California Policy and Politics Thursday

Bonta co-leads coalition opposing new Trump administration tariffs -- California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes led a coalition of 22 state attorneys general to oppose proposed tariffs in a Monday letter to the U.S. Trade Representative Jaimeson Greer. Sofia Williams in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/9/26

Newsom’s final budget sends more than a billion dollars to University of California, Cal State -- Since Gavin Newsom became governor, state support for California’s public universities has grown by 50%. Mikhail Zinshteyn Calmatters -- 7/9/26

California defends using Medicaid money for housing and food, as GOP cries fraud -- Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana is taking aim at California’s Medicaid program for providing housing assistance, food and other social services to high-need, low-income patients who tend to rack up big healthcare costs and, he argued, strain taxpayer funds. Angela Hart, KFF Health News in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/9/26

 

Historic venue on edge of San Francisco could get a data center -- For more than 85 years, the Cow Palace Arena & Event Center has been home to Republican National Conventions, doomed minor league hockey teams and electronic dance music concerts. Now, under a new proposal, it could also host a data center and helicopter landing pad. Megan Fan Munce in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/9/26

Data center could emerge on empty chunk of land at prime San Jose site -- Prologis aims to develop a three-story data center that would total 516,000 square feet in South San Jose, according to a proposal the company filed with city planners. At 5977 Silver Creek Valley Road, the proposed center would include 30,000 square feet of office space, according to project plans. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/9/26

Big Tech Is Now Targeting Native American Land for Massive Data Centers -- The data center boom has roiled communities across the country, but on Native land, a Big Tech push for quick approvals has pitted the need for development against a history of exploitation. David W. Chen, Tamir Kalifa in the New York Times$ -- 7/9/26

 

Spencer Pratt meets with President Trump in White House -- Unsuccessful Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt paid a visit to the White House Tuesday and met with President Donald Trump, who has questioned without evidence the legitimacy of Pratt’s electoral defeat. The item is in the in the Orange County Register$ -- 7/9/26

Newton: California ponders a fundamental question: Should voting be easier or harder? -- There is a problem with elections in California and Los Angeles. It’s just not the one you think. Jim Newton Calmatters -- 7/9/26

Walters: Does crowning California’s governor the education czar mean academic results will improve? -- In late June, after only a few minutes of discussion, both houses of the Legislature completely overhauled how California manages the nation’s largest public school system and its nearly 6 million students. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 7/9/26

ICE

ICE raided their city, taking parents, spouses and friends. That’s not where it ends -- Three families in Los Angeles on the devastating aftermath of ICE detentions and deportations that overwhelmed their city last summer. Maanvi Singh in The Guardian -- 7/9/26

Workplace

Kaiser nurses say technology is making their jobs — and patient care — worse -- Call center nurses at the health giant said workplace surveillance tools and AI prioritize speed and cost savings over quality and safety. Khari Johnson Calmatters -- 7/9/26

Not everyone is leaving California. A new commercial battery maker just landed in Sacramento -- A factory in Sacramento will be first in the country to make a new alternative to lithium-ion at commercial scale. Blanca Begert in the Los Angeles Times$ Annika Merrilees in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/9/26

Ex-Redlands deputy police chief was California’s highest city earner in 2025, but didn’t work a day -- Travis Martinez received $1.2 million in total wages in 2025, bolstered by an $872,000 settlement with the city for agreeing to retire. Joe Nelson in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/9/26

Most California senators supported this ADA lawsuit bill. It died anyway -- Sen. Roger Niello’s proposal to give businesses more time to fix ADA violations before facing lawsuits won overwhelming Senate support. But it died without an Assembly hearing after judiciary chair Ash Kalra rejected the bill in favor of a competing approach. Kate Wolffe Calmatters -- 7/9/26

Housing

An Impending IPO Boom Has Sparked FOMO Among San Francisco Home Buyers -- As AI wealth drives up home prices, buyers are racing to purchase properties ahead of highly anticipated potential public offerings from OpenAI and Anthropic. Jessica Flint and E.B. Solomont in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 7/9/26

Education

UC weighs return of SAT amid early signs of changing views and faculty pressure -- The UC is reopening SAT/ACT debate six years after dropping tests as faculty sound alarms over students’ math and writing skills. Jaweed Kaleem in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/9/26

