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Updating . . .
California Policy and Politics Friday
Bay Area biotech giant to cut hundreds of jobs at Silicon Valley headquarters -- Bay Area molecular diagnostics giant Cepheid has announced plans to eliminate 626 positions at its Sunnyvale headquarters by Sept. 27, according to regulatory filings. The cuts will affect approximately 13% of the company’s 4,800-strong workforce. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/2/24
Chevron to Leave California for Texas, as Regulations Mount in Golden State -- The second-largest U.S. oil company said Friday it plans to move its global headquarters to Houston, the U.S. energy industry capital. Chevron has built a stronghold of about 7,000 employees there, partly from a matriculation of executives and white-collar workers decamping from California. Collin Eaton in the Wall Street Journal$ Dominic Fracassa in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Don Lee in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/2/24
California lawmakers negotiating sweeping package to speed up solar, wind energy -- Legislators and Gov. Newsom are working behind the scenes to draft energy legislation before the end-of-the-month deadline. Alejandro Lazo and Julie Cart CalMatters -- 8/2/24
Gavin Newsom, firefighter-in-chief -- The governor of fire-prone California is leaning into the role, trumpeting new resources and attempting to make an asset out of the state’s increasing flammability. Camille Von Kaenel Politico -- 8/2/24
S.F. mayor’s race spending eclipses $6 million as wealthy donors flock to Daniel Lurie -- San Francisco is seeing huge amounts of money pour into its hard-fought mayoral election this year, and so far, the candidate who’s attracting the most financial support is Daniel Lurie, the nonprofit founder and Levi Strauss heir trying to unseat incumbent London Breed. J.D. Morris in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/2/24
Plagued by landslides, Rancho Palos Verdes residents had their gas cut off. Electricity may go next -- Days after gas service was abruptly cut off to a group of homes facing accelerating landslide damage, fear and anxiety are mounting in Rancho Palos Verdes that other utilities could soon follow suit. Grace Toohey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/2/24
Walters: While Newsom brags about California’s economy, unemployment data tells a different story -- Gov. Gavin Newsom tirelessly touts the size and strength of California’s economy, often contrasting it with those of other states. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 8/2/24
Wildfire
New map shows California fire risk worsening in August -- Fire forecasts have since shifted dramatically for California, with nearly the entire northern part of the state now considered at above-normal risk for wildfires in August, according to a map published Thursday by the National Interagency Fire Center. Julie Johnson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/2/24
A megafire overwhelmed even some of the best preparations. What’s next? -- Northern Californians thought they were ready for the Park Fire. It was worse than they feared. Scott Dance in the Washington Post$ -- 8/2/24
Workplace
Intel to cut 15,000 jobs in one of biggest mass tech layoffs since pandemic -- Intel confirmed on Thursday that it plans to cut about 15,000 positions, or 15% of its roughly 100,000-employee global workforce, and suspend dividend payments starting in the fourth quarter until cash flows improve. Aidin Vaziri, Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Asa Fitch in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 8/2/24
Hollywood Teamsters and other crew unions ratify new contracts -- A coalition of labor unions representing drivers, location managers, animal trainers, electricians, plumbers and other Hollywood crew members have ratified new three-year agreements with the major studios. Christi Carras in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/2/24
Striking video game performers protest unregulated AI use at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank -- More than 300 video game performers and Hollywood actors picketed in front of the Warner Bros. Studios building on Thursday to protest against what they call an unwillingness from top gaming companies to protect union voice actors and motion capture workers equally against the unregulated use of artificial intelligence. Sarah Parvini and Kaitlyn Huamani Associated Press -- 8/2/24
Homeless
Breed orders S.F. homeless people be offered bus tickets out of town before shelter or housing -- The mayor’s new executive order, which marks a shift from current practices, comes amid an escalated crackdown on homeless encampments after a recent court Supreme Court ruling gave city officials more power to enforce anti-camping laws. Maggie Angst in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/2/24
