How Lindsay Clancy's Case Resonates in California, Pistachio Farmers Worry About Small Harvest

Once in a while, things like this happen that reminds us that we're part of a larger universe and that a lot of things happen out there that we have no control over. And in some cases, they're quite fascinating and beautiful to watch. The Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley and the Bob Ferguson Observatory in Kennewit are both also having watch parties tonight that include some indoor activities. I'm Natalia Navarro, KQED News. Here's a deeper dive into the local stories we've been following. A trial in Massachusetts this week is resonating in California over the long-running debate on how the legal system interprets postpartum psychosis in cases of women who kill their children. The case now underway on the East Coast is focus on Lindsay Clancy. She's a former nurse accused of killing her three kids, ages five, three, and eight months before she attempted to kill herself. The prosecution says these were calculated murders. Clancy's lawyers are going for an insanity defense. They say she suffered from postpartum psychosis and that her doctors failed to recognize the warning signs. A similar case in California took place around a decade ago. KGUED's health correspondent, April Dimboski, has reported a lot on postpartum psychosis, and she joins us. Hello, April. Hi, Brian. So what is postpartum psychosis and how does it contribute to tragedies like the one we're hearing about on the East Coast? Well, a lot of people are familiar with postpartum depression, but postpartum psychosis is different and much less common. It affects one or two new moms out of a thousand. And it's usually characterized by a break with reality, things like hearing voices or having delusions. There's also confusion, disorganized thinking. And women sometimes have intrusive thoughts about harming themselves or their children. But they don't always talk about this. And this is really important, Brian, because women who are at risk of suicide or infanticide, they can be overlooked if doctors are only looking for explicit statements. about harm. And why is that? Did this come up in the Lindsay Clancy case? It did. Two clinicians testified in her trial so far, and they said they didn't foresee the killings because Clancy never said she was planning them. But I talked to a local perinatal psychiatrist from the South Bay. Her name is Nirmaljit Dami, and she says that's not the way to screen for harm because new moms who might be having these kinds of thoughts, they often feel a lot of guilt or shame about them, and so they don't want to talk about them.

Dr. Dami listens for different cues instead, women saying things like, I'm a bad mother, or I'm not good enough, or saying they feel hopeless or trapped. And she says, sometimes women are so unwell that they can't articulate their thoughts, and we shouldn't expect that. The mind doesn't have the capacity to assess and diagnose itself when it's struggling with severe depression, hypomania, or psychosis. Dr. Dami says from there, it can still take time to find the right diagnosis. In cases like Lindsay Clancy's, what are the legal remedies for women? So Clancy's lawyers are pursuing an insanity defense. And if they are successful, Clancy would be found not criminally responsible and she'd be sent to a psychiatric hospital for further treatment. If the prosecution wins, she'll be sent to prison. Most states in the U.S., including California, have an insanity standard that is notoriously difficult to reach. In Los Angeles, 10 years ago, we had a case very similar to Clancy's. Carol Coronado, she killed her three daughters. They were all under the age of three. And several psychiatrists testified at her trial that she had postpartum psychosis. Now, the judge at her trial, it was a bench trial. He agreed that she was mentally ill, but he sentenced her to prison for life without parole. So Massachusetts is a little bit different and puts more burden on the prosecution. So it will be interesting to see what the jury decides for Lindsay Clancy. So what can be done about postpartum psychosis? There's a lot. If doctors catch it, there are a lot of treatments and therapies and they work. 98% of women who are treated for postpartum psychosis have a full recovery. Now, it may not be quick. It can take a few months. People might have to do intensive outpatient treatment or go to the hospital, but people do get better. And are there special hospitals for women with maternal mental health problems? There are, but they're quite rare in the U.S. So in England, for example, they have mother-baby units, and this is where women who need specialized care. are admitted to the hospital and their baby comes with them so that they can continue to bond with their baby and build that attachment while they get treated. This is considered the gold standard, but because of insurance policies, we don't have those here in the U.S. In most American psych hospitals, babies aren't allowed in at all. What we do have are a handful of hospitals that have created perinatal psych wards where they do specialize in treating new moms, and babies are encouraged to visit. And one of those words is here in the Bay Area at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View. April Dimboski, KQED's Health Correspondent. Thank you. Thanks, Brian. April has written a lot about postpartum psychosis treatment and legal cases. You can find her stories on the KQBD app and at KQBD.org.

A new survey of teens in California finds that most do, in fact, want to hang out more in person in the face of growing concerns about screen time. So how do some of them choose to spend their time? One group of teens in San Francisco has built a boat from scratch, helping keep an old tradition alive in the city's Bayview Hunter's Point neighborhood. KQED's Christopher Allum reports. It's a cold overcast day at India Basin Park, but the water's calm, and the crowd on the pier is sunny and cheerful. About a dozen teens lift a yellow-painted boat over their heads. Slowly! Carry it down to the water. Keep it level. Keep the boat level. And drop it in. The 9th and 10th graders learned shipbuilding from a youth program called Rocking the Boat. They did everything themselves, from studying old schematics to shaping the boards. 16-year-old Hana Iger says some of the wood they used came from a tree in her backyard. I think it's a really cool program. I find it to be one of the most interesting things that I've ever participated in and also one of the most relaxing, surprisingly. For over 100 years, industrial and commercial shipbuilding took place at the same location. But this marks the first time that people can row in the water for fun. 16-year-old Stella Stone is one of the builders. I've actually been here when it was just the shipyard, and I'm just in general really happy that we've been able to make community around this. The kids, who are mostly from the Bay View and the Mission, plan to build more boats and continue launching them into the bay. I'm Christopher Alam. KQED News. The latest will be back after this quick break. Minions don't wait, especially for Wi-Fi. Summons Same-Day Wi-Fi from Xfinity and get the same price for five years and seen minions and monsters only in theaters. Exfinity. Imagine that. Restrictions apply not available in all areas. Learn more at Xfinity.com slash same-day Wi-Fi. We're back with the latest. Now, here's a look at the top news and culture stories from around the Golden State. This is the California report. I'm Alex Hall. Hundreds of thousands of rideshare drivers now have a union. The California Gig Workers Union, which represents drivers for app-based companies like Uber and Lyft, announced they won union recognition after more than a decade of organizing. At a press conference in Los Angeles yesterday, Joseph Augusto, a driver for Uber and Lyft, explained what the moment meant to him. Our fight hasn't been easy. And there's much work ahead, but together we have purpose and we have a shared commitment to making sure that every driver is treated with dignity and respect. The California Gig Workers Union is now the largest union of rideshare drivers in the world. In a statement, Lyft says it's committed to engaging in good faith, Uber says it looks forward to its work ahead with the union and the state. California lawmakers are pushing for new guardrails as more people turn to AI chatbots for therapy. Anna Ibarra with our California newsroom partner, CalMatters, has the details. A bill advancing in the state legislature would stop companies from advertising chatbots as therapy. It would also require a licensed professional to review any AI-driven treatment decisions. Trula Vista Democrat Steve Alex Padilla introduced the bill. This bill draws a clear line.

AI can be a tool in the hands of licensed professionals, but it cannot be the professional itself. The proposal comes in the wake of wrongful death lawsuits from families who claim chatbots played a role in their loved one's suicides. Tech industry groups oppose the bill's restrictions of AI in formal health spaces, saying it could slow down tools that help patients get care faster, especially at a time when the state faces a shortage of mental health workers. CalMatters, Anna Ibarra. The bill is set to face a make or break vote at the Capitol tomorrow. Demand for pistachios is booming worldwide, from Dubai-inspired chocolate bars to pistachio cookies and lattes. But in the Central Valley, growers are worried that this year's harvest could be smaller than anticipated. That's after some unexpected weather earlier this spring. KVPR Samantha Rangel visited an orchard to find out what's at stake. Just a few months ago, this pistachio orchard in Tulare County seemed to be heading towards a great season. There was an unprecedented heat wave that took place right in the middle of Bloom. As I walk with farmer Joe Cuelo, he remembers those spring temperatures in the 90s. He'll know the impact the heat had when it comes time to harvest. What will be blank will be if this doesn't fill. So they're blank right now, but I would just classify them as not filled yet. Once I get into mid-June, if it just remains like that for the rest of the summer, that's a blank. The demand for pistachios has exploded globally. It's been fueled in part by viral food trends like Dubai chocolate and pistachio-filled desserts. Scott Fryer is the vice president of global marketing for the American pistachio growers. He says here in the U.S. in 2024, there were 54 items in the grocery store that mentioned Dubai-style chocolate. In the year 2025, that increased to 163. That's why it was happening out on the farms doesn't bode well for this marketing boom. Friar says the trininess of pistachios has only added to demand that was already growing before the orchards were hit by the climate whiplash. There's concern that it could be blank, and we're concerned that we will have a much, much lower-than-expected harvest this year when we have so much demand and not the supply to meet the demand. California grows nearly all of the nation's pistachios. Garret Brear is an associate professor at Pemology at Fresno State. He focuses on pistachio physiology and horticulture. Pistachio is a really economically important crop in California, and we produce 99% of the U.S. pistachias. And the U.S. produces roughly 40 to 45% of world's total pistachio production. It can take years before a pistachio orchard can produce a commercial crop. This means that every season is a long-term investment with zero guarantees.

Coelho, the pistachio farmer who took me out to his farm, says that when the long-awaited harvest turned out small, many like himself are left with big bills and no easy way to catch up to their typical quota. You know, figure that's $4,000 an acre to farm, a mature planting, I need to make something like 1,400 pounds at normal grower prices to break even. This is not a common struggle with pistachios, typically a pretty secure crop. But farmers have learned a lot from another tree crop that has seen its share of market challenges. Almonds. Farmers don't want to plant too many trees because prices fall and supply outpaces demand. But there's always something to look forward to. And Coelow is thinking well beyond just this year's harvest. When the industry has had kind of catastrophic loss, the rebound is huge. It's record setting. So it jumps back significantly. In a changing climate and fast-moving economy, pistachio farmers are caught in a battle, trying to stay one step ahead of the next bump in the road. That was Samantha Rangel with KVPR in Fresno. And finally, if you're outside tonight, be sure to look up for one of the year's brightest and most popular shows in the night sky. The Perseed Meteor shower has been ramping up since mid-July, but it peaks tonight, and it's expected to be visible across the state, depending on the weather conditions in your area. The Perseeds are a display of Earth's intersection with dust particles and debris left by the swift-tuttle comet. In ideal conditions, the shower can produce as... many as 50 to 100 shooting stars per hour. California stargazers will have the added benefit tonight of dark skies and clearer visibility. That's because Wednesday is a new moon. And that's the California report for Wednesday, August 12th. We're a production of KQED News. I'm Alex Hall. Thanks for listening and have a great day. That's the latest from KQED, but remember we're updating throughout the day, so come back anytime. The latest is powered by the newsroom at member-supported KQED in San Francisco and is made by me, Dana Kronin, Srishti Prabha, and Bianca Taylor, with support from Jen Chien, Ted Goldberg, Keith Miziguchi, and Katie Springer. Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by the Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco, Northern California Local. Thanks for listening.

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