University of California will consider using Smarter Balanced exam scores for admissions -- The state exams, administered to California 11th graders, could be a useful tool because they are designed to measure college readiness, proponents say. Michael Burke EdSource -- 7/9/26

Street

LAPD weighs canceling academy classes to get more cops on streets for Olympics -- The LAPD is considering whether to shut down its police academy for part of 2028 in order to put hundreds of officers back to work on the streets in time for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, according to four department sources. Libor Jany in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/9/26

Northern California home issued $100,000 fine over illegal Fourth of July fireworks -- A Northern California home faces a $100,000 citation after fire officials said drones captured people setting off numerous illegal fireworks during the Fourth of July holiday. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/9/26

Drones help issue citations for illegal fireworks and confiscate them in Anaheim, Santa Ana -- Drone teams in north Orange County cities helped police officers take illegal fireworks off of the streets and catch dozens of perpetrators lighting them on the Fourth of July, officials said. Nathaniel Percy in the Orange County Register$ -- 7/9/26

Therapy in a tent: The healthcare many homeless Californians need but aren’t getting -- Like many people who are or have been homeless, Jessica Scott struggles with debilitating anxiety. When she finally moved from her stepfather’s car into a Sacramento apartment a few weeks ago, she said one thing played a major role in helping her take that step: Therapy. Marisa Kendall Calmatters -- 7/9/26

Also

Rob Reiner receives posthumous Emmy nomination for ‘The Bear’ -- This marks Reiner’s first award nomination since his death in December and his first performance-related Emmy nom since 1978, when he won for supporting actor in a comedy series for “All in the Family.” Eloise Rollins-Fife in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/9/26

California man’s hand is blown off while he’s doing Fourth of July cleanup -- It was an ordinary day in Crescent City. Jason Turner and his girlfriend were taking a stroll on Point St. George Beach, picking up leftover Fourth of July fireworks debris along the way, when they noticed a shiny box with nails sticking out of it. Jazmin Alvarado in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/9/26

Arellano: The Trump ‘curse’ at the World Cup is his latest red card against Americans -- For the past 11 years, I’ve waited for a scandal, a slip up, a moment of clarity that would finally make President Trump’s supporters realize that their man is a charlatan. My fellow Americans, I think we finally found it. Gustavo Arellano in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/9/26

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Trump flies partway home from Turkey in an old Air Force One, not the new Qatari-gifted jet -- The travel switch raised fresh security questions about the new aircraft that the U.S. spent $400 million to retrofit. Images of the Qatari-gifted jet captured since its unveiling show it is not equipped with some of the same missile detection and countermeasure systems as the older jets. Michelle L. Price, Konstantin Toropin Associated Press Tyler Pager, Julian E. Barnes, Eric Schmitt and Eric Lipton in the New York Times$ -- 7/9/26

Trump orders new round of strikes after calling Iranian leaders ‘scum’ -- The president previewed the attack earlier in the day, later adding that any action would end quickly and suggesting the U.S. may reimpose a naval blockade. Michael Birnbaum, Victoria Craw and Dan Lamothe in the Washington Post$ -- 7/9/26

The Global Oil Market Isn’t Ready for the Iran Ceasefire to End -- America’s crude inventories are flirting with dangerous levels, while exports of gasoline and diesel hover near records. Collin Eaton in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 7/9/26

Trump reopens the Iran war — and a political problem he can’t shake -- Republicans face fall elections tied to a conflict most voters oppose, unable to end it and mostly unwilling to break with the man who started it. Amy B Wang, Praveena Somasundaram and Amber Phillips in the Washington Post$ -- 7/9/26

 

California Policy and Politics Wednesday

Instead of uniting the left, California’s billionaire tax measure has split Democratic allies -- For all the media attention California’s proposed billionaire tax has generated nationally — with some blasting it as a foolish Left Coast assault on American enterprise — the November ballot item has actually triggered a rift among progressive labor unions and Democrats, groups critical to the measure’s success. Nicole Nixon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/8/26

