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UpFront delivers a mix of local, state, and international coverage through challenging interviews, civil debates, breaking updates, and in-depth discussions with authors. UpFront PM is the afternoon edition of UpFront. Pitch us at upfront@kpfa.org.
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On September 19th, 2017, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake impacted Central Mexico. The destruction that followed was widespread. UpFront checks in again with the post-disaster Mexico to follow up on the story from 2017. Lora Jo Foo, an environmental activist with No Coal in Oakland joins this morning’s show to discuss a Lawsuit against City of Oakland for … Continued
Alexis R. Santos-Lozada is a demographer and professor at Pennsylvania State University. He joins us on the air this morning to discuss the unreported deaths missing from post-Maria estimates. Santos-Lozada found more than 1,000 deaths missing from the official count of Puerto Rican casualties from Hurricane Maria. Déborah Berman-Santana, retired professor of geography and ethnic studies at Mills College … Continued
As part of Martin Luther King Day, UpFront revisits The Pacifica Archive to listen to a piece by journalist Colin Edwards about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s final visit to northern California on January 14, 1968 and his speech at Santa Rita. Afterwards, we play tape from compiled speeches by Coretta Scott King and Martin Luther … Continued
7am – Record expungements are under way in California with the implementation of Prop 64 and the legalization of recreational marijuana. Hundreds of thousands or Californians are now entitled to have their records cleared or sentences reduced for penalties involving marijuana, such as possession. However, the process is complicated. David Downs (@davidrdowns ) is the Cannabis Editor with … Continued
California rent control limitation ordinance Costa Hawkins overturn re-surfaces in the political sphere, once again up for discussion. Executive Director of the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives Christina Livingston speaks with UpFront about the Costa Hawkins ordinance. Mike Hutchinson was a candidate for the District 5 seat on the Oakland Unified School District school board in California. … Continued
Tim Redmond, publisher of 48hills.org tells us about whats what in the upcoming San Francisco mayoral race, who is running and on what platform. In a particularly violent move, Salvadorans in America lose their Temporary Protected Status, throwing countless Salvadorian residents into uncertainty. Yanira Arias is National Campaigns Manager for Alianza Americas and is a Temporary Protected Status … Continued
California Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer, the representative for the 59th District in the State Assembly joins us on UpFront to discuss his aim to re-introduce a bill to make California a sanctuary state for marijuana. Afterwards, Kirk Lombard, author of the Sea Forager’s Guide to the Northern California Coast discusses harvesting seaweed, kelp, and sustainable fish eats. He’s also … Continued
Recent FBI cases regarding terrorism in the Bay Area brought up concerns about whether Muslim youth are being entrapped, and roped into compromising situations before conviction. Darwin BondGraham is a staff writer at the East Bay Express who wrote an article on the subject, entitled Terror or Entrapment?. Darwin speaks with us alongside Zahra Billoo, civil rights attorney and … Continued
On November 26th 2016, Honduras held its first election since the 2009 coup. Since then, Honduras has seen demonstrations erupting across the country, protesting the supposed re-election of semi-dictator Juan Orlando Hernandez. Speaking with us from El Progreso in Honduras, Ryan Morgan, an advocate with the International Team with Witness for Peace, gives an update … Continued
Although KPFA is financially healthy, its sister station in New York, WBAI, is raising very little money, and is trapped in a lease on their antenna tower that they cannot pay – it currently costs $60,000 per month, and is rising. In late 2016, the landlord, the Empire State Realty Trust, sued for unpaid rent. … Continued
