California Policy and Politics Sunday

Newsom blocks effort to make California data centers disclose water use -- The data-center economy is booming in California, and Gov. Gavin Newsom doesn’t want to slow it down. Kate Wolffe in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 10/12/25

Is Austin Beutner preparing a run against Mayor Karen Bass? It sure looks that way -- Former investment banker Austin Beutner, an advocate for arts education who spent three years at the helm of the Los Angeles Unified School District, appears to be laying the groundwork for a run against Mayor Karen Bass in next year’s election, according to his social media accounts. David Zahniser and Julia Wick in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/12/25

Judge shuts down California tribes’ latest bid to crush their casino rivals -- Over the years, casino-owning tribes have spent millions in court, in the Legislature and at the ballot box trying unsuccessfully to force their only competitors out of California’s casino business. A judge has blocked their latest effort. Ryan Sabalow Calmatters via the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/12/25

CA lawmakers can spend unlimited campaign funds on security through 2028 -- Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 789 on Saturday, lifting a $10,000 lifetime cap on security spending for lawmakers that is part of the Political Reform Act of 1974. In 2029, the $10,000 per year cap would be reinstated. Kate Wolffe in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 10/12/25

To lower medication costs, Newsom signs bill to rein in insurance middlemen -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday signed Senate Bill 41, a bill that would impose regulations on insurance-industry middlemen who are accused of driving up prices for prescription drugs, and driving small pharmacies to close. Kate Wolffe in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 10/12/25

Katie Porter Videos Give California Rivals a New Opening -- Viral videos showing caustic behavior have blunted her momentum in the California governor’s race. Other campaigns are scrambling to take advantage. Laurel Rosenhall and Benjamin Oreskes in the New York Times$ -- 10/12/25

 

‘Dangerous and reckless’: Yosemite chaos sparks urgent plea to close parks during shutdown -- Reports of illegal BASE jumping, unauthorized camping and unpermitted climbing in Yosemite National Park have reignited warnings from current and former park officials to close the park during the ongoing federal government shutdown. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/12/25

Five hospitalized after helicopter crashes next to Huntington Beach hotel -- Two people were pulled from the helicopter, and three people were injured on the street, police said. Summer Lin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/12/25

Flight nurse dies following Sacramento freeway helicopter crash, Reach and family announce -- Susan “Suzie” Smith, the longtime flight nurse who was among the three crew members injured when their helicopter crashed on a Sacramento freeway earlier this week, has died from her injuries, according to Reach Air Medical Services. She was 67. The item is in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 10/12/25

Amid ‘domestic terrorist’ designation, San Diego antifa case has new significance -- In the weeks since President Donald Trump issued an executive order titled “Designating Antifa as a Domestic Terrorist Organization,” he and his administration have repeatedly and forcefully sought to describe left-wing protesters, both peaceful and violent alike, as domestic terrorists. Alex Riggins in the San Diego Union Tribune$ -- 10/12/25

Retirement in the Bay Area: Poll finds many seniors face bare-bones budgets, mounting debts -- The Bay Area is a punishing place to grow old on a fixed income. The cost of living is higher than the national average, and the cost of a house is twice that of the national average, according to a 2025 report from the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office. Panashe Matemba-Mutasa in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 10/12/25

Guns

Why is a decade-old red flag gun law still only seeing scattered use across California? -- Santa Clara County leads the state in seeking gun-violence restraining orders; advocates say law enforcement has only scratched the surface of their potential. Robert Salonga in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 10/12/25

Street

When police are bad drivers: LAPD crashes kill — and payouts soar past $90 million -- Two brothers injured in a crash caused by a speeding LAPD officer were recently awarded an $18-million legal settlement — one of many cases in recent years where taxpayers shelled out for dangerous driving by police. Libor Jany and Vanessa Martínez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/12/25

Also

Diane Keaton, film legend, fashion trendsetter and champion of L.A.’s past, dead at 79 -- Diane Keaton, the Oscar-winning star of “Annie Hall” and the “Godfather” films, has died at 79 in California, People reported Saturday. Keaton won an Academy Award for “Annie Hall” and earned three more Oscar nominations during a five-decade career that charmed multiple generations. Her quirky, vibrant performances in films by Woody Allen and Nancy Meyers made her one of the most singular actors of her generation. Joshua Rothkopf in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/12/25

Sam Sebastiani, visionary Sonoma winemaker and Viansa founder, dies at 84 -- The grandson of Italian immigrant Samuele Sebastiani, who founded Sebastiani Vineyards in 1904, he carried forward a family legacy that helped shape California’s modern wine industry. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/12/25

Nobel Tote Board: University of California 5, Trump 0 -- President Trump’s brazen campaigning for the Nobel Peace Prize — and the failure of that onslaught — dominate the headlines. But it feels like the president and his many friends and enemies missed the most important lesson coming out of Stockholm this week. James Rainey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/12/25

A Palestinian American activist was killed in Santa Ana 40 years ago. The case remains unsolved -- Alex Odeh looms large in Orange County’s consciousness, decades after he was killed at the age of 41. Suhauna Hussain and Gabriel San Román in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/12/25

POTUS 47

Trump wanted a trade deal. Xi opened a new front instead -- Beijing shattered a fragile trade truce with Washington this week, announcing sweeping restrictions on exports that contain even trace amounts of Chinese rare earth. An irate President Donald Trump is threatening to retaliate with 100 percent tariffs and new restrictions on exports of critical software — and said there’s “no reason” to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping later this month. Megan Messerly and Phelim Kine Politico -- 10/12/25

Trump Says Military Will Get Paid Despite Shutdown -- President Trump said he had directed the Pentagon to pay military servicemembers next week despite the government shutdown, sidestepping an impasse in Congress between Republicans and Democrats over funding federal agencies. Jennifer Calfas, Natalie Andrews and Tali Arbel in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 10/12/25

The pain from the government shutdown is about to hit the public -- The ongoing government shutdown will collide with the U.S. economy this week, as missed paychecks and the absence of billions of dollars of government services reverberate beyond federal workers and sting the broader public. Jacob Bogage and Hannah Natanson in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 10/12/25

HHS rehiring some people fired through reduction-in-force efforts -- A Trump administration legal document said HHS initially targeted 1,000 to 1,200 employees for dismissal, and people speaking with Politico say the firings focused on the CDC. Sophie Gardner Politico Apoorva Mandavilli and Sheryl Gay Stolberg in the New York Times$ Lena H. Sun in the Washington Post$ -- 10/12/25

Lockdowns and a Mysterious Meeting: A Quiet Texas Prison Adapts to Life With Ghislaine Maxwell -- On a weekend in mid-August, hundreds of inmates at a minimum-security prison in Bryan, Texas, were locked down during their usual time for strolling the grassy campus and visiting with family and friends. All except one: Ghislaine Maxwell, the 63-year-old associate of Jeffrey Epstein convicted for her role in helping him sexually abuse underage teens. Christopher Weaver, Meghan Bobrowsky and Brian Whitton in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 10/12/25

Biden Spared 37 Killers From Execution. Trump Ordered Up a Lifetime of Torment -- Among the last actions by former President Joe Biden before leaving the Oval Office was commuting the death sentences of 37 convicted murderers. Hours after President Trump took over, he ordered the life sentences of these men be made, in effect, a living hell. Jess Bravin in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 10/12/25

Barabak: She won a landslide election. But Trump and Jeffrey Epstein have her stuck in limbo -- Arizona’s newly elected congresswoman is poised to break a House logjam on releasing the Epstein files. Speaker Mike Johnson has refused to swear in Adelita Grijalva, despite immediately seating two GOP lawmakers. Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/12/25

Among Portland Protests, It’s Frogs and Sharks and Bears, Oh My! -- Images of anarchists clad in black gave the city a bad name in 2020. Now, demonstrators in Portland are poking fun at President Trump’s apocalyptic talk with colorful animal suits. Anna Griffin and Aaron West in the New York Times$ -- 10/12/25

Inside the online battles streaming from a single block in Portland -- As Trump tries to send in the National Guard, a phalanx of conservative influencers is working to support his claim that Portland is burning. Robert Klemko and Joshua Partlow in the Washington Post$ -- 10/12/25

Trump ‘in Exceptional Health,’ Says White House Doctor -- President Trump underwent his latest physical exam on Friday during a trip to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, with his doctor concluding he has maintained exceptional health and that he received a Covid-19 booster vaccine. Brian Schwartz in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 10/12/25