California Policy and Politics Friday

California cites Tahoe guide company over avalanche that killed 9 -- California workplace safety officials have proposed $151,300 in penalties against a mountain guide company after an avalanche killed three of its guides and six clients near Lake Tahoe. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/21/26..

Supreme Court’s chief justice allows work on Trump’s $400M White House ballroom to continue for now -- Lower courts had ordered a halt to the project, finding that it must have congressional approval. That ruling was set to take effect on Friday until the Supreme Court intervened to consider an emergency appeal from the Trump administration. Lindsay Whitehurst, Michael Kunzelman Associated Press -- 8/21/26

 

Gavin Newsom picks the West’s most complicated fight -- With just months left in office, Gavin Newsom is reopening one of California’s most bitter political fights. At the center of it is a question the state has struggled with for years: When a power company sparks a catastrophic wildfire, who ultimately shoulders the cost? Noah Baustin, Jeremy B. White and Camille von Kaenel Politico -- 8/21/26

 

San Francisco Dems poised to oppose state billionaire tax -- Democratic Party leaders in San Francisco are poised to vote next week to oppose a tax on California billionaires, a striking rebuke of the progressive ballot measure in this heavily Democratic city. Dustin Gardiner Politico -- 8/21/26

Billionaire tax or not, California still dominates venture funding -- Despite threats of a billionaire exodus and consistent complaints about the difficulty of doing business in California, it attracted three times more venture funding this year than every other state combined. Nilesh Christopher in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/21/26

 

Why have private equity firms taken an interest in buying professional sports teams? -- Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger, backed by a private equity firm, agreed to purchase a majority stake in the Lakers, valuing the team at $12.5 billion. Lucrative media deals and steady fan engagement provide stability that is attracting wider private equity investment in professional sports franchises. Thuc Nhi Nguyen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/21/26

Lawmakers gut major DUI reform through ‘hostile amendments’ -- A California Senate committee just gutted one of the state’s most substantial DUI reform bills in years, despite widespread support from other lawmakers and families of drunk driving victims. The bill would have required in-car breathalyzers for anyone convicted of a DUI, bringing California in line with most states. Lauren Hepler and Robert Lewis Calmatters -- 8/21/26

California set to ban ‘addictive’ social media features to protect teens -- California lawmakers are poised to pass some of the country’s most significant restrictions on young people’s use of social media, advancing a growing movement to curb tech’s influence on adolescents. Hannah Knowles and Ian Duncan in the Washington Post$ -- 8/21/26

 

Progressive Overcomes AIPAC Opposition to Win Race to Replace Swalwell -- In the closing days of the race, several super PACs — including two with ties to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee — spent millions on advertisements on television and social media targeting the district’s voters in the suburbs east of San Francisco. Jennifer Medina in the New York Times$ Praveena Somasundaram in the Washington Post$ Nicole Nixon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/21/26

She beat big money and upset some fellow Dems. Who is Swalwell successor Aisha Wahab? -- The progressive East Bay senator faced an $8 million onslaught traced to AIPAC and fierce pushback from moderate Democrats. Her supporters say it fueled her. Raheem Hosseini in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/21/26

 

‘Rooted in pettiness’: Democratic women push back against Pelosi, rally to Wiener’s defense -- Several powerful female San Francisco political leaders, including top national Democratic donor and women’s advocate Susie Tompkins Buell, are doing the unthinkable: pushing back — delicately and deferentially in most cases — on Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/21/26

Florida Counts Its Election Ballots Fast. Why Can’t California Keep Up? -- Three hours after polls closed on Tuesday night, Florida had reported enough ballots for The Associated Press to make calls on almost all of its dozens of contested primary elections. The same night in California, the last votes were cast for a special congressional election to replace former Representative Eric Swalwell. The nail-biter contest between two Democrats was not called until Thursday evening, with a margin of roughly 6,000 votes separating the contenders. Bayliss Wagner in the New York Times$ -- 8/21/26

Marjorie Taylor Greene is headed to S.F.’s Golden Gate Theatre to face off with Andrew Yang -- Former U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang are set to face off in San Francisco this fall as part of a new live debate series. The two are scheduled to appear Oct. 21, at ATG San Francisco’s Golden Gate Theatre in “It’s Up for Debate,” a new live debate series moderated by Charlie Rose. Lily Janiak in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/21/26

Republican Steve Hilton to California voters: It’s OK to vote for me even if you don’t like President Trump -- Meanwhile, Xavier Becerra's campaign says the Democrat is 'building a coalition of Californians that reflect the make-up of the state' as both candidates court voters. Linh Tat in the Orange County Register$ -- 8/21/26

Oil

Carson reaches $370-million settlement with Marathon Petroleum, resolving tax dispute -- After years of legal dispute over local tax payments, Carson and Marathon Petroleum have reached a settlement in which the refinery will pay $370 million to the city. Blanca Begert in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/21/26

Judge allows controversial oil company to continue pumping, strips California of oversight -- A federal judge has ruled that a Texas-based oil firm can continue to pump oil through pipelines along the Santa Barbara County coast under an emergency order from the Trump administration. He also transferred much of the regulatory authority over the oil operation to federal officials, stripping the state of its oversight. Grace Toohey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/21/26

