State regulators have approved a controversial proposal that will add a monthly charge of $24 to many Californian's electricity bills. But in exchange, utility customers should see reductions in charges per kilowatt hour of electricity used. As college campus protests continue over Israel's War in Gaza, students at UC Merced are asking the university to refrain from what they say is over-policing. Reporter: Rachel Livinal, KVPR It’s finally warming up in California. As more bugs come out in the heat, so do bats to feed on them. And one bat species is emerging from hibernation with a new distinction -- the pallid bat is now the official state bat of California. Reporter: Alix Soliman, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the conflict between Israel and Hamas rages on, American protesters are accusing Silicon Valley companies like Intel and Google of complicity in the violence, and urging them to divest. But US tech has been deeply involved with Israeli tech for half a century. Reporter: Rachael Myrow, KQED The California Public Utilities Commission votes Thursday on a controversial flat electricity rate. Regulators say the change would lower bills for many, but critics argue it could do the opposite. Reporter: Alix Soliman, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two years ago, the northern Imperial County town of Niland lost its only post office in a fire. It was supposed to be a temporary closure. But residents are still fighting to get it back. Reporter: Kori Suzuki, KPBS California prison officials say it will cost billions of dollars to enforce new indoor heat regulations that the state’s proposed for workers. But they have declined to share exact cost estimates. Reporter: Jeanne Kuang, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been over a month since California started requiring most fast food employers in the state to pay a minimum wage of $20 dollars an hour -- a big jump from the state’s general minimum wage of $16 dollars. Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED News San Francisco State University’s top administrator is promising to provide more transparency about financial ties to Israel … and to explore school divestment. That’s in a public meeting Monday with pro-Palestinian student protesters... who’ve camped out on campus for the past week. Reporter: Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, KQED News The Shasta County Board of Supervisors is set to meet today to discuss next steps now that the longstanding County Registrar of Voters has retired, but it’s unclear exactly how her position will be filled. Reporter: Alec Stutson, North State Public Radio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can solutions to California's housing crisis be found in how we used to design and build homes in the past, namely smaller multifamily dwellings in neighborhoods and cities with fewer zoning restrictions. That topic is explored by Los Angeles urban planner Max Podemski. In his new book, A Paradise of Small Houses. I met up with Podemski in the L.A. neighborhood of Eagle Rock. In California, tens of thousands of immigrants with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals will soon be able to get health insurance. That’s after President Joe Biden on Friday announced that those with DACA can enroll in Affordable Care Act coverage. The union representing some 48 thousand academic workers in the UC system is planning to hold a strike authorization vote as early as this week over what they say is the university’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian protests. The decision to consider striking gained momentum after police action at UCLA that led to more than 200 arrests early last week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices