California Policy and Politics Monday

Marines to leave Los Angeles, Pentagon says -- The decision comes a week after the Pentagon announced that half of the almost 4,000 National Guard soldiers deployed to the Los Angeles area would be released from duty. Julia Wick in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 07/21/25

As Newsom ponders redistricting, California projected to lose as many as 4 congressional seats -- California isn’t alone. Other Democratic-leaning states like New York, Illinois and Minnesota are also expected to lose one or two seats due to population declines. Meanwhile, Republican-leaning Florida and Texas could each gain as many as four new seats. Julie Zhu in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 07/21/25

‘Heavy stuff’: Gavin Newsom discusses Menendez brothers case ahead of parole hearing -- Before the hit Netflix drama on the Menendez brothers case aired, showrunner Ryan Murphy warned Gov. Gavin Newsom over lunch that the series would likely create a stir. David Hernandez in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 07/21/25

Skelton: Newsom needs to stop kidding around. He’s running for president -- No outsider politicians venture into sultry South Carolina in July unless they are running for president. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 07/21/25

Teacher enters crowded race to topple Rep. Ken Calvert, with Barbara Boxer’s blessing -- Katherine Aleman, who teaches middle school English language learners in Corona, is the latest Democrat to challenge GOP Rep. Ken Calvert in the state’s 41st Congressional District, one of the country’s most crowded and closest races. Maya C. Miller in the Los Angeles Times$ Melanie Mason Politico -- 07/21/25

How’s Lurie doing as mayor? Our new poll on the state of S.F. had stunning results -- Six months into Mayor Daniel Lurie’s tenure, San Franciscans are far happier with his performance than they were with former Mayor London Breed’s one year ago, according to a new poll commissioned by the Chronicle. Danielle Echeverria in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 07/21/25

 

The surprising way San Francisco has become more affordable in the last 20 years -- Just 1 in 5 San Francisco households can afford to buy a mid-priced home in their city, where the typical price tag is about $1.29 million. But back in 2005, only 1 in 10 households could afford a mid-priced home. Christian Leonard in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 07/20/25

In-N-Out’s billionaire boss leaving California: ‘Doing business is not easy here’ -- Snyder, who was raised in Northern California, said she will be moving to Franklin, Tenn., during an appearance on political commentator Allie Beth Stuckey’s “Relatable” podcast Friday. The company’s new Eastern headquarters and her family life were the catalysts for the relocation, she said. Mario Cortez, Jerry Wu in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 07/20/25

How a California cloud-seeding company became the center of a Texas flood conspiracy -- Two days before the waters of the Guadalupe River swelled into a deadly and devastating Fourth of July flood in Kerr County, Texas, engineers with a California-based company called Rainmaker took off in an airplane about 100 miles away and dispersed 70 grams of silver iodide into a cloud. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 07/21/25

The Golden Gate Bridge is about to see 10 years of intensive construction -- The Golden Gate Bridge is not expected to collapse in a major earthquake. But it could suffer enough damage to close for months or longer — and repairs to ensure that won’t happen are slated to start next year. Maliya Ellis in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 07/21/25

No drinking or late nights: How 20-year-olds are changing S.F.’s nightlife scene -- Parallel threats have sent San Francisco’s nightlife into a tailspin: The city is aging, making its economy increasingly dependent on older people. And twenty-somethings aren’t filling the gap. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 07/21/25

ICE raids and Medicaid cuts are bad news for California's immigrants. State cuts could be ‘much worse.’ -- As families balance the need for medical care against the risk of deportation, community health centers are scrambling to continue to provide care and to stay afloat amid the financial impact brought on by the crisis. Rachel Bluth and Emily Schultheis Politico -- 07/21/25

ICE

Orange City Council to weigh call for federal agents to show ID in the city -- The Orange City Council is set to consider on Tuesday, July 22, a resolution affirming the city’s support for law enforcement transparency, a discussion that has taken on new urgency amid a wave of federal immigration raids that have swept through Orange County this summer. Hanna Kang in the Orange County Register$ -- 07/21/25

Fresno area medical clinics see ‘significant’ drop in appointments due to ICE raids -- United Health Centers of the San Joaquín Valley has seen a noticeable decline not only in the number of patients attending their scheduled appointments, but also in the overall number of new appointments, because of growing concerns about deportation raids. Marina Peña and María G. Ortiz-Briones in the Fresno Bee -- 07/21/25

Border Patrol horses return to San Diego as migrant encounters continue to plummet -- The horses, which were moved to other parts of the country in 2023, are again patrolling the beach to the East County wilderness Alexandra Mendoza in the San Diego Union Tribune$ -- 07/21/25

Environment

Forever chemicals in Orange County continue to inspire science and fear -- It's still unclear how deadly PFAS molecules are, or aren't, but scientists, and tap water consumers, are eager to find out. Andre Mouchard in the Orange County Register$ -- 07/21/25

