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"title": "Californians Voted to Spend $1 Billion on K-12 Arts. Why Are Schools Returning the Money?",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three years after voters passed an ambitious arts education funding measure, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/education\">California’s K-12 schools\u003c/a> were supposed to be awash in dance, music, theater and fine arts. But some schools are returning their arts money to the state, saying the rules on how to spend it are too vague and they can’t find enough arts teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The sad thing is, this means that thousands of kids aren’t getting art,” said Austin Beutner, the former superintendent of Los Angeles Unified who wrote \u003ca href=\"https://www.cde.ca.gov/eo/in/prop28artsandmusicedfunding.asp\">Proposition 28\u003c/a>. “We thought Prop. 28 was clear.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prop. 28, which voters overwhelmingly approved in 2022, sets aside about $1 billion a year for the arts in California public schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12094193\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12094193\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-15-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-15-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-15-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-15-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A kindergarten classroom at Mission Bay Elementary School in San Francisco on August 6, 2026. Mission Bay Elementary is the first new public SFUSD school to open in 20 years. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Schools with more low-income students get more money, but otherwise funding is based on enrollment. Los Angeles Unified, with about 400,000 students, got about $72 million last year, while Death Valley Unified, with 21 students, got about $2,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schools must spend at least 80% of their money on additional arts staff, with the rest going to art supplies and other arts expenses. Whatever they don’t spend, they’re required to return to the state after three years. The first three-year period just ended, and the California Department of Education hasn’t yet announced how much money schools returned.[aside postID=news_12094994 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260722-FAMILYSEPARATION-03-BL-KQED.jpg']The state redistributes the unspent money to individual schools that are using their Prop. 28 money correctly, based on their annual spending reports.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State data \u003ca href=\"https://createca.org/california-arts-education-data-project/\">compiled by Create CA\u003c/a>, an arts nonprofit that supported Prop. 28, shows dozens, if not hundreds of schools that spent no money. Among them are charter schools, small schools, and mid-sized schools in every corner of the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the other end of the spectrum, many districts have gone on spending sprees, hiring teachers and expanding programs at all schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bakersfield City Schools, for example, doubled the size of its folklorico and mariachi dance programs, bought thousands of musical instruments and paired local artists with classroom teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Long Beach Unified has also doubled down on the arts. Its high school course catalog offers dozens of arts classes, including classics like marching band and painting as well as more obscure classes like improvisational dance, steel drums, stage technology, chamber orchestra and photography.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Too few teachers, too much confusion\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>But other districts, particularly smaller and rural districts, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2024/05/arts-education/\">have hit some snags\u003c/a>. Even though the state allows districts to pool their Prop. 28 money to share a teacher, the law doesn’t provide explicit language about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regardless, schools say there are not enough art teachers to hire. According to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.sri.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/California-Arts-Education-Landscape-2025.pdf\">recent Stanford Research Institute study\u003c/a>, California needs at least 5,000 new arts teachers to meet the demand. Rural areas in general \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2024/03/rural-schools-california/\">have a harder time\u003c/a> hiring teachers, particularly those with specialized training.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another obstacle is what some school officials describe as vague directions in the law. Prop. 28 broadly defines what constitutes an arts class, but it doesn’t require those classes to align with the state’s existing \u003ca href=\"https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/vp/cf/\">arts framework\u003c/a>. And schools already get arts funding from the state, leaving some school officials wondering if they can mix their funds and still comply with the law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12083046\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12083046\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05194-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05194-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05194-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05194-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Heather Posner (center), executive director of Carquinez Garden School, does arts and crafts with children in the school yard of Carquinez Garden School in Crockett on May 8, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We need clarity and confidence that we’re doing this the right way,” said El Dorado County Superintendent of Schools Ed Manansala, saying schools are afraid of misusing the funds – for example, sharing a music teacher with another district but not dividing their time lawfully. “We have a long history of supporting the arts and we really want to make sure we do this right.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Manansala and other school officials also say they’re afraid of getting sued if they don’t use the money correctly. That’s what happened to Los Angeles Unified. Beutner sued his former district last year, claiming it cut existing arts funding and backfilled it with Prop. 28 money, which is prohibited.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lawsuit is pending in Los Angeles Superior Court. The district said that its use of Prop. 28 money was legal.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘We should not be fighting over this’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Nonetheless, the confusion led Assemblymember \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/al-muratsuchi-34399\">Al Muratsuchi\u003c/a> to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260ab2440\">write a bill\u003c/a> that would clarify some of the Prop. 28 language – for example, defining what constitutes supplemental arts funding. The legislation so far has had nearly unanimous bipartisan support, but one very vocal opponent: Beutner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beutner said that Muratsuchi’s bill, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260ab2440\">Assembly Bill 2440\u003c/a>, essentially guts Prop. 28 by giving schools too much leeway to spend their money. Among his concerns is that districts will not increase arts education at all school sites, but instead cluster it at certain schools or try to pawn off a physical education class, for example, as an arts class.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I believe in the arts, and what it can do for students. Some kids only come to school because of the arts,” Beutner said. “We should not be fighting over this. Prop. 28 is very clear” in that it requires schools to add extra arts programs, not replace existing programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089615\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1777px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089615\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/IMG_6623_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1777\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/IMG_6623_qed.jpg 1777w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/IMG_6623_qed-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/IMG_6623_qed-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1777px) 100vw, 1777px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The majority of students enrolled in the transitional kindergarten program at Kingsley Elementary School come from Spanish-speaking families. Teacher Ana Quintanilla helps them learn basic letters and words. \u003ccite>(Ana Tintocalis/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Beutner also described the bill as a “get-out-of-jail-free card” for Los Angeles Unified, because he said it would give the district more freedom in how it spends its Prop. 28 money. District spokesperson Christy Hagen said in an email that the district had nothing to do with the bill and hasn’t taken a position on it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beutner said he’d like to see Muratsuchi’s legislation tabled until a judge rules on his lawsuit against Los Angeles Unified. Otherwise, spending the funding could become even more confusing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bill is currently in the suspense file in the Senate appropriations committee, awaiting approval Thursday. If the committee doesn’t agree to hear it, it’ll likely die.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Muratsuchi said he’s open to a last-minute compromise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“(Beutner) and I share the same goal of Prop. 28 providing arts and music to every child in California regardless of zip code,” said Muratsuchi, a Democrat from Torrance. “We want to make sure the law’s language reflects that. Hopefully I convinced him that I mean well and we have the same objective.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Urgent need for clarity\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Clarifying the languageis crucial if the law is going to be successful, said Veronica Alvarez, executive director of Create CA, a nonprofit that promotes arts education in California schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Too many school districts are not spending their Prop. 28 money because they’re confused about the guidelines or can’t comply with what they view as overly narrow requirements, Alvarez said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want clearer statewide rules, so all kids from Shasta to Bakersfield get high-quality arts education,” Alvarez said. “Hopefully we can move forward on this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/2026/08/arts-programs-california/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three years after voters passed an ambitious arts education funding measure, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/education\">California’s K-12 schools\u003c/a> were supposed to be awash in dance, music, theater and fine arts. But some schools are returning their arts money to the state, saying the rules on how to spend it are too vague and they can’t find enough arts teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The sad thing is, this means that thousands of kids aren’t getting art,” said Austin Beutner, the former superintendent of Los Angeles Unified who wrote \u003ca href=\"https://www.cde.ca.gov/eo/in/prop28artsandmusicedfunding.asp\">Proposition 28\u003c/a>. “We thought Prop. 28 was clear.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prop. 28, which voters overwhelmingly approved in 2022, sets aside about $1 billion a year for the arts in California public schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12094193\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12094193\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-15-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-15-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-15-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-15-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A kindergarten classroom at Mission Bay Elementary School in San Francisco on August 6, 2026. Mission Bay Elementary is the first new public SFUSD school to open in 20 years. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Schools with more low-income students get more money, but otherwise funding is based on enrollment. Los Angeles Unified, with about 400,000 students, got about $72 million last year, while Death Valley Unified, with 21 students, got about $2,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schools must spend at least 80% of their money on additional arts staff, with the rest going to art supplies and other arts expenses. Whatever they don’t spend, they’re required to return to the state after three years. The first three-year period just ended, and the California Department of Education hasn’t yet announced how much money schools returned.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The state redistributes the unspent money to individual schools that are using their Prop. 28 money correctly, based on their annual spending reports.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State data \u003ca href=\"https://createca.org/california-arts-education-data-project/\">compiled by Create CA\u003c/a>, an arts nonprofit that supported Prop. 28, shows dozens, if not hundreds of schools that spent no money. Among them are charter schools, small schools, and mid-sized schools in every corner of the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the other end of the spectrum, many districts have gone on spending sprees, hiring teachers and expanding programs at all schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bakersfield City Schools, for example, doubled the size of its folklorico and mariachi dance programs, bought thousands of musical instruments and paired local artists with classroom teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Long Beach Unified has also doubled down on the arts. Its high school course catalog offers dozens of arts classes, including classics like marching band and painting as well as more obscure classes like improvisational dance, steel drums, stage technology, chamber orchestra and photography.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Too few teachers, too much confusion\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>But other districts, particularly smaller and rural districts, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2024/05/arts-education/\">have hit some snags\u003c/a>. Even though the state allows districts to pool their Prop. 28 money to share a teacher, the law doesn’t provide explicit language about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regardless, schools say there are not enough art teachers to hire. According to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.sri.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/California-Arts-Education-Landscape-2025.pdf\">recent Stanford Research Institute study\u003c/a>, California needs at least 5,000 new arts teachers to meet the demand. Rural areas in general \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2024/03/rural-schools-california/\">have a harder time\u003c/a> hiring teachers, particularly those with specialized training.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another obstacle is what some school officials describe as vague directions in the law. Prop. 28 broadly defines what constitutes an arts class, but it doesn’t require those classes to align with the state’s existing \u003ca href=\"https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/vp/cf/\">arts framework\u003c/a>. And schools already get arts funding from the state, leaving some school officials wondering if they can mix their funds and still comply with the law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12083046\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12083046\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05194-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05194-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05194-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05194-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Heather Posner (center), executive director of Carquinez Garden School, does arts and crafts with children in the school yard of Carquinez Garden School in Crockett on May 8, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We need clarity and confidence that we’re doing this the right way,” said El Dorado County Superintendent of Schools Ed Manansala, saying schools are afraid of misusing the funds – for example, sharing a music teacher with another district but not dividing their time lawfully. “We have a long history of supporting the arts and we really want to make sure we do this right.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Manansala and other school officials also say they’re afraid of getting sued if they don’t use the money correctly. That’s what happened to Los Angeles Unified. Beutner sued his former district last year, claiming it cut existing arts funding and backfilled it with Prop. 28 money, which is prohibited.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lawsuit is pending in Los Angeles Superior Court. The district said that its use of Prop. 28 money was legal.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘We should not be fighting over this’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Nonetheless, the confusion led Assemblymember \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/al-muratsuchi-34399\">Al Muratsuchi\u003c/a> to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260ab2440\">write a bill\u003c/a> that would clarify some of the Prop. 28 language – for example, defining what constitutes supplemental arts funding. The legislation so far has had nearly unanimous bipartisan support, but one very vocal opponent: Beutner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beutner said that Muratsuchi’s bill, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260ab2440\">Assembly Bill 2440\u003c/a>, essentially guts Prop. 28 by giving schools too much leeway to spend their money. Among his concerns is that districts will not increase arts education at all school sites, but instead cluster it at certain schools or try to pawn off a physical education class, for example, as an arts class.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I believe in the arts, and what it can do for students. Some kids only come to school because of the arts,” Beutner said. “We should not be fighting over this. Prop. 28 is very clear” in that it requires schools to add extra arts programs, not replace existing programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089615\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1777px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089615\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/IMG_6623_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1777\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/IMG_6623_qed.jpg 1777w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/IMG_6623_qed-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/IMG_6623_qed-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1777px) 100vw, 1777px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The majority of students enrolled in the transitional kindergarten program at Kingsley Elementary School come from Spanish-speaking families. Teacher Ana Quintanilla helps them learn basic letters and words. \u003ccite>(Ana Tintocalis/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Beutner also described the bill as a “get-out-of-jail-free card” for Los Angeles Unified, because he said it would give the district more freedom in how it spends its Prop. 28 money. District spokesperson Christy Hagen said in an email that the district had nothing to do with the bill and hasn’t taken a position on it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beutner said he’d like to see Muratsuchi’s legislation tabled until a judge rules on his lawsuit against Los Angeles Unified. Otherwise, spending the funding could become even more confusing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bill is currently in the suspense file in the Senate appropriations committee, awaiting approval Thursday. If the committee doesn’t agree to hear it, it’ll likely die.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Muratsuchi said he’s open to a last-minute compromise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“(Beutner) and I share the same goal of Prop. 28 providing arts and music to every child in California regardless of zip code,” said Muratsuchi, a Democrat from Torrance. “We want to make sure the law’s language reflects that. Hopefully I convinced him that I mean well and we have the same objective.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Urgent need for clarity\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Clarifying the languageis crucial if the law is going to be successful, said Veronica Alvarez, executive director of Create CA, a nonprofit that promotes arts education in California schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Too many school districts are not spending their Prop. 28 money because they’re confused about the guidelines or can’t comply with what they view as overly narrow requirements, Alvarez said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want clearer statewide rules, so all kids from Shasta to Bakersfield get high-quality arts education,” Alvarez said. “Hopefully we can move forward on this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/2026/08/arts-programs-california/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "at-this-los-angeles-rehab-moms-in-recovery-live-with-their-children",
"title": "At This Los Angeles Rehab, Moms in Recovery Live With Their Children",
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"content": "\u003cp>It’s only 10 in the morning at this family rehabilitation center in suburban \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/los-angeles\">Los Angeles\u003c/a>, and Jasmine has already had a long day. She’s trying to put her 14-month-old son, Angel, down for a nap. But he’s teething — and fussy. \u003cbr>\u003cbr>“It’s hard,” said Jasmine, who only gave her first name because her family doesn’t know she’s in treatment. But just a few weeks into her program at Via Avanta in the San Fernando Valley, she feels more equipped to face hard things. “Now I can get through my day without using, and I’m so grateful for that.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Treatment centers that allow mothers and children to live together are hard to come by, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/reports/rpt35313/2020_NSSATS_FINAL.pdf\">2020 survey\u003c/a>, even though research shows keeping the two together is better for both parent and child. \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/10/2026/08/260813-FamilyRehab-06.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095273\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260813-FamilyRehab-06.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260813-FamilyRehab-06-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260813-FamilyRehab-06-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Genesis, a resident of Via Avanta, poses with her baby Avielle on June 17, 2026. (Courtesy of Emmanuel Luissi)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Millions of Californians —approximately \u003ca href=\"https://www.chcf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/SubstanceUseAlmanac2025.pdf\">17% of state residents —\u003c/a> meet the criteria for a substance use disorder. But the diagnosis remains taboo for mothers, and many moms avoid treatment altogether rather than leave their kids behind.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I wanted to quit, but it was hard to admit that I was an addict,” said Jasmine, whose frequent daily drug use kept her awake for days. Her body ached, and she was always exhausted, which made it hard to take care of her baby.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I didn’t like myself because I was using,” she said. “I felt guilt and shame.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Angel was eight months old, Jasmine had a fight with her partner, with whom she had a “toxic” relationship for eight years. “Something clicked in my head, and I said: ‘I don’t want this for my life. I don’t want my son to learn anything from him.’”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When Jasmine finally went to a shelter to get help, she said it was the hardest decision she ever made. But she knew it was “the right thing.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The staff at the shelter connected Jasmine with the team at Via Avanta, where she has lived for four months with her baby while in treatment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Today the receptionist told me: ‘Your baby is so happy, it means you’re doing a good job,’” Jasmine said.“That feels so good.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A family rehab, with kids in mind\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Around a third of clients at Via Avanta come on their own, while the courts refer others. The Medi-Cal-funded program is for women only, but not all of them are mothers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While Via Avanta enforces a strict daily regimen, women are free to leave if they choose. Cell phones are forbidden. Women get up at 7 a.m. to feed the children, clean their rooms and prepare meals for the day. All the clients help out with childcare, even if they have none of their own. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The kids thrive here,” said Jennie Wyatt Coste, the center’s program coordinator and certified substance abuse counselor. “It’s the parents who take a little while to adjust to the structure.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The family rehab is a place where parents can rebuild trust with their children that may have been lost during drug use, she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1998\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-05.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095036\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-05.jpg 1998w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-05-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-05-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1998px) 100vw, 1998px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The playroom at the Didi Hirsch Via Avanta Facility. (Courtesy of Didi Hirsch)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“That was my story,” said Wyatt Coste, who was a client in the program almost 40 years ago, before becoming an employee. “I would drop my daughter off at grandma’s and not come back for two or three days.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wyatt Coste married young, and the relationship became abusive. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>By the time her daughter was four, she was facing six years in prison for selling drugs. Her probation officer told her about Via Avanta.\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I was terrified, because I didn’t know what to expect,” she said about joining the program for the first time and learning to handle her emotions. “I went through a lot of uncomfortable situations.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Her 4-year-old daughter at the time had been staying with her grandmother. When she came to live with Wyatt Coste at Via Avanta, she acted out. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The honeymoon was over very quickly,” Wyatt Coste said. “She was very mad that I had not been a part of her life.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wyatt Coste learned new parenting tactics, like patience, kindness, and using timeouts instead of spankings. As the months went on, she repaired the bond with her daughter.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“She had a right to be angry with me,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Day by day, milestone by milestone, Wyatt Coste built up her confidence.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I wanted to be a good mother,” she said. “That is what keeps me clean still today.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>These days, Wyatt Coste has a great relationship with her kids and granddaughter, who all live together under one roof. “I hope that I’ve broken the cycle,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Life after the program\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After they leave Via Avanta, some women may choose lifelong abstinence, and for others, occasional alcohol or marijuana use is more realistic.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Relapse is common, said Jessica Lasater, division director of residential substance use services at Didi Hirsch. And when that happens, moms are always welcomed back. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This is a home. This is a community of women and staff members that is ready to support their journey, wherever they’re at,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1998\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-04.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095035\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-04.jpg 1998w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-04-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-04-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1998px) 100vw, 1998px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A bedroom at the Didi Hirsch Via Avanta Facility. (Courtesy of Didi Hirsch)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Genesis, a mother of four from Los Angeles, is at Via Avanta for the third time, after relapsing. While her baby learns to sleep through the night, Genesis attends the center’s group activities and classes on interrupted sleep.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Living here is tough,” she said. “There’s a lot of rules.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While Genesis goes through the Narcotic Anonymous steps, she is also learning how to respond to her children’s tantrums with patience. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I’ve learned how to be a mother here,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Her children’s well-being is what motivates Genesis to stay in recovery: “They’re tired of me relapsing. I want them to know their mom is a fighter and a survivor.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://law-journals-books.vlex.com/vid/women-and-children-in-875444568?utm_\">Research\u003c/a> has shown that family-centered programs like Via Avanta lead to \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10867297/\">better outcomes\u003c/a>, including less addiction severity, less parental stress, and improved behavioral and emotional functioning for children. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/famp.12501\">2019 study\u003c/a> indicated that mothers are more engaged in treatment when their children stay in their care. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But residential programs for moms and kids are still few and far between, in part because stigma prevents mothers from getting treatment, Lasaster said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I’ve seen many women who postpone their treatment for years,” Lasaster said. When she asks the women why they didn’t come sooner, they cite their duties as both homemakers and breadwinners.\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/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-02.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095032\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-02.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-02-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-02-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Via Avanta resident Jasmine walks with her toddler, Angel, in the playground at the Southern California facility on June 17, 2026. (Courtesy of Emmanuel Luissi)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot of weight on women to carry it all,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Via Avanta currently has 25 women residents —even though they have room for up to 40. Lasater said leaving extended family and committing to a strict, sober daily routine is not for everyone. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Being ready to really shake up that entire system is such a big leap,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Jasmine was able to make that radical change, with the goal of enjoying a simple life. When she finishes treatment in September, she looks forward to taking her son to the grocery store and playing at the park. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I always thought my purpose in life was something big,” she said. “Now I just think my purpose is to enjoy life — without using.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260813-FamilyRehab-06.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095273\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260813-FamilyRehab-06.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260813-FamilyRehab-06-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260813-FamilyRehab-06-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Genesis, a resident of Via Avanta, poses with her baby Avielle on June 17, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260813-FamilyRehab-06.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095273\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Genesis, a resident of Via Avanta, poses with her baby Avielle on June 17, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Millions of Californians —approximately \u003ca href=\"https://www.chcf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/SubstanceUseAlmanac2025.pdf\">17% of state residents —\u003c/a> meet the criteria for a substance use disorder. But the diagnosis remains taboo for mothers, and many moms avoid treatment altogether rather than leave their kids behind.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When Angel was eight months old, Jasmine had a fight with her partner, with whom she had a “toxic” relationship for eight years. “Something clicked in my head, and I said: ‘I don’t want this for my life. I don’t want my son to learn anything from him.’”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>When Angel was eight months old, Jasmine had a fight with her partner, with whom she had a “toxic” relationship for eight years. “Something clicked in my head, and I said: ‘I don’t want this for my life. I don’t want my son to learn anything from him.’”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When Jasmine finally went to a shelter to get help, she said it was the hardest decision she ever made. But she knew it was “the right thing.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The staff at the shelter connected Jasmine with the team at Via Avanta, where she has lived for four months with her baby while in treatment.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Today the receptionist told me: ‘Your baby is so happy, it means you’re doing a good job,’” Jasmine said.“That feels so good.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Around a third of clients at Via Avanta come on their own, while the courts refer others. The Medi-Cal-funded program is for women only, but not all of them are mothers. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Around a third of clients at Via Avanta come on their own, while the courts refer others. The Medi-Cal-funded program is for women only, but not all of them are mothers. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While Via Avanta enforces a strict daily regimen, women are free to leave if they choose. Cell phones are forbidden. Women get up at 7 a.m. to feed the children, clean their rooms and prepare meals for the day. All the clients help out with childcare, even if they have none of their own. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>While Via Avanta enforces a strict daily regimen, women are free to leave if they choose. Cell phones are forbidden. Women get up at 7 a.m. to feed the children, clean their rooms and prepare meals for the day. All the clients help out with childcare, even if they have none of their own. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The kids thrive here,” said Jennie Wyatt Coste, the center’s program coordinator and certified substance abuse counselor. “It’s the parents who take a little while to adjust to the structure.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The kids thrive here,” said Jennie Wyatt Coste, the center’s program coordinator and certified substance abuse counselor. “It’s the parents who take a little while to adjust to the structure.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The family rehab is a place where parents can rebuild trust with their children that may have been lost during drug use, she said. \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/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-05.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095036\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-05.jpg 1998w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-05-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-05-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The playroom at the Didi Hirsch Via Avanta Facility.\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/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-05.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095036\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The playroom at the Didi Hirsch Via Avanta Facility.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“That was my story,” said Wyatt Coste, who was a client in the program almost 40 years ago, before becoming an employee. “I would drop my daughter off at grandma’s and not come back for two or three days.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“That was my story,” said Wyatt Coste, who was a client in the program almost 40 years ago, before becoming an employee. “I would drop my daughter off at grandma’s and not come back for two or three days.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Wyatt Coste married young, and the relationship became abusive. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>By the time her daughter was four, she was facing six years in prison for selling drugs. Her probation officer told her about Via Avanta.\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>By the time her daughter was four, she was facing six years in prison for selling drugs. Her probation officer told her about Via Avanta.\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I was terrified, because I didn’t know what to expect,” she said about joining the program for the first time and learning to handle her emotions. “I went through a lot of uncomfortable situations.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I was terrified, because I didn’t know what to expect,” she said about joining the program for the first time and learning to handle her emotions. “I went through a lot of uncomfortable situations.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Her 4-year-old daughter at the time had been staying with her grandmother. When she came to live with Wyatt Coste at Via Avanta, she acted out. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The honeymoon was over very quickly,” Wyatt Coste said. “She was very mad that I had not been a part of her life.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The honeymoon was over very quickly,” Wyatt Coste said. “She was very mad that I had not been a part of her life.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Wyatt Coste learned new parenting tactics, like patience, kindness, and using timeouts instead of spankings. As the months went on, she repaired the bond with her daughter.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Wyatt Coste learned new parenting tactics, like patience, kindness, and using timeouts instead of spankings. As the months went on, she repaired the bond with her daughter.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“She had a right to be angry with me,” she said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Day by day, milestone by milestone, Wyatt Coste built up her confidence.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Day by day, milestone by milestone, Wyatt Coste built up her confidence.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I wanted to be a good mother,” she said. “That is what keeps me clean still today.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I wanted to be a good mother,” she said. “That is what keeps me clean still today.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>These days, Wyatt Coste has a great relationship with her kids and granddaughter, who all live together under one roof. “I hope that I’ve broken the cycle,” she said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>These days, Wyatt Coste has a great relationship with her kids and granddaughter, who all live together under one roof. “I hope that I’ve broken the cycle,” she said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
