Rough & Tumble ®
A Snapshot of California Public Policy and Politics
       
 
 
 
 
 

California Policy and Politics Sunday

Newsom says he’ll consider presidential run after 2026 midterms -- In the CBS interview, Newsom was asked whether he would seriously consider a presidential bid after next year’s midterm elections. “Yeah, I’d be lying otherwise,” Newsom told the interviewer. “I’d just be lying. And I’'m not — I can’t do that.” Cynthia Dizikes in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/26/25

Cash-strapped campaign against California’s Prop. 50 goes out with a whimper -- In the crucial final days before voting ends on California’s redistricting ballot measure, the Republican-backed campaigns opposing Proposition 50 are just about out of cash to spend. Nicole Nixon in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 10/26/25

‘Yes on Prop 50’ campaign vastly outspends opponents as Election Day nears -- With a national fundraising blitz in full swing and Election Day just around the corner, Democrats stumping for Proposition 50 have far out-raised and out-spent their opponents — even though a California megadonor with Republican ties single-handedly spent $30 million to defeat it. Grant Stringer in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 10/26/25

Bay Area partisans are fired up over California’s Prop 50 contest. Others? Not so much -- Republican Max Hsia and about a dozen of his South Bay Patriots group gathered in the San Jose parking lot of Bass Pro Shops, donned their red MAGA hats, hung their “No on Prop 50” signs on a pop-up tent and tried to encourage a Charlie Kirk-style “Prove Me Wrong” debate with passers-by. Julia Prodis Sulek in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 10/26/25

For this Bay Area mother and son, Trump’s Medicaid cuts could shred a lifeline -- Like millions of American parents with profoundly disabled children, Jill has come to rely on federal, state and local support programs to make their life manageable in the small Sonoma County community where she now lives with her son. The resources allow Jill to care for Luca and keep him home. Erin Allday, Anna Connors in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/26/25

Strings attached to bills Newsom signed on antisemitism, AI transparency and other major California policies -- Though hailed by some for signing new laws to combat antisemitism in California schools, Gov. Gavin Newsom expressed enough reservations about the bills to urge state lawmakers to make some changes. Katie King in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/26/25

 

Dozens of Northern California immigrants abruptly summoned to ICE office for weekend check-ins -- Federal agents ordered dozens of undocumented immigrants to report for check-ins this weekend at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Stockton, immigrant advocates told the Chronicle. St. John Barned-Smith, Brooke Park in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/26/25

Undocumented CA woman suing ICE contractor for harassment is deported -- Silvia Reyna, a Sacramento-area undocumented woman who is suing a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement contractor for sexual harassment, was deported to Mexico early Saturday morning before her lawsuit could be heard in court. Marcos Breton in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 10/26/25

FBI says U-Haul driver shot by Coast Guard outside base near Oakland is now in custody -- U.S. Coast Guard personnel fired gunshots during a protest outside of a base at the edge of Oakland, where demonstrators were rallying against Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Bay Area. Jessica Flores in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/26/25

L.A. County moves to limit license plate tracking -- Drivers in Los Angeles County have a powerful new privacy advocate after the L.A. County Board of Supervisors pushed to restrict how their license plates are scanned by law enforcement. Phoebe Huss and Khari Johnson in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/26/25

 

Exxon sues California over new laws requiring corporate climate disclosures -- ExxonMobil has filed suit in federal court challenging two California laws that would require the oil giant to report the greenhouse emissions resulting from the use of its products globally. Doug Smith and Susanne Rust in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/26/25

Even the proposed receiver for LA County’s juvenile hall feels unsafe inside it --Michael Dempsey, the veteran corrections officer the state wants put in charge of L.A. County’s juvenile facilities, has spent 40 years in the industry, including running a maximum security juvenile facility in Indiana, but, like many of the staff working at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall, even he fears for his safety during visits to the troubled facility. Jason Henry in the Los Angeles Daily News -- 10/26/25

