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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Classes let out at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/berkeley\">Berkeley\u003c/a> High School at 3:33 pm on a recent weekday, and within minutes, scores of teenagers streamed into the Target a few blocks away on Shattuck Avenue for their afternoon soda fix.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sophomore Kiko Kopman stood in the check-out line clutching a wild-berry-flavored Red Bull, a near-daily purchase to keep him going through his early mornings and long days.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I usually try to match the Red Bull to the outfit, and if there’s no good match, then to the hair,” he said, pointing toward his spiky hot pink do. “So, gotta go with the hot pink Red Bull.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-22-KQED-67c209e1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002471\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-22-KQED-67c209e1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-22-KQED-67c209e1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-22-KQED-67c209e1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-22-KQED-67c209e1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kiko Kopman poses for a photo holding a wild-berry-flavored Red Bull outside of Target in Berkeley on Oct. 29, 2026. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kopman said the caffeine content drove his purchase, but he was hit with some sticker shock when he looked at how much sugar was in it — 38 grams — and learned that the tax on his 12-ounce sugary drink could double in the near future, from 12 cents to 24 cents. That’s if Berkeley voters pass \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyvsbigsoda.org/\">Measure AA\u003c/a> this November, raising the soda tax from 1 cent per fluid ounce to 2 cents. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The city was the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/10347220/how-did-berkeley-pass-a-soda-tax-when-other-cities-failed\">first in the nation\u003c/a> to pass a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages in 2014 and, since then, seven other cities have followed suit, including Philadelphia, Seattle and most recently, Santa Cruz. But as these measures have succeeded as intended — persuading people to drink less soda — the tax revenues they bring in have dropped in kind, forcing Berkeley to propose doubling its tax in order to maintain the health and education programs that have come to depend on those revenues. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Staring at the can in his hands, Kopman and several other teens said the price hike would definitely make them think twice before buying in the future.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I’m on a budget right now,” said junior William Huff, who partakes in an occasional root beer at 7-Eleven, where the new tax on a Big Gulp could run between 64 cents and $1.28. “Prices have definitely been on my mind, like the price of college, price of housing for college. So being put into a situation where I have to be wise with my money will definitely change my spending habits.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This kind of behavior change is exactly the outcome hoped for by proponents of soda taxes: to get people to reduce their consumption of sugary drinks as a means of improving health. Research from the past decade indicates that such taxes have worked.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“They’ve reduced intake of sugar, they’ve improved weight status,” said Sara Bleich, public health policy professor at Harvard. “They’ve also improved oral health; they’ve improved pregnancy and birth outcomes.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Early on, critics hypothesized that people would simply travel to neighboring cities without the tax to buy their soda and sports drinks. \u003ca href=\"https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2733208\">Studies show\u003c/a> this did happen, but it only accounted for a fraction of the decline in sugar-sweetened beverage sales — when controlling for cross-border shopping, sugary drink purchases still plummeted 33% across five cities: Philadelphia, Seattle, San Francisco, Oakland and Boulder. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The health benefits of reducing sugar followed. Studies find an association between cities with soda taxes and reduced body mass index among \u003ca href=\"https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2821695\">children\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165176523005335\">high school students\u003c/a>, as well as a decrease in obesity among \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34902003/\">adolescent girls\u003c/a>. In Philadelphia, \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36863896/\">tooth decay among low-income children\u003c/a> fell 30% in the two years after the soda tax was implemented.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1463\" data-id=\"2002467\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-12-KQED_1-02df7a8e.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002467\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-12-KQED_1-02df7a8e.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-12-KQED_1-02df7a8e-160x117.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-12-KQED_1-02df7a8e-768x562.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-12-KQED_1-02df7a8e-1536x1124.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sodas on shelves at E-Z Stop Deli in Berkeley on Oct. 29, 2026. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" data-id=\"2002465\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-2-KQED-ca5507d9.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002465\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-2-KQED-ca5507d9.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-2-KQED-ca5507d9-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-2-KQED-ca5507d9-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-2-KQED-ca5507d9-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ramona Cohen shops for a Yerba Mate during her lunch break at E-Z Stop Deli in Berkeley on Oct. 29, 2026. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I have been in the health policy world for 20 years, and there are very, very few things that provide those sorts of outcomes,” Bleich said. “It’s the largest behavioral impact I’ve ever seen.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Berkeley, the soda tax worked so well, it started to work against itself. As people bought less soda, tax revenues slumped, from $1.5 million a year to $1 million. In Philadelphia, \u003ca href=\"https://picapa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Phila-Bev-Tax-Fact-Sheet.pdf\">tax revenues fell\u003c/a> from $77 million to $68 million over seven years. This is the curse of so-called vice taxes: as they become more successful at curbing bad habits, the programs that depend on the tax revenues begin to suffer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is the reasoning behind Berkeley’s attempt to double its soda tax: to raise more money for the health services and education programs funded by the tax. Martin Bourque, executive director of \u003ca href=\"https://theecologycenter.org/\">the Ecology Center\u003c/a>, one of the backers of the soda tax, said almost a full generation of kids have been educated through soda-tax funded healthy eating programs, from the preschool level to elementary school and into the teenage years.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>We’re hitting susceptible, vulnerable young people at multiple points as they come through these organizations and educational institutions,” he said. “We need to keep doing that. We need to do more of it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The beverage industry has fought vociferously to defeat soda taxes. Before Berkeley, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/10347220/how-did-berkeley-pass-a-soda-tax-when-other-cities-failed\">30 other cities\u003c/a> had attempted to pass one and failed. The industry spent $2.3 million opposing Berkeley’s initial campaign in 2014, and though it’s spent nothing this time around, it contends the increased tax will only do harm.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Doubling taxes on groceries when family budgets are already stretched thin will hurt Berkeley families, small businesses and their employees,” said Steven Maviglio of the American Beverage Association of California. “They disproportionately burden those who can least afford it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the E-Z Stop Deli on Shattuck, owner Ali Ereikat said he is not a fan of raising the soda tax. He thinks teaching kids about the harms of sugar is the better way to go.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Education is more important than penalizing,” he said. “Educate them. Don’t charge them more.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-19-KQED-f23e0cff.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002469\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-19-KQED-f23e0cff.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-19-KQED-f23e0cff-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-19-KQED-f23e0cff-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-19-KQED-f23e0cff-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">William Huff poses for a photo holding a Sprite bottle outside of Target in Berkeley on Oct. 29, 2026. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Indeed, education is a key focus of the Berkeley tax revenue. About half the funds are used to provide health services to low-income communities, including primary and dental care, while the other half funds nutrition classes and gardening programs at Berkeley public schools — classes that Kopman took in middle school.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“The image that popped into my head was like a pile of sugar,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said he remembers a demonstration where the teacher lined up a can of Coke, iced tea, fruit punch and water. Then, to illustrate the sugar content of each one, spooned an actual pile of sugar onto the table.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Some of those were crazy,” Kopman said, adding, if the tax money goes to a good cause like that, “then I think there’s no reason not to have it.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Classes let out at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/berkeley\">Berkeley\u003c/a> High School at 3:33 pm on a recent weekday, and within minutes, scores of teenagers streamed into the Target a few blocks away on Shattuck Avenue for their afternoon soda fix.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Classes let out at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/berkeley\">Berkeley\u003c/a> High School at 3:33 pm on a recent weekday, and within minutes, scores of teenagers streamed into the Target a few blocks away on Shattuck Avenue for their afternoon soda fix.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Sophomore Kiko Kopman stood in the check-out line clutching a wild-berry-flavored Red Bull, a near-daily purchase to keep him going through his early mornings and long days.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Sophomore Kiko Kopman stood in the check-out line clutching a wild-berry-flavored Red Bull, a near-daily purchase to keep him going through his early mornings and long days.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I usually try to match the Red Bull to the outfit, and if there’s no good match, then to the hair,” he said, pointing toward his spiky hot pink do. “So, gotta go with the hot pink Red Bull.”\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/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-22-KQED-67c209e1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002471\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-22-KQED-67c209e1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-22-KQED-67c209e1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-22-KQED-67c209e1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-22-KQED-67c209e1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kiko Kopman poses for a photo holding a wild-berry-flavored Red Bull outside of Target in Berkeley on Oct. 29, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-22-KQED-67c209e1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002471\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kiko Kopman poses for a photo holding a wild-berry-flavored Red Bull outside of Target in Berkeley on Oct. 29, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Kopman said the caffeine content drove his purchase, but he was hit with some sticker shock when he looked at how much sugar was in it — 38 grams — and learned that the tax on his 12-ounce sugary drink could double in the near future, from 12 cents to 24 cents. That’s if Berkeley voters pass \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyvsbigsoda.org/\">Measure AA\u003c/a> this November, raising the soda tax from 1 cent per fluid ounce to 2 cents. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Kopman said the caffeine content drove his purchase, but he was hit with some sticker shock when he looked at how much sugar was in it — 38 grams — and learned that the tax on his 12-ounce sugary drink could double in the near future, from 12 cents to 24 cents. That’s if Berkeley voters pass \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyvsbigsoda.org/\">Measure AA\u003c/a> this November, raising the soda tax from 1 cent per fluid ounce to 2 cents. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The city was the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/10347220/how-did-berkeley-pass-a-soda-tax-when-other-cities-failed\">first in the nation\u003c/a> to pass a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages in 2014 and, since then, seven other cities have followed suit, including Philadelphia, Seattle and most recently, Santa Cruz. But as these measures have succeeded as intended — persuading people to drink less soda — the tax revenues they bring in have dropped in kind, forcing Berkeley to propose doubling its tax in order to maintain the health and education programs that have come to depend on those revenues. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The city was the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/10347220/how-did-berkeley-pass-a-soda-tax-when-other-cities-failed\">first in the nation\u003c/a> to pass a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages in 2014 and, since then, seven other cities have followed suit, including Philadelphia, Seattle and most recently, Santa Cruz. But as these measures have succeeded as intended — persuading people to drink less soda — the tax revenues they bring in have dropped in kind, forcing Berkeley to propose doubling its tax in order to maintain the health and education programs that have come to depend on those revenues. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Staring at the can in his hands, Kopman and several other teens said the price hike would definitely make them think twice before buying in the future.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Staring at the can in his hands, Kopman and several other teens said the price hike would definitely make them think twice before buying in the future.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I’m on a budget right now,” said junior William Huff, who partakes in an occasional root beer at 7-Eleven, where the new tax on a Big Gulp could run between 64 cents and $1.28. “Prices have definitely been on my mind, like the price of college, price of housing for college. So being put into a situation where I have to be wise with my money will definitely change my spending habits.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I’m on a budget right now,” said junior William Huff, who partakes in an occasional root beer at 7-Eleven, where the new tax on a Big Gulp could run between 64 cents and $1.28. “Prices have definitely been on my mind, like the price of college, price of housing for college. So being put into a situation where I have to be wise with my money will definitely change my spending habits.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This kind of behavior change is exactly the outcome hoped for by proponents of soda taxes: to get people to reduce their consumption of sugary drinks as a means of improving health. Research from the past decade indicates that such taxes have worked.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>This kind of behavior change is exactly the outcome hoped for by proponents of soda taxes: to get people to reduce their consumption of sugary drinks as a means of improving health. Research from the past decade indicates that such taxes have worked.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“They’ve reduced intake of sugar, they’ve improved weight status,” said Sara Bleich, public health policy professor at Harvard. “They’ve also improved oral health; they’ve improved pregnancy and birth outcomes.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“They’ve reduced intake of sugar, they’ve improved weight status,” said Sara Bleich, public health policy professor at Harvard. “They’ve also improved oral health; they’ve improved pregnancy and birth outcomes.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Early on, critics hypothesized that people would simply travel to neighboring cities without the tax to buy their soda and sports drinks. \u003ca href=\"https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2733208\">Studies show\u003c/a> this did happen, but it only accounted for a fraction of the decline in sugar-sweetened beverage sales — when controlling for cross-border shopping, sugary drink purchases still plummeted 33% across five cities: Philadelphia, Seattle, San Francisco, Oakland and Boulder. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Early on, critics hypothesized that people would simply travel to neighboring cities without the tax to buy their soda and sports drinks. \u003ca href=\"https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2733208\">Studies show\u003c/a> this did happen, but it only accounted for a fraction of the decline in sugar-sweetened beverage sales — when controlling for cross-border shopping, sugary drink purchases still plummeted 33% across five cities: Philadelphia, Seattle, San Francisco, Oakland and Boulder. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The health benefits of reducing sugar followed. Studies find an association between cities with soda taxes and reduced body mass index among \u003ca href=\"https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2821695\">children\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165176523005335\">high school students\u003c/a>, as well as a decrease in obesity among \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34902003/\">adolescent girls\u003c/a>. In Philadelphia, \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36863896/\">tooth decay among low-income children\u003c/a> fell 30% in the two years after the soda tax was implemented.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The health benefits of reducing sugar followed. Studies find an association between cities with soda taxes and reduced body mass index among \u003ca href=\"https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2821695\">children\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165176523005335\">high school students\u003c/a>, as well as a decrease in obesity among \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34902003/\">adolescent girls\u003c/a>. In Philadelphia, \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36863896/\">tooth decay among low-income children\u003c/a> fell 30% in the two years after the soda tax was implemented.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-12-KQED_1-02df7a8e.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002467\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sodas on shelves at E-Z Stop Deli in Berkeley on Oct. 29, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-12-KQED_1-02df7a8e.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002467\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sodas on shelves at E-Z Stop Deli in Berkeley on Oct. 29, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-2-KQED-ca5507d9.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002465\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ramona Cohen shops for a Yerba Mate during her lunch break at E-Z Stop Deli in Berkeley on Oct. 29, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-2-KQED-ca5507d9.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002465\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ramona Cohen shops for a Yerba Mate during her lunch break at E-Z Stop Deli in Berkeley on Oct. 29, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I have been in the health policy world for 20 years, and there are very, very few things that provide those sorts of outcomes,” Bleich said. “It’s the largest behavioral impact I’ve ever seen.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In Berkeley, the soda tax worked so well, it started to work against itself. As people bought less soda, tax revenues slumped, from $1.5 million a year to $1 million. In Philadelphia, \u003ca href=\"https://picapa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Phila-Bev-Tax-Fact-Sheet.pdf\">tax revenues fell\u003c/a> from $77 million to $68 million over seven years. This is the curse of so-called vice taxes: as they become more successful at curbing bad habits, the programs that depend on the tax revenues begin to suffer.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In Berkeley, the soda tax worked so well, it started to work against itself. As people bought less soda, tax revenues slumped, from $1.5 million a year to $1 million. In Philadelphia, \u003ca href=\"https://picapa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Phila-Bev-Tax-Fact-Sheet.pdf\">tax revenues fell\u003c/a> from $77 million to $68 million over seven years. This is the curse of so-called vice taxes: as they become more successful at curbing bad habits, the programs that depend on the tax revenues begin to suffer.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This is the reasoning behind Berkeley’s attempt to double its soda tax: to raise more money for the health services and education programs funded by the tax. Martin Bourque, executive director of \u003ca href=\"https://theecologycenter.org/\">the Ecology Center\u003c/a>, one of the backers of the soda tax, said almost a full generation of kids have been educated through soda-tax funded healthy eating programs, from the preschool level to elementary school and into the teenage years.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>This is the reasoning behind Berkeley’s attempt to double its soda tax: to raise more money for the health services and education programs funded by the tax. Martin Bourque, executive director of \u003ca href=\"https://theecologycenter.org/\">the Ecology Center\u003c/a>, one of the backers of the soda tax, said almost a full generation of kids have been educated through soda-tax funded healthy eating programs, from the preschool level to elementary school and into the teenage years.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>We’re hitting susceptible, vulnerable young people at multiple points as they come through these organizations and educational institutions,” he said. “We need to keep doing that. We need to do more of it.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>We’re hitting susceptible, vulnerable young people at multiple points as they come through these organizations and educational institutions,” he said. “We need to keep doing that. We need to do more of it.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The beverage industry has fought vociferously to defeat soda taxes. Before Berkeley, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/10347220/how-did-berkeley-pass-a-soda-tax-when-other-cities-failed\">30 other cities\u003c/a> had attempted to pass one and failed. The industry spent $2.3 million opposing Berkeley’s initial campaign in 2014, and though it’s spent nothing this time around, it contends the increased tax will only do harm.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The beverage industry has fought vociferously to defeat soda taxes. Before Berkeley, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/10347220/how-did-berkeley-pass-a-soda-tax-when-other-cities-failed\">30 other cities\u003c/a> had attempted to pass one and failed. The industry spent $2.3 million opposing Berkeley’s initial campaign in 2014, and though it’s spent nothing this time around, it contends the increased tax will only do harm.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Doubling taxes on groceries when family budgets are already stretched thin will hurt Berkeley families, small businesses and their employees,” said Steven Maviglio of the American Beverage Association of California. “They disproportionately burden those who can least afford it.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Doubling taxes on groceries when family budgets are already stretched thin will hurt Berkeley families, small businesses and their employees,” said Steven Maviglio of the American Beverage Association of California. “They disproportionately burden those who can least afford it.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At the E-Z Stop Deli on Shattuck, owner Ali Ereikat said he is not a fan of raising the soda tax. He thinks teaching kids about the harms of sugar is the better way to go.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>At the E-Z Stop Deli on Shattuck, owner Ali Ereikat said he is not a fan of raising the soda tax. He thinks teaching kids about the harms of sugar is the better way to go.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Education is more important than penalizing,” he said. “Educate them. Don’t charge them more.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Indeed, education is a key focus of the Berkeley tax revenue. About half the funds are used to provide health services to low-income communities, including primary and dental care, while the other half funds nutrition classes and gardening programs at Berkeley public schools — classes that Kopman took in middle school.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Indeed, education is a key focus of the Berkeley tax revenue. About half the funds are used to provide health services to low-income communities, including primary and dental care, while the other half funds nutrition classes and gardening programs at Berkeley public schools — classes that Kopman took in middle school.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The image that popped into my head was like a pile of sugar,” he said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Berkeley was the first city in the U.S. to pass a tax on sugary drinks in 2014. This election, the city is asking voters to double it to 2 cents per fluid ounce.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Classes let out at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/berkeley\">Berkeley\u003c/a> High School at 3:33 pm on a recent weekday, and within minutes, scores of teenagers streamed into the Target a few blocks away on Shattuck Avenue for their afternoon soda fix.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sophomore Kiko Kopman stood in the check-out line clutching a wild-berry-flavored Red Bull, a near-daily purchase to keep him going through his early mornings and long days.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I usually try to match the Red Bull to the outfit, and if there’s no good match, then to the hair,” he said, pointing toward his spiky hot pink do. “So, gotta go with the hot pink Red Bull.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-22-KQED-67c209e1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002471\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-22-KQED-67c209e1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-22-KQED-67c209e1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-22-KQED-67c209e1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-22-KQED-67c209e1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kiko Kopman poses for a photo holding a wild-berry-flavored Red Bull outside of Target in Berkeley on Oct. 29, 2026. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kopman said the caffeine content drove his purchase, but he was hit with some sticker shock when he looked at how much sugar was in it — 38 grams — and learned that the tax on his 12-ounce sugary drink could double in the near future, from 12 cents to 24 cents. That’s if Berkeley voters pass \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyvsbigsoda.org/\">Measure AA\u003c/a> this November, raising the soda tax from 1 cent per fluid ounce to 2 cents. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The city was the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/10347220/how-did-berkeley-pass-a-soda-tax-when-other-cities-failed\">first in the nation\u003c/a> to pass a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages in 2014 and, since then, seven other cities have followed suit, including Philadelphia, Seattle and most recently, Santa Cruz. But as these measures have succeeded as intended — persuading people to drink less soda — the tax revenues they bring in have dropped in kind, forcing Berkeley to propose doubling its tax in order to maintain the health and education programs that have come to depend on those revenues. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Staring at the can in his hands, Kopman and several other teens said the price hike would definitely make them think twice before buying in the future.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I’m on a budget right now,” said junior William Huff, who partakes in an occasional root beer at 7-Eleven, where the new tax on a Big Gulp could run between 64 cents and $1.28. “Prices have definitely been on my mind, like the price of college, price of housing for college. So being put into a situation where I have to be wise with my money will definitely change my spending habits.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This kind of behavior change is exactly the outcome hoped for by proponents of soda taxes: to get people to reduce their consumption of sugary drinks as a means of improving health. Research from the past decade indicates that such taxes have worked.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“They’ve reduced intake of sugar, they’ve improved weight status,” said Sara Bleich, public health policy professor at Harvard. “They’ve also improved oral health; they’ve improved pregnancy and birth outcomes.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Early on, critics hypothesized that people would simply travel to neighboring cities without the tax to buy their soda and sports drinks. \u003ca href=\"https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2733208\">Studies show\u003c/a> this did happen, but it only accounted for a fraction of the decline in sugar-sweetened beverage sales — when controlling for cross-border shopping, sugary drink purchases still plummeted 33% across five cities: Philadelphia, Seattle, San Francisco, Oakland and Boulder. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The health benefits of reducing sugar followed. Studies find an association between cities with soda taxes and reduced body mass index among \u003ca href=\"https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2821695\">children\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165176523005335\">high school students\u003c/a>, as well as a decrease in obesity among \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34902003/\">adolescent girls\u003c/a>. In Philadelphia, \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36863896/\">tooth decay among low-income children\u003c/a> fell 30% in the two years after the soda tax was implemented.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1463\" data-id=\"2002467\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-12-KQED_1-02df7a8e.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002467\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-12-KQED_1-02df7a8e.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-12-KQED_1-02df7a8e-160x117.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-12-KQED_1-02df7a8e-768x562.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-12-KQED_1-02df7a8e-1536x1124.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sodas on shelves at E-Z Stop Deli in Berkeley on Oct. 29, 2026. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" data-id=\"2002465\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-2-KQED-ca5507d9.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002465\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-2-KQED-ca5507d9.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-2-KQED-ca5507d9-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-2-KQED-ca5507d9-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-2-KQED-ca5507d9-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ramona Cohen shops for a Yerba Mate during her lunch break at E-Z Stop Deli in Berkeley on Oct. 29, 2026. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I have been in the health policy world for 20 years, and there are very, very few things that provide those sorts of outcomes,” Bleich said. “It’s the largest behavioral impact I’ve ever seen.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Berkeley, the soda tax worked so well, it started to work against itself. As people bought less soda, tax revenues slumped, from $1.5 million a year to $1 million. In Philadelphia, \u003ca href=\"https://picapa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Phila-Bev-Tax-Fact-Sheet.pdf\">tax revenues fell\u003c/a> from $77 million to $68 million over seven years. This is the curse of so-called vice taxes: as they become more successful at curbing bad habits, the programs that depend on the tax revenues begin to suffer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is the reasoning behind Berkeley’s attempt to double its soda tax: to raise more money for the health services and education programs funded by the tax. Martin Bourque, executive director of \u003ca href=\"https://theecologycenter.org/\">the Ecology Center\u003c/a>, one of the backers of the soda tax, said almost a full generation of kids have been educated through soda-tax funded healthy eating programs, from the preschool level to elementary school and into the teenage years.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>We’re hitting susceptible, vulnerable young people at multiple points as they come through these organizations and educational institutions,” he said. “We need to keep doing that. We need to do more of it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The beverage industry has fought vociferously to defeat soda taxes. Before Berkeley, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/10347220/how-did-berkeley-pass-a-soda-tax-when-other-cities-failed\">30 other cities\u003c/a> had attempted to pass one and failed. The industry spent $2.3 million opposing Berkeley’s initial campaign in 2014, and though it’s spent nothing this time around, it contends the increased tax will only do harm.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Doubling taxes on groceries when family budgets are already stretched thin will hurt Berkeley families, small businesses and their employees,” said Steven Maviglio of the American Beverage Association of California. “They disproportionately burden those who can least afford it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the E-Z Stop Deli on Shattuck, owner Ali Ereikat said he is not a fan of raising the soda tax. He thinks teaching kids about the harms of sugar is the better way to go.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Education is more important than penalizing,” he said. “Educate them. Don’t charge them more.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-19-KQED-f23e0cff.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002469\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-19-KQED-f23e0cff.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-19-KQED-f23e0cff-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-19-KQED-f23e0cff-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/20261029_SODATAX_GC-19-KQED-f23e0cff-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">William Huff poses for a photo holding a Sprite bottle outside of Target in Berkeley on Oct. 29, 2026. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Indeed, education is a key focus of the Berkeley tax revenue. About half the funds are used to provide health services to low-income communities, including primary and dental care, while the other half funds nutrition classes and gardening programs at Berkeley public schools — classes that Kopman took in middle school.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“The image that popped into my head was like a pile of sugar,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said he remembers a demonstration where the teacher lined up a can of Coke, iced tea, fruit punch and water. Then, to illustrate the sugar content of each one, spooned an actual pile of sugar onto the table.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Some of those were crazy,” Kopman said, adding, if the tax money goes to a good cause like that, “then I think there’s no reason not to have it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"headTitle": "California Cancer Patients Disagree Over Whether Proposition 38 Will Help Them | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cancer patients who say their lives were saved by innovations in immunotherapy treatments are among the most vocal proponents of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12102150/prop-38-borrows-8-4-billion-to-fund-immunology-research\">California’s Proposition 38\u003c/a>, arguing the $8.4 billion bond measure to fund immune-system research would save even more lives. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But those who oppose Proposition 38 are also patients, who say their illnesses are being exploited to shill for an initiative that is overly narrow, opaque and expensive.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Don’t approve this measure because you want to help me or other people with Parkinson’s,” said Marianne O’Malley, a former analyst with the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease about eight years ago. “This is the wrong way to go about things.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Backers of Proposition 38 proposed it as a solution to the Trump administration’s attack on science: where federal research funding has become diminished or uncertain, California would step in, issuing bond money to bring stability to promising projects and turn the state into a hub of excellence for immunology and immunotherapy research. But the patients who stand to benefit from such a move are divided over whether Californians should shoulder that burden instead of taxpayers across the US, and if so, whether Proposition 38 is the right way to do it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I have never thought of biomedical research as something that needs to be centered in a particular location,” said Robert Kaplan, a senior scholar at \u003ca href=\"https://med.stanford.edu/cerc.html\">Stanford\u003c/a> who formerly coordinated research portfolios at the National Institutes of Health and an opponent of Proposition 38. “Proposition 38 money is good for California institutions, but it means that California taxpayers might be taking a disproportionate share of the responsibility for paying for that research.”\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/35/2026/10/261020-PROP-38-02-KQED-4cbd579e.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002389\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261020-PROP-38-02-KQED-4cbd579e.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261020-PROP-38-02-KQED-4cbd579e-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261020-PROP-38-02-KQED-4cbd579e-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261020-PROP-38-02-KQED-4cbd579e-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Laurie Adami, a supporter of Proposition 38, was diagnosed with blood cancer when she was 46. She holds two cancer scans, one before she received immunotherapy treatment (left) and one after (right). (Courtesy of Trenna Travis)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Blood cancer survivor Laurie Adami is in favor of the measure. She was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma 20 years ago, when she was 46, and her son was in kindergarten. She fought her way through seven different treatments, including grueling rounds of chemotherapy and three experimental trials so she could survive to see him graduate from high school. In 2018, she enrolled in an immunotherapy trial where scientists reengineered Adami’s own immune cells to attack her disease.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Chemotherapy is like napalm — they poison your whole body in the hopes of killing off your cancer,” she said. “This idea of waking up the immune system is a much more elegant way to target cancers.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The therapy she received was called CAR-T. Scientists extracted a sample of Adami’s T-cells and modified them in the lab so they would attach to the specific proteins on her cancer cells. Put another way, T-cells are like the Pac Mans of the immune system, and scientists altered them so they would be hungry specifically for her type of cancer cells, then infused them back into her bloodstream to start eating. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Adami received one CAR-T infusion and has been in complete remission ever since.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Why wouldn’t I want more patients to be able to access the type of treatment that finally saved my life?” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Adami is just one patient from one clinical trial. Though immunotherapy has improved \u003ca href=\"https://www.cancerresearch.org/blog/cancer-statistics-2026\">survival rates\u003c/a> for certain cancers, including lung, liver, and some types of skin and blood cancers, the treatment does not work for most people: only \u003ca href=\"https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/inhealth/about-us/immunotherapy-precision-medicine-action-policy-brief\">15 to 20% of patients\u003c/a> achieve durable results. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Immunotherapy research is still in the early and experimental stages for other cancers and diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and ALS. Across treatments and conditions, only \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29394327/\">14% of drugs in clinical trials\u003c/a> ever reach FDA approval. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite the speculative nature of this early-stage research, caregiver Viva Mogi said she will vote for Proposition 38 for the hope it offers. Mogi put her own life and career on hold to care for her mother, who was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s ten years ago. At the time, doctors told them there was no cure and not enough medications to help.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“They wished us luck,” Mogi said. Looking ahead to her own potential diagnosis and decline from the disease, she said, “I don’t ever want to go through this or put my husband through this.”\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/35/2026/10/261020-PROP-38-01-KQED-27ec75c4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002388\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261020-PROP-38-01-KQED-27ec75c4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261020-PROP-38-01-KQED-27ec75c4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261020-PROP-38-01-KQED-27ec75c4-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261020-PROP-38-01-KQED-27ec75c4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Viva Mogi, a supporter of Proposition 38, is a full-time caretaker for her mother who has Alzheimer’s. (Courtesy of Trenna Travis)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But with state taxpayers on the hook for $4 billion in interest payments on top of the $8.4 billion bond, other patients say the debt the state would incur from supporting Proposition 38 is not worth the hope, especially in light of California’s other long-term obligations and deficits.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cancer survivor, Dan Carson is one of several retired financial analysts from the state Legislative Analyst’s Office who broke a long tradition of nonpartisan silence to speak out against the measure.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Carson ran the health section of the LAO when it was tasked with evaluating the $3 billion \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1970180/proposition-14-with-handful-of-cures-calif-stem-cell-agency-has-mixed-record-will-voters-pony-up-another-5-5-billion\">stem cell bond initiative\u003c/a> in 2004 known as Proposition 71. The measure was pitched to voters as a protest against the George W. Bush administration’s abandonment of stem cell research on religious grounds. Its backers said California would become a new hub for stem cell discoveries and promised the state would receive a windfall of royalty payments to pay back the bond and interest. But the money never materialized, with the state receiving just $16 million of the $6 billion it was promised, Carson said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Similarly, Proposition 38 backers say it will be cost neutral. Provisions in the measure would require 10% of any licensing fees derived from immunotherapy treatment discoveries be paid back to the state, and that such treatments be made available to Californians at a 20% discount.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Once again, we’re being promised in this initiative and by its advocates that it will ‘pay for itself with no net cost to the state or taxpayers,’” Carson said. “I’m here to tell you that after reviewing the fine print of this measure, that won’t happen. Not even close.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG52488-KQED-2813b0e4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002387\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG52488-KQED-2813b0e4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG52488-KQED-2813b0e4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG52488-KQED-2813b0e4-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG52488-KQED-2813b0e4-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Marianne O’Malley, who has Parkinson’s disease, works out on an elliptical trainer in her home in Sacramento on Oct. 19, 2026. Exercise is the leading therapy to slow the progress of the disease. (Fred Greaves for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When O’Malley attended her regular boxing and rock climbing classes for people with Parkinson’s — currently, exercise is the top therapy proven to slow the progression of the disease — other students approached her with questions about Proposition 38 because of her experience at the LAO. Should they vote for it? they asked.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We’re all desperate for a cure, or at least a treatment,” O’Malley said. “And the disappointing thing to tell them is, ‘No, this measure doesn’t do what you think it’s going to do.’”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The campaign in favor of Proposition 38 is being financed by philanthropist Gary Michelson, who also happens to be a co-founder and chair of the brand new \u003ca href=\"https://www.calimmunology.org/\">California Institute for Immunology & Immunotherapy\u003c/a> at UCLA, which, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/elections/2026/07/proposition-38-california/\">according to the ballot measure’s criteria\u003c/a>, stands to receive half the bond money directly, then help oversee the distribution of the other half in research grants to nonprofits. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The measure would also exempt this institute from complying with a series of state transparency laws, including public records act requests and open meetings, O’Malley said, meaning taxpayers won’t have a way of knowing if their money is being spent wisely.\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/35/2026/10/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG32776-KQED-1addb385.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002386\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG32776-KQED-1addb385.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG32776-KQED-1addb385-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG32776-KQED-1addb385-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG32776-KQED-1addb385-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Marianne O’Malley, who has Parkinson’s disease, rests in her backyard after exercising on an elliptical trainer at her home in Sacramento on Oct. 19, 2026. Exercise is the leading therapy to slow the progress of the disease. (Fred Greaves for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“This measure hijacks the initiative process to steer public funds to a billionaire’s philanthropic project and then hides its tracks by waiving all the usual laws to promote governmental transparency,” she said. “This one is so bad and supposedly being done to help people like me, I felt a moral obligation to speak out.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the state of California wants to be a center of scientific research, there are better ways to do it, said Judy Heiman, another former LAO analyst. Medical research grants should be subject to an open, competitive bidding process; they should be awarded based on scientific merit and public health need, not what’s popular at the ballot box. And they should undergo independent review before more funds are disbursed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Prop. 38 fails these basic tests,” Heiman said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In fact, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12102760/7-5b-california-science-agency-plan-free-from-trumps-influence-will-go-to-voters\">another bond measure\u003c/a> that includes these parameters and safeguards will be on the ballot in March 2028, she pointed out. This research fund, borne from months of democratic debate and negotiation in the state legislature, is intended for a wider variety of research, including biomedical, behavioral health, and climate.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“There’s a legitimate argument about whether California should add billions of dollars in medical research spending to its already substantial debt burden,” Heiman said. “Scientific merit, not institutional favoritism, should drive where the money goes.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But those who oppose Proposition 38 are also patients, who say their illnesses are being exploited to shill for an initiative that is overly narrow, opaque and expensive.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Don’t approve this measure because you want to help me or other people with Parkinson’s,” said Marianne O’Malley, a former analyst with the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease about eight years ago. “This is the wrong way to go about things.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Don’t approve this measure because you want to help me or other people with Parkinson’s,” said Marianne O’Malley, a former analyst with the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease about eight years ago. “This is the wrong way to go about things.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Backers of Proposition 38 proposed it as a solution to the Trump administration’s attack on science: where federal research funding has become diminished or uncertain, California would step in, issuing bond money to bring stability to promising projects and turn the state into a hub of excellence for immunology and immunotherapy research. But the patients who stand to benefit from such a move are divided over whether Californians should shoulder that burden instead of taxpayers across the US, and if so, whether Proposition 38 is the right way to do it.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Backers of Proposition 38 proposed it as a solution to the Trump administration’s attack on science: where federal research funding has become diminished or uncertain, California would step in, issuing bond money to bring stability to promising projects and turn the state into a hub of excellence for immunology and immunotherapy research. But the patients who stand to benefit from such a move are divided over whether Californians should shoulder that burden instead of taxpayers across the US, and if so, whether Proposition 38 is the right way to do it.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I have never thought of biomedical research as something that needs to be centered in a particular location,” said Robert Kaplan, a senior scholar at \u003ca href=\"https://med.stanford.edu/cerc.html\">Stanford\u003c/a> who formerly coordinated research portfolios at the National Institutes of Health and an opponent of Proposition 38. “Proposition 38 money is good for California institutions, but it means that California taxpayers might be taking a disproportionate share of the responsibility for paying for that research.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I have never thought of biomedical research as something that needs to be centered in a particular location,” said Robert Kaplan, a senior scholar at \u003ca href=\"https://med.stanford.edu/cerc.html\">Stanford\u003c/a> who formerly coordinated research portfolios at the National Institutes of Health and an opponent of Proposition 38. “Proposition 38 money is good for California institutions, but it means that California taxpayers might be taking a disproportionate share of the responsibility for paying for that research.”\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/35/2026/10/261020-PROP-38-02-KQED-4cbd579e.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002389\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261020-PROP-38-02-KQED-4cbd579e.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261020-PROP-38-02-KQED-4cbd579e-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261020-PROP-38-02-KQED-4cbd579e-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261020-PROP-38-02-KQED-4cbd579e-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Laurie Adami, a supporter of Proposition 38, was diagnosed with blood cancer when she was 46. She holds two cancer scans, one before she received immunotherapy treatment (left) and one after (right).\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of Trenna Travis)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Blood cancer survivor Laurie Adami is in favor of the measure. She was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma 20 years ago, when she was 46, and her son was in kindergarten. She fought her way through seven different treatments, including grueling rounds of chemotherapy and three experimental trials so she could survive to see him graduate from high school. In 2018, she enrolled in an immunotherapy trial where scientists reengineered Adami’s own immune cells to attack her disease.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Blood cancer survivor Laurie Adami is in favor of the measure. She was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma 20 years ago, when she was 46, and her son was in kindergarten. She fought her way through seven different treatments, including grueling rounds of chemotherapy and three experimental trials so she could survive to see him graduate from high school. In 2018, she enrolled in an immunotherapy trial where scientists reengineered Adami’s own immune cells to attack her disease.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Chemotherapy is like napalm — they poison your whole body in the hopes of killing off your cancer,” she said. “This idea of waking up the immune system is a much more elegant way to target cancers.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Chemotherapy is like napalm — they poison your whole body in the hopes of killing off your cancer,” she said. “This idea of waking up the immune system is a much more elegant way to target cancers.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The therapy she received was called CAR-T. Scientists extracted a sample of Adami’s T-cells and modified them in the lab so they would attach to the specific proteins on her cancer cells. Put another way, T-cells are like the Pac Mans of the immune system, and scientists altered them so they would be hungry specifically for her type of cancer cells, then infused them back into her bloodstream to start eating. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The therapy she received was called CAR-T. Scientists extracted a sample of Adami’s T-cells and modified them in the lab so they would attach to the specific proteins on her cancer cells. Put another way, T-cells are like the Pac Mans of the immune system, and scientists altered them so they would be hungry specifically for her type of cancer cells, then infused them back into her bloodstream to start eating. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Adami received one CAR-T infusion and has been in complete remission ever since.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Why wouldn’t I want more patients to be able to access the type of treatment that finally saved my life?” she said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Adami is just one patient from one clinical trial. Though immunotherapy has improved \u003ca href=\"https://www.cancerresearch.org/blog/cancer-statistics-2026\">survival rates\u003c/a> for certain cancers, including lung, liver, and some types of skin and blood cancers, the treatment does not work for most people: only \u003ca href=\"https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/inhealth/about-us/immunotherapy-precision-medicine-action-policy-brief\">15 to 20% of patients\u003c/a> achieve durable results. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Adami is just one patient from one clinical trial. Though immunotherapy has improved \u003ca href=\"https://www.cancerresearch.org/blog/cancer-statistics-2026\">survival rates\u003c/a> for certain cancers, including lung, liver, and some types of skin and blood cancers, the treatment does not work for most people: only \u003ca href=\"https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/inhealth/about-us/immunotherapy-precision-medicine-action-policy-brief\">15 to 20% of patients\u003c/a> achieve durable results. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Immunotherapy research is still in the early and experimental stages for other cancers and diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and ALS. Across treatments and conditions, only \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29394327/\">14% of drugs in clinical trials\u003c/a> ever reach FDA approval. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Immunotherapy research is still in the early and experimental stages for other cancers and diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and ALS. Across treatments and conditions, only \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29394327/\">14% of drugs in clinical trials\u003c/a> ever reach FDA approval. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Despite the speculative nature of this early-stage research, caregiver Viva Mogi said she will vote for Proposition 38 for the hope it offers. Mogi put her own life and career on hold to care for her mother, who was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s ten years ago. At the time, doctors told them there was no cure and not enough medications to help.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Despite the speculative nature of this early-stage research, caregiver Viva Mogi said she will vote for Proposition 38 for the hope it offers. Mogi put her own life and career on hold to care for her mother, who was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s ten years ago. At the time, doctors told them there was no cure and not enough medications to help.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“They wished us luck,” Mogi said. Looking ahead to her own potential diagnosis and decline from the disease, she said, “I don’t ever want to go through this or put my husband through this.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“They wished us luck,” Mogi said. Looking ahead to her own potential diagnosis and decline from the disease, she said, “I don’t ever want to go through this or put my husband through this.”\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/35/2026/10/261020-PROP-38-01-KQED-27ec75c4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002388\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261020-PROP-38-01-KQED-27ec75c4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261020-PROP-38-01-KQED-27ec75c4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261020-PROP-38-01-KQED-27ec75c4-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261020-PROP-38-01-KQED-27ec75c4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Viva Mogi, a supporter of Proposition 38, is a full-time caretaker for her mother who has Alzheimer’s. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of Trenna Travis)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261020-PROP-38-01-KQED-27ec75c4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002388\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Viva Mogi, a supporter of Proposition 38, is a full-time caretaker for her mother who has Alzheimer’s. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of Trenna Travis)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But with state taxpayers on the hook for $4 billion in interest payments on top of the $8.4 billion bond, other patients say the debt the state would incur from supporting Proposition 38 is not worth the hope, especially in light of California’s other long-term obligations and deficits.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But with state taxpayers on the hook for $4 billion in interest payments on top of the $8.4 billion bond, other patients say the debt the state would incur from supporting Proposition 38 is not worth the hope, especially in light of California’s other long-term obligations and deficits.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Cancer survivor, Dan Carson is one of several retired financial analysts from the state Legislative Analyst’s Office who broke a long tradition of nonpartisan silence to speak out against the measure.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Carson ran the health section of the LAO when it was tasked with evaluating the $3 billion \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1970180/proposition-14-with-handful-of-cures-calif-stem-cell-agency-has-mixed-record-will-voters-pony-up-another-5-5-billion\">stem cell bond initiative\u003c/a> in 2004 known as Proposition 71. The measure was pitched to voters as a protest against the George W. Bush administration’s abandonment of stem cell research on religious grounds. Its backers said California would become a new hub for stem cell discoveries and promised the state would receive a windfall of royalty payments to pay back the bond and interest. But the money never materialized, with the state receiving just $16 million of the $6 billion it was promised, Carson said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Carson ran the health section of the LAO when it was tasked with evaluating the $3 billion \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1970180/proposition-14-with-handful-of-cures-calif-stem-cell-agency-has-mixed-record-will-voters-pony-up-another-5-5-billion\">stem cell bond initiative\u003c/a> in 2004 known as Proposition 71. The measure was pitched to voters as a protest against the George W. Bush administration’s abandonment of stem cell research on religious grounds. Its backers said California would become a new hub for stem cell discoveries and promised the state would receive a windfall of royalty payments to pay back the bond and interest. But the money never materialized, with the state receiving just $16 million of the $6 billion it was promised, Carson said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Similarly, Proposition 38 backers say it will be cost neutral. Provisions in the measure would require 10% of any licensing fees derived from immunotherapy treatment discoveries be paid back to the state, and that such treatments be made available to Californians at a 20% discount.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Similarly, Proposition 38 backers say it will be cost neutral. Provisions in the measure would require 10% of any licensing fees derived from immunotherapy treatment discoveries be paid back to the state, and that such treatments be made available to Californians at a 20% discount.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Once again, we’re being promised in this initiative and by its advocates that it will ‘pay for itself with no net cost to the state or taxpayers,’” Carson said. “I’m here to tell you that after reviewing the fine print of this measure, that won’t happen. Not even close.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Once again, we’re being promised in this initiative and by its advocates that it will ‘pay for itself with no net cost to the state or taxpayers,’” Carson said. “I’m here to tell you that after reviewing the fine print of this measure, that won’t happen. Not even close.”\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/35/2026/10/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG52488-KQED-2813b0e4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002387\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG52488-KQED-2813b0e4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG52488-KQED-2813b0e4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG52488-KQED-2813b0e4-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG52488-KQED-2813b0e4-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Marianne O’Malley, who has Parkinson’s disease, works out on an elliptical trainer in her home in Sacramento on Oct. 19, 2026. Exercise is the leading therapy to slow the progress of the disease.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Fred Greaves for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When O’Malley attended her regular boxing and rock climbing classes for people with Parkinson’s — currently, exercise is the top therapy proven to slow the progression of the disease — other students approached her with questions about Proposition 38 because of her experience at the LAO. Should they vote for it? they asked.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>When O’Malley attended her regular boxing and rock climbing classes for people with Parkinson’s — currently, exercise is the top therapy proven to slow the progression of the disease — other students approached her with questions about Proposition 38 because of her experience at the LAO. Should they vote for it? they asked.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We’re all desperate for a cure, or at least a treatment,” O’Malley said. “And the disappointing thing to tell them is, ‘No, this measure doesn’t do what you think it’s going to do.’”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We’re all desperate for a cure, or at least a treatment,” O’Malley said. “And the disappointing thing to tell them is, ‘No, this measure doesn’t do what you think it’s going to do.’”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The campaign in favor of Proposition 38 is being financed by philanthropist Gary Michelson, who also happens to be a co-founder and chair of the brand new \u003ca href=\"https://www.calimmunology.org/\">California Institute for Immunology & Immunotherapy\u003c/a> at UCLA, which, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/elections/2026/07/proposition-38-california/\">according to the ballot measure’s criteria\u003c/a>, stands to receive half the bond money directly, then help oversee the distribution of the other half in research grants to nonprofits. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The campaign in favor of Proposition 38 is being financed by philanthropist Gary Michelson, who also happens to be a co-founder and chair of the brand new \u003ca href=\"https://www.calimmunology.org/\">California Institute for Immunology & Immunotherapy\u003c/a> at UCLA, which, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/elections/2026/07/proposition-38-california/\">according to the ballot measure’s criteria\u003c/a>, stands to receive half the bond money directly, then help oversee the distribution of the other half in research grants to nonprofits. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The measure would also exempt this institute from complying with a series of state transparency laws, including public records act requests and open meetings, O’Malley said, meaning taxpayers won’t have a way of knowing if their money is being spent wisely.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The measure would also exempt this institute from complying with a series of state transparency laws, including public records act requests and open meetings, O’Malley said, meaning taxpayers won’t have a way of knowing if their money is being spent wisely.\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/35/2026/10/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG32776-KQED-1addb385.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002386\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG32776-KQED-1addb385.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG32776-KQED-1addb385-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG32776-KQED-1addb385-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG32776-KQED-1addb385-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Marianne O’Malley, who has Parkinson’s disease, rests in her backyard after exercising on an elliptical trainer at her home in Sacramento on Oct. 19, 2026. Exercise is the leading therapy to slow the progress of the disease.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Fred Greaves for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This measure hijacks the initiative process to steer public funds to a billionaire’s philanthropic project and then hides its tracks by waiving all the usual laws to promote governmental transparency,” she said. “This one is so bad and supposedly being done to help people like me, I felt a moral obligation to speak out.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“This measure hijacks the initiative process to steer public funds to a billionaire’s philanthropic project and then hides its tracks by waiving all the usual laws to promote governmental transparency,” she said. “This one is so bad and supposedly being done to help people like me, I felt a moral obligation to speak out.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>If the state of California wants to be a center of scientific research, there are better ways to do it, said Judy Heiman, another former LAO analyst. Medical research grants should be subject to an open, competitive bidding process; they should be awarded based on scientific merit and public health need, not what’s popular at the ballot box. And they should undergo independent review before more funds are disbursed.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>If the state of California wants to be a center of scientific research, there are better ways to do it, said Judy Heiman, another former LAO analyst. Medical research grants should be subject to an open, competitive bidding process; they should be awarded based on scientific merit and public health need, not what’s popular at the ballot box. And they should undergo independent review before more funds are disbursed.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Prop. 38 fails these basic tests,” Heiman said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Prop. 38 fails these basic tests,” Heiman said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In fact, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12102760/7-5b-california-science-agency-plan-free-from-trumps-influence-will-go-to-voters\">another bond measure\u003c/a> that includes these parameters and safeguards will be on the ballot in March 2028, she pointed out. This research fund, borne from months of democratic debate and negotiation in the state legislature, is intended for a wider variety of research, including biomedical, behavioral health, and climate.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In fact, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12102760/7-5b-california-science-agency-plan-free-from-trumps-influence-will-go-to-voters\">another bond measure\u003c/a> that includes these parameters and safeguards will be on the ballot in March 2028, she pointed out. This research fund, borne from months of democratic debate and negotiation in the state legislature, is intended for a wider variety of research, including biomedical, behavioral health, and climate.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“There’s a legitimate argument about whether California should add billions of dollars in medical research spending to its already substantial debt burden,” Heiman said. “Scientific merit, not institutional favoritism, should drive where the money goes.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“There’s a legitimate argument about whether California should add billions of dollars in medical research spending to its already substantial debt burden,” Heiman said. “Scientific merit, not institutional favoritism, should drive where the money goes.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "Proposition 38 would allow California to borrow $8.4 billion to fund immunotherapy research. But patients are divided over whether it would actually benefit them.",
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"title": "California Cancer Patients Disagree Over Whether Proposition 38 Will Help Them | KQED",
"description": "Proposition 38 would allow California to borrow $8.4 billion to fund immunotherapy research. But patients are divided over whether it would actually benefit them.",
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"headline": "California Cancer Patients Disagree Over Whether Proposition 38 Will Help Them",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cancer patients who say their lives were saved by innovations in immunotherapy treatments are among the most vocal proponents of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12102150/prop-38-borrows-8-4-billion-to-fund-immunology-research\">California’s Proposition 38\u003c/a>, arguing the $8.4 billion bond measure to fund immune-system research would save even more lives. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But those who oppose Proposition 38 are also patients, who say their illnesses are being exploited to shill for an initiative that is overly narrow, opaque and expensive.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Don’t approve this measure because you want to help me or other people with Parkinson’s,” said Marianne O’Malley, a former analyst with the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease about eight years ago. “This is the wrong way to go about things.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Backers of Proposition 38 proposed it as a solution to the Trump administration’s attack on science: where federal research funding has become diminished or uncertain, California would step in, issuing bond money to bring stability to promising projects and turn the state into a hub of excellence for immunology and immunotherapy research. But the patients who stand to benefit from such a move are divided over whether Californians should shoulder that burden instead of taxpayers across the US, and if so, whether Proposition 38 is the right way to do it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I have never thought of biomedical research as something that needs to be centered in a particular location,” said Robert Kaplan, a senior scholar at \u003ca href=\"https://med.stanford.edu/cerc.html\">Stanford\u003c/a> who formerly coordinated research portfolios at the National Institutes of Health and an opponent of Proposition 38. “Proposition 38 money is good for California institutions, but it means that California taxpayers might be taking a disproportionate share of the responsibility for paying for that research.”\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/35/2026/10/261020-PROP-38-02-KQED-4cbd579e.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002389\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261020-PROP-38-02-KQED-4cbd579e.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261020-PROP-38-02-KQED-4cbd579e-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261020-PROP-38-02-KQED-4cbd579e-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261020-PROP-38-02-KQED-4cbd579e-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Laurie Adami, a supporter of Proposition 38, was diagnosed with blood cancer when she was 46. She holds two cancer scans, one before she received immunotherapy treatment (left) and one after (right). (Courtesy of Trenna Travis)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Blood cancer survivor Laurie Adami is in favor of the measure. She was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma 20 years ago, when she was 46, and her son was in kindergarten. She fought her way through seven different treatments, including grueling rounds of chemotherapy and three experimental trials so she could survive to see him graduate from high school. In 2018, she enrolled in an immunotherapy trial where scientists reengineered Adami’s own immune cells to attack her disease.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Chemotherapy is like napalm — they poison your whole body in the hopes of killing off your cancer,” she said. “This idea of waking up the immune system is a much more elegant way to target cancers.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The therapy she received was called CAR-T. Scientists extracted a sample of Adami’s T-cells and modified them in the lab so they would attach to the specific proteins on her cancer cells. Put another way, T-cells are like the Pac Mans of the immune system, and scientists altered them so they would be hungry specifically for her type of cancer cells, then infused them back into her bloodstream to start eating. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Adami received one CAR-T infusion and has been in complete remission ever since.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Why wouldn’t I want more patients to be able to access the type of treatment that finally saved my life?” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Adami is just one patient from one clinical trial. Though immunotherapy has improved \u003ca href=\"https://www.cancerresearch.org/blog/cancer-statistics-2026\">survival rates\u003c/a> for certain cancers, including lung, liver, and some types of skin and blood cancers, the treatment does not work for most people: only \u003ca href=\"https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/inhealth/about-us/immunotherapy-precision-medicine-action-policy-brief\">15 to 20% of patients\u003c/a> achieve durable results. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Immunotherapy research is still in the early and experimental stages for other cancers and diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and ALS. Across treatments and conditions, only \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29394327/\">14% of drugs in clinical trials\u003c/a> ever reach FDA approval. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite the speculative nature of this early-stage research, caregiver Viva Mogi said she will vote for Proposition 38 for the hope it offers. Mogi put her own life and career on hold to care for her mother, who was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s ten years ago. At the time, doctors told them there was no cure and not enough medications to help.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“They wished us luck,” Mogi said. Looking ahead to her own potential diagnosis and decline from the disease, she said, “I don’t ever want to go through this or put my husband through this.”\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/35/2026/10/261020-PROP-38-01-KQED-27ec75c4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002388\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261020-PROP-38-01-KQED-27ec75c4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261020-PROP-38-01-KQED-27ec75c4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261020-PROP-38-01-KQED-27ec75c4-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261020-PROP-38-01-KQED-27ec75c4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Viva Mogi, a supporter of Proposition 38, is a full-time caretaker for her mother who has Alzheimer’s. (Courtesy of Trenna Travis)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But with state taxpayers on the hook for $4 billion in interest payments on top of the $8.4 billion bond, other patients say the debt the state would incur from supporting Proposition 38 is not worth the hope, especially in light of California’s other long-term obligations and deficits.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cancer survivor, Dan Carson is one of several retired financial analysts from the state Legislative Analyst’s Office who broke a long tradition of nonpartisan silence to speak out against the measure.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Carson ran the health section of the LAO when it was tasked with evaluating the $3 billion \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1970180/proposition-14-with-handful-of-cures-calif-stem-cell-agency-has-mixed-record-will-voters-pony-up-another-5-5-billion\">stem cell bond initiative\u003c/a> in 2004 known as Proposition 71. The measure was pitched to voters as a protest against the George W. Bush administration’s abandonment of stem cell research on religious grounds. Its backers said California would become a new hub for stem cell discoveries and promised the state would receive a windfall of royalty payments to pay back the bond and interest. But the money never materialized, with the state receiving just $16 million of the $6 billion it was promised, Carson said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Similarly, Proposition 38 backers say it will be cost neutral. Provisions in the measure would require 10% of any licensing fees derived from immunotherapy treatment discoveries be paid back to the state, and that such treatments be made available to Californians at a 20% discount.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Once again, we’re being promised in this initiative and by its advocates that it will ‘pay for itself with no net cost to the state or taxpayers,’” Carson said. “I’m here to tell you that after reviewing the fine print of this measure, that won’t happen. Not even close.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG52488-KQED-2813b0e4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002387\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG52488-KQED-2813b0e4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG52488-KQED-2813b0e4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG52488-KQED-2813b0e4-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG52488-KQED-2813b0e4-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Marianne O’Malley, who has Parkinson’s disease, works out on an elliptical trainer in her home in Sacramento on Oct. 19, 2026. Exercise is the leading therapy to slow the progress of the disease. (Fred Greaves for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When O’Malley attended her regular boxing and rock climbing classes for people with Parkinson’s — currently, exercise is the top therapy proven to slow the progression of the disease — other students approached her with questions about Proposition 38 because of her experience at the LAO. Should they vote for it? they asked.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We’re all desperate for a cure, or at least a treatment,” O’Malley said. “And the disappointing thing to tell them is, ‘No, this measure doesn’t do what you think it’s going to do.’”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The campaign in favor of Proposition 38 is being financed by philanthropist Gary Michelson, who also happens to be a co-founder and chair of the brand new \u003ca href=\"https://www.calimmunology.org/\">California Institute for Immunology & Immunotherapy\u003c/a> at UCLA, which, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/elections/2026/07/proposition-38-california/\">according to the ballot measure’s criteria\u003c/a>, stands to receive half the bond money directly, then help oversee the distribution of the other half in research grants to nonprofits. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The measure would also exempt this institute from complying with a series of state transparency laws, including public records act requests and open meetings, O’Malley said, meaning taxpayers won’t have a way of knowing if their money is being spent wisely.\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/35/2026/10/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG32776-KQED-1addb385.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002386\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG32776-KQED-1addb385.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG32776-KQED-1addb385-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG32776-KQED-1addb385-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/FG_OMALLEY_PARKINSONS_2026_10_19__FG32776-KQED-1addb385-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Marianne O’Malley, who has Parkinson’s disease, rests in her backyard after exercising on an elliptical trainer at her home in Sacramento on Oct. 19, 2026. Exercise is the leading therapy to slow the progress of the disease. (Fred Greaves for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“This measure hijacks the initiative process to steer public funds to a billionaire’s philanthropic project and then hides its tracks by waiving all the usual laws to promote governmental transparency,” she said. “This one is so bad and supposedly being done to help people like me, I felt a moral obligation to speak out.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the state of California wants to be a center of scientific research, there are better ways to do it, said Judy Heiman, another former LAO analyst. Medical research grants should be subject to an open, competitive bidding process; they should be awarded based on scientific merit and public health need, not what’s popular at the ballot box. And they should undergo independent review before more funds are disbursed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Prop. 38 fails these basic tests,” Heiman said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In fact, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12102760/7-5b-california-science-agency-plan-free-from-trumps-influence-will-go-to-voters\">another bond measure\u003c/a> that includes these parameters and safeguards will be on the ballot in March 2028, she pointed out. This research fund, borne from months of democratic debate and negotiation in the state legislature, is intended for a wider variety of research, including biomedical, behavioral health, and climate.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“There’s a legitimate argument about whether California should add billions of dollars in medical research spending to its already substantial debt burden,” Heiman said. “Scientific merit, not institutional favoritism, should drive where the money goes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "commercial-gas-kitchens-expose-workers-to-a-soup-of-pollution-high-heat",
