California Policy and Politics Wednesday

What LA immigration raids left behind: Empty spaces and a city on edge -- The Trump administration is encouraging immigrants to self-deport, and its raids in Los Angeles are making life miserable for many who stay. Nigel Duara Calmatters -- 08/13/25

Schools to open with unprecedented protections for children and their parents amid ICE raids -- Los Angeles public schools are opening Thursday for the new academic year confronting an intense and historically unique moment: They will be operating in opposition to the federal government’s immigration raids and have set in motion aggressive moves to protect children and their immigrant parents. Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/13/25

L.A. volunteers who document ICE raids are being arrested. How to do it safely -- Amanda Trebach, a Los Angeles resident who volunteers to document immigration enforcement operations on Terminal Island in San Pedro, found herself early Friday morning on the wrong side of an enforcement action. Karen Garcia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/13/25

‘Instilling fear’: Fired Bay Area immigration judges say Trump is trying to control courts -- Several judges who were terminated told the Chronicle they had no idea why they were let go. The firings have created a culture of fear among judges, and come at a particularly tense time in immigration court. Attorneys with U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement have begun asking judges to dismiss some cases to speed up deportations. Sarah Ravani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 08/13/25

 

‘Bring it on, Gavin,’ White House says to Newsom on threat to sue over UCLA cuts -- On the line are $584 million in frozen UCLA grants. The government has asked for $1 billion and sweeping campus changes to restore the funds. Andrea Castillo and Jaweed Kaleem in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/13/25

This Republican lawmaker has served CA for decades. Newsom’s plan could end his dominance -- As Gov. Gavin Newsom moves forward with his redistricting plan to counteract Texas’ push to eliminate five Democratic seats in Congress, Republican Rep. Ken Calvert decries the proposal that puts his seat at risk. Deborah Brennan Calmatters -- 08/13/25

Democratic lawmakers in Bay Area ‘reluctantly’ support Newsom’s gerrymandering ploy -- Independent redistricting is a darling in California politics. Its days may be numbered. Grant Stringer in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 08/13/25

Good government group backtracks amid redistricting fight, won’t oppose efforts ‘counterbalancing’ Texas -- A good government group that had previously been opposed to mid-cycle redistricting said in a new policy statement on Tuesday it will not condemn California’s redistricting effort, which it called a “counterbalancing measure” to President Donald Trump’s push to draw several new Republican-leaning seats in Texas and around the country. Aaron Pellish Politico -- 08/13/25

 

Federal judge orders Trump administration to restore hundreds of UCLA research grants -- A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore a portion of the 800 federal science research grants that it suspended at UCLA last month, delivering a major setback to efforts to force the university into a $1 billion settlement. Mikhail Zinshteyn Calmatters Eric He Politico -- 08/13/25

Trump troops

From the L.A. Olympics to Oakland, California braces for Trump National Guard deployments -- President Trump’s decision to deploy hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington has California officials on high alert, with some worrying that he intends to activate federal forces in the Bay Area and Southern California, especially during the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Hannah Fry, Dakota Smith, Richard Winton and Andrea Castillo in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/13/25

Trial in National Guard lawsuit tests whether Trump will let courts limit authority -- Minutes after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth trumpeted plans to “flood” Washington with National Guard members, a senior U.S. military official took the stand in federal court in California to defend the controversial deployment of troops to Los Angeles. Sonja Sharp in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/13/25

Insurance

Long-shot ballot initiative could have huge effect on California insurance -- A proposed ballot initiative would drastically change the way property insurance is regulated in California by repealing a law voters passed almost four decades ago. Levi Sumagaysay Calmatters -- 08/13/25

Workplace

California’s richest agricultural family is shuttering a farm the UFW sought to unionize -- Hundreds of employees are losing jobs at a grape nursery owned by Wonderful Co., one of the state’s biggest agricultural operations. The company says it is unrelated to a contentious battle by the United Farm Workers to unionize workers at the nursery. Melissa Gomez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/13/25

S.F. has more workers returning to the office than Los Angeles -- San Francisco’s return-to-office rate is gaining steam and jumped ahead of Los Angeles and Denver in July for the first time since the pandemic, according to new cell phone data from location tracking firm Placer.ai. Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 08/13/25

Newsom disputes California auditor’s report that remote work could save state $225 million a year -- Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office disputed a California auditor report released Tuesday that said keeping state workers remote for three days per week could save the state $225 million a year in real estate costs. Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 08/13/25

S.F. tech company that’s been working remote says it can’t ‘win’ without an office in the city -- Artificial intelligence unicorn EvenUp was just a few months old when the pandemic shuttered downtown San Francisco offices in early 2020 and redefined how and where people worked. Laura Waxmann in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 08/13/25

Altera chops jobs in San Jose as pace of Bay Area tech worker losses eases -- Despite the layoff announcement, signs have begun to emerge that job losses for the Bay Area tech industry are starting to abate. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 08/13/25