Rent
San Francisco seeks ban of software critics say is used to artificially inflate rents -- Supporters say the ban would be the first of its kind targeting software that has allegedly played an outsized role in increasing the cost of housing — not just in notoriously expensive San Francisco, but in markets across the country. Salvador Hernandez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/2/24
‘Taking it off the speculative market’: These nonprofits help tenants afford to stay put -- California community land trusts – which buy land and sell or rent the buildings on it to low-income residents— have tripled. Felicia Mello CalMatters -- 8/2/24
Education
UCSF faces threat from House Republicans over alleged campus antisemitism -- Three House Republicans are warning UCSF that allegations of “pervasive acts of antisemitic harassment and intimidation” could violate federal law and cost the San Francisco medical center its participation in Medicare and Medicaid. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/2/24
AI is about to blow up the $3 billion college application industry -- Tech startups are helping students navigate school selection and improve their applications with artificial intelligence. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/2/24
Klamath
Wild horses are romping all over California’s massive dam-removal project -- The massive dam-removal project on the Klamath River, near the California-Oregon border, has faced all sorts of challenges. The newest one may be the most unexpected: wild horses. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/2/24
Climate
Death Valley just recorded the hottest month ever observed on the planet -- July was also the hottest month on record for dozens of other cities in the western United States, including Sacramento, Las Vegas and Portland, Ore. Dan Stillman in the Washington Post$ -- 8/2/24
That’s hot: Needles dethrones Phoenix as hottest U.S. city in July -- A town of 5,200 just inside the California border along Route 66 now boasts a scorching new record — the hottest monthly average temperature in the country. Sandra McDonald in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/2/24
Valley Fever
A soil fungus that can kill is on the rise in California: What to know about Valley fever -- About 80 Californians die every year after contracting Valley fever, a fungal disease that typically affects the lungs. A recent outbreak was traced to a music festival in Kern County. Ana B. Ibarra CalMatters -- 8/2/24
Top of the Ticket Kamala
Harris Says She and Biden ‘Never Stopped’ Fighting for Release of Americans -- The release of prisoners was a move by President Biden to secure his legacy. On Thursday, he and his White House made clear that Vice President Kamala Harris had been a partner in the effort. Katie Rogers and Zolan Kanno-Youngs in the New York Times$ -- 8/2/24
Harris campaign rakes in $310M in July, far outpacing Trump -- The Biden-turned-Harris operation ended the month with a $50 million cash advantage. Elena Schneider Politico -- 8/2/24
Democrats begin process of officially making Harris their nominee -- The vice president, likely to clinch the Democratic nomination shortly, is poised to choose a running mate, capping off a tumultuous month. Matt Viser in the Washington Post$ Lisa Lerer, Reid J. Epstein and Katie Glueck in the New York Times$ -- 8/2/24
As Trump Attacks Her Identity, Harris Responds on Her Own Terms -- Vice President Kamala Harris condemned former President Donald J. Trump’s remarks. But she also made it clear she would not engage in a debate with a white man critiquing her Black identity. Nicholas Nehamas, Maya King and Jazmine Ulloa in the New York Times$ -- 8/2/24
Trump
$10M cash withdrawal drove secret probe into whether Trump took money from Egypt -- The discovery intensified a secret criminal investigation that had begun two years earlier with classified U.S. intelligence indicating that Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi sought to give Trump $10 million to boost his 2016 presidential campaign, a Washington Post investigation has found. Aaron C. Davis and Carol D. Leonnig in the Washington Post$ -- 8/2/24
Not One of Us: Trump Uses Old Tactic to Sow Suspicion About Harris -- Politicians have long cast their opponents as outsiders. But Donald J. Trump has taken the strategy to the next level against Kamala Harris. Adam Nagourney in the New York Times$ -- 8/2/24
‘I love my black job’: Simone Biles joins those throwing shade at Trump -- The former president has prompted criticism for asserting without evidence that immigrants coming into the United States illegally are “taking Black jobs.” Rick Noack in the Washington Post$ -- 8/2/24
