Updating . . .

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

POTUS 47

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

 

California Policy and Politics Tuesday

S.F.’s housing market is so hot buyers are offering $1 million over asking -- From January through June, more than 140 San Francisco homes sold for at least $1 million above their asking price, according to data from real estate brokerage Compass. That included 44 sales in the month of June alone. Christian Leonard in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/7/26

As L.A. struggles, these surprising communities are booming. What are they doing right? -- When residents and business owners began talking about creating a city in the Santa Clarita Valley nearly three decades ago, few could have imagined the demographic juggernaut the region would become. Terry Castleman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/7/26

California’s first ADU condo sale offers cheaper path to homeownership in San Jose -- San Jose is home to the first accessory dwelling unit sold as a separately owned condo in California, city officials said, setting a potential template for a more affordable path to homeownership. Ethan Varian in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/7/26

Prefab housing builders seek to show their stuff in L.A. fire recovery -- In the massive rebuilding effort after the Eaton and Palisades fires, prefab builders are racing to prove factory-made homes can deliver faster, cheaper reconstruction across fire-scarred L.A. neighborhoods. Doug Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/7/26

 

California sees historic drop in crime as homicides hit record low -- The California Department of Justice’s annual Crime in California report, which collects data from public safety agencies in each California city, found that violent crime in the state decreased by 9% between 2024 and 2025, bringing it to the lowest number since 2015. Danielle Echeverria in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/7/26

DMV could revoke thousands of California licenses due to mysterious testing ‘anomalies’ -- The letters have left many Californians scratching their heads as to what went wrong and scrambling to reschedule their tests to ensure they don’t lose the ability to drive. Clara Harter in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/7/26

 

The cost of Khanna’s Platner alliance -- Khanna, arguably more than any other national Democrat, provided political cover for the Maine Senate candidate before calling for him to drop out. Melanie Mason Politico -- 7/7/26

Jennifer Siebel Newsom sought to redefine the role of first spouse. Now, she faces her biggest test -- Siebel Newsom faces a predicament as her husband positions himself as Trump’s chief antagonist and prepares for a possible 2028 White House run. Jenny Jarvie in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/7/26

Who is Steve Hilton? Here’s how he has rebranded himself multiple times -- Steve Hilton made the British Conservative Party more liberal and has held policy positions spanning the political spectrum. He’s California Republicans’ best hope at reclaiming the governor’s seat. Jeanne Kuang Calmatters -- 7/7/26

Private prison company sells two of California’s immigrant detention centers to the feds -- Private prison company CoreCivic will continue operating two large ICE detention centers in California after selling the properties to the Department of Homeland Security. Wendy Fry and Nigel Duara Calmatters -- 7/7/26

A $10B Medi-Cal question looms over California’s race for governor -- For decades, Californians have generally said that immigrants, who make up more than a quarter of the state’s population and a third of its labor force, are beneficial to the state and its economy. Christine Mai-Duc, KFF Health News in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/7/26

The California Democrat who says he ‘won’t cheer FIFA’s capitulation to power’ -- A Congressional World Cup Caucus co-chair bemoaned what he calls a “corruption summit” between Donald Trump and soccer’s governing body. Blake Jones Politico -- 7/7/26

Workplace

AI actor Tilly Norwood to star in first movie -- The AI film portrays Norwood as an artificial intelligence being with “no real body” and no lived experience but with access to everyone else’s, according to Particle 6, the London-based company behind Norwood. Wendy Lee in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/7/26

Humans, machines or nothing: Case will decide future of California court transcripts -- A pending ruling from the California Supreme Court will determine whether electronic recordings are allowed in some civil court proceedings. Proponents argue recordings would solve a long-standing crisis that leaves many proceedings with no verbatim record. Sonja Sharp in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/7/26

Microsoft cuts another 4,800 jobs as S.F. game studio Double Fine goes independent -- Microsoft is laying off another 4,800 employees, mostly in its Xbox division, and spinning off San Francisco studio Double Fine, along with three others. Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/7/26

