California Policy and Politics Tuesday

‘An American nightmare’: L.A. hosts first congressional hearing on effect of immigration raids -- There was the U.S. citizen who said she no longer feels safe after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer slammed her to the ground in downtown Los Angeles and later accused her of assault — a case prosecutors dismissed soon after. Brittny Mejia in the Los Angeles Times$ Jesus Jiménez in the New York Times$ -- 11/25/25

How fear of Trump’s immigration blitz is changing life in California farm towns -- Tax receipts are down almost 30% in one California farm town, where immigrants are afraid to go out and some longtime workers are weighing self-deportation. Nigel Duara Calmatters -- 11/25/25

‘A calculated dismantling:’ Five more S.F. immigration judges fired by Trump administration -- Five more San Francisco immigration court judges were fired late last week by the Trump administration, the latest escalation in the federal government’s axing of judges in immigration courts nationwide. Ko Lyn Cheang in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/25/25

Judge blocks DHS from tying Bay Area disaster aid to DEI and immigration -- A federal judge says local governments in the Bay Area and elsewhere can use hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds to prepare for fires, floods and other natural disasters without the restrictions on DEI initiatives demanded by the Trump administration. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/25/25

‘A real threat to San Francisco’: Trump cuts will add to budget woes, city report says -- The “One Big Beautiful Bill,” a sweeping change to domestic tax and funding policy passed by Republicans earlier this year, slashed funding for federal benefits including Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, or SNAP, and Medicaid and made it harder for people to qualify for the programs. Alyce McFadden in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/25/25

Wildfire

Cal Fire approach to SoCal’s wildfire crisis could make things worse, court says -- In a case that calls into question plant clearing techniques that have become fundamental to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, the San Diego Superior Court has ordered the agency to amend a program to reduce wildfire risk across the state because it could make things worse. Noah Haggerty in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/25

Can you survive a wildfire sheltering at home? For one community, L.A. County Fire says it may be the only option -- L.A. County Fire plans to order Topanga residents to shelter-in-place if evacuating from fire isn’t possible. It’s raised concern from experts and residents, but the department says it has no other options. Noah Haggerty, Genaro Molina in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/25

Rent

Giant landlord settles with California for colluding on rents in L.A. and elsewhere -- Greystar, which manages dozens of apartment complexes in Southern California, has settled a lawsuit that alleges the property giant and other landlords colluded to keep rents artificially high. Roger Vincent in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/25

Workplace

Silicon Valley commercial leasing surges and new development rises -- Commercial leasing activity jumped in Silicon Valley during the third quarter of 2025 and development activity rose at a modest pace as owners of commercial properties scout for an elusive market rebound, a new report shows. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/25/25

Flu

California braces for early, sharper flu season as virus mutation outpaces vaccine, experts say -- Already, there are warning signs. Los Angeles County recently reported its first flu death of the season, and other nations are reporting record-breaking or powerful, earlier-than-expected flu seasons. Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/25

Water

Drought killer: California storms fill reservoirs, build up Sierra snowpack -- A string of early-season storms that drenched Californians last week lifted much of the state out of drought and significantly reduced the risk of wildfires, experts say. Alex Wigglesworth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/25

Education

New antisemitism probe of Berkeley Unified announced by congressional committee -- Pressure over antisemitism allegations against the Berkeley school system intensified Monday with the launch of what members of Congress called a “nationwide investigation of antisemitism in K-12 schools.” Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/25

California is about to cut power company profits to historic lows. Your bill will barely drop -- California utilities regulators are bringing down “return on equity” payments to power company shareholders. It’s the lowest profit margin in 20 years for PG&E and Southern California Edison, but will be hard to notice in your payments. Malena Carollo Calmatters -- 11/25/25

The state found red flags in nursing homes but licensed them anyway. 4 things to know -- CalMatters recently reported on a cluster of lawsuits against nursing homes owned by Los Angeles entrepreneur Shlomo Rechnitz. Here are takeaways from our special report. Jocelyn Wiener Calmatters -- 11/25/25

Eva Longoria says Hollywood’s Latino representation is headed in the ‘wrong direction’ -- Diversity has taken a back seat in Hollywood, and Eva Longoria is taking notice. In a recent interview with British publication the Times, the 50-year-old actor-director-producer spoke out about the lack of Latino representation on screen. Cerys Davies in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/25

A.I.

