Rough & Tumble ®
A Realtime Snapshot of California Public Policy and Politics		  
 
       
 
 
 
 

California Policy and Politics Monday

Flights from LAX to Middle East canceled amid Iran conflict -- Planes scheduled to depart for Dubai, Doha and Tel Aviv were grounded, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. Matthew Ormseth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/2/26

Thousands rally in Westwood as U.S.-Iran war escalates, calling for a ‘free Iran’ -- Thousands from L.A.’s massive Persian diaspora rallied in Westwood celebrating Iran’s supreme leader’s death as U.S.-Israel military operations intensified. Matthew Ormseth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/2/26

‘We reject this’: Hundreds in S.F. march against U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran -- Less than 24 hours after the United States and Israel launched a wave of missile strikes against Iran, hundreds of protesters blocked off a downtown San Francisco street Saturday to demonstrate against escalation abroad. Lucy Hodgman in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/2/26

U.S. Central Command denies San Diego’s USS Abraham Lincoln struck by ballistic missiles -- “The Lincoln was not hit,” CENTCOM said in a statement. “The missiles launched didn’t even come close. The Lincoln continues to launch aircraft in support of CENTCOM’s relentless campaign to defend the American people by eliminating threats from the Iranian regime.” Gary Robbins in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 3/2/26

Defense Department tells San Diego military bases to remain on alert for attacks -- The advisory was issued in connection with the joint U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran which are being led, in part, by the San Diego aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. Gary Robbins in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 3/2/26

 

The Push for 875,000 People to Help Get California Billionaire Tax on the Ballot -- Inside an art deco theater on the edge of Koreatown, Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello took the stage to cheers from a packed house. He wasn’t the main act. That was Sen. Bernie Sanders, who was there to rage against California’s billionaires. Paul Kiernan in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/2/26

Californians are staying insured — but settling for health coverage they may not use -- More enrollees are opting for “bronze-level” plans. These plans have lower monthly premium costs but higher deductibles and copays; they cover 60% of medical expenses — leaving enrollees to pay the rest. Ana B. Ibarra Calmatters -- 3/2/26

Fear that herbicides are poisoning Orange County creeks blows up on social media -- Residents concerned about the possible poisoning of Orange County waterways with herbicides have been making their voices heard on Instagram and pressured the county into holding a meeting on the issue Monday night. Ian James, Sandy Huffaker in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/2/26

Thousands brace for fallout from unreported LA County criminal convictions -- Nearly 330,000 people whose convictions in Los Angeles County went unreported for decades will soon have their rap sheets updated and, potentially, their employers notified for the first time. Some could lose their jobs if the conviction would have disqualified them from the position they have, while others may have professional licenses revoked or firearms confiscated, experts say. Jason Henry in the LA Daily News -- 3/2/26

Workplace

WGA cancels Los Angeles awards show amid labor strike -- The Writers Guild of America West has canceled its awards ceremony scheduled to take place March 8 as its staff union members continue to strike, demanding higher pay and protections against artificial intelligence. Stacy Perman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/2/26

Wildfire

Who made the call to leave the Lachman fire? In sworn testimony, LAFD officials pass the buck -- LAFD Capt. Michael McIndoe testified that he told his battalion chief, Mario Garcia, that he didn’t think it was a good idea to pick up hoses from the Lachman fire. Alene Tchekmedyian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/2/26

POTUS 47

Pentagon offers no evidence to support claim it attacked Iran in defense -- The Trump administration is making the case that it ordered expansive, deadly strikes to stop an imminent threat from Tehran, but is providing no evidence Iran had such plans. Jack Detsch, Joe Gould, Eli Stokols and John Sakellariadis Politico -- 3/2/26

Trump Says War Could Last Weeks and Offers Contradictory Visions of New Regime -- In a brief interview, he said the country’s hardened military should simply surrender their weapons to the Iranian public. Zolan Kanno-Youngs, David E. Sanger and Tyler Pager in the New York Times$ -- 3/2/26

Trump on US troop casualties: ‘There will likely be more’ -- President Donald Trump in a Sunday video posted to social media warned there will likely be more U.S. troops killed and wounded as part of the continued operation against Iran after three servicemembers were killed in the massive initial strikes. Alex Gangitano Politico -- 3/2/26

