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California Policy and Politics Sunday
California farmers were already struggling. Then came the Iran war -- The Iran war has disrupted California farm exports to the Middle East, tripling shipping costs and closing key markets. The war-fueled surge in diesel and fertilizer costs threatens farm profitability and will likely raise U.S. food prices. The conflict has further squeezed California farmers who were already stressed by global tariffs. Laurence Darmiento in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/29/26
Swalwell sees personal vendetta in FBI probe -- Rep. Eric Swalwell blasted the Trump administration as “laughable” and with a “ lack of imagination” for reportedly seeking to release a years-old investigative file about him that resulted in no criminal charges — a sign, he said, the president was threatened by the Democrat’s campaign for California governor. Melanie Mason Politico -- 3/29/26
Barabak: Will or won’t he? A lot rides on a Trump endorsement in California governor’s race -- A Trump anointment would be a huge boost for either of two Republicans, Chad Bianco or Steve Hilton It would also serve Democratic interests, which is why the president might abstain. Or endorse both. Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/29/26
Garofoli: Here’s why Democrats are in such a mess in the California governor’s race -- As the California Democratic Party faces the growing possibility of its candidates being locked out of the November election and a Republican becoming governor, some top Democrats are musing about their leaders orchestrating their version of a Joe Biden Reckoning Moment. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/29/26
Silicon Valley Has Stopped Talking Politics—Except for This Google Executive -- AI pioneer Jeff Dean is a rare tech leader publicly criticizing Trump administration actions. Katherine Blunt in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/29/26
No Kings organizers tout record global turnout as Bay Area protests draw huge crowds -- Thousands of protesters took to the streets of San Francisco, Oakland and dozens of other Bay Area cities Saturday amid record global turnout for a familiar act of defiance against the Trump administration: No Kings Day. Laura Waxmann, Jessica Flores, Warren Pederson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/29/26
Millions protest Trump globally during Saturday’s ‘No Kings’ rallies -- Los Angeles organizers expected more than 100,000 participants across the region. Organizers noted unprecedented participation from rural and Republican communities, with Trump’s approval ratings at their lowest since his second term began. Meg James, Jack Flemming, Connor Sheets and Nicole Macias Garibay in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/29/26
Dozens arrested after authorities fire tear gas at ‘No Kings’ protesters -- More than 70 protesters were arrested Saturday evening after authorities shot tear gas and pepper balls into the crowd, leaving at least one teen with an eye wound and others with skin burns, according to demonstrators and police. Connor Sheets and Alene Tchekmedyian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/29/26
Kaiser made $9.3 billion last year. Critics say it has strayed from its charitable mission -- Some employees called it the “dash for cash.” Months after Kaiser Permanente doctors saw a patient, federal prosecutors said, administrators pushed the physicians to add new, false diagnoses to the medical record in a billion-dollar scheme to defraud the government. Kaiser in February paid $556 million to settle the allegations. Melody Petersen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/29/26
Immigration
San Diego loses population as immigration nosedives. What are the consequences? -- For much of the last decade, a steady, often robust flow of immigrants into the county has been critical to bolstering San Diego’s sometimes sluggish population growth as more and more locals packed their bags and moved to other parts of the country. Not so anymore. Lori Weisberg, Alexandra Mendoza in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 3/29/26
Housing
This Tahoe town is losing the fight against ‘mushroom homes’ -- Tahoe locals call them “mushroom homes.” The vacation houses have sprouted up like a fungus from the woods to the waterfront, and many of them sit empty for much of the year — like nearly half of all housing in South Lake Tahoe, according to federal data. Brooke Park in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/29/26
Also
How rising gas prices are changing the math on owning an EV in California -- Given the higher gas prices, how does the California EV-vs.-gas math shake out now? On average, we found that EV drivers have significantly widened their savings advantage, to $166 a month. Jessica Roy in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/29/26
South Bay father arrested after repainting crosswalk, adding stop signs near children’s park -- A longtime El Segundo resident was arrested earlier this month after installing unauthorized stop signs at a neighborhood intersection he says has become increasingly dangerous for children. Cierra Morgan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/29/26
Lopez: After COVID, raids and other blows, DTLA is hurting. But ‘Mr. Downtown’ believes it will rise again -- He wore a dark suit with a crisp white shirt and a burgundy necktie, and as he made his way toward me through the late-morning patrons at Grand Central Market, he paused, eyes at his feet. He bent down, picked up a straw wrapper and disposed of it in the nearest trash can, then kept walking. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/29/26
Morrison: The inspiring, infuriating, even comic tale of how we defeated L.A.’s smog and why we may have to again -- We achieved this sometimes by kicking and screaming, sometimes by the ballot box, sometimes by just following regulations that politicians and policy-makers created and enforced, like smog checks and carpool lanes, and sometimes by letting science and technology do their thing. Patt Morrison in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/29/26
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Trump’s approval ratings just hit a new low. A Latino voter shift could reshape the midterms -- With the Iran war in its fifth week, support for President Trump is at its lowest point ever, with a growing body of recent polling showing him losing ground with key voting blocs that helped power his 2024 victory. Gavin J. Quinton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/29/26
