Rough & Tumble ®
A Snapshot of California Public Policy and Politics
 
   
 
 
 
 

California Policy and Politics Saturday

Newsom pardons Cambodian immigrant facing deportation, among other Easter clemency actions -- Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday offered clemency to 25 felons, including a Cambodian immigrant facing deportation, in a series of pardons and commutations issued before the Easter holiday. Taryn Luna and Sandra McDonald in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/19/25

Outraged senators urge DHS to end ‘welfare checks’ following unannounced L.A. school visits -- California Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff gave Trump administration officials until May 2 to answer questions about why federal agents attempted to speak wit h students at two Los Angeles elementary schools last week. Andrea Castillo in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/19/25

Californians support funding health care for undocumented immigrants, poll finds -- The Politico-Citrin Center poll showing majority support for the program comes as it faces scrutiny from Washington and growing calls to cut back amid California’s budget shortfall. Rachel Bluth and Emma Anderson Politico -- 4/19/25

 

California could lose 20% of its refining capacity in a single year. Drivers will feel it -- Two major refineries are poised to depart or make major changes: Phillips 66 has decided to shut down its Los Angeles refinery complex by the end of this year, and Valero Energy Corp announced this week that it may close its Bay Area refinery in Benicia. Julie Johnson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/19/25

 

Trump administration asks to move Newsom’s tariffs lawsuit out of California -- In a 22-page motion filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court of Northern California, DOJ attorneys argued that the federal trade court based in New York City should oversee the case, because it has exclusive jurisdiction over tariffs. Lia Russell in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/19/25

Newsom taunts Trump’s DOJ over tariff lawsuit request -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom was quick to pounce on news that the Trump administration is trying to move California’s lawsuit over the president’s tariffs to an out-of-state court. “You scared?” Newsom posted on social media in response to a news report about the administration’s request. Eric He and Daniel Desrochers Politico -- 4/19/25

How Trump travel restrictions could affect Bay FC, Valkyries international players -- Expected travel bans and worry about immigration statuses under the Trump administration are forcing professional athletes to reconsider their ability to train with their national teams while leagues grapple with their respective responses. Women’s soccer has been affected the most so far, but the WNBA is also heavily international, and many American players spend their offseasons playing in overseas leagues as well. Marisa Ingemi in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/19/25

Arellano: Trump’s cruelty to migrants reminds us what Easter is about -- Easter is supposed to be a happy time, but all I can think of is the people who persecuted Jesus. At a time when Christians are called upon to embrace Jesus’ message of love and charity, our president continues to revel in a cruelty that’s, well, biblical. Gustavo Arellano in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/19/25

Barabak: Alaska Republican speaks truth about Trump: ‘Retaliation is real. And that’s not right.’ -- Sen. Lisa Murkowski has consistently refused to bend to Trump, winning reelection despite his opposition. “I’m oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice,” she tells an Anchorage audience, because of Trump’s spite. Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/19/25

 

Barbara Lee wins Oakland mayoral race -- Barbara Lee, the former congresswoman and progressive stalwart, has been elected Oakland’s next mayor, resting her legacy on turning around a city now embroiled in crises, including mass homelessness, the indictment of the previous mayor on corruption charges, and daunting financial challenges. Sarah Ravani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Shomik Mukherjee in the East Bay Times -- 4/19/25

Democrats say Rep. Valadao moves to ‘shut down America’s schools.’ Is it true? -- Rep. David Valadao has joined a “move to shut down America’s schools,” the Democrats’ congressional campaign arm says. He hasn’t. David Lightman in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/19/25

Altadena

Altadena suffered a ‘catastrophic failure.’ Did unincorporated status hurt fire response? -- Altadena residents, who would see the worst damage from the Eaton fire, also experienced the most issues with evacuation alerts. Was the community at a disadvantage during the L.A. firestorm because of its government structure? Grace Toohey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/19/25

Breathe

Why California air quality — and allergies — could be extra bad this year -- A new drought outlook, released by a coalition of state and federal agencies, paints a concerning picture for California’s spring: worsening air quality fueled by dry soils, gusty winds and an uptick in airborne particulates like dust and pollen. Greg Porter in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/19/25

