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California Policy and Politics Tuesday
Can San Francisco avoid Trump’s ire after National Guard deployments in D.C. and L.A.? -- Once again, President Donald Trump has brought his campaign of retribution against liberal jurisdictions to the streets of a major American city, ordering hundreds of National Guard troops to deploy to another Democratic stronghold. J.D. Morris in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 08/12/25
Hundreds boo GOP Rep. Doug LaMalfa at raucous Northern California town hall -- Rep. Doug LaMalfa faced the fury of his Northern California constituents during an early morning town hall in Chico Monday, making him the latest in a string of Republican members of Congress shouted down at district events over their support for President Donald Trump’s agenda. Nicole Nixon in the Sacramento Bee$ Maya C. Miller Calmatters -- 08/12/25
Walters: Newsom’s congressional redistricting drive in California faces political and legal hurdles -- Gov. Gavin Newsom justifies — or rationalizes — his drive for a mid-decade reconfiguration of California’s congressional districts as a heroic mission to thwart President Donald Trump’s power grab. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 08/12/25
Agents detain student at gunpoint near school; safe zones to be expanded around LAUSD campuses -- Amid immigration enforcement, city and school officials will set up “safe zones” monitored by LAPD and community volunteers to protect undocumented families when school resumes at LAUSD. Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/12/25
A coach detained. A friend gone. As kids confront immigration realities, they’re learning to stand up -- Children from across Coachella Valley and nearby cities visit Riverside City Hall and learn about how local government works as part of the Monarcas Luchadoras program. The field trip comes as children grapple with how recent federal immigration enforcement affects their communities. Kate Sequeira, Robert Gauthier in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/12/25
ICE processing center is all but empty when California Congress members arrive to inspect -- Democratic Congress members visited an ICE processing center that has been criticized for crowding, food scarcity and lack of medical attention for detainees. Only two people were in the center, leading the Congress members to accuse ICE of sanitizing conditions. Dakota Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/12/25
California’s lawmakers love to talk, but these eight barely say a word -- California lawmakers have spoken on average for more than six hours this year. Others have said comparatively little. How effective can you be if you stay silent? Ryan Sabalow and Omar Rashad Calmatters -- 08/12/25
Workplace
The LAPD is struggling to hire Black recruits. Will Trump’s war on DEI make it harder? -- The number of Black recruits — especially women — has been dropping for years at the LAPD. Libor Jany in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/12/25
Lawsuit claims Tesla ousted HR managers who validated racism complaints at Fremont factory -- Electric car maker Tesla, facing lawsuits over what two judges have found to be pervasive, anti-Black racism at its Fremont factory, ousted human-resources managers who validated complaints of discrimination and retaliation, a lawsuit claims. Ethan Baron in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 08/12/25
S.F. schools paid $20 million for a new payroll system. It’s already glitching -- The San Francisco school district’s new payroll system, which replaced a $34 million version that never worked, has left at least a hundred teachers frustrated with errors in their paychecks over the past months and prompted the teachers union Monday to file a state labor complaint. Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 08/12/25
Housing
Hidden in Trump’s spending package: A surprise boost to California’s affordable housing -- Trump’s spending bill includes cuts to Medicaid, food assistance and more. But it also increases a federal tax credit that helps build affordable housing in California. Ben Christopher and Marisa Kendall Calmatters -- 08/12/25
The dark side of California’s backyard ADU boom: How much do they ease the housing shortage? -- But ADUs are different from building new apartments and homes. At least some ADU owners do not put their units on the market, using them instead for their own families or leaving them vacant. Terry Castleman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/12/25