"text": "Life after the program",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>After they leave Via Avanta, some women may choose lifelong abstinence, and for others, occasional alcohol or marijuana use is more realistic.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>After they leave Via Avanta, some women may choose lifelong abstinence, and for others, occasional alcohol or marijuana use is more realistic.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Relapse is common, said Jessica Lasater, division director of residential substance use services at Didi Hirsch. And when that happens, moms are always welcomed back. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Relapse is common, said Jessica Lasater, division director of residential substance use services at Didi Hirsch. And when that happens, moms are always welcomed back. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This is a home. This is a community of women and staff members that is ready to support their journey, wherever they’re at,” she said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“This is a home. This is a community of women and staff members that is ready to support their journey, wherever they’re at,” she said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-04.jpg 1998w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-04-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-04-1536x1025.jpg 1536w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-04.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095035\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-04.jpg 1998w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-04-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-04-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A bedroom at the Didi Hirsch Via Avanta Facility.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Genesis, a mother of four from Los Angeles, is at Via Avanta for the third time, after relapsing. While her baby learns to sleep through the night, Genesis attends the center’s group activities and classes on interrupted sleep.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Genesis, a mother of four from Los Angeles, is at Via Avanta for the third time, after relapsing. While her baby learns to sleep through the night, Genesis attends the center’s group activities and classes on interrupted sleep.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Living here is tough,” she said. “There’s a lot of rules.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While Genesis goes through the Narcotic Anonymous steps, she is also learning how to respond to her children’s tantrums with patience. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Her children’s well-being is what motivates Genesis to stay in recovery: “They’re tired of me relapsing. I want them to know their mom is a fighter and a survivor.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://law-journals-books.vlex.com/vid/women-and-children-in-875444568?utm_\">Research\u003c/a> has shown that family-centered programs like Via Avanta lead to \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10867297/\">better outcomes\u003c/a>, including less addiction severity, less parental stress, and improved behavioral and emotional functioning for children. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://law-journals-books.vlex.com/vid/women-and-children-in-875444568?utm_\">Research\u003c/a> has shown that family-centered programs like Via Avanta lead to \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10867297/\">better outcomes\u003c/a>, including less addiction severity, less parental stress, and improved behavioral and emotional functioning for children. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/famp.12501\">2019 study\u003c/a> indicated that mothers are more engaged in treatment when their children stay in their care. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/famp.12501\">2019 study\u003c/a> indicated that mothers are more engaged in treatment when their children stay in their care. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But residential programs for moms and kids are still few and far between, in part because stigma prevents mothers from getting treatment, Lasaster said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I’ve seen many women who postpone their treatment for years,” Lasaster said. When she asks the women why they didn’t come sooner, they cite their duties as both homemakers and breadwinners.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Jasmine was able to make that radical change, with the goal of enjoying a simple life. When she finishes treatment in September, she looks forward to taking her son to the grocery store and playing at the park. \u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>It’s only 10 in the morning at this family rehabilitation center in suburban \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/los-angeles\">Los Angeles\u003c/a>, and Jasmine has already had a long day. She’s trying to put her 14-month-old son, Angel, down for a nap. But he’s teething — and fussy. \u003cbr>\u003cbr>“It’s hard,” said Jasmine, who only gave her first name because her family doesn’t know she’s in treatment. But just a few weeks into her program at Via Avanta in the San Fernando Valley, she feels more equipped to face hard things. “Now I can get through my day without using, and I’m so grateful for that.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Treatment centers that allow mothers and children to live together are hard to come by, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/reports/rpt35313/2020_NSSATS_FINAL.pdf\">2020 survey\u003c/a>, even though research shows keeping the two together is better for both parent and child. \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/10/2026/08/260813-FamilyRehab-06.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095273\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260813-FamilyRehab-06.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260813-FamilyRehab-06-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260813-FamilyRehab-06-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Genesis, a resident of Via Avanta, poses with her baby Avielle on June 17, 2026. (Courtesy of Emmanuel Luissi)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Millions of Californians —approximately \u003ca href=\"https://www.chcf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/SubstanceUseAlmanac2025.pdf\">17% of state residents —\u003c/a> meet the criteria for a substance use disorder. But the diagnosis remains taboo for mothers, and many moms avoid treatment altogether rather than leave their kids behind.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I wanted to quit, but it was hard to admit that I was an addict,” said Jasmine, whose frequent daily drug use kept her awake for days. Her body ached, and she was always exhausted, which made it hard to take care of her baby.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I didn’t like myself because I was using,” she said. “I felt guilt and shame.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Angel was eight months old, Jasmine had a fight with her partner, with whom she had a “toxic” relationship for eight years. “Something clicked in my head, and I said: ‘I don’t want this for my life. I don’t want my son to learn anything from him.’”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When Jasmine finally went to a shelter to get help, she said it was the hardest decision she ever made. But she knew it was “the right thing.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The staff at the shelter connected Jasmine with the team at Via Avanta, where she has lived for four months with her baby while in treatment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Today the receptionist told me: ‘Your baby is so happy, it means you’re doing a good job,’” Jasmine said.“That feels so good.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A family rehab, with kids in mind\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Around a third of clients at Via Avanta come on their own, while the courts refer others. The Medi-Cal-funded program is for women only, but not all of them are mothers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While Via Avanta enforces a strict daily regimen, women are free to leave if they choose. Cell phones are forbidden. Women get up at 7 a.m. to feed the children, clean their rooms and prepare meals for the day. All the clients help out with childcare, even if they have none of their own. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The kids thrive here,” said Jennie Wyatt Coste, the center’s program coordinator and certified substance abuse counselor. “It’s the parents who take a little while to adjust to the structure.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The family rehab is a place where parents can rebuild trust with their children that may have been lost during drug use, she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1998\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-05.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095036\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-05.jpg 1998w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-05-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-05-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1998px) 100vw, 1998px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The playroom at the Didi Hirsch Via Avanta Facility. (Courtesy of Didi Hirsch)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“That was my story,” said Wyatt Coste, who was a client in the program almost 40 years ago, before becoming an employee. “I would drop my daughter off at grandma’s and not come back for two or three days.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wyatt Coste married young, and the relationship became abusive. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>By the time her daughter was four, she was facing six years in prison for selling drugs. Her probation officer told her about Via Avanta.\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I was terrified, because I didn’t know what to expect,” she said about joining the program for the first time and learning to handle her emotions. “I went through a lot of uncomfortable situations.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Her 4-year-old daughter at the time had been staying with her grandmother. When she came to live with Wyatt Coste at Via Avanta, she acted out. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The honeymoon was over very quickly,” Wyatt Coste said. “She was very mad that I had not been a part of her life.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wyatt Coste learned new parenting tactics, like patience, kindness, and using timeouts instead of spankings. As the months went on, she repaired the bond with her daughter.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“She had a right to be angry with me,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Day by day, milestone by milestone, Wyatt Coste built up her confidence.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I wanted to be a good mother,” she said. “That is what keeps me clean still today.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>These days, Wyatt Coste has a great relationship with her kids and granddaughter, who all live together under one roof. “I hope that I’ve broken the cycle,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Life after the program\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After they leave Via Avanta, some women may choose lifelong abstinence, and for others, occasional alcohol or marijuana use is more realistic.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Relapse is common, said Jessica Lasater, division director of residential substance use services at Didi Hirsch. And when that happens, moms are always welcomed back. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This is a home. This is a community of women and staff members that is ready to support their journey, wherever they’re at,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1998\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-04.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095035\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-04.jpg 1998w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-04-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-04-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1998px) 100vw, 1998px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A bedroom at the Didi Hirsch Via Avanta Facility. (Courtesy of Didi Hirsch)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Genesis, a mother of four from Los Angeles, is at Via Avanta for the third time, after relapsing. While her baby learns to sleep through the night, Genesis attends the center’s group activities and classes on interrupted sleep.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Living here is tough,” she said. “There’s a lot of rules.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While Genesis goes through the Narcotic Anonymous steps, she is also learning how to respond to her children’s tantrums with patience. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I’ve learned how to be a mother here,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Her children’s well-being is what motivates Genesis to stay in recovery: “They’re tired of me relapsing. I want them to know their mom is a fighter and a survivor.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://law-journals-books.vlex.com/vid/women-and-children-in-875444568?utm_\">Research\u003c/a> has shown that family-centered programs like Via Avanta lead to \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10867297/\">better outcomes\u003c/a>, including less addiction severity, less parental stress, and improved behavioral and emotional functioning for children. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/famp.12501\">2019 study\u003c/a> indicated that mothers are more engaged in treatment when their children stay in their care. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But residential programs for moms and kids are still few and far between, in part because stigma prevents mothers from getting treatment, Lasaster said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I’ve seen many women who postpone their treatment for years,” Lasaster said. When she asks the women why they didn’t come sooner, they cite their duties as both homemakers and breadwinners.\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/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-02.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095032\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-02.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-02-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-FamilyRehab-02-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Via Avanta resident Jasmine walks with her toddler, Angel, in the playground at the Southern California facility on June 17, 2026. (Courtesy of Emmanuel Luissi)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot of weight on women to carry it all,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Via Avanta currently has 25 women residents —even though they have room for up to 40. Lasater said leaving extended family and committing to a strict, sober daily routine is not for everyone. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Being ready to really shake up that entire system is such a big leap,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Jasmine was able to make that radical change, with the goal of enjoying a simple life. When she finishes treatment in September, she looks forward to taking her son to the grocery store and playing at the park. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories on Friday, August 14, 2026\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>Dinosaur bones and taxidermied animals get most of the attention at the Natural History Museum in LA County. But researchers are excited about \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/california-tide-pools-natural-history-museum-la\">a new collection\u003c/a> that could have big implications for monitoring climate change. \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>The U.S. Department of Justice says California is \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095240/us-doj-finds-unbroken-pattern-of-sexual-abuse-by-california-prison-staff\">failing to protect incarcerated women \u003c/a>from sexual abuse and harassment by prison staff. \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>A federal judge says she’s leaning toward ruling that federal immigration agents \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/investigation/2026/08/los-angeles-warrantless-immigration-arrests-blocked/\">can not make warrantless arrests\u003c/a> under most circumstances in Los Angeles.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/california-tide-pools-natural-history-museum-la\">Inside the effort to comprehensively document California’s tide pools\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On an overcast morning in July, marine biologist Greg Rouse knelt next to a large tide pool near La Jolla’s Bird Rock. “This place is incredibly diverse in habitats,” Rouse said, scooping a sample of seawater into a plastic bag.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A few miles down the beach, in his seaside lab at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, Rouse separated the sampled water into a petri dish. At first glance it was just water and some floating ocean debris.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But when Rouse slid the petri dish under a microscope, hundreds of nearly-microscopic animals burst into life on a high-resolution monitor: shrimps and snails, pillbug-like isopods, worms of all sorts of different shapes, and at least one bright-orange sea slug. Sampling tide pools like this is fairly routine for Rouse, but lately, it has been part of something bigger. Rouse is leading the first phase of an effort to document California’s intertidal ecosystems. That means logging every organism found in the tidal seawater, sand and rocks from San Diego to the Oregon border over the next two years. “It’s a baseline of what is here right now,” Rouse said. “It’s a shame we didn’t do this 20 or 40 years ago. But in those times, we didn’t really have the DNA technology and the cost efficiency that we have these days.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The project, called the California Intertidal Biodiversity DNA Barcode Library project, is ambitious. Nothing of this scale has been attempted in the U.S. It’s being led by a coalition of top research institutions, including Scripps, the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, the California Ocean Protection Council and the Southern California Coastal Research Project. The goal is to create a comprehensive picture of California’s tidal habitats by focusing on the algae and invertebrates that live in them, including their DNA profiles. Scientists say that will let them more effectively track changes in those ecosystems.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The intertidal region is made up of the narrow strip of coastline that alternates between being submerged at high tide and exposed at low tide. It’s habitats are some of the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/what-a-persistent-ocean-heatwave-means-for-sea-life-and-a-possible-el-nino-year\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>rising water temperatures\u003c/u>\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/high-tides-rising-sea-levels-long-beach\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>sea levels\u003c/u>\u003c/a>. The two-year project launched with $10 million in state funding earlier this year but kicked into high gear this summer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Last month, Rouse led a group of dozens of scientists to the tide pools, where they pulled more than 7,000 samples from the area around Bird Rock. “Anything we could see, we took. But also we took a lot of stuff you can’t see back to the lab and had many people on microscopes finding all the tiny creatures,” Rouse said. “Because most of the diversity is actually too small to see.” Testing is still underway, but so far the samples represent 1,600 species of invertebrates and algae, hundreds of which could be new to science.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095240/us-doj-finds-unbroken-pattern-of-sexual-abuse-by-california-prison-staff\">US DOJ finds ‘unbroken pattern’ of sexual abuse by California prison staff\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079668/i-thought-i-was-going-to-die-video-shows-mass-force-at-california-womens-prison\">California prison officials\u003c/a> have failed to protect incarcerated women from sexual abuse and harassment by staff for years, the U.S. Department of Justice \u003ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-finds-california-womens-prisons-violate-constitution-failing-protect\">said\u003c/a> in a new report.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Justice Department \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-civil-rights-investigation-correctional-staff-sexual-abuse-two\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">began\u003c/a> investigating the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla and the California Institution for Women in Chino nearly two years ago after hundreds of incarcerated women \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12003230/feds-investigate-california-prisons-where-women-say-culture-of-impunity-surrounded-abuse\">filed legal claims\u003c/a> alleging sexual exploitation by staff and an officer was \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/news/2022/12/28/cdcr-refers-internal-investigation-into-former-correctional-officer-to-district-attorney-for-charges-of-sexual-misconduct-of-incarcerated-women/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">arrested\u003c/a> for sexually abusing at least 22 women. The department reviewed 350 allegations of sexual misconduct, interviewed prisoners and looked at body-worn camera footage. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In a \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1457771/dl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report\u003c/a> released Thursday, investigators said they found an “unbroken pattern” of staff sexual assault dating back over 20 years at California’s two women’s prisons. The department concluded that prison officials knew women faced a substantial risk of sexual abuse but failed to adequately protect them. Investigators pointed to gaps in surveillance camera coverage, a lack of confidential reporting options, inadequate investigations and failures to hold staff accountable — systemic problems the DOJ said amount to “deliberate indifference” and violate incarcerated women’s constitutional rights.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“None of this should be surprising to CDCR [California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation], none of it should be surprising to the Legislature,” said Amika Mota, executive director of the prison advocacy organization Sister Warriors Freedom Coalition. Survivors have spent years speaking out at “hearings, in town halls, in reports,” she said, trying to get officials to address sexual abuse by prison staff.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>State prison officials say they have a zero-tolerance policy for sexual assault by staff, and that they have taken steps to improve reporting options and expand the use of cameras. But Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexandra Young said those reforms have not fixed the underlying problems. “Women were not being protected,” Young said in an interview with KQED. “It was the cycle that’s continuing to happen.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/investigation/2026/08/los-angeles-warrantless-immigration-arrests-blocked/\">Federal judge poised to restrict immigration arrest tactics in Los Angeles raids\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A judge on Thursday indicated that she’s inclined to order federal immigration agents to stop arresting people without warrants in Los Angeles if they haven’t assessed their flight risk. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If she grants the order, it would be one of the most significant so far in a wide-ranging lawsuit over the government’s ongoing immigration raids in Southern California. It would force agents to fundamentally change the way they’ve conducted the sweeps at the heart of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since 1946, federal law has allowed immigration officers to arrest someone without a warrant only when they have probable cause both that the person is in the country unlawfully and that they are likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained. Courts have long held that to mean that agents are required to consider the person’s ties to the community, like a person having a job, a home and a family in the community where the arrest occurs. However, in raids in Southern California and across the country, supervisors have told agents to “get out and start grabbing people,” and agents have ambushed people without knowing their immigration history and targeted Latinos at places like car washes and bus stops, court records and body camera footage show. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Last month, plaintiffs attorneys in the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/justice/2026/07/immigration-agent-text-messages/\">lawsuit filed with the court\u003c/a> text messages and body cam footage that showed federal agents using racial slurs to identify targets in the Los Angeles raids. They argued the evidence showed immigration agents simply detained people who looked Latino. U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong’s tentative ruling Thursday means agents would need to obtain “individualized, pre-arrest probable cause determinations of flight risk” in the city and the areas surrounding Los Angeles, home to 19 million people. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories on Friday, August 14, 2026\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"Dinosaur bones and taxidermied animals get most of the attention at the Natural History Museum in LA County. But researchers are excited about a new collection that could have big implications for monitoring climate change. ",
"The U.S. Department of Justice says California is failing to protect incarcerated women from sexual abuse and harassment by prison staff. ",
"A federal judge says she’s leaning toward ruling that federal immigration agents can not make warrantless arrests under most circumstances in Los Angeles."
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>Dinosaur bones and taxidermied animals get most of the attention at the Natural History Museum in LA County. But researchers are excited about \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/california-tide-pools-natural-history-museum-la\">a new collection\u003c/a> that could have big implications for monitoring climate change. \u003c/li>\n",
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"\n\u003cli>Dinosaur bones and taxidermied animals get most of the attention at the Natural History Museum in LA County. But researchers are excited about \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/california-tide-pools-natural-history-museum-la\">a new collection\u003c/a> that could have big implications for monitoring climate change. \u003c/li>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>The U.S. Department of Justice says California is \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095240/us-doj-finds-unbroken-pattern-of-sexual-abuse-by-california-prison-staff\">failing to protect incarcerated women \u003c/a>from sexual abuse and harassment by prison staff. \u003c/li>\n",
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"\n\u003cli>The U.S. Department of Justice says California is \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095240/us-doj-finds-unbroken-pattern-of-sexual-abuse-by-california-prison-staff\">failing to protect incarcerated women \u003c/a>from sexual abuse and harassment by prison staff. \u003c/li>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>A federal judge says she’s leaning toward ruling that federal immigration agents \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/investigation/2026/08/los-angeles-warrantless-immigration-arrests-blocked/\">can not make warrantless arrests\u003c/a> under most circumstances in Los Angeles.\u003c/li>\n",
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"\n\u003cli>A federal judge says she’s leaning toward ruling that federal immigration agents \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/investigation/2026/08/los-angeles-warrantless-immigration-arrests-blocked/\">can not make warrantless arrests\u003c/a> under most circumstances in Los Angeles.\u003c/li>\n"
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"text": "Inside the effort to comprehensively document California’s tide pools",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/california-tide-pools-natural-history-museum-la\">Inside the effort to comprehensively document California’s tide pools\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/california-tide-pools-natural-history-museum-la\">Inside the effort to comprehensively document California’s tide pools\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On an overcast morning in July, marine biologist Greg Rouse knelt next to a large tide pool near La Jolla’s Bird Rock. “This place is incredibly diverse in habitats,” Rouse said, scooping a sample of seawater into a plastic bag.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>On an overcast morning in July, marine biologist Greg Rouse knelt next to a large tide pool near La Jolla’s Bird Rock. “This place is incredibly diverse in habitats,” Rouse said, scooping a sample of seawater into a plastic bag.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A few miles down the beach, in his seaside lab at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, Rouse separated the sampled water into a petri dish. At first glance it was just water and some floating ocean debris.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A few miles down the beach, in his seaside lab at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, Rouse separated the sampled water into a petri dish. At first glance it was just water and some floating ocean debris.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But when Rouse slid the petri dish under a microscope, hundreds of nearly-microscopic animals burst into life on a high-resolution monitor: shrimps and snails, pillbug-like isopods, worms of all sorts of different shapes, and at least one bright-orange sea slug. Sampling tide pools like this is fairly routine for Rouse, but lately, it has been part of something bigger. Rouse is leading the first phase of an effort to document California’s intertidal ecosystems. That means logging every organism found in the tidal seawater, sand and rocks from San Diego to the Oregon border over the next two years. “It’s a baseline of what is here right now,” Rouse said. “It’s a shame we didn’t do this 20 or 40 years ago. But in those times, we didn’t really have the DNA technology and the cost efficiency that we have these days.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But when Rouse slid the petri dish under a microscope, hundreds of nearly-microscopic animals burst into life on a high-resolution monitor: shrimps and snails, pillbug-like isopods, worms of all sorts of different shapes, and at least one bright-orange sea slug. Sampling tide pools like this is fairly routine for Rouse, but lately, it has been part of something bigger. Rouse is leading the first phase of an effort to document California’s intertidal ecosystems. That means logging every organism found in the tidal seawater, sand and rocks from San Diego to the Oregon border over the next two years. “It’s a baseline of what is here right now,” Rouse said. “It’s a shame we didn’t do this 20 or 40 years ago. But in those times, we didn’t really have the DNA technology and the cost efficiency that we have these days.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The project, called the California Intertidal Biodiversity DNA Barcode Library project, is ambitious. Nothing of this scale has been attempted in the U.S. It’s being led by a coalition of top research institutions, including Scripps, the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, the California Ocean Protection Council and the Southern California Coastal Research Project. The goal is to create a comprehensive picture of California’s tidal habitats by focusing on the algae and invertebrates that live in them, including their DNA profiles. Scientists say that will let them more effectively track changes in those ecosystems.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The project, called the California Intertidal Biodiversity DNA Barcode Library project, is ambitious. Nothing of this scale has been attempted in the U.S. It’s being led by a coalition of top research institutions, including Scripps, the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, the California Ocean Protection Council and the Southern California Coastal Research Project. The goal is to create a comprehensive picture of California’s tidal habitats by focusing on the algae and invertebrates that live in them, including their DNA profiles. Scientists say that will let them more effectively track changes in those ecosystems.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The intertidal region is made up of the narrow strip of coastline that alternates between being submerged at high tide and exposed at low tide. It’s habitats are some of the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/what-a-persistent-ocean-heatwave-means-for-sea-life-and-a-possible-el-nino-year\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>rising water temperatures\u003c/u>\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/high-tides-rising-sea-levels-long-beach\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>sea levels\u003c/u>\u003c/a>. The two-year project launched with $10 million in state funding earlier this year but kicked into high gear this summer.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The intertidal region is made up of the narrow strip of coastline that alternates between being submerged at high tide and exposed at low tide. It’s habitats are some of the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/what-a-persistent-ocean-heatwave-means-for-sea-life-and-a-possible-el-nino-year\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>rising water temperatures\u003c/u>\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/high-tides-rising-sea-levels-long-beach\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>sea levels\u003c/u>\u003c/a>. The two-year project launched with $10 million in state funding earlier this year but kicked into high gear this summer.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Last month, Rouse led a group of dozens of scientists to the tide pools, where they pulled more than 7,000 samples from the area around Bird Rock. “Anything we could see, we took. But also we took a lot of stuff you can’t see back to the lab and had many people on microscopes finding all the tiny creatures,” Rouse said. “Because most of the diversity is actually too small to see.” Testing is still underway, but so far the samples represent 1,600 species of invertebrates and algae, hundreds of which could be new to science.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Last month, Rouse led a group of dozens of scientists to the tide pools, where they pulled more than 7,000 samples from the area around Bird Rock. “Anything we could see, we took. But also we took a lot of stuff you can’t see back to the lab and had many people on microscopes finding all the tiny creatures,” Rouse said. “Because most of the diversity is actually too small to see.” Testing is still underway, but so far the samples represent 1,600 species of invertebrates and algae, hundreds of which could be new to science.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079668/i-thought-i-was-going-to-die-video-shows-mass-force-at-california-womens-prison\">California prison officials\u003c/a> have failed to protect incarcerated women from sexual abuse and harassment by staff for years, the U.S. Department of Justice \u003ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-finds-california-womens-prisons-violate-constitution-failing-protect\">said\u003c/a> in a new report.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079668/i-thought-i-was-going-to-die-video-shows-mass-force-at-california-womens-prison\">California prison officials\u003c/a> have failed to protect incarcerated women from sexual abuse and harassment by staff for years, the U.S. Department of Justice \u003ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-finds-california-womens-prisons-violate-constitution-failing-protect\">said\u003c/a> in a new report.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Justice Department \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-civil-rights-investigation-correctional-staff-sexual-abuse-two\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">began\u003c/a> investigating the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla and the California Institution for Women in Chino nearly two years ago after hundreds of incarcerated women \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12003230/feds-investigate-california-prisons-where-women-say-culture-of-impunity-surrounded-abuse\">filed legal claims\u003c/a> alleging sexual exploitation by staff and an officer was \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/news/2022/12/28/cdcr-refers-internal-investigation-into-former-correctional-officer-to-district-attorney-for-charges-of-sexual-misconduct-of-incarcerated-women/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">arrested\u003c/a> for sexually abusing at least 22 women. The department reviewed 350 allegations of sexual misconduct, interviewed prisoners and looked at body-worn camera footage. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Justice Department \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-civil-rights-investigation-correctional-staff-sexual-abuse-two\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">began\u003c/a> investigating the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla and the California Institution for Women in Chino nearly two years ago after hundreds of incarcerated women \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12003230/feds-investigate-california-prisons-where-women-say-culture-of-impunity-surrounded-abuse\">filed legal claims\u003c/a> alleging sexual exploitation by staff and an officer was \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/news/2022/12/28/cdcr-refers-internal-investigation-into-former-correctional-officer-to-district-attorney-for-charges-of-sexual-misconduct-of-incarcerated-women/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">arrested\u003c/a> for sexually abusing at least 22 women. The department reviewed 350 allegations of sexual misconduct, interviewed prisoners and looked at body-worn camera footage. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In a \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1457771/dl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report\u003c/a> released Thursday, investigators said they found an “unbroken pattern” of staff sexual assault dating back over 20 years at California’s two women’s prisons. The department concluded that prison officials knew women faced a substantial risk of sexual abuse but failed to adequately protect them. Investigators pointed to gaps in surveillance camera coverage, a lack of confidential reporting options, inadequate investigations and failures to hold staff accountable — systemic problems the DOJ said amount to “deliberate indifference” and violate incarcerated women’s constitutional rights.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In a \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1457771/dl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report\u003c/a> released Thursday, investigators said they found an “unbroken pattern” of staff sexual assault dating back over 20 years at California’s two women’s prisons. The department concluded that prison officials knew women faced a substantial risk of sexual abuse but failed to adequately protect them. Investigators pointed to gaps in surveillance camera coverage, a lack of confidential reporting options, inadequate investigations and failures to hold staff accountable — systemic problems the DOJ said amount to “deliberate indifference” and violate incarcerated women’s constitutional rights.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“None of this should be surprising to CDCR [California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation], none of it should be surprising to the Legislature,” said Amika Mota, executive director of the prison advocacy organization Sister Warriors Freedom Coalition. Survivors have spent years speaking out at “hearings, in town halls, in reports,” she said, trying to get officials to address sexual abuse by prison staff.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“None of this should be surprising to CDCR [California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation], none of it should be surprising to the Legislature,” said Amika Mota, executive director of the prison advocacy organization Sister Warriors Freedom Coalition. Survivors have spent years speaking out at “hearings, in town halls, in reports,” she said, trying to get officials to address sexual abuse by prison staff.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>State prison officials say they have a zero-tolerance policy for sexual assault by staff, and that they have taken steps to improve reporting options and expand the use of cameras. But Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexandra Young said those reforms have not fixed the underlying problems. “Women were not being protected,” Young said in an interview with KQED. “It was the cycle that’s continuing to happen.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Since 1946, federal law has allowed immigration officers to arrest someone without a warrant only when they have probable cause both that the person is in the country unlawfully and that they are likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained. Courts have long held that to mean that agents are required to consider the person’s ties to the community, like a person having a job, a home and a family in the community where the arrest occurs. However, in raids in Southern California and across the country, supervisors have told agents to “get out and start grabbing people,” and agents have ambushed people without knowing their immigration history and targeted Latinos at places like car washes and bus stops, court records and body camera footage show. \u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "It will help better track the effects of climate change on the ecosystem.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories on Friday, August 14, 2026\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>Dinosaur bones and taxidermied animals get most of the attention at the Natural History Museum in LA County. But researchers are excited about \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/california-tide-pools-natural-history-museum-la\">a new collection\u003c/a> that could have big implications for monitoring climate change. \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>The U.S. Department of Justice says California is \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095240/us-doj-finds-unbroken-pattern-of-sexual-abuse-by-california-prison-staff\">failing to protect incarcerated women \u003c/a>from sexual abuse and harassment by prison staff. \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>A federal judge says she’s leaning toward ruling that federal immigration agents \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/investigation/2026/08/los-angeles-warrantless-immigration-arrests-blocked/\">can not make warrantless arrests\u003c/a> under most circumstances in Los Angeles.