Photo: A 2020 Census form.
On this show:
0:08 – The Census Bureau has announced it will end its census count — both door-knocking operations and online responses — a month early. Advocates say it’s the latest step that could lead to a massive undercount, especially of vulnerable and hard-to-reach communities. Ajay Saini, counsel at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, joins us to discuss. The new deadline for submitting your census information is September 30. You can fill out the census at 2020census.gov.
0:34 – Nurses across the U.S. today are protesting for the passage of the HEROES Act, as well as for safety and support for medical workers in the midst of the Covid crisis. One of those pickets is taking place in Oakland; we talk with Katy Roemer, a registered nurse of 25 years who works at Kaiser Oakland and a vice president at National Nurses United.
0:47 – The East Bay has lost one of its most fearless advocates for the rights of unhoused people. Mike Lee died this week after illness. He is remembered by fellow advocates and friends. Story by Danielle Kaye (@danielledkaye).
1:08 – The Apple Fire in Southern California has forced the evacuation of thousands of people, but journalist Jacob Margolis (@JacobMargolis) says it still hasn’t reached the size of a “mega-fire” above 100,000 acres, and that worse fires could be expected later in the season as Santa Ana winds pick up. Margolis reports on science for KPCC and LAist.
1:18: Kayla Moore, a Black transgender woman, was killed in her apartment by Berkeley police in 2013. Kayla had a history of schizophrenia and was in the middle of a mental health crisis when the police were called to perform a wellness check. Instead, they tried to arrest her. Kayla stopped breathing after half a dozen police officers forcibly held her down. We spoke to Maria Moore, Kayla’s sister, as part of our series TAKEN FROM US: Remembering lives lost to police violence. Read Maria’s open letter to Berkeley Police Chief Andrew Greenwood here.
1:34 – Kings County DA Keith Fagundes has charged a woman named Chelsea Becker with murder after she experienced a stillbirth. Becker had experienced substance use disorder. Advocates are calling for murder charges to be dropped and say the DA is setting dangerous precedent. Another woman, Adora Perez, is already 2 years into an 11-year sentence in Chowchilla for a conviction after similar charges. We talk with Lynn Paltrow, founder and executive director of National Advocates for Pregnant Women.