Workplace

Slump deepens: Bay Area, California lose thousands of jobs in March -- The Bay Area and California both lost thousands of jobs in March, in fresh signs that the statewide employment picture has darkened as the dismal hiring trends of 2025 worsen. Both California and the Bay Area have lost jobs all three months of 2025, kicking off the year in brutal fashion. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/19/25

Gavin Newsom’s return-to-office order may violate law, labor board attorney says -- The top attorney for a California board that enforces labor rules said Thursday that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office may have violated state law over its handling of an order directing many public employees to work in person four days a week. Stephen Hobbs in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/19/25

Feds must tell workers they weren’t fired for performance, S.F.-based judge rules -- The San Francisco federal judge who previously ordered the rehiring of 16,000 federal workers who had been fired by the Trump administration told federal agencies Friday to notify the workers that they had not been fired for poor performance — as claimed in the government’s form letter — but as part of a “mass termination.” Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/19/25

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Supreme Court blocks, for now, new deportations under 18th century wartime law -- In a brief order, the court directed the Trump administration not to remove Venezuelans held in the Bluebonnet Detention Center “until further order of this court.” Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented. Nicholas Riccardi and Mark Sherman Associated Press Rachel Uranga and Andrea Castillo in the Los Angeles Times$ Michelle Hackman, Mariah Timms and Jacob Gershman in the Wall Street Journal$ Ali Bianco, Hassan Ali Kanu, Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein Politico Marianne LeVine, Jeremy Roebuck, Spencer S. Hsu and Aaron Schaffer in the Washington Post$ Alan Feuer, Hamed Aleaziz and Abbie VanSickle in the New York Times$ -- 4/19/25

Trump Officials Blame Mistake for Setting Off Confrontation With Harvard -- Harvard University received an emailed letter from the Trump administration last Friday that included a series of demands about hiring, admissions and curriculum so onerous that school officials decided they had no choice but to take on the White House. Michael S. Schmidt and Michael C. Bender in the New York Times$ -- 4/19/25

In Trump Attack on Harvard, Punishment Before Proof -- In the White House’s campaign against Harvard University, the punishment came swiftly. The Trump administration has frozen $2.2 billion in grants to the school, while seeking to exert unprecedented control over hiring, impose unspecified reforms to its medical and divinity schools, block certain foreign students from enrolling and, potentially, revoke its tax-exempt status. Jonah E. Bromwich, Alan Blinder and Sarah Mervosh in the New York Times$ -- 4/19/25

Trump Is Taking On America’s Institutions but Resistance Is Building -- In moving to accumulate unprecedented power, President Trump has bulldozed his way through the traditional constraints of presidential authority with such force that institutions including universities, law firms and parts of Congress have been left reeling. This week, some started fighting back. Sadie Gurman, Aaron Zitner and Meridith McGraw in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 4/19/25

Trump Advisers Took Advantage of Navarro’s Absence to Push for Tariff Pause -- On April 9, financial markets were going haywire. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick wanted President Trump to put a pause on his aggressive global tariff plan. But there was a big obstacle: Peter Navarro, Trump’s tariff-loving trade adviser, who was constantly hovering around the Oval Office. Alexander Saeedy and Josh Dawsey in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 4/19/25

Tomatoes Become One of the First Everyday Casualties of Trade War -- New fees will hit fresh tomato imports from Mexico starting in July unless a new agreement is reached. Kristina Peterson in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 4/19/25

Immigrants prove they are alive, forcing Social Security to undo death label -- Immigrants falsely labeled dead by the Social Security Administration are showing up at field offices with documents proving they are alive, leading staff to reinstate nearly three dozen people over the past week, according to records obtained by The Washington Post. Hannah Natanson, Lisa Rein and Meryl Kornfield in the Washington Post$ -- 4/19/25

How a defunct gang registry helped deliver Kilmar Abrego García to a Salvadoran prison -- Federal officials have launched a full-throated effort to label Abrego García a gang member and “a terrorist,” an argument based on a gang survey that was decommissioned amid questions over racial profiling. Katie Mettler, María Luisa Paúl, Jasmine Hilton and Lateshia Beachum in the Washington Post$ -- 4/19/25

 

