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California Policy and Politics Friday
Newsom urged governors to speak out against interstate troop deployments. A key Republican just did -- In an interview with The New York Times, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said he supported Trump’s efforts to uphold “law and order” in cities such as Chicago and Portland, but that it was wrong for the president to send in troops from another state over a governor’s objections. Alexei Koseff in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/10/25
Portland is no ‘war zone,’ as Trump has claimed. Legally, it might not matter -- President Donald Trump justified his decision to send National Guard troops to Portland by describing it as a “war-ravaged city” that is “under siege by attacks from Antifa and other domestic terrorists.” There’s little evidence to support his claims — but a federal appeals court judge appeared to say Thursday that the facts on the ground were irrelevant to the legality of Trump’s actions. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/10/25
Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA plans rival Super Bowl halftime show -- Turning Point USA plans to stage its own halftime show during next year’s Super Bowl, positioning the event as a patriotic counterpoint to Bad Bunny’s headlining performance at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/10/25
Garofoli: Nancy Pelosi’s challenger wants to pull an AOC. But she is no Joe Crowley -- As she watched Saikat (pronounced “Shoy-cott”) Chakrabarti, a 39-year-old former tech executive, launch his seemingly impossible challenge to Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi in San Francisco’s Mission District, Najwa Alsheikh was inspired by something she saw in him. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/10/25
Katie Porter camp rallies allies to her defense -- The support from more than half a dozen groups and officials comes a day after Politico surfaced a video of Porter berating a staffer in 2021. Juliann Ventura Politico -- 10/10/25
Katie Porter’s spiral and a $12M ad buy spark chatter of a Tom Steyer comeback -- The billionaire megadonor’s ad buy has fueled a fresh round of speculation about his political prospects. Jeremy B. White Politico -- 10/10/25
Wildfire
LAFD thought the Jan. 1 fire was out. It didn’t use thermal imaging to confirm -- The fire rekindled six days later in hurricane-force winds, becoming the Palisades fire that killed 12 people and destroyed more than 6,800 structures. Alene Tchekmedyian, Hannah Fry and Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/10/25
Newsom signs bills to strengthen oversight of state’s insurer of last resort -- Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of bills Thursday to strengthen California’s FAIR Plan after it suffered $4 billion in losses from January’s wildfires. The legislation allows the insurer of last resort to issue bonds for catastrophic claims and adds legislative members to its governing board. Laurence Darmiento in the Los Angeles Times$ Stephen Hobbs in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 10/10/25
Gavin Newsom blasts President Trump, Speaker Johnson over stalled wildfire aid -- Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday criticized President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, accusing them of failing to back California’s request for federal disaster aid following the wildfires earlier this year. Chaewon Chung in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 10/10/25
Edison’s Eaton Fire compensation plan isn’t enough, residents say -- A group representing thousands of residents from Altadena and surrounding areas said Edison’s proposed payouts exclude some residents and underpay others. Malena Carollo Calmatters -- 10/10/25
Many in Pacific Palisades blame L.A. City Hall for fire failures. But can they win in court? -- When federal prosecutors arrested a man Wednesday on suspicion of setting a small fire that reignited days later into the deadly Palisades blaze, they suggested the arrest largely settled the matter of blame. Jenny Jarvie in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/10/25
Workplace
‘I run the company.’ Paramount’s David Ellison addresses his father’s involvement -- Billionaire Larry Ellison ponied up the money for his family to acquire the controlling stake in Paramount two months ago, and the tech titan would need to write another huge check should Paramount buy Warner Bros. Discovery. So, in Hollywood circles, the question has been: How involved is the elder Ellison in Paramount’s strategy and operations? Meg James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/10/25
Education
Despite test score gains, California students still lag behind pre-pandemic levels -- Five years after the Covid pandemic closed schools and pushed students into a year of distance learning, California test scores show that — despite increases — students are still struggling with learning loss. Diana Lambert, Zaidee Stavely, Betty Márquez Rosales, and Daniel J. Willis EdSource -- 10/10/25
