Richard Gonzales
Richard Gonzales is NPR's National Desk Correspondent based in San Francisco. Along with covering the daily news of region, Gonzales' reporting has included medical marijuana, gay marriage, drive-by shootings, Jerry Brown, Willie Brown, the U.S. Ninth Circuit, the California State Supreme Court and any other legal, political, or social development occurring in Northern California relevant to the rest of the country.
Gonzales joined NPR in May 1986. He covered the U.S. State Department during the Iran-Contra Affair and the fall of apartheid in South Africa. Four years later, he assumed the post of White House Correspondent and reported on the prelude to the Gulf War and President George W. Bush's unsuccessful re-election bid. Gonzales covered the U.S. Congress for NPR from 1993-94, focusing on NAFTA and immigration and welfare reform.
In September 1995, Gonzales moved to his current position after spending a year as a John S. Knight Fellow Journalism at Stanford University.
In 2009, Gonzales won the Broadcast Journalism Award from the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. He also received the PASS Award in 2004 and 2005 from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency for reports on California's juvenile and adult criminal justice systems.
Prior to NPR, Gonzales was a freelance producer at public television station KQED in San Francisco. From 1979 to 1985, he held positions as a reporter, producer, and later, public affairs director at KPFA, a radio station in Berkeley, CA.
Gonzales graduated from Harvard College with a bachelor's degree in psychology and social relations. He is a co-founder of Familias Unidas, a bi-lingual social services program in his hometown of Richmond, California.
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Last year nearly 4.5 million people without Social Security numbers filed federal tax returns. Many were in the U.S. illegally. But there are signs that fewer such immigrants are filing this year. -
Federal immigration authorities have launched raids across the country in pursuit of people with felony convictions who are in the country illegally. Advocates say others are being caught up as well.
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San Francisco wants to give long-term residents of a historically African-American area preference in a lottery for new affordable units. Federal officials say that would violate fair housing laws. -
NPR's politics team annotated Trump's speech on immigration, which comes after a week of seeming to change direction on the issue.
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In 2009, legions of Lucy fans were horrified by a sculpture they dubbed "Scary Lucy." The new one reflects the glamorous TV comedy star of the 1950s. It's being unveiled Saturday, her 105th birthday.
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June is Pride month for the LGBT community, and several larger cities will hold events over the next two weekends. Some would-be participants are debating whether they'll stay home this year. -
Events were held from California to Pennsylvania, from Alaska to the Stonewall Inn in New York. -
President Obama says his administration seeks to deport immigrant "felons, not families." But some immigrants with criminal records may still have a strong case for remaining in the United States. -
A city in California adopted an innovative program to stop violence: offering potential criminals support services and cash for good behavior. Since then, the murder rate has dramatically declined. -
Immigration activists go into 2016 hoping to maintain momentum in their campaign for reform. The new year promises a major Supreme Court ruling on President Obama's executive actions.
