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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The nation’s largest physician group has backed a near complete ban on the most popular countertop material, which is linked to an aggressive lung disease \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064693/california-doctors-urge-ban-on-engineered-stone-as-silicosis-cases-surge\">disabling and killing stoneworkers\u003c/a> in California and other states.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The American Medical Association has adopted \u003ca href=\"https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/ama-press-releases/ama-adopts-new-policies-protect-patients-and-strengthen-public\">a new policy\u003c/a> opposing the manufacturing, importation, distribution, sale, fabrication and installation of high-silica engineered stone products across the U.S. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Doctors in California hope that the declaration by the AMA, which counts more than 250,000 physicians and medical students as members, will spur greater regulation of the factory-made material and promote the use of safer alternatives.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Workers are developing an incurable lung disease that can progress to respiratory failure and sometimes, death, often at a young age among workers,” AMA Board Member and radiation oncologist Sheila Rege said in a statement. “Silicosis is preventable, and the most effective way to prevent silicosis is to use safer countertop materials containing less than 1% crystalline silica with appropriate dust control measures.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The AMA’s resolution could boost \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12100477/california-regulators-unveil-plan-to-ban-new-quartz-countertops-amid-rising-worker-deaths\">a push by\u003c/a> California regulators to phase out the use of engineered stone with more than 1% crystalline silica at businesses that shape slabs into countertops and other construction surfaces. A state workplace standards board is poised to vote on a first-in-the-nation emergency regulation next month, amid strong industry opposition. Australia was the first country to ban engineered stone slabs in 2024.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More than \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/OHB/Pages/essdashboard.aspx\">680 stoneworkers\u003c/a> in California have contracted silicosis after inhaling toxic silica dust generated when cutting or polishing engineered stone, also known as artificial stone or quartz. These slabs can contain more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/bulletin/2026/engineered-stone-cos.html\">90%\u003c/a> pulverized crystalline silica, which studies show is more dangerous than previously known, according to occupational medicine specialists who testified before state regulators.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most of the sick stonecutters statewide are Latino men who say they didn’t know about the hazards of handling artificial stone until they or co-workers felt shortness of breath and other worsening symptoms. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dozens have died, while 75 have undergone lung transplants since 2019, according to the California Department of Public Health. Physicians in Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Texas and other states have reported cases as well, though California is the only state systematically tracking the disease in the industry. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Having personally gone through the illness caused by artificial stone, I believe that eliminating the use of artificial stone would be a good decision,” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064693/california-doctors-urge-ban-on-engineered-stone-as-silicosis-cases-surge\">Lopez,\u003c/a> a former stoneworker in the Bay Area who underwent a double lung transplant in March after years at a job cutting slabs into kitchen and bathroom countertops. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251115-DEADLY-LUNG-DISEASE-MD-01-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"\"/>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>Lopez sits beside his breathing tube on a bed in his home in Pittsburg on Nov. 15, 2025. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Health must take precedence over commercial interests,” the father of four added. KQED is not using Lopez’s full name, as he fears losing vital medical care if arrested by immigration authorities. The state is home to about \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079653/california-fabricators-face-artificial-stone-ban-as-silicosis-cases-mount\">5,000 countertop fabrication workers\u003c/a>, many of them immigrants.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Major manufacturers of high-silica artificial stone have sought to place the blame for rapidly rising silicosis cases on countertop fabrication employers who fail to follow safety precautions. Cambria, the largest U.S.-based producer of the material in the multi-billion dollar industry, has pushed \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12086113/california-lawmaker-pushes-immunity-for-stone-makers-amid-silicosis-epidemic\">for a bill\u003c/a> in Congress that would immunize manufacturers and distributors from hundreds of lawsuits by sick stonecutters seeking damages, arguing that artificial stone is not inherently dangerous. The material is safe for consumers once it’s installed in a building.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, the International Surface Fabricators Association, which is supported by Cambria and other artificial stone companies, has \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/oshsb/documents/petition-620.pdf\">petitioned\u003c/a> California regulators to require countertop fabricators to be certified to do business, instead of restricting the use of artificial stone. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ISFA CEO Laurie Weber doubted that a ban would benefit most workers, since “unlicensed, uninspected operators who cut stone unsafely today would continue to cut whatever comes next the same way.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“ISFA respects the medical community’s concern for workers and calls for a solution that protects them now, licensing and verified compliance for every shop that cuts stone,” Weber said in a statement. “Silicosis is real, it is devastating and it is preventable. We respect the physicians and researchers who have treated these workers and sounded the alarm. Our disagreement is not with the medicine. It is with the idea that a product ban on fabrication, by itself, will protect the people doing this work.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">California, which has more protective silica regulations than federal standards, already requires fabricators to cut the material under a layer of water to reduce airborne dust, and provide workers with sophisticated masks and ventilation systems. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the rules are expensive and difficult to implement, and Cal/OSHA inspectors have found most fabrication businesses they’ve visited had violations. According to doctors and attorneys representing sick workers, mounting evidence shows that people can get sick even at sophisticated compliant shops. Cambria representatives disagree, arguing that the material can be fabricated safely and more enforcement is needed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cal/OSHA officials estimate that the state could see thousands more silicosis cases over the next few years.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We need to act not only at the state level but at the national level to protect these workers,” said Dr. René Bravo, past president of the California Medical Association, which supported the AMA’s resolution. “This will really be a definitive rallying cry for states to take note and develop policies that will protect their engineered stone workers\u003cstrong>.\u003c/strong>”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The AMA’s policy also calls for improving workers’ access to screening and care, and strengthening silicosis surveillance, as many cases may be currently undetected. The association also recommends the use of alternatives with lower crystalline silica content, such as marble, granite and porcelain. Some major engineered stone manufacturers, including Spain-based Cosentino and the Israeli company Caesarstone, have also developed products they advertise as having low or no crystalline silica.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr. Robert Blink, a San Francisco-based occupational medicine physician urging California to ban high-silica artificial stone, said AMA’s resolution will help increase awareness about its hazards, and regulation by federal OSHA, other states and even Congress, which is expected to tie or break a record number of physician representatives next year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> “This is recognition by the larger house of medicine that the material cannot be safely used in the real world,” said Blink, a former president of the Western Occupational and Environmental Medical Association. “We’ve certainly been trying to raise the alarm because this is a deadly epidemic that is killing people.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The American Medical Association has adopted \u003ca href=\"https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/ama-press-releases/ama-adopts-new-policies-protect-patients-and-strengthen-public\">a new policy\u003c/a> opposing the manufacturing, importation, distribution, sale, fabrication and installation of high-silica engineered stone products across the U.S. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The American Medical Association has adopted \u003ca href=\"https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/ama-press-releases/ama-adopts-new-policies-protect-patients-and-strengthen-public\">a new policy\u003c/a> opposing the manufacturing, importation, distribution, sale, fabrication and installation of high-silica engineered stone products across the U.S. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Doctors in California hope that the declaration by the AMA, which counts more than 250,000 physicians and medical students as members, will spur greater regulation of the factory-made material and promote the use of safer alternatives.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Doctors in California hope that the declaration by the AMA, which counts more than 250,000 physicians and medical students as members, will spur greater regulation of the factory-made material and promote the use of safer alternatives.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Workers are developing an incurable lung disease that can progress to respiratory failure and sometimes, death, often at a young age among workers,” AMA Board Member and radiation oncologist Sheila Rege said in a statement. “Silicosis is preventable, and the most effective way to prevent silicosis is to use safer countertop materials containing less than 1% crystalline silica with appropriate dust control measures.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The AMA’s resolution could boost \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12100477/california-regulators-unveil-plan-to-ban-new-quartz-countertops-amid-rising-worker-deaths\">a push by\u003c/a> California regulators to phase out the use of engineered stone with more than 1% crystalline silica at businesses that shape slabs into countertops and other construction surfaces. A state workplace standards board is poised to vote on a first-in-the-nation emergency regulation next month, amid strong industry opposition. Australia was the first country to ban engineered stone slabs in 2024.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The AMA’s resolution could boost \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12100477/california-regulators-unveil-plan-to-ban-new-quartz-countertops-amid-rising-worker-deaths\">a push by\u003c/a> California regulators to phase out the use of engineered stone with more than 1% crystalline silica at businesses that shape slabs into countertops and other construction surfaces. A state workplace standards board is poised to vote on a first-in-the-nation emergency regulation next month, amid strong industry opposition. Australia was the first country to ban engineered stone slabs in 2024.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>More than \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/OHB/Pages/essdashboard.aspx\">680 stoneworkers\u003c/a> in California have contracted silicosis after inhaling toxic silica dust generated when cutting or polishing engineered stone, also known as artificial stone or quartz. These slabs can contain more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/bulletin/2026/engineered-stone-cos.html\">90%\u003c/a> pulverized crystalline silica, which studies show is more dangerous than previously known, according to occupational medicine specialists who testified before state regulators.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>More than \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/OHB/Pages/essdashboard.aspx\">680 stoneworkers\u003c/a> in California have contracted silicosis after inhaling toxic silica dust generated when cutting or polishing engineered stone, also known as artificial stone or quartz. These slabs can contain more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/bulletin/2026/engineered-stone-cos.html\">90%\u003c/a> pulverized crystalline silica, which studies show is more dangerous than previously known, according to occupational medicine specialists who testified before state regulators.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Most of the sick stonecutters statewide are Latino men who say they didn’t know about the hazards of handling artificial stone until they or co-workers felt shortness of breath and other worsening symptoms. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Most of the sick stonecutters statewide are Latino men who say they didn’t know about the hazards of handling artificial stone until they or co-workers felt shortness of breath and other worsening symptoms. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Dozens have died, while 75 have undergone lung transplants since 2019, according to the California Department of Public Health. Physicians in Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Texas and other states have reported cases as well, though California is the only state systematically tracking the disease in the industry. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Dozens have died, while 75 have undergone lung transplants since 2019, according to the California Department of Public Health. Physicians in Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Texas and other states have reported cases as well, though California is the only state systematically tracking the disease in the industry. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Having personally gone through the illness caused by artificial stone, I believe that eliminating the use of artificial stone would be a good decision,” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064693/california-doctors-urge-ban-on-engineered-stone-as-silicosis-cases-surge\">Lopez,\u003c/a> a former stoneworker in the Bay Area who underwent a double lung transplant in March after years at a job cutting slabs into kitchen and bathroom countertops. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Having personally gone through the illness caused by artificial stone, I believe that eliminating the use of artificial stone would be a good decision,” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064693/california-doctors-urge-ban-on-engineered-stone-as-silicosis-cases-surge\">Lopez,\u003c/a> a former stoneworker in the Bay Area who underwent a double lung transplant in March after years at a job cutting slabs into kitchen and bathroom countertops. \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/10/2025/11/251115-DEADLY-LUNG-DISEASE-MD-01-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"\"/>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Lopez sits beside his breathing tube on a bed in his home in Pittsburg on Nov. 15, 2025. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Lopez sits beside his breathing tube on a bed in his home in Pittsburg on Nov. 15, 2025. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Health must take precedence over commercial interests,” the father of four added. KQED is not using Lopez’s full name, as he fears losing vital medical care if arrested by immigration authorities. The state is home to about \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079653/california-fabricators-face-artificial-stone-ban-as-silicosis-cases-mount\">5,000 countertop fabrication workers\u003c/a>, many of them immigrants.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Health must take precedence over commercial interests,” the father of four added. KQED is not using Lopez’s full name, as he fears losing vital medical care if arrested by immigration authorities. The state is home to about \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079653/california-fabricators-face-artificial-stone-ban-as-silicosis-cases-mount\">5,000 countertop fabrication workers\u003c/a>, many of them immigrants.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Major manufacturers of high-silica artificial stone have sought to place the blame for rapidly rising silicosis cases on countertop fabrication employers who fail to follow safety precautions. Cambria, the largest U.S.-based producer of the material in the multi-billion dollar industry, has pushed \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12086113/california-lawmaker-pushes-immunity-for-stone-makers-amid-silicosis-epidemic\">for a bill\u003c/a> in Congress that would immunize manufacturers and distributors from hundreds of lawsuits by sick stonecutters seeking damages, arguing that artificial stone is not inherently dangerous. The material is safe for consumers once it’s installed in a building.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Major manufacturers of high-silica artificial stone have sought to place the blame for rapidly rising silicosis cases on countertop fabrication employers who fail to follow safety precautions. Cambria, the largest U.S.-based producer of the material in the multi-billion dollar industry, has pushed \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12086113/california-lawmaker-pushes-immunity-for-stone-makers-amid-silicosis-epidemic\">for a bill\u003c/a> in Congress that would immunize manufacturers and distributors from hundreds of lawsuits by sick stonecutters seeking damages, arguing that artificial stone is not inherently dangerous. The material is safe for consumers once it’s installed in a building.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the International Surface Fabricators Association, which is supported by Cambria and other artificial stone companies, has \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/oshsb/documents/petition-620.pdf\">petitioned\u003c/a> California regulators to require countertop fabricators to be certified to do business, instead of restricting the use of artificial stone. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the International Surface Fabricators Association, which is supported by Cambria and other artificial stone companies, has \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/oshsb/documents/petition-620.pdf\">petitioned\u003c/a> California regulators to require countertop fabricators to be certified to do business, instead of restricting the use of artificial stone. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>ISFA CEO Laurie Weber doubted that a ban would benefit most workers, since “unlicensed, uninspected operators who cut stone unsafely today would continue to cut whatever comes next the same way.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>ISFA CEO Laurie Weber doubted that a ban would benefit most workers, since “unlicensed, uninspected operators who cut stone unsafely today would continue to cut whatever comes next the same way.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“ISFA respects the medical community’s concern for workers and calls for a solution that protects them now, licensing and verified compliance for every shop that cuts stone,” Weber said in a statement. “Silicosis is real, it is devastating and it is preventable. We respect the physicians and researchers who have treated these workers and sounded the alarm. Our disagreement is not with the medicine. It is with the idea that a product ban on fabrication, by itself, will protect the people doing this work.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“ISFA respects the medical community’s concern for workers and calls for a solution that protects them now, licensing and verified compliance for every shop that cuts stone,” Weber said in a statement. “Silicosis is real, it is devastating and it is preventable. We respect the physicians and researchers who have treated these workers and sounded the alarm. Our disagreement is not with the medicine. It is with the idea that a product ban on fabrication, by itself, will protect the people doing this work.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>California, which has more protective silica regulations than federal standards, already requires fabricators to cut the material under a layer of water to reduce airborne dust, and provide workers with sophisticated masks and ventilation systems. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>California, which has more protective silica regulations than federal standards, already requires fabricators to cut the material under a layer of water to reduce airborne dust, and provide workers with sophisticated masks and ventilation systems. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But the rules are expensive and difficult to implement, and Cal/OSHA inspectors have found most fabrication businesses they’ve visited had violations. According to doctors and attorneys representing sick workers, mounting evidence shows that people can get sick even at sophisticated compliant shops. Cambria representatives disagree, arguing that the material can be fabricated safely and more enforcement is needed.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But the rules are expensive and difficult to implement, and Cal/OSHA inspectors have found most fabrication businesses they’ve visited had violations. According to doctors and attorneys representing sick workers, mounting evidence shows that people can get sick even at sophisticated compliant shops. Cambria representatives disagree, arguing that the material can be fabricated safely and more enforcement is needed.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Cal/OSHA officials estimate that the state could see thousands more silicosis cases over the next few years.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Cal/OSHA officials estimate that the state could see thousands more silicosis cases over the next few years.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We need to act not only at the state level but at the national level to protect these workers,” said Dr. René Bravo, past president of the California Medical Association, which supported the AMA’s resolution. “This will really be a definitive rallying cry for states to take note and develop policies that will protect their engineered stone workers\u003cstrong>.\u003c/strong>”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We need to act not only at the state level but at the national level to protect these workers,” said Dr. René Bravo, past president of the California Medical Association, which supported the AMA’s resolution. “This will really be a definitive rallying cry for states to take note and develop policies that will protect their engineered stone workers\u003cstrong>.\u003c/strong>”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The AMA’s policy also calls for improving workers’ access to screening and care, and strengthening silicosis surveillance, as many cases may be currently undetected. The association also recommends the use of alternatives with lower crystalline silica content, such as marble, granite and porcelain. Some major engineered stone manufacturers, including Spain-based Cosentino and the Israeli company Caesarstone, have also developed products they advertise as having low or no crystalline silica.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The AMA’s policy also calls for improving workers’ access to screening and care, and strengthening silicosis surveillance, as many cases may be currently undetected. The association also recommends the use of alternatives with lower crystalline silica content, such as marble, granite and porcelain. Some major engineered stone manufacturers, including Spain-based Cosentino and the Israeli company Caesarstone, have also developed products they advertise as having low or no crystalline silica.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Dr. Robert Blink, a San Francisco-based occupational medicine physician urging California to ban high-silica artificial stone, said AMA’s resolution will help increase awareness about its hazards, and regulation by federal OSHA, other states and even Congress, which is expected to tie or break a record number of physician representatives next year.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Dr. Robert Blink, a San Francisco-based occupational medicine physician urging California to ban high-silica artificial stone, said AMA’s resolution will help increase awareness about its hazards, and regulation by federal OSHA, other states and even Congress, which is expected to tie or break a record number of physician representatives next year.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp> “This is recognition by the larger house of medicine that the material cannot be safely used in the real world,” said Blink, a former president of the Western Occupational and Environmental Medical Association. “We’ve certainly been trying to raise the alarm because this is a deadly epidemic that is killing people.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp> “This is recognition by the larger house of medicine that the material cannot be safely used in the real world,” said Blink, a former president of the Western Occupational and Environmental Medical Association. “We’ve certainly been trying to raise the alarm because this is a deadly epidemic that is killing people.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "The American Medical Association recommends the use of safer alternatives to high-silica engineered stone.",
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"title": "Largest U.S. Doctors’ Group Supports Banning Countertop Material Linked to Deadly Lung Disease | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The nation’s largest physician group has backed a near complete ban on the most popular countertop material, which is linked to an aggressive lung disease \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064693/california-doctors-urge-ban-on-engineered-stone-as-silicosis-cases-surge\">disabling and killing stoneworkers\u003c/a> in California and other states.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The American Medical Association has adopted \u003ca href=\"https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/ama-press-releases/ama-adopts-new-policies-protect-patients-and-strengthen-public\">a new policy\u003c/a> opposing the manufacturing, importation, distribution, sale, fabrication and installation of high-silica engineered stone products across the U.S. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Doctors in California hope that the declaration by the AMA, which counts more than 250,000 physicians and medical students as members, will spur greater regulation of the factory-made material and promote the use of safer alternatives.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Workers are developing an incurable lung disease that can progress to respiratory failure and sometimes, death, often at a young age among workers,” AMA Board Member and radiation oncologist Sheila Rege said in a statement. “Silicosis is preventable, and the most effective way to prevent silicosis is to use safer countertop materials containing less than 1% crystalline silica with appropriate dust control measures.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The AMA’s resolution could boost \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12100477/california-regulators-unveil-plan-to-ban-new-quartz-countertops-amid-rising-worker-deaths\">a push by\u003c/a> California regulators to phase out the use of engineered stone with more than 1% crystalline silica at businesses that shape slabs into countertops and other construction surfaces. A state workplace standards board is poised to vote on a first-in-the-nation emergency regulation next month, amid strong industry opposition. Australia was the first country to ban engineered stone slabs in 2024.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More than \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/OHB/Pages/essdashboard.aspx\">680 stoneworkers\u003c/a> in California have contracted silicosis after inhaling toxic silica dust generated when cutting or polishing engineered stone, also known as artificial stone or quartz. These slabs can contain more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/bulletin/2026/engineered-stone-cos.html\">90%\u003c/a> pulverized crystalline silica, which studies show is more dangerous than previously known, according to occupational medicine specialists who testified before state regulators.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most of the sick stonecutters statewide are Latino men who say they didn’t know about the hazards of handling artificial stone until they or co-workers felt shortness of breath and other worsening symptoms. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dozens have died, while 75 have undergone lung transplants since 2019, according to the California Department of Public Health. Physicians in Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Texas and other states have reported cases as well, though California is the only state systematically tracking the disease in the industry. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Having personally gone through the illness caused by artificial stone, I believe that eliminating the use of artificial stone would be a good decision,” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064693/california-doctors-urge-ban-on-engineered-stone-as-silicosis-cases-surge\">Lopez,\u003c/a> a former stoneworker in the Bay Area who underwent a double lung transplant in March after years at a job cutting slabs into kitchen and bathroom countertops. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251115-DEADLY-LUNG-DISEASE-MD-01-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"\"/>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>Lopez sits beside his breathing tube on a bed in his home in Pittsburg on Nov. 15, 2025. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Health must take precedence over commercial interests,” the father of four added. KQED is not using Lopez’s full name, as he fears losing vital medical care if arrested by immigration authorities. The state is home to about \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079653/california-fabricators-face-artificial-stone-ban-as-silicosis-cases-mount\">5,000 countertop fabrication workers\u003c/a>, many of them immigrants.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Major manufacturers of high-silica artificial stone have sought to place the blame for rapidly rising silicosis cases on countertop fabrication employers who fail to follow safety precautions. Cambria, the largest U.S.-based producer of the material in the multi-billion dollar industry, has pushed \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12086113/california-lawmaker-pushes-immunity-for-stone-makers-amid-silicosis-epidemic\">for a bill\u003c/a> in Congress that would immunize manufacturers and distributors from hundreds of lawsuits by sick stonecutters seeking damages, arguing that artificial stone is not inherently dangerous. The material is safe for consumers once it’s installed in a building.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, the International Surface Fabricators Association, which is supported by Cambria and other artificial stone companies, has \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/oshsb/documents/petition-620.pdf\">petitioned\u003c/a> California regulators to require countertop fabricators to be certified to do business, instead of restricting the use of artificial stone. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ISFA CEO Laurie Weber doubted that a ban would benefit most workers, since “unlicensed, uninspected operators who cut stone unsafely today would continue to cut whatever comes next the same way.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“ISFA respects the medical community’s concern for workers and calls for a solution that protects them now, licensing and verified compliance for every shop that cuts stone,” Weber said in a statement. “Silicosis is real, it is devastating and it is preventable. We respect the physicians and researchers who have treated these workers and sounded the alarm. Our disagreement is not with the medicine. It is with the idea that a product ban on fabrication, by itself, will protect the people doing this work.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">California, which has more protective silica regulations than federal standards, already requires fabricators to cut the material under a layer of water to reduce airborne dust, and provide workers with sophisticated masks and ventilation systems. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the rules are expensive and difficult to implement, and Cal/OSHA inspectors have found most fabrication businesses they’ve visited had violations. According to doctors and attorneys representing sick workers, mounting evidence shows that people can get sick even at sophisticated compliant shops. Cambria representatives disagree, arguing that the material can be fabricated safely and more enforcement is needed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cal/OSHA officials estimate that the state could see thousands more silicosis cases over the next few years.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We need to act not only at the state level but at the national level to protect these workers,” said Dr. René Bravo, past president of the California Medical Association, which supported the AMA’s resolution. “This will really be a definitive rallying cry for states to take note and develop policies that will protect their engineered stone workers\u003cstrong>.\u003c/strong>”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The AMA’s policy also calls for improving workers’ access to screening and care, and strengthening silicosis surveillance, as many cases may be currently undetected. The association also recommends the use of alternatives with lower crystalline silica content, such as marble, granite and porcelain. Some major engineered stone manufacturers, including Spain-based Cosentino and the Israeli company Caesarstone, have also developed products they advertise as having low or no crystalline silica.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr. Robert Blink, a San Francisco-based occupational medicine physician urging California to ban high-silica artificial stone, said AMA’s resolution will help increase awareness about its hazards, and regulation by federal OSHA, other states and even Congress, which is expected to tie or break a record number of physician representatives next year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> “This is recognition by the larger house of medicine that the material cannot be safely used in the real world,” said Blink, a former president of the Western Occupational and Environmental Medical Association. “We’ve certainly been trying to raise the alarm because this is a deadly epidemic that is killing people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "these-latinas-bring-banda-and-pilates-together-making-workouts-a-party",
"title": "These Latinas Bring Banda and Pilates Together, Making Workouts a Party",
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"headTitle": "These Latinas Bring Banda and Pilates Together, Making Workouts a Party | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>This story was reported for K Onda KQED, a monthly newsletter focused on the Bay Area’s Latinx community.\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/newsletters/k-onda\">\u003cem>Click here to subscribe.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On a Sunday morning at a waterfront park in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-leandro\">San Leandro\u003c/a>, musicians from Banda Limonense swayed as they played high-energy Mexican bangers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over their loud brass and percussion rhythms, a Pilates instructor called out directions and words of encouragement, “Yes, you can, here we go,” to a sold-out crowd on a warm October day. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The occasion was Banda and Pilates, an event that offers fitness, culture, live music and a party vibe — all in one. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Careni Hernandez of Oakland sweated through the Pilates class, wearing pink from head to toe — from her baseball cap, Birthday Girl tiara and sash, to her tank top and skort. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1319\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-17-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103095\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-17-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-17-KQED-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-17-KQED-1536x1013.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Careni Hernandez celebrates her birthday a few days early at a Banda and Pilates event at Marina Park in San Leandro on Oct. 4, 2026. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She and a handful of friends set their mats down next to bouquets of flowers, balloons, gifts and a cake to celebrate her 38th birthday. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“More than anything, we wanted to share an experience together,” she told me in Spanish. “It was our first time doing Pilates with banda, and it was nice. It was motivating. We liked the atmosphere.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">West Coast Makers and 510 Society organized the event, two Bay Area event companies. Tickets for the San Leandro event ranged from $35 for general admission to $60 for the VIP package.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We have over 200 ladies dressed in pink in celebration of Breast Cancer Awareness Month,” said Tatiana Aguilar, founder of West Coast Makers. “We got live music. We got tacos. We’re here for the culture. We’re here for [our] health.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And most importantly, she said, ”We’re just here for each other and for the community.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Aguilar said the goal is to provide Latinas a space within the fitness landscape and break down generational barriers in a community where working out and health are often shelved as secondary pursuits. “We can’t wait to bring more of these to the Bay Area.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Similar fitness events have been popping up throughout the Bay Area over the last few years as one-off events, in public locations or gyms such as Lift Pro Fitness in San Jose, organizers told me. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They often combine a type of exercise such as yoga, Pilates or cycling with live music or DJ and include a theme, suggested color palette for what to wear, photo backgrounds, goodie bags, and a variety of vendors offering food, drinks, services and artisanal goods. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The events also reflect larger trends: more Americans prioritizing fitness and the rise of the workout party or darty (daytime party). \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/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-15-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103093\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-15-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-15-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-15-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Participants work out at a Banda and Pilates event at Marina Park in San Leandro on Oct. 4, 2026. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We’re in this cultural moment where a workout is conceivable or sellable as a party,” said Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, author of \u003cem>Fit Nation: The Gains and Pains of America’s Exercise Obsession\u003c/em>. “People like coming together in that way – that’s pretty novel. That’s very much a product of our time. Exercise isn’t just something that you kind of do behind the scenes before you go put on your fancy dress and go to the party. It can be the event itself.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Global Wellness Institute found that the U.S. \u003ca href=\"https://globalwellnessinstitute.org/press-room/press-releases/us-wellness-economy-surges-to-2-1-trillion-cementing-global-leadership/\">reached $6,293\u003c/a> in per capita spending on wellness in 2024. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That tracks with \u003ca href=\"https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/future-of-wellness-trends\">a report\u003c/a> from consulting firm McKinsey, which found that wellness spending – from beauty products to gym memberships – reached $700 billion in the United States in 2026, with a third of consumers describing it as “core to their identity.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Group fitness classes, outdoor activities and influencer-led programs are among the fastest-growing trends in the fitness industry, according to a recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.ovid.com/jnls/acsm-healthfitness/fulltext/10.1249/fit.0000000000001208~2027-acsm-worldwide-fitness-trends-future-directions-of-the\">survey\u003c/a> from the American College of Sports Medicine.\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/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-16-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103094\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-16-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-16-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-16-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Tatiana Aguilar, organizer and founder of West Coast Makers, left, and Mackenzie Majors, founder of 5:10 Society, right, pose for a photo at a Banda and Pilates event at Marina Park in San Leandro on Oct. 4, 2026. Both co-hosted the Banda and Pilates event. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the industry is growing, marketing often leaves out people of color, said Barry Kostabi, co-founder of Fitcarma, a Southern California consulting firm specializing in fitness studios. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Most boutique fitness studios open in predominantly white neighborhoods, so for the most part, marketing and advertising features predominantly white women,” Kostabi said. “And, we believe that’s a huge problem. It’s so cool to see events like [Pilates and banda] where it’s really about coming together and celebrating each other.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Communities of color are warming up to the idea that fitness doesn’t have to feel like a chore, said Mackenzie Majors, founder of 510 Society, which puts on events that combine fitness with spirits, such as tennis and tequila or Pilates and prosecco. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The San Leandro event also included a 30-minute glute workout accompanied by hip-hop music to bring more cultures into the mix, Majors said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Traditionally, working out is not huge in both the black and brown communities,” said Majors, who is Black. “People want to work out. Wellness is important; people want to feel good about themselves.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1215\" height=\"911\" data-id=\"12108935\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/K-Onda_November26-KQED-1324cbad.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12108935\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/K-Onda_November26-KQED-1324cbad.jpg 1215w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/K-Onda_November26-KQED-1324cbad-160x120.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1215px) 100vw, 1215px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bay Area fitness instructor and personal trainer Nia Basel has taught pilates and banda classes in the Bay Area and San Diego. ((Courtesy of Nia Basel/Photo by MaryBeth Tyler))\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1170\" height=\"777\" data-id=\"12108934\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/K-Onda_November26-KQED_1-e2ee96a9.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12108934\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/K-Onda_November26-KQED_1-e2ee96a9.jpg 1170w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/K-Onda_November26-KQED_1-e2ee96a9-160x106.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1170px) 100vw, 1170px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Brittney Briceño and Kim Palafox started Con Corazón, which coordinates wellness events in eastern Contra Costa County, including Pilates at the Marina in Pittsburg. ((Courtesy of Con Corazón/Photo by Studio 96 Productions))\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Majors said it’s all about balance. “We can party, and we can work, and we could take care of our families, but what about taking care of yourself and pouring back into yourself?” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nia Basel, a Bay Area-based personal trainer and fitness instructor, said she felt like she had to tone down her Mexican heritage and aesthetic when she trained to teach Pilates.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead, she’s leaned into her cultural roots through her company, The BAE Movement, which stands for “Before Anyone Else.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She’s led several Pilates con banda classes in the Bay Area and San Diego, where she grew up. For Hispanic Heritage Month, she organized a sunset beach hike in Mill Valley that included a mariachi serenade. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“As Mexican women, we’ve been taught to always give, give, give, work, work, work and never put ourselves first,” Basel said. “I wanted to create something where it was more like, ‘Oh my God, this feels good.’” \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/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-22-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103097\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-22-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-22-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-22-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mayra Marquez, of Que Rico Mami, a coffee stand, hands a customer a drink at Marina Park in San Leandro on Oct. 4, 2026. Mayra is one of the vendors at the event. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health \u003ca href=\"https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/physical-activity-and-hispanicslatinos\">reported\u003c/a> that in 2023, Hispanic/Latino adults were 10% less likely than U.S. adults overall to meet national aerobic and muscle strengthening guidelines.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I remember my mom working two jobs, and she would work, come and put food on our table and then go back to work. It wasn’t that she was disregarding her health; it was just that she didn’t have the leisure to do that,” Basel said. “For us in the second generation, it’s like a generational shift where we’re able to have those opportunities to work out.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Besides putting on her own events, Basel has partnered with Brittney Briceño and Kim Palafox, co-founders of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/concorazon925/\">Con Corazón\u003c/a>, which coordinates wellness events in eastern Contra Costa County. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I didn’t see any of my tías or my mom going to a Pilates class or yoga class,” Briceño said. “When an event is culturally rooted, and there’s banda, and there’s girls that look like you and speak like you, it’s more welcoming.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“And, we are not necessarily in survival mode anymore,” she said. “It’s really big and impactful for us to be creating these spaces to introduce that to our community.”\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/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-18-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103096\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-18-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-18-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-18-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Participants work out at a Banda and Pilates event at Marina Park in San Leandro on Oct. 4, 2026. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Con Corazón recently organized Pilates at the Marina in Pittsburg that featured an “Under the Sea” theme, a DJ playing reggaeton and hip-hop, and a class by instructor Carolina Silva of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/poppin.pilates/\">Poppin Pilates\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One attendee, Maripaz Orozco, drove nearly an hour from Union City to attend the sold-out event.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 37-year-old donned a hot pink workout top, black leggings and slicked-back ponytail to, as she put it, “keep it cute.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Orozco, the event was also about bridging her Latina identity with fitness and supporting Latina entrepreneurs like Silva.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“When I started Pilates, I was very skeptical because I had a very specific body type in mind – somebody that’s very fit,” she said. “So going to a studio, I was like, ‘I don’t know if I’m going to fit in.’”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“This [event] is super important to show that there’s spaces for all of us,” Orozco said. “Hopefully that will encourage people to go to a studio and try something out.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On a Sunday morning at a waterfront park in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-leandro\">San Leandro\u003c/a>, musicians from Banda Limonense swayed as they played high-energy Mexican bangers. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>On a Sunday morning at a waterfront park in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-leandro\">San Leandro\u003c/a>, musicians from Banda Limonense swayed as they played high-energy Mexican bangers. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Over their loud brass and percussion rhythms, a Pilates instructor called out directions and words of encouragement, “Yes, you can, here we go,” to a sold-out crowd on a warm October day. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The occasion was Banda and Pilates, an event that offers fitness, culture, live music and a party vibe — all in one. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Careni Hernandez of Oakland sweated through the Pilates class, wearing pink from head to toe — from her baseball cap, Birthday Girl tiara and sash, to her tank top and skort. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Careni Hernandez of Oakland sweated through the Pilates class, wearing pink from head to toe — from her baseball cap, Birthday Girl tiara and sash, to her tank top and skort. \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/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-17-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103095\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-17-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-17-KQED-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-17-KQED-1536x1013.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Careni Hernandez celebrates her birthday a few days early at a Banda and Pilates event at Marina Park in San Leandro on Oct. 4, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\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/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-17-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103095\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Careni Hernandez celebrates her birthday a few days early at a Banda and Pilates event at Marina Park in San Leandro on Oct. 4, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She and a handful of friends set their mats down next to bouquets of flowers, balloons, gifts and a cake to celebrate her 38th birthday. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“More than anything, we wanted to share an experience together,” she told me in Spanish. “It was our first time doing Pilates with banda, and it was nice. It was motivating. We liked the atmosphere.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“More than anything, we wanted to share an experience together,” she told me in Spanish. “It was our first time doing Pilates with banda, and it was nice. It was motivating. We liked the atmosphere.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>West Coast Makers and 510 Society organized the event, two Bay Area event companies. Tickets for the San Leandro event ranged from $35 for general admission to $60 for the VIP package.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We have over 200 ladies dressed in pink in celebration of Breast Cancer Awareness Month,” said Tatiana Aguilar, founder of West Coast Makers. “We got live music. We got tacos. We’re here for the culture. We’re here for [our] health.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We have over 200 ladies dressed in pink in celebration of Breast Cancer Awareness Month,” said Tatiana Aguilar, founder of West Coast Makers. “We got live music. We got tacos. We’re here for the culture. We’re here for [our] health.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Aguilar said the goal is to provide Latinas a space within the fitness landscape and break down generational barriers in a community where working out and health are often shelved as secondary pursuits. “We can’t wait to bring more of these to the Bay Area.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Aguilar said the goal is to provide Latinas a space within the fitness landscape and break down generational barriers in a community where working out and health are often shelved as secondary pursuits. “We can’t wait to bring more of these to the Bay Area.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Similar fitness events have been popping up throughout the Bay Area over the last few years as one-off events, in public locations or gyms such as Lift Pro Fitness in San Jose, organizers told me. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Similar fitness events have been popping up throughout the Bay Area over the last few years as one-off events, in public locations or gyms such as Lift Pro Fitness in San Jose, organizers told me. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>They often combine a type of exercise such as yoga, Pilates or cycling with live music or DJ and include a theme, suggested color palette for what to wear, photo backgrounds, goodie bags, and a variety of vendors offering food, drinks, services and artisanal goods. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>They often combine a type of exercise such as yoga, Pilates or cycling with live music or DJ and include a theme, suggested color palette for what to wear, photo backgrounds, goodie bags, and a variety of vendors offering food, drinks, services and artisanal goods. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The events also reflect larger trends: more Americans prioritizing fitness and the rise of the workout party or darty (daytime party). \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The events also reflect larger trends: more Americans prioritizing fitness and the rise of the workout party or darty (daytime party). \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/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-15-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103093\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-15-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-15-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-15-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\">Participants work out at a Banda and Pilates event at Marina Park in San Leandro on Oct. 4, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\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/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-15-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103093\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Participants work out at a Banda and Pilates event at Marina Park in San Leandro on Oct. 4, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We’re in this cultural moment where a workout is conceivable or sellable as a party,” said Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, author of \u003cem>Fit Nation: The Gains and Pains of America’s Exercise Obsession\u003c/em>. “People like coming together in that way – that’s pretty novel. That’s very much a product of our time. Exercise isn’t just something that you kind of do behind the scenes before you go put on your fancy dress and go to the party. It can be the event itself.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We’re in this cultural moment where a workout is conceivable or sellable as a party,” said Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, author of \u003cem>Fit Nation: The Gains and Pains of America’s Exercise Obsession\u003c/em>. “People like coming together in that way – that’s pretty novel. That’s very much a product of our time. Exercise isn’t just something that you kind of do behind the scenes before you go put on your fancy dress and go to the party. It can be the event itself.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Global Wellness Institute found that the U.S. \u003ca href=\"https://globalwellnessinstitute.org/press-room/press-releases/us-wellness-economy-surges-to-2-1-trillion-cementing-global-leadership/\">reached $6,293\u003c/a> in per capita spending on wellness in 2024. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Global Wellness Institute found that the U.S. \u003ca href=\"https://globalwellnessinstitute.org/press-room/press-releases/us-wellness-economy-surges-to-2-1-trillion-cementing-global-leadership/\">reached $6,293\u003c/a> in per capita spending on wellness in 2024. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That tracks with \u003ca href=\"https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/future-of-wellness-trends\">a report\u003c/a> from consulting firm McKinsey, which found that wellness spending – from beauty products to gym memberships – reached $700 billion in the United States in 2026, with a third of consumers describing it as “core to their identity.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That tracks with \u003ca href=\"https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/future-of-wellness-trends\">a report\u003c/a> from consulting firm McKinsey, which found that wellness spending – from beauty products to gym memberships – reached $700 billion in the United States in 2026, with a third of consumers describing it as “core to their identity.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While the industry is growing, marketing often leaves out people of color, said Barry Kostabi, co-founder of Fitcarma, a Southern California consulting firm specializing in fitness studios. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Most boutique fitness studios open in predominantly white neighborhoods, so for the most part, marketing and advertising features predominantly white women,” Kostabi said. “And, we believe that’s a huge problem. It’s so cool to see events like [Pilates and banda] where it’s really about coming together and celebrating each other.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Communities of color are warming up to the idea that fitness doesn’t have to feel like a chore, said Mackenzie Majors, founder of 510 Society, which puts on events that combine fitness with spirits, such as tennis and tequila or Pilates and prosecco. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The San Leandro event also included a 30-minute glute workout accompanied by hip-hop music to bring more cultures into the mix, Majors said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Traditionally, working out is not huge in both the black and brown communities,” said Majors, who is Black. “People want to work out. Wellness is important; people want to feel good about themselves.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Majors said it’s all about balance. “We can party, and we can work, and we could take care of our families, but what about taking care of yourself and pouring back into yourself?” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Nia Basel, a Bay Area-based personal trainer and fitness instructor, said she felt like she had to tone down her Mexican heritage and aesthetic when she trained to teach Pilates.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She’s led several Pilates con banda classes in the Bay Area and San Diego, where she grew up. For Hispanic Heritage Month, she organized a sunset beach hike in Mill Valley that included a mariachi serenade. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“As Mexican women, we’ve been taught to always give, give, give, work, work, work and never put ourselves first,” Basel said. “I wanted to create something where it was more like, ‘Oh my God, this feels good.’” \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/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-22-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103097\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-22-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-22-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-22-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\">Mayra Marquez, of Que Rico Mami, a coffee stand, hands a customer a drink at Marina Park in San Leandro on Oct. 4, 2026. Mayra is one of the vendors at the event.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\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/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-22-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103097\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mayra Marquez, of Que Rico Mami, a coffee stand, hands a customer a drink at Marina Park in San Leandro on Oct. 4, 2026. Mayra is one of the vendors at the event.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health \u003ca href=\"https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/physical-activity-and-hispanicslatinos\">reported\u003c/a> that in 2023, Hispanic/Latino adults were 10% less likely than U.S. adults overall to meet national aerobic and muscle strengthening guidelines.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I remember my mom working two jobs, and she would work, come and put food on our table and then go back to work. It wasn’t that she was disregarding her health; it was just that she didn’t have the leisure to do that,” Basel said. “For us in the second generation, it’s like a generational shift where we’re able to have those opportunities to work out.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Besides putting on her own events, Basel has partnered with Brittney Briceño and Kim Palafox, co-founders of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/concorazon925/\">Con Corazón\u003c/a>, which coordinates wellness events in eastern Contra Costa County. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Besides putting on her own events, Basel has partnered with Brittney Briceño and Kim Palafox, co-founders of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/concorazon925/\">Con Corazón\u003c/a>, which coordinates wellness events in eastern Contra Costa County. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I didn’t see any of my tías or my mom going to a Pilates class or yoga class,” Briceño said. “When an event is culturally rooted, and there’s banda, and there’s girls that look like you and speak like you, it’s more welcoming.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I didn’t see any of my tías or my mom going to a Pilates class or yoga class,” Briceño said. “When an event is culturally rooted, and there’s banda, and there’s girls that look like you and speak like you, it’s more welcoming.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“And, we are not necessarily in survival mode anymore,” she said. “It’s really big and impactful for us to be creating these spaces to introduce that to our community.”\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/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-18-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103096\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-18-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-18-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-18-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\">Participants work out at a Banda and Pilates event at Marina Park in San Leandro on Oct. 4, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\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/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-18-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103096\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Participants work out at a Banda and Pilates event at Marina Park in San Leandro on Oct. 4, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Con Corazón recently organized Pilates at the Marina in Pittsburg that featured an “Under the Sea” theme, a DJ playing reggaeton and hip-hop, and a class by instructor Carolina Silva of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/poppin.pilates/\">Poppin Pilates\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>One attendee, Maripaz Orozco, drove nearly an hour from Union City to attend the sold-out event.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The 37-year-old donned a hot pink workout top, black leggings and slicked-back ponytail to, as she put it, “keep it cute.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For Orozco, the event was also about bridging her Latina identity with fitness and supporting Latina entrepreneurs like Silva.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“When I started Pilates, I was very skeptical because I had a very specific body type in mind – somebody that’s very fit,” she said. “So going to a studio, I was like, ‘I don’t know if I’m going to fit in.’”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“This [event] is super important to show that there’s spaces for all of us,” Orozco said. “Hopefully that will encourage people to go to a studio and try something out.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Fitness organizers are breaking generational barriers for Latinx communities, incorporating music and fun themes into workout classes — encouraging their participants to center themselves in an industry that often overlooks people of color.\n",
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"title": "These Latinas Bring Banda and Pilates Together, Making Workouts a Party | KQED",
