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California Policy and Politics Wednesday

Federal Reserve delivers super-sized half-point rate cut -- The Federal Reserve cut its target interest rate Wednesday by an extra-large half percentage point, and projected more rate cuts this year and next, as its period of trying to put brakes on the economy to fight inflation comes to a close. Neil Irwin, Courtenay Brown Axios Christopher Rugaber Associated Press -- 9/18/24

California Legislature’s unwritten rule: negotiate in secret with lobbyists, not in public -- A tense exchange this summer between two California Democrats revealed an unwritten policy discouraging lawmakers from negotiating bills in legislative committees. It begs the question: Are lawmakers negotiating bills in secret and then rubber-stamping the decisions in public? Ryan Sabalow CalMatters -- 9/18/24

Gavin Newsom signs election ‘deepfake’ ban in rebuke to Elon Musk -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the country’s toughest law banning digitally altered political “deepfakes” on Tuesday, following through on a vow to act after rebuking Elon Musk for sharing a doctored video of Vice President Kamala Harris. Jeremy B. White Politico -- 9/18/24

Gov. Newsom signs AI-related bills regulating Hollywood actor replicas and deep fakes -- Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday signed bills that offer actors more AI protections and address AI-generated false content in political ads. Wendy Lee in the Los Angeles Times$ Stuart A. Thompson in the New York Times$ Chase DiFeliciantonio, Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/18/24

Newsom decries SoCal city that’s banning homeless shelters -- Gov. Gavin Newsom is threatening legal action against the city of Norwalk unless it reverses a ban on homeless shelters and other housing. Liam Dillon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/18/24

Gavin Newsom is trying to wrestle gas prices to the ground -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom is trying to get his state off of oil and gas — but the path is littered with political tripwires. Wes Venteicher Politico -- 9/18/24

Elon Musk’s PAC is spending nearly half a million dollars to boost Rep. Michelle Steel in CA-45 -- California's 45th congressional district race is one of the most closely watched House contests this year. Hanna Kang in the Orange County Register -- 9/18/24

Orange County congressional candidate Scott Baugh’s new ad talks about his brother’s death from fentanyl -- Nearly 75,000 Americans, including 6,850 Californians, died of fentanyl overdoses last year. But only a few politicians have recorded ads about the synthetic opioid crisis. Laura J. Nelson in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/18/24

San Francisco raises legal stakes in battle over name of Oakland’s airport -- Officials from San Francisco filed a request Tuesday morning for a preliminary injunction to block the East Bay city from using the name San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport, saying the new moniker is already causing confusion and problems for passengers. Sarah Ravani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/18/24

The S.F. medical examiner said her dad died of an overdose and sent her the ashes. But it was a colossal mistake -- Inside the unbelievable tale of James “Jimbo” Robinson. His family held a funeral, spread his ashes, got memorial tattoos, only to learn coroner officials misidentified the body. Matthias Gafni in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/18/24

Walters: Disorganization, city-county feuds impede California’s efforts to reduce homelessness -- Over the last five years, the state government has spent some $24 billion to ameliorate homelessness, which, according to polls, is California’s most troublesome issue. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 9/18/24

Arellano: In Wilmington, a political contest where rivals actually get along -- For the last 70 years, Wilmington residents have faced off to become the blue-collar community’s honorary mayor. The winner gets a two-year term that offers no salary, no staff and no political power. Gustavo Arellano in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/18/24

Workplace

California’s film industry is in crisis. Can it be saved? -- As Hollywood contends with one of its worst production downturns in decades, many are asking the same pointed question: Can California do more to jump-start its homegrown industry, one that has been buffeted by pandemic shutdowns, last year’s strikes by writers and actors, technological shifts and mounting global competition? Stacy Perman and Christi Carras in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/18/24

Health Care

California’s cap on health care costs is the nation’s strongest. But will patients notice? -- California’s new cap on health care cost increases is regarded as the most aggressive in the nation. It includes potential fines against companies that exceed the limit. Kristen Hwang CalMatters -- 9/18/24

Drug-resistant germs will kill millions more people in coming decades, researchers warn -- Unless officials take action to develop new medications, drug-resistant infections could kill nearly 2 million people a year in 2050. Corinne Purtill in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/18/24

Cannabis

California legal weed industry in tumult over pesticides in pot -- California’s legal weed industry is reeling over whistleblower lawsuit claims, key departures and fear over slumping sales. Paige St. John in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/18/24

‘Romeo and Juliet’: L.A. couple accused of wielding AK-47 in brazen string of dispensary heists -- A young couple targeted four cannabis dispensaries for robberies during a six-week-long spree, prosecutors say. Detectives titled the case file “Romeo and Juliet.” Matthew Ormseth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/18/24

Insurance

Insurance commissioner defends homeowners plan blasted by consumer group -- A plan to resolve the state’s homeowners insurance crisis was blasted by an L.A. consumer group but defended by California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. Laurence Darmiento in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/18/24

Thousands of foster kids in California could lose their homes amid insurance crisis -- A major insurer says that because of the cost of sex abuse claims, it can no longer cover foster family agencies. Thousands of kids could be uprooted. Rebecca Ellis in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/18/24

Wildfire

Extreme Heat Means More Wildfires. It’s Taking a Toll on Firefighters -- This year is on pace to be the hottest on record, creating not just drier conditions that fuel fires, but also a blistering environment for the people who fight them. Sashwa Burrous, Justin Lewis, Arijeta Lajka and Sarah Kerr in the New York Times$ -- 9/18/24

A California zoo, an advancing wildfire and a delicate rescue operation -- As the Big Bear Alpine Zoo came under threat from the 39,000-acre Line fire, staffers evacuated most of its animals to sunny Palm Desert.

