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California Policy and Politics Tuesday
Trump administration targeted California and other blue states for clean energy cuts -- Hundreds of clean energy projects are in limbo after court filings revealed that when the Trump administration canceled $7.6 billion in clean energy grants last year, it was based solely on states’ political identity, a move legal scholars call unprecedented and potentially unconstitutional discrimination against voters in states that opposed Trump. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/28/26
Uncertainty looms over homeless funds as feds and local agency go blow for blow -- As HUD and L.A.’s homeless authority fight over who should manage federal dollars, millions in homelessness funds are stuck in limbo. Domestic violence and homeless programs across L.A. are spending promised grants without signed contracts, contemplating cuts as they face uncertainty about reimbursement. Audrey McGlinchy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/28/26
‘Pretty sure he’s wet:’ Immigration agents used racial slurs during LA sweeps, court records show -- Federal immigration agents used racial slurs, including “wet” and “tonks,” to identify people to target while sweeping through Los Angeles last year, according to text messages cited in a new court filing asking a federal judge there to bar agents from racial profiling. Sergio Olmos and Wendy Fry Calmatters -- 7/28/26
‘Nightmarish’: Report exposes medical failures at California ICE detention center -- A court-appointed doctor charged with investigating the standard of medical care at California's largest ICE detention center issued a searing indictment of the facility’s health care system in a report released Monday, opening the way for litigation to continue. Ko Lyn Cheang in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/28/26
Dodgers, Lakers owner’s financial empire reportedly a target of federal loan fraud investigation -- Federal prosecutors and securities regulators are investigating Dodgers and Lakers owner Mark Walter’s insurance empire over $16 billion in undisclosed loans to his own companies. Laurence Darmiento in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/28/26
A California lawmaker wants to crack down on paid influencers and AI campaign ads -- A pair of bills introduced by Sen. Adam Schiff on Monday seek to set stricter boundaries around AI-generated campaign ads, and paid posts from influencers supporting specific political candidates. Both means of promoting candidates — or discrediting competitors — have become increasingly common. Sara DiNatale in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/28/26
Padilla introduces a new bill to counter Trump’s ‘attacks’ on federal elections -- The bill, called the Stop Harassment and Intimidation in Elections through Legal Defenses (SHIELD) Our Elections Act, would give state attorneys general and voters a new pathway to enforce federal anti-election interference laws. It would also extend the time limit for bringing federal criminal prosecutions of these laws from five to nine years. Alula Alderson in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/28/26
California House Republicans ask Trump administration to block state’s new tax -- California House Republicans are asking the Trump administration to prevent Democratic state leaders from implementing a new tax on health insurers. Mathew Miranda in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/28/26
Workplace
Amazon closes S.F. AI lab, lays off 1,100 Florida warehouse workers -- The e-commerce giant shuttered its lab, which had been seeking to achieve artificial general intelligence, the hypothetical breakthrough in which a computer could match a human in intellect, according to the Information. The team had a peak of around 80 people but dozens had already left. Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/28/26
California pension ruling limits how many vacation hours workers can count for retirement -- A new California Supreme Court ruling on retirement pay for public employees centered on a small amount of money — just one week’s salary for a retired attorney — but it had the potential to be a much costlier decision for government agencies and taxpayers. Adam Ashton Calmatters -- 7/28/26
Housing
This Bay Area city could become a blueprint for turning empty offices into housing -- Across the Bay Area’s major cities, developers looking to turn empty office buildings into homes are mostly trying to save what’s already there — gutting downtown high-rises and rebuilding them as apartments. But San Ramon is taking a different approach: tearing down its office parks and starting over. Sarah Ravani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/28/26
Waymo
San Francisco mayor backs national robotaxi rules after Waymo meltdowns -- The City by the Bay is taking its robotaxi worries to Washington after a series of Waymo meltdowns disrupted traffic and prompted some in the tech-industry town to start to sour on the self-driving cars they once embraced. Chase DiFeliciantonio Politico -- 7/28/26
CalFresh
‘It’s like jumping through hoops’: CalFresh cuts push L.A. families and farmers to the brink -- Since HR 1, also known as the “Big Beautiful Bill,” was signed into law last year, thousands of L.A. households — including immigrants and refugees — have lost or reduced EBT benefits. Food banks, local farmers and community hubs are straining to meet surging demand as looming 2026 cuts shifting more CalFresh costs to states threaten deeper hunger and economic fallout. Nava Rawls in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/28/26
Education
