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California Policy and Politics Wednesday
Bay Area gas approaches $5 a gallon after Iran strikes. Why economists aren’t panicking -- “The interesting story since the war began is how little oil markets have reacted,” said UC Berkeley professor Severin Borenstein, director of the Energy Institute at Haas School of Business. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/4/26
Sen. Padilla preps for Trump trying to seize control of elections via emergency order -- Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) is preparing for President Trump to declare a national emergency in order to seize control of this year’s midterm elections from the states, including by bracing his Senate colleagues for a vote in which they would be forced to either co-sign on the power grab or resist it. Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/26
Kamala Harris advocates lowering the voting age to 16 at Oakland event -- Harris said she is worried about voters’ rights and access to the ballot. She fears the Supreme Court will soon gut the Voting Rights Act and its protections against racial discrimination, and that a Trump-backed bill in Congress to sharply curtail access to voting will disenfranchise millions. Sara DiNatale in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/4/26
Newsom names Schwarzenegger to California Hall of Fame -- In the end, Gavin Newsom named Arnold Schwarzenegger to the California Hall of Fame — though it took longer than the Arnold-verse expected. Newsom announced Schwarzenegger’s induction, along with eight others who “represent the best of the California spirit,” on Tuesday, about six months after Schwarzenegger’s name was conspicuously absent from an early list of inductees the governor previewed at a reception. Brock Hrehor and Jeremy B. White Politico Don Sweeney in the Sacramento Bee$ Andrew J. Campa in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/26
Defying party pressure, low-polling Democrats refuse to exit CA governor’s race -- Low-polling Democratic candidates for governor on Tuesday swiftly rejected a top party official’s call for them to quit the race ahead of Friday’s filing deadline, even as Gov. Gavin Newsom said he was sympathetic to the idea that some should step aside. Ben Paviour in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/4/26
To attend prom or a football game, California students first had to surrender their data -- The state’s privacy protection agency is fining PlayOn $1.1 million for violating state law. The company, which operates the ticketing service GoFan, required students and parents to share their data to access tickets for high school events. Adam Echelman Calmatters -- 3/4/26
Workplace
County pauses major layoffs at cash-strapped Alameda Health System -- Alameda Health System, the county’s safety net health care system that runs Highland Hospital in Oakland, will defer major layoffs that had been slated to take effect March 9, after county officials voted Tuesday to delay the cuts and form a working group to consider alternative solutions. Catherine Ho in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/4/26
Marketplace
Open-air ‘mall parks’ are on the rise in SoCal — and exhausted parents are loving it -- Shopping centers across Southern California are adding green spaces, some with play structures, to adapt to changing retail landscapes and attract families. Rachel Kraus in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/26
Water
How a California desalination plant could ease water shortages on the Colorado River -- With desert cities like Phoenix and Tucson bracing for their allotments of Colorado River water to be slashed dramatically, San Diego County’s water agency could for the first time sell some of its water to other states by drawing on its ample supplies from the nation’s largest desalination plant. Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/26
Street
More than a ton of methamphetamine uncovered in Northern California drug busts --“Operation Trash Panda” was executed last Friday by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office’s Intelligence Narcotics Team and the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office’s Narcotics Enforcement Unit. More than 100 law enforcement agents conducted high-risk search warrants across three locations. Andrea Flores in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/26
LAPD’s relationship with Flock Safety under scrutiny from oversight body -- The Los Angeles Police Commission on Tuesday said it wants to know more about how data captured by the controversial license plate reader company Flock Safety is stored and shared. Libor Jany in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/26
POTUS
Trump is running out of time to sell his rationale for Iran war -- The Trump administration hasn’t figured out how to sell Iran — and it’s running out of time. Four days into the war, senior administration officials are only able to say what this conflict is not: It is not Iraq. It is not a forever war. It is not a war of choice. Myah Ward, Felicia Schwartz, Alex Gangitano and Connor O'Brien Politico -- 3/4/26
Israel Is Blowing Up Iran’s Police State to Clear the Way for a Revolt -- Airstrikes have targeted organizations responsible for suppressing protests and cracking down on separatists; analysts are skeptical the strategy will work. Benoit Faucon, Margherita Stancati and Dov Lieber in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/4/26
State Dept. scrambles to aid stranded Americans amid attacks, airport closures -- The Trump administration said it is looking to use a mix of military and chartered flights to help U.S. citizens leave the Middle East as Iran steps up retaliatory strikes. Adam Taylor, Dan Lamothe and Sammy Westfall Politico -- 3/4/26
Lawmakers anticipate Trump will seek emergency funding for ‘open-ended’ Iran war -- Top Trump administration officials briefed Congress on the U.S. military onslaught Tuesday but did not say whether they will ask for supplemental defense funding. Jennifer Scholtes and Katherine Tully-McManus Politico -- 3/4/26