Lineage

Hundreds suffered ill health from massive Boyle Heights warehouse fire, new survey finds -- Data from government officials show the air near the Lineage refrigerated warehouse fire carried astronomically high levels of smoke and soot, surpassing some of the worst air pollution during the Los Angeles County fires in January 2025. The number of people going to emergency rooms with throat pain and concerns about smoke inhalation increased during this period. Salvador Hernandez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/21/26

Data Centers

Data centers’ deep political unpopularity enters debate over CEQA reform measure -- Opponents of Proposition 45, which creates new rules under the California Environmental Quality Act for some building projects, are arguing the so far well-polling ballot measure would grease the skids for the construction of data centers, which poll very badly. Andrew Graham in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/21/26

Housing

With rents surging, developers race to build San Francisco apartments again -- After a six-year freeze on construction, residential developers are finally scrambling to deliver new market-rate housing to an overheated market that has the nation’s fastest growing rents, soaring home prices, single-digit vacancies and next to no new inventory. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/21/26

His rent is $0. A Bay Area affordable housing surge made it possible -- Some of Bay Area’s largest cities are relying on housing bonds to build low-income homes. Grant Stringer in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/21/26

What it took to finally build housing on some of the nation’s most in-demand land -- Building new housing on two islands in San Francisco, one of the hottest housing markets, involved an extraordinary saga. Julie Z. Weil in the Washington Post$ -- 8/21/26

Homeless

Homeless counts dropped in these California counties this year -- Some of the drops were significant. San Joaquin County cut its total unhoused population by nearly a third compared to 2024 and nearly halved the number of people sleeping on the street without shelter. Others were more modest, such as San Francisco’s 4% drop. Marisa Kendall Calmatters -- 8/21/26

AI

AI led to mistakes in Nevada County criminal cases. Should the DA be sanctioned? -- A judge will investigate how AI-based errors affected criminal cases in Nevada County, where the district attorney has already acknowledged that mistakes appeared in four cases. Khari Johnson Calmatters -- 8/21/26

Education

An elite private school is opening another Bay Area campus. ‘The workload is staggering’ -- BASIS Independent, a prestigious private school, opened its newest location on Wednesday in Dublin, one of the fastest-growing cities in the state. The private school is highly selective, with a reputation for academic rigor, a track record of strong college placement and now a new campus in a town known for its scholastic achievement. Sarah Ravani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/21/26

Also

Walters: California’s clashes over business regulation rage on as legislative session nears end -- The state Capitol’s most enduring conflict pits corporate California against four powerful interest groups over new regulations, taxes, minimum wages or other costly mandates. The specific issues may vary from year to year, although some continue for decades, but the underlying clash of interests is perpetual. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 8/21/26

Oakland installed new automated speed cameras. Drivers’ behavior changed dramatically -- The number of motorists going at least 11 mph over the speed limit fell by 70% at 18 locations since automated speed enforcement cameras went up, Transportation Department Director Josh Rowan said in an interview. Kate Talerico in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/21/26

Deadly e-bike accidents shape Bay Area test -- Near-misses with a kid whizzing by on an electric bicycle may be a common nuisance these days, but some incidents can end in tragedy. Lynn La Calmatters -- 8/21/26

Former acting U.S. attorney found dead inside federal building in San Diego -- Assistant U.S. Atty. Andrew Haden was found dead in an office inside the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Building in San Diego on Wednesday, shortly after being reported missing. There were no signs of foul play involved, authorities said. Clara Harter in the Los Angeles Times$ Alex Riggins in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 8/21/26

POTUS 47

Build First, Ask Questions Later: Trump’s Ballroom Puts Supreme Court in a Bind -- The Supreme Court will soon decide whether to allow Trump to continue building the $400 million project. But he and his administration’s lawyers have told the justices that they have no real choice at all. James Romoser and Will Hobson in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 8/21/26

Walmart Shares Slump on Weakest Sales Growth in Over Six Years -- Walmart reported its smallest sales gain in more than six years as some Americans continue to spend cautiously—especially when shopping at the retailer’s physical stores. Sarah Nassauer in the Wall Street Journal$ Rachel Lerman in the Washington Post$ -- 8/21/26

Homeland Security Made a Big Claim About Noncitizen Voting. Now It Can’t Prove It -- A month after the Trump administration declared without evidence that thousands of noncitizens had illegally registered to vote in Nevada, officials with the Department of Homeland Security were unable to substantiate the claim. Nick Corasaniti in the New York Times$ -- 8/21/26

Trump increasingly lashing out at allies as victory in Iran war proves elusive -- To kick off the week, President Donald Trump threatened to bomb Oman, a U.S. ally that has been acting as a mediator trying to end the war against Iran. Rachel Chason, Susannah George, Riley Beggin and Mohamad El Chamaa in the Washington Post$ -- 8/21/26

Trump Threatens Suit Over Report He Doesn’t Like, Aiming to Intimidate a Critic -- President Trump has opened a new front in his campaign to intimidate political foes, threatening a prominent liberal think tank with a $5 billion defamation lawsuit over a report concluding that his deployment of the National Guard to cities across the country has had little effect on reducing violent crime. Alan Feuer in the New York Times$ -- 8/21/26

Army will shut down a unit in Europe focused on learning drone warfare -- An Army unit based in Europe that was specializing in drone warfare has been directed to end its efforts to learn and use the battlefield technology and return to being a traditional infantry battalion, officials said Thursday. Konstantin Toropin Associated Press -- 8/21/26