California Policy and Politics Monday

Three people killed at Islamic Center of San Diego and two suspects found dead nearby -- Police said they got a report of an active shooter at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Eckstrom Avenue around 11:40 a.m. Officers found three dead men in front of the center, one of whom was a security guard at the center. Their names have not been released. Shortly after 1:05 p.m., the department reported: “The threat at the Islamic center has been neutralized.” Karen Kucher, Teri Figueroa, Caleb Lunetta in the San Diego Union Tribune Salvador Hernandez and Suhauna Hussain in the Los Angeles Times$ Tim Arango and Neil Vigdor in the New York Times$ -- 5/18/26

 

AI has invaded the L.A. mayor’s race. Some fear it’s just the beginning -- AI-powered, fan-made videos casting long-shot mayoral contender Spencer Pratt as Batman and Luke Skywalker are electrifying L.A.’s race, blurring lines between Hollywood spectacle, political messaging and online meme culture. Jenny Jarvie in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/18/26

Tech leaders funding Matt Mahan’s campaign for California governor say it’s not about tech -- Some labor leaders have suggested tech leaders are pushing an anti-union and anti-regulation agenda, but Mahan insists he’s a union-raised ‘digital native’ trying to balance business growth with improvements for workers and average Californians. Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/18/26

A must-win California House seat is giving Dems heartburn -- Democratic hopes to take the House may come down to a sprawling slice of suburban and rural Southern California now represented by Rep. Darrell Issa. That could be a problem. Ben Fox Politico -- 5/18/26

These 10 candidates are vying to lead California’s public school system — if the job doesn’t get rewritten first -- The race for state superintendent of public instruction features lawmakers past and present, union leaders, trustees on school boards and community college boards and others. Jemma Stephenson in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 5/18/26

Skelton: Jack up taxes on California’s rich? Popular liberal mantra, but bad idea -- The Democrats’ mantra this election year — especially among wannabe governors — is that the richest Californians should “pay their fair share.” But by any objective measurement, they already do. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/18/26

Red Flag

5,000+ PG&E customers in CA remain without power in wildfire safety shutoff -- The outages were concentrated along the west side of the Central Valley, the Interstate 5 corridor and inland portions of the Bay Area, where gusty north winds and extremely low humidity prompted red flag warnings. The item is in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/18/26

 

Feds say they thwarted alleged terror plot targeting L.A. Jewish institution -- An Iraqi national was arrested Friday for what federal authorities have described as serving in a role with two foreign terrorist organizations and attempting to carry out an attack on a Jewish institution in Los Angeles. Katie King in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/18/26

What to know about Trump’s six Presidio Trust appointees, and their views on the S.F. landmark -- The six Presidio Trust appointees overseeing one of San Francisco’s most treasured landmarks are Trump loyalists — and most have deep ties to tech. All but one have clear Bay Area connections. Alyce McFadden, Laura Waxmann in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/18/26

California lawyers can’t quit AI — even as hallucinated citations pile up -- The fictitious cases, like many others uncovered by courts in recent years, were evidently the product of artificial intelligence, U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Hixson said in a ruling this month. He fined attorney Jessica Barsotti $1,000 and ordered her to take an hour of training in “the ethical use of artificial intelligence in the practice of law.” Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/18/26

Water

California water managers raise 2026 deliveries as reservoirs remain near full -- The Department of Water Resources increased the project’s water allocation to 45% from 30% of requested supplies. The allocation tells the state’s 29 public water agencies how much water they can expect to receive. Nicole Buss in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/18/26

The Colorado River Is on the Brink of Disaster -- A deal deadline came and went in February, leading the federal government to threaten its own solution—one that would keep the dams generating power, but likely bring painful cuts to water use. “We’re positive about one thing—no one will be satisfied,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said last month. Carl Churchill and Josh Ulick in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 5/18/26

Deep in the San Diego County desert, new research has this town at loggerheads on what to do about water -- Borrego Springs runs on groundwater, which pumping has caused to drop precipitously. Locals can't agree on whether it's putting a forest ecosystem in peril. Lucas Robinson, Maura Fox in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 5/18/26

Workplace

California’s ‘groundbreaking’ fast food council lacks a leader, hasn’t met in over a year -- California’s first-in-the-nation fast food council — created to give workers a voice on wages, safety and working conditions — has not met in over a year and has no chairperson. Levi Sumagaysay Calmatters -- 5/18/26

Housing

This law aims to prevent investors from flipping distressed homes. They’re managing to anyway — and going unpunished -- The law, one cleanup bill says, has been 'undermined by fraudulent actors exploiting loose eligibility requirements and procedural delays.' Jeff McDonald in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 5/18/26