Justice Dept. reverses course and seeks to defend orders targeting law firms -- The administration had moved to drop its defense of President Donald Trump’s executive orders sanctioning law firms. A day later, it abruptly backpedaled. Mark Berman in the Washington Post$ -- 3/4/26
Inspector General Says Kristi Noem’s DHS Has ‘Systematically Obstructed’ Its Work -- The inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security said the agency’s leaders had “systematically obstructed” its work, including in a federal criminal investigation, according to a copy of a letter viewed by The Wall Street Journal. Tarini Parti and Josh Dawsey in the Wall Street Journal$ Eric Bazail-Eimil Politico -- 3/4/26
California Policy and Politics Tuesday
GOP targets California for ballot fight on voter ID -- Republican backers say they’ve collected more than 1.3 million signatures, and polls suggest the constitutional amendment could be competitive even in this heavily Democratic state. Lindsey Holden Politico -- 3/3/26
Fearing GOP win, California’s Democratic leader urges unviable party candidates for governor to drop out -- Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks urged struggling gubernatorial candidates to withdraw before Friday’s filing deadline to prevent vote-splitting in the June primary. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/3/26
Vulnerable Republicans in California’s redrawn congressional districts back war in Iran -- At least five GOP representatives from California publicly supported the strikes. The split reflects growing tensions over war powers, constitutional authority and political vulnerability in California’s newly drawn battleground districts. Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/3/26
FBI scrutiny of Carvalho, LAUSD began with tip from N.Y. prosecutors examining fraud at AI firm -- The investigation that led to last week’s FBI raid at the home and office of schools Supt. Alberto Carvalho stemmed from a referral more than a year ago from New York prosecutors working a criminal fraud case involving a technology company with a Los Angeles Unified School District contract that went bust, according to sources familiar with the inquiry. Richard Winton and Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/3/26
Newsom blames Trump for higher gas prices, ‘war that no one wants’ -- Gavin Newsom sharpened his criticism on Monday of Donald Trump’s decision to strike Iran, arguing the president is pursuing a costly and open-ended war with little regard for American casualties or rising energy prices. Jeremy B. White Politico Laurence Darmiento in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/3/26
Newsom says S.F. is among the worst counties for implementing CARE Court -- Gov. Gavin Newsom named San Francisco County’s CARE Court program as one of the lowest-performing in California on Monday, as part of a new effort to bolster his signature mental health care program. Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/3/26
These public documents are hidden from view. Two California lawmakers want to change that -- Two California lawmakers are trying to open up legislative documents that are technically public records, but difficult for even the most seasoned Capitol insiders to access. The documents are letters registered lobbyists and advocacy groups send the Legislature to support or oppose bills. CalMatters has been seeking greater access to them for more than a year. Ryan Sabalow Calmatters -- 3/3/26
Tech entrepreneur challenges Ro Khanna as billionaire tax fight heats up -- The brewing political battle over a proposed billionaire tax in California has opened a front in a Bay Area House race, where Rep. Ro Khanna has drawn an intraparty challenger hoping to ride Silicon Valley’s anger with the progressive Santa Clara Democrat. Alexei Koseff in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/3/26
Rep. Kevin Kiley has chosen where to run. It will be a race filled with Democrats -- In a statement on Monday morning, Kiley said he will be running in the 6th Congressional District which spans parts of West Sacramento, Natomas, East Sacramento and Citrus Heights, Roseville and Rocklin. Mathew Miranda in the Sacramento Bee$ Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/3/26
Walters: Los Angeles and Bay Area voters will decide whether to hike already high sales taxes -- Meanwhile, officials in the state’s largest urban centers, Los Angeles County and the San Francisco Bay Area, will test voters’ appetite for raising sales tax rates — already among the nation’s highest, — to levels never before seen in California. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 3/3/26
Workplace
Mayor Lurie tells S.F. departments to plan for 500 job cuts as labor battles intensify -- Mayor Daniel Lurie was already in a tough spot with San Francisco labor unions Monday when his administration delivered a sobering message: City Hall needs to eliminate hundreds of jobs. J.D. Morris in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/3/26
Wildfire
Investors keep buying up burned lots in Altadena, Pacific Palisades. Could Congress limit such sales? -- California Sen. Adam Schiff plans to introduce legislation to limit large corporations, such as private equity firms, from buying up properties after natural disasters. Some survivors of the L.A. County firestorms say the proposed bill doesn’t go far enough to protect their charred neighborhoods. Grace Toohey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/3/26
Education
California must let schools forcibly out transgender students, U.S. Supreme Court rules -- California must allow teachers in its public schools to notify parents that their child identifies as transgender, the Supreme Court ruled Monday, rejecting a state policy that a lower court had upheld. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Lindsay Whitehurst Associated Press -- 3/3/26
Guns
