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California Policy and Politics Wednesday
Warner Bros. rejects Paramount’s hostile bid, accuses Ellison family of failing to put money into the deal -- Warner Bros. Discovery has sharply rejected Paramount’s hostile offer, alleging the $108-billion deal carries substantial risks because the Larry Ellison family has failed to put real money behind its bid for Warner’s legendary movie studio, HBO and CNN. Meg James in the Los Angeles Times$ Lauren Thomas and Joe Flint in the Wall Street Journal$ Lauren Hirsch and Brooks Barnes in the New York Times$ -- 12/17/25
‘Both sides botched it.’ Bass, in unguarded moment, rips responses to Palisades, Eaton fires -- Speaking to “The Fifth Column” podcast, Mayor Karen Bass gave a blunt assessment of the emergency response to the Palisades and Eaton fires, saying: “Both sides botched it.” The comment came in the final minutes of the taping, at a moment when Bass thought the podcast was over. David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/17/25
For L.A.’s mayor, a Palisades recovery marked by missteps, reversals and delays -- Since the Palisades fire, Mayor Karen Bass has announced recovery strategies with fanfare, only for them to be delayed or abandoned altogether. Critics say the mayor’s missteps have undermined public confidence in the rebuilding process. David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/17/25
Daniel Lurie’s first year as S.F. mayor is almost over. Here are his biggest triumphs and stumbles -- Mayor Daniel Lurie was at the pinnacle of his first year in office when he announced in late October that San Francisco would not let local residents who rely on food stamps go hungry during the federal government shutdown. J.D. Morris in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/17/25
Protesters arrested after chaining themselves to S.F. ICE building to protest Trump policies -- More than three dozen Bay Area faith leaders were arrested by federal agents Tuesday after chaining themselves to U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement headquarters in San Francisco in an act of peaceful protest against the Trump administration's immigration policies. Anna Bauman in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/17/25
California sues Trump for blocking EV charging funds -- Attorney General Rob Bonta said the U.S. Department of Transportation did not have the authority to suspend $180 million to fund EV charging programs in California, which Congress and former President Biden had approved in 2021 as part of the landmark Bipartisan Infrastructure Act. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 12/17/25
Republicans ask federal court to overturn California’s new Prop. 50 maps -- Republicans and the Trump administration are hoping a panel of federal judges in Los Angeles will halt the new Prop. 50 maps from taking effect. But given the Supreme Court’s recent ruling greenlighting Texas’s redrawn maps, their odds are long. Maya C. Miller and Mikhail Zinshteyn Calmatters -- 12/17/25
Newsom trolls Trump with website tracking president’s ‘criminal cronies’ -- Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a new state-run website Tuesday that tracks what his office calls the “criminal cronies” around President Trump — just the latest trolling tactic by the California governor that directly mirrors Trump’s own use of public resources for political score settling. Melody Gutierrez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/17/25
Construction on Sacramento’s Capitol Annex is halfway done, new report says -- Four years after lawmakers vacated the old building, the new Capitol Annex is halfway complete. That’s one takeaway from a new report from the California Legislature’s Joint Committee on Rules – the first formal update since 2021. Kate Wolffe in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/17/25
Gov. Gavin Newsom announces council to promote ‘responsible’ AI -- Gov. Gavin Newsom is tapping a host of academics, researchers and policy experts to lead a new council offering advice on the state government’s artificial intelligence policies and to guide how state agencies use the technology. Lia Russell in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/17/25
Rob Reiner’s son Nick charged with murder in parents’ deaths -- Prosecutors filed two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances against Nick Reiner on Tuesday afternoon. Reiner, 32, also faces a special allegation that he used a deadly weapon, a knife, in the crime, L.A. County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said during a news conference. James Queally, Richard Winton, Hannah Fry and Gavin J. Quinton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/17/25
Rob Reiner’s final weekend: Conan O’Brien’s party, the Obamas, unthinkable violence, a frantic manhunt -- It was supposed to be a weekend of celebration for Rob and Michele Reiner. They attended Conan O’Brien’s Christmas party Saturday and planned to meet Barack and Michelle Obama on Sunday night. But that gathering with the 44th president and former first lady never happened. Richard Winton and Clara Harter in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/17/25