Trump claims he’s ‘best president’ for Black Americans. Black Americans disagree -- According to recent national polling, Black voters favor Vice President Kamala Harris over Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Raheem Hosseini in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/2/24
Biden, Trump exchange jabs as Russia prisoner swap turns political -- The intricate, seven-country prisoner exchange — coming just 96 days before Election Day — was quickly thrust into the nation’s fraught political landscape. Toluse Olorunnipa and Isaac Arnsdorf in the Washington Post$ -- 8/2/24
Trump Floats End to Taxes on Social Security Benefits -- The idea continues Trump’s practice of teasing large tax cuts with little detail and little clarity about the broader fiscal consequences. Richard Rubin in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 8/2/24
Trump Cites Opportunity Zones as a Triumph. Their Success Is Middling -- A tax incentive, with bipartisan roots, aims to foster development in poor areas. It has fueled building, but it hasn’t always aided local residents. Lydia DePillis in the New York Times$ -- 8/2/24
Trump was ‘trying to show strength’ in Chicago. He stepped on his campaign’s own talking points instead -- It was perhaps the most vivid illustration yet of how, for all of its sophistication compared to Trump’s 2016 and 2020 operations, even a more professionalized Trump campaign is no match for the impulses of the candidate himself. Natalie Allison, Meridith Mcgraw and Alex Isenstadt Politico -- 8/2/24
Trump Escalates Race Attacks on Harris, Worrying Some Republicans -- A day after telling Black journalists that Vice President Kamala Harris had recently decided to become “a Black person,” Mr. Trump shared a photo of Ms. Harris in traditional Indian clothing. Shane Goldmacher in the New York Times$ -- 8/2/24
Trump hits back at Dem attacks: ‘They’re the weird ones’ -- “Nobody’s ever called me weird. I’m a lot of things, but weird I’m not,” Trump said. Irie Sentner Politico -- 8/2/24
Trump campaign says it raised $138.7 million in July -- Former President Donald Trump pulled in nearly $140 million in July, his campaign announced Thursday, a major haul coming off of the Republican National Convention and an assassination attempt. Irie Sentner Politico -- 8/2/24
Updating . . .
California Policy and Politics Thursday
California expected a normal fire season. Then one thing changed -- In June, temperatures rose dramatically across inland California and did not cool down for three weeks, even at night. Suddenly, there was little room for error. Julie Johnson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/1/24
California experiencing most severe start to wildfire season in 16 years -- Through July 30, more than 629,000 acres, nearly a thousand square miles, burned statewide — the most by that date since 2008, according to a Bay Area News Group analysis of data from the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/1/24
‘What are the odds?’ California family lost one home to wildfire in 2018 — and a second in 2024 -- The Daneaus lost their home when the 2018 Camp fire destroyed the town of Paradise. They moved to Cohasset, where dozens of homes, including theirs, were destroyed in the Park fire. Grace Toohey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/1/24
Santa Cruz Mountains residents on edge as series of fires investigated as potential arson -- The four incidents took place over the course of 11 days. Isha Trivedi in the East Bay Times$ -- 8/1/24
Privacy
How much does your city know about you? This Southern California city opens up -- Police patrol cars scan license plates. A camera logs how many vehicles pass through an intersection. Smart water meters track each time a resident turns on their tap. Beachgoers heading to the sand enter their license plate number and credit card information into a mobile app to pay for parking. Hannah Fry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/1/24
Workplace
SunPower solar business meltdown triggers hundreds of Bay Area layoffs -- The solar energy company has decided to chop an estimated 202 jobs in the Bay Area, according to WARN letters the company sent to the state Employment Development Department. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/1/24
Disney television unit hit with 140 layoffs, including cuts at National Geographic -- The cuts at Disney Entertainment Television will reportedly affect National Geographic, Freeform and local television stations, as well as marketing and publicity teams. Samantha Masunaga in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/1/24
