California Policy and Politics Wednesday

Judge restricts Border Patrol in California: ‘You just can’t walk up to people with brown skin’ -- ‘You just can’t walk up to people with brown skin and say give me your papers,’ a federal judge told Border Patrol attorneys at a hearing challenging recent immigration sweeps. Sergio Olmos and Wendy Fry CalMatters -- Ko Lyn Cheang in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Rachel Uranga in the Los Angeles Times$ Melissa Montalvo in the Fresno Bee$ Kate Selig in the New York Times$ -- 4/30/25

Trump Administration Considers Immigration Detention on Bay Area Military Base, Records Show -- The Trump administration is looking to build an immigration detention facility at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California, and pushing to speed up a review process, according to internal government communications obtained by KQED. Tyche Hendricks KQED -- 4/30/25

California sent investigators to ICE facilities. They found more detainees, and health care gaps -- A California law empowers state investigators to check on conditions at ICE detention centers. A new report raises concerns about health care inside them. Wendy Fry CalMatters Teri Figueroa in the Orange County Register$ -- 4/30/25

100 days in, California is suing Trump at almost double the pace of his first term -- In its first hundred days, through a series of executive orders, the Trump administration has reimagined this country’s social contract with its citizens. Nigel Duara CalMatters -- 4/30/25

A Trump-appointed Californian shakes up civil rights unit at the Justice Department -- Democrats are demanding answers about a shifting work focus, diminished staffing and demands of Trump loyalty within the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, including from the Californian at its helm. Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/25

Major Canadian airline cuts San Francisco flights as Trump backlash intensifies -- Air Canada is trimming its planned winter capacity between Montreal and San Francisco, the latest sign of waning Canadian interest in U.S. travel as political tensions mount and demand falters. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/30/25

West Coast Ports Brace for China Tariffs to Dent Import Volume Within Days -- U.S. retailers and manufacturers, faced with sky-high tariffs on Chinese goods, are pausing and reducing shipments from China. The pullback is expected to hit West Coast ports within days. Danielle Kaye in the New York Times$ -- 4/30/25

S.F., Santa Clara sue Trump over DOGE-led firings of federal workers -- San Francisco is among more than two dozen local governments, nonprofits and labor unions that sued the Trump administration Monday over sweeping reductions to the federal workforce. Anna Bauman, Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/30/25

California, other states sue Trump administration to block cuts to AmeriCorps -- California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said the cuts threaten critical services, and the Trump administration is breaking the law by axing a program funded by Congress. Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/25

Newsom says California is doing ‘DOGE but better’ in jab at Musk -- Gov. Gavin Newsom announced new steps in his plans to use artificial intelligence to boost “government efficiency,” delivering a rebuke of Elon Musk’s dramatic cost-slashing methods as the tech mogul takes a step back from Washington, and California challenges federal cuts in court. Tyler Katzenberger Politico -- 4/30/25

Barabak: She was wrongly snagged by Trump’s word police. Now her medical research is down the drain -- Nisha Acharya, an eye doctor and UC San Francisco professor, was at her campus clinic tending patients when a surprising email arrived. Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/25

In a break from progressives, Newsom says soliciting older minors for sex should be a felony -- Gov. Gavin Newsom spoke out Tuesday in support of legislation that sought to increase the punishment to a felony for soliciting a 16- or 17-year-old for sex in California after Democrats in the state Assembly watered down the bill. Taryn Luna in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/25

L.A. County approves $4-billion sex abuse settlement, largest in U.S. history -- The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the largest sex abuse settlement in U.S. history on Tuesday, agreeing to pay $4 billion to victims abused as children in county-run juvenile facilities and foster homes. Rebecca Ellis in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/30/25

California’s elections chief pushes back against GOP efforts to limit voting rights -- President Donald Trump wants California to adopt voter identification requirements, but he faces intense opposition from top Democrats in the state, including the state’s top elections official. Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/30/25