Barabak: In disparaging Reiner, Trump shows the shriveled heart of an us-versus-them presidency -- Trump’s response, fairly shimmying on Reiner’s grave as he wrongly attributed his death to an act of political vengeance, managed to plumb new depths of heartlessness and cruelty; more than a decade into his acrid emergence as a political force, the president still manages to stoop to surprise. Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/17/25
Marketplace
California threatens to ban Tesla sales for 30 days -- Tesla has 90 days to fix claims in its advertising of self-driving and autopilot features that the state says are misleading, officials at the California Department of Motor Vehicles announced Tuesday. If the company does not remedy the situation, it stands to lose its license to sell vehicles in the state for 30 days. Rachel Swan in the Los Angeles Times$ Joseph De Avila and Becky Peterson in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 12/17/25
Workplace
At a Silicon Valley summit, robots fold laundry—and investors open their wallets -- As of early December, VC deals in U.S. humanoid robotics companies totaled nearly $2.8 billion in 2025, up from $42.6 million in 2020, according to PitchBook data. Investments in California humanoid robotics companies — roughly $1.6 billion — accounted for the majority of that funding. Queenie Wong in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/17/25
Global biotech company to shut Silicon Valley office, cut 121 jobs -- A major biotechnology company is exiting Silicon Valley. French diagnostics giant bioMérieux plans to permanently close its San Jose office and lay off 121 employees, according to a state filing, ending the company’s Bay Area operations. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/17/25
Plant closure will lead to hundreds of layoffs in Riverside -- The meat processing company JBS is closing a packing facility in Riverside and will lay off 374 employees, according to a notice from the California Employment Development Department. The closure comes as a limited cattle supply has led to record-high beef prices this year. Caroline Petrow-Cohen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/17/25
Spooked by AI and Layoffs, White-Collar Workers See Their Security Slip Away -- Just a few years ago, these workers were getting promotions and raises left and right. Now they are hanging onto their jobs for dear life, spooked by high-profile layoff announcements, the rise of artificial intelligence and an unforgiving job market for the unemployed. Rachel Louise Ensign in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 12/17/25
Wildfire
After the L.A. fires, heart attacks and strange blood test results spiked -- Emergency room visits for heart attacks at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center jumped 46% in the 90 days after the fire, and unusual blood test results more than doubled. Corinne Purtill Calmatters Betsy McKay in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 12/17/25
Eaton fire survivors ask Edison for emergency housing relief -- A coalition of Eaton fire survivors and community groups called on Southern California Edison on Tuesday to provide immediate housing assistance to the thousands of people who lost their homes in the Jan. 7 wildfire. Melody Petersen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/17/25
Homeless
LA County pushes back against Trump’s homeless housing funding cuts, asks Congress for help -- A shift in the way the federal government funds housing for the homeless could put about 10,000 people already housed in Los Angeles County back onto the street, according to county officials. Steve Scauzillo in the LA Daily News -- 12/17/25
Housing
It costs $1M to build an S.F. affordable housing unit. How developers say they can do it for $350K -- In a region where building a single affordable apartment can cost as much as buying a San Francisco luxury condo, developer Danny Haber insists he can do it for a fraction of the $1 million price tag. Laura Waxmann, J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/17/25
Street
Oakland renews $2 million Flock license plate camera deal amid ICE data concerns -- Oakland will renew a contract to keep hundreds of automated license plate-reading cameras on city streets, despite concerns from privacy advocates that footage collected by the system has been shared with federal immigration enforcement agencies. Kate Talerico in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/17/25
Also
New Bay Area toll lanes open on busy highway. Here’s how much drivers have to pay -- Eighteen miles of toll lanes opened Tuesday on a stretch of Interstate 80 through Solano County that’s frequently traveled by day-trippers en route to Tahoe, families seeking to play miniature golf at Scandia or shoppers patronizing outlet stores. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/17/25
