UNDOCUMENTED-WORK-MD-11-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/240125-UC-REGENTS-UNDOCUMENTED-WORK-MD-11-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">UC President Michael Drake (center) announces the UC Board of Regents’ vote not to consider a proposal to allow the university to hire undocumented students at a UC Board of Regents meeting at the UCSF Mission Bay Conference Center on Jan. 25, 2024. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The Board of Regents then took the decision first to go test-optional and eventually ended up going completely test-blind, and that’s the situation that we’ve been in since then,” Mello said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>However, after the UCs went test-optional in 2020, “we saw students thoroughly unprepared to take math in college,” said co-author of the STEM faculty letter, Mina Aganagic — a professor of mathematics and physics at UC Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re not saying that these kids didn’t take pre-calc or calc or they haven’t mastered that,” she argued. “The issue is at a much, much earlier level. Students who struggle with material that’s taught in elementary and middle school.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“And for those students, helping them learn calculus is really literally an impossible task,” she said. “So it was heartbreaking seeing so many students struggle.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://ucstudentsuccess.org/socscihum/\">other letter\u003c/a> — signed by more than 900 people — argued for bringing back the reading and writing portion of the SAT and ACT, echoing similar sentiments from STEM faculty members. The humanities faculty members also remarked on \u003ca href=\"https://www.404media.co/teachers-are-not-ok-ai-chatgpt/\">the rise of AI use among students\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“As artificial intelligence becomes more capable, it is arguably more important than ever for students to be able to think through and compose sound arguments on their own, to comprehend the texts they read and to recognize weaknesses in the arguments of those texts,” the social sciences letter reads. “The growing use of AI also makes essays a less reliable indicator of these abilities.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>However, critics of the SAT and ACT requirements emphasize the disadvantage under-resourced students face and note that the letter’s signatories are a small portion of the large UC faculty.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The problem was that the SAT itself was basically a test that was really about assessing someone’s socioeconomic status,” said Lisa Holder, an \u003ca href=\"https://equaljusticesociety.org/\">Equal Justice Society\u003c/a> civil rights attorney who helped \u003ca href=\"https://publiccounsel.org/our-cases/smith-v-regents-of-university-of-california/\">file a lawsuit\u003c/a> to end the use of SAT and ACT in UC admissions, which ended in a settlement.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1469\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-1366973965.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12092383\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-1366973965.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-1366973965-160x119.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-1366973965-1536x1140.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Close-up of a pencil on a page of an SAT college entrance exam preparation book, taken on Aug., 6, 2017, in Melville, New York. (Thomas A. Ferrara/Newsday RM via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The metric that that test actually excelled at measuring was your access to test prep. And that is correlated to wealth,” she said. “This is one snapshot, a day in the life of an individual, as opposed to four years of a high-performing, high-achieving student who is striving.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Stephanie, a high school teacher at a college prep school, wrote into Forum saying she was against reinstating the SAT.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I see how much time and money the wealthy students at my school spend on test prep, and it’s egregious,” she said. “The test prep courses and private tutors don’t teach students the material. They teach them how to game the system.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Another listener, who said they are a UC Merced professor, wrote on Forum’s Discord channel that many of the signatures came from “faculty at the three most selective campuses like Berkeley, UCLA and San Diego.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We educate a much higher share of students who need remedial math or writing,” they wrote. “Instead of trying to weed those students out, our approach has been to provide them with additional support and help them catch up.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1129\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/11/UCMerced11.jpg\" alt=\"A sign marking the entrance to UC Merced.\" class=\"wp-image-10747399\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/11/UCMerced11.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/11/UCMerced11-400x235.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/11/UCMerced11-800x470.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/11/UCMerced11-1440x847.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/11/UCMerced11-1180x694.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/11/UCMerced11-960x565.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A sign marking the entrance to UC Merced. (Lance Johnson/Flickr)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>However, an audience member who said they were a math tutor for two decades also pointed out that “kids trying to learn calculus couldn’t add two fractions efficiently, so I stopped tutoring calculus altogether. It was too much hassle. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If you wish to compete in the world, boost standards. Universities are not designed for remedial education.” Another told Forum that as a Northern California teacher who worked in \u003ca href=\"https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/what-is-standards-based-grading-and-how-does-it-work/2024/09\">a standards-based grading school\u003c/a>, “All of my co-teachers agreed that this made grades very inflated. Students graduated shockingly ill-prepared for college, but their grades looked great.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Read on to learn more about Forum’s conversation with experts and reporters on the debate around standardized testing in California’s public higher education system.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Arguments for Standardized Testing \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mina Kim: What are professors who signed the letter seeing in classrooms?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mina Aganagic\u003c/strong>: You’d see enormous amounts of stress on the students. You’d see students who try to take the class three times, and they’re failing again. And they say, “I’ve done everything,” and they have done everything. But the task put in front of them is to cover a multi-year gap in one college calculus class together with 400 to 700 other students. It is simply impossible. It’s sort of like I asked you to climb a wall with no footholds at all. A mathematical genius could not do that. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Why is standardized testing the best way to measure that readiness for college-level work?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>First, most of the SAT actually focuses on the kind of math that’s taught in middle school. I don’t mean acing it, but you will be able to do all right. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The other absolutely crucial thing to understand is how UC uses the SAT. UC was never providing a linear ranking of students and then saying, “We’ll take those with top SAT scores.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>What we will do is the following: Let’s say you take two students from a poor Black neighborhood. They’re going to the same high school. We have grade inflation. Both of these kids ace their math class. And we have to pick one. How are you going to pick? Right now, if we have to pick one, it’s going to be a random choice. In fact, Berkeley doesn’t even take teachers’ recommendations into account. What we are asking for is, “Give us the SAT score.” It will allow us to make an informed choice. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1385\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-860780.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12092386\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-860780.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-860780-160x112.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-860780-1536x1074.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">SAT preparation books sit on a shelf at a Barnes and Noble store June 27, 2002 in New York City. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>There’s also the \u003c/strong>\u003ca href=\"https://smarterbalanced.org/our-system/students-and-families/samples/\">\u003cstrong>Smarter Balanced Test\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003cstrong> that all California public high school juniors have to take. Would that be a reliable measure?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Certainly having something would be better than having nothing at all. But one problem is purely technical — test problems leaking. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And right now, Smarter Balanced is intended to assess how schools are doing. It’s not designed as a high-stakes test. And converting it to one would require huge resources just to achieve the same thing the SAT is already doing.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What do you say to critics of standardized testing, who say scores track closely with income and racial disparities? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Every measure we have, including Smarter Balanced, already has in it, baked, these inequities. There’s just simply no way around it. The SAT is no better, no worse than any other measure we had. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the crucial thing is what washes them out is how we use the SAT. We are not comparing a kid from an affluent background to a low-income student and saying, “Compare their SAT scores.” No, we compare students who are alike in every other respect. In other words, the SAT becomes one part of a student’s file. And when we cannot decide between two students who are completely alike in every other respect, it’s a much more informed choice than throwing a die, which is deeply unfair. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Didn’t the pandemic — and remote schooling — also have a hand in dropping performances? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The overall level of math preparedness has been declining. Nobody’s questioning that. But what we are seeing here is a population of students at the very lowest level of preparedness. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Usually what you see is kind of a bell curve. And when you’re talking about overall level shifting, you’re talking about this bell curve kind of shifting. But what we are seeing is the bell curve — it becomes kind of a U-shape. You see students who are acing our classes and students who’re hopelessly failing, and there’s nothing in the middle. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1320\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2230923952.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088396\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2230923952.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2230923952-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2230923952-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">California State University, Northridge on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Couldn’t the UCs support these students through remedial college courses?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>We’re pouring a lot into remediation. However, there are certain sizes of gaps that you simply cannot fill. They just become too large. If you are asking to fill a gap from elementary and middle school, it’s just hopeless. For those students, it would take years of work in college to catch up. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And California has this beautiful master plan for higher education: of community colleges, the CSUs and the UCs and pathways between them. So a student who is not as well-prepared could have a real path upward: you could go to a community college, take remedial classes and then transfer to UC. You’re not placed into this classroom where you simply have no way of succeeding because your task was impossible. It is not your failure. It’s the failure of a whole system, and we should not propagate this. We should use the SAT as a placement to put kids in the right places, to give them ladders they can climb up. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>The Arguments Against Standardized Testing \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mina Kim: What was the lawsuit filed against the UCs?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lisa Holder: \u003c/strong>In 2019, \u003ca href=\"https://equaljusticesociety.org/\">Equal Justice Society\u003c/a> — along with several private and public firms in a case called Smith v. UC Regents — sued the University of California for continuing to use the SAT and the ACT as a principal criteria for UC admissions when, in fact, the social science showed that the standardized tests, particularly the SAT and the ACT, were not the best metric for assessing a student’s college readiness, even though they purported to be that. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The best metric, according to social scientists and psychometricians, was a student’s high school performance. Basically the classes that they took for four years. What did their teachers say about them, their student evaluations, their extracurriculars, their sports, their community involvement? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>What was heartbreaking was seeing the clients we had in the Smith case who were incredible students. Many of them were students of color, disabled students and students that did not have a lot of money. And so they had no access to test prep, but they were straight A students. We had a student who had been living in his car for four years, yet he was a straight A student. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Some would argue that accessibility to test-prep has improved thanks to online resources like Khan Academy. \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That’s completely speculative. We haven’t had the test for five years, and there’s no requirement under any settlement to bring that test back. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>What we should be doing is looking at the data that is right in front of us. And the data is what tells us that the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ucop.edu/institutional-research-academic-planning/_files/admissions-outcomes-and-performance.pdf\">UC’s own studies conducted by the board\u003c/a> established that students admitted in the last five years under the test-free policy are equally — if not more — qualified and prepared than the previous students. And that this test-free policy is much more aligned with the UC’s mission, which is to offer high-quality, publicly funded education to California’s best students, not its wealthiest students. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This is a publicly funded university system, and everyone, regardless of income, is paying taxes to fund it. All high-performing California students should be able to access this school without obstruction from a gatekeeper test calibrated to measure for wealth rather than excellence. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What do you say in response to concerns being raised by professors like Aganagic? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The achievement lapses that folks may be seeing are much more likely attributable to this generation’s addiction to mobile phones and their scattered focus, their literacy deficits and sort of shrinking attention spans caused by mobile phone usage and AI addiction. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That’s a much larger systemic problem that we have to start to think about pedagogically in all of our schools. Also, what we’re seeing in this cohort of students is also largely impacted by the missed learning opportunities that they experienced during COVID. Some students were out of school for a year and a half, and so I’m sure that their math preparation may have suffered. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And frankly, we have a lot of really lackluster curricula around STEM in our high schools. And so, students may not be excelling as much as they could be if we were to modernize our systems and sort of keep up with what’s going on globally around STEM. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/GenericClassroomGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12050458\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/GenericClassroomGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/GenericClassroomGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/GenericClassroomGetty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Back view of large group of students sitting in the classroom and listening to their teacher. (Skynesher/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Behind the Testing Debate\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mina Kim: What have some of the effects been of waiving the test requirement?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Felicia Mello: \u003c/strong>UC’s data actually showed that they saw a big bump in applications right after going test-optional. In the first year, applications went up about 19%. And you also start to see a slight increase in diversity of both the people who are applying and the people who are getting in. In terms of performance, the official UC stats don’t show a huge difference. They show that persistence — meaning students who remained in college from the first year to the second year — was largely flat during that time. First-year GPAs ticked down very slightly. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I am really just speaking to kind of what we saw right after the change went into effect in 2021. But the picture painted by the overall UC data is not as grim as the one that is being put forward by faculty on some campuses. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How would you characterize the support for the faculty letters? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>We have about 3,000 UC faculty out of roughly 26,000 who have signed on to one of these letters, either the letter from STEM faculty or the letter from social sciences and humanities faculty. We have seen the STEM faculty be much more out front on this. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The social sciences and humanities faculty who have come out in favor of this mentioned that having a good quantitative background is also important for social science classes like economics. There also is clearly some concern around students’ writing skills — that the rise of AI has made it harder to tell, even from students’ applications, whether they’re writing them themselves, and it also just has the potential to constrain what students are learning in terms of writing and communication in general. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The UC Berkeley math faculty — who had really been pushing via this open letter for the return of the SAT — had done their own analysis of numbers in introductory calculus classes. And they found that between 2021 and 2023, after UC got rid of the SAT and admissions, there was a big jump in students who were severely underprepared for that introductory calculus course. But unfortunately, because we only have those three years of data, they weren’t giving the same test prior to or after that. It is a bit hard to put that data in context. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Supporters of reinstating the requirement say that the tests would be used in a holistic approach. How true is that?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The UC actually does consider 13 different factors in admissions currently, even separate from test scores. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Not just your high school GPA, but how you’re doing relative to other students in your class. It looks at the types of life circumstances you’ve had, your geographic location. Have you had a recent improvement in your performance? What kinds of rigorous courses have you taken? Have you taken AP courses? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There’s another factor here, which is the broader political environment, and I think there’s a concern that even if the UC brings back the test, there will be pressure then on the UC to focus more narrowly on the task and abandon some of the more holistic aspects of its review. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Trump administration has certainly been pressuring universities to not pay much attention to the diversity of their classes and not intentionally try to enroll a diverse student body. There’s a concern that this could be seized on by outside actors to try and do an analysis of the university’s admission policies that would focus really narrowly on those test scores. Now, whether that actually happens would remain to be seen.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Equity advocates have also said in the past that, for different reasons, even if you go test-optional, it’s still sending a signal whether those students choose to submit their scores or not, and that could still affect their application.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Next Steps\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mina Kim: The UC is saying that they will study and make a decision on whether to bring back the testing requirement a year from now. How likely is it that they will bring it back?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mello: \u003c/strong>This is something that was actually in the works even before these open letters. We’ve seen a number of factors that have changed since 2020: We have seen shifts in AI and how it affects the application process. Some of those concerns related to the pandemic are no longer there in the same way. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There’s a lot of pressure to make this decision more quickly. The Faculty Senate had laid out this process of coming to a recommendation by fall 2027. The faculty had originally laid out a plan: They said, we’re going to study this, and the earliest that we could make a decision under this very detailed road map would be for people who are applying in fall of 2028.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They have since rescinded that detailed timeline. All we know at this point is that they’re going to make their recommendation by June. That creates some potential anxiety for this year’s incoming high school juniors. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Who decides to bring back standardized testing?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The regents will really make the ultimate call on this. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The most interesting part of the regents meeting was the chair of the Board of Regents saying that she really felt like the public discussion around this has been too narrowly focused on standardized testing and that the university really needs to take a broader look at what it means to be ready for college in 2026. So this will include things like looking at the high school courses that UC requires people to have when they’re applying. Right now, there’s not a requirement for computer science or any other technology-related course. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There’s really an appetite for looking at these things more broadly. The regents are looking at, “How do we both maintain that reputation for excellence?” But also do what they are intending to do as a state university and make sure that access to the university is based on hard work and aptitude as opposed to just how much wealth your family has. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1485\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-1056629578.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12092389\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-1056629578.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-1056629578-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-1056629578-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Standardized test company logo seen displayed on smartphone. (Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Is there a middle ground option for standardized testing?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There are some universities and colleges that are using the SAT more for placement purposes after people get in. So they’re essentially saying, “We don’t require this for admissions, but we either require or strongly encourage you to share scores after you get in so that we can help figure out if you’re going to be in the right math class for you.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One of the things that I observe during the course of this reporting is that placement practices for math classes really vary across UC. It’s an extremely diverse system. I spoke with the math chair at UC Santa Barbara who did not sign on to this open letter in support of bringing back the SAT, and he was saying that when we identify students who may not be prepared for our introductory calculus classes, we make sure we flag that early on. We make sure that they are going to community college, and getting the kind of remedial preparation that they need, and then coming back, and those students tend to succeed in our classes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Wouldn’t the effects of the pandemic also be a major factor in student performance?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Essentially, there’s nobody I interviewed on either side that said, “Oh, we’re not dealing with any pandemic-related learning deficiencies.” There’s broad acknowledgment that our students are struggling in various ways since the pandemic, and something needs to be done. And the question is, what is the best response? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>We know it’s not just all about the pandemic, because instead of seeing everybody equally struggling, we’re seeing this concentration on both ends where some people are doing really well, some people are really struggling, and that middle category of student is dropping out.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some researchers I talked to said that that’s really what you would expect from the impact of the pandemic because the pandemic impacted students differently. Some of them have the peace and quiet they need to study and a reliable Wi-Fi connection, and others do not. \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In May 2020, the University of California regents \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11820185/uc-admissions-to-phase-out-sat-and-act-requirement\">voted\u003c/a> unanimously to phase out the SAT and ACT as admission requirements. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Considered a rite of passage in high school \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/education/530951/should-colleges-still-require-the-sats-and-acts\">since the 1940s\u003c/a> for students planning to continue their education, the standardized tests were also \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/education/530951/should-colleges-still-require-the-sats-and-acts\">long criticized\u003c/a> as insufficient predictors of college performance and discriminatory to low-income students who didn’t have the same access to test-prep materials and classes. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Considered a rite of passage in high school \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/education/530951/should-colleges-still-require-the-sats-and-acts\">since the 1940s\u003c/a> for students planning to continue their education, the standardized tests were also \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/education/530951/should-colleges-still-require-the-sats-and-acts\">long criticized\u003c/a> as insufficient predictors of college performance and discriminatory to low-income students who didn’t have the same access to test-prep materials and classes. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The UC system wasn’t alone. At the end of 2021, Harvard University announced it would waive \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/harvard-test-optional-sat-act-scores-college-admission/\">the testing requirement through 2026.\u003c/a> Institutions like \u003ca href=\"https://www.nyu.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/how-to-apply/standardized-tests.html\">New York University\u003c/a>, the \u003ca href=\"https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/apply/application/required-materials/\">University of Chicago\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://admissions.nd.edu/apply/\">Notre Dame University\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://admissions.northwestern.edu/faqs/standardized-testing-policy/\">Northwestern University\u003c/a> are all currently test-optional for this application cycle. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The UC system wasn’t alone. At the end of 2021, Harvard University announced it would waive \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/harvard-test-optional-sat-act-scores-college-admission/\">the testing requirement through 2026.\u003c/a> Institutions like \u003ca href=\"https://www.nyu.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/how-to-apply/standardized-tests.html\">New York University\u003c/a>, the \u003ca href=\"https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/apply/application/required-materials/\">University of Chicago\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://admissions.nd.edu/apply/\">Notre Dame University\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://admissions.northwestern.edu/faqs/standardized-testing-policy/\">Northwestern University\u003c/a> are all currently test-optional for this application cycle. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/021822-UCLA-Campus-File-RN-CM-45-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11996136\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/021822-UCLA-Campus-File-RN-CM-45-copy.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/021822-UCLA-Campus-File-RN-CM-45-copy-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/021822-UCLA-Campus-File-RN-CM-45-copy-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/021822-UCLA-Campus-File-RN-CM-45-copy-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/021822-UCLA-Campus-File-RN-CM-45-copy-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/021822-UCLA-Campus-File-RN-CM-45-copy-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The UCLA campus in Los Angeles on Feb. 18, 2022. \u003cbr>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/021822-UCLA-Campus-File-RN-CM-45-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11996136\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The UCLA campus in Los Angeles on Feb. 18, 2022. \u003cbr>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But tides are shifting for these schools — and possibly for the UCs, too. Over the summer, more than 3,000 faculty members at University of California schools have signed \u003ca href=\"https://ucstudentsuccess.org/\">a pair of open letters\u003c/a> supporting admissions testing. \u003ca href=\"https://ucstudentsuccess.org/\">One letter\u003c/a> — signed by more than 2,300 people — called for the return of the mathematics test for STEM majors, saying that testing is a “critical baseline” and “a common external check that students have the core mathematical fluency required for university-level STEM coursework.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But tides are shifting for these schools — and possibly for the UCs, too. Over the summer, more than 3,000 faculty members at University of California schools have signed \u003ca href=\"https://ucstudentsuccess.org/\">a pair of open letters\u003c/a> supporting admissions testing. \u003ca href=\"https://ucstudentsuccess.org/\">One letter\u003c/a> — signed by more than 2,300 people — called for the return of the mathematics test for STEM majors, saying that testing is a “critical baseline” and “a common external check that students have the core mathematical fluency required for university-level STEM coursework.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The SAT/ACT mathematics requirement is not an obstacle to equity; rather, it is a prerequisite for it,” the letter reads. “Failing to measure preparation gaps does not remove barriers; it moves them into the classroom, where they become harder to overcome.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The SAT/ACT mathematics requirement is not an obstacle to equity; rather, it is a prerequisite for it,” the letter reads. “Failing to measure preparation gaps does not remove barriers; it moves them into the classroom, where they become harder to overcome.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "What fairness looks like",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>2020 was also a year when the country was in the middle of a “racial justice reckoning” after \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/george-floyd\">the killing of George Floyd by police officers\u003c/a>, explained \u003cem>Berkeleyside \u003c/em>higher education reporter Felicia Mello on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101914438/should-the-ucs-reinstate-the-sat\">KQED’s Forum\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>2020 was also a year when the country was in the middle of a “racial justice reckoning” after \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/george-floyd\">the killing of George Floyd by police officers\u003c/a>, explained \u003cem>Berkeleyside \u003c/em>higher education reporter Felicia Mello on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101914438/should-the-ucs-reinstate-the-sat\">KQED’s Forum\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“There was a lot of discussion about equity happening,” Mello said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“There was a lot of discussion about equity happening,” Mello said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She also added that a year prior, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/09/30/914061484/lies-money-and-cheating-the-deeper-story-of-the-college-admissions-scandal\">the infamous Varsity Blues college admissions scandal\u003c/a> took place, in which federal authorities cracked down on wealthy parents who had been cheating the application process through bribes and rigged standardized test scores. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>She also added that a year prior, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/09/30/914061484/lies-money-and-cheating-the-deeper-story-of-the-college-admissions-scandal\">the infamous Varsity Blues college admissions scandal\u003c/a> took place, in which federal authorities cracked down on wealthy parents who had been cheating the application process through bribes and rigged standardized test scores. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/240125-UC-REGENTS-UNDOCUMENTED-WORK-MD-11-KQED.jpg?ver=1706236237\" alt=\"A bald person with glasses speaks into a microphone at a long table.\" class=\"wp-image-11973813\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/240125-UC-REGENTS-UNDOCUMENTED-WORK-MD-11-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/240125-UC-REGENTS-UNDOCUMENTED-WORK-MD-11-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/240125-UC-REGENTS-UNDOCUMENTED-WORK-MD-11-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/240125-UC-REGENTS-UNDOCUMENTED-WORK-MD-11-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/240125-UC-REGENTS-UNDOCUMENTED-WORK-MD-11-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/240125-UC-REGENTS-UNDOCUMENTED-WORK-MD-11-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">UC President Michael Drake (center) announces the UC Board of Regents’ vote not to consider a proposal to allow the university to hire undocumented students at a UC Board of Regents meeting at the UCSF Mission Bay Conference Center on Jan. 25, 2024.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/240125-UC-REGENTS-UNDOCUMENTED-WORK-MD-11-KQED.jpg?ver=1706236237\" alt=\"A bald person with glasses speaks into a microphone at a long table.\" class=\"wp-image-11973813\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">UC President Michael Drake (center) announces the UC Board of Regents’ vote not to consider a proposal to allow the university to hire undocumented students at a UC Board of Regents meeting at the UCSF Mission Bay Conference Center on Jan. 25, 2024.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The Board of Regents then took the decision first to go test-optional and eventually ended up going completely test-blind, and that’s the situation that we’ve been in since then,” Mello said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The Board of Regents then took the decision first to go test-optional and eventually ended up going completely test-blind, and that’s the situation that we’ve been in since then,” Mello said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>However, after the UCs went test-optional in 2020, “we saw students thoroughly unprepared to take math in college,” said co-author of the STEM faculty letter, Mina Aganagic — a professor of mathematics and physics at UC Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We’re not saying that these kids didn’t take pre-calc or calc or they haven’t mastered that,” she argued. “The issue is at a much, much earlier level. Students who struggle with material that’s taught in elementary and middle school.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We’re not saying that these kids didn’t take pre-calc or calc or they haven’t mastered that,” she argued. “The issue is at a much, much earlier level. Students who struggle with material that’s taught in elementary and middle school.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“And for those students, helping them learn calculus is really literally an impossible task,” she said. “So it was heartbreaking seeing so many students struggle.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://ucstudentsuccess.org/socscihum/\">other letter\u003c/a> — signed by more than 900 people — argued for bringing back the reading and writing portion of the SAT and ACT, echoing similar sentiments from STEM faculty members. The humanities faculty members also remarked on \u003ca href=\"https://www.404media.co/teachers-are-not-ok-ai-chatgpt/\">the rise of AI use among students\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://ucstudentsuccess.org/socscihum/\">other letter\u003c/a> — signed by more than 900 people — argued for bringing back the reading and writing portion of the SAT and ACT, echoing similar sentiments from STEM faculty members. The humanities faculty members also remarked on \u003ca href=\"https://www.404media.co/teachers-are-not-ok-ai-chatgpt/\">the rise of AI use among students\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“As artificial intelligence becomes more capable, it is arguably more important than ever for students to be able to think through and compose sound arguments on their own, to comprehend the texts they read and to recognize weaknesses in the arguments of those texts,” the social sciences letter reads. “The growing use of AI also makes essays a less reliable indicator of these abilities.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“As artificial intelligence becomes more capable, it is arguably more important than ever for students to be able to think through and compose sound arguments on their own, to comprehend the texts they read and to recognize weaknesses in the arguments of those texts,” the social sciences letter reads. “The growing use of AI also makes essays a less reliable indicator of these abilities.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>However, critics of the SAT and ACT requirements emphasize the disadvantage under-resourced students face and note that the letter’s signatories are a small portion of the large UC faculty.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The problem was that the SAT itself was basically a test that was really about assessing someone’s socioeconomic status,” said Lisa Holder, an \u003ca href=\"https://equaljusticesociety.org/\">Equal Justice Society\u003c/a> civil rights attorney who helped \u003ca href=\"https://publiccounsel.org/our-cases/smith-v-regents-of-university-of-california/\">file a lawsuit\u003c/a> to end the use of SAT and ACT in UC admissions, which ended in a settlement.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The problem was that the SAT itself was basically a test that was really about assessing someone’s socioeconomic status,” said Lisa Holder, an \u003ca href=\"https://equaljusticesociety.org/\">Equal Justice Society\u003c/a> civil rights attorney who helped \u003ca href=\"https://publiccounsel.org/our-cases/smith-v-regents-of-university-of-california/\">file a lawsuit\u003c/a> to end the use of SAT and ACT in UC admissions, which ended in a settlement.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The metric that that test actually excelled at measuring was your access to test prep. And that is correlated to wealth,” she said. “This is one snapshot, a day in the life of an individual, as opposed to four years of a high-performing, high-achieving student who is striving.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The metric that that test actually excelled at measuring was your access to test prep. And that is correlated to wealth,” she said. “This is one snapshot, a day in the life of an individual, as opposed to four years of a high-performing, high-achieving student who is striving.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Stephanie, a high school teacher at a college prep school, wrote into Forum saying she was against reinstating the SAT.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I see how much time and money the wealthy students at my school spend on test prep, and it’s egregious,” she said. “The test prep courses and private tutors don’t teach students the material. They teach them how to game the system.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I see how much time and money the wealthy students at my school spend on test prep, and it’s egregious,” she said. “The test prep courses and private tutors don’t teach students the material. They teach them how to game the system.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Another listener, who said they are a UC Merced professor, wrote on Forum’s Discord channel that many of the signatures came from “faculty at the three most selective campuses like Berkeley, UCLA and San Diego.