California Policy and Politics Tuesday

Newsom announces new public health initiative led by ousted CDC officials -- Two officials ousted from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earlier this year, including the agency’s former director, will lead a new nationally-focused initiative from California’s public health agency, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday. Andrew Graham in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/16/25

Trump immigration raids take toll on child-care workers in California and nationwide -- Trump’s immigration crackdown has prompted about 39,000 child-care workers to leave, worsening staffing crises Many immigrant child-care workers, legally authorized to work, face crippling anxiety, which can affect their young students. Moriah Balingit and Jenny Gold in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/16/25

National Guard troops under Trump’s command leave L.A before court’s deadline -- Dozens of California National Guard troops under President Trump’s command apparently slipped out of Los Angeles under cover of darkness early Sunday morning, ahead of an appellate court’s order to be gone by noon Monday. Sonja Sharp in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/16/25

California lawmakers say they’ll keep pushing to regulate AI -- “Setting safety guardrails on products has been a core pillar of state law for decades, and it’s absurd for Trump to think he can weaponize the DOJ and Commerce to undermine those state rights,” said Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco. Kate Wolffe in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/16/25

Feds say antigovernment group plotted New Year’s Eve bombings in Southern California -- A plan to attack several Los Angeles-area businesses on New Year’s Eve was detailed, dangerous and already in motion, authorities said. Grace Toohey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/16/25

Eric Swalwell absent from Congress since entering governor’s race -- Swalwell has not cast a vote in the House of Representatives since announcing his campaign late last month to succeed Gavin Newsom as the next governor of California in 2026. Lia Russell in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/16/25

Pelosi Resisted Stock-Trading Ban as Wealth Grew, Fueling Suspicion -- The former speaker failed to appreciate the groundswell of support for banning the practice, refusing to give an inch amid G.O.P. accusations that she was corrupt. Annie Karni in the New York Times$ -- 12/16/25

Water

Trump’s plan to pump more water in California is ill-conceived and harmful, lawmakers say -- A group of seven legislators led by Rep. John Garamendi (D-Walnut Grove) said pumping more water will threaten the availability of water for many Californians, disrupt longstanding state-federal cooperation and put the Delta’s native fish at risk. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s plan “prioritizes partisan politics over California’s communities and farmers,” Garamendi said. Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/16/25

The hydrants will run dry: Trump’s LA fire claims missed the mark, study shows -- Echoing state and local officials, a new analysis agrees: hydrant failures in the Palisades fire were ‘the rule rather than the exception.’Rachel Becker Calmatters -- 12/16/25

The brawl over the Colorado River is about more than water -- Western states are brawling over the future of the Colorado River — with President Donald Trump looming in the background. Annie Snider Politico -- 12/16/25

Rob Reiner was more than a Hollywood liberal. He was a sophisticated political operator -- What qualifies as political activism in Hollywood usually starts and ends with writing a big check. Not so for Rob Reiner. Melanie Mason Politico Ryan Sabalow Calmatters -- 12/16/25

Rob Reiner Made Clear What He Believed In, Onscreen and Off -- In films like “A Few Good Men,” the director’s ideas of honor and morality were stated as plainly as could be. Alissa Wilkinson in the New York Times$ -- 12/16/25

Appreciation: Rob Reiner found a way to please everyone — by going his own way -- Over five decades, Reiner resisted typecasting and studio formulas, choosing creative risks over lucrative opportunities to direct films across multiple genres. From ‘All in the Family’ to ‘Stand by Me’ and ‘Misery,’ his filmography spanned comedy, drama, horror and romance with consistent excellence. Amy Nicholson in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/16/25

Rob Reiner’s 10 best films as a director -- And while there is certainly a streak of humor through almost all of his films, what marks Reiner’s work as a director is his astonishing versatility, able to switch styles from one project to the next with remarkable ease. Mark Olsen and Joshua Rothkopf in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/16/25

Workplace

Netflix executives seek to calm fears over multibillion-dollar Warner Bros. deal -- The co-chief executives of Netflix issued a letter Monday expressing confidence in their ability to close a proposed $72-billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery while trying to allay fears the deal will hurt the entertainment industry. Stephen Battaglio in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/16/25

This Hollywood Property Mogul Stands to Lose No Matter Who Wins Warner -- A drastic slowdown in the streaming business has delivered a major blow to Hackman Capital Partners, the largest independent owner and operator of soundstages. Peter Grant in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 12/16/25

Immigrant truck drivers have become collateral damage in the state's war with Trump -- Many asylum-seeking immigrants and DACA recipients with valid documents were among the 17,000 commercial drivers whose licenses were canceled last month by California amid pressure from the Trump administration, cutting them off from their livelihood amid the busy holiday driving season. Sara DiNatale in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/16/25