Arellano: With his un-Christian Rob Reiner insults, Trump proves he’s the real ‘Meathead -- Let the annals of this country show it was the murder of a Jewish couple on the first night of Hanukkah that showed how profoundly un-Christian Donald J. Trump is once and for all. The prosecution rests, and there can no rebuttal: We are a nation led by President Meathead. Gustavo Arellano in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/17/25
POTUS 47
Trump Dangles Cash Payments to Buoy Voters’ Views of the Economy -- With tariffs unpopular and prices still high, the White House has teased the promise of tariff rebates and large tax refunds next year. Tony Romm and Andrew Duehren in the New York Times$ -- 12/17/25
4 Republicans Buck Party to Force House Vote on Obamacare Subsidies -- Rebelling against Speaker Mike Johnson, four moderate House Republicans gave a Democratic discharge petition the support it needed to advance and force a vote on a three-year extension on expiring health care subsidies. Michael Gold in the New York Times$ -- 12/17/25
‘Extremely demoralizing’: Republicans respond to the bombastic Wiles interview -- White House aides and allies on Tuesday rushed to publicly defend Susie Wiles after a jaw-dropping interview in Vanity Fair had her pointedly criticizing the president and many in the Cabinet. Sophia Cai, Megan Messerly, Diana Nerozzi and Dasha Burns Politico Michael Wilner and Ana Ceballos in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/17/25
Takeaways From Susie Wiles’s Candid Interviews Describing Trump World -- During 11 interviews with Vanity Fair over President Trump’s first year back in office, Ms. Wiles, his chief of staff, opened up about the president, the people around him and their internal fights. Peter Baker in the New York Times$ -- 12/17/25
White House defends Chief of Staff Susie Wiles after tell-all -- President Trump’s chief of staff is defending herself after granting an extraordinarily candid series of interviews with Vanity Fair in which she offers stinging judgments of the president and blunt assessments about his administration’s shortcomings. Michael Wilner and Ana Ceballos in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/17/25
Marjorie Taylor Greene says ‘dam is breaking’ within GOP against Trump -- In a CNN interview, the Georgia congresswoman said Trump’s reaction to the death of Rob Reiner was “classless” and that she didn’t see the GOP winning in the midterms. Victoria Craw in the Washington Post$ -- 12/17/25
Trump orders blockade of Venezuela, targeting sanctioned oil tankers -- President Donald Trump has ordered a blockade of Venezuela, targeting sanctioned oil tankers in an escalation of his administration’s pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Aaron Pellish Politico Vera Bergengruen, Kejal Vyas and Costas Paris in the Wall Street Journal$ Edward Wong in the New York Times$ Samantha Schmidt, Karen DeYoung and Dan Lamothe in the Washington Post$ -- 12/17/25
Hegseth says he won’t release full boat strike video -- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday rejected bipartisan congressional demands that the Pentagon release footage of an airstrike that killed survivors of a first attack on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean. Connor O'Brien, Joe Gould and Leo Shane III Politico -- 12/17/25
Trump administration says it is dismantling key climate research center -- The Trump administration said it was breaking up one of the world’s preeminent earth and atmospheric research institutions Tuesday over concerns about “climate alarmism” — a move some Democratic state officials and scientists called an assault on science and education. Ruby Mellen in the Washington Post$ -- 12/17/25
California Policy and Politics Tuesday
Rob Reiner’s son Nick to face murder charges in fatal stabbings of the Hollywood legend and his wife -- Los Angeles prosecutors on Tuesday announced murder charges against Nick Reiner, days after prosecutors say he fatally stabbed his parents — Hollywood legend Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner— inside their Brentwood home. James Queally, Richard Winton and Hannah Fry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/16/25
Newsom announces new public health initiative led by ousted CDC officials -- Two officials ousted from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earlier this year, including the agency’s former director, will lead a new nationally-focused initiative from California’s public health agency, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday. Andrew Graham in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/16/25
Trump immigration raids take toll on child-care workers in California and nationwide -- Trump’s immigration crackdown has prompted about 39,000 child-care workers to leave, worsening staffing crises Many immigrant child-care workers, legally authorized to work, face crippling anxiety, which can affect their young students. Moriah Balingit and Jenny Gold in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/16/25
National Guard troops under Trump’s command leave L.A before court’s deadline -- Dozens of California National Guard troops under President Trump’s command apparently slipped out of Los Angeles under cover of darkness early Sunday morning, ahead of an appellate court’s order to be gone by noon Monday. Sonja Sharp in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/16/25
California lawmakers say they’ll keep pushing to regulate AI -- “Setting safety guardrails on products has been a core pillar of state law for decades, and it’s absurd for Trump to think he can weaponize the DOJ and Commerce to undermine those state rights,” said Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco. Kate Wolffe in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/16/25
Feds say antigovernment group plotted New Year’s Eve bombings in Southern California -- A plan to attack several Los Angeles-area businesses on New Year’s Eve was detailed, dangerous and already in motion, authorities said. Grace Toohey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/16/25
Eric Swalwell absent from Congress since entering governor’s race -- Swalwell has not cast a vote in the House of Representatives since announcing his campaign late last month to succeed Gavin Newsom as the next governor of California in 2026. Lia Russell in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/16/25
Pelosi Resisted Stock-Trading Ban as Wealth Grew, Fueling Suspicion -- The former speaker failed to appreciate the groundswell of support for banning the practice, refusing to give an inch amid G.O.P. accusations that she was corrupt. Annie Karni in the New York Times$ -- 12/16/25
Water
Trump’s plan to pump more water in California is ill-conceived and harmful, lawmakers say -- A group of seven legislators led by Rep. John Garamendi (D-Walnut Grove) said pumping more water will threaten the availability of water for many Californians, disrupt longstanding state-federal cooperation and put the Delta’s native fish at risk. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s plan “prioritizes partisan politics over California’s communities and farmers,” Garamendi said. Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/16/25
The hydrants will run dry: Trump’s LA fire claims missed the mark, study shows -- Echoing state and local officials, a new analysis agrees: hydrant failures in the Palisades fire were ‘the rule rather than the exception.’Rachel Becker Calmatters -- 12/16/25
The brawl over the Colorado River is about more than water -- Western states are brawling over the future of the Colorado River — with President Donald Trump looming in the background. Annie Snider Politico -- 12/16/25
Rob Reiner was more than a Hollywood liberal. He was a sophisticated political operator -- What qualifies as political activism in Hollywood usually starts and ends with writing a big check. Not so for Rob Reiner. Melanie Mason Politico Ryan Sabalow Calmatters -- 12/16/25
Rob Reiner Made Clear What He Believed In, Onscreen and Off -- In films like “A Few Good Men,” the director’s ideas of honor and morality were stated as plainly as could be. Alissa Wilkinson in the New York Times$ -- 12/16/25
Appreciation: Rob Reiner found a way to please everyone — by going his own way -- Over five decades, Reiner resisted typecasting and studio formulas, choosing creative risks over lucrative opportunities to direct films across multiple genres. From ‘All in the Family’ to ‘Stand by Me’ and ‘Misery,’ his filmography spanned comedy, drama, horror and romance with consistent excellence. Amy Nicholson in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/16/25
Rob Reiner’s 10 best films as a director -- And while there is certainly a streak of humor through almost all of his films, what marks Reiner’s work as a director is his astonishing versatility, able to switch styles from one project to the next with remarkable ease. Mark Olsen and Joshua Rothkopf in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/16/25
Workplace
Netflix executives seek to calm fears over multibillion-dollar Warner Bros. deal -- The co-chief executives of Netflix issued a letter Monday expressing confidence in their ability to close a proposed $72-billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery while trying to allay fears the deal will hurt the entertainment industry. Stephen Battaglio in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/16/25
This Hollywood Property Mogul Stands to Lose No Matter Who Wins Warner -- A drastic slowdown in the streaming business has delivered a major blow to Hackman Capital Partners, the largest independent owner and operator of soundstages. Peter Grant in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 12/16/25
Immigrant truck drivers have become collateral damage in the state's war with Trump -- Many asylum-seeking immigrants and DACA recipients with valid documents were among the 17,000 commercial drivers whose licenses were canceled last month by California amid pressure from the Trump administration, cutting them off from their livelihood amid the busy holiday driving season. Sara DiNatale in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/16/25
Housing