"description": "Fitness organizers are breaking generational barriers for Latinx communities, incorporating music and fun themes into workout classes — encouraging their participants to center themselves in an industry that often overlooks people of color.\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>This story was reported for K Onda KQED, a monthly newsletter focused on the Bay Area’s Latinx community.\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/newsletters/k-onda\">\u003cem>Click here to subscribe.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On a Sunday morning at a waterfront park in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-leandro\">San Leandro\u003c/a>, musicians from Banda Limonense swayed as they played high-energy Mexican bangers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over their loud brass and percussion rhythms, a Pilates instructor called out directions and words of encouragement, “Yes, you can, here we go,” to a sold-out crowd on a warm October day. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The occasion was Banda and Pilates, an event that offers fitness, culture, live music and a party vibe — all in one. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Careni Hernandez of Oakland sweated through the Pilates class, wearing pink from head to toe — from her baseball cap, Birthday Girl tiara and sash, to her tank top and skort. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1319\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-17-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103095\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-17-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-17-KQED-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-17-KQED-1536x1013.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Careni Hernandez celebrates her birthday a few days early at a Banda and Pilates event at Marina Park in San Leandro on Oct. 4, 2026. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She and a handful of friends set their mats down next to bouquets of flowers, balloons, gifts and a cake to celebrate her 38th birthday. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“More than anything, we wanted to share an experience together,” she told me in Spanish. “It was our first time doing Pilates with banda, and it was nice. It was motivating. We liked the atmosphere.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">West Coast Makers and 510 Society organized the event, two Bay Area event companies. Tickets for the San Leandro event ranged from $35 for general admission to $60 for the VIP package.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We have over 200 ladies dressed in pink in celebration of Breast Cancer Awareness Month,” said Tatiana Aguilar, founder of West Coast Makers. “We got live music. We got tacos. We’re here for the culture. We’re here for [our] health.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And most importantly, she said, ”We’re just here for each other and for the community.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Aguilar said the goal is to provide Latinas a space within the fitness landscape and break down generational barriers in a community where working out and health are often shelved as secondary pursuits. “We can’t wait to bring more of these to the Bay Area.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Similar fitness events have been popping up throughout the Bay Area over the last few years as one-off events, in public locations or gyms such as Lift Pro Fitness in San Jose, organizers told me. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They often combine a type of exercise such as yoga, Pilates or cycling with live music or DJ and include a theme, suggested color palette for what to wear, photo backgrounds, goodie bags, and a variety of vendors offering food, drinks, services and artisanal goods. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The events also reflect larger trends: more Americans prioritizing fitness and the rise of the workout party or darty (daytime party). \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/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-15-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103093\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-15-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-15-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-15-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Participants work out at a Banda and Pilates event at Marina Park in San Leandro on Oct. 4, 2026. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We’re in this cultural moment where a workout is conceivable or sellable as a party,” said Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, author of \u003cem>Fit Nation: The Gains and Pains of America’s Exercise Obsession\u003c/em>. “People like coming together in that way – that’s pretty novel. That’s very much a product of our time. Exercise isn’t just something that you kind of do behind the scenes before you go put on your fancy dress and go to the party. It can be the event itself.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Global Wellness Institute found that the U.S. \u003ca href=\"https://globalwellnessinstitute.org/press-room/press-releases/us-wellness-economy-surges-to-2-1-trillion-cementing-global-leadership/\">reached $6,293\u003c/a> in per capita spending on wellness in 2024. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That tracks with \u003ca href=\"https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/future-of-wellness-trends\">a report\u003c/a> from consulting firm McKinsey, which found that wellness spending – from beauty products to gym memberships – reached $700 billion in the United States in 2026, with a third of consumers describing it as “core to their identity.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Group fitness classes, outdoor activities and influencer-led programs are among the fastest-growing trends in the fitness industry, according to a recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.ovid.com/jnls/acsm-healthfitness/fulltext/10.1249/fit.0000000000001208~2027-acsm-worldwide-fitness-trends-future-directions-of-the\">survey\u003c/a> from the American College of Sports Medicine.\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/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-16-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103094\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-16-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-16-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-16-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Tatiana Aguilar, organizer and founder of West Coast Makers, left, and Mackenzie Majors, founder of 5:10 Society, right, pose for a photo at a Banda and Pilates event at Marina Park in San Leandro on Oct. 4, 2026. Both co-hosted the Banda and Pilates event. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the industry is growing, marketing often leaves out people of color, said Barry Kostabi, co-founder of Fitcarma, a Southern California consulting firm specializing in fitness studios. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Most boutique fitness studios open in predominantly white neighborhoods, so for the most part, marketing and advertising features predominantly white women,” Kostabi said. “And, we believe that’s a huge problem. It’s so cool to see events like [Pilates and banda] where it’s really about coming together and celebrating each other.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Communities of color are warming up to the idea that fitness doesn’t have to feel like a chore, said Mackenzie Majors, founder of 510 Society, which puts on events that combine fitness with spirits, such as tennis and tequila or Pilates and prosecco. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The San Leandro event also included a 30-minute glute workout accompanied by hip-hop music to bring more cultures into the mix, Majors said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Traditionally, working out is not huge in both the black and brown communities,” said Majors, who is Black. “People want to work out. Wellness is important; people want to feel good about themselves.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1215\" height=\"911\" data-id=\"12108935\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/K-Onda_November26-KQED-1324cbad.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12108935\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/K-Onda_November26-KQED-1324cbad.jpg 1215w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/K-Onda_November26-KQED-1324cbad-160x120.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1215px) 100vw, 1215px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bay Area fitness instructor and personal trainer Nia Basel has taught pilates and banda classes in the Bay Area and San Diego. ((Courtesy of Nia Basel/Photo by MaryBeth Tyler))\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1170\" height=\"777\" data-id=\"12108934\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/K-Onda_November26-KQED_1-e2ee96a9.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12108934\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/K-Onda_November26-KQED_1-e2ee96a9.jpg 1170w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/K-Onda_November26-KQED_1-e2ee96a9-160x106.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1170px) 100vw, 1170px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Brittney Briceño and Kim Palafox started Con Corazón, which coordinates wellness events in eastern Contra Costa County, including Pilates at the Marina in Pittsburg. ((Courtesy of Con Corazón/Photo by Studio 96 Productions))\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Majors said it’s all about balance. “We can party, and we can work, and we could take care of our families, but what about taking care of yourself and pouring back into yourself?” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nia Basel, a Bay Area-based personal trainer and fitness instructor, said she felt like she had to tone down her Mexican heritage and aesthetic when she trained to teach Pilates.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead, she’s leaned into her cultural roots through her company, The BAE Movement, which stands for “Before Anyone Else.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She’s led several Pilates con banda classes in the Bay Area and San Diego, where she grew up. For Hispanic Heritage Month, she organized a sunset beach hike in Mill Valley that included a mariachi serenade. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“As Mexican women, we’ve been taught to always give, give, give, work, work, work and never put ourselves first,” Basel said. “I wanted to create something where it was more like, ‘Oh my God, this feels good.’” \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/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-22-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103097\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-22-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-22-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-22-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mayra Marquez, of Que Rico Mami, a coffee stand, hands a customer a drink at Marina Park in San Leandro on Oct. 4, 2026. Mayra is one of the vendors at the event. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health \u003ca href=\"https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/physical-activity-and-hispanicslatinos\">reported\u003c/a> that in 2023, Hispanic/Latino adults were 10% less likely than U.S. adults overall to meet national aerobic and muscle strengthening guidelines.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I remember my mom working two jobs, and she would work, come and put food on our table and then go back to work. It wasn’t that she was disregarding her health; it was just that she didn’t have the leisure to do that,” Basel said. “For us in the second generation, it’s like a generational shift where we’re able to have those opportunities to work out.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Besides putting on her own events, Basel has partnered with Brittney Briceño and Kim Palafox, co-founders of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/concorazon925/\">Con Corazón\u003c/a>, which coordinates wellness events in eastern Contra Costa County. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I didn’t see any of my tías or my mom going to a Pilates class or yoga class,” Briceño said. “When an event is culturally rooted, and there’s banda, and there’s girls that look like you and speak like you, it’s more welcoming.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“And, we are not necessarily in survival mode anymore,” she said. “It’s really big and impactful for us to be creating these spaces to introduce that to our community.”\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/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-18-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103096\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-18-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-18-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261004_LatinasRedefiningFitness_GC-18-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Participants work out at a Banda and Pilates event at Marina Park in San Leandro on Oct. 4, 2026. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Con Corazón recently organized Pilates at the Marina in Pittsburg that featured an “Under the Sea” theme, a DJ playing reggaeton and hip-hop, and a class by instructor Carolina Silva of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/poppin.pilates/\">Poppin Pilates\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One attendee, Maripaz Orozco, drove nearly an hour from Union City to attend the sold-out event.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 37-year-old donned a hot pink workout top, black leggings and slicked-back ponytail to, as she put it, “keep it cute.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Orozco, the event was also about bridging her Latina identity with fitness and supporting Latina entrepreneurs like Silva.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“When I started Pilates, I was very skeptical because I had a very specific body type in mind – somebody that’s very fit,” she said. “So going to a studio, I was like, ‘I don’t know if I’m going to fit in.’”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“This [event] is super important to show that there’s spaces for all of us,” Orozco said. “Hopefully that will encourage people to go to a studio and try something out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "proposition-38-immunology-bond-leading-as-vote-counting-continues",
"title": "Proposition 38 Immunology Bond Leading as Vote Counting Continues",
"publishDate": 1793833772,
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"headTitle": "Proposition 38 Immunology Bond Leading as Vote Counting Continues | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">California voters are on track to approve \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2002320/california-cancer-patients-disagree-over-whether-prop-38-will-help-them\">Proposition 38\u003c/a>, with 55% of returns counted so far in favor of the measure, which will allow California to borrow $8.4 billion in bond money to fund immunology and immunotherapy research in the state.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Yes campaign was financed primarily by Gary Michelson, the same billionaire who co-founded and backed \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/elections/2026/07/proposition-38-california/\">the research institute\u003c/a> that stands to receive half the bond money and maintain a fair amount of control over the other half that will be distributed in grants to universities and nonprofits in the state.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“What we’ve seen with this election across the board is a repudiation of some of the policies of Donald Trump. And one of those policies has been severe and drastic cuts to scientific research,” said Robin Swanson, spokesperson for the Yes on Prop. 38 campaign. “So California is hopefully making an investment in research.”\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/10/2026/11/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG32687-KQED-2af31d9e-9bd397aa.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12108434\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG32687-KQED-2af31d9e-9bd397aa.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG32687-KQED-2af31d9e-9bd397aa-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG32687-KQED-2af31d9e-9bd397aa-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Marianne O’Malley, who has Parkinson’s disease, poses for a portrait in her living room in Sacramento on Oct. 19, 2026. (Fred Greaves for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With $71 million in its campaign war chest and a bevy of emotional ads featuring cancer survivors, the Yes side far outspent the No campaign, which raised only $12,000 and had no advertising budget, but managed to garner endorsements from the editorial boards of multiple major news outlets.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The grassroots opposition effort was led by a Stanford professor and former grant coordinator at the National Institutes of Health, Robert Kaplan, along with several retired financial analysts from the Legislative Analyst’s Office and retired academic researchers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They argued that the measure ignored standards for competition, scientific merit, and transparency in awarding such a large sum of taxpayer money to an institute that has no track record and, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/elections/2026/10/prop-38-california/\">with only three employees\u003c/a> and a lab still under construction, is not yet operational.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It seems like a profoundly corrupt and deceitful measure,” said Marianne O’Malley, a retired LAO analyst with Parkinson’s disease who volunteered for the No campaign. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With virtually no money and very little time to research and respond to the measure after it was put on the ballot in \u003ca href=\"https://igs.berkeley.edu/library/california-ballot-proposition-guides/november-3-2026-general-election/proposition-38\">late June\u003c/a>, she said she was disappointed, but not surprised that it appeared to be passing. “I knew it was a David and Goliath effort, but it felt like, morally, I had to do it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The proponents of Proposition 38 said the Trump administration’s attack on science and research funding led to research delays and, in some cases, the cancellation of projects and clinical trials. They said California is in a position to fill the gap left at the national level and take the lead on immunology research, developing cutting-edge therapies that use the body’s own immune system to fight disease. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Much of that research could help women, Swanson said, as four out of five people diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, like lupus or multiple sclerosis, are women, and two-thirds of those living with Alzheimer’s disease are women. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We all know that there’s just not enough research on diseases that specifically impact women,” she said. “I think this was meeting a demand.”\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/10/2026/11/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG52488-KQED-2813b0e4-d6404947.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12108437\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG52488-KQED-2813b0e4-d6404947.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG52488-KQED-2813b0e4-d6404947-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG52488-KQED-2813b0e4-d6404947-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Marianne O’Malley, who has Parkinson’s disease, works out on an elliptical trainer in her home in Sacramento on Oct. 19, 2026. Exercise is the leading therapy to slow the progress of the disease. (Fred Greaves for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Opponents said medical research is vitally important, but that California taxpayers should not have to shoulder the burden of funding projects that have the potential to benefit people across the country.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They also said the measure’s promise that California will recoup its expenses through a 10% share of licensing fees derived from new discoveries is unlikely and unsupported by history. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2004, proponents of a $3 billion bond measure to fund stem cell research also vowed it would be cost neutral, when in fact, the state received just $16 million of the billions it was owed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It may be difficult to track how the money from Proposition 38 is spent.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though the measure requires the central institute to commission independent financial audits of its activities, the measure also explicitly exempts the institute from complying with other state transparency laws, including responding to public records act requests and hosting open meetings.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It seems like a profoundly corrupt and deceitful measure,” said Marianne O’Malley, a retired LAO analyst with Parkinson’s disease who volunteered for the No campaign. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The proponents of Proposition 38 said the Trump administration’s attack on science and research funding led to research delays and, in some cases, the cancellation of projects and clinical trials. They said California is in a position to fill the gap left at the national level and take the lead on immunology research, developing cutting-edge therapies that use the body’s own immune system to fight disease. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Much of that research could help women, Swanson said, as four out of five people diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, like lupus or multiple sclerosis, are women, and two-thirds of those living with Alzheimer’s disease are women. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We all know that there’s just not enough research on diseases that specifically impact women,” she said. “I think this was meeting a demand.”\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/10/2026/11/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG52488-KQED-2813b0e4-d6404947.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12108437\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG52488-KQED-2813b0e4-d6404947.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG52488-KQED-2813b0e4-d6404947-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG52488-KQED-2813b0e4-d6404947-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Marianne O’Malley, who has Parkinson’s disease, works out on an elliptical trainer in her home in Sacramento on Oct. 19, 2026. Exercise is the leading therapy to slow the progress of the disease.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Fred Greaves for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Opponents said medical research is vitally important, but that California taxpayers should not have to shoulder the burden of funding projects that have the potential to benefit people across the country.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>They also said the measure’s promise that California will recoup its expenses through a 10% share of licensing fees derived from new discoveries is unlikely and unsupported by history. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In 2004, proponents of a $3 billion bond measure to fund stem cell research also vowed it would be cost neutral, when in fact, the state received just $16 million of the billions it was owed.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Though the measure requires the central institute to commission independent financial audits of its activities, the measure also explicitly exempts the institute from complying with other state transparency laws, including responding to public records act requests and hosting open meetings.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "If the favorable winds on Prop 38 hold up as the remaining 42% of ballots are counted, it would authorize California to borrow $8.4 billion for immunology research. ",
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"title": "Proposition 38 Immunology Bond Leading as Vote Counting Continues | KQED",
"description": "If the favorable winds on Prop 38 hold up as the remaining 42% of ballots are counted, it would authorize California to borrow $8.4 billion for immunology research. ",
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"headline": "Proposition 38 Immunology Bond Leading as Vote Counting Continues",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">California voters are on track to approve \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2002320/california-cancer-patients-disagree-over-whether-prop-38-will-help-them\">Proposition 38\u003c/a>, with 55% of returns counted so far in favor of the measure, which will allow California to borrow $8.4 billion in bond money to fund immunology and immunotherapy research in the state.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Yes campaign was financed primarily by Gary Michelson, the same billionaire who co-founded and backed \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/elections/2026/07/proposition-38-california/\">the research institute\u003c/a> that stands to receive half the bond money and maintain a fair amount of control over the other half that will be distributed in grants to universities and nonprofits in the state.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“What we’ve seen with this election across the board is a repudiation of some of the policies of Donald Trump. And one of those policies has been severe and drastic cuts to scientific research,” said Robin Swanson, spokesperson for the Yes on Prop. 38 campaign. “So California is hopefully making an investment in research.”\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/10/2026/11/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG32687-KQED-2af31d9e-9bd397aa.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12108434\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG32687-KQED-2af31d9e-9bd397aa.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG32687-KQED-2af31d9e-9bd397aa-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG32687-KQED-2af31d9e-9bd397aa-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Marianne O’Malley, who has Parkinson’s disease, poses for a portrait in her living room in Sacramento on Oct. 19, 2026. (Fred Greaves for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With $71 million in its campaign war chest and a bevy of emotional ads featuring cancer survivors, the Yes side far outspent the No campaign, which raised only $12,000 and had no advertising budget, but managed to garner endorsements from the editorial boards of multiple major news outlets.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The grassroots opposition effort was led by a Stanford professor and former grant coordinator at the National Institutes of Health, Robert Kaplan, along with several retired financial analysts from the Legislative Analyst’s Office and retired academic researchers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They argued that the measure ignored standards for competition, scientific merit, and transparency in awarding such a large sum of taxpayer money to an institute that has no track record and, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/elections/2026/10/prop-38-california/\">with only three employees\u003c/a> and a lab still under construction, is not yet operational.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It seems like a profoundly corrupt and deceitful measure,” said Marianne O’Malley, a retired LAO analyst with Parkinson’s disease who volunteered for the No campaign. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With virtually no money and very little time to research and respond to the measure after it was put on the ballot in \u003ca href=\"https://igs.berkeley.edu/library/california-ballot-proposition-guides/november-3-2026-general-election/proposition-38\">late June\u003c/a>, she said she was disappointed, but not surprised that it appeared to be passing. “I knew it was a David and Goliath effort, but it felt like, morally, I had to do it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The proponents of Proposition 38 said the Trump administration’s attack on science and research funding led to research delays and, in some cases, the cancellation of projects and clinical trials. They said California is in a position to fill the gap left at the national level and take the lead on immunology research, developing cutting-edge therapies that use the body’s own immune system to fight disease. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Much of that research could help women, Swanson said, as four out of five people diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, like lupus or multiple sclerosis, are women, and two-thirds of those living with Alzheimer’s disease are women. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We all know that there’s just not enough research on diseases that specifically impact women,” she said. “I think this was meeting a demand.”\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/10/2026/11/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG52488-KQED-2813b0e4-d6404947.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12108437\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG52488-KQED-2813b0e4-d6404947.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG52488-KQED-2813b0e4-d6404947-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG52488-KQED-2813b0e4-d6404947-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Marianne O’Malley, who has Parkinson’s disease, works out on an elliptical trainer in her home in Sacramento on Oct. 19, 2026. Exercise is the leading therapy to slow the progress of the disease. (Fred Greaves for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Opponents said medical research is vitally important, but that California taxpayers should not have to shoulder the burden of funding projects that have the potential to benefit people across the country.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They also said the measure’s promise that California will recoup its expenses through a 10% share of licensing fees derived from new discoveries is unlikely and unsupported by history. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2004, proponents of a $3 billion bond measure to fund stem cell research also vowed it would be cost neutral, when in fact, the state received just $16 million of the billions it was owed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It may be difficult to track how the money from Proposition 38 is spent.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though the measure requires the central institute to commission independent financial audits of its activities, the measure also explicitly exempts the institute from complying with other state transparency laws, including responding to public records act requests and hosting open meetings.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "sutter-abandons-plan-for-new-emeryville-hospital-pitched-as-replacement-for-alta-bates",
"title": "Sutter Abandons Plan for New Emeryville Hospital Pitched as Replacement for Alta Bates",
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"headTitle": "Sutter Abandons Plan for New Emeryville Hospital Pitched as Replacement for Alta Bates | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Sutter Health announced plans to build a new hospital and medical campus in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/emeryville\">Emeryville\u003c/a> last year, Berkeley officials hailed the development as a way to ensure residents would still have an emergency room and other inpatient services nearby after the impending closure of Alta Bates hospital. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now the Sacramento health giant is scrapping that plan.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sutter officials announced Friday that they will build only outpatient services at the Emeryville site, while seeking another location for a new full-service hospital. The company also plans to push for changes to state law that would postpone the closure of its Alta Bates campus until the new facility opens.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1948\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/AW_ambulance_01_qed-999cd6a7.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12107584\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/AW_ambulance_01_qed-999cd6a7.jpg 1948w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/AW_ambulance_01_qed-999cd6a7-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/AW_ambulance_01_qed-999cd6a7-1536x1051.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1948px) 100vw, 1948px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An ambulance parked outside of Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley on October 29, 2018. (Anne Wernikoff/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We remain committed to building a new hospital in the East Bay and are evaluating potential sites that can support emergency care, advanced clinical services and the region’s future needs,” Sutter President and CEO Warner Thomas and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Christina Oh wrote in a joint statement Friday.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alta Bates has been slated for closure since 2016, with Sutter officials saying the building is out of compliance with state earthquake safety regulations that go into effect in 2030. The company planned to \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyside.org/2017/03/01/new-bill-campaign-retain-alta-bates-avoid-hospital-deserts-heats\">move inpatient services to its Oakland campus\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The move to close the hospital \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyside.org/2024/02/28/berkeley-to-fund-study-on-alta-bates-closure-impact-local-health-needs\">sparked concern from local officials\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyside.org/2018/12/12/save-it-or-sell-it-berkeley-asks-sutter-for-a-concrete-plan-for-alta-bates\">labor groups\u003c/a> because it would leave only a single full-service hospital, a Kaiser facility in Richmond, in the area between the Carquinez Strait and the Sutter and Kaiser campuses in Oakland. Sutter appeared to put those concerns to rest with the plans it revealed in early 2025 to spend upwards of $1 billion on a new 200-bed hospital — complete with emergency room, labor and delivery facilities and intensive care — at the intersection of Hollis and 53rd Street in Emeryville. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/AltaBatesHospital.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11713519\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/AltaBatesHospital.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/AltaBatesHospital-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/AltaBatesHospital-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/AltaBatesHospital-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/AltaBatesHospital-1200x900.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/AltaBatesHospital-1180x885.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/AltaBatesHospital-960x720.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/AltaBatesHospital-240x180.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/AltaBatesHospital-375x281.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/AltaBatesHospital-520x390.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Then-Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin, center, were among city officials and union members who pushed Sutter Health to keep Alta Bates Medical Center operational as a full-service hospital. Arreguin is seen here speaking at a press conference in opposition to the closure of Alta Bates during his time as mayor. (Karina Ioffee/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In their statement Friday, Sutter officials wrote that the hospital project was vulnerable to a legal challenge under the California Environmental Quality Act that could have caused years of delays to construction.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sutter sought what it described as “relief” from the powerful environmental law through state legislation, but those efforts didn’t deliver the assurance the company wanted to move forward with the Emeryville project. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/health/article/sutter-health-hospital-emeryville-22501576.php\">San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday\u003c/a> that state lawmakers considered a bill to streamline approval for that project and another hospital Sutter plans to build in Santa Clara, but removed the Emeryville project without explanation before passing the law this summer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We cannot allow that uncertainty to stall needed investments in care,” Thomas and Oh wrote in their statement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sutter officials did not say what other locations in the East Bay are under consideration for the new hospital.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Sutter officials announced Friday that they will build only outpatient services at the Emeryville site, while seeking another location for a new full-service hospital. The company also plans to push for changes to state law that would postpone the closure of its Alta Bates campus until the new facility opens.\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/10/2026/10/AW_ambulance_01_qed-999cd6a7.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12107584\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/AW_ambulance_01_qed-999cd6a7.jpg 1948w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/AW_ambulance_01_qed-999cd6a7-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/AW_ambulance_01_qed-999cd6a7-1536x1051.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An ambulance parked outside of Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley on October 29, 2018.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Anne Wernikoff/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We remain committed to building a new hospital in the East Bay and are evaluating potential sites that can support emergency care, advanced clinical services and the region’s future needs,” Sutter President and CEO Warner Thomas and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Christina Oh wrote in a joint statement Friday.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Alta Bates has been slated for closure since 2016, with Sutter officials saying the building is out of compliance with state earthquake safety regulations that go into effect in 2030. The company planned to \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyside.org/2017/03/01/new-bill-campaign-retain-alta-bates-avoid-hospital-deserts-heats\">move inpatient services to its Oakland campus\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The move to close the hospital \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyside.org/2024/02/28/berkeley-to-fund-study-on-alta-bates-closure-impact-local-health-needs\">sparked concern from local officials\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyside.org/2018/12/12/save-it-or-sell-it-berkeley-asks-sutter-for-a-concrete-plan-for-alta-bates\">labor groups\u003c/a> because it would leave only a single full-service hospital, a Kaiser facility in Richmond, in the area between the Carquinez Strait and the Sutter and Kaiser campuses in Oakland. Sutter appeared to put those concerns to rest with the plans it revealed in early 2025 to spend upwards of $1 billion on a new 200-bed hospital — complete with emergency room, labor and delivery facilities and intensive care — at the intersection of Hollis and 53rd Street in Emeryville. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/AltaBatesHospital.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11713519\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Then-Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin, center, were among city officials and union members who pushed Sutter Health to keep Alta Bates Medical Center operational as a full-service hospital. Arreguin is seen here speaking at a press conference in opposition to the closure of Alta Bates during his time as mayor. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Karina Ioffee/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In their statement Friday, Sutter officials wrote that the hospital project was vulnerable to a legal challenge under the California Environmental Quality Act that could have caused years of delays to construction.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Sutter sought what it described as “relief” from the powerful environmental law through state legislation, but those efforts didn’t deliver the assurance the company wanted to move forward with the Emeryville project. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/health/article/sutter-health-hospital-emeryville-22501576.php\">San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday\u003c/a> that state lawmakers considered a bill to streamline approval for that project and another hospital Sutter plans to build in Santa Clara, but removed the Emeryville project without explanation before passing the law this summer.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We cannot allow that uncertainty to stall needed investments in care,” Thomas and Oh wrote in their statement. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Sutter officials did not say what other locations in the East Bay are under consideration for the new hospital.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The company now says it will explore other locations for a new East Bay hospital, and hopes to keep Alta Bates open until one is built.",
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"title": "Sutter Abandons Plan for New Emeryville Hospital Pitched as Replacement for Alta Bates | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Sutter Health announced plans to build a new hospital and medical campus in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/emeryville\">Emeryville\u003c/a> last year, Berkeley officials hailed the development as a way to ensure residents would still have an emergency room and other inpatient services nearby after the impending closure of Alta Bates hospital. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now the Sacramento health giant is scrapping that plan.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sutter officials announced Friday that they will build only outpatient services at the Emeryville site, while seeking another location for a new full-service hospital. The company also plans to push for changes to state law that would postpone the closure of its Alta Bates campus until the new facility opens.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1948\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/AW_ambulance_01_qed-999cd6a7.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12107584\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/AW_ambulance_01_qed-999cd6a7.jpg 1948w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/AW_ambulance_01_qed-999cd6a7-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/AW_ambulance_01_qed-999cd6a7-1536x1051.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1948px) 100vw, 1948px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An ambulance parked outside of Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley on October 29, 2018. (Anne Wernikoff/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We remain committed to building a new hospital in the East Bay and are evaluating potential sites that can support emergency care, advanced clinical services and the region’s future needs,” Sutter President and CEO Warner Thomas and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Christina Oh wrote in a joint statement Friday.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alta Bates has been slated for closure since 2016, with Sutter officials saying the building is out of compliance with state earthquake safety regulations that go into effect in 2030. The company planned to \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyside.org/2017/03/01/new-bill-campaign-retain-alta-bates-avoid-hospital-deserts-heats\">move inpatient services to its Oakland campus\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The move to close the hospital \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyside.org/2024/02/28/berkeley-to-fund-study-on-alta-bates-closure-impact-local-health-needs\">sparked concern from local officials\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyside.org/2018/12/12/save-it-or-sell-it-berkeley-asks-sutter-for-a-concrete-plan-for-alta-bates\">labor groups\u003c/a> because it would leave only a single full-service hospital, a Kaiser facility in Richmond, in the area between the Carquinez Strait and the Sutter and Kaiser campuses in Oakland. Sutter appeared to put those concerns to rest with the plans it revealed in early 2025 to spend upwards of $1 billion on a new 200-bed hospital — complete with emergency room, labor and delivery facilities and intensive care — at the intersection of Hollis and 53rd Street in Emeryville. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/AltaBatesHospital.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11713519\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/AltaBatesHospital.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/AltaBatesHospital-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/AltaBatesHospital-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/AltaBatesHospital-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/AltaBatesHospital-1200x900.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/AltaBatesHospital-1180x885.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/AltaBatesHospital-960x720.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/AltaBatesHospital-240x180.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/AltaBatesHospital-375x281.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/AltaBatesHospital-520x390.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Then-Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin, center, were among city officials and union members who pushed Sutter Health to keep Alta Bates Medical Center operational as a full-service hospital. Arreguin is seen here speaking at a press conference in opposition to the closure of Alta Bates during his time as mayor. (Karina Ioffee/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In their statement Friday, Sutter officials wrote that the hospital project was vulnerable to a legal challenge under the California Environmental Quality Act that could have caused years of delays to construction.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sutter sought what it described as “relief” from the powerful environmental law through state legislation, but those efforts didn’t deliver the assurance the company wanted to move forward with the Emeryville project. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/health/article/sutter-health-hospital-emeryville-22501576.php\">San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday\u003c/a> that state lawmakers considered a bill to streamline approval for that project and another hospital Sutter plans to build in Santa Clara, but removed the Emeryville project without explanation before passing the law this summer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We cannot allow that uncertainty to stall needed investments in care,” Thomas and Oh wrote in their statement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sutter officials did not say what other locations in the East Bay are under consideration for the new hospital.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "hundreds-of-nurses-strike-at-providence-santa-rosa-memorial-hospital-over-wages-staffing",
"title": "Hundreds of Nurses Strike at Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital Over Wages, Staffing",
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"headTitle": "Hundreds of Nurses Strike at Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital Over Wages, Staffing | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hundreds of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/north-bay\">North Bay\u003c/a> nurses are in the middle of a two-day strike at Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, claiming the hospital has negotiated in bad faith and engaged in unfair labor practices. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nurses walked off the job starting at 5 a.m. Tuesday, after several rounds of unsuccessful contract negotiations between the hospital’s bargaining team and the union, the Staff Nurses Association. The strike is scheduled to last until 5 p.m. Wednesday. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking from the picket line, nurse and SNA Union President Peter Brackner said the mood was jubilant. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It’s on fire here,” he said Tuesday morning. “It was just packed, and nurses are excited to be supporting each other. So there’s a lot of energy here today. Lots of signs, lots of food.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1318\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261027_HospitalLabor_GC-4-KQED-efcb0b09.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106765\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261027_HospitalLabor_GC-4-KQED-efcb0b09.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261027_HospitalLabor_GC-4-KQED-efcb0b09-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261027_HospitalLabor_GC-4-KQED-efcb0b09-1536x1012.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nurses represented by the Staff Nurses Association (SNA) participate in a two-day strike, demanding breaks and competitive pay, at Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital in Santa Rosa on Oct. 27, 2026. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The hospital is the only designated Level II Trauma Center serving the North Coast region, providing 24-hour care for critical, life-threatening injuries and emergencies to Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake, Napa and Marin counties. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Brackner said its nurses deserve compensation and breaks that reflect their value. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Our nurses are being paid about 10% less than the nurses at Sutter and way below nurses in Kaiser. We’re looking at 24 hours or more of less PTO a year. We just tell [administrators] we’re not less than these other hospitals. Our nurses actually take care of very high-acuity patients,” Brackner said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Negotiations, which the union has characterized as difficult, began in early August. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“The hospital has only proposed takeaways for nurses at this point,” Brackner said. “They actually told us in our last negotiation that they’re not making money or haven’t made money in the last six years. So the nurses had to help right this ship … to help them be profitable.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The union is also protesting management proposals that would eliminate the 401(a) employer retirement contribution, reduce paid time off and prioritize nonunion travel nurses over SNA nurses. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The union also criticized the hospital for failing to fund dedicated break-relief nurses, leaving on-duty staff unable to step away. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“That’s a patient safety issue too,” Brackner said. “You want rested nurses, and you want someone to be able to cover those breaks, taking care of patients.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a statement on its website, the hospital said it was disappointed the union was choosing to strike instead of engage, and that wage discussions were in the “very early stages.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The hospital said it is well-prepared for the strike and that there should be no impact on patients. \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/10/2026/10/20261027_HospitalLabor_GC-3-KQED-f5661e90.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106764\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261027_HospitalLabor_GC-3-KQED-f5661e90.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261027_HospitalLabor_GC-3-KQED-f5661e90-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261027_HospitalLabor_GC-3-KQED-f5661e90-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nurses represented by Staff Nurses Association (SNA) participate in a two-day strike, demanding breaks and competitive pay, at Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital in Santa Rosa on Oct. 27, 2026. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“The hospital will maintain daily operations and has contracted well-qualified nurses to temporarily replace represented nurses who choose to strike,” administrators wrote online. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“At Santa Rosa Memorial, we firmly believe that strikes don’t settle contracts; they delay them and keep caregivers from getting the pay and benefits enhancements they deserve. The hospital bargaining team looks forward to returning to the bargaining table after the strike ends.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The SNA’s last contract with the hospital, originally signed in September 2023, expired on Sept. 30, 2026.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s on fire here,” he said Tuesday morning. “It was just packed, and nurses are excited to be supporting each other. So there’s a lot of energy here today. Lots of signs, lots of food.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261027_HospitalLabor_GC-4-KQED-efcb0b09.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106765\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261027_HospitalLabor_GC-4-KQED-efcb0b09.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261027_HospitalLabor_GC-4-KQED-efcb0b09-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261027_HospitalLabor_GC-4-KQED-efcb0b09-1536x1012.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nurses represented by the Staff Nurses Association (SNA) participate in a two-day strike, demanding breaks and competitive pay, at Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital in Santa Rosa on Oct. 27, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261027_HospitalLabor_GC-4-KQED-efcb0b09.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106765\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nurses represented by the Staff Nurses Association (SNA) participate in a two-day strike, demanding breaks and competitive pay, at Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital in Santa Rosa on Oct. 27, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The hospital is the only designated Level II Trauma Center serving the North Coast region, providing 24-hour care for critical, life-threatening injuries and emergencies to Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake, Napa and Marin counties. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Our nurses are being paid about 10% less than the nurses at Sutter and way below nurses in Kaiser. We’re looking at 24 hours or more of less PTO a year. We just tell [administrators] we’re not less than these other hospitals. Our nurses actually take care of very high-acuity patients,” Brackner said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Negotiations, which the union has characterized as difficult, began in early August. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The hospital has only proposed takeaways for nurses at this point,” Brackner said. “They actually told us in our last negotiation that they’re not making money or haven’t made money in the last six years. So the nurses had to help right this ship … to help them be profitable.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The union is also protesting management proposals that would eliminate the 401(a) employer retirement contribution, reduce paid time off and prioritize nonunion travel nurses over SNA nurses. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“That’s a patient safety issue too,” Brackner said. “You want rested nurses, and you want someone to be able to cover those breaks, taking care of patients.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In a statement on its website, the hospital said it was disappointed the union was choosing to strike instead of engage, and that wage discussions were in the “very early stages.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The hospital will maintain daily operations and has contracted well-qualified nurses to temporarily replace represented nurses who choose to strike,” administrators wrote online. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“At Santa Rosa Memorial, we firmly believe that strikes don’t settle contracts; they delay them and keep caregivers from getting the pay and benefits enhancements they deserve. The hospital bargaining team looks forward to returning to the bargaining table after the strike ends.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Nurses began a 48-hour strike outside Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital on Tuesday, demanding break coverage and competitive pay as contract talks remain stalled.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hundreds of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/north-bay\">North Bay\u003c/a> nurses are in the middle of a two-day strike at Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, claiming the hospital has negotiated in bad faith and engaged in unfair labor practices. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nurses walked off the job starting at 5 a.m. Tuesday, after several rounds of unsuccessful contract negotiations between the hospital’s bargaining team and the union, the Staff Nurses Association. The strike is scheduled to last until 5 p.m. Wednesday. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking from the picket line, nurse and SNA Union President Peter Brackner said the mood was jubilant. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It’s on fire here,” he said Tuesday morning. “It was just packed, and nurses are excited to be supporting each other. So there’s a lot of energy here today. Lots of signs, lots of food.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1318\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261027_HospitalLabor_GC-4-KQED-efcb0b09.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106765\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261027_HospitalLabor_GC-4-KQED-efcb0b09.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261027_HospitalLabor_GC-4-KQED-efcb0b09-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261027_HospitalLabor_GC-4-KQED-efcb0b09-1536x1012.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nurses represented by the Staff Nurses Association (SNA) participate in a two-day strike, demanding breaks and competitive pay, at Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital in Santa Rosa on Oct. 27, 2026. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The hospital is the only designated Level II Trauma Center serving the North Coast region, providing 24-hour care for critical, life-threatening injuries and emergencies to Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake, Napa and Marin counties. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Brackner said its nurses deserve compensation and breaks that reflect their value. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Our nurses are being paid about 10% less than the nurses at Sutter and way below nurses in Kaiser. We’re looking at 24 hours or more of less PTO a year. We just tell [administrators] we’re not less than these other hospitals. Our nurses actually take care of very high-acuity patients,” Brackner said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Negotiations, which the union has characterized as difficult, began in early August. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“The hospital has only proposed takeaways for nurses at this point,” Brackner said. “They actually told us in our last negotiation that they’re not making money or haven’t made money in the last six years. So the nurses had to help right this ship … to help them be profitable.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The union is also protesting management proposals that would eliminate the 401(a) employer retirement contribution, reduce paid time off and prioritize nonunion travel nurses over SNA nurses. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The union also criticized the hospital for failing to fund dedicated break-relief nurses, leaving on-duty staff unable to step away. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“That’s a patient safety issue too,” Brackner said. “You want rested nurses, and you want someone to be able to cover those breaks, taking care of patients.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a statement on its website, the hospital said it was disappointed the union was choosing to strike instead of engage, and that wage discussions were in the “very early stages.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The hospital said it is well-prepared for the strike and that there should be no impact on patients. \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/10/2026/10/20261027_HospitalLabor_GC-3-KQED-f5661e90.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106764\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261027_HospitalLabor_GC-3-KQED-f5661e90.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261027_HospitalLabor_GC-3-KQED-f5661e90-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261027_HospitalLabor_GC-3-KQED-f5661e90-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nurses represented by Staff Nurses Association (SNA) participate in a two-day strike, demanding breaks and competitive pay, at Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital in Santa Rosa on Oct. 27, 2026. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“The hospital will maintain daily operations and has contracted well-qualified nurses to temporarily replace represented nurses who choose to strike,” administrators wrote online. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“At Santa Rosa Memorial, we firmly believe that strikes don’t settle contracts; they delay them and keep caregivers from getting the pay and benefits enhancements they deserve. The hospital bargaining team looks forward to returning to the bargaining table after the strike ends.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The SNA’s last contract with the hospital, originally signed in September 2023, expired on Sept. 30, 2026.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Santa Clara County’s New Psychiatric Care Facility Will Serve Youth",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Terry Downing knows firsthand the struggle of traveling long distances to visit a child in a mental health facility. She lives in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/south-bay\">Silicon Valley\u003c/a>, which for decades didn’t have psychiatric treatment beds for youth. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her daughter, Tessa, who in 2011 began suffering from an autoimmune disease that was misdiagnosed for months as bipolar disorder, was treated all around the broader Bay Area and the state, making hourslong drives from San José for short visits the norm for Downing. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“San Francisco, Concord, all the way down as far as Bakersfield. So it was complete hell, and with traffic in the Bay Area, it took forever. And then to only be able to visit your child for an hour was just an absolute nightmare,” Downing said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It took a huge financial drain on our family, and I’m just so glad that now in Santa Clara County no one else has to go through what I went through,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More than a decade in the making, Santa Clara County’s public healthcare system is opening its first psychiatric treatment center that will serve children and teens, which Downing and county leaders say will fill a critical gap in care. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Set to open to patients on Nov. 3, Santa Clara Valley Healthcare’s $470 million Behavioral Health Pavilion will host 77 inpatient treatment beds, with 35 of those for children and adolescents, and 42 for adults. The facility will also house other emergency psychiatric assessment spaces and offer outpatient treatment and connection to other medical and support services, officials said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-21-KQED-f522bcb7.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106621\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-21-KQED-f522bcb7.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-21-KQED-f522bcb7-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-21-KQED-f522bcb7-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hundreds of Santa Clara County officials and employees gathered to celebrate the completion of Santa Clara Valley Healthcare’s new Behavioral Health Pavilion in San José on Oct. 26, 2026. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The facility is located on the Valley Medical Center campus in San José and is connected to the medical center’s emergency department by an in-progress pedestrian bridge to help coordinate and centralize care services. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“This is a tremendous commitment from the county to its citizens. It’s a statement saying that we will meet you where you live,” said Dr. Kristoffer Strauss, the medical director of acute psychiatric services for Santa Clara Valley Healthcare. “This is a gift, and it means that families of children and adolescents who are in crisis can receive the care they need right here in San José.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Strauss said for a teenager experiencing their first contact with the mental health system after a traumatic or frightening episode, being treated close to home offers a big advantage. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“They’re thrust into situations that are unfamiliar and have the potential to be quite scary. Being able to receive care at home makes it less scary, makes it so that mom, dad and siblings can be a part of their care, and can help transition them back home,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Being nearby also makes it more likely that the teenager will be willing to continue seeking psychiatric treatment after leaving the facility, he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When former county supervisors, including Joe Simitian and Cindy Chavez, championed the plans for such a facility more than a decade ago, there weren’t any psychiatric treatment beds for youth in the entire county. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-16-KQED-fbd5bb13.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106619\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-16-KQED-fbd5bb13.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-16-KQED-fbd5bb13-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-16-KQED-fbd5bb13-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A youth inpatient room is seen inside the newly completed Santa Clara Valley Healthcare Behavioral Health Pavilion in San José on Oct. 26, 2026. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We literally did not have, public or private, a single bed in this county that was an acute care bed for a kid who was suicidal and at risk of harming themselves or taking their own life,” Simitian said in an interview outside the new pavilion on Monday. “It didn’t matter what kind of resources you had. If you had insurance, if you were going to pay out-of-pocket, if you were on Medi-Cal or simply uninsured, it didn’t matter. There were no beds.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the intervening years, some private youth treatment beds have come to the county, though such facilities require private insurance and hadn’t filled the need in the region, officials said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2025, for example, of the roughly 375 children from the county who were placed in acute psychiatric care, about 65% were sent to out-of-county facilities, according to the county. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“But now we won’t be shipping kids off to locations that are a three-hour drive away; we won’t be tearing them away from their friends and their family; we won’t be putting distance between the mental health providers who know their patients best and the kids who are most needy at the most difficult time of their lives,” Simitian said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because the average stay in such a facility for inpatient care is approximately a week or less, Simitian said the 35 beds for youth could serve about 1,500 kids per year in the region.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And because it is a county facility, anyone can receive care, regardless of whether they have insurance and no matter their income level. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Disparities are sharply shaped by longstanding barriers and inequities. Addressing these inequities requires sustained investment and collaboration of mentors, healthcare providers, community organizations, schools and government,” County Supervisor Sylvia Arenas said Monday. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Arenas noted the county’s \u003ca href=\"https://publichealth.santaclaracounty.gov/health-information/health-data/speak-latino-health\">Latino Health Assessment\u003c/a> last year showed that Latino adults and high school students reported higher proportions of feeling depressed or distressed compared to other racial and ethnic groups in the county, and there was a 48% increase in suicide rates among Latinos over a 15-year span. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It’s so important when young people are in crisis that they are close to family and their community,” Arenas said. “So we must continue to expand access, address disparities and ensure that every resident can get the care that they need when they need it.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The facility plans were formally approved by the Board of Supervisors in 2017, and the building was supported with more than $80 million in state grants, according to the county. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">County leaders say it’s a best-in-class facility, and designed to promote peace and calm in patients. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The facility integrates natural light, has several outdoor spaces, including a shared basketball and exercise court, and meditative areas with tiled art walls. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“The interior design reflects the natural world through features such as planted living walls, wood-looking ceilings and custom-carved lobby surfaces that mimic water,” the county said in a statement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-10-KQED-ae11ad93.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106617\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-10-KQED-ae11ad93.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-10-KQED-ae11ad93-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-10-KQED-ae11ad93-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A shared rooftop basketball and exercise court is seen inside the newly completed Santa Clara Valley Healthcare Behavioral Health Pavilion in San José on Oct. 26, 2026. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Michelle Honda, the public healthcare system’s head of marketing, said the quality of the design of the spaces is “dispelling of the stigma of behavioral health” for patients. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“You’re not feeling that there’s something wrong with you. You’re coming for help, and it’s in a therapeutic environment,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Honda noted small features that will offer big impact, such as outdoor courtyards that include heated seating areas, so patients can spend time comfortably outside even in winter months, and Bluetooth speakers that kids can use to play their preferred music. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because California and the nation disinvested in mental health care decades ago, San José Mayor Matt Mahan said the system has long been “broken,” and he was thrilled to see the new facility coming online. \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/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-08-KQED-e1cdeb7f.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106616\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-08-KQED-e1cdeb7f.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-08-KQED-e1cdeb7f-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-08-KQED-e1cdeb7f-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">One of multiple outdoor meditative spaces with natural light and privacy glass is seen inside the newly completed Santa Clara Valley Healthcare Behavioral Health Pavilion in San José on Oct. 26, 2026. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mahan said he hopes mental health treatment services can be beefed up significantly across the region and the state to help more folks in supportive and interim housing communities. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We don’t want to be just dealing with the downstream impacts of a broken mental health system,” Mahan said in an interview. “We have to spread this out and have the scalability to meet the needs of two million people, some of whom are really living on the edge or already out in tent encampments.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Downing, whose now-28-year-old daughter suffers from brain damage and lives in a group home, said things could have been different for Tessa if such a facility was available to her all those years ago. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I think that this building is a perfect example of what needs to be duplicated all over the nation, especially for our children. Our children desperately need mental health services as well as medical services at the same time,” Downing said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The county noted such public-owned facilities are “exceedingly rare” around the U.S. A 2024 cross-sectional study looking at data ending in 2020 tallied just over 11,200 pediatric inpatient psychiatric beds across the country. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“This should be happening all over the nation and in the long run it will benefit our economy,” Downing said. “We will not have as many homeless people and people who, like my daughter, are going to be having to be taken care of for the rest of her life.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“San Francisco, Concord, all the way down as far as Bakersfield. So it was complete hell, and with traffic in the Bay Area, it took forever. And then to only be able to visit your child for an hour was just an absolute nightmare,” Downing said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It took a huge financial drain on our family, and I’m just so glad that now in Santa Clara County no one else has to go through what I went through,” she said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>More than a decade in the making, Santa Clara County’s public healthcare system is opening its first psychiatric treatment center that will serve children and teens, which Downing and county leaders say will fill a critical gap in care. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Set to open to patients on Nov. 3, Santa Clara Valley Healthcare’s $470 million Behavioral Health Pavilion will host 77 inpatient treatment beds, with 35 of those for children and adolescents, and 42 for adults. The facility will also house other emergency psychiatric assessment spaces and offer outpatient treatment and connection to other medical and support services, officials said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Set to open to patients on Nov. 3, Santa Clara Valley Healthcare’s $470 million Behavioral Health Pavilion will host 77 inpatient treatment beds, with 35 of those for children and adolescents, and 42 for adults. The facility will also house other emergency psychiatric assessment spaces and offer outpatient treatment and connection to other medical and support services, officials said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The facility is located on the Valley Medical Center campus in San José and is connected to the medical center’s emergency department by an in-progress pedestrian bridge to help coordinate and centralize care services. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This is a tremendous commitment from the county to its citizens. It’s a statement saying that we will meet you where you live,” said Dr. Kristoffer Strauss, the medical director of acute psychiatric services for Santa Clara Valley Healthcare. “This is a gift, and it means that families of children and adolescents who are in crisis can receive the care they need right here in San José.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Strauss said for a teenager experiencing their first contact with the mental health system after a traumatic or frightening episode, being treated close to home offers a big advantage. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“They’re thrust into situations that are unfamiliar and have the potential to be quite scary. Being able to receive care at home makes it less scary, makes it so that mom, dad and siblings can be a part of their care, and can help transition them back home,” he said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Being nearby also makes it more likely that the teenager will be willing to continue seeking psychiatric treatment after leaving the facility, he said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When former county supervisors, including Joe Simitian and Cindy Chavez, championed the plans for such a facility more than a decade ago, there weren’t any psychiatric treatment beds for youth in the entire county. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-16-KQED-fbd5bb13.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106619\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-16-KQED-fbd5bb13.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-16-KQED-fbd5bb13-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-16-KQED-fbd5bb13-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A youth inpatient room is seen inside the newly completed Santa Clara Valley Healthcare Behavioral Health Pavilion in San José on Oct. 26, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We literally did not have, public or private, a single bed in this county that was an acute care bed for a kid who was suicidal and at risk of harming themselves or taking their own life,” Simitian said in an interview outside the new pavilion on Monday. “It didn’t matter what kind of resources you had. If you had insurance, if you were going to pay out-of-pocket, if you were on Medi-Cal or simply uninsured, it didn’t matter. There were no beds.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In the intervening years, some private youth treatment beds have come to the county, though such facilities require private insurance and hadn’t filled the need in the region, officials said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In 2025, for example, of the roughly 375 children from the county who were placed in acute psychiatric care, about 65% were sent to out-of-county facilities, according to the county. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“But now we won’t be shipping kids off to locations that are a three-hour drive away; we won’t be tearing them away from their friends and their family; we won’t be putting distance between the mental health providers who know their patients best and the kids who are most needy at the most difficult time of their lives,” Simitian said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Because the average stay in such a facility for inpatient care is approximately a week or less, Simitian said the 35 beds for youth could serve about 1,500 kids per year in the region.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And because it is a county facility, anyone can receive care, regardless of whether they have insurance and no matter their income level. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Disparities are sharply shaped by longstanding barriers and inequities. Addressing these inequities requires sustained investment and collaboration of mentors, healthcare providers, community organizations, schools and government,” County Supervisor Sylvia Arenas said Monday. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Arenas noted the county’s \u003ca href=\"https://publichealth.santaclaracounty.gov/health-information/health-data/speak-latino-health\">Latino Health Assessment\u003c/a> last year showed that Latino adults and high school students reported higher proportions of feeling depressed or distressed compared to other racial and ethnic groups in the county, and there was a 48% increase in suicide rates among Latinos over a 15-year span. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s so important when young people are in crisis that they are close to family and their community,” Arenas said. “So we must continue to expand access, address disparities and ensure that every resident can get the care that they need when they need it.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The facility plans were formally approved by the Board of Supervisors in 2017, and the building was supported with more than $80 million in state grants, according to the county. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The facility integrates natural light, has several outdoor spaces, including a shared basketball and exercise court, and meditative areas with tiled art walls. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The interior design reflects the natural world through features such as planted living walls, wood-looking ceilings and custom-carved lobby surfaces that mimic water,” the county said in a statement. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Michelle Honda, the public healthcare system’s head of marketing, said the quality of the design of the spaces is “dispelling of the stigma of behavioral health” for patients. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Honda noted small features that will offer big impact, such as outdoor courtyards that include heated seating areas, so patients can spend time comfortably outside even in winter months, and Bluetooth speakers that kids can use to play their preferred music. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Because California and the nation disinvested in mental health care decades ago, San José Mayor Matt Mahan said the system has long been “broken,” and he was thrilled to see the new facility coming online. \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/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-08-KQED-e1cdeb7f.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106616\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-08-KQED-e1cdeb7f.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-08-KQED-e1cdeb7f-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-08-KQED-e1cdeb7f-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">One of multiple outdoor meditative spaces with natural light and privacy glass is seen inside the newly completed Santa Clara Valley Healthcare Behavioral Health Pavilion in San José on Oct. 26, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Mahan said he hopes mental health treatment services can be beefed up significantly across the region and the state to help more folks in supportive and interim housing communities. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We don’t want to be just dealing with the downstream impacts of a broken mental health system,” Mahan said in an interview. “We have to spread this out and have the scalability to meet the needs of two million people, some of whom are really living on the edge or already out in tent encampments.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Downing, whose now-28-year-old daughter suffers from brain damage and lives in a group home, said things could have been different for Tessa if such a facility was available to her all those years ago. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I think that this building is a perfect example of what needs to be duplicated all over the nation, especially for our children. Our children desperately need mental health services as well as medical services at the same time,” Downing said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The county noted such public-owned facilities are “exceedingly rare” around the U.S. A 2024 cross-sectional study looking at data ending in 2020 tallied just over 11,200 pediatric inpatient psychiatric beds across the country. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The county noted such public-owned facilities are “exceedingly rare” around the U.S. A 2024 cross-sectional study looking at data ending in 2020 tallied just over 11,200 pediatric inpatient psychiatric beds across the country. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This should be happening all over the nation and in the long run it will benefit our economy,” Downing said. “We will not have as many homeless people and people who, like my daughter, are going to be having to be taken care of for the rest of her life.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Terry Downing knows firsthand the struggle of traveling long distances to visit a child in a mental health facility. She lives in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/south-bay\">Silicon Valley\u003c/a>, which for decades didn’t have psychiatric treatment beds for youth. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her daughter, Tessa, who in 2011 began suffering from an autoimmune disease that was misdiagnosed for months as bipolar disorder, was treated all around the broader Bay Area and the state, making hourslong drives from San José for short visits the norm for Downing. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“San Francisco, Concord, all the way down as far as Bakersfield. So it was complete hell, and with traffic in the Bay Area, it took forever. And then to only be able to visit your child for an hour was just an absolute nightmare,” Downing said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It took a huge financial drain on our family, and I’m just so glad that now in Santa Clara County no one else has to go through what I went through,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More than a decade in the making, Santa Clara County’s public healthcare system is opening its first psychiatric treatment center that will serve children and teens, which Downing and county leaders say will fill a critical gap in care. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Set to open to patients on Nov. 3, Santa Clara Valley Healthcare’s $470 million Behavioral Health Pavilion will host 77 inpatient treatment beds, with 35 of those for children and adolescents, and 42 for adults. The facility will also house other emergency psychiatric assessment spaces and offer outpatient treatment and connection to other medical and support services, officials said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-21-KQED-f522bcb7.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106621\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-21-KQED-f522bcb7.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-21-KQED-f522bcb7-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-21-KQED-f522bcb7-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hundreds of Santa Clara County officials and employees gathered to celebrate the completion of Santa Clara Valley Healthcare’s new Behavioral Health Pavilion in San José on Oct. 26, 2026. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The facility is located on the Valley Medical Center campus in San José and is connected to the medical center’s emergency department by an in-progress pedestrian bridge to help coordinate and centralize care services. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“This is a tremendous commitment from the county to its citizens. It’s a statement saying that we will meet you where you live,” said Dr. Kristoffer Strauss, the medical director of acute psychiatric services for Santa Clara Valley Healthcare. “This is a gift, and it means that families of children and adolescents who are in crisis can receive the care they need right here in San José.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Strauss said for a teenager experiencing their first contact with the mental health system after a traumatic or frightening episode, being treated close to home offers a big advantage. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“They’re thrust into situations that are unfamiliar and have the potential to be quite scary. Being able to receive care at home makes it less scary, makes it so that mom, dad and siblings can be a part of their care, and can help transition them back home,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Being nearby also makes it more likely that the teenager will be willing to continue seeking psychiatric treatment after leaving the facility, he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When former county supervisors, including Joe Simitian and Cindy Chavez, championed the plans for such a facility more than a decade ago, there weren’t any psychiatric treatment beds for youth in the entire county. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-16-KQED-fbd5bb13.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106619\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-16-KQED-fbd5bb13.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-16-KQED-fbd5bb13-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-16-KQED-fbd5bb13-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A youth inpatient room is seen inside the newly completed Santa Clara Valley Healthcare Behavioral Health Pavilion in San José on Oct. 26, 2026. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We literally did not have, public or private, a single bed in this county that was an acute care bed for a kid who was suicidal and at risk of harming themselves or taking their own life,” Simitian said in an interview outside the new pavilion on Monday. “It didn’t matter what kind of resources you had. If you had insurance, if you were going to pay out-of-pocket, if you were on Medi-Cal or simply uninsured, it didn’t matter. There were no beds.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the intervening years, some private youth treatment beds have come to the county, though such facilities require private insurance and hadn’t filled the need in the region, officials said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2025, for example, of the roughly 375 children from the county who were placed in acute psychiatric care, about 65% were sent to out-of-county facilities, according to the county. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“But now we won’t be shipping kids off to locations that are a three-hour drive away; we won’t be tearing them away from their friends and their family; we won’t be putting distance between the mental health providers who know their patients best and the kids who are most needy at the most difficult time of their lives,” Simitian said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because the average stay in such a facility for inpatient care is approximately a week or less, Simitian said the 35 beds for youth could serve about 1,500 kids per year in the region.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And because it is a county facility, anyone can receive care, regardless of whether they have insurance and no matter their income level. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Disparities are sharply shaped by longstanding barriers and inequities. Addressing these inequities requires sustained investment and collaboration of mentors, healthcare providers, community organizations, schools and government,” County Supervisor Sylvia Arenas said Monday. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Arenas noted the county’s \u003ca href=\"https://publichealth.santaclaracounty.gov/health-information/health-data/speak-latino-health\">Latino Health Assessment\u003c/a> last year showed that Latino adults and high school students reported higher proportions of feeling depressed or distressed compared to other racial and ethnic groups in the county, and there was a 48% increase in suicide rates among Latinos over a 15-year span. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It’s so important when young people are in crisis that they are close to family and their community,” Arenas said. “So we must continue to expand access, address disparities and ensure that every resident can get the care that they need when they need it.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The facility plans were formally approved by the Board of Supervisors in 2017, and the building was supported with more than $80 million in state grants, according to the county. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">County leaders say it’s a best-in-class facility, and designed to promote peace and calm in patients. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The facility integrates natural light, has several outdoor spaces, including a shared basketball and exercise court, and meditative areas with tiled art walls. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“The interior design reflects the natural world through features such as planted living walls, wood-looking ceilings and custom-carved lobby surfaces that mimic water,” the county said in a statement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-10-KQED-ae11ad93.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106617\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-10-KQED-ae11ad93.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-10-KQED-ae11ad93-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-10-KQED-ae11ad93-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A shared rooftop basketball and exercise court is seen inside the newly completed Santa Clara Valley Healthcare Behavioral Health Pavilion in San José on Oct. 26, 2026. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Michelle Honda, the public healthcare system’s head of marketing, said the quality of the design of the spaces is “dispelling of the stigma of behavioral health” for patients. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“You’re not feeling that there’s something wrong with you. You’re coming for help, and it’s in a therapeutic environment,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Honda noted small features that will offer big impact, such as outdoor courtyards that include heated seating areas, so patients can spend time comfortably outside even in winter months, and Bluetooth speakers that kids can use to play their preferred music. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because California and the nation disinvested in mental health care decades ago, San José Mayor Matt Mahan said the system has long been “broken,” and he was thrilled to see the new facility coming online. \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/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-08-KQED-e1cdeb7f.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106616\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-08-KQED-e1cdeb7f.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-08-KQED-e1cdeb7f-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261026-SCCPAVILION-JG-08-KQED-e1cdeb7f-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">One of multiple outdoor meditative spaces with natural light and privacy glass is seen inside the newly completed Santa Clara Valley Healthcare Behavioral Health Pavilion in San José on Oct. 26, 2026. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mahan said he hopes mental health treatment services can be beefed up significantly across the region and the state to help more folks in supportive and interim housing communities. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We don’t want to be just dealing with the downstream impacts of a broken mental health system,” Mahan said in an interview. “We have to spread this out and have the scalability to meet the needs of two million people, some of whom are really living on the edge or already out in tent encampments.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Downing, whose now-28-year-old daughter suffers from brain damage and lives in a group home, said things could have been different for Tessa if such a facility was available to her all those years ago. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I think that this building is a perfect example of what needs to be duplicated all over the nation, especially for our children. Our children desperately need mental health services as well as medical services at the same time,” Downing said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The county noted such public-owned facilities are “exceedingly rare” around the U.S. A 2024 cross-sectional study looking at data ending in 2020 tallied just over 11,200 pediatric inpatient psychiatric beds across the country. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“This should be happening all over the nation and in the long run it will benefit our economy,” Downing said. “We will not have as many homeless people and people who, like my daughter, are going to be having to be taken care of for the rest of her life.” \u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "health-sports-prison-wheelchair-california",
"title": "In Prison, Wheelchair Basketball Offers a Chance at Reinvention",
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"headTitle": "In Prison, Wheelchair Basketball Offers a Chance at Reinvention | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>This article was published in partnership with \u003ca href=\"https://www.catchlight.io/\">CatchLight\u003c/a> as part of a three-year Mental Health Visual Desk Reporting Initiative, and with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/\">KQED\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before basketball practice begins, Larry Roach calls the men into a circle.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It’s a Wednesday afternoon, and they are gathering inside the gym at the California Medical Facility, a prison about 55 miles from San Francisco for men, including those with physical disabilities and other serious health needs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The men come in a mix, some rolling in in the wheelchairs they use every day, others walking in. They ease, one by one, into the low chairs with slanted wheels built for basketball. Roach waits until everyone, at least 15 players and five coaches, settles. He is incarcerated here, too, and able-bodied, but in this gym, he has another role: the “inside” coach.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The team always checks in before they play. The room takes on a focused energy, the faint rustling of bodies shifting in their seats and the soft scrape of wheels gliding across the room. Each man listens attentively as he awaits his turn to speak.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105851\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-02-9b90ce35.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a man with medium-toned skin and a beard, wearing a beanie and a light-colored hoodie sweatshirt, leaning against a wall with a light shining above him.\" class=\"wp-image-12105851\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-02-9b90ce35.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-02-9b90ce35-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-02-9b90ce35-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Steven “Scooby Doo” Davis is the co-captain of the character-first rehabilitative sports team, alongside Quentin Murphy. Struggling off and on with the prison environment, Scooby credits the team and support of its coach, Jeremiah Holland, with helping him stay positive. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105852\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-03-ed3a3e7d.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a man with dark-toned skin and glasses, wearing a light blue shirt. Barbed wire is visible behind him, in addition to some outdoor tables and people in the background.\" class=\"wp-image-12105852\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-03-ed3a3e7d.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-03-ed3a3e7d-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-03-ed3a3e7d-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">William Rowe was a well-established basketball player when he lost his leg and thought he would never play basketball again. He found wheelchair basketball in prison and credits the program with giving him the mental fortitude to rehabilitate. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105866\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-17-68571607.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a man with medium-toned skin, wearing a blue shirt and dark blue pants, sitting outdoors in a wheelchair. It is dark outside, and part of the prison yard is visible.\" class=\"wp-image-12105866\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-17-68571607.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-17-68571607-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-17-68571607-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rudy “Jump Shot” Martinez is a long-standing member of the team. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you want to share news from back home, say how your week went, spit out a motivational line or two, or welcome new players, this is the time to do it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On this day in late September, Roach talks about effort: “You can’t teach it. You gotta want it.” Then the men, still in their circle, all turn their fists to the men on either side, linking the whole team. Joe Chambers, a two-time Paralympian and one of the “outside” coaches, recites their slogan: “Everything we do, we do together.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With that, they disperse — and the gym erupts. Basketballs begin to bounce. A low rumble grows as hands slap wheels to accelerate red, green, black and silver chairs. They collide. Men tip sideways, falling over, and right themselves in a single beat. Someone calls, “Outlet!” to signal he’s open for a pass after his teammate regains possession of the ball.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Impulsivity works against you in wheelchair basketball. Someone on defense can block the path you wanted to take to the net, and you can’t sidestep around him like you do in stand-up basketball. You have to stop, assess what’s in front of you and find another way. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Roach has come to think about that lesson, finding another way, as bigger than basketball. “In wheelchair basketball … you got to slow your brain down and say, OK, I can’t do that no more,” he says. “So what’s the next best option?” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It teaches you to find a way out, he says, especially if you grew up feeling like you didn’t have many choices.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105857\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-08-02d55a10.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a basketball hoop in the middle of a prison yard empty of people, at dawn.\" class=\"wp-image-12105857\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-08-02d55a10.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-08-02d55a10-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-08-02d55a10-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Early morning on the court. The team aims to improve the mental health of incarcerated people by providing a place to exercise, see other people, set goals and work together. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-4 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105862\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-13-0796265f.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows three people in wheelchairs wheeling themselves up a ramp. On the wall to their right is painted the word Re creation” with some small painted silhouettes of people playing wheelchair basketball.\" class=\"wp-image-12105862\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-13-0796265f.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-13-0796265f-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-13-0796265f-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The program’s core philosophy is painted on the wall of the prison gym. Physical recreation is paired with the idea of re-creation of character. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The message is painted in black on the gym wall: “RE CREATION.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The space is no accident. Jeremiah Holland, creator of the wheelchair basketball program and the facility’s recreation supervisor until about a month ago, believes recreation can be more than movement, that it can be re-creation, an opportunity to practice being a different person.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It all starts with imagination, he says. Inside prison, where people are cut off from the outside world and expected to follow strict rules and play certain roles, “imagination contracts.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“People are always larger than the role that was assigned to them,” he says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sports can give people a chance to work on their character and build relationships in a “lonely, isolated” prison, Holland says. You learn something about yourself in how you react to frustration and losing a game — both teaching moments that push players to consider how they would handle similar situations outside of the gym. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over time, you learn to respond differently in your relationships with others and confront the painful parts of yourself, Holland says. This is why sports programs can change people for the better and “help people figure out how to look at the most difficult things in their life,” he says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-5 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105869\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-20-0cec44cb.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a White man with a gray beard and hair, wearing a long-sleeved shirt, standing on the outdoor basketball court in the morning.\" class=\"wp-image-12105869\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-20-0cec44cb.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-20-0cec44cb-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-20-0cec44cb-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Coach Jeremiah Holland has spearheaded a character-first approach to sports at California Medical Facility. Team members are selected based on their willingness to be a positive and supportive teammate, instead of solely on athletic ability. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105868\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-19-291b5aa9.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows six people gathered, either standing or in wheelchairs, around Coach Jeremiah Holland, a White man. The people have different skin tones ranging from dark-toned to light-toned.\" class=\"wp-image-12105868\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-19-291b5aa9.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-19-291b5aa9-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-19-291b5aa9-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Coaches say having able-bodied and disabled men play together creates a community that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the prison. It also teaches able-bodied players about disability, changing how they see the men in chairs. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">California is leaning into the rehabilitative potential of sports. On Sept. 30, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260ab2204\">Second Chance Sports Act\u003c/a>, directing the state’s prison system to come up with a plan to expand sports programming. Those who participate in organized sports will \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI-H6C9EfMs&t=7s\">reportedly\u003c/a> be able to earn credits that can lead to early release. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Holland has spent years weathering storms, like changes in prison leadership and a pandemic, to build recreation programs that embody this philosophy. Among them is this basketball team unlike most found in U.S. prisons, where able-bodied men and men with physical disabilities train for and play wheelchair basketball alongside one another.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He credits the community he built around the program as the reason it exists and has lasted. Holland brought in coaches and experts from the outside, gave incarcerated men, like Roach, increasing responsibility over the programs they joined, and fought hard to keep the prison administration invested. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Community engagement is really what allowed disability sport to happen,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Roach was a boy decades ago in South Sacramento, he played sports with his friend Landon Jackson. Gangs eventually redrew the lines in their neighborhood, and with that, their relationship.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-6 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1333\" height=\"2000\" data-id=\"12105867\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-18-10ddddf1.jpg\" alt=\"A photo of a letter reads: “Coach, I’m humbled and honored that you have decided to include me in the article; however, I’ve been M.I.A. for nearly two years with cancer – and I had a serious heart attack on 9-11-26 that required an “emergency” coronary catheterization and stent placement because my coronary artery was 99% blocked. Given the seriousness of my health issues – namely, the cancer, heart attack, colostomy bag, and baclofen pump – I’m no longer able to be an active participant on the wheelchair basketball team. I’m sad to make that decision, but I’m not doing well. I do not feel I have the right to contribute to a meaningful article when I no longer contribute to the amazing program. I shall continue to cheer for and support the program in my limited capacity, but I don’t believe (for obvious reasons) I have the privilege of being in the article.”\" class=\"wp-image-12105867\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-18-10ddddf1.jpg 1333w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-18-10ddddf1-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-18-10ddddf1-1024x1536.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1333px) 100vw, 1333px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A letter from an incarcerated player to Coach Holland explained that he couldn’t attend practice because he had a heart attack. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In their late teens, Roach remembers shooting at him.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Their paths did not cross again for many years, until one day, they saw each other coming down opposite sides of a hallway at CMF. Men who knew their history watched them, concerned. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They pulled each other into a hug. “That was the first time I got to hug him in 23 years,” Jackson says. “It’s the dude I played with when we were in middle school and elementary school. Kids. Innocence…”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Roach had already begun trying to put that old life behind him. His change of heart had come during visitation one day, when his 5-year-old daughter asked when he was going to leave the gang alone. Bit by bit, he took action; he renewed his faith in God, stopped using his gang name, took a victims’ impact class and trained to counsel other men. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was this version of Roach who hugged Jackson and apologized. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jackson, by then, had also pulled himself out of the old life. He had become deeply embedded in the wheelchair basketball program, which launched publicly in \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/insidecdcr/2022/12/27/wheelchair-basketball-rolls-into-cmf/\">late 2022\u003c/a>. Able-bodied himself, he had joined because friends who used wheelchairs needed help, people to push them through the yard or to get them through a workout. \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/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-26-8edd8451.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12105925\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-26-8edd8451.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-26-8edd8451-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-26-8edd8451-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The wheelchair basketball program at California Medical Facility (CMF) in Vacaville gives incarcerated people with mobility impairments a chance to play a real team sport—to compete, work together, stay active, and be part of something outside the normal routine of prison life. But the value of the program goes beyond basketball. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“When you start getting in the wheelchair, you see what you can’t do no more,” he says. “It makes you honor people in a different way.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This kind of growth is what the coaches had in mind when they let able-bodied players join the program, says Mieko Chambers, the team’s head coach and the head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers Chairmen, a National Wheelchair Basketball Association team. “All of a sudden, there’s this newfound respect for somebody that is looked to be weak or hurt.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At some point, the gym stopped being just a gym to Jackson. The program put him in a space of serving others, he says, which made him visible to people who could see the change he’d gone through. Holland put Jackson’s name up for resentencing, and the warden wrote the judge a letter of support that played a role in Jackson’s release.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2024, Jackson walked out of CMF.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How he and other leaders ran things stuck with the team. “Prison tells you don’t address it if it’s not violence,” Jackson says. “This gym told you address it so it doesn’t get violent.” Which sometimes meant calling a guy out, face-to-face, when he crossed a line.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1333\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-23-6f590b54.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a White man wearing a black T-shirt in a wheelchair, wearing a sweatband around his head. He has tattoos on both his arms.\" class=\"wp-image-12105872\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-23-6f590b54.jpg 1333w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-23-6f590b54-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-23-6f590b54-1024x1536.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1333px) 100vw, 1333px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Joe Chambers is an American wheelchair basketball star, a two-time Paralympian, and a cancer survivor who coaches the team at the California Medical Facility (CMF). (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once, Roach recalls, a player cursed at a volunteer. The men stopped practice, formed a circle and told him the behavior was unacceptable. They sent the player away for the day to cool off.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We don’t just want to single somebody out,” Roach says. “We’re gonna say what behaviors we won’t tolerate, and then go from there.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Other times it meant noticing when someone was struggling. At another practice, Steven Davis, an outgoing co-captain known as “Scooby Doo,” recalls walking in and sitting down. Normally, he would laugh, joke with others, get into his chair and get ready to play. The team noticed something was off and asked him what was on his mind. Davis had recently reconnected with his daughter, and he was afraid of losing her again.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The coaches hugged him. “We got you in here … We love you,” Joe Chambers told him. “We don’t want to see you like this.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Davis still remembers it. “For them to hug me and tell me that they see the good in me and I’m a good person, it made me go harder in wheelchair basketball,” he says. “… It made me want to come in here and be around these guys who actually show that they care.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-7 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105873\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-24-6cbb86ca.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a White man wearing a black T-shirt in a wheelchair, wearing a sweatband around his head and with his arms folded. The camera is focused on him and the left side of the image is out of focus.\" class=\"wp-image-12105873\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-24-6cbb86ca.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-24-6cbb86ca-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-24-6cbb86ca-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chambers plays for the Los Angeles Clippers Chairmen, alongside Lavonte McDowell, who he used to coach on the CMF wheelchair basketball team. He is also a former Team USA Paralympian bronze medalist, but continues to take practice at CMF. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1333\" height=\"2000\" data-id=\"12105871\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-22-12570d73.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a light-skinned woman with dark brown hair smiling at the camera.\" class=\"wp-image-12105871\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-22-12570d73.jpg 1333w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-22-12570d73-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-22-12570d73-1024x1536.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1333px) 100vw, 1333px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Coach Mieko Chambers, the head coach, helped Coach Holland start the program at CMF. She is also the head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers Chairmen, a National Wheelchair Basketball Association team. Both her husband, Joe Chambers, and Lavonte McDowell, play for the Chairmen. Mieko Chambers also won a gold medal as an assistant coach for Team USA’s women’s U25 wheelchair team in 2019. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Quentin Murphy moves through the traffic of chairs like a man playing chess, which is how Joe Chambers teaches the game: Think two and three moves ahead. Four years in the sport and over a decade in a wheelchair, Murphy is a co-captain alongside Davis and is considered one of the strongest players, the Michael Jordan of the team. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Basketball had always been part of his life. But he was run over by a truck during the crime that landed him in prison, he says, and had his leg amputated while in custody. The following years were dark. “There was those times where I had suicidal thoughts,” Murphy says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The recreation options available to a man in a wheelchair were bingo, shuffleboard, resistance bands, chair yoga. “Those kinds of sports to someone like me is some boring stuff,” he says. “I’m really competitive, and I like just being physical.” Disabled men who wanted competition didn’t have much to do, he says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-8 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1333\" height=\"2000\" data-id=\"12105864\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-15-4047e8fa.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a man with dark-toned skin and wearing a light blue shirt and dark blue pants, leaning against a pole while holding a basketball on the prison yard.\" class=\"wp-image-12105864\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-15-4047e8fa.jpg 1333w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-15-4047e8fa-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-15-4047e8fa-1024x1536.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1333px) 100vw, 1333px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Quentin “Q” Murphy at early morning practice on the yard. He lost his leg right before he arrived at prison. He is co-captain of the team, alongside Steven Davis. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-9 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105850\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-01-67d9a049.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a Black man sitting in his living space, which has a bed, which is among many beds in the open space. There is a cabinet with a postcard or stickers with the Dodger’s logo on it and another with the Laker’s logo on it. There are tupperwares on top of the cabinet, which also serves as a desk.\" class=\"wp-image-12105850\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-01-67d9a049.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-01-67d9a049-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-01-67d9a049-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Murphy returns to his housing unit after an early morning practice and prepares for his day. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105858\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-09-58255c65.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a Black man speeding across the court in a blur in a wheelchair while reaching up for a basketball.\" class=\"wp-image-12105858\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-09-58255c65.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-09-58255c65-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-09-58255c65-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">He practices with his team in the prison gymnasium. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\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/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-16-abb63a7e.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a Black man sitting on his bed, while a prosthetic leg lies next to him.\" class=\"wp-image-12105865\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-16-abb63a7e.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-16-abb63a7e-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-16-abb63a7e-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Basketball had always been a part of his life, but he had to learn the sport again through a different body. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Murphy had to learn basketball again in a different version of his body. Even though the instincts were similar, the mechanics were not. You have to generate speed using your arms, and make turns while protecting your momentum. You need to coast into your shots to get the ball up to a rim that is still 10 feet high. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now Murphy is one of the players others watch. His sisters, daughters and family friends know what he’s up to now and are proud of him, he says. When he comes into the gym, he doesn’t think about anything else. “It’s just a place of peace,” he says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wheelchair basketball also gave him a new way to mull over his future. A decades-long sentence has made a future difficult for him to imagine. But he considers all of the programs he’s done while in prison, and looks to a player who left the gym and played professionally on the outside as a testament to what’s possible for him… \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That player is Lavonte McDowell, whom the coaches consider the team’s success story. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In many ways, McDowell’s story unfolded the same way as Murphy’s. He was shot in the commission of his crime, became a paraplegic, went straight from the hospital room to a jail cell, and learned everything about his disability on his own.\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/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-10-9e5a6907.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows the bleachers of a gym. In front of the bleachers is a wheelchair with a prosthetic leg in it.\" class=\"wp-image-12105859\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-10-9e5a6907.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-10-9e5a6907-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-10-9e5a6907-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Quentin “Q” Murphy’s prosthetic leg rests in his everyday wheelchair while he is at practice in his sports wheelchair. He had to navigate prison life for the first time while newly being an amputee. He found wheelchair basketball to be a solace. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He joined the team as it was finding its footing. It wasn’t too long before coaches were telling him men were starting to look at him as a leader, but McDowell didn’t see it right away. He just knew that he wanted to change and couldn’t do it alone. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I felt like I needed people to hold me accountable for my own actions because I couldn’t help myself or hold myself accountable,” he says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His name was the first thing to go. Around the prison, men knew him by a street name from his gang days: “Everybody in the prison knew me by Chaos,” he says. About two months after joining the team, he stopped answering to it. “This is a false belief. This is not even my name,” he says. From then on, he told people his name was Lavonte.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fast-forward to the fall of 2024: McDowell and Joe Chambers remember the team gathered in a circle. Joe Chambers, who was already playing for the Los Angeles Clippers Chairmen, had some news to share. The Chairmen wanted McDowell to come play for them. McDowell cried tears of joy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-10 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105855\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-06-eb72ab0c.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a group of wheelchair basketball players on the court in the early morning outdoors. In the foreground is a Black man laughing joyfully in a wheelchair.\" class=\"wp-image-12105855\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-06-eb72ab0c.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-06-eb72ab0c-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-06-eb72ab0c-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The men check in before they play, sharing news from back home and welcoming new players. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-11 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105860\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-11-5dad377e.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a group of men playing wheelchair basketball. The skintones of the men range from dark-toned to light-toned.\" class=\"wp-image-12105860\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-11-5dad377e.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-11-5dad377e-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-11-5dad377e-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Two men reach up high for the basketball during a game at practice. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105870\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-21-bb51b698.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a Black man with long hair speeding across the court in a blur in a wheelchair.\" class=\"wp-image-12105870\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-21-bb51b698.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-21-bb51b698-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-21-bb51b698-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A man speeds by in a wheelchair, the room blurring around him. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-12 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105861\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-12-ad785b96.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows Coach Mieko Chambers, a woman with light-toned skin and dark brown hair, talking to a man with medium-toned skin sitting in a wheelchair. Another man with light-toned skin, in a wheelchair sits nearby.\" class=\"wp-image-12105861\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-12-ad785b96.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-12-ad785b96-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-12-ad785b96-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Coach Mieko Chambers counsels players during a practice at the prison gymnasium. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-13 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105854\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-05-e022dbd7.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a man in a wheelchair reaching up with the basketball in the air a few inches above his fingers. He is outdoors at dawn while another person stands nearby.\" class=\"wp-image-12105854\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-05-e022dbd7.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-05-e022dbd7-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-05-e022dbd7-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Holland coaches Rudy “Jump Shot” Martinez during the early hours of the morning. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He was released in early November 2024 and has since played for the team \u003ca href=\"https://www.nwba.org/page/show/9145206-la-clippers-chairmen?subseason=950002\">during the 2025-26 season\u003c/a>, traveling to games in states he had never been to.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today, he works with Project Rebound, an organization that helps connect formerly incarcerated people with higher education. “I just wanted to be of service,” he says. “I took from so many people. Did so much destruction in people’s lives, and in my own life and my family’s life … I was tired of being evil and stupid.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As for the coaches, they never cut him loose. They stayed in touch, met his family, and when he needed a chair of his own, they found pieces of old chairs, built one and sent it to him. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It’s wonderful to have somebody to actually give you chances. That’s all individuals want in prison,” he says. “… I feel that this program can give people that. I’m living proof.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Partway through last month’s practice, Holland appears near the door holding a stack of identification cards. “Here’s all the IDs,” he tells the players. “I’m putting them up on that door. If you go to chow, grab your ID and meet me at the door.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A player looks toward the door. “Hey, coach, what if they don’t want to let us back in?” he asks. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“They’re gonna let you back in,” Holland responds.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It’s a harmless question about dinner, but it’s also a reminder of the controlled prison environment they’re in. Even for the volunteer coaches, getting through the gate is not always guaranteed. Some drive nearly an hour one way and have at times been turned away because searches have taken over the gym, lockdowns have wiped out programming for the day or staffing decisions have canceled practice, the coaches say. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation says that it tries to minimize disruptions to programs, but staffing, training and emergencies have sometimes required temporary changes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Through the uncertainty and the many hours of driving and labor, including fixing the chairs, the coaches still show up, even on days when they or the players can’t get into the gym. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I don’t want them to think we’ve given up on it,” Joe Chambers says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So far, the team has played only a handful of games against outside teams. Joe Chambers has brought friends in, for example, and a Berkeley-based organization that has taught adaptive sports for decades has also played against them, Holland says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The coaches are hopeful for a future where games with outside teams happen more consistently. In their biggest dream for the program, they imagine registering the team with the National Wheelchair Basketball Association, and bringing outside teams into the facility to play enough sanctioned games to ultimately build a record and earn a national ranking. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If all of those pieces fall into place, there still is one more obstacle: The CMF team can’t travel. So opponents would have to come to them and go through security, just like any other visitor at the facility. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In mid-October, after spending more than two decades behind bars, Roach walked out of CMF, uncertain but excited about his future. His family threw a homecoming party for him, and all of the wheelchair basketball program’s coaches showed up. “They’re a part of my family now,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He’s also reconnected with Jackson and McDowell. Roach knew how much wheelchair basketball meant to him inside prison, but he’s appreciative of the support network it is giving him in the free world. “When you feel isolated and alone, and you get into a program like that where it’s love, and it’s support,” he says, “like, yo, my circle expanded.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As he adjusts to his new life, he gets a chance to test the emotional regulation and character work he picked up through the program. Getting out and being around so many people so quickly, for example, has called for breathwork. “Breathe, it’s OK,” he tells himself. And having lived for so many years with so few choices in prison, the pressure to spend money on things you don’t need once you’re out is really high, Roach says. Even with small decisions, “not being impulsive” can benefit you, he says, instead of spending money and realizing later that you needed it for something more important. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He’s approaching his future in the same way: Roach has already been offered a job at a transitional home, he says, but he doesn’t want to rush into anything. He’s considering the options to make the best choice. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But one thing he knows for sure is that he wants to stay connected to the wheelchair basketball team at CMF. “Whatever role they need me in,” he says. The process for getting approved to go back in, and how long that’ll take, is unclear to him.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Maybe one day, Roach will be back at the gym, gathering the men into a circle again. But this time, he’ll be an “outside” coach. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-14 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105874\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-25-97833ce3.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a group of wheelchair basketball players all reaching up simultaneously for a basketball while in an indoor court.\" class=\"wp-image-12105874\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-25-97833ce3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-25-97833ce3-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-25-97833ce3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The players reach upward for the basketball during a scrimmage practice. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-15 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105856\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-07-e226ca33.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows Coach Jeremiah Holland, a White man, holding hands with wheelchair basketball players with varying skin tones, who have their hands linked while outdoors at dawn.\" class=\"wp-image-12105856\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-07-e226ca33.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-07-e226ca33-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-07-e226ca33-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Coach Holland and the players gather in a circle before and after every game to support each other and talk about challenges they are facing. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-16 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105863\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-14-87d308ea.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows Coach Jeremiah Holland, a White man, walking down a hall with a person in a wheelchair away from the camera.\" class=\"wp-image-12105863\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-14-87d308ea.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-14-87d308ea-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-14-87d308ea-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Coaches Jeremiah Holland and Darwin Walters head home for the day after staying late at a practice. “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” He tries to remind people of their potential. “People are always larger than the role that was assigned to them,” Holland says. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was published in partnership with \u003ca href=\"https://www.catchlight.io/\">CatchLight\u003c/a> as part of a three-year Mental Health Visual Desk Reporting Initiative, and with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/\">KQED\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was published in partnership with \u003ca href=\"https://www.catchlight.io/\">CatchLight\u003c/a> as part of a three-year Mental Health Visual Desk Reporting Initiative, and with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/\">KQED\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Before basketball practice begins, Larry Roach calls the men into a circle.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s a Wednesday afternoon, and they are gathering inside the gym at the California Medical Facility, a prison about 55 miles from San Francisco for men, including those with physical disabilities and other serious health needs.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It’s a Wednesday afternoon, and they are gathering inside the gym at the California Medical Facility, a prison about 55 miles from San Francisco for men, including those with physical disabilities and other serious health needs.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The team always checks in before they play. The room takes on a focused energy, the faint rustling of bodies shifting in their seats and the soft scrape of wheels gliding across the room. Each man listens attentively as he awaits his turn to speak.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-02-9b90ce35.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a man with medium-toned skin and a beard, wearing a beanie and a light-colored hoodie sweatshirt, leaning against a wall with a light shining above him.\" class=\"wp-image-12105851\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Steven “Scooby Doo” Davis is the co-captain of the character-first rehabilitative sports team, alongside Quentin Murphy. Struggling off and on with the prison environment, Scooby credits the team and support of its coach, Jeremiah Holland, with helping him stay positive.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-02-9b90ce35.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a man with medium-toned skin and a beard, wearing a beanie and a light-colored hoodie sweatshirt, leaning against a wall with a light shining above him.\" class=\"wp-image-12105851\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Steven “Scooby Doo” Davis is the co-captain of the character-first rehabilitative sports team, alongside Quentin Murphy. Struggling off and on with the prison environment, Scooby credits the team and support of its coach, Jeremiah Holland, with helping him stay positive.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-03-ed3a3e7d.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a man with dark-toned skin and glasses, wearing a light blue shirt. Barbed wire is visible behind him, in addition to some outdoor tables and people in the background.\" class=\"wp-image-12105852\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">William Rowe was a well-established basketball player when he lost his leg and thought he would never play basketball again. He found wheelchair basketball in prison and credits the program with giving him the mental fortitude to rehabilitate.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-03-ed3a3e7d.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a man with dark-toned skin and glasses, wearing a light blue shirt. Barbed wire is visible behind him, in addition to some outdoor tables and people in the background.\" class=\"wp-image-12105852\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">William Rowe was a well-established basketball player when he lost his leg and thought he would never play basketball again. He found wheelchair basketball in prison and credits the program with giving him the mental fortitude to rehabilitate.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-17-68571607.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a man with medium-toned skin, wearing a blue shirt and dark blue pants, sitting outdoors in a wheelchair. It is dark outside, and part of the prison yard is visible.\" class=\"wp-image-12105866\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rudy “Jump Shot” Martinez is a long-standing member of the team.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-17-68571607.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a man with medium-toned skin, wearing a blue shirt and dark blue pants, sitting outdoors in a wheelchair. It is dark outside, and part of the prison yard is visible.\" class=\"wp-image-12105866\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rudy “Jump Shot” Martinez is a long-standing member of the team.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>If you want to share news from back home, say how your week went, spit out a motivational line or two, or welcome new players, this is the time to do it. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On this day in late September, Roach talks about effort: “You can’t teach it. You gotta want it.” Then the men, still in their circle, all turn their fists to the men on either side, linking the whole team. Joe Chambers, a two-time Paralympian and one of the “outside” coaches, recites their slogan: “Everything we do, we do together.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>On this day in late September, Roach talks about effort: “You can’t teach it. You gotta want it.” Then the men, still in their circle, all turn their fists to the men on either side, linking the whole team. Joe Chambers, a two-time Paralympian and one of the “outside” coaches, recites their slogan: “Everything we do, we do together.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>With that, they disperse — and the gym erupts. Basketballs begin to bounce. A low rumble grows as hands slap wheels to accelerate red, green, black and silver chairs. They collide. Men tip sideways, falling over, and right themselves in a single beat. Someone calls, “Outlet!” to signal he’s open for a pass after his teammate regains possession of the ball.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>With that, they disperse — and the gym erupts. Basketballs begin to bounce. A low rumble grows as hands slap wheels to accelerate red, green, black and silver chairs. They collide. Men tip sideways, falling over, and right themselves in a single beat. Someone calls, “Outlet!” to signal he’s open for a pass after his teammate regains possession of the ball.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Impulsivity works against you in wheelchair basketball. Someone on defense can block the path you wanted to take to the net, and you can’t sidestep around him like you do in stand-up basketball. You have to stop, assess what’s in front of you and find another way. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Impulsivity works against you in wheelchair basketball. Someone on defense can block the path you wanted to take to the net, and you can’t sidestep around him like you do in stand-up basketball. You have to stop, assess what’s in front of you and find another way. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Roach has come to think about that lesson, finding another way, as bigger than basketball. “In wheelchair basketball … you got to slow your brain down and say, OK, I can’t do that no more,” he says. “So what’s the next best option?” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Roach has come to think about that lesson, finding another way, as bigger than basketball. “In wheelchair basketball … you got to slow your brain down and say, OK, I can’t do that no more,” he says. “So what’s the next best option?” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It teaches you to find a way out, he says, especially if you grew up feeling like you didn’t have many choices.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-08-02d55a10.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a basketball hoop in the middle of a prison yard empty of people, at dawn.\" class=\"wp-image-12105857\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Early morning on the court. The team aims to improve the mental health of incarcerated people by providing a place to exercise, see other people, set goals and work together.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-08-02d55a10.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a basketball hoop in the middle of a prison yard empty of people, at dawn.\" class=\"wp-image-12105857\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Early morning on the court. The team aims to improve the mental health of incarcerated people by providing a place to exercise, see other people, set goals and work together.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-13-0796265f.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows three people in wheelchairs wheeling themselves up a ramp. On the wall to their right is painted the word Re creation” with some small painted silhouettes of people playing wheelchair basketball.\" class=\"wp-image-12105862\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The program’s core philosophy is painted on the wall of the prison gym. Physical recreation is paired with the idea of re-creation of character.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-13-0796265f.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows three people in wheelchairs wheeling themselves up a ramp. On the wall to their right is painted the word Re creation” with some small painted silhouettes of people playing wheelchair basketball.\" class=\"wp-image-12105862\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The program’s core philosophy is painted on the wall of the prison gym. Physical recreation is paired with the idea of re-creation of character.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The message is painted in black on the gym wall: “RE CREATION.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The space is no accident. Jeremiah Holland, creator of the wheelchair basketball program and the facility’s recreation supervisor until about a month ago, believes recreation can be more than movement, that it can be re-creation, an opportunity to practice being a different person.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The space is no accident. Jeremiah Holland, creator of the wheelchair basketball program and the facility’s recreation supervisor until about a month ago, believes recreation can be more than movement, that it can be re-creation, an opportunity to practice being a different person.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It all starts with imagination, he says. Inside prison, where people are cut off from the outside world and expected to follow strict rules and play certain roles, “imagination contracts.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“People are always larger than the role that was assigned to them,” he says. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Sports can give people a chance to work on their character and build relationships in a “lonely, isolated” prison, Holland says. You learn something about yourself in how you react to frustration and losing a game — both teaching moments that push players to consider how they would handle similar situations outside of the gym. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Sports can give people a chance to work on their character and build relationships in a “lonely, isolated” prison, Holland says. You learn something about yourself in how you react to frustration and losing a game — both teaching moments that push players to consider how they would handle similar situations outside of the gym. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Over time, you learn to respond differently in your relationships with others and confront the painful parts of yourself, Holland says. This is why sports programs can change people for the better and “help people figure out how to look at the most difficult things in their life,” he says. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Over time, you learn to respond differently in your relationships with others and confront the painful parts of yourself, Holland says. This is why sports programs can change people for the better and “help people figure out how to look at the most difficult things in their life,” he says. \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/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-20-0cec44cb.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a White man with a gray beard and hair, wearing a long-sleeved shirt, standing on the outdoor basketball court in the morning.\" class=\"wp-image-12105869\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Coach Jeremiah Holland has spearheaded a character-first approach to sports at California Medical Facility. Team members are selected based on their willingness to be a positive and supportive teammate, instead of solely on athletic ability.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-20-0cec44cb.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a White man with a gray beard and hair, wearing a long-sleeved shirt, standing on the outdoor basketball court in the morning.\" class=\"wp-image-12105869\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Coach Jeremiah Holland has spearheaded a character-first approach to sports at California Medical Facility. Team members are selected based on their willingness to be a positive and supportive teammate, instead of solely on athletic ability.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-19-291b5aa9.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows six people gathered, either standing or in wheelchairs, around Coach Jeremiah Holland, a White man. The people have different skin tones ranging from dark-toned to light-toned.\" class=\"wp-image-12105868\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Coaches say having able-bodied and disabled men play together creates a community that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the prison. It also teaches able-bodied players about disability, changing how they see the men in chairs. \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/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-19-291b5aa9.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows six people gathered, either standing or in wheelchairs, around Coach Jeremiah Holland, a White man. The people have different skin tones ranging from dark-toned to light-toned.\" class=\"wp-image-12105868\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Coaches say having able-bodied and disabled men play together creates a community that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the prison. It also teaches able-bodied players about disability, changing how they see the men in chairs. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>California is leaning into the rehabilitative potential of sports. On Sept. 30, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260ab2204\">Second Chance Sports Act\u003c/a>, directing the state’s prison system to come up with a plan to expand sports programming. Those who participate in organized sports will \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI-H6C9EfMs&t=7s\">reportedly\u003c/a> be able to earn credits that can lead to early release. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>California is leaning into the rehabilitative potential of sports. On Sept. 30, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260ab2204\">Second Chance Sports Act\u003c/a>, directing the state’s prison system to come up with a plan to expand sports programming. Those who participate in organized sports will \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI-H6C9EfMs&t=7s\">reportedly\u003c/a> be able to earn credits that can lead to early release. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Holland has spent years weathering storms, like changes in prison leadership and a pandemic, to build recreation programs that embody this philosophy. Among them is this basketball team unlike most found in U.S. prisons, where able-bodied men and men with physical disabilities train for and play wheelchair basketball alongside one another.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Holland has spent years weathering storms, like changes in prison leadership and a pandemic, to build recreation programs that embody this philosophy. Among them is this basketball team unlike most found in U.S. prisons, where able-bodied men and men with physical disabilities train for and play wheelchair basketball alongside one another.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He credits the community he built around the program as the reason it exists and has lasted. Holland brought in coaches and experts from the outside, gave incarcerated men, like Roach, increasing responsibility over the programs they joined, and fought hard to keep the prison administration invested. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>He credits the community he built around the program as the reason it exists and has lasted. Holland brought in coaches and experts from the outside, gave incarcerated men, like Roach, increasing responsibility over the programs they joined, and fought hard to keep the prison administration invested. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-18-10ddddf1.jpg\" alt=\"A photo of a letter reads: “Coach, I’m humbled and honored that you have decided to include me in the article; however, I’ve been M.I.A. for nearly two years with cancer – and I had a serious heart attack on 9-11-26 that required an “emergency” coronary catheterization and stent placement because my coronary artery was 99% blocked. Given the seriousness of my health issues – namely, the cancer, heart attack, colostomy bag, and baclofen pump – I’m no longer able to be an active participant on the wheelchair basketball team. I’m sad to make that decision, but I’m not doing well. I do not feel I have the right to contribute to a meaningful article when I no longer contribute to the amazing program. I shall continue to cheer for and support the program in my limited capacity, but I don’t believe (for obvious reasons) I have the privilege of being in the article.”\" class=\"wp-image-12105867\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A letter from an incarcerated player to Coach Holland explained that he couldn’t attend practice because he had a heart attack.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-18-10ddddf1.jpg\" alt=\"A photo of a letter reads: “Coach, I’m humbled and honored that you have decided to include me in the article; however, I’ve been M.I.A. for nearly two years with cancer – and I had a serious heart attack on 9-11-26 that required an “emergency” coronary catheterization and stent placement because my coronary artery was 99% blocked. Given the seriousness of my health issues – namely, the cancer, heart attack, colostomy bag, and baclofen pump – I’m no longer able to be an active participant on the wheelchair basketball team. I’m sad to make that decision, but I’m not doing well. I do not feel I have the right to contribute to a meaningful article when I no longer contribute to the amazing program. I shall continue to cheer for and support the program in my limited capacity, but I don’t believe (for obvious reasons) I have the privilege of being in the article.”\" class=\"wp-image-12105867\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A letter from an incarcerated player to Coach Holland explained that he couldn’t attend practice because he had a heart attack.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In their late teens, Roach remembers shooting at him.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Their paths did not cross again for many years, until one day, they saw each other coming down opposite sides of a hallway at CMF. Men who knew their history watched them, concerned. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>They pulled each other into a hug. “That was the first time I got to hug him in 23 years,” Jackson says. “It’s the dude I played with when we were in middle school and elementary school. Kids. Innocence…”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Roach had already begun trying to put that old life behind him. His change of heart had come during visitation one day, when his 5-year-old daughter asked when he was going to leave the gang alone. Bit by bit, he took action; he renewed his faith in God, stopped using his gang name, took a victims’ impact class and trained to counsel other men. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Jackson, by then, had also pulled himself out of the old life. He had become deeply embedded in the wheelchair basketball program, which launched publicly in \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/insidecdcr/2022/12/27/wheelchair-basketball-rolls-into-cmf/\">late 2022\u003c/a>. Able-bodied himself, he had joined because friends who used wheelchairs needed help, people to push them through the yard or to get them through a workout. \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/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-26-8edd8451.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12105925\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-26-8edd8451.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-26-8edd8451-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-26-8edd8451-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The wheelchair basketball program at California Medical Facility (CMF) in Vacaville gives incarcerated people with mobility impairments a chance to play a real team sport—to compete, work together, stay active, and be part of something outside the normal routine of prison life. But the value of the program goes beyond basketball. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/cite>\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/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-26-8edd8451.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12105925\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The wheelchair basketball program at California Medical Facility (CMF) in Vacaville gives incarcerated people with mobility impairments a chance to play a real team sport—to compete, work together, stay active, and be part of something outside the normal routine of prison life. But the value of the program goes beyond basketball. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“When you start getting in the wheelchair, you see what you can’t do no more,” he says. “It makes you honor people in a different way.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This kind of growth is what the coaches had in mind when they let able-bodied players join the program, says Mieko Chambers, the team’s head coach and the head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers Chairmen, a National Wheelchair Basketball Association team. “All of a sudden, there’s this newfound respect for somebody that is looked to be weak or hurt.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At some point, the gym stopped being just a gym to Jackson. The program put him in a space of serving others, he says, which made him visible to people who could see the change he’d gone through. Holland put Jackson’s name up for resentencing, and the warden wrote the judge a letter of support that played a role in Jackson’s release.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In 2024, Jackson walked out of CMF.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>How he and other leaders ran things stuck with the team. “Prison tells you don’t address it if it’s not violence,” Jackson says. “This gym told you address it so it doesn’t get violent.” Which sometimes meant calling a guy out, face-to-face, when he crossed a line.\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/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-23-6f590b54.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a White man wearing a black T-shirt in a wheelchair, wearing a sweatband around his head. He has tattoos on both his arms.\" class=\"wp-image-12105872\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-23-6f590b54.jpg 1333w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-23-6f590b54-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-23-6f590b54-1024x1536.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Joe Chambers is an American wheelchair basketball star, a two-time Paralympian, and a cancer survivor who coaches the team at the California Medical Facility (CMF).\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/cite>\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/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-23-6f590b54.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a White man wearing a black T-shirt in a wheelchair, wearing a sweatband around his head. He has tattoos on both his arms.\" class=\"wp-image-12105872\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Joe Chambers is an American wheelchair basketball star, a two-time Paralympian, and a cancer survivor who coaches the team at the California Medical Facility (CMF).\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Once, Roach recalls, a player cursed at a volunteer. The men stopped practice, formed a circle and told him the behavior was unacceptable. They sent the player away for the day to cool off.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We don’t just want to single somebody out,” Roach says. “We’re gonna say what behaviors we won’t tolerate, and then go from there.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Other times it meant noticing when someone was struggling. At another practice, Steven Davis, an outgoing co-captain known as “Scooby Doo,” recalls walking in and sitting down. Normally, he would laugh, joke with others, get into his chair and get ready to play. The team noticed something was off and asked him what was on his mind. Davis had recently reconnected with his daughter, and he was afraid of losing her again.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Other times it meant noticing when someone was struggling. At another practice, Steven Davis, an outgoing co-captain known as “Scooby Doo,” recalls walking in and sitting down. Normally, he would laugh, joke with others, get into his chair and get ready to play. The team noticed something was off and asked him what was on his mind. Davis had recently reconnected with his daughter, and he was afraid of losing her again.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Davis still remembers it. “For them to hug me and tell me that they see the good in me and I’m a good person, it made me go harder in wheelchair basketball,” he says. “… It made me want to come in here and be around these guys who actually show that they care.”\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/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-24-6cbb86ca.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a White man wearing a black T-shirt in a wheelchair, wearing a sweatband around his head and with his arms folded. The camera is focused on him and the left side of the image is out of focus.\" class=\"wp-image-12105873\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chambers plays for the Los Angeles Clippers Chairmen, alongside Lavonte McDowell, who he used to coach on the CMF wheelchair basketball team. He is also a former Team USA Paralympian bronze medalist, but continues to take practice at CMF.\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/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-24-6cbb86ca.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a White man wearing a black T-shirt in a wheelchair, wearing a sweatband around his head and with his arms folded. The camera is focused on him and the left side of the image is out of focus.\" class=\"wp-image-12105873\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chambers plays for the Los Angeles Clippers Chairmen, alongside Lavonte McDowell, who he used to coach on the CMF wheelchair basketball team. He is also a former Team USA Paralympian bronze medalist, but continues to take practice at CMF.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-22-12570d73.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a light-skinned woman with dark brown hair smiling at the camera.\" class=\"wp-image-12105871\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Coach Mieko Chambers, the head coach, helped Coach Holland start the program at CMF. She is also the head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers Chairmen, a National Wheelchair Basketball Association team. Both her husband, Joe Chambers, and Lavonte McDowell, play for the Chairmen. Mieko Chambers also won a gold medal as an assistant coach for Team USA’s women’s U25 wheelchair team in 2019. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-22-12570d73.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a light-skinned woman with dark brown hair smiling at the camera.\" class=\"wp-image-12105871\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Coach Mieko Chambers, the head coach, helped Coach Holland start the program at CMF. She is also the head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers Chairmen, a National Wheelchair Basketball Association team. Both her husband, Joe Chambers, and Lavonte McDowell, play for the Chairmen. Mieko Chambers also won a gold medal as an assistant coach for Team USA’s women’s U25 wheelchair team in 2019. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Quentin Murphy moves through the traffic of chairs like a man playing chess, which is how Joe Chambers teaches the game: Think two and three moves ahead. Four years in the sport and over a decade in a wheelchair, Murphy is a co-captain alongside Davis and is considered one of the strongest players, the Michael Jordan of the team. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Quentin Murphy moves through the traffic of chairs like a man playing chess, which is how Joe Chambers teaches the game: Think two and three moves ahead. Four years in the sport and over a decade in a wheelchair, Murphy is a co-captain alongside Davis and is considered one of the strongest players, the Michael Jordan of the team. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Basketball had always been part of his life. But he was run over by a truck during the crime that landed him in prison, he says, and had his leg amputated while in custody. The following years were dark. “There was those times where I had suicidal thoughts,” Murphy says. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The recreation options available to a man in a wheelchair were bingo, shuffleboard, resistance bands, chair yoga. “Those kinds of sports to someone like me is some boring stuff,” he says. “I’m really competitive, and I like just being physical.” Disabled men who wanted competition didn’t have much to do, he says. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-16-abb63a7e.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a Black man sitting on his bed, while a prosthetic leg lies next to him.\" class=\"wp-image-12105865\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Basketball had always been a part of his life, but he had to learn the sport again through a different body.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Murphy had to learn basketball again in a different version of his body. Even though the instincts were similar, the mechanics were not. You have to generate speed using your arms, and make turns while protecting your momentum. You need to coast into your shots to get the ball up to a rim that is still 10 feet high. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Now Murphy is one of the players others watch. His sisters, daughters and family friends know what he’s up to now and are proud of him, he says. When he comes into the gym, he doesn’t think about anything else. “It’s just a place of peace,” he says. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Wheelchair basketball also gave him a new way to mull over his future. A decades-long sentence has made a future difficult for him to imagine. But he considers all of the programs he’s done while in prison, and looks to a player who left the gym and played professionally on the outside as a testament to what’s possible for him… \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That player is Lavonte McDowell, whom the coaches consider the team’s success story. \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/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-10-9e5a6907.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows the bleachers of a gym. In front of the bleachers is a wheelchair with a prosthetic leg in it.\" class=\"wp-image-12105859\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-10-9e5a6907.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-10-9e5a6907-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-10-9e5a6907-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Quentin “Q” Murphy’s prosthetic leg rests in his everyday wheelchair while he is at practice in his sports wheelchair. He had to navigate prison life for the first time while newly being an amputee. He found wheelchair basketball to be a solace. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He joined the team as it was finding its footing. It wasn’t too long before coaches were telling him men were starting to look at him as a leader, but McDowell didn’t see it right away. He just knew that he wanted to change and couldn’t do it alone. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I felt like I needed people to hold me accountable for my own actions because I couldn’t help myself or hold myself accountable,” he says. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>His name was the first thing to go. Around the prison, men knew him by a street name from his gang days: “Everybody in the prison knew me by Chaos,” he says. About two months after joining the team, he stopped answering to it. “This is a false belief. This is not even my name,” he says. From then on, he told people his name was Lavonte.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Fast-forward to the fall of 2024: McDowell and Joe Chambers remember the team gathered in a circle. Joe Chambers, who was already playing for the Los Angeles Clippers Chairmen, had some news to share. The Chairmen wanted McDowell to come play for them. McDowell cried tears of joy. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He was released in early November 2024 and has since played for the team \u003ca href=\"https://www.nwba.org/page/show/9145206-la-clippers-chairmen?subseason=950002\">during the 2025-26 season\u003c/a>, traveling to games in states he had never been to.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Partway through last month’s practice, Holland appears near the door holding a stack of identification cards. “Here’s all the IDs,” he tells the players. “I’m putting them up on that door. If you go to chow, grab your ID and meet me at the door.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s a harmless question about dinner, but it’s also a reminder of the controlled prison environment they’re in. Even for the volunteer coaches, getting through the gate is not always guaranteed. Some drive nearly an hour one way and have at times been turned away because searches have taken over the gym, lockdowns have wiped out programming for the day or staffing decisions have canceled practice, the coaches say. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>So far, the team has played only a handful of games against outside teams. Joe Chambers has brought friends in, for example, and a Berkeley-based organization that has taught adaptive sports for decades has also played against them, Holland says. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The coaches are hopeful for a future where games with outside teams happen more consistently. In their biggest dream for the program, they imagine registering the team with the National Wheelchair Basketball Association, and bringing outside teams into the facility to play enough sanctioned games to ultimately build a record and earn a national ranking. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>If all of those pieces fall into place, there still is one more obstacle: The CMF team can’t travel. So opponents would have to come to them and go through security, just like any other visitor at the facility. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In mid-October, after spending more than two decades behind bars, Roach walked out of CMF, uncertain but excited about his future. His family threw a homecoming party for him, and all of the wheelchair basketball program’s coaches showed up. “They’re a part of my family now,” he says.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He’s also reconnected with Jackson and McDowell. Roach knew how much wheelchair basketball meant to him inside prison, but he’s appreciative of the support network it is giving him in the free world. “When you feel isolated and alone, and you get into a program like that where it’s love, and it’s support,” he says, “like, yo, my circle expanded.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As he adjusts to his new life, he gets a chance to test the emotional regulation and character work he picked up through the program. Getting out and being around so many people so quickly, for example, has called for breathwork. “Breathe, it’s OK,” he tells himself. And having lived for so many years with so few choices in prison, the pressure to spend money on things you don’t need once you’re out is really high, Roach says. Even with small decisions, “not being impulsive” can benefit you, he says, instead of spending money and realizing later that you needed it for something more important. \u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "At California Medical Facility, playing a sport helps men practice new ways of thinking and form bonds that remain outside of prison walls.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>This article was published in partnership with \u003ca href=\"https://www.catchlight.io/\">CatchLight\u003c/a> as part of a three-year Mental Health Visual Desk Reporting Initiative, and with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/\">KQED\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before basketball practice begins, Larry Roach calls the men into a circle.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It’s a Wednesday afternoon, and they are gathering inside the gym at the California Medical Facility, a prison about 55 miles from San Francisco for men, including those with physical disabilities and other serious health needs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The men come in a mix, some rolling in in the wheelchairs they use every day, others walking in. They ease, one by one, into the low chairs with slanted wheels built for basketball. Roach waits until everyone, at least 15 players and five coaches, settles. He is incarcerated here, too, and able-bodied, but in this gym, he has another role: the “inside” coach.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The team always checks in before they play. The room takes on a focused energy, the faint rustling of bodies shifting in their seats and the soft scrape of wheels gliding across the room. Each man listens attentively as he awaits his turn to speak.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105851\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-02-9b90ce35.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a man with medium-toned skin and a beard, wearing a beanie and a light-colored hoodie sweatshirt, leaning against a wall with a light shining above him.\" class=\"wp-image-12105851\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-02-9b90ce35.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-02-9b90ce35-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-02-9b90ce35-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Steven “Scooby Doo” Davis is the co-captain of the character-first rehabilitative sports team, alongside Quentin Murphy. Struggling off and on with the prison environment, Scooby credits the team and support of its coach, Jeremiah Holland, with helping him stay positive. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105852\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-03-ed3a3e7d.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a man with dark-toned skin and glasses, wearing a light blue shirt. Barbed wire is visible behind him, in addition to some outdoor tables and people in the background.\" class=\"wp-image-12105852\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-03-ed3a3e7d.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-03-ed3a3e7d-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-03-ed3a3e7d-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">William Rowe was a well-established basketball player when he lost his leg and thought he would never play basketball again. He found wheelchair basketball in prison and credits the program with giving him the mental fortitude to rehabilitate. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105866\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-17-68571607.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a man with medium-toned skin, wearing a blue shirt and dark blue pants, sitting outdoors in a wheelchair. It is dark outside, and part of the prison yard is visible.\" class=\"wp-image-12105866\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-17-68571607.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-17-68571607-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-17-68571607-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rudy “Jump Shot” Martinez is a long-standing member of the team. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you want to share news from back home, say how your week went, spit out a motivational line or two, or welcome new players, this is the time to do it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On this day in late September, Roach talks about effort: “You can’t teach it. You gotta want it.” Then the men, still in their circle, all turn their fists to the men on either side, linking the whole team. Joe Chambers, a two-time Paralympian and one of the “outside” coaches, recites their slogan: “Everything we do, we do together.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With that, they disperse — and the gym erupts. Basketballs begin to bounce. A low rumble grows as hands slap wheels to accelerate red, green, black and silver chairs. They collide. Men tip sideways, falling over, and right themselves in a single beat. Someone calls, “Outlet!” to signal he’s open for a pass after his teammate regains possession of the ball.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Impulsivity works against you in wheelchair basketball. Someone on defense can block the path you wanted to take to the net, and you can’t sidestep around him like you do in stand-up basketball. You have to stop, assess what’s in front of you and find another way. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Roach has come to think about that lesson, finding another way, as bigger than basketball. “In wheelchair basketball … you got to slow your brain down and say, OK, I can’t do that no more,” he says. “So what’s the next best option?” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It teaches you to find a way out, he says, especially if you grew up feeling like you didn’t have many choices.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105857\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-08-02d55a10.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a basketball hoop in the middle of a prison yard empty of people, at dawn.\" class=\"wp-image-12105857\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-08-02d55a10.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-08-02d55a10-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-08-02d55a10-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Early morning on the court. The team aims to improve the mental health of incarcerated people by providing a place to exercise, see other people, set goals and work together. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-4 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105862\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-13-0796265f.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows three people in wheelchairs wheeling themselves up a ramp. On the wall to their right is painted the word Re creation” with some small painted silhouettes of people playing wheelchair basketball.\" class=\"wp-image-12105862\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-13-0796265f.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-13-0796265f-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-13-0796265f-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The program’s core philosophy is painted on the wall of the prison gym. Physical recreation is paired with the idea of re-creation of character. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The message is painted in black on the gym wall: “RE CREATION.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The space is no accident. Jeremiah Holland, creator of the wheelchair basketball program and the facility’s recreation supervisor until about a month ago, believes recreation can be more than movement, that it can be re-creation, an opportunity to practice being a different person.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It all starts with imagination, he says. Inside prison, where people are cut off from the outside world and expected to follow strict rules and play certain roles, “imagination contracts.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“People are always larger than the role that was assigned to them,” he says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sports can give people a chance to work on their character and build relationships in a “lonely, isolated” prison, Holland says. You learn something about yourself in how you react to frustration and losing a game — both teaching moments that push players to consider how they would handle similar situations outside of the gym. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over time, you learn to respond differently in your relationships with others and confront the painful parts of yourself, Holland says. This is why sports programs can change people for the better and “help people figure out how to look at the most difficult things in their life,” he says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-5 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105869\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-20-0cec44cb.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a White man with a gray beard and hair, wearing a long-sleeved shirt, standing on the outdoor basketball court in the morning.\" class=\"wp-image-12105869\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-20-0cec44cb.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-20-0cec44cb-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-20-0cec44cb-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Coach Jeremiah Holland has spearheaded a character-first approach to sports at California Medical Facility. Team members are selected based on their willingness to be a positive and supportive teammate, instead of solely on athletic ability. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105868\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-19-291b5aa9.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows six people gathered, either standing or in wheelchairs, around Coach Jeremiah Holland, a White man. The people have different skin tones ranging from dark-toned to light-toned.\" class=\"wp-image-12105868\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-19-291b5aa9.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-19-291b5aa9-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-19-291b5aa9-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Coaches say having able-bodied and disabled men play together creates a community that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the prison. It also teaches able-bodied players about disability, changing how they see the men in chairs. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">California is leaning into the rehabilitative potential of sports. On Sept. 30, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260ab2204\">Second Chance Sports Act\u003c/a>, directing the state’s prison system to come up with a plan to expand sports programming. Those who participate in organized sports will \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI-H6C9EfMs&t=7s\">reportedly\u003c/a> be able to earn credits that can lead to early release. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Holland has spent years weathering storms, like changes in prison leadership and a pandemic, to build recreation programs that embody this philosophy. Among them is this basketball team unlike most found in U.S. prisons, where able-bodied men and men with physical disabilities train for and play wheelchair basketball alongside one another.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He credits the community he built around the program as the reason it exists and has lasted. Holland brought in coaches and experts from the outside, gave incarcerated men, like Roach, increasing responsibility over the programs they joined, and fought hard to keep the prison administration invested. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Community engagement is really what allowed disability sport to happen,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Roach was a boy decades ago in South Sacramento, he played sports with his friend Landon Jackson. Gangs eventually redrew the lines in their neighborhood, and with that, their relationship.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-6 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1333\" height=\"2000\" data-id=\"12105867\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-18-10ddddf1.jpg\" alt=\"A photo of a letter reads: “Coach, I’m humbled and honored that you have decided to include me in the article; however, I’ve been M.I.A. for nearly two years with cancer – and I had a serious heart attack on 9-11-26 that required an “emergency” coronary catheterization and stent placement because my coronary artery was 99% blocked. Given the seriousness of my health issues – namely, the cancer, heart attack, colostomy bag, and baclofen pump – I’m no longer able to be an active participant on the wheelchair basketball team. I’m sad to make that decision, but I’m not doing well. I do not feel I have the right to contribute to a meaningful article when I no longer contribute to the amazing program. I shall continue to cheer for and support the program in my limited capacity, but I don’t believe (for obvious reasons) I have the privilege of being in the article.”\" class=\"wp-image-12105867\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-18-10ddddf1.jpg 1333w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-18-10ddddf1-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-18-10ddddf1-1024x1536.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1333px) 100vw, 1333px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A letter from an incarcerated player to Coach Holland explained that he couldn’t attend practice because he had a heart attack. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In their late teens, Roach remembers shooting at him.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Their paths did not cross again for many years, until one day, they saw each other coming down opposite sides of a hallway at CMF. Men who knew their history watched them, concerned. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They pulled each other into a hug. “That was the first time I got to hug him in 23 years,” Jackson says. “It’s the dude I played with when we were in middle school and elementary school. Kids. Innocence…”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Roach had already begun trying to put that old life behind him. His change of heart had come during visitation one day, when his 5-year-old daughter asked when he was going to leave the gang alone. Bit by bit, he took action; he renewed his faith in God, stopped using his gang name, took a victims’ impact class and trained to counsel other men. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was this version of Roach who hugged Jackson and apologized. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jackson, by then, had also pulled himself out of the old life. He had become deeply embedded in the wheelchair basketball program, which launched publicly in \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/insidecdcr/2022/12/27/wheelchair-basketball-rolls-into-cmf/\">late 2022\u003c/a>. Able-bodied himself, he had joined because friends who used wheelchairs needed help, people to push them through the yard or to get them through a workout. \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/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-26-8edd8451.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12105925\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-26-8edd8451.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-26-8edd8451-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-26-8edd8451-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The wheelchair basketball program at California Medical Facility (CMF) in Vacaville gives incarcerated people with mobility impairments a chance to play a real team sport—to compete, work together, stay active, and be part of something outside the normal routine of prison life. But the value of the program goes beyond basketball. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“When you start getting in the wheelchair, you see what you can’t do no more,” he says. “It makes you honor people in a different way.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This kind of growth is what the coaches had in mind when they let able-bodied players join the program, says Mieko Chambers, the team’s head coach and the head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers Chairmen, a National Wheelchair Basketball Association team. “All of a sudden, there’s this newfound respect for somebody that is looked to be weak or hurt.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At some point, the gym stopped being just a gym to Jackson. The program put him in a space of serving others, he says, which made him visible to people who could see the change he’d gone through. Holland put Jackson’s name up for resentencing, and the warden wrote the judge a letter of support that played a role in Jackson’s release.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2024, Jackson walked out of CMF.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How he and other leaders ran things stuck with the team. “Prison tells you don’t address it if it’s not violence,” Jackson says. “This gym told you address it so it doesn’t get violent.” Which sometimes meant calling a guy out, face-to-face, when he crossed a line.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1333\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-23-6f590b54.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a White man wearing a black T-shirt in a wheelchair, wearing a sweatband around his head. He has tattoos on both his arms.\" class=\"wp-image-12105872\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-23-6f590b54.jpg 1333w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-23-6f590b54-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-23-6f590b54-1024x1536.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1333px) 100vw, 1333px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Joe Chambers is an American wheelchair basketball star, a two-time Paralympian, and a cancer survivor who coaches the team at the California Medical Facility (CMF). (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once, Roach recalls, a player cursed at a volunteer. The men stopped practice, formed a circle and told him the behavior was unacceptable. They sent the player away for the day to cool off.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We don’t just want to single somebody out,” Roach says. “We’re gonna say what behaviors we won’t tolerate, and then go from there.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Other times it meant noticing when someone was struggling. At another practice, Steven Davis, an outgoing co-captain known as “Scooby Doo,” recalls walking in and sitting down. Normally, he would laugh, joke with others, get into his chair and get ready to play. The team noticed something was off and asked him what was on his mind. Davis had recently reconnected with his daughter, and he was afraid of losing her again.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The coaches hugged him. “We got you in here … We love you,” Joe Chambers told him. “We don’t want to see you like this.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Davis still remembers it. “For them to hug me and tell me that they see the good in me and I’m a good person, it made me go harder in wheelchair basketball,” he says. “… It made me want to come in here and be around these guys who actually show that they care.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-7 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105873\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-24-6cbb86ca.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a White man wearing a black T-shirt in a wheelchair, wearing a sweatband around his head and with his arms folded. The camera is focused on him and the left side of the image is out of focus.\" class=\"wp-image-12105873\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-24-6cbb86ca.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-24-6cbb86ca-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-24-6cbb86ca-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chambers plays for the Los Angeles Clippers Chairmen, alongside Lavonte McDowell, who he used to coach on the CMF wheelchair basketball team. He is also a former Team USA Paralympian bronze medalist, but continues to take practice at CMF. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1333\" height=\"2000\" data-id=\"12105871\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-22-12570d73.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a light-skinned woman with dark brown hair smiling at the camera.\" class=\"wp-image-12105871\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-22-12570d73.jpg 1333w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-22-12570d73-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-22-12570d73-1024x1536.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1333px) 100vw, 1333px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Coach Mieko Chambers, the head coach, helped Coach Holland start the program at CMF. She is also the head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers Chairmen, a National Wheelchair Basketball Association team. Both her husband, Joe Chambers, and Lavonte McDowell, play for the Chairmen. Mieko Chambers also won a gold medal as an assistant coach for Team USA’s women’s U25 wheelchair team in 2019. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Quentin Murphy moves through the traffic of chairs like a man playing chess, which is how Joe Chambers teaches the game: Think two and three moves ahead. Four years in the sport and over a decade in a wheelchair, Murphy is a co-captain alongside Davis and is considered one of the strongest players, the Michael Jordan of the team. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Basketball had always been part of his life. But he was run over by a truck during the crime that landed him in prison, he says, and had his leg amputated while in custody. The following years were dark. “There was those times where I had suicidal thoughts,” Murphy says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The recreation options available to a man in a wheelchair were bingo, shuffleboard, resistance bands, chair yoga. “Those kinds of sports to someone like me is some boring stuff,” he says. “I’m really competitive, and I like just being physical.” Disabled men who wanted competition didn’t have much to do, he says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-8 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1333\" height=\"2000\" data-id=\"12105864\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-15-4047e8fa.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a man with dark-toned skin and wearing a light blue shirt and dark blue pants, leaning against a pole while holding a basketball on the prison yard.\" class=\"wp-image-12105864\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-15-4047e8fa.jpg 1333w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-15-4047e8fa-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-15-4047e8fa-1024x1536.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1333px) 100vw, 1333px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Quentin “Q” Murphy at early morning practice on the yard. He lost his leg right before he arrived at prison. He is co-captain of the team, alongside Steven Davis. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-9 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105850\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-01-67d9a049.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a Black man sitting in his living space, which has a bed, which is among many beds in the open space. There is a cabinet with a postcard or stickers with the Dodger’s logo on it and another with the Laker’s logo on it. There are tupperwares on top of the cabinet, which also serves as a desk.\" class=\"wp-image-12105850\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-01-67d9a049.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-01-67d9a049-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-01-67d9a049-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Murphy returns to his housing unit after an early morning practice and prepares for his day. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105858\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-09-58255c65.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a Black man speeding across the court in a blur in a wheelchair while reaching up for a basketball.\" class=\"wp-image-12105858\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-09-58255c65.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-09-58255c65-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-09-58255c65-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">He practices with his team in the prison gymnasium. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\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/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-16-abb63a7e.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a Black man sitting on his bed, while a prosthetic leg lies next to him.\" class=\"wp-image-12105865\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-16-abb63a7e.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-16-abb63a7e-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-16-abb63a7e-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Basketball had always been a part of his life, but he had to learn the sport again through a different body. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Murphy had to learn basketball again in a different version of his body. Even though the instincts were similar, the mechanics were not. You have to generate speed using your arms, and make turns while protecting your momentum. You need to coast into your shots to get the ball up to a rim that is still 10 feet high. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now Murphy is one of the players others watch. His sisters, daughters and family friends know what he’s up to now and are proud of him, he says. When he comes into the gym, he doesn’t think about anything else. “It’s just a place of peace,” he says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wheelchair basketball also gave him a new way to mull over his future. A decades-long sentence has made a future difficult for him to imagine. But he considers all of the programs he’s done while in prison, and looks to a player who left the gym and played professionally on the outside as a testament to what’s possible for him… \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That player is Lavonte McDowell, whom the coaches consider the team’s success story. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In many ways, McDowell’s story unfolded the same way as Murphy’s. He was shot in the commission of his crime, became a paraplegic, went straight from the hospital room to a jail cell, and learned everything about his disability on his own.\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/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-10-9e5a6907.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows the bleachers of a gym. In front of the bleachers is a wheelchair with a prosthetic leg in it.\" class=\"wp-image-12105859\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-10-9e5a6907.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-10-9e5a6907-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-10-9e5a6907-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Quentin “Q” Murphy’s prosthetic leg rests in his everyday wheelchair while he is at practice in his sports wheelchair. He had to navigate prison life for the first time while newly being an amputee. He found wheelchair basketball to be a solace. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He joined the team as it was finding its footing. It wasn’t too long before coaches were telling him men were starting to look at him as a leader, but McDowell didn’t see it right away. He just knew that he wanted to change and couldn’t do it alone. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I felt like I needed people to hold me accountable for my own actions because I couldn’t help myself or hold myself accountable,” he says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His name was the first thing to go. Around the prison, men knew him by a street name from his gang days: “Everybody in the prison knew me by Chaos,” he says. About two months after joining the team, he stopped answering to it. “This is a false belief. This is not even my name,” he says. From then on, he told people his name was Lavonte.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fast-forward to the fall of 2024: McDowell and Joe Chambers remember the team gathered in a circle. Joe Chambers, who was already playing for the Los Angeles Clippers Chairmen, had some news to share. The Chairmen wanted McDowell to come play for them. McDowell cried tears of joy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-10 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105855\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-06-eb72ab0c.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a group of wheelchair basketball players on the court in the early morning outdoors. In the foreground is a Black man laughing joyfully in a wheelchair.\" class=\"wp-image-12105855\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-06-eb72ab0c.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-06-eb72ab0c-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-06-eb72ab0c-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The men check in before they play, sharing news from back home and welcoming new players. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-11 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105860\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-11-5dad377e.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a group of men playing wheelchair basketball. The skintones of the men range from dark-toned to light-toned.\" class=\"wp-image-12105860\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-11-5dad377e.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-11-5dad377e-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-11-5dad377e-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Two men reach up high for the basketball during a game at practice. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105870\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-21-bb51b698.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a Black man with long hair speeding across the court in a blur in a wheelchair.\" class=\"wp-image-12105870\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-21-bb51b698.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-21-bb51b698-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-21-bb51b698-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A man speeds by in a wheelchair, the room blurring around him. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-12 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105861\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-12-ad785b96.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows Coach Mieko Chambers, a woman with light-toned skin and dark brown hair, talking to a man with medium-toned skin sitting in a wheelchair. Another man with light-toned skin, in a wheelchair sits nearby.\" class=\"wp-image-12105861\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-12-ad785b96.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-12-ad785b96-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-12-ad785b96-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Coach Mieko Chambers counsels players during a practice at the prison gymnasium. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-13 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105854\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-05-e022dbd7.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a man in a wheelchair reaching up with the basketball in the air a few inches above his fingers. He is outdoors at dawn while another person stands nearby.\" class=\"wp-image-12105854\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-05-e022dbd7.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-05-e022dbd7-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-05-e022dbd7-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Holland coaches Rudy “Jump Shot” Martinez during the early hours of the morning. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He was released in early November 2024 and has since played for the team \u003ca href=\"https://www.nwba.org/page/show/9145206-la-clippers-chairmen?subseason=950002\">during the 2025-26 season\u003c/a>, traveling to games in states he had never been to.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today, he works with Project Rebound, an organization that helps connect formerly incarcerated people with higher education. “I just wanted to be of service,” he says. “I took from so many people. Did so much destruction in people’s lives, and in my own life and my family’s life … I was tired of being evil and stupid.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As for the coaches, they never cut him loose. They stayed in touch, met his family, and when he needed a chair of his own, they found pieces of old chairs, built one and sent it to him. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It’s wonderful to have somebody to actually give you chances. That’s all individuals want in prison,” he says. “… I feel that this program can give people that. I’m living proof.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Partway through last month’s practice, Holland appears near the door holding a stack of identification cards. “Here’s all the IDs,” he tells the players. “I’m putting them up on that door. If you go to chow, grab your ID and meet me at the door.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A player looks toward the door. “Hey, coach, what if they don’t want to let us back in?” he asks. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“They’re gonna let you back in,” Holland responds.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It’s a harmless question about dinner, but it’s also a reminder of the controlled prison environment they’re in. Even for the volunteer coaches, getting through the gate is not always guaranteed. Some drive nearly an hour one way and have at times been turned away because searches have taken over the gym, lockdowns have wiped out programming for the day or staffing decisions have canceled practice, the coaches say. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation says that it tries to minimize disruptions to programs, but staffing, training and emergencies have sometimes required temporary changes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Through the uncertainty and the many hours of driving and labor, including fixing the chairs, the coaches still show up, even on days when they or the players can’t get into the gym. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I don’t want them to think we’ve given up on it,” Joe Chambers says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So far, the team has played only a handful of games against outside teams. Joe Chambers has brought friends in, for example, and a Berkeley-based organization that has taught adaptive sports for decades has also played against them, Holland says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The coaches are hopeful for a future where games with outside teams happen more consistently. In their biggest dream for the program, they imagine registering the team with the National Wheelchair Basketball Association, and bringing outside teams into the facility to play enough sanctioned games to ultimately build a record and earn a national ranking. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If all of those pieces fall into place, there still is one more obstacle: The CMF team can’t travel. So opponents would have to come to them and go through security, just like any other visitor at the facility. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In mid-October, after spending more than two decades behind bars, Roach walked out of CMF, uncertain but excited about his future. His family threw a homecoming party for him, and all of the wheelchair basketball program’s coaches showed up. “They’re a part of my family now,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He’s also reconnected with Jackson and McDowell. Roach knew how much wheelchair basketball meant to him inside prison, but he’s appreciative of the support network it is giving him in the free world. “When you feel isolated and alone, and you get into a program like that where it’s love, and it’s support,” he says, “like, yo, my circle expanded.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As he adjusts to his new life, he gets a chance to test the emotional regulation and character work he picked up through the program. Getting out and being around so many people so quickly, for example, has called for breathwork. “Breathe, it’s OK,” he tells himself. And having lived for so many years with so few choices in prison, the pressure to spend money on things you don’t need once you’re out is really high, Roach says. Even with small decisions, “not being impulsive” can benefit you, he says, instead of spending money and realizing later that you needed it for something more important. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He’s approaching his future in the same way: Roach has already been offered a job at a transitional home, he says, but he doesn’t want to rush into anything. He’s considering the options to make the best choice. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But one thing he knows for sure is that he wants to stay connected to the wheelchair basketball team at CMF. “Whatever role they need me in,” he says. The process for getting approved to go back in, and how long that’ll take, is unclear to him.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Maybe one day, Roach will be back at the gym, gathering the men into a circle again. But this time, he’ll be an “outside” coach. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-14 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105874\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-25-97833ce3.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows a group of wheelchair basketball players all reaching up simultaneously for a basketball while in an indoor court.\" class=\"wp-image-12105874\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-25-97833ce3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-25-97833ce3-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-25-97833ce3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The players reach upward for the basketball during a scrimmage practice. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-15 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105856\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-07-e226ca33.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows Coach Jeremiah Holland, a White man, holding hands with wheelchair basketball players with varying skin tones, who have their hands linked while outdoors at dawn.\" class=\"wp-image-12105856\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-07-e226ca33.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-07-e226ca33-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-07-e226ca33-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Coach Holland and the players gather in a circle before and after every game to support each other and talk about challenges they are facing. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-16 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12105863\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-14-87d308ea.jpg\" alt=\"A photo shows Coach Jeremiah Holland, a White man, walking down a hall with a person in a wheelchair away from the camera.\" class=\"wp-image-12105863\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-14-87d308ea.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-14-87d308ea-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261022-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-BF-14-87d308ea-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Coaches Jeremiah Holland and Darwin Walters head home for the day after staying late at a practice. “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” He tries to remind people of their potential. “People are always larger than the role that was assigned to them,” Holland says. (Brian L. Frank for CatchLight/The Marshall Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "medi-cal-cuts-could-push-seniors-and-people-with-disabilities-off-of-coverage",
"title": "Medi-Cal Cuts Could Push Seniors and People With Disabilities Off of Coverage",
