California Policy and Politics Saturday

Casey Wasserman Is Putting His Talent Agency Up for Sale After Epstein Fallout -- Casey Wasserman is putting his eponymous talent and marketing agency up for sale, he said in a memo to staff Friday night. The move follows the release of suggestive emails he exchanged years ago with Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell and the departure of high-profile talent from his firm. Jessica Toonkel in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 2/14/26

Newsom tells world leaders Trump’s retreat on the environment will mean economic harm -- Gov. Gavin Newsom told world leaders Friday that President Trump’s retreat from efforts to combat climate change would decimate the U.S. automobile industry and surrender the future economic viability to China and other nations embracing the transition to renewable energy. Phil Willon and Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ Jeremy B. White Politico Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/14/26

Who pays for Newsom’s travel? Hint: It’s not always taxpayers -- Gov. Gavin Newsom’s international climate trips are largely funded by a nonprofit foundation financed through corporate donations. The arrangement raises concerns that corporations gain political access in exchange for bankrolling the governor’s travel and diplomatic events. Melody Gutierrez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/14/26

The plot twist shaking Los Angeles -- A fierce race between incumbent Mayor Karen Bass and ally-turned-rival Nithya Raman could prove to be an improbable comeback story or a generational revolt. Melanie Mason Politico -- 2/14/26

L.A. County wants a healthcare sales tax. Cities are in revolt -- It’s one thing most everyone agrees on: federal funding cuts have left the Los Angeles County health system teetering toward financial collapse. But the supervisors’ chosen antidote — a half-cent sales tax to replenish county coffers — is being condemned by a slew of cities as its own form of financial catastrophe. Rebecca Ellis in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/14/26

Reported ICE arrest of San Francisco nanny draws response from Mayor Lurie -- A Friday morning immigration action in a quiet San Francisco neighborhood ignited concern among immigration advocates and drew a response from Mayor Daniel Lurie. Aldo Toledo in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/14/26

Activists celebrate as immigration agents depart Terminal Island. ‘The people kicked them out’ -- Federal immigration agents have departed from the Coast Guard site at Terminal Island in San Pedro, which for months was used as a base of operations while the Trump administration conducted immigration raids across Southern California. Jenny Jarvie and Clara Harter in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/14/26

Federal agent injured in clash with protesters in downtown L.A. during student walkout -- A federal agent was injured during a clash with protesters in downtown Los Angeles on Friday afternoon, authorities said. The incident occurred as scores of local students walked out of class in protest of the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Clara Harter in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/14/26

Who won and lost the S.F. teachers strike, and how will the district pay for the $183 million deal? -- The first San Francisco teachers strike in nearly 50 years ended just before dawn Friday, after four tense days that left families scrambling for child care as district and labor leaders debated whether the district faces dire financial deficits or is flush with cash and has room to spend. Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/14/26

New worries surface about Mayor Lurie’s plan to combat public drug use in S.F. -- One of Mayor Daniel Lurie’s most aggressive steps yet to combat the drug crisis was approved this week by San Francisco lawmakers despite questions about the program’s model and legal standing. Alyce McFadden in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/14/26

Garofoli: San Jose politicians back billionaire governor candidate, slam billionaire-supported mayor -- California’s race for governor took a bizarro turn Friday when progressive supporters of Tom Steyer, the race’s lone billionaire, ripped San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan for being supported by too many billionaires, even as one Steyer supporter said he didn’t think “we should have billionaires.” Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/14/26

Water

As a Colorado River deadline passes, reservoirs keep declining -- The leaders of seven states announced Friday, one day before a Trump administration deadline, that there is still no deal to share the diminishing waters of the Colorado River. Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/14/26

Oil

Notoriously hazardous South L.A. oil wells finally plugged after decades of community pressure -- A two-acre Los Angeles oil drill site near the St. Vincent Elementary School in University Park, had been releasing noxious fumes for years. Finally, the wells have been shut down. Tony Briscoe in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/14/26

Four takeaways on PG&E’s ‘unacceptable’ response to massive S.F. blackouts -- During a roughly three-hour hearing, executives from PG&E answered tough questions Thursday from supervisors about a massive power outage in late December that left more than 130,000 people in the dark at its peak. Alyce McFadden in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/14/26