Iran Warns Against Invasion After Marine Unit Arrives -- Iran's military said it was eagerly awaiting a chance to destroy U.S. ground forces should President Trump order an invasion. The remarks came after the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit arrived in the Middle East, giving the president more options in a conflict now in its second month. The item is in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/29/26
Pentagon prepares for weeks of ground operations in Iran -- If President Donald Trump approves the plans, such an effort would mark a new phase of the war that could be significantly more dangerous to U.S. troops than the first four weeks. Dan Lamothe in the Washington Post$ -- 3/29/26
Iran-backed Houthis enter the monthlong war and could further threaten global shipping -- Iranian-backed Houthi rebels entered the monthlong war in the Middle East on Saturday, claiming two missile launches at Israel. About 2,500 U.S. Marines arrived in the region. And Pakistan’s government said regional powers plan to meet Sunday to discuss how to end the fighting. Samy Magdy, Aamer Madhani Jon Gambrell Associated Press -- 3/29/26
Iran Threatens Strikes on American Universities in Mideast -- Iran threatened to attack U.S.-affiliated universities in neighboring Middle East nations, broadening its definition of legitimate targets. In a statement Sunday morning in Iran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned all employees, professors and students of American universities in the region to stay at least a kilometer away from the schools. James T. Areddy in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/29/26
Trump ratchets up attacks on NATO, says U.S. no longer needs alliance -- President Donald Trump suggested the U.S. might move away from its commitment to defend NATO allies, criticizing them for not supporting the war in Iran. Michael Birnbaum in the Washington Post$ -- 3/29/26
Blue-State Residents Are Reaping Big Refunds From Trump Tax Law’s SALT Cap -- That means people with high state income taxes and local property taxes can pay less to the federal government, and those people are concentrated in such states as New York, New Jersey and California. Richard Rubin and Ashlea Ebeling in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/29/26
California Policy and Politics Saturday
Kash Patel’s push against Democratic lawmaker raises concerns within FBI -- FBI Director Kash Patel is pressing to release a decade-old investigative file involving Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-California) and a suspected Chinese intelligence operative, recently dispatching agents in the bureau’s San Francisco office to quickly redact the files before they are released publicly despite no evidence of wrongdoing by Swalwell, according to three people familiar with the effort. Perry Stein in the Washington Post$ -- 3/28/26
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco seizes more ballots, defying California officials who ordered him to stop -- The Riverside County sheriff, who is a leading Republican candidate for governor, this week seized even more ballots from last November’s election, part of an escalating crusade to look into unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud — much to the alarm of state law enforcement officials and election integrity watchdogs. Grace Toohey in the Los Angeles Times$ Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/28/26
California governor’s race: See the candidates’ incomes and tax payments -- Here’s a snapshot of the top candidates for governor’s incomes and taxes. Billionaire Tom Steyer dwarfs them all. Yue Stella Yu Calmatters -- 3/28/26
Progressive Tom Steyer’s tax returns show offshore earnings, private equity stakes -- Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer has made millions of dollars investing in offshore private equity funds connected to islands known for lax tax policies, according to tax returns posted Thursday. Ben Paviour in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/28/26
L.A. braces for ‘No Kings’ demonstrations, installs barriers to the 101 Freeway -- Overnight installation of metal swing gates on downtown L.A. freeway ramps marks latest precaution ahead of Saturday’s “No Kings” demonstrations planned across Southern California. Forty-one rallies are scheduled to take place countywide, with turnout potentially rivaling previous protests that drew up to 30,000 participants to downtown L.A. Cierra Morgan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/28/26
A little-known Navy-Marine battle group from San Diego is making a beeline for the Middle East -- Three San Diego warships and the 2,200-plus Marines they carry dutifully trained off Camp Pendleton in recent months, barely visible against the misty horizon. Their anonymity may soon come to an end in waters 8,000 miles away. Gary Robbins in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 3/28/26
As oil prices rise, airfares are surging and some airlines might not survive -- United Airlines Chief Executive Scott Kirby said this week that his company could face an $11-billion loss if oil prices remain at their current levels. Meanwhile, United’s airfare could increase by 20%, he said. Caroline Petrow-Cohen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/28/26
L.A. social media addiction verdict set to unleash more lawsuits — and force changes -- Two of America’s largest tech companies suffered stunning defeats in court this week, sustaining early jolts in what could prove to be a seismic shift in how social media operates amid a new landscape of legal risk. Sonja Sharp in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/28/26
How the landmark verdict against Meta and YouTube could hit their businesses -- Both companies plan to appeal, but the ruling has ignited uncertainty around the tech companies’ future and sparked questions about the potential fallout. Queenie Wong in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/28/26
‘Many have tried. Few have succeeded’: Tech, labor brace for years-long war in California -- Tech moguls plotting to shift California’s balance of power are opening their wallets in a high-profile declaration of war on organized labor’s clout. The response from California’s deep-pocketed unions: let’s see what you’ve got. Jeremy B. White and Christine Mui Politico -- 3/28/26