Man pleads not guilty to starting the Line fire that has burned nearly 40,000 acres -- Man suspected of igniting the Line fire pleads not guilty to multiple counts of arson. The fire has scorched nearly 40,000 acres and is 49% contained. Ruben Vives in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/18/24

Water

California cracks down on a second farm region for pumping too much groundwater -- The state’s crackdown on the Tule subbasin in the southern San Joaquin Valley marks increasing enforcement of California’s landmark groundwater law, which seeks to shore up declining aquifers – despite a few legal hiccups recently. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/18/24

Housing

Mortgage rates are falling. How far will they go? -- Mortgages interest rates have fallen into the low 6% range this summer, and some experts say more declines probably are around the corner. Andrew Khouri in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/18/24

Thousands of L.A. tenants face eviction every year without lawyers. The city wants to fix that -- Advocates have long urged L.A. to provide lawyers for low-income tenants facing eviction in court. Now, the city is moving toward making that change. Paloma Esquivel in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/18/24

Education

Stanford debuts new ‘freedom of expression’ policy following year of tumult -- Stanford’s year of tolerance towards student encampments came to an end Tuesday when campus leaders issued new rules prohibiting unauthorized tents and requiring students to remove identity-concealing face coverings if asked to by an official. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/18/24

UC police ask to beef up stores of weapons and ammo, alarming students -- They are asking the UC regents to let them buy drones, robots, pepper balls, projectile launchers and sponge bullets. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/18/24

Homeless students can sleep safely in their cars at this California college. Other campuses say no -- Failed legislative bills have attempted to create safe parking programs for students to sleep in their cars on California campuses while awaiting housing. Meanwhile, Long Beach City College allows homeless students to park overnight. Briana Mendez-Padilla CalMatters -- 9/18/24

Street

Police are using secret deals to hand pensions to troubled officers. Millions of taxpayer dollars support the system -- Some California police officers who get into trouble suddenly claim they’ve been injured. Their departments disagree, but still erase their misconduct and award them lifetime disability pensions. Katey Rusch in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/18/24

Off-duty police officer shoots man in a Murrieta parking lot after intervening in road rage argument -- It is not clear why the off-duty police officer shot the man involved in a road rage argument. News reports say the wounded man may have had a fake gun. Nathan Solis in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/18/24

Top of the ticket

How the Trump Campaign Ran With Rumors About Pet-Eating Migrants—After Being Told They Weren’t True -- Springfield, Ohio, city officials were contacted by Vance’s team and said the claims were baseless. It didn’t matter and now the town is in chaos. Kris Maher,Valerie Bauerlein,Tawnell D. Hobbs in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 9/18/24

Harris Condemns Trump’s ‘Hateful’ Claims About Springfield, Ohio -- “This is exhausting, and it’s harmful,” Kamala Harris said during an interview. “And it’s hateful, and grounded in some age-old stuff that we should not have the tolerance for.” Erica L. Green and Nicholas Nehamas in the New York Times$ Hailey Branson-Potts in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/18/24

How the Trump campaign has been forced to adapt to assassination threats -- The situation has caused a grim mood on the campaign, as the once freewheeling candidate is hemmed in by new constraints. Josh Dawsey and Michael Scherer in the Washington Post$ -- 9/18/24

JD Vance defends pet-eating remarks: ‘The media has a responsibility to fact-check’ --JD Vance defended his comments about Haitian immigrants eating pets during a Tuesday rally, saying that “the media has a responsibility to fact-check” stories – not him. Alice Herman The Guardian -- 9/18/24

Ohio Woman Says She Regrets Sharing False Rumor About Haitians on Facebook -- The woman has since deleted the post claiming that one of her Haitian neighbors might have taken a neighbor’s cat. But it took on a life of its own. Kevin Williams in the New York Times$ -- 9/18/24

Trump cites Democrats’ dangerous rhetoric, but uses it more than they do -- Trump and Vance have tied Democrats’ past “threat to democracy” and “fascist” claims to the latest threat to the former president’s safety. But Trump has been deploying this rhetoric a lot more, as Democrats have backed off. Aaron Blake in the Washington Post$ -- 9/18/24

Secret Service Scrambled After Trump’s Short Notice on Golf Outing -- Former President Donald J. Trump gave his Secret Service detail short notice that he would be golfing at his course in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Sunday, causing agents to forgo a scan of the perimeter, according to two people familiar with the events. Kate Kelly, Eileen Sullivan and Luke Broadwater in the New York Times$ -- 9/18/24

Kamala Harris declines to embrace reparations in rare race-focused interview -- Kamala Harris, who has avoided framing her presidential campaign about the barriers she would break if elected, talked about race and racism in a wide-ranging interview Tuesday with the National Association of Black Journalists. Shira Stein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/18/24

Trump Suggests Restoring the State and Local Tax Break He Once Limited -- Former President Donald J. Trump’s 2017 tax law capped the state and local tax deduction at $10,000. He said on Tuesday that he would lift that limit. Andrew Duehren in the New York Times$ Richard Rubin in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 9/18/24

Trump Makes Big Promises, With Little Detail, for Michigan’s Auto Industry -- At his first campaign event since the apparent assassination attempt on Sunday, Donald J. Trump used dire language to insist that if he loses in November it would crush auto jobs. Michael Gold in the New York Times$ -- 9/18/24

Second Apparent Assassination Attempt on Trump Prompts Alarm Abroad -- There is widespread concern that the November election will not end well and that American democracy has frayed to the breaking point. Roger Cohen in the New York Times$ -- 9/18/24

Violent threats and attacks escalate tensions in Trump-Harris race -- The 2024 election season has been repeatedly marked by extraordinary acts and threats of violence, prompting heightened security measures at events. Hannah Knowles and Hannah Allam in the Washington Post$ -- 9/18/24