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California Policy and Politics Wednesday

Trump’s SAVE Act could upend California’s vote-by-mail system -- New restrictions sought by President Donald Trump would upend voting in California, which significantly redesigned its elections over the past decade to boost participation. Alexei Koseff in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/18/26

The voting bill Trump says will secure victory could backfire -- The Save America Act’s effects are unpredictable, but changes in voting patterns could make more stringent requirements a problem for Republicans. Amy B Wang, Scott Clement and Lydia Sidhom in the Washington Post$ -- 3/18/26

Democrats face the possibility of a historic upset in California governor’s race, poll finds -- Two Republicans lead in California’s gubernatorial primary, creating a historic possibility that both could advance to the general election in November and potentially shut out Democrats in a heavily blue state. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/18/26

This tech-backed mayor jumped into California’s gov’s race with a bang. Now ‘he might as well drop out.’ -- Matt Mahan’s late foray into the race for California governor started with a Super Bowl ad, a rush of Silicon Valley support and speculation fanned by Mahan’s camp and others about tech titans underwriting a campaign to upend Democratic politics in the nation’s most populous state. But seven weeks later, Mahan’s campaign is stalled. Dustin Gardiner Politico -- 3/18/26

Some California Democrats pitch gas price relief as prices at the pump soar -- Experts say the latest gas price spike is driven by global oil markets and the Iran conflict, while California’s higher base price stems from refinery closures, the state’s market and environmental rules. Jeanne Kuang and Alejandro Lazo Calmatters -- 3/18/26

Progressives love him. Billionaires hate him. Can a Berkeley professor pass California’s wealth tax? -- Emmanuel Saez doesn’t look like a political provocateur. Tall and lean, with graying temples and rectangular eyeglasses, the UC Berkeley economics professor favors V-neck sweaters, drives a 2009 Honda Fit and speaks so softly in his French accent that colleagues lean in to hear him. Connor Letourneau in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/18/26

Four of the five civilians who oversee the LAFD step down -- Four of the five members of the Board of Fire Commissioners, which oversees the Los Angeles Fire Department, are stepping down at a time when the department is under intense scrutiny because of its missteps in handling the devastating Palisades fire. Alene Tchekmedyian and Paul Pringle in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/18/26

Edison executive pay soars despite devastating Eaton fire -- Edison’s chief executive received a $16.6-million pay package — a 20% rise — despite the company’s suspected role in the deadly Eaton fire that killed 19 people. Edison ties most executive compensation not to safety but to its financial performance. Last year, its profit soared 200% to $4.5 billion. Melody Petersen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/18/26

California will get $540 million for water projects, Trump administration announces -- Much of the funds will go to repair the Friant-Kern and Delta-Mendota canals, which supply farmland. An additional $40 million is for planning a controversial project to raise Shasta Dam and expand the state’s largest reservoir. Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ Rachel Becker Calmatters -- 3/18/26

Los Angeles may need to stop taking water from Mono Lake basin, California report says -- That’s the takeaway from a new, state-commissioned report on how to revive the depleted saltwater body, widely known for its extraordinary tufa towers and curious alkali shores. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/18/26

Bay Area heat wave shatters records as San Francisco breaks century-old mark --The most striking number came from Redwood City, where temperatures hit 93 degrees, shattering the Peninsula city's previous March record of 90 degrees, which stood for one day. Aidin Vaziri, Anthony Edwards in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/18/26

Embattled Lake Tahoe ski resort ends season after 3 months -- A beleaguered Lake Tahoe ski resort abruptly ended its 2025-2026 season, the resort’s first after a year-long hiatus. Homewood Mountain Resort announced Tuesday that March 22 would be its final day of operation. Lucy Hodgman in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/18/26

Cesar Chavez, a Civil Rights Icon, Is Accused of Abusing Girls for Years -- An investigation by The New York Times found extensive evidence that the United Farm Workers co-founder groomed and sexually abused girls who worked in the movement. Manny Fernandez and Sarah Hurtes in the New York Times$ Karen Garcia, Richard Winton and Melissa Gomez in the Los Angeles Times$ María G. Ortiz-Briones and Melissa Montalvo in the Fresno Bee Caelyn Pender in the San Jose Mercury$ Dustin Gardiner Politico -- 3/18/26

Sacramento to hold annual Cesar Chavez march amid ‘troubling’ abuse allegations -- The California-based labor union United Farm Workers, which Chavez helped found, said in a statement Tuesday that it learned of “deeply troubling allegations” involving the abuse of young women or minors. Mathew Miranda in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/18/26

Workplace

Silicon Valley Bet on War. The Bets Are Paying Off -- After years of criticism and financial risk, Palantir, Anthropic and small start-ups are generating rewards from their investments in defense tech. Sheera Frenkel in the New York Times$ -- 3/18/26

L.A. teachers union widely expected to announce strike date at massive Wednesday rally -- With contract negotiations at a standstill, leaders of the Los Angeles teachers union are widely expected on Wednesday to announce the date of a strike that, if carried out, would interrupt the education of about 390,000 students. Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/18/26

Teachers rally as potential strike looms at third Sacramento-area school district -- As teachers unions from two Sacramento-area school districts continued to strike on Tuesday, a third district’s teachers association is one step closer to joining the picket lines. Hannah Ruhoff and José Luis Villegas in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/18/26

