Earlier this week the CDC changed its mask guidance, advising that those who are fully vaccinated can go mask free in most circumstances. It's a major milestone in the pandemic fight, but after a year when we’ve faced one deadly surge after another, what makes federal health authorities so sure loosening the rules will be safe? On this edition of KCBS In Depth, we consider the positive vaccine data that's reassuring medical experts. 

Guests: 
Dr. Monica Gandhi, infectious disease physician and professor of medicine, UC San Francisco 
Dr. Michele Barry, professor, Stanford University’s School of Medicine | director, Center for Innovation in Global Health

Host: Keith Menconi 

Earlier this week the CDC changed its mask guidance, advising that those who are fully vaccinated can go mask free in most circumstances. It's a major milestone in the pandemic fight, but after a year when we&rsquo;ve faced one deadly surge after another, what makes federal health authorities so sure loosening the rules will be safe? On this edition of KCBS In Depth, we consider the positive vaccine data that's reassuring medical experts.&nbsp;
Guests:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Dr. Monica Gandhi, infectious disease physician and professor of medicine, UC San Francisco&nbsp;</li>
<li>Dr. Michele Barry, professor, Stanford University&rsquo;s School of Medicine | director, Center for Innovation in Global Health</li>
</ul>
Host: Keith Menconi&nbsp;

KCBS Radio In Depth

Does This Week's Masking Milestone Signal Pandemic Progress?

KCBS Radio has been taking a closer look at the state of the environment in the Bay Area - from extreme weather and rising sea levels to what people are doing to try and make the world around us better.

But how is the San Francisco Zoo faring with all these environmental changes? What are their conservation efforts looking like these days? And is the San Francisco Zoo ready for when pandas from China arrive?

To answer these questions, KCBS’s Eric Thomas and Nikki Meduro took their mics to the San Francisco Zoo and spoke with Eric Kruzmen, vice president of wellness and conservation at the zoo.

This is part one of a Conservation Conversation.

KCBS Radio has been taking a closer look at the state of the environment in the Bay Area - from extreme weather and rising sea levels to what people are doing to try and make the world around us better.
But how is the San Francisco Zoo faring with all these environmental changes? What are their conservation efforts looking like these days? And is the San Francisco Zoo ready for when pandas from China arrive?
To answer these questions, KCBS’s Eric Thomas and Nikki Meduro took their mics to the San Francisco Zoo and spoke with Eric Kruzmen, vice president of wellness and conservation at the zoo.
This is part one of a Conservation Conversation.

A Conservation Conversation, Part One: What is the state of the San Francisco Zoo?

The housing crisis is widespread in California and it has become especially dire for college students, as rents go ever higher and competition increases for whatever apartments are available.

A 2022 UCLA survey found that student homelessness ranges from anywhere 5 to 20% across California’s colleges and universities, meaning that potentially hundreds of thousands of students are unhoused.

So, what’s being done to solve this problem?

We’ll start our conversation with Zennon Ulyate-Crow, third year student at UC Santa Cruz and founder and co-chair of the Student Homes Coalition - a student-led collective of higher education advocacy organizations and youth activists fighting for abundant, accessible, and affordable student housing.

And then we'll turn to Su-Jin Jez, CEO of California Competes, a nonpartisan policy and research organization focused on identifying solutions to the state’s challenges at the intersection of higher education, equity, and the economy. 

The housing crisis is widespread in California and it has become especially dire for college students, as rents go ever higher and competition increases for whatever apartments are available.
A 2022 UCLA survey found that student homelessness ranges from anywhere 5 to 20% across California’s colleges and universities, meaning that potentially hundreds of thousands of students are unhoused.
So, what’s being done to solve this problem?
We’ll start our conversation with Zennon Ulyate-Crow, third year student at UC Santa Cruz and founder and co-chair of the Student Homes Coalition - a student-led collective of higher education advocacy organizations and youth activists fighting for abundant, accessible, and affordable student housing.
And then we'll turn to Su-Jin Jez, CEO of California Competes, a nonpartisan policy and research organization focused on identifying solutions to the state’s challenges at the intersection of higher education, equity, and the economy.

What can be done to solve the student housing crisis in California?

It’s a part of the passing of wintertime and moving into spring: you open up the windows or you step outside, and you hear them - birds singing.

And perhaps you hear the sounds of the male western tanager, a songbird that migrates thousands of miles once the seasons begin to change, heading to the Mountain West for springtime.

But maybe you’ve noticed, over the past few years, that spring seems to be arriving earlier than normal - flowers blooming, insects coming to life, sometimes months ahead of time.

Birds are noticing these changes and researchers are, too.

A recent study has looked at the effects of climate change on the seasons and found that by the time many migrating birds reach their destination, the food sources they search for have already bloomed or flown away.

And so the consequences of spring starting sooner - for the western tanager and for many other migrating birds - could be drastic.

To help us take a closer look at what we’re seeing in the world of migrating birds and how climate change is altering their world, I’m joined by Morgan Tingley, associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UCLA.

It’s a part of the passing of wintertime and moving into spring: you open up the windows or you step outside, and you hear them - birds singing.
And perhaps you hear the sounds of the male western tanager, a songbird that migrates thousands of miles once the seasons begin to change, heading to the Mountain West for springtime.
But maybe you’ve noticed, over the past few years, that spring seems to be arriving earlier than normal - flowers blooming, insects coming to life, sometimes months ahead of time.
Birds are noticing these changes and researchers are, too.
A recent study has looked at the effects of climate change on the seasons and found that by the time many migrating birds reach their destination, the food sources they search for have already bloomed or flown away.
And so the consequences of spring starting sooner - for the western tanager and for many other migrating birds - could be drastic.
To help us take a closer look at what we’re seeing in the world of migrating birds and how climate change is altering their world, I’m joined by Morgan Tingley, associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UCLA.

Does This Week's Masking Milestone Signal Pandemic Progress?

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