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California Policy and Politics Wednesday
Court denies California’s bid to halt Riverside sheriff’s recount of 2025 election ballots -- A California court on Tuesday quickly denied Attorney General Rob Bonta’s request to halt the Riverside County Sheriff Department’s effort to recount ballots from the November 2025 special election. In an unprecedented move, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican who is running for governor, seized roughly 650,000 ballots and began conducting a recount of votes. Cayla Mihalovich and Jeanne Kuang Calmatters Hailey Branson-Potts in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/25/26
Judge who OK’d ballot seizure spoke glowingly about Republican sheriff leading investigation -- The judge who approved a request for Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco to seize more than 650,000 ballots last month touted the sheriff’s endorsement before he was first elected in 2022, and spoke glowingly about Bianco on a podcast in the run-up to the election that year. The two men also share other key political backers and donors. Raheem Hosseini, Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/25/26
Hasty plans for forum to replace scrapped USC governor’s debate fall apart -- Facing backlash over selection criteria that excluded all candidates of color, USC canceled its Tuesday gubernatorial debate. A last-minute forum proposed by Tom Steyer at KNBC-TV fell apart because the excluded candidates of color couldn’t attend due to other commitments. Seema Mehta and Nicole Nixon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/25/26
California Democrats’ crisis deepens as defiant governor candidates dig in -- State Democratic Party leaders, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, appear unwilling to force lower-polling Democrats out of the race, which could help consolidate support behind a Democratic candidate and virtually eliminate the chance of a Republican becoming governor in a state where Democrats have nearly twice as many registered voters. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/25/26
As Gas Prices Spike, California Is Hit Hardest -- As gasoline prices have risen since the war in Iran began, no state has felt the pinch at the pump more than California, where a gallon costs nearly $2 more than the national average. Ivan Penn and Kurtis Lee in the New York Times$ -- 3/25/26
The Epstein files made him a political star. Then he posted six words to social media -- As fall drew to a close, Rep. Ro Khanna was riding high. Alexei Koseff in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/25/26
CA Sen. Schiff pushes bill to ban sports betting on online prediction markets -- California Sen. Adam Schiff is spearheading a bipartisan effort to prohibit prediction markets from allowing sports betting. The legislation, introduced Monday, seeks to stop the federally regulated platforms from allowing wagers that resemble a sports bet or casino-style game. Mathew Miranda in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/25/26
Walters: California governor’s race gets weirder with debate cancellation, new poll -- Just when we thought the campaign for California’s governorship couldn’t get any weirder, it did. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 3/25/26
T.S.A. Tipped Off ICE Agents Before Arrests at San Francisco Airport -- Transportation Security Administration officials told ICE that a mother and daughter under a detention order had planned to fly domestically, federal documents show. Hamed Aleaziz and Heather Knight in the New York Times$ -- 3/25/26
Mass deportations could jolt Bay Area economy and trigger job losses: report -- Mass deportations could jolt the Bay Area economy, erode the region’s already shaky job market, undermine federal, state and property tax revenue, and dampen retail and restaurant spending, according to a new economic report. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/25/26
She uncovered a terrifying lab hidden in California, with alleged ties to China -- Code enforcement officer Jesalyn Harper discovered a clandestine biolab in a Reedley, Calif., warehouse containing dangerous pathogens including HIV, malaria, COVID-19 and Ebola. Hannah Fry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/25/26
As L.A. jury deliberates, another social media lawsuit ends in $375-million verdict -- A jury in Santa Fe, N.M., returned a $375-million verdict against Meta in a lawsuit that alleged the company knew its products were harmful to children. Jurors have been deliberating for eight days in a similar landmark lawsuit in Los Angeles County. Sonja Sharp in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/25/26
California AG says social media’s ‘hypocrisy’ on kids’ safety echoes tobacco companies -- California Attorney General Rob Bonta equated social media giants like Meta, Snap and TikTok to the tobacco industry in public remarks Tuesday, accusing the companies of prioritizing profit over safety by marketing addictive products to kids. Tyler Katzenberger Politico -- 3/25/26
In California, the war on ultraprocessed foods moves to the supermarket -- A California Democrat is pushing a bill to create the nation’s first seal of approval for non-ultraprocessed foods — and require grocery stores to prominently display those products at the ends of aisles and other visible locations. Nicole Norman and Rachel Bluth Politico -- 3/25/26
OpenAI will shut down its Sora tool -- OpenAI plans to shut down its Sora text-to-video tool, a stunning move that comes three months after Walt Disney Co. pledged to invest $1 billion in the artificial intelligence company and allow the use of dozens of beloved characters. Samantha Masunaga and Nilesh Christopher in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/25/26