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"headTitle": "Medi-Cal Cuts Could Push Seniors and People With Disabilities Off of Coverage | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\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 class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Julia Feinberg feels like she’s living in a sinister version of Groundhog Day. For the second year in a row \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a> lawmakers have made it tougher for seniors and people with disabilities to qualify for state-funded health benefits. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Feinberg, 37, who has a degenerative neuromuscular disorder, said without Medi-Cal she would be confined to a nursing home rather than living and working as a therapist in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We keep having to have the same fight over and over and over again,” Feinberg said. She requires a power wheelchair and about 19 hours of caregiving each day, which Medi-Cal covers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">California is cutting Medi-Cal after a decade of expansion, part of \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2026/08/medi-cal-the-cut-healthcare-threatened/\">sweeping federal and state cuts\u003c/a> that experts estimate will kick more than 2.2 million Californians off coverage in the next four years, doubling the state’s uninsured rate. \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/10/2025/11/CaregiverGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12063947\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/CaregiverGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/CaregiverGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/CaregiverGetty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A senior woman at home receiving health care. (LPETTET via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The latest cut came in June, when state leaders approved a budget that will lower the asset limit for low-income seniors and people with disabilities to $21,000 to qualify for Medi-Cal, starting in July 2027. Feinberg, who has built up emergency savings, will have to spend about $10,000 to get under the cap.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2024, the state eliminated longstanding Medi-Cal asset limits, but since then lawmakers have chipped away at that policy. At the beginning of this year, state leaders reinstated an asset limit of $130,000, and the June budget lowered it further. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A primary residence and one vehicle are exempt from the new limit, but people 65 and older as well as those with disabilities cannot own a second home or car, and they can’t have more than $21,000 in \u003ca href=\"https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/MC007-ENG.pdf\">savings accounts, certain retirement accounts, life insurance policies or even burial plots\u003c/a>. They must still meet \u003ca href=\"https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/medi-cal/qualify/qualify-for-medi-cal-eligibility-chart/\">Medi-Cal income eligibility limits\u003c/a> of about $1,800 a month for a single person.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Advocates say the rules unfairly target older people and those with disabilities. \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/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_04-a244a4ca.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106309\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_04-a244a4ca.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_04-a244a4ca-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_04-a244a4ca-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Caretaker Lexi Marsh assists Elizabette Guéçamburu with various day-to-day tasks. (Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It’s really expensive to be disabled,” said Elizabette Guéçamburu, 44, who like Feinberg has spinal muscular atrophy and requires a power wheelchair as well as daily caregiving.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Guéçamburu said she’s saving up for a used wheelchair-accessible van, which costs about $75,000. Home modifications such as adding ramps and making bathrooms accessible also cost tens of thousands of dollars, most of which are not covered by Medi-Cal. Guéçamburu said those expenses would be impossible to afford if she couldn’t save.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Guéçamburu lives on her family’s farm in Patterson where they grow walnuts, almonds and alfalfa. She works part time as the farm’s bookkeeper. In 2024, doctors diagnosed Guéçamburu’s father with prostate cancer, and he could no longer act as her caregiver. The same year, California eliminated asset limits for people with disabilities and seniors — Guéçamburu cried, able to qualify for Medi-Cal for the first time. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“The timing was a godsend,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12106310\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926-ASSET-LIMIT-LV_CM_24-4689659e.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106310\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926-ASSET-LIMIT-LV_CM_24-4689659e.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926-ASSET-LIMIT-LV_CM_24-4689659e-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926-ASSET-LIMIT-LV_CM_24-4689659e-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Caretaker Lexi Marsh helps Elizabette Guecamburu get inside her van in the garage of her home outside Patterson on Oct. 16, 2026. Guecamburu is afraid that recently passed state Medi-Cal cuts will disqualify her from benefits. (Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12106311\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_20-967a950c.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106311\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_20-967a950c.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_20-967a950c-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_20-967a950c-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Caretaker Lexi Marsh feeds Elizabette Guéçamburu her food. (Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, her aging father is unable to take care of her should she lose Medi-Cal, and Guéçamburu is struggling to figure out what to do with money left to her by her grandmother. She’ll likely have to put it into a special needs trust controlled by a family member and give up financial independence. She also had her family strike her from inheriting any portion of their 100-year-old farm. \u003ca href=\"https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/financial-legal/long-term-care-affordability-report/\">Private home care costs thousands of dollars a month\u003c/a>, making it hard for lower- and middle-income people to pay for it out-of-pocket.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I have to surrender our legacy just to have medical security and have the ability to live my life,” Guéçamburu said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Asset limit flip-flop\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gov. Gavin Newsom eliminated Medi-Cal asset requirements in 2024 after a yearslong campaign by senior and disability rights advocates. In a \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2023/05/01/governor-newsom-proclaims-older-californians-month-2023/\">statement before the elimination\u003c/a>, Newsom said he was proud of the “bold investments” his administration was making to “protect life savings and homes.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But two years later, faced with a $12 billion budget shortfall, Newsom proposed reinstating the former $2,000 limit, arguing that more than twice as many people enrolled as previously estimated. The Legislature opposed that proposal and compromised at the current higher limit of $130,000, lowering it again to $21,000 starting next July. \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/10/2026/10/261023-PROP50VICTORYLAP-33-BL-KQED-7273678d.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106175\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261023-PROP50VICTORYLAP-33-BL-KQED-7273678d.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261023-PROP50VICTORYLAP-33-BL-KQED-7273678d-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261023-PROP50VICTORYLAP-33-BL-KQED-7273678d-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at a rally alongside California Democratic Party members, labor leaders and advocates in San Francisco on Oct. 23, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lindsay Imai Hong, California director for Hand In Hand, an advocacy group supporting families that need caregiving, said organizers are looking to the next governor for change.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We would love to see the asset test permanently taken off of the chopping block,” Imai Hong said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton said in a statement to CalMatters that he opposes asset limits. He criticized the state for extending other Medi-Cal benefits beyond what it could afford, including coverage for immigrants without legal status.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Seniors and people with disabilities shouldn’t lose their coverage because they’ve managed to save some money. They’ve done the responsible thing. Why punish them for it?” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Democratic gubernatorial candidate and front-runner Xavier Becerra did not answer specific questions about the asset limit policy, but a campaign spokesperson blamed the Trump administration’s federal cuts for “squeezing” California’s Medi-Cal program.\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/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_07-2a2066eb.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106312\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_07-2a2066eb.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_07-2a2066eb-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_07-2a2066eb-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Elizabette Guecamburu does her circulation exercises in the living room of her home outside of Patterson on Oct. 16, 2026. Guecamburu is afraid that recently passed state Medi-Cal cuts will disqualify her from benefits. (Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Becerra will be “focused on protecting access to care and demand savings that are real, measurable and sustainable,” spokesperson Johnathan Underland said. On the campaign trail, Becerra has called himself California’s next “healthcare governor” and has \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/27/xavier-becerra-wants-to-be-the-health-care-governor-00532691\">previously floated raising taxes\u003c/a> to reverse Medi-Cal cuts, but \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2026/09/california-governor-healthcare-plans-2026/\">has not released detailed health policy plans\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Camille Nguyen, an attorney with the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County, said most people who struggle to stay under the limit have little financial security.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“They have all of their life savings in cash savings instead of a house. That’s their retirement. That is the amount they are expecting to live off of for the rest of their life,” Nguyen said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">State data shows about 600 people lost Medi-Cal when California reinstated the $130,000 limit. Advocates expect many more to lose Medi-Cal at the lower limit, but the state never released budget estimates before lawmakers approved the $21,000 limit. If the state reinstated the much lower $2,000 limit, the Department of Finance estimated 62,000 seniors and people with disabilities would lose Medi-Cal over two years. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Limit fuels anxiety, anger among people with disabilities\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Feinberg said the prospect of losing Medi-Cal is especially scary because she would also lose access to a special disability program that pays for extra caregiving hours and has a multiyear waitlist. Caregivers help Feinberg get in and out of bed, dress and prepare her meals.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before the limit was erased in 2024, Feinberg said she checked her bank account every day to make sure the balance was low. At the time, Feinberg was a graduate student and did not earn very much money. Now, as a licensed therapist Feinberg has been able to squirrel away some money.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I don’t want to spend down that money. I want to save that for retirement, maybe buying a house in the future,” Feinberg said. “The prospect of not being able to have a nest egg is very unsettling.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Guéçamburu said she’s angry and frustrated that the state views services for people with disabilities as expendable.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It’s exhausting to have to justify your existence every legislative cycle,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>For the record: This story was updated to include information about a limited Medi-Cal benefit that covers home modifications for some members.\u003c/em> \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>Supported by the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), which works to ensure that people have access to the care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. Visit www.chcf.org to learn more.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2026/10/california-medi-cal-asset-limit-cut/\">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\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003c/p>\n",
"blocks": [
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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>Julia Feinberg feels like she’s living in a sinister version of Groundhog Day. For the second year in a row \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a> lawmakers have made it tougher for seniors and people with disabilities to qualify for state-funded health benefits. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Julia Feinberg feels like she’s living in a sinister version of Groundhog Day. For the second year in a row \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a> lawmakers have made it tougher for seniors and people with disabilities to qualify for state-funded health benefits. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Feinberg, 37, who has a degenerative neuromuscular disorder, said without Medi-Cal she would be confined to a nursing home rather than living and working as a therapist in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Feinberg, 37, who has a degenerative neuromuscular disorder, said without Medi-Cal she would be confined to a nursing home rather than living and working as a therapist in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We keep having to have the same fight over and over and over again,” Feinberg said. She requires a power wheelchair and about 19 hours of caregiving each day, which Medi-Cal covers.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>“We keep having to have the same fight over and over and over again,” Feinberg said. She requires a power wheelchair and about 19 hours of caregiving each day, which Medi-Cal covers.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>California is cutting Medi-Cal after a decade of expansion, part of \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2026/08/medi-cal-the-cut-healthcare-threatened/\">sweeping federal and state cuts\u003c/a> that experts estimate will kick more than 2.2 million Californians off coverage in the next four years, doubling the state’s uninsured rate. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>California is cutting Medi-Cal after a decade of expansion, part of \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2026/08/medi-cal-the-cut-healthcare-threatened/\">sweeping federal and state cuts\u003c/a> that experts estimate will kick more than 2.2 million Californians off coverage in the next four years, doubling the state’s uninsured rate. \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/10/2025/11/CaregiverGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12063947\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/CaregiverGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/CaregiverGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/CaregiverGetty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A senior woman at home receiving health care.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (LPETTET via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The latest cut came in June, when state leaders approved a budget that will lower the asset limit for low-income seniors and people with disabilities to $21,000 to qualify for Medi-Cal, starting in July 2027. Feinberg, who has built up emergency savings, will have to spend about $10,000 to get under the cap.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The latest cut came in June, when state leaders approved a budget that will lower the asset limit for low-income seniors and people with disabilities to $21,000 to qualify for Medi-Cal, starting in July 2027. Feinberg, who has built up emergency savings, will have to spend about $10,000 to get under the cap.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In 2024, the state eliminated longstanding Medi-Cal asset limits, but since then lawmakers have chipped away at that policy. At the beginning of this year, state leaders reinstated an asset limit of $130,000, and the June budget lowered it further. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In 2024, the state eliminated longstanding Medi-Cal asset limits, but since then lawmakers have chipped away at that policy. At the beginning of this year, state leaders reinstated an asset limit of $130,000, and the June budget lowered it further. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A primary residence and one vehicle are exempt from the new limit, but people 65 and older as well as those with disabilities cannot own a second home or car, and they can’t have more than $21,000 in \u003ca href=\"https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/MC007-ENG.pdf\">savings accounts, certain retirement accounts, life insurance policies or even burial plots\u003c/a>. They must still meet \u003ca href=\"https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/medi-cal/qualify/qualify-for-medi-cal-eligibility-chart/\">Medi-Cal income eligibility limits\u003c/a> of about $1,800 a month for a single person.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A primary residence and one vehicle are exempt from the new limit, but people 65 and older as well as those with disabilities cannot own a second home or car, and they can’t have more than $21,000 in \u003ca href=\"https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/MC007-ENG.pdf\">savings accounts, certain retirement accounts, life insurance policies or even burial plots\u003c/a>. They must still meet \u003ca href=\"https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/medi-cal/qualify/qualify-for-medi-cal-eligibility-chart/\">Medi-Cal income eligibility limits\u003c/a> of about $1,800 a month for a single person.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Advocates say the rules unfairly target older people and those with disabilities. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Advocates say the rules unfairly target older people and those with disabilities. \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/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_04-a244a4ca.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106309\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_04-a244a4ca.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_04-a244a4ca-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_04-a244a4ca-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> Caretaker Lexi Marsh assists Elizabette Guéçamburu with various day-to-day tasks.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\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/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_04-a244a4ca.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106309\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> Caretaker Lexi Marsh assists Elizabette Guéçamburu with various day-to-day tasks.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s really expensive to be disabled,” said Elizabette Guéçamburu, 44, who like Feinberg has spinal muscular atrophy and requires a power wheelchair as well as daily caregiving.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It’s really expensive to be disabled,” said Elizabette Guéçamburu, 44, who like Feinberg has spinal muscular atrophy and requires a power wheelchair as well as daily caregiving.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Guéçamburu said she’s saving up for a used wheelchair-accessible van, which costs about $75,000. Home modifications such as adding ramps and making bathrooms accessible also cost tens of thousands of dollars, most of which are not covered by Medi-Cal. Guéçamburu said those expenses would be impossible to afford if she couldn’t save.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Guéçamburu said she’s saving up for a used wheelchair-accessible van, which costs about $75,000. Home modifications such as adding ramps and making bathrooms accessible also cost tens of thousands of dollars, most of which are not covered by Medi-Cal. Guéçamburu said those expenses would be impossible to afford if she couldn’t save.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Guéçamburu lives on her family’s farm in Patterson where they grow walnuts, almonds and alfalfa. She works part time as the farm’s bookkeeper. In 2024, doctors diagnosed Guéçamburu’s father with prostate cancer, and he could no longer act as her caregiver. The same year, California eliminated asset limits for people with disabilities and seniors — Guéçamburu cried, able to qualify for Medi-Cal for the first time. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Guéçamburu lives on her family’s farm in Patterson where they grow walnuts, almonds and alfalfa. She works part time as the farm’s bookkeeper. In 2024, doctors diagnosed Guéçamburu’s father with prostate cancer, and he could no longer act as her caregiver. The same year, California eliminated asset limits for people with disabilities and seniors — Guéçamburu cried, able to qualify for Medi-Cal for the first time. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The timing was a godsend,” she said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The timing was a godsend,” she said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926-ASSET-LIMIT-LV_CM_24-4689659e.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106310\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Caretaker Lexi Marsh helps Elizabette Guecamburu get inside her van in the garage of her home outside Patterson on Oct. 16, 2026. Guecamburu is afraid that recently passed state Medi-Cal cuts will disqualify her from benefits.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926-ASSET-LIMIT-LV_CM_24-4689659e.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106310\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Caretaker Lexi Marsh helps Elizabette Guecamburu get inside her van in the garage of her home outside Patterson on Oct. 16, 2026. Guecamburu is afraid that recently passed state Medi-Cal cuts will disqualify her from benefits.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_20-967a950c.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106311\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Caretaker Lexi Marsh feeds Elizabette Guéçamburu her food. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Now, her aging father is unable to take care of her should she lose Medi-Cal, and Guéçamburu is struggling to figure out what to do with money left to her by her grandmother. She’ll likely have to put it into a special needs trust controlled by a family member and give up financial independence. She also had her family strike her from inheriting any portion of their 100-year-old farm. \u003ca href=\"https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/financial-legal/long-term-care-affordability-report/\">Private home care costs thousands of dollars a month\u003c/a>, making it hard for lower- and middle-income people to pay for it out-of-pocket.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Now, her aging father is unable to take care of her should she lose Medi-Cal, and Guéçamburu is struggling to figure out what to do with money left to her by her grandmother. She’ll likely have to put it into a special needs trust controlled by a family member and give up financial independence. She also had her family strike her from inheriting any portion of their 100-year-old farm. \u003ca href=\"https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/financial-legal/long-term-care-affordability-report/\">Private home care costs thousands of dollars a month\u003c/a>, making it hard for lower- and middle-income people to pay for it out-of-pocket.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I have to surrender our legacy just to have medical security and have the ability to live my life,” Guéçamburu said. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>“I have to surrender our legacy just to have medical security and have the ability to live my life,” Guéçamburu said. \u003c/p>\n"
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{
"blockName": "core/heading",
"attrs": {
"text": "Asset limit flip-flop",
"level": 2
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Asset limit flip-flop\u003c/h2>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Asset limit flip-flop\u003c/h2>\n"
],
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom eliminated Medi-Cal asset requirements in 2024 after a yearslong campaign by senior and disability rights advocates. In a \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2023/05/01/governor-newsom-proclaims-older-californians-month-2023/\">statement before the elimination\u003c/a>, Newsom said he was proud of the “bold investments” his administration was making to “protect life savings and homes.”\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom eliminated Medi-Cal asset requirements in 2024 after a yearslong campaign by senior and disability rights advocates. In a \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2023/05/01/governor-newsom-proclaims-older-californians-month-2023/\">statement before the elimination\u003c/a>, Newsom said he was proud of the “bold investments” his administration was making to “protect life savings and homes.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But two years later, faced with a $12 billion budget shortfall, Newsom proposed reinstating the former $2,000 limit, arguing that more than twice as many people enrolled as previously estimated. The Legislature opposed that proposal and compromised at the current higher limit of $130,000, lowering it again to $21,000 starting next July. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>But two years later, faced with a $12 billion budget shortfall, Newsom proposed reinstating the former $2,000 limit, arguing that more than twice as many people enrolled as previously estimated. The Legislature opposed that proposal and compromised at the current higher limit of $130,000, lowering it again to $21,000 starting next July. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Lindsay Imai Hong, California director for Hand In Hand, an advocacy group supporting families that need caregiving, said organizers are looking to the next governor for change.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We would love to see the asset test permanently taken off of the chopping block,” Imai Hong said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton said in a statement to CalMatters that he opposes asset limits. He criticized the state for extending other Medi-Cal benefits beyond what it could afford, including coverage for immigrants without legal status.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton said in a statement to CalMatters that he opposes asset limits. He criticized the state for extending other Medi-Cal benefits beyond what it could afford, including coverage for immigrants without legal status.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Seniors and people with disabilities shouldn’t lose their coverage because they’ve managed to save some money. They’ve done the responsible thing. Why punish them for it?” he said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Democratic gubernatorial candidate and front-runner Xavier Becerra did not answer specific questions about the asset limit policy, but a campaign spokesperson blamed the Trump administration’s federal cuts for “squeezing” California’s Medi-Cal program.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Democratic gubernatorial candidate and front-runner Xavier Becerra did not answer specific questions about the asset limit policy, but a campaign spokesperson blamed the Trump administration’s federal cuts for “squeezing” California’s Medi-Cal program.\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/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_07-2a2066eb.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106312\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_07-2a2066eb.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_07-2a2066eb-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_07-2a2066eb-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Elizabette Guecamburu does her circulation exercises in the living room of her home outside of Patterson on Oct. 16, 2026. Guecamburu is afraid that recently passed state Medi-Cal cuts will disqualify her from benefits.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\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/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_07-2a2066eb.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106312\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Elizabette Guecamburu does her circulation exercises in the living room of her home outside of Patterson on Oct. 16, 2026. Guecamburu is afraid that recently passed state Medi-Cal cuts will disqualify her from benefits.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Becerra will be “focused on protecting access to care and demand savings that are real, measurable and sustainable,” spokesperson Johnathan Underland said. On the campaign trail, Becerra has called himself California’s next “healthcare governor” and has \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/27/xavier-becerra-wants-to-be-the-health-care-governor-00532691\">previously floated raising taxes\u003c/a> to reverse Medi-Cal cuts, but \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2026/09/california-governor-healthcare-plans-2026/\">has not released detailed health policy plans\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Becerra will be “focused on protecting access to care and demand savings that are real, measurable and sustainable,” spokesperson Johnathan Underland said. On the campaign trail, Becerra has called himself California’s next “healthcare governor” and has \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/27/xavier-becerra-wants-to-be-the-health-care-governor-00532691\">previously floated raising taxes\u003c/a> to reverse Medi-Cal cuts, but \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2026/09/california-governor-healthcare-plans-2026/\">has not released detailed health policy plans\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Camille Nguyen, an attorney with the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County, said most people who struggle to stay under the limit have little financial security.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Camille Nguyen, an attorney with the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County, said most people who struggle to stay under the limit have little financial security.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“They have all of their life savings in cash savings instead of a house. That’s their retirement. That is the amount they are expecting to live off of for the rest of their life,” Nguyen said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“They have all of their life savings in cash savings instead of a house. That’s their retirement. That is the amount they are expecting to live off of for the rest of their life,” Nguyen said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>State data shows about 600 people lost Medi-Cal when California reinstated the $130,000 limit. Advocates expect many more to lose Medi-Cal at the lower limit, but the state never released budget estimates before lawmakers approved the $21,000 limit. If the state reinstated the much lower $2,000 limit, the Department of Finance estimated 62,000 seniors and people with disabilities would lose Medi-Cal over two years. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>State data shows about 600 people lost Medi-Cal when California reinstated the $130,000 limit. Advocates expect many more to lose Medi-Cal at the lower limit, but the state never released budget estimates before lawmakers approved the $21,000 limit. If the state reinstated the much lower $2,000 limit, the Department of Finance estimated 62,000 seniors and people with disabilities would lose Medi-Cal over two years. \u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "Limit fuels anxiety, anger among people with disabilities",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Limit fuels anxiety, anger among people with disabilities\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Feinberg said the prospect of losing Medi-Cal is especially scary because she would also lose access to a special disability program that pays for extra caregiving hours and has a multiyear waitlist. Caregivers help Feinberg get in and out of bed, dress and prepare her meals.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Feinberg said the prospect of losing Medi-Cal is especially scary because she would also lose access to a special disability program that pays for extra caregiving hours and has a multiyear waitlist. Caregivers help Feinberg get in and out of bed, dress and prepare her meals.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Before the limit was erased in 2024, Feinberg said she checked her bank account every day to make sure the balance was low. At the time, Feinberg was a graduate student and did not earn very much money. Now, as a licensed therapist Feinberg has been able to squirrel away some money.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Before the limit was erased in 2024, Feinberg said she checked her bank account every day to make sure the balance was low. At the time, Feinberg was a graduate student and did not earn very much money. Now, as a licensed therapist Feinberg has been able to squirrel away some money.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I don’t want to spend down that money. I want to save that for retirement, maybe buying a house in the future,” Feinberg said. “The prospect of not being able to have a nest egg is very unsettling.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Guéçamburu said she’s angry and frustrated that the state views services for people with disabilities as expendable.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s exhausting to have to justify your existence every legislative cycle,” she said.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>“It’s exhausting to have to justify your existence every legislative cycle,” she said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>For the record: This story was updated to include information about a limited Medi-Cal benefit that covers home modifications for some members.\u003c/em> \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>For the record: This story was updated to include information about a limited Medi-Cal benefit that covers home modifications for some members.\u003c/em> \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Supported by the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), which works to ensure that people have access to the care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. Visit www.chcf.org to learn more.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Supported by the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), which works to ensure that people have access to the care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. Visit www.chcf.org to learn more.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2026/10/california-medi-cal-asset-limit-cut/\">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",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2026/10/california-medi-cal-asset-limit-cut/\">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": "Next July, new Medi-Cal rules prohibit seniors and people with disabilities from saving more than $21,000. Senior and disability rights advocates say the cuts unfairly target vulnerable groups.",
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"title": "Medi-Cal Cuts Could Push Seniors and People With Disabilities Off of Coverage | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\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 class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Julia Feinberg feels like she’s living in a sinister version of Groundhog Day. For the second year in a row \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a> lawmakers have made it tougher for seniors and people with disabilities to qualify for state-funded health benefits. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Feinberg, 37, who has a degenerative neuromuscular disorder, said without Medi-Cal she would be confined to a nursing home rather than living and working as a therapist in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We keep having to have the same fight over and over and over again,” Feinberg said. She requires a power wheelchair and about 19 hours of caregiving each day, which Medi-Cal covers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">California is cutting Medi-Cal after a decade of expansion, part of \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2026/08/medi-cal-the-cut-healthcare-threatened/\">sweeping federal and state cuts\u003c/a> that experts estimate will kick more than 2.2 million Californians off coverage in the next four years, doubling the state’s uninsured rate. \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/10/2025/11/CaregiverGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12063947\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/CaregiverGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/CaregiverGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/CaregiverGetty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A senior woman at home receiving health care. (LPETTET via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The latest cut came in June, when state leaders approved a budget that will lower the asset limit for low-income seniors and people with disabilities to $21,000 to qualify for Medi-Cal, starting in July 2027. Feinberg, who has built up emergency savings, will have to spend about $10,000 to get under the cap.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2024, the state eliminated longstanding Medi-Cal asset limits, but since then lawmakers have chipped away at that policy. At the beginning of this year, state leaders reinstated an asset limit of $130,000, and the June budget lowered it further. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A primary residence and one vehicle are exempt from the new limit, but people 65 and older as well as those with disabilities cannot own a second home or car, and they can’t have more than $21,000 in \u003ca href=\"https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/MC007-ENG.pdf\">savings accounts, certain retirement accounts, life insurance policies or even burial plots\u003c/a>. They must still meet \u003ca href=\"https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/medi-cal/qualify/qualify-for-medi-cal-eligibility-chart/\">Medi-Cal income eligibility limits\u003c/a> of about $1,800 a month for a single person.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Advocates say the rules unfairly target older people and those with disabilities. \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/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_04-a244a4ca.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106309\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_04-a244a4ca.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_04-a244a4ca-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_04-a244a4ca-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Caretaker Lexi Marsh assists Elizabette Guéçamburu with various day-to-day tasks. (Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It’s really expensive to be disabled,” said Elizabette Guéçamburu, 44, who like Feinberg has spinal muscular atrophy and requires a power wheelchair as well as daily caregiving.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Guéçamburu said she’s saving up for a used wheelchair-accessible van, which costs about $75,000. Home modifications such as adding ramps and making bathrooms accessible also cost tens of thousands of dollars, most of which are not covered by Medi-Cal. Guéçamburu said those expenses would be impossible to afford if she couldn’t save.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Guéçamburu lives on her family’s farm in Patterson where they grow walnuts, almonds and alfalfa. She works part time as the farm’s bookkeeper. In 2024, doctors diagnosed Guéçamburu’s father with prostate cancer, and he could no longer act as her caregiver. The same year, California eliminated asset limits for people with disabilities and seniors — Guéçamburu cried, able to qualify for Medi-Cal for the first time. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“The timing was a godsend,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12106310\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926-ASSET-LIMIT-LV_CM_24-4689659e.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106310\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926-ASSET-LIMIT-LV_CM_24-4689659e.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926-ASSET-LIMIT-LV_CM_24-4689659e-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926-ASSET-LIMIT-LV_CM_24-4689659e-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Caretaker Lexi Marsh helps Elizabette Guecamburu get inside her van in the garage of her home outside Patterson on Oct. 16, 2026. Guecamburu is afraid that recently passed state Medi-Cal cuts will disqualify her from benefits. (Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12106311\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_20-967a950c.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106311\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_20-967a950c.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_20-967a950c-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_20-967a950c-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Caretaker Lexi Marsh feeds Elizabette Guéçamburu her food. (Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, her aging father is unable to take care of her should she lose Medi-Cal, and Guéçamburu is struggling to figure out what to do with money left to her by her grandmother. She’ll likely have to put it into a special needs trust controlled by a family member and give up financial independence. She also had her family strike her from inheriting any portion of their 100-year-old farm. \u003ca href=\"https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/financial-legal/long-term-care-affordability-report/\">Private home care costs thousands of dollars a month\u003c/a>, making it hard for lower- and middle-income people to pay for it out-of-pocket.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I have to surrender our legacy just to have medical security and have the ability to live my life,” Guéçamburu said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Asset limit flip-flop\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gov. Gavin Newsom eliminated Medi-Cal asset requirements in 2024 after a yearslong campaign by senior and disability rights advocates. In a \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2023/05/01/governor-newsom-proclaims-older-californians-month-2023/\">statement before the elimination\u003c/a>, Newsom said he was proud of the “bold investments” his administration was making to “protect life savings and homes.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But two years later, faced with a $12 billion budget shortfall, Newsom proposed reinstating the former $2,000 limit, arguing that more than twice as many people enrolled as previously estimated. The Legislature opposed that proposal and compromised at the current higher limit of $130,000, lowering it again to $21,000 starting next July. \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/10/2026/10/261023-PROP50VICTORYLAP-33-BL-KQED-7273678d.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106175\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261023-PROP50VICTORYLAP-33-BL-KQED-7273678d.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261023-PROP50VICTORYLAP-33-BL-KQED-7273678d-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261023-PROP50VICTORYLAP-33-BL-KQED-7273678d-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at a rally alongside California Democratic Party members, labor leaders and advocates in San Francisco on Oct. 23, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lindsay Imai Hong, California director for Hand In Hand, an advocacy group supporting families that need caregiving, said organizers are looking to the next governor for change.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We would love to see the asset test permanently taken off of the chopping block,” Imai Hong said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton said in a statement to CalMatters that he opposes asset limits. He criticized the state for extending other Medi-Cal benefits beyond what it could afford, including coverage for immigrants without legal status.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Seniors and people with disabilities shouldn’t lose their coverage because they’ve managed to save some money. They’ve done the responsible thing. Why punish them for it?” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Democratic gubernatorial candidate and front-runner Xavier Becerra did not answer specific questions about the asset limit policy, but a campaign spokesperson blamed the Trump administration’s federal cuts for “squeezing” California’s Medi-Cal program.\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/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_07-2a2066eb.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106312\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_07-2a2066eb.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_07-2a2066eb-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101926_ASSET-LIMIT_LV_CM_07-2a2066eb-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Elizabette Guecamburu does her circulation exercises in the living room of her home outside of Patterson on Oct. 16, 2026. Guecamburu is afraid that recently passed state Medi-Cal cuts will disqualify her from benefits. (Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Becerra will be “focused on protecting access to care and demand savings that are real, measurable and sustainable,” spokesperson Johnathan Underland said. On the campaign trail, Becerra has called himself California’s next “healthcare governor” and has \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/27/xavier-becerra-wants-to-be-the-health-care-governor-00532691\">previously floated raising taxes\u003c/a> to reverse Medi-Cal cuts, but \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2026/09/california-governor-healthcare-plans-2026/\">has not released detailed health policy plans\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Camille Nguyen, an attorney with the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County, said most people who struggle to stay under the limit have little financial security.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“They have all of their life savings in cash savings instead of a house. That’s their retirement. That is the amount they are expecting to live off of for the rest of their life,” Nguyen said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">State data shows about 600 people lost Medi-Cal when California reinstated the $130,000 limit. Advocates expect many more to lose Medi-Cal at the lower limit, but the state never released budget estimates before lawmakers approved the $21,000 limit. If the state reinstated the much lower $2,000 limit, the Department of Finance estimated 62,000 seniors and people with disabilities would lose Medi-Cal over two years. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Limit fuels anxiety, anger among people with disabilities\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Feinberg said the prospect of losing Medi-Cal is especially scary because she would also lose access to a special disability program that pays for extra caregiving hours and has a multiyear waitlist. Caregivers help Feinberg get in and out of bed, dress and prepare her meals.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before the limit was erased in 2024, Feinberg said she checked her bank account every day to make sure the balance was low. At the time, Feinberg was a graduate student and did not earn very much money. Now, as a licensed therapist Feinberg has been able to squirrel away some money.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I don’t want to spend down that money. I want to save that for retirement, maybe buying a house in the future,” Feinberg said. “The prospect of not being able to have a nest egg is very unsettling.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Guéçamburu said she’s angry and frustrated that the state views services for people with disabilities as expendable.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It’s exhausting to have to justify your existence every legislative cycle,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>For the record: This story was updated to include information about a limited Medi-Cal benefit that covers home modifications for some members.\u003c/em> \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>Supported by the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), which works to ensure that people have access to the care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. Visit www.chcf.org to learn more.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2026/10/california-medi-cal-asset-limit-cut/\">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\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "death-linked-to-new-opioid-included-in-san-franciscos-latest-overdose-snapshot",
"title": "Death Linked to New Opioid Included in San Francisco’s Latest Overdose Snapshot",
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"headTitle": "Death Linked to New Opioid Included in San Francisco’s Latest Overdose Snapshot | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a> recorded 48 fatal drug overdoses in September, placing the total number of such accidental deaths this year at 399 — including the city’s first fatal overdose from a synthetic opioid sold at gas stations and convenience stores, officials said.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The kratom-derived opioid MGM-15 produces \u003ca href=\"https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-13581.pdf\">more potent effects than morphine\u003c/a>.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“The products are not safe and can pose a risk of overdosing,” said Hillary Kunins, director of Behavioral Health and Mental Health with the San Francisco Health Department, at a press conference Friday. “People should avoid products that don’t come from reputable sources. And products that contain kratom and kratom-derived substances.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Earlier this week, the health department \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/news-fatal-overdose-involving-kratom-derived-opioid\">shared\u003c/a> a photo of the pill’s bright purple packaging, which was marketed as a “paradise blend” of “uncaria tomentosa extract” — an herbal supplement derived from a \u003ca href=\"https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/cats-claw?\">wild-growing woody vine\u003c/a> found in the Amazon rainforest and other tropical areas of Central and South America.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>It’s colloquially referred to as “cat’s claw.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/250528-SJSMOKESHOPS-JG-4_qed-82757d8a.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106020\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/250528-SJSMOKESHOPS-JG-4_qed-82757d8a.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/250528-SJSMOKESHOPS-JG-4_qed-82757d8a-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/250528-SJSMOKESHOPS-JG-4_qed-82757d8a-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A person rides a skateboard by Houdini’s Smoke Shop in downtown San José on May 28, 2025. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While very few high-quality scientific studies have been conducted on the drug, the National Institutes of Health’s website said it “appears to be safe when used orally for short periods of time.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The packaging shared by the health department doesn’t appear to mention, at all, kratom or MGM-15. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The drug has been labeled as a schedule-1 controlled substance by the Drug Enforcement Agency and can cause physical and psychological dependence.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Officials in Utah and Washington have previously identified overdose deaths from MGM-15 in those states.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Anyone believed to be suffering an overdose after consuming MGM-15, health officials said, should be given naloxone, often called by its brand name Narcan.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to the latest \u003ca href=\"https://media.api.sf.gov/documents/2026_10_OCME_Overdose_Report_mlQYRnv.pdf\">snapshot\u003c/a> of the city’s overdose crisis provided by the medical examiner, the majority of the individuals who died in September were white men. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nearly half of the deaths occurred in ZIP codes that include the Tenderloin, Civic Center and Mid-Market neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Overdose deaths have fallen in recent years, but they are still more common than they were before the pandemic in San Francisco, a city with a death rate that is among the worst in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a> recorded 48 fatal drug overdoses in September, placing the total number of such accidental deaths this year at 399 — including the city’s first fatal overdose from a synthetic opioid sold at gas stations and convenience stores, officials said.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The kratom-derived opioid MGM-15 produces \u003ca href=\"https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-13581.pdf\">more potent effects than morphine\u003c/a>.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“The products are not safe and can pose a risk of overdosing,” said Hillary Kunins, director of Behavioral Health and Mental Health with the San Francisco Health Department, at a press conference Friday. “People should avoid products that don’t come from reputable sources. And products that contain kratom and kratom-derived substances.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Earlier this week, the health department \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/news-fatal-overdose-involving-kratom-derived-opioid\">shared\u003c/a> a photo of the pill’s bright purple packaging, which was marketed as a “paradise blend” of “uncaria tomentosa extract” — an herbal supplement derived from a \u003ca href=\"https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/cats-claw?\">wild-growing woody vine\u003c/a> found in the Amazon rainforest and other tropical areas of Central and South America.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>It’s colloquially referred to as “cat’s claw.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a> recorded 48 fatal drug overdoses in September, placing the total number of such accidental deaths this year at 399 — including the city’s first fatal overdose from a synthetic opioid sold at gas stations and convenience stores, officials said.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The kratom-derived opioid MGM-15 produces \u003ca href=\"https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-13581.pdf\">more potent effects than morphine\u003c/a>.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“The products are not safe and can pose a risk of overdosing,” said Hillary Kunins, director of Behavioral Health and Mental Health with the San Francisco Health Department, at a press conference Friday. “People should avoid products that don’t come from reputable sources. And products that contain kratom and kratom-derived substances.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Earlier this week, the health department \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/news-fatal-overdose-involving-kratom-derived-opioid\">shared\u003c/a> a photo of the pill’s bright purple packaging, which was marketed as a “paradise blend” of “uncaria tomentosa extract” — an herbal supplement derived from a \u003ca href=\"https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/cats-claw?\">wild-growing woody vine\u003c/a> found in the Amazon rainforest and other tropical areas of Central and South America.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>It’s colloquially referred to as “cat’s claw.”\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/10/2026/10/250528-SJSMOKESHOPS-JG-4_qed-82757d8a.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106020\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/250528-SJSMOKESHOPS-JG-4_qed-82757d8a.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/250528-SJSMOKESHOPS-JG-4_qed-82757d8a-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/250528-SJSMOKESHOPS-JG-4_qed-82757d8a-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A person rides a skateboard by Houdini’s Smoke Shop in downtown San José on May 28, 2025. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\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/10/2026/10/250528-SJSMOKESHOPS-JG-4_qed-82757d8a.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106020\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A person rides a skateboard by Houdini’s Smoke Shop in downtown San José on May 28, 2025. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While very few high-quality scientific studies have been conducted on the drug, the National Institutes of Health’s website said it “appears to be safe when used orally for short periods of time.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The packaging shared by the health department doesn’t appear to mention, at all, kratom or MGM-15. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The drug has been labeled as a schedule-1 controlled substance by the Drug Enforcement Agency and can cause physical and psychological dependence.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Officials in Utah and Washington have previously identified overdose deaths from MGM-15 in those states.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Anyone believed to be suffering an overdose after consuming MGM-15, health officials said, should be given naloxone, often called by its brand name Narcan.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>According to the latest \u003ca href=\"https://media.api.sf.gov/documents/2026_10_OCME_Overdose_Report_mlQYRnv.pdf\">snapshot\u003c/a> of the city’s overdose crisis provided by the medical examiner, the majority of the individuals who died in September were white men. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Nearly half of the deaths occurred in ZIP codes that include the Tenderloin, Civic Center and Mid-Market neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Overdose deaths have fallen in recent years, but they are still more common than they were before the pandemic in San Francisco, a city with a death rate that is among the worst in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "In September, 48 individuals died from accidental overdoses in San Francisco, according to the latest report on the city’s overdose crisis provided by the medical examiner.",
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"title": "Death Linked to New Opioid Included in San Francisco’s Latest Overdose Snapshot | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a> recorded 48 fatal drug overdoses in September, placing the total number of such accidental deaths this year at 399 — including the city’s first fatal overdose from a synthetic opioid sold at gas stations and convenience stores, officials said.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The kratom-derived opioid MGM-15 produces \u003ca href=\"https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-13581.pdf\">more potent effects than morphine\u003c/a>.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“The products are not safe and can pose a risk of overdosing,” said Hillary Kunins, director of Behavioral Health and Mental Health with the San Francisco Health Department, at a press conference Friday. “People should avoid products that don’t come from reputable sources. And products that contain kratom and kratom-derived substances.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Earlier this week, the health department \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/news-fatal-overdose-involving-kratom-derived-opioid\">shared\u003c/a> a photo of the pill’s bright purple packaging, which was marketed as a “paradise blend” of “uncaria tomentosa extract” — an herbal supplement derived from a \u003ca href=\"https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/cats-claw?\">wild-growing woody vine\u003c/a> found in the Amazon rainforest and other tropical areas of Central and South America.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>It’s colloquially referred to as “cat’s claw.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/250528-SJSMOKESHOPS-JG-4_qed-82757d8a.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106020\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/250528-SJSMOKESHOPS-JG-4_qed-82757d8a.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/250528-SJSMOKESHOPS-JG-4_qed-82757d8a-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/250528-SJSMOKESHOPS-JG-4_qed-82757d8a-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A person rides a skateboard by Houdini’s Smoke Shop in downtown San José on May 28, 2025. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While very few high-quality scientific studies have been conducted on the drug, the National Institutes of Health’s website said it “appears to be safe when used orally for short periods of time.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The packaging shared by the health department doesn’t appear to mention, at all, kratom or MGM-15. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The drug has been labeled as a schedule-1 controlled substance by the Drug Enforcement Agency and can cause physical and psychological dependence.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Officials in Utah and Washington have previously identified overdose deaths from MGM-15 in those states.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Anyone believed to be suffering an overdose after consuming MGM-15, health officials said, should be given naloxone, often called by its brand name Narcan.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to the latest \u003ca href=\"https://media.api.sf.gov/documents/2026_10_OCME_Overdose_Report_mlQYRnv.pdf\">snapshot\u003c/a> of the city’s overdose crisis provided by the medical examiner, the majority of the individuals who died in September were white men. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nearly half of the deaths occurred in ZIP codes that include the Tenderloin, Civic Center and Mid-Market neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Overdose deaths have fallen in recent years, but they are still more common than they were before the pandemic in San Francisco, a city with a death rate that is among the worst in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "oakland-immigration-arrest-raises-questions-about-ice-free-zones-training-at-hospitals",
"title": "East Bay Immigration Arrest Raises Questions About ‘ICE-Free Zones,’ Training at Hospitals",
