California Policy and Politics Sunday

Carvalho was threatened with possible dismissal before he resigned as LAUSD superintendent -- Before L.A. schools Supt. Alberto Carvalho resigned, the Board of Education warned him in a confidential letter that it had potential grounds to dismiss him, citing several allegations, including that he allowed a district contractor currently under federal investigation to pay for his travel to Washington, D.C. Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/28/26

In California governor’s race, voters face stark choice on immigrant healthcare -- California’s governor’s race has become a high-stakes referendum on taxpayer-funded healthcare for immigrants without legal status. Democrat Xavier Becerra vows to preserve and stabilize Medi-Cal coverage for roughly 1.4 million immigrants by raising revenue, while Republican Steve Hilton promises to end it and redirect savings to citizens. Christine Mai-Duc KFF Health News in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/28/26

Meta asks California lawmakers for shield from child harm penalties -- Social media giant Meta is pushing California state lawmakers to shield it from pending legislation that would increase legal penalties in child-harm cases, according to two people familiar with the effort. Tyler Katzenberger Politico -- 6/28/26

Trump administration takes aim at California Coastal Commission, sparking alarm -- The Trump administration has initiated a new review of the California Coastal Commission and other powerful coastal watchdogs — a move that several state leaders and environmental activists worry could undermine the state’s authority to protect its treasured coastline. Grace Toohey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/28/26

Scott Wiener says harassment made it ‘impossible’ to stay at S.F. Trans March -- A video posted on X on Friday evening showed Wiener walking through a portion of Dolores Park while being accosted by several protesters who began loudly criticizing him for having “been terrible on Gaza,” referring to the now nearly three-year armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and Israel. St. John Barned-Smith in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/28/26

The explosive reason CA may ban single-use vapes -- Seasoned Californians by now should be used to various bans on single-use plastics, like grocery bags, straws and food packaging, in an attempt by the state to curb environmental waste. Lynn La Calmatters -- 6/28/26

California prisons clamp down on overtime, limit access to classes for incarcerated people -- California prisons are limiting access to programs for incarcerated people as the system manages it overtime budget. The state spends about $18 billion a year on corrections. Cayla Mihalovich Calmatters -- 6/28/26

10 jurors said Palisades Fire suspect isn’t guilty. Now he faces an October retrial -- Ten of the 12 jurors insisted Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, is innocent. Judge Anne Hwang quickly set an Oct. 19 retrial date and ordered him jailed until then. Jaimie Ding Associated Press -- 6/28/26

Hazardous waste removal at Garden Grove’s GKN Aerospace starts Monday. Here’s what to expect -- Orange County officials will start removing chemicals this week from two storage tanks at a Garden Grove aerospace company that prompted thousands to evacuate their homes in late May. Jaclyn Cosgrove in the Los Angeles Times$ Victoria Le in the Orange County Register$ -- 6/28/26

Before Venezuela earthquakes, engineers warned tall buildings could collapse atop soft soil -- For years, engineers analyzing Venezuela’s construction patterns have voiced a major concern: That the country’s precarious combination of soft ground soil and tall concrete structures — many lacking sufficient seismic reinforcement — could result in catastrophic destruction when a major earthquake struck. Rong-Gong Lin II, Patrick J. McDonnell and Mery Mogollón in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/28/26

Stop tossing good food: New California law rewrites ‘best by’ and ‘use by’ rules -- “BEST if Used by” or “BEST if Used or Frozen by” will be used to indicate the peak freshness, or quality, of a food item. Advertisement “USE by” or “USE by or Freeze by” will be used to indicate when a food item is no longer safe to eat. Karen Garcia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/28/26

Housing

Why home values in this Bay Area city have plunged more than anywhere else -- The main reason behind the decline in Emeryville’s home values, real estate agents said, is that its market largely consists of condominiums, which in much of the Bay Area have yet to rebound from their pandemic-era slump. Christian Leonard in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/28/26

Transit

Gafofoli: BART needs Bay Area voters. The charm offensive has begun -- With 14 statewide ballot measures set to crowd and confuse the November ballot, BART needs a different kind of strategy to convince Bay Area voters to approve a ballot measure that is critical to its survival: A charm offensive, including merch drops and theme parties at BART stations. And it might be working. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/28/26

Earthquake Standards

Bay Area hospitals race to rebuild, facing new earthquake standards -- By 2030, state regulations require all hospitals to be fully compliant with seismic safety requirements or close doors to patients. Grant Stringer in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 6/28/26

AI

China Has Matched Anthropic in Cybersecurity, Resetting AI Race -- Chinese artificial-intelligence systems have matched the performance of Anthropic’s powerful model Mythos in some cybersecurity scenarios, a development poised to reset the global tech race and pressure the White House in its overhaul of U.S. AI policy. Robert McMillan, Raffaele Huang and Amrith Ramkumar in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 6/28/26

Also

Happy birthday, 2000 Year Old Man. Mel Brooks is turning 100 -- The comedian and filmmaker has been awaiting the milestone. Earlier this year, Judd Apatow titled his retrospective documentary on him: “Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!” “I was born to make people laugh,” Brooks says in the film. “So, I do that.” Jake Coyle Associated Press -- 6/28/26

POTUS 47

US airstrikes again hit Iran as Tehran strikes Bahrain and Kuwait, further imperiling interim deal -- The U.S. military launched a second round of airstrikes Saturday targeting Iran at President Donald Trump’s direction as Tehran hit both Bahrain and Kuwait, underscoring rising tensions that threaten the interim deal between the two nations to stop the war. Jon Gambrell, Konstantin Toropin -- 6/28/26

Costs of Iran war will linger despite conflict’s end, experts say -- The Iran war has cost the average American household between $775 and $1,300 in fuel and taxpayer costs, according to one analysis. Only 23% of Americans say the war was worth the costs, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll. Justine McDaniel and Michael Wilner in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/28/26

With time running out, Trump digs in on changing midterm election rules -- Fearing a Democratic takeover of Congress, the president has spent months trying to alter how the midterms will be conducted, but obstacles keep cropping up. Patrick Marley and Ben Binday in the Washington Post$ -- 6/28/26

America split from monarchy 250 years ago. Trump’s presidency is testing how far it’s come -- Since returning to office in January 2025, Trump has nominated one of his personal lawyers to serve as attorney general, ordered the Department of Justice to pursue his political enemies, deployed the U.S. Marines to the nation’s second largest city and leveraged the presidency to enrich himself and his family. Nicholas Riccardi Associated Press -- 6/28/26

Trump says he is nominating former Oklahoma state trooper Lance Schroyer as ICE director -- Trump said on his Truth Social platform that his new pick for the immigration enforcement agency is a former U.S. Marine and a “PATRIOT with real operational experience.” He called Schroyer a “proven leader with DECADES of experience locking up the worst of the worst.” Ali Swenson Associated Press -- 6/28/26

White House Releases Images of the Trump ‘Patriot Passport’ -- The State Department said it planned to release 40,000 U.S. passports featuring an image of the president to commemorate the United States’ 250th anniversary. Mark Walker in the New York Times$ -- 6/28/26

Trump-Backed Tribute to States on the Mall Features Extra Tinges of Red -- On the first day of the Great American State Fair on the National Mall, there were no butter sculptures, blue-ribbon livestock or prizewinning rutabaga pies to admire. But visitors could take in a gleaming portrait of President Trump, pick up a handbill promoting Turning Point USA and hear a speaker read a poem declaring every teen to be “a conscript in a spiritual world war.” Clyde McGrady and Jennifer Schuessler in the New York Times$ -- 6/28/26

Trump’s vision for White House park: 47 trees to mark his presidency -- The president has called Lafayette Square “the entrance to the White House.” Contractors have been renovating the park for months and are likely to miss Trump’s original goal of reopening before July 4. Dan Diamond and Jake Spring in the Washington Post$ -- 6/28/26