This liberal city sees San Francisco as a role model — for home building failure -- While prices for starter homes in San Francisco have surged, Portland has seemingly found the key to produce “missing middle” houses for first-time buyers. Christian Leonard in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/16/25
Homeless
S.F. doubling capacity to care for high-risk psychiatric patients to meet ‘urgent need’ -- San Francisco is doubling the capacity of its locked psychiatric ward for patients experiencing severe mental illness and addiction as the city continues to add beds to deal with the crisis on its streets. Lucy Hodgman in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/16/25
Education
More adults return to college in California as inflation and job fears rise -- Some community college districts in California say enrollment is up by more than 10%, though official numbers have yet to be released. Historically, college enrollment fluctuates depending on the strength of the economy. Adam Echelman Calmatters -- 12/16/25
State deems Sacramento City Unified at ‘high risk’ of financial insolvency -- For Sacramento City Unified School District, bad news got worse. The school district is facing a larger budget shortfall than previously projected, now amounting to as much as $125 million in the 2027-28 school year. Jennah Pendleton in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/16/25
Street
‘A matter of time’: Fatal stabbing at S.F. General came after years of sanctions and warnings -- Staff members at San Francisco General Hospital’s Ward 86 were afraid. For weeks, they had been warning the Department of Public Health, which runs the hospital, that an angry and delusional patient was targeting a doctor on their floor, the hospital’s long-term HIV outpatient clinic. St. John Barned-Smith, Annie Vainshtein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/16/25
Tijuana River sewage
U.S., Mexico sign new agreement on Tijuana River sewage crisis -- Environmental advocates say the accord relies heavily on studies rather than concrete action and ignores a critical pollution hotspot on U.S. soil. Walker Armstrong in the San Diego Union Tribune$ -- 12/16/25
Also
S.F.’s famous Bay Bridge lights to return in March, with twice the illumination -- He expects Bay Lights 360 to debut in March, but has asked the public for patience. Creating art on a well-traveled bridge is complicated, requiring occasional lane closures as workers are hoisted up the cables in baskets. But he believes this magical transformation will be well worth the wait. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/16/25
Walters: University of California’s $28 million system for pension payouts produced chaos and complaints -- The state has spent billions of dollars on high-tech projects meant to make state agencies more efficient and responsive. But those efforts have either failed completely, worked only partially or couldn’t meet implementation deadlines. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 12/16/25
Scams, Schemes, Ruthless Cons: The Untold Story of How Jeffrey Epstein Got Rich -- For years, rumors swirled about where his wealth came from. A Times investigation reveals the truth of how a college dropout clawed his way to the pinnacle of American finance and society. David Enrich, Steve Eder, Jessica Silver-Greenberg and Matthew Goldstein in the New York Times$ -- 12/16/25
POTUS
Susie Wiles, White House chief of staff, criticizes Bondi and opines on Trump in Vanity Fair -- Susie Wiles, President Donald Trump’s understated but influential chief of staff, criticized Attorney General Pam Bondi’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case and broadly defended the president’s aggressive second administration in a series of interviews published Tuesday in Vanity Fair. Darlene Superville and Bill Barrow Associated Press -- 12/16/25
Jobless rate rises, adding to Trump's economic messaging woes -- A further deterioration of the labor market would deepen the challenges Trump faces with voters who are increasingly dissatisfied with his economic stewardship. Sam Sutton and Victoria Guida Politico Chao Deng in the Wall Street Journal$ Lauren Kaori Gurley in the Washington Post$ -- 12/16/25
Venezuela’s Oil Is a Focus of Trump’s Campaign Against Maduro -- In public, the White House says it is confronting Venezuela to curb drug trafficking. Behind the scenes, gaining access to the country’s vast oil reserves is a priority. Edward Wong and Julian E. Barnes in the New York Times$ -- 12/16/25
Trump attack on Rob Reiner tests the limits, even for his MAGA base -- The president accused Reiner, who was stabbed to death along with his wife, of having “Trump derangement syndrome” Karen Tumulty and Sabrina Rodriguez in the Washington Post$ Cheyanne M. Daniels Politico Luke Broadwater in the New York Times$ Ken Thomas and John McCormick in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 12/16/25
The underrated factors limiting the power of a blue wave next year -- There’s a key factor limiting the power of a potential Democratic surge next year: the number of seats that are realistically competitive. Jessica Piper, Abhinanda Bhattacharyya and Paula Friedrich Politico -- 12/16/25