About this episode
LA City Councilman Arrested in Bribery Scandal The FBI says longtime Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar shook down real estate developers looking to get projects approved for $1.5 million in bribes and campaign donations. Reporter: Anna Scott, KCRW New Coronavirus Cases on the Rise in California There is a spike in reported cases of COVID-19 around the state. And it’s not entirely clear why. Health experts say there’s no real evidence that recent protests led to it. Reporter: Laura Klivans, KQED Science State Budget Deal Includes Help for Undocumented Immigrants The new state budget brokered by the governor and Democratic legislative leaders this week.. includes two important victories for Undocumented immigrants in California. But advocates say the accommodations leave much to be desired. Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED Politics COVID-19 Spreads at San Quentin, Other State Prisons The coronavirus is spreading inside 19 correctional facilities in California. San Quentin has 407 inmates with active infections. The State Senate Committee on Public Safety has announced it’s holding an oversight hearing to shed light on decisions made by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation that many believe made prison outbreaks much worse. Guest: Don Specter, Prison Law Office Lawmakers Pressure Employment Dept. To Speed Up Processing Checks With the economy in a slump because of the pandemic, many out-of-work Californians now rely on unemployment checks to make ends meet. But getting that check hasn’t been easy. And lawmakers are noticing. In a Tweet thread, Bay Area State Assemblyman David Chiu introduced the hashtag, "EDD Fail of the Day," and slammed the state’s Employment Development Department saying the agency is failing Californians. Black Scientists on Racism in Academia Like many corners of society right now, academia is in the middle of a reckoning. Systemic racism, tolerated for so long, is now front-and-center. Our colleagues at the KQED Science desk have been speaking with black scientists and academics about their lives and work, and how things need to change. Reporters: Kevin Stark, Danielle Venton, Jon Brooks, KQED Science Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices