California Policy and Politics Sunday

Healthcare experts warn ‘people will die’ unless state steps up amid federal cuts -- Federal cuts could strip about 1.2 million Californians of Medi-Cal coverage, with health experts warning the consequences could be dire. New work requirements and eligibility checks every six months will block even qualified people from coverage, while private insurance costs are skyrocketing. Katie King in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/1/26

How could California’s proposed billionaire tax affect the Bay Area housing market? -- A proposal to tax California’s billionaires already has some members of the ultra-rich selling their mansions and moving out of state. But unless you’re hoping to score a deal on an eight-figure estate, economics and real estate agents say you shouldn’t expect the tax to cool off the Bay Area housing market much. Christian Leonard in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/1/26

‘It speaks really well for San Jose’: Mayor’s bid for governor boosts city seeking recognition to match its size -- His local supporters call the moderate Democrat “courageous,” saying he has made the city safer and cleaner Julia Prodis Sulek in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 2/1/26

How California governor candidates say they will tackle environmental issues -- Affordability consistently tops the list of issues that California voters care about. And according to one environmental group, climate issues also rank up there. In fact, as far as they’re concerned, climate solutions and affordability go hand-in-hand. Linh Tat and Kaitlyn Schallhorn in the Orange County Register$ -- 2/1/26

Barabak: Meet the un-Gavin. Kentucky’s governor sees a different way to the White House -- Andy Beshear’s popularity as a Democratic governor in a very red state makes him stand out in the potential 2028 field. Unlike California’s governor, he picks his shots at Trump, saying voters want a healer and not a replica of the president. Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/1/26

Epstein files reveal emails between Ghislaine Maxwell, L.A. Olympics boss Casey Wasserman. He expresses regret -- The latest cache of investigative files on Jeffrey Epstein released Friday include personal emails exchanged more than 20 years ago between Casey Wasserman, chairman of the LA28 Olympics organizing committee, and convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former romantic partner. Clara Harter in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/1/26

Demonstrations against ICE tactics continue in L.A. -- Damian Kevitt spent Saturday afternoon on a 10-mile bike ride with hundreds of other cyclists, a sticker displaying Alex Pretti’s photo stuck to his jersey. “These are just cyclists, clubs, bike shops and individuals who have come together and said, ‘Hey, Alex was one of us,’” said Kevitt, while riding on Broadway in Santa Monica. “He was an ICU nurse, he loved the outdoors, he loved cyclists and he loved cycling.” Alene Tchekmedyian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/1/26

LAPD’s relationship with federal authorities under scrutiny as criticism of ICE grows -- After the recent shootings of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis, some police chiefs have joined the mounting criticism of the Trump administration’s immigration blitz. One voice missing from the fray: LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell. Libor Jany in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/1/26

Trust in ICE plummets, even when agents target serious criminals -- Community protests and rapid mobilizations now accompany immigration enforcement operations across the nation, making targeted arrests of actual criminals increasingly difficult. ICE promised to target violent criminals. An October analysis by the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, found that, nationwide, 5% of detainees from Oct. 1 to Nov. 15 had been convicted of violent crime. Brittny Mejia and Ruben Vives in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/1/26

As ICE raids American cities, artists fight back before the Grammys with ‘More teeth ... more rage’ -- Just an hour after ICE agents killed Minneapolis nurse Alex Pretti on Jan. 24, and days after Renee Good’s similar slaying nearby, Allen joined a protest on Nicollet Avenue. As Allen retreated from a line of ICE agents, he said they shot him in the back with a projectile. A widely circulated video shows the agents tackling and pinning him to ground. August Brown in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/1/26

‘For All for Alex’: S.F. cyclists among thousands worldwide memorializing man killed by agents -- Hundreds of San Francisco bicyclists joined riders across the country Saturday to memorialize Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse and avid mountain biker who was shot dead by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis one week earlier. Jennifer Gollan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/1/26

Photos: Hundreds of S.F. protesters form banner with message to ICE -- Hundreds of protesters took to San Francisco’s Ocean Beach on Saturday to create a piece of human art in response to recent fatal shootings by immigration agents in Minneapolis. Warren Pederson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/1/26