Sonoma State eliminated athletics. Now the Seawolves are coming back -- A year after eliminating its athletic department, Sonoma State University announced plans to bring back athletics in fall 2027, a move administrators hope will help reverse what has been the steepest enrollment decline in the California State University system. Connor Letourneau in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/28/26
Also
Dramatic video shows teenage lifeguard rescue boy from violent waves at Santa Cruz beach -- Swimmers filled the water Saturday afternoon at Seabright State Beach in Santa Cruz. Then, suddenly, the waves began to surge violently, hitting the shore with thunderous strength. One young boy was caught up in the surf. Brooke Park in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/28/26
California sailor says he survived month adrift after mast snapped on voyage to Hawaii -- A California sailor was rescued from the Pacific Ocean after spending about a month aboard a disabled sailboat, saying he improvised repairs and struggled to find enough water after his mast broke during a solo voyage to Hawaii. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/28/26
A California Beach City Struggles to Cope With Rowdy Outsiders -- More than 400 people were arrested in Newport Beach on the July 4 weekend after a social media “takeover” got out of hand. Now the city is trying to figure out how to stop it from happening again. Jill Cowan in the New York Times$ -- 7/28/26
Former old-growth sawmill site next to Redwood National Park restored and transferred to tribe -- The former site of an aging lumber mill that for decades sawed up old-growth redwood trees — some more than 2,000 years old — on the edges of Redwood National Park will be reborn Tuesday in a unique conservation deal between a Bay Area environmental group and California’s largest native tribe. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/28/26
POTUS 47
Trump lawyer urges Supreme Court to allow order targeting mail-in voting before midterms -- Solicitor Gen. D. John Sauer filed an emergency appeal and said judges in Boston had wrongly intervened too soon. The justices asked for a response from the 23 Democratic states by Aug. 3. David G. Savage in the Los Angeles Times$ Emilio Perez Ibarguen Politico James Romoser and Louise Radnofsky in the Wall Street Journal$ Abbie VanSickle in the New York Times$ -- 7/28/26
Why Iran Is in No Rush to Return to Talks With United States -- Amid a reprieve in the fighting, Iran’s leaders are betting that they can endure more pain than President Trump and have leverage over the Strait of Hormuz, analysts say. Yeganeh Torbati in the New York Times$ -- 7/28/26
Trump administration’s revision of Iran war casualties ‘huge disrespect’, say veterans -- A controversial move by the Pentagon to reclassify casualties in the Iran war is being taken by US military veterans as a sign of disrespect for the dead. “It’s such a huge disrespect for the families,” said Michael E Smith, a retired US rear admiral and the founder of National Security Leaders for America. “To claim that they weren’t killed as a result of the war – oh, it was just overseas operations – is just ludicrous.” George Chidi in The Guardian -- 7/28/26
California Policy and Politics Monday
DOJ moves to drop case against California labor leader -- In a Monday morning filing, the Justice Department moved to dismiss its indictment against SEIU-United Service Workers West President David Huerta, who was arrested last summer as he participated in a demonstration against Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Los Angeles. Jeremy B. White Politico Brittny Mejia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/27/26
‘Significant flea infestation’ closes popular Marin playground in town that bans pesticides -- A popular Marin County playground has temporarily closed because of a “significant flea infestation,” leaving Fairfax officials to determine how to eliminate the pests without violating the town’s prohibition on pesticides on public property. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/27/26
California earthquake expert gives staggering cost estimate for Big One: $1 trillion -- Ahmed Elbanna, the director of the Statewide California Earthquake Center, told the state’s Seismic Safety Commission in April that a 7.8-magnitude earthquake rupturing from Imperial to Los Angeles County would likely cause $500 billion in damage at a minimum — and possibly double that. Brooke Park in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/27/26
Trump administration admits grants for clean energy were canceled based on politics -- The Trump administration has acknowledged in court documents that it canceled $7.6 billion in grants for hundreds of clean energy projects “based solely on the political identity of the grant recipient’s state” — in this case, 16 states that voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. Matthew Daly Associated Press -- 7/27/26
Padilla introduces a new bill to counter Trump’s ‘attacks’ on federal elections -- The bill, called the Stop Harassment and Intimidation in Elections through Legal Defenses (SHIELD) Our Elections Act, would give state attorneys general and voters new pathway to enforce federal anti-election interference laws. Alula Alderson in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/27/26
Wildfire forces evacuations in Yosemite gateway town -- The Dove Fire was reported just before 3 p.m. in the hills southwest of downtown Sonora and grew to 166 acres by 4:35 p.m., according to Cal Fire. But the fire had slowed from a dangerous rate of spread to a moderate speed by 5:19 p.m. and was holding within lines built to slow it down. Anthony Edwards, Anna Bauman in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/27/26
