California Policy and Politics Tuesday

Supreme Court divided on homelessness case that will affect California encampment policy -- Supreme Court justices sounded sharply split Monday over whether to give cities in the West more authority to restrict homeless encampments on sidewalks and other public property. David G. Savage in the Los Angeles Times$ Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Ethan Varian in the San Jose Mercury$ Jess Bravin in the Wall Street Journal$ Abbie VanSickle in the New York Times$ -- 4/23/24

Gavin Newsom and House Republicans find common cause on homelessness -- Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and GOP Rep. Darrell Issa are on the same side of a political fight. All it took to bring them together was a homelessness crisis. Dustin Gardiner, Jeremy B. White Politico -- 4/23/24

How an expensive bet by Emily’s List in an Orange County congressional race went awry -- The Democratic political group spent big in support of Joanna Weiss during the 47th District primary, only to see her finish third. Laura J. Nelson in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/23/24

Bass budget would reduce homelessness funding, scale back LAPD hiring goal -- Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass proposed a $12.8 billion budget on Monday that would reduce spending on homelessness initiatives, scale back an effort to hire more police officers and eliminate more than 2,100 vacant positions. David Zahniser, Dakota Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/23/24

How L.A. County is trying to remake addiction treatment — no more ‘business as usual’ -- A Los Angeles County initiative called Reaching the 95% aims to engage with more people than the fraction of Angelenos already getting addiction treatment. Emily Alpert Reyes in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/23/24

Xavier Becerra plots political future after Biden administration -- The Health and Human Services secretary is making moves to run again in California. Maybe even too many moves. Christopher Cadelago, Daniel Lippman Politico -- 4/23/24

He owes thousands in taxes. He’s got a controversial past. Why is Steve Garvey running for Senate? -- To understand why Steve Garvey suddenly emerged as a political force and became the quixotic Republican hope for a U.S. Senate seat in Democratic California, just ask Tony Strickland. David Lightman in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/23/24

As Google pulls news from search, fate of California Journalism Preservation Act is unclear -- Assembly Bill 886 passed with bipartisan support out of the California Assembly last year but stalled once it reached the Senate. Andrew Sheeler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/23/24

Judge rejects changing the name of California’s trans youth ballot measure -- A group working on a fall ballot initiative that would limit the rights of transgender students lost a round in court Monday when a judge sided with the state in its description of the measure. Carolyn Jones CalMatters -- 4/23/24

Ali: Without cameras in the courtroom, Trump has already won a major victory in hush money trial -- If a former president nods off in a courtroom and no cameras are around to see it, did it really happen? Lorraine Ali in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/23/24

Walters: Newsom remains critical of California’s local response to homelessness. He should look in the mirror -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom complains that local government officials have not been effective in dealing with homelessness. But he appears to be shifting the political onus from his own administration. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 4/23/24

In Silicon Valley, You Can Be Worth Billions and It’s Not Enough -- Andreas Bechtolsheim doesn’t like to waste time. The entrepreneur made one of the most celebrated investments in the history of Silicon Valley — the initial $100,000 that bankrolled a search engine called Google in 1998 — while on the way to work one morning. It took just a few minutes. David Streitfeld in the New York Times$ -- 4/23/24

Campus

Pro-Palestinian students erect tents at UC Berkeley, demand divestment from Israel -- Proclaiming solidarity with pro-Palestinian students who were arrested at Columbia and Yale, UC Berkeley activists make demands of their own. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Kristin J. Bender, Sierra Lopez in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/23/24

Police arrest NYU antiwar protesters; Calif. students form barricade -- Students protesting the Israel-Gaza war continued to be met by police across the United States on Monday night, as a New York University encampment was cleared by the NYPD and students barricaded themselves inside a building at California State Polytechnic University Humboldt, after dozens of arrests at Yale University. Frances Vinall, Jennifer Hassan in the Washington Post$ -- 4/23/24

Potholes over foreign policy: City leaders want to move on from Israel-Gaza debate -- Dozens of cities have adopted resolutions calling for a cease-fire but some officials want to stay out of the issue. Ben Fox, Jeremy B. White Politico -- 4/23/24

SF Credit

San Francisco’s post-pandemic downturn threatens city’s historically strong credit rating -- Weakness in San Francisco’s commercial real estate market and the slow-moving recovery of economic drivers such as tourism stand to jeopardize the city’s ability to repay its debt, according to S&P Global Ratings. Laura Waxmann in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/23/24

Workplace

Kaiser nurses protest use of AI that they say could put patient safety at risk -- More than 100 Northern California nurses marched outside Kaiser San Francisco Medical Center on Monday to protest what they say is hospitals’ use of unproven artificial intelligence that could put patients at risk. Catherine Ho in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/23/24

PG&E

PG&E’s CEO gets paid $17 million. Here's how that compares to other utility leaders -- While critics believe this hearty pay package is uncalled for amid soaring energy bills, PG&E has argued that they are paying market rate for top talent. Emma Stiefel in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/23/24

PG&E strives to slow pace of increases in electric and gas bills: company CEO -- PG&E’s top boss suggested Monday that the utility’s beleaguered ratepayers may see monthly utility bills flatten out and someday even fall below their current levels. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/23/24

Cal Grant

The Cal Grant expansion for California college students is in jeopardy as the state deficit grows -- The Cal Grant fully covers tuition at the University of California and California State University, and legislators planned to offer it to an additional 137,000 students. Mikhail Zinshteyn CalMatters -- 4/23/24

Housing

Housing developers win first ‘builders remedy’ battles in fight to bypass local zoning -- Los Angeles County judges upheld the untested pro-housing provision in three court rulings. Jeff Collins in the Orange County Register -- 4/23/24

Waymo

A Waymo robotaxi drove on wrong side of a S.F. street. The company says it was to ensure ‘safety’ -- Cyclists captured a Waymo robotaxi driving in an opposite travel lane against oncoming traffic for nearly two blocks in downtown San Francisco — a maneuver the company says the driverless vehicle took to avoid a potential collision. Ricardo Cano in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/23/24

S.F. robotaxi company Cruise looking to shed more office space in the city -- Late last week, the SoMa-headquartered company listed its roughly 110,000-square foot office at 345 Brannan St. available for subleasing, according to a brochure for the space. Real estate services firm CBRE has the listing. Laura Waxmann in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/23/24

Street

S.F.’s war on drugs and stolen goods in the Tenderloin opens new front: corner stores -- Mayor London Breed will introduce legislation that targets corner stores for “perhaps unintentionally, contributing to the drug market.” Maggie Angst in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/23/24

All of Alameda County’s death sentences are under review over evidence of juror discrimination -- Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price put all 35 of her county’s death sentences on hold Monday and said there was evidence that prosecutors in a 30-year-old case had removed all Jewish and Black people from the jury. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Nate Gartrell in the East Bay Times$ -- 4/23/24

Steelhead

Steelhead trout, once thriving in Southern California, are declared endangered -- Southern California steelhead trout have been pushed to the brink of extinction as their river habitats have been altered by development and fragmented by barriers and dams. Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/23/24

Cecil Williams

Cecil Williams, longtime champion of the poor, co-founder of Glide church, dies at 94 -- The Reverend Cecil Williams, civil rights pioneer, champion for the poor and hungry, and probably the most influential religious figure in San Francisco over the last 50 years, has died. Sam Whiting in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/23/24

Also

UC Berkeley welcomes new peregrine falcon chicks to top of Campanile -- Two tiny new falcons on Monday pecked their way out of their eggs and into the world high atop the Campanile at UC Berkeley on Monday morning. Michael Cabanatuan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/23/24