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"headTitle": "East Bay Immigration Arrest Raises Questions About ‘ICE-Free Zones,’ Training at Hospitals | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After immigration authorities detained a man in Emeryville last week and brought him to an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/highland-hospital\">Alameda County hospital\u003c/a>, some medical staff said they didn’t receive legally required training that would have helped them respond to enforcement activity. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Several staff members at Wilma Chan Highland Hospital Campus in Oakland told administrators in a letter that the Oct. 16 arrival of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and a detainee “highlighted major hazards to the rights and safety of our patients.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Immigration agents brought a man to Highland for treatment after an agent allegedly tackled him and fractured six of his ribs, said Nikolas De Bremaeker, an attorney at Centro Legal De La Raza who represents the man. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">De Bremaeker and some employees said agents allegedly tried to obstruct access to counsel, to direct medical treatment and asked staff for medical information. The agent who tackled the patient, the attorney said, had been “sitting on his bed, grinning at him.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It’s incredibly scary,” De Bremaeker told KQED. “It’s just unacceptable for ICE agents to be terrorizing folks inside a hospital.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1505\" height=\"1432\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261023-Highland-Hospital-SK-03-5314ee6d.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12105985\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261023-Highland-Hospital-SK-03-5314ee6d.jpg 1505w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261023-Highland-Hospital-SK-03-5314ee6d-160x152.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1505px) 100vw, 1505px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">One side of an Alameda Health System employee’s “badge buddy” that outlines how to respond to immigration authorities when they show up to one of the facilities. (Courtesy of Iman Khalil)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">About two dozen community members were on the lookout for agents on Thursday morning for hours, being directed by others to make noise if immigration authorities exited or entered the facility. They’d been showing up since Monday, an organizer said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Alameda Health System, which Highland is a part of, declined to comment on allegations specific to De Bremaeker’s client’s care, citing patient confidentiality. But said, generally, law enforcement does not direct treatment and the system is complying with all laws and requirements concerning immigration enforcement in its facilities. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an earlier statement to KQED about the ICE activity, AHS said that it activated an Incident Command Center and that security personnel were on site monitoring developments. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shortly after a planned demonstration against ICE’s presence got underway on Friday, the health system told KQED that no patients at Highland Hospital were in ICE custody, and ICE personnel were not present on the property. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Alameda Health System’s training falls short, staff says\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some staff members told AHS in the letter that they “at all levels, remain confused and consistently express a lack of clarity on policy when patients are brought in civil detention.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“This is out of step with current best practices in the state of California,” the staff members wrote. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb81\">Senate Bill 81\u003c/a>, which took effect in September 2025, requires medical health care providers to restrict certain immigration information from being shared and, as part of new restrictions to nonpublic areas, facilities must inform staff on how to respond to requests to access sites and establish procedures for receiving visitors.\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/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_010-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12074474\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_010-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_010-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_010-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Wilma Chan Highland Hospital Campus is seen through flowering branches in Oakland on Feb. 24, 2026. The hospital is part of Alameda Health System. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But staff told administrators the hospital system isn’t in compliance with that law. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ansel Schmidt, a physical therapist at the Highland Hospital, isn’t on the patient’s care team, but helped draft the letter. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I’m not sure that I’ve received anything that I would call training,” Schmidt told KQED. What Schmidt has received is a “badge buddy,” or a reference guide, that he said implies staff can cooperate with ICE. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A badge buddy reviewed by KQED shows that staff are instructed to notify an administrator when a patient in ICE custody shows up for care. Providers request agents leave during evaluation, inform patients of their rights and, if they don’t meet admission criteria, can be handed off to the ICE control office. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Schmidt said that emails about responding to immigration activity have left him and others feeling “really confused and isolated,” because that “isn’t a training.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In response to staff concerns over training and what training is already in place, AHS said staff are told to “promptly escalate” situations through the appropriate channels where immigration authorities are present at any facility.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We reinforce these procedures through staff communications, training, scenario-based exercises, desktop training, and quick-reference ‘badge buddies’ that staff can keep with their identification badges,” AHS said. “The protocol has also been reviewed in staff webinar forums, including this week, and recordings are available to staff on our intranet.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Iman Khalil, a respiratory therapist at San Leandro Hospital, part of the Alameda Health System, said staff members receive minimal training about what to do when immigration authorities show up. Khalil received the same badge and emails Schmidt did.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Allowing the agents in the hospital … undoes all that training,” Khalil said. “You really don’t think they’ll even allow the agents in the hospital. But here we are.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AHS CEO James Jackson told staff that AHS believed the man in ICE’s custody at the hospital for the last week was part of the agency’s civil immigration enforcement authority and called on personnel to review established immigration response protocols, according to an Oct. 19 email obtained and reviewed by KQED. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas said a scheduled Oct. 27 joint meeting between county supervisors and the Alameda Health System Board of Trustees is an opportunity “to push for doing everything possible to enforce our policies that protect immigrant communities.” Fortunato Bas said officials will discuss budget, governance and compliance with local and state policies.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">ICE-free zone?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Highland Hospital, which sits on county property, also falls under Alameda County’s “ICE-free zone” ordinance that limits cooperation with federal immigration authorities. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">County supervisors and advocates touted the policy, of which similar ones have been adopted across the Bay Area, as a way to push back against violent and sometimes deadly actions by immigration agents during the second Trump administration. In January, agents fatally shot Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota during a surge of immigration enforcement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Alameda County Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez and other officials have also noted the limits of just how far the ICE-free zone can go. It doesn’t prevent immigration officials from actually being on county property, Sanchez \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2026/01/28/ice-free-zones-are-coming-to-alameda-county/\">said previously\u003c/a>. Officials in other jurisdictions with these “zones” have even referred to them as symbolic — or \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/02/04/ice-free-zones-community-wide-warning-system-weighed-in-richmond-amid-trump-crackdowns/\">a way to create\u003c/a> “false expectations.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1577\" height=\"1560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261023-Highland-Hospital-SK-02-0b437edd.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12105984\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261023-Highland-Hospital-SK-02-0b437edd.jpg 1577w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261023-Highland-Hospital-SK-02-0b437edd-160x158.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261023-Highland-Hospital-SK-02-0b437edd-1536x1519.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1577px) 100vw, 1577px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">One side of an Alameda Health System employee’s “badge buddy” that outlines how to respond to immigration authorities when they show up to one of the facilities. (Courtesy of Iman Khalil)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">De Bremaeker said his client is still in ICE custody as of Thursday afternoon. Another man he represents was detained by ICE in the San Antonio neighborhood in Oakland on the same day, before being taken to another hospital for injuries that De Bremaeker said were sustained because of the officers’ actions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The two cases are part of an “unprecedented escalation” of violence from ICE, De Bremaeker said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Oakland City Council member Charlene Wang said in a social media video Friday afternoon that she was outraged by the arrests. She said she had been in touch with AHS administration to see if there were any legal grounds to remove immigration authorities from the property, which Wang said they “[didn’t] know the answer to yet.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The attorney called on federal lawmakers to launch a congressional inquiry into ICE’s actions and, in particular, the agency’s activity in hospitals. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“They have been occupying these hospitals for days, creating an incredible threat to community members, terrifying folks who need medical care from going to the hospital,” De Bremaeker said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ICE said that De Bremaeker’s client — who the agency characterized as an “illegal alien” — was arrested as part of a targeted enforcement operation. During which, the agency said the detainee tried to assault officers and refused lawful commands. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Officers relied on their training to control the situation,” an ICE spokesperson said, adding that De Bremaeker’s client disclosed a preexisting injury of falling off a ladder two days prior. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The agency said, like other law enforcement agencies, it is standard procedure for ICE to accompany detainees for the safety of staff and public. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Renee Coe, with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, is among the community members who came out to keep watch for ICE at the hospital. She said some community members are scared to show up to the hospital because of federal agents’ presence, but urged them not to put off medical care. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AHS said its property is not being used as a staging area, operations base or processing location for immigration enforcement activities, and the immigration vehicles currently on Highland property are present “only in connection with a patient who is in immigration enforcement custody.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fortunato Bas told community members outside the hospital on Friday that her understanding of the ICE presence on the property was the same as the health system’s.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“At any given time, I understand they only had two agents … maintaining legal custody of the patient at any given time,” Fortunato Bas said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">About 100 Oakland residents held an emergency press conference at 6 p.m. on Friday in front of Highland to demand accountability for local authorities, security contracting with the facility and AHS for “continuously” assisting ICE operations at the hospital.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>KQED’s\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/bkrans\">\u003cem>Brian Krans\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Several staff members at Wilma Chan Highland Hospital Campus in Oakland told administrators in a letter that the Oct. 16 arrival of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and a detainee “highlighted major hazards to the rights and safety of our patients.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Immigration agents brought a man to Highland for treatment after an agent allegedly tackled him and fractured six of his ribs, said Nikolas De Bremaeker, an attorney at Centro Legal De La Raza who represents the man. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>De Bremaeker and some employees said agents allegedly tried to obstruct access to counsel, to direct medical treatment and asked staff for medical information. The agent who tackled the patient, the attorney said, had been “sitting on his bed, grinning at him.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s incredibly scary,” De Bremaeker told KQED. “It’s just unacceptable for ICE agents to be terrorizing folks inside a hospital.” \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/10/2026/10/261023-Highland-Hospital-SK-03-5314ee6d.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12105985\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261023-Highland-Hospital-SK-03-5314ee6d.jpg 1505w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261023-Highland-Hospital-SK-03-5314ee6d-160x152.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">One side of an Alameda Health System employee’s “badge buddy” that outlines how to respond to immigration authorities when they show up to one of the facilities. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of Iman Khalil)\u003c/cite>\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/10/2026/10/261023-Highland-Hospital-SK-03-5314ee6d.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12105985\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">One side of an Alameda Health System employee’s “badge buddy” that outlines how to respond to immigration authorities when they show up to one of the facilities. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of Iman Khalil)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>About two dozen community members were on the lookout for agents on Thursday morning for hours, being directed by others to make noise if immigration authorities exited or entered the facility. They’d been showing up since Monday, an organizer said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Alameda Health System, which Highland is a part of, declined to comment on allegations specific to De Bremaeker’s client’s care, citing patient confidentiality. But said, generally, law enforcement does not direct treatment and the system is complying with all laws and requirements concerning immigration enforcement in its facilities. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In an earlier statement to KQED about the ICE activity, AHS said that it activated an Incident Command Center and that security personnel were on site monitoring developments. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Shortly after a planned demonstration against ICE’s presence got underway on Friday, the health system told KQED that no patients at Highland Hospital were in ICE custody, and ICE personnel were not present on the property. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Shortly after a planned demonstration against ICE’s presence got underway on Friday, the health system told KQED that no patients at Highland Hospital were in ICE custody, and ICE personnel were not present on the property. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Some staff members told AHS in the letter that they “at all levels, remain confused and consistently express a lack of clarity on policy when patients are brought in civil detention.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This is out of step with current best practices in the state of California,” the staff members wrote. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb81\">Senate Bill 81\u003c/a>, which took effect in September 2025, requires medical health care providers to restrict certain immigration information from being shared and, as part of new restrictions to nonpublic areas, facilities must inform staff on how to respond to requests to access sites and establish procedures for receiving visitors.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb81\">Senate Bill 81\u003c/a>, which took effect in September 2025, requires medical health care providers to restrict certain immigration information from being shared and, as part of new restrictions to nonpublic areas, facilities must inform staff on how to respond to requests to access sites and establish procedures for receiving visitors.\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/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_010-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12074474\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_010-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_010-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_010-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\">The Wilma Chan Highland Hospital Campus is seen through flowering branches in Oakland on Feb. 24, 2026. The hospital is part of Alameda Health System.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But staff told administrators the hospital system isn’t in compliance with that law. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Ansel Schmidt, a physical therapist at the Highland Hospital, isn’t on the patient’s care team, but helped draft the letter. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I’m not sure that I’ve received anything that I would call training,” Schmidt told KQED. What Schmidt has received is a “badge buddy,” or a reference guide, that he said implies staff can cooperate with ICE. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A badge buddy reviewed by KQED shows that staff are instructed to notify an administrator when a patient in ICE custody shows up for care. Providers request agents leave during evaluation, inform patients of their rights and, if they don’t meet admission criteria, can be handed off to the ICE control office. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A badge buddy reviewed by KQED shows that staff are instructed to notify an administrator when a patient in ICE custody shows up for care. Providers request agents leave during evaluation, inform patients of their rights and, if they don’t meet admission criteria, can be handed off to the ICE control office. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Schmidt said that emails about responding to immigration activity have left him and others feeling “really confused and isolated,” because that “isn’t a training.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In response to staff concerns over training and what training is already in place, AHS said staff are told to “promptly escalate” situations through the appropriate channels where immigration authorities are present at any facility.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We reinforce these procedures through staff communications, training, scenario-based exercises, desktop training, and quick-reference ‘badge buddies’ that staff can keep with their identification badges,” AHS said. “The protocol has also been reviewed in staff webinar forums, including this week, and recordings are available to staff on our intranet.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We reinforce these procedures through staff communications, training, scenario-based exercises, desktop training, and quick-reference ‘badge buddies’ that staff can keep with their identification badges,” AHS said. “The protocol has also been reviewed in staff webinar forums, including this week, and recordings are available to staff on our intranet.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Iman Khalil, a respiratory therapist at San Leandro Hospital, part of the Alameda Health System, said staff members receive minimal training about what to do when immigration authorities show up. Khalil received the same badge and emails Schmidt did.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Iman Khalil, a respiratory therapist at San Leandro Hospital, part of the Alameda Health System, said staff members receive minimal training about what to do when immigration authorities show up. Khalil received the same badge and emails Schmidt did.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Allowing the agents in the hospital … undoes all that training,” Khalil said. “You really don’t think they’ll even allow the agents in the hospital. But here we are.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Allowing the agents in the hospital … undoes all that training,” Khalil said. “You really don’t think they’ll even allow the agents in the hospital. But here we are.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>AHS CEO James Jackson told staff that AHS believed the man in ICE’s custody at the hospital for the last week was part of the agency’s civil immigration enforcement authority and called on personnel to review established immigration response protocols, according to an Oct. 19 email obtained and reviewed by KQED. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>AHS CEO James Jackson told staff that AHS believed the man in ICE’s custody at the hospital for the last week was part of the agency’s civil immigration enforcement authority and called on personnel to review established immigration response protocols, according to an Oct. 19 email obtained and reviewed by KQED. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas said a scheduled Oct. 27 joint meeting between county supervisors and the Alameda Health System Board of Trustees is an opportunity “to push for doing everything possible to enforce our policies that protect immigrant communities.” Fortunato Bas said officials will discuss budget, governance and compliance with local and state policies.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas said a scheduled Oct. 27 joint meeting between county supervisors and the Alameda Health System Board of Trustees is an opportunity “to push for doing everything possible to enforce our policies that protect immigrant communities.” Fortunato Bas said officials will discuss budget, governance and compliance with local and state policies.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">ICE-free zone?\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Highland Hospital, which sits on county property, also falls under Alameda County’s “ICE-free zone” ordinance that limits cooperation with federal immigration authorities. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>County supervisors and advocates touted the policy, of which similar ones have been adopted across the Bay Area, as a way to push back against violent and sometimes deadly actions by immigration agents during the second Trump administration. In January, agents fatally shot Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota during a surge of immigration enforcement. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>County supervisors and advocates touted the policy, of which similar ones have been adopted across the Bay Area, as a way to push back against violent and sometimes deadly actions by immigration agents during the second Trump administration. In January, agents fatally shot Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota during a surge of immigration enforcement. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But Alameda County Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez and other officials have also noted the limits of just how far the ICE-free zone can go. It doesn’t prevent immigration officials from actually being on county property, Sanchez \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2026/01/28/ice-free-zones-are-coming-to-alameda-county/\">said previously\u003c/a>. Officials in other jurisdictions with these “zones” have even referred to them as symbolic — or \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/02/04/ice-free-zones-community-wide-warning-system-weighed-in-richmond-amid-trump-crackdowns/\">a way to create\u003c/a> “false expectations.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But Alameda County Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez and other officials have also noted the limits of just how far the ICE-free zone can go. It doesn’t prevent immigration officials from actually being on county property, Sanchez \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2026/01/28/ice-free-zones-are-coming-to-alameda-county/\">said previously\u003c/a>. Officials in other jurisdictions with these “zones” have even referred to them as symbolic — or \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/02/04/ice-free-zones-community-wide-warning-system-weighed-in-richmond-amid-trump-crackdowns/\">a way to create\u003c/a> “false expectations.” \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/10/2026/10/261023-Highland-Hospital-SK-02-0b437edd.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12105984\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261023-Highland-Hospital-SK-02-0b437edd.jpg 1577w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261023-Highland-Hospital-SK-02-0b437edd-160x158.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261023-Highland-Hospital-SK-02-0b437edd-1536x1519.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">One side of an Alameda Health System employee’s “badge buddy” that outlines how to respond to immigration authorities when they show up to one of the facilities. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of Iman Khalil)\u003c/cite>\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/10/2026/10/261023-Highland-Hospital-SK-02-0b437edd.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12105984\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">One side of an Alameda Health System employee’s “badge buddy” that outlines how to respond to immigration authorities when they show up to one of the facilities. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of Iman Khalil)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>De Bremaeker said his client is still in ICE custody as of Thursday afternoon. Another man he represents was detained by ICE in the San Antonio neighborhood in Oakland on the same day, before being taken to another hospital for injuries that De Bremaeker said were sustained because of the officers’ actions. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>De Bremaeker said his client is still in ICE custody as of Thursday afternoon. Another man he represents was detained by ICE in the San Antonio neighborhood in Oakland on the same day, before being taken to another hospital for injuries that De Bremaeker said were sustained because of the officers’ actions. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The two cases are part of an “unprecedented escalation” of violence from ICE, De Bremaeker said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The two cases are part of an “unprecedented escalation” of violence from ICE, De Bremaeker said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Oakland City Council member Charlene Wang said in a social media video Friday afternoon that she was outraged by the arrests. She said she had been in touch with AHS administration to see if there were any legal grounds to remove immigration authorities from the property, which Wang said they “[didn’t] know the answer to yet.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Oakland City Council member Charlene Wang said in a social media video Friday afternoon that she was outraged by the arrests. She said she had been in touch with AHS administration to see if there were any legal grounds to remove immigration authorities from the property, which Wang said they “[didn’t] know the answer to yet.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The attorney called on federal lawmakers to launch a congressional inquiry into ICE’s actions and, in particular, the agency’s activity in hospitals. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The attorney called on federal lawmakers to launch a congressional inquiry into ICE’s actions and, in particular, the agency’s activity in hospitals. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“They have been occupying these hospitals for days, creating an incredible threat to community members, terrifying folks who need medical care from going to the hospital,” De Bremaeker said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“They have been occupying these hospitals for days, creating an incredible threat to community members, terrifying folks who need medical care from going to the hospital,” De Bremaeker said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>ICE said that De Bremaeker’s client — who the agency characterized as an “illegal alien” — was arrested as part of a targeted enforcement operation. During which, the agency said the detainee tried to assault officers and refused lawful commands. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>ICE said that De Bremaeker’s client — who the agency characterized as an “illegal alien” — was arrested as part of a targeted enforcement operation. During which, the agency said the detainee tried to assault officers and refused lawful commands. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Officers relied on their training to control the situation,” an ICE spokesperson said, adding that De Bremaeker’s client disclosed a preexisting injury of falling off a ladder two days prior. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Officers relied on their training to control the situation,” an ICE spokesperson said, adding that De Bremaeker’s client disclosed a preexisting injury of falling off a ladder two days prior. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The agency said, like other law enforcement agencies, it is standard procedure for ICE to accompany detainees for the safety of staff and public. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The agency said, like other law enforcement agencies, it is standard procedure for ICE to accompany detainees for the safety of staff and public. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Renee Coe, with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, is among the community members who came out to keep watch for ICE at the hospital. She said some community members are scared to show up to the hospital because of federal agents’ presence, but urged them not to put off medical care. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Renee Coe, with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, is among the community members who came out to keep watch for ICE at the hospital. She said some community members are scared to show up to the hospital because of federal agents’ presence, but urged them not to put off medical care. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>AHS said its property is not being used as a staging area, operations base or processing location for immigration enforcement activities, and the immigration vehicles currently on Highland property are present “only in connection with a patient who is in immigration enforcement custody.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>AHS said its property is not being used as a staging area, operations base or processing location for immigration enforcement activities, and the immigration vehicles currently on Highland property are present “only in connection with a patient who is in immigration enforcement custody.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Fortunato Bas told community members outside the hospital on Friday that her understanding of the ICE presence on the property was the same as the health system’s.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Fortunato Bas told community members outside the hospital on Friday that her understanding of the ICE presence on the property was the same as the health system’s.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“At any given time, I understand they only had two agents … maintaining legal custody of the patient at any given time,” Fortunato Bas said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“At any given time, I understand they only had two agents … maintaining legal custody of the patient at any given time,” Fortunato Bas said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>About 100 Oakland residents held an emergency press conference at 6 p.m. on Friday in front of Highland to demand accountability for local authorities, security contracting with the facility and AHS for “continuously” assisting ICE operations at the hospital.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>About 100 Oakland residents held an emergency press conference at 6 p.m. on Friday in front of Highland to demand accountability for local authorities, security contracting with the facility and AHS for “continuously” assisting ICE operations at the hospital.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/bkrans\">\u003cem>Brian Krans\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Oakland’s Highland Hospital staff and community members expressed concerns after ICE agents allegedly brought a patient in with six fractured ribs last week. ",
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"title": "East Bay Immigration Arrest Raises Questions About ‘ICE-Free Zones,’ Training at Hospitals | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After immigration authorities detained a man in Emeryville last week and brought him to an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/highland-hospital\">Alameda County hospital\u003c/a>, some medical staff said they didn’t receive legally required training that would have helped them respond to enforcement activity. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Several staff members at Wilma Chan Highland Hospital Campus in Oakland told administrators in a letter that the Oct. 16 arrival of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and a detainee “highlighted major hazards to the rights and safety of our patients.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Immigration agents brought a man to Highland for treatment after an agent allegedly tackled him and fractured six of his ribs, said Nikolas De Bremaeker, an attorney at Centro Legal De La Raza who represents the man. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">De Bremaeker and some employees said agents allegedly tried to obstruct access to counsel, to direct medical treatment and asked staff for medical information. The agent who tackled the patient, the attorney said, had been “sitting on his bed, grinning at him.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It’s incredibly scary,” De Bremaeker told KQED. “It’s just unacceptable for ICE agents to be terrorizing folks inside a hospital.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1505\" height=\"1432\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261023-Highland-Hospital-SK-03-5314ee6d.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12105985\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261023-Highland-Hospital-SK-03-5314ee6d.jpg 1505w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261023-Highland-Hospital-SK-03-5314ee6d-160x152.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1505px) 100vw, 1505px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">One side of an Alameda Health System employee’s “badge buddy” that outlines how to respond to immigration authorities when they show up to one of the facilities. (Courtesy of Iman Khalil)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">About two dozen community members were on the lookout for agents on Thursday morning for hours, being directed by others to make noise if immigration authorities exited or entered the facility. They’d been showing up since Monday, an organizer said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Alameda Health System, which Highland is a part of, declined to comment on allegations specific to De Bremaeker’s client’s care, citing patient confidentiality. But said, generally, law enforcement does not direct treatment and the system is complying with all laws and requirements concerning immigration enforcement in its facilities. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an earlier statement to KQED about the ICE activity, AHS said that it activated an Incident Command Center and that security personnel were on site monitoring developments. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shortly after a planned demonstration against ICE’s presence got underway on Friday, the health system told KQED that no patients at Highland Hospital were in ICE custody, and ICE personnel were not present on the property. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Alameda Health System’s training falls short, staff says\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some staff members told AHS in the letter that they “at all levels, remain confused and consistently express a lack of clarity on policy when patients are brought in civil detention.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“This is out of step with current best practices in the state of California,” the staff members wrote. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb81\">Senate Bill 81\u003c/a>, which took effect in September 2025, requires medical health care providers to restrict certain immigration information from being shared and, as part of new restrictions to nonpublic areas, facilities must inform staff on how to respond to requests to access sites and establish procedures for receiving visitors.\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/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_010-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12074474\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_010-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_010-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022426_ALAMEDA-COUNTY-HEALTH-CUTS-_GH_010-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Wilma Chan Highland Hospital Campus is seen through flowering branches in Oakland on Feb. 24, 2026. The hospital is part of Alameda Health System. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But staff told administrators the hospital system isn’t in compliance with that law. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ansel Schmidt, a physical therapist at the Highland Hospital, isn’t on the patient’s care team, but helped draft the letter. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I’m not sure that I’ve received anything that I would call training,” Schmidt told KQED. What Schmidt has received is a “badge buddy,” or a reference guide, that he said implies staff can cooperate with ICE. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A badge buddy reviewed by KQED shows that staff are instructed to notify an administrator when a patient in ICE custody shows up for care. Providers request agents leave during evaluation, inform patients of their rights and, if they don’t meet admission criteria, can be handed off to the ICE control office. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Schmidt said that emails about responding to immigration activity have left him and others feeling “really confused and isolated,” because that “isn’t a training.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In response to staff concerns over training and what training is already in place, AHS said staff are told to “promptly escalate” situations through the appropriate channels where immigration authorities are present at any facility.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We reinforce these procedures through staff communications, training, scenario-based exercises, desktop training, and quick-reference ‘badge buddies’ that staff can keep with their identification badges,” AHS said. “The protocol has also been reviewed in staff webinar forums, including this week, and recordings are available to staff on our intranet.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Iman Khalil, a respiratory therapist at San Leandro Hospital, part of the Alameda Health System, said staff members receive minimal training about what to do when immigration authorities show up. Khalil received the same badge and emails Schmidt did.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Allowing the agents in the hospital … undoes all that training,” Khalil said. “You really don’t think they’ll even allow the agents in the hospital. But here we are.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AHS CEO James Jackson told staff that AHS believed the man in ICE’s custody at the hospital for the last week was part of the agency’s civil immigration enforcement authority and called on personnel to review established immigration response protocols, according to an Oct. 19 email obtained and reviewed by KQED. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas said a scheduled Oct. 27 joint meeting between county supervisors and the Alameda Health System Board of Trustees is an opportunity “to push for doing everything possible to enforce our policies that protect immigrant communities.” Fortunato Bas said officials will discuss budget, governance and compliance with local and state policies.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">ICE-free zone?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Highland Hospital, which sits on county property, also falls under Alameda County’s “ICE-free zone” ordinance that limits cooperation with federal immigration authorities. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">County supervisors and advocates touted the policy, of which similar ones have been adopted across the Bay Area, as a way to push back against violent and sometimes deadly actions by immigration agents during the second Trump administration. In January, agents fatally shot Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota during a surge of immigration enforcement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Alameda County Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez and other officials have also noted the limits of just how far the ICE-free zone can go. It doesn’t prevent immigration officials from actually being on county property, Sanchez \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2026/01/28/ice-free-zones-are-coming-to-alameda-county/\">said previously\u003c/a>. Officials in other jurisdictions with these “zones” have even referred to them as symbolic — or \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/02/04/ice-free-zones-community-wide-warning-system-weighed-in-richmond-amid-trump-crackdowns/\">a way to create\u003c/a> “false expectations.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1577\" height=\"1560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261023-Highland-Hospital-SK-02-0b437edd.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12105984\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261023-Highland-Hospital-SK-02-0b437edd.jpg 1577w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261023-Highland-Hospital-SK-02-0b437edd-160x158.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261023-Highland-Hospital-SK-02-0b437edd-1536x1519.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1577px) 100vw, 1577px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">One side of an Alameda Health System employee’s “badge buddy” that outlines how to respond to immigration authorities when they show up to one of the facilities. (Courtesy of Iman Khalil)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">De Bremaeker said his client is still in ICE custody as of Thursday afternoon. Another man he represents was detained by ICE in the San Antonio neighborhood in Oakland on the same day, before being taken to another hospital for injuries that De Bremaeker said were sustained because of the officers’ actions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The two cases are part of an “unprecedented escalation” of violence from ICE, De Bremaeker said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Oakland City Council member Charlene Wang said in a social media video Friday afternoon that she was outraged by the arrests. She said she had been in touch with AHS administration to see if there were any legal grounds to remove immigration authorities from the property, which Wang said they “[didn’t] know the answer to yet.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The attorney called on federal lawmakers to launch a congressional inquiry into ICE’s actions and, in particular, the agency’s activity in hospitals. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“They have been occupying these hospitals for days, creating an incredible threat to community members, terrifying folks who need medical care from going to the hospital,” De Bremaeker said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ICE said that De Bremaeker’s client — who the agency characterized as an “illegal alien” — was arrested as part of a targeted enforcement operation. During which, the agency said the detainee tried to assault officers and refused lawful commands. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Officers relied on their training to control the situation,” an ICE spokesperson said, adding that De Bremaeker’s client disclosed a preexisting injury of falling off a ladder two days prior. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The agency said, like other law enforcement agencies, it is standard procedure for ICE to accompany detainees for the safety of staff and public. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Renee Coe, with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, is among the community members who came out to keep watch for ICE at the hospital. She said some community members are scared to show up to the hospital because of federal agents’ presence, but urged them not to put off medical care. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AHS said its property is not being used as a staging area, operations base or processing location for immigration enforcement activities, and the immigration vehicles currently on Highland property are present “only in connection with a patient who is in immigration enforcement custody.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fortunato Bas told community members outside the hospital on Friday that her understanding of the ICE presence on the property was the same as the health system’s.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“At any given time, I understand they only had two agents … maintaining legal custody of the patient at any given time,” Fortunato Bas said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">About 100 Oakland residents held an emergency press conference at 6 p.m. on Friday in front of Highland to demand accountability for local authorities, security contracting with the facility and AHS for “continuously” assisting ICE operations at the hospital.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>KQED’s\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/bkrans\">\u003cem>Brian Krans\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "one-key-to-californias-climate-goals-how-we-cook",
"title": "One Key To California's Climate Goals? How We Cook",
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"headTitle": "One Key To California’s Climate Goals? How We Cook | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>The vast majority of commercial kitchens in California — some 85% — rely on gas to power their appliances. But scientists say that will have to change if the state hopes to reach its goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. Bay Area food franchise Flour + Water is one of many local shops leading the charge away from gas appliances. In today’s episode, KQED reporter Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman visits an electric pizza kitchen to help us understand the benefits of electrification and what’s preventing more kitchens from making the switch. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Links:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2002089/heres-what-all-electric-bay-area-restaurants-have-learned-from-ditching-gas\">Here’s What All-Electric Bay Area Restaurants Have Learned From Ditching Gas\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Episode Transcript\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This transcript is computer-generated. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:00:00] \u003c/em>I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra and welcome to The Bay, local news to keep you rooted. Many think of California as a leader when it comes to fighting climate change. We’ve got this ambitious goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. But there are a lot of things that get in the way of that. Like our reliance on cars and perhaps one less obvious reason, how we cook. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:00:32] \u003c/em>As long as there are stoves with a gas pipe leading to them, we’re going to keep burning gas in this state. And restaurants are this very entrenched use of natural gas. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:00:47] \u003c/em>85% of California restaurants use gas to power their appliances. And it turns out, electrifying restaurant kitchens could actually play a pretty big role in getting us closer to our climate goals. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Rob Jackson: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:01:04] \u003c/em>We know that the pollution that’s created by burning fossil fuels is harmful and there’s no reason to do that now when cleaner, better technologies are available. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:01:14] \u003c/em>Today, the benefits of electrifying California’s restaurants and what it’s gonna take to get more of them on board. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:01:30] \u003c/em>You know, we think of California as like this leader in climate change, right? We have more efficient fuel for our cars. We invest in transit and carpooling and all this stuff. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:01:39] \u003c/em>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman is a reporter for KQED. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:01:44] \u003c/em>Buildings, and then restaurants in particular, are this one place where we’re really behind. Buildings are responsible for about a quarter of all of California’s greenhouse gas emissions and restaurants in our state use gas at a much higher rate than other states. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Brandy Seals: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:02:03] \u003c/em>This is a sleeper issue. A lot of people don’t realize it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:02:07] \u003c/em>Brandy Seals is the Director of the Electrification for Health program at Stanford University. And they’re really looking at benefits of electrifying. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Brandy Seals: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:02:18] \u003c/em>So when you look at commercial spaces, kitchens, and food service, they have about five times the energy usage of a standard office. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:02:28] \u003c/em>She says that commercial kitchens really like punch above their weight. Because restaurants use gas, they’re also sort of cementing this demand for gas. So she says that if we’re gonna really address this issue of climate change, we need to start looking at buildings and specifically restaurants. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:02:48] \u003c/em>So it sounds like commercial kitchens are maybe an untapped space for electrification that I’m definitely not thinking about. But what are the barriers to actually making it happen and also making it more common? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:03:03] \u003c/em>Well, I think like, first off, just put yourself in the shoes of a restaurant owner, right? Restaurants run on extremely thin margins. You know, there’s a lot of turnover, like, you know, most restaurants don’t even make it a year, right. And in order to switch to electricity, that’s a big investment, right, most restaurants are going to come with gas hookups for your appliances. But in order to switch electric, you gotta get a new panel, you got to pay for new electric service. You gotta buy these appliances. Electricity, not cheap in California. I mean, we have the most expensive electricity in the Continental 48. There’s also not as much of a demand in the market. So it’s just kind of like this small niche thing that’s growing that is kind of still waiting to see its moment. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:03:59] \u003c/em>So you visited a restaurant that actually went electric. Who did you meet and what did they say about the practical barriers that they faced? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:04:11] \u003c/em>Can we do a little tour? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Thomas McNaughton: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:04:12] \u003c/em>Yeah, of course. So our pantry section or garmagé. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:04:16] \u003c/em>So I went to Flower and Water. They have a pizza shop in Oakland, but they’re part of this restaurant group. They’ve essentially committed to making all of their future restaurants electric.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:04:29] \u003c/em>Machines, slushies, burners, fryers, everything here runs on electric.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:04:35] \u003c/em>I talked to their CEO, Thomas McNaughton. He said basically, when you said like electric oven to him like 10 years ago, he was like, he thought of like an Easy Bake Oven, you know, like a toy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Thomas McNaughton: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:04:45] \u003c/em>And I didn’t realize how evolved the technology really is. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:04:49] \u003c/em>But he said that changed around six years ago. He started seeing these electric ovens that were like really powerful. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Thomas McNaughton: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:04:56] \u003c/em>And that kind of introduced us to the idea, saying, like, if this oven is so powerful, couldn’t we build our entire operation around electricity?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:05:07] \u003c/em>He said that sustainability is like a really important value of theirs. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Thomas McNaughton: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:05:11] \u003c/em>Sustainability for us is not just where we buy our seafood from. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:05:19] \u003c/em>In terms of like the challenges that he faced, he said that whether or not a space has the ability to like accommodate the electrical load that like an electric kitchen requires is a limiting factor.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Thomas McNaughton: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:05:36] \u003c/em>A lot of older properties we’re not able to look at. And so that’s one that can feel somewhat constricting at times. Problem solving is one of the most fascinating parts of the job of a chef or a restaurateur. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:05:51] \u003c/em>And that sounds kind of expensive, maybe? What was that process like?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:05:55] \u003c/em>What McNaughton said is that in general to buy electric appliances is a little more expensive than gas ones, to run them is more expensive. They spend about $8,000 a month at their Oakland location on electricity, which is like 34 times higher than the average household in California. Oh my goodness. So it’s a considerable load. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:06:16] \u003c/em>That’s a lot of money every month, Azul, for electricity. I mean, what makes it worth it for him? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:06:22] \u003c/em>Well, I think on one hand, you know, he said sustainability is like a big part of their business So there is value in sort of like a non numerical thing for them I think now it’s sort of liked baked in no pun intended into their business, right? Like they are an electric Restaurant and it’s part of like kind of the identity of their pizza \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Thomas McNaughton: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:06:46] \u003c/em>And really, these electric ovens, I think, really are creating this kind of new wave of pizza making because they’re so powerful, because you can toggle both deck top and bottom heat. It actually, we can incorporate a fair amount of char, like a Neapolitan pizza, but actually slow down the bake time. And that incorporates a lot more texture into our high-hydration dough that, to me, is incredibly craveable. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:07:16] \u003c/em>Did you taste it?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:07:17] \u003c/em>I did. yeah, I mean flower waters. It’s good pizza. I don’t think that’s a controversial take McNaughton’s like a finalist for like the James Beard Awards before so \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:07:29] \u003c/em>Yeah, they’re doing pretty well. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:07:31] \u003c/em>Yeah. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:07:32] \u003c/em>So my name’s Azul, I’m a reporter at KQED. Did you know that flour and water was all electric? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Commerical: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:07:38] \u003c/em>I did not know that they were all electric. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:07:59] \u003c/em>We’re gonna take a quick break, but when we come back, the health case for electric kitchens. By the way, if you appreciate the local deep dives that we bring you here on the Bay, consider becoming a sustaining KQED member. We can’t do this work without you. Just go to donate.kqed.org slash podcasts. We’ll be right back. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:08:27] \u003c/em>I guess aside from the broader ecological benefits of going electric, what do experts say about the other benefits for restaurants going electric? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:08:38] \u003c/em>Just to like put a number on it, there’s a new study that actually came out this month that found that 70% of gas burning kitchens, so these are commercial kitchens that were studied, exceeded the recommended limits for nitrogen dioxide that’s like federal health standards. They also found, you know, like elevated levels of carbon dioxide, benzene, carbon monoxide. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Rob Jackson: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:09:04] \u003c/em>You would never stand over the tailpipe of your car breathing in those pollutants, and yet people stand over a stove breathing the same pollutants day after day, meal after meal. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:09:13] \u003c/em>I talked to Rob Jackson, he’s an environmental scientist at Stanford University, and he talked about this. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Rob Jackson: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:09:18] \u003c/em>We know that the pollution that’s created by burning fossil fuels is harmful, and there’s no reason to do that now when cleaner, better technologies are available. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:09:28] \u003c/em>And then imagine if you’re a chef in a kitchen, you’re standing over that burner for eight hours a day. And I talked to some of the chefs, they said like, it’s less greasy, you have a little bit more control. Like one thing they said about induction is like, you’ll never have a pot of cream boil over because with an induction cooktop, you can just like set it at a number and it’ll just stay there. Whereas with like flame, the heat transfer, things just get hotter and hotter. There is like some push back against cooking with induction or electric. A lot of chefs, you know, have hesitation around changing their cooking practices. The California Restaurant Association, which is this trade association group for the California restaurant industry, in a commercial from 2019, they said like, what about like searing meat or charring vegetables? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Commerical: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:10:23] \u003c/em>Or cooking food in a wok over high intensity heat. All of that would go away. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:10:28] \u003c/em>Some of that could be due to the fact that induction is still catching up to where it needs to be in terms of technology. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Commerical: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:10:36] \u003c/em>Try doing three or 400 covers a night on an electric stove. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:10:42] \u003c/em>How you cook is very personal. There’s cultural practices, there’s how you learned in cooking school, all these things that go into it. So, while McNaughton promotes this move that he’s made very heavily, a lot of people have doubts about it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:10:56] \u003c/em>Have there been any efforts at the local and statewide level to push more commercial kitchens to make this change?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:11:04] \u003c/em>There’s been like a specific push for commercial kitchens and there’s been a broader push just to get gas out of all buildings. So you can go back to like 2019 in Berkeley. Berkeley passed a ban on natural gas in new construction. And the city of Berkeley is leading the charge with the law that covers new construction. That got a lot of pushback from the California restaurant association that successfully defeated the, the band in the courts by arguing basically like Berkeley was overstepping its bounds. They were trying to regulate the efficiency of things when that’s the remit of the title. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Newscaster: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:11:40] \u003c/em>New at 10 tonight, the City of Berkeley lost its latest legal battle. Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied Berkeley’s petition for the court to rehear the case after the ban was ruled illegal last year. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:11:53] \u003c/em>There’s also efforts at the state level to incentivize kitchens specifically to go all electric. There’s rebates available through California utilities like PG&E for commercial kitchens to buy appliances. There’s these Chef Fluencers that is run by this group called the Building Decarbonization Coalition. And their jobs are basically to like preach the good word of induction and encourage people to adopt it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:12:22] \u003c/em>Yeah, there’s the practical piece of it of just making it easier, lowering the barriers for restaurants to get access to these things. But also there’s this norms piece of like really trying to get people in the restaurant industry to, I guess, see this as a thing that they could do that wouldn’t impact their food quality.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:12:46] \u003c/em>Yeah, I mean, you know, when most people think of electric cooking, they think of those like janky electric coil stoves.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:12:52] \u003c/em>Oh yeah, me too. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:12:53] \u003c/em>But like that’s not what this is. This is like the technology has come a long way.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katie Chin: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:12:58] \u003c/em>I think that there’s some misconceptions about it. Oh my goodness, it’s not gonna achieve the same quality. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:13:06] \u003c/em>I spoke to Katie Chin. She’s a chef fluencer and a caterer based in Southern California. And she’s had her own journey with induction. Like when she first used it, she was like, oh no, like, you know, I’m a cater, I’m professional caterer. Like I gotta cook. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katie Chin: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:13:22] \u003c/em>I had never cooked on one and it scared me. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:13:25] \u003c/em>She told me this story about being stuck in Southern California traffic on the way to a catering gig and actually being thankful that there was induction at her client’s house.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katie Chin: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:13:36] \u003c/em>Seeing is believing. So I was able to boil the water for, you know, 600 dumplings in a fraction of the time it would have taken for me to use a gas stove and heat up all that water. \u003cem>[00:13:45]\u003c/em>\u003cem>[9.1]\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:13:46] \u003c/em>She really says that people should try to keep an open mind.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katie Chin: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:13:52] \u003c/em>And a lot of people associate like, well, how can you, how can get those great stir fries if you’re not like, you know how people flip the wok like this? I think the main stereotype is that, oh, it’s not gonna get hot enough. And I see no difference at all. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:14:09] \u003c/em>I gotta say, Azul, when I think about our state fighting climate change, I don’t really think about commercial kitchens very much, but how much of a difference could it actually make if more commercial kitchens in the state address their emissions?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:14:26] \u003c/em>I think it comes down to this thing where it’s like, as long as there are stoves with a gas pipe leading to them, we’re going to keep burning gas in this state. And if California is going to truly like decarbonize and get off gas, then we need to start looking at our buildings and restaurants are this very entrenched use of natural gas. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:14:55] \u003c/em>Azul, this was such an interesting story. Thank you so much for sharing your reporting with us. Appreciate it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:15:01] \u003c/em>You’re welcome. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco-Northern California Local.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The vast majority of commercial kitchens in California — some 85% — rely on gas to power their appliances. But scientists say that will have to change if the state hopes to reach its goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. Bay Area food franchise Flour + Water is one of many local shops leading the charge away from gas appliances. In today’s episode, KQED reporter Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman visits an electric pizza kitchen to help us understand the benefits of electrification and what’s preventing more kitchens from making the switch. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The vast majority of commercial kitchens in California — some 85% — rely on gas to power their appliances. But scientists say that will have to change if the state hopes to reach its goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. Bay Area food franchise Flour + Water is one of many local shops leading the charge away from gas appliances. In today’s episode, KQED reporter Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman visits an electric pizza kitchen to help us understand the benefits of electrification and what’s preventing more kitchens from making the switch. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This transcript is computer-generated. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:00:00] \u003c/em>I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra and welcome to The Bay, local news to keep you rooted. Many think of California as a leader when it comes to fighting climate change. We’ve got this ambitious goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. But there are a lot of things that get in the way of that. Like our reliance on cars and perhaps one less obvious reason, how we cook. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:00:00] \u003c/em>I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra and welcome to The Bay, local news to keep you rooted. Many think of California as a leader when it comes to fighting climate change. We’ve got this ambitious goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. But there are a lot of things that get in the way of that. Like our reliance on cars and perhaps one less obvious reason, how we cook. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:00:32] \u003c/em>As long as there are stoves with a gas pipe leading to them, we’re going to keep burning gas in this state. And restaurants are this very entrenched use of natural gas. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:00:32] \u003c/em>As long as there are stoves with a gas pipe leading to them, we’re going to keep burning gas in this state. And restaurants are this very entrenched use of natural gas. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:00:47] \u003c/em>85% of California restaurants use gas to power their appliances. And it turns out, electrifying restaurant kitchens could actually play a pretty big role in getting us closer to our climate goals. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:00:47] \u003c/em>85% of California restaurants use gas to power their appliances. And it turns out, electrifying restaurant kitchens could actually play a pretty big role in getting us closer to our climate goals. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Rob Jackson: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:01:04] \u003c/em>We know that the pollution that’s created by burning fossil fuels is harmful and there’s no reason to do that now when cleaner, better technologies are available. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Rob Jackson: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:01:04] \u003c/em>We know that the pollution that’s created by burning fossil fuels is harmful and there’s no reason to do that now when cleaner, better technologies are available. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:01:14] \u003c/em>Today, the benefits of electrifying California’s restaurants and what it’s gonna take to get more of them on board. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:01:14] \u003c/em>Today, the benefits of electrifying California’s restaurants and what it’s gonna take to get more of them on board. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:01:30] \u003c/em>You know, we think of California as like this leader in climate change, right? We have more efficient fuel for our cars. We invest in transit and carpooling and all this stuff. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:01:30] \u003c/em>You know, we think of California as like this leader in climate change, right? We have more efficient fuel for our cars. We invest in transit and carpooling and all this stuff. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:01:39] \u003c/em>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman is a reporter for KQED. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:01:39] \u003c/em>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman is a reporter for KQED. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:01:44] \u003c/em>Buildings, and then restaurants in particular, are this one place where we’re really behind. Buildings are responsible for about a quarter of all of California’s greenhouse gas emissions and restaurants in our state use gas at a much higher rate than other states. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:01:44] \u003c/em>Buildings, and then restaurants in particular, are this one place where we’re really behind. Buildings are responsible for about a quarter of all of California’s greenhouse gas emissions and restaurants in our state use gas at a much higher rate than other states. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Brandy Seals: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:02:03] \u003c/em>This is a sleeper issue. A lot of people don’t realize it. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Brandy Seals: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:02:03] \u003c/em>This is a sleeper issue. A lot of people don’t realize it. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:02:07] \u003c/em>Brandy Seals is the Director of the Electrification for Health program at Stanford University. And they’re really looking at benefits of electrifying. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Brandy Seals: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:02:18] \u003c/em>So when you look at commercial spaces, kitchens, and food service, they have about five times the energy usage of a standard office. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Brandy Seals: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:02:18] \u003c/em>So when you look at commercial spaces, kitchens, and food service, they have about five times the energy usage of a standard office. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:02:28] \u003c/em>She says that commercial kitchens really like punch above their weight. Because restaurants use gas, they’re also sort of cementing this demand for gas. So she says that if we’re gonna really address this issue of climate change, we need to start looking at buildings and specifically restaurants. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:02:28] \u003c/em>She says that commercial kitchens really like punch above their weight. Because restaurants use gas, they’re also sort of cementing this demand for gas. So she says that if we’re gonna really address this issue of climate change, we need to start looking at buildings and specifically restaurants. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:02:48] \u003c/em>So it sounds like commercial kitchens are maybe an untapped space for electrification that I’m definitely not thinking about. But what are the barriers to actually making it happen and also making it more common? \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:03:03] \u003c/em>Well, I think like, first off, just put yourself in the shoes of a restaurant owner, right? Restaurants run on extremely thin margins. You know, there’s a lot of turnover, like, you know, most restaurants don’t even make it a year, right. And in order to switch to electricity, that’s a big investment, right, most restaurants are going to come with gas hookups for your appliances. But in order to switch electric, you gotta get a new panel, you got to pay for new electric service. You gotta buy these appliances. Electricity, not cheap in California. I mean, we have the most expensive electricity in the Continental 48. There’s also not as much of a demand in the market. So it’s just kind of like this small niche thing that’s growing that is kind of still waiting to see its moment. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:03:03] \u003c/em>Well, I think like, first off, just put yourself in the shoes of a restaurant owner, right? Restaurants run on extremely thin margins. You know, there’s a lot of turnover, like, you know, most restaurants don’t even make it a year, right. And in order to switch to electricity, that’s a big investment, right, most restaurants are going to come with gas hookups for your appliances. But in order to switch electric, you gotta get a new panel, you got to pay for new electric service. You gotta buy these appliances. Electricity, not cheap in California. I mean, we have the most expensive electricity in the Continental 48. There’s also not as much of a demand in the market. So it’s just kind of like this small niche thing that’s growing that is kind of still waiting to see its moment. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:03:59] \u003c/em>So you visited a restaurant that actually went electric. Who did you meet and what did they say about the practical barriers that they faced? \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:04:11] \u003c/em>Can we do a little tour? \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:04:11] \u003c/em>Can we do a little tour? \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Thomas McNaughton: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:04:12] \u003c/em>Yeah, of course. So our pantry section or garmagé. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Thomas McNaughton: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:04:12] \u003c/em>Yeah, of course. So our pantry section or garmagé. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:04:16] \u003c/em>So I went to Flower and Water. They have a pizza shop in Oakland, but they’re part of this restaurant group. They’ve essentially committed to making all of their future restaurants electric.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:04:16] \u003c/em>So I went to Flower and Water. They have a pizza shop in Oakland, but they’re part of this restaurant group. They’ve essentially committed to making all of their future restaurants electric.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:04:29] \u003c/em>Machines, slushies, burners, fryers, everything here runs on electric.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:04:35] \u003c/em>I talked to their CEO, Thomas McNaughton. He said basically, when you said like electric oven to him like 10 years ago, he was like, he thought of like an Easy Bake Oven, you know, like a toy. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Thomas McNaughton: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:04:45] \u003c/em>And I didn’t realize how evolved the technology really is. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:04:49] \u003c/em>But he said that changed around six years ago. He started seeing these electric ovens that were like really powerful. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Thomas McNaughton: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:04:56] \u003c/em>And that kind of introduced us to the idea, saying, like, if this oven is so powerful, couldn’t we build our entire operation around electricity?\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:05:07] \u003c/em>He said that sustainability is like a really important value of theirs. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Thomas McNaughton: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:05:11] \u003c/em>Sustainability for us is not just where we buy our seafood from. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:05:19] \u003c/em>In terms of like the challenges that he faced, he said that whether or not a space has the ability to like accommodate the electrical load that like an electric kitchen requires is a limiting factor.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Thomas McNaughton: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:05:36] \u003c/em>A lot of older properties we’re not able to look at. And so that’s one that can feel somewhat constricting at times. Problem solving is one of the most fascinating parts of the job of a chef or a restaurateur. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Thomas McNaughton: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:05:36] \u003c/em>A lot of older properties we’re not able to look at. And so that’s one that can feel somewhat constricting at times. Problem solving is one of the most fascinating parts of the job of a chef or a restaurateur. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:05:51] \u003c/em>And that sounds kind of expensive, maybe? What was that process like?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:05:51] \u003c/em>And that sounds kind of expensive, maybe? What was that process like?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:05:55] \u003c/em>What McNaughton said is that in general to buy electric appliances is a little more expensive than gas ones, to run them is more expensive. They spend about $8,000 a month at their Oakland location on electricity, which is like 34 times higher than the average household in California. Oh my goodness. So it’s a considerable load. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:05:55] \u003c/em>What McNaughton said is that in general to buy electric appliances is a little more expensive than gas ones, to run them is more expensive. They spend about $8,000 a month at their Oakland location on electricity, which is like 34 times higher than the average household in California. Oh my goodness. So it’s a considerable load. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:06:16] \u003c/em>That’s a lot of money every month, Azul, for electricity. I mean, what makes it worth it for him? \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:06:16] \u003c/em>That’s a lot of money every month, Azul, for electricity. I mean, what makes it worth it for him? \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:06:22] \u003c/em>Well, I think on one hand, you know, he said sustainability is like a big part of their business So there is value in sort of like a non numerical thing for them I think now it’s sort of liked baked in no pun intended into their business, right? Like they are an electric Restaurant and it’s part of like kind of the identity of their pizza \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Thomas McNaughton: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:06:46] \u003c/em>And really, these electric ovens, I think, really are creating this kind of new wave of pizza making because they’re so powerful, because you can toggle both deck top and bottom heat. It actually, we can incorporate a fair amount of char, like a Neapolitan pizza, but actually slow down the bake time. And that incorporates a lot more texture into our high-hydration dough that, to me, is incredibly craveable. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:07:16] \u003c/em>Did you taste it?\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:07:17] \u003c/em>I did. yeah, I mean flower waters. It’s good pizza. I don’t think that’s a controversial take McNaughton’s like a finalist for like the James Beard Awards before so \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:07:17] \u003c/em>I did. yeah, I mean flower waters. It’s good pizza. I don’t think that’s a controversial take McNaughton’s like a finalist for like the James Beard Awards before so \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:07:29] \u003c/em>Yeah, they’re doing pretty well. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:07:29] \u003c/em>Yeah, they’re doing pretty well. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:07:31] \u003c/em>Yeah. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:07:32] \u003c/em>So my name’s Azul, I’m a reporter at KQED. Did you know that flour and water was all electric? \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:07:32] \u003c/em>So my name’s Azul, I’m a reporter at KQED. Did you know that flour and water was all electric? \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Commerical: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:07:38] \u003c/em>I did not know that they were all electric. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:07:59] \u003c/em>We’re gonna take a quick break, but when we come back, the health case for electric kitchens. By the way, if you appreciate the local deep dives that we bring you here on the Bay, consider becoming a sustaining KQED member. We can’t do this work without you. Just go to donate.kqed.org slash podcasts. We’ll be right back. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:07:59] \u003c/em>We’re gonna take a quick break, but when we come back, the health case for electric kitchens. By the way, if you appreciate the local deep dives that we bring you here on the Bay, consider becoming a sustaining KQED member. We can’t do this work without you. Just go to donate.kqed.org slash podcasts. We’ll be right back. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:08:27] \u003c/em>I guess aside from the broader ecological benefits of going electric, what do experts say about the other benefits for restaurants going electric? \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:08:38] \u003c/em>Just to like put a number on it, there’s a new study that actually came out this month that found that 70% of gas burning kitchens, so these are commercial kitchens that were studied, exceeded the recommended limits for nitrogen dioxide that’s like federal health standards. They also found, you know, like elevated levels of carbon dioxide, benzene, carbon monoxide. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Rob Jackson: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:09:04] \u003c/em>You would never stand over the tailpipe of your car breathing in those pollutants, and yet people stand over a stove breathing the same pollutants day after day, meal after meal. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Rob Jackson: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:09:04] \u003c/em>You would never stand over the tailpipe of your car breathing in those pollutants, and yet people stand over a stove breathing the same pollutants day after day, meal after meal. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:09:13] \u003c/em>I talked to Rob Jackson, he’s an environmental scientist at Stanford University, and he talked about this. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Rob Jackson: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:09:18] \u003c/em>We know that the pollution that’s created by burning fossil fuels is harmful, and there’s no reason to do that now when cleaner, better technologies are available. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:09:28] \u003c/em>And then imagine if you’re a chef in a kitchen, you’re standing over that burner for eight hours a day. And I talked to some of the chefs, they said like, it’s less greasy, you have a little bit more control. Like one thing they said about induction is like, you’ll never have a pot of cream boil over because with an induction cooktop, you can just like set it at a number and it’ll just stay there. Whereas with like flame, the heat transfer, things just get hotter and hotter. There is like some push back against cooking with induction or electric. A lot of chefs, you know, have hesitation around changing their cooking practices. The California Restaurant Association, which is this trade association group for the California restaurant industry, in a commercial from 2019, they said like, what about like searing meat or charring vegetables? \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:09:28] \u003c/em>And then imagine if you’re a chef in a kitchen, you’re standing over that burner for eight hours a day. And I talked to some of the chefs, they said like, it’s less greasy, you have a little bit more control. Like one thing they said about induction is like, you’ll never have a pot of cream boil over because with an induction cooktop, you can just like set it at a number and it’ll just stay there. Whereas with like flame, the heat transfer, things just get hotter and hotter. There is like some push back against cooking with induction or electric. A lot of chefs, you know, have hesitation around changing their cooking practices. The California Restaurant Association, which is this trade association group for the California restaurant industry, in a commercial from 2019, they said like, what about like searing meat or charring vegetables? \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Commerical: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:10:23] \u003c/em>Or cooking food in a wok over high intensity heat. All of that would go away. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Commerical: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:10:23] \u003c/em>Or cooking food in a wok over high intensity heat. All of that would go away. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:10:28] \u003c/em>Some of that could be due to the fact that induction is still catching up to where it needs to be in terms of technology. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Commerical: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:10:36] \u003c/em>Try doing three or 400 covers a night on an electric stove. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:10:42] \u003c/em>How you cook is very personal. There’s cultural practices, there’s how you learned in cooking school, all these things that go into it. So, while McNaughton promotes this move that he’s made very heavily, a lot of people have doubts about it. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:10:42] \u003c/em>How you cook is very personal. There’s cultural practices, there’s how you learned in cooking school, all these things that go into it. So, while McNaughton promotes this move that he’s made very heavily, a lot of people have doubts about it. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:10:56] \u003c/em>Have there been any efforts at the local and statewide level to push more commercial kitchens to make this change?\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:11:04] \u003c/em>There’s been like a specific push for commercial kitchens and there’s been a broader push just to get gas out of all buildings. So you can go back to like 2019 in Berkeley. Berkeley passed a ban on natural gas in new construction. And the city of Berkeley is leading the charge with the law that covers new construction. That got a lot of pushback from the California restaurant association that successfully defeated the, the band in the courts by arguing basically like Berkeley was overstepping its bounds. They were trying to regulate the efficiency of things when that’s the remit of the title. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:11:04] \u003c/em>There’s been like a specific push for commercial kitchens and there’s been a broader push just to get gas out of all buildings. So you can go back to like 2019 in Berkeley. Berkeley passed a ban on natural gas in new construction. And the city of Berkeley is leading the charge with the law that covers new construction. That got a lot of pushback from the California restaurant association that successfully defeated the, the band in the courts by arguing basically like Berkeley was overstepping its bounds. They were trying to regulate the efficiency of things when that’s the remit of the title. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Newscaster: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:11:40] \u003c/em>New at 10 tonight, the City of Berkeley lost its latest legal battle. Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied Berkeley’s petition for the court to rehear the case after the ban was ruled illegal last year. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Newscaster: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:11:40] \u003c/em>New at 10 tonight, the City of Berkeley lost its latest legal battle. Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied Berkeley’s petition for the court to rehear the case after the ban was ruled illegal last year. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:12:22] \u003c/em>Yeah, there’s the practical piece of it of just making it easier, lowering the barriers for restaurants to get access to these things. But also there’s this norms piece of like really trying to get people in the restaurant industry to, I guess, see this as a thing that they could do that wouldn’t impact their food quality.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:12:46] \u003c/em>Yeah, I mean, you know, when most people think of electric cooking, they think of those like janky electric coil stoves.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:12:52] \u003c/em>Oh yeah, me too. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:12:53] \u003c/em>But like that’s not what this is. This is like the technology has come a long way.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katie Chin: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:12:58] \u003c/em>I think that there’s some misconceptions about it. Oh my goodness, it’s not gonna achieve the same quality. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:13:06] \u003c/em>I spoke to Katie Chin. She’s a chef fluencer and a caterer based in Southern California. And she’s had her own journey with induction. Like when she first used it, she was like, oh no, like, you know, I’m a cater, I’m professional caterer. Like I gotta cook. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:13:25] \u003c/em>She told me this story about being stuck in Southern California traffic on the way to a catering gig and actually being thankful that there was induction at her client’s house.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katie Chin: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:13:36] \u003c/em>Seeing is believing. So I was able to boil the water for, you know, 600 dumplings in a fraction of the time it would have taken for me to use a gas stove and heat up all that water. \u003cem>[00:13:45]\u003c/em>\u003cem>[9.1]\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katie Chin: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:13:36] \u003c/em>Seeing is believing. So I was able to boil the water for, you know, 600 dumplings in a fraction of the time it would have taken for me to use a gas stove and heat up all that water. \u003cem>[00:13:45]\u003c/em>\u003cem>[9.1]\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:13:46] \u003c/em>She really says that people should try to keep an open mind.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katie Chin: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:13:52] \u003c/em>And a lot of people associate like, well, how can you, how can get those great stir fries if you’re not like, you know how people flip the wok like this? I think the main stereotype is that, oh, it’s not gonna get hot enough. And I see no difference at all. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:14:09] \u003c/em>I gotta say, Azul, when I think about our state fighting climate change, I don’t really think about commercial kitchens very much, but how much of a difference could it actually make if more commercial kitchens in the state address their emissions?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:14:09] \u003c/em>I gotta say, Azul, when I think about our state fighting climate change, I don’t really think about commercial kitchens very much, but how much of a difference could it actually make if more commercial kitchens in the state address their emissions?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:14:26] \u003c/em>I think it comes down to this thing where it’s like, as long as there are stoves with a gas pipe leading to them, we’re going to keep burning gas in this state. And if California is going to truly like decarbonize and get off gas, then we need to start looking at our buildings and restaurants are this very entrenched use of natural gas. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:14:55] \u003c/em>Azul, this was such an interesting story. Thank you so much for sharing your reporting with us. Appreciate it. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:14:55] \u003c/em>Azul, this was such an interesting story. Thank you so much for sharing your reporting with us. Appreciate it. \u003c/p>\n"
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>The vast majority of commercial kitchens in California — some 85% — rely on gas to power their appliances. But scientists say that will have to change if the state hopes to reach its goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. Bay Area food franchise Flour + Water is one of many local shops leading the charge away from gas appliances. In today’s episode, KQED reporter Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman visits an electric pizza kitchen to help us understand the benefits of electrification and what’s preventing more kitchens from making the switch. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Links:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2002089/heres-what-all-electric-bay-area-restaurants-have-learned-from-ditching-gas\">Here’s What All-Electric Bay Area Restaurants Have Learned From Ditching Gas\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Episode Transcript\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This transcript is computer-generated. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:00:00] \u003c/em>I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra and welcome to The Bay, local news to keep you rooted. Many think of California as a leader when it comes to fighting climate change. We’ve got this ambitious goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. But there are a lot of things that get in the way of that. Like our reliance on cars and perhaps one less obvious reason, how we cook. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:00:32] \u003c/em>As long as there are stoves with a gas pipe leading to them, we’re going to keep burning gas in this state. And restaurants are this very entrenched use of natural gas. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:00:47] \u003c/em>85% of California restaurants use gas to power their appliances. And it turns out, electrifying restaurant kitchens could actually play a pretty big role in getting us closer to our climate goals. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Rob Jackson: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:01:04] \u003c/em>We know that the pollution that’s created by burning fossil fuels is harmful and there’s no reason to do that now when cleaner, better technologies are available. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:01:14] \u003c/em>Today, the benefits of electrifying California’s restaurants and what it’s gonna take to get more of them on board. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:01:30] \u003c/em>You know, we think of California as like this leader in climate change, right? We have more efficient fuel for our cars. We invest in transit and carpooling and all this stuff. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:01:39] \u003c/em>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman is a reporter for KQED. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:01:44] \u003c/em>Buildings, and then restaurants in particular, are this one place where we’re really behind. Buildings are responsible for about a quarter of all of California’s greenhouse gas emissions and restaurants in our state use gas at a much higher rate than other states. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Brandy Seals: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:02:03] \u003c/em>This is a sleeper issue. A lot of people don’t realize it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:02:07] \u003c/em>Brandy Seals is the Director of the Electrification for Health program at Stanford University. And they’re really looking at benefits of electrifying. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Brandy Seals: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:02:18] \u003c/em>So when you look at commercial spaces, kitchens, and food service, they have about five times the energy usage of a standard office. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:02:28] \u003c/em>She says that commercial kitchens really like punch above their weight. Because restaurants use gas, they’re also sort of cementing this demand for gas. So she says that if we’re gonna really address this issue of climate change, we need to start looking at buildings and specifically restaurants. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:02:48] \u003c/em>So it sounds like commercial kitchens are maybe an untapped space for electrification that I’m definitely not thinking about. But what are the barriers to actually making it happen and also making it more common? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:03:03] \u003c/em>Well, I think like, first off, just put yourself in the shoes of a restaurant owner, right? Restaurants run on extremely thin margins. You know, there’s a lot of turnover, like, you know, most restaurants don’t even make it a year, right. And in order to switch to electricity, that’s a big investment, right, most restaurants are going to come with gas hookups for your appliances. But in order to switch electric, you gotta get a new panel, you got to pay for new electric service. You gotta buy these appliances. Electricity, not cheap in California. I mean, we have the most expensive electricity in the Continental 48. There’s also not as much of a demand in the market. So it’s just kind of like this small niche thing that’s growing that is kind of still waiting to see its moment. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:03:59] \u003c/em>So you visited a restaurant that actually went electric. Who did you meet and what did they say about the practical barriers that they faced? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:04:11] \u003c/em>Can we do a little tour? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Thomas McNaughton: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:04:12] \u003c/em>Yeah, of course. So our pantry section or garmagé. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:04:16] \u003c/em>So I went to Flower and Water. They have a pizza shop in Oakland, but they’re part of this restaurant group. They’ve essentially committed to making all of their future restaurants electric.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:04:29] \u003c/em>Machines, slushies, burners, fryers, everything here runs on electric.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:04:35] \u003c/em>I talked to their CEO, Thomas McNaughton. He said basically, when you said like electric oven to him like 10 years ago, he was like, he thought of like an Easy Bake Oven, you know, like a toy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Thomas McNaughton: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:04:45] \u003c/em>And I didn’t realize how evolved the technology really is. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:04:49] \u003c/em>But he said that changed around six years ago. He started seeing these electric ovens that were like really powerful. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Thomas McNaughton: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:04:56] \u003c/em>And that kind of introduced us to the idea, saying, like, if this oven is so powerful, couldn’t we build our entire operation around electricity?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:05:07] \u003c/em>He said that sustainability is like a really important value of theirs. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Thomas McNaughton: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:05:11] \u003c/em>Sustainability for us is not just where we buy our seafood from. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:05:19] \u003c/em>In terms of like the challenges that he faced, he said that whether or not a space has the ability to like accommodate the electrical load that like an electric kitchen requires is a limiting factor.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Thomas McNaughton: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:05:36] \u003c/em>A lot of older properties we’re not able to look at. And so that’s one that can feel somewhat constricting at times. Problem solving is one of the most fascinating parts of the job of a chef or a restaurateur. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:05:51] \u003c/em>And that sounds kind of expensive, maybe? What was that process like?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:05:55] \u003c/em>What McNaughton said is that in general to buy electric appliances is a little more expensive than gas ones, to run them is more expensive. They spend about $8,000 a month at their Oakland location on electricity, which is like 34 times higher than the average household in California. Oh my goodness. So it’s a considerable load. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:06:16] \u003c/em>That’s a lot of money every month, Azul, for electricity. I mean, what makes it worth it for him? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:06:22] \u003c/em>Well, I think on one hand, you know, he said sustainability is like a big part of their business So there is value in sort of like a non numerical thing for them I think now it’s sort of liked baked in no pun intended into their business, right? Like they are an electric Restaurant and it’s part of like kind of the identity of their pizza \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Thomas McNaughton: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:06:46] \u003c/em>And really, these electric ovens, I think, really are creating this kind of new wave of pizza making because they’re so powerful, because you can toggle both deck top and bottom heat. It actually, we can incorporate a fair amount of char, like a Neapolitan pizza, but actually slow down the bake time. And that incorporates a lot more texture into our high-hydration dough that, to me, is incredibly craveable. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:07:16] \u003c/em>Did you taste it?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:07:17] \u003c/em>I did. yeah, I mean flower waters. It’s good pizza. I don’t think that’s a controversial take McNaughton’s like a finalist for like the James Beard Awards before so \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:07:29] \u003c/em>Yeah, they’re doing pretty well. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:07:31] \u003c/em>Yeah. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:07:32] \u003c/em>So my name’s Azul, I’m a reporter at KQED. Did you know that flour and water was all electric? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Commerical: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:07:38] \u003c/em>I did not know that they were all electric. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:07:59] \u003c/em>We’re gonna take a quick break, but when we come back, the health case for electric kitchens. By the way, if you appreciate the local deep dives that we bring you here on the Bay, consider becoming a sustaining KQED member. We can’t do this work without you. Just go to donate.kqed.org slash podcasts. We’ll be right back. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:08:27] \u003c/em>I guess aside from the broader ecological benefits of going electric, what do experts say about the other benefits for restaurants going electric? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:08:38] \u003c/em>Just to like put a number on it, there’s a new study that actually came out this month that found that 70% of gas burning kitchens, so these are commercial kitchens that were studied, exceeded the recommended limits for nitrogen dioxide that’s like federal health standards. They also found, you know, like elevated levels of carbon dioxide, benzene, carbon monoxide. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Rob Jackson: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:09:04] \u003c/em>You would never stand over the tailpipe of your car breathing in those pollutants, and yet people stand over a stove breathing the same pollutants day after day, meal after meal. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:09:13] \u003c/em>I talked to Rob Jackson, he’s an environmental scientist at Stanford University, and he talked about this. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Rob Jackson: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:09:18] \u003c/em>We know that the pollution that’s created by burning fossil fuels is harmful, and there’s no reason to do that now when cleaner, better technologies are available. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:09:28] \u003c/em>And then imagine if you’re a chef in a kitchen, you’re standing over that burner for eight hours a day. And I talked to some of the chefs, they said like, it’s less greasy, you have a little bit more control. Like one thing they said about induction is like, you’ll never have a pot of cream boil over because with an induction cooktop, you can just like set it at a number and it’ll just stay there. Whereas with like flame, the heat transfer, things just get hotter and hotter. There is like some push back against cooking with induction or electric. A lot of chefs, you know, have hesitation around changing their cooking practices. The California Restaurant Association, which is this trade association group for the California restaurant industry, in a commercial from 2019, they said like, what about like searing meat or charring vegetables? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Commerical: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:10:23] \u003c/em>Or cooking food in a wok over high intensity heat. All of that would go away. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:10:28] \u003c/em>Some of that could be due to the fact that induction is still catching up to where it needs to be in terms of technology. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Commerical: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:10:36] \u003c/em>Try doing three or 400 covers a night on an electric stove. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:10:42] \u003c/em>How you cook is very personal. There’s cultural practices, there’s how you learned in cooking school, all these things that go into it. So, while McNaughton promotes this move that he’s made very heavily, a lot of people have doubts about it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:10:56] \u003c/em>Have there been any efforts at the local and statewide level to push more commercial kitchens to make this change?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:11:04] \u003c/em>There’s been like a specific push for commercial kitchens and there’s been a broader push just to get gas out of all buildings. So you can go back to like 2019 in Berkeley. Berkeley passed a ban on natural gas in new construction. And the city of Berkeley is leading the charge with the law that covers new construction. That got a lot of pushback from the California restaurant association that successfully defeated the, the band in the courts by arguing basically like Berkeley was overstepping its bounds. They were trying to regulate the efficiency of things when that’s the remit of the title. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Newscaster: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:11:40] \u003c/em>New at 10 tonight, the City of Berkeley lost its latest legal battle. Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied Berkeley’s petition for the court to rehear the case after the ban was ruled illegal last year. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:11:53] \u003c/em>There’s also efforts at the state level to incentivize kitchens specifically to go all electric. There’s rebates available through California utilities like PG&E for commercial kitchens to buy appliances. There’s these Chef Fluencers that is run by this group called the Building Decarbonization Coalition. And their jobs are basically to like preach the good word of induction and encourage people to adopt it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:12:22] \u003c/em>Yeah, there’s the practical piece of it of just making it easier, lowering the barriers for restaurants to get access to these things. But also there’s this norms piece of like really trying to get people in the restaurant industry to, I guess, see this as a thing that they could do that wouldn’t impact their food quality.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:12:46] \u003c/em>Yeah, I mean, you know, when most people think of electric cooking, they think of those like janky electric coil stoves.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:12:52] \u003c/em>Oh yeah, me too. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:12:53] \u003c/em>But like that’s not what this is. This is like the technology has come a long way.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katie Chin: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:12:58] \u003c/em>I think that there’s some misconceptions about it. Oh my goodness, it’s not gonna achieve the same quality. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:13:06] \u003c/em>I spoke to Katie Chin. She’s a chef fluencer and a caterer based in Southern California. And she’s had her own journey with induction. Like when she first used it, she was like, oh no, like, you know, I’m a cater, I’m professional caterer. Like I gotta cook. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katie Chin: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:13:22] \u003c/em>I had never cooked on one and it scared me. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:13:25] \u003c/em>She told me this story about being stuck in Southern California traffic on the way to a catering gig and actually being thankful that there was induction at her client’s house.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katie Chin: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:13:36] \u003c/em>Seeing is believing. So I was able to boil the water for, you know, 600 dumplings in a fraction of the time it would have taken for me to use a gas stove and heat up all that water. \u003cem>[00:13:45]\u003c/em>\u003cem>[9.1]\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:13:46] \u003c/em>She really says that people should try to keep an open mind.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katie Chin: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:13:52] \u003c/em>And a lot of people associate like, well, how can you, how can get those great stir fries if you’re not like, you know how people flip the wok like this? I think the main stereotype is that, oh, it’s not gonna get hot enough. And I see no difference at all. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:14:09] \u003c/em>I gotta say, Azul, when I think about our state fighting climate change, I don’t really think about commercial kitchens very much, but how much of a difference could it actually make if more commercial kitchens in the state address their emissions?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:14:26] \u003c/em>I think it comes down to this thing where it’s like, as long as there are stoves with a gas pipe leading to them, we’re going to keep burning gas in this state. And if California is going to truly like decarbonize and get off gas, then we need to start looking at our buildings and restaurants are this very entrenched use of natural gas. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:14:55] \u003c/em>Azul, this was such an interesting story. Thank you so much for sharing your reporting with us. Appreciate it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>[00:15:01] \u003c/em>You’re welcome. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco-Northern California Local.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/insidelove\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Inside Love\u003c/a>, our series explores what it means to love through science and curious conversation.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>We say it without thinking: I love that song, I love this city, I love you. But when researchers try to pin love down, they find a panoply of meanings. Love is a biological drive, a psychological attachment, a practice expressed through countless small choices and a cultural story. UC Berkeley psychology professor Dacher Keltner argues that love serves an even more fundamental purpose: It helps keep human beings alive. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When you start to put together the benefits of loving friends and loving your children and loving partners and loving nature and really forming an almost reverential, devoted attitude towards these sources of love, it reduces cortisol, the stress hormone,” Dacher says. “Strong social support adds 10 years of life expectancy.” We talk to Keltner about what we mean when we talk about love. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Learn more about Dacher Keltner and his work \u003ca href=\"https://psychology.berkeley.edu/people/dacher-keltner\">here\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-science-of-happiness/id1340505607\">here\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Guest:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>Dacher Keltner, professor of psychology and founding faculty director of the Greater Good Science Center, UC Berkeley\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> I think it’s tough to define love. As a researcher, do you have a definition for it? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>What I would say is that it’s a brief feeling that we have about things or people that we feel devoted to, that we want to sacrifice to, and that we feel uniquely connected to. Science is making progress in understanding the love we feel for romantic partners, sexual partners, friends, family members, strangers, and nature. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>And is it a different kind of love that we’re feeling? Is something different lighting up if, say, it’s a tree or a whale or our lover or our husband?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>We only have a partial answer to that question, Lesley. We don’t know, and it’s a great question, does our love of non-human forms, other forms of life, resemble the feelings of love we have towards a child or a partner or a parent or sibling? And we just don’t know. We do know, and it’s interesting, there’s a great study from Japan showing, focused on oxytocin, which is this neuropeptide that connects us to people. And when people bring their dogs into the lab, and they look at their dog in the eyes, they show a burst of oxytocin, so does the dog. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> That makes me feel so much better that if I’m looking at my dog, he’s looking at me back. Because I don’t know if you’ve seen there’s a New Yorker cartoon that’s so funny, where the person is looking at their dog, and they’re saying, “Oh my God, you’re my best friend.” And in the cartoon, the dog is looking back, going, “Where is my next hot dog? What’s happening here?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>It’s a very cynical view of– no, there are 87 million dogs in the United States or something like that. Truly, we co-evolve with dogs for 10-15,000 years to form these very important bonds. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>And when I look at my dog, I definitely feel that big, like, swirl of oxytocin when he looks back at me. Is it an emotion that I’m feeling? Is it a feeling that you’re doing an action? What exactly is love? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>When you say, “I love my brother,” or “I love my romantic partner,” part of it is a feeling state, probably 15 seconds, half a minute. And we’ve studied those in my lab at Berkeley, just looking at behaviors associated with that state, physiology. It’s also what philosophers call a sentiment, right? Which is a more enduring feeling you have towards something that you love. I love, you know, the San Francisco 49ers, or I love my garden, right? And that’s gonna be more enduring over time. And then there are trait-like characteristics where there are just some people who love more things in the world. And when they say that they love things, it’s just part of who they are as an identity over time.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>And why, evolutionarily, are we wired to love? How did it serve us originally, and potentially, how has that wiring changed over time? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Here’s where evolutionary scholarship is really useful, which is we are a hyper-social species. To survive, we had to find food together, take care of offspring together, fend off predators, stay warm together when the ice age hit 10-12,000 years ago, et cetera. We’re a very social species. And what our sociality required is that we give up self-interest. We sacrifice. You have to sacrifice for romantic partners, right? You forgo other opportunities. You have to sacrifice for friends. And the thinking is that love evolved as an emotion to make it really easy to sacrifice for people, to give up self-interest, right? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> To survive. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner:\u003c/strong> To survive, you know. So when we fall in love with our little baby, who’s a few months old, you know, they’re vomiting on our clothes and pooping and waking us up at night and disrupting our sex life, and they cost a lot of money But the love of that being short-circuits all those concerns, and we are devoted to the being out of love. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> And I imagine, for mating and for reproduction, right? I mean, we are falling in love so that we make more of ourselves. Is that a different kind of love than the love that you’re saying, a parental love? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Our audience should really go back to John Bowlby, a very influential thinker about attachment. Bowlby said there are kind of three basic systems that help us reproduce our genes, if you will, in the evolutionary terminology. One is sexual desire, which gets us to reproduce. And there’s work on that showing it’s really distinct from feeling devoted love or long-term love. And then we have a caregiving love, which is toward vulnerable, most typically young children, the elderly, et cetera. Any kind of vulnerability triggers a sense of care. And those three emotions together, you know, the feelings of desire and love, and then filial love or loving of children, really ensure that our offspring make it to the age of viability; they survive; we take care of them, which is the critical task in evolution. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> If our childhood is particularly rough and maybe not a very loving environment and love is really scary for us, can we get better at loving? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner:\u003c/strong> Of the most sophisticated literature on this, one [about] is trauma. We know extreme trauma in a family is very hard on relationships and trust, rightfully so. Right? And so you got to work hard to transcend that. And we do know from the trauma literature, which is the extreme version of your question, a lot of people recover. They are resilient. They find new friends. There’s a whole new literature on significant childhood attachments, early positive experiences that shows, even if you’re in a household that has a lot of anger and aggression, violence, not much love, other adults out there can give you the love you need, right? A coach or a teacher or a minister, et cetera. And then we also learn from the attachment literature that even if you grew up in a tough home with respect to feeling safe and secure, which is key in attachment, a lot of people change, right? And they form friendships in adolescence; they learn new things with a romantic partner; they have a spiritual love; they have community. So we are resilient when it comes to love and finding new ways. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>What do you think it says about humans as a species that we can have such a range of different kinds of love? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner:\u003c/strong> It’s interesting often when you ask people at the end of life, “What’s it all about?” You know, and people will often say, like, “It really is about love.” And I think that one of the really striking qualities of who we are is we sacrifice, and we devote ourselves to things, to children and to friends and to partners and to ideas and political groups and the environment, et cetera. And that really is how we survived is to be a devoted species. And love is the engine of that, right? The friendship literature, which I think is a very underappreciated form of love. And, you know, friends give us life expectancy; they help our nervous systems; they bring us meaning; they help us navigate social reality. And really the engine of that is love, to find a lot of people to love. So, you know, what does it say about our species? It says, very underappreciated, that love is vital to survival because it helps us in so many realms. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>Anything else you want to add, you just listed a bunch of stuff about health, but anything else you wanna add, just kind of make the case for bringing more love in your life in terms of what we know it does for our mind and for our physical body? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>When you start to put together the benefits of loving friends and loving your children and loving partners and loving nature and really forming a almost a reverential, devoted attitude towards these sources of love, it reduces cortisol, the stress hormone, it is good for life expectancy, strong social support adds 10 years of life expectancy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>Ten years? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Ten years. It’s one of the most important findings in the social sciences, is if I move through my day and I see a stranger in the street and I feel trust and affection and I call my best friend and I call me parents and children, I have ten years of additional life. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>If you have that web of support around you. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>That’s right. The literature on, you know, loving nature, biophilia, is almost as robust, which is, if I have a regular, reverential, loving relationship to the flora and fauna around me and the rivers and the oceans and the sky and the light, I do better in terms of disease. I have a stronger heart. If I get cancer, it progresses less fast. I have better concentration at my work. You could go on, right? So it is this vital vitamin, if you will, that we gotta be taking regularly. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>And that we, especially in our fast-moving culture, do not prioritize. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Oh, man. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> It almost comes last often on the list, unfortunately. I mean, hopefully not, but I think many people’s lives feel like they’re moving so quickly that walking outside and feeling what you’re talking about, like the awe or feeling the awe and the love for nature or taking that moment to put their hand on their partner’s back, that kind of thing. Those are the moments that matter. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner:\u003c/strong> I think we’re in a crisis right now. When you look at all kinds of data in the United States, we don’t love ourselves, young people are too hard on themselves, we don’t– we’re struggling in intimate relationships, young people are not marrying like they did 40 years ago, we struggle in our relationship to nature, we don’t love people who have different political views than our own, right? We are the most polarized country on the face of the earth that’s been studied, right? Other cultures, even though they have different political views, will have that fundamental sense of we’re all humans and we’ve lost that in the United States. And so, yeah, I think that we have to be thinking right now, in this moment, of how do we build it back in? One of my favorite literatures on this is just practicing micro social interactions that build trust and love. Make eye contact with people, say hi, compliment them, you know, have greeting rituals and gestures with those people. Those all build trust out in the world that gives you that web you talked about that is good for us. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> If we lose someone that we really care about, what do we know about the process of grief? What does that tell us about love?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Grief is at the loss of a partner, a parent, or a child, or a dear friend. I think people are grieving right now the loss of species out in our ecosystems. For a lot of people, 50 to 60%, probably, rough estimate, it’s profoundly disorienting, right? It is– Your whole way of looking at reality is shaken, your way of moving through the day, your rhythms, how you sleep. It’s almost like psychosis, like you don’t know how to make sense of reality, and that’s what we have to reconstruct. And then what we also know is people grow out of grief, right? That you start to realize, like, when I lost my brother, Rolf, I was like, God, he’s irreplaceable. I had one brother, you know, and he was the best brother. And I started to learn, like, not only philosophical lessons about what he gave me and what life is, but also how I have to rebuild the sense of love he gave me, right? So grief is one of the great tasks of life. It’s almost inevitable for everybody. We need better wisdom about how to grow out of it and find wisdom. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>The impetus for this show actually came, I was hosting for him, and we did an episode on a writer from the L.A. Times was asking, he was so heartbroken over a lost love that he could not function, and he had read all of the self-help books, trying to get himself back on track, and he just couldn’t, he couldn’t function. And so he found that studying the neuroscience of grief actually helped him make sense of why he was so lost. And so my question to you is, is it helpful, the impetus like I said of the show to kind of look at love and relationship, sex and dating through a scientific lens, what does science give us in terms of understanding something that in so many ways is kind of unknowable? It’s something that we feel that’s maybe captured better in mythology or poetry. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>I think it’s really important to study it. I’ll give you a couple of examples. I mean, one, we’ve learned a lot about the incredible neurophysiology of love, you know, of oxytocin and vagal tone. And my lab studies the vocalizations and facial displays of love that trace back in our mammalian evolution, which tells us it’s mammalian to love. It’s one of the things that defines mammals, is they care, right? You know, there are a couple of examples that are really interesting to me that tell us something important. Anybody who’s around a baby has surges of oxytocin, right? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> I know that. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>You can be– it’s the mom, which was the first discovery. Oh yeah, it’s the dad. It’s gay couples, right. It is people who are just around the baby. And that tells us that this is not just mom, but anybody around the baby is gonna shift to this feeling of devotion. And that’s important. And then, you know, I’ve been fascinated by our love of nature, which, you know in the indigenous traditions that really are around the world and thousands of years old that predate, you know, all of the traditions we know about — the Abrahamic traditions, East Asian thought, et cetera – they uniformly talk about a loving relationship with trees, which Walt Whitman loved, and you know rivers and birds and so forth. Now, there’s a hypothesis, oh, we can love the many kinds of species out in our ecosystems. And along comes science and shows, well, when you listen to water, which we find such joy in, your vagus nerve is activated. When we hear bird song, which is a form of music almost, we feel hopeful and strong. When you smell fragrances like cedar or rosemary and the olfactory system processes it, you think about what’s beautiful in your childhood, right? And your brain is registering that. So that tells us, in this particular case, the science is useful in that it says, yeah, you know, poets have a lot to say about how we love nature, Wordsworth, et cetera. But, this is wired into ourselves. And it’s important because very concretely, certain parts of our world won’t take fiction or poetry or film portrayals of things seriously, but they do listen to science. Like, you know, our medical establishment. So our former Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, took stock of the power of friendships and said, we have a loneliness epidemic and it’s a health crisis. So we need all the wisdom on these emotions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>Has studying it for you helped you love more, or are there times when you’re in the lab going, “This is deadening it for me”? What’s in your own experience? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Well, my own experience has just provided a lens into how deep love is. I studied in a period of my career, 15 years ago, the nonverbal displays of love and desire, how it affects oxytocin and the vagus nerve, how couples express love through appreciation and reverence. And it kind of sharpened my eye to things. And I started to realize, for example, when I raised children. Two daughters who live in the Bay Area, Natalie and Sarafina, there’s a ton of love that is built up in communities around children, right? And that’s evolutionarily important. We call them alloparents, and we feel that for children around us. And that was really interesting that I wouldn’t have learned that without this scientific lens. The other thing that really has oriented me to, and I don’t talk enough about this, is love of humanity. In a lot of spiritual traditions, it’s fundamental just like agape in the Christian tradition, like love everyone without social distinction. And hearing about the studies of how we can form strong ties with everybody around us with eye contact and, you know, compliments and respect, it awakened me to how much we do that on a daily basis and we can benefit from it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>Do you think that love is just humanly universal, the way that we experience it, or is it culturally impacted, or does culture play a big role on how we experience and how we love? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Well, both are true. You know, you go to most cultures and they will show forms of love that would be very familiar to you, even if they’re a radically different culture. That they’re holding babies who are crying and they’re flirting, teens are flirting and discovering romantic attraction, and older partners are, you know, showing this, this long term form of love. It’s part of our species, right? And then at the same time, it’s radically varying. You know, it is– the degree to which you rely on romantic partners varies from one culture to another. We know how we express our love in the day-to-day really differs. In Norway, 30 to 40% of people live alone, even though they may be married, right? So they prefer kind of a solitary arrangement or solitude. In some cultures, jealousy, which protects love in some ways, is much more accentuated. There’s some deeply human universality to things like love, and then it varies dramatically. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>Do we have any idea whether or not people in Norway or say people in India who all pack into one place, I don’t know what the question would be, but you know, are loving more or feeling more love or feeling happier or getting the benefits of love? Do we know whether that isolation or sort of group experience? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>We don’t know. It’s just very preliminary in terms of thinking about not only how do cultures vary. So we know, for example, in the United States compared to other cultures, we fall in love faster, you know. And in some studies, I think it’s Russia and Japan, it takes them longer to say, “I’m committed to you.” So that’s interesting. Why do we fall in love faster? Maybe it’s the pace of our lives or how hard we work, et cetera. But we haven’t made progress yet in understanding why. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>What do you think about the fact that we’re falling in love with robots? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>On the one hand, it’s not very surprising because early studies of love, if you just did, “What do you love?” And literally people list 50 things, and “I love my pen and my watch.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> “My computer.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner:\u003c/strong> “My computer,” and of course, you know, so we’re very good at loving inanimate things in the sense of using the word love loosely. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>Is that the accurate use? Like if I say I love my computer, can I actually feel love for my computer? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Well When you look at your computer at the screen, do you get an oxytocin surge? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>No. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Probably not. So yeah, that would be an interesting test. I am profoundly worried about digital relationships. I think that the broad evidence, this is different kinds of studies and across different cultures, large samples, finds digital connection makes you feel more isolated and lonely and has certain worries about does it have the friction and the dynamics of a real relationship. We’re probably going to encounter data that show, much as we’ve learned about being on Instagram and Meta, that it’s not healthy for your overall social connection to the world. And, you know, I’d put it really frankly to audience members like, if your child came to you and she’s 16 or he’s 16 or they’re 16 and said, “I think I’ve fallen in love,” you know, “And it’s this agent on my computer,” you’d probably protest. And so I think that tells us something. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> I really hope my daughter does not come to me at 16. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>How old is your daughter? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>Seven. I’m hoping we figure it out before she turns 16. That’s deeply, deeply my hope. It’s probably ignorance, but I do not want her coming to me and being like “Claude and me are just, you know, getting up in there.” In this moment where there’s like so much anxiety and depression, unfortunately, and mental health issues, self-love, what do we know about self-love and how do we love ourselves better? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner:\u003c/strong> I almost tear up at the question because something has happened to this young generation compared to what I was like when I was 20. You know, they are smarter and working hard and more pressured and worried about the environment and worried about AI. I mean, they’re taking on a lot on their shoulders and facing a very tricky economy. And despite all of these strengths that they have, they’re harder on themselves, more critical, and in extreme cases, more self-loathing as you see in them and hate. And the best literature on that is self-compassion, you know. And the idea there is you take this fundamental form of love, of compassion, just feeling a devotion to somebody else’s wellbeing, and then you orient it to yourself, you know. And you do it through, sort of, practices of, sort of, reminding yourself of good things. You do it by remembering what your friends say about you that’s supportive, or you even put your hand on your chest and sort of calm down, all shown in science to kind of reduce stress and anxiety. And you know, we need to– when you mix together the pressure and anxiety of youth, and they’re turning away from dating and long-term commitments. Marriage rates have dropped 10%. It’s remarkable, right? And then they are distrusting of long-term relationships often. We’ve got a crisis coming, right, that we’ve got to attend to and love is a good way to do it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>What I’m hearing from you is it doesn’t have to be like, you need to find your person or the ultimate tomorrow. It’s like literally, like you said, putting a hand over your heart, like, “How can I be a friend to myself today?” Looking at people in the eye, maybe not being so buried in our phones. Anything else you’d wanna add to the audience in terms of how tomorrow we might live in a world that has more love in it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner:\u003c/strong> Two things, you know, that really are particularly relevant to younger people as well, but everybody: remember how powerful friendships are. It’s interesting, you know, let’s say I’ve taught happiness for 30 years at Berkeley, the science, and we study tables and data, and early in the happiness literature when they asked what makes you happy, most typically it’s being with other people, right? Which is– people would be like, “That makes sense,” even though we spend inordinate amounts of time alone, you know. But then it was interesting like time and time again, studies would find friends are just, they’re this pure form of happiness in some sense, and joy. And so there’s now a rich literature on like, building friends into your life and also making friends in the broader network of people around you, which we’ve talked about these micro interactions of civility, which we lost. And then the other one is, I would challenge our audience to think about the feelings you have about nature, right? Sunsets or dark skies. I was just in Sequoia National Park as part of the dark sky celebration, stars, right. Running water, rain, your garden, flowers, et cetera, trees. We have a long and deep evolutionary history of really loving and feeling loved by nature, and to pause and remember that and to go seek it out. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> Dacher, thank you so much. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner:\u003c/strong> You’re welcome, Lesley. It’s been a really wonderful conversation. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> Dacher Keltner is a Professor of Psychology at UC Berkeley and heads the Greater Good Science Center at the University. Inside Love is a new production of KQED and we’d love to hear your thoughts. Our email is insidelove@kqed.org. Our engineer is Christopher Beal, our video engineer is Jim McKee and our producers are Susie Britton and Emiko Oda. I’m Lesley McClurg. Thanks so much for listening.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Learn more about Dacher Keltner and his work \u003ca href=\"https://psychology.berkeley.edu/people/dacher-keltner\">here\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-science-of-happiness/id1340505607\">here\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> I think it’s tough to define love. As a researcher, do you have a definition for it? \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>What I would say is that it’s a brief feeling that we have about things or people that we feel devoted to, that we want to sacrifice to, and that we feel uniquely connected to. Science is making progress in understanding the love we feel for romantic partners, sexual partners, friends, family members, strangers, and nature. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>And is it a different kind of love that we’re feeling? Is something different lighting up if, say, it’s a tree or a whale or our lover or our husband?\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>We only have a partial answer to that question, Lesley. We don’t know, and it’s a great question, does our love of non-human forms, other forms of life, resemble the feelings of love we have towards a child or a partner or a parent or sibling? And we just don’t know. We do know, and it’s interesting, there’s a great study from Japan showing, focused on oxytocin, which is this neuropeptide that connects us to people. And when people bring their dogs into the lab, and they look at their dog in the eyes, they show a burst of oxytocin, so does the dog. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>We only have a partial answer to that question, Lesley. We don’t know, and it’s a great question, does our love of non-human forms, other forms of life, resemble the feelings of love we have towards a child or a partner or a parent or sibling? And we just don’t know. We do know, and it’s interesting, there’s a great study from Japan showing, focused on oxytocin, which is this neuropeptide that connects us to people. And when people bring their dogs into the lab, and they look at their dog in the eyes, they show a burst of oxytocin, so does the dog. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> That makes me feel so much better that if I’m looking at my dog, he’s looking at me back. Because I don’t know if you’ve seen there’s a New Yorker cartoon that’s so funny, where the person is looking at their dog, and they’re saying, “Oh my God, you’re my best friend.” And in the cartoon, the dog is looking back, going, “Where is my next hot dog? What’s happening here?”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> That makes me feel so much better that if I’m looking at my dog, he’s looking at me back. Because I don’t know if you’ve seen there’s a New Yorker cartoon that’s so funny, where the person is looking at their dog, and they’re saying, “Oh my God, you’re my best friend.” And in the cartoon, the dog is looking back, going, “Where is my next hot dog? What’s happening here?”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>It’s a very cynical view of– no, there are 87 million dogs in the United States or something like that. Truly, we co-evolve with dogs for 10-15,000 years to form these very important bonds. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>And when I look at my dog, I definitely feel that big, like, swirl of oxytocin when he looks back at me. Is it an emotion that I’m feeling? Is it a feeling that you’re doing an action? What exactly is love? \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>When you say, “I love my brother,” or “I love my romantic partner,” part of it is a feeling state, probably 15 seconds, half a minute. And we’ve studied those in my lab at Berkeley, just looking at behaviors associated with that state, physiology. It’s also what philosophers call a sentiment, right? Which is a more enduring feeling you have towards something that you love. I love, you know, the San Francisco 49ers, or I love my garden, right? And that’s gonna be more enduring over time. And then there are trait-like characteristics where there are just some people who love more things in the world. And when they say that they love things, it’s just part of who they are as an identity over time.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>When you say, “I love my brother,” or “I love my romantic partner,” part of it is a feeling state, probably 15 seconds, half a minute. And we’ve studied those in my lab at Berkeley, just looking at behaviors associated with that state, physiology. It’s also what philosophers call a sentiment, right? Which is a more enduring feeling you have towards something that you love. I love, you know, the San Francisco 49ers, or I love my garden, right? And that’s gonna be more enduring over time. And then there are trait-like characteristics where there are just some people who love more things in the world. And when they say that they love things, it’s just part of who they are as an identity over time.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>And why, evolutionarily, are we wired to love? How did it serve us originally, and potentially, how has that wiring changed over time? \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Here’s where evolutionary scholarship is really useful, which is we are a hyper-social species. To survive, we had to find food together, take care of offspring together, fend off predators, stay warm together when the ice age hit 10-12,000 years ago, et cetera. We’re a very social species. And what our sociality required is that we give up self-interest. We sacrifice. You have to sacrifice for romantic partners, right? You forgo other opportunities. You have to sacrifice for friends. And the thinking is that love evolved as an emotion to make it really easy to sacrifice for people, to give up self-interest, right? \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Here’s where evolutionary scholarship is really useful, which is we are a hyper-social species. To survive, we had to find food together, take care of offspring together, fend off predators, stay warm together when the ice age hit 10-12,000 years ago, et cetera. We’re a very social species. And what our sociality required is that we give up self-interest. We sacrifice. You have to sacrifice for romantic partners, right? You forgo other opportunities. You have to sacrifice for friends. And the thinking is that love evolved as an emotion to make it really easy to sacrifice for people, to give up self-interest, right? \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> To survive. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> To survive. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner:\u003c/strong> To survive, you know. So when we fall in love with our little baby, who’s a few months old, you know, they’re vomiting on our clothes and pooping and waking us up at night and disrupting our sex life, and they cost a lot of money But the love of that being short-circuits all those concerns, and we are devoted to the being out of love. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner:\u003c/strong> To survive, you know. So when we fall in love with our little baby, who’s a few months old, you know, they’re vomiting on our clothes and pooping and waking us up at night and disrupting our sex life, and they cost a lot of money But the love of that being short-circuits all those concerns, and we are devoted to the being out of love. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> And I imagine, for mating and for reproduction, right? I mean, we are falling in love so that we make more of ourselves. Is that a different kind of love than the love that you’re saying, a parental love? \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> And I imagine, for mating and for reproduction, right? I mean, we are falling in love so that we make more of ourselves. Is that a different kind of love than the love that you’re saying, a parental love? \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Our audience should really go back to John Bowlby, a very influential thinker about attachment. Bowlby said there are kind of three basic systems that help us reproduce our genes, if you will, in the evolutionary terminology. One is sexual desire, which gets us to reproduce. And there’s work on that showing it’s really distinct from feeling devoted love or long-term love. And then we have a caregiving love, which is toward vulnerable, most typically young children, the elderly, et cetera. Any kind of vulnerability triggers a sense of care. And those three emotions together, you know, the feelings of desire and love, and then filial love or loving of children, really ensure that our offspring make it to the age of viability; they survive; we take care of them, which is the critical task in evolution. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Our audience should really go back to John Bowlby, a very influential thinker about attachment. Bowlby said there are kind of three basic systems that help us reproduce our genes, if you will, in the evolutionary terminology. One is sexual desire, which gets us to reproduce. And there’s work on that showing it’s really distinct from feeling devoted love or long-term love. And then we have a caregiving love, which is toward vulnerable, most typically young children, the elderly, et cetera. Any kind of vulnerability triggers a sense of care. And those three emotions together, you know, the feelings of desire and love, and then filial love or loving of children, really ensure that our offspring make it to the age of viability; they survive; we take care of them, which is the critical task in evolution. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> If our childhood is particularly rough and maybe not a very loving environment and love is really scary for us, can we get better at loving? \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> If our childhood is particularly rough and maybe not a very loving environment and love is really scary for us, can we get better at loving? \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner:\u003c/strong> Of the most sophisticated literature on this, one [about] is trauma. We know extreme trauma in a family is very hard on relationships and trust, rightfully so. Right? And so you got to work hard to transcend that. And we do know from the trauma literature, which is the extreme version of your question, a lot of people recover. They are resilient. They find new friends. There’s a whole new literature on significant childhood attachments, early positive experiences that shows, even if you’re in a household that has a lot of anger and aggression, violence, not much love, other adults out there can give you the love you need, right? A coach or a teacher or a minister, et cetera. And then we also learn from the attachment literature that even if you grew up in a tough home with respect to feeling safe and secure, which is key in attachment, a lot of people change, right? And they form friendships in adolescence; they learn new things with a romantic partner; they have a spiritual love; they have community. So we are resilient when it comes to love and finding new ways. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner:\u003c/strong> Of the most sophisticated literature on this, one [about] is trauma. We know extreme trauma in a family is very hard on relationships and trust, rightfully so. Right? And so you got to work hard to transcend that. And we do know from the trauma literature, which is the extreme version of your question, a lot of people recover. They are resilient. They find new friends. There’s a whole new literature on significant childhood attachments, early positive experiences that shows, even if you’re in a household that has a lot of anger and aggression, violence, not much love, other adults out there can give you the love you need, right? A coach or a teacher or a minister, et cetera. And then we also learn from the attachment literature that even if you grew up in a tough home with respect to feeling safe and secure, which is key in attachment, a lot of people change, right? And they form friendships in adolescence; they learn new things with a romantic partner; they have a spiritual love; they have community. So we are resilient when it comes to love and finding new ways. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>What do you think it says about humans as a species that we can have such a range of different kinds of love? \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner:\u003c/strong> It’s interesting often when you ask people at the end of life, “What’s it all about?” You know, and people will often say, like, “It really is about love.” And I think that one of the really striking qualities of who we are is we sacrifice, and we devote ourselves to things, to children and to friends and to partners and to ideas and political groups and the environment, et cetera. And that really is how we survived is to be a devoted species. And love is the engine of that, right? The friendship literature, which I think is a very underappreciated form of love. And, you know, friends give us life expectancy; they help our nervous systems; they bring us meaning; they help us navigate social reality. And really the engine of that is love, to find a lot of people to love. So, you know, what does it say about our species? It says, very underappreciated, that love is vital to survival because it helps us in so many realms. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner:\u003c/strong> It’s interesting often when you ask people at the end of life, “What’s it all about?” You know, and people will often say, like, “It really is about love.” And I think that one of the really striking qualities of who we are is we sacrifice, and we devote ourselves to things, to children and to friends and to partners and to ideas and political groups and the environment, et cetera. And that really is how we survived is to be a devoted species. And love is the engine of that, right? The friendship literature, which I think is a very underappreciated form of love. And, you know, friends give us life expectancy; they help our nervous systems; they bring us meaning; they help us navigate social reality. And really the engine of that is love, to find a lot of people to love. So, you know, what does it say about our species? It says, very underappreciated, that love is vital to survival because it helps us in so many realms. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>Anything else you want to add, you just listed a bunch of stuff about health, but anything else you wanna add, just kind of make the case for bringing more love in your life in terms of what we know it does for our mind and for our physical body? \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>Anything else you want to add, you just listed a bunch of stuff about health, but anything else you wanna add, just kind of make the case for bringing more love in your life in terms of what we know it does for our mind and for our physical body? \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>When you start to put together the benefits of loving friends and loving your children and loving partners and loving nature and really forming a almost a reverential, devoted attitude towards these sources of love, it reduces cortisol, the stress hormone, it is good for life expectancy, strong social support adds 10 years of life expectancy. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>When you start to put together the benefits of loving friends and loving your children and loving partners and loving nature and really forming a almost a reverential, devoted attitude towards these sources of love, it reduces cortisol, the stress hormone, it is good for life expectancy, strong social support adds 10 years of life expectancy. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>Ten years? \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>Ten years? \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Ten years. It’s one of the most important findings in the social sciences, is if I move through my day and I see a stranger in the street and I feel trust and affection and I call my best friend and I call me parents and children, I have ten years of additional life. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Ten years. It’s one of the most important findings in the social sciences, is if I move through my day and I see a stranger in the street and I feel trust and affection and I call my best friend and I call me parents and children, I have ten years of additional life. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>If you have that web of support around you. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>If you have that web of support around you. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>That’s right. The literature on, you know, loving nature, biophilia, is almost as robust, which is, if I have a regular, reverential, loving relationship to the flora and fauna around me and the rivers and the oceans and the sky and the light, I do better in terms of disease. I have a stronger heart. If I get cancer, it progresses less fast. I have better concentration at my work. You could go on, right? So it is this vital vitamin, if you will, that we gotta be taking regularly. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>That’s right. The literature on, you know, loving nature, biophilia, is almost as robust, which is, if I have a regular, reverential, loving relationship to the flora and fauna around me and the rivers and the oceans and the sky and the light, I do better in terms of disease. I have a stronger heart. If I get cancer, it progresses less fast. I have better concentration at my work. You could go on, right? So it is this vital vitamin, if you will, that we gotta be taking regularly. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>And that we, especially in our fast-moving culture, do not prioritize. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>And that we, especially in our fast-moving culture, do not prioritize. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Oh, man. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> It almost comes last often on the list, unfortunately. I mean, hopefully not, but I think many people’s lives feel like they’re moving so quickly that walking outside and feeling what you’re talking about, like the awe or feeling the awe and the love for nature or taking that moment to put their hand on their partner’s back, that kind of thing. Those are the moments that matter. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> It almost comes last often on the list, unfortunately. I mean, hopefully not, but I think many people’s lives feel like they’re moving so quickly that walking outside and feeling what you’re talking about, like the awe or feeling the awe and the love for nature or taking that moment to put their hand on their partner’s back, that kind of thing. Those are the moments that matter. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner:\u003c/strong> I think we’re in a crisis right now. When you look at all kinds of data in the United States, we don’t love ourselves, young people are too hard on themselves, we don’t– we’re struggling in intimate relationships, young people are not marrying like they did 40 years ago, we struggle in our relationship to nature, we don’t love people who have different political views than our own, right? We are the most polarized country on the face of the earth that’s been studied, right? Other cultures, even though they have different political views, will have that fundamental sense of we’re all humans and we’ve lost that in the United States. And so, yeah, I think that we have to be thinking right now, in this moment, of how do we build it back in? One of my favorite literatures on this is just practicing micro social interactions that build trust and love. Make eye contact with people, say hi, compliment them, you know, have greeting rituals and gestures with those people. Those all build trust out in the world that gives you that web you talked about that is good for us. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner:\u003c/strong> I think we’re in a crisis right now. When you look at all kinds of data in the United States, we don’t love ourselves, young people are too hard on themselves, we don’t– we’re struggling in intimate relationships, young people are not marrying like they did 40 years ago, we struggle in our relationship to nature, we don’t love people who have different political views than our own, right? We are the most polarized country on the face of the earth that’s been studied, right? Other cultures, even though they have different political views, will have that fundamental sense of we’re all humans and we’ve lost that in the United States. And so, yeah, I think that we have to be thinking right now, in this moment, of how do we build it back in? One of my favorite literatures on this is just practicing micro social interactions that build trust and love. Make eye contact with people, say hi, compliment them, you know, have greeting rituals and gestures with those people. Those all build trust out in the world that gives you that web you talked about that is good for us. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> If we lose someone that we really care about, what do we know about the process of grief? What does that tell us about love?\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Grief is at the loss of a partner, a parent, or a child, or a dear friend. I think people are grieving right now the loss of species out in our ecosystems. For a lot of people, 50 to 60%, probably, rough estimate, it’s profoundly disorienting, right? It is– Your whole way of looking at reality is shaken, your way of moving through the day, your rhythms, how you sleep. It’s almost like psychosis, like you don’t know how to make sense of reality, and that’s what we have to reconstruct. And then what we also know is people grow out of grief, right? That you start to realize, like, when I lost my brother, Rolf, I was like, God, he’s irreplaceable. I had one brother, you know, and he was the best brother. And I started to learn, like, not only philosophical lessons about what he gave me and what life is, but also how I have to rebuild the sense of love he gave me, right? So grief is one of the great tasks of life. It’s almost inevitable for everybody. We need better wisdom about how to grow out of it and find wisdom. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Grief is at the loss of a partner, a parent, or a child, or a dear friend. I think people are grieving right now the loss of species out in our ecosystems. For a lot of people, 50 to 60%, probably, rough estimate, it’s profoundly disorienting, right? It is– Your whole way of looking at reality is shaken, your way of moving through the day, your rhythms, how you sleep. It’s almost like psychosis, like you don’t know how to make sense of reality, and that’s what we have to reconstruct. And then what we also know is people grow out of grief, right? That you start to realize, like, when I lost my brother, Rolf, I was like, God, he’s irreplaceable. I had one brother, you know, and he was the best brother. And I started to learn, like, not only philosophical lessons about what he gave me and what life is, but also how I have to rebuild the sense of love he gave me, right? So grief is one of the great tasks of life. It’s almost inevitable for everybody. We need better wisdom about how to grow out of it and find wisdom. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>The impetus for this show actually came, I was hosting for him, and we did an episode on a writer from the L.A. Times was asking, he was so heartbroken over a lost love that he could not function, and he had read all of the self-help books, trying to get himself back on track, and he just couldn’t, he couldn’t function. And so he found that studying the neuroscience of grief actually helped him make sense of why he was so lost. And so my question to you is, is it helpful, the impetus like I said of the show to kind of look at love and relationship, sex and dating through a scientific lens, what does science give us in terms of understanding something that in so many ways is kind of unknowable? It’s something that we feel that’s maybe captured better in mythology or poetry. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>I think it’s really important to study it. I’ll give you a couple of examples. I mean, one, we’ve learned a lot about the incredible neurophysiology of love, you know, of oxytocin and vagal tone. And my lab studies the vocalizations and facial displays of love that trace back in our mammalian evolution, which tells us it’s mammalian to love. It’s one of the things that defines mammals, is they care, right? You know, there are a couple of examples that are really interesting to me that tell us something important. Anybody who’s around a baby has surges of oxytocin, right? \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>I think it’s really important to study it. I’ll give you a couple of examples. I mean, one, we’ve learned a lot about the incredible neurophysiology of love, you know, of oxytocin and vagal tone. And my lab studies the vocalizations and facial displays of love that trace back in our mammalian evolution, which tells us it’s mammalian to love. It’s one of the things that defines mammals, is they care, right? You know, there are a couple of examples that are really interesting to me that tell us something important. Anybody who’s around a baby has surges of oxytocin, right? \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>You can be– it’s the mom, which was the first discovery. Oh yeah, it’s the dad. It’s gay couples, right. It is people who are just around the baby. And that tells us that this is not just mom, but anybody around the baby is gonna shift to this feeling of devotion. And that’s important. And then, you know, I’ve been fascinated by our love of nature, which, you know in the indigenous traditions that really are around the world and thousands of years old that predate, you know, all of the traditions we know about — the Abrahamic traditions, East Asian thought, et cetera – they uniformly talk about a loving relationship with trees, which Walt Whitman loved, and you know rivers and birds and so forth. Now, there’s a hypothesis, oh, we can love the many kinds of species out in our ecosystems. And along comes science and shows, well, when you listen to water, which we find such joy in, your vagus nerve is activated. When we hear bird song, which is a form of music almost, we feel hopeful and strong. When you smell fragrances like cedar or rosemary and the olfactory system processes it, you think about what’s beautiful in your childhood, right? And your brain is registering that. So that tells us, in this particular case, the science is useful in that it says, yeah, you know, poets have a lot to say about how we love nature, Wordsworth, et cetera. But, this is wired into ourselves. And it’s important because very concretely, certain parts of our world won’t take fiction or poetry or film portrayals of things seriously, but they do listen to science. Like, you know, our medical establishment. So our former Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, took stock of the power of friendships and said, we have a loneliness epidemic and it’s a health crisis. So we need all the wisdom on these emotions. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>You can be– it’s the mom, which was the first discovery. Oh yeah, it’s the dad. It’s gay couples, right. It is people who are just around the baby. And that tells us that this is not just mom, but anybody around the baby is gonna shift to this feeling of devotion. And that’s important. And then, you know, I’ve been fascinated by our love of nature, which, you know in the indigenous traditions that really are around the world and thousands of years old that predate, you know, all of the traditions we know about — the Abrahamic traditions, East Asian thought, et cetera – they uniformly talk about a loving relationship with trees, which Walt Whitman loved, and you know rivers and birds and so forth. Now, there’s a hypothesis, oh, we can love the many kinds of species out in our ecosystems. And along comes science and shows, well, when you listen to water, which we find such joy in, your vagus nerve is activated. When we hear bird song, which is a form of music almost, we feel hopeful and strong. When you smell fragrances like cedar or rosemary and the olfactory system processes it, you think about what’s beautiful in your childhood, right? And your brain is registering that. So that tells us, in this particular case, the science is useful in that it says, yeah, you know, poets have a lot to say about how we love nature, Wordsworth, et cetera. But, this is wired into ourselves. And it’s important because very concretely, certain parts of our world won’t take fiction or poetry or film portrayals of things seriously, but they do listen to science. Like, you know, our medical establishment. So our former Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, took stock of the power of friendships and said, we have a loneliness epidemic and it’s a health crisis. So we need all the wisdom on these emotions. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>Has studying it for you helped you love more, or are there times when you’re in the lab going, “This is deadening it for me”? What’s in your own experience? \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Well, my own experience has just provided a lens into how deep love is. I studied in a period of my career, 15 years ago, the nonverbal displays of love and desire, how it affects oxytocin and the vagus nerve, how couples express love through appreciation and reverence. And it kind of sharpened my eye to things. And I started to realize, for example, when I raised children. Two daughters who live in the Bay Area, Natalie and Sarafina, there’s a ton of love that is built up in communities around children, right? And that’s evolutionarily important. We call them alloparents, and we feel that for children around us. And that was really interesting that I wouldn’t have learned that without this scientific lens. The other thing that really has oriented me to, and I don’t talk enough about this, is love of humanity. In a lot of spiritual traditions, it’s fundamental just like agape in the Christian tradition, like love everyone without social distinction. And hearing about the studies of how we can form strong ties with everybody around us with eye contact and, you know, compliments and respect, it awakened me to how much we do that on a daily basis and we can benefit from it. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Well, my own experience has just provided a lens into how deep love is. I studied in a period of my career, 15 years ago, the nonverbal displays of love and desire, how it affects oxytocin and the vagus nerve, how couples express love through appreciation and reverence. And it kind of sharpened my eye to things. And I started to realize, for example, when I raised children. Two daughters who live in the Bay Area, Natalie and Sarafina, there’s a ton of love that is built up in communities around children, right? And that’s evolutionarily important. We call them alloparents, and we feel that for children around us. And that was really interesting that I wouldn’t have learned that without this scientific lens. The other thing that really has oriented me to, and I don’t talk enough about this, is love of humanity. In a lot of spiritual traditions, it’s fundamental just like agape in the Christian tradition, like love everyone without social distinction. And hearing about the studies of how we can form strong ties with everybody around us with eye contact and, you know, compliments and respect, it awakened me to how much we do that on a daily basis and we can benefit from it. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>Do you think that love is just humanly universal, the way that we experience it, or is it culturally impacted, or does culture play a big role on how we experience and how we love? \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>Do you think that love is just humanly universal, the way that we experience it, or is it culturally impacted, or does culture play a big role on how we experience and how we love? \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Well, both are true. You know, you go to most cultures and they will show forms of love that would be very familiar to you, even if they’re a radically different culture. That they’re holding babies who are crying and they’re flirting, teens are flirting and discovering romantic attraction, and older partners are, you know, showing this, this long term form of love. It’s part of our species, right? And then at the same time, it’s radically varying. You know, it is– the degree to which you rely on romantic partners varies from one culture to another. We know how we express our love in the day-to-day really differs. In Norway, 30 to 40% of people live alone, even though they may be married, right? So they prefer kind of a solitary arrangement or solitude. In some cultures, jealousy, which protects love in some ways, is much more accentuated. There’s some deeply human universality to things like love, and then it varies dramatically. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Well, both are true. You know, you go to most cultures and they will show forms of love that would be very familiar to you, even if they’re a radically different culture. That they’re holding babies who are crying and they’re flirting, teens are flirting and discovering romantic attraction, and older partners are, you know, showing this, this long term form of love. It’s part of our species, right? And then at the same time, it’s radically varying. You know, it is– the degree to which you rely on romantic partners varies from one culture to another. We know how we express our love in the day-to-day really differs. In Norway, 30 to 40% of people live alone, even though they may be married, right? So they prefer kind of a solitary arrangement or solitude. In some cultures, jealousy, which protects love in some ways, is much more accentuated. There’s some deeply human universality to things like love, and then it varies dramatically. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>Do we have any idea whether or not people in Norway or say people in India who all pack into one place, I don’t know what the question would be, but you know, are loving more or feeling more love or feeling happier or getting the benefits of love? Do we know whether that isolation or sort of group experience? \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>Do we have any idea whether or not people in Norway or say people in India who all pack into one place, I don’t know what the question would be, but you know, are loving more or feeling more love or feeling happier or getting the benefits of love? Do we know whether that isolation or sort of group experience? \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>We don’t know. It’s just very preliminary in terms of thinking about not only how do cultures vary. So we know, for example, in the United States compared to other cultures, we fall in love faster, you know. And in some studies, I think it’s Russia and Japan, it takes them longer to say, “I’m committed to you.” So that’s interesting. Why do we fall in love faster? Maybe it’s the pace of our lives or how hard we work, et cetera. But we haven’t made progress yet in understanding why. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>We don’t know. It’s just very preliminary in terms of thinking about not only how do cultures vary. So we know, for example, in the United States compared to other cultures, we fall in love faster, you know. And in some studies, I think it’s Russia and Japan, it takes them longer to say, “I’m committed to you.” So that’s interesting. Why do we fall in love faster? Maybe it’s the pace of our lives or how hard we work, et cetera. But we haven’t made progress yet in understanding why. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>What do you think about the fact that we’re falling in love with robots? \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>What do you think about the fact that we’re falling in love with robots? \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>On the one hand, it’s not very surprising because early studies of love, if you just did, “What do you love?” And literally people list 50 things, and “I love my pen and my watch.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>On the one hand, it’s not very surprising because early studies of love, if you just did, “What do you love?” And literally people list 50 things, and “I love my pen and my watch.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> “My computer.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> “My computer.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner:\u003c/strong> “My computer,” and of course, you know, so we’re very good at loving inanimate things in the sense of using the word love loosely. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner:\u003c/strong> “My computer,” and of course, you know, so we’re very good at loving inanimate things in the sense of using the word love loosely. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>Is that the accurate use? Like if I say I love my computer, can I actually feel love for my computer? \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>Is that the accurate use? Like if I say I love my computer, can I actually feel love for my computer? \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Well When you look at your computer at the screen, do you get an oxytocin surge? \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Well When you look at your computer at the screen, do you get an oxytocin surge? \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>No. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Probably not. So yeah, that would be an interesting test. I am profoundly worried about digital relationships. I think that the broad evidence, this is different kinds of studies and across different cultures, large samples, finds digital connection makes you feel more isolated and lonely and has certain worries about does it have the friction and the dynamics of a real relationship. We’re probably going to encounter data that show, much as we’ve learned about being on Instagram and Meta, that it’s not healthy for your overall social connection to the world. And, you know, I’d put it really frankly to audience members like, if your child came to you and she’s 16 or he’s 16 or they’re 16 and said, “I think I’ve fallen in love,” you know, “And it’s this agent on my computer,” you’d probably protest. And so I think that tells us something. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Probably not. So yeah, that would be an interesting test. I am profoundly worried about digital relationships. I think that the broad evidence, this is different kinds of studies and across different cultures, large samples, finds digital connection makes you feel more isolated and lonely and has certain worries about does it have the friction and the dynamics of a real relationship. We’re probably going to encounter data that show, much as we’ve learned about being on Instagram and Meta, that it’s not healthy for your overall social connection to the world. And, you know, I’d put it really frankly to audience members like, if your child came to you and she’s 16 or he’s 16 or they’re 16 and said, “I think I’ve fallen in love,” you know, “And it’s this agent on my computer,” you’d probably protest. And so I think that tells us something. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> I really hope my daughter does not come to me at 16. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> I really hope my daughter does not come to me at 16. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>How old is your daughter? \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>How old is your daughter? \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>Seven. I’m hoping we figure it out before she turns 16. That’s deeply, deeply my hope. It’s probably ignorance, but I do not want her coming to me and being like “Claude and me are just, you know, getting up in there.” In this moment where there’s like so much anxiety and depression, unfortunately, and mental health issues, self-love, what do we know about self-love and how do we love ourselves better? \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>Seven. I’m hoping we figure it out before she turns 16. That’s deeply, deeply my hope. It’s probably ignorance, but I do not want her coming to me and being like “Claude and me are just, you know, getting up in there.” In this moment where there’s like so much anxiety and depression, unfortunately, and mental health issues, self-love, what do we know about self-love and how do we love ourselves better? \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner:\u003c/strong> I almost tear up at the question because something has happened to this young generation compared to what I was like when I was 20. You know, they are smarter and working hard and more pressured and worried about the environment and worried about AI. I mean, they’re taking on a lot on their shoulders and facing a very tricky economy. And despite all of these strengths that they have, they’re harder on themselves, more critical, and in extreme cases, more self-loathing as you see in them and hate. And the best literature on that is self-compassion, you know. And the idea there is you take this fundamental form of love, of compassion, just feeling a devotion to somebody else’s wellbeing, and then you orient it to yourself, you know. And you do it through, sort of, practices of, sort of, reminding yourself of good things. You do it by remembering what your friends say about you that’s supportive, or you even put your hand on your chest and sort of calm down, all shown in science to kind of reduce stress and anxiety. And you know, we need to– when you mix together the pressure and anxiety of youth, and they’re turning away from dating and long-term commitments. Marriage rates have dropped 10%. It’s remarkable, right? And then they are distrusting of long-term relationships often. We’ve got a crisis coming, right, that we’ve got to attend to and love is a good way to do it. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner:\u003c/strong> I almost tear up at the question because something has happened to this young generation compared to what I was like when I was 20. You know, they are smarter and working hard and more pressured and worried about the environment and worried about AI. I mean, they’re taking on a lot on their shoulders and facing a very tricky economy. And despite all of these strengths that they have, they’re harder on themselves, more critical, and in extreme cases, more self-loathing as you see in them and hate. And the best literature on that is self-compassion, you know. And the idea there is you take this fundamental form of love, of compassion, just feeling a devotion to somebody else’s wellbeing, and then you orient it to yourself, you know. And you do it through, sort of, practices of, sort of, reminding yourself of good things. You do it by remembering what your friends say about you that’s supportive, or you even put your hand on your chest and sort of calm down, all shown in science to kind of reduce stress and anxiety. And you know, we need to– when you mix together the pressure and anxiety of youth, and they’re turning away from dating and long-term commitments. Marriage rates have dropped 10%. It’s remarkable, right? And then they are distrusting of long-term relationships often. We’ve got a crisis coming, right, that we’ve got to attend to and love is a good way to do it. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>What I’m hearing from you is it doesn’t have to be like, you need to find your person or the ultimate tomorrow. It’s like literally, like you said, putting a hand over your heart, like, “How can I be a friend to myself today?” Looking at people in the eye, maybe not being so buried in our phones. Anything else you’d wanna add to the audience in terms of how tomorrow we might live in a world that has more love in it. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner:\u003c/strong> Two things, you know, that really are particularly relevant to younger people as well, but everybody: remember how powerful friendships are. It’s interesting, you know, let’s say I’ve taught happiness for 30 years at Berkeley, the science, and we study tables and data, and early in the happiness literature when they asked what makes you happy, most typically it’s being with other people, right? Which is– people would be like, “That makes sense,” even though we spend inordinate amounts of time alone, you know. But then it was interesting like time and time again, studies would find friends are just, they’re this pure form of happiness in some sense, and joy. And so there’s now a rich literature on like, building friends into your life and also making friends in the broader network of people around you, which we’ve talked about these micro interactions of civility, which we lost. And then the other one is, I would challenge our audience to think about the feelings you have about nature, right? Sunsets or dark skies. I was just in Sequoia National Park as part of the dark sky celebration, stars, right. Running water, rain, your garden, flowers, et cetera, trees. We have a long and deep evolutionary history of really loving and feeling loved by nature, and to pause and remember that and to go seek it out. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner:\u003c/strong> Two things, you know, that really are particularly relevant to younger people as well, but everybody: remember how powerful friendships are. It’s interesting, you know, let’s say I’ve taught happiness for 30 years at Berkeley, the science, and we study tables and data, and early in the happiness literature when they asked what makes you happy, most typically it’s being with other people, right? Which is– people would be like, “That makes sense,” even though we spend inordinate amounts of time alone, you know. But then it was interesting like time and time again, studies would find friends are just, they’re this pure form of happiness in some sense, and joy. And so there’s now a rich literature on like, building friends into your life and also making friends in the broader network of people around you, which we’ve talked about these micro interactions of civility, which we lost. And then the other one is, I would challenge our audience to think about the feelings you have about nature, right? Sunsets or dark skies. I was just in Sequoia National Park as part of the dark sky celebration, stars, right. Running water, rain, your garden, flowers, et cetera, trees. We have a long and deep evolutionary history of really loving and feeling loved by nature, and to pause and remember that and to go seek it out. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> Dacher Keltner is a Professor of Psychology at UC Berkeley and heads the Greater Good Science Center at the University. Inside Love is a new production of KQED and we’d love to hear your thoughts. Our email is insidelove@kqed.org. Our engineer is Christopher Beal, our video engineer is Jim McKee and our producers are Susie Britton and Emiko Oda. I’m Lesley McClurg. Thanks so much for listening.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> Dacher Keltner is a Professor of Psychology at UC Berkeley and heads the Greater Good Science Center at the University. Inside Love is a new production of KQED and we’d love to hear your thoughts. Our email is insidelove@kqed.org. Our engineer is Christopher Beal, our video engineer is Jim McKee and our producers are Susie Britton and Emiko Oda. I’m Lesley McClurg. Thanks so much for listening.\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "Can science decode love without draining it of its mystery? UC Berkeley psychologist Dacher Keltner says understanding how love works can help us cultivate more intimacy. \n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/insidelove\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Inside Love\u003c/a>, our series explores what it means to love through science and curious conversation.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>We say it without thinking: I love that song, I love this city, I love you. But when researchers try to pin love down, they find a panoply of meanings. Love is a biological drive, a psychological attachment, a practice expressed through countless small choices and a cultural story. UC Berkeley psychology professor Dacher Keltner argues that love serves an even more fundamental purpose: It helps keep human beings alive. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When you start to put together the benefits of loving friends and loving your children and loving partners and loving nature and really forming an almost reverential, devoted attitude towards these sources of love, it reduces cortisol, the stress hormone,” Dacher says. “Strong social support adds 10 years of life expectancy.” We talk to Keltner about what we mean when we talk about love. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Learn more about Dacher Keltner and his work \u003ca href=\"https://psychology.berkeley.edu/people/dacher-keltner\">here\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-science-of-happiness/id1340505607\">here\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Guest:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>Dacher Keltner, professor of psychology and founding faculty director of the Greater Good Science Center, UC Berkeley\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> I think it’s tough to define love. As a researcher, do you have a definition for it? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>What I would say is that it’s a brief feeling that we have about things or people that we feel devoted to, that we want to sacrifice to, and that we feel uniquely connected to. Science is making progress in understanding the love we feel for romantic partners, sexual partners, friends, family members, strangers, and nature. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>And is it a different kind of love that we’re feeling? Is something different lighting up if, say, it’s a tree or a whale or our lover or our husband?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>We only have a partial answer to that question, Lesley. We don’t know, and it’s a great question, does our love of non-human forms, other forms of life, resemble the feelings of love we have towards a child or a partner or a parent or sibling? And we just don’t know. We do know, and it’s interesting, there’s a great study from Japan showing, focused on oxytocin, which is this neuropeptide that connects us to people. And when people bring their dogs into the lab, and they look at their dog in the eyes, they show a burst of oxytocin, so does the dog. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> That makes me feel so much better that if I’m looking at my dog, he’s looking at me back. Because I don’t know if you’ve seen there’s a New Yorker cartoon that’s so funny, where the person is looking at their dog, and they’re saying, “Oh my God, you’re my best friend.” And in the cartoon, the dog is looking back, going, “Where is my next hot dog? What’s happening here?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>It’s a very cynical view of– no, there are 87 million dogs in the United States or something like that. Truly, we co-evolve with dogs for 10-15,000 years to form these very important bonds. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>And when I look at my dog, I definitely feel that big, like, swirl of oxytocin when he looks back at me. Is it an emotion that I’m feeling? Is it a feeling that you’re doing an action? What exactly is love? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>When you say, “I love my brother,” or “I love my romantic partner,” part of it is a feeling state, probably 15 seconds, half a minute. And we’ve studied those in my lab at Berkeley, just looking at behaviors associated with that state, physiology. It’s also what philosophers call a sentiment, right? Which is a more enduring feeling you have towards something that you love. I love, you know, the San Francisco 49ers, or I love my garden, right? And that’s gonna be more enduring over time. And then there are trait-like characteristics where there are just some people who love more things in the world. And when they say that they love things, it’s just part of who they are as an identity over time.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>And why, evolutionarily, are we wired to love? How did it serve us originally, and potentially, how has that wiring changed over time? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Here’s where evolutionary scholarship is really useful, which is we are a hyper-social species. To survive, we had to find food together, take care of offspring together, fend off predators, stay warm together when the ice age hit 10-12,000 years ago, et cetera. We’re a very social species. And what our sociality required is that we give up self-interest. We sacrifice. You have to sacrifice for romantic partners, right? You forgo other opportunities. You have to sacrifice for friends. And the thinking is that love evolved as an emotion to make it really easy to sacrifice for people, to give up self-interest, right? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> To survive. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner:\u003c/strong> To survive, you know. So when we fall in love with our little baby, who’s a few months old, you know, they’re vomiting on our clothes and pooping and waking us up at night and disrupting our sex life, and they cost a lot of money But the love of that being short-circuits all those concerns, and we are devoted to the being out of love. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> And I imagine, for mating and for reproduction, right? I mean, we are falling in love so that we make more of ourselves. Is that a different kind of love than the love that you’re saying, a parental love? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Our audience should really go back to John Bowlby, a very influential thinker about attachment. Bowlby said there are kind of three basic systems that help us reproduce our genes, if you will, in the evolutionary terminology. One is sexual desire, which gets us to reproduce. And there’s work on that showing it’s really distinct from feeling devoted love or long-term love. And then we have a caregiving love, which is toward vulnerable, most typically young children, the elderly, et cetera. Any kind of vulnerability triggers a sense of care. And those three emotions together, you know, the feelings of desire and love, and then filial love or loving of children, really ensure that our offspring make it to the age of viability; they survive; we take care of them, which is the critical task in evolution. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> If our childhood is particularly rough and maybe not a very loving environment and love is really scary for us, can we get better at loving? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner:\u003c/strong> Of the most sophisticated literature on this, one [about] is trauma. We know extreme trauma in a family is very hard on relationships and trust, rightfully so. Right? And so you got to work hard to transcend that. And we do know from the trauma literature, which is the extreme version of your question, a lot of people recover. They are resilient. They find new friends. There’s a whole new literature on significant childhood attachments, early positive experiences that shows, even if you’re in a household that has a lot of anger and aggression, violence, not much love, other adults out there can give you the love you need, right? A coach or a teacher or a minister, et cetera. And then we also learn from the attachment literature that even if you grew up in a tough home with respect to feeling safe and secure, which is key in attachment, a lot of people change, right? And they form friendships in adolescence; they learn new things with a romantic partner; they have a spiritual love; they have community. So we are resilient when it comes to love and finding new ways. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>What do you think it says about humans as a species that we can have such a range of different kinds of love? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner:\u003c/strong> It’s interesting often when you ask people at the end of life, “What’s it all about?” You know, and people will often say, like, “It really is about love.” And I think that one of the really striking qualities of who we are is we sacrifice, and we devote ourselves to things, to children and to friends and to partners and to ideas and political groups and the environment, et cetera. And that really is how we survived is to be a devoted species. And love is the engine of that, right? The friendship literature, which I think is a very underappreciated form of love. And, you know, friends give us life expectancy; they help our nervous systems; they bring us meaning; they help us navigate social reality. And really the engine of that is love, to find a lot of people to love. So, you know, what does it say about our species? It says, very underappreciated, that love is vital to survival because it helps us in so many realms. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>Anything else you want to add, you just listed a bunch of stuff about health, but anything else you wanna add, just kind of make the case for bringing more love in your life in terms of what we know it does for our mind and for our physical body? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>When you start to put together the benefits of loving friends and loving your children and loving partners and loving nature and really forming a almost a reverential, devoted attitude towards these sources of love, it reduces cortisol, the stress hormone, it is good for life expectancy, strong social support adds 10 years of life expectancy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>Ten years? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Ten years. It’s one of the most important findings in the social sciences, is if I move through my day and I see a stranger in the street and I feel trust and affection and I call my best friend and I call me parents and children, I have ten years of additional life. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>If you have that web of support around you. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>That’s right. The literature on, you know, loving nature, biophilia, is almost as robust, which is, if I have a regular, reverential, loving relationship to the flora and fauna around me and the rivers and the oceans and the sky and the light, I do better in terms of disease. I have a stronger heart. If I get cancer, it progresses less fast. I have better concentration at my work. You could go on, right? So it is this vital vitamin, if you will, that we gotta be taking regularly. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>And that we, especially in our fast-moving culture, do not prioritize. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Oh, man. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> It almost comes last often on the list, unfortunately. I mean, hopefully not, but I think many people’s lives feel like they’re moving so quickly that walking outside and feeling what you’re talking about, like the awe or feeling the awe and the love for nature or taking that moment to put their hand on their partner’s back, that kind of thing. Those are the moments that matter. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner:\u003c/strong> I think we’re in a crisis right now. When you look at all kinds of data in the United States, we don’t love ourselves, young people are too hard on themselves, we don’t– we’re struggling in intimate relationships, young people are not marrying like they did 40 years ago, we struggle in our relationship to nature, we don’t love people who have different political views than our own, right? We are the most polarized country on the face of the earth that’s been studied, right? Other cultures, even though they have different political views, will have that fundamental sense of we’re all humans and we’ve lost that in the United States. And so, yeah, I think that we have to be thinking right now, in this moment, of how do we build it back in? One of my favorite literatures on this is just practicing micro social interactions that build trust and love. Make eye contact with people, say hi, compliment them, you know, have greeting rituals and gestures with those people. Those all build trust out in the world that gives you that web you talked about that is good for us. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> If we lose someone that we really care about, what do we know about the process of grief? What does that tell us about love?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Grief is at the loss of a partner, a parent, or a child, or a dear friend. I think people are grieving right now the loss of species out in our ecosystems. For a lot of people, 50 to 60%, probably, rough estimate, it’s profoundly disorienting, right? It is– Your whole way of looking at reality is shaken, your way of moving through the day, your rhythms, how you sleep. It’s almost like psychosis, like you don’t know how to make sense of reality, and that’s what we have to reconstruct. And then what we also know is people grow out of grief, right? That you start to realize, like, when I lost my brother, Rolf, I was like, God, he’s irreplaceable. I had one brother, you know, and he was the best brother. And I started to learn, like, not only philosophical lessons about what he gave me and what life is, but also how I have to rebuild the sense of love he gave me, right? So grief is one of the great tasks of life. It’s almost inevitable for everybody. We need better wisdom about how to grow out of it and find wisdom. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>The impetus for this show actually came, I was hosting for him, and we did an episode on a writer from the L.A. Times was asking, he was so heartbroken over a lost love that he could not function, and he had read all of the self-help books, trying to get himself back on track, and he just couldn’t, he couldn’t function. And so he found that studying the neuroscience of grief actually helped him make sense of why he was so lost. And so my question to you is, is it helpful, the impetus like I said of the show to kind of look at love and relationship, sex and dating through a scientific lens, what does science give us in terms of understanding something that in so many ways is kind of unknowable? It’s something that we feel that’s maybe captured better in mythology or poetry. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>I think it’s really important to study it. I’ll give you a couple of examples. I mean, one, we’ve learned a lot about the incredible neurophysiology of love, you know, of oxytocin and vagal tone. And my lab studies the vocalizations and facial displays of love that trace back in our mammalian evolution, which tells us it’s mammalian to love. It’s one of the things that defines mammals, is they care, right? You know, there are a couple of examples that are really interesting to me that tell us something important. Anybody who’s around a baby has surges of oxytocin, right? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> I know that. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>You can be– it’s the mom, which was the first discovery. Oh yeah, it’s the dad. It’s gay couples, right. It is people who are just around the baby. And that tells us that this is not just mom, but anybody around the baby is gonna shift to this feeling of devotion. And that’s important. And then, you know, I’ve been fascinated by our love of nature, which, you know in the indigenous traditions that really are around the world and thousands of years old that predate, you know, all of the traditions we know about — the Abrahamic traditions, East Asian thought, et cetera – they uniformly talk about a loving relationship with trees, which Walt Whitman loved, and you know rivers and birds and so forth. Now, there’s a hypothesis, oh, we can love the many kinds of species out in our ecosystems. And along comes science and shows, well, when you listen to water, which we find such joy in, your vagus nerve is activated. When we hear bird song, which is a form of music almost, we feel hopeful and strong. When you smell fragrances like cedar or rosemary and the olfactory system processes it, you think about what’s beautiful in your childhood, right? And your brain is registering that. So that tells us, in this particular case, the science is useful in that it says, yeah, you know, poets have a lot to say about how we love nature, Wordsworth, et cetera. But, this is wired into ourselves. And it’s important because very concretely, certain parts of our world won’t take fiction or poetry or film portrayals of things seriously, but they do listen to science. Like, you know, our medical establishment. So our former Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, took stock of the power of friendships and said, we have a loneliness epidemic and it’s a health crisis. So we need all the wisdom on these emotions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>Has studying it for you helped you love more, or are there times when you’re in the lab going, “This is deadening it for me”? What’s in your own experience? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Well, my own experience has just provided a lens into how deep love is. I studied in a period of my career, 15 years ago, the nonverbal displays of love and desire, how it affects oxytocin and the vagus nerve, how couples express love through appreciation and reverence. And it kind of sharpened my eye to things. And I started to realize, for example, when I raised children. Two daughters who live in the Bay Area, Natalie and Sarafina, there’s a ton of love that is built up in communities around children, right? And that’s evolutionarily important. We call them alloparents, and we feel that for children around us. And that was really interesting that I wouldn’t have learned that without this scientific lens. The other thing that really has oriented me to, and I don’t talk enough about this, is love of humanity. In a lot of spiritual traditions, it’s fundamental just like agape in the Christian tradition, like love everyone without social distinction. And hearing about the studies of how we can form strong ties with everybody around us with eye contact and, you know, compliments and respect, it awakened me to how much we do that on a daily basis and we can benefit from it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>Do you think that love is just humanly universal, the way that we experience it, or is it culturally impacted, or does culture play a big role on how we experience and how we love? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Well, both are true. You know, you go to most cultures and they will show forms of love that would be very familiar to you, even if they’re a radically different culture. That they’re holding babies who are crying and they’re flirting, teens are flirting and discovering romantic attraction, and older partners are, you know, showing this, this long term form of love. It’s part of our species, right? And then at the same time, it’s radically varying. You know, it is– the degree to which you rely on romantic partners varies from one culture to another. We know how we express our love in the day-to-day really differs. In Norway, 30 to 40% of people live alone, even though they may be married, right? So they prefer kind of a solitary arrangement or solitude. In some cultures, jealousy, which protects love in some ways, is much more accentuated. There’s some deeply human universality to things like love, and then it varies dramatically. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>Do we have any idea whether or not people in Norway or say people in India who all pack into one place, I don’t know what the question would be, but you know, are loving more or feeling more love or feeling happier or getting the benefits of love? Do we know whether that isolation or sort of group experience? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>We don’t know. It’s just very preliminary in terms of thinking about not only how do cultures vary. So we know, for example, in the United States compared to other cultures, we fall in love faster, you know. And in some studies, I think it’s Russia and Japan, it takes them longer to say, “I’m committed to you.” So that’s interesting. Why do we fall in love faster? Maybe it’s the pace of our lives or how hard we work, et cetera. But we haven’t made progress yet in understanding why. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>What do you think about the fact that we’re falling in love with robots? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>On the one hand, it’s not very surprising because early studies of love, if you just did, “What do you love?” And literally people list 50 things, and “I love my pen and my watch.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> “My computer.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner:\u003c/strong> “My computer,” and of course, you know, so we’re very good at loving inanimate things in the sense of using the word love loosely. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>Is that the accurate use? Like if I say I love my computer, can I actually feel love for my computer? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Well When you look at your computer at the screen, do you get an oxytocin surge? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>No. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>Probably not. So yeah, that would be an interesting test. I am profoundly worried about digital relationships. I think that the broad evidence, this is different kinds of studies and across different cultures, large samples, finds digital connection makes you feel more isolated and lonely and has certain worries about does it have the friction and the dynamics of a real relationship. We’re probably going to encounter data that show, much as we’ve learned about being on Instagram and Meta, that it’s not healthy for your overall social connection to the world. And, you know, I’d put it really frankly to audience members like, if your child came to you and she’s 16 or he’s 16 or they’re 16 and said, “I think I’ve fallen in love,” you know, “And it’s this agent on my computer,” you’d probably protest. And so I think that tells us something. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> I really hope my daughter does not come to me at 16. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner: \u003c/strong>How old is your daughter? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>Seven. I’m hoping we figure it out before she turns 16. That’s deeply, deeply my hope. It’s probably ignorance, but I do not want her coming to me and being like “Claude and me are just, you know, getting up in there.” In this moment where there’s like so much anxiety and depression, unfortunately, and mental health issues, self-love, what do we know about self-love and how do we love ourselves better? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner:\u003c/strong> I almost tear up at the question because something has happened to this young generation compared to what I was like when I was 20. You know, they are smarter and working hard and more pressured and worried about the environment and worried about AI. I mean, they’re taking on a lot on their shoulders and facing a very tricky economy. And despite all of these strengths that they have, they’re harder on themselves, more critical, and in extreme cases, more self-loathing as you see in them and hate. And the best literature on that is self-compassion, you know. And the idea there is you take this fundamental form of love, of compassion, just feeling a devotion to somebody else’s wellbeing, and then you orient it to yourself, you know. And you do it through, sort of, practices of, sort of, reminding yourself of good things. You do it by remembering what your friends say about you that’s supportive, or you even put your hand on your chest and sort of calm down, all shown in science to kind of reduce stress and anxiety. And you know, we need to– when you mix together the pressure and anxiety of youth, and they’re turning away from dating and long-term commitments. Marriage rates have dropped 10%. It’s remarkable, right? And then they are distrusting of long-term relationships often. We’ve got a crisis coming, right, that we’ve got to attend to and love is a good way to do it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg: \u003c/strong>What I’m hearing from you is it doesn’t have to be like, you need to find your person or the ultimate tomorrow. It’s like literally, like you said, putting a hand over your heart, like, “How can I be a friend to myself today?” Looking at people in the eye, maybe not being so buried in our phones. Anything else you’d wanna add to the audience in terms of how tomorrow we might live in a world that has more love in it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner:\u003c/strong> Two things, you know, that really are particularly relevant to younger people as well, but everybody: remember how powerful friendships are. It’s interesting, you know, let’s say I’ve taught happiness for 30 years at Berkeley, the science, and we study tables and data, and early in the happiness literature when they asked what makes you happy, most typically it’s being with other people, right? Which is– people would be like, “That makes sense,” even though we spend inordinate amounts of time alone, you know. But then it was interesting like time and time again, studies would find friends are just, they’re this pure form of happiness in some sense, and joy. And so there’s now a rich literature on like, building friends into your life and also making friends in the broader network of people around you, which we’ve talked about these micro interactions of civility, which we lost. And then the other one is, I would challenge our audience to think about the feelings you have about nature, right? Sunsets or dark skies. I was just in Sequoia National Park as part of the dark sky celebration, stars, right. Running water, rain, your garden, flowers, et cetera, trees. We have a long and deep evolutionary history of really loving and feeling loved by nature, and to pause and remember that and to go seek it out. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> Dacher, thank you so much. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dacher Keltner:\u003c/strong> You’re welcome, Lesley. It’s been a really wonderful conversation. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/strong> Dacher Keltner is a Professor of Psychology at UC Berkeley and heads the Greater Good Science Center at the University. Inside Love is a new production of KQED and we’d love to hear your thoughts. Our email is insidelove@kqed.org. Our engineer is Christopher Beal, our video engineer is Jim McKee and our producers are Susie Britton and Emiko Oda. I’m Lesley McClurg. Thanks so much for listening.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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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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"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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"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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"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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"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.",
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"possible": {
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"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.",
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"radiolab": {
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"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
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"reveal": {
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"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/",
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},
"rightnowish": {
"id": "rightnowish",
"title": "Rightnowish",
"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
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"order": 16
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},
"science-friday": {
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"info": "Science Friday is a weekly science talk show, broadcast live over public radio stations nationwide. Each week, the show focuses on science topics that are in the news and tries to bring an educated, balanced discussion to bear on the scientific issues at hand. Panels of expert guests join host Ira Flatow, a veteran science journalist, to discuss science and to take questions from listeners during the call-in portion of the program.",
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"filterData": {
"region": {
"key": "Restaurant Region",
"filters": [
"Any Region"
]
},
"cuisine": {
"key": "Restaurant Cuisine",
"filters": [
"Any Cuisine"
]
}
},
"restaurantDataById": {},
"restaurantIdsSorted": [],
"error": null
},
"userAgentReducer": {
"userAgent": "Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)",
"isBot": true
},
"requestOutcomesReducer": {
"notFound": []
},
"navPromosReducer": {
"isFetching": false,
"fetchFailed": false,
"hasFetched": true,
"promos": {
"news": {},
"podcasts-radio": {},
"video-tv": {},
"events": {},
"support": {}
}
}
}
