California Policy and Politics Saturday

Trump administration eyes California for new oil and gas drilling — including Bay Area -- While oil and gas wells still operate under older leases in parts of the state, officials say their new reviews will address the standstill and could clear the way for fossil fuel companies to operate on additional federal lands. They say there’s the possibility for hundreds of new wells in the state. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 07/12/25

Trump admin to appeal order barring race-based immigration arrests alleged in LA area -- The White House says it plans to appeal a federal order requiring the Trump administration to stop immigration arrests without probable cause after a suit alleged it targeted California residents based on race, language and work. Lauren Floyd Axios -- 07/12/25

Judge orders Trump administration to halt indiscriminate immigration stops, arrests in California -- Immigrant advocacy groups filed the lawsuit last week accusing President Donald Trump’s administration of systematically targeting brown-skinned people in Southern California during its ongoing immigration crackdown. The plaintiffs include three detained immigrants and two U.S. citizens, one who was held despite showing agents his identification. Jaimie Ding Associated Press Miriam Jordan in the New York Times$ Brittny Mejia and Rachel Uranga in the Los Angeles Times$ Wendy Fry and Sergio Olmos Calmatters Jack Morphet in the Wall Street Journal$ Miriam Jordan in the New York Times$ -- 07/12/25

Father of three Marines beaten by masked federal agents, set to be released from immigration facility -- The father of three U.S. Marines who was violently tackled and beaten by masked federal agents in Orange County is scheduled to be released on bond after spending 20 days in federal custody. Nathan Solis in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 07/12/25

Trump mocks California congressman with digitally altered photo following ICE raid -- The White House mocked a California member of Congress in a post on X Friday, and included a digitally altered photo of Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Los Angeles, without disclosing that the image was fake. Sara Libby in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 07/12/25

California mayor warns residents amid immigration raids. ‘Do not go out unless necessary’ -- “Stay home and do not open the door to strangers,” Perris Mayor Michael Vargas said during a video message on Instagram. The city posted the video in Spanish and English Wednesday after receiving reports of ICE operations in the area. Karen Garcia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 07/12/25

Deaf Mongolian immigrant held by ICE in California for 4 months with no access to interpreter -- A disabled immigrant’s detention underscores the shift in asylum policies at the Mexico border since President Trump took office. Wendy Fry Calmatters -- 07/12/25

Farmworker Dies After Fleeing a Federal Raid in Southern California -- During a chaotic raid in Ventura County on Thursday, the worker fell from a greenhouse at a cannabis farm, suffered spinal and skull injuries, and died on Friday. Miriam Jordan in the New York Times$ -- 07/12/25

Law enforcement violating rules on less-lethal weapons in ICE protests, critics say -- Protesters, advocates and attorneys say L.A law enforcement uses less-lethal weapons frequently and unnecessarily, causing lasting physical pain and psychological scars. From destroyed hands to shattered faces. Zurie Pope in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 07/12/25

Federal judge orders LAPD to stop shooting journalists with rubber bullets at protests -- In a ruling made public Friday, U.S. District Judge Hernán D. Vera said a coalition of press rights organizations successfully argued that a court injunction was necessary to protect journalists and others exercising their 1st Amendment rights. Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ Lindsey Holden Politico -- 07/12/25

Video workplace

This is the rare bright spot in a tough Hollywood job market -- One segment of the entertainment industry has emerged as a bright spot — the economy made up of people creating video for YouTube and social media. Video creators are setting up real businesses with large studios in Southern California funded through advertising by major brands. Wendy Lee and Kaitlyn Huamani in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 07/12/25

Workplace

It’s peak season in Malibu, but these small businesses are still struggling after the Palisades fire -- Six months after the Palisades fire roared down Pacific Coast Highway, the Country Kitchen in Malibu is open for business, but many customers have yet to return. Caroline Petrow-Cohen, Jason Armond in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 07/12/25

Workplace mental health at risk as key federal agency faces cuts -- The Trump administration has fired a majority of National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health staffers and is proposing severe reductions to its budget. Aneri Pattani KFF Health News in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 07/12/25

