Local News

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Oct 02, 2023

A look at the education rights for youth in the child welfare system

by Betty Marquez Rosales/EdSource
Child welfare cases are complex, and outcomes depend on a multitude of factors.
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Oct 02, 2023

Hwy 12 in Sonoma Valley reopens after new bridge finished early

by Bay City News
A month of traffic headaches near Agua Caliente is over.
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Sep 29, 2023

Local harvest hampered by late spring

by Marc Albert
Unusual weather starting to ding agriculture.
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Sep 28, 2023

With negotiations stalled, teachers near Petaluma preparing for walkout

by Marc Albert
Old Adobe inching toward strike.
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Sep 28, 2023

SoCo sheriff's deputies used canine bites "too quickly," oversight board finds

by Gabe Agcaoili/Bay City News
In a statement, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office responded by saying IOLERO auditors lack " experience relative to law enforcement tactics."

NPR News

Oct 03, 2023

Why oil prices are relatively high right now

Global crude oil prices seemed to be rising inexorably toward $100 a barrel — but then they pulled a U-turn. Meanwhile the oil industry is deeply divided on what the
Oct 03, 2023

U.S. House votes McCarthy out as speaker

Kevin McCarthy is now the first speaker in history to be removed by a U.S. House vote. The vote came less than a day after Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., made good
Sep 28, 2023

6 takeaways from the second GOP debate

Primary debates are about winnowing down the field of candidates to land on the eventual nominee for a major party. That winnowing process continued at the Ronald Reagan Presidential
Sep 26, 2023

Morning news brief

President Biden will head to Michigan to visit the UAW picket line. Lawmakers return to Capitol Hill with four days to go until a possible government shutdown. A survey of
Sep 20, 2023

Planting a meadow and growing a community

Jonathan Yacko and his wife Natalie Gilliard grew up near New York City and moved to Chittenden, Vermont in 2019. They loved their big new yard, but hated all
Sep 13, 2023

Federal judge again declares that DACA is illegal

HOUSTON — While a federal judge on Wednesday declared illegal a revised version of a federal policy that prevents the deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to
Sep 10, 2023

The search for a church that isn't a church

If you've been following this series, by now you've seen me write about the reason this whole project came about. I don't know what I believe. Don't misunderstand -
Sep 10, 2023

For a new generation of Marines, 9/11 is history

PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. – It's still pitch black and Marine recruits are scurrying around under garish spotlights, stacking their weapons and packs, all under the constant screams of drill
Sep 08, 2023

The Texas power grid struggles through heatwave

Earlier this week, Texas came close to a blackout. Another heat wave had people using their air conditioners into the evenings because temperatures didn't cool off. The grid nearly couldn't
Sep 06, 2023

The business of carbon removal

A U.S. oil company is investing heavily in what could become a game-changing technology: Sucking carbon from the sky. Two business models are vying for primacy over how this technology
Aug 23, 2023

How Georgia voters see the Trump indictment

The residents of Fulton County, Ga., vote in a highly contested swing state. And soon, they may make up the jury pool in a criminal case against Trump, who's expected
Aug 22, 2023

A preview of the first GOP debate

The Republican presidential primary debate is a chance for lesser-known candidates to stand out because the leading candidate for the nomination, former President Donald Trump, won't be there.
Aug 22, 2023

Sha'Carri Richardson wins 100 meter gold

NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with USA Today track and field reporter Tyler Dragon about Sha'Carri Richardson becoming the fastest woman in the world and her journey to the top spot.
Aug 20, 2023

GOP state legislatures target progressive prosecutors

A wave of progressive prosecutors have won office across the country. Now, Republican-controlled state legislatures and governors are trying to curtail their power, or strip them of it altogether.
Aug 15, 2023

Why the market for elderberries is booming

Sales of elderberries exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic. The fruit is often used as a nutritional supplement. (Story aired on All Things Considered on Aug. 14, 2023.)
Aug 14, 2023

This was the hottest July ever recorded on Earth

This was the hottest July ever recorded on Earth, according to federal climate scientists. It's a stark reminder that humans are rapidly warming up the planet by burning fossil fuels.

