California Policy and Politics Friday

What to know about Gov. Newsom’s plan to offset California’s $45-billion deficit -- Faced with a $44.9-billion budget deficit, Gov. Gavin Newsom described a plan to shrink the size of state government and slow his progressive policy agenda by eliminating 10,000 vacant state jobs and pausing an expansion of subsidized childcare, among dozens of other cuts. Taryn Luna, Mackenzie Mays, Anabel Sosa in the Los Angeles Times$ Stephen Hobbs, Nicole Nixon in the Sacramento Bee$ Paul Rogers, Kate Talerico, Molly Gibbs in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/10/24

California AG plans how to thwart Trump with lawsuits if he wins another term -- California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said he and his staff have been reviewing former President Trump’s second-term agenda in detail to prepare a potential onslaught of environmental, immigration and civil rights lawsuits in the event Trump defeats President Biden. Noah Bierman, David G. Savage in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/10/24

‘Shut it down!’ How group chats, rumors and fear sparked a night of violence at UCLA -- As incendiary claims ricocheted across group chats and were amplified online, a crowd converged on UCLA and violence ignited when police left the scene. Matthew Ormseth, Connor Sheets, Brittny Mejia, Ruben Vives, Jessica Garrison, Summer Lin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/10/24

Fireworks, drones, Travis Scott hats: USC hosts alternative graduation event. Feelings are mixed -- With no main-stage ceremony and three weeks of turmoil, USC invited graduating seniors to partake in an ‘electric’ celebration at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Angie Orellana Hernandez, Hailey Branson-Potts, Jaweed Kaleem in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/10/24

UC Berkeley institute backs down on tentative Senate debate amid campus upheaval -- An institute at the University of California, Berkeley has withdrawn invitations for a tentative Senate race debate between Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and GOP rival Steve Garvey, citing safety concerns. Christopher Cadelago, Melanie Mason Politico -- 5/10/24

Today’s campus protesters invoke the anti-apartheid movement — but there’s one big difference -- There was near-unanimous opposition to South African apartheid. Now, Americans are split. Joe Garofoli, Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/10/24

Hollywood mega-donor Haim Saban slams Biden’s decision to halt weapons shipment to Israel -- Democratic mega-donor and Hollywood media mogul Haim Saban slammed President Biden’s decision to put a shipment of weapons to Israel on hold because they could be used in an offensive against a densely populated city in southern Gaza. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/10/24

How Huntington Beach’s library became a battleground in the book culture war -- A conservative majority of the City Council approved policies to restrict minors’ access to books and is considering options to privatize the public library. Community members are pushing back. Ryan Fonseca in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/10/24

Battle in Huntington Beach after transgender surfer barred from longboard competition -- An Orange County surf competition organizer said transgender athlete Sasha Jane Lowerson couldn’t compete in the women’s division, but changed course after the California Coastal Commission intervened. HanAfter fall in demand for COVID-19 tests, San Diego’s QuidelOrtho to lay off 500 workersnah Fry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/10/24

Biden administration wants to speed up deportation for some migrants. How will it work? -- The Biden administration proposed a rule Thursday aimed at speeding up the deportation process for migrants who are already ineligible for asylum. Andrea Castillo in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/10/24

It’s official: Oakland approves adding ‘San Francisco Bay’ to airport name -- Officials in Oakland voted formally to change the name of the city’s airport to San Francisco Bay Oakland International airport on Thursday — openly defying San Francisco leaders who are suing the city for control of the moniker. Eli Rosenberg in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/10/24

Oakland Airport fires back and sues San Francisco over name dispute -- East Bay officials fired back with a lawsuit against San Francisco in the latest twist arising from an increasingly tangled legal war over a quest to rename Oakland International Airport. George Avalos in the East Bay Times$ -- 5/10/24

When President Biden visits, wallets open: Bay Area fundraisers net big checks from “bundlers” -- San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose metro areas raised nearly $30 million for Biden reelection so far. Julia Prodis Sulek, Harriet Blair Rowan in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/10/24

Corporate America Is Sitting Out the Trump-Biden Rematch -- Business leaders felt in 2020 that they couldn’t afford to stay silent on social and political issues. In 2024, many hope to take a quieter approach. Chip Cutter, Ray A. Smith in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 5/10/24

California Attorney General won’t decide on governor run until after election, he says -- California Attorney General Rob Bonta won’t say if he’s running for governor until at least November, he told The Sacramento Bee during a quick one-day trip to Washington D.C. Gillian Brassil, David Lightman in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/10/24

Walters: San Francisco’s school system flirts with insolvency. It’s not the only one in California -- State education officials are intervening to address San Francisco Unified’s chronic budget problems and stave off insolvency. But it’s not the only example of fiscal mismanagement in California K-12 system. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 5/10/24

Workplace

LAist staffers offered buyouts ahead of possible layoffs at public radio station -- Staffers at LAist have been offered buyouts ahead of a possible round of layoffs. The local public radio station has cited ‘a significant budget shortfall.’ Christi Carras in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/10/24