California Policy and Politics Friday

This is the major question at the heart of California’s tariff challenge -- California’s lawsuit challenging the tariffs President Donald Trump has imposed on goods from nations around the world clearly raises a major legal question: whether a president can impose such taxes without explicit approval from Congress. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/18/25

Newsom sues DOGE over AmeriCorps cuts, saying it ‘gives the middle finger to volunteers’ -- The California governor announced the legal challenge late Thursday and vowed to accelerate recruitment for the California Service Corps program. Blake Jones Politico Lia Russell in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/18/25

More immigrants opt to self-deport rather than risk being marched out like criminals -- Even in liberal-leaning California, undocumented immigrants who have worked here for decades are making plans to leave, choosing to depart on their own terms rather than risk being forced out with nothing. Rebecca Plevin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/18/25

UCLA international student detained at U.S.-Mexico border amid Trump visa cancellations -- A UCLA international graduate student has been detained at the U.S.-Mexico border and is being held by Customs and Border Protection, the school confirmed late Thursday. Jaweed Kaleem in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/18/25

California students and faculty join national protest of Trump’s crackdown on higher education -- As part of a larger, national day of action, thousands of students, faculty and community members rallied at campuses across the state, with events taking place at Stanford University, CSU East Bay, UC Santa Cruz, UC Berkeley and San Jose State University Molly Gibbs, Sierra Lopez in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/18/25

Trouble with Social Security? California opens new complaint portal -- Amid a wave of reported disruptions to Social Security services, California Attorney General Rob Bonta has launched a new online portal for residents to report issues related to accessing their benefits. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/18/25

Popular Mexican band gets visas revoked ahead of Bay Area concert -- Los Alegres del Barranco has had its work and tourism visas revoked by the Trump administration weeks before the Regional Mexican band was meant to headline a South Bay concert. Zara Irshad in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/18/25

 

California’s frustration with homelessness is boiling over, poll finds -- California voters have grown so frustrated with the blue state’s failure to reduce homelessness that well over a third of the electorate now supports local laws that allow police to arrest people camping outside if they refuse shelter. Dustin Gardiner Politico -- 4/18/25

Californians oppose trans athletes in women’s sports -- Sixty-five percent of the state’s likely voters — and nearly half of Democrats — support such rules, according to a poll released Thursday by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California. Blake Jones Politico -- 4/18/25

California Republicans want to get tougher on crime. Are Democrats shifting their way? -- A California Republican state senator finds his crime bills getting a warmer welcome this year. Democrats say they’re just responding to their voters. Jeanne Kuang CalMatters -- 4/18/25

Should California drivers get charged by the mile? A pilot program is looking into it -- Revenue from the gasoline excise tax that drivers currently pay at the pump is declining because of better fuel mileage and EV adoption. Rob Nikolewski in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 4/18/25

 

‘These clowns are screwing us over,’ says former rocker challenging GOP incumbent in California -- Grammy-nominated musician Tim Myers, best known as a former bassist for the pop band OneRepublic, has announced his candidacy for Congress in California’s 41st District. He’s trying to unseat longtime Republican Rep. Ken Calvert of Corona (Riverside County) in what Democrats view as a crucial race to reclaim control of the House. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/18/25

Nevada County Supervisor is challenging Kevin Kiley for Congress. Who is she? -- Nevada County Supervisor Heidi Hall will challenge Rep. Kevin Kiley, a two-term Republican, for the 3rd U.S. Congressional District seat in Congress. Hall, a Democrat and supervisor for the last eight years, is taking on a congressman who has won both his House races fairly easily. David Lightman in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/18/25

 

‘The anti-trust tides have turned.’ What a judge’s ruling over Google’s ‘monopoly’ on ad-tech means -- The highly anticipated decision could reconfigure the online advertising business that website publishers rely on to fund the creation of content. It also underscores how the U.S. government has been trying to rein in the power of Big Tech, which collects a trove of data on its users to fuel its advertising businesses. Queenie Wong in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/18/25

LAX drops down the list of the world’s busiest airports by passenger count -- Los Angeles International Airport fell from a global ranking of the world’s busiest airports following a drop in domestic travel and ongoing struggles to rebound from the pandemic. Colleen Shalby in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/18/25