By Elizabeth Castillo, CalMatters

Screen Shot 2020 06 26 at 10.39.41 AMBarbecuing at Lake Merritt in Oakland. Selling water without a permit. Both instances in which a Black person was doing something deemed criminal by a white person. Both instances in which a white person called the police. 

Now, as racial tensions continue to flare as the nation protests the death of George Floyd and others, a California lawmaker plans to introduce legislation that would make discriminatory 911 calls a hate crime, joining a handful of states in pushing to criminalize emergency calls. Three states — New York, Oregon and Washington — have recently enacted new laws. 

California’s proposal “would provide multiple pathways for justice for victims of racially weaponized 911 calls,” said Assemblyman Rob Bonta, an Alameda Democrat and the bill’s author.

(A California proposal could make racially motivated 911 calls a hate crime. Illustration by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters; elements via iStock)

He said calling the police when no crime has occurred can be “incredibly dangerous” for victims since officers have wide latitude to detain people in ways that can quickly escalate. The bill, however, isn’t in print yet. Bonta says he is still formulating the circumstances in which Californians may be punished for bias. 

Similar instances of racially motivated 911 calls have occurred across the country. In May, a white woman walking her dog in Central Park called the police on a Black birdwatcher after he asked her to leash her dog. 

“I’m going to tell them there’s an African American man threatening my life,” said Amy Cooper, the dog walker, during the recorded incident. The governor of New York signed legislation making these types of 911 calls a crime. 

In California, making a false police call is a misdemeanor with a $1,000 fine and up to a year in county jail. But there are currently no other protections for those on the receiving end of a racially motivated police call. 

In 2017, there were 28.1 million calls to 911 in California, the Orange County Register reported. And the Los Angeles area handled 8.5 million calls that year alone. The California Highway Patrol is largely responsible for 911 calls made on cell phones and often directs emergency calls to the appropriate authorities. Who would be responsible for tracking these types of calls remains unclear. As demands to “defund the police” continue to grow, questions remain about a larger police role. The California Police Chiefs Association had no comment on Bonta’s proposal. 

For an instance to qualify as a hate crime, there has to be proof that the victim was targeted because they belonged to a protected group. Bonta said proving these calls are hate crimes “can definitely be a challenge.” He pointed to the Central Park incident as an obvious example of a racially motivated call. 

“She knew exactly what she was doing,” Bonta said. “He was not harassing her. She was calling based on race.” 

In fact, some of the most progressive parts of California are where obvious cases of racial prejudice appear. In the Bay Area, a man identified as Mali Watkins was detained by police officers in May after the police received a call about someone dancing in the street. Body camera footage of the arrest shows an officer calling Watkins’ movements Jazzercise. 

“It looks like you were dancing. I was watching you for a little bit, it’s like Jazzercise type of thing,” an officer says in the footage.

In 2018, a woman called the police over the use of a charcoal grill at Lake Merritt in Oakland. In another incident that year, a woman in San Francisco called the police on an 8-year-old girl for selling water without a permit. 

Bonta says, if anything, a bill is needed to acknowledge this behavior is unacceptable and harms people. “They’re incidents where police do not need to be called,” he said. 

Even if the state doesn’t act, local jurisdictions are moving toward change. Los Angeles and San Francisco are calling for legislation based on racial prejudice. In Santa Clara County, some local officials want racism to be declared a public health crisis

For Californians on the receiving end of racist 911 calls, it can be difficult to sue. 

“It’s hard to get damages,” said Laura Gómez, a UCLA law professor. “It’s hard to find a lawyer willing to take that case because there’s not going to be a lot of money to recover.” 

Though there have been exceptions, including one in Los Angeles. In 2014, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David S. Cunningham settled with UCLA after Cunningham alleged mistreatment and racial profiling by campus police. UCLA agreed to pay $500,000, though Cunningham originally filed a $10 million claim. 

And, after an arrest in 2015 by the New York Police Department, Thabo Sefolosha, an NBA basketball player, settled with the department for $4 million. Sefolosha said the police caused injuries while he was arrested including a fractured fibula and ligament damage. 

Still, access remains an issue for many Californians. Bonta said his bill would give victims of the 911 calls more legal options. He added there must be consequences for people who make the racially motivated 911 calls. 

