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California Policy and Politics Monday
California’s snowpack was already meager. Now comes an extraordinary heat wave -- An extremely warm winter has left California’s Sierra Nevada with far less snow than average. The snowpack has been shrinking for weeks and is expected to melt rapidly with a heat wave this week. Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/16/26
S.F. Bay Area heat wave will be a ‘marathon,’ weather service warns. Here are the details -- Record-shattering March heat is forecast across the Bay Area this week as temperatures are anticipated to surge into the 90s, as much as 30 degrees above normal for this time of year. It won’t be a short-lived spike in temperatures: “It is going to be a marathon,” the National Weather Service said. Anthony Edwards in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/16/26
Navy delays decommissioning of the former San Diego-based aircraft carrier USS Nimitz -- The 50-year-old Nimitz, which visited San Diego on Tuesday, had been scheduled to be decommissioned in Virginia in May. The situation began to publicly shift last week when the Navy announced that its oldest flattop would first go on deployment to the Southern Command, which includes Central America, South America and the Caribbean. Gary Robbins in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 3/16/26
Rare glitch caused artillery round to explode over 5 Freeway during JD Vance visit, report says -- An artillery round that exploded over the 5 Freeway and rained shrapnel onto the road, striking a California Highway Patrol car during an October event at Camp Pendleton attended by Vice President JD Vance, was caused by a “one-in-a-million” fuze glitch, the Marines announced. Erika I. Ritchie in the LA Daily News -- 3/16/26
More Mexicans were deported annually under Biden than by Trump -- Deportations of Mexicans dropped to 144,000 in 2025, roughly half the annual figure under President Biden, according to data analyzed by a Mexican investigative outlet. Though migration is often driven by economic issues, the analysis found that many of the deported Mexicans came from states engulfed in cartel violence. Steve Fisher in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/16/26
30 tons of steel: Inside a $3.5M Palisades fire-resistant house -- Ultra-luxury architect and developer Ardie Tavangarian has built a home in Pacific Palisades designed to withstand wildfires for up to six hours. Sandra Barrera in the LA Daily News -- 3/16/26
Long COVID leaves thousands of L.A. County residents sick, broke and ignored -- As others move on from the pandemic, thousands of people with long COVID remain chronically ill and disabled. Patients say they’ve been denied disability benefits, dismissed or misdiagnosed by doctors, and left to navigate profound limits on work, housing and daily life with little support. Corinne Purtill in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/16/26
Housing
A Section 8 tenant is filing dozens of $100,000 lawsuits. Is it a discrimination fight or a shakedown? -- A gaggle of scorned landlords and real estate agents across L.A. have a message: If Alexys Watson messages you on Zillow asking if you accept Section 8 vouchers, choose your next words very, very carefully. Jack Flemming in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/16/26
Also
Oakland’s Ryan Coogler leads ‘Sinners’ to 4 Oscars in big night for Bay Area talent -- Even if it didn’t take home the ultimate prize, “Sinners” — and the East Bay — were big winners at the 98th Academy Awards. G. Allen Johnson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/16/26
The Bay Area’s ‘city of trees’ is cutting down hundreds of historic eucalyptuses -- For as long as anyone in Burlingame has been alive, the town’s main thoroughfare has been lined with eucalyptus trees. They form a silvery canopy above 2.2 miles of El Camino Real, earning the stretch a spot on the National Register of Historic Places. Lucy Hodgman in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/16/26
Chavez: As an immigrant, I’m safer in San Quentin than if paroled -- Three decades ago, I was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole in California. A lost, scared teenager, I found myself in a maximum-security prison: Pelican Bay Security Housing Unit. Edwin E. Chavez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/16/26
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Entering War’s Third Week, Trump Faces Stark Choices -- As the conflict with Iran expands and intensifies, President Trump’s options — to fight on, or to move toward declaring victory and pulling back — both carry deeply problematic consequences. David E. Sanger, Eric Schmitt, Tyler Pager, Ronen Bergman and Julian E. Barnes in the New York Times$ -- 3/16/26
Trump is eager to declare victory, but a battered Iran still has cards to play -- The U.S. and Israel crippled Iranian forces in two weeks of war, but Tehran’s ability to disrupt oil flows and its uranium stockpile complicate the push to end it. Michael Birnbaum in the Washington Post$ -- 3/16/26
Oil Industry Warns Trump Administration That Fuel Crunch Will Likely Worsen -- American oil executives delivered a bleak message to Trump officials in recent days: The energy crisis the Iran war has unleashed is likely to get worse. Collin Eaton and Benoît Morenne in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/16/26
White House Tries to Build Coalition on Iran to Address Energy Crisis -- President Trump and top aides spent the weekend framing their Iran operation as a resounding military success while imploring other countries to join their effort to resolve a worsening energy crisis related to the Strait of Hormuz. Alexander Ward, Lindsay Ellis and Robbie Gramer in the Wall Street Journal$ Sam Metz, Will Weissert, Julia Frankel, Cara Anna Associated Press Edward Wong in the New York Times$ -- 3/16/26
