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California Policy and Politics Monday

Price of key fuel soars to new record in California -- Diesel prices soared to a new record in California over Labor Day weekend, mirroring a national trend as the U.S. war with Iran causes major refinery disruptions and the price of crude oil soars. The average price of diesel across the state hit $7.81 per gallon on Sunday — roughly 50 cents more than the average price a week ago and more than $2.60 higher compared to this time last year, according to AAA Gas Prices. Anna Bauman in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/7/26

 

As his naysayers bash California, Newsom leans into his Golden State roots -- He rattled off some of his favorite stats. The murder rate in Alabama, where Newsom visited Wednesday, is three times as high as California’s. The Golden State’s GDP has increased 40% since Newsom was sworn in as governor. During that time, California’s economy has grown from the fifth-largest to the fourth-largest in the world. Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/7/26

California made Gavin Newsom famous. Will it drag down his 2028 presidential ambitions? -- Gavin Newsom’s secret is no secret here in South Carolina. They were selling “Gavin 2028” buttons outside his events this past week as he trekked across the state that will hold Democrats’ first presidential primary. Steve Peoples Associated Press -- 9/7/26

Gavin Newsom says you should open a Trump account for your kid. Here’s why -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom is certainly no fan of President Donald Trump. But they’ve found common ground: the new Trump accounts for children. Jessica Roy in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/7/26

After years of defying the odds, California’s David Valadao faces new test as Latinos turn on Trump -- For years, Rep. David Valadao benefited from voting patterns that shifted toward Republicans in his rural, heavily Latino district in Central California, deep in the state’s farm belt where highways crisscross boundless stretches of almond groves, cornfields and dairy feed lots. This time, that could change. Michael R. Blood Associated Press -- 9/7/26

 

Chabria: What we learned about AI last week should terrify all of us -- Even many of those creating artificial intelligence now concede they can’t say with any degree of certainty that they know what it is doing, why it is doing it or if it is safe. But they do know this — it is growing exponentially more powerful by the day, is become more sneaky, and continues to hold the promise of making a few people unimaginably wealthy. Anita Chabria in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/7/26

Skelton: Wildfire bill flameout sad for California -- It was unprecedented and stunning: California’s governor and top two legislative leaders negotiated a compromise on a big bill — and one house rebelled, refusing to bring it to a vote. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/7/26

Inside the fevered fight to free an East Bay man from ICE detention -- Sergio Chaparro had just cleared security at Oakland International Airport on the morning of Aug. 28 and was thinking about a preflight coffee when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents stopped him. They had a warrant for his arrest, they said, and demanded to know his immigration status. St. John Barned-Smith in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/7/26

Workplace

Americans Without College Degrees Are Having One of the Best Job Markets in Years -- Unemployment among younger workers who didn’t go to college has rarely been lower in recent decades. It is the opposite story for college grads. Theo Francis and Ray A. Smith in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 9/7/26

‘A dying art’: These quintessential S.F. restaurants couldn’t exist without their unsung workers -- For Labor Day, we are showcasing some of the less-heralded heroes of San Francisco restaurants and bars: a team of fleet-fingered dumpling makers, the engineers who keep the famed Tonga Room lagoon that perfect shade of curaçao blue and a florist who for more than 30 years has enlivened a two-Michelin-star restaurant with elegant, dramatic flower arrangements. Mario Cortez, Tara Duggan, Elena Kadvany in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/7/26

Need a reminder of California worker laws this Labor Day? What you should know -- Workers across the country are preparing to relax and take time off this Labor Day holiday. To keep you informed, The Sacramento Bee has compiled a list of up-to-date state wage and labor laws to make sure you know your rights and entitlements as a worker in California. Vince Basada in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/7/26

Housing

A suburb bordering S.F. lost control over housing development. What happens next? -- A couple of decades from now, if developers have their way, Caltrain riders leaving Bayshore station will look out over a new carbon-neutral neighborhood of apartment buildings, tree-lined streets and plazas. Connor Letourneau in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/7/26

Also

San Francisco’s mountain lion reported seen again on north edge of Golden Gate Park -- The mountain lion that climbed a tree in San Francisco’s Panhandle on Saturday night was said to have been seen on Sunday around 3 p.m. on the northwest edge of Golden Gate Park, near 44th Avenue and Fulton Street. Kate Galbraith, Sarah Brager, Rachel Swan, Brooke Park, Sam Whiting in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/7/26

Maurice ‘Mo’ Jourdane, California lawyer who fought for farmworkers, dies at 83 -- Maurice “Mo” Jourdane, the California attorney who led a long legal fight to ban the short-handled hoe, or el cortito, improving the lives of farmworkers across the state, died Saturday. He was 83. Grace Toohey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/7/26