Housing

Fresh off testing presidential waters, Newsom announces new housing and homelessness agency -- Gov. Gavin Newsom, fresh off a trip to South Carolina to test his political appeal ahead of a likely presidential run, announced Friday that California is creating a new agency to consolidate the state’s efforts to confront two of its most pressing challenges: lowering housing costs and helping people off the streets. Ethan Varian in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 07/12/25

Develop

Proposed S.F. high-rise would forever change skyline, dwarfing Salesforce Tower -- The West Coast’s tallest tower may be sprouting into the San Francisco skyline. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 07/12/25

Another big-name brand is returning to San Francisco’s Union Square -- Nearly a decade after closing its doors in San Francisco’s Union Square, Danish luxury electronics brand Bang & Olufsen is set to return this fall to the city’s retail core. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 07/12/25

Workplace

Indeed and Glassdoor are cutting 1,300 jobs as they go all in on AI -- Impacted roles span departments including research and development, human resources and sustainability, with most of the affected employees based in the United States. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 07/12/25

Mono Lake

Mono Lake has seen a shocking change. Experts trace it to a wet California winter -- Every spring, tens of thousands of California gulls, some from the Bay Area, leave their home on the coast for a lengthy flight over the Sierra Nevada to summer at Mono Lake. There, the next generation of birds is born. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 07/12/25

Education

Deferral or default? In budget deal, California universities left to wait and hope -- California’s marquee public universities looked like clear-cut winners in the state’s recent budget deal. But behind the apparent triumph, nerves are fraying as higher education leaders have been left waiting to see if leading Democrats will be good for their word. Eric He Politico -- 07/12/25

‘Devastating’: Trump is withholding $50M OK’d by Congress for San Diego County schools. Here’s which could lose the most -- One day before the funding was set to be released, California got notice it wouldn’t be. The missing money was supposed to help English learners, high-poverty schools and more. Jemma Stephenson in the San Diego Union Tribune$ -- 07/12/25

Street

Off-duty, armed Border Patrol agent charged with drunken attack on Long Beach officer -- An armed off-duty U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent faces several charges after he allegedly assaulted a Long Beach police officer while resisting arrest in a Shoreline Village parking lot this week, authorities said Friday, July 11. Isaiah Anthony Hodgson, 29, on Friday pleaded not guilty to several felony and misdemeanor charges stemming from the Monday skirmish, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said. Nathaniel Percy in the Orange County Register$ -- 07/12/25

Trump calls California ‘a mess’ because of crime. Do the numbers back that up? -- During his 2024 campaign for his eventual second-term in office, President Donald Trump falsely claimed violent crime was higher under the Biden Administration. He referred to rampant crime as one of the reasons “California is a mess.” Rosalio Ahumada in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 07/12/25

Also

A California hiker fell in ‘no man’s land’ on a high Sierra peak. This is the incredible rescue story -- The emergency alert came through at 3:30 p.m. on July 2: A woman hiking alone on a remote mountain in the rugged Eastern Sierra was badly injured after a fall and needed rescue. Gregory Thomas in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 07/12/25

Sick of loud ads on Netflix? A proposed California law would turn down the volume -- After his staffer’s baby was woken up by a loud ad on a streaming service, a California senator took action to force streamers to turn down the volume on commercials. The entertainment industry is fighting it. Ryan Sabalow Calmatters -- 07/12/25

‘They Kept Coming’: Hundreds of Packages Pile Up Outside Woman’s Home -- A year ago, misdirected Amazon returns began arriving at Karen Holton’s house in California. Eventually, she said, they were stacked so high that she could not easily use her door. Christine Hauser in the New York Times$ -- 07/12/25

POTUS 47

Trump announces 30% tariffs against EU, Mexico to begin Aug. 1 -- President Donald Trump on Saturday announced he’s levying tariffs of 30% against the European Union and Mexico starting August 1, a move that could cause massive upheaval between the United States and two of its biggest trade partners. Aamer Madhani Associated Press Gavin Bade, Kim Mackrael and Santiago Pérez in the Wall Street Journal$ Matt Viser, David J. Lynch and Ellen Francis in the Washington Post$ Lisa O'Carroll The Guardian -- 07/12/25