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/california-tide-pools-natural-history-museum-la\">Inside the effort to comprehensively document California’s tide pools\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On an overcast morning in July, marine biologist Greg Rouse knelt next to a large tide pool near La Jolla’s Bird Rock. “This place is incredibly diverse in habitats,” Rouse said, scooping a sample of seawater into a plastic bag.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A few miles down the beach, in his seaside lab at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, Rouse separated the sampled water into a petri dish. At first glance it was just water and some floating ocean debris.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But when Rouse slid the petri dish under a microscope, hundreds of nearly-microscopic animals burst into life on a high-resolution monitor: shrimps and snails, pillbug-like isopods, worms of all sorts of different shapes, and at least one bright-orange sea slug. Sampling tide pools like this is fairly routine for Rouse, but lately, it has been part of something bigger. Rouse is leading the first phase of an effort to document California’s intertidal ecosystems. That means logging every organism found in the tidal seawater, sand and rocks from San Diego to the Oregon border over the next two years. “It’s a baseline of what is here right now,” Rouse said. “It’s a shame we didn’t do this 20 or 40 years ago. But in those times, we didn’t really have the DNA technology and the cost efficiency that we have these days.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The project, called the California Intertidal Biodiversity DNA Barcode Library project, is ambitious. Nothing of this scale has been attempted in the U.S. It’s being led by a coalition of top research institutions, including Scripps, the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, the California Ocean Protection Council and the Southern California Coastal Research Project. The goal is to create a comprehensive picture of California’s tidal habitats by focusing on the algae and invertebrates that live in them, including their DNA profiles. Scientists say that will let them more effectively track changes in those ecosystems.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The intertidal region is made up of the narrow strip of coastline that alternates between being submerged at high tide and exposed at low tide. It’s habitats are some of the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/what-a-persistent-ocean-heatwave-means-for-sea-life-and-a-possible-el-nino-year\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>rising water temperatures\u003c/u>\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/high-tides-rising-sea-levels-long-beach\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>sea levels\u003c/u>\u003c/a>. The two-year project launched with $10 million in state funding earlier this year but kicked into high gear this summer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Last month, Rouse led a group of dozens of scientists to the tide pools, where they pulled more than 7,000 samples from the area around Bird Rock. “Anything we could see, we took. But also we took a lot of stuff you can’t see back to the lab and had many people on microscopes finding all the tiny creatures,” Rouse said. “Because most of the diversity is actually too small to see.” Testing is still underway, but so far the samples represent 1,600 species of invertebrates and algae, hundreds of which could be new to science.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095240/us-doj-finds-unbroken-pattern-of-sexual-abuse-by-california-prison-staff\">US DOJ finds ‘unbroken pattern’ of sexual abuse by California prison staff\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079668/i-thought-i-was-going-to-die-video-shows-mass-force-at-california-womens-prison\">California prison officials\u003c/a> have failed to protect incarcerated women from sexual abuse and harassment by staff for years, the U.S. Department of Justice \u003ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-finds-california-womens-prisons-violate-constitution-failing-protect\">said\u003c/a> in a new report.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Justice Department \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-civil-rights-investigation-correctional-staff-sexual-abuse-two\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">began\u003c/a> investigating the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla and the California Institution for Women in Chino nearly two years ago after hundreds of incarcerated women \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12003230/feds-investigate-california-prisons-where-women-say-culture-of-impunity-surrounded-abuse\">filed legal claims\u003c/a> alleging sexual exploitation by staff and an officer was \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/news/2022/12/28/cdcr-refers-internal-investigation-into-former-correctional-officer-to-district-attorney-for-charges-of-sexual-misconduct-of-incarcerated-women/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">arrested\u003c/a> for sexually abusing at least 22 women. The department reviewed 350 allegations of sexual misconduct, interviewed prisoners and looked at body-worn camera footage. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In a \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1457771/dl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report\u003c/a> released Thursday, investigators said they found an “unbroken pattern” of staff sexual assault dating back over 20 years at California’s two women’s prisons. The department concluded that prison officials knew women faced a substantial risk of sexual abuse but failed to adequately protect them. Investigators pointed to gaps in surveillance camera coverage, a lack of confidential reporting options, inadequate investigations and failures to hold staff accountable — systemic problems the DOJ said amount to “deliberate indifference” and violate incarcerated women’s constitutional rights.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“None of this should be surprising to CDCR [California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation], none of it should be surprising to the Legislature,” said Amika Mota, executive director of the prison advocacy organization Sister Warriors Freedom Coalition. Survivors have spent years speaking out at “hearings, in town halls, in reports,” she said, trying to get officials to address sexual abuse by prison staff.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>State prison officials say they have a zero-tolerance policy for sexual assault by staff, and that they have taken steps to improve reporting options and expand the use of cameras. But Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexandra Young said those reforms have not fixed the underlying problems. “Women were not being protected,” Young said in an interview with KQED. “It was the cycle that’s continuing to happen.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/investigation/2026/08/los-angeles-warrantless-immigration-arrests-blocked/\">Federal judge poised to restrict immigration arrest tactics in Los Angeles raids\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A judge on Thursday indicated that she’s inclined to order federal immigration agents to stop arresting people without warrants in Los Angeles if they haven’t assessed their flight risk. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If she grants the order, it would be one of the most significant so far in a wide-ranging lawsuit over the government’s ongoing immigration raids in Southern California. It would force agents to fundamentally change the way they’ve conducted the sweeps at the heart of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since 1946, federal law has allowed immigration officers to arrest someone without a warrant only when they have probable cause both that the person is in the country unlawfully and that they are likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained. Courts have long held that to mean that agents are required to consider the person’s ties to the community, like a person having a job, a home and a family in the community where the arrest occurs. However, in raids in Southern California and across the country, supervisors have told agents to “get out and start grabbing people,” and agents have ambushed people without knowing their immigration history and targeted Latinos at places like car washes and bus stops, court records and body camera footage show. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Last month, plaintiffs attorneys in the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/justice/2026/07/immigration-agent-text-messages/\">lawsuit filed with the court\u003c/a> text messages and body cam footage that showed federal agents using racial slurs to identify targets in the Los Angeles raids. They argued the evidence showed immigration agents simply detained people who looked Latino. U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong’s tentative ruling Thursday means agents would need to obtain “individualized, pre-arrest probable cause determinations of flight risk” in the city and the areas surrounding Los Angeles, home to 19 million people. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "In Altadena, a Youth Music Scene Grows From the Eaton Fire’s Ashes",
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"headTitle": "In Altadena, a Youth Music Scene Grows From the Eaton Fire’s Ashes | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Families are gradually moving into newly built homes in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12075283/the-eaton-fire-destroyed-altadenas-lush-greenery-these-volunteers-are-growing-it-back\">Altadena\u003c/a> after the Eaton fire, which largely turned the Los Angeles community into ashes in early 2025. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While dirt lots still dominate Altadena’s west side, live music shows and throngs of teenagers flocking to see them have been filling the void. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“People like having something to do, somewhere to go,” said 16-year-old Elise Lamond, a guitarist in the Altadena-based quintet Last Friday.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1622\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260803_BackyardParty-KQED_6.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093780\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260803_BackyardParty-KQED_6.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260803_BackyardParty-KQED_6-160x130.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260803_BackyardParty-KQED_6-1536x1246.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ynez Brice, left, of the Altadena band Last Friday performing at a Backyard Party-sponsored show in Los Angeles. (Courtesy of Matt Chait)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On one recent summer night, Lamond watched Persona Non Grata, a young, multi-ethnic seven-member music collective influenced by funk and Afrobeat. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The mood was celebratory. A few dozen kids crowded the stage — a freshly painted back porch. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The shows were a little smaller in the beginning, and then slowly more and more people started to become aware of them,” said Lamond, who’s been involved in the scene from the start.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The birth of a new music scene\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Within weeks after the Eaton Fire, local music promoter Matt Chait and his colleague Sandra Denver were scouting for stages amid the scorched lots of Altadena. Now, shows are popping up a few times a month in backyards, parking lots, at a local veterans’ hall and other unconventional venues. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The upstart music scene is a confluence of different initiatives meant to help fire survivors and musicians. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>First, nonprofit Altadena Musicians formed to get musical instruments back in the hands of artists who lost gear. While volunteering with that organization, Chait and Denver launched \u003ca href=\"http://backyardpartyla.com\">Backyard Party\u003c/a>. The aim was to give teenage musicians opportunities to perform, be creative and have a place to socialize after the disaster.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1463\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260803_BackyardParty-KQED_3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093777\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260803_BackyardParty-KQED_3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260803_BackyardParty-KQED_3-160x117.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260803_BackyardParty-KQED_3-1536x1124.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kids crowd a backyard porch to watch the Altadena band Last Friday. (Steven Cuevas)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If they want to talk about [the fire], they absolutely should,” Chait said. “If they want to write songs about it, they absolutely should.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But because many of the young musicians directly impacted by the fire say they do not want to be identified as “victims” or otherwise be defined by it, Chait said the music space is for the young musicians to grow in whichever ways they choose.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The families and parents are already still dealing with it,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If they want to move past it and just sing about cars or boys or whatever the hell they want to sing about, they should do that.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Teenagers running the show\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Fourteen-year-old Sadie Denver of the Altadena band Last Friday said the early backyard shows raised thousands of dollars for fire-impacted kids and their families, including three of her own bandmates.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We wanted to do fundraisers for it because we knew so many people who were affected. Everyone was affected,” Denver said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On a recent weekday night, the band’s five members crowded into a small, one-room backyard studio to rehearse at the home of 17-year-old drummer Charlie Bohlman.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260803_BackyardParty-KQED_4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093778\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260803_BackyardParty-KQED_4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260803_BackyardParty-KQED_4-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260803_BackyardParty-KQED_4-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Last Friday rocks the back porch of a home near Altadena. (Steven Cuevas)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As each member slowly develops songwriting chops, for now they lean on covers by contemporary punk and alt-rock bands like Wet Leg, Dream Nails and South Pasadena’s Linda Lindas. Tonight they’re also running through PJ Harvey’s ‘90s indie rock classic, “50ft Queenie.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Denver’s father, Nate, is a local fire chief and veteran noise punk musician. Her mom, Sandra, is also a Los Angeles indie music scene veteran and co-founder of Backyard Party.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“My focus really is the teenagers and trying to help them create the scene and get to know each other,” she said. Other teenagers help them run the shows. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“They run the door, they’re even the bouncers,” Denver said, laughing.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While Sandra Denver sometimes collects the $5 or $10 admission at the door, the adults mostly keep their distance at these all-ages shows, while the kids, depending on the band, crowd up against the makeshift stage.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When the retro garage rock band The Lawnchairs played in a backyard in Los Angeles’ Highland Park neighborhood, kids busted out in song and kicked up a gentle, slow-moving mosh pit on the grass. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Fifteen-year-old Ynez Brice, Last Friday’s lead guitarist, said the backyard shows are a place to put away your phones, make new connections and feel part of something bigger. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“People that don’t know each other, I see them coming together and talking with each other,” Brice said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She said the shows foster the feeling that teens can “talk with someone … no matter what.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">As the scene grows, so do the musicians\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When Matt Chait launched Backyard Party, his expectations were modest. Over the last year, it’s grown into a donor-supported nonprofit with a newly launched summer program, offering kids and parents tips on music gear, songwriting and the music business.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When there’s a music scene that’s being built, the bands are generally the center of it. But they don’t really run it,” said Chait, adding that the organization does promotion so bands can earn up to several hundred bucks a show. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Beyond the graphic design and booking services, Chait said they provide a bigger service to the kids. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There’s such an incredible amount of social education that goes on with something as simple as a punk show.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260803_BackyardParty-KQED_5.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093779\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260803_BackyardParty-KQED_5.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260803_BackyardParty-KQED_5-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260803_BackyardParty-KQED_5-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Retro garage band The Lawnchairs rock a recent backyard show. (Steven Cuevas)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite being in multiple bands and formally educating themselves in music, some of the young musicians are noncommittal about pursuing a career in music. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If at some point I can get to the point where we’re like ‘Oh, we can have normal gigs, and we can get paid sometimes,’ I would like that,” Ynez Brice said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“But I’d [also] rather have a job. I know I love music, but there’s also other things I like.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Drummer Charlie Bohlman said he’s eager to get in a van and hit the road with Last Friday, or with the metallic hardcore band he also drums for called Love at First Fight. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Dude, I would love to have a career in music. I have a backup plan too — to just leave and travel the world,” Bohlman said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Backyard Party-sponsored shows will continue throughout the summer and well into the school year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the young Altadena area musicians have moved back after the fire; others have left the burn scar behind. Right now, they’re more concerned with the usual teenage challenges — crushes, fashion and school — and that next live show.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“People like having something to do, somewhere to go,” said 16-year-old Elise Lamond, a guitarist in the Altadena-based quintet Last Friday.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On one recent summer night, Lamond watched Persona Non Grata, a young, multi-ethnic seven-member music collective influenced by funk and Afrobeat. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Within weeks after the Eaton Fire, local music promoter Matt Chait and his colleague Sandra Denver were scouting for stages amid the scorched lots of Altadena. Now, shows are popping up a few times a month in backyards, parking lots, at a local veterans’ hall and other unconventional venues. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The upstart music scene is a confluence of different initiatives meant to help fire survivors and musicians. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>First, nonprofit Altadena Musicians formed to get musical instruments back in the hands of artists who lost gear. While volunteering with that organization, Chait and Denver launched \u003ca href=\"http://backyardpartyla.com\">Backyard Party\u003c/a>. The aim was to give teenage musicians opportunities to perform, be creative and have a place to socialize after the disaster.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>First, nonprofit Altadena Musicians formed to get musical instruments back in the hands of artists who lost gear. While volunteering with that organization, Chait and Denver launched \u003ca href=\"http://backyardpartyla.com\">Backyard Party\u003c/a>. The aim was to give teenage musicians opportunities to perform, be creative and have a place to socialize after the disaster.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“If they want to talk about [the fire], they absolutely should,” Chait said. “If they want to write songs about it, they absolutely should.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But because many of the young musicians directly impacted by the fire say they do not want to be identified as “victims” or otherwise be defined by it, Chait said the music space is for the young musicians to grow in whichever ways they choose.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“If they want to move past it and just sing about cars or boys or whatever the hell they want to sing about, they should do that.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Fourteen-year-old Sadie Denver of the Altadena band Last Friday said the early backyard shows raised thousands of dollars for fire-impacted kids and their families, including three of her own bandmates.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We wanted to do fundraisers for it because we knew so many people who were affected. Everyone was affected,” Denver said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Fifteen-year-old Ynez Brice, Last Friday’s lead guitarist, said the backyard shows are a place to put away your phones, make new connections and feel part of something bigger. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“When there’s a music scene that’s being built, the bands are generally the center of it. But they don’t really run it,” said Chait, adding that the organization does promotion so bands can earn up to several hundred bucks a show. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Drummer Charlie Bohlman said he’s eager to get in a van and hit the road with Last Friday, or with the metallic hardcore band he also drums for called Love at First Fight. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Some of the young Altadena area musicians have moved back after the fire; others have left the burn scar behind. Right now, they’re more concerned with the usual teenage challenges — crushes, fashion and school — and that next live show.\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Families are gradually moving into newly built homes in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12075283/the-eaton-fire-destroyed-altadenas-lush-greenery-these-volunteers-are-growing-it-back\">Altadena\u003c/a> after the Eaton fire, which largely turned the Los Angeles community into ashes in early 2025. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While dirt lots still dominate Altadena’s west side, live music shows and throngs of teenagers flocking to see them have been filling the void. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“People like having something to do, somewhere to go,” said 16-year-old Elise Lamond, a guitarist in the Altadena-based quintet Last Friday.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1622\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260803_BackyardParty-KQED_6.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093780\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260803_BackyardParty-KQED_6.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260803_BackyardParty-KQED_6-160x130.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260803_BackyardParty-KQED_6-1536x1246.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ynez Brice, left, of the Altadena band Last Friday performing at a Backyard Party-sponsored show in Los Angeles. (Courtesy of Matt Chait)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On one recent summer night, Lamond watched Persona Non Grata, a young, multi-ethnic seven-member music collective influenced by funk and Afrobeat. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The mood was celebratory. A few dozen kids crowded the stage — a freshly painted back porch. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The shows were a little smaller in the beginning, and then slowly more and more people started to become aware of them,” said Lamond, who’s been involved in the scene from the start.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The birth of a new music scene\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Within weeks after the Eaton Fire, local music promoter Matt Chait and his colleague Sandra Denver were scouting for stages amid the scorched lots of Altadena. Now, shows are popping up a few times a month in backyards, parking lots, at a local veterans’ hall and other unconventional venues. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The upstart music scene is a confluence of different initiatives meant to help fire survivors and musicians. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>First, nonprofit Altadena Musicians formed to get musical instruments back in the hands of artists who lost gear. While volunteering with that organization, Chait and Denver launched \u003ca href=\"http://backyardpartyla.com\">Backyard Party\u003c/a>. The aim was to give teenage musicians opportunities to perform, be creative and have a place to socialize after the disaster.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1463\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260803_BackyardParty-KQED_3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093777\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260803_BackyardParty-KQED_3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260803_BackyardParty-KQED_3-160x117.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260803_BackyardParty-KQED_3-1536x1124.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kids crowd a backyard porch to watch the Altadena band Last Friday. (Steven Cuevas)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If they want to talk about [the fire], they absolutely should,” Chait said. “If they want to write songs about it, they absolutely should.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But because many of the young musicians directly impacted by the fire say they do not want to be identified as “victims” or otherwise be defined by it, Chait said the music space is for the young musicians to grow in whichever ways they choose.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The families and parents are already still dealing with it,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If they want to move past it and just sing about cars or boys or whatever the hell they want to sing about, they should do that.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Teenagers running the show\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Fourteen-year-old Sadie Denver of the Altadena band Last Friday said the early backyard shows raised thousands of dollars for fire-impacted kids and their families, including three of her own bandmates.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We wanted to do fundraisers for it because we knew so many people who were affected. Everyone was affected,” Denver said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On a recent weekday night, the band’s five members crowded into a small, one-room backyard studio to rehearse at the home of 17-year-old drummer Charlie Bohlman.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260803_BackyardParty-KQED_4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093778\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260803_BackyardParty-KQED_4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260803_BackyardParty-KQED_4-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260803_BackyardParty-KQED_4-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Last Friday rocks the back porch of a home near Altadena. (Steven Cuevas)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As each member slowly develops songwriting chops, for now they lean on covers by contemporary punk and alt-rock bands like Wet Leg, Dream Nails and South Pasadena’s Linda Lindas. Tonight they’re also running through PJ Harvey’s ‘90s indie rock classic, “50ft Queenie.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Denver’s father, Nate, is a local fire chief and veteran noise punk musician. Her mom, Sandra, is also a Los Angeles indie music scene veteran and co-founder of Backyard Party.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“My focus really is the teenagers and trying to help them create the scene and get to know each other,” she said. Other teenagers help them run the shows. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“They run the door, they’re even the bouncers,” Denver said, laughing.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While Sandra Denver sometimes collects the $5 or $10 admission at the door, the adults mostly keep their distance at these all-ages shows, while the kids, depending on the band, crowd up against the makeshift stage.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When the retro garage rock band The Lawnchairs played in a backyard in Los Angeles’ Highland Park neighborhood, kids busted out in song and kicked up a gentle, slow-moving mosh pit on the grass. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Fifteen-year-old Ynez Brice, Last Friday’s lead guitarist, said the backyard shows are a place to put away your phones, make new connections and feel part of something bigger. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“People that don’t know each other, I see them coming together and talking with each other,” Brice said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She said the shows foster the feeling that teens can “talk with someone … no matter what.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">As the scene grows, so do the musicians\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When Matt Chait launched Backyard Party, his expectations were modest. Over the last year, it’s grown into a donor-supported nonprofit with a newly launched summer program, offering kids and parents tips on music gear, songwriting and the music business.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When there’s a music scene that’s being built, the bands are generally the center of it. But they don’t really run it,” said Chait, adding that the organization does promotion so bands can earn up to several hundred bucks a show. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Beyond the graphic design and booking services, Chait said they provide a bigger service to the kids. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There’s such an incredible amount of social education that goes on with something as simple as a punk show.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260803_BackyardParty-KQED_5.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093779\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260803_BackyardParty-KQED_5.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260803_BackyardParty-KQED_5-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260803_BackyardParty-KQED_5-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Retro garage band The Lawnchairs rock a recent backyard show. (Steven Cuevas)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite being in multiple bands and formally educating themselves in music, some of the young musicians are noncommittal about pursuing a career in music. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If at some point I can get to the point where we’re like ‘Oh, we can have normal gigs, and we can get paid sometimes,’ I would like that,” Ynez Brice said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“But I’d [also] rather have a job. I know I love music, but there’s also other things I like.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Drummer Charlie Bohlman said he’s eager to get in a van and hit the road with Last Friday, or with the metallic hardcore band he also drums for called Love at First Fight. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Dude, I would love to have a career in music. I have a backup plan too — to just leave and travel the world,” Bohlman said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Backyard Party-sponsored shows will continue throughout the summer and well into the school year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the young Altadena area musicians have moved back after the fire; others have left the burn scar behind. Right now, they’re more concerned with the usual teenage challenges — crushes, fashion and school — and that next live show.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories on Tuesday, August 11, 2026\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>Los Angeles is a city. But it’s also an urban oilfield. About a third of L.A. County residents live less than a mile from an active oil drilling site. Now one of those sites in South L.A. \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/community-resistance-south-la-murphy-oil-drilling-site-could-be-shut-down\">could be shut down. \u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>A federal agency is \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/brief/news/climate-environment/trump-review-california-coastal-authority\">conducting an unusual review\u003c/a> of California’s Coastal Management Program. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, did a review of the program just two years ago. But Trump administration officials asked for a new one because they say the current version doesn’t reflect “national priorities.” \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Governor Gavin Newsom says he \u003ca href=\"https://www.kcbx.org/environment-and-energy/2026-08-10/newsom-says-he-wont-push-for-a-diablo-canyon-extension-this-year\">won’t oversee an extension\u003c/a> for the Diablo Canyon Power Plant, California’s last functioning nuclear plant.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/community-resistance-south-la-murphy-oil-drilling-site-could-be-shut-down\">After more than a decade of community resistance, a South LA oil drilling site could be shut down\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Genaro and Catalina Ventura moved to the South L.A. neighborhood of Jefferson Park more than 25 years ago. The Craftsman-style house they found was a dream — spacious, with a yard where they could garden and their children and dog could play. What they didn’t know before moving in was that just a few hundred yards behind the house is an active oil drilling site.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Genaro Ventura, a now-retired custodian for the city of L.A., worked nights. When he’d come home around 2 a.m., the smell of oil and chemicals was often strong in the air. “Since the night is quiet, there’s no traffic or smog,” Genaro Ventura told LAist in Spanish. “You can really smell the air from the drill site, and it’s a terrible odor.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Five years after the family moved in, Genaro was diagnosed with cancer in his left kidney and had to have it removed. In 2013, a brain tumor led to another surgery, and the following year another brain tumor required radiation treatment. He has to return regularly for scans. Most recently he’s developed lung cancer and is scheduled to start chemotherapy. With no family history of cancer, the Venturas suspect the illnesses are related to air pollution from the nearby drill site. And it’s not just Genaro Ventura. The family’s last dog died of cancer. Their elderly chihuahua now has cancer, too. Two of Catalina Ventura’s friends nearby were also diagnosed with cancer and recently moved away. Their son and many children in the neighborhood grew up with asthma.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, after more than a decade of \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/health/in-a-largely-black-and-latino-community-neighbors-worry-about-the-oil-wells-n-their-midst\">community organizing\u003c/a>, the Murphy drill site could be shut down. The city is considering whether to revoke E&B Natural Resource’s license to operate the site. “It is really the best chance we have ever had to see this toxic industrial site shut down and removed from our neighborhood,” longtime South L.A. resident Richard Parks said at a recent community town hall at a church down the road from the drill site. Parks is the president of the nonprofit Redeemer Community Partnership, a group that has spearheaded the shutdown effort.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In response to questions from LAist, a spokesperson for E&B emphasized the company’s compliance with regulations and said the facility “plays an important role in supplying locally produced petroleum to the Los Angeles Basin.” The spokesperson also pointed to a July \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28506372-eb-roux-analysis/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report the company commissioned from environmental consulting firm Roux Associates\u003c/a>. The report says “the administrative record contains no scientific evidence that the Murphy site jeopardizes or adversely affects public health or safety of nearby residents or workers.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After a hearing last month. the oil company now has until Aug. 23 to respond to a list of questions from Jonathan Hershey, Associate Zoning Administrator in Los Angeles. Then the public has until Sept. 25 to respond to the company’s answers to those questions. After that, the oil company will have the final word, with their last opportunity to respond to public comment set for Oct. 9. Hershey will then provide a written determination on whether or not to revoke the company’s permit to operate. He warned that his decision could take time, telling hearing attendees to “please be patient.” Once the determination is made, it can be appealed within 15 days.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12094648/californians-vow-to-fight-federal-takeover-of-coastline-for-oil-drilling\">Californians vow to fight ‘federal takeover’ of coastline for oil drilling\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>State lawmakers, Indigenous leaders, advocates and business groups gathered in Santa Monica on Monday to challenge the Trump administration’s efforts to open the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california-coast\">California coast\u003c/a> for oil drilling and other industrial projects\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The stakeholders rallied ahead of an in-person meeting held by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reviewing California’s Coastal Management Program, which speakers at the press conference considered to be an attack on California’s right to protect its coastline. “This federal administration is bent on industrializing our coast,” California’s Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot said, addressing a crowd of dozens, many of whom brandished protest signs or wore oceanic blue T-shirts with the slogan “No Federal Takeover.” “For the first time in over four decades, through Republican and Democratic presidential administrations, this is the first administration moving aggressively to expand new offshore oil drilling.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The rally and meeting come just over a month after NOAA \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12089085/trump-administration-takes-aim-at-california-coastal-protections\">began the regulatory process\u003c/a> with a notice in the Federal Register about its plans to study California’s Coastal Management Program. Following Monday’s in-person meeting, there will be opportunities for public comment at \u003ca href=\"https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/aug26/czma-public-meetings.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">virtual meetings\u003c/a> Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While critics see the move as part of the Trump administration’s broader goals to increase oil and gas production, those in the president’s cabinet say there are economic costs to coastal-protection schemes. “America must continue to lead in innovation, space exploration, and economic strength,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in May. “Obstructionist policies that delay critical national infrastructure in the name of environmental extremism are unacceptable.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kcbx.org/environment-and-energy/2026-08-10/newsom-says-he-wont-push-for-a-diablo-canyon-extension-this-year\">Gov. Newsom says he won’t push for a Diablo Canyon extension this year\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kcbx.org/tags/gavin-newsom\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>Governor Gavin Newsom\u003c/u>\u003c/a> says he won’t spearhead an extension for the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kcbx.org/tags/diablo-canyon-power-plant\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>Diablo Canyon Power Plant\u003c/u>\u003c/a>, California’s last functioning nuclear energy plant.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At a press conference on clean energy in Oakland late last week, Newsom said he’s passing the baton to whoever takes over his role at the beginning of next year. “That will be a determination made by policymakers that will be here a lot longer than I will,” Newsom said. “I got a sell-by date in five months.