‘Epic’ new Tahoe trail through old-growth forest is being built right now -- An audacious plan to build a 6-mile trail in Lake Tahoe’s rugged backcountry was jolted to life after a local couple donated $250,000 to see it through. Gregory Thomas in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/7/26

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A whiplash election year enters its final stretch as Trump holds wild cards -- In the earliest days of this election cycle, the U.S. wasn’t at war with Iran. The East Wing of the White House was still standing and the Kennedy Center wasn’t threatened with demolition. Artificial intelligence data centers weren’t bipartisan shorthand for the tech sector’s excess. Democratic socialists were largely confined to the outer edges of political discourse. Lake Ontario’s name wasn’t in question. Steven Sloan Associated Press -- 9/7/26

Trump’s economic record is working against him in the midterms -- A sporadic global trade war led by President Trump is fueling inflation across the U.S. economy, elevating prices on everyday goods, as the war with Iran sends the price of gas on a roller coaster. Michael Wilner and Ana Ceballos Michael Wilner and Ana Ceballos in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/7/26

Iran says it plans to announce a new ‘exclusion zone’ near the Strait of Hormuz -- The new head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council on Sunday said Tehran plans to announce an “exclusion zone” outside the Strait of Hormuz aimed at vessels it believes are attempting to transit the waterway. Samy Magdy, Julia Frankel, Cara Anna Associated Press -- 9/7/26

Republicans might still lose half the seats they gerrymandered to flip -- Republicans are growing increasingly worried their mid-decade gerrymandering push isn’t going to save their House majority. Andrew Howard and Aaron Pellish Politico -- 9/7/26

Trump appeals to Supreme Court as time runs out on push to restrict mail voting -- With November midterms approaching, two swing states are sending ballots, and other states plan to send theirs soon. Patrick Marley and Justin Jouvenal in the Washington Post$ -- 9/7/26

 

California Policy and Politics Sunday

Backlash over data centers hits California, and the midterms -- A company’s pitch for small-scale data centers on fairgrounds has prompted outcry from some in Kings, Tulare and Ventura counties. Democrats opposing data centers say it’s an affordability issue, while Republicans juggle public backlash with Trump’s pro-AI support. Justine McDaniel, Gary Kazanjian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/6/26

Trump administration is ‘playing shadow games’ with top SoCal prosecutor, public defenders say -- The Los Angeles federal public defender’s office on Friday joined a renewed effort to oust Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in Southern California, accusing the government of “playing shadow games with the most consequential powers a government can wield against its population.” Brittny Mejia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/6/26

California wants to list Jewish as an ethnicity. Jews are divided over the idea -- California is poised to become the first state to treat Jewish identity as an ethnicity on official forms, with a new optional checkbox heading to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk. Supporters say the change could reveal gaps in healthcare, education and hate-crime response for the state’s 1.2 million Jews, giving officials better data to direct resources. Opponents warn a single ‘Jewish’ ethnic box oversimplifies diverse Jewish histories and risks echoing past government tracking, amid elevated antisemitism and debate over religion, ancestry and culture. Hannah Fry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/6/26

He lied about his resume. Five ex-wives say he used them for their money. His next move? Running for Congress -- Jeff Belle’s past is littered with bogus check charges, unpaid debts and at least eight divorces. ‘With some of my challenges,’ he says, ‘most people wouldn’t have the courage to run, would they?’ Lucas Robinson in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 9/6/26

Barabak: Integrity on the ballot: Election deniers target secretary of state races in key states -- Trump’s attempts to undermine our democracy have elevated the import of the secretary of state’s office. Election deniers on the ballot in Arizona, Nevada and Wisconsin could make mischief in 2028. Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/6/26

 

They earn $300,000 and pay $1,800 in rent in the Bay Area. Why they can stay in affordable housing -- At Sunset Square Apartments, a 96-unit affordable housing complex in East San Jose, roughly a quarter of households earn above the site’s income limits. Two bring in over $300,000 a year, while each has paid around $1,800 a month for a one-bedroom unit — almost $1,000 below the city’s median rent for such apartments. Ethan Varian in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/6/26

Pacifica’s coastal quarry resisted development for decades. This 1,225-unit plan may be different -- For 40 years, Pacifica’s rugged coast has attracted real estate investors from as far away as Florida and the Netherlands with dreams of turning a 90-acre former limestone quarry into a development gold mine. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/6/26

San Francisco just rolled out a far-reaching new rule for major home renovations -- Most property owners seeking permits for gut-level renovations that also replace major mechanical systems, such as water heaters and furnaces, are now required to ditch natural gas and install fully electric systems. Brooke Park in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/6/26