New law changes how California kids learn to read -- Gov. Gavin Newsom’s approval of Assembly Bill 1454 on Thursday marks the culmination of a five-year campaign to change how California children are taught to read. Diana Lambert EdSource Carolyn Jones Calmatters -- 10/10/25
Street
S.F. family found dead in Westwood Highlands home identified as new details emerge -- The family of four found dead in its San Francisco home Wednesday was discovered by a relative who broke into the Westwood Heights residence after he said he hadn’t heard from one of the victims, his brother, for nearly a week, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation. David Hernandez, Anna Bauman in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/10/25
‘The butt lady’ convicted of murder after second SoCal client dies from silicone injections -- Libby Adame has been convicted of second-degree murder after a Malibu actor died from silicone injections she administered. Clara Harter in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/10/25
Three Strikes
California Supreme Court reinstates major change to three-strikes law -- Efforts to roll back life sentences for nonviolent offenders under California’s “three strikes” law got a boost Thursday from the state Supreme Court, which allowed some longtime prisoners to seek release if they are not shown to be currently dangerous. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/10/25
Also
New California law means big changes for car buyers. Here’s how it will work -- Consumers who buy or lease a new or used car from a California dealer will have meaningful new protections — including a first-in-the-nation right to return a used car for a refund within three days of purchase and improved pricing transparency — under a bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom this week. Kathleen Pender in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/10/25
Los Angeles Times Media Group takes step to go public -- The Los Angeles Times Media Group, which includes the 144-year-old newspaper, a digital production studio and a gaming company, is moving forward to make shares in the combined entity available to the public, the company announced Thursday. Stephen Battaglio in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/10/25
Elon Musk is quietly expanding in the Bay Area again, starting with Neuralink -- Elon Musk’s brain-implant startup Neuralink has leased a vacant building in South San Francisco, marking a fresh sign of the billionaire’s renewed interest in the Bay Area tech scene. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/10/25
Can These Self-Flying Planes Transform the Skies? -- “Aircraft should fly themselves!” is scrawled on a whiteboard at Reliable Robotics’ offices here. Recently two staff members watching on monitors tracked the flight path of a small airplane flying itself above northern California, about 40 miles away. Andrew Tangel in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 10/10/25
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How Trump’s Upside-Down Diplomacy Delivered a Major Victory -- President Trump’s announcement that he ended the two-year war in Gaza rested on an unorthodox strategy of declaring victory first and forcing others to fill in the details to make it a reality. Jared Malsin, Vera Bergengruen and Anat Peled in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 10/10/25
The 11th-Hour Campaign to Land Trump a Nobel Peace Prize -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stepped away from negotiating an end to the war in Gaza on Thursday to post on X an altered photo of himself hanging an outsize Nobel Peace Prize medal around the neck of President Trump. Brett Forrest in the Wall Street Journal$ Michael Birnbaum and Dan Diamond in the Washington Post$ -- 10/10/25
New York Attorney General Letitia James Is Charged With Bank Fraud -- James called the charges “baseless.” “This is nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system,” she said in a statement. “He is forcing federal law enforcement agencies to do his bidding, all because I did my job as the New York state attorney general.” Sadie Gurman, Corinne Ramey and Lydia Wheeler in the Wall Street Journal$ Devlin Barrett, Glenn Thrush and Jonah E. Bromwich in the New York Times$ -- 10/10/25
How Trump Is Using the Justice Department to Target His Enemies -- From the moment Donald J. Trump began his campaign to return to the White House, he has expressed a clear desire to seek vengeance against his perceived enemies. In the last few weeks, the pressure campaign has intensified with two of his foes — James Comey and Letitia James — now indicted. Alan Feuer and Lily Boyce in the New York Times$ -- 10/10/25
Big Investors Await Windfall From Trump’s Argentina Bailout -- Big global investors have been anxiously awaiting the details of the bailout, which critics have said will benefit wealthy fund managers at a time when American farmers are struggling and the U.S. government is shut down. Alan Rappeport and Maria Abi-Habib in the New York Times$ -- 10/10/25
With Trump threats on back pay, another blow to public servants -- Sidelined by political appointees, targeted over deep state conspiracies and derided by the president, career public servants have grown used to life in Washington under a constant state of assault. But President Trump’s latest threat, to withhold back pay due to workers furloughed by an ongoing government shutdown, is adding fresh uncertainty to the beleaguered workforce. Michael Wilner in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/10/25
Democratic Alarm Over an Unbound Trump Fuels Shutdown Standoff -- Democrats in Congress have been relentless about casting the government shutdown clash as a fight over helping Americans pay for health insurance. But there is another, far deeper issue driving the impasse: their outrage about what is happening across the country under a president they regard as lawless and unchecked. Carl Hulse in the New York Times$ -- 10/10/25
California Policy and Politics Thursday
Son of missionaries accused of setting destructive Palisades fire -- In the Hollywood neighborhood where he lived and worked as an Uber driver, one acquaintance described suspect Jonathan Rinderknecht as ‘a really nice guy.’ Matt Hamilton, Nathan Solis, Terry Castleman, Salvador Hernandez and Julia Wick in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/09/25
Could LAFD have done more to prevent rekindling of Palisades fire? -- Federal investigators have determined that the wildfire that leveled much of Pacific Palisades on Jan. 7 was a so-called “holdover” from a smaller fire that was set intentionally on New Year’s Day, about a week earlier. Alene Tchekmedyian and Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/09/25
Timeline: Two fateful hours that planted the seeds of destruction in Pacific Palisades -- On Wednesday, federal prosecutors offered a detailed timeline about what they allege caused the fire, which charred 23,400 acres and leveled more than 6,800 structures, including many homes in Pacific Palisades and Malibu and killed 12 people. Richard Winton and Hannah Fry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/09/25
After Palisades fire failures, L.A. promises to beef up staffing during high-risk fire weather -- Los Angeles firefighters will remain on duty for an additional shift during red flag weather warnings in a mandatory protocol instituted after top fire officials failed to pre-deploy engines to Pacific Palisades in advance of the devastating Jan. 7 fire. Alene Tchekmedyian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/09/25
House Republicans launch investigation into distribution of L.A. fire charity funds -- Two House Republicans launched an investigation on Wednesday that will, in part, examine how a California charitable organization used a $500,000 grant that was meant to support victims of the deadly Palisades and Eaton fires, a move that is expanding congressional scrutiny over the response to the disaster. Ana Ceballos in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/09/25
ICE
L.A. County considers declaring state of emergency to fight back against ICE raids -- A state of emergency is a precursor to enacting an eviction moratorium for households that have lost income due to the raids. Staff members noted that an eviction moratorium could have the unintended consequence of revealing residents’ immigration status if they use it to fight an eviction order in court. Clara Harter in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/09/25
Senate blocks Adam Schiff’s effort to stop U.S. from ‘blowing up boats’ -- The Senate Wednesday rejected 51 to 48 a bid by Sen. Adam Schiff to require President Donald Trump to get congressional approval before continuing the administration’s deadly military strikes against ships allegedly carrying illegal drugs. The vote was largely along party lines. David Lightman in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 10/09/25
Why Blowing Up Venezuelan Boats Won’t Stop the Flow of Drugs -- But Mr. Trump’s focus on Venezuela is at odds with reality: The vast majority of cocaine is produced and smuggled elsewhere in Latin America, according to data from the United States, Colombia and the United Nations. And Venezuela does not supply fentanyl at all, experts say. Samuel Granados, Genevieve Glatsky and Annie Correal in the New York Times$ -- 10/09/25
Federal oversight is disappearing as multiple refineries explode. Who’s in charge now? -- An El Segundo refinery fire has renewed questions about who is investigating the state’s oil industry after serious accidents. With the U.S. Chemical Safety Board defunded, California has yet to fill the gap. Alejandro Lazo Calmatters -- 10/09/25
