California Policy and Politics Wednesday

Nikki Haley will suspend her campaign and leave Donald Trump as the last major Republican candidate -- Nikki Haley will suspend her presidential campaign Wednesday after being soundly defeated across the country on Super Tuesday, according to people familiar with her decision, leaving Donald Trump as the last remaining major candidate for the 2024 Republican nomination. Steve Peoples, Meg Kinnard Associated Press -- 3/6/24

California will be without a female senator for the first time in 32 years -- Rep. Katie Porter’s third-place finish on Super Tuesday means a man will take the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat. Lara Korte Politico -- 3/6/24

Does Steve Garvey have a shot against Adam Schiff for U.S. Senate? -- The Republican former baseball star and Democratic representative emerge from the top-two primary and will face off in November. Garvey has an uphill battle to become the first Republican to win statewide since 2006. Yue Stella Yu CalMatters -- 3/6/24

Schiff and Garvey headed to November ballot for coveted California Senate seat -- Concluding California’s most competitive Senate primary in a generation, Rep. Adam B. Schiff of Burbank and retired Dodgers player Steve Garvey will square off in November to represent the Golden State in Washington. Laura J. Nelson, Benjamin Oreskes in the Los Angeles Times$ Shira Stein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ John Woolfolk in the San Jose Mercury$ Clara Harter in the Los Angeles Daily News$ Christine Mai-Duc in the Wall Street Journal$ Maeve Reston in the Washington Post$ -- 3/6/24

Barabak: In California’s marquee Senate race, voters stick with what they know -- Adam Schiff got the November opponent he wanted. Steve Garvey was set up to be knocked down. Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/6/24

Newsom’s Prop 1 holds narrow lead in California primary -- Proposition 1, a statewide bond measure that Gov. Gavin Newsom championed as critical to solving the state’s mental health and homelessness crisis, held a narrow lead in early returns on Tuesday evening in California’s primary election. Taryn Luna in the Los Angeles Times$ Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Ethan Varian in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/6/24

Here’s what results in key California House races look like so far -- With Republicans holding a razor-thin three-seat majority and California home to several swing seats, control of Congress in 2025 could very well be decided by voters in Golden State suburbs. Julia Wick in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/6/24

Ex-San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo leads in race to replace U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo in Congress, Supervisor Joe Simitian, Assemblymember Evan Low locked in tight battle -- The congressional District 16 race is one of two open House of Representatives seats in the Bay Area this year and is the most expensive House race in the state. Grace Hase in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/6/24

Republican Kevin Kiley, Democrat Jessica Morse to battle in close November House race -- Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Roseville, and Democrat Jessica Morse, a former deputy secretary working on wildfire resilience at the California Natural Resources Agency, will advance to the Nov. 5 general election, the Associated Press projected. Gillian Brassil in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/6/24

Voters make it clear: San Francisco can no longer be called a progressive city -- Not after voters approved ballot measures Tuesday to loosen restrictions on the police and screen welfare recipients for drugs, while a measure to boost developers was leading and likely to pass. Joe Garofoli, Aldo Toledo in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/6/24

S.F. Mayor Breed needed a political win on Election Day. She got one -- San Francisco Mayor London Breed needed a political victory to show strength as she heads into a tough reelection fight that polling shows she could lose. J.D. Morris in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/6/24

S.F. voters send clear message supporting more aggressive response to drug crisis -- A contentious ballot measure sponsored by Mayor London Breed to mandate drug screenings for welfare recipients was overwhelmingly passed Tuesday, sending a clear message that voters want to see a more aggressive response to the city’s drug crisis. Maggie Angst in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Dustin Gardiner Politico -- 3/6/24

Gascón, Hochman jump out to early leads in hotly contested L.A. County D.A. race -- Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón — the so-called “godfather of progressive prosecutors” — is squaring off against an enormous field of challenges that will soon be whittled down to two. James Queally, Sonja Sharp in the Los Angeles Times$ Clara Harter in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 3/6/24

S.F. election: Prop. B ‘cop tax’ related to police staffing fails --San Francisco voters on Tuesday rejected a controversial ballot measure that supporters said was meant to increase police staffing but was branded by its opponents as a “cop tax.” Proposition B failed to pass with 66% of voters against the measure. J.D. Morris in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/6/24

California Assembly, Senate Democrats turned primary races into fight over party’s future -- California interest groups bet big on Sacramento Assembly candidate Maggy Krell. Now, it looks like the nearly $1 million they spent on the Democratic deputy attorney general will pay off. Lindsey Holden in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/6/24

Measure HLA, an effort to create hundreds of miles of bus and bike lanes, leads by wide margins in early returns -- If passed, it would require 238 miles of protected bike lanes and add hundreds more unprotected lanes, transforming some of the region’s most storied boulevards. Rachel Uranga in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/6/24