Newsom and Ontario premier make wager, pan Trump’s tariffs in World Series video -- Ontario Premier Doug Ford and California Gov. Gavin Newsom are raising the stakes on this year’s World Series, which tees off as President Donald Trump stews over an Ontario ad campaign that invoked former President Ronald Reagan to argue against his tariffs. Gregory Svirnovskiy Politico -- 10/26/25

Wildfire

‘It’s still smoldering.’ A hiker’s video of Palisades fire raises questions about state’s responsibility -- The video of smoke on a hillside above Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades was shot by a local resident above Skull Rock Trailhead at 11:30 a.m on Jan. 2 — nearly 36 hours after the Lachman fire ignited and long after the Los Angeles Fire Department deemed the fire “fully contained.” Jenny Jarvie and Noah Haggerty in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/26/25

Sell or stay: Malibu locals face costly regulations as international developers buy burned-out lots -- Nine months after the Palisades and Eaton fires, the choice of whether to sell or stay has bewildered many homeowners. In Malibu, the situation is even more dire as international buyers and developers have snapped up properties while residents struggle with costly regulations. Kevinisha Walker in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/26/25

Water

New way to turn sewage into drinking water could transform San Diego’s Pure Water behemoth -- San Diego may shift the second phase of the city’s Pure Water sewage recycling system to a more efficient purification method that could save billions of dollars, preventing steep jumps in local sewer and water bills. David Garrick in the San Diego Union Tribune$ -- 10/26/25

Downtown Law

Judge tapped to vet $4-billion sex abuse settlement; L.A. County urges bar investigation -- L.A. County is bringing on a retired judge to tackle a $4-billion question: How can officials ensure that real victims are compensated from the biggest sex abuse payout in U.S. history — and not people who made up their claims? Rebecca Ellis in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/26/25

Street

Lacking funding, Proposition 36 puts burden on most defendants to find drug treatment -- Proposition 36 was built on the idea that consequences would drive recovery, but it came with no funding to expand treatment slots or coordinate referrals. Meanwhile, the law is scooping up people with long histories of addiction, repeated jail stays and failed attempts at sobriety. Kelly Davis, Teri Figueroa in the San Diego Union Tribune$ -- 10/26/25

Education

California sued over bond program that sends more money to fix facilities in wealthy school districts -- Districts with the smallest tax bases per student — and generally the most low-income students — have gotten less state money for school upgrades. Districts with the most taxable property per student can afford bigger school construction projects; they’re often first in line for state aid. John Fensterwald EdSource -- 10/26/25

Also

Barabak: A youth movement is roiling Democrats. Does age equal obsolescence? -- Nancy Pelosi is facing the first serious challenge to her election in decades. Veteran politicians say there’s virtue in experience but differ over the need for term limits. Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/26/25

We listened to all the podcasts from 2028 candidates. Here’s who stood out -- When California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) launched a podcast seven months ago, he was tapping into a broader trend. Politicians, who once saw podcasts as fringe or risky, now see them as an opportunity to connect with voters in a more casual setting and relish the chance to talk for hours at a time without a filter. Dylan Wells in the Washington Post$ -- 10/26/25

Can Anyone Rescue the Trafficked Girls of L.A.’s Figueroa Street? -- Inside the effort to pull minors from ‘the Blade,’ one of the most notorious sex-trafficking corridors in the United States. Emily Baumgaertner Nunn in the New York Times$ -- 10/26/25-- 10/26/25

A deadly history haunts this imperiled California lighthouse. Here’s why fans want to save it -- Restoring California’s St. George Reef Lighthouse will cost at least $10 million and helicopter access. It’s a race against time -- and rising seas. Hailey Branson-Potts, Caleb Lesher in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/26/25

Big wave machine — by the sea — rolling into El Segundo -- The El Segundo surf park, which has yet to be named, will hold about 5 million gallons of water in a 2.2-acre lagoon. Roger Vincent in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/26/25

POTUS 47

How Trump Barreled Through D.C.’s Bureaucracy to Get His White House Ballroom -- The president realized his longtime dream by remaking a planning board and taking advantage of permitting oddities; ‘you have zero zoning conditions’ Annie Linskey, Josh Dawsey and Will Parker in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 10/26/25

