California Policy and Politics Saturday

Trump administration seeks to give away a piece of Yosemite for hotel development -- The National Park Service is considering a highly unusual land swap that would give a Las Vegas developer a small slice of Yosemite National Park, according to officials and documents shared with the Chronicle, a proposal that environmental groups and Democratic lawmakers are calling an outright theft of public lands. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Shawn Hubler and Maxine Joselow in the New York Times$ Jake Spring in the Washington Post$ -- 8/29/26

Two California titans are in an epic clash over last-minute legislation — with impacts for every Californian -- A bitter battle is playing out in the waning days of California’s legislative session, pitting two industries that profoundly impact residents — insurance companies and electric utilities — against one another. Megan Fan Munce in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/29/26

California sues Trump administration, developer over deal to walk away from Morro Bay wind power -- After the Trump administration paid California offshore wind developers to abandon their leases and pursue oil and gas development instead, the state is fighting back. Blanca Begert in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/29/26

California lawmakers move to shield the coast from Trump's oil agenda -- Lawmakers passed a bill that, if signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, would make it far more difficult for offshore oil companies to get their product to market. Noah Baustin Politico -- 8/29/26

Judge rules in Stanford Daily’s favor in First Amendment lawsuit against Trump administration -- A federal judge sided with Stanford’s student newspaper Friday in a lawsuit against the Trump administration that claimed the government violated the First Amendment by intimidating student journalists into censoring their own reporting. Sarah Brager in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Chris Cameron in the New York Times$ -- 8/29/26

Social media giants could face even stiffer penalties under California bill -- Tech giants may face steeper penalties in California in cases where their platforms are found liable for fostering anxiety, depression and other harms to children if Gov. Gavin Newsom signs a bipartisan bill that state lawmakers approved Friday. Tyler Katzenberger Politico Stephen Hobbs in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/29/26

What Meta’s $17-billion settlement revealed about the harms of social media -- Internal documents shown in court during a brief trial suggested Meta knew for years that its youngest users were the most likely to be targeted by bullies, extortionists and sexual predators. Sonja Sharp in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/29/26

ICE

Bill taxing private immigration detention facilities passes Legislature -- Assembly Bill 1633 establishes the Private Detention Facility Tax Law, which would impose an annual 25% tax on operators of private detention centers. Sofia Williams in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/29/26

New ICE data reveals which California city has become the state’s arrest epicenter -- Although they haven’t received widespread media attention, arrests in San Diego spiked from 800 in June to a new high of 1,500 in July. The city has California’s highest total of ICE arrests under the current administration, at nearly 11,500. Arrests in Los Angeles, which also saw a wave of ICE raids last summer, are also on the rise again. In July alone, ICE recorded nearly 50,000 arrests nationally and 4,300 in California, both records for Trump’s second term. Christian Leonard in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/29/26

Two U.S. deportations overturned by courts over fears of torture -- Two federal appeals court panels overturned government deportation orders in separate cases Friday – one to El Salvador, the other to Angola – and said U.S. immigration officials discounted or ignored evidence that the immigrants were likely to be tortured if returned to their homeland. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/29/26

Arellano: Racist ‘Magic Deportation Bus’ isn’t the way for Trump to keep Latino voters -- If you want proof of the widening chasm between the Trump administration and Latinos, look no further than California state Sen. Suzette Martinez Valladares and White House spokesperson Lauren Bis’ reaction to the same anti-Latino image. Gustavo Arellano in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/29/26

 

California lawmakers resurrect $7.5 billion research bond to counter federal cuts -- A multibillion dollar bond proposal that sought to fund scientific research amid federal funding cuts failed to meet the June deadline to secure its place as a statewide measure on the November ballot. Lawmakers resurrected the language just before the close of the legislative session this week, aiming now to present the measure to voters in the March 2028 primary election. Tarini Mehta in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/29/26

California lawmakers propose $125 million for Golden Gate Fields waterfront park -- California lawmakers have proposed setting aside $125 million in state funds to help transform the former Golden Gate Fields racetrack into a regional waterfront park near Berkeley. The funding would come from Proposition 4, a climate bond California voters approved in 2024. Aldo Toledo in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/29/26

California’s new attempt to help struggling newsrooms faces key test -- A new plan by California lawmakers to help fund the state’s struggling journalism organizations could advance in the coming days but faces an uncertain future. Suhauna Hussain in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/29/26

Nithya Raman’s LA mayoral bid tests her socialist ties -- Right now, the fiercest debate among Democratic Socialists of America members in Los Angeles is whether or not they’ll endorse Nithya Raman, one of their own, for mayor. Melanie Mason Politico -- 8/29/26

