California Policy and Politics Tuesday

S.F.’s housing market is so hot buyers are offering $1 million over asking -- From January through June, more than 140 San Francisco homes sold for at least $1 million above their asking price, according to data from real estate brokerage Compass. That included 44 sales in the month of June alone. Christian Leonard in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/7/26

As L.A. struggles, these surprising communities are booming. What are they doing right? -- When residents and business owners began talking about creating a city in the Santa Clarita Valley nearly three decades ago, few could have imagined the demographic juggernaut the region would become. Terry Castleman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/7/26

California’s first ADU condo sale offers cheaper path to homeownership in San Jose -- San Jose is home to the first accessory dwelling unit sold as a separately owned condo in California, city officials said, setting a potential template for a more affordable path to homeownership. Ethan Varian in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/7/26

Prefab housing builders seek to show their stuff in L.A. fire recovery -- In the massive rebuilding effort after the Eaton and Palisades fires, prefab builders are racing to prove factory-made homes can deliver faster, cheaper reconstruction across fire-scarred L.A. neighborhoods. Doug Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/7/26

 

California sees historic drop in crime as homicides hit record low -- The California Department of Justice’s annual Crime in California report, which collects data from public safety agencies in each California city, found that violent crime in the state decreased by 9% between 2024 and 2025, bringing it to the lowest number since 2015. Danielle Echeverria in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/7/26

DMV could revoke thousands of California licenses due to mysterious testing ‘anomalies’ -- The letters have left many Californians scratching their heads as to what went wrong and scrambling to reschedule their tests to ensure they don’t lose the ability to drive. Clara Harter in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/7/26

 

The cost of Khanna’s Platner alliance -- Khanna, arguably more than any other national Democrat, provided political cover for the Maine Senate candidate before calling for him to drop out. Melanie Mason Politico -- 7/7/26

Jennifer Siebel Newsom sought to redefine the role of first spouse. Now, she faces her biggest test -- Siebel Newsom faces a predicament as her husband positions himself as Trump’s chief antagonist and prepares for a possible 2028 White House run. Jenny Jarvie in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/7/26

Who is Steve Hilton? Here’s how he has rebranded himself multiple times -- Steve Hilton made the British Conservative Party more liberal and has held policy positions spanning the political spectrum. He’s California Republicans’ best hope at reclaiming the governor’s seat. Jeanne Kuang Calmatters -- 7/7/26

Private prison company sells two of California’s immigrant detention centers to the feds -- Private prison company CoreCivic will continue operating two large ICE detention centers in California after selling the properties to the Department of Homeland Security. Wendy Fry and Nigel Duara Calmatters -- 7/7/26

A $10B Medi-Cal question looms over California’s race for governor -- For decades, Californians have generally said that immigrants, who make up more than a quarter of the state’s population and a third of its labor force, are beneficial to the state and its economy. Christine Mai-Duc, KFF Health News in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/7/26

The California Democrat who says he ‘won’t cheer FIFA’s capitulation to power’ -- A Congressional World Cup Caucus co-chair bemoaned what he calls a “corruption summit” between Donald Trump and soccer’s governing body. Blake Jones Politico -- 7/7/26

Workplace

AI actor Tilly Norwood to star in first movie -- The AI film portrays Norwood as an artificial intelligence being with “no real body” and no lived experience but with access to everyone else’s, according to Particle 6, the London-based company behind Norwood. Wendy Lee in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/7/26

Humans, machines or nothing: Case will decide future of California court transcripts -- A pending ruling from the California Supreme Court will determine whether electronic recordings are allowed in some civil court proceedings. Proponents argue recordings would solve a long-standing crisis that leaves many proceedings with no verbatim record. Sonja Sharp in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/7/26

Microsoft cuts another 4,800 jobs as S.F. game studio Double Fine goes independent -- Microsoft is laying off another 4,800 employees, mostly in its Xbox division, and spinning off San Francisco studio Double Fine, along with three others. Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/7/26