Housing

This liberal city sees San Francisco as a role model — for home building failure -- While prices for starter homes in San Francisco have surged, Portland has seemingly found the key to produce “missing middle” houses for first-time buyers. Christian Leonard in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/16/25

Homeless

S.F. doubling capacity to care for high-risk psychiatric patients to meet ‘urgent need’ -- San Francisco is doubling the capacity of its locked psychiatric ward for patients experiencing severe mental illness and addiction as the city continues to add beds to deal with the crisis on its streets. Lucy Hodgman in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/16/25

Education

More adults return to college in California as inflation and job fears rise -- Some community college districts in California say enrollment is up by more than 10%, though official numbers have yet to be released. Historically, college enrollment fluctuates depending on the strength of the economy. Adam Echelman Calmatters -- 12/16/25

State deems Sacramento City Unified at ‘high risk’ of financial insolvency -- For Sacramento City Unified School District, bad news got worse. The school district is facing a larger budget shortfall than previously projected, now amounting to as much as $125 million in the 2027-28 school year. Jennah Pendleton in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/16/25

Street

‘A matter of time’: Fatal stabbing at S.F. General came after years of sanctions and warnings -- Staff members at San Francisco General Hospital’s Ward 86 were afraid. For weeks, they had been warning the Department of Public Health, which runs the hospital, that an angry and delusional patient was targeting a doctor on their floor, the hospital’s long-term HIV outpatient clinic. St. John Barned-Smith, Annie Vainshtein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/16/25

Tijuana River sewage

U.S., Mexico sign new agreement on Tijuana River sewage crisis -- Environmental advocates say the accord relies heavily on studies rather than concrete action and ignores a critical pollution hotspot on U.S. soil. Walker Armstrong in the San Diego Union Tribune$ -- 12/16/25

Also

S.F.’s famous Bay Bridge lights to return in March, with twice the illumination -- He expects Bay Lights 360 to debut in March, but has asked the public for patience. Creating art on a well-traveled bridge is complicated, requiring occasional lane closures as workers are hoisted up the cables in baskets. But he believes this magical transformation will be well worth the wait. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/16/25

Walters: University of California’s $28 million system for pension payouts produced chaos and complaints -- The state has spent billions of dollars on high-tech projects meant to make state agencies more efficient and responsive. But those efforts have either failed completely, worked only partially or couldn’t meet implementation deadlines. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 12/16/25

Scams, Schemes, Ruthless Cons: The Untold Story of How Jeffrey Epstein Got Rich -- For years, rumors swirled about where his wealth came from. A Times investigation reveals the truth of how a college dropout clawed his way to the pinnacle of American finance and society. David Enrich, Steve Eder, Jessica Silver-Greenberg and Matthew Goldstein in the New York Times$ -- 12/16/25

POTUS

Susie Wiles, White House chief of staff, criticizes Bondi and opines on Trump in Vanity Fair -- Susie Wiles, President Donald Trump’s understated but influential chief of staff, criticized Attorney General Pam Bondi’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case and broadly defended the president’s aggressive second administration in a series of interviews published Tuesday in Vanity Fair. Darlene Superville and Bill Barrow Associated Press -- 12/16/25

Jobless rate rises, adding to Trump's economic messaging woes -- A further deterioration of the labor market would deepen the challenges Trump faces with voters who are increasingly dissatisfied with his economic stewardship. Sam Sutton and Victoria Guida Politico Chao Deng in the Wall Street Journal$ Lauren Kaori Gurley in the Washington Post$ -- 12/16/25

Venezuela’s Oil Is a Focus of Trump’s Campaign Against Maduro -- In public, the White House says it is confronting Venezuela to curb drug trafficking. Behind the scenes, gaining access to the country’s vast oil reserves is a priority. Edward Wong and Julian E. Barnes in the New York Times$ -- 12/16/25

Trump attack on Rob Reiner tests the limits, even for his MAGA base -- The president accused Reiner, who was stabbed to death along with his wife, of having “Trump derangement syndrome” Karen Tumulty and Sabrina Rodriguez in the Washington Post$ Cheyanne M. Daniels Politico Luke Broadwater in the New York Times$ Ken Thomas and John McCormick in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 12/16/25

The underrated factors limiting the power of a blue wave next year -- There’s a key factor limiting the power of a potential Democratic surge next year: the number of seats that are realistically competitive. Jessica Piper, Abhinanda Bhattacharyya and Paula Friedrich Politico -- 12/16/25