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In November, voters will choose either Democrat Xavier Becerra or Republican Steve Hilton to serve as governor after Newsom’s term ends in January.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The California State Legislature previously extended Diablo Canyon’s operations to the year 2030 by passing SB 846 — a bill that Newsom signed into law. An advocacy group called \u003ca href=\"https://diablocanyon2045.com/press-release-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>Diablo Canyon 2045\u003c/u>\u003c/a> responded to Newsom’s comments with a statement that said pushing the extension decision out to next year would cost more money in the long run. “Regardless of the Governor’s comment, there is still time for the legislature to uphold their commitment to affordability this session,” a press release from the group says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for PG&E, the utility that operates Diablo Canyon, sent KCBX a statement responding to Newsom’s comments. “Extending Diablo Canyon beyond 2030 this legislative session will immediately save electric customers $1.7 billion in unnecessary costs to build new power plants by 2032 as required by the CPUC’s recent 6,000-megawatt procurement order,” the statement said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The legislature only has three more weeks to pass a Diablo Canyon extension bill this year, before final recess begins on August 31.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>Los Angeles is a city. But it’s also an urban oilfield. About a third of L.A. County residents live less than a mile from an active oil drilling site. Now one of those sites in South L.A. \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/community-resistance-south-la-murphy-oil-drilling-site-could-be-shut-down\">could be shut down. \u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>A federal agency is \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/brief/news/climate-environment/trump-review-california-coastal-authority\">conducting an unusual review\u003c/a> of California’s Coastal Management Program. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, did a review of the program just two years ago. But Trump administration officials asked for a new one because they say the current version doesn’t reflect “national priorities.” \u003c/li>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Genaro and Catalina Ventura moved to the South L.A. neighborhood of Jefferson Park more than 25 years ago. The Craftsman-style house they found was a dream — spacious, with a yard where they could garden and their children and dog could play. What they didn’t know before moving in was that just a few hundred yards behind the house is an active oil drilling site.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Five years after the family moved in, Genaro was diagnosed with cancer in his left kidney and had to have it removed. In 2013, a brain tumor led to another surgery, and the following year another brain tumor required radiation treatment. He has to return regularly for scans. Most recently he’s developed lung cancer and is scheduled to start chemotherapy. With no family history of cancer, the Venturas suspect the illnesses are related to air pollution from the nearby drill site. And it’s not just Genaro Ventura. The family’s last dog died of cancer. Their elderly chihuahua now has cancer, too. Two of Catalina Ventura’s friends nearby were also diagnosed with cancer and recently moved away. Their son and many children in the neighborhood grew up with asthma.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In response to questions from LAist, a spokesperson for E&B emphasized the company’s compliance with regulations and said the facility “plays an important role in supplying locally produced petroleum to the Los Angeles Basin.” The spokesperson also pointed to a July \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28506372-eb-roux-analysis/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report the company commissioned from environmental consulting firm Roux Associates\u003c/a>. The report says “the administrative record contains no scientific evidence that the Murphy site jeopardizes or adversely affects public health or safety of nearby residents or workers.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>After a hearing last month. the oil company now has until Aug. 23 to respond to a list of questions from Jonathan Hershey, Associate Zoning Administrator in Los Angeles. Then the public has until Sept. 25 to respond to the company’s answers to those questions. After that, the oil company will have the final word, with their last opportunity to respond to public comment set for Oct. 9. Hershey will then provide a written determination on whether or not to revoke the company’s permit to operate. He warned that his decision could take time, telling hearing attendees to “please be patient.” Once the determination is made, it can be appealed within 15 days.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>After a hearing last month. the oil company now has until Aug. 23 to respond to a list of questions from Jonathan Hershey, Associate Zoning Administrator in Los Angeles. Then the public has until Sept. 25 to respond to the company’s answers to those questions. After that, the oil company will have the final word, with their last opportunity to respond to public comment set for Oct. 9. Hershey will then provide a written determination on whether or not to revoke the company’s permit to operate. He warned that his decision could take time, telling hearing attendees to “please be patient.” Once the determination is made, it can be appealed within 15 days.\u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "Californians vow to fight ‘federal takeover’ of coastline for oil drilling",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12094648/californians-vow-to-fight-federal-takeover-of-coastline-for-oil-drilling\">Californians vow to fight ‘federal takeover’ of coastline for oil drilling\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>State lawmakers, Indigenous leaders, advocates and business groups gathered in Santa Monica on Monday to challenge the Trump administration’s efforts to open the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california-coast\">California coast\u003c/a> for oil drilling and other industrial projects\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>State lawmakers, Indigenous leaders, advocates and business groups gathered in Santa Monica on Monday to challenge the Trump administration’s efforts to open the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california-coast\">California coast\u003c/a> for oil drilling and other industrial projects\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The stakeholders rallied ahead of an in-person meeting held by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reviewing California’s Coastal Management Program, which speakers at the press conference considered to be an attack on California’s right to protect its coastline. “This federal administration is bent on industrializing our coast,” California’s Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot said, addressing a crowd of dozens, many of whom brandished protest signs or wore oceanic blue T-shirts with the slogan “No Federal Takeover.” “For the first time in over four decades, through Republican and Democratic presidential administrations, this is the first administration moving aggressively to expand new offshore oil drilling.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The stakeholders rallied ahead of an in-person meeting held by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reviewing California’s Coastal Management Program, which speakers at the press conference considered to be an attack on California’s right to protect its coastline. “This federal administration is bent on industrializing our coast,” California’s Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot said, addressing a crowd of dozens, many of whom brandished protest signs or wore oceanic blue T-shirts with the slogan “No Federal Takeover.” “For the first time in over four decades, through Republican and Democratic presidential administrations, this is the first administration moving aggressively to expand new offshore oil drilling.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The rally and meeting come just over a month after NOAA \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12089085/trump-administration-takes-aim-at-california-coastal-protections\">began the regulatory process\u003c/a> with a notice in the Federal Register about its plans to study California’s Coastal Management Program. Following Monday’s in-person meeting, there will be opportunities for public comment at \u003ca href=\"https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/aug26/czma-public-meetings.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">virtual meetings\u003c/a> Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The rally and meeting come just over a month after NOAA \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12089085/trump-administration-takes-aim-at-california-coastal-protections\">began the regulatory process\u003c/a> with a notice in the Federal Register about its plans to study California’s Coastal Management Program. Following Monday’s in-person meeting, there will be opportunities for public comment at \u003ca href=\"https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/aug26/czma-public-meetings.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">virtual meetings\u003c/a> Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While critics see the move as part of the Trump administration’s broader goals to increase oil and gas production, those in the president’s cabinet say there are economic costs to coastal-protection schemes. “America must continue to lead in innovation, space exploration, and economic strength,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in May. “Obstructionist policies that delay critical national infrastructure in the name of environmental extremism are unacceptable.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>While critics see the move as part of the Trump administration’s broader goals to increase oil and gas production, those in the president’s cabinet say there are economic costs to coastal-protection schemes. “America must continue to lead in innovation, space exploration, and economic strength,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in May. “Obstructionist policies that delay critical national infrastructure in the name of environmental extremism are unacceptable.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "Gov. Newsom says he won’t push for a Diablo Canyon extension this year",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kcbx.org/environment-and-energy/2026-08-10/newsom-says-he-wont-push-for-a-diablo-canyon-extension-this-year\">Gov. Newsom says he won’t push for a Diablo Canyon extension this year\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kcbx.org/environment-and-energy/2026-08-10/newsom-says-he-wont-push-for-a-diablo-canyon-extension-this-year\">Gov. Newsom says he won’t push for a Diablo Canyon extension this year\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kcbx.org/tags/gavin-newsom\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>Governor Gavin Newsom\u003c/u>\u003c/a> says he won’t spearhead an extension for the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kcbx.org/tags/diablo-canyon-power-plant\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>Diablo Canyon Power Plant\u003c/u>\u003c/a>, California’s last functioning nuclear energy plant.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kcbx.org/tags/gavin-newsom\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>Governor Gavin Newsom\u003c/u>\u003c/a> says he won’t spearhead an extension for the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kcbx.org/tags/diablo-canyon-power-plant\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>Diablo Canyon Power Plant\u003c/u>\u003c/a>, California’s last functioning nuclear energy plant.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At a press conference on clean energy in Oakland late last week, Newsom said he’s passing the baton to whoever takes over his role at the beginning of next year. “That will be a determination made by policymakers that will be here a lot longer than I will,” Newsom said. “I got a sell-by date in five months.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>At a press conference on clean energy in Oakland late last week, Newsom said he’s passing the baton to whoever takes over his role at the beginning of next year. “That will be a determination made by policymakers that will be here a lot longer than I will,” Newsom said. “I got a sell-by date in five months.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In November, voters will choose either Democrat Xavier Becerra or Republican Steve Hilton to serve as governor after Newsom’s term ends in January.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In November, voters will choose either Democrat Xavier Becerra or Republican Steve Hilton to serve as governor after Newsom’s term ends in January.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The California State Legislature previously extended Diablo Canyon’s operations to the year 2030 by passing SB 846 — a bill that Newsom signed into law. An advocacy group called \u003ca href=\"https://diablocanyon2045.com/press-release-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>Diablo Canyon 2045\u003c/u>\u003c/a> responded to Newsom’s comments with a statement that said pushing the extension decision out to next year would cost more money in the long run. “Regardless of the Governor’s comment, there is still time for the legislature to uphold their commitment to affordability this session,” a press release from the group says.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The California State Legislature previously extended Diablo Canyon’s operations to the year 2030 by passing SB 846 — a bill that Newsom signed into law. An advocacy group called \u003ca href=\"https://diablocanyon2045.com/press-release-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>Diablo Canyon 2045\u003c/u>\u003c/a> responded to Newsom’s comments with a statement that said pushing the extension decision out to next year would cost more money in the long run. “Regardless of the Governor’s comment, there is still time for the legislature to uphold their commitment to affordability this session,” a press release from the group says.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for PG&E, the utility that operates Diablo Canyon, sent KCBX a statement responding to Newsom’s comments. “Extending Diablo Canyon beyond 2030 this legislative session will immediately save electric customers $1.7 billion in unnecessary costs to build new power plants by 2032 as required by the CPUC’s recent 6,000-megawatt procurement order,” the statement said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for PG&E, the utility that operates Diablo Canyon, sent KCBX a statement responding to Newsom’s comments. “Extending Diablo Canyon beyond 2030 this legislative session will immediately save electric customers $1.7 billion in unnecessary costs to build new power plants by 2032 as required by the CPUC’s recent 6,000-megawatt procurement order,” the statement said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The legislature only has three more weeks to pass a Diablo Canyon extension bill this year, before final recess begins on August 31.\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories on Tuesday, August 11, 2026\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>Los Angeles is a city. But it’s also an urban oilfield. About a third of L.A. County residents live less than a mile from an active oil drilling site. Now one of those sites in South L.A. \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/community-resistance-south-la-murphy-oil-drilling-site-could-be-shut-down\">could be shut down. \u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>A federal agency is \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/brief/news/climate-environment/trump-review-california-coastal-authority\">conducting an unusual review\u003c/a> of California’s Coastal Management Program. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, did a review of the program just two years ago. But Trump administration officials asked for a new one because they say the current version doesn’t reflect “national priorities.” \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Governor Gavin Newsom says he \u003ca href=\"https://www.kcbx.org/environment-and-energy/2026-08-10/newsom-says-he-wont-push-for-a-diablo-canyon-extension-this-year\">won’t oversee an extension\u003c/a> for the Diablo Canyon Power Plant, California’s last functioning nuclear plant.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/community-resistance-south-la-murphy-oil-drilling-site-could-be-shut-down\">After more than a decade of community resistance, a South LA oil drilling site could be shut down\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Genaro and Catalina Ventura moved to the South L.A. neighborhood of Jefferson Park more than 25 years ago. The Craftsman-style house they found was a dream — spacious, with a yard where they could garden and their children and dog could play. What they didn’t know before moving in was that just a few hundred yards behind the house is an active oil drilling site.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Genaro Ventura, a now-retired custodian for the city of L.A., worked nights. When he’d come home around 2 a.m., the smell of oil and chemicals was often strong in the air. “Since the night is quiet, there’s no traffic or smog,” Genaro Ventura told LAist in Spanish. “You can really smell the air from the drill site, and it’s a terrible odor.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Five years after the family moved in, Genaro was diagnosed with cancer in his left kidney and had to have it removed. In 2013, a brain tumor led to another surgery, and the following year another brain tumor required radiation treatment. He has to return regularly for scans. Most recently he’s developed lung cancer and is scheduled to start chemotherapy. With no family history of cancer, the Venturas suspect the illnesses are related to air pollution from the nearby drill site. And it’s not just Genaro Ventura. The family’s last dog died of cancer. Their elderly chihuahua now has cancer, too. Two of Catalina Ventura’s friends nearby were also diagnosed with cancer and recently moved away. Their son and many children in the neighborhood grew up with asthma.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, after more than a decade of \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/health/in-a-largely-black-and-latino-community-neighbors-worry-about-the-oil-wells-n-their-midst\">community organizing\u003c/a>, the Murphy drill site could be shut down. The city is considering whether to revoke E&B Natural Resource’s license to operate the site. “It is really the best chance we have ever had to see this toxic industrial site shut down and removed from our neighborhood,” longtime South L.A. resident Richard Parks said at a recent community town hall at a church down the road from the drill site. Parks is the president of the nonprofit Redeemer Community Partnership, a group that has spearheaded the shutdown effort.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In response to questions from LAist, a spokesperson for E&B emphasized the company’s compliance with regulations and said the facility “plays an important role in supplying locally produced petroleum to the Los Angeles Basin.” The spokesperson also pointed to a July \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28506372-eb-roux-analysis/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report the company commissioned from environmental consulting firm Roux Associates\u003c/a>. The report says “the administrative record contains no scientific evidence that the Murphy site jeopardizes or adversely affects public health or safety of nearby residents or workers.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After a hearing last month. the oil company now has until Aug. 23 to respond to a list of questions from Jonathan Hershey, Associate Zoning Administrator in Los Angeles. Then the public has until Sept. 25 to respond to the company’s answers to those questions. After that, the oil company will have the final word, with their last opportunity to respond to public comment set for Oct. 9. Hershey will then provide a written determination on whether or not to revoke the company’s permit to operate. He warned that his decision could take time, telling hearing attendees to “please be patient.” Once the determination is made, it can be appealed within 15 days.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12094648/californians-vow-to-fight-federal-takeover-of-coastline-for-oil-drilling\">Californians vow to fight ‘federal takeover’ of coastline for oil drilling\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>State lawmakers, Indigenous leaders, advocates and business groups gathered in Santa Monica on Monday to challenge the Trump administration’s efforts to open the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california-coast\">California coast\u003c/a> for oil drilling and other industrial projects\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The stakeholders rallied ahead of an in-person meeting held by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reviewing California’s Coastal Management Program, which speakers at the press conference considered to be an attack on California’s right to protect its coastline. “This federal administration is bent on industrializing our coast,” California’s Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot said, addressing a crowd of dozens, many of whom brandished protest signs or wore oceanic blue T-shirts with the slogan “No Federal Takeover.” “For the first time in over four decades, through Republican and Democratic presidential administrations, this is the first administration moving aggressively to expand new offshore oil drilling.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The rally and meeting come just over a month after NOAA \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12089085/trump-administration-takes-aim-at-california-coastal-protections\">began the regulatory process\u003c/a> with a notice in the Federal Register about its plans to study California’s Coastal Management Program. Following Monday’s in-person meeting, there will be opportunities for public comment at \u003ca href=\"https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/aug26/czma-public-meetings.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">virtual meetings\u003c/a> Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While critics see the move as part of the Trump administration’s broader goals to increase oil and gas production, those in the president’s cabinet say there are economic costs to coastal-protection schemes. “America must continue to lead in innovation, space exploration, and economic strength,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in May. “Obstructionist policies that delay critical national infrastructure in the name of environmental extremism are unacceptable.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kcbx.org/environment-and-energy/2026-08-10/newsom-says-he-wont-push-for-a-diablo-canyon-extension-this-year\">Gov. Newsom says he won’t push for a Diablo Canyon extension this year\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kcbx.org/tags/gavin-newsom\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>Governor Gavin Newsom\u003c/u>\u003c/a> says he won’t spearhead an extension for the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kcbx.org/tags/diablo-canyon-power-plant\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>Diablo Canyon Power Plant\u003c/u>\u003c/a>, California’s last functioning nuclear energy plant.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At a press conference on clean energy in Oakland late last week, Newsom said he’s passing the baton to whoever takes over his role at the beginning of next year. “That will be a determination made by policymakers that will be here a lot longer than I will,” Newsom said. “I got a sell-by date in five months.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In November, voters will choose either Democrat Xavier Becerra or Republican Steve Hilton to serve as governor after Newsom’s term ends in January.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The California State Legislature previously extended Diablo Canyon’s operations to the year 2030 by passing SB 846 — a bill that Newsom signed into law. An advocacy group called \u003ca href=\"https://diablocanyon2045.com/press-release-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>Diablo Canyon 2045\u003c/u>\u003c/a> responded to Newsom’s comments with a statement that said pushing the extension decision out to next year would cost more money in the long run. “Regardless of the Governor’s comment, there is still time for the legislature to uphold their commitment to affordability this session,” a press release from the group says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for PG&E, the utility that operates Diablo Canyon, sent KCBX a statement responding to Newsom’s comments. “Extending Diablo Canyon beyond 2030 this legislative session will immediately save electric customers $1.7 billion in unnecessary costs to build new power plants by 2032 as required by the CPUC’s recent 6,000-megawatt procurement order,” the statement said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The legislature only has three more weeks to pass a Diablo Canyon extension bill this year, before final recess begins on August 31.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "la-fire-survivors-say-newsom-is-trying-to-help-utilities-reduce-their-wildfire-costs-again",
"title": "LA Fire Survivors Say Newsom Is Trying to Help Utilities Reduce Their Wildfire Costs, Again",
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"headTitle": "LA Fire Survivors Say Newsom Is Trying to Help Utilities Reduce Their Wildfire Costs, Again | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you live in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a>, chances are you’ve seen the ads that say “Home insurance rates skyrocket” and “The FAIR Plan is broken.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They urge you to contact your state representative to ask them to “fix our wildfire problem to make California more affordable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those ads are connected to what Los Angeles fire survivors, consumer advocacy groups and the insurance industry say is a secretive, last-minute attempt by Gov. Gavin Newsom to help utilities reduce how much they pay for wildfires they cause.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the legislative session set to resume next week and run through the end of the month, the governor’s staff has been talking with state lawmakers about addressing challenges around wildfire recovery and rising catastrophic risk in California, a spokesperson for his office confirmed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lawmakers have not released the text of the proposals. Newsom spokesperson Anthony Martinez would not say whether the legislation will do the following, as alleged by fire survivors and a consumer advocacy group:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Limit compensation for fire victims’ pain and suffering.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Eliminate insurance companies’ right to recover wildfire costs from utilities or other corporations.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Cap attorneys’ fees, making it harder for fire survivors to get representation.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Every Fire Survivor’s Network, a group started by survivors of last year’s Eaton Fire, and Consumer Watchdog, a consumer advocacy group that focuses on insurance and other issues, say the bills would shift recovery costs from utility companies to insurance policyholders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12076327\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12076327\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/blackhomesmatter_-1-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/blackhomesmatter_-1-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/blackhomesmatter_-1-2000x1500.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/blackhomesmatter_-1-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/blackhomesmatter_-1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/blackhomesmatter_-1-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Eaton Fire disproportionately ravaged Altadena’s historic Black neighborhoods, including the home that once stood on this lot at the corner of Glenrose Avenue and West Terrace Street. \u003ccite>(Photo Courtesy:William Jenkins/AfroLA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Insurance industry representatives agree. The strange bedfellows are calling out the late political maneuvering known as “gut-and-amend,” which lawmakers use to create bills by gutting other pending bills and replacing their language for a different purpose and are meant to be fast-tracked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The groups are speaking out against the purported bill package, which appears to align with the goals of Wildfire Victims First, a campaign funded by utilities that, despite its name, has no wildfire survivors groups among its supporters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Californians deserve a government that works in the open, not behind closed doors,” said Joy Chen, leader of the Every Fire Survivor’s Network, in a press conference last week. She urged the governor to “choose democracy over corporate special interests.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an open \u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KPrBXx7Rh6rX_I8fmuJE_FZipdKQGp0ARkYyapDFP4E/edit?tab=t.cpm7mapxvld9#heading=h.btckwp8x4d9d\">letter\u003c/a> to the governor, Chen laid out how she said Newsom has, over the years, already helped utilities shift responsibility for wildfires they cause.[aside postID=news_12093383 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-WOODSIDE-FIRE-01-KQED.jpg']The state’s three major utilities, San Diego Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric, have tremendous influence in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They have what seems to be an unlimited number of names, entities and affiliates; donate to campaigns by Democrats and Republicans; and together employ hundreds of lobbyists who advocate for hundreds of bills every session. In the 2025-26 session, their donations to sitting legislators totaled more than $1.2 million, according to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/financials#giver%5B%5D=oid--10505&giver%5B%5D=oid--8938&giver%5B%5D=oid--4887&transaction_type%5B%5D=Candidate+Donations&transaction_type%5B%5D=Gift&transaction_type%5B%5D=Independent+Expenditures&transaction_type%5B%5D=Party+Committees&transaction_type%5B%5D=Sponsored+Travel&year%5B%5D=2025&year%5B%5D=2026&page=31\">CalMatters’ Digital Democracy Database\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Martinez said the discussions between the governor’s office and California lawmakers are informed by a \u003ca href=\"https://www.cawildfirefund.com/sb-254-natural-catastrophe-resilience-study\">report\u003c/a> released in April by the California Earthquake Authority, which under \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb254\">Senate Bill 254\u003c/a> was tasked with studying how the state should “responsibly and equitably allocate the burdens from natural catastrophes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That bill — rewritten so late last year that it required the Legislature \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/09/california-cap-and-trade-extension/\">to extend its session\u003c/a> — also allows utilities to shift additional wildfire costs to consumers if their costs exceed a wildfire fund created in 2019 through legislation also backed by the governor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The three major utilities paid half of the $21 billion fund. Californians paid the other half through monthly surcharges on their electric bills. Eaton Fire survivors have \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2025-08-01/this-fire-could-have-been-prevented-how-utilities-fought-removal-of-old-powerlines\">sued\u003c/a> Edison over what they say is negligence that led to the fire; the cost of claims from the fire are expected to \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2025-07-23/eaton-fire-could-wipe-out-21-billion-state-wildfire-fund-new-documents-say\">exceed what’s in the fund\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082708\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1980px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082708\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-2172244931.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1367\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-2172244931.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-2172244931-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-2172244931-1536x1060.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Governor Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference of housing & homelessness with new legislation and funding and bills signing, along with other local, state and federal leaders are gathered in San Francisco, California, United States on Sept. 19, 2024. \u003ccite>(Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Among the April report’s many recommendations is to put more money in the wildfire fund by increasing the surcharge on utility customers by $8.50 a month, bringing the total to $11 a month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nathan Click, a spokesperson for Wildfire Victims First, said the campaign is calling on lawmakers to “urgently implement” many of the conclusions in the SB 254 report, which he said “highlighted how payouts to financial middlemen — like trial attorneys, hedge funds and insurance companies — are often paid out before wildfire victims receive a single dollar for rebuilding.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Click did not answer CalMatters’ question about why there are no fire survivors groups on the list of more than 200 organizations that support the effort. Most are local chambers of commerce or business groups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CalMatters contacted nearly a dozen of the organizations. Ten did not respond or would not make their executives available for an interview.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the chief executive of one of them, Jennifer Gray Thompson, said she changed her mind about participating once she realized the coalition did not include fire victims groups. Her organization, After the Fire, which helps support leaders in communities around the country that have experienced mega fires, was briefly on the list but was removed promptly at her request, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m from Sonoma,” Thompson told CalMatters. “I’m a national advocate for fire victims. I’m definitely not on their side,” she added. Former state Sen. Bill Dodd, a Democrat whom she said did a lot of good for fire survivors when he was in office, was among those who contacted her to solicit her group’s support for the effort, according to emails she shared with CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12087362\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12087362\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260611-PGEBREAKUPPRICING-04-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260611-PGEBREAKUPPRICING-04-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260611-PGEBREAKUPPRICING-04-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260611-PGEBREAKUPPRICING-04-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A PG&E substation on Mission and 8th Streets in San Francisco on June 11, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Dodd did not return a phone call and text message from CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Council, another supporter, counts PG&E among its member businesses. Spokesperson Rufus Jeffris said the council “generally supports sensible policies and investments that reduce wildfire risk and increase community wildfire resilience and balance the diverse needs of business, consumers and residents.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Consumer Watchdog analysis of utilities’ required financial disclosures shows that 66% of the non-governmental organizations on the list have received utility-industry contributions, grants, sponsorships and more worth about $7.3 million from 2023 to 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Click called Consumer Watchdog a “shadow lobby firm for trial attorneys” and said “it should come as no surprise that they are trying to protect a system that prioritizes trial attorneys over wildfire victims.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Spokespeople for PG&E, Edison and SDG&E referred CalMatters to the Wildfire Victims First campaign regarding the campaign and the legislative proposal.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What state lawmakers are saying or not saying\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/benjamin-allen-70\">Ben Allen\u003c/a>, a Democrat from the Los Angeles area whose constituents include survivors of the Palisades Fire, attended the Friday press conference.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>Any solutions that we have have to (hold) the responsible parties accountable,\u003cstrong>”\u003c/strong> Allen said in a room full of fire survivors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Who’s responsible for the costs of wildfire recovery is important to both Allen’s current job and possibly his future one: He is chair of the Senate energy and utilities committee, and is \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/economy/2026/06/california-insurance-commissioner-top-two/\">running for\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2026/insurance-commissioner/\">insurance commissioner\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079349\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079349\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ben Allen, a California state senator, speaks during a forum for candidates for California insurance commissioner at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) in San Francisco on April 9, 2026. The event brought together candidates to discuss the state’s insurance market, including affordability and coverage challenges facing homeowners. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Allen’s spokesperson, Ben Cheever, said the senator was not available for an interview about the specifics of the legislative package.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he sent the following statement from Allen: “I will carefully review any proposal put forth to ensure we hold responsible parties accountable while meaningfully reducing risk to improve affordability. We should not simply shift around the costs consumers pay without addressing this more holistically.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fellow Democrat Sen. Sasha Renee Perez, who represents Eaton Fire survivors, said in an interview with CalMatters that if a legislative package contains the proposals fire survivors suspect they do, she would have a “tremendous issue” with them being presented at the last minute. She also said she has talked with other members of the Legislature who “are very upset with what’s taking place.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perez said she would oppose any proposal that limits non-economic damages for fire survivors: “I represent Altadena. I have a friend who lost his sister in the fire. How do you put a price tag on losing your sibling?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The senator also said she was “so frustrated and shocked” that SB 254, which started off as a bill intended to reduce profits for investor-owned utilities, ended up helping utilities instead during the last three days of last year’s session.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12093339\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12093339\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260729-POWER-HOUSE-MD-06-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260729-POWER-HOUSE-MD-06-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260729-POWER-HOUSE-MD-06-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260729-POWER-HOUSE-MD-06-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A wall of demonstration EV Chargers and smart electrical panels made by Tesla, GM and Span are on display at PG&E’s PowerHouse in San Ramon on July 30, 2026. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“That’s not the way government should work,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CalMatters also contacted several other lawmakers or their offices, especially ones who lead related committees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The following Democratic lawmakers’ offices did not respond: Assembly Speaker \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/robert-rivas-165041\">Robert Rivas\u003c/a>; Assemblymember \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/lisa-calderon-165426\">Lisa Calderon\u003c/a>, who leads the insurance committee; and Assemblymember \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/cottie-petrie-norris-165040\">Cottie Petrie-Norris\u003c/a>, who leads the utilities and energy committee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Spokespeople for Senate President Pro Tem \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/monique-limon-13069\">Monique Limon\u003c/a> and Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/josh-becker-165449\">Josh Becker\u003c/a> responded with emailed statements similar to that sent by Newsom spokesperson Martinez: “The current system is unsustainable and not working for fire survivors, utility customers, or insurance policyholders.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The insurance industry’s concerns\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Insurance industry representatives say if insurance companies can’t recover wildfire costs from utilities, also known as subrogation, they will inevitably raise premiums.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t think it’s fair to make insurance policyholders pay more to bail out utility shareholders,\u003cstrong>”\u003c/strong> said Denni Ritter, a vice president at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ritter also pushed back against the assertion by the utilities’ campaign that insurance companies usually recover their costs from utilities before paying out claims to their policyholders: “It’s not like AAA goes, ‘OK, we’ll pay you once we’ve recovered from the utilities’.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12068294\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12068294\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251222-PGEUpdates-18-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251222-PGEUpdates-18-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251222-PGEUpdates-18-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251222-PGEUpdates-18-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">PG&E employees work to repair a substation on Mission and 8th Streets in San Francisco on Dec. 22, 2025, after a fire at the site over the weekend contributed to a major citywide power outage. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Rex Frazier is president of the Personal Insurance Federation of California, which represents the largest insurers operating in the state. He said this campaign is the latest attempt by utilities to chip away at their industry’s possible liability for wildfires. Sometimes, the insurance industry has had conversations with utilities, he said. That’s not happening this time, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now he, like other Californians, is seeing the ads from the Wildfire Victims First campaign, whose website says it’s funded by PG&E, SDG&E and SCE shareholders and three other organizations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re trying to understand why they’re talking about the insurance market,” Frazier said. “We can’t get a clear answer about what they have in mind.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Jeanne Kuang contributed reporting.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/economy/2026/07/wildfire-liability-battle/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Survivors, insurance industry slam purported last-minute bills to shift wildfire costs away from utilities.",