S.F. office values may not recover for another decade as tax appeals hit new high -- With many buildings vacant, San Francisco saw property tax appeals explode from 1,400 in the 2020 fiscal year to 9,000 in the current fiscal year. As owners seek lower tax bills, the city’s tax revenue is expected to suffer. Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/30/25

Survey finds a stunning level of agreement on a specific Supreme Court reform -- After revelations of lavish gifts to several U.S. Supreme Court justices, the court finally adopted a code of ethics for its members in 2023. But according to a new report Tuesday, nearly all of the public believes the code has a serious flaw: No one has been designated to enforce it. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/30/25

Walters: When California politicians ignore policy risks, failure and scandal often result -- California’s governors and legislators have a very bad habit of enacting major programs and projects without fully exploring their downside risks. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 4/30/25

Workplace

Oakland teachers to strike Thursday, jacking up tension in the troubled district -- The Oakland teachers union announced a one-day strike set for Thursday, saying the district has “refused to provide basic financial transparency” and keep cuts away from schools. Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/30/25

Tech companies chop hundreds of Bay Area jobs as layoffs persist -- Tech companies have chopped hundreds of Bay Area jobs in fresh rounds of staffing reductions that didn’t include any high-profile cutbacks that some of the industry’s titans had previously announced. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/30/25

A Times investigation: LAFD union head made $540,000 in a year, with huge overtime payouts -- Long before the devastating fire in Pacific Palisades, leaders of the Los Angeles Fire Department’s labor union complained that the agency did not have enough money to keep the city safe. Alene Tchekmedyian and Paul Pringle in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/25

L.A. County experiences major disruptions on first day of strike -- Tens of thousands of Los Angeles County workers walked off their jobs and onto picket lines Tuesday, amid what their union described as a failure by the county to fairly bargain for a new contract. Rebecca Ellis in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/25

Bay Area video game giant lays off hundreds, cancels new ‘Titanfall’ game -- Electronic Arts has laid off between 300 and 400 employees and canceled a long-rumored game in the “Titanfall” universe, marking the latest in a string of cutbacks by the Bay Area video game publisher. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/30/25

In these 4 Bay Area counties, being ‘low-income’ means earning $100K a year -- According to the latest state eligibility requirements for affordable housing, a single renter making up to $109,700 a year in San Mateo, Marin or San Francisco counties qualifies as having a low income. In Santa Clara County, the limit is $111,700. And in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, it’s $87,550. Ethan Varian in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/30/25

Wildfire

Welcome to the first fire-resistant neighborhood. Now what about the rest of California? -- Dixon Trail is the first purpose-built “wildfire resilient neighborhood” in the United States. Making that a reality for the millions of Californians who already live in harm’s way is a daunting and costly challenge that lawmakers are only just beginning to grapple with. Ben Christopher CalMatters -- 4/30/25

Southern California Edison likely to incur ‘material losses’ related to Eaton fire, executive says -- The chief executive of Southern California Edison’s parent company said on Tuesday that the company was likely to suffer “material losses” related to the deadly Eaton fire, which ignited on Jan. 7 and burned more than 14,000 acres. Caroline Petrow-Cohen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/25

Education

Another California school board takes aim at transgender athletes -- Redlands Unified school board can’t legally ban transgender athletes, but a majority of its board voted for a resolution opposing them anyway. Deborah Brennan CalMatters -- 4/30/25

Mark Zuckerberg is worth billions. Why is his nonprofit school closing due to lack of funding? -- Two of the richest people in the world made a slew of promises to low-income families when they opened a nonprofit school in East Palo Alto in 2016. Jill Tucker, Anna Bauman, Jessica Flores in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/30/25

The ‘science of reading’ won’t be required in California schools, at least for now -- The original proposal would have mandated phonics instruction in K-12 classrooms. The latest version makes that optional. Carolyn Jones CalMatters -- 4/30/25