S.F. voters overwhelmingly approve ethics rules overhaul in wake of corruption scandal -- San Franciscans approved changes to city ethics rules amid a string of political scandals involving both corrupt city officials and top leaders in nonprofits that provide city services. Proposition D won Tuesday with 88.5% of votes. Aldo Toledo in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/6/24

LAUSD candidates whose campaigns were hit by late controversies leading in early returns -- One school board candidate has had to explain antisemitic online posts. Another has remained silent about an investigation. Both could make November runoffs. Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/6/24

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan appears to cruise to reelection, other key South Bay seats to get new faces -- San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan appeared to be easily cruising to reelection Tuesday, two years after he first took office due to a change that aligned the mayoral race with the presidential election in an effort to boost voter turnout. Grace Hase in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/6/24

Three leading for Sacramento mayor in early returns -- Sacramento mayoral candidates Dr. Richard Pan, Steve Hansen and Kevin McCarty are leading in early returns Tuesday to replace Darrell Steinberg, but it’s too early to tell which two will advance to the November election. Theresa Clift in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/6/24

Business Voices

Two big-name Bay Area business groups eye merger -- Prompted in part by the artificial intelligence boom, the San Francisco-based Bay Area Council and the Silicon Valley Leadership Group are exploring a merger. Chase DiFeliciantonio in the San Francisco Chronicle$ George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/6/24

Workplace

Levi’s to lay off nearly 150 employees at S.F. headquarters -- Levi Strauss & Co. has initiated the first round of cuts at its San Francisco headquarters as part of a broader plan to trim its global corporate workforce by 10% to 15% in the first half of this year. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/6/24

More than 200 San Diego Unified employees could be laid off after school board eliminates hundreds of job positions -- More than 200 San Diego Unified employees could be laid off after school board eliminates hundreds of job positions. Kristen Taketa in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 3/6/24

Union Square

Luxury designer Burberry seeking buyer for its high-profile Union Square building in S.F. --Macy’s isn’t the only retailer looking to sell what not long ago was prime real estate in San Francisco’s premier downtown shopping district. Laura Waxmann in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/6/24

Inflation

Californians face higher costs for goods and services than before the pandemic despite inflation slowing -- The consumer price index shows services are mostly responsible for persistent inflation, but prices for food and other goods in California remain high. Levi Sumagaysay CalMatters -- 3/6/24

Homeless

This California county is testing AI’s ability to prevent homelessness -- Machine learning predicts who will end up on the street, and then social workers step in and offer to help. It’s an experiment still in progress, but so far nearly 90% of participants kept their housing. Marisa Kendall CalMatters -- 3/6/24

Housing

This S.F. island has had a housing boom. Here’s how the city plans to keep it going -- The rapid development of housing and infrastructure on Treasure Island has been among the most unlikely storylines of post-pandemic San Francisco real estate. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/6/24

Water

Risks ease for Colorado River reservoirs after wet winter, but long-term challenges loom -- After a wet year and a push to conserve water in the Southwest, federal officials say the risk of the Colorado River’s reservoirs declining to critically low levels has substantially eased for the next couple of years. Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/6/24

Education

S.F. election: Prop G Algebra in middle schools measure endorsed by voters -- San Francisco voters sent a clear and decisive message to the city’s school board Tuesday, demanding through Proposition G that the district bring Algebra 1 back into middle schools. The result was evident from the first election returns, with nearly 85% backing the measure. Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/6/24

UC applications rise for fall 2024, with gains in diversity and transfer applicants -- University of California applications rose to 250,000 for fall, driven by a rebound in transfer applicants and gains in racial, ethnic and socioeconomic diversity. Teresa Watanabe in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/6/24

Chico State professor resigned after findings of dishonesty, retaliation -- Chico State University was about to fire former biology professor David Stachura for dishonesty, sexual harassment and retaliation when it agreed to withdraw the charges last month in exchange for his resignation in a deal that bans him from working again in the California State University system, documents obtained by EdSource show. Thomas Peele EdSource -- 3/5/24

Climate

The Arctic Ocean could be ‘ice-free’ within the decade, researchers warn -- The first ice-free days of the Arctic Ocean could occur as soon as the 2020s or 2030s — as many as 10 years earlier than previous projections. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/6/24

Klamath River

The Klamath River salmon die-off was tragic. Was it predictable? -- Large numbers of young Chinook salmon were found dead two days after being released from a state hatchery. But biologists say river conditions were okay and they were shocked by the die-off. The suspected cause is pressure changes in a Klamath dam tunnel. Rachel Becker CalMatters -- 3/6/24

Also

Donald Trump, Seeking Cash Infusion, Meets With Elon Musk -- It’s not clear whether Mr. Musk will spend any of his billions on the former president’s behalf. If he does, he could erase Mr. Trump’s financial disadvantage in the 2024 race. Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Swan, Ryan Mac in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/6/24