 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
California Policy and Politics Tuesday
Trump threatened California’s emergency aid. Newsom has a backup plan -- The California governor said he’s considering a state account to protect against former President Donald Trump potentially denying California disaster relief funding. Christopher Cadelago and Debra Kahn Politico -- 10/22/24
How London Breed’s unpopularity and ranked-choice voting could doom her reelection bid -- San Francisco Mayor London Breed has faced lackluster approval ratings in each of the Chronicle’s three mayoral polls this year, a major obstacle as she fights for reelection against four prominent rivals. J.D. Morris in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/22/24
LA’s progressive prosecutor roared into office in 2020. His reelection bid is sputtering -- George Gascón has spent four years as Los Angeles’ preeminent lightning rod, drawing endless heat over his progressive overhaul of the county’s district attorney office. But his reelection bid has felt less like an ideological brawl than a rout. Melanie Mason and Christopher Cadelago Politico -- 10/22/24
Will penny-pinching voters doom LA’s latest effort to end homelessness? -- Measure A, which would extend and increase a county-level tax to tackle homelessness, faces political headwinds in a year when voters are wary of approving new spending. Emily Schultheis and Melanie Mason Politico -- 10/22/24
‘Red-baiting’ accusations fly between congressional campaigns in competitive Orange County race -- Mailers sent by Republican Rep. Michelle Steel link Democrat Derek Tran to Mao Zedong and socialism, while Tran’s ads say Steel can’t be trusted to “stand up to China” Laura J. Nelson and Angie Orellana Hernandez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/22/24
L.A. council candidate takes heat for saying ‘F— the police’ while discussing LAPD spending -- Asked a question about spending at the LAPD, attorney Ysabel Jurado responded: “What’s the rap verse? F— the police, that’s how I see ‘em.” David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/22/24
Prop 36
Prop 36 would steer more people into drug treatment — while cutting key funding for those programs -- Prop 36 would roll back parts of a measure voters approved in 2014 to downgrade drug possession and thefts worth less than $950 to misdemeanors. Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/22/24
California crime measure Prop. 36 could increase deportations -- Ballot initiative would turn certain thefts and drug crimes into felonies, potentially helping expel some immigrants. Wendy Fry CalMatters -- 10/22/24
Campus
Jewish Students at UCLA Were Harassed, Threatened and Assaulted on Campus, Report Finds -- UCLA antisemitism task force says the university prioritized free speech over stopping protests, which were among the most violent of the pro-Palestinian campus demonstrations. Joseph Pisani in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 10/22/24
Workplace
Tech companies chop hundreds more Bay Area jobs as industry wobbles -- Intel, Gigamon, Maxar Space and AppLovin are among the latest high-tech employers to disclose their intentions to trim their respective workforces in the Bay Area, according to official filings with the state Employment Development Department. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 10/22/24
Back-to-office orders have become common. Enforcement not so much -- More than four years after the pandemic scrambled work culture, friction between bosses and their employees over the terms of their return to the office shows no signs of abating. Roger Vincent in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/22/24
Walters: Unemployment rate doesn’t tell the full story of California’s unhealthy labor force -- California’s official unemployment rate — the percentage of jobless workers among the state’s labor force — remained unchanged in September at 5.3%. That doesn’t sound alarming, unless one dives more deeply into the data. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 10/22/24
World $eries
Dodgers vs. Yankees World Series tickets have reached Taylor Swift level prices -- The World Series opens Friday. The bottom line at Dodger Stadium: Tickets for two probably will cost you at least $2,500. Bill Shaikin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/22/24
USC Blues
Beyond Varsity Blues: In pursuit of donations, USC admitted affluent kids as walk-on athletes -- Internal records show how USC admitted children of the wealthy and well-connected through an alternate path with an acceptance rate of up to 90%. Harriet Ryan and Matt Hamilton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/22/24
SFUSD
‘Fear and frustration stops now’: New SFUSD superintendent offers hope -- In a rare display of political harmony, politicians, parents and labor leaders threw their support behind San Francisco schools’ new superintendent, ending weeks of uncertainty and turmoil. Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/22/24
Develop
Founder of state’s latest planned tech utopia explains how it isn’t like California Forever -- A plan to build a new Wine Country enclave modeled after an Italian villa went viral last week after developers announced their plans on X, formerly Twitter. Rachel Swan, Julie Johnson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/22/24