L.A. is under the gun to add housing units. The hard part? Where and how many -- When presented with the problem in the past, builders and developers were able to turn lima bean fields and orange groves into row after row of homes. But the vast swaths of open land on the city’s fringes vanished decades ago. Liam Dillon, Doug Smith and Lorena Iñiguez Elebee in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/12/25
Big Tech Pledged Billions for New Housing. The Results Aren’t Living Up to the Hype -- Google, Meta and Apple help fund construction of thousands of new units, but some efforts slow. Nicole Friedman in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 08/12/25
Wildfire
Scientists argue for stricter lead soil contamination standards. What fire survivors should know -- It’s a number thousands of Palisades and Eaton fire survivors have come to depend on: 80 milligrams of lead in each kilogram of soil. Noah Haggerty in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/12/25
PG&E
California taxpayers gave PG&E a huge, supposedly safe loan. The losses are already mounting -- Gov. Gavin Newsom assured lawmakers federal funds would eventually cover a $1.4 billion loan to keep the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant open. They could fall $588 million short. Malena Carollo Calmatters -- 08/12/25
Taxes
Why California’s wealthiest taxpayers could get less of a Trump tax break -- Californians with the top 1% of state incomes, or more than $1.08 million, rank 48th in tax cuts among the states, according to a new analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a progressive Washington research group. David Lightman in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 08/12/25
Education
Stanford to continue legacy admissions despite state ban -- Stanford University will continue considering legacy status in admissions through fall 2026, opting out of state financial aid assistance for students in order to comply with California’s ban on preferential treatment for applicants with alumni or donor ties. Ryan Macasero in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 08/12/25
Cal State wants more housing. Can it add 18,000 beds? -- Housing can be a major barrier for low-income students like Gonzalez around the California State University system, which includes Sacramento State and 22 other campuses. Recent estimates have found that housing accounts for half the cost of attendance at CSU, and that 11% of CSU students surveyed experience homelessness or housing insecurity. Amy DiPierro EdSource -- 08/12/25
Your Data
You have a right to delete your data. Some companies are making it extra difficult -- Data brokers are required by California law to provide ways for consumers to request their data be deleted. But good luck finding them. Colin Lecher and Tomas Apodaca Calmatters -- 08/12/25
HSR
CA high-speed rail wants special laws, court to hear land cases. Can it speed work? -- The California High-Speed Rail Authority wants a faster way to get through court cases against property owners unwilling to sell. It’s also seeking an easier process for acquiring construction permits from local governments, and more jurisdiction over utilities in its right-of-way. Erik Galicia in the Fresno Bee -- 08/12/25
Street
Wild L.A. pursuit: Carjackers steal 3 cars, drive big-rig wrong way on freeway, then escape -- Two armed thieves led authorities on a wild pursuit from Lancaster to downtown L.A. on Sunday night, authorities said, stealing three vehicles, driving a big rig in the wrong direction on the 10 Freeway — and still managing to escape. Clara Harter in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/12/25
4 arrested in break-in at Brad Pitt’s home, other residences, sources say -- Four people were arrested in a string of recent home break-ins that targeted upscale homes, one of which belonged to Brad Pitt, law enforcement sources said. Terry Castleman and Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/12/25
Advocates urge watchdog to act to preserve jail-death video evidence, days after judge blasts county for erasing it -- Advocates and loved ones of people who have died in San Diego County jails are urging a civilian oversight board to ensure the Sheriff’s Office preserves audio and video evidence from the jails, days after a federal judge blasted the county for failing to do so. Jaelyn Rodriguez in the San Diego Union Tribune$ -- 08/12/25
Federal judge refuses to dismiss case against convicted L.A. County sheriff’s deputy -- Deputy Trevor Kirk was found guilty of a felony after he violently threw a woman to the ground and pepper-sprayed her outside a supermarket in Lancaster in 2023. Brittny Mejia and James Queally in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/12/25
Also
