California Policy and Politics Thursday

“I wish you’d be angry.” California Democrats face voter fury over Trump, Elon Musk -- In California’s deep-blue districts, town hall meetings have become venting sessions for voters fed up with Trump, Musk and the weakness of the Democratic Party. Laura J. Nelson in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/20/25

UC to freeze hiring systemwide, citing Trump threats and potential state funding cuts -- “A reduction of this magnitude would be alarming under any circumstances — but even more so when considered along with new federal policies and actions that could have devastating effects on the university,” the outgoing president said in an impassioned, 15-minute speech to the UC regents during their meeting at UCLA. Nanette Asimov, Jessica Flores in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/20/25

University of California faculty condemn Trump administration’s “attack on higher ed” -- Hundreds gathered at UC Berkeley to decry the Trump administration’s slash to university research funding, crackdown on diversity initiatives and open investigations into more than 50 universities. Molly Gibbs in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/20/25

San Diego joins lawsuit challenging firings of federal employees -- San Diego has joined 40 other cities challenging the mass firing of probationary federal employees by the Trump administration, contending they are illegal and pose a threat to the local economy and public services. David Garrick in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 3/20/25

L.A. city budget shortfall grows to nearly $1 billion, with layoffs ‘nearly inevitable’ -- L.A.’s financial problems exploded into a full-blown crisis on Wednesday, with the city’s top budget official announcing that next year’s shortfall is now just shy of $1 billion, making layoffs “nearly inevitable.” David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/20/25

Mayor Lurie taps Google, Open AI, Giants execs for group to help fix S.F.'s economy -- At the urging of Mayor Daniel Lurie, a group of 26 corporate leaders have formed an organization called the Partnership for San Francisco that will serve as a kind of CEO council to collaborate with public officials on ways to improve the city’s quality of life and business climate. J.D. Morris in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/20/25

S.F. office vacancy again on the rise, despite a handful of major lease deals -- As the first quarter of 2025 draws to a close, San Francisco’s recovery as it relates to its downtown officeß towers continues to be a capricious story of hits, misses and some surprises. Laura Waxmann in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/20/25

Walters: Lobbyists are a growth industry in a state as complex as California -- In the late 1990s, the late Jay Michael and I coauthored a book, published by the University of California, that explored why and how interest groups employ lobbyists to represent them in Sacramento. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 3/20/25

9th Circuit upholds contempt finding against California over prison mental health crisis -- California prisons have failed for decades to provide staffing or treatment for many thousands of mentally ill inmates and must pay fines that could amount to hundreds of millions of dollars, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/20/25

Biden’s prisons chief tapped to fix lagging mental health care in California lockups -- Following through on intentions broadcast a year ago, a federal judge is putting control of California’s troubled inmate mental health programs into the hands of an outsider: President Biden’s former chief of prisons. Paige St. John in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/20/25

Jackie Robinson’s Army story restored to Defense Department site after removal in DEI purge -- An article highlighting the U.S. Army career of baseball legend Jackie Robinson has been restored to the Department of Defense website. Its removal had appeared to be related to the Trump administration’s stance against diversity, equity and inclusion. Chuck Schilken in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/20/25

Responding to Trump, Ventura proposes protections for LGBTQ+ people and immigrants -- As Trump cracks down on diversity initiatives, the Ventura City Council is considering a policy strengthening protections for LGBTQ+ people, immigrants and those seeking reproductive care. Hailey Branson-Potts in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/20/25

Assisted living

Banned from assisted living? It’s hard for consumers to tell -- It’s not easy for Californians seeking care for themselves or their loved ones to find out if someone involved with another kind of care facility has been banned from running an assisted living home by the California Department of Social Services. Emily Alpert Reyes and Ben Poston in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/20/25

Food banks

USDA halts millions of dollars worth of deliveries to food banks -- For the Central California Food Bank, that means a loss of 500,000 pounds of expected food deliveries worth $850,000 just for April through July, according to co-CEO Natalie Caples. Cathy Kanefsky, president of the Food Bank of Delaware, said between 20 to 24 full truckloads of food were canceled for the next four months. Marcia Brown Politico -- 3/20/25

Workplace

Bay Area biotech company laying off 90% of staff as CEO leaves -- Biotech company Cargo Therapeutics is laying off 90% of its workforce after plans to suspend its drug development, according to a corporate filing. Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/20/25

Mattel to lay off 120 workers in latest cost-cutting move -- Mattel, the toymaker behind Barbie and Hot Wheels, is laying off 120 workers from its El Segundo headquarters, according to a notice provided to state and local officials. Queenie Wong in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/20/25

Mental Health

Insurance denials can devastate mental health patients. California is considering how to fix that -- ‘Everybody’s been denied some form of care,’ said one California mental health advocate. Now, lawmakers are advancing new bills on behavioral health coverage. Jocelyn Wiener CalMatters -- 3/20/25

Pelosi

What Nancy Pelosi’s digs at Chuck Schumer reveal about her post-leadership career -- After days of frustration with Senate Democrats and calls for Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to step down, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi directly addressed her party’s turmoil over a recent government funding bill. Shira Stein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/20/25