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"title": "LA Fire Survivors Say Newsom Is Trying to Help Utilities Reduce Their Wildfire Costs, Again | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you live in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a>, chances are you’ve seen the ads that say “Home insurance rates skyrocket” and “The FAIR Plan is broken.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They urge you to contact your state representative to ask them to “fix our wildfire problem to make California more affordable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those ads are connected to what Los Angeles fire survivors, consumer advocacy groups and the insurance industry say is a secretive, last-minute attempt by Gov. Gavin Newsom to help utilities reduce how much they pay for wildfires they cause.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the legislative session set to resume next week and run through the end of the month, the governor’s staff has been talking with state lawmakers about addressing challenges around wildfire recovery and rising catastrophic risk in California, a spokesperson for his office confirmed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lawmakers have not released the text of the proposals. Newsom spokesperson Anthony Martinez would not say whether the legislation will do the following, as alleged by fire survivors and a consumer advocacy group:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Limit compensation for fire victims’ pain and suffering.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Eliminate insurance companies’ right to recover wildfire costs from utilities or other corporations.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Cap attorneys’ fees, making it harder for fire survivors to get representation.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Every Fire Survivor’s Network, a group started by survivors of last year’s Eaton Fire, and Consumer Watchdog, a consumer advocacy group that focuses on insurance and other issues, say the bills would shift recovery costs from utility companies to insurance policyholders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12076327\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12076327\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/blackhomesmatter_-1-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/blackhomesmatter_-1-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/blackhomesmatter_-1-2000x1500.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/blackhomesmatter_-1-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/blackhomesmatter_-1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/blackhomesmatter_-1-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Eaton Fire disproportionately ravaged Altadena’s historic Black neighborhoods, including the home that once stood on this lot at the corner of Glenrose Avenue and West Terrace Street. \u003ccite>(Photo Courtesy:William Jenkins/AfroLA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Insurance industry representatives agree. The strange bedfellows are calling out the late political maneuvering known as “gut-and-amend,” which lawmakers use to create bills by gutting other pending bills and replacing their language for a different purpose and are meant to be fast-tracked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The groups are speaking out against the purported bill package, which appears to align with the goals of Wildfire Victims First, a campaign funded by utilities that, despite its name, has no wildfire survivors groups among its supporters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Californians deserve a government that works in the open, not behind closed doors,” said Joy Chen, leader of the Every Fire Survivor’s Network, in a press conference last week. She urged the governor to “choose democracy over corporate special interests.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an open \u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KPrBXx7Rh6rX_I8fmuJE_FZipdKQGp0ARkYyapDFP4E/edit?tab=t.cpm7mapxvld9#heading=h.btckwp8x4d9d\">letter\u003c/a> to the governor, Chen laid out how she said Newsom has, over the years, already helped utilities shift responsibility for wildfires they cause.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The state’s three major utilities, San Diego Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric, have tremendous influence in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They have what seems to be an unlimited number of names, entities and affiliates; donate to campaigns by Democrats and Republicans; and together employ hundreds of lobbyists who advocate for hundreds of bills every session. In the 2025-26 session, their donations to sitting legislators totaled more than $1.2 million, according to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/financials#giver%5B%5D=oid--10505&giver%5B%5D=oid--8938&giver%5B%5D=oid--4887&transaction_type%5B%5D=Candidate+Donations&transaction_type%5B%5D=Gift&transaction_type%5B%5D=Independent+Expenditures&transaction_type%5B%5D=Party+Committees&transaction_type%5B%5D=Sponsored+Travel&year%5B%5D=2025&year%5B%5D=2026&page=31\">CalMatters’ Digital Democracy Database\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Martinez said the discussions between the governor’s office and California lawmakers are informed by a \u003ca href=\"https://www.cawildfirefund.com/sb-254-natural-catastrophe-resilience-study\">report\u003c/a> released in April by the California Earthquake Authority, which under \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb254\">Senate Bill 254\u003c/a> was tasked with studying how the state should “responsibly and equitably allocate the burdens from natural catastrophes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That bill — rewritten so late last year that it required the Legislature \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/09/california-cap-and-trade-extension/\">to extend its session\u003c/a> — also allows utilities to shift additional wildfire costs to consumers if their costs exceed a wildfire fund created in 2019 through legislation also backed by the governor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The three major utilities paid half of the $21 billion fund. Californians paid the other half through monthly surcharges on their electric bills. Eaton Fire survivors have \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2025-08-01/this-fire-could-have-been-prevented-how-utilities-fought-removal-of-old-powerlines\">sued\u003c/a> Edison over what they say is negligence that led to the fire; the cost of claims from the fire are expected to \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2025-07-23/eaton-fire-could-wipe-out-21-billion-state-wildfire-fund-new-documents-say\">exceed what’s in the fund\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082708\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1980px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082708\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-2172244931.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1367\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-2172244931.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-2172244931-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-2172244931-1536x1060.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Governor Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference of housing & homelessness with new legislation and funding and bills signing, along with other local, state and federal leaders are gathered in San Francisco, California, United States on Sept. 19, 2024. \u003ccite>(Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Among the April report’s many recommendations is to put more money in the wildfire fund by increasing the surcharge on utility customers by $8.50 a month, bringing the total to $11 a month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nathan Click, a spokesperson for Wildfire Victims First, said the campaign is calling on lawmakers to “urgently implement” many of the conclusions in the SB 254 report, which he said “highlighted how payouts to financial middlemen — like trial attorneys, hedge funds and insurance companies — are often paid out before wildfire victims receive a single dollar for rebuilding.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Click did not answer CalMatters’ question about why there are no fire survivors groups on the list of more than 200 organizations that support the effort. Most are local chambers of commerce or business groups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CalMatters contacted nearly a dozen of the organizations. Ten did not respond or would not make their executives available for an interview.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the chief executive of one of them, Jennifer Gray Thompson, said she changed her mind about participating once she realized the coalition did not include fire victims groups. Her organization, After the Fire, which helps support leaders in communities around the country that have experienced mega fires, was briefly on the list but was removed promptly at her request, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m from Sonoma,” Thompson told CalMatters. “I’m a national advocate for fire victims. I’m definitely not on their side,” she added. Former state Sen. Bill Dodd, a Democrat whom she said did a lot of good for fire survivors when he was in office, was among those who contacted her to solicit her group’s support for the effort, according to emails she shared with CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12087362\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12087362\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260611-PGEBREAKUPPRICING-04-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260611-PGEBREAKUPPRICING-04-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260611-PGEBREAKUPPRICING-04-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260611-PGEBREAKUPPRICING-04-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A PG&E substation on Mission and 8th Streets in San Francisco on June 11, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Dodd did not return a phone call and text message from CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Council, another supporter, counts PG&E among its member businesses. Spokesperson Rufus Jeffris said the council “generally supports sensible policies and investments that reduce wildfire risk and increase community wildfire resilience and balance the diverse needs of business, consumers and residents.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Consumer Watchdog analysis of utilities’ required financial disclosures shows that 66% of the non-governmental organizations on the list have received utility-industry contributions, grants, sponsorships and more worth about $7.3 million from 2023 to 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Click called Consumer Watchdog a “shadow lobby firm for trial attorneys” and said “it should come as no surprise that they are trying to protect a system that prioritizes trial attorneys over wildfire victims.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Spokespeople for PG&E, Edison and SDG&E referred CalMatters to the Wildfire Victims First campaign regarding the campaign and the legislative proposal.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What state lawmakers are saying or not saying\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/benjamin-allen-70\">Ben Allen\u003c/a>, a Democrat from the Los Angeles area whose constituents include survivors of the Palisades Fire, attended the Friday press conference.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>Any solutions that we have have to (hold) the responsible parties accountable,\u003cstrong>”\u003c/strong> Allen said in a room full of fire survivors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Who’s responsible for the costs of wildfire recovery is important to both Allen’s current job and possibly his future one: He is chair of the Senate energy and utilities committee, and is \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/economy/2026/06/california-insurance-commissioner-top-two/\">running for\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2026/insurance-commissioner/\">insurance commissioner\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079349\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079349\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ben Allen, a California state senator, speaks during a forum for candidates for California insurance commissioner at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) in San Francisco on April 9, 2026. The event brought together candidates to discuss the state’s insurance market, including affordability and coverage challenges facing homeowners. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Allen’s spokesperson, Ben Cheever, said the senator was not available for an interview about the specifics of the legislative package.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he sent the following statement from Allen: “I will carefully review any proposal put forth to ensure we hold responsible parties accountable while meaningfully reducing risk to improve affordability. We should not simply shift around the costs consumers pay without addressing this more holistically.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fellow Democrat Sen. Sasha Renee Perez, who represents Eaton Fire survivors, said in an interview with CalMatters that if a legislative package contains the proposals fire survivors suspect they do, she would have a “tremendous issue” with them being presented at the last minute. She also said she has talked with other members of the Legislature who “are very upset with what’s taking place.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perez said she would oppose any proposal that limits non-economic damages for fire survivors: “I represent Altadena. I have a friend who lost his sister in the fire. How do you put a price tag on losing your sibling?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The senator also said she was “so frustrated and shocked” that SB 254, which started off as a bill intended to reduce profits for investor-owned utilities, ended up helping utilities instead during the last three days of last year’s session.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12093339\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12093339\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260729-POWER-HOUSE-MD-06-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260729-POWER-HOUSE-MD-06-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260729-POWER-HOUSE-MD-06-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260729-POWER-HOUSE-MD-06-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A wall of demonstration EV Chargers and smart electrical panels made by Tesla, GM and Span are on display at PG&E’s PowerHouse in San Ramon on July 30, 2026. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“That’s not the way government should work,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CalMatters also contacted several other lawmakers or their offices, especially ones who lead related committees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The following Democratic lawmakers’ offices did not respond: Assembly Speaker \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/robert-rivas-165041\">Robert Rivas\u003c/a>; Assemblymember \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/lisa-calderon-165426\">Lisa Calderon\u003c/a>, who leads the insurance committee; and Assemblymember \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/cottie-petrie-norris-165040\">Cottie Petrie-Norris\u003c/a>, who leads the utilities and energy committee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Spokespeople for Senate President Pro Tem \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/monique-limon-13069\">Monique Limon\u003c/a> and Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/josh-becker-165449\">Josh Becker\u003c/a> responded with emailed statements similar to that sent by Newsom spokesperson Martinez: “The current system is unsustainable and not working for fire survivors, utility customers, or insurance policyholders.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The insurance industry’s concerns\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Insurance industry representatives say if insurance companies can’t recover wildfire costs from utilities, also known as subrogation, they will inevitably raise premiums.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t think it’s fair to make insurance policyholders pay more to bail out utility shareholders,\u003cstrong>”\u003c/strong> said Denni Ritter, a vice president at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ritter also pushed back against the assertion by the utilities’ campaign that insurance companies usually recover their costs from utilities before paying out claims to their policyholders: “It’s not like AAA goes, ‘OK, we’ll pay you once we’ve recovered from the utilities’.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12068294\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12068294\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251222-PGEUpdates-18-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251222-PGEUpdates-18-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251222-PGEUpdates-18-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251222-PGEUpdates-18-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">PG&E employees work to repair a substation on Mission and 8th Streets in San Francisco on Dec. 22, 2025, after a fire at the site over the weekend contributed to a major citywide power outage. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Rex Frazier is president of the Personal Insurance Federation of California, which represents the largest insurers operating in the state. He said this campaign is the latest attempt by utilities to chip away at their industry’s possible liability for wildfires. Sometimes, the insurance industry has had conversations with utilities, he said. That’s not happening this time, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now he, like other Californians, is seeing the ads from the Wildfire Victims First campaign, whose website says it’s funded by PG&E, SDG&E and SCE shareholders and three other organizations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re trying to understand why they’re talking about the insurance market,” Frazier said. “We can’t get a clear answer about what they have in mind.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Jeanne Kuang contributed reporting.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/economy/2026/07/wildfire-liability-battle/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>A hot and fresh battle is cooking in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/santa-clara\">Santa Clara\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>People are calling it doughnut wars. Dueling \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13967902/eizels-bakery-pop-up-donuts-san-jose\">doughnuts\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Randy’s Donuts, the famed doughnut shop started in Inglewood in Southern California and known for its iconic 32-foot doughnut-shaped rooftop sign, has expanded into Northern California, with a grand opening event held for its first Bay Area franchise on Friday in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12071882/7-things-to-know-about-the-complicated-relationship-between-santa-clara-and-the-49ers\">Santa Clara\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The mood was celebratory at Randy’s at 2595 Homestead Road, with hundreds of customers lining up in the early morning hours to partake in the festivities, which included some free samples, swag giveaways and music, under the shadow of an inflatable giant doughnut. \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/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-7-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093476\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-7-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-7-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-7-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Doughnuts are seen in the glass display case at Randy’s Donuts in Santa Clara on July 31, 2026. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>The bright orange shop is offering about 50 varieties of handmade doughnuts, including classic glazed raised, chocolate or maple Long Johns, and other spins such as mango Tajin and matcha tea, while some have toppings like Oreos, Fruity Pebbles, and s’mores. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ausaf Masud, one of three co-owners of the new franchise under a company called Sweet Rings LLC, said his partners hope to open about five total Randy’s locations across the Bay Area in due time, and the opening on Friday was a good start. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The line is across two blocks right now. I think we have 400 people right now waiting in the line,” Masud said. “It’s amazing to see the love.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But it’s the location of Randy’s that has caused a yeast-like raising of eyebrows among armies of local doughnut eaters. It’s just across the street from Stan’s Donuts, a Santa Clara staple opened in 1959, still run by the family of the original founder. \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-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12093478\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-9-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093478\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-9-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-9-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-9-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Shawn Lemelle and his aunt Sheila Lemelle proudly display their Randy’s Donuts purchase during a grand opening event at the brand’s new location in Santa Clara on July 31, 2026. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\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=\"12093473\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-3-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093473\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-3-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-3-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-3-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Customers flood the new Randy’s Donuts location in Santa Clara during a grand opening event on July 31, 2026. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The cash-only establishment also makes its doughnuts by hand, many of which are formed right in front of a large plate-glass window in view of customers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Their most popular offering is a raised glazed, along with their rotating selection of buttermilk doughnuts and old-fashioneds. The shop offers counter service for those who have a little time to sit and enjoy a pillowy pastry and a coffee on site. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The shop is regularly bustling, and often has a line that starts along the wall inside and wends its way down the shopping center sidewalk. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On this particular Friday, a very popular day for the business typically, owner Julie Clark said the line was four to five times as long as usual. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s so heartwarming; it’s overwhelming, actually. And it just makes us so happy as a staff and as a business to see all the regulars, and we’ve seen so many today, as well as new people that we’re getting all the time,” Clark said. “It’s just been the biggest blessing. We are so fortunate.”\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/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-2-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093472\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-2-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-2-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-2-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Julie Clark, the owner of Stan’s Donuts in Santa Clara, poses for a photo in front of her shop and a long line of customers on July 31, 2026. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Clark said her shop’s menu is a bit smaller on purpose. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re old school. We stick to the classics,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some longtime customers of Stan’s showed up on Friday just to ensure the shop was busy on the day of Randy’s grand opening. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>James Stewart lives nearby and said he comes to Stan’s about once a week, and has been a customer for about 40 years. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s just kind of a more mom-and-pop shop. I think Randy’s choosing that location was strategic, so I’m here to support Stan’s,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He said he hopes people will try out Stan’s and Randy’s to make a comparison. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Stan’s will win every time,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Masud, of Randy’s, insisted he wasn’t trying to start a doughnut standoff. He said he and his partners chose the location for the size of its kitchen, as they plan to make doughnuts for future locations at the Santa Clara shop, and its drive-thru, which is planned to open later this year. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Masud even said he and his family live in the area and have been fans of Stan’s before getting into the doughnut business themselves. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There’s nothing against anyone. It’s a business. You know, once in a while you do get competitors,” he said. “It’s just like Shell and Chevron having stations next to each other.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Perhaps no one was more excited than Avery St. Lawrence, who said she loves waking up early, waiting in lines and sweet things. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She just moved to Santa Clara a week ago from Michigan, and plans to attend \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12084071/bay-areas-first-medical-school-in-over-100-years-could-open-in-2030\">Santa Clara University\u003c/a> School of Law soon. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On Friday morning, she waited in two long lines to try both Randy’s and Stan’s for the first time, and did a taste test. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This feels a lot fluffier,” she said outside of Stan’s, holding one of their glazed raised doughnuts. \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/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-6-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093475\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-6-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-6-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-6-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Avery St. Lawrence makes doughnut decisions while ordering at her doughnut order during a grand opening event at Randy’s Donuts in Santa Clara on July 31, 2026. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>One bite later: “This one is better. This one’s way better.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mark Kelegian, the CEO of Randy’s Donuts brand, said the company is not targeting Stan’s or its customers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“No, that’s all manufactured. There’s no doughnut war,” he said. “The fact that there’s a doughnut shop across the street or a block away or two blocks away, there always is…There’s generally enough business for everyone.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He said many people might initially find out about Randy’s because of its giant doughnut sign, which was prominently featured in the \u003cem>Iron Man 2\u003c/em> movie and other media, but they come back for the brand’s sweet treats. \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-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12093543\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-10_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093543\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-10_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-10_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-10_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Stan’s Donuts employee forms doughnuts in the front window of the shop during a busy Friday morning in Santa Clara on July 31, 2026. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\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=\"12093471\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-1-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093471\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-1-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-1-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-1-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rowena Chu and her son Zachary Bacher eat glazed doughnuts at the counter of crowded Stan’s Donuts in Santa Clara on July 31, 2026. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Our doughnuts are unique, and we think they’re the best in the world,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some customers on Friday said there is room in their hearts for doughnuts from both operations, and were celebrating the increasing number of purveyors in town. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s just doughnuts,” Crystal Camarena, of Sunnyvale, said. “Be happy, eat doughnuts, all the doughnuts.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A hot and fresh battle is cooking in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/santa-clara\">Santa Clara\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>People are calling it doughnut wars. Dueling \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13967902/eizels-bakery-pop-up-donuts-san-jose\">doughnuts\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>People are calling it doughnut wars. Dueling \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13967902/eizels-bakery-pop-up-donuts-san-jose\">doughnuts\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Randy’s Donuts, the famed doughnut shop started in Inglewood in Southern California and known for its iconic 32-foot doughnut-shaped rooftop sign, has expanded into Northern California, with a grand opening event held for its first Bay Area franchise on Friday in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12071882/7-things-to-know-about-the-complicated-relationship-between-santa-clara-and-the-49ers\">Santa Clara\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The mood was celebratory at Randy’s at 2595 Homestead Road, with hundreds of customers lining up in the early morning hours to partake in the festivities, which included some free samples, swag giveaways and music, under the shadow of an inflatable giant doughnut. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The mood was celebratory at Randy’s at 2595 Homestead Road, with hundreds of customers lining up in the early morning hours to partake in the festivities, which included some free samples, swag giveaways and music, under the shadow of an inflatable giant doughnut. \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/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-7-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093476\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-7-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-7-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-7-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\">Doughnuts are seen in the glass display case at Randy’s Donuts in Santa Clara on July 31, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The bright orange shop is offering about 50 varieties of handmade doughnuts, including classic glazed raised, chocolate or maple Long Johns, and other spins such as mango Tajin and matcha tea, while some have toppings like Oreos, Fruity Pebbles, and s’mores. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The bright orange shop is offering about 50 varieties of handmade doughnuts, including classic glazed raised, chocolate or maple Long Johns, and other spins such as mango Tajin and matcha tea, while some have toppings like Oreos, Fruity Pebbles, and s’mores. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Ausaf Masud, one of three co-owners of the new franchise under a company called Sweet Rings LLC, said his partners hope to open about five total Randy’s locations across the Bay Area in due time, and the opening on Friday was a good start. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The line is across two blocks right now. I think we have 400 people right now waiting in the line,” Masud said. “It’s amazing to see the love.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But it’s the location of Randy’s that has caused a yeast-like raising of eyebrows among armies of local doughnut eaters. It’s just across the street from Stan’s Donuts, a Santa Clara staple opened in 1959, still run by the family of the original founder. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The cash-only establishment also makes its doughnuts by hand, many of which are formed right in front of a large plate-glass window in view of customers. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Their most popular offering is a raised glazed, along with their rotating selection of buttermilk doughnuts and old-fashioneds. The shop offers counter service for those who have a little time to sit and enjoy a pillowy pastry and a coffee on site. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On this particular Friday, a very popular day for the business typically, owner Julie Clark said the line was four to five times as long as usual. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s so heartwarming; it’s overwhelming, actually. And it just makes us so happy as a staff and as a business to see all the regulars, and we’ve seen so many today, as well as new people that we’re getting all the time,” Clark said. “It’s just been the biggest blessing. We are so fortunate.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Clark said her shop’s menu is a bit smaller on purpose. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We’re old school. We stick to the classics,” she said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Some longtime customers of Stan’s showed up on Friday just to ensure the shop was busy on the day of Randy’s grand opening. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>James Stewart lives nearby and said he comes to Stan’s about once a week, and has been a customer for about 40 years. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s just kind of a more mom-and-pop shop. I think Randy’s choosing that location was strategic, so I’m here to support Stan’s,” he said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He said he hopes people will try out Stan’s and Randy’s to make a comparison. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Stan’s will win every time,” he said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Masud, of Randy’s, insisted he wasn’t trying to start a doughnut standoff. He said he and his partners chose the location for the size of its kitchen, as they plan to make doughnuts for future locations at the Santa Clara shop, and its drive-thru, which is planned to open later this year. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Masud even said he and his family live in the area and have been fans of Stan’s before getting into the doughnut business themselves. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“There’s nothing against anyone. It’s a business. You know, once in a while you do get competitors,” he said. “It’s just like Shell and Chevron having stations next to each other.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Perhaps no one was more excited than Avery St. Lawrence, who said she loves waking up early, waiting in lines and sweet things. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She just moved to Santa Clara a week ago from Michigan, and plans to attend \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12084071/bay-areas-first-medical-school-in-over-100-years-could-open-in-2030\">Santa Clara University\u003c/a> School of Law soon. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On Friday morning, she waited in two long lines to try both Randy’s and Stan’s for the first time, and did a taste test. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This feels a lot fluffier,” she said outside of Stan’s, holding one of their glazed raised doughnuts. \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/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-6-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093475\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-6-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-6-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-6-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\">Avery St. Lawrence makes doughnut decisions while ordering at her doughnut order during a grand opening event at Randy’s Donuts in Santa Clara on July 31, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>One bite later: “This one is better. This one’s way better.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Mark Kelegian, the CEO of Randy’s Donuts brand, said the company is not targeting Stan’s or its customers.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“No, that’s all manufactured. There’s no doughnut war,” he said. “The fact that there’s a doughnut shop across the street or a block away or two blocks away, there always is…There’s generally enough business for everyone.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He said many people might initially find out about Randy’s because of its giant doughnut sign, which was prominently featured in the \u003cem>Iron Man 2\u003c/em> movie and other media, but they come back for the brand’s sweet treats. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s just doughnuts,” Crystal Camarena, of Sunnyvale, said. “Be happy, eat doughnuts, all the doughnuts.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A hot and fresh battle is cooking in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/santa-clara\">Santa Clara\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>People are calling it doughnut wars. Dueling \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13967902/eizels-bakery-pop-up-donuts-san-jose\">doughnuts\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Randy’s Donuts, the famed doughnut shop started in Inglewood in Southern California and known for its iconic 32-foot doughnut-shaped rooftop sign, has expanded into Northern California, with a grand opening event held for its first Bay Area franchise on Friday in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12071882/7-things-to-know-about-the-complicated-relationship-between-santa-clara-and-the-49ers\">Santa Clara\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The mood was celebratory at Randy’s at 2595 Homestead Road, with hundreds of customers lining up in the early morning hours to partake in the festivities, which included some free samples, swag giveaways and music, under the shadow of an inflatable giant doughnut. \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/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-7-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093476\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-7-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-7-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-7-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Doughnuts are seen in the glass display case at Randy’s Donuts in Santa Clara on July 31, 2026. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>The bright orange shop is offering about 50 varieties of handmade doughnuts, including classic glazed raised, chocolate or maple Long Johns, and other spins such as mango Tajin and matcha tea, while some have toppings like Oreos, Fruity Pebbles, and s’mores. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ausaf Masud, one of three co-owners of the new franchise under a company called Sweet Rings LLC, said his partners hope to open about five total Randy’s locations across the Bay Area in due time, and the opening on Friday was a good start. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The line is across two blocks right now. I think we have 400 people right now waiting in the line,” Masud said. “It’s amazing to see the love.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But it’s the location of Randy’s that has caused a yeast-like raising of eyebrows among armies of local doughnut eaters. It’s just across the street from Stan’s Donuts, a Santa Clara staple opened in 1959, still run by the family of the original founder. \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-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12093478\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-9-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093478\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-9-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-9-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-9-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Shawn Lemelle and his aunt Sheila Lemelle proudly display their Randy’s Donuts purchase during a grand opening event at the brand’s new location in Santa Clara on July 31, 2026. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\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=\"12093473\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-3-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093473\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-3-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-3-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-3-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Customers flood the new Randy’s Donuts location in Santa Clara during a grand opening event on July 31, 2026. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The cash-only establishment also makes its doughnuts by hand, many of which are formed right in front of a large plate-glass window in view of customers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Their most popular offering is a raised glazed, along with their rotating selection of buttermilk doughnuts and old-fashioneds. The shop offers counter service for those who have a little time to sit and enjoy a pillowy pastry and a coffee on site. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The shop is regularly bustling, and often has a line that starts along the wall inside and wends its way down the shopping center sidewalk. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On this particular Friday, a very popular day for the business typically, owner Julie Clark said the line was four to five times as long as usual. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s so heartwarming; it’s overwhelming, actually. And it just makes us so happy as a staff and as a business to see all the regulars, and we’ve seen so many today, as well as new people that we’re getting all the time,” Clark said. “It’s just been the biggest blessing. We are so fortunate.”\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/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-2-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093472\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-2-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-2-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-2-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Julie Clark, the owner of Stan’s Donuts in Santa Clara, poses for a photo in front of her shop and a long line of customers on July 31, 2026. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Clark said her shop’s menu is a bit smaller on purpose. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re old school. We stick to the classics,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some longtime customers of Stan’s showed up on Friday just to ensure the shop was busy on the day of Randy’s grand opening. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>James Stewart lives nearby and said he comes to Stan’s about once a week, and has been a customer for about 40 years. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s just kind of a more mom-and-pop shop. I think Randy’s choosing that location was strategic, so I’m here to support Stan’s,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He said he hopes people will try out Stan’s and Randy’s to make a comparison. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Stan’s will win every time,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Masud, of Randy’s, insisted he wasn’t trying to start a doughnut standoff. He said he and his partners chose the location for the size of its kitchen, as they plan to make doughnuts for future locations at the Santa Clara shop, and its drive-thru, which is planned to open later this year. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Masud even said he and his family live in the area and have been fans of Stan’s before getting into the doughnut business themselves. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There’s nothing against anyone. It’s a business. You know, once in a while you do get competitors,” he said. “It’s just like Shell and Chevron having stations next to each other.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Perhaps no one was more excited than Avery St. Lawrence, who said she loves waking up early, waiting in lines and sweet things. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She just moved to Santa Clara a week ago from Michigan, and plans to attend \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12084071/bay-areas-first-medical-school-in-over-100-years-could-open-in-2030\">Santa Clara University\u003c/a> School of Law soon. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On Friday morning, she waited in two long lines to try both Randy’s and Stan’s for the first time, and did a taste test. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This feels a lot fluffier,” she said outside of Stan’s, holding one of their glazed raised doughnuts. \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/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-6-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093475\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-6-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-6-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-6-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Avery St. Lawrence makes doughnut decisions while ordering at her doughnut order during a grand opening event at Randy’s Donuts in Santa Clara on July 31, 2026. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>One bite later: “This one is better. This one’s way better.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mark Kelegian, the CEO of Randy’s Donuts brand, said the company is not targeting Stan’s or its customers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“No, that’s all manufactured. There’s no doughnut war,” he said. “The fact that there’s a doughnut shop across the street or a block away or two blocks away, there always is…There’s generally enough business for everyone.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He said many people might initially find out about Randy’s because of its giant doughnut sign, which was prominently featured in the \u003cem>Iron Man 2\u003c/em> movie and other media, but they come back for the brand’s sweet treats. \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-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12093543\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-10_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093543\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-10_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-10_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-10_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Stan’s Donuts employee forms doughnuts in the front window of the shop during a busy Friday morning in Santa Clara on July 31, 2026. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\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=\"12093471\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-1-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093471\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-1-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-1-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260731-RANDYSDONUTS-JG-1-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rowena Chu and her son Zachary Bacher eat glazed doughnuts at the counter of crowded Stan’s Donuts in Santa Clara on July 31, 2026. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Our doughnuts are unique, and we think they’re the best in the world,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some customers on Friday said there is room in their hearts for doughnuts from both operations, and were celebrating the increasing number of purveyors in town. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s just doughnuts,” Crystal Camarena, of Sunnyvale, said. “Be happy, eat doughnuts, all the doughnuts.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "drug-shows-some-promise-for-people-suffering-from-valley-fever",
"title": "Drug Shows Some Promise for People Suffering From Valley Fever",
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"headTitle": "Drug Shows Some Promise for People Suffering From Valley Fever | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories on Thursday, July 30, 2026\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>Valley fever cases continue to climb across California. The fungal disease is showing up in places where doctors may not expect it. And now a new study suggests an experimental drug could offer hope for people with the most severe form of the illness. \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>At this week’s LA Police Commissioners meeting, \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/criminal-justice/unlawful-conduct-by-immigration-officers\">a report documented potential misconduct\u003c/a> by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers operating in the city. \u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">New drug could help people affected by Valley fever\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>California’s been experiencing \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2025/09/24/nx-s1-5518201/california-is-seeing-a-spike-in-cases-of-valley-fever\">a record number of cases of Valley Fever.\u003c/a> It’s a fungal infection caused by breathing in spores that live in soil. Its most severe form can be deadly or require lifelong treatment. But now, a new drug is showing promise against the most severe cases of the illness.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Dr. Fariba Donovan is an associate professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine Valley Fever Center for Excellence. She’s \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42475691/\">studying whether Olorofim\u003c/a> can help people with severe symptoms. “Patients have intact immune systems and the disease is just an uncomplicated pneumonia. Sometimes we don’t even consider medical treatment, but we have to diagnose the patients and give them reassurance that post-immune response will take over the disease and they don’t necessarily need an antifungal treatment. However, sometimes when patients develop severe disease such as meningitis, they do need treatment, and all of those medications are suppressing the growth of the fungus, but they don’t eliminate the fungus,” she said. “Olorofim is blocking the RNA and DNA synthesis, and by doing so, blocks the protein synthesis, and technically can eliminate the fungus. So we think that actually by using this medication, that has very minimal side effects, potentially at one point, although we are not there yet. We don’t have enough data to say that potentially we can give the patient medication for a period of time and then stop it and patient should be okay.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Donovan said more research is being done about the potential benefits of Olorofim, and hopefully, they can eventually receive approval from the Food and Drug Administration.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/criminal-justice/unlawful-conduct-by-immigration-officers\">Reports of possible unlawful conduct by immigration officers increased in June, LAPD says\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A year ago at this time, the streets of Los Angeles and other American cities were the sites of highly visible, large-scale immigration raids. While those scenes have died down, immigration enforcement remains more quietly active.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal data show Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-07-23/ice-detentions-spiked-in-june-targeting-immigrants-with-no-criminal-records-new-data-show\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>more people \u003c/u>\u003c/a>in June, at 43,000, than in any month since January 2025. Locally, Los Angeles Police Department officials say June had the highest tally of potential unlawful conduct by federal immigration officers. The 12 incidents investigated mark the most since the department began reporting the data in March.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>German Hurtado, LAPD immigration affairs liaison, said in an interview that he noticed the uptick of reported immigration enforcement incidents, but could not say what caused the increase. He said the increase seen in June might be reflective of the department’s efforts to capture more of the potential issues. “We’re finding better ways to improve how to capture these incidents,” Hurtado said. “It could be a combination of everything, but I did see that it was a large increase.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In February, \u003ca href=\"https://mayor.lacity.gov/sites/g/files/wph2066/files/2026-02/Executive%20Directive%20No.%2017%20-%20Protecting%20Angelenos%20from%20Ongoing%20Dangerous%20Federal%20Immigration.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mayor Karen Bass\u003c/a> issued a directive requiring the reporting. Police commissioners approved the most recent report at their meeting Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>California’s been experiencing \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2025/09/24/nx-s1-5518201/california-is-seeing-a-spike-in-cases-of-valley-fever\">a record number of cases of Valley Fever.\u003c/a> It’s a fungal infection caused by breathing in spores that live in soil. Its most severe form can be deadly or require lifelong treatment. But now, a new drug is showing promise against the most severe cases of the illness.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Dr. Fariba Donovan is an associate professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine Valley Fever Center for Excellence. She’s \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42475691/\">studying whether Olorofim\u003c/a> can help people with severe symptoms. “Patients have intact immune systems and the disease is just an uncomplicated pneumonia. Sometimes we don’t even consider medical treatment, but we have to diagnose the patients and give them reassurance that post-immune response will take over the disease and they don’t necessarily need an antifungal treatment. However, sometimes when patients develop severe disease such as meningitis, they do need treatment, and all of those medications are suppressing the growth of the fungus, but they don’t eliminate the fungus,” she said. “Olorofim is blocking the RNA and DNA synthesis, and by doing so, blocks the protein synthesis, and technically can eliminate the fungus. So we think that actually by using this medication, that has very minimal side effects, potentially at one point, although we are not there yet. We don’t have enough data to say that potentially we can give the patient medication for a period of time and then stop it and patient should be okay.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Dr. Fariba Donovan is an associate professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine Valley Fever Center for Excellence. She’s \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42475691/\">studying whether Olorofim\u003c/a> can help people with severe symptoms. “Patients have intact immune systems and the disease is just an uncomplicated pneumonia. Sometimes we don’t even consider medical treatment, but we have to diagnose the patients and give them reassurance that post-immune response will take over the disease and they don’t necessarily need an antifungal treatment. However, sometimes when patients develop severe disease such as meningitis, they do need treatment, and all of those medications are suppressing the growth of the fungus, but they don’t eliminate the fungus,” she said. “Olorofim is blocking the RNA and DNA synthesis, and by doing so, blocks the protein synthesis, and technically can eliminate the fungus. So we think that actually by using this medication, that has very minimal side effects, potentially at one point, although we are not there yet. We don’t have enough data to say that potentially we can give the patient medication for a period of time and then stop it and patient should be okay.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Donovan said more research is being done about the potential benefits of Olorofim, and hopefully, they can eventually receive approval from the Food and Drug Administration.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/criminal-justice/unlawful-conduct-by-immigration-officers\">Reports of possible unlawful conduct by immigration officers increased in June, LAPD says\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A year ago at this time, the streets of Los Angeles and other American cities were the sites of highly visible, large-scale immigration raids. While those scenes have died down, immigration enforcement remains more quietly active.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Federal data show Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-07-23/ice-detentions-spiked-in-june-targeting-immigrants-with-no-criminal-records-new-data-show\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>more people \u003c/u>\u003c/a>in June, at 43,000, than in any month since January 2025. Locally, Los Angeles Police Department officials say June had the highest tally of potential unlawful conduct by federal immigration officers. The 12 incidents investigated mark the most since the department began reporting the data in March.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>German Hurtado, LAPD immigration affairs liaison, said in an interview that he noticed the uptick of reported immigration enforcement incidents, but could not say what caused the increase. He said the increase seen in June might be reflective of the department’s efforts to capture more of the potential issues. “We’re finding better ways to improve how to capture these incidents,” Hurtado said. “It could be a combination of everything, but I did see that it was a large increase.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In February, \u003ca href=\"https://mayor.lacity.gov/sites/g/files/wph2066/files/2026-02/Executive%20Directive%20No.%2017%20-%20Protecting%20Angelenos%20from%20Ongoing%20Dangerous%20Federal%20Immigration.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mayor Karen Bass\u003c/a> issued a directive requiring the reporting. Police commissioners approved the most recent report at their meeting Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories on Thursday, July 30, 2026\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>Valley fever cases continue to climb across California. The fungal disease is showing up in places where doctors may not expect it. And now a new study suggests an experimental drug could offer hope for people with the most severe form of the illness. \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>At this week’s LA Police Commissioners meeting, \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/criminal-justice/unlawful-conduct-by-immigration-officers\">a report documented potential misconduct\u003c/a> by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers operating in the city. \u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">New drug could help people affected by Valley fever\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>California’s been experiencing \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2025/09/24/nx-s1-5518201/california-is-seeing-a-spike-in-cases-of-valley-fever\">a record number of cases of Valley Fever.\u003c/a> It’s a fungal infection caused by breathing in spores that live in soil. Its most severe form can be deadly or require lifelong treatment. But now, a new drug is showing promise against the most severe cases of the illness.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Dr. Fariba Donovan is an associate professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine Valley Fever Center for Excellence. She’s \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42475691/\">studying whether Olorofim\u003c/a> can help people with severe symptoms. “Patients have intact immune systems and the disease is just an uncomplicated pneumonia. Sometimes we don’t even consider medical treatment, but we have to diagnose the patients and give them reassurance that post-immune response will take over the disease and they don’t necessarily need an antifungal treatment. However, sometimes when patients develop severe disease such as meningitis, they do need treatment, and all of those medications are suppressing the growth of the fungus, but they don’t eliminate the fungus,” she said. “Olorofim is blocking the RNA and DNA synthesis, and by doing so, blocks the protein synthesis, and technically can eliminate the fungus. So we think that actually by using this medication, that has very minimal side effects, potentially at one point, although we are not there yet. We don’t have enough data to say that potentially we can give the patient medication for a period of time and then stop it and patient should be okay.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Donovan said more research is being done about the potential benefits of Olorofim, and hopefully, they can eventually receive approval from the Food and Drug Administration.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/criminal-justice/unlawful-conduct-by-immigration-officers\">Reports of possible unlawful conduct by immigration officers increased in June, LAPD says\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A year ago at this time, the streets of Los Angeles and other American cities were the sites of highly visible, large-scale immigration raids. While those scenes have died down, immigration enforcement remains more quietly active.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal data show Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-07-23/ice-detentions-spiked-in-june-targeting-immigrants-with-no-criminal-records-new-data-show\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>more people \u003c/u>\u003c/a>in June, at 43,000, than in any month since January 2025. Locally, Los Angeles Police Department officials say June had the highest tally of potential unlawful conduct by federal immigration officers. The 12 incidents investigated mark the most since the department began reporting the data in March.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>German Hurtado, LAPD immigration affairs liaison, said in an interview that he noticed the uptick of reported immigration enforcement incidents, but could not say what caused the increase. He said the increase seen in June might be reflective of the department’s efforts to capture more of the potential issues. “We’re finding better ways to improve how to capture these incidents,” Hurtado said. “It could be a combination of everything, but I did see that it was a large increase.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In February, \u003ca href=\"https://mayor.lacity.gov/sites/g/files/wph2066/files/2026-02/Executive%20Directive%20No.%2017%20-%20Protecting%20Angelenos%20from%20Ongoing%20Dangerous%20Federal%20Immigration.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mayor Karen Bass\u003c/a> issued a directive requiring the reporting. Police commissioners approved the most recent report at their meeting Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories for Monday, July 27, 2026: \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>The city of Avenal in Kings County \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/government-politics/2026-07-24/lawsuits-recalled-council-members-a-self-appointed-mayor-who-is-in-charge-in-avenal\">is facing a political power struggle\u003c/a>. Voters recently recalled four council members, but the city is disputing the election results, and the only member who wasn’t recalled now claims he is the mayor. \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Health care advocates are \u003ca href=\"https://www.kcbx.org/health-science-and-technology/2026-07-22/health-advocates-urge-stronger-oversight-of-hospital-costs-in-santa-barbara-county\">calling for stronger state oversight\u003c/a> over rising hospital costs in Santa Barbara County.\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>A team leading the closure of L.A. County’s aging Men’s Central Jail \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/criminal-justice/mens-central-jail-closure-beyond-2031\">says people will have to be held there for at least five more years\u003c/a> even though the facility was supposed to close in 2021.\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>A judge has convicted a man of igniting the Park Fire in 2024, the largest wildfire that year and the fourth largest in the state’s history. He’s facing up to 25 years to life in prison for what prosecutors said was him pushing a burning car into an embankment, where the fire started. \u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/government-politics/2026-07-24/lawsuits-recalled-council-members-a-self-appointed-mayor-who-is-in-charge-in-avenal\">A small Kings County community has big struggles\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Arriving in Avenal, known as the “Pistachio Capital of the World,” nothing seems out of the ordinary at first. The streets are quiet. Residents are going about their daily routines, stopping at local businesses or chatting with neighbors.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The loudest sounds come from birds perched in the trees, and large pickup trucks that roll through.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But behind its small-town charm, Avenal has become the center of one of the most unusual political disputes unfolding anywhere in California. It’s a battle over city leadership that has divided residents, drawn legal scrutiny and raised questions about how local government should function.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It all started last year when elected officials in Avenal wanted to establish their \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/government-politics/2026-03-29/lives-at-stake-a-fire-department-divides-a-california-town\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>own fire department\u003c/u>\u003c/a>. At one point, the city was paying Kings County $425,000 each year for fire services, but last year, the county informed the city that the annual fee would increase to nearly $1.1 million.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Avenal officials, feeling the pinch of rising costs for fire services, ultimately pushed the city to consider creating its own fire department.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kings County sued the City of Avenal for alleged \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/government-politics/2026-03-29/lives-at-stake-a-fire-department-divides-a-california-town\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Brown Act violations\u003c/a> involving decisions made over the department. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Registrar of Voters also certified the election results in May. Not all residents cast a vote, but of those who did, more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/2026-05-29/in-avenal-four-of-five-city-councilmembers-ousted-in-citizen-led-recall-effort\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>75% voted to oust\u003c/u>\u003c/a> Mayor Alvaro Preciado and Councilmembers Leticia Gamez, David Reynosa and Pablo Hernandez.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The officials who were recalled have contested the election results, saying the election wasn’t valid because it wasn’t ordered by the city.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kcbx.org/health-science-and-technology/2026-07-22/health-advocates-urge-stronger-oversight-of-hospital-costs-in-santa-barbara-county\">Stronger health care oversight in Santa Barbara County\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Health care advocates are calling for stronger state oversight of hospital costs in Santa Barbara County. During a virtual town hall last week hosted by Health Access California, advocates said rising hospital prices are driving up insurance premiums, deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs for patients.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The group released a report highlighting Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital as one of seven hospitals statewide — identified by California’s Office of Health Care Affordability — as unusually expensive.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>According to the report, nearly 48,000 Santa Barbara County residents report having difficulty paying medical bills. Health Access California argues that high hospital prices contribute to rising health care costs across the region.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When hospital prices go up, that directly impacts how much people are paying for their premiums, as well as their deductibles and other cost sharing,” said Katie Van Deynze, policy and legislative advocate for Health Access California.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The report says Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital receives payments from commercial insurers that are significantly higher than Medicare reimbursement rates for the same care.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/criminal-justice/mens-central-jail-closure-beyond-2031\">Los Angeles jail operates longer\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The team leading L.A. County’s push to close Men’s Central Jail says a full closure is not feasible in the next five years.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This is yet another delay since the county Board of Supervisors voted in July 2020 to close the jail within one year. A \u003ca href=\"https://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/bos/bc/1104568_DEVELO_1.PDF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">two-year \u003cu>plan\u003c/u>\u003c/a> was announced in 2021, then a \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/criminal-justice/activists-frustrated-with-countys-5-year-plan-to-close-uninhabitable-mens-central-jail\">five-year plan\u003c/a> in 2024.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Jail Closure Implementation Team, also known as JCIT, told the Board of Supervisors this week that they’ve outlined a framework that will improve conditions for thousands of people in L.A. County’s justice system, but the steps they’ve identified are still not enough to safely close the jail within the five-year timeline.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Park Fire conviction two years after the blaze started\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A judge convicted a Northern California man last week \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11998589/park-fire-is-now-4th-largest-in-california-history-and-growing-amid-dangerous-weather\">of starting the fire that destroyed hundreds of homes and burned for hundreds of miles\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Known as the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/park-fire\">Park Fire\u003c/a>, the 2024 blaze was started by what prosecutors say was Ronnie Stout II pushing his mom’s burning car into an embankment. The fire started there, authorities said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Stout faces 25 years to life for the crimes, with enhancements from the state’s so-called “Three Strikes Law” and for arson with special circumstances. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A witness for the state said that Stout had physically pushed the burning car he had previously been driving, though Stout’s lawyer argued that the vehicle could have been in the embankment because of its own movement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stout is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 9. \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"A team leading the closure of L.A. County’s aging Men’s Central Jail says people will have to be held there for at least five more years even though the facility was supposed to close in 2021.",
"A judge has convicted a man of igniting the Park Fire in 2024, the largest wildfire that year and the fourth largest in the state’s history. He’s facing up to 25 years to life in prison for what prosecutors said was him pushing a burning car into an embankment, where the fire started."
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>The city of Avenal in Kings County \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/government-politics/2026-07-24/lawsuits-recalled-council-members-a-self-appointed-mayor-who-is-in-charge-in-avenal\">is facing a political power struggle\u003c/a>. Voters recently recalled four council members, but the city is disputing the election results, and the only member who wasn’t recalled now claims he is the mayor. \u003c/li>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>Health care advocates are \u003ca href=\"https://www.kcbx.org/health-science-and-technology/2026-07-22/health-advocates-urge-stronger-oversight-of-hospital-costs-in-santa-barbara-county\">calling for stronger state oversight\u003c/a> over rising hospital costs in Santa Barbara County.\u003c/li>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>A team leading the closure of L.A. County’s aging Men’s Central Jail \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/criminal-justice/mens-central-jail-closure-beyond-2031\">says people will have to be held there for at least five more years\u003c/a> even though the facility was supposed to close in 2021.\u003c/li>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>A judge has convicted a man of igniting the Park Fire in 2024, the largest wildfire that year and the fourth largest in the state’s history. He’s facing up to 25 years to life in prison for what prosecutors said was him pushing a burning car into an embankment, where the fire started. \u003c/li>\n",
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"text": "A small Kings County community has big struggles",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/government-politics/2026-07-24/lawsuits-recalled-council-members-a-self-appointed-mayor-who-is-in-charge-in-avenal\">A small Kings County community has big struggles\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Arriving in Avenal, known as the “Pistachio Capital of the World,” nothing seems out of the ordinary at first. The streets are quiet. Residents are going about their daily routines, stopping at local businesses or chatting with neighbors.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Arriving in Avenal, known as the “Pistachio Capital of the World,” nothing seems out of the ordinary at first. The streets are quiet. Residents are going about their daily routines, stopping at local businesses or chatting with neighbors.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The loudest sounds come from birds perched in the trees, and large pickup trucks that roll through.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But behind its small-town charm, Avenal has become the center of one of the most unusual political disputes unfolding anywhere in California. It’s a battle over city leadership that has divided residents, drawn legal scrutiny and raised questions about how local government should function.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But behind its small-town charm, Avenal has become the center of one of the most unusual political disputes unfolding anywhere in California. It’s a battle over city leadership that has divided residents, drawn legal scrutiny and raised questions about how local government should function.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It all started last year when elected officials in Avenal wanted to establish their \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/government-politics/2026-03-29/lives-at-stake-a-fire-department-divides-a-california-town\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>own fire department\u003c/u>\u003c/a>. At one point, the city was paying Kings County $425,000 each year for fire services, but last year, the county informed the city that the annual fee would increase to nearly $1.1 million.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It all started last year when elected officials in Avenal wanted to establish their \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/government-politics/2026-03-29/lives-at-stake-a-fire-department-divides-a-california-town\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>own fire department\u003c/u>\u003c/a>. At one point, the city was paying Kings County $425,000 each year for fire services, but last year, the county informed the city that the annual fee would increase to nearly $1.1 million.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Avenal officials, feeling the pinch of rising costs for fire services, ultimately pushed the city to consider creating its own fire department.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Kings County sued the City of Avenal for alleged \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/government-politics/2026-03-29/lives-at-stake-a-fire-department-divides-a-california-town\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Brown Act violations\u003c/a> involving decisions made over the department. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Kings County sued the City of Avenal for alleged \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/government-politics/2026-03-29/lives-at-stake-a-fire-department-divides-a-california-town\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Brown Act violations\u003c/a> involving decisions made over the department. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Registrar of Voters also certified the election results in May. Not all residents cast a vote, but of those who did, more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/2026-05-29/in-avenal-four-of-five-city-councilmembers-ousted-in-citizen-led-recall-effort\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>75% voted to oust\u003c/u>\u003c/a> Mayor Alvaro Preciado and Councilmembers Leticia Gamez, David Reynosa and Pablo Hernandez.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Registrar of Voters also certified the election results in May. Not all residents cast a vote, but of those who did, more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/2026-05-29/in-avenal-four-of-five-city-councilmembers-ousted-in-citizen-led-recall-effort\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>75% voted to oust\u003c/u>\u003c/a> Mayor Alvaro Preciado and Councilmembers Leticia Gamez, David Reynosa and Pablo Hernandez.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The officials who were recalled have contested the election results, saying the election wasn’t valid because it wasn’t ordered by the city.\u003c/p>\n",
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"text": "Stronger health care oversight in Santa Barbara County",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kcbx.org/health-science-and-technology/2026-07-22/health-advocates-urge-stronger-oversight-of-hospital-costs-in-santa-barbara-county\">Stronger health care oversight in Santa Barbara County\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Health care advocates are calling for stronger state oversight of hospital costs in Santa Barbara County. During a virtual town hall last week hosted by Health Access California, advocates said rising hospital prices are driving up insurance premiums, deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs for patients.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Health care advocates are calling for stronger state oversight of hospital costs in Santa Barbara County. During a virtual town hall last week hosted by Health Access California, advocates said rising hospital prices are driving up insurance premiums, deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs for patients.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The group released a report highlighting Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital as one of seven hospitals statewide — identified by California’s Office of Health Care Affordability — as unusually expensive.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>According to the report, nearly 48,000 Santa Barbara County residents report having difficulty paying medical bills. Health Access California argues that high hospital prices contribute to rising health care costs across the region.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“When hospital prices go up, that directly impacts how much people are paying for their premiums, as well as their deductibles and other cost sharing,” said Katie Van Deynze, policy and legislative advocate for Health Access California.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“When hospital prices go up, that directly impacts how much people are paying for their premiums, as well as their deductibles and other cost sharing,” said Katie Van Deynze, policy and legislative advocate for Health Access California.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The report says Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital receives payments from commercial insurers that are significantly higher than Medicare reimbursement rates for the same care.\u003c/p>\n",
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"attrs": {