Hiltzik: RFK Jr.’s cancellation of mRNA vaccine research is even worse than it first seemed -- HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. used discredited and misrepresented studies to justify canceling research into life-giving vaccines. Michael Hiltzik in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/12/25
Arellano: Dean Cain wants to join ICE. Forget Lex Luthor, this Superman is after Tamale Lady -- There are people who keep reliving their glory days, and then there’s Dean Cain. The film and TV actor is best known for his work in the 1990s series “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.” Gustavo Arellano in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/12/25
POTUS 47
U.S. Inflation Report Shows Effects of Trump’s Tariffs -- A gauge of underlying inflation in July showed prices increasing at the fastest annual pace in five months, a sign that businesses are passing along tariff-related costs to customers. Colby Smith in the New York Times$ -- 08/12/25
Inflation Held Steady at 2.7% in July -- Year-over-year inflation held steady in July, but a key measure of underlying price growth picked up. Rachel Wolfe in the Wall Street Journal$ Andrew Ackerman in the Washington Post$ -- 08/12/25
Pentagon plan would create military ‘reaction force’ for civil unrest -- Documents reviewed by The Post detail a prospective National Guard mission that, if adopted, would require hundreds of troops to be ready round-the-clock. Alex Horton and David Ovalle in the Washington Post$ -- 08/12/25
Trump-backed judge rules administration’s withholding of funds illegal -- The lawsuit by the National Endowment for Democracy is just one among dozens against the administration for frozen or withheld money previously approved by Congress. Katherine Tully-McManus Politico Chris Cameron in the New York Times$ -- 08/12/25
Judge denies DOJ bid to unseal grand jury material in Ghislaine Maxwell case -- The judge said the public would learn virtually nothing new from the documents and “would come away feeling disappointed and misled.” Erica Orden Politico Hurubie Meko in the New York Times$ -- 08/12/25
Russia Has High Hopes for Trump-Putin Summit. Peace Isn’t One of Them -- The meeting represents a victory for Putin, who seeks to end international isolation and separate Russian ties with the U.S. from the fate of Ukraine. Yaroslav Trofimov in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 08/12/25
China tariffs delayed again, hours before sharp increase was to take hold -- President Donald Trump’s sharper tariffs on goods from China were delayed again for 90 days, preventing taxes on the country’s imports from skyrocketing on Tuesday, according to an executive order the president signed Monday. Rachel Lerman, Jacob Bogage and Christian Shepherd in the Washington Post$ -- 08/12/25
How Trump Is Expanding the Role of the American Military on U.S. Soil -- Deployment of the National Guard in D.C. comes as president plans to broaden the use of U.S. military bases for immigrant detention centers. Michael R. Gordon, Vera Bergengruen and Lara Seligman in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 08/12/25
FEMA joins other federal agencies in canceling union contracts -- The cancellation of the contracts is part of a broad effort by the Trump administration to strip federal workers of union protections. Brianna Sacks, Jake Spring, Hannah Natanson and Meryl Kornfield in the Washington Post$ -- 08/12/25
These Are the Voters Who Should Scare Democrats Most -- Working-class Americans who until recently voted Democratic said the party should not count on a backlash to President Trump to win them back. Still, there were pockets of opportunity. Katie Glueck in the New York Times$ -- 08/12/25
California Policy and Politics Monday
Safe zones to be expanded around LAUSD schools; agents detain student at gunpoint near campus -- Amid immigration enforcement, city and school officials will set up “safe zones” monitored by LAPD and community volunteers to protect undocumented families when school resumes at LAUSD. Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/11/25
By sending troops to D.C. and eyeing Oakland, Trump continues targeting Black-led cities -- When President Donald Trump announced Monday that he will deploy National Guard troops to the streets of Washington, D.C., to combat crime, he named several other cities where he might take similar action. Sara Libby in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 08/11/25
Newsom says in letter to Trump California will back off redistricting — if red states do -- Gov. Gavin Newsom sent a letter to Donald Trump on Monday morning offering to stop California’s redistricting push if the president calls off similar efforts in red states. Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Rachel Uranga in the Los Angeles Times$ Lia Russell in the Sacramento Bee$ Cheyanne M. Daniels Politico -- 08/11/25