"title": "Commercial Gas Kitchens Expose Workers to a ‘Soup of Pollution,’ High Heat",
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"headTitle": "Commercial Gas Kitchens Expose Workers to a ‘Soup of Pollution,’ High Heat | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>Commercial kitchens outfitted with gas-fired appliances can reach temperatures as hot as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/tag/california\">California’s\u003c/a> Death Valley in the summer and expose workers to harmful gases in excess of health-based guidelines, according to a first-of-its-kind \u003ca href=\"https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ae9d96\">study\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Commercial kitchens where workers cook with all-electric appliances, on the other hand, were much cooler and did not exceed any health guidelines for pollution exposure, the study found.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The study authors said the research is the first U.S. analysis to compare air quality and heat between gas-burning commercial kitchens and all-electric ones under real-world working conditions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“ In the majority of gas-fired kitchens we measured, the pollution levels exceeded health benchmarks for hours on end,” said Yannai Kashtan, air quality scientist at the nonprofit research institute PSE Healthy Energy, and the study’s first author.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1358\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-2-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001890\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-2-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-2-KQED-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-2-KQED-768x521.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-2-KQED-1536x1043.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Aeris analyzers, which measure methane, ethane, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide and monoxide, in the air rest at the Jackson Lab at Stanford University on Aug. 27, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>The research was published Tuesday in the journal \u003ca href=\"https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/1748-9326\">\u003cem>Environmental Research Letters\u003c/em>\u003c/a> by scientists at Stanford University, New York University and PSE Healthy Energy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kashtan’s team measured nitrogen dioxide, benzene, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane and air temperature in 21 gas kitchens, three propane kitchens and three all-electric kitchens across California, Pennsylvania and New York. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sampled kitchens included both fine-dining and casual restaurants, catering facilities and institutions serving senior living communities and schools. The researchers measured kitchen air quality with specialized sensors, and tracked gas concentrations and temperature when the spaces were both in service and not. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In about 70% of the gas-fired restaurants sampled, nitrogen dioxide concentrations during work hours exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and World Health Organization one-hour exposure guidelines, the study found. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Exposure to high concentrations of nitrogen dioxide can contribute to the development of asthma and increase susceptibility to respiratory infections, according to the EPA. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The study also found concentrations of carbon monoxide and benzene, a known carcinogen, in concentrations exceeding California’s 1-hour exposure guideline in three and five gas-fired kitchens, respectively. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The three electric kitchens had levels of pollution “pretty close to background levels,” according to Kashtan. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Not zero, but not much higher than you would be breathing just walking around,” Kashtan said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kashtan said he was surprised to find that roughly two-thirds of gas-powered kitchens measured had higher levels of pollution when they weren’t in service, something he attributed to ventilation fans not operating while the pilot lights of gas ranges continued to sputter.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That means cleaning crews or early arriving staff might be exposed to some of the highest levels of pollution, before the kitchen begins service and cooks turn on ventilation fans.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“One concrete, actionable thing that anybody can do is turn on the ventilation the minute you walk into the kitchen in the morning to flush out everything that’s built up overnight, and that’s going to keep you from breathing in this soup of pollution,” Kashtan said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Restaurants with pilot lights could switch to more modern equipment that uses electronic spark ignition to prevent overnight pollution, said Theresa Pistochini, associate director of the Western Cooling Efficiency Center, although she acknowledged that could be expensive.\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/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-6-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001893\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-6-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-6-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-6-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-6-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Samea Derrick, staff researcher at the Jackson Lab, explains how her team uses the Aeris analyzers to measure greenhouse gases in the air, at Stanford University on Aug. 27, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>“While there is \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2002089/heres-what-all-electric-bay-area-restaurants-have-learned-from-ditching-gas\">debate in the restaurant industry\u003c/a> about whether all-electric cooking can meet the needs of chefs with specific cooking practices, it is safe to say that there is no tangible benefit to pilot lights,” Pistochini said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Industry trade groups like the California Restaurant Association have opposed local governments’ attempts to establish electrification mandates. The group successfully challenged the city of Berkeley’s 2019 ban on natural gas hookups in new construction. The CRA has argued that restaurants would not be able to produce the same quality food with electric appliances as with gas ones.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1995336/heres-what-happened-when-scientists-tested-the-air-with-my-gas-stove-on\">previous studies\u003c/a> have established a link between cooking with gas appliances and increased indoor air pollution in residential settings, commercial kitchens have received much less attention, according to Rob Jackson, professor of earth system science at Stanford University, and a study co-author.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Our study shows that burning gas in a restaurant kitchen is as suspect as burning it in our homes,” Jackson said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>‘Death Valley in the summer’ \u003cbr>\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>Kitchens with gas-fired appliances were also substantially hotter than their electric counterparts. The study found that the temperature in a majority of gas kitchens, 68%, exceeded 90 degrees Fahrenheit, with four exceeding 122 degrees, according to measurements taken just outside a main vent hood. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“That’s Death Valley in the summer,” Kashtan said. “It’s a very extreme environment.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Two of the electric restaurants had the lowest peak temperatures recorded, although the study acknowledged this had “low statistical power” based on the small sample size. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The findings of the study, that using electric appliances instead of gas ones reduces exposure to heat and harmful vapors, “generally align with expectations,” according to Pistochini.\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/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-4-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001892\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-4-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-4-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-4-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-4-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Samea Derrick, staff researcher at the Jackson Lab, holds a thermocouple logger which measures the temperature on ovens, at Stanford University on Aug. 27, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Pistochini noted there was a high variability in gas exposure, something she attributed to differences in cooking practices and the effectiveness of kitchen ventilation systems, “which reinforces the importance of ventilation in commercial kitchens,” Pistochini said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The study falls short of producing a “nationwide population-level exposure study,” Kashtan said, which would quantify the average heat and gas a commercial kitchen worker is exposed to across the country. He said that would require a much larger sample. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kashtan said areas of further study could focus on heat and gas exposure in dining rooms and places where waitstaff are, or in businesses or residences close to restaurants, such as in mixed-use buildings.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The restaurant and foodservice industry provides 15.7 million jobs nationwide, according to the National Restaurant Association.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We would never expect a software engineer or a teacher to put up with such a harsh workplace, but this is normal for the millions of people who go to work each day in commercial kitchens to make our meals,” said David Lehrer, communications director for the Center for Built Environment at the University of California, Berkeley. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kashtan said this kind of work shouldn’t require “a bunch of scientists with fancy instruments.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It would be interesting to think about ways to require air quality monitoring in commercial kitchens,” he said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Commercial kitchens where workers cook with all-electric appliances, on the other hand, were much cooler and did not exceed any health guidelines for pollution exposure, the study found.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The study authors said the research is the first U.S. analysis to compare air quality and heat between gas-burning commercial kitchens and all-electric ones under real-world working conditions. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Commercial kitchens where workers cook with all-electric appliances, on the other hand, were much cooler and did not exceed any health guidelines for pollution exposure, the study found.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The study authors said the research is the first U.S. analysis to compare air quality and heat between gas-burning commercial kitchens and all-electric ones under real-world working conditions. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“ In the majority of gas-fired kitchens we measured, the pollution levels exceeded health benchmarks for hours on end,” said Yannai Kashtan, air quality scientist at the nonprofit research institute PSE Healthy Energy, and the study’s first author.\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/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-2-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001890\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-2-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-2-KQED-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-2-KQED-768x521.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-2-KQED-1536x1043.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Aeris analyzers, which measure methane, ethane, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide and monoxide, in the air rest at the Jackson Lab at Stanford University on Aug. 27, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-2-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001890\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Aeris analyzers, which measure methane, ethane, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide and monoxide, in the air rest at the Jackson Lab at Stanford University on Aug. 27, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The research was published Tuesday in the journal \u003ca href=\"https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/1748-9326\">\u003cem>Environmental Research Letters\u003c/em>\u003c/a> by scientists at Stanford University, New York University and PSE Healthy Energy. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The research was published Tuesday in the journal \u003ca href=\"https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/1748-9326\">\u003cem>Environmental Research Letters\u003c/em>\u003c/a> by scientists at Stanford University, New York University and PSE Healthy Energy. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Kashtan’s team measured nitrogen dioxide, benzene, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane and air temperature in 21 gas kitchens, three propane kitchens and three all-electric kitchens across California, Pennsylvania and New York. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Kashtan’s team measured nitrogen dioxide, benzene, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane and air temperature in 21 gas kitchens, three propane kitchens and three all-electric kitchens across California, Pennsylvania and New York. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Sampled kitchens included both fine-dining and casual restaurants, catering facilities and institutions serving senior living communities and schools. The researchers measured kitchen air quality with specialized sensors, and tracked gas concentrations and temperature when the spaces were both in service and not. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Sampled kitchens included both fine-dining and casual restaurants, catering facilities and institutions serving senior living communities and schools. The researchers measured kitchen air quality with specialized sensors, and tracked gas concentrations and temperature when the spaces were both in service and not. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In about 70% of the gas-fired restaurants sampled, nitrogen dioxide concentrations during work hours exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and World Health Organization one-hour exposure guidelines, the study found. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In about 70% of the gas-fired restaurants sampled, nitrogen dioxide concentrations during work hours exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and World Health Organization one-hour exposure guidelines, the study found. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Exposure to high concentrations of nitrogen dioxide can contribute to the development of asthma and increase susceptibility to respiratory infections, according to the EPA. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Exposure to high concentrations of nitrogen dioxide can contribute to the development of asthma and increase susceptibility to respiratory infections, according to the EPA. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The study also found concentrations of carbon monoxide and benzene, a known carcinogen, in concentrations exceeding California’s 1-hour exposure guideline in three and five gas-fired kitchens, respectively. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The three electric kitchens had levels of pollution “pretty close to background levels,” according to Kashtan. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Not zero, but not much higher than you would be breathing just walking around,” Kashtan said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Kashtan said he was surprised to find that roughly two-thirds of gas-powered kitchens measured had higher levels of pollution when they weren’t in service, something he attributed to ventilation fans not operating while the pilot lights of gas ranges continued to sputter.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Kashtan said he was surprised to find that roughly two-thirds of gas-powered kitchens measured had higher levels of pollution when they weren’t in service, something he attributed to ventilation fans not operating while the pilot lights of gas ranges continued to sputter.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That means cleaning crews or early arriving staff might be exposed to some of the highest levels of pollution, before the kitchen begins service and cooks turn on ventilation fans.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That means cleaning crews or early arriving staff might be exposed to some of the highest levels of pollution, before the kitchen begins service and cooks turn on ventilation fans.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“One concrete, actionable thing that anybody can do is turn on the ventilation the minute you walk into the kitchen in the morning to flush out everything that’s built up overnight, and that’s going to keep you from breathing in this soup of pollution,” Kashtan said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“One concrete, actionable thing that anybody can do is turn on the ventilation the minute you walk into the kitchen in the morning to flush out everything that’s built up overnight, and that’s going to keep you from breathing in this soup of pollution,” Kashtan said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Restaurants with pilot lights could switch to more modern equipment that uses electronic spark ignition to prevent overnight pollution, said Theresa Pistochini, associate director of the Western Cooling Efficiency Center, although she acknowledged that could be expensive.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Restaurants with pilot lights could switch to more modern equipment that uses electronic spark ignition to prevent overnight pollution, said Theresa Pistochini, associate director of the Western Cooling Efficiency Center, although she acknowledged that could be expensive.\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/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-6-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001893\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-6-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-6-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-6-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-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\">Samea Derrick, staff researcher at the Jackson Lab, explains how her team uses the Aeris analyzers to measure greenhouse gases in the air, at Stanford University on Aug. 27, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“While there is \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2002089/heres-what-all-electric-bay-area-restaurants-have-learned-from-ditching-gas\">debate in the restaurant industry\u003c/a> about whether all-electric cooking can meet the needs of chefs with specific cooking practices, it is safe to say that there is no tangible benefit to pilot lights,” Pistochini said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Industry trade groups like the California Restaurant Association have opposed local governments’ attempts to establish electrification mandates. The group successfully challenged the city of Berkeley’s 2019 ban on natural gas hookups in new construction. The CRA has argued that restaurants would not be able to produce the same quality food with electric appliances as with gas ones.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Industry trade groups like the California Restaurant Association have opposed local governments’ attempts to establish electrification mandates. The group successfully challenged the city of Berkeley’s 2019 ban on natural gas hookups in new construction. The CRA has argued that restaurants would not be able to produce the same quality food with electric appliances as with gas ones.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1995336/heres-what-happened-when-scientists-tested-the-air-with-my-gas-stove-on\">previous studies\u003c/a> have established a link between cooking with gas appliances and increased indoor air pollution in residential settings, commercial kitchens have received much less attention, according to Rob Jackson, professor of earth system science at Stanford University, and a study co-author.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>While \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1995336/heres-what-happened-when-scientists-tested-the-air-with-my-gas-stove-on\">previous studies\u003c/a> have established a link between cooking with gas appliances and increased indoor air pollution in residential settings, commercial kitchens have received much less attention, according to Rob Jackson, professor of earth system science at Stanford University, and a study co-author.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>‘Death Valley in the summer’ \u003cbr>\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>Kitchens with gas-fired appliances were also substantially hotter than their electric counterparts. The study found that the temperature in a majority of gas kitchens, 68%, exceeded 90 degrees Fahrenheit, with four exceeding 122 degrees, according to measurements taken just outside a main vent hood. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>‘Death Valley in the summer’ \u003cbr>\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>Kitchens with gas-fired appliances were also substantially hotter than their electric counterparts. The study found that the temperature in a majority of gas kitchens, 68%, exceeded 90 degrees Fahrenheit, with four exceeding 122 degrees, according to measurements taken just outside a main vent hood. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“That’s Death Valley in the summer,” Kashtan said. “It’s a very extreme environment.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Two of the electric restaurants had the lowest peak temperatures recorded, although the study acknowledged this had “low statistical power” based on the small sample size. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The findings of the study, that using electric appliances instead of gas ones reduces exposure to heat and harmful vapors, “generally align with expectations,” according to Pistochini.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The study falls short of producing a “nationwide population-level exposure study,” Kashtan said, which would quantify the average heat and gas a commercial kitchen worker is exposed to across the country. He said that would require a much larger sample. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Kashtan said areas of further study could focus on heat and gas exposure in dining rooms and places where waitstaff are, or in businesses or residences close to restaurants, such as in mixed-use buildings.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We would never expect a software engineer or a teacher to put up with such a harsh workplace, but this is normal for the millions of people who go to work each day in commercial kitchens to make our meals,” said David Lehrer, communications director for the Center for Built Environment at the University of California, Berkeley. \u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "A new study from Bay Area researchers found that gas-powered kitchens can expose workers to dangerous levels of indoor air pollution and heat, while all-electric kitchens are cooler and cleaner. ",
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"title": "Commercial Gas Kitchens Expose Workers to a ‘Soup of Pollution,’ High Heat | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Commercial kitchens outfitted with gas-fired appliances can reach temperatures as hot as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/tag/california\">California’s\u003c/a> Death Valley in the summer and expose workers to harmful gases in excess of health-based guidelines, according to a first-of-its-kind \u003ca href=\"https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ae9d96\">study\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Commercial kitchens where workers cook with all-electric appliances, on the other hand, were much cooler and did not exceed any health guidelines for pollution exposure, the study found.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The study authors said the research is the first U.S. analysis to compare air quality and heat between gas-burning commercial kitchens and all-electric ones under real-world working conditions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“ In the majority of gas-fired kitchens we measured, the pollution levels exceeded health benchmarks for hours on end,” said Yannai Kashtan, air quality scientist at the nonprofit research institute PSE Healthy Energy, and the study’s first author.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1358\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-2-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001890\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-2-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-2-KQED-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-2-KQED-768x521.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-2-KQED-1536x1043.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Aeris analyzers, which measure methane, ethane, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide and monoxide, in the air rest at the Jackson Lab at Stanford University on Aug. 27, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>The research was published Tuesday in the journal \u003ca href=\"https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/1748-9326\">\u003cem>Environmental Research Letters\u003c/em>\u003c/a> by scientists at Stanford University, New York University and PSE Healthy Energy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kashtan’s team measured nitrogen dioxide, benzene, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane and air temperature in 21 gas kitchens, three propane kitchens and three all-electric kitchens across California, Pennsylvania and New York. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sampled kitchens included both fine-dining and casual restaurants, catering facilities and institutions serving senior living communities and schools. The researchers measured kitchen air quality with specialized sensors, and tracked gas concentrations and temperature when the spaces were both in service and not. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In about 70% of the gas-fired restaurants sampled, nitrogen dioxide concentrations during work hours exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and World Health Organization one-hour exposure guidelines, the study found. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Exposure to high concentrations of nitrogen dioxide can contribute to the development of asthma and increase susceptibility to respiratory infections, according to the EPA. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The study also found concentrations of carbon monoxide and benzene, a known carcinogen, in concentrations exceeding California’s 1-hour exposure guideline in three and five gas-fired kitchens, respectively. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The three electric kitchens had levels of pollution “pretty close to background levels,” according to Kashtan. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Not zero, but not much higher than you would be breathing just walking around,” Kashtan said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kashtan said he was surprised to find that roughly two-thirds of gas-powered kitchens measured had higher levels of pollution when they weren’t in service, something he attributed to ventilation fans not operating while the pilot lights of gas ranges continued to sputter.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That means cleaning crews or early arriving staff might be exposed to some of the highest levels of pollution, before the kitchen begins service and cooks turn on ventilation fans.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“One concrete, actionable thing that anybody can do is turn on the ventilation the minute you walk into the kitchen in the morning to flush out everything that’s built up overnight, and that’s going to keep you from breathing in this soup of pollution,” Kashtan said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Restaurants with pilot lights could switch to more modern equipment that uses electronic spark ignition to prevent overnight pollution, said Theresa Pistochini, associate director of the Western Cooling Efficiency Center, although she acknowledged that could be expensive.\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/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-6-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001893\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-6-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-6-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-6-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-6-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Samea Derrick, staff researcher at the Jackson Lab, explains how her team uses the Aeris analyzers to measure greenhouse gases in the air, at Stanford University on Aug. 27, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>“While there is \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2002089/heres-what-all-electric-bay-area-restaurants-have-learned-from-ditching-gas\">debate in the restaurant industry\u003c/a> about whether all-electric cooking can meet the needs of chefs with specific cooking practices, it is safe to say that there is no tangible benefit to pilot lights,” Pistochini said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Industry trade groups like the California Restaurant Association have opposed local governments’ attempts to establish electrification mandates. The group successfully challenged the city of Berkeley’s 2019 ban on natural gas hookups in new construction. The CRA has argued that restaurants would not be able to produce the same quality food with electric appliances as with gas ones.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1995336/heres-what-happened-when-scientists-tested-the-air-with-my-gas-stove-on\">previous studies\u003c/a> have established a link between cooking with gas appliances and increased indoor air pollution in residential settings, commercial kitchens have received much less attention, according to Rob Jackson, professor of earth system science at Stanford University, and a study co-author.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Our study shows that burning gas in a restaurant kitchen is as suspect as burning it in our homes,” Jackson said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>‘Death Valley in the summer’ \u003cbr>\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>Kitchens with gas-fired appliances were also substantially hotter than their electric counterparts. The study found that the temperature in a majority of gas kitchens, 68%, exceeded 90 degrees Fahrenheit, with four exceeding 122 degrees, according to measurements taken just outside a main vent hood. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“That’s Death Valley in the summer,” Kashtan said. “It’s a very extreme environment.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Two of the electric restaurants had the lowest peak temperatures recorded, although the study acknowledged this had “low statistical power” based on the small sample size. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The findings of the study, that using electric appliances instead of gas ones reduces exposure to heat and harmful vapors, “generally align with expectations,” according to Pistochini.\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/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-4-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001892\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-4-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-4-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-4-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/20260827_ElectricKitchens_GC-4-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Samea Derrick, staff researcher at the Jackson Lab, holds a thermocouple logger which measures the temperature on ovens, at Stanford University on Aug. 27, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Pistochini noted there was a high variability in gas exposure, something she attributed to differences in cooking practices and the effectiveness of kitchen ventilation systems, “which reinforces the importance of ventilation in commercial kitchens,” Pistochini said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The study falls short of producing a “nationwide population-level exposure study,” Kashtan said, which would quantify the average heat and gas a commercial kitchen worker is exposed to across the country. He said that would require a much larger sample. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kashtan said areas of further study could focus on heat and gas exposure in dining rooms and places where waitstaff are, or in businesses or residences close to restaurants, such as in mixed-use buildings.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The restaurant and foodservice industry provides 15.7 million jobs nationwide, according to the National Restaurant Association.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We would never expect a software engineer or a teacher to put up with such a harsh workplace, but this is normal for the millions of people who go to work each day in commercial kitchens to make our meals,” said David Lehrer, communications director for the Center for Built Environment at the University of California, Berkeley. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kashtan said this kind of work shouldn’t require “a bunch of scientists with fancy instruments.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It would be interesting to think about ways to require air quality monitoring in commercial kitchens,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "east-bay-grief-counselors-strike-to-protest-layoffs-and-protect-the-soul-of-hospice",
"title": "East Bay Grief Counselors Strike to Protest Layoffs and ‘Protect the Soul of Hospice’",