California bill would let abuse victims use trauma as legal defense for violent crime -- For the fourth year in a row, California lawmakers are weighing whether to give violent criminals the legal right to cite abuse in their legal defense. Ryan Sabalow Calmatters -- 7/27/26
Prop. 43 would make some local taxes harder to pass. What’s at stake in the Bay Area? -- Known as Proposition 43, the measure would set the threshold to impose or extend a tax earmarked for specific purposes at a two-thirds vote. Grace Hase in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/27/26
Why California prisons are using their own employees as human fire alarms -- California spends tens of millions dollars every year paying prison employees to look for smoke and fire. Replacing fire alarms costs much more. Cayla Mihalovich Calmatters -- 7/27/26
ICE
Deportation rate of California children surges during Trump’s immigration crackdown -- More than 650 children in California have been detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during Trump’s second term. Some were swept up in community ICE raids, and many have been deported, according to an EdSource analysis of ICE records available through March 10. Emma Gallegos EdSource -- 7/27/26
Day laborers come together at a convention to process a year and a half of ICE raids -- Carlos wasn’t surprised when immigration agents cornered him at a Home Depot in Los Angeles last summer. His luck had finally run out, he thought. Itzel Luna in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/27/26
ICE detentions spiked in June, targeting immigrants with no criminal records, new data show -- Immigrants without criminal records make up 74% of the average daily population in California detention centers and 79% nationwide, according to data released this week by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The data shed light on how immigration detention has ebbed and flowed so far in 2026. Itzel Luna in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/27/26
Marketplace
Wine grape growers consider agave as industry searches for a way forward -- As the California wine industry faces an oversaturated market due to a steep dropoff in consumer demand, some wine grape farmers are considering growing agave to produce what is known in the United States as “agave spirits.” Lizzie Kane in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/27/26
Workplace
Big Companies Are Starting to Hire Again, Defying Predictions of AI Wipeout -- After a year of holding back on new hires, companies from tech and transportation to defense now say they need more people to work alongside AI Chip Cutter in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 7/27/26
Hollywood’s open secret: It’s battling AI — and already addicted to it -- Although few places are better than Hollywood at crafting a narrative and concealing what happens off-frame, a Los Angeles Times survey of job postings sheds light on what is happening offstage. Nilesh Christopher in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/27/26
Employers Fear Labor Shortage as Many Immigrants Lose Protected Status -- A recent Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for the Trump administration to end a humanitarian program that has allowed about one million immigrants to work legally in the U.S. Miriam Jordan and Madeleine Ngo in the New York Times$ -- 7/27/26
AI
Nvidia, Other Tech Giants Launch AI Defense Alliance Following OpenAI Hacking Incident -- The initiative, dubbed the Open Secure AI Alliance, is developing open-source programs to give companies access to tools to help fend off AI cyberattacks. Members of the group include SpaceX, Microsoft MSFT, Palantir and dozens of others. Joseph De Avila in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 7/27/26
Silicon Valley Splits Over Closing the Borders to Chinese A.I. -- Anthropic and OpenAI are clashing with the rest of the tech industry over whether “open-source” models from China should be freely available or restricted. Mike Isaac, Kate Conger, Ana Swanson and Meaghan Tobin in the New York Times$ -- 7/27/26
POTUS 47
Trump Seems Trapped by Iran War, Even as He Wields the World’s Biggest Hammer -- A president who thought there were no limits to his power has discovered several, leaving him more frustrated and erratic. David E. Sanger in the New York Times$ -- 7/27/26
Trump wants to give U.S.-Iran talks ‘some space’ as he weighs escalation, aide says -- Over the weekend, the U.S. military halted its bombing raids on Iran after 13 straight days of heavy strikes and warnings of even more aggressive attacks. Sammy Westfall and Suzan Haidamous in the Washington Post$ -- 7/27/26
Poll: Even Trump voters aren’t very impressed by the GOP’s tax overhaul -- Only a quarter of them believe the working class got substantial breaks from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signaling how low public opinion is among Republicans’ own base. Bernie Becker Politico -- 7/27/26
67 boat strikes. 221 dead. The cocaine hasn’t slowed, officials report -- The president says Operation Southern Spear has virtually ended drug trafficking by sea. Pentagon and DEA analysts have concluded otherwise. Alex Horton, Terrence McCoy, Samantha Schmidt and Dylan Moriarty Politico -- 7/27/26
Pentagon reports more than 600 Iran war casualties in quiet database update -- The Pentagon updated its official war casualty database over the weekend, adding more than 140 wounded service members. The Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) also introduced a new casualty category labeled “Overseas Operations” for personnel killed and wounded “starting July 7”. Marina Dunbar in The Guardian -- 7/27/26