One early risk of Trump's Iran strategy is already emerging -- President Donald Trump’s decision to topple the Iranian regime is threatening to torch an oil market his administration has been at pains to keep cool since he returned to office. Ben Lefebvre and James Bikales Politico -- 3/2/26

Trump Spent Years Denouncing U.S. Intervention. Now He’s Toppling Foreign Leaders -- The operation in Iran marked a sharp reversal for a president whose political rise was fueled in part by American fatigue with regime change Vera Bergengruen and Meridith McGraw in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/2/26

U.S. Races to Accomplish Iran Mission Before Munitions Run Out -- The precise size of the U.S. stock of air-defense interceptors—what the Pentagon calls magazine depth—is classified. But repeated conflicts with Iran and its proxies in the Middle East have been eating into the supply of air defenses in the region. Michael R. Gordon and Shelby Holliday in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/2/26

Moscow gloats over potential oil price spike from Iran war -- Russian President Vladimir Putin may have lost another close ally after the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but an oil shock from conflict in Middle East spells potential good news for his war chest. Eva Hartog Politico -- 3/2/26

DOJ Examined Men in Epstein’s Orbit Accused of Sex Crimes. None Were Charged -- The files show that shortly after Epstein’s 2019 death, prosecutors talked to victims of his who said they would be willing to participate in an investigation into potential co-conspirators. The Justice Department didn’t pursue charges against any of the men those victims named. Jaclyn Jeffrey-Wilensky and Khadeeja Safdar in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/2/26

 

California Policy and Politics Sunday

‘We reject this’: Hundreds in S.F. march against U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran -- Less than 24 hours after the United States and Israel launched a wave of missile strikes against Iran, hundreds of protesters blocked off a downtown San Francisco street Saturday to demonstrate against escalation abroad. Lucy Hodgman in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/1/26

For the Iranian diaspora in US, hope for a ‘Berlin Wall moment’ -- The Los Angeles area is home to more than one-third of the nearly 400,000 Iranian immigrants in the United States. And Tehrangeles, the nickname for the West LA neighborhood that is a hub of Iranian-American businesses and homes, erupted in noisy celebration on Saturday, with some supporters of Donald Trump claiming vindication. Melanie Mason Politico Corinne Purtill, Genaro Molina in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/1/26

Bay Area Iranian community divided after Supreme Leader Khamenei killed in U.S.-Israel strike -- Iranian-Americans across the Bay Area reacted with shock, fear and celebration Saturday after President Donald Trump announced that U.S. and Israeli forces had killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a major military strike — a claim that was later confirmed by Iranian state media. Molly Gibbs, Caelyn Pender and Grant Stringer in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/1/26

Newsom blasts Trump over Iran strikes: ‘Weakness masquerading as strength’ -- The California governor, a likely 2028 Democratic presidential contender, said Trump is trying to distract voters from his failures “across the spectrum” and accused Trump of “doubling down on stupid” during his State of the Union speech earlier this week. Dustin Gardiner Politico -- 3/1/26

California leaders condemn Trump for deadly ‘war of choice’ against Iran -- Gov. Gavin Newsom, both U.S. senators and several other top officials who released statements on social media Saturday acknowledged what Newsom described as a “corrupt and repressive Iranian regime,” but said it didn’t justify the risks to American lives. Megan Cassidy in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Nicole Buss in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/1/26

 

Newsom defends Trump-like tactics to counter president at S.F. event -- Gov. Gavin Newsom has spent a lot of time criticizing President Donald Trump for breaking the law, but on Saturday, journalist Kara Swisher pointed out it was Newsom’s law-breaking by marrying gay couples as San Francisco mayor that put him on the political map. Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/1/26

Surveillance company Flock generates controversy — and a roster of L.A. clients -- Flock Safety has not only marketed its plate readers to law enforcement as a vital crime-fighting tool, but aggressively pitched its product to private citizens. Libor Jany in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/1/26

A powerful Wine Country family is trying to kill the SMART train with a book -- This book makes the case that taxpayer support should end for a 48-mile long passenger rail system connecting the Bay Area’s fifth largest city with small cities and towns across two counties. Julie Johnson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/1/26

Dueling MAGA, Raza groups gather Saturday at Disneyland -- Amid the start of an apparent war between the United States and Iran, dueling political groups descended Saturday on the Happiest Place on Earth: Disneyland. Laurence Darmiento in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/1/26