A new COVID variant is showing up in California — here’s what to know -- A newly emerging coronavirus variant with signs of immune escape has been detected in California wastewater, offering an early signal that the virus continues to evolve even as COVID-19 activity remains low across the state. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/25/26
Wildfire
Sorry your house burned down. Here’s a $23,000 HOA bill — due next month -- A luxury Altadena community levied a $23,614 HOA bill on all residents after fire damage, giving homeowners 34 days to pay. The hasty deadline and threats of liens sparked fierce neighbor-to-neighbor conflict and litigation against residents whose homes burned or were damaged in the Eaton fire. Jack Flemming in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/25/26
Workplace
Napa Valley’s famed French Laundry sued for alleged labor violations -- A former French Laundry employee has sued the three-Michelin-starred restaurant over lost wages and several other alleged California labor code violations. Jess Lander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/25/26
‘Fortnite’ video game maker lays off over 1,000 workers -- The Cary, N.C.,-based company that has offices in San Francisco has also identified over $500 million in cost savings around contracting, marketing and closing open positions. Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/25/26
ICE
Why a private company is investigating rapes at an ICE detention center instead of the sheriff -- San Diego County Sheriff’s officials failed to investigate at least seven reported sexual assaults at the privately run Otay Mesa immigration detention center in 2025, and records show the agency has ceded control of the cases to civilian administrators employed by the nation’s largest for-profit prison contractor. Wendy Fry and Nigel Duara Calmatters -- 3/25/26
Housing
Four-story buildings allowed in some single-family zones under L.A.’s plan to delay SB 79 -- L.A. City Council voted Tuesday to adopt a strategy to upzone 55 single-family and low-density areas citywide in order to delay SB 79 implementation. The strategy permits 4-16 unit buildings up to four stories — far less aggressive than SB 79’s 6-9 story allowance near transit stops. Jack Flemming in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/25/26
Homeless
A new homelessness strategy is sweeping California -- Homelessness prevention shows promising results in California, as advocates push to spread it statewide and nationally. Marisa Kendall Calmatters -- 3/25/26
USC
USC is latest to join a college ‘megatrend’ — and its acceptance rate will totally change -- Admission to the University of Southern California is about to change dramatically as USC joins a national “megatrend” transforming how elite colleges accept students — and making it even harder for many to get in. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/25/26
SF Schools
San Francisco students to stay in school 5 days longer this year -- Summer break will start a week later this year for San Francisco students, possibly delaying family vacations or other plans as officials try to make up for school days lost during last month’s teachers strike. Anna Bauman in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/25/26
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Iran dismisses US ceasefire plan, as strikes land in Tehran and across the Mideast -- Iranian state television’s English-language broadcaster quoted an anonymous official on Wednesday saying that Iran had rejected America’s 15-point ceasefire proposal. Bridget Brown, Lorian Belanger, Brian P. D. Hannon, Curtis Yee, Bernard Mcghee Bridget Associated Press -- 3/25/26
A ‘Wannabe Strongman’ Rises in Iran as Trump Seeks a Dealmaker --Iran’s combative Parliament speaker, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, is emerging as an unlikely figure in Washington’s search for a deal to halt a widening Middle East war. Laurence Norman and Benoit Faucon in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/25/26
Army paratroopers ordered to Middle East as U.S. weighs next Iran move -- The orders follow weeks of speculation about whether the 82nd Airborne would join the war, after its headquarters unit abruptly pulled out of a training exercise this month. Dan Lamothe and Noah Robertson in the Washington Post$ Eric Schmitt in the New York Times$ -- 3/25/26
The Oil Supply Crunch Is Spreading From the Gulf to the Rest of the World -- At the center of the supply squeeze in the Middle East, traders are paying an eye-watering $160 a barrel for the Emirati oil that can dodge the Strait of Hormuz, far above those global benchmarks. Those sky-high prices, traders say, are a harbinger of where the rest of the market could be heading if the Persian Gulf isn’t reopened soon. Joe Wallace in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/25/26
How Jack Smith connected the dots between GOP lawmakers, Trump aides in 2020 election probe -- Former special counsel Jack Smith’s office sought to map a vast web of contacts between President Donald Trump’s most vocal Republican allies in Congress and key players in his bid to subvert the results of the 2020 election, according to newly released records of the Smith-led investigation. Hailey Fuchs and Kyle Cheney Politico -- 3/25/26
Prosecutor admits government lacks evidence of misconduct by Fed chair -- The admission during a closed-door hearing undercuts President Donald Trump’s claims of “criminality” in the central bank’s $2.5 billion office renovations. Salvador Rizzo and Andrew Ackerman in the Washington Post$ -- 3/25/26
California Policy and Politics Tuesday
California governor candidate unveils government reform plan, scathing assessment of status quo -- San José Mayor Matt Mahan proposes a five-point government reform plan tying pay raises for elected officials to measurable performance outcomes like reduced homelessness. His plan proposes no new taxes until the state proves better use of current funds. Nicole Nixon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/24/26