Newsom

Gavin Newsom’s MAGA-curious podcast mystifies listeners — and sets Democratic lawmakers on edge -- When Gov. Gavin Newsom launched his new podcast last month, he touted it as an opportunity to understand the MAGA movement’s motivations and figure out a path forward for Democrats after the party’s bruising losses in the 2024 election. Alexei Koseff CalMatters -- 3/20/25

Driverless

Tesla gets permit to ferry passengers in California, a stepping stone toward autonomous taxis -- Tesla Inc. received permission from state regulators this week to begin a charter service that will use Tesla-employed drivers to ferry its employees in company-owned vehicles for prearranged rides, a step toward its plans for driverless Tesla taxis. Malena Carollo in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/20/25

Measles

Fewer California kindergarten students immunized against measles last year, new data show -- Despite having some of the nation’s strictest school vaccination laws, California reported a decline last year in the share of kindergarten students who were immunized against measles, including in 16 counties where students no longer have herd immunity against one of the most contagious diseases. Hannah Wiley, Laura J. Nelson and Koko Nakajima in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/20/25

Street

His car was set on fire while he slept inside. Authorities offer $50,000 reward to identify his killers -- Buchanan was inside his car, parked in the 400 block of East 102nd Street in South Los Angeles, when a vehicle pulled up behind him, according to police. The suspects exited the vehicle and threw an unknown accelerant onto Buchanan and his SUV, according to authorities. The suspects lighted Buchanan on fire before retreating to their vehicle and fleeing, police said. Jasmine Mendez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/20/25

Champagne

The Bay Area is hoarding Champagne like it’s toilet paper in early COVID -- The shopping spree was triggered by President Donald Trump’s threat last Thursday that he would instate 200% tariffs on all European “wines, Champagnes and alcoholic products” if the European Union doesn’t back away from a planned 50% tariff on American whiskey. Esther Mobley in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/20/25

Education

Schools in this California town won acclaim for their pandemic comeback. How they did it -- Some of California’s most acclaimed schools right now aren’t in elite suburbs or wealthy urban enclaves. They’re in a small city in the San Joaquin Valley, an outpost on Highway 99 surrounded by almond trees and orange groves. Carolyn Jones CalMatters -- 3/20/25

Covid’s long shadow in California: Chronic absences, student depression and the limits of money -- 5 years later, nearly all students have computers and the internet; other challenges defy easy fixes. John Fensterwald EdSource -- 3/20/25

Breathe

‘Herculean effort’: These port communities have waited decades for clean air. Why a new plan may fall short -- The ports of LA and Long Beach are the biggest sources of air pollution in the LA basin. Air quality officials have drafted new rules to help electrify the ports. But community groups representing 400,000 residents say they don’t go far enough or fast enough to clean up their dirty air. Alejandra Reyes-Velarde CalMatters -- 3/20/25

POTUS 47

Fed Projections See an Economy Dramatically Reset by Trump’s Election -- Officials projected weaker growth, higher unemployment and higher inflation than they had anticipated in December. Moreover, nearly all officials judged that if their forecasts were to be proven wrong, it would be in the direction of even softer growth, more joblessness and firmer price growth. Nick Timiraos in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/20/25

Fed Holds Rates Steady and Predicts Higher Inflation, Slower Growth Ahead -- The central bank penciled in two rate cuts for 2025, but President Trump’s sweeping agenda has injected “remarkably high” uncertainty into the outlook. Colby Smith in the New York Times$ -- 3/20/25

Trump to sign order aimed at closing Education Department -- The administration has already cut the agency’s workforce by nearly half. Totally shutting down the agency would require congressional action. Laura Meckler in the Washington Post$ Michael C. Bender, Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Zach Montague in the New York Times$ -- 3/20/25

How Trump Is Trying to Consolidate Power Over Courts, Congress and More -- President Trump’s expansive interpretation of presidential power has become the defining characteristic of his second term. Erica L. Green, Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Maggie Haberman in the New York Times$ -- 3/20/25

Trump Turns Fight Over Deportation Flights Into a Constitutional Showdown -- Courtroom clash has become a broader test of the president’s sweeping assertions of executive power. Jan Wolfe in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/20/25

Social Security numbers and other private information unmasked in JFK files -- The Social Security numbers and other private information of more than 200 former congressional staffers and others were made public Tuesday in the unredacted files related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, according to a review by The Washington Post. William Wan, Aaron Schaffer, Aaron Gregg and Clara Ence Morse in the Washington Post$ -- 3/20/25

Also

What the closure of an iconic Los Angeles cafe says about the state of California civic life -- The Pantry in Los Angeles closed down earlier this month. After decades of being open 24 hours a day, serving tens of thousands — maybe even hundreds of thousands — of diners and acting as a centralizing place of Los Angeles political and cultural life, the restaurant now is sealed off with “closed” signs and has already become a magnet for vandalism. Jim Newton CalMatters -- 3/20/25