Katie Porter’s viral videos plunge campaign into ‘disaster’ -- Katie Porter’s “unhappy experience” in a viral interview has become the news cycle from hell. Melanie Mason, Jeremy B. White and Blake Jones Politico -- 10/09/25
Hoeven: Katie Porter’s cringey viral flub just made the California governor’s race a lot more interesting -- Until this week, the 2026 California gubernatorial race was, to put it mildly, a snoozefest. Emily Hoeven in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/09/25
Gavin Newsom greenlights a half-billion dollars for California’s sinking Hwy. 37 -- Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 697 into law Wednesday, allowing expedited construction on a projected $500 million project to widen part of Highway 37 as it continues to subside into Bay Area marshland. Ariane Lange in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 10/09/25
Newsom caught between Big Tech and Hollywood over online age checks -- Entertainment giants are waging an eleventh-hour campaign to sink a proposed kids’ online safety feature. Tyler Katzenberger Politico -- 10/09/25
Billionaire Tom Steyer drops $12 million to support November redistricting ballot measure -- Billionaire Tom Steyer pledges $12 million to support Proposition 50, which could give Democrats five more congressional seats in California. Charles Munger Jr. has donated $32 million to the opposition, arguing that the measure undermines California’s voter-approved independent redistricting commission. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/09/25
California voters could see faster election results under new state law -- The law, Assembly Bill 5, requires county election offices to count ballots no later than 13 days after election day, but does not change the 30-day deadline for local officials to certify results. Counties unable to meet the new deadline must give a reason for an extension to the secretary of state’s office. Nadia Lathan Calmatters -- 10/09/25
Workplace
Leaked list shows Trump administration considering $15 billion in additional clean energy cuts -- Combined with official cuts announced last week, California would face the largest total loss with 93 project cancellations worth $3.5 billion. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/09/25
Tech companies plan hundreds of Bay Area job cuts in fresh layoffs -- With at least one company placing the blame on Trump administration tariffs, California regulations, and customer woes in China, tech companies revealed plans to cut hundreds of Bay Area jobs, official filings with the state Employment Development Department show. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 10/09/25
After getting fired, California’s top cybersecurity official calls for change -- California fired its top cybersecurity official. He says the people who oversaw him were unqualified. Khari Johnson Calmatters -- 10/09/25
San Diego County has more military than anywhere in the state; the federal shutdown could hit hard -- San Diego County is bracing for missed paychecks and the possibility of a run on food banks as the federal shutdown extends into its second week. Deborah Brennan Calmatters -- 10/09/25
Race
Trump Fires Black Officials From an Overwhelmingly White Administration -- Mr. Primus is part of a series of firings of Black officials from high-profile positions in an overwhelmingly white administration that has banished all diversity, equity and inclusion programs across the federal government. And while there are no statistics on firings by race, an examination of the people Mr. Trump is appointing to fill those and other jobs shows a stark trend. Elisabeth Bumiller and Erica L. Green in the New York Times$ -- 10/09/25
Marketplace
Those hyperrealistic videos you’re seeing could be fake news — because they’re actually AI ads --Artificial intelligence is now part of advertisers’ arsenal, and some are using it to blur the line between newscast and sales pitch. Nilesh Christopher in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/09/25
A.I. Video Generators Are Now So Good You Can No Longer Trust Your Eyes -- Welcome to the era of fakery. The widespread use of instant video generators like Sora will bring an end to visuals as proof. Brian X. Chen in the New York Times$ -- 10/09/25
California consumers are scared but spending more to get ahead of inflation -- Shoppers in California plan to splurge this coming holiday season, but not because they are confident about the future. They are worried about inflation and figure it’s better to buy now than pay more later. Nilesh Christopher in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/09/25
Develop
San Francisco rezoning clash: Both sides warn city could become ‘Miami Beach’ -- Mayor Daniel Lurie and opponents to his proposed upzoning plan don’t have much in common, but there is one thing they seem to share these days: They each warn that if their side loses San Francisco could resemble Miami Beach. J.K. Dineen, Ko Lyn Cheang in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/09/25
Housing
Why this wealthy Bay Area suburb is at the center of the next big fight over California housing -- In January 2023, the town council of Los Altos Hills, a mansion-studded bedroom community perched above Silicon Valley, reluctantly voted to legalize some apartment buildings. Ben Christopher Calmatters -- 10/09/25
Education
California passes bill phasing out ‘ultra-processed’ foods from school meals -- Newsom announced Wednesday that he was signing Assembly Bill 1264 from Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, D-Encino, which defines ultra-processed foods and sets up a timeline for phasing them out of school meals by 2032. Lia Russell and Kate Wolffe in the Sacramento Bee$ Nicole Norman Politico Kristen Hwang Calmatters -- 10/09/25
Masks
Mask mandates return in parts of the Bay Area as virus season nears -- Mask requirements are returning to health care settings across parts of the Bay Area, as local health officials brace for the annual surge in respiratory illnesses — including COVID-19, influenza and RSV — that typically arrives with colder weather. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/09/25
Street
Drug Rehabs Lure In Patients for Insurance Money—Then Leave Them on the Street -- Penny Lamb and Jeffery Lichtenberg were 1,500 miles from their home in Oklahoma with no money and no prospects when they were kicked out of their drug rehab program. Zusha Elinson and Julie Wernau in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 10/09/25
Also
Diwali becomes an official California state holiday. Where to celebrate the festivities -- Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed legislation to make Diwali an officially observed state holiday. Diwali, also known as Deepavali and the Hindu “Festival of Lights,” is celebrated by members of the Hindu, Sikh and Jain faiths. Karen Garcia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/09/25
Walters: California’s two-tier economy mirrors Great Britain’s ‘Upstairs, Downstairs’ past -- Forty years ago this month, I began a 9,000-mile tour of California, gathering data, conversations and observations about megatrends propelling the state into the next century. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 10/09/25
A Stolen 50-Pound Dinosaur Named Claire Is Returned After Outrage -- The theft of the beloved dinosaur statue upset residents of a Los Angeles neighborhood that was damaged by wildfires earlier this year. Then she was returned with an apology. Aishvarya Kavi in the New York Times$ -- 10/09/25
POTUS 47
Trump Says Israel and Hamas Agree to Hostage Release in Step Toward Peace -- President Trump said Wednesday that Israel and Hamas agreed to a deal that would release all Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip in the first step toward peace after two years of war in the Palestinian territory. Summer Said, Anat Peled and Abeer Ayyoub in the Wall Street Journal$ David E. Sanger, Ephrat Livni, Aaron Boxerman and Adam Rasgon in the New York Times$ Michael Birnbaum, Hazem Balousha, Lior Soroka and Mohamad El Chamaa in the Washington Post$ -- 10/09/25
Tariffs Are Way Up. Interest on Debt Tops $1 Trillion. And DOGE Didn’t Do Much -- As the books closed on U.S. government’s fiscal 2025, here’s what has changed about federal budget—and what hasn’t. Richard Rubin and Anthony DeBarros in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 10/09/25
Vance heads to Indiana after Republicans warn White House of stalled redistricting push -- President Donald Trump’s mid-cycle redistricting push is on the verge of stalling in Indiana, top state Republican officials have warned the White House, and Vice President JD Vance is on his way to the Hoosier state to turn things around. Adam Wren Politico -- 10/09/25
Republicans could draw 19 more House seats after an upcoming Supreme Court ruling -- Democratic voting rights groups are preparing for a nightmare scenario if the Supreme Court guts a key part of the landmark civil rights-era legislation, the Voting Rights Act — a very real possibility this term. Andrew Howard Politico -- 10/09/25
Stephen Miller Cited ‘Plenary Authority,’ Then Paused. Conspiracy Theories Started Flying -- Online skeptics wondered if Mr. Miller had caught himself saying something he did not mean to. CNN says there was a technical glitch. Michael M. Grynbaum in the New York Times$ -- 10/09/25
Pope Leo Urges U.S. Bishops to Support Immigrants -- The pope conveyed the message as President Trump escalated his deportation campaign, including in Chicago, the pope’s hometown. Elizabeth Dias and Elisabetta Povoledo in the New York Times$ -- 10/09/25
Head of largest US bank warns of risk of American stock market crash -- Jamie Dimon, who is the chair and chief executive of the giant Wall Street bank JPMorgan Chase, said he was “far more worried than others” about a serious market correction, which he predicted could come in the next six months to two years. Simon Goodley The Guardian -- 10/09/25