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Another listener, who said they are a UC Merced professor, wrote on Forum’s Discord channel that many of the signatures came from “faculty at the three most selective campuses like Berkeley, UCLA and San Diego.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We educate a much higher share of students who need remedial math or writing,” they wrote. “Instead of trying to weed those students out, our approach has been to provide them with additional support and help them catch up.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We educate a much higher share of students who need remedial math or writing,” they wrote. “Instead of trying to weed those students out, our approach has been to provide them with additional support and help them catch up.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>However, an audience member who said they were a math tutor for two decades also pointed out that “kids trying to learn calculus couldn’t add two fractions efficiently, so I stopped tutoring calculus altogether. It was too much hassle. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>However, an audience member who said they were a math tutor for two decades also pointed out that “kids trying to learn calculus couldn’t add two fractions efficiently, so I stopped tutoring calculus altogether. It was too much hassle. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>If you wish to compete in the world, boost standards. Universities are not designed for remedial education.” Another told Forum that as a Northern California teacher who worked in \u003ca href=\"https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/what-is-standards-based-grading-and-how-does-it-work/2024/09\">a standards-based grading school\u003c/a>, “All of my co-teachers agreed that this made grades very inflated. Students graduated shockingly ill-prepared for college, but their grades looked great.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>If you wish to compete in the world, boost standards. Universities are not designed for remedial education.” Another told Forum that as a Northern California teacher who worked in \u003ca href=\"https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/what-is-standards-based-grading-and-how-does-it-work/2024/09\">a standards-based grading school\u003c/a>, “All of my co-teachers agreed that this made grades very inflated. Students graduated shockingly ill-prepared for college, but their grades looked great.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Read on to learn more about Forum’s conversation with experts and reporters on the debate around standardized testing in California’s public higher education system.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Read on to learn more about Forum’s conversation with experts and reporters on the debate around standardized testing in California’s public higher education system.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"text": "The Arguments for Standardized Testing ",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mina Kim: What are professors who signed the letter seeing in classrooms?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mina Kim: What are professors who signed the letter seeing in classrooms?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mina Aganagic\u003c/strong>: You’d see enormous amounts of stress on the students. You’d see students who try to take the class three times, and they’re failing again. And they say, “I’ve done everything,” and they have done everything. But the task put in front of them is to cover a multi-year gap in one college calculus class together with 400 to 700 other students. It is simply impossible. It’s sort of like I asked you to climb a wall with no footholds at all. A mathematical genius could not do that. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mina Aganagic\u003c/strong>: You’d see enormous amounts of stress on the students. You’d see students who try to take the class three times, and they’re failing again. And they say, “I’ve done everything,” and they have done everything. But the task put in front of them is to cover a multi-year gap in one college calculus class together with 400 to 700 other students. It is simply impossible. It’s sort of like I asked you to climb a wall with no footholds at all. A mathematical genius could not do that. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Why is standardized testing the best way to measure that readiness for college-level work?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Why is standardized testing the best way to measure that readiness for college-level work?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>First, most of the SAT actually focuses on the kind of math that’s taught in middle school. I don’t mean acing it, but you will be able to do all right. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The other absolutely crucial thing to understand is how UC uses the SAT. UC was never providing a linear ranking of students and then saying, “We’ll take those with top SAT scores.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The other absolutely crucial thing to understand is how UC uses the SAT. UC was never providing a linear ranking of students and then saying, “We’ll take those with top SAT scores.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>What we will do is the following: Let’s say you take two students from a poor Black neighborhood. They’re going to the same high school. We have grade inflation. Both of these kids ace their math class. And we have to pick one. How are you going to pick? Right now, if we have to pick one, it’s going to be a random choice. In fact, Berkeley doesn’t even take teachers’ recommendations into account. What we are asking for is, “Give us the SAT score.” It will allow us to make an informed choice. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>What we will do is the following: Let’s say you take two students from a poor Black neighborhood. They’re going to the same high school. We have grade inflation. Both of these kids ace their math class. And we have to pick one. How are you going to pick? Right now, if we have to pick one, it’s going to be a random choice. In fact, Berkeley doesn’t even take teachers’ recommendations into account. What we are asking for is, “Give us the SAT score.” It will allow us to make an informed choice. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-860780.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12092386\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-860780.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-860780-160x112.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-860780-1536x1074.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">SAT preparation books sit on a shelf at a Barnes and Noble store June 27, 2002 in New York City.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>There’s also the \u003c/strong>\u003ca href=\"https://smarterbalanced.org/our-system/students-and-families/samples/\">\u003cstrong>Smarter Balanced Test\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003cstrong> that all California public high school juniors have to take. Would that be a reliable measure?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>There’s also the \u003c/strong>\u003ca href=\"https://smarterbalanced.org/our-system/students-and-families/samples/\">\u003cstrong>Smarter Balanced Test\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003cstrong> that all California public high school juniors have to take. Would that be a reliable measure?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Certainly having something would be better than having nothing at all. But one problem is purely technical — test problems leaking. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Certainly having something would be better than having nothing at all. But one problem is purely technical — test problems leaking. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And right now, Smarter Balanced is intended to assess how schools are doing. It’s not designed as a high-stakes test. And converting it to one would require huge resources just to achieve the same thing the SAT is already doing.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>And right now, Smarter Balanced is intended to assess how schools are doing. It’s not designed as a high-stakes test. And converting it to one would require huge resources just to achieve the same thing the SAT is already doing.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What do you say to critics of standardized testing, who say scores track closely with income and racial disparities? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Every measure we have, including Smarter Balanced, already has in it, baked, these inequities. There’s just simply no way around it. The SAT is no better, no worse than any other measure we had. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Every measure we have, including Smarter Balanced, already has in it, baked, these inequities. There’s just simply no way around it. The SAT is no better, no worse than any other measure we had. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But the crucial thing is what washes them out is how we use the SAT. We are not comparing a kid from an affluent background to a low-income student and saying, “Compare their SAT scores.” No, we compare students who are alike in every other respect. In other words, the SAT becomes one part of a student’s file. And when we cannot decide between two students who are completely alike in every other respect, it’s a much more informed choice than throwing a die, which is deeply unfair. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But the crucial thing is what washes them out is how we use the SAT. We are not comparing a kid from an affluent background to a low-income student and saying, “Compare their SAT scores.” No, we compare students who are alike in every other respect. In other words, the SAT becomes one part of a student’s file. And when we cannot decide between two students who are completely alike in every other respect, it’s a much more informed choice than throwing a die, which is deeply unfair. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Didn’t the pandemic — and remote schooling — also have a hand in dropping performances? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The overall level of math preparedness has been declining. Nobody’s questioning that. But what we are seeing here is a population of students at the very lowest level of preparedness. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The overall level of math preparedness has been declining. Nobody’s questioning that. But what we are seeing here is a population of students at the very lowest level of preparedness. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Usually what you see is kind of a bell curve. And when you’re talking about overall level shifting, you’re talking about this bell curve kind of shifting. But what we are seeing is the bell curve — it becomes kind of a U-shape. You see students who are acing our classes and students who’re hopelessly failing, and there’s nothing in the middle. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Usually what you see is kind of a bell curve. And when you’re talking about overall level shifting, you’re talking about this bell curve kind of shifting. But what we are seeing is the bell curve — it becomes kind of a U-shape. You see students who are acing our classes and students who’re hopelessly failing, and there’s nothing in the middle. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2230923952.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088396\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2230923952.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2230923952-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2230923952-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">California State University, Northridge on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2230923952.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088396\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">California State University, Northridge on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Couldn’t the UCs support these students through remedial college courses?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Couldn’t the UCs support these students through remedial college courses?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>We’re pouring a lot into remediation. However, there are certain sizes of gaps that you simply cannot fill. They just become too large. If you are asking to fill a gap from elementary and middle school, it’s just hopeless. For those students, it would take years of work in college to catch up. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>We’re pouring a lot into remediation. However, there are certain sizes of gaps that you simply cannot fill. They just become too large. If you are asking to fill a gap from elementary and middle school, it’s just hopeless. For those students, it would take years of work in college to catch up. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And California has this beautiful master plan for higher education: of community colleges, the CSUs and the UCs and pathways between them. So a student who is not as well-prepared could have a real path upward: you could go to a community college, take remedial classes and then transfer to UC. You’re not placed into this classroom where you simply have no way of succeeding because your task was impossible. It is not your failure. It’s the failure of a whole system, and we should not propagate this. We should use the SAT as a placement to put kids in the right places, to give them ladders they can climb up. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>And California has this beautiful master plan for higher education: of community colleges, the CSUs and the UCs and pathways between them. So a student who is not as well-prepared could have a real path upward: you could go to a community college, take remedial classes and then transfer to UC. You’re not placed into this classroom where you simply have no way of succeeding because your task was impossible. It is not your failure. It’s the failure of a whole system, and we should not propagate this. We should use the SAT as a placement to put kids in the right places, to give them ladders they can climb up. \u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "The Arguments Against Standardized Testing ",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>The Arguments Against Standardized Testing \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mina Kim: What was the lawsuit filed against the UCs?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mina Kim: What was the lawsuit filed against the UCs?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lisa Holder: \u003c/strong>In 2019, \u003ca href=\"https://equaljusticesociety.org/\">Equal Justice Society\u003c/a> — along with several private and public firms in a case called Smith v. UC Regents — sued the University of California for continuing to use the SAT and the ACT as a principal criteria for UC admissions when, in fact, the social science showed that the standardized tests, particularly the SAT and the ACT, were not the best metric for assessing a student’s college readiness, even though they purported to be that. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lisa Holder: \u003c/strong>In 2019, \u003ca href=\"https://equaljusticesociety.org/\">Equal Justice Society\u003c/a> — along with several private and public firms in a case called Smith v. UC Regents — sued the University of California for continuing to use the SAT and the ACT as a principal criteria for UC admissions when, in fact, the social science showed that the standardized tests, particularly the SAT and the ACT, were not the best metric for assessing a student’s college readiness, even though they purported to be that. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The best metric, according to social scientists and psychometricians, was a student’s high school performance. Basically the classes that they took for four years. What did their teachers say about them, their student evaluations, their extracurriculars, their sports, their community involvement? \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The best metric, according to social scientists and psychometricians, was a student’s high school performance. Basically the classes that they took for four years. What did their teachers say about them, their student evaluations, their extracurriculars, their sports, their community involvement? \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>What was heartbreaking was seeing the clients we had in the Smith case who were incredible students. Many of them were students of color, disabled students and students that did not have a lot of money. And so they had no access to test prep, but they were straight A students. We had a student who had been living in his car for four years, yet he was a straight A student. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>What was heartbreaking was seeing the clients we had in the Smith case who were incredible students. Many of them were students of color, disabled students and students that did not have a lot of money. And so they had no access to test prep, but they were straight A students. We had a student who had been living in his car for four years, yet he was a straight A student. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Some would argue that accessibility to test-prep has improved thanks to online resources like Khan Academy. \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Some would argue that accessibility to test-prep has improved thanks to online resources like Khan Academy. \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That’s completely speculative. We haven’t had the test for five years, and there’s no requirement under any settlement to bring that test back. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That’s completely speculative. We haven’t had the test for five years, and there’s no requirement under any settlement to bring that test back. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>What we should be doing is looking at the data that is right in front of us. And the data is what tells us that the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ucop.edu/institutional-research-academic-planning/_files/admissions-outcomes-and-performance.pdf\">UC’s own studies conducted by the board\u003c/a> established that students admitted in the last five years under the test-free policy are equally — if not more — qualified and prepared than the previous students. And that this test-free policy is much more aligned with the UC’s mission, which is to offer high-quality, publicly funded education to California’s best students, not its wealthiest students. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>What we should be doing is looking at the data that is right in front of us. And the data is what tells us that the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ucop.edu/institutional-research-academic-planning/_files/admissions-outcomes-and-performance.pdf\">UC’s own studies conducted by the board\u003c/a> established that students admitted in the last five years under the test-free policy are equally — if not more — qualified and prepared than the previous students. And that this test-free policy is much more aligned with the UC’s mission, which is to offer high-quality, publicly funded education to California’s best students, not its wealthiest students. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This is a publicly funded university system, and everyone, regardless of income, is paying taxes to fund it. All high-performing California students should be able to access this school without obstruction from a gatekeeper test calibrated to measure for wealth rather than excellence. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>This is a publicly funded university system, and everyone, regardless of income, is paying taxes to fund it. All high-performing California students should be able to access this school without obstruction from a gatekeeper test calibrated to measure for wealth rather than excellence. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What do you say in response to concerns being raised by professors like Aganagic? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The achievement lapses that folks may be seeing are much more likely attributable to this generation’s addiction to mobile phones and their scattered focus, their literacy deficits and sort of shrinking attention spans caused by mobile phone usage and AI addiction. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The achievement lapses that folks may be seeing are much more likely attributable to this generation’s addiction to mobile phones and their scattered focus, their literacy deficits and sort of shrinking attention spans caused by mobile phone usage and AI addiction. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That’s a much larger systemic problem that we have to start to think about pedagogically in all of our schools. Also, what we’re seeing in this cohort of students is also largely impacted by the missed learning opportunities that they experienced during COVID. Some students were out of school for a year and a half, and so I’m sure that their math preparation may have suffered. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That’s a much larger systemic problem that we have to start to think about pedagogically in all of our schools. Also, what we’re seeing in this cohort of students is also largely impacted by the missed learning opportunities that they experienced during COVID. Some students were out of school for a year and a half, and so I’m sure that their math preparation may have suffered. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And frankly, we have a lot of really lackluster curricula around STEM in our high schools. And so, students may not be excelling as much as they could be if we were to modernize our systems and sort of keep up with what’s going on globally around STEM. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>And frankly, we have a lot of really lackluster curricula around STEM in our high schools. And so, students may not be excelling as much as they could be if we were to modernize our systems and sort of keep up with what’s going on globally around STEM. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mina Kim: What have some of the effects been of waiving the test requirement?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mina Kim: What have some of the effects been of waiving the test requirement?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Felicia Mello: \u003c/strong>UC’s data actually showed that they saw a big bump in applications right after going test-optional. In the first year, applications went up about 19%. And you also start to see a slight increase in diversity of both the people who are applying and the people who are getting in. In terms of performance, the official UC stats don’t show a huge difference. They show that persistence — meaning students who remained in college from the first year to the second year — was largely flat during that time. First-year GPAs ticked down very slightly. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Felicia Mello: \u003c/strong>UC’s data actually showed that they saw a big bump in applications right after going test-optional. In the first year, applications went up about 19%. And you also start to see a slight increase in diversity of both the people who are applying and the people who are getting in. In terms of performance, the official UC stats don’t show a huge difference. They show that persistence — meaning students who remained in college from the first year to the second year — was largely flat during that time. First-year GPAs ticked down very slightly. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>I am really just speaking to kind of what we saw right after the change went into effect in 2021. But the picture painted by the overall UC data is not as grim as the one that is being put forward by faculty on some campuses. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>I am really just speaking to kind of what we saw right after the change went into effect in 2021. But the picture painted by the overall UC data is not as grim as the one that is being put forward by faculty on some campuses. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How would you characterize the support for the faculty letters? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>We have about 3,000 UC faculty out of roughly 26,000 who have signed on to one of these letters, either the letter from STEM faculty or the letter from social sciences and humanities faculty. We have seen the STEM faculty be much more out front on this. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>We have about 3,000 UC faculty out of roughly 26,000 who have signed on to one of these letters, either the letter from STEM faculty or the letter from social sciences and humanities faculty. We have seen the STEM faculty be much more out front on this. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The social sciences and humanities faculty who have come out in favor of this mentioned that having a good quantitative background is also important for social science classes like economics. There also is clearly some concern around students’ writing skills — that the rise of AI has made it harder to tell, even from students’ applications, whether they’re writing them themselves, and it also just has the potential to constrain what students are learning in terms of writing and communication in general. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The social sciences and humanities faculty who have come out in favor of this mentioned that having a good quantitative background is also important for social science classes like economics. There also is clearly some concern around students’ writing skills — that the rise of AI has made it harder to tell, even from students’ applications, whether they’re writing them themselves, and it also just has the potential to constrain what students are learning in terms of writing and communication in general. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The UC Berkeley math faculty — who had really been pushing via this open letter for the return of the SAT — had done their own analysis of numbers in introductory calculus classes. And they found that between 2021 and 2023, after UC got rid of the SAT and admissions, there was a big jump in students who were severely underprepared for that introductory calculus course. But unfortunately, because we only have those three years of data, they weren’t giving the same test prior to or after that. It is a bit hard to put that data in context. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The UC Berkeley math faculty — who had really been pushing via this open letter for the return of the SAT — had done their own analysis of numbers in introductory calculus classes. And they found that between 2021 and 2023, after UC got rid of the SAT and admissions, there was a big jump in students who were severely underprepared for that introductory calculus course. But unfortunately, because we only have those three years of data, they weren’t giving the same test prior to or after that. It is a bit hard to put that data in context. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Supporters of reinstating the requirement say that the tests would be used in a holistic approach. How true is that?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Supporters of reinstating the requirement say that the tests would be used in a holistic approach. How true is that?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The UC actually does consider 13 different factors in admissions currently, even separate from test scores. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The UC actually does consider 13 different factors in admissions currently, even separate from test scores. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Not just your high school GPA, but how you’re doing relative to other students in your class. It looks at the types of life circumstances you’ve had, your geographic location. Have you had a recent improvement in your performance? What kinds of rigorous courses have you taken? Have you taken AP courses? \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Not just your high school GPA, but how you’re doing relative to other students in your class. It looks at the types of life circumstances you’ve had, your geographic location. Have you had a recent improvement in your performance? What kinds of rigorous courses have you taken? Have you taken AP courses? \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>There’s another factor here, which is the broader political environment, and I think there’s a concern that even if the UC brings back the test, there will be pressure then on the UC to focus more narrowly on the task and abandon some of the more holistic aspects of its review. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>There’s another factor here, which is the broader political environment, and I think there’s a concern that even if the UC brings back the test, there will be pressure then on the UC to focus more narrowly on the task and abandon some of the more holistic aspects of its review. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Trump administration has certainly been pressuring universities to not pay much attention to the diversity of their classes and not intentionally try to enroll a diverse student body. There’s a concern that this could be seized on by outside actors to try and do an analysis of the university’s admission policies that would focus really narrowly on those test scores. Now, whether that actually happens would remain to be seen.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Equity advocates have also said in the past that, for different reasons, even if you go test-optional, it’s still sending a signal whether those students choose to submit their scores or not, and that could still affect their application.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mina Kim: The UC is saying that they will study and make a decision on whether to bring back the testing requirement a year from now. How likely is it that they will bring it back?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mina Kim: The UC is saying that they will study and make a decision on whether to bring back the testing requirement a year from now. How likely is it that they will bring it back?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mello: \u003c/strong>This is something that was actually in the works even before these open letters. We’ve seen a number of factors that have changed since 2020: We have seen shifts in AI and how it affects the application process. Some of those concerns related to the pandemic are no longer there in the same way. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mello: \u003c/strong>This is something that was actually in the works even before these open letters. We’ve seen a number of factors that have changed since 2020: We have seen shifts in AI and how it affects the application process. Some of those concerns related to the pandemic are no longer there in the same way. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>There’s a lot of pressure to make this decision more quickly. The Faculty Senate had laid out this process of coming to a recommendation by fall 2027. The faculty had originally laid out a plan: They said, we’re going to study this, and the earliest that we could make a decision under this very detailed road map would be for people who are applying in fall of 2028.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>There’s a lot of pressure to make this decision more quickly. The Faculty Senate had laid out this process of coming to a recommendation by fall 2027. The faculty had originally laid out a plan: They said, we’re going to study this, and the earliest that we could make a decision under this very detailed road map would be for people who are applying in fall of 2028.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>They have since rescinded that detailed timeline. All we know at this point is that they’re going to make their recommendation by June. That creates some potential anxiety for this year’s incoming high school juniors. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>They have since rescinded that detailed timeline. All we know at this point is that they’re going to make their recommendation by June. That creates some potential anxiety for this year’s incoming high school juniors. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Who decides to bring back standardized testing?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The regents will really make the ultimate call on this. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The most interesting part of the regents meeting was the chair of the Board of Regents saying that she really felt like the public discussion around this has been too narrowly focused on standardized testing and that the university really needs to take a broader look at what it means to be ready for college in 2026. So this will include things like looking at the high school courses that UC requires people to have when they’re applying. Right now, there’s not a requirement for computer science or any other technology-related course. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The most interesting part of the regents meeting was the chair of the Board of Regents saying that she really felt like the public discussion around this has been too narrowly focused on standardized testing and that the university really needs to take a broader look at what it means to be ready for college in 2026. So this will include things like looking at the high school courses that UC requires people to have when they’re applying. Right now, there’s not a requirement for computer science or any other technology-related course. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>There’s really an appetite for looking at these things more broadly. The regents are looking at, “How do we both maintain that reputation for excellence?” But also do what they are intending to do as a state university and make sure that access to the university is based on hard work and aptitude as opposed to just how much wealth your family has. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>There’s really an appetite for looking at these things more broadly. The regents are looking at, “How do we both maintain that reputation for excellence?” But also do what they are intending to do as a state university and make sure that access to the university is based on hard work and aptitude as opposed to just how much wealth your family has. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Is there a middle ground option for standardized testing?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>There are some universities and colleges that are using the SAT more for placement purposes after people get in. So they’re essentially saying, “We don’t require this for admissions, but we either require or strongly encourage you to share scores after you get in so that we can help figure out if you’re going to be in the right math class for you.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>There are some universities and colleges that are using the SAT more for placement purposes after people get in. So they’re essentially saying, “We don’t require this for admissions, but we either require or strongly encourage you to share scores after you get in so that we can help figure out if you’re going to be in the right math class for you.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>One of the things that I observe during the course of this reporting is that placement practices for math classes really vary across UC. It’s an extremely diverse system. I spoke with the math chair at UC Santa Barbara who did not sign on to this open letter in support of bringing back the SAT, and he was saying that when we identify students who may not be prepared for our introductory calculus classes, we make sure we flag that early on. We make sure that they are going to community college, and getting the kind of remedial preparation that they need, and then coming back, and those students tend to succeed in our classes. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>One of the things that I observe during the course of this reporting is that placement practices for math classes really vary across UC. It’s an extremely diverse system. I spoke with the math chair at UC Santa Barbara who did not sign on to this open letter in support of bringing back the SAT, and he was saying that when we identify students who may not be prepared for our introductory calculus classes, we make sure we flag that early on. We make sure that they are going to community college, and getting the kind of remedial preparation that they need, and then coming back, and those students tend to succeed in our classes. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Wouldn’t the effects of the pandemic also be a major factor in student performance?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Essentially, there’s nobody I interviewed on either side that said, “Oh, we’re not dealing with any pandemic-related learning deficiencies.” There’s broad acknowledgment that our students are struggling in various ways since the pandemic, and something needs to be done. And the question is, what is the best response? \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Essentially, there’s nobody I interviewed on either side that said, “Oh, we’re not dealing with any pandemic-related learning deficiencies.” There’s broad acknowledgment that our students are struggling in various ways since the pandemic, and something needs to be done. And the question is, what is the best response? \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>We know it’s not just all about the pandemic, because instead of seeing everybody equally struggling, we’re seeing this concentration on both ends where some people are doing really well, some people are really struggling, and that middle category of student is dropping out.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>We know it’s not just all about the pandemic, because instead of seeing everybody equally struggling, we’re seeing this concentration on both ends where some people are doing really well, some people are really struggling, and that middle category of student is dropping out.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Some researchers I talked to said that that’s really what you would expect from the impact of the pandemic because the pandemic impacted students differently. Some of them have the peace and quiet they need to study and a reliable Wi-Fi connection, and others do not. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Some researchers I talked to said that that’s really what you would expect from the impact of the pandemic because the pandemic impacted students differently. Some of them have the peace and quiet they need to study and a reliable Wi-Fi connection, and others do not. \u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "In 2020, the University of California regents voted unanimously to phase out the SAT and ACT as admission requirements. Over 3,000 faculty members are asking for it to come back.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In May 2020, the University of California regents \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11820185/uc-admissions-to-phase-out-sat-and-act-requirement\">voted\u003c/a> unanimously to phase out the SAT and ACT as admission requirements. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Considered a rite of passage in high school \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/education/530951/should-colleges-still-require-the-sats-and-acts\">since the 1940s\u003c/a> for students planning to continue their education, the standardized tests were also \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/education/530951/should-colleges-still-require-the-sats-and-acts\">long criticized\u003c/a> as insufficient predictors of college performance and discriminatory to low-income students who didn’t have the same access to test-prep materials and classes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The UC system wasn’t alone. At the end of 2021, Harvard University announced it would waive \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/harvard-test-optional-sat-act-scores-college-admission/\">the testing requirement through 2026.\u003c/a> Institutions like \u003ca href=\"https://www.nyu.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/how-to-apply/standardized-tests.html\">New York University\u003c/a>, the \u003ca href=\"https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/apply/application/required-materials/\">University of Chicago\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://admissions.nd.edu/apply/\">Notre Dame University\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://admissions.northwestern.edu/faqs/standardized-testing-policy/\">Northwestern University\u003c/a> are all currently test-optional for this application cycle. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/021822-UCLA-Campus-File-RN-CM-45-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11996136\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/021822-UCLA-Campus-File-RN-CM-45-copy.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/021822-UCLA-Campus-File-RN-CM-45-copy-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/021822-UCLA-Campus-File-RN-CM-45-copy-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/021822-UCLA-Campus-File-RN-CM-45-copy-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/021822-UCLA-Campus-File-RN-CM-45-copy-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/021822-UCLA-Campus-File-RN-CM-45-copy-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The UCLA campus in Los Angeles on Feb. 18, 2022. \u003cbr> (Raquel Natalicchio for CalMatters)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But tides are shifting for these schools — and possibly for the UCs, too. Over the summer, more than 3,000 faculty members at University of California schools have signed \u003ca href=\"https://ucstudentsuccess.org/\">a pair of open letters\u003c/a> supporting admissions testing. \u003ca href=\"https://ucstudentsuccess.org/\">One letter\u003c/a> — signed by more than 2,300 people — called for the return of the mathematics test for STEM majors, saying that testing is a “critical baseline” and “a common external check that students have the core mathematical fluency required for university-level STEM coursework.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The SAT/ACT mathematics requirement is not an obstacle to equity; rather, it is a prerequisite for it,” the letter reads. “Failing to measure preparation gaps does not remove barriers; it moves them into the classroom, where they become harder to overcome.