Trump Attacked California’s Congressional Maps. Republicans Want to Save Them -- The independent body that redraws the state’s political maps isn’t perfect, many Republicans say. But they prefer that to the gerrymander that Gov. Gavin Newsom seeks to offset one proposed in Texas. Laurel Rosenhall in the New York Times$ -- 08/11/25
5 things to know as Newsom and Trump go back to court over the National Guard in LA -- Gov. Gavin Newsom alleges the Trump administration broke a 19th Century law called the Posse Comitatus Act when it deployed military units to Los Angeles in June. Mikhail Zinshteyn Calmatters -- 08/11/25
‘Uncharted territory’: Newsom and UC go to battle against Trump’s UCLA sanctions -- Conflict has come to a head after the Trump administration suspended $584 million in grants and has demanded a $1-billion settlement. Newsom says the state will sue. UC Board of Regents will hold an emergency meeting Monday. Jaweed Kaleem in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/11/25
This candidate for California governor has a potential conflict of interest in her own home -- If elected governor, Toni Atkins faces potential conflicts of interest with her spouse’s consulting firms. Atkins and her spouse, Jennifer LeSar, earn hundreds of thousands of dollars annually from clients that also lobby state government. Alexei Koseff Calmatters -- 08/11/25
Trump Raids Help Stir a Political Reversal for Karen Bass -- The mayor of Los Angeles has emerged as a leading voice of the city’s resistance to the Trump administration after facing criticism for her handling of the wildfires. Jill Cowan in the New York Times$ -- 08/11/25
Is anyone in charge of Los Angeles? -- Many of Los Angeles’s leaders had hoped to spend 2025 preparing the city to host the next summer Olympics and instead found themselves engulfed by a series of unanticipated crises, from devastating wildfires to a destabilizing immigration crackdown. But rather than working together, the city’s leading pressure groups are at each other’s throats in a spiraling grudge match. Emily Schultheis Politico -- 08/11/25
‘Why did this happen to us?’ Japanese Americans share heartwrenching WWII incarceration memories -- Only when Jeffrey Kawaguchi, 67, stepped into the room at the Palo Alto Buddhist Temple did he understand how sacred the book was that he’d come to see. The monumental tome called the Ireicho, meaning record of names, lists the more than 125,000 people of Japanese ancestry who were forcibly relocated by the U.S. government to concentration camps during World War II. Most were Japanese Americans. Ko Lyn Cheang, Lea Suzuki in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 08/11/25
Oil
Newsom embraces Big Oil — for now — to curb potential gas supply shortages -- As California decarbonizes, refineries are shuttering fast. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration wants to slow that down. Grant Stringer in the San Jose Mercury$ Taryn Luna in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/11/25
Water
Should L.A. look to ‘sponge cities’ to solve its flooding problem? -- L.A.’s water management system discards billions of gallons of rainwater that might be reused. Can ‘sponge cities’ help us? Max Kim in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/11/25
Housing
Here’s how much Bay Area homes have gained in value — and what that means for taxes -- Bay Area homeowners could be in for quite a windfall — if they sell. Christian Leonard in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 08/11/25
The Bay Area is lagging on lofty housing goals. Here's how far behind each city is --Walnut Creek is supposed to permit about 5,800 new homes from 2023 to 2031, according to the California housing department. As of the end of last year, it had approved just 85. Christian Leonard in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 08/11/25
Will we ever get enough housing? The future holds promise -- How can we achieve more and better housing? Denser neighborhoods. Smaller homes, some modular or printed in 3-D. Properties co-owned. ADUs sold separately. Jack Flemming in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/11/25
Homeless
To tackle homelessness, Los Angeles moves to centralize its response -- Los Angeles County launched the Emergency Centralized Response Center earlier this year to better coordinate homeless services. By centralizing the response, supporters say the dispatch center makes it easier to get people off the streets. Andrew Khouri in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/11/25
Wildfire