How Trump’s ballroom will dwarf the White House -- Trump’s new 90,000-square-foot White House ballroom would be almost as large as the rest of the complex. Aaron Steckelberg, Manuel Canales, Maureen Linke and Javier Zarracina in the Washington Post$ -- 10/26/25

Trump Announces Tariff Increase on Canada Over Reagan Ad Spat -- The ad, which will stop airing on Monday, used audio of a 1987 address by Ronald Reagan making a case against tariffs. Matina Stevis-Gridneff in the New York Times$ Maegan Vazquez in the Washington Post$ -- 10/26/25

U.S. Stocks Are Breaking Records. The Rest of the World Is Doing Better -- Mounting concern about the U.S. economy’s growth prospects and a continuing trade war have led more investors to look beyond America’s shores for stocks at attractive prices. In fact, those international stocks are on pace to outperform their U.S. counterparts by the widest margin in 16 years. Krystal Hur in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 10/26/25

 

California Policy and Politics Saturday

Under court order, UC publicly releases Trump administration’s $1.2-billion settlement proposal -- The California Supreme Court rejected UC’s request to keep a $1.2-billion Trump UCLA settlement proposal private. The document, which UCLA published online, demands vast changes to UCLA’s admissions policies and calls for more protest restrictions and a ban on gender-affirming healthcare for minors. UC warned that releasing the proposal would cause “irreparable harm” to its negotiations with Trump. Jaweed Kaleem in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/25/25

Justice Department says it will send election monitors to California on Election Day -- The unusual announcement comes amid sky-high tensions between state leaders and federal officials and as voting is underway in California on Proposition 50, a measure to enact new congressional maps designed to help Democrats flip five U.S. House seats in the 2026 midterms. Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/25/25

 

Kamala Harris hints she is ready to run again for US president -- Former United States Vice President Kamala Harris suggested she may run again for U.S. president. The Democratic Party presidential hopeful, who lost to Republican Donald Trump in 2024, told the BBC in an interview to be aired Sunday that she is “not done” with politics. “I have lived my entire career as a life of service and it’s in my bones,” she said. Louise Guillot Politico Lisa Lerer in the New York Times$ -- 10/25/25

 

‘Yes on Prop 50’ campaign vastly outspends opponents as Election Day nears -- With a national fundraising blitz in full swing and Election Day just around the corner, Democrats stumping for Proposition 50 have far out-raised and out-spent their opponents — even though a California megadonor with Republican ties single-handedly spent $30 million to defeat it. Grant Stringer in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 10/25/25

How much does California’s Prop 50 matter in the battle for control of the House? -- California voters have a big decision to make on Nov. 4 with Proposition 50, which would temporarily redraw the state’s congressional lines to boost Democrats. But a bigger question looms if the measure passes: With Republican-leaning states redrawing their own districts, how much will Prop 50 matter in the battle over control of the House? Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/25/25

Steve Hilton, Katie Porter lead latest poll in the California governor race -- As speculation continues about another heavyweight contender jumping into the race, polling also shows a plurality of voters are still undecided about the race. Kaitlyn Schallhorn in the Orange County Register$ -- 10/25/25

 

Meet the Bay Area pastor shot in the face with pepper ball at Coast Guard Island protest -- Even when the Border Patrol agent raised his weapon, the Rev. Jorge Bautista didn’t think anything would happen. There was no way the agent would shoot. Then something crashed into his face, just above his chin. Fumes from a pepper ball round filled the air, making him cough as his eyes burned and his vision blurred. St. John Barned-Smith in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/25/25

Mayor Bass selects longtime LAFD leader to head embattled fire department -- Jaime Moore, currently a deputy chief, will take the reins after a lengthy, nationwide search during which the mayor interviewed fire chiefs of other major cities. Bass also visited firehouses, hearing from firefighters on what they were looking for in a chief. Noah Goldberg in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/25/25

First West Nile virus death confirmed in L.A. County, as studies show that drought conditions may increase risk -- The individual, whose details have been kept anonymous, was hospitalized in the San Fernando Valley for neurological illness caused by the mosquito-borne virus. In Southern California, October is the middle of mosquito season. Katerina Portela in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/25/25

