California Policy and Politics Wednesday

Bay Area gas approaches $5 a gallon after Iran strikes. Why economists aren’t panicking -- “The interesting story since the war began is how little oil markets have reacted,” said UC Berkeley professor Severin Borenstein, director of the Energy Institute at Haas School of Business. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/4/26

Newsom likens Israel to ‘apartheid state,’ questions future military support -- Gavin Newsom likened Israel on Tuesday to an “apartheid state” and said its leadership has left the United States no choice but to reconsider military support for its ally in the Middle East. Blake Jones Politico -- 3/4/26

Sen. Padilla preps for Trump trying to seize control of elections via emergency order -- Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) is preparing for President Trump to declare a national emergency in order to seize control of this year’s midterm elections from the states, including by bracing his Senate colleagues for a vote in which they would be forced to either co-sign on the power grab or resist it. Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/26

Kamala Harris advocates lowering the voting age to 16 at Oakland event -- Harris said she is worried about voters’ rights and access to the ballot. She fears the Supreme Court will soon gut the Voting Rights Act and its protections against racial discrimination, and that a Trump-backed bill in Congress to sharply curtail access to voting will disenfranchise millions. Sara DiNatale in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/4/26

For California Democrats, single-payer health care is back. Voters have heard it before -- The idea of a government-run universal health care program that would replace private insurance as the sole payer of health care costs faces as many headwinds as ever. It had fallen onto the backburner after Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic lawmakers failed to get it done, with some balking at the $392 billion estimated annual cost. Jeanne Kuang Calmatters -- 3/4/26

Newsom names Schwarzenegger to California Hall of Fame -- In the end, Gavin Newsom named Arnold Schwarzenegger to the California Hall of Fame — though it took longer than the Arnold-verse expected. Newsom announced Schwarzenegger’s induction, along with eight others who “represent the best of the California spirit,” on Tuesday, about six months after Schwarzenegger’s name was conspicuously absent from an early list of inductees the governor previewed at a reception. Brock Hrehor and Jeremy B. White Politico Don Sweeney in the Sacramento Bee$ Andrew J. Campa in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/26

Defying party pressure, low-polling Democrats refuse to exit CA governor’s race -- Low-polling Democratic candidates for governor on Tuesday swiftly rejected a top party official’s call for them to quit the race ahead of Friday’s filing deadline, even as Gov. Gavin Newsom said he was sympathetic to the idea that some should step aside. Ben Paviour in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/4/26

Republicans blame Carl DeMaio for party division as his group rakes in millions -- Carl DeMaio, a divisive state lawmaker, continues to upset his colleagues as he works to amass influence through his political organization Reform California — one of the state’s biggest conservative fundraising machines. Nadia Lathan Calmatters -- 3/4/26

To attend prom or a football game, California students first had to surrender their data -- The state’s privacy protection agency is fining PlayOn $1.1 million for violating state law. The company, which operates the ticketing service GoFan, required students and parents to share their data to access tickets for high school events. Adam Echelman Calmatters -- 3/4/26

Walters: California businesses and left-leaning groups clash on the ballot and in court -- The state Capitol’s longest running political conflict — going at least a half-century and still counting — pits business interests against a quartet of left-leaning groups. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 3/4/26

Workplace

County pauses major layoffs at cash-strapped Alameda Health System -- Alameda Health System, the county’s safety net health care system that runs Highland Hospital in Oakland, will defer major layoffs that had been slated to take effect March 9, after county officials voted Tuesday to delay the cuts and form a working group to consider alternative solutions. Catherine Ho in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/4/26

Marketplace

California’s heralded wine industry is running dry — here’s why -- California wine producers announce major layoffs and facility closures amid an oversupply crisis, declining consumer demand and trade tensions threatening the state’s wine industry. Iris Kwok in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/26

Open-air ‘mall parks’ are on the rise in SoCal — and exhausted parents are loving it -- Shopping centers across Southern California are adding green spaces, some with play structures, to adapt to changing retail landscapes and attract families. Rachel Kraus in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/26

Cannabis

L.A. cannabis businesses owe $400 million. The city may get only $30 million -- Los Angeles cannabis businesses owe about $400 million in back taxes and fees, but only $30 million may end up in city coffers. Under an “amnesty” proposed by the City Council, cannabis businesses that pay their back taxes within three years would be forgiven late fees and interest. Sandra McDonald in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/26

Water

How a California desalination plant could ease water shortages on the Colorado River -- With desert cities like Phoenix and Tucson bracing for their allotments of Colorado River water to be slashed dramatically, San Diego County’s water agency could for the first time sell some of its water to other states by drawing on its ample supplies from the nation’s largest desalination plant. Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/26

Wildfire

Can fire-resistant homes be sexy? ‘You be the judge,’ says this Palisades architect -- At first glance, it looks like nothing more than a charming Spanish-revival, quintessentially Californian home — but this Pacific Palisades rebuild is constructed like a tank. Noah Haggerty, Caroline Brehman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/26

ICE

How a last-minute deal doomed California’s ban on masked ICE agents -- The judge was perplexed. “Why were state law enforcement officers excluded?” U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder wanted to know. Sonja Sharp in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/26

Education

Survey reveals almost 50% of California teachers may quit teaching soon -- California teachers have slightly better morale on average than their peers in other states, but more are planning to leave the profession in the next decade, according to Education Week’s annual The State of Teaching report. Diana Lambert EdSource -- 3/4/26

HSR

What is CA High-Speed Rail’s plan to shave extra $2B off Central Valley price tag? -- Smaller stations, and building in the correct order. That’s what the California High-Speed Rail Authority says is key to shaving another $2 billion off the cost of its initial Central Valley route, which it hopes to complete by 2032. Erik Galicia in the Fresno Bee -- 3/4/26

Street

More than a ton of methamphetamine uncovered in Northern California drug busts --“Operation Trash Panda” was executed last Friday by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office’s Intelligence Narcotics Team and the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office’s Narcotics Enforcement Unit. More than 100 law enforcement agents conducted high-risk search warrants across three locations. Andrea Flores in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/26

LAPD’s relationship with Flock Safety under scrutiny from oversight body -- The Los Angeles Police Commission on Tuesday said it wants to know more about how data captured by the controversial license plate reader company Flock Safety is stored and shared. Libor Jany in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/26

POTUS

Trump is running out of time to sell his rationale for Iran war -- The Trump administration hasn’t figured out how to sell Iran — and it’s running out of time. Four days into the war, senior administration officials are only able to say what this conflict is not: It is not Iraq. It is not a forever war. It is not a war of choice. Myah Ward, Felicia Schwartz, Alex Gangitano and Connor O'Brien Politico -- 3/4/26

Israel Is Blowing Up Iran’s Police State to Clear the Way for a Revolt -- Airstrikes have targeted organizations responsible for suppressing protests and cracking down on separatists; analysts are skeptical the strategy will work. Benoit Faucon, Margherita Stancati and Dov Lieber in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/4/26

U.S. Submarine Torpedoed Iranian Warship Off Sri Lanka as Conflict Widens -- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said it was the first such strike since World War II. The Sri Lankan authorities said they had rescued 32 sailors from the crew of 180. Pamodi Waravita, Anupreeta Das and Lynsey Chutel in the New York Times$ -- 3/4/26

Hegseth says U.S. is ‘accelerating’ war on Iran, but strike at Turkey won’t trigger NATO -- The U.S. war effort against Iran was “accelerating” as American and Israeli forces fought for control of Iranian airspace and pressed farther inland to seek and destroy Iranian missile capabilities, top U.S. officials said Wednesday. Kevin Rector and Ana Ceballos in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/26

State Dept. scrambles to aid stranded Americans amid attacks, airport closures -- The Trump administration said it is looking to use a mix of military and chartered flights to help U.S. citizens leave the Middle East as Iran steps up retaliatory strikes. Adam Taylor, Dan Lamothe and Sammy Westfall Politico -- 3/4/26

Lawmakers anticipate Trump will seek emergency funding for ‘open-ended’ Iran war -- Top Trump administration officials briefed Congress on the U.S. military onslaught Tuesday but did not say whether they will ask for supplemental defense funding. Jennifer Scholtes and Katherine Tully-McManus Politico -- 3/4/26

Justice Dept. reverses course and seeks to defend orders targeting law firms -- The administration had moved to drop its defense of President Donald Trump’s executive orders sanctioning law firms. A day later, it abruptly backpedaled. Mark Berman in the Washington Post$ -- 3/4/26

Inspector General Says Kristi Noem’s DHS Has ‘Systematically Obstructed’ Its Work -- The inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security said the agency’s leaders had “systematically obstructed” its work, including in a federal criminal investigation, according to a copy of a letter viewed by The Wall Street Journal. Tarini Parti and Josh Dawsey in the Wall Street Journal$ Eric Bazail-Eimil Politico -- 3/4/26