Demolition Derby Sends Sparks (and Sparkles) Flying, and Kindling a New Romance During COVID

The Water Belongs to Everyone, and This Blind Kayaker Will Prove It We start our show with a man on a mythological mission. His name is Ahmet Ustunel. He lives in San Francisco, and he has a dream. He wants to return to his homeland of Turkey and take a big journey on a tiny kayak across the Bosphorus Strait, one of the busiest shipping channels in the world. Think enormous freighters. And his little human-powered boat. But Ahmet Ustunel faces a unique challenge that will make this much harder for him. The California Report’s Laura Klivans joined him at a lake, where he’s training to make the journey. You May Have Seen This Man Zipping Around Berkeley, but Did You Know He’s the Godfather of Disability Rights? “Hale” is a new short film exploring activism around people with disabilities. It tells the story of Hale Zukas, who helped make Berkeley the birthplace of the disability rights movement. He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a child. He went on to study Russian and math at UC Berkeley in the 1970s and he helped found Berkeley’s groundbreaking Center for Independent Living. Filmmaker Brad Bailey made the documentary as his thesis project at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. He just picked up a Student Academy Award for the project. Oakland Dad Reunites with Family After Lengthy ICE Detention We introduced you to this family a few months ago, when they found themselves in limbo because of new immigration policies under President Trump. The father, Maguiber -- he's named after the guy in the TV show MacGyver -- is from Guatemala. He's 27, and undocumented. He was arrested by immigration agents in February, and held in a jail in the Bay Area city of Richmond. Meanwhile, his wife has been struggling to care for their three children on her own. Maguiber has no serious or violent criminal history. In the past someone like him probably would have been released within a month or two on bond. But Maguiber spent over half a year in detention, before he got his day court. KQED's Julie Small brings us this update on his story. A Day of the Dead Tradition Blooms in the Central Valley In some California communities with roots in Mexico, the last days of October are spent getting ready for Day of the Dead, and that means making altars for loved ones and covering them with marigolds. Those bright orange flowers aren’t always easy to find. The California Report's Vanessa Rancaño met a farmer who’s growing them in the Central Valley for people longing for a piece of home. Welcome to Zzyzx, California – Population: 1 A lot of us Californians like to hit the open road, explore miles of highway, or venture off into some back roads. Sometimes, we come across towns with some pretty bizarre and surprising names, from Rough and Ready to Bumpass Hell. So today we're launching a new series we’re calling "A Place Called What?!" For our first installment, we head to Zzyzx. If you’re driving on I-15 near Death Valley, you might spot the sign. You won’t find any shops or restaurants or even houses there. But you will find the Desert Studies Center, a research station operated by a consortium of seven California State Universities. Rob Fulton manages the center, and he’s the only permanent resident in Zzyzx. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

28 Okt 201731min

Voices From the Fires The wildfires that roared through Wine Country will rank among the deadliest and most destructive in California history. But many Californians are already jumping in, doing what they can now to support the recovery. We hear from both survivors and volunteers, who are looking ahead to a new future, post-fire. An Oakland Hills Fire Survivor's Advice to a North Bay Fire Victim Jill Permutt couldn’t sleep the night the fires broke out near her home in Santa Rosa-- the moon was oddly red, and the winds were whipping fast. That feeling of desperate, surreal, surging panic? Joan Tanzer has felt it too. She lost her house in the Oakland Hills firestorm of 1991. Until last week, the two women were strangers. But then a mutual friend told Joan about Jill, about how her entire neighborhood in Santa Rosa had just burned to the ground. Joan called her right away, and since then they’ve talked several times. Sasha Khokha brings us inside their conversation, to hear the exchange of stories and advice. How Do You Help Homeless Kids Stay in School? When families lose their homes, whether from fire, foreclosure or another kind disaster, helping the kids adapt is tough. Now we're going to hear about fifth grader who became homeless after his family was evicted from their home in Oakland. He spends hours just trying to get to school each day. Federal law says school districts are supposed to help students like him, making it as easy as possible for them to get to school, even as they bounce around in search of stability. Reporter Lee Romney spent the day with 10-year-old Naseem Bennett. Worshipping at Santa Monica’s Church of Type In Santa Monica, off Pico Boulevard, there’s a shop that feels like it's from another time, from the era before computers, scanners and copiers. Kevin Bradley, the proprietor, is a master of the handset letterpress. After spending two decades building up his business in Tennessee, he came West to carry on the sacred tradition. Reporter Peter Gilstrap takes us to Bradley's storefront studio, the Church of Type. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