Drugs, crime and homelessness plague MacArthur Park. Can a multimillion-dollar fence rescue it? -- The city of Los Angeles is moving ahead with plans to build a $2.3-million iron fence around MacArthur Park. The proposal has sparked debate over the best way to increase security at the park and help serve the homeless who frequent it. Nathan Solis in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/25/25

‘Reckless’ scrap yard with history of endangering a Watts high school is shuttered -- A judge closed a Watts scrap metal plant permanently and imposed $2 million in fines for exposing Jordan High students to toxic dust and explosions. Operated for 70 years adjacent to the school, the facility may have exposed generations of children to dangerous lead contamination. Tony Briscoe in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/25/25

Campus

An elite East Coast university is in ‘stealthy’ discussions to expand into Oakland -- A spokesperson for Howard University, a historically Black, private university in Washington, D.C, confirmed to the Chronicle that the school has been engaged in talks with Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee about expanding into the East Bay city — but stopped short of confirming concrete plans. Laura Waxmann in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/25/25

Education

California sued over bond program that sends more money to fix facilities in wealthy school districts -- Districts with the smallest tax bases per student — and generally the most low-income students — have gotten less state money for school upgrades. Districts with the most taxable property per student can afford bigger school construction projects; they’re often first in line for state aid. John Fensterwald EdSource -- 10/25/25

Homework faces an existential crisis. Has AI made it pointless? -- Homework has long been a topic of debate, but in 2025 it is facing an existential crisis: Has artificial intelligence and its instant answers made it pointless or even counterproductive? Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/25/25

Street

Ex-LAPD officer indicted on murder charge for on-duty killing of homeless man -- Prosecutors indicted Clifford Proctor, 60, a former Los Angeles Police officer, on a murder charge. Proctor faces charges for his on-duty actions in a 2015 incident that left a homeless man dead in Venice. James Queally and Libor Jany in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/25/25

Also

Average price for a new car surpasses $50,000 for first time -- The head of California’s car dealers worries that higher prices are not healthy for both consumers and the industry. Rob Nikolewski in the San Diego Union Tribune$ -- 10/25/25

A rogue Santa Cruz otter is terrorizing surfers: the redux -- A sea otter is harassing Santa Cruz surfers at legendary Steamer Lane, biting riders and stealing surfboards in a repeat of incidents from two years ago. Authorities cannot confirm if it’s the notorious otter known as 841, whose flipper tag may have fallen off or been chewed away. Susanne Rust in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/25/25

After ‘Megalopolis’ flops, Francis Ford Coppola puts his pricey watch collection up for auction -- Francis Ford Coppola wants an offer he can’t refuse — on his timepieces. Stacy Perman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/25/25

California wolves are endangered. The state just killed four -- California wildlife officials confirmed Friday that they took the extraordinary step of killing four gray wolves in a remote, mountain basin north of Lake Tahoe, saying the endangered carnivores were too frequently preying on cattle. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/25/25

California city reopens historic dining spot — the only one left in the country -- The Woolworth’s lunch counter was once a nucleus of community in Bakersfield. Now, new owners hope a revamp of the historic space will breathe life back into the city’s struggling downtown. Lucy Hodgman in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/25/25

POTUS 47

Apple, Google and Meta help fund Trump’s $300 million White House ballroom -- Apple, Google, HP, Meta and Palantir are among a cluster of Bay Area tech companies helping to bankroll President Donald Trump’s plan to build a $300 million ballroom, according to the White House. The project has already leveled the East Wing and roiled preservationists and ethics watchdogs. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/25/25

Donor Who Gave $130 Million to Pay Troops Is Reclusive Heir to Mellon Fortune -- Timothy Mellon, a reclusive billionaire and a major financial backer of President Trump, is the anonymous private donor who gave $130 million to the U.S. government to help pay troops during the shutdown, according to two people familiar with the matter. Tyler Pager in the New York Times$ -- 10/25/25

How Trump’s ballroom will dwarf the White House -- Trump’s new 90,000-square-foot White House ballroom would be almost as large as the rest of the complex. Aaron Steckelberg, Manuel Canales, Maureen Linke and Javier Zarracina in the Washington Post$ -- 10/25/25