Supreme Court questions denying gun rights to marijuana users in test of the 2nd Amendment -- The Trump administration on Monday urged the Supreme Court to limit the reach of the 2nd Amendment and deny gun rights to “habitual” users of drugs, including marijuana. But most of the justices sounded skeptical. They questioned whether marijuana users are so dangerous they should not have firearms. David G. Savage in the Los Angeles Times$ Josh Gerstein Politico -- 3/3/26
Housing
California’s fire safety regulators are finally out with a ‘single stair’ report. They don’t love the idea -- Two months past a statutory deadline, California’s top fire safety regulator published a report Monday on whether and how the state should legalize mid-rise apartment buildings with a lone staircase. Ben Christopher Calmatters -- 3/3/26
Oil
Refinery in Benicia flaring as it prepares to close -- The Valero oil refinery in Benicia, set to close in April, has been flaring due to the planned shutdown of equipment, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District said Monday, potentially sending harmful chemicals into the atmosphere. Aldo Toledo in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/3/26
Street
‘Closest thing to war’: Videos show San Jose officer survive headshot before carjacker’s killing -- San Jose law enforcement officials released videos Monday showing a chaotic, deadly police shooting in January in which an officer survived being struck in the head by a bullet. Aldo Toledo in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/3
Mead Ranch
Scenic ranch south of San Jose owned by Bechtel family sells for $24 million in latest major conservation deal -- The Peninsula Open Space Trust, based in Palo Alto, to preserve Mead Ranch as open space. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/3/26
Also
‘Huge moment’: Northern California’s first condor egg in 100 years reported in redwood tree -- Scientists with the Yurok Tribe say that two of 26 condors released to the wild in Humboldt County since 2022 have recently paired up, established a nest high in a redwood tree and appear to be tending to an egg. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/3/26
How two Big Bear eagles became social media’s hottest love story -- When Big Bear’s celebrity bald eagle couple’s eggs were eaten by ravens in late January, they didn’t grieve alone. Lila Seidman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/3/26
POTUS 47
Dow Sinks More Than 1,000 Points; Oil Jumps -- Stocks sold off, with the Dow industrials dropping more than 1,000 points. The index is on track for its biggest one-day decline since April last year, when markets were convulsing after President Trump imposed broad tariffs on U.S. imports. Rebecca Feng in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/3/26
Iran’s Strategy: Expand the War, Increase the Cost, Outlast Trump -- The Islamic Republic is aiming to draw out the conflict and broaden the fighting. That would force President Trump to risk more casualties and more political capital. Steven Erlanger in the New York Times$ -- 3/3/26
Trump’s Case for War With Iran Faces Growing Scrutiny -- The Trump administration, in pressing its case for war with Iran, has made a number of accusations about the regime’s threats to its neighbors, U.S. troops, and even the American homeland itself. However, U.S. officials and lawmakers with access to classified information, along with experts who have spent their careers poring over public data and government reports, say the administration’s assertions are incomplete, unsubstantiated, or flat-out wrong. Dustin Volz, Alexander Ward and Lara Seligman in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/3/26
How Trump assassination attempts played into his decision to attack Iran -- President Donald Trump for the first time acknowledged a personal dimension to his decision to attack Iran, citing the country’s efforts to assassinate him in 2024 as a factor in ordering the joint U.S.-Israeli operation that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “I got him before he got me,” Trump said in an interview on Sunday night with ABC News. “I got him first.” Isaac Arnsdorf in the Washington Post$ -- 3/3/26
How Trump Decided to Go to War -- President Trump’s embrace of military action in Iran was spurred by an Israeli leader determined to end diplomatic negotiations. Few of the president’s advisers voiced opposition. Mark Mazzetti, Julian E. Barnes, Tyler Pager, Edward Wong, Eric Schmitt and Ronen Bergman in the New York Times$ -- 3/3/26
In Plunging Into a Mideast Conflict, Trump Gambles His Presidency -- The risks for President Trump from the assault on Iran are escalating as casualties mount, oil prices rise and the war expands across the region. Tyler Pager in the New York Times$ -- 3/3/26
White House faces thousands of lawsuits as it tries to slow-walk tariff refunds -- The Trump administration is attempting to delay the process for repaying importers for duties the Supreme Court struck down last month. Ari Hawkins Politico -- 3/3/26
Trump Administration Drops Defense of Law Firm Sanctions -- The Trump administration on Monday abandoned its defense of the president’s executive orders sanctioning several law firms, punctuating a year of turmoil that rocked the legal industry and forced its leaders to choose between taking on the White House or capitulating. Erin Mulvaney and C. Ryan Barber in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/3/26
DHS’s use of secretive legal weapon draws congressional scrutiny -- Congressional Democrats launched an inquiry Monday into how tech giants handle demands from the Department of Homeland Security for personal information on Americans who criticize the agency. John Woodrow Cox and Hannah Natanson in the Washington Post$ -- 3/3/26
Confidential database reveals which items NPS thinks may ‘disparage’ America -- An internal government database reviewed by The Washington Post demonstrates the vast scope of the Trump administration’s ongoing effort to revise or remove information on African American history, climate change and other topics at hundreds of national park sites. Karin Brulliard and Brady Dennis in the Washington Post$ -- 3/3/26