Why Wall Street is brushing off Trump’s escalating tariff threats -- Investors feel free to continue bidding up stock prices because they assume Trump will always back down from his most costly tariff plans, market analysts said. David J. Lynch in the Washington Post$ -- 07/12/25

Americans have made a U-turn on immigration since 2024 election -- A record 79 percent of American adults think immigration is good for the country, according to a new Gallup poll released Friday. And the number of Americans who want immigration reduced dropped sharply from 55 to 30 percent since last year’s poll. Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing Politico Jazmine Ulloa and Ruth Igielnik in the New York Times$ -- 07/12/25

Bondi fires 20 DOJ employees from Jan. 6, Trump documents cases -- The firings are part of a massive purge aimed at clearing DOJ of attorneys and support staff who took part in Special Counsel Jack Smith's prosecution of Trump for Jan. 6 and possessing classified documents unlawfully. Marc Caputo Axios -- 07/12/25

'Huge deal': White House probe fuels speculation Trump could oust Powell -- President Donald Trump swore that he wouldn’t attempt to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell before his term expires next spring. A new White House investigation of cost overruns at the Fed’s headquarters has reignited speculation that he just might try. Sam Sutton Politico Nick Timiraos in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 07/12/25

Trump praises FEMA response in Texas after earlier threats to eliminate agency -- President Donald Trump bristled at questions critical of the government’s response to deadly flooding during a visit to Texas Friday, and praised the Federal Emergency Management Agency that he had floated shutting down just last month. Eli Stokols Politico Tarini Parti, Benoît Morenne and Annie Linskey in the Wall Street Journal$ Luke Broadwater and Shawn McCreesh in the New York Times$ Matt Viser and Joshua Partlow in the Washington Post$ -- 07/12/25

FEMA Didn’t Answer Thousands of Calls From Flood Survivors, Documents Show -- Two days after deadly Texas floods, the agency struggled to answer calls from survivors because of call center contracts that weren’t extended. Maxine Joselow in the New York Times$ -- 07/12/25

Kerr County did not use its most far-reaching alert system in deadly Texas floods -- The Texas county where nearly 100 people were killed and more than 160 remain missing had the technology to turn every cellphone in the river valley into a blaring alarm, but local officials did not do so before or during the early-morning hours of July 4 as river levels rose to record heights, inundating campsites and homes, a Washington Post examination found. Joyce Sohyun Lee, Brianna Sacks, Aaron C. Davis, Scott Dance, Andrew Ba Tran and Imogen Piper in the Washington Post$ -- 07/12/25

In Flash Flood Hotspots, Many Federal Meteorologist Positions Remain Unfilled -- An analysis of National Weather Service vacancies found that in more than a third of offices overseeing regions that are particularly vulnerable to flash floods, one or more of three senior leadership roles, including chief meteorologist, are unfilled. Hiroko Tabuchi and Mira Rojanasakul in the New York Times$ -- 07/12/25

Barabak: He tried to keep Trump from a second term. But six months in, ‘I’m very impressed.’ -- Roger Hutson said he’s no MAGA acolyte. But Trump’s delivery on promises on immigration, Iran and other issues have put the Denver oil and gas executive squarely behind the president. Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 07/12/25

Trump Signals Support for New Israel Attack if Iran Moves Toward Bomb -- Trump is counting on the threat of further attacks to pressure Tehran into an agreement that would foreclose it from building a nuclear weapon. Israel is skeptical a diplomatic settlement would prevent Iran from secretly rushing toward a nuclear weapon. And Tehran is demanding guarantees it won’t face more bombing in return for resuming talks with Washington. Alexander Ward and Laurence Norman in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 07/12/25

America’s Brain Drain Could Become the World’s Brain Gain -- The U.S.’s dramatic research and funding cuts and changes to skilled-worker immigration policies threaten one of its greatest economic advantages: people-powered innovation. The rest of the world stands to benefit. Christopher Mims in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 07/12/25