After immigration arrests, California lawmakers wonder: Are police telling the feds too much? -- Citing fear of authoritarianism and invasive surveillance, California lawmakers voted this week to audit the operation of joint intelligence centers where federal, state, and local agencies share information. Khari Johnson Calmatters -- 3/28/26
Silicon Valley House candidate, fending off criticism, says he ‘downloaded some porn’ -- A startup engineer challenging Rep. Ro Khanna for his Silicon Valley House seat acknowledged Friday on social media that he “downloaded some porn,” as he moved to fend off criticism about his record. Tyler Katzenberger Politico -- 3/28/26
Barbara Lee thinks ‘strong mayor’ reforms could help fix Oakland’s problems. The council stands in her path -- In dozens of meetings and workshops over the past year, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee has been building consensus among residents for a charter amendment that would expand mayoral authority — giving the mayor greater power to deliver on campaign promises and bring more accountability to city government. Kate Talerico in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/28/26
Workplace
America’s capital of ‘super-commuters’ is in California. Now many are hitting a crisis point -- Now grappling with round-trip commutes that run 180 miles and four-plus hours, the 28-year-old auditor is one of San Joaquin County’s roughly 30,000 “super-commuters” who trek at least 90 minutes into work. But it’s not just all the time in traffic that has him second-guessing his life decisions. Connor Letourneau in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/28/26
Tax
These L.A. cities want to raise sales taxes after blackjack ban -- Two southeast Los Angeles cities proposed a sales tax increase to offset the financial impact of California’s blackjack ban, which officials said would devastate their local economies. Itzel Luna in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/28/26
Street
California to pay $1.9 million to female inmates who say guards unleashed ‘war zone’ level violence -- Women allege they suffered injuries including seizures, respiratory distress, traumatic brain injury and vision loss. The operation resulted in one of the largest disciplinary actions in the department’s history. Clara Harter in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/28/26
Dead man found inside police vehicle parked in front of department for days, officials say -- Authorities are investigating the death of a man whose body was found inside an Azusa Police Department squad car parked in front of the department and may have been there for days, according to officials. Summer Lin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/28/26
Data Center
Residents speak out against proposed data center in Imperial County -- Residents packed the chambers and poured into the parking lot during a Thursday meeting of the Imperial County Board of Supervisors held to solicit feedback about plans to develop a massive data center without first conducting a state environmental review. Katie King in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/28/26
Education
Zuckerberg-funded school to close, creating ‘crisis’ for Bay Area district -- A Peninsula school district is proposing raising taxes to fund new facilities after it projected an enrollment spike prompted by the closure of a private school funded by Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan. Aldo Toledo in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/28/26
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Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen launch attack on Israel for first time in war -- The missile attack by the Houthis in Yemen marks an escalation of the war in the Middle East and may pose further risks to shipping in the region. Sammy Westfall, Abbie Cheeseman, Victoria Craw and Dan Lamothe in the Washington Post$ -- 3/28/26
Former Trump Iran adviser says war is headed for escalation -- Nate Swanson spent nearly two decades in the U.S. government, including most recently as the National Security Council’s director for Iran. Days before the U.S. bombed Iran, Swanson published a piece predicting that Iran would do exactly what it has done should the U.S. attack. Scott Waldman Politico -- 3/28/26
Crucial E-3 Sentry Aircraft Damaged in Saudi Base Attack --The E-3 Sentry is an airborne warning and control system aircraft, or AWACS, that helps manage the battlespace and tracks drones, missiles and aircraft from hundreds of miles away. The aircraft provides commanders with a real-time picture of the war and allows them to direct assets to intercept threats, and also manage friendly aircraft, military analysts say. Shelby Holliday and Summer Said in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/28/26
At least 10 U.S. troops wounded in Iranian attack on Saudi air base -- The strike on Prince Sultan Air Base also damaged at least two Air Force refueling aircraft and underscored that despite weeks of strikes, Iran still poses a threat. Tara Copp, Dan Lamothe and Karen DeYoung in the Washington Post$ -- 3/28/26
Iran-backed Houthis join Mideast war in sharp escalation -- The strike followed days of signaling from the Houthis that they were preparing to enter the conflict, raising renewed concerns about the security of the Red Sea shipping corridor, vital for global trade already disrupted by previous attacks. Elena Giordano Politico -- 3/28/26
Wild Ultimatums and ‘Bombing Our Little Hearts Out’: A Portrait of Trump at War -- President Trump has vacillated between boasting about U.S. military superiority and deep frustration that his war of choice is not always having the desired effects. Erica L. Green in the New York Times$ -- 3/28/26
‘He’s lied about everything’: Iran war puts Trump on shaky ground with young MAGA men -- Their frustrations and anger with the conflict were on full display at CPAC this week. Liz Crampton Politico -- 3/28/26
‘Visibly upset and struggling’: Acting ICE head hospitalized twice over stress, officials say -- Acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Todd Lyons has been hospitalized at least twice for stress-related issues as he has carried out President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration agenda — strain that has caused him to struggle to make key decisions for the agency, according to two current and two former administration officials. Daniel Lippman Politico -- 3/28/26