Amid immigration raids, a coalition of U.S. leaders gather in L.A. to share resistance strategies -- On a warm Friday morning, a group of organizers, academics and public officials stood in MacArthur Park, peering at an empty soccer field. Ruben Vives in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/1/26

Planned Parenthood, reproductive healthcare could receive $90 million in new state funding -- California lawmakers will consider bolstering funding for Planned Parenthood and other providers of reproductive health with a one-time infusion of $90 million, leaders of the state Legislature announced Friday. Katie King in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/1/26

Austin Beutner’s daughter found beside a highway in Palmdale the night she died -- Los Angeles mayoral candidate Austin Beutner’s daughter was found by the side of a highway in Palmdale the night she died, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Richard Winton and David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/1/26

Workplace

S.F. teachers overwhelmingly authorize their first strike in a half-century -- Though any potential walkout would be more than a week away, teachers and the San Francisco Unified School District remain stuck at the negotiating table over high turnover, pay and benefits, and other issues after nearly a year of bargaining, union officials said. St. John Barned-Smith, Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/1/26

Water

Fighting to survive, an Altadena water company is charging a new ‘fire recovery fee’ -- Small water companies in Altadena are struggling since the Eaton fire wiped out customers’ homes and sharply cut what they collect from bills. Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/1/26

Measles

Public Health Department confirms first 2026 measles case in Los Angeles County -- Los Angeles County confirmed its first measles case of 2026 in a resident who recently traveled internationally. Public Health officials are identifying contacts and urging residents to verify vaccination status as cases surge nationwide. Lisa Boone in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/1/26

Street

Man sentenced for throwing Molotov cocktail at deputies during protest against immigration raids -- A man was sentenced four years in federal prison Friday after he admitted to lighting a Molotov cocktail and throwing it at Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies during a protest last year against immigration raids. Alene Tchekmedyian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/1/26

Also

Ex-Google engineer convicted of stealing AI trade secrets to benefit China -- A federal jury on Thursday convicted Linwei Ding, 38, of seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of theft of trade secrets after an 11-day trial in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California. Alex Wigglesworth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/1/26

Dream of owning a flying car? This California company is already selling them -- A future with flying cars is no longer science fiction — all you need to order your own is about $200,000 and some hope and patience. Caroline Petrow-Cohen, Nic Coury in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/1/26

POTUS 47

New message from top Democrats: The U.S. Justice Department can’t be trusted -- “Let’s be really clear: We can’t trust anything the DOJ does. The DOJ is corrupt. They’re corrupt on every major issue in front of this country,” Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach), ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, said Friday at a news conference in his district. Kevin Rector, Seema Mehta and Ana Ceballos in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/1/26

Trump officials have tried to justify ICE shootings. Is it backfiring in court? -- Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other officials have defended actions by ICE agents with claims that were later contradicted by video evidence. Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles have lost five cases involving charges against activists or protesters, including one that relied on testimony from Border Patrol Cmdr. Greg Bovino. James Queally and Brittny Mejia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/1/26

Trump wants to build a 250-foot-tall arch, dwarfing the Lincoln Memorial -- The White House stands about 70 feet tall. The Lincoln Memorial, roughly 100 feet. The triumphal arch President Donald Trump wants to build would eclipse both if he gets his wish. Dan Diamond, Hannah Dormido and Tim Meko in the Washington Post$ -- 2/1/26

‘Spy Sheikh’ Bought Secret Stake in Trump Company -- $500 million investment for 49% of World Liberty came months before U.A.E. won access to tightly guarded American AI chips. Sam Kessler, Rebecca Ballhaus, Eliot Brown, Angus Berwick, Annie Ng in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 2/1/26

Federal Courts Undercut Trump’s Mass Deportation Campaign -- In case after case, federal judges have found that the Trump administration has been ignoring longstanding legal interpretations that mandate the release of many people who are taken into immigration custody if they post a bond. Miriam Jordan and Devlin Barrett in the New York Times$ -- 2/1/26

Judge ordered 5-year-old released, but data shows ICE is detaining more kids -- As family detentions spike, the Trump administration is increasingly ensnaring the youngest, and most vulnerable, lawyers and advocates say. Arelis R. Hernández and María Luisa Paúl in the Washington Post$ -- 2/1/26