California immigrant truckers face license crisis as new federal rules block renewals -- Thousands of immigrants in California won’t be able to renew or receive nondomiciled commercial driver’s licenses amid new federal guidelines that went into effect Monday. Ruben Vives in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/18/26

Software giant cuts more than 250 San Francisco jobs in pivot to AI -- Software company Atlassian laid off 252 employees at its San Francisco headquarters last week, according to state filings. The local layoffs at the Australian company’s office at 350 Bush St. are part of a larger plan to eliminate roughly 1,600 jobs worldwide — about 10% of the company’s global staff — with most of the reductions concentrated in North America. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/18/26

S.F. tech company expands its footprint as leasing surge lifts downtown office market -- Databricks has doubled down on San Francisco, with the tech company expanding its office footprint at 1 Sansome St. by 90,000 square feet as a resurgent office market — now increasingly powered by artificial intelligence tenants — shows its strongest momentum in years. Laura Waxmann in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/18/26

The Stubborn Billionaire Behind the L.A. Times’s Revamp -- Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong is working to combine the Los Angeles Times with studios and esports ventures and plans to take the company public. Alexandra Bruell in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/18/26

Immgration

A UC professor won criminology’s highest honor. Americans still don’t believe her research -- UC Irvine criminologist Charis E. Kubrin keeps proving that immigration doesn’t increase crime. Why hasn’t her message broken through? Raheem Hosseini in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/18/26

Campus

Conservative group asks Trump to target Stanford program to train diverse teachers -- A conservative group wants the Trump administration to investigate a Stanford University training course for teachers who are Black, Latino or Native American, arguing it violates white and Asian teachers’ civil rights. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/18/26

UC Jewish community paints disparate pictures of campus antisemitism -- Jewish faculty, students and others are calling on UC leaders to improve how they handle complaints of antisemitism — saying university response has been inadequate — but their viewpoints paint widely differing pictures of the campus climate for Jews. Jaweed Kaleem in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/18/26

Street

Newsom closed 5 California prisons. Why lawmakers might want to shut one more -- California is incarcerating 70,000 fewer people than it held in 2010, enabling the Newsom administration to close five state prisons. A new analysis says the state can close one more and still meet its capacity requirements. Adam Ashton Calmatters -- 3/18/26

Drivers are watching YouTube and TikTok behind the wheel. Experts say it’s getting worse -- Had the crash video not been so terrifying, it might have passed for low comedy. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/18/26

Close calls

FAA flags SFO, Oakland airports as ‘hot spots’ for runway close calls -- San Francisco International Airport and Oakland International are among 34 California airports flagged by federal regulators as having “hot spots,” areas on the ground where confusing layouts or busy runway crossings can increase the risk of close calls between aircraft. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/18/26

Also

California pledges to open 7% of its land and waters to Indigenous tribes — a step toward healing a 175-year-old broken promise -- That number represents roughly 7% of the state’s land and waters. It also corresponds with the amount of land the federal government promised it would hold as reservations for Indigenous tribes after California joined the union in 1850. Noah Haggerty in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/18/26

Garofoli: Even as he ponders a new war with Cuba, Trump can’t stop insulting the U.S. military -- The first six days of President Donald Trump’s war in Iran cost American taxpayers $11.3 billion, spiked gasoline prices an average of 38 cents a gallon nationally, killed eight (now 13) Americans, wounded 140 (now 200) others and slaughtered thousands of Iranians, including 175 at an elementary school, most of them children. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/18/26

Walters: California lawmakers weigh statewide plan to be accountable for closing student achievement gaps -- California is not only the nation’s most populous state; it’s also the nation’s most economically, ethnically, culturally and even geographically diverse state. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 3/18/26

POTUS 47

Trump’s Next Decision: Whether to Retrieve Iran’s Nuclear Fuel, Whatever the Risk -- A mission to seize or destroy Iran’s nuclear material would be one of the riskiest military operations in modern American history. David E. Sanger in the New York Times$ -- 3/18/26

Trump’s top counterterrorism aide resigns, citing Iran war -- Joe Kent, the head of the National Counterterrorism Center, said in a social media post Tuesday morning he “cannot in good conscience” support the administration’s war in Iran. John Sakellariadis Politico -- 3/18/26

Trump’s Advisers Circle the Wagons as Signs of Dissent Over Iran Emerge -- That decision—which ricocheted through Washington and foreign capitals on Tuesday—set off a scramble among President Trump’s top advisers, who moved quickly to criticize Kent, minimize his influence in the government and send a tacit message to administration officials that open skepticism of the war won’t be tolerated. Dustin Volz, Josh Dawsey and Meridith McGraw in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/18/26

'All bets are off': Trump's war on Iran confounds the world's central bankers -- The specter of a prolonged energy crunch could dash the hopes of consumers, businesses and investors worldwide for rate cuts this year. Victoria Guida, Johanna Treeck and Geoffrey Smith Politico -- 3/18/26

Fed expected to hold rates steady as war in Iran clouds outlook -- The Persian Gulf conflict threatens to reignite inflation while slowing growth, further complicating the Fed’s work. Andrew Ackerman in the Washington Post$ -- 3/18/26

Trump Promised the ‘World’s Lowest’ Drug Prices. We Checked the Numbers -- The TrumpRx website claims to offer the best prices for medications. Here’s where Americans still pay more — and much more. Rebecca Robbins in the New York Times$ -- 3/18/26