California Policy and Politics Thursday

Phillips 66 to close California refinery days after Newsom signed oil law -- Phillips 66 announced Wednesday that it will close its Los Angeles oil refinery next year, citing “long-term uncertainty” two days after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law clearing the way for new regulations on the state’s refiners. Wes Venteicher Politico -- 10/17/24

Avian flu and seasonal flu are colliding in California -- Officials are racing to vaccinate dairy workers against the seasonal flu to prevent the two viruses from combining. Rachel Bluth, David Lim and Marcia Brown Politico -- 10/17/24

Trump Ad Blames Harris for Freeing Oakland Journalist’s Killer. It’s Not True, Reporters Say -- A new Donald Trump campaign ad that blames then-San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris for the 2007 killing of an Oakland journalist is “low and lacks context,” according to reporters who covered the murder and called the ad factually inaccurate. Katie DeBenedetti KQED -- 10/17/24

Barabak: Donald Trump threatens vengeance on California. Should we believe him? -- Life may be full of uncertainties but there’s one thing you can count on come election day, as surely as the sun rises over the Sierra and sets over the Pacific. Donald Trump will lose California. And it won’t be remotely close. Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/17/24

Trump claim against SJSU player refuted after he pledges to ban trans athletes from women’s sports -- Former President Donald Trump, referencing a play in a San Jose State women’s volleyball match last week, said Wednesday that he would ban all transgender women from competing in women’s sports if elected. Marisa Ingemi in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/17/24

Six ways Kamala Harris changed these Californians’ lives forever -- Before she was the Democratic presidential nominee, Kamala Harris took actions as California attorney general and San Francisco district attorney that have left lasting impacts on people in the Golden State. Mackenzie Mays, Laurel Rosenhall, Christina House in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/17/24

L.A. Catholic Church to pay record settlement over clergy abuse; cumulative payouts top $1.5 billion -- The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has agreed to pay $880 million to victims of clergy sexual abuse in the largest settlement involving the Catholic Church. Richard Winton and Hannah Fry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/17/24

San Francisco takes on the EPA in a case about poop and a $10 billion fine -- The justices appeared divided over a lawsuit brought by San Francisco over EPA rules for regulating how much sewage the city can send to the Pacific Ocean. Justin Jouvenal and Maxine Joselow in the Washington Post$ Abbie VanSickle in the New York Times$ -- 10/17/24

The Chronicle’s editorial board endorsed Lurie. Breed’s campaign tells supporters a different story -- Mayor London Breed’s reelection campaign sent an email to supporters Wednesday that suggested she was endorsed by the Chronicle’s editorial board when she was not. J.D. Morris, St. John Barned-Smith in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/17/24

Oakland mayor slams FBI raid and shoots back at critics in defiant interview -- With a recall vote looming and opponents striking from every angle, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao is demanding the FBI tell the public that she’s not the target of an ongoing corruption investigation despite federal agents raiding her house in June. Sarah Ravani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/17/24

11 questions for Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao -- The embattled mayor says Oakland is turning a corner despite calls for her to leave office. Tyler Katzenberger Politico -- 10/17/24

Tracking California’s bellwether: These counties best mirror statewide voting behavior -- If you want to know which California counties vote most like the state as a whole, just head towards the Sacramento River Delta. Kota Suzuki in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/17/24

Why CalPERS is being pushed to divest from Tesla -- Elon Musk, the tech mogul who runs Tesla, said in December that diversity, equity and inclusion efforts “must die.” Now, two civil rights groups are calling for the nation’s largest public pension fund to divest from the electric vehicle maker. Lynn La CalMatters -- 10/17/24

Cities face limits on how they can expand rent control. Voters could change that with Prop. 33 -- If voters approve Proposition 33, it would allow cities to put rent caps on properties and units that they currently cannot cap, including newer apartment buildings, single family houses and vacant units. Andrew Khouri in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/17/24

Newton: Los Angeles County’s progress against homelessness faces a major test on the ballot -- Atop the Los Angeles County ballot next month is a measure that tests at least two assumptions: that county voters are prepared to spend more to relieve the problem of homelessness, and that those same voters trust government to spend that money well. Neither assumption is proven. Jim Newton CalMatters -- 10/17/24

Walters: Harris vs. Trump competition tests California’s image among swing state voters -- Not surprisingly, this year’s presidential campaign pitting Vice President Kamala Harris against former President Donald Trump includes a sharp conflict over whether California is a shining model of prosperity and inclusiveness to be emulated or a dystopian hellhole of crime, squalor and oppressive politics. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 10/17/24

Workplace

No one is fighting a proposition to ban forced labor in California prisons. Why it could still fail -- Supporters of a proposition to ban forced labor in California prisons believe they have a strong message centered on rehabilitation. But as Election Day nears, polls show it’s a toss-up or trailing. Joe Garcia CalMatters -- 10/17/24

