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