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What fairness looks like\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>2020 was also a year when the country was in the middle of a “racial justice reckoning” after \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/george-floyd\">the killing of George Floyd by police officers\u003c/a>, explained \u003cem>Berkeleyside \u003c/em>higher education reporter Felicia Mello on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101914438/should-the-ucs-reinstate-the-sat\">KQED’s Forum\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There was a lot of discussion about equity happening,” Mello said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She also added that a year prior, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/09/30/914061484/lies-money-and-cheating-the-deeper-story-of-the-college-admissions-scandal\">the infamous Varsity Blues college admissions scandal\u003c/a> took place, in which federal authorities cracked down on wealthy parents who had been cheating the application process through bribes and rigged standardized test scores. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/240125-UC-REGENTS-UNDOCUMENTED-WORK-MD-11-KQED.jpg?ver=1706236237\" alt=\"A bald person with glasses speaks into a microphone at a long table.\" class=\"wp-image-11973813\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/240125-UC-REGENTS-UNDOCUMENTED-WORK-MD-11-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/240125-UC-REGENTS-UNDOCUMENTED-WORK-MD-11-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/240125-UC-REGENTS-UNDOCUMENTED-WORK-MD-11-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/240125-UC-REGENTS-UNDOCUMENTED-WORK-MD-11-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/240125-UC-REGENTS-UNDOCUMENTED-WORK-MD-11-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/240125-UC-REGENTS-UNDOCUMENTED-WORK-MD-11-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">UC President Michael Drake (center) announces the UC Board of Regents’ vote not to consider a proposal to allow the university to hire undocumented students at a UC Board of Regents meeting at the UCSF Mission Bay Conference Center on Jan. 25, 2024. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The Board of Regents then took the decision first to go test-optional and eventually ended up going completely test-blind, and that’s the situation that we’ve been in since then,” Mello said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>However, after the UCs went test-optional in 2020, “we saw students thoroughly unprepared to take math in college,” said co-author of the STEM faculty letter, Mina Aganagic — a professor of mathematics and physics at UC Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re not saying that these kids didn’t take pre-calc or calc or they haven’t mastered that,” she argued. “The issue is at a much, much earlier level. Students who struggle with material that’s taught in elementary and middle school.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“And for those students, helping them learn calculus is really literally an impossible task,” she said. “So it was heartbreaking seeing so many students struggle.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://ucstudentsuccess.org/socscihum/\">other letter\u003c/a> — signed by more than 900 people — argued for bringing back the reading and writing portion of the SAT and ACT, echoing similar sentiments from STEM faculty members. The humanities faculty members also remarked on \u003ca href=\"https://www.404media.co/teachers-are-not-ok-ai-chatgpt/\">the rise of AI use among students\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“As artificial intelligence becomes more capable, it is arguably more important than ever for students to be able to think through and compose sound arguments on their own, to comprehend the texts they read and to recognize weaknesses in the arguments of those texts,” the social sciences letter reads. “The growing use of AI also makes essays a less reliable indicator of these abilities.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>However, critics of the SAT and ACT requirements emphasize the disadvantage under-resourced students face and note that the letter’s signatories are a small portion of the large UC faculty.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The problem was that the SAT itself was basically a test that was really about assessing someone’s socioeconomic status,” said Lisa Holder, an \u003ca href=\"https://equaljusticesociety.org/\">Equal Justice Society\u003c/a> civil rights attorney who helped \u003ca href=\"https://publiccounsel.org/our-cases/smith-v-regents-of-university-of-california/\">file a lawsuit\u003c/a> to end the use of SAT and ACT in UC admissions, which ended in a settlement.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1469\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-1366973965.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12092383\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-1366973965.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-1366973965-160x119.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-1366973965-1536x1140.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Close-up of a pencil on a page of an SAT college entrance exam preparation book, taken on Aug., 6, 2017, in Melville, New York. (Thomas A. Ferrara/Newsday RM via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The metric that that test actually excelled at measuring was your access to test prep. And that is correlated to wealth,” she said. “This is one snapshot, a day in the life of an individual, as opposed to four years of a high-performing, high-achieving student who is striving.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Stephanie, a high school teacher at a college prep school, wrote into Forum saying she was against reinstating the SAT.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I see how much time and money the wealthy students at my school spend on test prep, and it’s egregious,” she said. “The test prep courses and private tutors don’t teach students the material. They teach them how to game the system.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Another listener, who said they are a UC Merced professor, wrote on Forum’s Discord channel that many of the signatures came from “faculty at the three most selective campuses like Berkeley, UCLA and San Diego.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We educate a much higher share of students who need remedial math or writing,” they wrote. “Instead of trying to weed those students out, our approach has been to provide them with additional support and help them catch up.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1129\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/11/UCMerced11.jpg\" alt=\"A sign marking the entrance to UC Merced.\" class=\"wp-image-10747399\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/11/UCMerced11.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/11/UCMerced11-400x235.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/11/UCMerced11-800x470.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/11/UCMerced11-1440x847.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/11/UCMerced11-1180x694.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/11/UCMerced11-960x565.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A sign marking the entrance to UC Merced. (Lance Johnson/Flickr)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>However, an audience member who said they were a math tutor for two decades also pointed out that “kids trying to learn calculus couldn’t add two fractions efficiently, so I stopped tutoring calculus altogether. It was too much hassle. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If you wish to compete in the world, boost standards. Universities are not designed for remedial education.” Another told Forum that as a Northern California teacher who worked in \u003ca href=\"https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/what-is-standards-based-grading-and-how-does-it-work/2024/09\">a standards-based grading school\u003c/a>, “All of my co-teachers agreed that this made grades very inflated. Students graduated shockingly ill-prepared for college, but their grades looked great.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Read on to learn more about Forum’s conversation with experts and reporters on the debate around standardized testing in California’s public higher education system.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Arguments for Standardized Testing \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mina Kim: What are professors who signed the letter seeing in classrooms?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mina Aganagic\u003c/strong>: You’d see enormous amounts of stress on the students. You’d see students who try to take the class three times, and they’re failing again. And they say, “I’ve done everything,” and they have done everything. But the task put in front of them is to cover a multi-year gap in one college calculus class together with 400 to 700 other students. It is simply impossible. It’s sort of like I asked you to climb a wall with no footholds at all. A mathematical genius could not do that. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Why is standardized testing the best way to measure that readiness for college-level work?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>First, most of the SAT actually focuses on the kind of math that’s taught in middle school. I don’t mean acing it, but you will be able to do all right. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The other absolutely crucial thing to understand is how UC uses the SAT. UC was never providing a linear ranking of students and then saying, “We’ll take those with top SAT scores.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>What we will do is the following: Let’s say you take two students from a poor Black neighborhood. They’re going to the same high school. We have grade inflation. Both of these kids ace their math class. And we have to pick one. How are you going to pick? Right now, if we have to pick one, it’s going to be a random choice. In fact, Berkeley doesn’t even take teachers’ recommendations into account. What we are asking for is, “Give us the SAT score.” It will allow us to make an informed choice. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1385\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-860780.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12092386\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-860780.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-860780-160x112.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-860780-1536x1074.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">SAT preparation books sit on a shelf at a Barnes and Noble store June 27, 2002 in New York City. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>There’s also the \u003c/strong>\u003ca href=\"https://smarterbalanced.org/our-system/students-and-families/samples/\">\u003cstrong>Smarter Balanced Test\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003cstrong> that all California public high school juniors have to take. Would that be a reliable measure?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Certainly having something would be better than having nothing at all. But one problem is purely technical — test problems leaking. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And right now, Smarter Balanced is intended to assess how schools are doing. It’s not designed as a high-stakes test. And converting it to one would require huge resources just to achieve the same thing the SAT is already doing.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What do you say to critics of standardized testing, who say scores track closely with income and racial disparities? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Every measure we have, including Smarter Balanced, already has in it, baked, these inequities. There’s just simply no way around it. The SAT is no better, no worse than any other measure we had. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the crucial thing is what washes them out is how we use the SAT. We are not comparing a kid from an affluent background to a low-income student and saying, “Compare their SAT scores.” No, we compare students who are alike in every other respect. In other words, the SAT becomes one part of a student’s file. And when we cannot decide between two students who are completely alike in every other respect, it’s a much more informed choice than throwing a die, which is deeply unfair. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Didn’t the pandemic — and remote schooling — also have a hand in dropping performances? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The overall level of math preparedness has been declining. Nobody’s questioning that. But what we are seeing here is a population of students at the very lowest level of preparedness. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Usually what you see is kind of a bell curve. And when you’re talking about overall level shifting, you’re talking about this bell curve kind of shifting. But what we are seeing is the bell curve — it becomes kind of a U-shape. You see students who are acing our classes and students who’re hopelessly failing, and there’s nothing in the middle. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1320\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2230923952.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088396\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2230923952.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2230923952-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-2230923952-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">California State University, Northridge on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Couldn’t the UCs support these students through remedial college courses?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>We’re pouring a lot into remediation. However, there are certain sizes of gaps that you simply cannot fill. They just become too large. If you are asking to fill a gap from elementary and middle school, it’s just hopeless. For those students, it would take years of work in college to catch up. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And California has this beautiful master plan for higher education: of community colleges, the CSUs and the UCs and pathways between them. So a student who is not as well-prepared could have a real path upward: you could go to a community college, take remedial classes and then transfer to UC. You’re not placed into this classroom where you simply have no way of succeeding because your task was impossible. It is not your failure. It’s the failure of a whole system, and we should not propagate this. We should use the SAT as a placement to put kids in the right places, to give them ladders they can climb up. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>The Arguments Against Standardized Testing \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mina Kim: What was the lawsuit filed against the UCs?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lisa Holder: \u003c/strong>In 2019, \u003ca href=\"https://equaljusticesociety.org/\">Equal Justice Society\u003c/a> — along with several private and public firms in a case called Smith v. UC Regents — sued the University of California for continuing to use the SAT and the ACT as a principal criteria for UC admissions when, in fact, the social science showed that the standardized tests, particularly the SAT and the ACT, were not the best metric for assessing a student’s college readiness, even though they purported to be that. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The best metric, according to social scientists and psychometricians, was a student’s high school performance. Basically the classes that they took for four years. What did their teachers say about them, their student evaluations, their extracurriculars, their sports, their community involvement? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>What was heartbreaking was seeing the clients we had in the Smith case who were incredible students. Many of them were students of color, disabled students and students that did not have a lot of money. And so they had no access to test prep, but they were straight A students. We had a student who had been living in his car for four years, yet he was a straight A student. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Some would argue that accessibility to test-prep has improved thanks to online resources like Khan Academy. \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That’s completely speculative. We haven’t had the test for five years, and there’s no requirement under any settlement to bring that test back. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>What we should be doing is looking at the data that is right in front of us. And the data is what tells us that the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ucop.edu/institutional-research-academic-planning/_files/admissions-outcomes-and-performance.pdf\">UC’s own studies conducted by the board\u003c/a> established that students admitted in the last five years under the test-free policy are equally — if not more — qualified and prepared than the previous students. And that this test-free policy is much more aligned with the UC’s mission, which is to offer high-quality, publicly funded education to California’s best students, not its wealthiest students. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This is a publicly funded university system, and everyone, regardless of income, is paying taxes to fund it. All high-performing California students should be able to access this school without obstruction from a gatekeeper test calibrated to measure for wealth rather than excellence. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What do you say in response to concerns being raised by professors like Aganagic? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The achievement lapses that folks may be seeing are much more likely attributable to this generation’s addiction to mobile phones and their scattered focus, their literacy deficits and sort of shrinking attention spans caused by mobile phone usage and AI addiction. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That’s a much larger systemic problem that we have to start to think about pedagogically in all of our schools. Also, what we’re seeing in this cohort of students is also largely impacted by the missed learning opportunities that they experienced during COVID. Some students were out of school for a year and a half, and so I’m sure that their math preparation may have suffered. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And frankly, we have a lot of really lackluster curricula around STEM in our high schools. And so, students may not be excelling as much as they could be if we were to modernize our systems and sort of keep up with what’s going on globally around STEM. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/GenericClassroomGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12050458\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/GenericClassroomGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/GenericClassroomGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/GenericClassroomGetty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Back view of large group of students sitting in the classroom and listening to their teacher. (Skynesher/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Behind the Testing Debate\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mina Kim: What have some of the effects been of waiving the test requirement?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Felicia Mello: \u003c/strong>UC’s data actually showed that they saw a big bump in applications right after going test-optional. In the first year, applications went up about 19%. And you also start to see a slight increase in diversity of both the people who are applying and the people who are getting in. In terms of performance, the official UC stats don’t show a huge difference. They show that persistence — meaning students who remained in college from the first year to the second year — was largely flat during that time. First-year GPAs ticked down very slightly. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I am really just speaking to kind of what we saw right after the change went into effect in 2021. But the picture painted by the overall UC data is not as grim as the one that is being put forward by faculty on some campuses. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How would you characterize the support for the faculty letters? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>We have about 3,000 UC faculty out of roughly 26,000 who have signed on to one of these letters, either the letter from STEM faculty or the letter from social sciences and humanities faculty. We have seen the STEM faculty be much more out front on this. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The social sciences and humanities faculty who have come out in favor of this mentioned that having a good quantitative background is also important for social science classes like economics. There also is clearly some concern around students’ writing skills — that the rise of AI has made it harder to tell, even from students’ applications, whether they’re writing them themselves, and it also just has the potential to constrain what students are learning in terms of writing and communication in general. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The UC Berkeley math faculty — who had really been pushing via this open letter for the return of the SAT — had done their own analysis of numbers in introductory calculus classes. And they found that between 2021 and 2023, after UC got rid of the SAT and admissions, there was a big jump in students who were severely underprepared for that introductory calculus course. But unfortunately, because we only have those three years of data, they weren’t giving the same test prior to or after that. It is a bit hard to put that data in context. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Supporters of reinstating the requirement say that the tests would be used in a holistic approach. How true is that?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The UC actually does consider 13 different factors in admissions currently, even separate from test scores. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Not just your high school GPA, but how you’re doing relative to other students in your class. It looks at the types of life circumstances you’ve had, your geographic location. Have you had a recent improvement in your performance? What kinds of rigorous courses have you taken? Have you taken AP courses? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There’s another factor here, which is the broader political environment, and I think there’s a concern that even if the UC brings back the test, there will be pressure then on the UC to focus more narrowly on the task and abandon some of the more holistic aspects of its review. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Trump administration has certainly been pressuring universities to not pay much attention to the diversity of their classes and not intentionally try to enroll a diverse student body. There’s a concern that this could be seized on by outside actors to try and do an analysis of the university’s admission policies that would focus really narrowly on those test scores. Now, whether that actually happens would remain to be seen.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Equity advocates have also said in the past that, for different reasons, even if you go test-optional, it’s still sending a signal whether those students choose to submit their scores or not, and that could still affect their application.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Next Steps\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mina Kim: The UC is saying that they will study and make a decision on whether to bring back the testing requirement a year from now. How likely is it that they will bring it back?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mello: \u003c/strong>This is something that was actually in the works even before these open letters. We’ve seen a number of factors that have changed since 2020: We have seen shifts in AI and how it affects the application process. Some of those concerns related to the pandemic are no longer there in the same way. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There’s a lot of pressure to make this decision more quickly. The Faculty Senate had laid out this process of coming to a recommendation by fall 2027. The faculty had originally laid out a plan: They said, we’re going to study this, and the earliest that we could make a decision under this very detailed road map would be for people who are applying in fall of 2028.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They have since rescinded that detailed timeline. All we know at this point is that they’re going to make their recommendation by June. That creates some potential anxiety for this year’s incoming high school juniors. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Who decides to bring back standardized testing?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The regents will really make the ultimate call on this. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The most interesting part of the regents meeting was the chair of the Board of Regents saying that she really felt like the public discussion around this has been too narrowly focused on standardized testing and that the university really needs to take a broader look at what it means to be ready for college in 2026. So this will include things like looking at the high school courses that UC requires people to have when they’re applying. Right now, there’s not a requirement for computer science or any other technology-related course. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There’s really an appetite for looking at these things more broadly. The regents are looking at, “How do we both maintain that reputation for excellence?” But also do what they are intending to do as a state university and make sure that access to the university is based on hard work and aptitude as opposed to just how much wealth your family has. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1485\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-1056629578.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12092389\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-1056629578.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-1056629578-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-1056629578-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Standardized test company logo seen displayed on smartphone. (Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Is there a middle ground option for standardized testing?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There are some universities and colleges that are using the SAT more for placement purposes after people get in. So they’re essentially saying, “We don’t require this for admissions, but we either require or strongly encourage you to share scores after you get in so that we can help figure out if you’re going to be in the right math class for you.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One of the things that I observe during the course of this reporting is that placement practices for math classes really vary across UC. It’s an extremely diverse system. I spoke with the math chair at UC Santa Barbara who did not sign on to this open letter in support of bringing back the SAT, and he was saying that when we identify students who may not be prepared for our introductory calculus classes, we make sure we flag that early on. We make sure that they are going to community college, and getting the kind of remedial preparation that they need, and then coming back, and those students tend to succeed in our classes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Wouldn’t the effects of the pandemic also be a major factor in student performance?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Essentially, there’s nobody I interviewed on either side that said, “Oh, we’re not dealing with any pandemic-related learning deficiencies.” There’s broad acknowledgment that our students are struggling in various ways since the pandemic, and something needs to be done. And the question is, what is the best response? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>We know it’s not just all about the pandemic, because instead of seeing everybody equally struggling, we’re seeing this concentration on both ends where some people are doing really well, some people are really struggling, and that middle category of student is dropping out.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "White House Used Keyword Screening to Kill Billions in California Research Grants",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal agencies that terminated more than a thousand research grants at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/university-of-california\">University of California\u003c/a> last year admitted that they used keywords related to diversity, gender, vaccine hesitancy and COVID-19 to screen for projects that ran afoul of the Trump administration’s priorities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s an admission that lawyers for the research professors say \u003ca href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.450653/gov.uscourts.cand.450653.210.0_2.pdf\">is proof\u003c/a> that the agencies illegally cancelled nearly $2 billion in grants. And that’s a major development in a lawsuit filed by UC researchers against the Trump administration to permanently get their grants back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The researchers’ legal team is now asking the judge in the case to skip a trial and formally declare that the White House repeatedly violated the constitution, including the First Amendment. A court hearing on whether that’ll happen is scheduled for Oct. 20.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The federal agencies made the admission about the keywords in signed stipulations filed in federal court last week in a case called Thakur v. Trump that’s been ongoing \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/higher-education/2025/06/health-research-california/#:~:text=UC%20researchers%20may%20get%20science%2C%20environmental%20grants%20back\">since last spring\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The stipulations in the court filing show the agencies “did not terminate any grants based on alleged noncompliance with the terms of the grant” and instead used “general criteria, rather than grant-specific assessment of each award’s compliance, or performance,” the lawyers for the plaintiffs wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12091600\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12091600\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2285787606-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2285787606-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2285787606-2000x1333.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2285787606-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2285787606-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2285787606-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the nation from the East Room of the White House on July 16, 2026 in Washington, DC. \u003ccite>(Saul Loeb/Pool - Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Lawyers for the UC professors now contend that the admission proves three wide-ranging constitutional violations:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>By using keyword searches to review hundreds of grants and terminate them en masse rather than reviewing them individually on their merits, the Trump administration targeted research it found politically disfavorable, which is a First Amendment violation.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>In terminating 283 Department of Energy grants from states where a majority voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, and leaving untouched hundreds of grants that went to “red” states, the Trump administration wrongly punished researchers for merely living in states the White House politically opposed.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>And by terminating billions of dollars in grants, and never rerouting that money to other grant opportunities, the Trump administration violated the constitution by not spending money in ways Congress specifically required through laws it passed on how research funds should be used.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>CalMatters emailed the U.S. Department of Justice, which acts as the legal defense for the federal agencies, on July 16 to ask whether it agrees that the federal grant-making agency stipulations mean the Trump administration violated the constitutional rights of researchers. A spokesperson for the Justice Department didn’t respond by publication time.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>History of lawsuit\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The judge in this case, Rita F. Lin, has repeatedly sided with the UC professors and issued several preliminary injunctions forcing the federal agencies to restore the grants while she reviews the full merits of the case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This includes the restoration of hundreds of grants at UCLA that the Trump administration sought to suspend \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/2025/09/ucla-research-grants/#:~:text=What%20the%20Trump%20administration%20has%20argued\">over its allegations\u003c/a> that the university tolerated antisemitism and permitted transgender women to compete on women’s sports teams.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those allegations \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/higher-education/2025/11/uc/\">were also the subject\u003c/a> of a demand from the White House for UCLA to pay $1.2 billion or experience an additional cascade of research freezes. However, months before Trump sought that settlement UCLA took steps to address antisemitism on campus, including commissioning a task force to recommend ways to create a more welcoming environment for Jewish students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12051319\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12051319\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/GettyImages-2227778784-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1688\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/GettyImages-2227778784-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/GettyImages-2227778784-2000x1319.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/GettyImages-2227778784-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/GettyImages-2227778784-1536x1013.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/GettyImages-2227778784-2048x1351.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">People walk on the plaza outside Royce Hall, the site of 2024 pro-Palestinian protests, on the UCLA campus on July 30, 2025, in Los Angeles, California. \u003ccite>(Mario Tama/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Lin, a Biden appointee, faulted the administration for disregarding those efforts by UCLA in a preliminary injunction for a different but related lawsuit. The Trump administration’s justification for terminating the grants did not “mention the remedial steps UCLA had already taken to address the issues described,” Lin wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lawyers for professors in the Thakur case now want Lin to make a final ruling ordering the grants to be restored, rather than a preliminary one. Even if that were to happen, the federal agencies could decide to appeal Lin’s ruling to a higher court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The stakes “are huge,” lawyers for the professors in the Thakur case wrote. If the White House is “allowed to terminate this funding, the researchers, graduate students, and program staff that relied on the grants to pursue their lives’ work will all suffer significant damage to their reputations and careers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lawyers warn of lifesaving cures that will never be developed, new understandings of diseases that will go unexplored, and the decline in the country’s global standing as an international juggernaut in publicly funded research.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Using keywords to target disfavored grants\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The agencies admitted to using keywords in various ways, according to a CalMatters review of the new court filings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Department of Transportation \u003ca href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.450653/gov.uscourts.cand.450653.211.2_1.pdf\">identified\u003c/a> six grants for projects worth about $42 million to terminate because they sought “transportation equity,” prioritized “disadvantaged communities,” or focused on “diversifying the transportation workforce” and “equity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The termination of three of those grants led by a UC Davis professor resulted in 77 researchers abandoning 79 in-progress projects. Lawyers for the plaintiffs wrote that the project leaders were also forced to lay off or scramble to replace funding for more than 40 graduate and undergraduate research assistants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12014743\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12014743\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241115-BerkeleyAntiTrumpWalkout-19-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241115-BerkeleyAntiTrumpWalkout-19-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241115-BerkeleyAntiTrumpWalkout-19-BL-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241115-BerkeleyAntiTrumpWalkout-19-BL-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241115-BerkeleyAntiTrumpWalkout-19-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241115-BerkeleyAntiTrumpWalkout-19-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241115-BerkeleyAntiTrumpWalkout-19-BL-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students rally in front of Sproul Hall at the University of California, Berkeley on Nov. 15, 2024, to demand a livable future during president-elect Donald Trump’s next term. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The National Institutes of Health admitted to using an internal search tool to flag UC grants that mentioned “health equity,” “work force diversity,” “structural racism,” and “sexual orientation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The NIH alone suspended or cancelled more than 1,000 UC grants, including nearly 700 at UCLA, related to vaccines, cancer research and disparities in health outcomes. That figure is newly disclosed in a court filing — last year, UCLA indicated that closer to 500 NIH grants were terminated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The health research agency also declared that it’s possible that DOGE, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/07/07/doge-shuts-down-elon-musk/90836161007/\">short-lived\u003c/a> federal office that billionaire Elon Musk led in 2025, used AI to target grants for termination.[aside postID=news_12089920 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260717-RUSSIANJOURNALISTSEXILE-05-BL-KQED.jpg']Lawyers for the plaintiffs wrote to the judge that these admissions show the agencies “identified the viewpoints they wanted to suppress, searched the grants they funded for those that expressed those viewpoints, and terminated those grants on that basis.” That violates the researchers’ First Amendment rights, the lawyers wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Environmental Protection Agency, one of the named agencies in the suit, is \u003ca href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.450653/gov.uscourts.cand.450653.209.0.pdf\">in the process of settling\u003c/a> with lawyers for the UC professors to avoid further litigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A separate federal district judge in Massachusetts last week \u003ca href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mad.286247/gov.uscourts.mad.286247.122.0_2.pdf\">dealt the Trump administration a blow\u003c/a> in its ability to terminate grants and withhold federal funding. The White House relied on a legal phrase in many of its funding cancellations — “no longer effectuates . . . agency priorities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California and 22 other states sued, arguing that there’s no law or right for the federal government to cancel funding based on new program goals and White House desires after the grants were already awarded. The judge agreed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/higher-education/2026/07/research-grants-california-2/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal agencies that terminated more than a thousand research grants at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/university-of-california\">University of California\u003c/a> last year admitted that they used keywords related to diversity, gender, vaccine hesitancy and COVID-19 to screen for projects that ran afoul of the Trump administration’s priorities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s an admission that lawyers for the research professors say \u003ca href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.450653/gov.uscourts.cand.450653.210.0_2.pdf\">is proof\u003c/a> that the agencies illegally cancelled nearly $2 billion in grants. And that’s a major development in a lawsuit filed by UC researchers against the Trump administration to permanently get their grants back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The researchers’ legal team is now asking the judge in the case to skip a trial and formally declare that the White House repeatedly violated the constitution, including the First Amendment. A court hearing on whether that’ll happen is scheduled for Oct. 20.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The federal agencies made the admission about the keywords in signed stipulations filed in federal court last week in a case called Thakur v. Trump that’s been ongoing \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/higher-education/2025/06/health-research-california/#:~:text=UC%20researchers%20may%20get%20science%2C%20environmental%20grants%20back\">since last spring\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The stipulations in the court filing show the agencies “did not terminate any grants based on alleged noncompliance with the terms of the grant” and instead used “general criteria, rather than grant-specific assessment of each award’s compliance, or performance,” the lawyers for the plaintiffs wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12091600\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12091600\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2285787606-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2285787606-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2285787606-2000x1333.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2285787606-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2285787606-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2285787606-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the nation from the East Room of the White House on July 16, 2026 in Washington, DC. \u003ccite>(Saul Loeb/Pool - Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Lawyers for the UC professors now contend that the admission proves three wide-ranging constitutional violations:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>By using keyword searches to review hundreds of grants and terminate them en masse rather than reviewing them individually on their merits, the Trump administration targeted research it found politically disfavorable, which is a First Amendment violation.