USC cancels gubernatorial debate amid uproar over candidates of color being excluded -- The University of Southern California canceled its Tuesday gubernatorial debate after facing fiery criticism about excluding every gubernatorial candidate of color. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/24/26
Newsom Talks Trump, 2028 — and Where He Draws the Line on Israel -- The California governor opens up about family, risk and the choices that could shape his political future. Jonathan Martin Politico -- 3/24/26
Garofoli: California voters show ‘historically high’ disinterest in governor’s race. That could hurt Democrats -- Californians will receive their June 2 primary ballots in early May and yet there remains a “historically high” level of unawareness of the election to choose a new governor, a collective statewide shrug that is increasing the likelihood that a Republican will be the next governor of deep blue California. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/24/26
The scammer, the fixer and the cop: Inside L.A.’s world of millionaire ‘crypto kids’ -- A recent Los Angeles trial revealed a subculture that revolves around newly created crypto wealth and young men who flaunt money obtained through elaborate scams. A former LAPD officer was convicted of robbing a 17-year-old who had amassed a small fortune in stolen bitcoin. Matthew Ormseth and Libor Jany in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/24/26
Officials considered warning Altadena before Eaton fire, but no alert was sent -- Almost two hours before the Eaton fire broke out in the San Gabriel foothills Jan. 7, 2025, Los Angeles County emergency management officials had been pushed to send out an emergency alert to warn residents that increasingly high winds would pose a significant risk. But no such alert was sent. Grace Toohey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/24/26
Trump administration illegally ordered restart of Central Coast oil pipelines, state lawsuit says -- A pipeline system along the Central Coast was halted after a devastating oil spill in 2015. The Trump administration has ordered the owner of the pipelines to restart the oil operation despite state and local objections. California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit Monday calling the order unconstitutional and unlawful. Grace Toohey in the Los Angeles Times$ Sharon Bernstein in the Sacramento Bee$ Alejandro Lazo Calmatters -- 3/24/26
Californians may need to mail ballots early as Supreme Court signals support for new election day deadline -- Californians may be forced to put their ballots in the mail well before election day to be certain they will be counted. That’s the likely outcome of a Republican challenge to mail-in ballots that came before the Supreme Court on Monday. David G. Savage in the Los Angeles Times$ Mark Sherman Associated Press -- 3/24/26
How do we assess the millions California spends in its legal wars against Trump? -- The state’s lawyers are involved in more than 120 lawsuits against the Trump administration, from efforts to secure promised funding to such issues as control of the California National Guard, gender-affirming care for minors and the price of eggs. Sharon Bernstein in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/24/26
Walters: Medi-Cal faces funding emergency from state miscalculations, federal budget cuts -- Gavin Newsom loves to brag about his accomplishments as governor — a syndrome that sometimes backfires when reality raises its ugly head. So it was in January 2022 when he proposed extending health care coverage to everyone in the state, including undocumented immigrants. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 3/24/26
Arellano: Why I’m not taking down my César Chávez photo -- But to eradicate Chávez’s civic presence so fast — to tear down his statues, relabel streets and parks named in his honor, paint over his image on old and new murals, to throw away artwork that has adorned homes and offices for decades — doesn’t remove the fact that millions largely saw him as a champion of the downtrodden until last week. Gustavo Arellano in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/24/26
Workplace
Layoffs in the Bay Area tech world hold a hard lesson for everyone -- Though C-suite executives have crowed about AI creating new workforce efficiencies, industry watchers say other pressures are pushing companies to cut back, including overhiring in recent years, economic uncertainty, high interest rates and chilled foreign investments. Jessica Roy in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/24/26
What happens to L.A.’s KNX and other stations when CBS News Radio goes away? -- KNX, the all-news station in Los Angeles that has carried CBS programming since 1936, posted a lengthy segment on the impending closure and explained how “KNX News is not going anywhere.” Stephen Battaglio in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/24/26
Why is Jeff Bezos raising $100 billion to bring AI to factories? Here’s what to know -- Jeff Bezos is trying to leapfrog into the artificial intelligence race with a $100-billion fund to acquire manufacturers and bring more AI superpowers to factory floors. Nilesh Christopher in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/24/26
America’s Chief Financial Officers Say AI Is Coming for Admin Jobs -- America’s chief financial officers say that artificial intelligence will push some people out of their jobs: primarily workers in routine, clerical and administrative roles. Workers with highly skilled roles, such as architects and engineers, are more likely to keep their jobs, especially if they can use AI to their advantage. Justin Lahart in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/24/26
Young Graduates Face the Grimmest Job Market in Years -- Artificial intelligence could reshape work, but for now a low-hire, low-fire labor market is the main impediment for young people seeking employment. Sydney Ember in the New York Times$ -- 3/24/26
Marketplace
As malls and department stores fade, California’s Ross and other discounters are booming -- As big malls and department stores close, bargain chains like Ross Dress for Less are rolling out new stores. Economic anxiety and inflation are leading shoppers to spend less and search for savings. In this bombed-out retail landscape, some chains are thriving and opening new outlets. Caroline Petrow-Cohen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/24/26
ICE
Sacramento woman detained by ICE at San Francisco Airport, Rep. Doris Matsui says -- Videos, which have circulated on social media platforms, show two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in plainclothes detaining Lopez-Jimenez as several police officers and onlookers stand nearby. The woman, in handcuffs, can be seen screaming as a young girl with backpack cries nearby. Mathew Miranda in the Sacramento Bee$ Rick Hurd in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/24/26
New details emerge on ICE incident at SFO captured in viral videos -- The Trump administration on Monday said a struggle between two immigration agents and a woman at San Francisco International Airport Sunday evening was unrelated to the Trump administration’s broader plan to send Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to airports across the country to ease federal shutdown-related delays. Megan Cassidy in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/24/26
Education
Does lobbying at the Capitol work? These UC students say yes, and they’ve got receipts -- UC students have been waiting years for this moment — another chance at a bill to add a second student seat with voting power to the UC Board of Regents. Khadeejah Khan Calmatters -- 3/24/26
LAUSD moves to strip César Chávez’s name from two campuses and change focus of holiday -- LAUSD board will vote Tuesday to strip César Chávez’s name from two campuses following sexual abuse allegations against the late labor leader. The district will shift focus from honoring Chávez to celebrating the farmworkers movement. Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/24/26
Audit slams California school officials' ties to Chinese boarding school -- California education officials have released an audit into a local school district and its ties to a private boarding school in China, finding “sufficient evidence” of “fraud, misappropriation of funds, or other illegal fiscal practices.” Nicole Einbinder Politico -- 3/24/26
Street
Digital tablets mellowed California prisons. Now a tech migration is riling users -- Every incarcerated person in a California prison has a digital table enabling communication with the outside world. A new vendor is bringing more streaming entertainment, but with a cost. Joe Garcia Calmatters -- 3/24/26
Also
Drone deliveries are coming to Bay Area homes, Google says -- Alphabet’s drone delivery company, Wing, said Monday that it plans to begin delivering packages to homes in the San Francisco Bay Area in the coming months, bringing the service to one of the company’s earliest testing grounds. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/24/26
Bill Cosby loses civil sex assault lawsuit in Los Angeles County; faces $19-million judgment -- Bill Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted a waitress in 1972 after escorting her to one of his shows, a civil jury in California concluded Monday, awarding the woman $19.25 million in damages. Fedor Zarkhin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/24/26
Also
Want to watch the San Francisco Giants opening day? It’s only on Netflix -- The 2026 Major League Baseball season will open at Oracle Park with a historic, marquee matchup between the San Francisco Giants and New York Yankees. It’ll be the only game on Wednesday — and yet, other than attending in person, Giants fans can only watch it if they have a Netflix subscription. G. Allen Johnson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/24/26
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Emerging DHS deal ‘acceptable,’ White House official says -- It would pair funding for most of the department, save for ICE enforcement operations, with a new GOP reconciliation effort to pass the left-behind funding plus parts of the GOP elections bill known as the SAVE America Act. Myah Ward Politico Lindsay Wise, Siobhan Hughes and Natalie Andrews in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/24/26
The Back-Channel Diplomacy Behind Trump’s U-Turn on Iran -- Egyptian intelligence officials managed to open a channel with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps—the paramilitary group that protects the Iranian regime and is the country’s most powerful security and political entity—and put forward a proposal to halt hostilities for five days to build confidence for a cease-fire, some of the officials said. Those discussions laid the groundwork for an abrupt reversal more than 7,000 miles away in Florida. Summer Said, Alexander Ward, Benoit Faucon and Laurence Norman in the Wall Street Journal$ Tyler Pager, David E. Sanger and Farnaz Fassihi in the Wall Street Journal$ Karen DeYoung, Susannah George and Heba Farouk Mahfouz in the Washington Post$ -- 3/24/26
Trump just voted by a method he calls ‘mail-in cheating’ -- President Donald Trump, who is in the midst of pressuring senators to curb the use of mail-in voting, voted by mail ballot in Tuesday’s special election in Palm Beach County, Florida. Dan Merica in the Washington Post$ -- 3/24/26