Newsom heads to Nevada, kicks off midterm campaign swing with eye on 2028 -- The three-day trip to Nevada begins Thursday, and marks the start of a longer political push ahead of the November elections. Melanie Mason Politico -- 7/8/26

‘A Grand Canyon sort of disagreement': How clinics and a union leader sparred over Prop 44 -- Clinic leaders say union leader Dave Regan moved the goalposts when a deal to forgo the ballot measure was close. Rachel Bluth Politico -- 7/8/26

 

California colleges reveal their military weapons stockade after CalMatters investigation -- According to state law, campus police can own military weapons to uphold safety as long as they report it to the public. However, not every college follows every part of the law, according to an investigation by CalMatters into all 148 public colleges and universities in California. Phoebe Huss Calmatters -- 7/8/26

SFO wants to let travelers skip TSA lines with a new luxury private terminal -- San Francisco International Airport is seeking operators to build a new private terminal that would let travelers skip standard security checkpoints for commercial flights — for a price. Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/8/26

In the capital of AI, government adoption is all over the place -- Since last July, when San Francisco granted 30,000 employees access to Microsoft Copilot, an OpenAI-powered chatbot, more than 40 city departments have had access to AI to help with city services, according to data the city shared with the Chronicle. Olivia Borgula, Jenny Kwon in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/8/26

Proposal would allow drivers to trade personal data for potentially lower insurance rates -- AB 311 would change California insurance law by allowing drivers to opt in to being tracked through telematics, which transmits data to insurance companies. Levi Sumagaysay Calmatters -- 7/8/26

Feds to decide fate of $2 billion California plan to fund Medi-Cal -- The fate of the state’s $2 billion plan to maintain health insurance for low-income and disabled Californians is now in the hands of Mehmet Oz, the celebrity doctor and Republican administrator of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Grant Stringer in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/8/26

 

ICE detention center to pay $100K settlement in landmark California case -- The private immigration detention company GEO Group has settled a landmark case over conditions in one of its Central Valley detention facilities. It has agreed to pay more than $100,000 over allegations the company failed to keep detained immigrants safe when they worked inside the facility. Jeanne Kuang Calmatters -- 7/8/26

ICE has arrested more than 400 from Central Valley prisons under Trump -- ICE has arrested at least 422 individuals from Central Valley prisons and jails through administrative transfers since President Donald Trump took office. One facility — Avenal State Prison in Kings County — accounted for 133 of the ICE arrests, or 32% — the most at any San Joaquin Valley-based penitentiary. Melissa Montalvo in the Fresno Bee -- 7/8/26

Data Centers

California proposal would build at least 8 data centers in Bay Area and 70 statewide -- It’s an unconventional pitch. The company, Global Stack LLC, wants to use fairgrounds across California as a site for the data centers. On top of that, it seeks to put helicopter landing pads — useful in emergencies, the company says — in the same development. Megan Fan Munce in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/8/26

 

Environmental justice group sues California over carbon market overhaul -- The complaint says the air board bypassed required environmental review for a new “manufacturing decarbonization” program that could grant 118 million allowances, potentially increasing fossil fuel emissions and air pollution. Officials said the air board followed all applicable laws. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/8/26

CA High-Speed Rail seeks new federal money after Trump administration pulled $4B -- The rail authority on Tuesday confirmed it has applied for “approximately” $500 million from the Federal Railroad Administration — the same federal agency that pulled $4 billion from the project in August under the direction of Trump-appointed Transportation Sec. Sean Duffy. Erik Galicia in the Fresno Bee -- 7/8/26

Housing

S.F.’s affordable housing fight has entered a new phase: Who pays for it? -- After years of little to no construction, the battle over affordable housing in San Francisco has fundamentally been a fight over public resources. Advocates say the window to secure them is narrowing. Laura Waxmann in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/8/26

Housekeeping, IV therapy and $18,000 rents: Treasure Island’s luxury play -- With the Artificial Intelligence hiring frenzy driving double-digit San Francisco residential rent growth, a new deluxe housing complex on Treasure Island is pivoting from sellable condos to rentals, with a collection of heavily-serviced waterfront penthouses asking as much as $18,000 a month. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/8/26