21 Okt 201731min

Voices from Fire-Ravaged Northern California In Northern California, the week began with a sudden onslaught of flames whipped up by the wind. Multiple wildfires erupted across wine country. Homes, businesses and entire towns have been burned to the ground. Now, even as firefighters continue to work, many residents are returning to see what is left. For Santa Rosa’s KZST Radio Station, the News is Personal Before Sunday night, if you tuned into KZST 100.1FM in Santa Rosa, you’d probably hear a talk show, pop music, or some classic hits. But since fires broke out across Sonoma County, phone and Internet access have been severely limited. So, the station’s staff has transformed it into an essential news source, broadcasting information about the wildfires live, 24/7. The station is surrounded by some of the worst fire damage to date. Ninna Gaensler-Debs takes us there. My Santa Rosa KQED Online Arts Editor Gabe Meline lives in Santa Rosa, one of cities worst hit by the wildfires, with his wife and daughter. When they left their house, they grabbed their emotional treasures: their photos, old letters and their cat. The family is fortunate. Their house has survived, but Meline is a third generation Santa Rosan, and the fires have devastated the landscape where he grew up, and the sentimental landmarks that make the city his hometown. Read Gabe's essay, 'My City Is on Fire' PHOTO DIARY: Life in the Path of a Wildfire What Happens When You Have ‘Fish Blood,’ But You Can’t Fish? For centuries, the Yurok tribe has lived along and fished the Klamath River in California’s far north. But this fall, the number of chinook salmon making their way up the Klamath is the smallest on record. Salmon is essential to the Yurok. It doesn't just represent food or livelihood; salmon is life. For the series California Foodways, Lisa Morehouse went north to Yurok country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

14 Okt 201731min

A Week After a Massacre, Life Goes on in Vegas More than half the victims of this week’s mass shooting in Las Vegas were from California. Many Southern Californians, especially, have a deep connection to Las Vegas, but in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip, there's not a lot of obvious acknowledgment of what happened, with casinos and hotel marquees still ablaze with intensity. What's changed? And what hasn't? Just Like My Mother: How We Inherit Our Parents’ Traits and Tragedies For many of us, our worst fear is ending up just like our mom or dad. It’s easy for our parents’ traits and habits to get passed down to us, and the same is true for the tragedies they experienced. Many Vietnamese refugees who fled the war and its aftermath don't like to talk about the circumstances of their escape, the traumas they faced live on in their children. Years After Tragedy, Fresno’s Hmong Seek Cultural Understanding for Next Generation About 20 years ago, eight Hmong teenagers in Fresno committed suicide. Their parents were refugees from Laos, and they knew the teen deaths were connected to their past. Second generation Hmong are reclaiming their parents’ history. Editor of Prison Newspaper Leaves Legacy Behind California’s journalistic community buried one of its own this week. Arnulfo Garcia was editor-in-chief of the San Quentin News, a newspaper produced, written and edited by inmates. He formed the first and only chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists inside a prison. Just two months after his release from prison, at 65 years old, Garcia died in a car crash near Gilroy. He's remembered for accomplishments reached far beyond the prison newsroom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

7 Okt 201730min

On this special edition of The California Report Magazine, we go back in time to look at the Vietnam War and how it shaped the lives of some Californians. This week we’re in San Diego, home to the Marine Corps base at Camp Pendleton. The Teen and Marine Who United to Resist the Vietnam War and Racism in the Military Not all the battles were fought in Vietnam -- enlisted men were also fighting a war against racism within the ranks. We’ll hear how that revolt took hold at Camp Pendleton, and sparked an unlikely friendship. He was a young marine. She was the daughter of a farmworker. They met at a coffeehouse called ‘The Green Machine.’ It was one of many around the country where active duty GIs could get free coffee, listen to music, read underground newspapers and talk with peace activists. These coffeehouses were key in building the GI movement to end the war in Vietnam. Remember When Camp Pendleton Was a Refugee Camp? These Vietnamese Sisters Do In the Spring of 1975, the North Vietnamese took control of Saigon and the United States began frantically evacuating tens of thousands of South Vietnamese. Seemingly overnight, Camp Pendleton transformed into a makeshift refugee camp. That first wave included two teenage sisters, Evelyn and Jessica Kheo. They came from a well-to-do family in Saigon. At the camp they shared a tent with two other families, and used scratchy army blankets to keep warm. They hadn’t been back to Pendleton in 42 years -- and they let us tour the base with them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