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"headTitle": "East Bay Grief Counselors Strike to Protest Layoffs and ‘Protect the Soul of Hospice’ | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>At 77, Judy Johnson has faced one of the unspoken responsibilities of being the youngest child in the family: shepherding her parents and her three older siblings \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/stateofhealth/364223/beloved-san-francisco-zen-hospice-project-confronts-its-own-end\">through death\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>With her last sister now in hospice care, and no one else left to lean on, Johnson found a lifeline in an emotional support group provided through her sister’s hospice provider, Hospice East Bay. But as the nonprofit’s parent organization prepares to lay off more than 20 staff, including social workers, chaplains and nurses, the support group will be disbanded, and Johnson will have to bear her sister’s death without it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>A key element supporting my emotional well-being will be lost,” Johnson said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The nonprofit Hospice East Bay turned over management of its operations to a Florida-based parent company, Chapters Health System, last year, with the stated goal of expanding services. Instead, music therapy and a children’s grief program have been discontinued, and staff members are facing their second round of layoffs. Their union is staging a seven-day strike starting Monday to protest cuts to their own health benefits and demand a fair contract.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re going on strike to protect the soul of hospice,” said Judy Fleischman, a spiritual care counselor at Hospice East Bay. \u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>The jobs are being cut, and the caseloads will increase for those who remain. Let’s be clear, that is destroying our ability to care compassionately.”\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/35/2026/10/261005-HOSPICESTRIKE-06-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002205\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261005-HOSPICESTRIKE-06-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261005-HOSPICESTRIKE-06-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261005-HOSPICESTRIKE-06-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261005-HOSPICESTRIKE-06-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hospice East Bay workers and supporters picket outside the organization’s Pleasant Hill headquarters on Oct. 5, 2026, during the first day of a seven-day strike over layoffs, health benefits and contract negotiations. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hospice began as a volunteer-led, grassroots movement in the 1970s, but in recent decades, it has ballooned into a massive industry. In California, \u003ca href=\"https://kffhealthnews.org/aging/hospice-agencies-california-survival-gains-hospital-cms-fraud/\">94% of hospice providers\u003c/a> are now for-profit. Corporate consolidation has been widespread, leading to exploitation and even \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2026/04/hospice-fraud-california-license-medicare/\">fraud\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As a small, independent nonprofit, Hospice East Bay struggled to compete in this environment. Staff say the financial strain of flat government reimbursement rates, coupled with declining patient numbers and money mismanagement, pushed previous executives to affiliate with \u003ca href=\"https://www.chaptershealth.org/\">Chapters Health\u003c/a> last year. By centralizing business operations like human resources, IT, purchasing, and billing, local leaders believed caregivers could focus more on improving clinical services to patients and their families.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Together, we will be able to embrace the challenges of the changing healthcare landscape and create an environment where we have the opportunity to expand our programs and services, strengthening our role as a community leader in quality care,” said Chris Falley, executive director of Hospice East Bay, at the time the partnership agreement was \u003ca href=\"https://www.chaptershealth.org/press-releases/hospice-east-bay-finalizes-agreement-to-join-chapters-health-system/\">finalized in October 2025\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Andrew Molosky, president and CEO of Chapters Health, who earned \u003ca href=\"https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/592264957\">$2.2 million\u003c/a> in total compensation in 2024, visited Hospice East Bay headquarters in Pleasant Hill at the time and, according to staff, he told them he foresaw no cuts to clinical staff and no layoffs of senior leaders for at least a year. Six weeks later, two directors left, allegedly forced into retirement. And now staff are fighting back against the second round of clinical layoffs in a year, eliminating 30 positions total.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Chapters Health did not comment on the layoff decision, but issued a statement from regional director, Tonya Lyons, who said they were “disappointed” by the union’s plan to strike. Care for current hospice patients will continue through the seven-day walkout, she said, with a contingency team of clinicians, administrators, and on-call physicians.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lyons said management is committed to reaching a contract with the union that “will lay the groundwork for long-term sustainability and ensure the ability to grow into the future.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Union members countered that the current job cuts will leave remaining staff stretched long after the strike is over. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Social workers will have to care for 40 patients instead of 30. Chaplains will have 80 patients instead of 50. Two bereavement counselors will be left to help 1,200 patients and family members facing the loss of their loved ones.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The remaining chaplains will have to figure out who will not get spiritual care,” said Claire Eustace, a chaplain who will be laid off this month. “It’s one thing when people say they don’t want spiritual care support, but it’s quite a different thing when we decide that for them, because we just don’t have the time to visit them.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261005-HospiceStrike-18-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002210\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261005-HospiceStrike-18-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261005-HospiceStrike-18-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261005-HospiceStrike-18-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261005-HospiceStrike-18-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Claire Eustace leads hospice workers and supporters in a chant outside Hospice East Bay’s Pleasant Hill headquarters on Oct. 5, 2026, during the first day of a seven-day strike. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The family support group that Judy Johnson attends is run by a social worker who is being laid off. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>With their increased caseloads, the remaining social workers are unlikely to have time to continue it. Johnson wonders what might happen to the care her sister, Maxine, receives. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She’s 88, suffering from Parkinson’s dementia, and bedbound from a recent fall. Johnson said the nurses and aides who visit are all highly professional, caring people.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I look at how the home health aide bathes my sister, the gentleness with which she touches her body. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She doesn’t just grab a limb and begin washing it. She said, ‘Miss Maxine, I’m gonna do your arm now, okay?’” Johnson said. If there are more and more patients to visit in a day, she worries, “my sister’s bath may not be so gentle and life-affirming.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The California attorney general’s office reviewed the affiliation agreement between Hospice East Bay and Chapters Health last summer, and approved it on several conditions, including the creation of a quality advisory committee and the maintenance of programs historically funded by donations rather than government payments, like music therapy and bereavement services for families.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>According to staff, such therapy programs have not been maintained, and with the latest round of cuts to the bereavement team, peer support groups and one-on-one counseling for loved ones left behind will be scaled back. It’s unclear what kind of recourse the attorney general’s office may have. It did not respond to requests for comment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Social worker Julie Aronowitz, who is also being laid off, compared the staff cuts to a poem about violinist Yitzhak Perlman, who once performed with only three strings on his instrument after one of them broke. He adapted and played with “power and intensity” anyway.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This poem talks about how we make music with what remains,” Aronowitz said. “But how do you make music with just one string left?”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The nonprofit Hospice East Bay turned over management of its operations to a Florida-based parent company, Chapters Health System, last year, with the stated goal of expanding services. Instead, music therapy and a children’s grief program have been discontinued, and staff members are facing their second round of layoffs. Their union is staging a seven-day strike starting Monday to protest cuts to their own health benefits and demand a fair contract.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We’re going on strike to protect the soul of hospice,” said Judy Fleischman, a spiritual care counselor at Hospice East Bay. \u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>The jobs are being cut, and the caseloads will increase for those who remain. Let’s be clear, that is destroying our ability to care compassionately.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Hospice began as a volunteer-led, grassroots movement in the 1970s, but in recent decades, it has ballooned into a massive industry. In California, \u003ca href=\"https://kffhealthnews.org/aging/hospice-agencies-california-survival-gains-hospital-cms-fraud/\">94% of hospice providers\u003c/a> are now for-profit. Corporate consolidation has been widespread, leading to exploitation and even \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2026/04/hospice-fraud-california-license-medicare/\">fraud\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As a small, independent nonprofit, Hospice East Bay struggled to compete in this environment. Staff say the financial strain of flat government reimbursement rates, coupled with declining patient numbers and money mismanagement, pushed previous executives to affiliate with \u003ca href=\"https://www.chaptershealth.org/\">Chapters Health\u003c/a> last year. By centralizing business operations like human resources, IT, purchasing, and billing, local leaders believed caregivers could focus more on improving clinical services to patients and their families.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Together, we will be able to embrace the challenges of the changing healthcare landscape and create an environment where we have the opportunity to expand our programs and services, strengthening our role as a community leader in quality care,” said Chris Falley, executive director of Hospice East Bay, at the time the partnership agreement was \u003ca href=\"https://www.chaptershealth.org/press-releases/hospice-east-bay-finalizes-agreement-to-join-chapters-health-system/\">finalized in October 2025\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Chapters Health did not comment on the layoff decision, but issued a statement from regional director, Tonya Lyons, who said they were “disappointed” by the union’s plan to strike. Care for current hospice patients will continue through the seven-day walkout, she said, with a contingency team of clinicians, administrators, and on-call physicians.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Lyons said management is committed to reaching a contract with the union that “will lay the groundwork for long-term sustainability and ensure the ability to grow into the future.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Union members countered that the current job cuts will leave remaining staff stretched long after the strike is over. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Social workers will have to care for 40 patients instead of 30. Chaplains will have 80 patients instead of 50. Two bereavement counselors will be left to help 1,200 patients and family members facing the loss of their loved ones.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The remaining chaplains will have to figure out who will not get spiritual care,” said Claire Eustace, a chaplain who will be laid off this month. “It’s one thing when people say they don’t want spiritual care support, but it’s quite a different thing when we decide that for them, because we just don’t have the time to visit them.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The remaining chaplains will have to figure out who will not get spiritual care,” said Claire Eustace, a chaplain who will be laid off this month. “It’s one thing when people say they don’t want spiritual care support, but it’s quite a different thing when we decide that for them, because we just don’t have the time to visit them.”\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/35/2026/10/261005-HospiceStrike-18-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002210\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261005-HospiceStrike-18-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261005-HospiceStrike-18-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261005-HospiceStrike-18-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261005-HospiceStrike-18-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Claire Eustace leads hospice workers and supporters in a chant outside Hospice East Bay’s Pleasant Hill headquarters on Oct. 5, 2026, during the first day of a seven-day strike.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>With their increased caseloads, the remaining social workers are unlikely to have time to continue it. Johnson wonders what might happen to the care her sister, Maxine, receives. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She doesn’t just grab a limb and begin washing it. She said, ‘Miss Maxine, I’m gonna do your arm now, okay?’” Johnson said. If there are more and more patients to visit in a day, she worries, “my sister’s bath may not be so gentle and life-affirming.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The California attorney general’s office reviewed the affiliation agreement between Hospice East Bay and Chapters Health last summer, and approved it on several conditions, including the creation of a quality advisory committee and the maintenance of programs historically funded by donations rather than government payments, like music therapy and bereavement services for families.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Social worker Julie Aronowitz, who is also being laid off, compared the staff cuts to a poem about violinist Yitzhak Perlman, who once performed with only three strings on his instrument after one of them broke. He adapted and played with “power and intensity” anyway.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Staff at Hospice East Bay warn that services and care quality will deteriorate under the continued leadership of Florida-based Chapters Health Systems.",
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"title": "East Bay Grief Counselors Strike to Protest Layoffs and ‘Protect the Soul of Hospice’ | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>At 77, Judy Johnson has faced one of the unspoken responsibilities of being the youngest child in the family: shepherding her parents and her three older siblings \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/stateofhealth/364223/beloved-san-francisco-zen-hospice-project-confronts-its-own-end\">through death\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>With her last sister now in hospice care, and no one else left to lean on, Johnson found a lifeline in an emotional support group provided through her sister’s hospice provider, Hospice East Bay. But as the nonprofit’s parent organization prepares to lay off more than 20 staff, including social workers, chaplains and nurses, the support group will be disbanded, and Johnson will have to bear her sister’s death without it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>A key element supporting my emotional well-being will be lost,” Johnson said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The nonprofit Hospice East Bay turned over management of its operations to a Florida-based parent company, Chapters Health System, last year, with the stated goal of expanding services. Instead, music therapy and a children’s grief program have been discontinued, and staff members are facing their second round of layoffs. Their union is staging a seven-day strike starting Monday to protest cuts to their own health benefits and demand a fair contract.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re going on strike to protect the soul of hospice,” said Judy Fleischman, a spiritual care counselor at Hospice East Bay. \u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>The jobs are being cut, and the caseloads will increase for those who remain. Let’s be clear, that is destroying our ability to care compassionately.”\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/35/2026/10/261005-HOSPICESTRIKE-06-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002205\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261005-HOSPICESTRIKE-06-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261005-HOSPICESTRIKE-06-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261005-HOSPICESTRIKE-06-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261005-HOSPICESTRIKE-06-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hospice East Bay workers and supporters picket outside the organization’s Pleasant Hill headquarters on Oct. 5, 2026, during the first day of a seven-day strike over layoffs, health benefits and contract negotiations. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hospice began as a volunteer-led, grassroots movement in the 1970s, but in recent decades, it has ballooned into a massive industry. In California, \u003ca href=\"https://kffhealthnews.org/aging/hospice-agencies-california-survival-gains-hospital-cms-fraud/\">94% of hospice providers\u003c/a> are now for-profit. Corporate consolidation has been widespread, leading to exploitation and even \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2026/04/hospice-fraud-california-license-medicare/\">fraud\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As a small, independent nonprofit, Hospice East Bay struggled to compete in this environment. Staff say the financial strain of flat government reimbursement rates, coupled with declining patient numbers and money mismanagement, pushed previous executives to affiliate with \u003ca href=\"https://www.chaptershealth.org/\">Chapters Health\u003c/a> last year. By centralizing business operations like human resources, IT, purchasing, and billing, local leaders believed caregivers could focus more on improving clinical services to patients and their families.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Together, we will be able to embrace the challenges of the changing healthcare landscape and create an environment where we have the opportunity to expand our programs and services, strengthening our role as a community leader in quality care,” said Chris Falley, executive director of Hospice East Bay, at the time the partnership agreement was \u003ca href=\"https://www.chaptershealth.org/press-releases/hospice-east-bay-finalizes-agreement-to-join-chapters-health-system/\">finalized in October 2025\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Andrew Molosky, president and CEO of Chapters Health, who earned \u003ca href=\"https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/592264957\">$2.2 million\u003c/a> in total compensation in 2024, visited Hospice East Bay headquarters in Pleasant Hill at the time and, according to staff, he told them he foresaw no cuts to clinical staff and no layoffs of senior leaders for at least a year. Six weeks later, two directors left, allegedly forced into retirement. And now staff are fighting back against the second round of clinical layoffs in a year, eliminating 30 positions total.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Chapters Health did not comment on the layoff decision, but issued a statement from regional director, Tonya Lyons, who said they were “disappointed” by the union’s plan to strike. Care for current hospice patients will continue through the seven-day walkout, she said, with a contingency team of clinicians, administrators, and on-call physicians.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lyons said management is committed to reaching a contract with the union that “will lay the groundwork for long-term sustainability and ensure the ability to grow into the future.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Union members countered that the current job cuts will leave remaining staff stretched long after the strike is over. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Social workers will have to care for 40 patients instead of 30. Chaplains will have 80 patients instead of 50. Two bereavement counselors will be left to help 1,200 patients and family members facing the loss of their loved ones.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The remaining chaplains will have to figure out who will not get spiritual care,” said Claire Eustace, a chaplain who will be laid off this month. “It’s one thing when people say they don’t want spiritual care support, but it’s quite a different thing when we decide that for them, because we just don’t have the time to visit them.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261005-HospiceStrike-18-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2002210\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261005-HospiceStrike-18-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261005-HospiceStrike-18-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261005-HospiceStrike-18-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/10/261005-HospiceStrike-18-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Claire Eustace leads hospice workers and supporters in a chant outside Hospice East Bay’s Pleasant Hill headquarters on Oct. 5, 2026, during the first day of a seven-day strike. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The family support group that Judy Johnson attends is run by a social worker who is being laid off. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>With their increased caseloads, the remaining social workers are unlikely to have time to continue it. Johnson wonders what might happen to the care her sister, Maxine, receives. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She’s 88, suffering from Parkinson’s dementia, and bedbound from a recent fall. Johnson said the nurses and aides who visit are all highly professional, caring people.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I look at how the home health aide bathes my sister, the gentleness with which she touches her body. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She doesn’t just grab a limb and begin washing it. She said, ‘Miss Maxine, I’m gonna do your arm now, okay?’” Johnson said. If there are more and more patients to visit in a day, she worries, “my sister’s bath may not be so gentle and life-affirming.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The California attorney general’s office reviewed the affiliation agreement between Hospice East Bay and Chapters Health last summer, and approved it on several conditions, including the creation of a quality advisory committee and the maintenance of programs historically funded by donations rather than government payments, like music therapy and bereavement services for families.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>According to staff, such therapy programs have not been maintained, and with the latest round of cuts to the bereavement team, peer support groups and one-on-one counseling for loved ones left behind will be scaled back. It’s unclear what kind of recourse the attorney general’s office may have. It did not respond to requests for comment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Social worker Julie Aronowitz, who is also being laid off, compared the staff cuts to a poem about violinist Yitzhak Perlman, who once performed with only three strings on his instrument after one of them broke. He adapted and played with “power and intensity” anyway.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This poem talks about how we make music with what remains,” Aronowitz said. “But how do you make music with just one string left?”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "residents-near-chevrons-richmond-refinery-face-higher-risk-of-cancer-air-district-says",
"title": "Residents Near Chevron’s Richmond Refinery Face Higher Risk of Cancer, Air District Says",
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"headTitle": "Residents Near Chevron’s Richmond Refinery Face Higher Risk of Cancer, Air District Says | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>People living close to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/chevron-refinery\">Chevron Refinery\u003c/a> in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/richmond\">Richmond\u003c/a> face an elevated risk of developing cancer over a lifetime, and illness from short exposure to excess emissions, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/ab617-community-health/facility-risk-reduction/hra-facilities/fid10/fid10_preliminary-hra.pdf\">preliminary health risk assessment\u003c/a> by the Bay Area Air District released Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Most of the cancer risk came from benzo[a]pyrene and other toxic air contaminants known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH’s) that seeped from pipe fittings and storage tanks throughout the refinery. Diesel particulate matter and arsenic emissions were also found to be above the regulator’s allowed limit. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There are multiple sources with multiple pollutants that are beyond the risk threshold,” said Dr. Rohan Radhakrishna, the Air District’s health officer. “That can harm people’s health, and [it] needs to be reduced.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The model analysis examines the highest cancer risk over a lifetime posed by exposure to facility emissions. The Air District found the Richmond refinery exposure to be 37 chances in a million, which is more than three times higher than its threshold for action.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The air regulator requires facilities to take action to reduce the risk if it equals or exceeds 10 in a million.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2145\" height=\"1228\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/CRR-Summary_Fig-3-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001825\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/CRR-Summary_Fig-3-1.jpg 2145w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/CRR-Summary_Fig-3-1-2000x1145.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/CRR-Summary_Fig-3-1-160x92.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/CRR-Summary_Fig-3-1-768x440.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/CRR-Summary_Fig-3-1-1536x879.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/CRR-Summary_Fig-3-1-2048x1172.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2145px) 100vw, 2145px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Air District’s breakdown of cancer risk from pollutants at Chevron’s Richmond refinery. (Courtesy of Bay Area Air District Staff)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It is an estimate based on worst-case scenarios,” said Ariana Husain, the regulator’s risk assessment manager. “It does not represent the average risk to residents in Richmond.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Nor does it mean that 37 more people in a million will develop cancer, Husain said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s really the first step in understanding risk posed by emissions from facility operations to the nearby community,” Husain said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The health risk assessment is a tool to measure the risk of toxic air contaminants from high-impact industrial facilities like Chevron’s Richmond refinery, Husain said. The Air District is empowered to conduct these assessments \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/rules-and-compliance/rules/regulation-11-rule-18-reduction-of-risk-from-air-toxic-emissions-at-existing-facilities\">under regulations\u003c/a> it adopted in 2017 and modified in June.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The rules require those facilities to work with the air regulator to reduce emissions and the risk to communities.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Caitlin Powell, a Chevron Richmond spokesperson, pushed back in an email and said the company found “significant issues” with the assessment “that we believe materially overstate the Richmond refinery’s emissions and modeled health risk.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Chevron also quickly circulated an \u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/CHEVRON-RICHMOND-info-on-Bay-Area-Air-District-Draft-HRA-of-Richmond-Refinery-FAQ_Aug-2026.pdf\">FAQ document\u003c/a> to reporters about the assessment that categorized the tool as “conservative” and meant to understand where regulators should “focus efforts and resources to improve air quality and protect public health.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“Scientific methods used in HRAs cannot be used to link individual illnesses to chemical exposures,” the document said.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>It also noted that the refinery’s cancer risk assessment “is not itself a violation” and fell below the “action” levels set by air districts in Los Angeles and the San Joaquin Valley.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Chevron has 90 days to challenge the Air District’s findings and suggest modifications to the risk assessment. During that time, the public may also submit comments to the air regulator.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Long-term exposure to these substances may increase cancer risk and harm developmental, reproductive and immune systems. Children under two are more susceptible to effects. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Air District measured the potential impact of excess emissions on three categories of people with varying degrees of exposure. First, residents who they assumed to have 24 hours a day of exposure, non-resident refinery workers who face 8 hours of exposure a day, and students who attended school near the refinery but lived elsewhere.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The assessment found that people who live within approximately 3 miles of the refinery, including in the communities of Achitson, Brickyard Cove, Iron Triangle, Point Richmond and North Richmond, face the greatest health risk. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1616\" height=\"1265\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/Figure-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001806\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/Figure-2.png 1616w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/Figure-2-160x125.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/Figure-2-768x601.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/Figure-2-1536x1202.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1616px) 100vw, 1616px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This map shows where the cancer risk is highest around Chevron’s Richmond refinery, according to air regulators. (Courtesy of Bay Area Air District Staff)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Chevron workers who live out of town did not face an increased risk of cancer, but are subject to acute one-hour releases of benzene that can evaporate from the refinery’s waste treatment system.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“That is a toxic air contaminant that you can get irritated by in a very short amount of time,” Radhakrishna said. “Smelling it in your nose, in your mouth, in your throat, in your lungs, coughing attacks, and exacerbation of existing health conditions.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The effects of benzene are temporary and based on proximity to the refinery, according to the report, but Radhakrishna noted that repeated exposure to benzene can also contribute to cancer over the long term.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The health risk assessment found that children who attend schools near the refinery but don’t live in the area did not face an elevated risk of cancer, but are exposed to risks from the one-hour releases, as are residents and anyone within approximately three miles of the facilities when it releases emissions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Air District scheduled a public meeting to explain the findings and the comment process on Monday, Sept. 21 at 5:30 p.m. at the Richmond Memorial Civic Auditorium and Convention Center. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The air regulators will consider both public comment and responses from Chevron before issuing a final risk assessment for the Richmond refinery. Then the company is required to submit a plan to reduce the risk, which will also be open to public comment and must ultimately be approved by the Air District.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>People living close to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/chevron-refinery\">Chevron Refinery\u003c/a> in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/richmond\">Richmond\u003c/a> face an elevated risk of developing cancer over a lifetime, and illness from short exposure to excess emissions, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/ab617-community-health/facility-risk-reduction/hra-facilities/fid10/fid10_preliminary-hra.pdf\">preliminary health risk assessment\u003c/a> by the Bay Area Air District released Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>People living close to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/chevron-refinery\">Chevron Refinery\u003c/a> in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/richmond\">Richmond\u003c/a> face an elevated risk of developing cancer over a lifetime, and illness from short exposure to excess emissions, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/ab617-community-health/facility-risk-reduction/hra-facilities/fid10/fid10_preliminary-hra.pdf\">preliminary health risk assessment\u003c/a> by the Bay Area Air District released Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Most of the cancer risk came from benzo[a]pyrene and other toxic air contaminants known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH’s) that seeped from pipe fittings and storage tanks throughout the refinery. Diesel particulate matter and arsenic emissions were also found to be above the regulator’s allowed limit. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Most of the cancer risk came from benzo[a]pyrene and other toxic air contaminants known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH’s) that seeped from pipe fittings and storage tanks throughout the refinery. Diesel particulate matter and arsenic emissions were also found to be above the regulator’s allowed limit. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“There are multiple sources with multiple pollutants that are beyond the risk threshold,” said Dr. Rohan Radhakrishna, the Air District’s health officer. “That can harm people’s health, and [it] needs to be reduced.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“There are multiple sources with multiple pollutants that are beyond the risk threshold,” said Dr. Rohan Radhakrishna, the Air District’s health officer. “That can harm people’s health, and [it] needs to be reduced.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The model analysis examines the highest cancer risk over a lifetime posed by exposure to facility emissions. The Air District found the Richmond refinery exposure to be 37 chances in a million, which is more than three times higher than its threshold for action.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The air regulator requires facilities to take action to reduce the risk if it equals or exceeds 10 in a million.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The model analysis examines the highest cancer risk over a lifetime posed by exposure to facility emissions. The Air District found the Richmond refinery exposure to be 37 chances in a million, which is more than three times higher than its threshold for action.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The air regulator requires facilities to take action to reduce the risk if it equals or exceeds 10 in a million.\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/35/2026/08/CRR-Summary_Fig-3-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001825\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/CRR-Summary_Fig-3-1.jpg 2145w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/CRR-Summary_Fig-3-1-2000x1145.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/CRR-Summary_Fig-3-1-160x92.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/CRR-Summary_Fig-3-1-768x440.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/CRR-Summary_Fig-3-1-1536x879.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/CRR-Summary_Fig-3-1-2048x1172.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Air District’s breakdown of cancer risk from pollutants at Chevron’s Richmond refinery.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of Bay Area Air District Staff)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/CRR-Summary_Fig-3-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001825\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Air District’s breakdown of cancer risk from pollutants at Chevron’s Richmond refinery.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of Bay Area Air District Staff)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It is an estimate based on worst-case scenarios,” said Ariana Husain, the regulator’s risk assessment manager. “It does not represent the average risk to residents in Richmond.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It is an estimate based on worst-case scenarios,” said Ariana Husain, the regulator’s risk assessment manager. “It does not represent the average risk to residents in Richmond.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Nor does it mean that 37 more people in a million will develop cancer, Husain said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Nor does it mean that 37 more people in a million will develop cancer, Husain said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s really the first step in understanding risk posed by emissions from facility operations to the nearby community,” Husain said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It’s really the first step in understanding risk posed by emissions from facility operations to the nearby community,” Husain said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The health risk assessment is a tool to measure the risk of toxic air contaminants from high-impact industrial facilities like Chevron’s Richmond refinery, Husain said. The Air District is empowered to conduct these assessments \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/rules-and-compliance/rules/regulation-11-rule-18-reduction-of-risk-from-air-toxic-emissions-at-existing-facilities\">under regulations\u003c/a> it adopted in 2017 and modified in June.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The health risk assessment is a tool to measure the risk of toxic air contaminants from high-impact industrial facilities like Chevron’s Richmond refinery, Husain said. The Air District is empowered to conduct these assessments \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/rules-and-compliance/rules/regulation-11-rule-18-reduction-of-risk-from-air-toxic-emissions-at-existing-facilities\">under regulations\u003c/a> it adopted in 2017 and modified in June.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The rules require those facilities to work with the air regulator to reduce emissions and the risk to communities.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Caitlin Powell, a Chevron Richmond spokesperson, pushed back in an email and said the company found “significant issues” with the assessment “that we believe materially overstate the Richmond refinery’s emissions and modeled health risk.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Chevron also quickly circulated an \u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/CHEVRON-RICHMOND-info-on-Bay-Area-Air-District-Draft-HRA-of-Richmond-Refinery-FAQ_Aug-2026.pdf\">FAQ document\u003c/a> to reporters about the assessment that categorized the tool as “conservative” and meant to understand where regulators should “focus efforts and resources to improve air quality and protect public health.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“Scientific methods used in HRAs cannot be used to link individual illnesses to chemical exposures,” the document said.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>It also noted that the refinery’s cancer risk assessment “is not itself a violation” and fell below the “action” levels set by air districts in Los Angeles and the San Joaquin Valley.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Chevron has 90 days to challenge the Air District’s findings and suggest modifications to the risk assessment. During that time, the public may also submit comments to the air regulator.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Caitlin Powell, a Chevron Richmond spokesperson, pushed back in an email and said the company found “significant issues” with the assessment “that we believe materially overstate the Richmond refinery’s emissions and modeled health risk.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Chevron also quickly circulated an \u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/CHEVRON-RICHMOND-info-on-Bay-Area-Air-District-Draft-HRA-of-Richmond-Refinery-FAQ_Aug-2026.pdf\">FAQ document\u003c/a> to reporters about the assessment that categorized the tool as “conservative” and meant to understand where regulators should “focus efforts and resources to improve air quality and protect public health.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“Scientific methods used in HRAs cannot be used to link individual illnesses to chemical exposures,” the document said.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>It also noted that the refinery’s cancer risk assessment “is not itself a violation” and fell below the “action” levels set by air districts in Los Angeles and the San Joaquin Valley.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Chevron has 90 days to challenge the Air District’s findings and suggest modifications to the risk assessment. During that time, the public may also submit comments to the air regulator.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Long-term exposure to these substances may increase cancer risk and harm developmental, reproductive and immune systems. Children under two are more susceptible to effects. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Long-term exposure to these substances may increase cancer risk and harm developmental, reproductive and immune systems. Children under two are more susceptible to effects. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Air District measured the potential impact of excess emissions on three categories of people with varying degrees of exposure. First, residents who they assumed to have 24 hours a day of exposure, non-resident refinery workers who face 8 hours of exposure a day, and students who attended school near the refinery but lived elsewhere.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Air District measured the potential impact of excess emissions on three categories of people with varying degrees of exposure. First, residents who they assumed to have 24 hours a day of exposure, non-resident refinery workers who face 8 hours of exposure a day, and students who attended school near the refinery but lived elsewhere.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The assessment found that people who live within approximately 3 miles of the refinery, including in the communities of Achitson, Brickyard Cove, Iron Triangle, Point Richmond and North Richmond, face the greatest health risk. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The assessment found that people who live within approximately 3 miles of the refinery, including in the communities of Achitson, Brickyard Cove, Iron Triangle, Point Richmond and North Richmond, face the greatest health risk. \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/35/2026/08/Figure-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001806\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/Figure-2.png 1616w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/Figure-2-160x125.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/Figure-2-768x601.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/Figure-2-1536x1202.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This map shows where the cancer risk is highest around Chevron’s Richmond refinery, according to air regulators.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of Bay Area Air District Staff)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/Figure-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001806\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This map shows where the cancer risk is highest around Chevron’s Richmond refinery, according to air regulators.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of Bay Area Air District Staff)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Chevron workers who live out of town did not face an increased risk of cancer, but are subject to acute one-hour releases of benzene that can evaporate from the refinery’s waste treatment system.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Chevron workers who live out of town did not face an increased risk of cancer, but are subject to acute one-hour releases of benzene that can evaporate from the refinery’s waste treatment system.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“That is a toxic air contaminant that you can get irritated by in a very short amount of time,” Radhakrishna said. “Smelling it in your nose, in your mouth, in your throat, in your lungs, coughing attacks, and exacerbation of existing health conditions.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“That is a toxic air contaminant that you can get irritated by in a very short amount of time,” Radhakrishna said. “Smelling it in your nose, in your mouth, in your throat, in your lungs, coughing attacks, and exacerbation of existing health conditions.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The effects of benzene are temporary and based on proximity to the refinery, according to the report, but Radhakrishna noted that repeated exposure to benzene can also contribute to cancer over the long term.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The effects of benzene are temporary and based on proximity to the refinery, according to the report, but Radhakrishna noted that repeated exposure to benzene can also contribute to cancer over the long term.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The health risk assessment found that children who attend schools near the refinery but don’t live in the area did not face an elevated risk of cancer, but are exposed to risks from the one-hour releases, as are residents and anyone within approximately three miles of the facilities when it releases emissions. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The health risk assessment found that children who attend schools near the refinery but don’t live in the area did not face an elevated risk of cancer, but are exposed to risks from the one-hour releases, as are residents and anyone within approximately three miles of the facilities when it releases emissions. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Air District scheduled a public meeting to explain the findings and the comment process on Monday, Sept. 21 at 5:30 p.m. at the Richmond Memorial Civic Auditorium and Convention Center. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Air District scheduled a public meeting to explain the findings and the comment process on Monday, Sept. 21 at 5:30 p.m. at the Richmond Memorial Civic Auditorium and Convention Center. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The air regulators will consider both public comment and responses from Chevron before issuing a final risk assessment for the Richmond refinery. Then the company is required to submit a plan to reduce the risk, which will also be open to public comment and must ultimately be approved by the Air District.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The air regulators will consider both public comment and responses from Chevron before issuing a final risk assessment for the Richmond refinery. Then the company is required to submit a plan to reduce the risk, which will also be open to public comment and must ultimately be approved by the Air District.\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "People living close to the Chevron Refinery in Richmond face an elevated risk of developing cancer over a lifetime, according to a preliminary assessment the air regulator released Tuesday. ",