Wildfire

‘Do not come to Big Sur’: Wildfires shut Highway 1 at busiest time of year -- Big Sur businesses have closed their doors again as two wildfires expand along the California coast, forcing the evacuation of much of the valley and shutting down a 40-mile stretch of Highway 1 with no reopening estimate. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Iris Kwok in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/29/26

Workplace

California regulators rushed their decision on driverless trucks, Teamsters’ lawsuit says -- As self-driving vehicles spread across the country, a major California labor union is taking a stand against state regulators who say autonomous trucks are ready for the road. Caroline Petrow-Cohen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/29/26

Marketplace

Amazon is bringing drone delivery back to California -- Amazon customers in Tracy, Calif., could soon receive their packages from an autonomous drone in as little as 30 minutes. The e-commerce giant is preparing to launch its Prime Air service in Tracy as part of a broader expansion effort that will bring delivery drones to 500 cities and towns by the end of the year. Caroline Petrow-Cohen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/29/26

Housing

San Francisco’s AI boom is fueling a new wave of eviction fears -- Tenants start lining up at the Eviction Defense Collaborative offices on San Francisco’s Mission Street hours before its drop-in clinic opens at 10 a.m. Some are facing eviction due to nuisance or nonpayment of rent while others are worried about a big rent hike or an owner moving into their unit. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/29/26

Rent control fight heads to voters in two Bay Area cities -- Measure E in Redwood City would limit annual increases on qualifying buildings and add eviction protections. In San Pablo, voters will consider Measure S that would enforce a 3% cap and additional tenant protections. Stephanie Lam in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/29/26

Street

LAPD releases video of officers beating handcuffed jail inmate who later died -- The LAPD released footage of an incident that led to the death of 58-year-old Jose Carlos Hoyos-Munoz at Van Nuys Regional Jail. An LAPD spokesman said officers used force on Hoyos-Munoz after he was uncooperative and spit on them. Libor Jany in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/29/26

Also

S.F.’s Embarcadero Plaza would be renamed for Art Agnos under city plan -- Embarcadero Plaza would be renamed Art Agnos Plaza under a plan to honor the former San Francisco mayor who championed the demolition of the Embarcadero Freeway after it was damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, removing a barrier that had long divided the park space from the Ferry Building. Sam Whiting in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/29/26

These California cities have the highest concentration of each ethnicity. Many are No. 1 in the U.S. -- The Chronicle reports extensively on the demographics of California, which has often led us to examine cities with unusual concentrations of particular racial and ethnic groups. Hanna Zakharenko, Danielle Echeverria in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/29/26

Lopez: A coastal development exemption in Santa Monica? Shame on Gov. Newsom -- Gov. Gavin Newsom quietly backs a bill exempting a long-planned Santa Monica oceanfront project from Coastal Commission review. The bill would benefit Newsom donor Jeff Worthe as California marks the Coastal Act’s 50th anniversary. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/29/26

POTUS 47

President Trump loses again in bid to erase his hush money conviction -- The ruling leaves intact Trump’s 34-count felony conviction for falsifying business records tied to a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels, a historic case against a former and current president. Michael R. Sisak, Larry Neumeister Associated Press -- 8/29/26

Trump says US has entered deal with Venezuela to take control of 65 billion barrels of oil reserves -- President Donald Trump said Friday that his administration has entered a sweeping agreement with Venezuela that, if realized, could give the U.S. access to vast amounts of the South American country’s untapped oil reserves, at cost. Aamer Madhani, Collin Binkley, Regina Garcia Cano Associated Press -- 8/29/26

How DHS created a workaround to turn Guard members into immigration officers -- The Department of Homeland Security devised an unusual legal tool last year that made it possible for National Guard members to participate in immigration enforcement operations, according to an internal memo obtained by Politico. Eric Bazail-Eimil Politico -- 8/29/26

Drain on U.S. Munitions From Iran War Raises Fears Over Ability to Deter China, Russia -- The U.S. has rushed so many munitions to the Middle East to fight Iran that military planners are concerned the loss of firepower is diminishing America’s ability to defend against potential threats from China and Russia, said U.S. officials. Shelby Holliday, Michael R. Gordon, and Lara Seligman in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 8/29/26

The White House says its ballroom is 65% complete. Its documents suggest otherwise -- Publicly available appropriations data shows that as of the end of July, the White House budget office had approved $144 million in spending from an account used to pay for the East Wing and other White House projects. Even if that entire amount were spent on the East Wing, it would come to only about 24 percent of the $600 million estimated construction cost that Clark provided the White House in March. The Post has previously reported that cost estimate. Sarah Blaskey, Jonathan O'Connell, Dan Diamond and Jarrett Ley in the Washington Post$ -- 8/29/26

Republicans Are Worried About the Midterms. Trump Is Focused on His Legacy -- As Trump faces political challenges and sagging poll numbers, he is on a mission to cement his legacy. Philip Wegmann and Meridith McGraw in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 8/29/26