California Policy and Politics Tuesday

Sen. Alex Padilla says he won’t run for California governor --“I choose not just to stay in the Senate. I choose to stay in this fight because the constitution is worth fighting for. Our fundamental rights are worth fighting for. Our core values are worth fighting for. The American dream is worth fighting for,” he said. Ana Ceballos in the Los Angeles Times$ Maya C. Miller Calmatters -- 11/04/25

‘Back-to-back, baby!’ Los Angeles Dodgers’ victory parade fills downtown with fans -- Downtown Los Angeles was transformed into a sea of Dodger blue and white Monday, as thousands of fans from across Southern California filled the streets to get a glimpse of the back-to-back World Series champs. Christopher Buchanan, Jack Flemming, Daniel Miller and Grace Toohey in the Los Angeles Times$    Photos: World Series champion Dodgers parade through Downtown L.A. in the Los Angeles Times$-- 11/04/25

 

Newsom says Trump is keeping 200 California Guard members in Oregon -- The Trump administration has sent 200 National Guard troops to Oregon, where they remain stationed despite a federal judge’s order barring the president from using them to quell protests in Portland, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in court papers filed late last week. Sharon Bernstein in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/04/25

S.F., California sue over new Trump rules limiting who can access student loan forgiveness -- A longtime U.S. law allows employees of government agencies or nonprofits to cancel their student loan debts after 10 years of payments, but President Donald Trump has now disqualified workers whose employers disagree with him on issues such as immigration or transgender rights. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$-- 11/04/25

California has one of highest tax burdens in the nation, new study says -- California’s tax climate ranks near the bottom among all 50 states, according to a new State Tax Competitive Tax Index by the Tax Foundation. California ranks 48th, ahead of only New Jersey and New York, the foundation said. Wyoming and South Dakota rank first and second. David Lightman in the Sacramento Bee$-- 11/04/25

 

Prop 50: The most important things to watch in California’s special election -- Proposition 50, whose fate California voters will decide on Tuesday, is overwhelmingly favored to pass. One Democratic pollster quipped to the Chronicle the race would be over at “8:01 p.m.” Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/04/25

Gavin Newsom’s gamble on Prop. 50 may be his most calculated yet -- A win would affirm Newsom as Democrats’ chief counterweight to Trump ahead of a possible 2028 presidential run; a loss could damage his political credibility. Melody Gutierrez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/04/25

Katie Porter’s controversies damaged her campaign for CA governor, poll shows -- The new survey was commissioned by Antonio Villaraigosa, another Democrat running for governor, and conducted by Democratic pollster Ben Tulchin. It asked 919 likely 2026 primary voters whether they had heard of Porter’s recent controversies and whether it would affect their vote. The margin of error was +/- 3.2%. Nicole Nixon in the Sacramento Bee$-- 11/04/25

Election Day 2025: The five biggest races to watch -- In short, Tuesday is the most significant election in the United states since last November, experts say, when President Trump defeated the Bay Area’s Kamala Harris in the presidential race, and Republicans maintained control of the House and Senate. It’s also being viewed as a way to gauge the pulse of voters a year before the 2026 elections, when control of the House, Senate and governor’s offices will be up for grabs. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$-- 11/04/25

Appeals court strikes down Huntington Beach voter ID law in blow to GOP agenda -- Cities in California can’t require voters to show proof of their identity at the polls, a state appeals court ruled Monday, striking down a law approved by voters in Huntington Beach, and dealing a blow to voting restrictions championed by President Donald Trump. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$-- 11/04/25

Shutdown

‘We won’t let people travel’: Officials warn as SFO delays pile up and national air travel crisis deepens -- Travelers at San Francisco International Airport faced mounting flight delays Monday as the month-long federal government shutdown continued to ripple through the nation’s air system, leaving control towers short-staffed and tempers flaring in Washington. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$-- 11/04/25

Airport delays worsen in Southern California, with growing fears of holiday travel meltdown -- As the government shutdown heads into its second month, a shortage of air traffic controllers could only worsen airport delays. Hannah Fry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/04/25

Workplace

OpenAI chairman’s new startup moves to sign one of S.F.’s biggest office leases this year -- The company has agreed to lease 300,000 square feet at 185 Berry St. in South Beach, said a person with direct knowledge of the deal who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly. Sierra builds customer service AI agents and was recently valued at $10 billion. Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$-- 11/04/25

At USC, more than 900 employees laid off since July amid ‘difficult’ fiscal crisis -- Aiming to eliminate a budget deficit that ballooned to more than $200 million, USC began widespread layoffs in July. USC interim President Beong-Soo Kim said that the job cuts are nearly complete. Daniel Miller in the Los Angeles Times$-- 11/04/25

State Supreme Court deals defeat to UC over policy barring undocumented students from campus jobs -- The California Supreme Court has let stand an appellate court’s ruling that the University of California’s ban on hiring undocumented workers is discriminatory and must be reconsidered. Jaweed Kaleem and Clara Harter in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/04/25

Develop

Macy’s to develop its flagship S.F. store. Could the iconic property become housing? -- One of the Bay Area’s most experienced developers has been selected to shape the future of Macy’s longtime home in San Francisco’s Union Square. Laura Waxmann in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/04/25

Housing

California owns dozens of vacant houses in Los Angeles County. It's paying millions to guard them from protesters -- In spring 2020, activists illegally seized more than a dozen publicly owned, vacant homes in Los Angeles, arguing that the state shouldn’t leave its own houses empty during a homelessness crisis. Since then, a lot of taxpayer money has gone to preventing others from doing the same. Liam Dillon Politico-- 11/04/25