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"title": "Residents Near Chevron’s Richmond Refinery Face Higher Risk of Cancer, Air District Says | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>People living close to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/chevron-refinery\">Chevron Refinery\u003c/a> in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/richmond\">Richmond\u003c/a> face an elevated risk of developing cancer over a lifetime, and illness from short exposure to excess emissions, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/ab617-community-health/facility-risk-reduction/hra-facilities/fid10/fid10_preliminary-hra.pdf\">preliminary health risk assessment\u003c/a> by the Bay Area Air District released Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Most of the cancer risk came from benzo[a]pyrene and other toxic air contaminants known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH’s) that seeped from pipe fittings and storage tanks throughout the refinery. Diesel particulate matter and arsenic emissions were also found to be above the regulator’s allowed limit. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There are multiple sources with multiple pollutants that are beyond the risk threshold,” said Dr. Rohan Radhakrishna, the Air District’s health officer. “That can harm people’s health, and [it] needs to be reduced.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The model analysis examines the highest cancer risk over a lifetime posed by exposure to facility emissions. The Air District found the Richmond refinery exposure to be 37 chances in a million, which is more than three times higher than its threshold for action.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The air regulator requires facilities to take action to reduce the risk if it equals or exceeds 10 in a million.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2145\" height=\"1228\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/CRR-Summary_Fig-3-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001825\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/CRR-Summary_Fig-3-1.jpg 2145w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/CRR-Summary_Fig-3-1-2000x1145.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/CRR-Summary_Fig-3-1-160x92.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/CRR-Summary_Fig-3-1-768x440.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/CRR-Summary_Fig-3-1-1536x879.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/CRR-Summary_Fig-3-1-2048x1172.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2145px) 100vw, 2145px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Air District’s breakdown of cancer risk from pollutants at Chevron’s Richmond refinery. (Courtesy of Bay Area Air District Staff)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It is an estimate based on worst-case scenarios,” said Ariana Husain, the regulator’s risk assessment manager. “It does not represent the average risk to residents in Richmond.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Nor does it mean that 37 more people in a million will develop cancer, Husain said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s really the first step in understanding risk posed by emissions from facility operations to the nearby community,” Husain said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The health risk assessment is a tool to measure the risk of toxic air contaminants from high-impact industrial facilities like Chevron’s Richmond refinery, Husain said. The Air District is empowered to conduct these assessments \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/rules-and-compliance/rules/regulation-11-rule-18-reduction-of-risk-from-air-toxic-emissions-at-existing-facilities\">under regulations\u003c/a> it adopted in 2017 and modified in June.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The rules require those facilities to work with the air regulator to reduce emissions and the risk to communities.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Caitlin Powell, a Chevron Richmond spokesperson, pushed back in an email and said the company found “significant issues” with the assessment “that we believe materially overstate the Richmond refinery’s emissions and modeled health risk.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Chevron also quickly circulated an \u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/CHEVRON-RICHMOND-info-on-Bay-Area-Air-District-Draft-HRA-of-Richmond-Refinery-FAQ_Aug-2026.pdf\">FAQ document\u003c/a> to reporters about the assessment that categorized the tool as “conservative” and meant to understand where regulators should “focus efforts and resources to improve air quality and protect public health.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“Scientific methods used in HRAs cannot be used to link individual illnesses to chemical exposures,” the document said.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>It also noted that the refinery’s cancer risk assessment “is not itself a violation” and fell below the “action” levels set by air districts in Los Angeles and the San Joaquin Valley.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Chevron has 90 days to challenge the Air District’s findings and suggest modifications to the risk assessment. During that time, the public may also submit comments to the air regulator.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Long-term exposure to these substances may increase cancer risk and harm developmental, reproductive and immune systems. Children under two are more susceptible to effects. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Air District measured the potential impact of excess emissions on three categories of people with varying degrees of exposure. First, residents who they assumed to have 24 hours a day of exposure, non-resident refinery workers who face 8 hours of exposure a day, and students who attended school near the refinery but lived elsewhere.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The assessment found that people who live within approximately 3 miles of the refinery, including in the communities of Achitson, Brickyard Cove, Iron Triangle, Point Richmond and North Richmond, face the greatest health risk. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1616\" height=\"1265\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/Figure-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001806\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/Figure-2.png 1616w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/Figure-2-160x125.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/Figure-2-768x601.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/Figure-2-1536x1202.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1616px) 100vw, 1616px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This map shows where the cancer risk is highest around Chevron’s Richmond refinery, according to air regulators. (Courtesy of Bay Area Air District Staff)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Chevron workers who live out of town did not face an increased risk of cancer, but are subject to acute one-hour releases of benzene that can evaporate from the refinery’s waste treatment system.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“That is a toxic air contaminant that you can get irritated by in a very short amount of time,” Radhakrishna said. “Smelling it in your nose, in your mouth, in your throat, in your lungs, coughing attacks, and exacerbation of existing health conditions.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The effects of benzene are temporary and based on proximity to the refinery, according to the report, but Radhakrishna noted that repeated exposure to benzene can also contribute to cancer over the long term.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The health risk assessment found that children who attend schools near the refinery but don’t live in the area did not face an elevated risk of cancer, but are exposed to risks from the one-hour releases, as are residents and anyone within approximately three miles of the facilities when it releases emissions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Air District scheduled a public meeting to explain the findings and the comment process on Monday, Sept. 21 at 5:30 p.m. at the Richmond Memorial Civic Auditorium and Convention Center. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The air regulators will consider both public comment and responses from Chevron before issuing a final risk assessment for the Richmond refinery. Then the company is required to submit a plan to reduce the risk, which will also be open to public comment and must ultimately be approved by the Air District.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "california-teens-dont-want-to-hide-behind-screens-they-want-more-places-to-belong",
"title": "California Teens Don’t Want to Hide Behind Screens. They Want More Places to Belong",
"publishDate": 1786359600,
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"headTitle": "California Teens Don’t Want to Hide Behind Screens. They Want More Places to Belong | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>For years, parents have watched their teenagers disappear behind \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/search?q=kqed+social+media+tagged&sca_esv=b0e23ee05b473abd&sxsrf=APpeQnvz49MVS1V9f84iyWpMciC6gfcItQ%3A1786126776991&ei=uCF2atmHPNS80PEPo-ibkAY&biw=1286&bih=694&ved=0ahUKEwjZw8PgkI-WAxVUHjQIHSP0BmIQ4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=kqed+social+media+tagged&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiGGtxZWQgc29jaWFsIG1lZGlhIHRhZ2dlZDIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKABMgUQIRigAUiuElCeBFi3EXAEeACQAQCYAY0BoAHFB6oBAzcuM7gBA8gBAPgBAZgCDaAC5QfCAgYQABgWGB7CAgsQABiABBiKBRiGA8ICBRAAGO8FwgIIEAAYiQUYogTCAgUQIRirAsICBRAhGJ8FwgIHECEYChigAZgDAIgGAZIHBDEwLjOgB8wisgcDNy4zuAfeB8IHAzYuN8gHEIAIAQ&sclient=gws-wiz-serp\">glowing screens\u003c/a>, texting more than talking, and asking chatbots the kinds of questions they used to ask a friend. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>New research suggests the fix may not be prying phones out of teenagers’ hands, but instead, giving them somewhere to go once they put them down. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A new \u003ca href=\"http://www.calpartnersproject.org/thirdplaces\">statewide survey\u003c/a>, released by the nonprofit \u003ca href=\"https://www.calpartnersproject.org/\">California Partners Project\u003c/a>, co-founded by First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, found teens need more places where they feel like they belong. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Nearly nine in 10 teens say being with friends in person matters to them, and more than half wish they saw friends in person more often. And among teens who lean on artificial intelligence for friendship or advice, nearly half say they’d use them less if they had more chances to connect with peers face to face.\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/35/2026/08/260803-THIRDSPACES-NG-44-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001626\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/260803-THIRDSPACES-NG-44-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/260803-THIRDSPACES-NG-44-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/260803-THIRDSPACES-NG-44-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/260803-THIRDSPACES-NG-44-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Francis Martinez (left) and Ethan Liu, youth advisers at allcove San Mateo, play air hockey in the wellness center at allcove San Mateo in San Mateo on Aug. 3, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sociologists call these spaces for connection “third places” or places that are neither home nor school, but somewhere else to exist without a specific purpose. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The kind of aimless afternoons spent in a 7-Eleven parking lot many adults may remember from their own adolescence have become less acceptable. Parents are more reluctant to let teens roam, and teens say that when they do gather in public, they often feel like they’re being watched instead of welcomed. Whether they’re browsing in a bookstore or lingering in a coffee shop, many say adults treat them like they’re loitering rather than simply spending time together.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The teens are sending us a clear signal,” said Jennifer Heifferon, the survey’s lead. “Teens are wanting more places to connect with their peers in person. And when they don’t find those places, many of them are defaulting to digital alternatives.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>ZIP codes tend to influence why teens say they can’t find places to hang out, according to the study, based on responses from more than 1,000 California teens, ages 13-18. Suburban teens say they don’t have enough free time between school, sports, jobs and college preparation. Urban teens point to cost, saying even casual outings often come with an expectation to buy coffee or shop. Rural teens are more likely to say they didn’t feel welcome in the places available to them.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But underneath those differences, teens across the state wanted the same basic thing: somewhere affordable to gather with friends, without fear of being judged or left out, and where cheap food is available.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That’s exactly what \u003ca href=\"https://allcove.org/centers/san-mateo/\">allcove Youth Center in San Mateo\u003c/a> is trying to be. On a warm summer afternoon, teenagers painted flowers by number, battled it out over foosball, and sipped free boba while music videos played overhead. The teens themselves painted the murals on the walls.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s one of 18-year-old Ariya Kaushek’s favorite places. Her anxiety and isolation started in middle school, right around when she started scrolling. She said TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat fed an endless inner critic.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think it’s really hard navigating the digital world,” Kaushek said, describing “this kind of sense of constant comparison and worthlessness.”\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/35/2026/08/260804-THIRDSPACES-NG-36-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001629\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/260804-THIRDSPACES-NG-36-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/260804-THIRDSPACES-NG-36-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/260804-THIRDSPACES-NG-36-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/260804-THIRDSPACES-NG-36-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ariya Kaushek poses for a photo at a duck park near the Menlo Park Library in Menlo Park on Aug. 4, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>More than half of California teens reported experiencing some degree of loneliness, even if they regularly spent time with friends. Kaushek said that’s because relationships aren’t just about being together, but about feeling safe enough to be yourself. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Instead, many teens are navigating a never-ending stream of messages about how they should look, dress, speak and even how wealthy they should appear. That pressure, she said, chips away at kids’ confidence and makes authentic connection harder to find.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Things started to shift for Kaushek after she joined \u003ca href=\"https://www.safespace.org/\">SafeSpace\u003c/a>, a youth mental health nonprofit in Redwood City. Over casual meals with other teens, she began talking, really talking, about how hollow she felt on the inside.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Being present was such a rare feeling that it almost felt like I could unmask and take off this cloak of anxiety and just be.”\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/35/2026/08/260803-THIRDSPACES-NG-39-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001625\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/260803-THIRDSPACES-NG-39-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/260803-THIRDSPACES-NG-39-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/260803-THIRDSPACES-NG-39-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/260803-THIRDSPACES-NG-39-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dayanna Alvarado, Isabella Chin and Taryn Hwang, youth advisers at allcove San Mateo, play Apples to Apples in the wellness center at allcove San Mateo in San Mateo on Aug. 3, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For 17-year-old Vihaan Bhardwaj, that place is a small public library overlooking the ocean in Del Mar. He’s not necessarily going there to make friends.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think that just being around other people can be super helpful,” he said. “Just hearing other people talk, hearing other people play is very healing, especially when we spend most of our time in our rooms and on our screens.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Public libraries have the “highest unused potential” to connect young people, according to the study, with 43% of teens having access to one but not visiting in the past month. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bhardwaj lives on the outskirts of San Diego County, where homes are a half-mile apart, and his high school is a 30-minute drive away. His surroundings can lead him to reach for a phone, but after realizing social media consistently left him feeling angry and insecure, Bhardwaj deleted his accounts. \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/35/2026/08/260803-THIRDSPACES-NG-54-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001627\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/260803-THIRDSPACES-NG-54-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/260803-THIRDSPACES-NG-54-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/260803-THIRDSPACES-NG-54-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/260803-THIRDSPACES-NG-54-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Isla Beltzner (center) shows fellow allcove San Mateo youth adviser Lia Finn (left) something on her phone in the wellness center at allcove San Mateo in San Mateo on Aug. 3, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Now, I’m seeing exactly what I want to see, when I want to see it, where I want to see it,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bhardwaj still texts to stay in touch with friends, but said he’d rather spend his afternoons running through a park. After the library, that’s where he feels most like himself.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Seeing other people doing the same thing as you, putting in the same effort, can be super motivating, especially when we’re doing so much of our daily lives in isolation,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A new \u003ca href=\"http://www.calpartnersproject.org/thirdplaces\">statewide survey\u003c/a>, released by the nonprofit \u003ca href=\"https://www.calpartnersproject.org/\">California Partners Project\u003c/a>, co-founded by First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, found teens need more places where they feel like they belong. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Sociologists call these spaces for connection “third places” or places that are neither home nor school, but somewhere else to exist without a specific purpose. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The kind of aimless afternoons spent in a 7-Eleven parking lot many adults may remember from their own adolescence have become less acceptable. Parents are more reluctant to let teens roam, and teens say that when they do gather in public, they often feel like they’re being watched instead of welcomed. Whether they’re browsing in a bookstore or lingering in a coffee shop, many say adults treat them like they’re loitering rather than simply spending time together.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The teens are sending us a clear signal,” said Jennifer Heifferon, the survey’s lead. “Teens are wanting more places to connect with their peers in person. And when they don’t find those places, many of them are defaulting to digital alternatives.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>ZIP codes tend to influence why teens say they can’t find places to hang out, according to the study, based on responses from more than 1,000 California teens, ages 13-18. Suburban teens say they don’t have enough free time between school, sports, jobs and college preparation. Urban teens point to cost, saying even casual outings often come with an expectation to buy coffee or shop. Rural teens are more likely to say they didn’t feel welcome in the places available to them.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>ZIP codes tend to influence why teens say they can’t find places to hang out, according to the study, based on responses from more than 1,000 California teens, ages 13-18. Suburban teens say they don’t have enough free time between school, sports, jobs and college preparation. Urban teens point to cost, saying even casual outings often come with an expectation to buy coffee or shop. Rural teens are more likely to say they didn’t feel welcome in the places available to them.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But underneath those differences, teens across the state wanted the same basic thing: somewhere affordable to gather with friends, without fear of being judged or left out, and where cheap food is available.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That’s exactly what \u003ca href=\"https://allcove.org/centers/san-mateo/\">allcove Youth Center in San Mateo\u003c/a> is trying to be. On a warm summer afternoon, teenagers painted flowers by number, battled it out over foosball, and sipped free boba while music videos played overhead. The teens themselves painted the murals on the walls.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s one of 18-year-old Ariya Kaushek’s favorite places. Her anxiety and isolation started in middle school, right around when she started scrolling. She said TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat fed an endless inner critic.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It’s one of 18-year-old Ariya Kaushek’s favorite places. Her anxiety and isolation started in middle school, right around when she started scrolling. She said TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat fed an endless inner critic.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I think it’s really hard navigating the digital world,” Kaushek said, describing “this kind of sense of constant comparison and worthlessness.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>More than half of California teens reported experiencing some degree of loneliness, even if they regularly spent time with friends. Kaushek said that’s because relationships aren’t just about being together, but about feeling safe enough to be yourself. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Instead, many teens are navigating a never-ending stream of messages about how they should look, dress, speak and even how wealthy they should appear. That pressure, she said, chips away at kids’ confidence and makes authentic connection harder to find.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Things started to shift for Kaushek after she joined \u003ca href=\"https://www.safespace.org/\">SafeSpace\u003c/a>, a youth mental health nonprofit in Redwood City. Over casual meals with other teens, she began talking, really talking, about how hollow she felt on the inside.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Things started to shift for Kaushek after she joined \u003ca href=\"https://www.safespace.org/\">SafeSpace\u003c/a>, a youth mental health nonprofit in Redwood City. Over casual meals with other teens, she began talking, really talking, about how hollow she felt on the inside.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For 17-year-old Vihaan Bhardwaj, that place is a small public library overlooking the ocean in Del Mar. He’s not necessarily going there to make friends.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I think that just being around other people can be super helpful,” he said. “Just hearing other people talk, hearing other people play is very healing, especially when we spend most of our time in our rooms and on our screens.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Public libraries have the “highest unused potential” to connect young people, according to the study, with 43% of teens having access to one but not visiting in the past month. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Bhardwaj lives on the outskirts of San Diego County, where homes are a half-mile apart, and his high school is a 30-minute drive away. His surroundings can lead him to reach for a phone, but after realizing social media consistently left him feeling angry and insecure, Bhardwaj deleted his accounts. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Bhardwaj still texts to stay in touch with friends, but said he’d rather spend his afternoons running through a park. After the library, that’s where he feels most like himself.\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>For years, parents have watched their teenagers disappear behind \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/search?q=kqed+social+media+tagged&sca_esv=b0e23ee05b473abd&sxsrf=APpeQnvz49MVS1V9f84iyWpMciC6gfcItQ%3A1786126776991&ei=uCF2atmHPNS80PEPo-ibkAY&biw=1286&bih=694&ved=0ahUKEwjZw8PgkI-WAxVUHjQIHSP0BmIQ4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=kqed+social+media+tagged&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiGGtxZWQgc29jaWFsIG1lZGlhIHRhZ2dlZDIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKABMgUQIRigAUiuElCeBFi3EXAEeACQAQCYAY0BoAHFB6oBAzcuM7gBA8gBAPgBAZgCDaAC5QfCAgYQABgWGB7CAgsQABiABBiKBRiGA8ICBRAAGO8FwgIIEAAYiQUYogTCAgUQIRirAsICBRAhGJ8FwgIHECEYChigAZgDAIgGAZIHBDEwLjOgB8wisgcDNy4zuAfeB8IHAzYuN8gHEIAIAQ&sclient=gws-wiz-serp\">glowing screens\u003c/a>, texting more than talking, and asking chatbots the kinds of questions they used to ask a friend. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>New research suggests the fix may not be prying phones out of teenagers’ hands, but instead, giving them somewhere to go once they put them down. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A new \u003ca href=\"http://www.calpartnersproject.org/thirdplaces\">statewide survey\u003c/a>, released by the nonprofit \u003ca href=\"https://www.calpartnersproject.org/\">California Partners Project\u003c/a>, co-founded by First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, found teens need more places where they feel like they belong. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Nearly nine in 10 teens say being with friends in person matters to them, and more than half wish they saw friends in person more often. And among teens who lean on artificial intelligence for friendship or advice, nearly half say they’d use them less if they had more chances to connect with peers face to face.\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/35/2026/08/260803-THIRDSPACES-NG-44-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001626\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/260803-THIRDSPACES-NG-44-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/260803-THIRDSPACES-NG-44-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/260803-THIRDSPACES-NG-44-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/260803-THIRDSPACES-NG-44-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Francis Martinez (left) and Ethan Liu, youth advisers at allcove San Mateo, play air hockey in the wellness center at allcove San Mateo in San Mateo on Aug. 3, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sociologists call these spaces for connection “third places” or places that are neither home nor school, but somewhere else to exist without a specific purpose. \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 kind of aimless afternoons spent in a 7-Eleven parking lot many adults may remember from their own adolescence have become less acceptable. Parents are more reluctant to let teens roam, and teens say that when they do gather in public, they often feel like they’re being watched instead of welcomed. Whether they’re browsing in a bookstore or lingering in a coffee shop, many say adults treat them like they’re loitering rather than simply spending time together.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The teens are sending us a clear signal,” said Jennifer Heifferon, the survey’s lead. “Teens are wanting more places to connect with their peers in person. And when they don’t find those places, many of them are defaulting to digital alternatives.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>ZIP codes tend to influence why teens say they can’t find places to hang out, according to the study, based on responses from more than 1,000 California teens, ages 13-18. Suburban teens say they don’t have enough free time between school, sports, jobs and college preparation. Urban teens point to cost, saying even casual outings often come with an expectation to buy coffee or shop. Rural teens are more likely to say they didn’t feel welcome in the places available to them.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But underneath those differences, teens across the state wanted the same basic thing: somewhere affordable to gather with friends, without fear of being judged or left out, and where cheap food is available.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That’s exactly what \u003ca href=\"https://allcove.org/centers/san-mateo/\">allcove Youth Center in San Mateo\u003c/a> is trying to be. On a warm summer afternoon, teenagers painted flowers by number, battled it out over foosball, and sipped free boba while music videos played overhead. The teens themselves painted the murals on the walls.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s one of 18-year-old Ariya Kaushek’s favorite places. Her anxiety and isolation started in middle school, right around when she started scrolling. She said TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat fed an endless inner critic.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think it’s really hard navigating the digital world,” Kaushek said, describing “this kind of sense of constant comparison and worthlessness.”\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/35/2026/08/260804-THIRDSPACES-NG-36-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001629\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/260804-THIRDSPACES-NG-36-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/260804-THIRDSPACES-NG-36-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/260804-THIRDSPACES-NG-36-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/260804-THIRDSPACES-NG-36-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ariya Kaushek poses for a photo at a duck park near the Menlo Park Library in Menlo Park on Aug. 4, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>More than half of California teens reported experiencing some degree of loneliness, even if they regularly spent time with friends. Kaushek said that’s because relationships aren’t just about being together, but about feeling safe enough to be yourself. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Instead, many teens are navigating a never-ending stream of messages about how they should look, dress, speak and even how wealthy they should appear. That pressure, she said, chips away at kids’ confidence and makes authentic connection harder to find.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Things started to shift for Kaushek after she joined \u003ca href=\"https://www.safespace.org/\">SafeSpace\u003c/a>, a youth mental health nonprofit in Redwood City. Over casual meals with other teens, she began talking, really talking, about how hollow she felt on the inside.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Being present was such a rare feeling that it almost felt like I could unmask and take off this cloak of anxiety and just be.”\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/35/2026/08/260803-THIRDSPACES-NG-39-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001625\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/260803-THIRDSPACES-NG-39-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/260803-THIRDSPACES-NG-39-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/260803-THIRDSPACES-NG-39-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/260803-THIRDSPACES-NG-39-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dayanna Alvarado, Isabella Chin and Taryn Hwang, youth advisers at allcove San Mateo, play Apples to Apples in the wellness center at allcove San Mateo in San Mateo on Aug. 3, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For 17-year-old Vihaan Bhardwaj, that place is a small public library overlooking the ocean in Del Mar. He’s not necessarily going there to make friends.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think that just being around other people can be super helpful,” he said. “Just hearing other people talk, hearing other people play is very healing, especially when we spend most of our time in our rooms and on our screens.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Public libraries have the “highest unused potential” to connect young people, according to the study, with 43% of teens having access to one but not visiting in the past month. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bhardwaj lives on the outskirts of San Diego County, where homes are a half-mile apart, and his high school is a 30-minute drive away. His surroundings can lead him to reach for a phone, but after realizing social media consistently left him feeling angry and insecure, Bhardwaj deleted his accounts. \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/35/2026/08/260803-THIRDSPACES-NG-54-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001627\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/260803-THIRDSPACES-NG-54-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/260803-THIRDSPACES-NG-54-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/260803-THIRDSPACES-NG-54-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/08/260803-THIRDSPACES-NG-54-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Isla Beltzner (center) shows fellow allcove San Mateo youth adviser Lia Finn (left) something on her phone in the wellness center at allcove San Mateo in San Mateo on Aug. 3, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Now, I’m seeing exactly what I want to see, when I want to see it, where I want to see it,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bhardwaj still texts to stay in touch with friends, but said he’d rather spend his afternoons running through a park. After the library, that’s where he feels most like himself.\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>“Seeing other people doing the same thing as you, putting in the same effort, can be super motivating, especially when we’re doing so much of our daily lives in isolation,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "protecting-your-health-from-toxic-wildfire-smoke",
"title": "Shield Yourself From Wildfire Smoke: What You Need to Know",
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"headTitle": "Shield Yourself From Wildfire Smoke: What You Need to Know | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>As \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11960130/4-things-about-californias-wildfire-smoke-climate-change\">wildfires worsen\u003c/a>, it’s become a familiar routine. You wake to see a haze in the sky, and a strange tinge to the light. You start to feel burning in your throat and irritation in your eyes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1930023/map-heres-your-daily-air-quality-report-for-the-bay-area\">the online air quality map\u003c/a> — the one you probably have bookmarked by now — confirms what you already suspected: that smoke from nearby wildfires is in the air once again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unhealthy air quality caused by fires has become an unfortunate reality for Bay Area residents, especially for those whose jobs or living circumstances mean they must spend most of the day outdoors. It might be tempting to try to go on with your day as normal. But the risks to your health from poor air quality due to wildfire smoke are serious and can cause long-lasting damage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Luckily, there are several ways you can protect yourself and your loved ones from hazardous air.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cb>Jump straight to: \u003c/b>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#wildfire-smoke-air-quality\">How to stay safe when it’s smoky\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Keep reading to find out how to prep your home for more smoky days, when it’s time to really worry about the air outdoors, and what to do when wildfire smoke hits your neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And remember: The following advice can also help protect your respiratory health on days that a \u003ca href=\"https://www.sparetheair.org/\">Spare the Air alert\u003c/a> has been issued, when concentrations of smog are expected to be unhealthy.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Why is smoke from a wildfire so dangerous to my health?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>What we call “wildfire smoke” is actually an ever-changing mix of particles and gases, including carbon dioxide, water vapor, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and other organic chemicals, nitrogen oxides and trace minerals. Many of these compounds are toxic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the most dangerous thing for your health in wildfire smoke is the particulate matter: that is, the tiny pieces of soot and ash that are invisible to the naked eye. These particles are so small they’re measured in \u003ca href=\"https://sciencenotes.org/what-is-a-micron-definition-and-examples/\">microns (0.001 millimeters)\u003c/a> — and the most worrying particles in smoke can be less than 2.5 microns wide. For scale, a human hair is about 60 microns wide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re also so light that they can travel huge distances from a raging wildfire. And when it comes to your respiratory system, these tiny traveling particles then become miniscule invaders that first cause damage to your body just by entering it, setting off inflammatory reactions that can make breathing difficult. In serious cases, these reactions can even trigger a heart attack or stroke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=science_1930023]The particles then travel deep into your lungs, and within a few days, the damage they cause can result in bronchitis or pneumonia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Put simply: Even brief exposure to wildfire smoke can cause potentially serious health problems for everyone. People at higher risk include those with asthma, lung disease or heart disease, children and teens, older adults age 65+ and people who don’t live or work indoors. Pregnant people and their unborn infants are at particularly heightened risk from these particulates, which have been associated with low birth weight and premature birth for babies.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How to prepare for dangerous air quality\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Since dangerously unhealthy air from wildfires can sweep in with little to no warning, it’s important to be ready beforehand. The Environmental Protection Agency, \u003ca href=\"https://www.airnow.gov/wildfires/be-smoke-ready/\">via its AirNow website\u003c/a>, recommends taking certain steps to ensure you and your home are prepared.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Find — or make — a portable air purifier\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Air Resources Board recommends portable mechanical air cleaners with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter that collects very small particles and does not emit ozone or other harmful substances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These air cleaners dramatically reduce indoor particle levels, in some cases by more than 90%. \u003ca href=\"https://www.arb.ca.gov/research/indoor/aircleaners/certified.htm\">Here is a list of devices that are certified by and legal in California\u003c/a>. If you can’t get a portable air purifier, the EPA \u003ca href=\"https://www.airnow.gov/wildfires/be-smoke-ready/\">has tips on how to make your own DIY air cleaner from a box fan and filter\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1950002\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 3456px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1950002\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/10/IMG_1378.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"3456\" height=\"2304\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/10/IMG_1378.jpg 3456w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/10/IMG_1378-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/10/IMG_1378-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/10/IMG_1378-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/10/IMG_1378-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/10/IMG_1378-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/10/IMG_1378-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 3456px) 100vw, 3456px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Smoke shrouds a road near Geyserville during a wildfire on Oct. 24, 2019. \u003ccite>(Danielle Venton/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Make a ‘clean air room’ — and keep it cool\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The EPA suggests designating a ‘clean air room’ in your home, one you can quickly seal off from any outside air and in which you can run a portable clean air filter. If excessive heat is a concern where you live, and you have a room with an air conditioner, this room might be best to select — just be sure to keep the fresh-air intake closed on any air conditioners to prevent outdoor smoke from getting inside. If it’s not feasible to designate a single clean air room, consider purchasing multiple portable air purifiers and ensure your home is properly sealed to outside air.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During heat waves, pay attention to temperature forecasts and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11878134/bay-area-heat-wave-how-to-stay-safe-during-dangerously-hot-weather\">know how to stay safe in the heat\u003c/a>. Even if you don’t have air conditioning, keep doors and windows closed. This can reduce pollutant levels by 50%, according to the EPA. If you can’t stay cool at home or at a friend or relative’s house, the EPA suggests seeking relief at a clean air shelter or other large building with air conditioning and good filtration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Stock up on filters for your air purifiers now\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whether for portable air purifiers or a central HVAC system (if you have one), it’s a good idea to stock up on replacement air filters before the need arises. If you wait until smoky air descends, the EPA warns, supplies may be out of stock or may not arrive in time to be helpful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re using a central HVAC system, make sure to purchase high-efficiency filters rated MERV-13 or higher.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_11834305]\u003cstrong>Have masks ready to wear\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11834305/masks-for-smoke-and-covid-19-what-kind-is-best\">what kind of masks offer the best protection against wildfire smoke, \u003c/a>the answer is still: that collection of N95 or KN95 masks you may have stocked up on due to COVID. If you don’t have any left, now is a good time to stock up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for N95 masks with exhalation valves, it’s worth noting that these masks work well for wildfire smoke and may be easier to breathe through longer-term. But they’re less effective at stopping the spread of diseases like COVID — even with tape over the valve.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The least effective options are one‐strap paper dust masks or surgical masks that hook around your ears — they don’t protect against inhaling fine particles. Note that a cloth mask will not adequately protect your lungs from particles found in wildfire smoke, either.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"wildfire-smoke-air-quality\">\u003c/a>How to stay safe when it’s smoky\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Check your local air quality\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1930023/map-heres-your-daily-air-quality-report-for-the-bay-area\">Bookmark our real-time Bay Area air quality map\u003c/a>, which includes data from official EPA AirNow sensors, as well as from dozens of low-cost private sensors manufactured by PurpleAir. There are \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1969271/making-sense-of-purple-air-vs-airnow-and-a-new-map-to-rule-them-all\">a few points to keep in mind\u003c/a> if you’re noticing discrepancies between what those sensors are reporting. Keep a close eye on local air quality reports to gauge how much time is safe for you and your family to spend outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1993529\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 638px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1993529\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/wildfires-during-01-understand-the-aqi-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"638\" height=\"417\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/wildfires-during-01-understand-the-aqi-1.png 638w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/wildfires-during-01-understand-the-aqi-1-160x105.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 638px) 100vw, 638px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The air quality index (AQI) is divided into six categories, each corresponding to a different level of health concern. \u003ccite>(Courtesy EPA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When the air quality index (AQI) rises to 101 or above, consider taking steps to reduce exposure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keep your indoor area purified\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Make sure all doors and windows are closed and turn on those portable air purifiers, or crank your central HVAC system with a MERV-13 or higher-rated filter, if you have one. If you’re running an air conditioner, keep the fresh-air intake closed to prevent outdoor smoke from getting inside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Leave your portable air cleaners running continuously and avoid activities that increase indoor pollution. Burning candles, cooking on gas stoves and vacuuming can all increase indoor pollution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Driving? Don’t let smoke inside your car\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Air District recommends that on smoky days, you use the “recirculating air” button in your car’s air conditioning system, if you have one (it’s the button with the symbol of a car with a looping arrow inside it).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When your recirculating air is on, your car will stop taking in any air from the outside — and instead, your AC will recirculate the air that’s already inside your car. This will help prevent smoke outside from entering your car while still keeping the inside of your car cool.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Help the smoke leave your body\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’ve been exposed to wildfire smoke, wash your nose out and gargle with clean water. Do this five times a day until the smoke subsides. Take a shower and wash your clothing after being outside, even if your clothes don’t smell particularly smoky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keep pets inside\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whether house pets or livestock, domestic animals are affected by wildfire smoke, too. During periods of poor air quality, try to limit their time outside as much as possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Air pollution from wildfire smoke can pose serious health risks. Here are some key steps you can take both before and during smoky days.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>As \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11960130/4-things-about-californias-wildfire-smoke-climate-change\">wildfires worsen\u003c/a>, it’s become a familiar routine. You wake to see a haze in the sky, and a strange tinge to the light. You start to feel burning in your throat and irritation in your eyes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1930023/map-heres-your-daily-air-quality-report-for-the-bay-area\">the online air quality map\u003c/a> — the one you probably have bookmarked by now — confirms what you already suspected: that smoke from nearby wildfires is in the air once again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unhealthy air quality caused by fires has become an unfortunate reality for Bay Area residents, especially for those whose jobs or living circumstances mean they must spend most of the day outdoors. It might be tempting to try to go on with your day as normal. But the risks to your health from poor air quality due to wildfire smoke are serious and can cause long-lasting damage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Luckily, there are several ways you can protect yourself and your loved ones from hazardous air.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cb>Jump straight to: \u003c/b>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#wildfire-smoke-air-quality\">How to stay safe when it’s smoky\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Keep reading to find out how to prep your home for more smoky days, when it’s time to really worry about the air outdoors, and what to do when wildfire smoke hits your neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And remember: The following advice can also help protect your respiratory health on days that a \u003ca href=\"https://www.sparetheair.org/\">Spare the Air alert\u003c/a> has been issued, when concentrations of smog are expected to be unhealthy.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Why is smoke from a wildfire so dangerous to my health?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>What we call “wildfire smoke” is actually an ever-changing mix of particles and gases, including carbon dioxide, water vapor, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and other organic chemicals, nitrogen oxides and trace minerals. Many of these compounds are toxic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the most dangerous thing for your health in wildfire smoke is the particulate matter: that is, the tiny pieces of soot and ash that are invisible to the naked eye. These particles are so small they’re measured in \u003ca href=\"https://sciencenotes.org/what-is-a-micron-definition-and-examples/\">microns (0.001 millimeters)\u003c/a> — and the most worrying particles in smoke can be less than 2.5 microns wide. For scale, a human hair is about 60 microns wide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re also so light that they can travel huge distances from a raging wildfire. And when it comes to your respiratory system, these tiny traveling particles then become miniscule invaders that first cause damage to your body just by entering it, setting off inflammatory reactions that can make breathing difficult. In serious cases, these reactions can even trigger a heart attack or stroke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The particles then travel deep into your lungs, and within a few days, the damage they cause can result in bronchitis or pneumonia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Put simply: Even brief exposure to wildfire smoke can cause potentially serious health problems for everyone. People at higher risk include those with asthma, lung disease or heart disease, children and teens, older adults age 65+ and people who don’t live or work indoors. Pregnant people and their unborn infants are at particularly heightened risk from these particulates, which have been associated with low birth weight and premature birth for babies.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How to prepare for dangerous air quality\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Since dangerously unhealthy air from wildfires can sweep in with little to no warning, it’s important to be ready beforehand. The Environmental Protection Agency, \u003ca href=\"https://www.airnow.gov/wildfires/be-smoke-ready/\">via its AirNow website\u003c/a>, recommends taking certain steps to ensure you and your home are prepared.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Find — or make — a portable air purifier\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Air Resources Board recommends portable mechanical air cleaners with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter that collects very small particles and does not emit ozone or other harmful substances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These air cleaners dramatically reduce indoor particle levels, in some cases by more than 90%. \u003ca href=\"https://www.arb.ca.gov/research/indoor/aircleaners/certified.htm\">Here is a list of devices that are certified by and legal in California\u003c/a>. If you can’t get a portable air purifier, the EPA \u003ca href=\"https://www.airnow.gov/wildfires/be-smoke-ready/\">has tips on how to make your own DIY air cleaner from a box fan and filter\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1950002\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 3456px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1950002\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/10/IMG_1378.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"3456\" height=\"2304\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/10/IMG_1378.jpg 3456w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/10/IMG_1378-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/10/IMG_1378-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/10/IMG_1378-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/10/IMG_1378-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/10/IMG_1378-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/10/IMG_1378-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 3456px) 100vw, 3456px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Smoke shrouds a road near Geyserville during a wildfire on Oct. 24, 2019. \u003ccite>(Danielle Venton/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Make a ‘clean air room’ — and keep it cool\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The EPA suggests designating a ‘clean air room’ in your home, one you can quickly seal off from any outside air and in which you can run a portable clean air filter. If excessive heat is a concern where you live, and you have a room with an air conditioner, this room might be best to select — just be sure to keep the fresh-air intake closed on any air conditioners to prevent outdoor smoke from getting inside. If it’s not feasible to designate a single clean air room, consider purchasing multiple portable air purifiers and ensure your home is properly sealed to outside air.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During heat waves, pay attention to temperature forecasts and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11878134/bay-area-heat-wave-how-to-stay-safe-during-dangerously-hot-weather\">know how to stay safe in the heat\u003c/a>. Even if you don’t have air conditioning, keep doors and windows closed. This can reduce pollutant levels by 50%, according to the EPA. If you can’t stay cool at home or at a friend or relative’s house, the EPA suggests seeking relief at a clean air shelter or other large building with air conditioning and good filtration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Stock up on filters for your air purifiers now\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whether for portable air purifiers or a central HVAC system (if you have one), it’s a good idea to stock up on replacement air filters before the need arises. If you wait until smoky air descends, the EPA warns, supplies may be out of stock or may not arrive in time to be helpful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re using a central HVAC system, make sure to purchase high-efficiency filters rated MERV-13 or higher.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Have masks ready to wear\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11834305/masks-for-smoke-and-covid-19-what-kind-is-best\">what kind of masks offer the best protection against wildfire smoke, \u003c/a>the answer is still: that collection of N95 or KN95 masks you may have stocked up on due to COVID. If you don’t have any left, now is a good time to stock up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for N95 masks with exhalation valves, it’s worth noting that these masks work well for wildfire smoke and may be easier to breathe through longer-term. But they’re less effective at stopping the spread of diseases like COVID — even with tape over the valve.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The least effective options are one‐strap paper dust masks or surgical masks that hook around your ears — they don’t protect against inhaling fine particles. Note that a cloth mask will not adequately protect your lungs from particles found in wildfire smoke, either.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"wildfire-smoke-air-quality\">\u003c/a>How to stay safe when it’s smoky\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Check your local air quality\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1930023/map-heres-your-daily-air-quality-report-for-the-bay-area\">Bookmark our real-time Bay Area air quality map\u003c/a>, which includes data from official EPA AirNow sensors, as well as from dozens of low-cost private sensors manufactured by PurpleAir. There are \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1969271/making-sense-of-purple-air-vs-airnow-and-a-new-map-to-rule-them-all\">a few points to keep in mind\u003c/a> if you’re noticing discrepancies between what those sensors are reporting. Keep a close eye on local air quality reports to gauge how much time is safe for you and your family to spend outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1993529\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 638px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1993529\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/wildfires-during-01-understand-the-aqi-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"638\" height=\"417\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/wildfires-during-01-understand-the-aqi-1.png 638w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/wildfires-during-01-understand-the-aqi-1-160x105.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 638px) 100vw, 638px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The air quality index (AQI) is divided into six categories, each corresponding to a different level of health concern. \u003ccite>(Courtesy EPA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When the air quality index (AQI) rises to 101 or above, consider taking steps to reduce exposure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keep your indoor area purified\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Make sure all doors and windows are closed and turn on those portable air purifiers, or crank your central HVAC system with a MERV-13 or higher-rated filter, if you have one. If you’re running an air conditioner, keep the fresh-air intake closed to prevent outdoor smoke from getting inside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Leave your portable air cleaners running continuously and avoid activities that increase indoor pollution. Burning candles, cooking on gas stoves and vacuuming can all increase indoor pollution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Driving? Don’t let smoke inside your car\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Air District recommends that on smoky days, you use the “recirculating air” button in your car’s air conditioning system, if you have one (it’s the button with the symbol of a car with a looping arrow inside it).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When your recirculating air is on, your car will stop taking in any air from the outside — and instead, your AC will recirculate the air that’s already inside your car. This will help prevent smoke outside from entering your car while still keeping the inside of your car cool.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Help the smoke leave your body\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’ve been exposed to wildfire smoke, wash your nose out and gargle with clean water. Do this five times a day until the smoke subsides. Take a shower and wash your clothing after being outside, even if your clothes don’t smell particularly smoky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keep pets inside\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whether house pets or livestock, domestic animals are affected by wildfire smoke, too. During periods of poor air quality, try to limit their time outside as much as possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "California Scientists Find Early Warning Sign of Irreversible Groundwater Damage",
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"content": "\u003cp>Some farming towns in California’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/central-valley\">Central Valley\u003c/a> have sunk by more than 11 feet in recent years because of groundwater pumping, the extraction of water from underground aquifers using wells and electric pumps for drinking, farming and industry. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While some land subsidence is temporary, excessive pumping can cause aquifers to permanently collapse, reducing storage capacity and damaging homes, roads, bridges and canals.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>New research from UCLA and Caltech has outlined a way to detect when temporary land subsidence becomes permanent and irreversible. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The research, \u003ca href=\"https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2526041123\">published this week\u003c/a> in \u003cem>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences\u003c/em>, uses satellite imagery to identify the “abrupt transition to irreversible damage.” Researchers hope this will give decision makers new tools to keep an eye on water resources. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If you start seeing that the ground is subsiding this fast, like we’re seeing, we’re hoping this is really an early warning signal that, okay, something is wrong, we need to stop pumping groundwater right now,” said \u003ca href=\"https://epss.ucla.edu/epss-welcomes-new-assistant-professor-dr-stacy-larochelle/\">Stacy Larochelle,\u003c/a> an assistant professor at UCLA. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Larochelle and co-authors found that parts of the Sacramento Valley, which has a centurylong history of groundwater exploitation to sustain the region’s intensive agricultural economy, underwent an abrupt and widespread change around 2021, indicating a shift to rapid, permanent subsidence. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Essentially, researchers saw if ground movement, as detected by satellites, linked up with water levels in wells, which indicated temporary sinking. If the ground didn’t bounce back when water levels did, the sink was permanent. Larochelle’s hope is that one day this monitoring can be done by satellites alone.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We think this is the first time that we’re really able to image this transition with such high- quality data,” Larochelle said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/faculty/roland-burgmann\">Roland Bürgmann\u003c/a>, a UC Berkeley geophysicist who was not involved in the research, said the research clearly showed how permanent damage was done to the Sacramento Valley water system by overuse during the recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/tag/california-drought\">drought\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This could and should have been avoided by proper monitoring and water management,” Bürgmann said. “Every water district in the world should probably be using the kind of satellite imaging data and analysis the authors relied on, so they can recognize when their valuable water storage systems are in danger of such irreversible loss of storage capacity.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S Geological Survey’s California Water Center \u003ca href=\"https://www.usgs.gov/publications/groundwater-sustainability-and-land-subsidence-californias-central-valley\">estimates 15%\u003c/a> of the Central Valley’s groundwater storage capacity has been permanently lost because of subsidence.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“If you start seeing that the ground is subsiding this fast, like we’re seeing, we’re hoping this is really an early warning signal that, okay, something is wrong, we need to stop pumping groundwater right now,” said \u003ca href=\"https://epss.ucla.edu/epss-welcomes-new-assistant-professor-dr-stacy-larochelle/\">Stacy Larochelle,\u003c/a> an assistant professor at UCLA. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Larochelle and co-authors found that parts of the Sacramento Valley, which has a centurylong history of groundwater exploitation to sustain the region’s intensive agricultural economy, underwent an abrupt and widespread change around 2021, indicating a shift to rapid, permanent subsidence. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Essentially, researchers saw if ground movement, as detected by satellites, linked up with water levels in wells, which indicated temporary sinking. If the ground didn’t bounce back when water levels did, the sink was permanent. Larochelle’s hope is that one day this monitoring can be done by satellites alone.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Essentially, researchers saw if ground movement, as detected by satellites, linked up with water levels in wells, which indicated temporary sinking. If the ground didn’t bounce back when water levels did, the sink was permanent. Larochelle’s hope is that one day this monitoring can be done by satellites alone.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We think this is the first time that we’re really able to image this transition with such high- quality data,” Larochelle said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/faculty/roland-burgmann\">Roland Bürgmann\u003c/a>, a UC Berkeley geophysicist who was not involved in the research, said the research clearly showed how permanent damage was done to the Sacramento Valley water system by overuse during the recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/tag/california-drought\">drought\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/faculty/roland-burgmann\">Roland Bürgmann\u003c/a>, a UC Berkeley geophysicist who was not involved in the research, said the research clearly showed how permanent damage was done to the Sacramento Valley water system by overuse during the recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/tag/california-drought\">drought\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This could and should have been avoided by proper monitoring and water management,” Bürgmann said. “Every water district in the world should probably be using the kind of satellite imaging data and analysis the authors relied on, so they can recognize when their valuable water storage systems are in danger of such irreversible loss of storage capacity.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The U.S Geological Survey’s California Water Center \u003ca href=\"https://www.usgs.gov/publications/groundwater-sustainability-and-land-subsidence-californias-central-valley\">estimates 15%\u003c/a> of the Central Valley’s groundwater storage capacity has been permanently lost because of subsidence.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The U.S. Geological Survey’s California Water Center estimates 15% of the Central Valley’s groundwater storage capacity has been permanently lost because of subsidence. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Some farming towns in California’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/central-valley\">Central Valley\u003c/a> have sunk by more than 11 feet in recent years because of groundwater pumping, the extraction of water from underground aquifers using wells and electric pumps for drinking, farming and industry. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While some land subsidence is temporary, excessive pumping can cause aquifers to permanently collapse, reducing storage capacity and damaging homes, roads, bridges and canals.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>New research from UCLA and Caltech has outlined a way to detect when temporary land subsidence becomes permanent and irreversible. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The research, \u003ca href=\"https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2526041123\">published this week\u003c/a> in \u003cem>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences\u003c/em>, uses satellite imagery to identify the “abrupt transition to irreversible damage.” Researchers hope this will give decision makers new tools to keep an eye on water resources. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If you start seeing that the ground is subsiding this fast, like we’re seeing, we’re hoping this is really an early warning signal that, okay, something is wrong, we need to stop pumping groundwater right now,” said \u003ca href=\"https://epss.ucla.edu/epss-welcomes-new-assistant-professor-dr-stacy-larochelle/\">Stacy Larochelle,\u003c/a> an assistant professor at UCLA. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Larochelle and co-authors found that parts of the Sacramento Valley, which has a centurylong history of groundwater exploitation to sustain the region’s intensive agricultural economy, underwent an abrupt and widespread change around 2021, indicating a shift to rapid, permanent subsidence. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Essentially, researchers saw if ground movement, as detected by satellites, linked up with water levels in wells, which indicated temporary sinking. If the ground didn’t bounce back when water levels did, the sink was permanent. Larochelle’s hope is that one day this monitoring can be done by satellites alone.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We think this is the first time that we’re really able to image this transition with such high- quality data,” Larochelle said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/faculty/roland-burgmann\">Roland Bürgmann\u003c/a>, a UC Berkeley geophysicist who was not involved in the research, said the research clearly showed how permanent damage was done to the Sacramento Valley water system by overuse during the recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/tag/california-drought\">drought\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This could and should have been avoided by proper monitoring and water management,” Bürgmann said. “Every water district in the world should probably be using the kind of satellite imaging data and analysis the authors relied on, so they can recognize when their valuable water storage systems are in danger of such irreversible loss of storage capacity.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S Geological Survey’s California Water Center \u003ca href=\"https://www.usgs.gov/publications/groundwater-sustainability-and-land-subsidence-californias-central-valley\">estimates 15%\u003c/a> of the Central Valley’s groundwater storage capacity has been permanently lost because of subsidence.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "San Francisco Celebrates Morning-After Pill for STIs. Other Countries Warn of Antibiotic Resistance",