Google, Rivian Automotive trim Bay Area jobs as tech layoffs persist -- Google and Rivian Automotive have decided to trim more tech jobs in the Bay Area, official state government filings show, a disquieting reminder that the crucial industry continues to hunt for ways to slash labor costs. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/10/24

After fall in demand for COVID-19 tests, San Diego’s QuidelOrtho to lay off 500 workers -- QuidelOrtho, a local diagnostic company that makes at-home COVID-19 test kits, has a new CEO and announced Wednesday that it will cut at least 5 percent of its workforce to save money. Natallie Rocha in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/10/24

Electricity Rates

Californians will see lower electricity rates and a new fee that won’t vary with power use -- California utilities will shift billing to a fixed fee starting in 2025. Most Californians won’t see much change, or will have a lower bill. Ben Christopher CalMatters George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ Rob Nikolewski in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ Ari Plachta in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/10/24

Insurance

Tokio Marine, Mercury strike deal to keep thousands of Californians from losing insurance coverage -- Thousands of Californians on track to lose home insurance will be able to keep it after two insurers struck a deal to maintain coverage after one of them announced a pullout. Megan Fan Munce in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/10/24

Travelers is the latest California insurer to raise rates. How to find coverage in your area -- Travelers Insurance is the latest coverage provider that has either increased its rates or limited its policy offering, further straining the availability of policies in California. Karen Garcia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/10/24

Education

UCLA may have to pay UC Berkeley $10 million of ‘Calimony’ a year -- University of California President Michael Drake is recommending that UCLA pay UC Berkeley $10 million a year through the 2029-30 school year to help Cal shore up its athletic department in the wake of the collapse of the Pac-12 conference. Suzanne Espinosa Solis in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/10/24

When is a California college degree worth the cost? A new study has answers -- Students attending California’s public colleges and ßuniversities see better returns on investment than those at most nonprofit private colleges and for-profit institutions. Mikhail Zinshteyn CalMatters Molly Gibbs in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/10/24

The UCs are a better investment than most U.S. colleges. See data on every school -- According to an analysis by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, attending a University of California and California State University campus yields a higher short-term return on investment than a non-California public university by $78,000 and $57,000, respectively. Nami Sumida in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/10/24

Amid protest turmoil, USC graduates invited to an ‘electric’ alternative celebration -- With no mainstage ceremony and three weeks of turmoil, USC invited graduating seniors to partake in an “electric” celebration at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum. Angie Orellana Hernandez, Hailey Branson-Potts, Jaweed Kaleem in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/10/24

COVID

New FLiRT COVID variants could create ‘perfect storm for a wavelet’ -- The emergence of a new set of coronavirus variants, known colloquially as FLiRT, is sparking concerns about a potential summer uptick in COVID-19 cases after an extended period of calm and a relatively mild winter. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/10/24

Develop

S.F.’s massive Stonestown development wins approval, lauded as example of fixing city’s housing woes -- The project would generate 800 annual construction and development-related jobs, as well as 1,400 permanent jobs. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/10/24

S.F. nonprofits secure $100 million gift for affordable artist housing on Market Street -- A new proposal would bring 100 affordable housing units for artists on Market Street, funded by an anonymous $100 million gift. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/10/24

Housing

S.F.’s strange saga of turning a Nordstrom parking lot into housing is over, for now -- The infamous former Nordstrom valet parking lot at 469 Stevenson St. — which became a symbol of San Francisco dysfunction in 2021 when the Board of Supervisors temporarily rejected 494 units of housing there — will remain a parking lot. At least for the foreseeable future. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/10/24

Report: 80 percent of low-income San Diegans spending more than half their income on rent -- San Diego’s Affordable Housing Needs Report, released Thursday by the nonprofit California Housing Partnership, gave the region poor marks across the board for everything from homeless housing to subsidized rentals — and sounds the alarm on decreasing funding. Phillip Molnar in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/10/24

S.F. program gives homeless people free booze. Here’s why the city says it’s helpful -- For a small slice of San Francisco’s homeless population that struggles with severe alcohol addiction, nurses offer treatment not in a pill, but in a shot of vodka or a glass of beer. It may sound counterintuitive, experts say, but it helps keep people off the streets and out of emergency rooms, jails — or the morgue. St. John Barned-Smith, Maggie Angst in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/10/24

Street

Antioch police officers named in racist texting scandal conspired to ‘injure, oppress, threaten and intimidate’ residents, lawsuit claims -- The lawsuit comes five months after video surfaced of one violent encounter involving Antioch officers. Jakob Rodgers in the East Bay Times$ -- 5/10/24

Also

Graffitied skyscraper in downtown Los Angeles poised for sale -- Oceanwide Plaza, the bankrupt, unfinished development in downtown Los Angeles that became a canvas for trespassing graffiti artists, is officially on the market. Roger Vincent in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/10/24

Famed Ansel Adams photos of Yosemite, Golden Gate to be featured on new U.S. stamps -- Iconic landscapes will go on sale Wednesday after ceremony in Yosemite Valley. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/10/24