California legislators, on both sides of the aisle, call for federal wildfire disaster aid for Southern California -- The California Assembly this week called on President Donald Trump and Congress to send $34 billion in supplemental disaster aid to help Southern California wildfire victims more than a year after the catastrophic Palisades and Eaton fires. Linh Tat in the Orange County Register$ -- 3/1/26

San Diego County hires D.C. lobbying firm to push federal action on Tijuana River sewage crisis -- The County of San Diego has hired a Washington, D.C.-based law firm to lobby federal officials on the Tijuana River sewage crisis, a contract worth up to $637,200 over five years, according to county records. Walker Armstrong in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 3/1/26

Workplace

AI could reshape 410,000 local jobs. Who benefits and who doesn’t? -- Nearly 410,000 jobs in the region include tasks artificial intelligence can perform, according to the latest Silicon Valley Index, the annual report produced by think tank Joint Venture Silicon Valley. While many of those roles are expected to evolve rather than disappear, others could shrink as companies deploy systems that write code, draft legal documents, design marketing campaigns and analyze data in minutes. Ethan Baron in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/1/26

The Week the Dreaded AI Jobs Wipeout Got Real -- The blowback was quick and severe. After Block CEO Jack Dorsey announced that his financial-technology firm was laying off 4,000 people, text threads between workers outside Block erupted, while executives began furiously dissecting the move. And then, they went public. “Square is just the beginning,” former Meta and Salesforce executive Clara Shih warned on X. Chip Cutter in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/1/26

Housing

In California, About the Only Way to Get a House Is to Inherit One -- Inheritance is one of the last reliable ways for younger Californians to own their first home. About 18% of all property transfers in the state last year, representing nearly 60,000 homes, were made through inheritance, according to a recent analysis by real-estate data firm Cotality. Nicole Friedman and Veronica Dagher in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/1/26

Develop

Proposed waterfront tower could test California’s power to override S.F. height restrictions -- In 2014 San Francisco voters delivered a strong message at the ballot box: No tall buildings on the waterfront without our approval. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/1/26

Also

A new delivery bot is coming to L.A., built stronger to survive in these streets -- The rolling robots that deliver groceries and hot meals across Los Angeles are getting an upgrade. Coco Robotics, a UCLA-born startup that’s deployed more than 1,000 bots across the country, unveiled its next-generation machines on Thursday. Caroline Petrow-Cohen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/1/26

POTUS 47

3 U.S. service members killed in Iran operation, military says; Tehran vows to avenge Khamenei -- Three U.S. service members were killed in action and five were seriously wounded, Central Command said Sunday morning, the first reported U.S. casualties in the joint attack with Israel on Iran. The item is in the Washington Post$ Aaron Boxerman, Farnaz Fassihi, Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Ronen Bergman in the New York Times$ -- 3/1/26

Trump Stays Out of Public View After U.S. Launches Military Assault on Iran -- Mr. Trump did not scramble back to the White House from Mar-a-Lago, his private club and residence in Palm Beach, Fla., to oversee the U.S. and Israeli strikes. He did not deliver a televised address informing the public of the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was the nation’s supreme leader for nearly four decades. Instead, the president was set to cap an extraordinary day of U.S. aggression abroad by attending a glitzy fund-raising dinner at his club. Zolan Kanno-Youngs in the New York Times$ -- 3/1/26

Barabak: With midterm vote starting, here’s where things stand in national redistricting fight -- President Trump set off a partisan battle that spread to more than a dozen states, including California. Republican control of the House — and Trump’s largely unfettered power — is dangling by a thread. Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/1/26

San Francisco Ballet Pulls Out of Kennedy Center Performances -- The ballet company, one of the country’s most prestigious, had been under pressure to cancel its shows amid President Trump’s takeover of the performing arts center. Julia Jacobs in the New York Times$ Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/1/26

Trump’s Iran strikes risk hitting American pocketbooks if they last -- Oil prices are the immediate concern. Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose more than 12 percent to $73 per barrel in the past month as traders priced in the risk of Saturday’s U.S.-led assault. Even a short war would likely drive oil to $80 and send U.S. gasoline prices higher, analysts said. David J. Lynch in the Washington Post$ -- 3/1/26