Canyon fire more than 75% contained as firefighters make ‘good progress’ -- The Canyon fire in Ventura County was 78% contained as of Sunday evening, with firefighters making “good progress” extinguishing the blaze, according to fire authorities. Noah Goldberg in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/11/25
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$ -- 08/11/25
Climate
‘People’s Hearing On Extreme Weather’ targets Trump climate policy -- On Saturday, Los Angeles-area elected officials, advocacy groups and community members convened in Pasadena for what was billed as a “People’s Hearing on Extreme Weather.” Marcos Magaña in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/11/25
Energy secretary says Trump administration may alter past National Climate Assessments -- Earlier this year, the Trump administration fired more than 400 scientists working on the next federal climate report and removed the website that housed the previous ones. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/11/25
Salvaging a crumbling California coastline required some radical thinking -- For an eroding coastline reduced to broken concrete, responding to sea level rise has been a delicate exercise in compromise. Rosanna Xia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/11/25
Fires and floods have plagued L.A. forever; brilliant marketing lured millions of newcomers anyway -- We’ve always had fires and floods, but brilliant marketing and a lot of hubris allowed Los Angeles to be conjured into existence. Michael Hiltzik in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/11/25
Workplace
21 Ways People Are Using A.I. at Work -- Recent surveys have found that almost one in five U.S. workers say they use it at least semi-regularly for work. Twenty-one people told us how. Larry Buchanan and Francesca Paris in the New York Times$ -- 08/11/25
What’s next for historic Riverside prison and the state workers who staff it? -- For years, residents of Norco have tried to convince the state to close a medium-security prison occupying roughly 100 acres of prime real estate in the Southern California city. Last week, the California Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections granted their wish, announcing the Riverside County prison would close its doors in fall of 2026. William Melhado in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 08/11/25
Education
Garofoli: Will UCLA wilt like an Ivy? Trump extortion threat is the ultimate test -- California’s public universities have the chance to do something elite Ivy League schools didn’t have the guts to: stand up to Donald Trump’s latest extortion plot. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 08/11/25
Where do UC alumni land jobs? See the full list of companies for every campus -- Over 70% of UC alumni live and work in California. While the most common employer for graduates is the UC schools themselves, big, California-based companies like Google and Kaiser Permanente hire hundreds of graduates from across the nine schools. Hanna Zakharenko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 08/11/25
These are the college majors that lead to the best-paying jobs for UC and CSU graduates -- At $150,000, the median annual earnings two years after graduation for Berkeley computer science majors is significantly higher than those of their peers at UCLA ($130,000), Cal Poly San Luis Obispo ($114,000) and UC San Diego ($106,000). Nami Sumida in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 08/11/25
Has California turned the page on its reading crisis? -- Less than half of the state’s third- and fourth-graders were reading at grade level in the 2023-24 school year, according to state testing data. Molly Gibbs in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 08/11/25
Free AI training comes to California colleges — but at what cost? -- Google, Microsoft, Adobe and IBM will offer AI-related tools to California’s schools and universities in an effort to prepare the state’s students for a changing economy. Adam Echelman Calmatters -- 08/11/25
Street
Another gruesome death in jail, and neglect that preceded it, described in sworn testimony -- In sworn declarations filed this week in San Diego federal court, the men said they warned deputies and medical staff in the days before Karim Talib’s July 28 death that he badly needed help. What they describe suggests Talib suffered from mental illness or cognitive decline. Jeff McDonald, Kelly Davis in the San Diego Union Tribune$ -- 08/11/25
Palo Alto
What Happened When Mark Zuckerberg Moved In Next Door -- The billionaire has bought at least 11 properties in Palo Alto, Calif., creating a compound for his family — and headaches for his neighbors. Heather Knight in the New York Times$ -- 08/11/25