BART
Time is running out for BART. Can Bay Area leaders save it? -- During a marathon meeting Monday, policymakers struggled to build consensus on ideas for a 2026 tax measure. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/22/24
Climate
First California project to bury climate-warming gases wins key approval -- Capturing and storing carbon underground is a big part of California’s efforts to tackle climate change but community members and environmentalists say it prolongs the life of fossil fuels. Alejandro Lazo CalMatters -- 10/22/24
H5N1 Bird Flu
How did H5N1 bird flu get introduced to California’s dairy industry? -- Experts say it was bound to happen: The H5N1 bird flu that ravaged dairy herds in 13 states was inevitably going to arrive in California. But exactly how it happened is still being investigated by the state. Susanne Rust in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/22/24
Street
Bay Area cities are monitored by AI car tracking cameras. A lawsuit says they’re unconstitutional -- The San Francisco Police Department’s high-tech answer to catching thieves and other criminals is facing a challenge in a federal court, after a nonprofit filed suit against the maker of Flock Safety license plate reading cameras. Chase DiFeliciantonio in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/22/24
Top of the ticket
Trump puts noisy, crude campaign in spotlight, as Harris seeks to turn it against him -- The Republican nominee is closing out his third consecutive White House bid with a loud, ostentatious campaign that has thrust his conduct to the center of a photo-finish battle. Hannah Knowles and Toluse Olorunnipa in the Washington Post$ -- 10/22/24
The Many Links Between Project 2025 and Trump’s World -- Large portions of the “Mandate for Leadership,” the driving document behind Project 2025, were written by longtime Trump loyalists who were advisers to Mr. Trump during his first term. Elena Shao and Ashley Wu in the New York Times$ -- 10/22/24
Harris’s Early Career: Prosecutor by Day, Boldface Name by Night -- As Kamala Harris toiled as a junior prosecutor in Alameda County, Calif., she developed important connections among San Francisco’s financial and social elite. Tim Arango and Heather Knight in the New York Times$ -- 10/22/24
Republicans Eat Into Democrats’ Early Voting Advantage -- More than 15 million Americans have already voted, as both parties scour data for clues on turnout. Tarini Parti and Alex Leary in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 10/22/24
Trump flips stance on making voting easier after storm batters North Carolina -- The former president’s campaign has pushed for changes that mirror the ones he attacked when implemented in 2020 amid the pandemic. Amy Gardner and Josh Dawsey in the Washington Post$ -- 10/22/24
Trump Says He Has Seen No Evidence of Cheating in the Election, but Nonetheless Sows Doubts -- The former president, asked at a news conference in storm-damaged North Carolina if he had seen anything to suggest the election would be unfair, said, “I have not seen that.” Michael Gold in the New York Times$ -- 10/22/24
Liz Cheney and Harris Make a Play for G.O.P. Women in ‘Blue Wall’ Suburbs -- As the pair campaigned together in suburban areas of battleground states, the Republican former congresswoman served as Ms. Harris’s ambassador to conservative women. Erica L. Green and Reid J. Epstein in the New York Times$ -- 10/22/24
Could Trump undermine the vote again? Harris’s legal team says it’s prepared -- Former president Donald Trump and his allies have filed hundreds of lawsuits, with more to come, seeking to tighten voting rules or disqualify voters. Security experts have gamed out how to restore order quickly if unrest at polling locations shuts down voting for hours on end. Election administrators in several states have purchased panic buttons for their poll workers to use in the event of violence. Amy Gardner and Tyler Pager in the Washington Post$ -- 10/22/24
The first winners of Elon Musk’s $1M giveaway are Pa. Republicans who already voted -- It’s unclear how effective the effort has been at engaging new voters. Jessica Piper Politico -- 10/22/24
In Trump Ad, ‘Not a Thing That Comes to Mind’ Ties Harris to Biden’s Liabilities -- Kamala Harris’s hesitancy to put daylight between her and President Biden gave Donald Trump’s campaign a big opening. Maggie Haberman in the New York Times$ -- 10/22/24
Dissecting Trump’s Arnold Palmer masculinity play -- Donald Trump’s closing pitch to voters at a Pennsylvania rally this weekend started with a rant about the late golf legend Arnold Palmer’s genitals. No, you did not misread that sentence. Politico -- 10/22/24
Also
Caltrans creates equity tool to learn from past infrastructure mistakes -- Mistakes of the past allowed freeways to run through minority neighborhoods, amplified racial inequities and created transit gaps, particularly in neighborhoods of color. Kristin J. Bender in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 10/22/24
California Policy and Politics Monday
S.F. Chronicle poll: Lurie surges in mayor’s race, positioned to edge out Breed -- Nonprofit founder Daniel Lurie is pulling ahead of his competitors in the San Francisco mayoral race, according to a new poll commissioned by the Chronicle. Christian Leonard in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/21/24
‘I am the change.’ Facing tough reelection, London Breed says she’s still what San Francisco needs -- San Francisco Mayor London Breed says she’s learned the hard way that, when it comes to running a city, compassion has its limits. Is it enough to get her reelected? Hannah Wiley in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/21/24
In these close California House races, winning could come down to who appeals to the most Latino voters -- Some of California’s most competitive congressional races are in districts with significant Latino populations. Those seats — all currently occupied by Republicans — are critical to the question of which party will control Congress next year. Andrea Castillo in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/21/24
Why California Democrats believe abortion issue can win them back the U.S. House -- Democrats are calling out Republicans on abortion rights in key California districts that could decide control of Congress, again. GOP incumbents say their views are being misrepresented. Jeanne Kuang and Jenna Peterson CalMatters -- 10/21/24
Police cash flows to Hochman in D.A. race while support for Gascon dries up -- George Gascón won the most expensive D.A.’s race in L.A. County history in 2020. Now he’s struggling to fundraise while his opponent, Nathan Hochman, has attracted major support and has blanketed TV and social media with blistering, emotional ads. James Queally and Gabrielle LaMarr LeMee in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/21/24
Is there still any pop left in California’s fight against soda? -- A California surfing idyll may determine whether soda is poised to go the way of Big Tobacco, banished to the outskirts of modern consumption habits. Will McCarthy Politico -- 10/21/24
Elon Musk has a warning about California -- The world’s richest man grew his businesses in California and forged relationships with its Democratic politicians. But now he’s gone full anti-California. Jeremy B. White Politico -- 10/20/24
Alameda County DA Pamela Price rallies against recall that ‘weaponizes people’s grief and pain’ -- Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price and about 100 supporters rallied Sunday against the recall effort against her, calling it a billionaire-funded attempt to halt much-needed criminal justice reforms. David Hernandez in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/20/24
Skelton: Bonds on the November ballot are worthwhile, but very, very costly -- The race for the White House is sucking up all the oxygen, to echo an old political cliche. Voters can’t help but focus on the tight presidential contest and scratch their heads when they scan the rest of the California ballot. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/21/24
Some legislators miss hundreds of votes, but even ‘excused’ absences count as a ‘no’ -- Seven Assemblymembers missed more than a quarter of their votes this year, most involving illness or family matters. But when it comes to bills, an absence is the same as a “no” vote. Sameea Kamal CalMatters -- 10/21/24
Dodgers
Plaschke: Welcome back, World Series! Dodgers return to Fall Classic for monumental duel with Yankees -- On a rollicking Sunday night at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers silenced the critics, embraced their birthright and returned to the World Series. Bill Plaschke in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/20/24
After 43 Years, Yankees and Dodgers Resume Their World Series Rivalry -- Even as the sport and the country have changed, the rivalry has produced some of baseball’s most memorable moments. Victor Mather in the New York Times$ -- 10/21/24
Workplace
‘We refuse to go backwards’: Hundreds of S.F. luxury hotel’s workers join strike -- About 310 workers at the Palace Hotel in downtown San Francisco walked off the job Sunday morning, joining hundreds of other hotel workers who went on strike last month for better wages and benefits. Jessica Flores in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/20/24
Kaiser mental health professionals in Southern California go on strike -- The National Union of Healthcare Workers said that nearly 2,400 mental health workers had launched the job action after Kaiser Permanente management turned down their proposals. Emily Alpert Reyes in the Los Angeles Times$ Joe Garcia CalMatters -- 10/21/24
Housing
Farms or subdivisions? Ballot measure would curb development on Silicon Valley’s southern edges -- As Bay Area commuters increase, fast-growing San Benito County decides whether to pump the brakes. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 10/21/24
Judge orders VA to build housing on UCLA baseball parking lot. On the double! -- U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter on Friday ordered the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to select a vendor within a week and have a contract three weeks after that. Doug Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/21/24
Foster care
What schools should know about the insurance crisis in foster care -- A seismic disruption of the foster system is underway in California, with no clear solution in sight for the 9,000 school-aged children whose lives and schooling may be severely impacted. Betty Márquez Rosales EdSource -- 10/21/24
Top of the ticket
New poll, same tight race across seven swing states -- A new poll of the seven swing states continues to show more of the same: The race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump is statistically deadlocked. Andrew Howard Politico Nate Cohn in the New York Times$ Scott Clement, Emily Guskin, Dan Keating and Dan Balz in the Washington Post$ -- 10/21/24
The Very Real Scenario Where Trump Loses and Takes Power Anyway -- If Trump overturns the 2024 election, here’s how it could happen. Kyle Cheney, Heidi Przybyla, John Sakellariadis and Lisa Kashinsky Politico -- 10/21/24
Candidates Step Up Their Attacks After Trump Erases Harris’s Lead -- Vice president courts GOP-leaning voters in swing states, while former president’s off-script moments play to core supporters Tarini Parti and Alex Leary in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 10/21/24
For many voters, Trump’s sneering dismissiveness of Harris’s intellect reeks of racism and sexism -- To some of the former president’s fiercest supporters, he is simply articulating aloud their view of her. But for many voters, as well as experts, Trump’s sneering dismissiveness of Harris’s intellect reeks of racism and sexism. Ashley Parker in the Washington Post$ -- 10/21/24
Harris Says Trump’s Behavior ‘Demeans’ the Presidency After Vulgar Remarks -- In an interview on Sunday with the Rev. Al Sharpton, Vice President Kamala Harris responded to a profanity-laden insult that former President Donald J. Trump used about her tenure as vice president, saying he had “not earned the right” to hold office again. Katie Rogers in the New York Times$ -- 10/20/24
For Trump, a Lifetime of Scandals Heads Toward a Moment of Judgment -- No major party presidential candidate, much less president, in American history has been accused of wrongdoing so many times. Peter Baker in the New York Times$ -- 10/21/24
Kamala Harris urges Black churchgoers to vote against ‘chaos, fear and hate’ -- Strong majorities of Black voters support Harris, according to polls. But her numbers are still lower than Joe Biden’s were four years ago. Maeve Reston in the Washington Post$ -- 10/20/24
Young People of Color Are Charging Atlanta’s Growth. Will They Lift Harris in Georgia? -- Harris is doing better with Black men than Biden was earlier this year but worse than in 2020, WSJ poll finds. Cameron McWhirter in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 10/21/24
Former Trump advisers become central part of Harris campaign attacks -- Vice President Kamala Harris is featuring anti-Trump Republicans in ads and on the campaign trail in hopes of winning over wavering voters. Michael Scherer and Josh Dawsey in the Washington Post$ -- 10/20/24
‘60 Minutes’ denies Trump’s accusation that Harris interview was deceptively edited -- In a rare rebuke, the CBS news magazine “60 Minutes” denied charges by former President Trump that the program doctored an answer in Vice President Kamala Harris’ recent interview to make her look better to viewers. Stephen Battaglio in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/20/24
Trump proposals could drain Social Security in 6 years, budget group says -- The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget predicts many of Trump’s policies could hasten the looming depletion of the Social Security Trust Fund. Julie Zauzmer Weil in the Washington Post$ -- 10/20/24
Musk promises a daily $1 million lottery in questionable pro-Trump effort -- Legal experts raised concerns about the legality of the move because it ties a monetary reward to voter registration status, which is prohibited under federal law. Mariana Alfaro in the Washington Post$ -- 10/20/24
U.S. Agencies Fund, and Fight With, Elon Musk. A Trump Presidency Could Give Him Power Over Them -- Mr. Musk’s rocket company, SpaceX, effectively dictates NASA’s rocket launch schedule. The Defense Department relies on him to get most of its satellites to orbit. His companies were promised $3 billion across nearly 100 different contracts last year with 17 federal agencies. Eric Lipton, David A. Fahrenthold, Aaron Krolik and Kirsten Grind in the New York Times$ -- 10/20/24
Harris outraised Trump more than 3-to-1 in September -- Kamala Harris’ campaign outraised Donald Trump by more than 3-to-1 in September, with the vice president’s massive $222 million haul further extending her financial advantage in the final stretch of a tight presidential election. Jessica Piper Politico -- 10/20/24
Trump repeats ‘enemy from within’ comment, targeting Pelosi and Schiff -- Donald Trump was criticized Sunday for referring to Reps. Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff, both California Democrats, as examples of the “enemy from within.” Annie Gowen in the Washington Post$ -- 10/20/24
Also
‘People are still dying on PCH’: Malibu fights to make its iconic roadway less dangerous -- Just over a year ago, four Pepperdine University students were killed by a speeding car on a section of Pacific Coast Highway known to Malibu locals as “Dead Man’s Curve.”Karen Garcia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/20/24