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KQED

KQED provides public radio, television, and independent reporting on issues that matter to the Bay Area. We’re the NPR and PBS member station for Northern California.

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Featured Writers

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Octavio Peña

Freelance writer with KQED, Eater, Serious Eats, Food & Wine, and more

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Hyeyoon Cho

I'm a bilingual journalist based in the Bay Area, covering health, immigration and climate.

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Kevin L. Jones

Journalist and audio producer

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Claire Heddles

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Amanda Hernandez

Amanda Hernandez is a non-traditional journalism student at San Francisco State University, originally from Bakersfield, California. With experience in print and digital media, she’s passionate about uncovering the unseen, especially …

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Samantha Kennedy

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Latest Articles

This San José Food Truck Is One of the Only Dominican Food Spots in the Bay | KQED

A half-mile stretch on the outskirts of south downtown San José has become a hotbed for food trucks from across Latin America. In the past two years, new trucks have launched specializing in corn cachapas from Venezuela, tender nacatamales from Nicaragua, and, as of last May, the slow-cooked stews and …
By Octavio Peña
• KQED

This San José Pop-Up Bakery Sells 18 Different Varieties of Egg Tarts | KQED

You might imagine that most egg tarts are relatively indistinguishable, with their pastry cups and plain, sunglow-colored custard filling. You wouldn’t necessarily expect the treats to get remixed into dozens of different flavors. That hasn’t stopped A&M Pâtisserie. The San José–based bakery pop-up sells a whopping eighteen different egg tart …
By Octavio Peña
• KQED

A New San José Food Stall Specializes in Vietnamese Rice Cake Omelettes | KQED

Located at the intersection of Tully and King roads, the Lion Plaza shopping center is in many ways San José’s original Little Saigon — a hub for homesick Vietnamese Americans since the mid-’80s, though it’s since been eclipsed by trendier malls like Grand Century and Vietnam Town. But in the …
By Octavio Peña
• KQED

Storm Forecasted to Hit the Bay Area Early Next Week as Typhoon Halong Hits Japan | KQED

The Bay Area can expect an unusually turbulent storm for this time of year, but exactly how much rain will land early next week is still unclear. The storm is expected to follow a powerful typhoon that hit the western Pacific on Thursday morning, reaching high speeds and forcing some …
By Amanda Hernandez
• KQED

A Tiny Takeout Window Sells Some of the Tastiest Pies in San Jose

A small red building in San Jose’s Willow Glen neighborhood is a laboratory for unbridled culinary experimentation. At Sweetdragon Baking Company, nut brittles are filled with potato chips, pies are loaded with Japanese curry, and sweet-and-savory bacon cookies are spiked with Jack Daniels. A mural in front of the building …
By Octavio Peña
• KQED

‘I’m Heartbroken’: California Scientists Left Adrift by Mass Federal Layoffs at NOAA | KQED

Welch said their work flowed into each other. The physical scientist developed forecasts and ocean models for changing ocean temperatures. Welch applied that data, relating it to animals, and turned it into tools for fisheries managers. Koller summarized the work and presented it to the general public. Koller was fired …
By Jerimiah Oetting
• KQED

This San Jose Seafood Truck Serves One of the Spiciest Dishes in the Bay Area

Mariscos El Aguachiles 8 is a seafood trailer wrapped in a giant, chile-red octopus tucked away in a small, bustling Mexican neighborhood a few minutes from Downtown San Jose. Its main attraction? Aguachile served in 12 heat levels — ranging from tickle-in-the-back-of-your-throat to capsaicin-induced hysteria — that might be the …
By Octavio Peña
• KQED

An Indonesian Coffee Pop-up Brings Pandan Lattes to San Jose | KQED

Indonesian coffee shops are sprouting up in the Bay Area, introducing local caffeine hounds to aromatic, uniquely tropical drinks. The newest addition to the scene is Hijau, a coffee pop-up in San Jose known for crafting lattes with flavors like pineapple, coconut, lemongrass and ginger. South Bay residents Lisa Maria …
By Octavio Peña
• KQED

West Contra Costa School District to Appoint Interim Leader After Superintendent Announces Retirement | KQED

The West Contra Costa Unified School District Board of Education on Tuesday evening voted unanimously to appoint Kim Moses as interim superintendent. Moses, who is currently the associate superintendent of business services for the district, will officially take on the role of interim superintendent in December, following the retirement of …
By Samantha Kennedy
• KQED

This San Jose Restaurant Has Been Feeding Portuguese Immigrants for Nearly 80 Years

In the heart of San Jose’s Little Portugal, a grocery store the size of a 7-Eleven features a wall of Ports and Vinho Verdes, stacks of garlicky linguiça and cases of imported cheese. But Bacalhau Grill isn’t just a specialty food market. If you peek over the shelves, you’ll see …
By Octavio Peña
• KQED

This San Jose Tortilleria Makes the Best Sonoran Flour Tortillas in the South Bay

In the United States, many Mexican food enthusiasts don’t consider flour tortillas to be as “authentic” as corn tortillas, arguing that they’re not a real part of the cuisine. And it’s true that the mass-produced flour tortillas you find in a Crunchwrap Supreme or packaged at the grocery store tend …
By Octavio Peña
• KQED

'There Is Such Optimism': Activists, Workers Welcome Deal Ending Boycott of Amy's Kitchen Products

Activists and Amy’s Kitchen workers welcomed the end of a boycott of the Petaluma-based organic food company over labor violations and unsafe working conditions and expressed optimism about the path ahead. Boycott leaders from the food justice nonprofit Food Empowerment Project announced the end of the two-year boycott on Wednesday …
By Daniel Eduardo Hernandez
• KQED

Tio's Tacos, a 30-Year Journey of Authentic Mexican Cuisine and Recycled Art

“I saw an opportunity in the garbage, in recycling,” Sanchez said. “I don’t have money to buy materials, but I have bottles. I have cans. I have what the restaurant throws away.” Sanchez’s love for his hometown of Sahuayo, in the Mexican state of Michoacánis, is reflected in many of …
By Daniel Eduardo Hernandez
• KQED

Salvadoran American Voters in San Francisco Divided Over Tough-on-Crime Approach

Salvadorans are the second-largest Latino population in San Francisco, and with concerns about rising crime throughout the city, the idea of voting for a more law-and-order-leaning candidate is a political force in the community. Bukele’s popularity, however, has also moved progressives in the area to mobilize against the Salvadoran president’s …
By Daniel Eduardo Hernandez
• KQED

San Jose’s Most Creative Paleta Cart Is Leveling Up the Mexican Ice Pop

On a hot summer day, the sound of a paleta cart’s bells usually signals the arrival of bright red paletas de fresa, ice cream sandwiches and gumball-eyed Spider-Man popsicles. But the ice pops inside Paleta Planeta’s galaxy-wrapped cart in San Jose are different. While the cart does sell some traditional …
By Octavio Peña
• KQED