L.A.’s 100 most problematic rental properties spotlighted in new city database -- In L.A.’s high-stakes rental market, where tenants and landlords regularly go to war over housing disputes, renters have filed more than 115,000 complaints to the city Housing Department since 2013. Now, a new dashboard shows the worst offenders. Jack Flemming in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/18/26

This California beach town had one of the nation’s largest population drops -- Zillow estimated that it would take more than two decades for a middle-income household to save enough to buy a home, the Chronicle previously reported — the second-longest amount of time of any metro area in the United States. Danielle Echeverria in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/18/26

Climate

$6 gas and refinery fears collide with California’s climate ambitions -- California is considering giving oil refineries and other major polluters billions in free pollution permits under a major overhaul of its carbon market. The fight is exposing a deeper question inside Gov. Gavin Newsom's climate agenda: Can California lower emissions without driving up gas prices? Alejandro Lazo Calmatters -- 5/18/26

Also

Santa Rosa Island fire burns more than 10,000 acres, threatening rare plants and animals -- A human-caused fire spread to more than 10,000 acres Sunday night on the south side of Santa Rosa Island, the second-largest of the Channel Islands. Jack Flemming in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/18/26

19 Legionella bacteria infections linked to Kaiser Bay Area hospital -- The 19 infections were linked to Kaiser’s medical center in Santa Clara. Most of those who fell sick are recovering at home, Kaiser said in a recent statement. The bacteria were identified through “robust routine internal monitoring processes,” according to Kaiser. Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/18/26

As crowds build at Yosemite, visitors worry the high season will be a disaster -- Even before the summer rush, which begins in earnest on Memorial Day weekend, California’s most visited national park is seeing enormous crowds. Jack Dolan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/18/26

What Saturdays in Yosemite are like in the park’s new no-reservations era -- For 45 minutes Saturday morning, Cynthia Aparicil and Ulises Martinez inched in a line of traffic toward the entrance of Yosemite National Park. Once through, the couple from Orange County headed to Yosemite Valley — only to circle parking lot after parking lot unable to find a spot. Brooke Park in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/18/26

POTUS 47

Trump’s Approval Sinks Amid Unpopular War, Darkening G.O.P. Prospects -- With the midterms nearing, President Trump’s approval rating has hit a second-term low as voters question his handling of the economy, according to the latest New York Times/Siena poll. Lisa Lerer, Ruth Igielnik and Camille Baker in the New York Times$ -- 5/18/26

Trump drops $10B lawsuit against IRS over leaked tax returns -- The move comes after Trump, his sons and family business sued the IRS for $10 billion for failing to properly oversee a contractor who leaked the tax returns of the president. Josh Gerstein and Danny Nguyen Politico C. Ryan Barber, Richard Rubin and Sadie Gurman in the Wall Street Journal$ Jeremy Roebuck and Perry Stein in the Washington Post$ -- 5/18/26

Poll: Trump’s endorsement could hurt battleground Republicans -- In fact, both Democrats and Republicans in the most closely contested races might be wary of being publicly backed by many of the biggest political figures or interest groups this fall, according to new results from The Politico Poll. Jessica Piper Politico -- 5/18/26

News Analysis: Trump spent two days with Xi in Beijing. Was he outplayed? -- As President Trump left Beijing on Friday, Chinese social media resurfaced a familiar nickname for the president — flattering at first glance — declaring that Chuan Jianguo, the “Nation Builder,” had returned. It was not meant as a compliment. The nation he is building, according to the Chinese, is not the United States but their own, through a series of inadvertent yet costly mistakes inflicted by Trump at home and abroad. Michael Wilner in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/18/26

The World Can’t Get Enough U.S. Energy, Keeping Prices High for Americans -- The world is making a run on U.S. energy, setting American motorists and foreign buyers on a collision course. Benoît Morenne in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 5/18/26

To Critics, Trump Remarks Reveal a Billionaire Out of Touch -- The president has never pretended to be an ordinary American, but a recent “truth bomb” has opened him to criticism that he doesn’t grasp the economic strain of his war with Iran. Erica L. Green in the New York Times$ -- 5/18/26

Conspiracy Trial Will Test Trump’s Aggressive Tactics Against Protesters -- Prosecutors in Spokane, Wash., are trying three activists who they say conspired to impede federal officers. Legal experts call it a stretch. Anna Griffin in the New York Times$ -- 5/18/26

Trump-backed prayer festival on National Mall draws thousands: ‘We welcome Jesus!’ -- A crowd of thousands transformed a block of the National Mall into an evangelical-style worship service Sunday at an event backed by President Donald Trump and funded with millions of taxpayer dollars. Michelle Boorstein, Laura Meckler and Mariana Alfaro in the Washington Post$ -- 5/18/26