Water

Lake Powell, a vital reservoir, plunges toward unprecedented low levels as water crisis deepens in US west -- Lake Powell, US’s second-largest reservoir, threatens to plunge to unprecedentedly low levels this year after a historically bleak snowpack failed to raise its water level, scientists and water experts have said, adding renewed urgency to stalled talks over how to conserve a water source depended on by tens of millions of people in the US south-west. Roque Planas in The Guardian -- 7/7/26

Education

Federal cuts hit UC Davis hard, causing ‘unstable environment’ for research and programs -- The university lost about 10% of its overall grant funding over the past year, a steeper decline than all but one of the other UC campuses. The funding cuts make some programs less stable and limit the university’s pipeline of top-tier scientists. Phillip Reese KVIE Abridged -- 07/07/26

Street

One-third of people going into Sacramento County’s jail system are homeless -- The newly released data from 2025 and 2026 show that there were more bookings of homeless people than there were homeless individuals each month, meaning that some were booked into jail, released, and then jailed again within the same month. Ariane Lange in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/7/26

Also

California’s ‘wind phones’ give comfort to those grieving -- The first wind phone was created by a Japanese man who lost a cousin to cancer decades ago. There are no wires, no electronic connections. The thoughts and prayers expressed on the phones are, in a sense, carried by the wind. Gina Ferazzi in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/7/26

Gustavo Dudamel’s final Hollywood Bowl concert will benefit Venezuela after earthquakes -- Gustavo Dudamel’s final Hollywood Bowl appearance as L.A. Phil music director will double as “A Concert for Venezuela,” raising funds for communities devastated by June’s twin earthquakes. Dudamel and the orchestra’s musicians will donate their services, while the L.A. Phil pledges $50,000 to an earthquake recovery fund. Eloise Rollins-Fife in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/7/26

Walters: Tech devices in California’s new cars create thorny political issues -- Automobiles have gradually evolved over the last two decades from mechanical devices into electronic platforms featuring computer screens and numerous other digital capabilities. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 7/7/26

POTUS 47

‘Overturn This.’ Boiling Belgium Taunts Trump and Sends U.S. Soccer Packing -- A lively march to the World Cup’s round of 16 reaches a familiar end versus an extra-motivated contender. Where does U.S. men’s soccer go from here? Jason Gay in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 7/7/26

A Presidential Phone Call, a Lifted Red Card, and an Embattled World Cup -- There was nothing unusual about a call from President Trump or the reversal of Folarin Balogun’s suspension, said the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino. Tariq Panja in the New York Times$ -- 7/7/26

Walmart Announced Price Cuts. Trump Tried to Take Credit -- Walmart announced Monday it was cutting prices of beef and other products, which President Trump tried to take credit for shortly after the company announced the cuts. Walmart did not mention him or his administration in its press release. Kim Bhasin in the New York Times$ -- 7/7/26

Inside Trump’s Ideological Fight With the Smithsonian -- Publicly and behind the scenes, the president continues to try to impose his own views of American history and culture, presenting an ongoing challenge to Lonnie Bunch, the institution’s leader. Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan in the New York Times$ -- 7/7/26

A year in, here’s how Trump’s tax law is affecting your budget -- Americans got bigger tax refunds following passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, but deficits rose, and the social safety net weakened. Riley Beggin and Rachel Lerman in the Washington Post$ -- 7/7/26

Half of Americans struggle to afford groceries and gas, exclusive poll finds -- Despite stable employment and record-high stock markets, more Americans believe the overall economy is getting worse (57%) than in February (46%), when the poll was last conducted and before the war in the Middle East sent gas prices soaring. Gaya Gupta in The Guardian -- 7/7/26

Trump Promised a Foreign Investment Boom. It’s Getting Harder to Deliver -- The threat of tariffs may have helped push more capital into the United States, but other factors are pushing it away. Lydia DePillis and Ana Swanson in the New York Times$ -- 7/7/26