Vernon food plant pleads guilty after nitrogen leak kills two workers -- The deal with California Ranch Foods, a subsidiary of Vernon-based Golden West Food Group, was reached by prosecutors with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office last month and relies on findings from an investigation by California’s workplace safety agency. Suhauna Hussain in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/13/25

Develop

S.F. developer buys federal land in Silicon Valley, likely to build housing, retail -- The developer responsible for the trendy Springline mixed used development in downtown Menlo Park is looking to replicate that success on a bigger scale about a mile away. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 08/13/25

Climate

Another one of California's Trump-proofing planks just broke -- The FTC is cancelling the trucking industry's agreement to abide by California's emissions rules. Alex Nieves Politico Julie Johnson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 08/13/25

Trucking companies sue California, seeking a release from Clean Truck Partnership -- Major trucking companies have entered the legal war between California and President Donald Trump over vehicle emissions, asking a federal judge to decide whether they must comply with the state’s clean-air standards that Trump and congressional Republicans have acted to repeal. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Alex Nieves Politico -- 08/13/25

Housing

CEQA rollbacks could pave the way for high-density housing in Los Gatos -- Los Gatos is required to build around 2,000 new housing units per state law, and changes to a long-standing California environmental protection law may make it easier for developers to push their projects through the approval process. Nollyanne Delacruz in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 08/13/25

Also

Walters: California was a model for transparency. Now the Capitol operates in the dark -- California was once a national leader in requiring public officials to conduct their business — really our business — in public. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 08/13/25

End of an era for country music in Bakersfield: Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace closes -- The Crystal Palace, a music and dining joint in Bakersfield launched by Buck Owens — which hosted just about every country music star in America over the years — has abruptly shut its doors. Jessica Garrison in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/13/25

Inside Silicon Valley’s Growing Obsession With Having Smarter Babies -- Tech execs are paying tens of thousands to find brilliant dates or select high-IQ embryos. ‘They want to raise high-performing children.’ Zusha Elinson in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 08/13/25

POTUS 47

Trump Deploys National Guard for D.C. Crime but Called Jan. 6 Rioters ‘Very Special’ -- President Trump said he needed to send in the Guard to secure the nation’s capital. But on Jan. 6, 2021 — the most lawless day in recent Washington history — he had a very different reaction. Luke Broadwater in the New York Times$ -- 08/13/25

Trump Misstates Washington Crime Data to Justify Takeover -- The president cited a number of false and misleading claims about homicides and youth crime in the nation’s capital. Linda Qiu in the New York Times$ -- 08/13/25

'He's been explicit': Black leaders say Trump is going after blue cities for a reason -- Trump, citing flimsy and misleading statistics, declared a “crime emergency” in the nation’s capital, seizing control over local law enforcement from three-term Mayor Muriel Bowser and deploying some 800 National Guard troops to city streets. Brakkton Booker Politico -- 08/13/25

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 around-the-clock. Alex Horton and David Ovalle in the Washington Post$ -- 08/13/25

The Partisan Economist Trump Wants to Oversee the Nation’s Data -- E.J. Antoni lacks the research record of previous commissioners of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but has a solid record of backing Trump’s narrative of the economy. Paul Kiernan in the Wall Street Journal$ Ben Casselman, Alan Rappeport and Lydia DePillis in the New York Times$ Lauren Kaori Gurley in the Washington Post$ -- 08/13/25

Data wonks warn of lasting damage as Trump weighs shake-up of government statistics collection -- President Donald Trump is ramping up his attacks on the vast network of government data collection, leaving some statisticians and demographers worried the president is undermining the short- and long-term credibility of federal data. Aaron Pellish Politico -- 08/13/25

The Recipe Behind the Trump Family’s Crypto Riches: PancakeSwap -- The under-the-radar trading platform is quietly administered by Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, whose founder is seeking a pardon from President Trump. Angus Berwick and Patricia Kowsmann in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 08/13/25

White House to Vet Smithsonian Museums to Fit Trump’s Historical Vision -- Top White House officials will scrutinize exhibitions, internal processes, collections and artist grants ahead of America’s 250th anniversary. Meridith McGraw and Jasmine Li in the Wall Street Journal$ Graham Bowley, Jennifer Schuessler and Robin Pogrebin in the New York Times$ Janay Kingsberry in the Washington Post$ -- 08/13/25

Trump’s unusual deal with Nvidia and AMD sparks concerns, legal questions -- Nvidia and AMD agreed to pay the U.S. government 15% of its revenue from the sale of a certain chips to China. Is that legal? Queenie Wong in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 08/13/25

Just how much has DOGE exaggerated its numbers? Now we have receipts -- The Trump administration’s claim that it is saving billions of dollars through DOGE-related cuts to federal contracts is drastically exaggerated, according to a new Politico analysis of public data and federal spending records. Jessie Blaeser Politico -- 08/13/25