Workplace

Battery storage company opens new San Diego headquarters, plans to double workforce -- San Diego battery company Tempo is planning to double its workforce, hiring 50 employees in the next 18 months and moving into a 35,000-square-foot facility in Sorrento Mesa. The company develops thermochemical energy storage technology — essentially large heat batteries for industrial clients. Noelle Harff in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 7/8/26

Education

In a test case, Oakland charter school asks State Board to prevent its closure -- In a final attempt to avert closing, a nearly two-decade-old Oakland charter school will ask the State Board of Education on Wednesday to overturn two levels of denial of its charter renewal. In the process, Aspire Golden State College Preparatory Academy hopes the state board will answer a central question: When is closing a charter school in students’ best interest? John Fensterwald EdSource -- 7/8/26

Street

LAPD withholds identity of officer in fatal dog shooting in Canoga Park -- The Los Angeles Police Department is shielding the identity of the officer who shot and killed a golden Saint Berdoodle last month in Canoga Park, citing threats to the officer’s life. Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/8/26

Former SoCal sheriff’s deputy shoved detainee, whose spine fractured. He’s headed to prison -- A San Diego County Sheriff’s Office then-deputy shoved a pretrial detainee from behind while his legs were shackled and his hands chained at the waist, causing the man to “fly across his holding cell, headfirst into the far wall and collapse to the ground,” according to prosecutors. The man’s spinal column was fractured. The deputy then attempted a cover-up. Seamus Bozeman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/8/26

Also

Waymo reports teen riders for bad behavior and delivers them to the police -- Robotaxis could be turning into robocops. A self-driving Waymo reported two teens to San Mateo, Calif., police on Monday after they were found drinking alcohol and shooting toy guns in the back of the vehicle. Caroline Petrow-Cohen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/8/26

Walters: How crime and the politics of crime rise and fall in California -- For two decades, beginning in the late 1970s, the most powerful issue in California politics was crime. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 7/8/26

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Oil prices rise, and stocks fall worldwide after Trump says ceasefire with Iran is ‘over’ -- Oil prices are rising, and stock markets are falling worldwide Wednesday after President Donald Trump raised doubts about the temporary truce in the war with Iran. Stan Choe Associated Press Robbie Gramer, Brian Schwartz and Jared Malsin in the Wall Street Journal$ Michael Birnbaum and Victoria Craw in the Washington Post$ -- 7/8/26

Global Economy, Hit by Iran War and Inflation, Faces Sharp Slowdown -- The global economy is set to slow sharply in 2026 after the war with Iran disrupted energy supply chains and triggered a fresh bout of inflation, the International Monetary Fund warned on Wednesday. Alan Rappeport in the New York Times$ -- 7/8/26

In shift, Trump praises Zelensky, will let Ukraine build Patriot missiles -- It was a dramatic departure from Trump’s more acerbic tone toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he once derided as ungrateful. Michael Birnbaum and Cleve R. Wootson Jr. in the Washington Post$ -- 7/8/26

Lockheed Paying $5 Million for White House Helipad -- Construction was already under way Monday when President Trump told reporters about his plans and revealed that Pentagon contractor Lockheed Martin agreed to pay roughly $5 million toward the project. Drew FitzGerald in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 7/8/26

Administration Demands States Change Voting Rules or Lose Antiterrorism Funds -- The Trump administration is requiring states to change the way they conduct elections or risk losing tens of millions of federal terrorism-prevention funds, in its latest move that would make voting harder and undermine trust in results that don’t go President Trump’s way. Scott Dance, Nick Corasaniti and Hilary Howard in the New York Times$ -- 7/8/26

Judge Quashes Justice Dept. Subpoena in 2020 Election Inquiry -- A federal judge in Atlanta on Tuesday cast serious doubts on the Justice Department’s efforts to reinvestigate President Trump’s false claims that he was cheated out of victory in the 2020 election, saying that the five-year statute of limitations for any possible crimes arising from the race had “long expired.” Alan Feuer in the New York Times$ -- 7/8/26

The World Cup Stood as a Break From U.S. Politics. Then Trump Got Involved -- The president’s call to the head of FIFA underscores that he has yet to find an area of American, or even global, life where he is unwilling to assert himself. Luke Broadwater in the New York Times$ -- 7/8/26