Homeless

A tech entrepreneur vows to make homeless housing affordable and profitable -- Tech entrepreneur Adam Miller believes that affordable housing development can be profitable and has created a $300 million investment fund to prove it. Doug Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 07/20/25

Education

California students with immigrant parents seek financial aid despite deportation risks -- Despite fears the federal government will use personal information from financial aid applications to identify immigrant parents who lack legal status, the number of high school senior applicants from mixed-status families has not decreased as much as some thought it would, according to the California Student Aid Commission. Mercy Sosa Calmatters -- 07/21/25

Street

Driver who police say plowed into crowd outside Hollywood club has violent criminal history -- The driver who police say intentionally plowed into a crowd early Saturday outside a popular East Hollywood music venue was previously convicted of a hate crime in Orange County, a conviction subsequently overturned by an appeals court, according to prosecutors and court records. Grace Toohey, Jessica Garrison and Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 07/21/25

Also

Paul Simon’s quiet power remains strong in San Francisco concert -- It commands that you lean in at times. His growl is like the grain of the wood barrels that age whiskey. It colors and underlines Simon’s abilities as a songwriter, the stunning poetry that’s been a part of American culture for seven decades. Tony Bravo in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 07/20/25

The river took her sister. A stranger dove in to bring her home -- With little more than a mask and a prayer, Juan Heredia goes where others can’t — or won’t — to recover drowning victims. Jack Dolan, Gary Kazanjian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 07/20/25

POTUS 47

California has sued this Trump administration way more than the last one. Here’s where cases stand -- Bonta, the Democrat who leads the state Department of Justice, has filed or joined a whopping 34 lawsuits against the Republican administration on behalf of California. That’s four times as many such lawsuits as those by Bonta’s predecessor and fellow Democrat, Xavier Becerra, at this point in Trump’s first term. Grant Stringer in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 07/20/25

Trump officials accused of defying 1 in 3 judges who ruled against him -- A comprehensive analysis of hundreds of lawsuits against Trump policies shows dozens of examples of defiance, delay and dishonesty, which experts say pose an unprecedented threat to the U.S. legal system. Justin Jouvenal in the Washington Post$ -- 07/21/25

‘Stay mad.’ Amid immigration raids, Epstein rumors, Trump team ramps up its trolling -- Morgan Weistling, an accomplished painter of cowboys and Old West frontier life, was vacationing with his family this month when he got a surprising message from a friend about one of his works of art. Hailey Branson-Potts in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 07/20/25

Consumed by Epstein, Trump has lost ground on the economy and immigration -- When he was sworn in, Trump promised a new “Golden Age.” It’s clear that, six months into his presidency, the public isn’t buying all the hype. Dan Balz in the Washington Post$ -- 07/20/25

An Accuser’s Story Suggests How Trump Might Appear in the Epstein Files -- A former Jeffrey Epstein employee said that she told the F.B.I. in 1996 and 2006 about what she considered a troubling encounter with Donald J. Trump. Mike Baker and Michael S. Schmidt in the New York Times$ -- 07/20/25

Trump threatens to hold up stadium deal if Washington Commanders don’t switch back to Redskins -- President Donald Trump is threatening to hold up a new stadium deal for Washington’s NFL team if it does not restore its old name of the Redskins, which was considered offensive to Native Americans. Trump also said Sunday that he wants Cleveland’s baseball team to revert to its former name, the Indians, saying there was a “big clamoring for this” as well. Joe Reedy and Adriana Gomez Licon Associated Press Adam Kilgore in the Washington Post$ -- 07/21/25

Trump lawsuit against Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward dismissed -- The judge in the case said Trump failed to “plausibly” show that he and Woodward intended to be co-authors of an audiobook, or that Trump had any copyright interest in his responses. Brianna Tucker in the Washington Post$ -- 07/20/25

Months of Trump’s tariffs are shifting supply chains and diplomatic ties -- Major U.S. corporations and trading partners are scrambling to adapt to a new global economy, even as President Donald Trump mulls the imposition of historic tariffs in less than two weeks. David J. Lynch in the Washington Post$ -- 07/20/25

The U.S. Economy Is Regaining Its Swagger -- Consumers are spending again after the spring’s tariff chill. But some expect growth to be slow. Rachel Wolfe and Konrad Putzier in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 07/20/25

After Pledging to Keep Prices Low, Amazon Hiked Them on Hundreds of Essentials -- In the five months since President Trump first announced sweeping tariffs, Amazon quietly raised prices on low-cost products such as deodorant, protein shakes and pet care items, a Wall Street Journal analysis of nearly 2,500 items found. Shane Shifflett, Nate Rattner, Sebastian Herrera and Brian Whitton in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 07/20/25

After 7 Decades of Measurements From a Peak in Hawaii, Trump’s Budget Would End Them -- Closing Mauna Loa and three other U.S. sites that track greenhouse gases would disrupt a decades-long record of the planet’s changing atmosphere. Rebecca Dzombak in the New York Times$ -- 07/20/25