Bay Area companies lay off hundreds of workers as major cuts go beyond tech sector -- San Francisco-based biotech firm FibroGen said it would cut around 75% of its U.S. workforce, following the failure of two pancreatic cancer drug clinical trials. The company “plans to implement an immediate and significant cost reduction plan in the U.S.” Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/1/24
UC healthcare and service workers demand wage hike and housing aid -- Hundreds of UC healthcare and campus service workers converged at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center to picket, demanding higher wages and housing aid. Veronica Roseborough in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/1/24
Rent
The hidden role of public pensions in raising rents in California -- Public pension systems are investing billions of dollars into private equity funds that purchase apartments and often sharply raise rent, an L.A. Times investigation found. Andrew Khouri and Ben Poston in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/1/24
A new limit on rent increases takes effect today. What to expect -- On Thursday, some L.A. County tenants may wake up to a 30-day notice of a rent hike from their landlord. Other renters may have known about an increase since July. The silver lining is that, for many Californians, the amount of the increase is limited by law. Karen Garcia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/1/24
Homeless
S.F. doesn’t really know how many people are homeless in the city. Here’s what experts say could help -- How many homeless people are in San Francisco? It depends on where you look. Christian Leonard in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/1/24
The Dust
Danger in the dust: Coachella Valley residents struggle to breathe -- A hazardous haze, made up of small, inhalable particles, casts a pall over the desert. This year has been severe, triggering asthma attacks — so what is being done to clean it up? Alejandra Reyes-Velarde CalMatters -- 8/1/24
Education
UC President Drake to step down after managing pandemic, policing, protests, budget woes -- University of California President Michael V. Drake announced Wednesday he would step down at the academic year, after managing the pandemic, policing, protests and budget woes during a challenging four-year tenure. Teresa Watanabe in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/1/24
Housing
He Wanted a Three-Bedroom House for $350,000. Here’s the California City Where He Found It -- Javier Herrera, an elementary school teacher in Bakersfield, Calif., is dedicated to improving his community through education. But he’s also on a mission to achieve financial security through the local real estate market. Michele Lerner in the New York Times$ -- 8/1/24
Water
State Water Project supplies could fall up to 23% within 20 years due to climate change -- Such a loss in the State Water Project’s water delivery capacity, if not addressed, could lead to major shortages for much of the state, including Southern California. Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/1/24
Top of the Ticket - Kamala
Harris Responds to Trump’s Comments About Her Identity: ‘Divisiveness and Disrespect’ -- The vice president’s calibrated rebuttal was perhaps an early indication of how she will respond to racist and crude attacks from Donald Trump. Nicholas Nehamas in the New York Times$ Cleve R. Wootson Jr. and Sabrina Rodriguez in the Washington Post$ Adam Wren and Megan Messerly Politico -- 8/1/24
Garofoli: Questioning Kamala Harris’ Blackness, Trump blends racism and ignorance -- But on Wednesday, Trump sank lower, melding his racist language with ignorance by saying that Vice President Kamala Harris only recently “turned Black.” He reduced a history-making candidate, and an important national understanding of our growing multiethnicity, to his language of cruelty and anti-wokeism. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/1/24
Harris Says She Rescued California Homeowners Hurt by the Financial Crisis. The Reality Is More Complex -- Banks met half of their mortgage-relief obligations in the state by writing off loans on homes that were already abandoned, WSJ analysis shows Alexander Saeedy in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 8/1/24
Harris shores up support from more than 200 Silicon Valley investors -- The group appears to be led by Ron Conway, a longtime Harris donor who had pledged his support for the vice president last week. Brendan Bordelon and Jeremy B. White Politico -- 8/1/24
Harris tries to get out early on immigration -- The Harris camp believes that by adopting a more active posture on the issue, it can take advantage of former President Donald Trump’s many vulnerabilities on immigration, including his role in killing a bipartisan Senate bill earlier this year and controversial policies he supported as president, such as family separation. Myah Ward Politico -- 8/1/24
Trump