Hollywood production falls below strike levels as reality TV takes massive hit -- Hollywood production was even slower this summer than it was during last year’s strikes because of a staggering decline in reality TV shoots, according to a new report. Christi Carras in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/17/24

AI is supposed to be Hollywood’s next big thing. What’s taking so long? -- As AI technology advances, industry observers expect to see more deals between tech companies, studios and talent. But major challenges remain. Wendy Lee and Samantha Masunaga in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/17/24

Education

Debate over gender identity instruction sparks controversy in Bay Area school district -- Kindergarten teacher placed on leave after parents express outrage at materials in Cupertino Union classroom. Molly Gibbs in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 10/17/24

Street

San Francisco overdose deaths plummet -- The number of people in San Francisco who died from accidental overdoses of fentanyl, the powerful synthetic opioid at the heart of the nation’s overdose epidemic, fell to a four-year low in September — a bright spot after years of the drug’s escalating devastation. Catherine Ho in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/17/24

Top of the ticket

Harris’ interview with Fox News is marked by testy exchanges over immigration and more -- Vice President Kamala Harris engaged in a combative first interview with Fox News on Wednesday, sparring on immigration policy and shifting policy positions while asserting that if electe, she would not represent a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency. Zeke Miller Associated Press Nicholas Nehamas and Katie Rogers in the New York Times$ Maeve Reston in the Washington Post$ Kierra Frazier Politico -- 10/17/24

Trump Faces Tough Questions From Hispanic Voters, but Largely Defends or Dodges -- Halfway through a town hall hosted by Univision on Wednesday, Ramiro Gonzalez stood in front of Donald J. Trump and told the former president that he had lost his support. Michael Gold and Jazmine Ulloa in the New York Times$ -- 10/17/24

JD Vance says Donald Trump did not lose the 2020 election -- Trump’s running mate had danced around the issue since being pressed on it in a debate over two weeks ago. Meryl Kornfield and Patrick Svitek in the Washington Post$ Simon J. Levien and Michael C. Bender in the New York Times$ -- 10/17/24

In a Harris Ad, a Black Man Speaks to Black Men on Her Behalf -- A commercial running in Philadelphia confronts the idea that some Black men might be hesitant to vote for Kamala Harris because she is a woman. “Women know how to make things happen,” a supporter says. Lisa Lerer in the New York Times$ -- 10/17/24

Trump Wants Young Voters, but He’s Nowhere to Be Seen on Snapchat -- The former president, whose personal account was banned after the Capitol riot, has refused to spend campaign money on Snapchat ads, effectively ceding the space to Kamala Harris. Nicholas Nehamas and Shane Goldmacher in the New York Times$ -- 10/17/24

A Second Trump Presidency Stands to Radically Remake World Trade -- Tariffs could rise to highest levels since the 1930s. Anything from a global trade war to a U.S.-led system against China could be the result. Greg Ip in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 10/17/24

Paths to Victory in the 2024 Election -- Explore the possible combinations needed in battleground states for either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris to win. James Benedict in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 10/17/24

Elon Musk gives $75M to his own America PAC in push to elect Trump -- The contribution marks the billionaire’s latest show of support for Donald Trump’s reelection bid. Clara Ence Morse and Maegan Vazquez in the Washington Post$ -- 10/17/24

Shadow machinery tries to win White House by enticing unlikely voters -- Comic books, paydays, door-knocking, direct mail, giveaways, viral videos and “poll dancer” parties that happen independent of campaigns could be decisive. Michael Scherer in the Washington Post$ -- 10/17/24

How Accurate, or Off-Target, Could the Polls Be This Year? -- The polls may never perfectly match election results. But an examination of three decades of polling helps put recent misses into context. Kaleigh Rogers, Albert Sun and Christine Zhang in the New York Times$ -- 10/17/24

Jimmy Carter Casts His Ballot for Harris in Georgia -- The 39th president, who entered hospice care in February 2023, submitted an absentee ballot, according to a grandson. His family said he had been eager to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris. Alan Blinder in the New York Times$ -- 10/17/24

Also

Land deal in California’s far north conserves 3 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail -- Anticipated to be finalized by the end of the year, the deal will encompass 7,000 acres of forestland spread across about a dozen parcels in the southern Klamath Mountains between Castle Crags State Park and the Trinity Alps, according to San Francisco-based Trust For Public Land, which brokered the deal. Gregory Thomas in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/17/24

L.A.’s. new graffiti wars: A bold generation of taggers hitting high-profile targets -- Graffiti has been a central part of Los Angeles for generations, an omnipresent part of the cityscape that has endured many attempts to stamp it out. But L.A.’s graffiti culture is in the midst of a very loud and brash change. Nathan Solis in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/17/24