California Policy and Politics Sunday

California’s Gifford Fire is now a ‘megafire.’ Here’s what that means -- Igniting on Aug. 1 along Highway 166, the blaze had scorched more than 111,000 acres as of Saturday afternoon, with containment at just 21%, according to a federal fire update. Fire officials attribute the explosive growth to extreme heat, steep and inaccessible terrain, and dry vegetation in areas that have no recorded history of wildfire. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 08/10/25

As Canyon fire winds down, heat wave lingers in Southern California -- As Southern California continued to experience a heat wave, officials on Saturday lifted the final evacuation orders in areas affected by the Canyon fire, which has burned more than 5,000 acres in northern Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Jasmine Mendez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/10/25

‘The safest place to be’: When fleeing fire is no longer an option -- The problem is that there are no standards for fire shelters, safety zones or refuge areas, due mostly to a lack of research. As wildfires become more common and more dangerous, however, scientists are testing new ideas that could save lives down the road. Noah Haggerty in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/10/25

California’s wildfire moonshot: How new technology will defeat advancing flames -- How will we fight fires in the future? With smart fire trucks and smart nozzles, uniforms with intelligent fabrics, and pilot-less helicopters — and lots of AI Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/10/25

ICE

Anxiety attacks, tears, questions: The impact of immigration sweeps on children -- In their silence and their stomachaches, or the sudden burst of tears, the children living through hardline federal immigration enforcement are saying one thing: they are not OK. Anissa Rivera in the Orange County Register$ -- 08/10/25

California took center stage in ICE raids, but other states saw more immigration arrests -- In the first five months of Trump’s second term, California lagged behind the staunchly red states of Texas and Florida in the total arrests. Jenny Jarvie and Gabrielle LaMarr LeMee in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/10/25

UCLA

‘A continual assault.’ How UCLA’s research faculty is grappling with Trump funding freeze -- The Trump administration’s suspension of grants at UCLA totaling $584 million has imperiled research in an array of subjects. Professors at the university said that some researchers rely on the funding to pay their salaries, and the loss of the money could be devastating. Daniel Miller and Jaweed Kaleem in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/10/25

Workplace

L.A. passed a $30 minimum wage for tourism workers. Then came the warring ballot measures -- It’s the summer of the burn-it-down ballot measure in Los Angeles. For the past three months, labor unions and business groups have been locked in a protracted fight over a law, approved by the City Council in May, hiking the minimum wage for hotel employees and workers at Los Angeles International Airport to $30 per hour by 2028. David Zahniser and Suhauna Hussain Calmatters -- 08/10/25

H-1B visas: Federal government mandates in-person interviews for overseas renewals -- Controversy over the H-1B exploded late last year, as anti-immigrant conservatives faced off against advocates from the tech industry who are close to Trump. Ethan Baron in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 08/10/25

AI Gold

A new gold rush? How AI is transforming San Francisco -- For years, Silicon Valley has been at the center of innovation with some of the world’s valuable tech companies such as Meta, Google, Apple and Nvidia locating their massive headquarters south of San Francisco. AI’s rise, though, has shone a bright spotlight on San Francisco, home to multibillion-dollar companies such as OpenAI, Scale AI, Anthropic, Perplexity and Databricks. Queenie Wong, Florence Middleton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/10/25

After Harris shake-up, here’s where San Diego’s Toni Atkins stands in wide open California governor’s race -- On Saturday, Atkins held her first show of force in the governor's race, with supporters packing into a new campaign headquarters in Mission Hills. Lucas Robinson in the San Diego Union Tribune$ -- 08/10/25

UCSF doctor reinstated at FDA less than 2 weeks after resigning amid MAGA backlash -- Multiple media outlets on Saturday cited Health and Human Services Department officials confirming the reinstatement of Dr. Vinay Prasad, which was first reported by Endpoints News, a biotech-focused news organization. Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 08/10/25

Also

Lawrence Livermore National Lab enters a different kind of space race with a telescope deal -- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will have 13 months to develop a low-orbit telescope that will be part of a space mission expected to launch in 2027 to help select future moon landing sites, map mineral deposits, and eventually identify deep space threats to Earth. Chase Hunter in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 08/10/25

What if L.A.’s so-called flaws were underappreciated assets rather than liabilities? -- L.A. could become a solar-powered, biodiversity-rich metropolis, redefining urban sustainability — and a blueprint for the 21st century John Rossant and Carlo Ratti in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/10/25

Imagine fire-safe communities where residents can live and evacuate in record time -- Can we really fortify our homes and our city against a fire storm? These experts offer some tips and some hope for the future. Jack Flemming in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/10/25

Lopez: The state sets lofty goals in the name of a brighter future. What’s a vision and what’s a hallucination? -- In April of 2006, I watched a posse of politicians gather at Skid Row’s Midnight Mission to introduce, with great fanfare and unbridled confidence, a 10-year plan to end homelessness in Los Angeles. That didn’t work out so well. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/10/25

How Far Will People Go to Get Into the Magic Castle? Ask These Blood Donors -- The Hollywood landmark has hosted blood drives since 2014. Donors do a good deed, but the perk is entry into the private club. Nicole Stock, Maggie Shannon in the New York Times$ -- 08/10/25

Morrison: Prepare to say a frond farewell to Los Angeles’ palm trees -- Climate change changes cities. We can no longer afford freeloader trees, however glamorous. Palms suck down water like camels, but give back barely enough leafiness to shade a Hula-Hoop. Falling fronds can deliver a mean whack, and during fires, palms light up like a flare. Patt Morrison in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/10/25

POTUS 47

Appeals court rules Trump clamp-down on spending data defies Congress’ authority -- A federal appeals court panel shot down a Trump administration bid to make secret a public database of federal spending that researchers say is crucial to ensure the administration is not flouting Congress’ power of the purse. In an order issued Saturday evening, the three-judge D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals panel voted unanimously to give the administration until Friday to put the data back online. Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein Politico -- 08/10/25

IRS, White House clashed over immigrants’ data before tax chief was ousted -- The Trump administration’s move to push out IRS Commissioner Billy Long came after the agency said it couldn’t release some information on taxpayers suspected of being here illegally. Jacob Bogage and Kadia Goba in the Washington Post$ -- 08/10/25

Who Is the Heir to the MAGA Movement? Trump Keeps His Options Open -- JD Vance is widely seen as Trump’s successor, but the president has also talked up Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Alex Leary, Meridith McGraw and Natalie Andrews in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 08/10/25

America Is Fracturing Into Red and Blue Nations, Redistricting Fight Shows -- Less than 20% of Americans live in a state where the minority party has a meaningful voice in governance. America’s identity as a unified nation is eroding, with Republican- and Democratic-led states dividing into separate spheres, each with its own policies governing the economic, social and political rules of life. Aaron Zitner in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 08/10/25

‘We are at war – bring it on’: Democrats ready to fight dirty to stop Trump -- Republican push for gerrymandered congressional maps triggers down-and-dirty from new generation – will it work? David Smith The Guardian -- 08/10/25