As Harris rises in polls, Trump falsely questions her Black identity in combative interview -- Former President Trump made baseless assertions about Vice President Kamala Harris’ racial identity during a combative interview at a Black journalism conference Wednesday, while polls showed his opponent had notched significant gains in battleground states. Asia Moore, Angel Jennings, James Rainey and Faith E. Pinho in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/1/24
Trump Clashed With Black Journalists. Then He Bragged About It to His Supporters -- He trash-talked a journalist to her face in front of a roomful of her peers. He rattled off childish insults. He trafficked in racial tropes. While former President Donald J. Trump’s interview with a group of Black journalists on Wednesday left the room — and the internet — gasping, it was exactly the sort of thing his supporters will love. And he seemed to know it. Shawn McCreesh in the New York Times$ -- 8/1/24
Trump issues many, many falsehoods at Black journalists’ convention -- In his half-hour sit-down with three journalists at NABJ, the former president and Republican presidential nominee unleashed his usual litany of falsehoods, ranging from a phony story about the ex-governor of Virginia executing a baby after birth to an absurd claim that he “saved” historically Black colleges and universities. Glenn Kessler in the Washington Post$ Linda Qiu in the New York Times$ -- 8/1/24
Trump Remarks on Harris Evoke a Haunting and Unsettling History -- The former president has a history of using race to pit groups of Americans against one another, amplifying a strain of racial politics that has risen as a generation of Black politicians has ascended. Lisa Lerer and Maya King in the New York Times$ -- 8/1/24
Trump falsely calls Schumer a ‘proud member of Hamas' -- Former president Donald Trump falsely accused Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) of being a “proud member of Hamas” at a rally Wednesday night, lodging another insult directed at a prominent Jewish American. Marianne LeVine in the Washington Post$ -- 8/1/24
Trump Says He Would Pardon Jan. 6 Rioters Who Attacked Police -- Former President Donald J. Trump said on Wednesday that he would pardon rioters who assaulted police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, further embracing those who stormed the building as he sought to stay in power despite his election loss. Simon J. Levien in the New York Times$ -- 8/1/24
Trump Promises Lower Interest Rates, but the President Doesn’t Control Those -- The Federal Reserve sets interest rates, and it operates independently of the White House. But rates could come down as inflation cools. Jeanna Smialek in the New York Times$ -- 8/1/24
Vance
Vance’s Links to the Project 2025 Leader Complicate Trump’s Attempts at Distance -- Donald Trump disavowed the set of conservative plans after it became a popular target for Democrats, but his running mate, JD Vance, wrote a foreword for a forthcoming book by its principal architect. Charles Homans in the New York Times$ -- 8/1/24
Climate
Antarctic temperatures soar 50 degrees above norm in long-lasting heat wave -- This historic warm spell in East Antarctica is an ominous example of the temperature spikes this polar climate could experience more of in a warming world. Kasha Patel in the Washington Post$ -- 8/1/24
CalMatters
CalMatters enters 10th year of advancing California through free, unbiased and essential journalism -- Our tenth year will take CalMatters’ journalism to the next level: informing and impacting even more Californians, making the state a better place to live. Sonya Quick CalMatters -- 8/1/24
Also
Walters: Newsom denounces Trump’s authoritarian tendencies, but displays some himself -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been one of the loudest Democratic politicians in denouncing former President Donald Trump as a threat to democracy. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 8/1/24
Lopez: End L.A.’s free meal deliveries? Recipients ‘pray God’s grace and implore City Hall’ to reconsider -- As Los Angeles plans to butcher its Rapid Response Senior Meals Program this month, thousands wonder how they’ll get by without the weekly deliveries of free food. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/1/24
Traveler infected with measles flew into LAX, visited Orange County -- Officials caution that individuals who were inside Tom Bradley International Terminal B at LAX from about 2:30 to 4 p.m. Friday may be at risk of developing measles. Hannah Fry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/1/24
Peregrine falcons mount a comeback in Yosemite, thanks to rock climbers -- Once empty of falcons, the national park now hosts 17 breeding pairs. Lisa M. Krieger in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/1/24