For many young parents in Los Angeles, buying a home with enough space for kids is out of reach, and so is renting a family-sized apartment. The makes life challenging for those young couples. Reporter: David Wagner, LAist On Monday, a case about homelessness from Grants Pass in Southern Oregon was argued before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court is expected to rule before the term ends in June. Reporter: Jane Vaughan, Jefferson Public Radio  A San Francisco lawmaker's bill to allow police to ticket scofflaw robotaxis has passed its first test in the state Legislature. Reporter: Dan Brekke, KQED   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Supreme Court is hearing arguments Monday in a case that could have major implications for how cities across the country approach homelessness. This case is called City of Grants Pass, Oregon versus Gloria Johnson. It hinges on whether a local government can issue fines and jail people for camping on public property when there isn't enough shelter available. Reporter: Vanessa Rancano, KQED A proposed state ballot measure to require schools to notify parents if their child is transgender will continue to go by a title supporters say is inaccurate and biased.  Reporter: Madison Aument, KVCR State prison officials are increasing pay for tens of thousands of incarcerated workers. But most will still be earning less than one dollar an hour. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

LA Woodshop is a woodworking school and maker space in Los Angeles. It offers classes, bench space, custom furniture, and an events space, for both novice and experienced woodworkers. Reporter: Saul Gonzalez, The California Report Governor Gavin Newsom has announced plans to crack down on cities that don’t make progress towards reducing homelessness — this on the heels of a scathing audit that found the state doesn’t know where billions in spending is going. Newsom said he plans to establish a new team that will oversee how local communities use homelessness funding. Reporter: Vanessa Rancano, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's a new study out that takes a demographic and socioeconomic snapshot of African-Americans in the Golden State. It's called the state of Black California. Despite gains in the quality of life for Black Californians over a 20-year period, the study found that racial inequality continues to persist compared to other racial and ethnic groups. Guest: Michael Stoll, Professor of Public Policy, UCLA A bill that would give California cities and counties the ability to regulate robotaxi services has passed its first test in the Legislature – despite doubts expressed by some lawmakers.  Reporter: Dan Brekke, KQED  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In most California counties, the sheriff also oversees the coroner’s office. But in Riverside County, families whose loved ones have died in local jails say that's a conflict of interest — and they want to change the system. Reporter: Madison Aument, KVCR This week, US Senators Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler announced legislation to create a new national monument on the north edge of the Salton Sea, east of Palm Springs. Supporters say the land is especially important to communities of color. Reporter: Kori Suzuki, KPBS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California requires student health centers at public universities to offer the abortion pill. But how much students pay for the medication differs dramatically campus by campus, from nothing to several hundred dollars. Reporter: Jackie Fortier, LAist Democratic state lawmakers are pushing to put a $10 billion affordable housing bond on California’s November ballot. Supporters say it could lead to thousands of affordable housing units being finished. Reporter: Chris Nichols, CapRadio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Suspending or expelling children from preschool for challenging behavior is surprisingly common. And it happens way more often to Black children, boys, and kids with learning differences than others. A California law restricts the practice at state-funded early education programs, but implementing the law has been hard because of long-lasting impacts of the pandemic – like staffing shortages and learning loss. Reporter: Daisy Nguyen, KQED Two San Diego environmental groups are suing the federal government in an effort to stop cross border sewage flows that endanger the environment and public health.  Reporter: Erik Anderson, KPBS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're nearing the deadline to file taxes. While the task may seem daunting, especially for people who can’t afford an accountant, a group of high school students in Central California want to help fix that problem. Reporter: Billy Cruz, The California Report Fewer than one in five people in California could afford to buy the median priced home last year. That’s according to a new report from the California Association of Realtors.  Reporter: Erin Baldassari, KQED  The city of Stockton has settled a wrongful death suit with the family of a man who died after being held face down by police in 2020. Reporter: Emily Zentner, The California Newsroom  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last year was one of the deadliest on record for migrants. Tougher enforcement is pushing some to try swimming around the wall along the southern border. And that's prompted lifeguards on both sides of the border to respond. Reporter: Gustavo Solis, KPBS The pollutants from venting and flaring at oil and gas facilities in California are leading to 13 deaths a year, and worsen asthma in 1,800 children. A new study shows Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Kern counties suffer the worst outcomes, and low income communities are disproportionately affected. Reporter: Kristel Jandra, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The warnings go back nearly 30 years. As soon as a person is handcuffed, get them off their stomach. So says a Department of Justice bulletin from 1995. Yet, people in California continue to die after being held face down by law enforcement. Reporter: Emily Zentner, California Newsroom California doesn’t know if its efforts to address homelessness are working — despite billions of dollars spent to address the crisis. That’s according to a state audit released Tuesday. Reporter: Vanessa Rancaño, KQED  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