Workplace

S.F. car-sharing platform Turo cuts 15% of workforce after IPO plans collapse -- Turo, the peer-to-peer car-sharing company, is laying off approximately 15% of its workforce, roughly 150 employees, after scrapping its long-anticipated plans to go public. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/18/25

Hundreds of Southern California Edison planners, technicians file for union election -- The move jump-starts a long-simmering unionization effort that comes amid scrutiny of the electric utility for potential mishandling of the devastating Eaton fire. Suhauna Hussain in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/18/25

Wildfire

Eaton fire victims call for investigation into State Farm for delays, violations -- Eaton fire victims on Thursday petitioned officials to reject State Farm’s proposed rate hikes and investigate alleged service delays following the Jan. 7 fires. Malia Mendez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/18/25

Californians in Congress push for break on mortgage payments after natural disasters -- Members of Congress who represent Altadena, Pacific Palisades and Malibu are pushing for a federal law that would require mortgage lenders to give some borrowers a break on their mortgages after natural disasters. Laura J. Nelson in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/18/25

Education

Visa revocations create ‘climate of fear’ for UC Berkeley, Stanford international students -- They would not give their names. “We’re definitely afraid,” said one UC Berkeley law student, 28, who would reveal only that she came to the U.S. from “Asia.” Of 10 international students at UC Berkeley and Stanford who spoke with the Chronicle this week, just one, a global studies student born in India but with a Belgian passport, was willing to be identified. The others said they felt too “vulnerable,” “unsafe,” “helpless” and “scared” to say who they were. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/18/25

Californians ding Newsom’s, lawmakers’ handling of schools in survey -- Californians’ confidence in their public schools and approval of how Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature are handling public education have fallen sharply since the Covid pandemic, according to an annual survey on K-12 education released Thursday by the Public Policy Institute of California. John Fensterwald EdSource -- 4/18/25

23andMe

Congressmen sound alarm over data privacy following 23andMe bankruptcy -- Three congressmen from the House Committee on Energy and Commerce are raising concerns over data privacy weeks after the genetic testing company 23andMe filed for bankruptcy, putting millions of customers’ personal information up for sale. Caroline Petrow-Cohen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/18/25

Street

What happens after a homeless person is arrested for camping? Often, not much -- Wickey Two Hands was supposed to be the first person tried for camping in Fresno. Instead, after the city and county poured resources into his case, it was dismissed at the last minute. Marisa Kendall CalMatters -- 4/18/25

Stanislaus County settles notorious malicious prosecution case for $22.5 million -- Six years after a jury acquitted a Modesto defense attorney and his codefendants in an alleged murder conspiracy, Stanislaus County has agreed to settle a malicious prosecution lawsuit for $22.5 million, one of the largest payouts of its kind in the history of the California courts. Christopher Goffard in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/18/25

‘There is nothing left’: Burglars cut alarms and cameras before downtown L.A. jewelry heist -- On Sunday night, police say a group of determined thieves drilled, hammered and climbed through multiple walls in and around the old Roxie theater downtown and broke into Love Jewels, Reina de Oro, and stole an estimated $10 million in merchandise. Nathan Solis, Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/18/25

Also

Arellano: Trump threatened Vietnam with a huge tariff. How’s that going over in Little Saigon? -- ABC Supermarket in the heart of Little Saigon is like a Donald Trump tariff rant come to fragrant, tasty life. Sorghum liquors from China. Frozen seafood from Malaysia. Thai fish sauce. Japanese candies. A galaxy of products from Vietnam, of course. Gustavo Arellano in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/18/25

Record prices are triggering a gold rush of customers looking to melt old jewelry for cash -- Jewelers are seeing a gold rush of customers eager to melt family heirlooms and other pieces as prices spike. Andrea Chang in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/18/25

Wedge surfers chased out of water by sea lion, the latest in a string of aggressive behavior at beaches -- The situation at first seemed comical – a cute little sea lion ruling the line up at the wild Wedge in Newport Beach, where wave riders showed up earlier this week to take on beefy waves from the first south swell of the season. Mona Darwish, Laylan Connelly in the Orange County Register$ -- 4/18/25

Championship blues: Dodgers games used to be affordable family entertainment. No more -- If tickets to sporting events have gotten too expensive for the average fan, then Dodger Stadium is a flash point in the debate over whether teams should pursue every dollar they can. Bill Shaikin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/18/25