"text": "Los Angeles jail operates longer",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/criminal-justice/mens-central-jail-closure-beyond-2031\">Los Angeles jail operates longer\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/criminal-justice/mens-central-jail-closure-beyond-2031\">Los Angeles jail operates longer\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The team leading L.A. County’s push to close Men’s Central Jail says a full closure is not feasible in the next five years.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This is yet another delay since the county Board of Supervisors voted in July 2020 to close the jail within one year. A \u003ca href=\"https://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/bos/bc/1104568_DEVELO_1.PDF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">two-year \u003cu>plan\u003c/u>\u003c/a> was announced in 2021, then a \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/criminal-justice/activists-frustrated-with-countys-5-year-plan-to-close-uninhabitable-mens-central-jail\">five-year plan\u003c/a> in 2024.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>This is yet another delay since the county Board of Supervisors voted in July 2020 to close the jail within one year. A \u003ca href=\"https://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/bos/bc/1104568_DEVELO_1.PDF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">two-year \u003cu>plan\u003c/u>\u003c/a> was announced in 2021, then a \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/criminal-justice/activists-frustrated-with-countys-5-year-plan-to-close-uninhabitable-mens-central-jail\">five-year plan\u003c/a> in 2024.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Jail Closure Implementation Team, also known as JCIT, told the Board of Supervisors this week that they’ve outlined a framework that will improve conditions for thousands of people in L.A. County’s justice system, but the steps they’ve identified are still not enough to safely close the jail within the five-year timeline.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Jail Closure Implementation Team, also known as JCIT, told the Board of Supervisors this week that they’ve outlined a framework that will improve conditions for thousands of people in L.A. County’s justice system, but the steps they’ve identified are still not enough to safely close the jail within the five-year timeline.\u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "Park Fire conviction two years after the blaze started",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A judge convicted a Northern California man last week \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11998589/park-fire-is-now-4th-largest-in-california-history-and-growing-amid-dangerous-weather\">of starting the fire that destroyed hundreds of homes and burned for hundreds of miles\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Known as the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/park-fire\">Park Fire\u003c/a>, the 2024 blaze was started by what prosecutors say was Ronnie Stout II pushing his mom’s burning car into an embankment. The fire started there, authorities said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Known as the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/park-fire\">Park Fire\u003c/a>, the 2024 blaze was started by what prosecutors say was Ronnie Stout II pushing his mom’s burning car into an embankment. The fire started there, authorities said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Stout faces 25 years to life for the crimes, with enhancements from the state’s so-called “Three Strikes Law” and for arson with special circumstances. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A witness for the state said that Stout had physically pushed the burning car he had previously been driving, though Stout’s lawyer argued that the vehicle could have been in the embankment because of its own movement. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A witness for the state said that Stout had physically pushed the burning car he had previously been driving, though Stout’s lawyer argued that the vehicle could have been in the embankment because of its own movement. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Stout is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 9. \u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories for Monday, July 27, 2026: \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>The city of Avenal in Kings County \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/government-politics/2026-07-24/lawsuits-recalled-council-members-a-self-appointed-mayor-who-is-in-charge-in-avenal\">is facing a political power struggle\u003c/a>. Voters recently recalled four council members, but the city is disputing the election results, and the only member who wasn’t recalled now claims he is the mayor. \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Health care advocates are \u003ca href=\"https://www.kcbx.org/health-science-and-technology/2026-07-22/health-advocates-urge-stronger-oversight-of-hospital-costs-in-santa-barbara-county\">calling for stronger state oversight\u003c/a> over rising hospital costs in Santa Barbara County.\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>A team leading the closure of L.A. County’s aging Men’s Central Jail \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/criminal-justice/mens-central-jail-closure-beyond-2031\">says people will have to be held there for at least five more years\u003c/a> even though the facility was supposed to close in 2021.\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>A judge has convicted a man of igniting the Park Fire in 2024, the largest wildfire that year and the fourth largest in the state’s history. He’s facing up to 25 years to life in prison for what prosecutors said was him pushing a burning car into an embankment, where the fire started. \u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/government-politics/2026-07-24/lawsuits-recalled-council-members-a-self-appointed-mayor-who-is-in-charge-in-avenal\">A small Kings County community has big struggles\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Arriving in Avenal, known as the “Pistachio Capital of the World,” nothing seems out of the ordinary at first. The streets are quiet. Residents are going about their daily routines, stopping at local businesses or chatting with neighbors.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The loudest sounds come from birds perched in the trees, and large pickup trucks that roll through.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But behind its small-town charm, Avenal has become the center of one of the most unusual political disputes unfolding anywhere in California. It’s a battle over city leadership that has divided residents, drawn legal scrutiny and raised questions about how local government should function.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It all started last year when elected officials in Avenal wanted to establish their \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/government-politics/2026-03-29/lives-at-stake-a-fire-department-divides-a-california-town\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>own fire department\u003c/u>\u003c/a>. At one point, the city was paying Kings County $425,000 each year for fire services, but last year, the county informed the city that the annual fee would increase to nearly $1.1 million.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Avenal officials, feeling the pinch of rising costs for fire services, ultimately pushed the city to consider creating its own fire department.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kings County sued the City of Avenal for alleged \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/government-politics/2026-03-29/lives-at-stake-a-fire-department-divides-a-california-town\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Brown Act violations\u003c/a> involving decisions made over the department. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Registrar of Voters also certified the election results in May. Not all residents cast a vote, but of those who did, more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/2026-05-29/in-avenal-four-of-five-city-councilmembers-ousted-in-citizen-led-recall-effort\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cu>75% voted to oust\u003c/u>\u003c/a> Mayor Alvaro Preciado and Councilmembers Leticia Gamez, David Reynosa and Pablo Hernandez.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The officials who were recalled have contested the election results, saying the election wasn’t valid because it wasn’t ordered by the city.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kcbx.org/health-science-and-technology/2026-07-22/health-advocates-urge-stronger-oversight-of-hospital-costs-in-santa-barbara-county\">Stronger health care oversight in Santa Barbara County\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Health care advocates are calling for stronger state oversight of hospital costs in Santa Barbara County. During a virtual town hall last week hosted by Health Access California, advocates said rising hospital prices are driving up insurance premiums, deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs for patients.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The group released a report highlighting Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital as one of seven hospitals statewide — identified by California’s Office of Health Care Affordability — as unusually expensive.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>According to the report, nearly 48,000 Santa Barbara County residents report having difficulty paying medical bills. Health Access California argues that high hospital prices contribute to rising health care costs across the region.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When hospital prices go up, that directly impacts how much people are paying for their premiums, as well as their deductibles and other cost sharing,” said Katie Van Deynze, policy and legislative advocate for Health Access California.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The report says Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital receives payments from commercial insurers that are significantly higher than Medicare reimbursement rates for the same care.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/criminal-justice/mens-central-jail-closure-beyond-2031\">Los Angeles jail operates longer\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The team leading L.A. County’s push to close Men’s Central Jail says a full closure is not feasible in the next five years.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This is yet another delay since the county Board of Supervisors voted in July 2020 to close the jail within one year. A \u003ca href=\"https://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/bos/bc/1104568_DEVELO_1.PDF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">two-year \u003cu>plan\u003c/u>\u003c/a> was announced in 2021, then a \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/criminal-justice/activists-frustrated-with-countys-5-year-plan-to-close-uninhabitable-mens-central-jail\">five-year plan\u003c/a> in 2024.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Jail Closure Implementation Team, also known as JCIT, told the Board of Supervisors this week that they’ve outlined a framework that will improve conditions for thousands of people in L.A. County’s justice system, but the steps they’ve identified are still not enough to safely close the jail within the five-year timeline.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Park Fire conviction two years after the blaze started\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A judge convicted a Northern California man last week \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11998589/park-fire-is-now-4th-largest-in-california-history-and-growing-amid-dangerous-weather\">of starting the fire that destroyed hundreds of homes and burned for hundreds of miles\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Known as the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/park-fire\">Park Fire\u003c/a>, the 2024 blaze was started by what prosecutors say was Ronnie Stout II pushing his mom’s burning car into an embankment. The fire started there, authorities said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Stout faces 25 years to life for the crimes, with enhancements from the state’s so-called “Three Strikes Law” and for arson with special circumstances. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A witness for the state said that Stout had physically pushed the burning car he had previously been driving, though Stout’s lawyer argued that the vehicle could have been in the embankment because of its own movement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stout is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 9. \u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Acclaimed \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/los-angeles\">violinist Vijay Gupta\u003c/a> still sees his late father everywhere.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’d appear unexpectedly, like when a concert hall conductor pointed to his chest to coax more heart out of a musician, something that Gupta’s dad would do when coaching the young Vijay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And it was like, there’s dad,” Gupta said. “And he’d already been gone for a couple years, and yet there he was like he had never gone. He had never abandoned me. He had never died.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gupta’s parents, Bengali immigrants, loom large in the pages of his new memoir \u003cem>Restrung\u003c/em>. Especially his father, Vivek Gupta — Vijay’s biggest mentor, his toughest musical coach and a brutal disciplinarian.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If Vivek heard his son pause when he should have been practicing, Vijay risked another beating. The violin became as much a shield against the blows as it was an instrument of music, and a refuge for Vijay. But his dad also came up with creative schemes to push young Vijay into the spotlight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When I was 7 or 8 years old, he was writing to famous people as me,” Gupta said. “He would write to Oprah, David Letterman, Sally Jessy Raphael and Zubin Mehta, and it was sort of like I was living in a world made of his dreams.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When he was 9 years old, Gupta was among a group of young, Juilliard-trained violin protégées invited to accompany rapper Coolio onstage at the 1995 Billboard Awards. The quintet of violinists accompanied the rapper on “Gangsta’s Paradise,” a song featuring lyrics that would foreshadow Gupta’s life in his mid-20s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRveeMoCDiw\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m 23 now, but will I see 24? / The way things are goin’, I don’t know / Tell me why we are so blind to see, that the ones we hurt are you and me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ten years later, at age 19, after pursuing two university undergrad degrees — one in medicine, the other in music — Gupta won a seat on the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra. He did so after acing his very first audition, becoming the youngest violinist to ever join a major orchestra in the United States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I didn’t know what I signed up for at 19 years old. I just happened to get that gig,” Gupta said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Suddenly, he was earning a six-figure salary but still didn’t know how to drive a car or do online banking. His father joined him on his cross-country trek from New York to Los Angeles, the two moving into a small apartment together. His mother managed his finances from New York, explaining to her son that his salary would also help support family in the U.S. and the Indian state of West Bengal. It’s a decision that would later lead to financial calamity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12090270\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12090270 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/VIJAY-GUPTA-9-photo-by-Kate-Bawden.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/VIJAY-GUPTA-9-photo-by-Kate-Bawden.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/VIJAY-GUPTA-9-photo-by-Kate-Bawden-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/VIJAY-GUPTA-9-photo-by-Kate-Bawden-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Master violinist Vijay Gupta entered Juilliard at age 7. The son of strict, disciplinarian Bengali immigrant parents, Vijay appeared on Oprah a few years later. At 19, he joined the L.A. Phil, yet he was desperately unhappy. He also began volunteering on L.A.’s Skid Row and founded the acclaimed Street Symphony. \u003ccite>(Image courtesy of Kat Bawden)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I was suddenly supporting my family, and I got tenure, and I don’t want to be there,” Gupta said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So, five years later, I’m eating my feelings and all I’m thinking about during L.A. Phil concerts is my post-concert In-N-Out order, and how many bottles of Russian River pinot I’m going to drink that night,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Five years into his stint with the L.A. Phil and deeply unhappy, Gupta began pursuing a second musical path. He said he wanted to take professional-level classical music out of “stuffy” concert halls and bring it into much different concert settings: jails, homeless shelters, prisons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He headed to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/skid-row\">Skid Row\u003c/a>, a part of downtown Los Angeles he discovered while on a driving lesson with his father. Just a little over a mile away from the footlights of Walt Disney Concert Hall, Skid Row is home to the largest concentration of homeless people in the United States. Gupta tapped a few other L.A. Phil musicians to form the \u003ca href=\"https://www.streetsymphony.org/\">Street Symphony\u003c/a>. The nonprofit ensemble has since evolved into a sprawling collective of professional and amateur musicians spanning a host of genres.[aside postID=news_12088748 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260618-PASADENA-ROCK-OPERA-SC01-KQED.jpg']One of the first people Gupta reached out to was Georgia Hawley, communications director at \u003ca href=\"https://www.midnightmission.org/events-musicwithamission/\">The Midnight Mission\u003c/a>, Los Angeles’s longest-running homeless shelter offering meals, drug rehabilitation and other services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He called and said, ‘Hey, I have this group called Street Symphony, and I want to come and play. Do I need to audition? Should I send you a tape? What do you need?’” Hawley said. “And I said, ‘Well, our next opening is Thursday … are you available?’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the time, Hawley had just launched the Music with a Mission program, offering free, weekly concerts for shelter clients. She has since worked closely with Gupta on hundreds of music events in Skid Row.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You know, he fought a lot with being this young person who was in this adult world and having to behave a certain way and act a certain way, and he was supporting his family,” Hawley said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think just not having an outlet to talk to people about that and to say, ‘I’m hurt, I’m scared.’ And I think the more he tried to help others, the more he couldn’t ignore what was happening to him.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Skid Row would end up becoming something of a mirror, a pathway for Gupta to finally reconcile his own demons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zGAgEBl3ws&t=2599s\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The real transformation started happening for me in Skid Row was when people said, ‘Hey Vijay, it’s good that you’re coming here to walk your steps, keep coming.’ What are you talking about? I’m here to bring you joy, I’m the healer! And they’re like, ‘Yeah, yeah. Keep coming,’” Gupta said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Walk your steps,” meaning the guiding principles of the 12-Step program used in rehab. People in Skid Row wanted to show Gupta something they could see, but that he couldn’t — or wouldn’t — see himself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would not have admitted to anyone that I was as much an addict, not only to food and alcohol, but everybody else’s version of who I should be,” Gupta said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, Gupta kept up a frenetic performing schedule. In addition to his role at L.A. Phil, he began doing public speaking events where he’d take his violin and lecture about classical music and its connection to neuroscience, social activism and spirituality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12090268\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 1428px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12090268\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/2.-VIJAY-GUPTA-2025-photo-Kate-Bawden.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1428\" height=\"2000\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/2.-VIJAY-GUPTA-2025-photo-Kate-Bawden.jpg 1428w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/2.-VIJAY-GUPTA-2025-photo-Kate-Bawden-160x224.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/2.-VIJAY-GUPTA-2025-photo-Kate-Bawden-1097x1536.jpg 1097w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1428px) 100vw, 1428px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Master violinist Vijay Gupta entered Juilliard at age 7. The son of strict, disciplinarian Bengali immigrant parents, Vijay appeared on Oprah a few years later. At 19, he joined the L.A. Phil, yet he was desperately unhappy. He also began volunteering on L.A.’s Skid Row, and founded the acclaimed Street Symphony. \u003ccite>(Image courtesy of Kat Bawden)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At a 2012 Grantmakers in the Arts conference in Miami, Gupta appeared on stage in a rumpled suit, his shirttails sticking out beneath his navy-blue blazer. He was much heavier then and still drinking a lot. But once the bow touched the strings, his playing was effortless, fluid and gorgeous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That guy had never been kissed. That guy had never been on a date, absolutely hated himself. Probably [weighed] around 315 pounds,” Gupta said, reflecting on the performance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And that guy was using the violin, that effortlessness, as a way of hiding in plain sight. If I was infallible, bulletproof, then people might forgive the fact that I was actually Quasimodo.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2018, after winning a six-figure MacArthur Genius Grant, Gupta left the L.A. Phil. He threw himself into his work with Street Symphony and pursued solo and chamber work, collaborating widely with other artists on a range of projects. He’s currently developing a one-man show combining performance, documentary film and storytelling based in part on his new memoir.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the way back to his home in Altadena from Skid Row, Gupta talked more about his parents. Though his dad is gone and he’s estranged from his mom, he still sees them in other people. Since seeking therapy, dealing with addiction and even taking up boxing, the bad memories don’t haunt or hurt as much. But they still resurface.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I write about it in the book that my mom ambushed me backstage at Walt Disney Concert Hall,” Gupta said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She was there just to berate me in front of my colleagues. Sometimes I would walk into Skid Row and be like, ‘Oh, is that her, is that mom?’ I would just see her everywhere in Skid Row.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Gupta, the area is a crucible, calling it the largest recovery zone for people teetering on the edge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a place where people are undone, and it’s also a place where people are remade,” he said. “If someone wants to get clean, or they want a bed or want to start over, this is a place where people can begin again.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Acclaimed \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/los-angeles\">violinist Vijay Gupta\u003c/a> still sees his late father everywhere.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’d appear unexpectedly, like when a concert hall conductor pointed to his chest to coax more heart out of a musician, something that Gupta’s dad would do when coaching the young Vijay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And it was like, there’s dad,” Gupta said. “And he’d already been gone for a couple years, and yet there he was like he had never gone. He had never abandoned me. He had never died.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gupta’s parents, Bengali immigrants, loom large in the pages of his new memoir \u003cem>Restrung\u003c/em>. Especially his father, Vivek Gupta — Vijay’s biggest mentor, his toughest musical coach and a brutal disciplinarian.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If Vivek heard his son pause when he should have been practicing, Vijay risked another beating. The violin became as much a shield against the blows as it was an instrument of music, and a refuge for Vijay. But his dad also came up with creative schemes to push young Vijay into the spotlight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When I was 7 or 8 years old, he was writing to famous people as me,” Gupta said. “He would write to Oprah, David Letterman, Sally Jessy Raphael and Zubin Mehta, and it was sort of like I was living in a world made of his dreams.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When he was 9 years old, Gupta was among a group of young, Juilliard-trained violin protégées invited to accompany rapper Coolio onstage at the 1995 Billboard Awards. The quintet of violinists accompanied the rapper on “Gangsta’s Paradise,” a song featuring lyrics that would foreshadow Gupta’s life in his mid-20s.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/BRveeMoCDiw'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/BRveeMoCDiw'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>“I’m 23 now, but will I see 24? / The way things are goin’, I don’t know / Tell me why we are so blind to see, that the ones we hurt are you and me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ten years later, at age 19, after pursuing two university undergrad degrees — one in medicine, the other in music — Gupta won a seat on the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra. He did so after acing his very first audition, becoming the youngest violinist to ever join a major orchestra in the United States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I didn’t know what I signed up for at 19 years old. I just happened to get that gig,” Gupta said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Suddenly, he was earning a six-figure salary but still didn’t know how to drive a car or do online banking. His father joined him on his cross-country trek from New York to Los Angeles, the two moving into a small apartment together. His mother managed his finances from New York, explaining to her son that his salary would also help support family in the U.S. and the Indian state of West Bengal. It’s a decision that would later lead to financial calamity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12090270\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12090270 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/VIJAY-GUPTA-9-photo-by-Kate-Bawden.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/VIJAY-GUPTA-9-photo-by-Kate-Bawden.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/VIJAY-GUPTA-9-photo-by-Kate-Bawden-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/VIJAY-GUPTA-9-photo-by-Kate-Bawden-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Master violinist Vijay Gupta entered Juilliard at age 7. The son of strict, disciplinarian Bengali immigrant parents, Vijay appeared on Oprah a few years later. At 19, he joined the L.A. Phil, yet he was desperately unhappy. He also began volunteering on L.A.’s Skid Row and founded the acclaimed Street Symphony. \u003ccite>(Image courtesy of Kat Bawden)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I was suddenly supporting my family, and I got tenure, and I don’t want to be there,” Gupta said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So, five years later, I’m eating my feelings and all I’m thinking about during L.A. Phil concerts is my post-concert In-N-Out order, and how many bottles of Russian River pinot I’m going to drink that night,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Five years into his stint with the L.A. Phil and deeply unhappy, Gupta began pursuing a second musical path. He said he wanted to take professional-level classical music out of “stuffy” concert halls and bring it into much different concert settings: jails, homeless shelters, prisons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He headed to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/skid-row\">Skid Row\u003c/a>, a part of downtown Los Angeles he discovered while on a driving lesson with his father. Just a little over a mile away from the footlights of Walt Disney Concert Hall, Skid Row is home to the largest concentration of homeless people in the United States. Gupta tapped a few other L.A. Phil musicians to form the \u003ca href=\"https://www.streetsymphony.org/\">Street Symphony\u003c/a>. The nonprofit ensemble has since evolved into a sprawling collective of professional and amateur musicians spanning a host of genres.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>One of the first people Gupta reached out to was Georgia Hawley, communications director at \u003ca href=\"https://www.midnightmission.org/events-musicwithamission/\">The Midnight Mission\u003c/a>, Los Angeles’s longest-running homeless shelter offering meals, drug rehabilitation and other services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He called and said, ‘Hey, I have this group called Street Symphony, and I want to come and play. Do I need to audition? Should I send you a tape? What do you need?’” Hawley said. “And I said, ‘Well, our next opening is Thursday … are you available?’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the time, Hawley had just launched the Music with a Mission program, offering free, weekly concerts for shelter clients. She has since worked closely with Gupta on hundreds of music events in Skid Row.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You know, he fought a lot with being this young person who was in this adult world and having to behave a certain way and act a certain way, and he was supporting his family,” Hawley said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think just not having an outlet to talk to people about that and to say, ‘I’m hurt, I’m scared.’ And I think the more he tried to help others, the more he couldn’t ignore what was happening to him.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Skid Row would end up becoming something of a mirror, a pathway for Gupta to finally reconcile his own demons.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/5zGAgEBl3ws'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/5zGAgEBl3ws'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>“The real transformation started happening for me in Skid Row was when people said, ‘Hey Vijay, it’s good that you’re coming here to walk your steps, keep coming.’ What are you talking about? I’m here to bring you joy, I’m the healer! And they’re like, ‘Yeah, yeah. Keep coming,’” Gupta said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Walk your steps,” meaning the guiding principles of the 12-Step program used in rehab. People in Skid Row wanted to show Gupta something they could see, but that he couldn’t — or wouldn’t — see himself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would not have admitted to anyone that I was as much an addict, not only to food and alcohol, but everybody else’s version of who I should be,” Gupta said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, Gupta kept up a frenetic performing schedule. In addition to his role at L.A. Phil, he began doing public speaking events where he’d take his violin and lecture about classical music and its connection to neuroscience, social activism and spirituality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12090268\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 1428px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12090268\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/2.-VIJAY-GUPTA-2025-photo-Kate-Bawden.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1428\" height=\"2000\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/2.-VIJAY-GUPTA-2025-photo-Kate-Bawden.jpg 1428w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/2.-VIJAY-GUPTA-2025-photo-Kate-Bawden-160x224.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/2.-VIJAY-GUPTA-2025-photo-Kate-Bawden-1097x1536.jpg 1097w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1428px) 100vw, 1428px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Master violinist Vijay Gupta entered Juilliard at age 7. The son of strict, disciplinarian Bengali immigrant parents, Vijay appeared on Oprah a few years later. At 19, he joined the L.A. Phil, yet he was desperately unhappy. He also began volunteering on L.A.’s Skid Row, and founded the acclaimed Street Symphony. \u003ccite>(Image courtesy of Kat Bawden)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At a 2012 Grantmakers in the Arts conference in Miami, Gupta appeared on stage in a rumpled suit, his shirttails sticking out beneath his navy-blue blazer. He was much heavier then and still drinking a lot. But once the bow touched the strings, his playing was effortless, fluid and gorgeous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That guy had never been kissed. That guy had never been on a date, absolutely hated himself. Probably [weighed] around 315 pounds,” Gupta said, reflecting on the performance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And that guy was using the violin, that effortlessness, as a way of hiding in plain sight. If I was infallible, bulletproof, then people might forgive the fact that I was actually Quasimodo.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2018, after winning a six-figure MacArthur Genius Grant, Gupta left the L.A. Phil. He threw himself into his work with Street Symphony and pursued solo and chamber work, collaborating widely with other artists on a range of projects. He’s currently developing a one-man show combining performance, documentary film and storytelling based in part on his new memoir.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the way back to his home in Altadena from Skid Row, Gupta talked more about his parents. Though his dad is gone and he’s estranged from his mom, he still sees them in other people. Since seeking therapy, dealing with addiction and even taking up boxing, the bad memories don’t haunt or hurt as much. But they still resurface.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I write about it in the book that my mom ambushed me backstage at Walt Disney Concert Hall,” Gupta said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She was there just to berate me in front of my colleagues. Sometimes I would walk into Skid Row and be like, ‘Oh, is that her, is that mom?’ I would just see her everywhere in Skid Row.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Gupta, the area is a crucible, calling it the largest recovery zone for people teetering on the edge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a place where people are undone, and it’s also a place where people are remade,” he said. “If someone wants to get clean, or they want a bed or want to start over, this is a place where people can begin again.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>With just days to go before their performance, a musical ensemble gathered in composer and singer-songwriter Russell Mark’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12071233/a-year-after-the-la-fires-a-journalist-looks-back-on-the-stories-from-his-neighborhood\">East Pasadena \u003c/a>home for rehearsal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The string quartet, which featured Mark’s wife, cellist Mika Larson, played in the dining room, while the other five musicians, twin guitars, piano, bass and drums crowded into the adjoining living room. The artists prepared for the June 6 debut of \u003ca href=\"https://www.russellmarkmusic.com/pasadena\">\u003cem>Pasadena Right Here, Right Now\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> —\u003c/em> a rock opera, inspired by Pasadena.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The musicians felt their way through the score, a biting fusion of buzzing, modern power pop melded with classical strings. The ensemble included members of the Street Symphony, a band of professional classical players led by a former Los Angeles Philharmonic violinist, that performs regular free concerts on L.A.’s Skid Row.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The story begins in Pasadena in the year 2125. A professor from the city’s renowned California Institute of Technology develops a time machine to travel back in time — to Pasadena in 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Why travel back to 2025 from 100 years in the future? Well, this is where speculative science fiction takes over. Our time-traveling Caltech heroine wants to investigate what exactly sparked the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/eaton-fire\">deadly 2025 Eaton Fire\u003c/a>. But her detective work leads to an unforeseen hiccup, typically found only in the pages of pulp sci-fi novels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The 2025 person and her companions feel like they need to show these people around and what’s happening at this chaotic time of political upheaval, natural disasters, [and show them] all of the amazing — and the equally scary — things happening in this world.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12088190\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12088190 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260618-PASADENA-ROCK-OPERA-SC03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260618-PASADENA-ROCK-OPERA-SC03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260618-PASADENA-ROCK-OPERA-SC03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260618-PASADENA-ROCK-OPERA-SC03-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Composer and singer-songwriter Russell Mark spent a year soliciting feedback from scores of Pasadena- and Altadena-area residents about the place where they live. Their detailed and, at times, emotional responses inform much of the opera’s lyrics and help guide the plot of the story. Mark kept stacks of responses around him at the studio while working on the music throughout the last year. \u003ccite>(Steven Cuevas for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Time travel aside, \u003cem>Pasadena Right Here, Right Now\u003c/em> ultimately becomes a vehicle to explore the Pasadena and Altadena area of today, a way for our present selves to explain these times to someone a hundred years in the past, and a hundred years in the future. (Spoiler alert: It’s the time machine that sparked the fire.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You can’t take that stuff too seriously, the time travel stuff, you just need to let it go,” he said, laughing. “You just have to accept it! But the backbone is this coming together of the past and the future, here in the present.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To create the lyrics, Mark spent the better part of the past year soliciting feedback from dozens of Pasadena and Altadena residents, in person and online, via a survey that asked a series of probing questions about their lives in what lots of locals affectionately call the ‘Dena.[aside postID=news_12087945 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Untitled-1.jpg']“I’m calling this project a ‘musical time capsule,’” Mark said. “I’m asking people what they think people from 1925 will be surprised about. And what would you want people to know about you in 2125 that you think might end up distorted or mistranslated somehow?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A song called “Time Capsule” playfully namechecks a lot of the local ‘Dena treasures that survey respondents say they’d be proud to share with a resident from 1925 or 2125. This includes local gems like the sci-fi novels of longtime Altadena resident Octavia Butler, cassette tapes from Pasadena’s own hard rock heroes Van Halen, flocks of wild parrots and the feral peacocks of East Pasadena.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I made it a point to talk about this moment in 2025 and elaborate on the things that I have available to me, but also what is slightly out of my reach in the hybrid ways that we live,” said local writer Natalie Lydick, who responded to Mark’s survey questions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lydick said she wanted to remind anyone from Pasadena’s past or future that not everything modernizes as radically or as rapidly as we might think.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I said, I have a cell phone and a computer, and I’m digitally literate, but I also have two full bookshelves, and I love to read print media,” Lydick said. “Electrical vehicles are widely available, but most people, including me, still drive gas-powered cars. Hindsight creates this idea of progress, [but] time moves so much slower than we think.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That idea made its way into the lyrics of a song called “We Tried with the House,” in which one of the characters is explaining the Pasadena of today to one of the story’s time travelers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12088189\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12088189 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260618-PASADENA-ROCK-OPERA-SC02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260618-PASADENA-ROCK-OPERA-SC02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260618-PASADENA-ROCK-OPERA-SC02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260618-PASADENA-ROCK-OPERA-SC02-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Russell Mark sits in his recording studio to play some rough demos from his new project Pasadena Right Here, Right Now, an ambitious, bitter-sweet rock opera involving a time-traveling Caltech professor, the Eaton Fire and the thoughts of contemporary Pasadena-Altadena area residents. \u003ccite>(Steven Cuevas for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“And I hope you recognize the place, I hope it seems familiar / We still got cars and planes and trains / And even horses up in Altadena / We got books and vinyl records on our shelves / And we care for neighbors like we care for ourselves.”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Guitarist and backup singer Myron Kaplan recalled how she answered a survey question that asked, what would you want to put in a physical time capsule representing this community?