Water

Lake Powell, a vital reservoir, plunges toward unprecedented low levels as water crisis deepens in US west -- Lake Powell, US’s second-largest reservoir, threatens to plunge to unprecedentedly low levels this year after a historically bleak snowpack failed to raise its water level, scientists and water experts have said, adding renewed urgency to stalled talks over how to conserve a water source depended on by tens of millions of people in the US south-west. Roque Planas in The Guardian -- 7/7/26

Education

Federal cuts hit UC Davis hard, causing ‘unstable environment’ for research and programs -- The university lost about 10% of its overall grant funding over the past year, a steeper decline than all but one of the other UC campuses. The funding cuts make some programs less stable and limit the university’s pipeline of top-tier scientists. Phillip Reese KVIE Abridged -- 07/07/26

Street

One-third of people going into Sacramento County’s jail system are homeless -- The newly released data from 2025 and 2026 show that there were more bookings of homeless people than there were homeless individuals each month, meaning that some were booked into jail, released, and then jailed again within the same month. Ariane Lange in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/7/26

Also

California’s ‘wind phones’ give comfort to those grieving -- The first wind phone was created by a Japanese man who lost a cousin to cancer decades ago. There are no wires, no electronic connections. The thoughts and prayers expressed on the phones are, in a sense, carried by the wind. Gina Ferazzi in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/7/26

Gustavo Dudamel’s final Hollywood Bowl concert will benefit Venezuela after earthquakes -- Gustavo Dudamel’s final Hollywood Bowl appearance as L.A. Phil music director will double as “A Concert for Venezuela,” raising funds for communities devastated by June’s twin earthquakes. Dudamel and the orchestra’s musicians will donate their services, while the L.A. Phil pledges $50,000 to an earthquake recovery fund. Eloise Rollins-Fife in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/7/26

Walters: Tech devices in California’s new cars create thorny political issues -- Automobiles have gradually evolved over the last two decades from mechanical devices into electronic platforms featuring computer screens and numerous other digital capabilities. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 7/7/26

POTUS 47

‘Overturn This.’ Boiling Belgium Taunts Trump and Sends U.S. Soccer Packing -- A lively march to the World Cup’s round of 16 reaches a familiar end versus an extra-motivated contender. Where does U.S. men’s soccer go from here? Jason Gay in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 7/7/26

A Presidential Phone Call, a Lifted Red Card, and an Embattled World Cup -- There was nothing unusual about a call from President Trump or the reversal of Folarin Balogun’s suspension, said the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino. Tariq Panja in the New York Times$ -- 7/7/26

Walmart Announced Price Cuts. Trump Tried to Take Credit -- Walmart announced Monday it was cutting prices of beef and other products, which President Trump tried to take credit for shortly after the company announced the cuts. Walmart did not mention him or his administration in its press release. Kim Bhasin in the New York Times$ -- 7/7/26

Inside Trump’s Ideological Fight With the Smithsonian -- Publicly and behind the scenes, the president continues to try to impose his own views of American history and culture, presenting an ongoing challenge to Lonnie Bunch, the institution’s leader. Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan in the New York Times$ -- 7/7/26

A year in, here’s how Trump’s tax law is affecting your budget -- Americans got bigger tax refunds following passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, but deficits rose, and the social safety net weakened. Riley Beggin and Rachel Lerman in the Washington Post$ -- 7/7/26

Half of Americans struggle to afford groceries and gas, exclusive poll finds -- Despite stable employment and record-high stock markets, more Americans believe the overall economy is getting worse (57%) than in February (46%), when the poll was last conducted and before the war in the Middle East sent gas prices soaring. Gaya Gupta in The Guardian -- 7/7/26

Trump Promised a Foreign Investment Boom. It’s Getting Harder to Deliver -- The threat of tariffs may have helped push more capital into the United States, but other factors are pushing it away. Lydia DePillis and Ana Swanson in the New York Times$ -- 7/7/26