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"content": "\u003cp>Tyler Toler has suffered through the trifecta of bacterial STIs: chlamydia, gonorrhea,\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11869396/once-on-the-brink-of-eradication-syphilis-is-raging-again-in-san-francisco\"> syphilis\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the corresponding itching, burning, and rash felt bad enough, the pain of treatment and the social fallout that often followed were worse. Toler dreaded the awkward conversation with his partners, admitting he may have exposed them to an infection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some people are like, ‘Yeah, cool, thank you for letting me know,’” Toler said. “And then there’s some people that think you’re the dirtiest person on the face of the planet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Toler heard there was a morning-after pill for STIs that could solve all these problems, he wanted in. Doxy PEP, or doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis, is an antibiotic taken within 72 hours of condomless sex to prevent bacterial infections. Toler hasn’t had an STI in the three years since he started taking it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I can be as much of a promiscuous person as I possibly can and not have to worry about the ramifications as much,” he said with a wry smile.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Across San Francisco, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/news-san-francisco-department-of-public-health-reports-significant-declines-in-sexually-transmitted-infections-in-2025\">syphilis rates dropped 24% last year\u003c/a>, chlamydia went down 18% and gonorrhea dipped 5%, leading local health officials to celebrate the success of Doxy PEP and their decision to distribute it broadly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001385\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001385\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-04-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-04-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-04-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-04-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-04-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A bottle of doxycycline hyclate tablets, known as Doxy PEP, sits on the counter at Strut health clinic in San Francisco on June 29, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At the same time, doctors around the globe caution that using antibiotics this way could contribute to antibiotic resistance, making it harder to treat a range of bacterial infections down the road.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tension between reducing STIs and stewarding antibiotics responsibly has led to a range of divergent policies around who should get Doxy PEP and when.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to be thoughtful about how we’re using it,” said\u003ca href=\"https://profiles.ucsf.edu/annie.luetkemeyer\"> Dr. Annie Luetkemeyer\u003c/a>, an infectious disease physician and researcher at UCSF. “Antibiotics are an incredible resource. We all worry about antimicrobial resistance.”[aside postID=news_12089597 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/RobBontaTrumpGetty.jpg']Gonorrhea has already built resistance to the class of antibiotics that include doxycycline, and research suggests that Doxy PEP is making it worse, Luetkemeyer said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She is now leading a five-city study, including Atlanta, Miami, Detroit, Seattle and San Francisco, to examine whether Doxy PEP increases resistance in other bacteria, as well, including strep pneumoniae, which can cause lung infections like pneumonia, and staph aureus, which can cause skin infections. Earlier studies raised this concern.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In folks who took Doxy PEP, we saw an increase in doxy-resistant staph aureus,” she said. “The numbers were small, but there was a trend in that direction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Developing Doxy PEP policy is a balancing act, weighing the benefits of reduced sexually transmitted infections against the risk of cultivating superbugs that are more difficult to treat. San Francisco officials chose to make Doxy PEP\u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/news-health-update-updated-recommendations-for-prescribing-doxy-pep\"> widely available\u003c/a> and recommended doctors offer it to anyone who might benefit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other countries have taken a more conservative approach. The\u003ca href=\"https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/Doxycycline-prophylaxis-of-bacterial-STIs-in-the-EU-EEA.pdf\"> European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control\u003c/a> and\u003ca href=\"https://ashm.org.au/initiatives/doxy-pep-statement/\"> Australasian Society for Sexual Health Medicine\u003c/a> recommended restricting the use of Doxy PEP for the prevention of syphilis only, with a focus on men who have sex with men who have a history of syphilis infection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001388\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001388\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-14-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-14-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-14-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-14-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-14-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tyler Toler in Santa Rosa on June 29, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Both groups decided against recommending it to prevent gonorrhea or chlamydia because they deemed the benefits did not outweigh the risks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would argue that for gay men, there is no population-level benefit for getting chlamydia rates down,” said\u003ca href=\"https://www.unsw.edu.au/staff/vincent-cornelisse\"> Dr. Vincent Cornelisse\u003c/a>, a sexual health physician and professor at the University of New South Wales in Sydney.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The consequences of syphilis can be dire: blindness, hearing loss, brain damage. Chlamydia, on the other hand, is more of a nuisance for men, Cornelisse said, uncomfortable, but not dangerous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Australian committee decided prescribing Doxy PEP to prevent it was an excessive use of antibiotics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think we need to be a bit tempered in recommending strategies to reduce chlamydia amongst gay men when the strategies themselves might have adverse outcomes,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the Strut clinic in the San Francisco Castro neighborhood, nearly half the prescriptions the pharmacy fills are for Doxy PEP. Clinicians offer it to everyone who comes into the clinic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001386\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001386\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-08-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-08-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-08-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-08-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-08-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Hyman Scott (left), medical director at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, speaks with office manager Cantwell Muckenfuss at Strut in the Castro neighborhood in San Francisco on June 29, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Medical director,\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfaf.org/collections/author/hyman-scott-md-mph/\"> Dr. Hyman Scott\u003c/a>, who also does research in the city’s public health department, is firm in his defense of a broad, open policy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the early 2010s, San Francisco made serious missteps with\u003ca href=\"http://www.hivandhepatitis.com/hiv-aids/hiv-aids-topics/hiv-prevention/3848-truvada-prep-demonstration-project-debuts-in-san-francisco\"> the rollout of PrEP\u003c/a>, pre-exposure prophylaxis for the prevention of HIV, Scott said, placing a lot of restrictions on who should get it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The guidelines were so confusing and the medication so hard to access, he added, only a quarter of people who actually needed it were taking it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are a lot of things now we’re trying to undo as a result of the way we did it originally,” Scott said. “We cannot make the same mistakes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Health officials learned that they have one shot to make a first impression, positive or negative, and that’s the message that will spread through the community, Scott said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So they decided to make their message about Doxy PEP simple and straightforward: everyone is eligible, just talk to your doctor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001389\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001389\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-19-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-19-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-19-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-19-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-19-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Annie Luetkemeyer, an infectious disease physician, sits in an exam room at Pride Hall on the campus of Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital in San Francisco on June 29, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The science about Doxy PEP moves freely on social media, and by word of mouth, so many San Franciscans who take it are aware of the risk for antimicrobial resistance, both for themselves and the broader population.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was very conflicted about it when I started it,” Toler said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But when he talked to his older friends who lived through the AIDS epidemic, his feelings shifted. Gay activists fought hard for the research and innovation that made PreP and Doxy PEP possible, Toler said, and they want the younger generations to have the sex lives that they couldn’t.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to take advantage of the science that we have right now,” he said, “for the people that weren’t able to take advantage of it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"headline": "San Francisco Celebrates Morning-After Pill for STIs. Other Countries Warn of Antibiotic Resistance",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Tyler Toler has suffered through the trifecta of bacterial STIs: chlamydia, gonorrhea,\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11869396/once-on-the-brink-of-eradication-syphilis-is-raging-again-in-san-francisco\"> syphilis\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the corresponding itching, burning, and rash felt bad enough, the pain of treatment and the social fallout that often followed were worse. Toler dreaded the awkward conversation with his partners, admitting he may have exposed them to an infection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some people are like, ‘Yeah, cool, thank you for letting me know,’” Toler said. “And then there’s some people that think you’re the dirtiest person on the face of the planet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Toler heard there was a morning-after pill for STIs that could solve all these problems, he wanted in. Doxy PEP, or doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis, is an antibiotic taken within 72 hours of condomless sex to prevent bacterial infections. Toler hasn’t had an STI in the three years since he started taking it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I can be as much of a promiscuous person as I possibly can and not have to worry about the ramifications as much,” he said with a wry smile.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Across San Francisco, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/news-san-francisco-department-of-public-health-reports-significant-declines-in-sexually-transmitted-infections-in-2025\">syphilis rates dropped 24% last year\u003c/a>, chlamydia went down 18% and gonorrhea dipped 5%, leading local health officials to celebrate the success of Doxy PEP and their decision to distribute it broadly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001385\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001385\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-04-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-04-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-04-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-04-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-04-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A bottle of doxycycline hyclate tablets, known as Doxy PEP, sits on the counter at Strut health clinic in San Francisco on June 29, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At the same time, doctors around the globe caution that using antibiotics this way could contribute to antibiotic resistance, making it harder to treat a range of bacterial infections down the road.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tension between reducing STIs and stewarding antibiotics responsibly has led to a range of divergent policies around who should get Doxy PEP and when.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to be thoughtful about how we’re using it,” said\u003ca href=\"https://profiles.ucsf.edu/annie.luetkemeyer\"> Dr. Annie Luetkemeyer\u003c/a>, an infectious disease physician and researcher at UCSF. “Antibiotics are an incredible resource. We all worry about antimicrobial resistance.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Gonorrhea has already built resistance to the class of antibiotics that include doxycycline, and research suggests that Doxy PEP is making it worse, Luetkemeyer said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She is now leading a five-city study, including Atlanta, Miami, Detroit, Seattle and San Francisco, to examine whether Doxy PEP increases resistance in other bacteria, as well, including strep pneumoniae, which can cause lung infections like pneumonia, and staph aureus, which can cause skin infections. Earlier studies raised this concern.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In folks who took Doxy PEP, we saw an increase in doxy-resistant staph aureus,” she said. “The numbers were small, but there was a trend in that direction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Developing Doxy PEP policy is a balancing act, weighing the benefits of reduced sexually transmitted infections against the risk of cultivating superbugs that are more difficult to treat. San Francisco officials chose to make Doxy PEP\u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/news-health-update-updated-recommendations-for-prescribing-doxy-pep\"> widely available\u003c/a> and recommended doctors offer it to anyone who might benefit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other countries have taken a more conservative approach. The\u003ca href=\"https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/Doxycycline-prophylaxis-of-bacterial-STIs-in-the-EU-EEA.pdf\"> European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control\u003c/a> and\u003ca href=\"https://ashm.org.au/initiatives/doxy-pep-statement/\"> Australasian Society for Sexual Health Medicine\u003c/a> recommended restricting the use of Doxy PEP for the prevention of syphilis only, with a focus on men who have sex with men who have a history of syphilis infection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001388\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001388\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-14-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-14-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-14-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-14-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-14-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tyler Toler in Santa Rosa on June 29, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Both groups decided against recommending it to prevent gonorrhea or chlamydia because they deemed the benefits did not outweigh the risks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would argue that for gay men, there is no population-level benefit for getting chlamydia rates down,” said\u003ca href=\"https://www.unsw.edu.au/staff/vincent-cornelisse\"> Dr. Vincent Cornelisse\u003c/a>, a sexual health physician and professor at the University of New South Wales in Sydney.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The consequences of syphilis can be dire: blindness, hearing loss, brain damage. Chlamydia, on the other hand, is more of a nuisance for men, Cornelisse said, uncomfortable, but not dangerous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Australian committee decided prescribing Doxy PEP to prevent it was an excessive use of antibiotics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think we need to be a bit tempered in recommending strategies to reduce chlamydia amongst gay men when the strategies themselves might have adverse outcomes,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the Strut clinic in the San Francisco Castro neighborhood, nearly half the prescriptions the pharmacy fills are for Doxy PEP. Clinicians offer it to everyone who comes into the clinic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001386\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001386\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-08-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-08-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-08-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-08-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-08-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Hyman Scott (left), medical director at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, speaks with office manager Cantwell Muckenfuss at Strut in the Castro neighborhood in San Francisco on June 29, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Medical director,\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfaf.org/collections/author/hyman-scott-md-mph/\"> Dr. Hyman Scott\u003c/a>, who also does research in the city’s public health department, is firm in his defense of a broad, open policy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the early 2010s, San Francisco made serious missteps with\u003ca href=\"http://www.hivandhepatitis.com/hiv-aids/hiv-aids-topics/hiv-prevention/3848-truvada-prep-demonstration-project-debuts-in-san-francisco\"> the rollout of PrEP\u003c/a>, pre-exposure prophylaxis for the prevention of HIV, Scott said, placing a lot of restrictions on who should get it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The guidelines were so confusing and the medication so hard to access, he added, only a quarter of people who actually needed it were taking it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are a lot of things now we’re trying to undo as a result of the way we did it originally,” Scott said. “We cannot make the same mistakes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Health officials learned that they have one shot to make a first impression, positive or negative, and that’s the message that will spread through the community, Scott said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So they decided to make their message about Doxy PEP simple and straightforward: everyone is eligible, just talk to your doctor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001389\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001389\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-19-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-19-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-19-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-19-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-19-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Annie Luetkemeyer, an infectious disease physician, sits in an exam room at Pride Hall on the campus of Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital in San Francisco on June 29, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The science about Doxy PEP moves freely on social media, and by word of mouth, so many San Franciscans who take it are aware of the risk for antimicrobial resistance, both for themselves and the broader population.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was very conflicted about it when I started it,” Toler said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But when he talked to his older friends who lived through the AIDS epidemic, his feelings shifted. Gay activists fought hard for the research and innovation that made PreP and Doxy PEP possible, Toler said, and they want the younger generations to have the sex lives that they couldn’t.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to take advantage of the science that we have right now,” he said, “for the people that weren’t able to take advantage of it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "can-we-swipe-our-way-to-friendship",
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"content": "\u003cp>When Jenn Hobbs moved to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/oakland\">Oakland\u003c/a> last summer, she assumed friendships would come naturally, at the coffee shop or after an exercise class. But six months in, she didn’t have any New Year’s Eve plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I still didn’t have any friends,” said Hobbs, a 31-year-old Twitch streamer who works from home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She made it her resolution to fix that and downloaded every friendship app she had seen on Instagram. Services like \u003ca href=\"https://timeleft.com/\">Timeleft\u003c/a> have upwards of three million users. \u003ca href=\"https://dayofus.com/\">DayOfUs\u003c/a> is in 14 different international cities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The premise is similar. Users answer questions about birth order, economic background, and how spontaneous they are, and an algorithm matches them with like-minded strangers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some apps keep you swiping through profiles, hoping to find a match. Others plan a night out, but leave the follow-up to you. The most structured services match the same people week after week for a shared meal. All you have to do is show up. That repetition gives connection a chance to take hold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These platforms are trying to replace what institutions like church, civic groups, and the office once provided. Remember sipping coffee after a service? Or standing around the water cooler at work? You didn’t have to plan it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000919\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000919\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-05-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-05-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-05-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-05-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-05-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Co-founder Matt Goss chats with an attendee at “Friend Cult,” a weekly gathering meant to help people spend more time with friends, at the Alice Collective in Oakland on April 29, 2026, where participants share a meal and spend time together. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the Bay Area, where remote work is common and people cycle through jobs and cities, there are fewer chances to see the same faces and let familiarity build over time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Hobbs, the curated dinners were fine. She met interesting people. And then, almost without exception, everyone drifted back into their separate lives. So she decided to shell out a few hundred dollars and try \u003ca href=\"https://www.therealroots.com/\">Real Roots\u003c/a>, a women-only program that matched her with nine strangers and committed them to meeting every Tuesday for six weeks. A guide tagged along to encourage the attendees to push past small talk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Since we were meeting every week, I think we got to know each other better and better,” Hobbs said. “And now, even though the series is over, we still meet up every Tuesday.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s only been a few months, but the entire group is still gathering.[aside postID=science_2000962 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260429-CLIMATESOLUTIONSINDUCTION00012_TV-KQED.jpg']They’ve scheduled a craft night to make glitter cups, and Hobbs organized a pole dancing class.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along the way, something else has shifted for her. For years, most of her friendships lived online through gaming and streaming, connections she once defended as just as real as anything in person. That’s no longer true.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I do feel more fulfilled and there is just something different about face-to-face socializing,” she said. “There’s just something about getting up and going outside.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recently, the ladies met up for game night at Victory Point Cafe in Berkeley. Over a round of the board game of “Hues and Cues,” the women talked about how they’d grown tired of trying to build connections online or through one-off events.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kelsey Manion said she had tried apps like \u003ca href=\"https://bumble.com/bff-us/\">Bumble For Friends\u003c/a> (BFF), the friendship-focused version of the dating app, but the experience felt hollow and the connections rarely lasted. “It felt easier to ghost people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Morgan Ezeir said she never made it off the apps. “I did BFF for a little bit, but it just felt weird,” she said. “It felt like I was dating, but I wasn’t.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wing Tovbis, who moved to the Bay Area from Canada, said even when they found a connection on the app, it didn’t carry over. “It’s a pretty big hurdle to actually meet in person.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000917\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000917\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-04-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-04-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jenn Hobbs, right, smiles as she contemplates her next move alongside Wing Tovbis, center, and Kelsea Manion, left, while playing “Hues and Cues” at Victory Point Cafe in Berkeley, California, on Thursday, April 23, 2026. The women met through a friendship app called RealRoots, where they were matched with each other based on common interests and participated in a series of social events. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The pull toward connection is strong enough to change behavior after years of isolation. About half of Americans \u003ca href=\"https://newsroom.thecignagroup.com/all-stories?item=446\">report\u003c/a> feeling lonely because we are spending less and less time together, with the steepest declines among teenagers, who are spending 45% less time hanging out in person, according to \u003ca href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/data-insights/young-americans-spend-much-more-time-alone-than-they-did-fifteen-years-ago?utm_\">federal data\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s no recent period in U.S. history where we’ve spent so much time alone. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.who.int/teams/social-determinants-of-health/demographic-change-and-healthy-ageing/social-isolation-and-loneliness\">World Health Organization\u003c/a> warns that social isolation carries risks comparable to smoking, and is linked to higher rates of depression, anxiety, heart disease and early death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Richard Weissbourd, a psychologist at Harvard who studies loneliness, describes it as “an anguishing feeling of deprivation that you don’t feel deeply known, that you don’t have relationships that are deeply meaningful to you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said several drivers have been at play.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Social media led to hundreds of online followers, but very few real friends, while also highlighting how much more fun others were having. And it goes beyond comparison; it’s also the relentless scroll of frightening news that leads to a sense of despair.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many people \u003ca href=\"https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b7c56e255b02c683659fe43/t/67001295042a0f327c6e6fab/1728058005340/Loneliness_+Brief+Report+2024_October_FINAL.pdf\">report\u003c/a> what Weissbourd called existential loneliness: not just missing friends, but feeling fundamentally unmoored from the world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000916\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000916\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-03-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-03-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wing Tovbis and Jenn Hobbs place their cones on the game board while playing “Hues and Cues” at Victory Point Cafe in Berkeley, California, on Thursday, April 23, 2026. Tovbis and Hobbs met through a friendship app called RealRoots, where they were matched with each other based on common interests and participated in a series of social events. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Then the pandemic pulled people out of schools, offices, and gyms. Young people spent critical social years behind screens, had fewer chances to practice in-person interaction\u003ca href=\"https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09760911251333362?\">, and their anxiety and loneliness climbed\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Weissbourd pointed to a feedback loop loneliness creates: you feel like you have bad social skills, so you pull back; pulling back makes you rustier; rustiness makes you feel even more deficient.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Emily Steelhammer, who uses they/them pronouns, said they know that trap well. Friendships have come and gone during their 15 years in Oakland. People moved, drifted off, got swallowed by jobs and kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They tried to rebuild through a queer meetup, acting classes, even a summer in New York, half-hoping a change of scenery would solve their ache for deeper connections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When I feel lonely, I pick up the phone and fill that void with parasocial relationships — YouTube, TV, scrolling for hours,” Steelhammer said. “It’s so easy to trick my brain into filling that void in a way that’s not practically changing my life at all.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Friendship apps didn’t help either. The endless swiping felt like window shopping. They would scroll, then close the app, feeling worse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What finally shifted things was something simpler. A flyer they kept seeing around Lake Merritt for a group called \u003ca href=\"https://www.friendcult.co/\">Friend Cult\u003c/a>. Its tagline stuck: “It shouldn’t take a blood ritual to get our friends together” — a nod to the elaborate scheduling gymnastics so many Bay Area residents joke about.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000918\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000918\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-03-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-03-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-03-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-03-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-03-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Co-founder Courtney Owyang (right) chats with attendees at “Friend Cult,” a weekly gathering meant to help people spend more time with friends, at the Alice Collective in Oakland on April 29, 2026, where participants share a meal and spend time together. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Every Wednesday, the group meets at a different Oakland restaurant for what they call a “friend sabbath.” There are about 40 regulars, $35 monthly dues, and a few loose rules: don’t talk about work, ask personal questions, come and go freely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steelhammer said they made themselves go initially. “And the first thing that happened was someone immediately pulled me into a conversation asking for recommendations for somewhere to eat. Then somebody comes in with a plastic alligator head, and is like: ‘Anybody have ideas about how to turn this into a lamp?'” they laughed. “I felt great when I left.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They keep going back each week, even when the venue isn’t their scene. Recently, they met at a pizza spot called Hesher’s located on Broadway near Jack London Square. The rock music was loud. Not their vibe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the door, they slipped a green cord around their neck to signal they’re a regular. Newcomers wear red. People clock who’s new and pull them in. No one stands alone for long.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Within minutes, people are talking about breakups, parents, money, and why they moved here. It was surprisingly light on small talk. Laughter cut through the music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000921\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000921\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-10-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-10-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-10-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-10-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-10-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Attendees chat with one another at “Friend Cult,” a weekly gathering meant to help people spend more time with friends, at the Alice Collective in Oakland on April 29, 2026, where participants share a meal and spend time together. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Steelhammer moved through the room with ease, dropping into one circle, then another. They asked questions and waited for the answers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People responded in kind. They said they didn’t expect to enjoy the evening, but found that they did. They called it their weekly “social nutrition.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Research suggests that kind of regularity matters. It can take \u003ca href=\"https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0265407518761225?__cf_chl_tk=HC7GtSJy6sSrAw0mWQQMq_nRZUEeofCdukpeiQ_FBCk-1776900052-1.0.1.1-U1IFfdDojYJu52vKIEq3YM0DVP5PImA7bVCvpM4RD0s\">dozens of hours\u003c/a> together to move from acquaintance to friend, and far more to build real closeness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steelhammer said there feels like a “collective buy-in” at Friend Cult. “People are choosing to be there, and the goal is actually to enact community. It’s like an old school social club. Like the Elks Lodge.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In many ways, it echoes something older — regular gatherings, shared space, a reason to return. The fact that it has to be rebuilt points to a deeper problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Developmental psychologist Niobe Way has spent four decades listening to young people talk about friendship, and she has a blunt diagnosis for what’s gone wrong. It isn’t social media. It isn’t the pandemic. It’s the culture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Loneliness is not natural,” Way said. “We are social animals.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000920\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000920\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-07-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-07-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-07-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-07-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-07-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tobi Akomolede (center) speaks with fellow attendees at “Friend Cult,” a weekly gathering meant to help people spend more time with friends, at the Alice Collective in Oakland on April 29, 2026, where participants share a meal and spend time together. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>She calls it a clash of culture and nature. Our society prizes self-sufficiency, independence, and productivity. It sidelines caring, vulnerability, and connection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The only thing we need in our lives is each other,” she said. “Normalize wanting intimate friendship. It is not a girly thing. It is not a gay thing. It is a human thing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said the first step is simple. Pay attention to the person in front of you. Ask what matters to them. Listen to the answer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Editor’s note: KQED’s review determined that generative AI was used in the writing of this story in violation of our editorial policies. The story has been reviewed by KQED editors and remains published with this disclosure. KQED takes responsibility for its accuracy and content.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>When Jenn Hobbs moved to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/oakland\">Oakland\u003c/a> last summer, she assumed friendships would come naturally, at the coffee shop or after an exercise class. But six months in, she didn’t have any New Year’s Eve plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I still didn’t have any friends,” said Hobbs, a 31-year-old Twitch streamer who works from home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She made it her resolution to fix that and downloaded every friendship app she had seen on Instagram. Services like \u003ca href=\"https://timeleft.com/\">Timeleft\u003c/a> have upwards of three million users. \u003ca href=\"https://dayofus.com/\">DayOfUs\u003c/a> is in 14 different international cities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The premise is similar. Users answer questions about birth order, economic background, and how spontaneous they are, and an algorithm matches them with like-minded strangers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some apps keep you swiping through profiles, hoping to find a match. Others plan a night out, but leave the follow-up to you. The most structured services match the same people week after week for a shared meal. All you have to do is show up. That repetition gives connection a chance to take hold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These platforms are trying to replace what institutions like church, civic groups, and the office once provided. Remember sipping coffee after a service? Or standing around the water cooler at work? You didn’t have to plan it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000919\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000919\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-05-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-05-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-05-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-05-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-05-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Co-founder Matt Goss chats with an attendee at “Friend Cult,” a weekly gathering meant to help people spend more time with friends, at the Alice Collective in Oakland on April 29, 2026, where participants share a meal and spend time together. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the Bay Area, where remote work is common and people cycle through jobs and cities, there are fewer chances to see the same faces and let familiarity build over time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Hobbs, the curated dinners were fine. She met interesting people. And then, almost without exception, everyone drifted back into their separate lives. So she decided to shell out a few hundred dollars and try \u003ca href=\"https://www.therealroots.com/\">Real Roots\u003c/a>, a women-only program that matched her with nine strangers and committed them to meeting every Tuesday for six weeks. A guide tagged along to encourage the attendees to push past small talk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Since we were meeting every week, I think we got to know each other better and better,” Hobbs said. “And now, even though the series is over, we still meet up every Tuesday.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s only been a few months, but the entire group is still gathering.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>They’ve scheduled a craft night to make glitter cups, and Hobbs organized a pole dancing class.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along the way, something else has shifted for her. For years, most of her friendships lived online through gaming and streaming, connections she once defended as just as real as anything in person. That’s no longer true.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I do feel more fulfilled and there is just something different about face-to-face socializing,” she said. “There’s just something about getting up and going outside.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recently, the ladies met up for game night at Victory Point Cafe in Berkeley. Over a round of the board game of “Hues and Cues,” the women talked about how they’d grown tired of trying to build connections online or through one-off events.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kelsey Manion said she had tried apps like \u003ca href=\"https://bumble.com/bff-us/\">Bumble For Friends\u003c/a> (BFF), the friendship-focused version of the dating app, but the experience felt hollow and the connections rarely lasted. “It felt easier to ghost people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Morgan Ezeir said she never made it off the apps. “I did BFF for a little bit, but it just felt weird,” she said. “It felt like I was dating, but I wasn’t.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wing Tovbis, who moved to the Bay Area from Canada, said even when they found a connection on the app, it didn’t carry over. “It’s a pretty big hurdle to actually meet in person.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000917\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000917\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-04-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-04-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jenn Hobbs, right, smiles as she contemplates her next move alongside Wing Tovbis, center, and Kelsea Manion, left, while playing “Hues and Cues” at Victory Point Cafe in Berkeley, California, on Thursday, April 23, 2026. The women met through a friendship app called RealRoots, where they were matched with each other based on common interests and participated in a series of social events. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The pull toward connection is strong enough to change behavior after years of isolation. About half of Americans \u003ca href=\"https://newsroom.thecignagroup.com/all-stories?item=446\">report\u003c/a> feeling lonely because we are spending less and less time together, with the steepest declines among teenagers, who are spending 45% less time hanging out in person, according to \u003ca href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/data-insights/young-americans-spend-much-more-time-alone-than-they-did-fifteen-years-ago?utm_\">federal data\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s no recent period in U.S. history where we’ve spent so much time alone. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.who.int/teams/social-determinants-of-health/demographic-change-and-healthy-ageing/social-isolation-and-loneliness\">World Health Organization\u003c/a> warns that social isolation carries risks comparable to smoking, and is linked to higher rates of depression, anxiety, heart disease and early death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Richard Weissbourd, a psychologist at Harvard who studies loneliness, describes it as “an anguishing feeling of deprivation that you don’t feel deeply known, that you don’t have relationships that are deeply meaningful to you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said several drivers have been at play.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Social media led to hundreds of online followers, but very few real friends, while also highlighting how much more fun others were having. And it goes beyond comparison; it’s also the relentless scroll of frightening news that leads to a sense of despair.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many people \u003ca href=\"https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b7c56e255b02c683659fe43/t/67001295042a0f327c6e6fab/1728058005340/Loneliness_+Brief+Report+2024_October_FINAL.pdf\">report\u003c/a> what Weissbourd called existential loneliness: not just missing friends, but feeling fundamentally unmoored from the world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000916\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000916\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-03-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-03-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wing Tovbis and Jenn Hobbs place their cones on the game board while playing “Hues and Cues” at Victory Point Cafe in Berkeley, California, on Thursday, April 23, 2026. Tovbis and Hobbs met through a friendship app called RealRoots, where they were matched with each other based on common interests and participated in a series of social events. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Then the pandemic pulled people out of schools, offices, and gyms. Young people spent critical social years behind screens, had fewer chances to practice in-person interaction\u003ca href=\"https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09760911251333362?\">, and their anxiety and loneliness climbed\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Weissbourd pointed to a feedback loop loneliness creates: you feel like you have bad social skills, so you pull back; pulling back makes you rustier; rustiness makes you feel even more deficient.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Emily Steelhammer, who uses they/them pronouns, said they know that trap well. Friendships have come and gone during their 15 years in Oakland. People moved, drifted off, got swallowed by jobs and kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They tried to rebuild through a queer meetup, acting classes, even a summer in New York, half-hoping a change of scenery would solve their ache for deeper connections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When I feel lonely, I pick up the phone and fill that void with parasocial relationships — YouTube, TV, scrolling for hours,” Steelhammer said. “It’s so easy to trick my brain into filling that void in a way that’s not practically changing my life at all.