ICE

CA’s largest ICE facility ‘unnecessarily’ uses solitary confinement, report says -- ICE is “unnecessarily” placing dozens of immigrants detained at its largest California facility in criminal prison-like solitary confinement, according to observations from a disability rights watchdog group that toured the civil detention center. Melissa Montalvo in the Fresno Bee-- 11/04/25

How Elite Agents Use High-Risk Military Tactics on Civilians in Chicago -- Federal officers from various agencies have been reassigned to assist with immigration enforcement operations. WSJ analyzes the use of force, high-risk maneuvers and military-style tactics agents from elite units have deployed in Chicago. The item is in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/04/25

Education

UC professors censor their own classes waiting for Trump’s crackdown, court filings show -- President Donald Trump’s crackdown on the University of California is playing out in heightened fear and self-censorship across UC classrooms and research labs, say dozens of professors, physicians, scientists and staff members from UC Berkeley to UCLA who have filed declarations in federal court in San Francisco. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/04/25

Climate

Bill Gates tells an audience at Caltech that the doomsday scenario is wrong -- “Fortunately, although climate is an extremely serious problem, it is not of that nature: it will not end civilization. It’s a very serious threat to human welfare but in most locations it is not the biggest,” he said. Steve Scauzillo in the Orange County Register$ -- 11/04/25

Street

Jury awards $16.8 million to California prison doctor who complained about inmate’s threat -- A jury awarded a $16.8 million judgment to a California prison doctor who alleged her employer did not respond appropriately to a threat she received from an incarcerated person, fired her when she raised concerns about her safety and then defamed her by allowing rumors to spread among staff. Adam Ashton Calmatters-- 11/04/25

Why the Mexican president refuses to restart the drug war despite mayor’s assassination -- “Returning to the war against el narco is not an option,” Sheinbaum told reporters Monday, referring to the bloody anti-crime offensive launched almost two decades ago. “Mexico already did that, and the violence got worse.” Patrick J. McDonnell and Kate Linthicum in the Los Angeles Times$-- 11/04/25

Also

Dick Cheney, former vice president who unapologetically supported wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, dies at 84 -- Richard B. Cheney, the former vice president of the United States who was the architect of the nation’s longest war as he plotted President George W. Bush’s thunderous global response to the 9/11 terror attacks, has died. James Oliphant and James Gerstenzang in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/04/25

6 ChatGPT Settings You Should Consider Changing -- A few tweaks can improve your conversations with the chatbot, as well as protect your privacy. Alexandra Samuel in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/04/25

YouTube declines Disney’s proposal to restore ABC for election coverage -- Disney on Monday sought a temporary thaw in tensions with Google Inc. after the two sides failed last week to strike a new distribution contract covering Disney’s television channels on Google’s YouTube TV. Meg James in the Los Angeles Times$-- 11/04/25

After widespread delays, operations back to normal at San Diego International Airport -- Sunday’s delays were caused by staffing issues in the control tower, according to the FAA. Airport officials said the government shutdown is, at times, affecting operations. Alex Riggins in the San Diego Union Tribune$-- 11/04/25

‘A bouillabaisse of bad news’ leads to higher gas prices in San Diego -- He pointed to the pending closure of the Phillips 66 twin refinery in the Los Angeles area, and unplanned maintenance at California refineries that included reports of flaring at a pair of facilities, as the main contributors to the jump in wholesale prices. Rob Nikolewski in the San Diego Union Tribune$ -- 11/04/25

POTUS 47

Trump’s Power Faces Pressure Test in Court and at Ballot Box -- President Trump has a lot riding on the results of Tuesday’s elections, his tariffs case at the Supreme Court and the future of the government shutdown. Erica L. Green in the New York Times$-- 11/04/25

House members release bipartisan 'principles' for extending Obamacare subsidies -- A bipartisan quartet of House lawmakers released a “statement of principles” Monday for a potential compromise on an extension of Obamacare subsidies, which would include a two-year sunset and an income cap for eligibility. Benjamin Guggenheim and Meredith Lee Hill Politico-- 11/04/25

‘Utterly shameful’: Congress to crush US record this week for longest shutdown -- There’s no chance for Congress to resolve the shutdown and reopen the government before crossing the historic threshold Tuesday. Katherine Tully-McManus and Nicholas Wu Politico-- 11/04/25

Trump administration says it is paying out half of November’s SNAP benefits -- The administration will release funds to help pay for SNAP benefits, following court orders to avoid food insecurity for almost 42 million Americans. Mariana Alfaro in the Washington Post$-- 11/04/25

Supreme Court’s conservatives face a test of their own in judging Trump’s tariffs -- Small-business owners sued over Trump’s tariffs, saying they had severely disrupted their businesses. The outcome is likely to turn on three doctrines that have been championed by the Supreme Court’s conservatives. David G. Savage in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/04/25

Trump’s tariffs have tested California. Now they’ll test the Supreme Court -- When the Supreme Court hears arguments Wednesday on President Donald Trump’s tariffs, the power of the president to act on his own will be on the line. So will tens of thousands of jobs in California, according to state officials who oppose the tariffs. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/04/25

Trump’s foe in tariffs case? A group funded by anonymous conservatives -- The Supreme Court test of Trump’s power is backed by a group funded without disclosure by wealthy conservatives, highlighting a deep split over import taxes. Cat Zakrzewski in the Washington Post$ -- 11/04/25

Jack Smith, Trump’s Target, Shifts From Defense to Counterattack -- The former special counsel has told people in his orbit he welcomes the opportunity to present the public case against the president denied to him by adverse court rulings and the 2024 election. Glenn Thrush in the New York Times$-- 11/04/25

The imperial aesthetic at the heart of Donald Trump’s presidency -- In addition to his accumulation of political power, Trump has embraced visual cues designed to project personal command and grandeur. Naftali Bendavid in the Washington Post$-- 11/04/25