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Under Trump, National Security Guardrails Vanish -- This month, a network of pro-Russian websites began a campaign aimed at undermining confidence in the U.S. defense industry, according to disinformation analysts. Helene Cooper and Julian E. Barnes in the New York Times$ -- 4/18/25

With Harvard Threat, Trump Tries to Bend the I.R.S. to His Will -- Since the post-Nixon era, the Internal Revenue Service has had a degree of independence from the White House. President Trump is seeking to change that. Andrew Duehren, Alan Rappeport and Russ Buettner in the New York Times$ -- 4/18/25

Travel to the U.S. from almost everywhere is falling under Trump -- Industry experts say some of the reasons are plain to see: Reports of detentions and deportations, including the weeks-long lockup of European tourists, have sowed fears of bad experiences at the border. Anumita Kaur and Adrián Blanco Ramos in the Washington Post$ -- 4/18/25

Sen. Van Hollen secures visit with Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador -- Both the Maryland senator and El Salvador President Nayib Bukele posted photos on social media showing Van Hollen meeting with Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Gregory Svirnovskiy Politico Theodoric Meyer, María Luisa Paúl and Maria Sacchetti in the Washington Post$ Ginger Adams Otis and Vera Bergengruen in the Wall Street Journal$ Robert Jimison in the New York Times$ -- 4/18/25

White House ramps up defense of Abrego Garcia’s deportation -- The White House is aggressively building a case against the native Salvadoran the U.S. illegally deported last month as part of a messaging effort designed to combat an onslaught of criticism from Democrats and intensifying scrutiny from the courts. Myah Ward Politico -- 4/18/25

U.S. intelligence contradicts Trump’s justification for mass deportations -- The National Intelligence Council, drawing on the acumen of the United States’ 18 intelligence agencies, determined in a secret assessment early this month that the Venezuelan government is not directing an invasion of the United States by the prison gang Tren de Aragua, a judgment that contradicts President Donald Trump’s public statements, according to people familiar with the matter. John Hudson and Warren P. Strobel in the Washington Post$ -- 4/18/25

Trump and Powell on Collision Course Without Easy Escape -- The problem is twofold. It isn’t clear the president has the legal authority to dismiss Powell before his term ends next year. And Trump’s trade war has made rate cuts more difficult for now because the Fed fears acting to shore up the economy could worsen inflation. Nick Timiraos in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 4/18/25

Dual Orders From Judges Edge Courts Closer to Confrontation With White House -- The threat of investigations into whether the administration violated the judges’ orders comes as President Trump and his advisers are increasingly butting heads with the courts. Alan Feuer in the New York Times$ -- 4/18/25

Consumer financial watchdog lays off most of its employees, defying a court order -- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday moved to fire more than 1,000 of its remaining employees, according to two people familiar with the matter, defying a court order barring the Trump administration from terminating employees at the watchdog agency except for cause related to their individual performance. Hannah Ziegler in the Washington Post$ Declan Harty Politico -- 4/18/25

DOGE begins to freeze health-care payments for extra review -- DOGE is putting new curbs on billions of dollars in federal grants, requiring officials to manually review and approve payments that were previously routine. Dan Diamond, Carolyn Y. Johnson and Hannah Natanson in the Washington Post$ -- 4/18/25

GOP Accused Democrats of Politicizing IRS. Now Trump Wants It to Punish Harvard -- Republicans have contended for years that the Internal Revenue Service has been weaponized against conservatives. This week, it was President Trump who publicly raised the prospect of the agency removing a valuable tax benefit from a perceived opponent. Richard Rubin in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 4/18/25

A Startling Admission From a G.O.P. Senator: ‘We Are All Afraid’ -- Lisa Murkowski, a longtime senator from Alaska and an independent voice in an increasingly tribal party, has been the rare Republican on Capitol Hill willing to criticize President Trump’s actions. Annie Karni in the New York Times$ -- 4/18/25

Democrats Step Up Trump Resistance as Base Hungers for More of a Fight -- Out of power in Congress, Democrats who were slow to fight back against President Trump are increasingly finding ways to do so. But activists want much more. Annie Karni in the New York Times$ -- 4/18/25