Renewed push to reshape ethnic studies with oversight and new standards -- Legislation follows complaints and lawsuits alleging some districts' instruction fosters antisemitism. John Fensterwald EdSource -- 4/30/25

Quake Risk

Monster quake could sink swath of California, dramatically heightening flood risk, study says -- A long-feared monster earthquake off California, Oregon and Washington could cause some coastal areas to sink by more than 6 feet, dramatically heightening the risk of flooding and radically reshaping the region with little to no warning. Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/25

Water

State will deliver more water to Southern California this year via State Water Project -- Southern California cities can expect to receive 50% of their full water allotments this year from the aqueducts of the State Water Project, up from 40% last month, as runoff from this year’s ample snowpack continues to fill reservoirs in Northern California. Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/25

Street

LAPD gets watchdog who fought for immigrants as Trump vows to ‘unleash’ local cops -- Matthew Barragan comes from a Central Valley immigrant family and cut his teeth defending the rights of indigent farmworkers facing deportation. Now he’s responsible for civilian oversight of the LAPD. Libor Jany in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/25

Also

Marvel actor says he ‘died’ in Tahoe accident: ‘I could see my lifetime’ -- Jeremy Renner may have survived his harrowing Lake Tahoe snowplow accident in 2023, but the actor recently revealed that he briefly died while waiting for paramedics to arrive at the scene. Zara Irshad in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/30/25

‘Kobe is L.A.’ Luka Doncic donates $5,000 to restore vandalized Kobe and Gianna Bryant mural -- The first step toward restoring a Kobe and Gianna Bryant mural that was tagged in downtown Los Angeles has already begun, less than a day after news broke that the artwork had been vandalized. Joseph Serna and Nathan Solis in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/25

POTUS 47

U.S. Economy Contracts at 0.3% Rate in First Quarter -- The reading fell short of the 0.4% growth that economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected. Harriet Torry in the Wall Street Journal Abha Bhattarai in the Washington Post$ -- 4/30/25

‘Hostile and political act’: White House clashes with Amazon over idea to disclose tariff costs -- The White House on Tuesday blasted Amazon over a proposal to show the cost of President Trump’s tariffs next to the price of some products on its e-commerce site. Queenie Wong in the Los Angeles Times$ Sebastian Herrera in the Wall Street Journal -- 4/30/25

Trump Grants Carmakers Some Relief From His Punishing Tariffs -- Most levies on imported cars and car parts will remain in place, but automakers have secured some relaxation of the trade policy. Ana Swanson and Jack Ewing in the New York Times$ -- 4/30/25

‘It’s a huge loss’: Trump administration dismisses scientists preparing climate report -- The Trump administration dismissed more than 400 experts who had started work on the latest National Climate Assessment report, saying the scope of the report was being reevaluated. One scientist said: “Climate change puts us all at risk, and we all need this vital information to help prepare.” Ian James and Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/25

It was supposed to be a tax and border bill. It could also hand Trump vast new executive powers -- It was widely expected that congressional Republicans would use the GOP’s sweeping domestic policy bill to cut taxes, boost border security and slash federal spending. They’re also proposing to hand President Donald Trump a broad new swath of executive power. Hailey Fuchs and Mia McCarthy Politico -- 4/30/25

Behind Trump’s Deal to Deport Venezuelans to El Salvador’s Most Feared Prison -- New details deepen questions about the deportations, showing that El Salvador’s president pressed for assurances that the migrants were really members of the Tren de Aragua gang. Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Hamed Aleaziz, Alan Feuer, Devlin Barrett, Julie Turkewitz, Jonathan Swan, Maggie Haberman and Annie Correal in the New York Times$ -- 4/30/25

A Mother and Father Were Deported. What Happened to Their Toddler? -- The Trump administration sent the mother of a 2-year-old to Venezuela and the father to a Salvadoran prison. Their daughter remains somewhere in the United States. Julie Turkewitz and Isayen Herrera in the New York Times$ -- 4/30/25