“We’re not going to tolerate these acts,” he said. 

Racism in America

Learning Media: Racism in America

CONFRONTING ANTI-BLACK RACISM Use these materials with middle and high school students to help them understand the long history of anti-Black racism in the United States, and think about ways to address it in their own families and communities. Resources include news coverage of recent protests,…

Lawsuit Against County Sheriff's Office Points to Numerous Brutality Cases

We provide local news updates on The North Bay Report Tuesday-Friday at 6:45, 8:45 a.m., and 5:30 p.m. on KRCB radio 91 and 90.9. The following is a two-part interview that aired Thursday, July, 2nd and Wednesday, July 8. The full-length interview is also available below. Subscribe to The North Bay…
sheriff badge

Hope, Strength, Protest. Another Story in Photos

Photos and Text by Diane Askew On Thursday, July 2, a daylong rally was held at Santa Rosa’s Old Courthouse Square to protest systemic racism. The protest was organized by president Rubin Scott of the Sonoma County chapter of the NAACP. From a small stage set up on the square, local residents spoke…
lady shirt

Informe en Español: KBBF Hosts Special On Black Lives Matter Movement

This article is a translated, partial summary of KBBF’s 30-minute special. Listen to the complete version in Spanish below. In this thirty-minute special, KBBF’s Edgar Avila speaks with Sonoma County residents about racism in our community and the Black Lives Matter movement. Guests appear in the…
IMG 2806

As COVID-19 Cases Climb, Activists Demand Equity In Response

We provide local news updates on The North Bay Report Tuesday - Friday at 6:45, 8:45 a.m., and 5:30 p.m. on KRCB radio 91 and 90.9. Here's our North Bay Report episode for Thursday, June 25. Subscribe to The North Bay Report podcast to listen on the go. COVID-19 has been difficult for everyone, but…
49628500797 9bd72858d7 c

Racism in America

Jun 19, 2020

Sonoma County Celebrates Juneteenth

The Sonoma County Juneteenth Committee will host its celebration over zoom this year. Nancy Rogers has served as the chair of the festival for the…
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thumbnail FirstNews logoA weekday early morning podcast that offers a first look at the top local news stories and weather forecast you need to start your day.

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Subscribe to the Sonoma County First News podcast through our website, the NorCal Mobile App, NPR Podcasts, NPR One, iTunes/Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

 
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Racism in America

Learning Media: Racism in America

CONFRONTING ANTI-BLACK RACISM Use these materials with middle and high school students to help them understand the long history of anti-Black racism in the United States, and think about ways to address it in their own families and communities. Resources include news coverage of recent protests,…

Lawsuit Against County Sheriff's Office Points to Numerous Brutality Cases

We provide local news updates on The North Bay Report Tuesday-Friday at 6:45, 8:45 a.m., and 5:30 p.m. on KRCB radio 91 and 90.9. The following is a two-part interview that aired Thursday, July, 2nd and Wednesday, July 8. The full-length interview is also available below. Subscribe to The North Bay…
sheriff badge

Hope, Strength, Protest. Another Story in Photos

Photos and Text by Diane Askew On Thursday, July 2, a daylong rally was held at Santa Rosa’s Old Courthouse Square to protest systemic racism. The protest was organized by president Rubin Scott of the Sonoma County chapter of the NAACP. From a small stage set up on the square, local residents spoke…
lady shirt

Informe en Español: KBBF Hosts Special On Black Lives Matter Movement

This article is a translated, partial summary of KBBF’s 30-minute special. Listen to the complete version in Spanish below. In this thirty-minute special, KBBF’s Edgar Avila speaks with Sonoma County residents about racism in our community and the Black Lives Matter movement. Guests appear in the…
IMG 2806

As COVID-19 Cases Climb, Activists Demand Equity In Response

We provide local news updates on The North Bay Report Tuesday - Friday at 6:45, 8:45 a.m., and 5:30 p.m. on KRCB radio 91 and 90.9. Here's our North Bay Report episode for Thursday, June 25. Subscribe to The North Bay Report podcast to listen on the go. COVID-19 has been difficult for everyone, but…
49628500797 9bd72858d7 c

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