30 Sep 201731min

Bridging the Political Divide, One Dinner at a Time Many of us are taught not to talk politics at the dinner table -- especially if your guests fall on different sides of the political spectrum. But as Bianca Taylor tells us, a new movement called ‘Make America Dinner Again’ breaks this rule, in a big way. It's the latest installment in our series "Start the Conversation.” 2 Years After Destructive Valley Fire, Lake County Rebuilds and Readjusts Between earthquakes, fires and hurricanes, a lot of us have been thinking about what's important to us, what we'd fight to keep if we faced a natural disaster. Those questions aren't theoretical to people in Lake County who survived a massive wildfire two years ago. When the smoke cleared, the fire had burned up 70,000 acres, destroyed 1,280 homes and killed four people. KQED reporter Sukey Lewis grew up in Lake County, and she went back to check in on how some of her friends are recovering. War Is Not a Game: An 'Air Force Brat' On Growing Up with the Consequences of Vietnam We've been bringing you stories of Californians whose lives have been impacted by the Vietnam War. We reached out to you, our listeners, and many of you responded with your memories. We hear from Sacramento resident Angela Shortt, whose father served in the U.S. Air Force during the war. She was eight years old when her family was sent to live on a military base in the Philippines in 1966. A Surfer Reflects on Life’s Waves So, what does an 83-year-old woman who surfs the cold waters of San Francisco's Ocean Beach have in common with a Buddhist monk hiking through the Himalayas? They're both people author Jaimal Yogis encounters as he scours the planet looking for the secrets to internal happiness, in his new book "All Our Waves Are Water." Yogis is a Bay Area surfer, journalist and meditation teacher. He joins us to talk about his book, which chronicles his quest for the perfect wave, and for an internal life that can weather storms, lulls, and thrilling rides. Meet the Heartbeat of the Oakland A’s At every home game, some of the Oakland A's most diehard baseball fans bang out beats -- different ones for each player, and each action on the field. You can find this informal drum corps in Section 149 in the bleachers of the Oakland Coliseum. They got their start nearly two decades ago, and they’re likely to remain a fixture at A’s home games. The team just announced its intention to build a downtown ballpark and remain rooted in Oakland. Tena Rubio spent a home game with some long-time drummers: Bryanne Aler-Nigas, Will MacNeil, Andy Cho, and The California Report’s own Nina Thorsen, who drums for the A’s when she’s not making radio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

22 Sep 201731min

For Isolated Trinity County Residents, One Man Is Their Food Lifeline Trinity County is one of those places that doesn’t get in the news too often, unless it’s wildfire season like it is now. It’s a remote, rural part of northern California that can be breathtakingly beautiful. And it’s also one of the state’s most food insecure places, where many people don’t know where their next meal will come from. For the series California Foodways, Lisa Morehouse brings us this profile of one man who helps feed them. Photographic Portraits Bring You Face to Face With the Vietnam War It’s been more than 40 years since the end of the Vietnam War. And a lot of the people who fought, died and escaped from that conflict are coming to the end of their years. As KQED’s Rachael Myrow tells us, a Bay Area photographer is striving to give them the dignity and honor they’ve earned and a chance to feel remembered. Monterey Jazz Festival, at 60, Honors Past and Celebrates New Talent This weekend, the Monterey Jazz Festival celebrates its Diamond Anniversary. It’s Sixty! The California Report’s Suzie Racho and our jazz critic Andrew Gilbert give us a preview. Latino Artists Tap Into Science Fiction to Imagine ‘Alternate Worlds’ ‘Mundos Alternos,’ a massive new exhibit at UC Riverside’s Culver Center for the Arts, features more than 30 artists from across the Spanish speaking world taking on immigration, trade, colonialism and other cross-border issues through the lens of science fiction. The California Report’s Steven Cuevas went to check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

15 Sep 201731min

Oakland Residents Say Tent Encampments Threatening Neighborhoods In many California cities, homelessness has reached a boiling point. There's not enough housing or space. And tent encampments are cropping up in neighborhoods where they’re not always welcome. That's happening big time in Oakland, where complaints about homelessness have increased more than 700 percent over the last six years. KQED’s Devin Katayama has been spending time with neighbors who have totally different perspectives on the issue. Gentrification and Climate Change Meet at ‘The North Pole’ Can you make gentrification and climate change funny? Those two very serious topics come together in the comedy web series, "The North Pole." The show revolves around a homegrown trio of best friends: Nina, Marcus and Benny, who find themselves an endangered species in a rapidly gentrifying city. The California Report's Sasha Khokha talks to Josh Healey, writer and producer of The North Pole, which premieres online September 12. 'Playing With Fire' Retrospective Pays Tribute to Artist Carlos Almaraz Some call Mexican-born painter and muralist Carlos Almaraz the John Coltrane of Chicano art. Like Coltrane, his life was cut short before he was able to reach his full potential. He died when he was 48. Now the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is showcasing the first comprehensive retrospective of his work in decades. But as Steven Cuevas tells us, Almaraz’s story begins worlds away from the galleries of major museums, in the streets of L.A.’s barrios. An Undocumented Immigration Attorney Reacts to End of DACA California is home to more DACA recipients than any other state, and they're still absorbing news this week that President Trump plans to phase out the program that’s given them temporary protection from deportation. We wanted to check back in with a "dreamer" we introduced you to last year, when she became the first undocumented PhD to graduate from UC Merced. She came here as a child from Mexico and worked her way through school picking watermelons, cleaning hotels, and selling produce at flea markets. We talked to her from Chicago, where she’s doing post-doctoral research. Dulce Garcia is an immigration attorney in San Diego and like many of her clients, her future is also uncertain because of her immigration status. In an interview with KPBS’s Marissa Cabrera, she says DACA changed her life and that she’s not going back in the shadows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

8 Sep 201731min