Trump’s Plans for the East Wing Keep Changing. Here’s a Look -- Will President Trump’s East Wing ballroom hold 650 people, or 999, as Mr. Trump said this week? Or maybe it will hold 1,350 people, according to a drawing Mr. Trump held up in the Oval Office this week. Marco Hernandez, Junho Lee and Ashley Wu in the New York Times$ -- 10/25/25

Trump Administration Won’t Use Emergency Funds for Food Stamps During Shutdown -- The Agriculture Department said that it would not use the funds to cover benefits in November, imperiling a program 42 million people use to pay for groceries. Linda Qiu and Tony Romm in the New York Times$ -- 10/25/25

Consumer prices in September rise to a pace not seen since January -- New data released Friday showed inflation heated up in September to a pace not seen since January, according to the first dataset to be released during the government shutdown. Andrew Ackerman in the Washington Post$ -- 10/25/25

Average Obamacare premiums are set to rise 30 percent, documents show -- The higher prices — affecting up to 17 million Americans who buy coverage on Healthcare.gov — reflect the largest annual premium increases by far in recent years. Paige Winfield Cunningham in the Washington Post$ -- 10/25/25

Amid the Rubble of the East Wing, Lessons in How Trump Exercises Power -- The gold in the Oval Office can be scraped off by a future president. The Rose Garden lawn can be replanted, reversing the experiment of turning it into a Mar-a-Lago-style patio. But the destruction of the East Wing is different, for two reasons that may explain why the images of giant metal claws ripping down a symbol of American power have struck such a chord in Washington and beyond. David E. Sanger in the New York Times$ -- 10/25/25

With East Wing gone, questions now turn to Trump’s ballroom donors -- Ethics experts and Democrats say they are eager to know whether private donors behind the planned $300 million ballroom are poised to receive any benefits in return. Dan Diamond and Victoria Bisset in the Washington Post$ -- 10/25/25

Trump’s Son Is Poised to Profit From Pentagon Drone Proposal -- A small company that has been manufacturing motors domestically for only a few weeks and has Donald Trump Jr. as an adviser won a parts order from the Army. Eric Lipton in the New York Times$ -- 10/25/25

How One Ad Sent U.S.-Canada Trade Talks Into a Tailspin -- Negotiators had worked for weeks on a potential agreement to reduce Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs. Vipal Monga, Gavin Bade and Alex Leary in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 10/25/25

Trump Called a Canadian Ad Fake. It Faithfully Reproduces Reagan’s Words -- The anti-tariff ad, which President Trump pointed to in cutting off trade talks with Canada, uses several sound bites from an April 1987 speech, though not in the order President Ronald Reagan said them. Lynsey Chutel and Ana Swanson in the New York Times$ -- 10/25/25

Pentagon Orders Aircraft Carrier to the Caribbean -- Move is strongest sign yet that Trump administration envisions expanding its military campaign in region. Shelby Holliday and Lara Seligman in the Wall Street Journal$ Charlie Savage and Eric Schmitt in the New York Times$ Dan Lamothe in the Washington Post$ -- 10/25/25

Arellano: As Trump blows up supposed narco boats, he uses an old, corrupt playbook on Latin America -- Consumer confidence is dropping. The national debt is $38 trillion and climbing like the yodeling mountain climber in that “The Price is Right” game. Donald Trump’s approval ratings are falling and the U.S. is getting more and more restless as 2025 comes to a close. What’s a wannabe strongman to do to prop up his regime? Attack Latin America, of course! Gustavo Arellano in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/25/25

The Peril of a White House That Flaunts Its Indifference to the Law -- The White House has made no legal argument explaining its bald claim that the president has wartime power to summarily kill people suspected of smuggling drugs. Charlie Savage in the New York Times$ -- 10/25/25

Bannon Claims ‘There Is a Plan’ for Trump to Run for a Third Term -- The claim comes after months of President Trump toying with the idea, insisting that he is “not joking” about defying a constitutionally-mandated term limit. Chris Cameron in the New York Times$ -- 10/25/25