Prosecutor Used Flawed A.I. to Keep a (California) Man in Jail, His Lawyers Say -- When Kyle Kjoller, a 57-year-old welder, was ordered held without bail in Nevada County, Calif., in April, he protested. The charges against him — multiple counts of illegal gun possession — were not grave enough under California law to warrant keeping him in jail for months awaiting his trial, he argued. Shaila Dewan in the New York Times$ -- 11/25/25

Street

Dead girl was found in D4vd’s Tesla. Now, LAPD describes probe as ‘investigation into murder’ -- For the first time since Los Angeles police began investigating the gruesome discovery of a dead girl’s body in the trunk of singer D4vd’s Tesla, a detective has characterized the probe as an “investigation into murder,” according to court documents. Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/25

A ride-hail driver crashed on a SoCal freeway. D.A. says they were set up by their passengers -- A ride-hail driver’s suspicion that his freeway crash was intentional led authorities to uncover an alleged insurance fraud scheme in San Bernardino. Prosecutors say passengers staged the collision with a separate vehicle to file an insurance claim and collect money from the ride-hail driver’s insurer. Summer Lin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/25

Inglewood Police Department ‘systematically’ violated state public records law, judge rules -- The ACLU alleged that the department had not produced a single document in response to public records requests made nearly three years before. Christopher Buchanan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/25

Alleged strip-search at S.F. jail: Activists, elected leaders demand accountability -- San Francisco activists and elected leaders demanded accountability Monday in response to allegations that jail deputies strip-searched and recorded female inmates in a group setting. David Hernandez in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/25/25

Also

Arellano: The ex-landscaper behind the deportation diary L.A. never wanted -- At 8 o’clock on a stormy weeknight in the chilly Chinatown offices of L.A. Taco, Memo Torres finally was worn out. Gustavo Arellano in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/25

Tahoe’s largest ski resort now has no set opening date -- Palisades Tahoe, between Truckee and Tahoe City, had initially planned to open Wednesday, Nov. 26, but on Sunday afternoon the resort said it is postponing “due to limited natural snowfall and short, inconsistent windows for snowmaking,” according to the resort’s blog. Gregory Thomas in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/25/25

Why an unproven air taxi company is spending $126 million to take over an L.A. airport -- Hollywood movies have featured flying taxis for decades, but it wasn’t until this month that a Silicon Valley company invested in a real-world hub for futuristic flying machines in Los Angeles. Caroline Petrow-Cohen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/25

‘Dodgers Rule’: Graffiti artist Chaka and others draw inspiration — and murals — from World Series champs -- Legendary graffiti artist Daniel “Chaka” Ramos once claimed he had tagged more than 40,000 locations around Los Angeles. Chuck Schilken in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/25

Santa Monica orders Waymo to stop noisy overnight operations at charging stations. Neighbors rejoice -- Several local residents have complained about round-the-clock beeping and humming emitted by the self-driving cars as they make their way to two charging stations near the intersection of Euclid Street and Broadway. Salvador Hernandez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/25

POTUS 47

Trump was going to roll out a health care plan. Then Republicans weighed in -- Lawmakers just have a few weeks left to reach a deal to avoid a massive premium spike for ACA enrollees. Jordain Carney, Cheyenne Haslett, Benjamin Guggenheim and Alice Miranda Ollstein Politico -- 11/25/25

Speaker Johnson Warns White House GOP Is Wary of Trump’s Healthcare Push -- Top House Republican says most House Republicans don’t have appetite for extending expiring ACA subsidies. Olivia Beavers and Natalie Andrews in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/25/25

Why Mike Johnson is losing control of the House -- Thanks to a coalition of Democrats and disgruntled Republicans, more discharge petitions have succeeded in the past two years than the prior three decades combined. Jennifer Scholtes, Nicholas Wu and Meredith Lee Hill Politico -- 11/25/25

Robots and AI Are Already Remaking the Chinese Economy -- Sam Altman wants artificial intelligence to cure cancer. Elon Musk says AI robots will eliminate poverty. China is focused on something more prosaic: making better washing machines. Brian Spegele in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/25/25

Trump administration plans to review refugees admitted under Biden, memo obtained by The AP says -- The review is likely to sow confusion and fear among the nearly 200,000 refugees who came to the United States during that period. It is likely to face legal challenges from advocates, some of whom said the move was part of the administration's “cold-hearted treatment” of people trying to build new lives in the U.S. Rebecca Santana, Elliot Spagat Associated Press -- 11/25/25

$10 Billion and Counting: Trump Administration Snaps Up Stakes in Private Firms -- The Trump administration is trading billions of dollars of taxpayer money for ownership stakes in companies. The unusual practice shows no sign of slowing. Ana Swanson in the New York Times$ -- 11/25/25