California Policy and Politics Saturday

Helicopter with six people onboard crashes in San Bernardino County near Nevada border -- A Eurocopter EC 130 helicopter crashed east of the 15 Freeway near Nipton, Calif., about 10 p.m., according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Six people were onboard. It is unknown if any of the passengers survived. Carlos Lozano in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/10/24

Policy & Politics

Schiff super PAC runs ads on Fox News despite his calls for network boycott -- Rep. Adam Schiff doesn’t want advertisers giving money to Fox, but a pro-Schiff PAC doesn’t mind paying the conservative network. Sarah Grace Taylor Politico -- 2/10/24

No Super Bowl wager between Newsom and Missouri governor. Instead, a poke at DeSantis -- Gov. Gavin Newsom headed to Las Vegas on Friday to cheer for the San Francisco 49ers against the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. Taryn Luna in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/10/24

Smith: The many reasons MAGA’s love for San Francisco shouldn’t stop with the Super Bowl -- Forget the politics of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. The politics being debated in the California city lately are more conservative than progressive. Erika D. Smith in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/10/24

Centrist groups say they want to save San Francisco. Progressives see a hostile takeover -- Sporting similar names and millions in tech money, a constellation of political groups is looking to reorient power in San Francisco. Jeremy B. White Politico -- 2/10/24

Unions, business groups unleash a deluge of outside spending in L.A. council races -- Firefighters, the police union and other groups are spending big in the Hollywood Hills district represented by Councilmember Nithya Raman. David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/10/24

Storm Train

La Niña on the horizon? California’s wild weather year could get even weirder -- Storm-soaked California is still in the clutches of a wet El Niño winter, but in an unexpected plot twist, La Niña could be hot on its heels. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/10/24

AT&T

Millions in California could lose their AT&T landlines. Here’s why -- AT&T wants to pull out of its longstanding obligation to offer landline services to millions of Californians and hundreds of thousands in the Bay Area. Annie Vainshtein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Destiny Torres in the Orange County Register -- 2/10/24

Workplace

Talent agency A3 to shut down on Monday -- Adam Bold, A3’s chairman, said in an interview that it was last summer’s dual Hollywood strikes “that broke us financially.” Wendy Lee in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/10/24

Family remembers crew member who died on ‘Wonder Man’ set: ‘A stickler for safety at work’ -- The family of a crew member who died this week on the Los Angeles set of a Marvel TV show has spoken out, advocating safety measures for below-the-line workers in Hollywood. Christi Carras in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/10/24

California fast-food workers form a unique union in a bid for higher wages, better working conditions -- The union is a unique effort that will pave the way for more than half a million workers at fast-food chains across the state to bargain as a single sector — and could chart a course for other industries across the United States. Suhauna Hussain in the Los Angeles Times$ Alejandra Reyes-Velarde CalMatters -- 2/10/24

Homeless

L.A. hotel’s homeless residents forced school to shut down, lawsuit says -- The school occupied the first three floors of the L.A. Grand Hotel, which since 2021 has been used as temporary housing for hundreds of homeless Angelenos. Noah Goldberg, Angie Orellana Hernandez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/10/24

L.A. should pay $6.4 million for slow action on cleaning homeless camps, judge is told -- Lawyers alleging in suit that L.A. failed to shelter homeless people are asking a federal judge to fine the city for allegedly failing to comply with a settlement. Doug Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/10/24

POTUS

How your memory really works, and how it changes as you age -- Memory lapses happen at every age, but recent missteps by Biden and Trump have sparked questions about memory and aging. Caitlin Gilbert, Gretchen Reynolds, Richard Sima, Teddy Amenabar in the Washington Post$ -- 2/10/24

How Old Is Too Old to Be President? An Uncomfortable Question Arises Again -- Either of the leading 2024 candidates would be the oldest occupant of the Oval Office ever by the end of his term, and neither seems eager to discuss the ramifications. Peter Baker in the New York Times$ -- 2/10/24

Lopez: Is Biden impaired? Is Trump? Experts don’t know, but the issue is here to stay -- There’s no escaping it now. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/10/24

Border

Mexican inspection stations are blocking gaps in the San Diego desert border fence. Will it slow crossings? -- The immigration checkpoints are Mexico’s latest strategy to deter unauthorized migration at the San Diego-Mexico border. But advocates and volunteers say they expect migrants to keep coming. Alexandra Mendoza in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 2/10/24

Education

Westchester student sues L.A. Unified, alleges sexual abuse by assistant basketball coach -- A Westchester Enriched Sciences Magnet student has filed a lawsuit against the L.A. Unified School District, alleging she was sexually abused by an assistant basketball coach. Andrew J. Campa in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/10/24

Suspect in custody after shooting on UC Berkeley campus. No victims, police say -- The arrest came after numerous students reported hearing three or four shots near the MLK Student Union, according to police and the student newspaper. Noah Goldberg in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/10/24

Street

She hopes CARE Court will save her husband. Two months in, she’s waiting for answers -- The CARE Act gives family members for the first time an opportunity to request treatment for spouses, children or relatives experiencing severe psychiatric distress. Thomas Curwen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/10/24

Also

‘This project will happen.’ Del Mar residents remain unhappy with plan for train tunnel -- Del Mar residents continue to stress their strong opposition to any plan that takes trains off the crumbling coastal bluffs and onto a new route through a tunnel underneath their homes. Phil Diehl in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 2/10/24