San Francisco’s HIV prevention at risk after $8 million CDC cut, officials say -- The San Francisco Department of Public Health said Friday that the federal government has terminated four previously awarded Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grants totaling more than $8 million, a move city officials warned could quickly disrupt HIV prevention, disease monitoring and frontline care. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/14/26

Street

‘Growing epidemic’: Bay Area teen’s 40-mph crash reveals overlooked dangers of e-bikes -- Young people like Lilia have embraced e-bikes as a way to shed their reliance on a mom or dad for a ride to school, a pizza place or a friend’s house. But with this new freedom has come a growing number of e-bike crashes involving young riders that is raising deep concern — and confusion — across the Bay Area. Brooke Park in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/14/26

Also

Lopez: In 50-year fight to protect California’s coast, they’re the real McCoys, still at it in their 80s -- In the long history of conservation in California, few have worked as long or as hard as the McCoys. Through the Tijuana River Estuary window, they see a planet in peril. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/14/26

POTUS 47

Homeland Security Wants Social Media Sites to Expose Anti-ICE Accounts -- The department has sent Google, Meta and other companies hundreds of subpoenas for information on accounts that track or comment on Immigration and Customs Enforcement, officials and tech workers said. Sheera Frenkel and Mike Isaac in the New York Times$ -- 2/14/26

Agents Suspended After Their Story of Shooting an Immigrant Falls Apart -- A judge dropped charges against the immigrant and another man after the top federal prosecutor in Minnesota said new evidence was not consistent with the agents’ testimony. Mitch Smith and Hamed Aleaziz in the New York Times$ -- 2/14/26

Standoff over masked agents fuels the latest partial government shutdown -- A dispute over whether federal immigration agents should be allowed to wear masks during enforcement operations has become one of the biggest obstacles to keeping the Department of Homeland Security funded, pushing the government toward a partial shutdown early Saturday. Ana Ceballos and Andrea Castillo in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/14/26

Republicans worry shutdown will overshadow Trump’s State of the Union -- President Donald Trump is barreling ahead with the first State of the Union address of his second term, despite concerns among Republicans that it’s set to hit during a partial government shutdown. Meredith Lee Hill, Jordain Carney, Mia McCarthy and Hailey Fuchs Politico -- 2/14/26

Trump pushes voter ID ‘whether approved by Congress or not!’ -- President Donald Trump insisted Friday that voter ID requirements will be in place for this year’s midterm elections regardless of congressional approval, escalating his push for sweeping changes to how Americans vote. Finya Swai Politico -- 2/14/26

A Pilot Fired Over Kristi Noem’s Missing Blanket and the Constant Chaos Inside DHS -- Throughout her tenure as secretary of Homeland Security, a sprawling agency charged with carrying out Trump’s central campaign promise of a mass deportation, Noem has attempted to burnish her personal stardom at every turn. With Lewandowski, Trump’s former campaign manager, at her side, she has staged a headline grabbing immigration crackdown while sidelining rivals and dissenters. Michelle Hackman, Josh Dawsey and Tarini Parti in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 2/14/26

White House Sees Win After 2 Strong Economic Reports -- Solid jobs data and a soft inflation reading for January are welcome news for President Trump. But the bigger economic picture is less encouraging. Lydia DePillis and Sydney Ember in the New York Times$ -- 2/14/26

Trump Team’s Planned ACA Rule Offers Its Answer to Rising Premium Costs: Catastrophic Coverage -- The Trump administration has unveiled a sweeping set of regulatory proposals that would substantially change health plan offerings on the Affordable Care Act marketplace next year, aiming, it says, to provide more choice and lower premiums. But it also proposes sharply raising some annual out-of-pocket costs — to more than $27,000 for one type of coverage — and could cause up to 2 million people to drop insurance. Julie Appleby KFF Health News -- 2/14/26

Why Trump Accounts may be a tax headache waiting to happen — especially in California -- The new Trump Accounts for children have been billed as an easy way to grow savings from a young age, with significant tax benefits. But they also come with new tax complications, especially for people in California. Kathleen Pender in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/14/26

New images of White House ballroom show clearest look yet at Trump project -- The planned 90,000-square-foot project would represent the most significant change to the White House grounds in decades and is advancing even as it is challenged in court and questioned on Capitol Hill. Dan Diamond, Jonathan Edwards and Aaron Steckelberg in the Washington Post$ -- 2/14/26