National parks have been called “America’s best idea.” But a recent study says these parks are increasingly threatened by human-caused air pollution. The parks with the biggest risk are all here in California. Reporter: Joshua Yeager, KVPR Shuttered Madera Community Hospital has cleared yet another hurdle in the path to reopening. It’s been approved for a $57 million interest-free loan. Reporter: Kerry Klein, KVPR A community in Red Bluff was recently notified that their water had high concentrations of chemicals called PFAS. Data shows that the site has had high levels of contamination for several years. Reporter: Justin Higginbottom, Jefferson Public Radio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Proposition 47, a criminal justice reform passed by California voters in 2014, has been controversial from the beginning, and now critics of the law are pushing a ballot measure that would roll back some of its key provisions. Guest: Marisa Largos, KQED A state agency wants to spend millions of dollars to tell students abortion pills are available on campus, this after an LAist investigation found many public universities are failing to do so. Reporter: Jackie Fortier, LAist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A federal judge has ruled that the U-S government is responsible for the safety and welfare of young people who’ve gathered in encampments on the California side of the US-Mexico border. Uprooted from Oakland, the Athletics are headed to Sacramento starting next season. The team will share a 10,000 seat minor-league ballpark with its primary tenant, the Sacramento River Cats, for at least three seasons, while their permanent stadium in Las Vegas is under construction. In Kern County, wildflower season is in full swing. Permitted volunteers are spreading out across the Indian Wells Valley to pick as many flower species as possible. Those will be displayed all in one room for the nearby Maturango Museum’s annual wildflower exhibit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History has a new specimen on display. A fossilized bone from a giant creature never before found along the Central Coast. The fossil is at least 11,000 years old and was discovered by some very early career scientists. Reporter: Jerimiah Oetting, KAZU  California is home to the western drywood termite. Fumigation is the most common method to kill this pest. That’s when a home is wrapped in a brightly colored tent and pumped full of the pesticide, SO2F2. But the chemical is a far more potent greenhouse gas than previously known. Reporter: Kevin Stark, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

State water officials say the last snow survey of the season on Tuesday revealed good news for the millions of Californians and farms who rely on snowmelt. Reporter: Ezra David Romero, KQED LA County authorities have a new strategy to help curb gun violence. Reporter: Jackie Fortier, LAist A parcel of land along the Northern California coast is being restored by the Yurok tribe, who is returning the property to nature. The land has been returned to the tribe in a first of its kind deal – in partnership with the National Park Service and California State Parks. Reporter: Alec Stutson, North State Public Radio  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ongoing construction of a new border wall threatened to destroy hundreds of murals that decorate the Tijuana side.  But now, a group of activists has found a way to save some of them.  Reporter: Gustavo Solis, KPBS After promising to put 200 Black workers in government jobs by this June, the city of Los Angeles has found jobs for fewer than 50 workers. Participants of the program say the application process for city jobs is often months long. And at the same time as this hiring effort, LA is facing a nearly $300 million budget deficit. Reporter: Alejandra Reyes-Velarde, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was hailed as the official end of single-family zoning in California and decried as a threat to suburban neighborhoods.  But two years later, Senate Bill 9 has done little to add new housing, despite a desperate need for it. But a growing number of developers have emerged with an offer: cash for your backyard. Reporter: Erin Baldassari, KQED Nearly 500,000 fast food workers in California start earning at least $20 an hour on Monday. But some restaurants have already started laying people off in response to the change. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero , KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Grand Avenue in Oakland, musicians are keeping an almost century-old institution alive and thriving. Longtime piano bar The Alley brings in customers old and new, who find comfort in their surroundings.  Reporter: Katherine Monahan, KQED State utility regulators have released a proposed plan to reduce the cost of residential electricity for lower income Californians.  Reporter: Laura Klivans, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A mass shooting at a pair of mushroom farms in a coastal town south of San Francisco last year exposed the deplorable conditions workers lived in. Now the city of Half Moon Bay is preparing to break ground on permanent farmworker housing.  Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED California legislators are out for their spring recess. But discussions about their bills are still happening outside of Sacramento committee rooms. One of the most talked about is a bill aimed at curbing retail theft. Reporter: Lynn La, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. named a wealthy tech attorney as his running mate at a rally in Oakland Tuesday. 38-year old Nicole Shanahan is also an investor and philanthropist. She was previously married to the co-founder of Google. Reporter: Annelise Finney, KQED For years, San Diego County residents living near the US-Mexico border have had to deal with polluted ocean water. That's forced the months long closure of beaches and regular episodes of a terrible outdoor stench that's affected people's health. Guest: MacKenzie Elmer, Voice of San Diego  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices