California Policy and Politics Wednesday

Despite student protests, UC regents approve tuition hike amid state, federal funding gaps -- Confronting increasing costs and decreasing state and federal funding, the University of California regents on Wednesday approved a tuition hike lauded by UC leaders but fiercely opposed by students. Jaweed Kaleem in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/19/25

Billionaire activist Tom Steyer joins race to succeed Newsom as California governor -- Liberal billionaire Tom Steyer raised his profile as a foe to President Donald Trump when he spent $13 million on ads touting Proposition 50. Now, Steyer is jumping in the 2026 California governor’s race. Maya C. Miller Calmatters Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ Nicole Nixon in the Sacramento Bee$ John Woolfolk in the San Jose Mercury$ Linh Tat in the Orange County Register$ Jeremy B. White Politico Laurel Rosenhall in the New York Times$ -- 11/19/25

Why a Bay Area congressman is expected to jump into the ‘wide open’ California governor’s race this week -- Political experts say Eric Swalwell will compete against fellow Democrats to be the “most anti-Trump candidate” in the race. Chase Hunter, Kyle Martin in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/19/25

FBI intercepted communications within Gavin Newsom’s office in probe of former aide -- The FBI has notified some current and former members of the Newsom administration that agents intercepted their communications as part of its investigation of the governor’s former chief of staff. Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Lia Russell in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/19/25

‘It raises all sorts of questions’: Becerra scorched by scandal in California governor’s race -- Becerra, the former Health secretary under President Joe Biden, is not accused of wrongdoing in the alleged scheme involving his closest aides siphoning money from one of his campaign accounts. But Becerra’s blindness to the years-long deception, detailed in last week’s federal indictment of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff, threatens to blow up his gubernatorial ambitions. Melanie Mason Politico -- 11/19/25

Newsom has a diagnosis for critics: ‘California derangement syndrome’ -- Gov. Gavin Newsom is known for his catchphrases. He likes to remind people that he’s “not ideological” but “open to argument, interested in evidence.” He frequently describes California as “America’s coming attraction.” “The future happens here first,” he says often. Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/19/25

ICE

Proposed California legislation would allow lawsuits if ICE agents violate constitutional rights -- State Sen. Scott Wiener proposed new legislation Tuesday that would give those who have had their Constitutional rights violated by immigration agents a new pathway to hold them accountable in court. Sara DiNatale, Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/19/25

San Mateo County moves to tighten limits on cooperation with ICE -- Once formally approved, the changes will prevent federal immigration agents from using the county’s Coyote Point Park firing range without a judicial warrant and prohibit the use of any county property as a staging area for enforcement operations. Ryan Macasero in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/19/25

Border Patrol agent arrested in Long Beach was combative, asked police if they are ‘stupid’ -- A Border Patrol agent who pulled out a gun in a women’s restroom in July while allegedly intoxicated at the Yard House in Long Beach’s Shoreline Village fought with arriving officers and hurled expletives while proclaiming his status as an agent, video obtained by the Southern California News Group shows. Nathaniel Percy in the Orange County Register$ -- 11/19/25

Wildfire

New LAFD chief slams media ‘smear’ of firefighters who battled Palisades fire -- Moore’s comments Tuesday appeared to be in reference to a Times report that a battalion chief ordered firefighters to roll up their hoses and leave the burn area of the Jan. 1 Lachman fire, which days later reignited into the deadly Palisades fire, even though they had complained that the ground was still smoldering. Alene Tchekmedyian and Noah Goldberg in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/19/25

Campus

Cal State wants to offer bigger raises to campus presidents while cutting elsewhere -- California State University’s trustees will vote tomorrow on whether to increase how much the system’s 22 campus presidents and other senior executives earn, potentially paving the way for up to 15% in annual incentive-based raises paid for by philanthropic funds and base salaries that reflect how much presidents at similar universities earn. Mikhail Zinshteyn Calmatters -- 11/19/25

Housing

Why San Diegans aren’t jumping to buy homes, even with lower mortgage rates -- The high cost of a San Diego home, even with lower mortgage rates, has scared off many potential buyers and slowed the market to a level not seen in years. Phillip Molnar in the San Diego Union Tribune$ -- 11/19/25

8 in 10 Bay Area homes have lost value in the last year. Here’s why that might not help buyers -- More than 80% of homes in the San Francisco metropolitan area have lost value from last year. But most are still worth far more than they were purchased for. Christian Leonard in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/19/25

Havasu City

This Arizona town is an unexpected magnet for Californians: ‘We do it our way’ -- Lake Havasu City, Arizona, has become a magnet for Californians, starting with the COVID-19 pandemic but fueled primarily by lower taxes and housing costs. Many Californians owned second homes in Arizona but decided to relocate there full-time after the pandemic. Terry Castleman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/19/25

Environment

These ‘forever chemicals’ pollute Fresno more than any other county in California -- Fresno is the top county in California for the use of pesticides containing PFAS, which can contaminate drinking water, soil and produce, linked to various health issues, according to a new Environmental Working Group analysis. Liliana Fannin in the Fresno Bee -- 11/19/25

Education

California officials condemn Trump’s plan to break up Education Department -- “This is an unnecessary, disruptive change that is going to harm students, especially the most vulnerable,” said California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond. “It is clearly less efficient for state departments of education and local school districts to work with four different federal agencies instead of one.” Diana Lambert EdSource -- 11/19/25

Street

Civil liberties groups sue San Jose over warrantless access to license plate reader data -- A coalition of high-profile civil-liberties groups led by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and ACLU is suing San Jose over what it characterizes as millions of warrantless searches of automated license plate reader data, which it says has put the city in an unprecedented state of surveillance with no meaningful gatekeeping. Robert Salonga in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/19/25

Source: Slain Oakland coach John Beam taught his suspected killer at Laney College in 2022 -- The 27-year-old man charged with killing Laney College’s storied athletic director John Beam was enrolled as a student at Laney in 2022 and took at least one course under Beam, according to a source familiar with the matter. Megan Cassidy in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/19/25

Baltimore police investigated by SFPD Special Victims’ Unit, sources say -- Four Baltimore police officers who were stripped of their police powers due to a criminal probe emanating from San Francisco are being investigated by the San Francisco Police Department’s Special Victims’ Unit, according to four sources familiar with the matter. David Hernandez, Megan Cassidy in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/19/25

Polar Vortex

A rare stratospheric warming event is about to occur. Here’s what it means for California -- Something strange is taking shape high above the Arctic this month. The stratosphere, a cold, still layer of the atmosphere about 20 miles up, appears to be about to experience a dramatic warm up. It’s a rare change for November and one that could set the stage for sharp weather swings across the Northern Hemisphere in December. Greg Porter in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/19/25

Transit

Iowa City Made Its Buses Free. Traffic Cleared, and So Did the Air -- Ridership jumped, people cut back on driving and, over the summer, the city extended the program another year. Cara Buckley, Annick Sjobakken in the New York Times$ -- 11/19/25

Also

Walters: Who’s running for California governor? It keeps changing -- Getting elected governor of California is a difficult task, requiring the creation of a large apparatus to plan and execute a campaign strategy and raising tens of millions of dollars to pay for it. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 11/19/25

Massive white blimp floating over San Francisco has ties to Google -- It wasn’t a blimp ad or a movie stunt — it was Pathfinder 1, a 400-foot experimental zeppelin built by LTA Research, a Silicon Valley startup backed by Google co-founder Sergey Brin. The flight marked the latest step in Brin’s ambitious effort to reinvent lighter-than-air travel with modern materials and zero-emission technology. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/19/25

Officials killed one of California’s few wolf packs to protect cattle. Now a new pack has been spotted nearby -- A new wolf pack has emerged in California’s northern Sierra, signaling continued growth of the state’s small and fragile wolf population — and raising fresh concerns for ranchers in an area where many cattle have already been lost to wolves. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/19/25

Parents of high school tennis star Braun Levi sue alleged drunk driver -- The woman who allegedly struck Braun Levi had a blood alcohol level of nearly twice the legal limit and was driving on a suspended license, according to court records. Clara Harter in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/19/25

Roblox to scan users’ faces to verify age amid persistent child safety concerns -- Roblox, a popular gaming platform that’s faced growing scrutiny over child safety concerns, said Tuesday it will require users to verify their age if they want to chat with other players. Queenie Wong in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/19/25

POTUS 47

Despite congressional action, quick release of Epstein files is in doubt -- The Justice Department has remained silent about its plans, and the new disclosure legislation contains major loopholes. Perry Stein, Jeremy Roebuck and Theodoric Meyer in the Washington Post$ -- 11/19/25

‘Utterly foolish’: Redistricting roadblocks leave Republicans wary of White House push -- President Donald Trump’s bad week got a lot worse on Tuesday when judges blocked his Texas gerrymander, leaving Republicans wondering whether the nationwide remapping effort was worth the political capital. Andrew Howard Politico -- 11/19/25

‘Played with fire, got burned’: GOP control of House at risk after court blocks Texas map -- Federal judges blocked Texas from using its newly redrawn congressional map for 2026, ruling the GOP-led redistricting showed “substantial evidence” of racial gerrymandering. The decision is a major blow to Trump and Republicans seeking five additional House seats; state pledges to appeal. Michael Wilner in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/19/25

Barabak: Justice has no expiration date. That’s why 2020 election fraud still matters -- In the days and weeks after the 2020 election, partisans across the country used lies and deceit to try to defraud the American people and steal the White House. Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/19/25

Trump administration accelerates its plan to shut down the Education Department -- Department of Labor assumes control of $18-billion Title I program for low-income schools, along with teacher training and college prep grants. Critics warn the overhaul could disrupt services for vulnerable students; officials argue it will boost efficiency and maintain current funding levels. Howard Blume and Collin Binkley in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/19/25

Trump Says Saudi Leader Knew Nothing of Journalist Murder, Rejecting CIA Assessment -- President Trump said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “knew nothing about” the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, though the CIA at the time assessed that the royal orchestrated the killing. Alexander Ward, Michael R. Gordon and Brian Schwartz in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/19/25

Sheinbaum cites Mexican-American War as she rejects Trump’s cartel strike threats -- It may be “OK” with President Trump, but Mexico rejects any U.S. strikes against cartels in its territory. That was the message reiterated Tuesday by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who has repeatedly said that her nation would not accept U.S. attacks or troops on Mexican soil. Patrick J. McDonnell in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/19/25

Comey’s Lawyers Head to Court to Argue Vindictive Prosecution by Trump -- James B. Comey’s lawyers are expected to argue that the Justice Department effectively allowed itself to be taken captive by the president’s desire for political revenge. Alan Feuer in the New York Times$ -- 11/19/25