Also
Arellano: When the going gets tough for L.A., our city rallies like no other -- Americans should see this resilience and the subsequent spur of creativity and hope as a blueprint on how to fight back and not just survive, but thrive better than ever. Nothing has proved this more than our current year, with two catastrophes that would have buckled, if not outright destroyed, other cities. Gustavo Arellano in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/11/25
Curwen: Fast-forward 25 years: Sharing hopes and dreams for a future Los Angeles -- Los Angeles is a city built upon amnesia and denial. Graded and paved, bought and sold, it bears little likeness to Tovaangar, the home for the first people who, for thousands of years, walked its valleys and chaparral-clad basins and paddled its broad shorelines. Thomas Curwen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/11/25
POTUS 47
Trump says he’s placing DC police under federal control and deploying National Guard -- President Donald Trump said Monday he’s placing the Washington, D.C., police department under federal control and deploying the National Guard to make the nation’s capital safer. Bridget Brown, Bernard Mcghee, Curtis Yee Associated Press Eric Schmitt, Campbell Robertson, Katie Rogers and Chris Cameron in the New York Times$ Brianna Tucker in the Washington Post$ -- 08/11/25
The U.S. Marches Toward State Capitalism With American Characteristics -- President Trump is imitating Chinese Communist Party by extending political control ever deeper into economy. Greg Ip in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 08/11/25
Nvidia, AMD to Give U.S. 15% Cut on AI Chip Sales to China -- Unusual arrangement follows Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s meeting with Trump. Amrith Ramkumar and Robbie Whelan in the Wall Street Journal$ Tripp Mickle in the New York Times$ Eva Dou and Grace Moon in the Washington Post$ -- 08/11/25
The Harvard-Trained Lawyer Behind Trump’s Fight Against Top Universities -- May Mailman is credited as an animating force behind a strategy that has intimidated independent institutions and undercut years of medical and scientific research. Michael C. Bender in the New York Times$ -- 08/11/25
Small Businesses Brace for the Punishing Side Effects of Trump’s Tariffs -- Smaller firms, for instance, not only have fewer resources to weather unexpected costs, they also lack the bargaining power of megastores like Walmart to pressure suppliers to lower prices. They may also lack access to lines of credit available to bigger firms. Patricia Cohen in the New York Times$ -- 08/11/25
Inflation Up or Down? What About Jobs? The Agency That Should Know Is on the Rocks -- Trump’s firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics leader compounds a yearslong struggle to modernize methods and maintain resources. Matt Grossman, Brian Schwartz and Rachel Louise Ensign in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 08/11/25
Trump Administration Considers Longtime Critic to Lead Bureau of Labor Statistics -- Officials are looking at E.J. Antoni, chief economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation, among others, to head jobs-data agency. Brian Schwartz and Meridith McGraw in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 08/11/25
American Companies Are Buying Their Own Stocks at a Record Pace -- American companies are repurchasing their shares at a record pace, boosting their balance sheets and fueling the U.S. stock rally. Krystal Hur in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 08/11/25
Transcripts of grand jury that indicted Epstein ex-girlfriend Maxwell won’t be unsealed, judge says -- Judge Paul A. Engelmayer said in a written ruling the government had suggested the materials could be released publicly “casually or promiscuously,” which would risk “unraveling the foundations of secrecy upon which the grand jury is premised” and eroding confidence by persons called to testify before future grand juries. Larry Neumeister, Michael R. Sisak, Jennifer Peltz Associated Press -- 08/11/25
Trump’s birthright citizenship order faces more bans than before Supreme Court ruling -- Four lower courts have placed nationwide injunctions on the Trump administration from enforcing plans to deny automatic citizenship to U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants and foreign visitors. David Nakamura in the Washington Post$ -- 08/11/25
Trump is rushing to build his ballroom. A review process could take years -- The National Capital Planning Commission, which has yet to consider the massive project, has taken years to approve much smaller changes at the White House. Jonathan Edwards in the Washington Post$ -- 08/11/25