California Policy and Politics Monday

California’s snowpack was already meager. Now comes an extraordinary heat wave -- An extremely warm winter has left California’s Sierra Nevada with far less snow than average. The snowpack has been shrinking for weeks and is expected to melt rapidly with a heat wave this week. Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/16/26

S.F. Bay Area heat wave will be a ‘marathon,’ weather service warns. Here are the details -- Record-shattering March heat is forecast across the Bay Area this week as temperatures are anticipated to surge into the 90s, as much as 30 degrees above normal for this time of year. It won’t be a short-lived spike in temperatures: “It is going to be a marathon,” the National Weather Service said. Anthony Edwards in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/16/26

 

Villaraigosa’s dreams for a political comeback meet reality — again -- As L.A. mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa cut crime 50% and expanded transit, yet he’s polling at the bottom of the 2026 governor’s race. His 13-year absence from elected office and weaker fundraising puts him at a significant disadvantage against better-funded rivals. Dakota Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/16/26

Trump is waging a holy war in Iran. A Marin congressman is fighting one at home -- Since coming out eight years ago as the only openly nonbelieving member of Congress, the San Rafael Democrat has embarked on a crusade to uphold the constitutional separation of church and state. Alexei Koseff in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/16/26

Southern states target Bay Area doctor in legal battles over abortion -- Remy Coeytaux, a licensed doctor in Healdsburg, was indicted in Louisiana in January for “providing a pregnant woman with an abortion-inducing drug,” a criminal offense punishable there by up to fifty years in state prison. Grant Stringer in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/16/26

Workplace

Former Newsom advisor received $50,000 payout after leaving state job amid federal probe -- Gov. Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff Dana Williamson received $50,000 in unused vacation pay after leaving the job amid a federal corruption investigation. California’s generous vacation accrual policies have led to a $5.6-billion unfunded liability, with 80 workers leaving their jobs last year with more than $250,000 each in stockpiled time off. Melody Gutierrez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/16/26

How CA state worker unions have fared since landmark SCOTUS decision reshaped membership -- In the years since a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court allowed public-sector workers to opt out of paying for labor representation, the percentage of California’s rank-and-file government employees who are paying dues has fallen by 8%. William Melhado in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/16/26

 

California bets on an obscure tool to replace clean air authority Trump revoked -- When a package arrives at your door, it has likely traveled through a chain of ports, railyards and warehouses throughout the state. All those ships, trains and trucks leave behind a trail of diesel exhaust as they go, driving some of the highest asthma rates in communities. Alejandra Reyes-Velarde Calmatters -- 3/16/26

Navy delays decommissioning of the former San Diego-based aircraft carrier USS Nimitz -- The 50-year-old Nimitz, which visited San Diego on Tuesday, had been scheduled to be decommissioned in Virginia in May. The situation began to publicly shift last week when the Navy announced that its oldest flattop would first go on deployment to the Southern Command, which includes Central America, South America and the Caribbean. Gary Robbins in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 3/16/26

 

More Mexicans were deported annually under Biden than by Trump -- Deportations of Mexicans dropped to 144,000 in 2025, roughly half the annual figure under President Biden, according to data analyzed by a Mexican investigative outlet. Though migration is often driven by economic issues, the analysis found that many of the deported Mexicans came from states engulfed in cartel violence. Steve Fisher in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/16/26

California Congress members demand answers on deportation of 6-year-old deaf child, family -- In a letter sent Monday, the congress members demanded that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State work with the family’s legal representatives to return them back to the United States through humanitarian parole so the deaf child can access their assisted hearing devices and receive medical support. Jessica Flores in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/16/26

Housing

Plan for 900 homes could bring transformative change to this Bay Area city -- Developers Eddie Haddad and Georges Maalouf want to build 940 homes — 403 townhomes, 409 detached homes, 56 accessory dwelling units and 72 affordable homes — on the 59-acre site at 3295 Haleakala St. in Concord, just two miles from the North Concord BART station. Sarah Ravani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/16/26

Homebuyers are rushing back to San Francisco. Where are the sellers? -- Last spring, San Francisco home sellers had a problem: They were putting their homes on the market, but buyers weren’t interested. Less than a year later, the tables have turned. Christian Leonard in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/16/26

A Section 8 tenant is filing dozens of $100,000 lawsuits. Is it a discrimination fight or a shakedown? -- A gaggle of scorned landlords and real estate agents across L.A. have a message: If Alexys Watson messages you on Zillow asking if you accept Section 8 vouchers, choose your next words very, very carefully. Jack Flemming in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/16/26

Downtown

Downtown L.A. needs retail resuscitation. San Francisco’s subsidized shops offer a solution -- San Francisco’s Vacant to Vibrant program has helped revitalize downtown by offering free rent, grants and mentoring to small businesses opening pop-up shops. Downtown L.A. advocates want to adopt a similar program to subsidize retailers, fill vacant storefronts and revitalize the neighborhood’s walkability as well as its restaurant scene. Roger Vincent in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/16/26

Education

Lawmakers tried to kill California’s online community college. Now it’s growing rapidly -- Calbright College, the state’s free online community college, is growing rapidly, despite concerns about its effectiveness. Gov. Gavin Newsom proposes tripling its annual budget. Adam Echelman Calmatters -- 3/16/26

Also

Oakland’s Ryan Coogler leads ‘Sinners’ to 4 Oscars in big night for Bay Area talent -- Even if it didn’t take home the ultimate prize, “Sinners” — and the East Bay — were big winners at the 98th Academy Awards. G. Allen Johnson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/16/26

California lawyers must soon take a yearly civility oath, prompting free speech concerns -- Starting next month, each of California’s 286,000 attorneys will have to swear each year to “strive to conduct myself at all times with dignity, courtesy and integrity” or risk losing their license to practice law. Unless, that is, the oath is found to unduly restrict freedom of speech, an argument that may find some support in the state Supreme Court, which would have the last word. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/16/26

30 tons of steel: Inside a $3.5M Palisades fire-resistant house -- Ultra-luxury architect and developer Ardie Tavangarian has built a home in Pacific Palisades designed to withstand wildfires for up to six hours. Sandra Barrera in the LA Daily News -- 3/16/26

With California’s cuts to pedestrian, bike funding, who lost out? A lot of kids -- Freeport Boulevard is the site of one of the highest-profile pedestrian crashes in Sacramento history, which maimed a 6-year-old boy and left his grandmother dead. The road — and the people who use it — are also casualties of California’s meager investments in infrastructure for people walking or biking. Ariane Lange in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/16/26

Long COVID leaves thousands of L.A. County residents sick, broke and ignored -- As others move on from the pandemic, thousands of people with long COVID remain chronically ill and disabled. Patients say they’ve been denied disability benefits, dismissed or misdiagnosed by doctors, and left to navigate profound limits on work, housing and daily life with little support. Corinne Purtill in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/16/26

The Bay Area’s ‘city of trees’ is cutting down hundreds of historic eucalyptuses -- For as long as anyone in Burlingame has been alive, the town’s main thoroughfare has been lined with eucalyptus trees. They form a silvery canopy above 2.2 miles of El Camino Real, earning the stretch a spot on the National Register of Historic Places. Lucy Hodgman in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/16/26

Chavez: As an immigrant, I’m safer in San Quentin than if paroled -- Three decades ago, I was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole in California. A lost, scared teenager, I found myself in a maximum-security prison: Pelican Bay Security Housing Unit. Edwin E. Chavez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/16/26

POTUS 47

Europe and the U.K. push back against Trump’s demands -- Several leaders reacted with alarm and apprehension on Monday to Mr. Trump’s criticism of their lack of action, with some explicitly rejecting his call to send their navies into harm’s way even as the U.S. and Israeli-led war continues to drive up the price of global energy. Michael D. Shear in the New York Times$ -- 3/16/26

Entering War’s Third Week, Trump Faces Stark Choices -- As the conflict with Iran expands and intensifies, President Trump’s options — to fight on, or to move toward declaring victory and pulling back — both carry deeply problematic consequences. David E. Sanger, Eric Schmitt, Tyler Pager, Ronen Bergman and Julian E. Barnes in the New York Times$ -- 3/16/26

Trump is eager to declare victory, but a battered Iran still has cards to play -- The U.S. and Israel crippled Iranian forces in two weeks of war, but Tehran’s ability to disrupt oil flows and its uranium stockpile complicate the push to end it. Michael Birnbaum in the Washington Post$ -- 3/16/26

Oil Industry Warns Trump Administration That Fuel Crunch Will Likely Worsen -- American oil executives delivered a bleak message to Trump officials in recent days: The energy crisis the Iran war has unleashed is likely to get worse. Collin Eaton and Benoît Morenne in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/16/26

White House Tries to Build Coalition on Iran to Address Energy Crisis -- President Trump and top aides spent the weekend framing their Iran operation as a resounding military success while imploring other countries to join their effort to resolve a worsening energy crisis related to the Strait of Hormuz. Alexander Ward, Lindsay Ellis and Robbie Gramer in the Wall Street Journal$ Sam Metz, Will Weissert, Julia Frankel, Cara Anna Associated Press Edward Wong in the New York Times$ -- 3/16/26

Nations Respond With Caution to Trump’s Call to Send Warships to Strait of Hormuz -- President Trump has urged China, Britain, France, Japan and South Korea to send warships to help reopen the waterway, even though they were not involved in the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran. Ravi Mattu in the New York Times$ -- 3/16/26

It's not just oil. Here comes Hormuz inflation -- The war with Iran is driving up more than gasoline prices. It is beginning to hit semiconductors, medical imaging, backyard gardens and even children’s party balloons. Scott Waldman Politico -- 3/16/26

Hack on U.S. Medical Company Shows Reach of Iran’s Cyber Capabilities -- Iran pulled off likely the most significant wartime cyberattack against the U.S. in history, leveraging its hacking powers to cause major disruptions at a global medical-equipment firm that struggled to bring itself back online in recent days. Dustin Volz and Peter Loftus in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/16/26