Farida Jhabvala Romero

Latest Stories (4)

In California, one county is forcing restaurants to pay wage theft claims or risk losing their permits

Sep 7, 2023
Santa Clara County is helping regulators deal with businesses that cheat workers out of wages but fail to settle that debt.
Melissa Sanchez with the Fair Workplace Collaborative speaks with a restaurant manager. Sanchez is part of an outreach effort to inform small businesses about Santa Clara County’s food permit enforcement program.
Farida Jhabvala Romero/KQED

Retired California chef builds community by volunteering

Jul 29, 2019
Communities benefit greatly from experience that retirees offer.
Emam Saber, 77, trims skin off chicken pieces he’ll bake at his San Francisco home. Saber, now retired, used to work as a chef at San Francisco hotels, including the St. Francis and Fairmont.
Sean Havey for California Dream

The economic impact of low college enrollment by undocumented students

Jul 11, 2019
Nearly 100,000 undocumented students graduate from high schools across the U.S. each year. Only a fraction enroll in college.
This student, an undocumented immigrant in San Jose, California, is heading off to college. Counselors say other students without legal status see no reason to go on to higher education because their job opportunities are limited.
Farida Jhabvala Romero/KQED

Voters in a California city weigh taxing vacant properties to help ease homelessness

Oct 11, 2018
If the Oakland measure is approved, it would be the state's first such tax.
Homeless advocate Candice Elder checks in with Dorothy Smith at an encampment in Oakland in August. Smith, who raised her children in the city, said her disability benefits are not enough to afford housing.
Farida Jhabvala Romero/KQED