California Policy and Politics Sunday

A renewed threat to JPL as the Trump administration tries again to cut NASA -- NASA recaptured the world’s attention with Artemis II, which took astronauts to the moon and back for the first time in half a century. But the agency’s scientific projects could again be under threat as the Trump administration makes a renewed push to drastically cut their funding — including at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Justine McDaniel in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/19/26

Ordered free, still locked up: Judges fume as Trump administration holds ICE detainees -- Federal immigration officials had once again flouted his authority by keeping a man locked up in a California City detention center after Nunley ordered him released. When he was finally set free, the man was booted onto the street with no passport, driver’s license or other personal effects. The judge’s demand that the items be returned were met with silence. Sonja Sharp in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/19/26

California ICE shooting: Family says detainee bounced through jails, hindering recovery -- Relatives of a 36-year-old man shot by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers this month accused the agency of shuttling him through a slew of jails over a four-day period, actions they said endangered his health and prevented him from speaking to an attorney. St. John Barned-Smith in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/19/26

Eric Swalwell Thought He Was Untouchable — Until He Wasn’t -- They describe a man with considerable talents, including a dogged work ethic, a natural camera presence fit for cable news and persuasion skills honed from his early days as a prosecutor. He projected a certainty that bordered on invincibility — and in some cases, imbued that sense in others. Melanie Mason, Jeremy B. White, Daniel Lippman and Riley Rogerson Politico -- 4/19/26

Money is pouring into the race to succeed Nancy Pelosi. Here’s who has the most -- For the first time since 1987, San Francisco voters are faced with an open seat for Congress with the imminent departure of Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi. Hanna Zakharenko and Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/19/26

Workplace

California’s gas prices push Uber and Lyft drivers off the road -- While Uber and Lyft drivers have concocted clever ways to cut gas consumption, they say that without some relief they will be forced to leave the ride-hailing business. Queenie Wong in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/19/26

How high gas prices have given used EV sales a jump start -- As gas prices soared in California last month, Irvine resident Marc Tan realized his Mercedes SUV was getting too expensive to refuel. Caroline Petrow-Cohen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/19/26

California eases plan to ban most plants within 5 feet of homes in wildfire zones -- And for nearly six years, as the wildfire crisis continued to unfold, a little-known state agency has been trying to roll out rules meant to make homes safer — and potentially transform the look and feel of neighborhoods in the most fire-prone areas of California. Julie Johnson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/19/26

Bay Area construction company illegally polluted river, lawsuit alleges -- A huge quarry owned by one of the Bay Area’s most prominent construction companies is illegally pumping polluted water into a river that flows into the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, according to a lawsuit filed this week in federal court in San Jose. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/19/26

Homeless

‘Where are we gonna go?’ A long-running homeless services hub would get the axe in mayor’s proposed budget -- The Neil Good Day Center, run by Father Joe's Villages, connects thousands of unhoused people to services each year. Kelly Davis, Kristen Taketa in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 4/19/26

Street

Mayor Bass orders extra police patrols after rash of home burglaries in the Valley -- Police say organized burglary crews from South L.A. and South America are systematically targeting homes for luxury goods and pre-surveilling properties with hidden cameras. Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/19/26

Also

Bay Area scientists honored at the ‘Oscars of Science’ for math and physics -- Researchers from Stanford and UC Berkeley are being celebrated like celebrities for advancing mathematics and developing strategies to find a hypothetical particle. Chase Hunter in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/19/26

S.F. marks 1906 earthquake anniversary with early morning sirens, vintage attire -- Before dawn, San Francisco’s streets seemed to ripple. Brick walls collapsed, crushing horses and deliverymen. Church bells clanged as steeples swayed. On April 18, 1906, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake, dozens of aftershocks and the fires that followed killed 3,000 people, destroying some 60,000 buildings and leaving at least 200,000 homeless. Brooke Park in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/19/26

Lopez: She’s a Hollywood housekeeper with a side job: cleaning the trashed streets of her own neighborhood -- The first stop on Sabine Phillips’ three-hour inspection of her neighborhood was at Fountain Avenue and St. Andrew’s Place, where detached pieces of a sofa had been plopped onto the sidewalk as if this were an outdoor living room. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/19/26

The Must-Have Item in Silicon Valley Is a $178 Sweater With a CEO’s Face -- Leaders at companies from Nvidia to Palantir are now driving fashion, signaling a new era of the cult of the founder. Robbie Whelan in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 4/19/26

POTUS 47

Iran Declares Strait of Hormuz Closed Again as Ships Report Attacks -- Conditions in the Strait of Hormuz remained volatile early Sunday after Iran said it was once again closing the vital waterway and two ships reported coming under attack. Lynsey Chutel, Euan Ward, Leily Nikounazar and Somini Sengupta in the New York Times$ Susannah George in the Washington Post$ -- 4/19/26

Trump says Iran talks will resume, threatens power plants and bridges if no deal -- The president accused Iran of violating the ceasefire as ships reported attacks in the Strait of Hormuz but said U.S. representatives would be back at the table this week. Sammy Westfall and Mariana Alfaro in the Washington Post$ -- 4/19/26

Behind Trump’s Public Bravado on the War, He Grapples With His Own Fears -- The president’s impulsive style has never before been tested during a sustained military conflict; ruminating on Jimmy Carter. Josh Dawsey and Annie Linskey in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 4/19/26

Iran’s Hard-Liners Flex Their Muscle With a U-Turn Over Hormuz -- Iran’s quick reversal of the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz has laid bare a rift between the country’s political leaders and the military hard-liners who have deepened their hold on the government since the war began. Benoit Faucon in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 4/19/26

For Iran, Flexing Control Over Waterway Is New Deterrent -- Iran’s government could emerge from the conflict with a blueprint to keep adversaries at bay, regardless of any restrictions on its nuclear program. Mark Mazzetti, Adam Entous and Julian E. Barnes in the New York Times$ -- 4/19/26