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>In terminating 283 Department of Energy grants from states where a majority voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, and leaving untouched hundreds of grants that went to “red” states, the Trump administration wrongly punished researchers for merely living in states the White House politically opposed.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>And by terminating billions of dollars in grants, and never rerouting that money to other grant opportunities, the Trump administration violated the constitution by not spending money in ways Congress specifically required through laws it passed on how research funds should be used.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>CalMatters emailed the U.S. Department of Justice, which acts as the legal defense for the federal agencies, on July 16 to ask whether it agrees that the federal grant-making agency stipulations mean the Trump administration violated the constitutional rights of researchers. A spokesperson for the Justice Department didn’t respond by publication time.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>History of lawsuit\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The judge in this case, Rita F. Lin, has repeatedly sided with the UC professors and issued several preliminary injunctions forcing the federal agencies to restore the grants while she reviews the full merits of the case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This includes the restoration of hundreds of grants at UCLA that the Trump administration sought to suspend \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/2025/09/ucla-research-grants/#:~:text=What%20the%20Trump%20administration%20has%20argued\">over its allegations\u003c/a> that the university tolerated antisemitism and permitted transgender women to compete on women’s sports teams.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those allegations \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/higher-education/2025/11/uc/\">were also the subject\u003c/a> of a demand from the White House for UCLA to pay $1.2 billion or experience an additional cascade of research freezes. However, months before Trump sought that settlement UCLA took steps to address antisemitism on campus, including commissioning a task force to recommend ways to create a more welcoming environment for Jewish students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12051319\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12051319\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/GettyImages-2227778784-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1688\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/GettyImages-2227778784-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/GettyImages-2227778784-2000x1319.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/GettyImages-2227778784-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/GettyImages-2227778784-1536x1013.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/GettyImages-2227778784-2048x1351.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">People walk on the plaza outside Royce Hall, the site of 2024 pro-Palestinian protests, on the UCLA campus on July 30, 2025, in Los Angeles, California. \u003ccite>(Mario Tama/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Lin, a Biden appointee, faulted the administration for disregarding those efforts by UCLA in a preliminary injunction for a different but related lawsuit. The Trump administration’s justification for terminating the grants did not “mention the remedial steps UCLA had already taken to address the issues described,” Lin wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lawyers for professors in the Thakur case now want Lin to make a final ruling ordering the grants to be restored, rather than a preliminary one. Even if that were to happen, the federal agencies could decide to appeal Lin’s ruling to a higher court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The stakes “are huge,” lawyers for the professors in the Thakur case wrote. If the White House is “allowed to terminate this funding, the researchers, graduate students, and program staff that relied on the grants to pursue their lives’ work will all suffer significant damage to their reputations and careers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lawyers warn of lifesaving cures that will never be developed, new understandings of diseases that will go unexplored, and the decline in the country’s global standing as an international juggernaut in publicly funded research.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Using keywords to target disfavored grants\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The agencies admitted to using keywords in various ways, according to a CalMatters review of the new court filings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Department of Transportation \u003ca href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.450653/gov.uscourts.cand.450653.211.2_1.pdf\">identified\u003c/a> six grants for projects worth about $42 million to terminate because they sought “transportation equity,” prioritized “disadvantaged communities,” or focused on “diversifying the transportation workforce” and “equity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The termination of three of those grants led by a UC Davis professor resulted in 77 researchers abandoning 79 in-progress projects. Lawyers for the plaintiffs wrote that the project leaders were also forced to lay off or scramble to replace funding for more than 40 graduate and undergraduate research assistants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12014743\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12014743\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241115-BerkeleyAntiTrumpWalkout-19-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241115-BerkeleyAntiTrumpWalkout-19-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241115-BerkeleyAntiTrumpWalkout-19-BL-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241115-BerkeleyAntiTrumpWalkout-19-BL-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241115-BerkeleyAntiTrumpWalkout-19-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241115-BerkeleyAntiTrumpWalkout-19-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241115-BerkeleyAntiTrumpWalkout-19-BL-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students rally in front of Sproul Hall at the University of California, Berkeley on Nov. 15, 2024, to demand a livable future during president-elect Donald Trump’s next term. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The National Institutes of Health admitted to using an internal search tool to flag UC grants that mentioned “health equity,” “work force diversity,” “structural racism,” and “sexual orientation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The NIH alone suspended or cancelled more than 1,000 UC grants, including nearly 700 at UCLA, related to vaccines, cancer research and disparities in health outcomes. That figure is newly disclosed in a court filing — last year, UCLA indicated that closer to 500 NIH grants were terminated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The health research agency also declared that it’s possible that DOGE, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/07/07/doge-shuts-down-elon-musk/90836161007/\">short-lived\u003c/a> federal office that billionaire Elon Musk led in 2025, used AI to target grants for termination.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Lawyers for the plaintiffs wrote to the judge that these admissions show the agencies “identified the viewpoints they wanted to suppress, searched the grants they funded for those that expressed those viewpoints, and terminated those grants on that basis.” That violates the researchers’ First Amendment rights, the lawyers wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Environmental Protection Agency, one of the named agencies in the suit, is \u003ca href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.450653/gov.uscourts.cand.450653.209.0.pdf\">in the process of settling\u003c/a> with lawyers for the UC professors to avoid further litigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A separate federal district judge in Massachusetts last week \u003ca href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mad.286247/gov.uscourts.mad.286247.122.0_2.pdf\">dealt the Trump administration a blow\u003c/a> in its ability to terminate grants and withhold federal funding. The White House relied on a legal phrase in many of its funding cancellations — “no longer effectuates . . . agency priorities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California and 22 other states sued, arguing that there’s no law or right for the federal government to cancel funding based on new program goals and White House desires after the grants were already awarded. The judge agreed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/higher-education/2026/07/research-grants-california-2/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "unacceptable-san-francisco-officials-question-kaisers-approach-to-ai-in-mental-health",
"title": "‘Unacceptable’: San Francisco Officials Question Kaiser’s Approach to AI in Mental Health",
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"content": "\u003cp>Unlicensed \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073839/kaiser-therapists-take-key-step-toward-1-day-strike\">phone operators and algorithms\u003c/a> directing patients to inadequate telehealth services. Controversial \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1999553/will-ai-replace-your-therapist-kaiser-wont-say-no\">artificial intelligence technologies\u003c/a> are increasingly deployed at clinics. Distraught patients who can’t get an appointment with a human for weeks. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Those were some of the alarms raised by Kaiser Permanente clinicians who told the San Francisco Board of Supervisors the healthcare giant has failed to significantly improve its mental-health services, even after recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073484/kaiser-workers-say-patients-deserve-better-mental-health-care-after-31m-settlement\">sanctions by state and federal regulators\u003c/a> for denying or delaying care.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The hearing Tuesday examined Kaiser’s \u003ca href=\"https://nuhw.org/wp-content/uploads/Kaiser_IBHS_fact_sheet_SFBOS_hearing_20260701.pdf\">contract \u003c/a>proposals during labor negotiations, which the union said would allow the employer to expand its use of AI tools in mental-health care and lay off more therapists who currently provide it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Experts said these changes could degrade care by giving the company a free pass to outsource patients to companies that use chatbots and squeeze overworked professionals — claims Kaiser denies. The clinicians pleaded with supervisors to pressure their employer to strengthen patient care and support its staff.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The things that we discussed today are infuriating, concerning and unacceptable,” said Supervisor Chyanne Chen, who called the hearing after multiple constituents, including Kaiser employees, complained about the healthcare company’s approach.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chen said she’ll introduce a resolution next week calling on the state’s largest health plan to agree to contract language stating it will use AI to help therapists — not replace them — and back off a proposal that would allow it to refer more patients to third-party contractors. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kaiser executives declined to attend the hearing, a move several supervisors decried as disappointing or even “disrespectful.” The city of San Francisco, San Francisco Unified School District and other public employers paid Kaiser $508 million in health premiums last year to cover more than 39,000 employees and retirees, according to the San Francisco Health Service System. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-KAISER-RETREATS-MD-09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12076763\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-KAISER-RETREATS-MD-09-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-KAISER-RETREATS-MD-09-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-KAISER-RETREATS-MD-09-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Kaiser Permanente building at 1800 Harrison (center-top) in Oakland on March 16, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Their nonpresence suggests to me that the picture that’s being painted by the workers is pretty accurate,” Supervisor Rafael Mandelman said. “We do not want to be subjecting our employees and our retirees to a situation where they can’t actually get the care that they need.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In a statement, Kaiser said it does not use AI to diagnose patients or make clinical decisions, and that it remains focused on providing timely, high-quality mental-health care while reaching a fair agreement with the therapists’ union. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since 2023, Kaiser has agreed to pay more than $231 million in settlements after investigations into the company’s behavioral treatment access by the U.S. Department of Labor and the California Department of Managed Health Care.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The nonprofit health organization said it has invested more than $2 billion since 2020 to expand its mental-health facilities and provider networks, and now consistently meets California law requiring health plans to provide timely access to care. Kaiser, headquartered in Oakland, made a net income of $9.3 billion last year. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>During the yearlong contract talks, Kaiser has resisted language stating that the company won’t use AI to replace therapists and proposed making it easier to lay them off, according to the National Union of Healthcare Workers, which represents 2,400 psychologists, licensed clinical social workers and other behavioral health professionals at Kaiser in Northern California. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The union, which staged a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12076753/northern-california-kaiser-therapists-hold-1-day-strike-over-ai-patient-care-concerns\">one-day strike\u003c/a> earlier this year and a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11929713/kaiser-mental-health-workers-appove-new-contract-ending-10-week-strike\">10-week strike\u003c/a> in 2022, said the parties are set to start mediation next month.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On Monday, the union filed its latest complaint with the California Department of Managed Health Care alleging that a Kaiser triage system that initially screens patients seeking mental-health care violates California law because it relies on automated algorithms and unlicensed clerical staff — instead of licensed clinicians — to recommend care. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s violating patient care standards and putting patients at risk. Artificial intelligence and algorithms don’t capture what trained humans can,” Ilana Marcucci-Morris, a licensed clinical social worker and therapist at Kaiser in Oakland, told supervisors. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Marcucci-Morris said she has seen AI making patient care errors at work.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This isn’t about genuine innovation. It’s about saving a buck at the expense of patient care and public health. If we don’t stop them now, we won’t stand a chance down the road,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kaiser argued that clerical staff who make appointments for patients are trained to escalate an emergency to clinical staff, and its behavioral health e-visit tool helps connect members to care more quickly.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is an additional path to getting care — not the only path,” the company’s statement said. “On every screen throughout the e-visit process, the patient is provided a phone number that they can call at any time to talk to a live person.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Those were some of the alarms raised by Kaiser Permanente clinicians who told the San Francisco Board of Supervisors the healthcare giant has failed to significantly improve its mental-health services, even after recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073484/kaiser-workers-say-patients-deserve-better-mental-health-care-after-31m-settlement\">sanctions by state and federal regulators\u003c/a> for denying or delaying care.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The hearing Tuesday examined Kaiser’s \u003ca href=\"https://nuhw.org/wp-content/uploads/Kaiser_IBHS_fact_sheet_SFBOS_hearing_20260701.pdf\">contract \u003c/a>proposals during labor negotiations, which the union said would allow the employer to expand its use of AI tools in mental-health care and lay off more therapists who currently provide it. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Experts said these changes could degrade care by giving the company a free pass to outsource patients to companies that use chatbots and squeeze overworked professionals — claims Kaiser denies. The clinicians pleaded with supervisors to pressure their employer to strengthen patient care and support its staff.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Experts said these changes could degrade care by giving the company a free pass to outsource patients to companies that use chatbots and squeeze overworked professionals — claims Kaiser denies. The clinicians pleaded with supervisors to pressure their employer to strengthen patient care and support its staff.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The things that we discussed today are infuriating, concerning and unacceptable,” said Supervisor Chyanne Chen, who called the hearing after multiple constituents, including Kaiser employees, complained about the healthcare company’s approach.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The things that we discussed today are infuriating, concerning and unacceptable,” said Supervisor Chyanne Chen, who called the hearing after multiple constituents, including Kaiser employees, complained about the healthcare company’s approach.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Chen said she’ll introduce a resolution next week calling on the state’s largest health plan to agree to contract language stating it will use AI to help therapists — not replace them — and back off a proposal that would allow it to refer more patients to third-party contractors. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Chen said she’ll introduce a resolution next week calling on the state’s largest health plan to agree to contract language stating it will use AI to help therapists — not replace them — and back off a proposal that would allow it to refer more patients to third-party contractors. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Kaiser executives declined to attend the hearing, a move several supervisors decried as disappointing or even “disrespectful.” The city of San Francisco, San Francisco Unified School District and other public employers paid Kaiser $508 million in health premiums last year to cover more than 39,000 employees and retirees, according to the San Francisco Health Service System. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Kaiser executives declined to attend the hearing, a move several supervisors decried as disappointing or even “disrespectful.” The city of San Francisco, San Francisco Unified School District and other public employers paid Kaiser $508 million in health premiums last year to cover more than 39,000 employees and retirees, according to the San Francisco Health Service System. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-KAISER-RETREATS-MD-09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12076763\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-KAISER-RETREATS-MD-09-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-KAISER-RETREATS-MD-09-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-KAISER-RETREATS-MD-09-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Kaiser Permanente building at 1800 Harrison (center-top) in Oakland on March 16, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-KAISER-RETREATS-MD-09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12076763\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Kaiser Permanente building at 1800 Harrison (center-top) in Oakland on March 16, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Their nonpresence suggests to me that the picture that’s being painted by the workers is pretty accurate,” Supervisor Rafael Mandelman said. “We do not want to be subjecting our employees and our retirees to a situation where they can’t actually get the care that they need.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Their nonpresence suggests to me that the picture that’s being painted by the workers is pretty accurate,” Supervisor Rafael Mandelman said. “We do not want to be subjecting our employees and our retirees to a situation where they can’t actually get the care that they need.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In a statement, Kaiser said it does not use AI to diagnose patients or make clinical decisions, and that it remains focused on providing timely, high-quality mental-health care while reaching a fair agreement with the therapists’ union. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In a statement, Kaiser said it does not use AI to diagnose patients or make clinical decisions, and that it remains focused on providing timely, high-quality mental-health care while reaching a fair agreement with the therapists’ union. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Since 2023, Kaiser has agreed to pay more than $231 million in settlements after investigations into the company’s behavioral treatment access by the U.S. Department of Labor and the California Department of Managed Health Care.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Since 2023, Kaiser has agreed to pay more than $231 million in settlements after investigations into the company’s behavioral treatment access by the U.S. Department of Labor and the California Department of Managed Health Care.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The nonprofit health organization said it has invested more than $2 billion since 2020 to expand its mental-health facilities and provider networks, and now consistently meets California law requiring health plans to provide timely access to care. Kaiser, headquartered in Oakland, made a net income of $9.3 billion last year. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>During the yearlong contract talks, Kaiser has resisted language stating that the company won’t use AI to replace therapists and proposed making it easier to lay them off, according to the National Union of Healthcare Workers, which represents 2,400 psychologists, licensed clinical social workers and other behavioral health professionals at Kaiser in Northern California. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The union, which staged a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12076753/northern-california-kaiser-therapists-hold-1-day-strike-over-ai-patient-care-concerns\">one-day strike\u003c/a> earlier this year and a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11929713/kaiser-mental-health-workers-appove-new-contract-ending-10-week-strike\">10-week strike\u003c/a> in 2022, said the parties are set to start mediation next month.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On Monday, the union filed its latest complaint with the California Department of Managed Health Care alleging that a Kaiser triage system that initially screens patients seeking mental-health care violates California law because it relies on automated algorithms and unlicensed clerical staff — instead of licensed clinicians — to recommend care. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s violating patient care standards and putting patients at risk. Artificial intelligence and algorithms don’t capture what trained humans can,” Ilana Marcucci-Morris, a licensed clinical social worker and therapist at Kaiser in Oakland, told supervisors. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Marcucci-Morris said she has seen AI making patient care errors at work.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This isn’t about genuine innovation. It’s about saving a buck at the expense of patient care and public health. If we don’t stop them now, we won’t stand a chance down the road,” she said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Kaiser argued that clerical staff who make appointments for patients are trained to escalate an emergency to clinical staff, and its behavioral health e-visit tool helps connect members to care more quickly.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It is an additional path to getting care — not the only path,” the company’s statement said. “On every screen throughout the e-visit process, the patient is provided a phone number that they can call at any time to talk to a live person.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "In a hearing, therapists decried Kaiser’s proposed contract terms during labor negotiations, which they argued would undermine mental health services. The largest health insurer for city employees said it remains focused on providing timely, high-quality mental health services.",
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"title": "‘Unacceptable’: San Francisco Officials Question Kaiser’s Approach to AI in Mental Health | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Unlicensed \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073839/kaiser-therapists-take-key-step-toward-1-day-strike\">phone operators and algorithms\u003c/a> directing patients to inadequate telehealth services. Controversial \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1999553/will-ai-replace-your-therapist-kaiser-wont-say-no\">artificial intelligence technologies\u003c/a> are increasingly deployed at clinics. Distraught patients who can’t get an appointment with a human for weeks. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Those were some of the alarms raised by Kaiser Permanente clinicians who told the San Francisco Board of Supervisors the healthcare giant has failed to significantly improve its mental-health services, even after recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073484/kaiser-workers-say-patients-deserve-better-mental-health-care-after-31m-settlement\">sanctions by state and federal regulators\u003c/a> for denying or delaying care.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The hearing Tuesday examined Kaiser’s \u003ca href=\"https://nuhw.org/wp-content/uploads/Kaiser_IBHS_fact_sheet_SFBOS_hearing_20260701.pdf\">contract \u003c/a>proposals during labor negotiations, which the union said would allow the employer to expand its use of AI tools in mental-health care and lay off more therapists who currently provide it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Experts said these changes could degrade care by giving the company a free pass to outsource patients to companies that use chatbots and squeeze overworked professionals — claims Kaiser denies. The clinicians pleaded with supervisors to pressure their employer to strengthen patient care and support its staff.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The things that we discussed today are infuriating, concerning and unacceptable,” said Supervisor Chyanne Chen, who called the hearing after multiple constituents, including Kaiser employees, complained about the healthcare company’s approach.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chen said she’ll introduce a resolution next week calling on the state’s largest health plan to agree to contract language stating it will use AI to help therapists — not replace them — and back off a proposal that would allow it to refer more patients to third-party contractors. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kaiser executives declined to attend the hearing, a move several supervisors decried as disappointing or even “disrespectful.” The city of San Francisco, San Francisco Unified School District and other public employers paid Kaiser $508 million in health premiums last year to cover more than 39,000 employees and retirees, according to the San Francisco Health Service System. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-KAISER-RETREATS-MD-09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12076763\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-KAISER-RETREATS-MD-09-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-KAISER-RETREATS-MD-09-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-KAISER-RETREATS-MD-09-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Kaiser Permanente building at 1800 Harrison (center-top) in Oakland on March 16, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Their nonpresence suggests to me that the picture that’s being painted by the workers is pretty accurate,” Supervisor Rafael Mandelman said. “We do not want to be subjecting our employees and our retirees to a situation where they can’t actually get the care that they need.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In a statement, Kaiser said it does not use AI to diagnose patients or make clinical decisions, and that it remains focused on providing timely, high-quality mental-health care while reaching a fair agreement with the therapists’ union. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since 2023, Kaiser has agreed to pay more than $231 million in settlements after investigations into the company’s behavioral treatment access by the U.S. Department of Labor and the California Department of Managed Health Care.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The nonprofit health organization said it has invested more than $2 billion since 2020 to expand its mental-health facilities and provider networks, and now consistently meets California law requiring health plans to provide timely access to care. Kaiser, headquartered in Oakland, made a net income of $9.3 billion last year. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>During the yearlong contract talks, Kaiser has resisted language stating that the company won’t use AI to replace therapists and proposed making it easier to lay them off, according to the National Union of Healthcare Workers, which represents 2,400 psychologists, licensed clinical social workers and other behavioral health professionals at Kaiser in Northern California. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The union, which staged a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12076753/northern-california-kaiser-therapists-hold-1-day-strike-over-ai-patient-care-concerns\">one-day strike\u003c/a> earlier this year and a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11929713/kaiser-mental-health-workers-appove-new-contract-ending-10-week-strike\">10-week strike\u003c/a> in 2022, said the parties are set to start mediation next month.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On Monday, the union filed its latest complaint with the California Department of Managed Health Care alleging that a Kaiser triage system that initially screens patients seeking mental-health care violates California law because it relies on automated algorithms and unlicensed clerical staff — instead of licensed clinicians — to recommend care. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s violating patient care standards and putting patients at risk. Artificial intelligence and algorithms don’t capture what trained humans can,” Ilana Marcucci-Morris, a licensed clinical social worker and therapist at Kaiser in Oakland, told supervisors. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Marcucci-Morris said she has seen AI making patient care errors at work.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This isn’t about genuine innovation. It’s about saving a buck at the expense of patient care and public health. If we don’t stop them now, we won’t stand a chance down the road,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kaiser argued that clerical staff who make appointments for patients are trained to escalate an emergency to clinical staff, and its behavioral health e-visit tool helps connect members to care more quickly.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is an additional path to getting care — not the only path,” the company’s statement said. “On every screen throughout the e-visit process, the patient is provided a phone number that they can call at any time to talk to a live person.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "little-fire-in-east-bay-crews-halt-spread-no-structures-damaged-pleasanton-mayor-says",
"title": "Little Fire in East Bay: Crews Halt Spread, No Structures Damaged, Pleasanton Mayor Says",
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"headTitle": "Little Fire in East Bay: Crews Halt Spread, No Structures Damaged, Pleasanton Mayor Says | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Fire crews are continuing to fight a wildfire in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/alameda-county\">Alameda County\u003c/a> on Wednesday morning, after halting the forward spread of the blaze overnight. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Little Fire, which has reached just over 1,000 acres, is 40% contained, according to Cal Fire Santa Clara Unit spokesperson Raul Medina. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Medina said that evacuation zones in an area east of Interstate 680 and south of Pleasanton, PLS-081 and PLS-103, were downgraded to advisories on Wednesday morning. Other evacuation orders, issued for parts of Sunol, were lifted throughout Tuesday night.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/LittleFireGetty4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12092125\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/LittleFireGetty4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/LittleFireGetty4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/LittleFireGetty4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Smoke spreads across the sky as the Little Fire grows in size near Pleasanton, California, on Tuesday, July 21, 2026. (Brontë Wittpenn/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“As we wake up this morning, we find ourselves grateful that no structures have been reported lost and that evacuation orders have been lifted for many population areas,” Pleasanton Mayor Jack Balch wrote in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/JackForPleasanton/\">statement\u003c/a> on Facebook on Wednesday morning.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At the incident’s peak, he said, evacuation orders affected more than 10,800 people and 3,282 structures, including in Sunol and around Ruby Hill in Pleasanton.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Little Fire broke out Tuesday afternoon around 3:30 p.m., and grew to 950 acres by just after 6:30 p.m. Fire crews began to contain the blaze in the evening, and were able to thwart forward progress late Tuesday night. As of Wednesday morning, Cal Fire said crews were strengthening containment lines.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>According to Balch, Pleasanton stood down its Emergency Operations Center around midnight after the evacuation orders were lifted. He said some residents stayed at the Pleasanton Senior Center overnight.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I was extremely concerned and worried,” Balch said. “We have seen fast-moving fires throughout the state. Humidity was low, temperatures were high, the area is grassland principally, but the trees and the dry brush catching [was a] significant concern.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Frankly, [that’s] the reason [for] so much gratitude this morning,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>During the incident, a Cal Fire engine rolled over, injuring one firefighter, who was transported to a hospital. Medina said he was treated for minor injuries before being released. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The cause of the fire is under investigation. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/jgeha\">\u003cem>Joseph Geha\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Little Fire, which has reached just over 1,000 acres, is 40% contained, according to Cal Fire Santa Clara Unit spokesperson Raul Medina. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Medina said that evacuation zones in an area east of Interstate 680 and south of Pleasanton, PLS-081 and PLS-103, were downgraded to advisories on Wednesday morning. Other evacuation orders, issued for parts of Sunol, were lifted throughout Tuesday night.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/LittleFireGetty4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12092125\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/LittleFireGetty4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/LittleFireGetty4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/LittleFireGetty4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Smoke spreads across the sky as the Little Fire grows in size near Pleasanton, California, on Tuesday, July 21, 2026. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Little Fire broke out Tuesday afternoon around 3:30 p.m., and grew to 950 acres by just after 6:30 p.m. Fire crews began to contain the blaze in the evening, and were able to thwart forward progress late Tuesday night. As of Wednesday morning, Cal Fire said crews were strengthening containment lines.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>According to Balch, Pleasanton stood down its Emergency Operations Center around midnight after the evacuation orders were lifted. He said some residents stayed at the Pleasanton Senior Center overnight.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I was extremely concerned and worried,” Balch said. “We have seen fast-moving fires throughout the state. Humidity was low, temperatures were high, the area is grassland principally, but the trees and the dry brush catching [was a] significant concern.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>During the incident, a Cal Fire engine rolled over, injuring one firefighter, who was transported to a hospital. Medina said he was treated for minor injuries before being released. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/jgeha\">\u003cem>Joseph Geha\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The Alameda County fire is at 40% containment. Evacuation orders east of I-680 have been downgraded to advisories as of Wednesday morning. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Fire crews are continuing to fight a wildfire in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/alameda-county\">Alameda County\u003c/a> on Wednesday morning, after halting the forward spread of the blaze overnight. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Little Fire, which has reached just over 1,000 acres, is 40% contained, according to Cal Fire Santa Clara Unit spokesperson Raul Medina. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Medina said that evacuation zones in an area east of Interstate 680 and south of Pleasanton, PLS-081 and PLS-103, were downgraded to advisories on Wednesday morning. Other evacuation orders, issued for parts of Sunol, were lifted throughout Tuesday night.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/LittleFireGetty4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12092125\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/LittleFireGetty4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/LittleFireGetty4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/LittleFireGetty4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Smoke spreads across the sky as the Little Fire grows in size near Pleasanton, California, on Tuesday, July 21, 2026. (Brontë Wittpenn/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“As we wake up this morning, we find ourselves grateful that no structures have been reported lost and that evacuation orders have been lifted for many population areas,” Pleasanton Mayor Jack Balch wrote in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/JackForPleasanton/\">statement\u003c/a> on Facebook on Wednesday morning.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At the incident’s peak, he said, evacuation orders affected more than 10,800 people and 3,282 structures, including in Sunol and around Ruby Hill in Pleasanton.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"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. ",
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"marketplace": {
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"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.",
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"masters-of-scale": {
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"mindshift": {
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"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>",
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"order": 12
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
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"morning-edition": {
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"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?",
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"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",
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},
"pbs-newshour": {
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},
"perspectives": {
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"order": 14
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"info": "The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy. Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.",
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"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/planetmoney.jpg",
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"link": "/radio/program/planet-money",
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"politicalbreakdown": {
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"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
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"order": 5
},
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"possible": {
"id": "possible",
"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Possible-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.possible.fm/",
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"source": "Possible"
},
"link": "/radio/program/possible",
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/730YpdUSNlMyPQwNnyjp4k"
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},
"pri-the-world": {
"id": "pri-the-world",
"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
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},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
"title": "Radiolab",
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