Develop

Smolens: Midway redevelopment moves forward on its long, bumpy road -- The effort to redevelop the Midway District has taken a unique path. Over the past several years, two proposals have involved two ballot measures lifting a height limit, two court rulings overturning those votes, two developers, two mayors, and now two bills approved by the Legislature to boost the current project. Michael Smolens in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 9/6/26

 

Hurricane Marie brings dangerous ocean conditions, soggy weather to SoCal -- Would-be beachgoers, be wary: Although Hurricane Marie is expected to stay hundreds of miles off the California coast over Labor Day weekend, forecasters are expecting rain and hazardous ocean conditions. Iris Kwok in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/6/26

‘People aren’t food.’ Footage shows shark circling swimmer at SoCal beach -- Drone footage off Santa Barbara shows a juvenile great white shark circling within arm’s length of a lone swimmer. Scientists had warned of a “sharky summer” as warming waters draw great whites closer to California beaches. Alex Wigglesworth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/6/26

9/11

Nearly 1,000 firefighters and civilians remember 9/11 with San Diego hotel stair climb -- Wearing 40 pounds of firefighting gear, 32-year-old Austin Littlejohn climbed 30 flights of stairs to the top of a downtown San Diego hotel — three times — with a clear purpose and an attitude of deep respect. Jennifer Van Grove in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 9/6/26

Wildfire

California could be first in the nation to create smoke-damage standards -- When a home is left standing after a wildfire, survivors and insurers battle over testing and cleanup. California lawmakers passed two bills that aim to change that. Levi Sumagaysay Calmatters -- 9/6/26

Street

LAPD busts massive street takeover in South Bay, impounding more than 100 cars -- The Los Angeles Police Department and multiple other agencies responded in droves early Saturday to reports of an illegal street takeover in the Harbor Gateway neighborhood of L.A. near Gardena. Jaclyn Cosgrove in the Los Angeles Times$ Sydney Barragan in the LA Daily News -- 9/6/26

The deadly Marin crash. The drag race that orphaned twin girls. One question could connect the cases -- While the circumstances of both crashes aren’t identical, they both raise the same difficult question: When a child is accused of causing a deadly crash, what responsibility do their parents bear? Annie Vainshtein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/6/26

Also

After overtourism besieged Big Sur, the worst finally happened: ‘People kept saying someone is going to die’ -- California’s rugged Big Sur coastline is often called a slice of heaven, 120 miles (195km) of unspoiled rocky promontories, sandy beaches and redwood forests at the foot of the Santa Lucia mountains. This year, it has endured a long summer of hell. Andrew Gumbel in The Guardian -- 9/6/26

How a Blacklisted Chinese Tech Giant Kept Buying America’s Best A.I. Chips -- For years, a sign outside one of Silicon Valley’s many nondescript offices said Inspur, the name of one of China’s most important technology companies. Ana Swanson, Paul Mozur, Tripp Mickle and Keith Bradsher in the New York Times$ -- 9/6/26

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Trump Officials Draft Plan to Pay At-Home Parents, Using Funds for Working Ones -- The proposed benefit, a top policy priority for Vice President JD Vance, would apply only to married couples and tap a fund intended to provide federal child care subsidies to working parents. Coral Davenport in the New York Times$ -- 9/6/26

Trump’s MAGA Inc. sends $10M to Texas in first general election spend of the year -- President Donald Trump’s super PAC is shelling out $10 million for Ken Paxton’s Senate campaign, its first general election contribution ahead of the November midterms, according to a filing made public Saturday. Gregory Svirnovskiy and Alex Gangitano Politico Anthony DeBarros and Elizabeth Findell in the Wall Street Journal$ Theodore Schleifer in the New York Times$ Alexei Koseff in the Washington Post$ -- 9/6/26

Trump administration makes another appeal to the Supreme Court to allow mail ballot restrictions -- The Trump administration on Sunday renewed its appeal to the Supreme Court after a federal judge blocked new restrictions on mail ballots ahead of the midterms. Lindsay Whitehurst, Gary Fields Associated Press -- 9/6/26

How Billions in Iranian Money Passes Through U.S. Banks -- As the Trump administration tightens its economic squeeze on Iran, it faces a surprising weak link in its campaign to cut off the regime from the global financial system: America’s own banks. Rory Jones and Dylan Tokar in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 9/6/26

Canada turns its critical minerals into leverage against Trump -- “I don’t get mad, I get even,” Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said Thursday, capping a tour meant to showcase the mines and electricity projects Canada is racing to build in response to President Donald Trump’s economic aggression. Mike Blanchfield Politico -- 9/6/26

NATO races to guard against Russian nuclear subs without the US -- Donald Trump’s turn away from NATO came to fruition last month in the waters off Iceland. Allied forces gathered here to practice hunting for Russian submarines, drawing German surveillance planes to scour the waves alongside Canadian warships and Belgian fighter jets. Paul McLeary Politico -- 9/6/26