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A snow globe with embers from a house burning down instead of snowflakes,” Kaplan said, making a direct reference to the Eaton Fire, which killed 19 people and destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses in Altadena, North Pasadena and Sierra Madre.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I mean, it was a rough year, man, anyone who lives here can tell you that,” said Kaplan, recalling how she temporarily relocated to Las Vegas for several weeks after the fire to escape the poor air quality and process the shock and trauma of the disaster.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mark had no clue how the plot would unfold when he embarked on the project. But he said the survey responses that informed much of the project’s lyrics were remarkably consistent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12088192\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12088192 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260618-PASADENA-ROCK-OPERA-SC05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260618-PASADENA-ROCK-OPERA-SC05-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260618-PASADENA-ROCK-OPERA-SC05-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260618-PASADENA-ROCK-OPERA-SC05-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cellist Mika Larson (center left), and composer Russell Mark (seated) with members of the Pasadena Right Here, Right Now ensemble, including Street Symphony founder Vijay Gupta (fourth from left) and Symphony board chair Georgia Hawley (right), after a live preview of the rock opera at the Midnight Mission’s weekly live music series in L.A.’s Skid Row neighborhood. \u003ccite>(Steven Cuevas for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“People love the town, they love the beauty of the town, the trees, the architecture, the mountains, the friendliness, the number of cultural institutions,” Mark said. “The answers weren’t very different at all.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It makes you feel you live somewhere significant / So listen when they tell you / We’re living in the center of the universe! Pasadena is the center of the universe,” booms the anthemic pop rock chorus in “Center of the Universe,” a centerpiece of the show that reflects the affection and local pride that so many share for the Pasadena area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s easy to forget that it doesn’t matter whether you live in a mansion or you live on the street, you’re still a member of this community,” Mark said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Hear songs from Pasadena Right Here, Right Now, on \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.russellmarkmusic.com/pasadena\">\u003cem>Mark’s website\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>With just days to go before their performance, a musical ensemble gathered in composer and singer-songwriter Russell Mark’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12071233/a-year-after-the-la-fires-a-journalist-looks-back-on-the-stories-from-his-neighborhood\">East Pasadena \u003c/a>home for rehearsal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The string quartet, which featured Mark’s wife, cellist Mika Larson, played in the dining room, while the other five musicians, twin guitars, piano, bass and drums crowded into the adjoining living room. The artists prepared for the June 6 debut of \u003ca href=\"https://www.russellmarkmusic.com/pasadena\">\u003cem>Pasadena Right Here, Right Now\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> —\u003c/em> a rock opera, inspired by Pasadena.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The musicians felt their way through the score, a biting fusion of buzzing, modern power pop melded with classical strings. The ensemble included members of the Street Symphony, a band of professional classical players led by a former Los Angeles Philharmonic violinist, that performs regular free concerts on L.A.’s Skid Row.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The story begins in Pasadena in the year 2125. A professor from the city’s renowned California Institute of Technology develops a time machine to travel back in time — to Pasadena in 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Why travel back to 2025 from 100 years in the future? Well, this is where speculative science fiction takes over. Our time-traveling Caltech heroine wants to investigate what exactly sparked the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/eaton-fire\">deadly 2025 Eaton Fire\u003c/a>. But her detective work leads to an unforeseen hiccup, typically found only in the pages of pulp sci-fi novels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The 2025 person and her companions feel like they need to show these people around and what’s happening at this chaotic time of political upheaval, natural disasters, [and show them] all of the amazing — and the equally scary — things happening in this world.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12088190\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12088190 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260618-PASADENA-ROCK-OPERA-SC03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260618-PASADENA-ROCK-OPERA-SC03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260618-PASADENA-ROCK-OPERA-SC03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260618-PASADENA-ROCK-OPERA-SC03-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Composer and singer-songwriter Russell Mark spent a year soliciting feedback from scores of Pasadena- and Altadena-area residents about the place where they live. Their detailed and, at times, emotional responses inform much of the opera’s lyrics and help guide the plot of the story. Mark kept stacks of responses around him at the studio while working on the music throughout the last year. \u003ccite>(Steven Cuevas for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Time travel aside, \u003cem>Pasadena Right Here, Right Now\u003c/em> ultimately becomes a vehicle to explore the Pasadena and Altadena area of today, a way for our present selves to explain these times to someone a hundred years in the past, and a hundred years in the future. (Spoiler alert: It’s the time machine that sparked the fire.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You can’t take that stuff too seriously, the time travel stuff, you just need to let it go,” he said, laughing. “You just have to accept it! But the backbone is this coming together of the past and the future, here in the present.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To create the lyrics, Mark spent the better part of the past year soliciting feedback from dozens of Pasadena and Altadena residents, in person and online, via a survey that asked a series of probing questions about their lives in what lots of locals affectionately call the ‘Dena.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“I’m calling this project a ‘musical time capsule,’” Mark said. “I’m asking people what they think people from 1925 will be surprised about. And what would you want people to know about you in 2125 that you think might end up distorted or mistranslated somehow?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A song called “Time Capsule” playfully namechecks a lot of the local ‘Dena treasures that survey respondents say they’d be proud to share with a resident from 1925 or 2125. This includes local gems like the sci-fi novels of longtime Altadena resident Octavia Butler, cassette tapes from Pasadena’s own hard rock heroes Van Halen, flocks of wild parrots and the feral peacocks of East Pasadena.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I made it a point to talk about this moment in 2025 and elaborate on the things that I have available to me, but also what is slightly out of my reach in the hybrid ways that we live,” said local writer Natalie Lydick, who responded to Mark’s survey questions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lydick said she wanted to remind anyone from Pasadena’s past or future that not everything modernizes as radically or as rapidly as we might think.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I said, I have a cell phone and a computer, and I’m digitally literate, but I also have two full bookshelves, and I love to read print media,” Lydick said. “Electrical vehicles are widely available, but most people, including me, still drive gas-powered cars. Hindsight creates this idea of progress, [but] time moves so much slower than we think.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That idea made its way into the lyrics of a song called “We Tried with the House,” in which one of the characters is explaining the Pasadena of today to one of the story’s time travelers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12088189\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12088189 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260618-PASADENA-ROCK-OPERA-SC02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260618-PASADENA-ROCK-OPERA-SC02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260618-PASADENA-ROCK-OPERA-SC02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260618-PASADENA-ROCK-OPERA-SC02-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Russell Mark sits in his recording studio to play some rough demos from his new project Pasadena Right Here, Right Now, an ambitious, bitter-sweet rock opera involving a time-traveling Caltech professor, the Eaton Fire and the thoughts of contemporary Pasadena-Altadena area residents. \u003ccite>(Steven Cuevas for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“And I hope you recognize the place, I hope it seems familiar / We still got cars and planes and trains / And even horses up in Altadena / We got books and vinyl records on our shelves / And we care for neighbors like we care for ourselves.”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Guitarist and backup singer Myron Kaplan recalled how she answered a survey question that asked, what would you want to put in a physical time capsule representing this community?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A snow globe with embers from a house burning down instead of snowflakes,” Kaplan said, making a direct reference to the Eaton Fire, which killed 19 people and destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses in Altadena, North Pasadena and Sierra Madre.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I mean, it was a rough year, man, anyone who lives here can tell you that,” said Kaplan, recalling how she temporarily relocated to Las Vegas for several weeks after the fire to escape the poor air quality and process the shock and trauma of the disaster.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mark had no clue how the plot would unfold when he embarked on the project. But he said the survey responses that informed much of the project’s lyrics were remarkably consistent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12088192\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12088192 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260618-PASADENA-ROCK-OPERA-SC05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260618-PASADENA-ROCK-OPERA-SC05-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260618-PASADENA-ROCK-OPERA-SC05-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260618-PASADENA-ROCK-OPERA-SC05-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cellist Mika Larson (center left), and composer Russell Mark (seated) with members of the Pasadena Right Here, Right Now ensemble, including Street Symphony founder Vijay Gupta (fourth from left) and Symphony board chair Georgia Hawley (right), after a live preview of the rock opera at the Midnight Mission’s weekly live music series in L.A.’s Skid Row neighborhood. \u003ccite>(Steven Cuevas for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“People love the town, they love the beauty of the town, the trees, the architecture, the mountains, the friendliness, the number of cultural institutions,” Mark said. “The answers weren’t very different at all.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It makes you feel you live somewhere significant / So listen when they tell you / We’re living in the center of the universe! Pasadena is the center of the universe,” booms the anthemic pop rock chorus in “Center of the Universe,” a centerpiece of the show that reflects the affection and local pride that so many share for the Pasadena area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s easy to forget that it doesn’t matter whether you live in a mansion or you live on the street, you’re still a member of this community,” Mark said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Hear songs from Pasadena Right Here, Right Now, on \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.russellmarkmusic.com/pasadena\">\u003cem>Mark’s website\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "how-a-1957-vintage-radio-rekindled-a-daughters-bond-with-her-dad",
"title": "A Daughter’s 25-Year Journey to Heal a Broken Radio—and Grieve Her Father",
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"headTitle": "A Daughter’s 25-Year Journey to Heal a Broken Radio—and Grieve Her Father | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Not long after my dad’s death in January of 1999, I was tasked with the inventorying and selling of his vast and varied collection of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/10559298/at-cupertinos-electronics-flea-market-yesterdays-high-tech-is-todays-treasure\">audio equipment\u003c/a>. While in a state of shock — he was only 59, I was only 29 — I surveyed his former audio domain: a garage studio that still smelled of his cigars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was the age of synthesizers, and a huge mixing board dominated the room. Below it, an array of equipment racks blinked at me. Above, two black speakers the size of file drawers perched like sentinels of the advancing era of digital music production.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My father, Fred Myrow, was a talented composer following in the footsteps of multiple generations of talented musicians. He wrote avant-garde music. He was briefly the composer-in-residence at the New York Philharmonic (\u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@rmyrow20/ashes-ashes-we-all-fall-down-ddf305a74003\">until he met my mom\u003c/a> and blew a deadline by failing to finish a composition for which posters had already been put up around the city).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Later, he wrote\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdVb9jC_El0\"> soundtracks\u003c/a> for movies like\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079714/\"> \u003cem>Phantasm\u003c/em>\u003c/a> and\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070723/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\"> \u003cem>Soylent Green\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. (I know, I know: “Soylent Green is people!”) He also wrote music for the theater; my favorites were his collaborations with the adventurous — and also gone-from-us-too-soon —\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reza_Abdoh\"> Reza Abdoh\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My father’s four-decade career spanned multiple technologies. Some he borrowed, like the foot-pedal-powered\u003ca href=\"blank\"> Movieolas\u003c/a> that Hollywood studios lent him to support his soundtrack writing. When I was a small girl in the early 1970s, he would call me over to watch a silent scene with him on a Movieola’s tiny screen, singing out a melody in falsetto before marking the notes on score paper with colored pencils.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12041340\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12041340\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A 1950s era West German radio features a wood cabinet and grille.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-02-KQED-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-02-KQED-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-02-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-02-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-02-KQED-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In 1999, KQED’s Rachael Myrow discovered her father’s Telefunken Opus 7. She wiped off decades of dust and plugged it in. After a slight delay, an orchestra filled the room with a warm, rich sound that took her breath away. Seconds later, the radio died and the air filled with the smell of burning dust. \u003ccite>(Rachael Myrow/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As the years passed, he bought other machines — and inevitably stored them as they became obsolete, including three \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/12198994/how-bing-crosby-and-silicon-valley-revolutionized-radio-and-tv\">reel-to-reel tape machines\u003c/a> widely used for high-fidelity audio work from the 1940s through the end of the 20th century.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I used them myself at the beginning of my career in public radio at \u003cem>Marketplace\u003c/em>. Why he needed three of them, I’ll never know. Obviously, he had a hoarding problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But of all the machines I found in that overstuffed garage, the most marvelous was a 1957 tabletop Telefunken Opus 7, a vintage radio covered in thick dust and buried in the back of a loft.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like so many radios in the mid-20th century, it was housed in a handsomely crafted wooden cabinet, with a gorgeous grille above a glass panel featuring gold-painted tuning options — AM and FM, of course, but also shortwave, with helpful markers for Munich, Stuttgart, New York, Paris, Rome, even\u003ca href=\"https://www.vaticannews.va/en.html\"> Vatican Radio\u003c/a>.[aside postID=news_12043312 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/CLAIRE-SCHWARTZ-L-AND-NINA-RAJ-WITH-A-CHILD_S-DRAWING-RECOVERED-BY-RAJ-AFTER-THE-EATON-FIRE-KQED-1020x765.jpg']I hauled the Opus 7 down, wiped off the surface dust and plugged it in. The lights behind its panel glowed softly and yellow. After a slight delay, an orchestra filled the room with a warm, rich sound. It took my breath away. Seconds later, the sound faded, followed by a crackle — and then the air filled with the smell of burning dust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whoops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I opened the back of the Opus 7 and stared at the dust-covered metallic innards. I was a radio reporter, but I’d never seen the inside of a radio. To my untrained eye, the vacuum tubes looked burned out. So I’d need to replace them? I put them in a little box, but I didn’t have the vaguest idea where to find new tubes — nor the money or time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That is to say, I had a lot to deal with after my dad died. Each time I moved in the years that followed — and I moved many times — I’d haul the radio with me, thinking, “I really should get this thing fixed.” The radio became a psychologically fraught loose end, one of many gathering dust in the recesses of my subconscious.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seven years after his death, my career brought me from Los Angeles, where I grew up, to the San Francisco Bay Area. The radio sat in storage until I moved into a home with more space. So much time had passed — 16 years! — I’d forgotten all about it. Perched silently on top of a bureau, the radio seemed to rebuke me: “When will you fix me? When will my sound fill a room again?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12041347\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12041347\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A museum display of vacuum tubes from the 20th century.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-09-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-09-KQED-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-09-KQED-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-09-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-09-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-09-KQED-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In the early days of radio, vacuum tubes, like these on display at the California Historical Radio Society in Alameda, California, amplified weak electromagnetic signals picked up by the antenna. \u003ccite>(Rachael Myrow/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On the recommendation of colleagues at KQED, I found the repair directory for the\u003ca href=\"https://californiahistoricalradio.com/repair-directory/\"> California Historical Radio Society\u003c/a> and got in touch with\u003ca href=\"https://www.simonsvintagerepair.com\"> Simon Favre\u003c/a>. I visited the retired Silicon Valley engineer in his Milpitas living room, which was filled with cabinet radios in various stages of repair.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I like the style of the early-to-mid-20th-century radios,” he told me. “I guess it’s kind of nostalgia. There was a certain style to that era, you know, the 20s up to the 50s. It’s kind of my sweet spot for fixing things.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 72-year-old Favre, who worked in various roles for Silicon Valley companies, has been a “hardware guy” and a “tinkerer” since childhood. He diagnosed the problems with my Opus 7 and, for $200, replaced some capacitors, mended a plastic tuning wheel with super glue and baking soda, and yes, replaced the vacuum tubes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I plugged the radio in at home, there was a pause, then a rush of static. I turned the dial slightly, and orchestral strings once again filled the air. I jumped up and down with delight. If only Dad could see it — and hear it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12041341\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12041341\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A framed photograph of a young, smiling man.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-03-KQED-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-03-KQED-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-03-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-03-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-03-KQED-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fred Myrow as a young man, full of hope and confidence for his life and career. \u003ccite>(Rachael Myrow/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It was surprisingly easy to restore the physical radio. But the radio’s backstory remained a mystery. Did my father purchase it when he studied in the early 1960s at the\u003ca href=\"http://www.santacecilia.it/en/chi_siamo/accademia/storia.html\"> Santa Cecilia Academy of Music\u003c/a> in Rome? Was it a gift to him from my grandparents? A nostalgic find bought from a secondhand store?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Time tears at the wiring that connects us to the people who fix us in space and time. As we age and those around us die, the connections and the stories burn out, one by one. Just a handful of people who knew my dad are still around — people, I thought, who just might know.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I texted a photo of the radio to my godfather, the magnificent composer and arranger\u003ca href=\"https://flypaper.soundfly.com/discover/inimitable-legacy-van-dyke-parks-journey-song/\"> Van Dyke Parks\u003c/a>. He and my dad were like two peas in a pod, similar in talent and outlook. Van Dyke texted back to remind me that he didn’t meet my dad until 1967 or ’68. But remarkably, Van Dyke had bought that exact radio model in 1957 when he was a boy, while acting in a \u003cem>Heidi\u003c/em> film for RKO in Munich.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Van Dyke rang me on the phone, his mind racing with memories. “You hit the heartstrings with that particular picture. So beautiful to behold,” he said. While he didn’t know the particulars of my dad’s radio or how he acquired it, Van Dyke recalled what the Opus 7 meant in a time before satellites and the internet accustomed us to tinny, compressed music on demand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12041346\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12041346\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-08-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"The insides of a 1957 radio feature dust covered speakers above a dust covered chassis of other radio parts.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-08-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-08-KQED-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-08-KQED-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-08-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-08-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-08-KQED-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view inside the unrepaired Telefunken Opus 7. \u003ccite>(Rachael Myrow/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“This was a big deal, shortwave,” he sighed, thinking back to happy hours spent listening to great European conductors like\u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/03/arts/music/otto-klemperer-conductor.html\"> Otto Klemperer\u003c/a>. Then, being the strings specialist he is, Van Dyke praised the way tube amps make partials (higher-frequency vibrations) that you get from a rosin bow “really available.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I know what he means, even without having his classical training. In that brief moment back in 1999, when my dad’s radio surged to life, I responded most to the harmonic thrum of the string instruments. A quarter-century later, the memory of that sound rushed back, twinned with grief and nostalgia for my father and his music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The internet has afforded my father some posthumous appreciation, especially in the comments sections on YouTube clips of his soundtracks. I wish he were alive to read them, given how much he struggled when alive for his music to be heard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of the people we love die before we do, leaving us \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13824126/the-dead-will-talk-to-you-now-or-at-least-listen-in-santa-cruz\">helplessly nostalgic\u003c/a>. My own nostalgia comes attached to the music my father left as his legacy, along with the equipment that fostered his creativity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I still have a number of microcassette tapes on which my dad recorded many notes to himself. A quarter-century later, it’s still too painful for me to listen to the sound of his voice, especially from the last years of his life. The white-hot grief I felt in 1999 comes rushing up, and I have to hit the stop button. The tapes sit in a box on a high shelf in my own home studio now, gathering their own dust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But when I turn on that Telefunken Opus 7, with the dial set to the Bay Area’s classical station, KDFC, the panel glows with that warm, yellow light, the vacuum tubes engage, and an orchestra fills my room.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My heart grows full as the music swells, and I can feel my dad wink at me from across an otherwise unbreachable expanse of space and time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Not long after my dad’s death in January of 1999, I was tasked with the inventorying and selling of his vast and varied collection of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/10559298/at-cupertinos-electronics-flea-market-yesterdays-high-tech-is-todays-treasure\">audio equipment\u003c/a>. While in a state of shock — he was only 59, I was only 29 — I surveyed his former audio domain: a garage studio that still smelled of his cigars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was the age of synthesizers, and a huge mixing board dominated the room. Below it, an array of equipment racks blinked at me. Above, two black speakers the size of file drawers perched like sentinels of the advancing era of digital music production.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My father, Fred Myrow, was a talented composer following in the footsteps of multiple generations of talented musicians. He wrote avant-garde music. He was briefly the composer-in-residence at the New York Philharmonic (\u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@rmyrow20/ashes-ashes-we-all-fall-down-ddf305a74003\">until he met my mom\u003c/a> and blew a deadline by failing to finish a composition for which posters had already been put up around the city).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Later, he wrote\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdVb9jC_El0\"> soundtracks\u003c/a> for movies like\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079714/\"> \u003cem>Phantasm\u003c/em>\u003c/a> and\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070723/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\"> \u003cem>Soylent Green\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. (I know, I know: “Soylent Green is people!”) He also wrote music for the theater; my favorites were his collaborations with the adventurous — and also gone-from-us-too-soon —\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reza_Abdoh\"> Reza Abdoh\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My father’s four-decade career spanned multiple technologies. Some he borrowed, like the foot-pedal-powered\u003ca href=\"blank\"> Movieolas\u003c/a> that Hollywood studios lent him to support his soundtrack writing. When I was a small girl in the early 1970s, he would call me over to watch a silent scene with him on a Movieola’s tiny screen, singing out a melody in falsetto before marking the notes on score paper with colored pencils.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12041340\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12041340\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A 1950s era West German radio features a wood cabinet and grille.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-02-KQED-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-02-KQED-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-02-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-02-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-02-KQED-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In 1999, KQED’s Rachael Myrow discovered her father’s Telefunken Opus 7. She wiped off decades of dust and plugged it in. After a slight delay, an orchestra filled the room with a warm, rich sound that took her breath away. Seconds later, the radio died and the air filled with the smell of burning dust. \u003ccite>(Rachael Myrow/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As the years passed, he bought other machines — and inevitably stored them as they became obsolete, including three \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/12198994/how-bing-crosby-and-silicon-valley-revolutionized-radio-and-tv\">reel-to-reel tape machines\u003c/a> widely used for high-fidelity audio work from the 1940s through the end of the 20th century.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I used them myself at the beginning of my career in public radio at \u003cem>Marketplace\u003c/em>. Why he needed three of them, I’ll never know. Obviously, he had a hoarding problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But of all the machines I found in that overstuffed garage, the most marvelous was a 1957 tabletop Telefunken Opus 7, a vintage radio covered in thick dust and buried in the back of a loft.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like so many radios in the mid-20th century, it was housed in a handsomely crafted wooden cabinet, with a gorgeous grille above a glass panel featuring gold-painted tuning options — AM and FM, of course, but also shortwave, with helpful markers for Munich, Stuttgart, New York, Paris, Rome, even\u003ca href=\"https://www.vaticannews.va/en.html\"> Vatican Radio\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>I hauled the Opus 7 down, wiped off the surface dust and plugged it in. The lights behind its panel glowed softly and yellow. After a slight delay, an orchestra filled the room with a warm, rich sound. It took my breath away. Seconds later, the sound faded, followed by a crackle — and then the air filled with the smell of burning dust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whoops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I opened the back of the Opus 7 and stared at the dust-covered metallic innards. I was a radio reporter, but I’d never seen the inside of a radio. To my untrained eye, the vacuum tubes looked burned out. So I’d need to replace them? I put them in a little box, but I didn’t have the vaguest idea where to find new tubes — nor the money or time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That is to say, I had a lot to deal with after my dad died. Each time I moved in the years that followed — and I moved many times — I’d haul the radio with me, thinking, “I really should get this thing fixed.” The radio became a psychologically fraught loose end, one of many gathering dust in the recesses of my subconscious.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seven years after his death, my career brought me from Los Angeles, where I grew up, to the San Francisco Bay Area. The radio sat in storage until I moved into a home with more space. So much time had passed — 16 years! — I’d forgotten all about it. Perched silently on top of a bureau, the radio seemed to rebuke me: “When will you fix me? When will my sound fill a room again?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12041347\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12041347\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A museum display of vacuum tubes from the 20th century.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-09-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-09-KQED-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-09-KQED-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-09-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-09-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-09-KQED-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In the early days of radio, vacuum tubes, like these on display at the California Historical Radio Society in Alameda, California, amplified weak electromagnetic signals picked up by the antenna. \u003ccite>(Rachael Myrow/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On the recommendation of colleagues at KQED, I found the repair directory for the\u003ca href=\"https://californiahistoricalradio.com/repair-directory/\"> California Historical Radio Society\u003c/a> and got in touch with\u003ca href=\"https://www.simonsvintagerepair.com\"> Simon Favre\u003c/a>. I visited the retired Silicon Valley engineer in his Milpitas living room, which was filled with cabinet radios in various stages of repair.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I like the style of the early-to-mid-20th-century radios,” he told me. “I guess it’s kind of nostalgia. There was a certain style to that era, you know, the 20s up to the 50s. It’s kind of my sweet spot for fixing things.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 72-year-old Favre, who worked in various roles for Silicon Valley companies, has been a “hardware guy” and a “tinkerer” since childhood. He diagnosed the problems with my Opus 7 and, for $200, replaced some capacitors, mended a plastic tuning wheel with super glue and baking soda, and yes, replaced the vacuum tubes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I plugged the radio in at home, there was a pause, then a rush of static. I turned the dial slightly, and orchestral strings once again filled the air. I jumped up and down with delight. If only Dad could see it — and hear it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12041341\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12041341\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A framed photograph of a young, smiling man.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-03-KQED-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-03-KQED-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-03-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-03-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-03-KQED-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fred Myrow as a young man, full of hope and confidence for his life and career. \u003ccite>(Rachael Myrow/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It was surprisingly easy to restore the physical radio. But the radio’s backstory remained a mystery. Did my father purchase it when he studied in the early 1960s at the\u003ca href=\"http://www.santacecilia.it/en/chi_siamo/accademia/storia.html\"> Santa Cecilia Academy of Music\u003c/a> in Rome? Was it a gift to him from my grandparents? A nostalgic find bought from a secondhand store?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Time tears at the wiring that connects us to the people who fix us in space and time. As we age and those around us die, the connections and the stories burn out, one by one. Just a handful of people who knew my dad are still around — people, I thought, who just might know.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I texted a photo of the radio to my godfather, the magnificent composer and arranger\u003ca href=\"https://flypaper.soundfly.com/discover/inimitable-legacy-van-dyke-parks-journey-song/\"> Van Dyke Parks\u003c/a>. He and my dad were like two peas in a pod, similar in talent and outlook. Van Dyke texted back to remind me that he didn’t meet my dad until 1967 or ’68. But remarkably, Van Dyke had bought that exact radio model in 1957 when he was a boy, while acting in a \u003cem>Heidi\u003c/em> film for RKO in Munich.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Van Dyke rang me on the phone, his mind racing with memories. “You hit the heartstrings with that particular picture. So beautiful to behold,” he said. While he didn’t know the particulars of my dad’s radio or how he acquired it, Van Dyke recalled what the Opus 7 meant in a time before satellites and the internet accustomed us to tinny, compressed music on demand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12041346\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12041346\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-08-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"The insides of a 1957 radio feature dust covered speakers above a dust covered chassis of other radio parts.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-08-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-08-KQED-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-08-KQED-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-08-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-08-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250522-RADIO-RADIO-RM-08-KQED-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view inside the unrepaired Telefunken Opus 7. \u003ccite>(Rachael Myrow/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“This was a big deal, shortwave,” he sighed, thinking back to happy hours spent listening to great European conductors like\u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/03/arts/music/otto-klemperer-conductor.html\"> Otto Klemperer\u003c/a>. Then, being the strings specialist he is, Van Dyke praised the way tube amps make partials (higher-frequency vibrations) that you get from a rosin bow “really available.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I know what he means, even without having his classical training. In that brief moment back in 1999, when my dad’s radio surged to life, I responded most to the harmonic thrum of the string instruments. A quarter-century later, the memory of that sound rushed back, twinned with grief and nostalgia for my father and his music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The internet has afforded my father some posthumous appreciation, especially in the comments sections on YouTube clips of his soundtracks. I wish he were alive to read them, given how much he struggled when alive for his music to be heard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of the people we love die before we do, leaving us \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13824126/the-dead-will-talk-to-you-now-or-at-least-listen-in-santa-cruz\">helplessly nostalgic\u003c/a>. My own nostalgia comes attached to the music my father left as his legacy, along with the equipment that fostered his creativity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I still have a number of microcassette tapes on which my dad recorded many notes to himself. A quarter-century later, it’s still too painful for me to listen to the sound of his voice, especially from the last years of his life. The white-hot grief I felt in 1999 comes rushing up, and I have to hit the stop button. The tapes sit in a box on a high shelf in my own home studio now, gathering their own dust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But when I turn on that Telefunken Opus 7, with the dial set to the Bay Area’s classical station, KDFC, the panel glows with that warm, yellow light, the vacuum tubes engage, and an orchestra fills my room.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My heart grows full as the music swells, and I can feel my dad wink at me from across an otherwise unbreachable expanse of space and time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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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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"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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"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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},
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"info": "The Snap Judgment radio show and podcast mixes real stories with killer beats to produce cinematic, dramatic radio. Snap's musical brand of storytelling dares listeners to see the world through the eyes of another. This is storytelling... with a BEAT!! Snap first aired on public radio stations nationwide in July 2010. Today, Snap Judgment airs on over 450 public radio stations and is brought to the airwaves by KQED & PRX.",
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"soldout": {
"id": "soldout",
"title": "SOLD OUT: Rethinking Housing in America",
"tagline": "A new future for housing",
"info": "Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America",
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