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Friendship apps didn’t help either. The endless swiping felt like window shopping. They would scroll, then close the app, feeling worse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What finally shifted things was something simpler. A flyer they kept seeing around Lake Merritt for a group called \u003ca href=\"https://www.friendcult.co/\">Friend Cult\u003c/a>. Its tagline stuck: “It shouldn’t take a blood ritual to get our friends together” — a nod to the elaborate scheduling gymnastics so many Bay Area residents joke about.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000918\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000918\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-03-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-03-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-03-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-03-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-03-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Co-founder Courtney Owyang (right) chats with attendees at “Friend Cult,” a weekly gathering meant to help people spend more time with friends, at the Alice Collective in Oakland on April 29, 2026, where participants share a meal and spend time together. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Every Wednesday, the group meets at a different Oakland restaurant for what they call a “friend sabbath.” There are about 40 regulars, $35 monthly dues, and a few loose rules: don’t talk about work, ask personal questions, come and go freely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steelhammer said they made themselves go initially. “And the first thing that happened was someone immediately pulled me into a conversation asking for recommendations for somewhere to eat. Then somebody comes in with a plastic alligator head, and is like: ‘Anybody have ideas about how to turn this into a lamp?'” they laughed. “I felt great when I left.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They keep going back each week, even when the venue isn’t their scene. Recently, they met at a pizza spot called Hesher’s located on Broadway near Jack London Square. The rock music was loud. Not their vibe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the door, they slipped a green cord around their neck to signal they’re a regular. Newcomers wear red. People clock who’s new and pull them in. No one stands alone for long.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Within minutes, people are talking about breakups, parents, money, and why they moved here. It was surprisingly light on small talk. Laughter cut through the music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000921\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000921\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-10-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-10-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-10-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-10-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-10-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Attendees chat with one another at “Friend Cult,” a weekly gathering meant to help people spend more time with friends, at the Alice Collective in Oakland on April 29, 2026, where participants share a meal and spend time together. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Steelhammer moved through the room with ease, dropping into one circle, then another. They asked questions and waited for the answers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People responded in kind. They said they didn’t expect to enjoy the evening, but found that they did. They called it their weekly “social nutrition.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Research suggests that kind of regularity matters. It can take \u003ca href=\"https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0265407518761225?__cf_chl_tk=HC7GtSJy6sSrAw0mWQQMq_nRZUEeofCdukpeiQ_FBCk-1776900052-1.0.1.1-U1IFfdDojYJu52vKIEq3YM0DVP5PImA7bVCvpM4RD0s\">dozens of hours\u003c/a> together to move from acquaintance to friend, and far more to build real closeness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steelhammer said there feels like a “collective buy-in” at Friend Cult. “People are choosing to be there, and the goal is actually to enact community. It’s like an old school social club. Like the Elks Lodge.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In many ways, it echoes something older — regular gatherings, shared space, a reason to return. The fact that it has to be rebuilt points to a deeper problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Developmental psychologist Niobe Way has spent four decades listening to young people talk about friendship, and she has a blunt diagnosis for what’s gone wrong. It isn’t social media. It isn’t the pandemic. It’s the culture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Loneliness is not natural,” Way said. “We are social animals.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000920\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000920\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-07-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-07-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-07-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-07-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-07-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tobi Akomolede (center) speaks with fellow attendees at “Friend Cult,” a weekly gathering meant to help people spend more time with friends, at the Alice Collective in Oakland on April 29, 2026, where participants share a meal and spend time together. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>She calls it a clash of culture and nature. Our society prizes self-sufficiency, independence, and productivity. It sidelines caring, vulnerability, and connection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The only thing we need in our lives is each other,” she said. “Normalize wanting intimate friendship. It is not a girly thing. It is not a gay thing. It is a human thing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said the first step is simple. Pay attention to the person in front of you. Ask what matters to them. Listen to the answer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Editor’s note: KQED’s review determined that generative AI was used in the writing of this story in violation of our editorial policies. The story has been reviewed by KQED editors and remains published with this disclosure. KQED takes responsibility for its accuracy and content.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>On the outskirts of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-jose\">San José\u003c/a> at Fowler Creek Park, rolling grassy hillsides stretch out towards the east, dotted with leafy shrubs and grazing cows. It’s a peaceful spot, where social worker Ruby Lopez-Flores used to love taking her clients to get fresh air, many of them the children of immigrant families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They sometimes don’t have the best home environment, and they just need to get out of the house for a second,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in recent months, Lopez-Flores has been unable to hold her sessions at the park, as many of her clients have started avoiding public spaces out of fear of being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Social workers in the Bay Area and Central Coast told KQED they’ve seen a drop in people accessing mental health support as the Trump administration has ramped up its deportation agenda.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Lopez-Flores, a member of SEIU 521, which represents thousands of public and nonprofit workers, this has meant making more home visits and even holding sessions in her car to accommodate her clients’ growing fear of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of them fear coming home, and their parents won’t be there,” she said. “I do have clients that have already had encounters with ICE.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000703\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000703\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260417-ICEANXIETY-08-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260417-ICEANXIETY-08-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260417-ICEANXIETY-08-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260417-ICEANXIETY-08-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260417-ICEANXIETY-08-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fowler Creek Park in San José on April 17, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The mounting anxiety comes as President Donald Trump has made immigration enforcement a key priority in his second term, taking actions like \u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-mass-deportation-campaign-first-year\">ramping up mass deportations\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/world/ice-arrested-more-than-800-people-after-tips-us-airport-security-agency-2026-04-07/\">deploying ICE at airports throughout the country\u003c/a>, and even \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/04/01/nx-s1-5732437/supreme-court-birthright-citizenship-trump\">challenging birthright citizenship\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It also comes as the agency has been the subject of intense criticism following violent encounters between its officers and protesters, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/a-second-u-s-citizen-was-killed-by-federal-forces-in-minneapolis-heres-what-we-know\">the fatal shooting of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a result, immigrant communities around the Bay and Central Coast have stopped reaching out to mental health services out of fear of detainment.[aside postID=news_12079829 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/ImmigrantTaxes-GilsTaxServices.jpg']“They’re scared to come into our building,” said Yvette Carreon, who chairs the SEIU 521 Monterey County Committee on Political Education. “They’re scared to leave their houses. Children are not going to school.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For communities like Salinas and Pajaro, \u003ca href=\"https://www.salinas.gov/files/sharedassets/city/v/2/community-development/housing-documents/2018-regional-farm-worker-study.pdf\">collectively home to an estimated 91,000 farmworkers\u003c/a>, Carreon said the fear of encountering immigration agents has led to missed work and lost wages for a population that already \u003ca href=\"https://transform.ucsc.edu/publication/dignity-in-the-fields/\">faces severe housing insecurity and high rent\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When they’re not working, they’re now starving,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One \u003ca href=\"https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.03787\">study that looked at the impact of ICE raids\u003c/a> in the Southern California community of Oxnard last summer estimated the city’s agricultural workforce had shrunk by 20 to 40% in the aftermath of the raids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The impact of increased immigration enforcement on mental health is studied by researchers, who warn that the effects are likely to be the most pronounced in children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://tom-dee.github.io/files/dee-2025-immigration-PNAS.pdf\">Stanford study\u003c/a> published in October found that immigration raids in the Central Valley early on in Trump’s second term coincided with a 22% increase in daily student absences. Researchers said that the absenteeism could indicate developmentally harmful stress, potentially setting students back in their education.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000760\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2000760 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/051_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/051_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/051_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/051_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/051_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fields in Salinas, California, on April 13, 2011. \u003ccite>(Deborah Svoboda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Dr. Kathleen Roche, a George Washington University professor who researches the effect of immigration policies on Latino families, said that negative effects on youth are long-lasting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She and a team of researchers \u003ca href=\"https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2818679\">studied a group of more than 500 Latino adolescents over four years\u003c/a>. They looked at the effects of immigration related stressors, like a parent’s worries about work issues or avoiding medical care, on their child’s mental health. Families with someone who was detained or deported were more likely to experience heightened anxiety over separation and negative mental states.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It certainly takes a tremendous amount of mental health intervention to help mitigate some of those harms,” Roche said, adding that there are likely to be long-term economic effects from the increased stress, as affected children are less likely to be prepared for school and jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000769\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000769\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/02172023_ksuzuki_tkprogress-010_qed-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/02172023_ksuzuki_tkprogress-010_qed-2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/02172023_ksuzuki_tkprogress-010_qed-2-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/02172023_ksuzuki_tkprogress-010_qed-2-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/02172023_ksuzuki_tkprogress-010_qed-2-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A walkway at Cesar Chavez Elementary School in East San José on Feb. 17, 2023. \u003ccite>(Kori Suzuki/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For Carreon and Lopez-Flores, those are the kinds of outcomes they want to prevent. Both reported that the children they work with are missing class and dealing with heightened, ongoing stress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And, Carreon said, the stakes are high any time there are barriers to care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What happens when [our clients] crash, when they hit that rock bottom,” she asked. “Then sometimes it’s too late to intervene.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Social workers in the Bay Area and Central Coast told KQED they’ve seen a drop in people accessing mental health support as the Trump administration has ramped up its deportation agenda.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Lopez-Flores, a member of SEIU 521, which represents thousands of public and nonprofit workers, this has meant making more home visits and even holding sessions in her car to accommodate her clients’ growing fear of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of them fear coming home, and their parents won’t be there,” she said. “I do have clients that have already had encounters with ICE.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000703\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000703\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260417-ICEANXIETY-08-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260417-ICEANXIETY-08-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260417-ICEANXIETY-08-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260417-ICEANXIETY-08-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260417-ICEANXIETY-08-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fowler Creek Park in San José on April 17, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The mounting anxiety comes as President Donald Trump has made immigration enforcement a key priority in his second term, taking actions like \u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-mass-deportation-campaign-first-year\">ramping up mass deportations\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/world/ice-arrested-more-than-800-people-after-tips-us-airport-security-agency-2026-04-07/\">deploying ICE at airports throughout the country\u003c/a>, and even \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/04/01/nx-s1-5732437/supreme-court-birthright-citizenship-trump\">challenging birthright citizenship\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It also comes as the agency has been the subject of intense criticism following violent encounters between its officers and protesters, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/a-second-u-s-citizen-was-killed-by-federal-forces-in-minneapolis-heres-what-we-know\">the fatal shooting of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a result, immigrant communities around the Bay and Central Coast have stopped reaching out to mental health services out of fear of detainment.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“They’re scared to come into our building,” said Yvette Carreon, who chairs the SEIU 521 Monterey County Committee on Political Education. “They’re scared to leave their houses. Children are not going to school.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For communities like Salinas and Pajaro, \u003ca href=\"https://www.salinas.gov/files/sharedassets/city/v/2/community-development/housing-documents/2018-regional-farm-worker-study.pdf\">collectively home to an estimated 91,000 farmworkers\u003c/a>, Carreon said the fear of encountering immigration agents has led to missed work and lost wages for a population that already \u003ca href=\"https://transform.ucsc.edu/publication/dignity-in-the-fields/\">faces severe housing insecurity and high rent\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When they’re not working, they’re now starving,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One \u003ca href=\"https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.03787\">study that looked at the impact of ICE raids\u003c/a> in the Southern California community of Oxnard last summer estimated the city’s agricultural workforce had shrunk by 20 to 40% in the aftermath of the raids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The impact of increased immigration enforcement on mental health is studied by researchers, who warn that the effects are likely to be the most pronounced in children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://tom-dee.github.io/files/dee-2025-immigration-PNAS.pdf\">Stanford study\u003c/a> published in October found that immigration raids in the Central Valley early on in Trump’s second term coincided with a 22% increase in daily student absences. Researchers said that the absenteeism could indicate developmentally harmful stress, potentially setting students back in their education.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000760\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2000760 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/051_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/051_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/051_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/051_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/051_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fields in Salinas, California, on April 13, 2011. \u003ccite>(Deborah Svoboda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Dr. Kathleen Roche, a George Washington University professor who researches the effect of immigration policies on Latino families, said that negative effects on youth are long-lasting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She and a team of researchers \u003ca href=\"https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2818679\">studied a group of more than 500 Latino adolescents over four years\u003c/a>. They looked at the effects of immigration related stressors, like a parent’s worries about work issues or avoiding medical care, on their child’s mental health. Families with someone who was detained or deported were more likely to experience heightened anxiety over separation and negative mental states.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It certainly takes a tremendous amount of mental health intervention to help mitigate some of those harms,” Roche said, adding that there are likely to be long-term economic effects from the increased stress, as affected children are less likely to be prepared for school and jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000769\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000769\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/02172023_ksuzuki_tkprogress-010_qed-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/02172023_ksuzuki_tkprogress-010_qed-2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/02172023_ksuzuki_tkprogress-010_qed-2-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/02172023_ksuzuki_tkprogress-010_qed-2-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/02172023_ksuzuki_tkprogress-010_qed-2-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A walkway at Cesar Chavez Elementary School in East San José on Feb. 17, 2023. \u003ccite>(Kori Suzuki/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For Carreon and Lopez-Flores, those are the kinds of outcomes they want to prevent. Both reported that the children they work with are missing class and dealing with heightened, ongoing stress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And, Carreon said, the stakes are high any time there are barriers to care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What happens when [our clients] crash, when they hit that rock bottom,” she asked. “Then sometimes it’s too late to intervene.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>AlmaRosa Alarcon expected a routine delivery. She was 27 years old, healthy, and determined to give birth without an epidural. But when the doctor held up her daughter, Caterina, moments after she was born, he revealed tiny twisted feet, a condition known as clubfoot. Paramedics airlifted the newborn to a larger hospital, while Alarcon stayed behind, stunned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I didn’t think it was real,” she said. “I was in shock. I only spent like 20 minutes with her. It was one of the roughest days of my life.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Doctors diagnosed the baby with a birth defect known as “spina bifida” that can cause lifelong complications, including nerve damage, mobility challenges and hydrocephalus — a buildup of fluid in the brain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was living in darkness,” Alarcon said. “It was so horrible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Caterina spent her first weeks in the hospital. Medical appointments defined the years that followed — sometimes three a week, more than an hour from home. Alarcon, a single mother, had to leave her factory job to care for her daughter full time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/birth-defects/about/neural-tube-defects.html\">Research\u003c/a> has linked spina bifida and other neural tube defects — serious conditions affecting the brain and spine — to women with low levels of folic acid during their pregnancy, Alarcon learned later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier this year, California became the first state in the country to require folic acid in corn masa flour — the base for tortillas, tamales and other staples in many Latino households. Public health experts said the \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CEH/DFDCS/Pages/FDBPrograms/FoodSafetyProgram/AB1830FAQ.aspx\">new law\u003c/a> could help prevent serious birth defects, which occur at \u003ca href=\"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4515959/\">higher rates\u003c/a> among Hispanic families. Other states are considering similar laws. But the move has also drawn pushback from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and others, who argue that adding vitamins to food, what’s known as fortification, is government overreach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000744\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000744\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260416-FOLIC-ACID-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260416-FOLIC-ACID-04-KQED.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260416-FOLIC-ACID-04-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260416-FOLIC-ACID-04-KQED-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260416-FOLIC-ACID-04-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Caterina Alarcon’s hand and footprints at 1 month old on Dec. 28 2013. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of AlmaRosa Alarcon)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Globally, there’s a massive amount of evidence that mandatory fortification of commonly consumed foods reduces neural tube defects,” said Sharon Bustrak with Food Fortification Initiative, a global nonprofit that advocates for adding vitamins and minerals to staple foods. “That evidence is very, very clear. There’s been some modeling to suggest that if nationally we fortified corn masa products, we could probably reduce between 100 and 200 birth defects per year.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That need is especially visible at Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria, down California’s Central Coast, where many patients are farmworkers and immigrants from Mexico, or Indigenous communities from Oaxaca and Guerrero.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As many as 80%-90% are Spanish-speaking. And in that population, neural tube defects show up more often than in the general population. Some years, Dr. Daniele Feldman, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist, treats as many as eight cases a year at the hospital.[aside postID=news_12079852 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/IMG_1441-1-2000x1500.jpg']“It can be really devastating,” she said. “And it’s always a really difficult conversation, because patients will inevitably ask … what could I have done differently?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neural tube defects develop very early in pregnancy — often before someone even knows they’re pregnant. The neural tube, which becomes the brain and spinal cord, is supposed to close within the first few weeks. Without enough folic acid, a B vitamin, that process can fail.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Folic acid is really important in DNA synthesis and cell division,” said Dr. Shilpa Mathew, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Sacramento. “It’s really important to have that vitamin right at the beginning of pregnancy, when there’s tissue formation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1998, \u003ca href=\"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/04/15/2016-08792/food-additives-permitted-for-direct-\">the federal government required folic acid\u003c/a> in enriched grains like bread, cereal and pasta. Public health experts say the policy was a success, reducing neural tube defects in the United States by \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12115778/\">more than 30%\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the benefits were not evenly distributed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rule did not include corn masa flour. Over time, a persistent disparity remained: Hispanic families continued to experience \u003ca href=\"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4151938/\">higher rates of birth defects\u003c/a>. In California, those rates are roughly double that of white or Black women, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CFH/DGDS/Pages/cbdmp/Neural-Tube-Defects.aspx\">state data\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000743\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 900px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000743\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260416-FOLIC-ACID-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"1600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260416-FOLIC-ACID-03-KQED.jpg 900w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260416-FOLIC-ACID-03-KQED-160x284.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260416-FOLIC-ACID-03-KQED-768x1365.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260416-FOLIC-ACID-03-KQED-864x1536.jpg 864w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Caterina Alarcon (L), AlmaRosa Alarcon (M), and Anne Marie Alarcon (R) on Easter Sunday at their home in Albertville, Alabama, on April 5, 2026. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of AlmaRosa Alarcon)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“There are lots of reasons someone might not be taking folic acid,” Feldman said. Some people don’t know they should. Others aren’t planning to get pregnant. Cost can be a barrier. And for some, diet alone doesn’t provide enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the new law, manufacturers must add a small, standardized amount of folic acid, about 0.7 milligrams per pound, to corn masa flour, and disclose it on nutrition labels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California is once again leading the nation in protecting mothers and infants from preterm birth defects,” said Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula, the bill’s sponsor, in a statement. “I’m grateful that this legislation will provide a culturally appropriate way to address disparities to help prevent birth defects across our state.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Critics argue that large-scale fortification is unnecessary for most people and could limit their choices. Some also argue that adding folic acid to foods like tortillas and tamales changes traditional recipes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Social media is also rife with people who claim certain gene variants can’t properly process the vitamin, although medical experts said the \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/folic-acid/data-research/mthfr/index.html\">science doesn’t back that up\u003c/a>. Kennedy criticized California’s new law in a \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/2004972985246212176\">post on the social media platform X,\u003c/a> calling it “insanity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The final version includes exemptions for small-scale producers and snack foods like tortilla chips, amendments that came after industry pushback.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>2,000 miles away, Alarcon is watching closely as Alabama prepares to follow California’s lead this summer. She and Caterina, now 12, live in the city of Albertville.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After years of surgeries and treatment, Caterina’s condition is stable, but she has to wear leg braces and sometimes relies on a wheelchair. She struggles with migraines and incontinence. But Caterina is also a strong student who loves reading and anime — and is already imagining her future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m actually becoming a public speaker,” she said, lighting up as she described a podcast project. She plans to become a media consultant focused on making sure people with disabilities are represented accurately.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I deeply support these new laws,” she said. “I wouldn’t wish my body on my worst enemy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Caterina spent her first weeks in the hospital. Medical appointments defined the years that followed — sometimes three a week, more than an hour from home. Alarcon, a single mother, had to leave her factory job to care for her daughter full time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/birth-defects/about/neural-tube-defects.html\">Research\u003c/a> has linked spina bifida and other neural tube defects — serious conditions affecting the brain and spine — to women with low levels of folic acid during their pregnancy, Alarcon learned later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier this year, California became the first state in the country to require folic acid in corn masa flour — the base for tortillas, tamales and other staples in many Latino households. Public health experts said the \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CEH/DFDCS/Pages/FDBPrograms/FoodSafetyProgram/AB1830FAQ.aspx\">new law\u003c/a> could help prevent serious birth defects, which occur at \u003ca href=\"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4515959/\">higher rates\u003c/a> among Hispanic families. Other states are considering similar laws. But the move has also drawn pushback from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and others, who argue that adding vitamins to food, what’s known as fortification, is government overreach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000744\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000744\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260416-FOLIC-ACID-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260416-FOLIC-ACID-04-KQED.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260416-FOLIC-ACID-04-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260416-FOLIC-ACID-04-KQED-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260416-FOLIC-ACID-04-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Caterina Alarcon’s hand and footprints at 1 month old on Dec. 28 2013. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of AlmaRosa Alarcon)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Globally, there’s a massive amount of evidence that mandatory fortification of commonly consumed foods reduces neural tube defects,” said Sharon Bustrak with Food Fortification Initiative, a global nonprofit that advocates for adding vitamins and minerals to staple foods. “That evidence is very, very clear. There’s been some modeling to suggest that if nationally we fortified corn masa products, we could probably reduce between 100 and 200 birth defects per year.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That need is especially visible at Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria, down California’s Central Coast, where many patients are farmworkers and immigrants from Mexico, or Indigenous communities from Oaxaca and Guerrero.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As many as 80%-90% are Spanish-speaking. And in that population, neural tube defects show up more often than in the general population. Some years, Dr. Daniele Feldman, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist, treats as many as eight cases a year at the hospital.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“It can be really devastating,” she said. “And it’s always a really difficult conversation, because patients will inevitably ask … what could I have done differently?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neural tube defects develop very early in pregnancy — often before someone even knows they’re pregnant. The neural tube, which becomes the brain and spinal cord, is supposed to close within the first few weeks. Without enough folic acid, a B vitamin, that process can fail.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Folic acid is really important in DNA synthesis and cell division,” said Dr. Shilpa Mathew, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Sacramento. “It’s really important to have that vitamin right at the beginning of pregnancy, when there’s tissue formation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1998, \u003ca href=\"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/04/15/2016-08792/food-additives-permitted-for-direct-\">the federal government required folic acid\u003c/a> in enriched grains like bread, cereal and pasta. Public health experts say the policy was a success, reducing neural tube defects in the United States by \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12115778/\">more than 30%\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the benefits were not evenly distributed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rule did not include corn masa flour. Over time, a persistent disparity remained: Hispanic families continued to experience \u003ca href=\"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4151938/\">higher rates of birth defects\u003c/a>. In California, those rates are roughly double that of white or Black women, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CFH/DGDS/Pages/cbdmp/Neural-Tube-Defects.aspx\">state data\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000743\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 900px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000743\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260416-FOLIC-ACID-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"1600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260416-FOLIC-ACID-03-KQED.jpg 900w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260416-FOLIC-ACID-03-KQED-160x284.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260416-FOLIC-ACID-03-KQED-768x1365.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260416-FOLIC-ACID-03-KQED-864x1536.jpg 864w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Caterina Alarcon (L), AlmaRosa Alarcon (M), and Anne Marie Alarcon (R) on Easter Sunday at their home in Albertville, Alabama, on April 5, 2026. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of AlmaRosa Alarcon)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“There are lots of reasons someone might not be taking folic acid,” Feldman said. Some people don’t know they should. Others aren’t planning to get pregnant. Cost can be a barrier. And for some, diet alone doesn’t provide enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the new law, manufacturers must add a small, standardized amount of folic acid, about 0.7 milligrams per pound, to corn masa flour, and disclose it on nutrition labels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California is once again leading the nation in protecting mothers and infants from preterm birth defects,” said Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula, the bill’s sponsor, in a statement. “I’m grateful that this legislation will provide a culturally appropriate way to address disparities to help prevent birth defects across our state.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Critics argue that large-scale fortification is unnecessary for most people and could limit their choices. Some also argue that adding folic acid to foods like tortillas and tamales changes traditional recipes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Social media is also rife with people who claim certain gene variants can’t properly process the vitamin, although medical experts said the \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/folic-acid/data-research/mthfr/index.html\">science doesn’t back that up\u003c/a>. Kennedy criticized California’s new law in a \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/2004972985246212176\">post on the social media platform X,\u003c/a> calling it “insanity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The final version includes exemptions for small-scale producers and snack foods like tortilla chips, amendments that came after industry pushback.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>2,000 miles away, Alarcon is watching closely as Alabama prepares to follow California’s lead this summer. She and Caterina, now 12, live in the city of Albertville.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After years of surgeries and treatment, Caterina’s condition is stable, but she has to wear leg braces and sometimes relies on a wheelchair. She struggles with migraines and incontinence. But Caterina is also a strong student who loves reading and anime — and is already imagining her future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m actually becoming a public speaker,” she said, lighting up as she described a podcast project. She plans to become a media consultant focused on making sure people with disabilities are represented accurately.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I deeply support these new laws,” she said. “I wouldn’t wish my body on my worst enemy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
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"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
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"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
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"possible": {
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"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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"pri-the-world": {
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"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
"title": "Radiolab",
"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
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},
"reveal": {
"id": "reveal",
"title": "Reveal",
"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
"airtime": "SAT 4pm-5pm",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/",
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},
"rightnowish": {
"id": "rightnowish",
"title": "Rightnowish",
"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
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"order": 16
},
"link": "/podcasts/rightnowish",
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