Nations Respond With Caution to Trump’s Call to Send Warships to Strait of Hormuz -- President Trump has urged China, Britain, France, Japan and South Korea to send warships to help reopen the waterway, even though they were not involved in the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran. Ravi Mattu in the New York Times$ -- 3/16/26
It's not just oil. Here comes Hormuz inflation -- The war with Iran is driving up more than gasoline prices. It is beginning to hit semiconductors, medical imaging, backyard gardens and even children’s party balloons. Scott Waldman Politico -- 3/16/26
Hack on U.S. Medical Company Shows Reach of Iran’s Cyber Capabilities -- Iran pulled off likely the most significant wartime cyberattack against the U.S. in history, leveraging its hacking powers to cause major disruptions at a global medical-equipment firm that struggled to bring itself back online in recent days. Dustin Volz and Peter Loftus in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/16/26
California Policy and Politics Sunday
‘Care, not greed’: Supporters launch voter drive for S.F. Overpaid CEO Act -- Mayor Daniel Lurie hates it. San Francisco’s Chamber of Commerce called it a “poison pill.” On Saturday, however, hundreds of union members from across San Francisco gathered at the union hall of the city’s electricians to begin canvassing in support of Proposition D, the Overpaid CEO Act. St. John Barned-Smith in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/15/26
How Bay Area billionaires are trying to stop California’s wealth tax -- A group of Bay Area billionaires has poured $35 million into a campaign to block a proposed California wealth tax, backing three ballot initiatives designed to kill or weaken the measure. Ethan Baron in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/15/26
The AI Boom Has Exploded the San Francisco Housing Market -- At a Pacific Heights open house in January, a line of people made their way up the steps of a two-bedroom, one-bath cooperative. There were 85 of them—steps, not people. Eight flights, no elevator. The property received 14 offers and sold for over $1.62 million, more than $400,000 over the asking price. Katherine Bindley in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/15/26
Weather service issues Bay Area’s first-ever heat advisory for March -- With local temperatures forecast to reach the 80s along the coast and 90s inland, the National Weather Service issued a heat risk advisory for the Bay Area and Central Coast regions from Monday morning through Friday afternoon. Joaquin Palomino in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/14/26
‘Dangerous’ heat wave warning issued for Southern California next week -- The National Weather Service on Saturday issued an extreme heat watch in Southern California next week, warning that temperatures could top 100 degrees in the San Fernando Valley. Dakota Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/15/26
Sierra ski resort closing for season as heat wave accelerates snowmelt -- Dodge Ridge Mountain Resort in Tuolumne County announced on Instagram that it will close at 4 p.m. Sunday after recent rains and unusually warm temperatures erased gains from February’s blizzard. Warren Pederson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/15/26
9th Circuit revives part of California law protecting kids’ online data -- A federal appeals court revived parts of a groundbreaking California law Thursday that limits online businesses’ collection and use of information from users under 18, rejecting a judge’s ruling that the entire law would improperly interfere with companies’ use of the internet and violate their freedom of speech. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/15/26
California national parks hit record attendance in 2025 despite shutdown turmoil -- California’s nine national parks saw nearly 12 million visits in 2025, breaking the previous record by more than 800,000. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Jack Dolan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/15/26
The Bay Area’s ‘city of trees’ is cutting down hundreds of historic eucalyptuses -- For as long as anyone in Burlingame has been alive, the town’s main thoroughfare has been lined with eucalyptus trees. They form a silvery canopy above 2.2 miles of El Camino Real, earning the stretch a spot on the National Register of Historic Places. Lucy Hodgman in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/15/26
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Trump Wants to Secure Hormuz. Here’s What It Would Take -- The administration has said it is keeping all options on the table, including the use of ground troops. On Friday, Trump ordered a Marine expeditionary unit, which typically has warships with thousands of sailors, attack jets and 2,200 Marines, to the Middle East. Jared Malsin in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/15/26
Energy Secretary Says ‘No Guarantees’ Oil Prices Will Fall Soon -- Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Sunday there were “no guarantees” that oil prices would fall in the coming weeks, despite President Trump’s having vowed repeatedly that the United States will try to force Iran to stop attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. Edward Wong in the New York Times$ -- 3/15/26
Trump is eager to declare victory, but a battered Iran still has cards to play -- The U.S. and Israel crippled Iranian forces in two weeks of war, but Tehran’s ability to disrupt oil flows and its uranium stockpile complicate the push to end it. Michael Birnbaum in the Washington Post$ -- 3/15/26
They Were Promised Regime Change. Now Many Iranians Feel Betrayed -- In Tehran and beyond, residents worry they will be left with a devastated country and the same autocratic rulers as before the war began. Sune Engel Rasmussen and Margherita Stancati in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/15/26
F.C.C. Chair Threatens to Revoke Broadcasters’ Licenses Over War Coverage -- The comment from Brendan Carr came on the heels of a social media message from President Trump criticizing the news media’s coverage of the war with Iran. Ashley Ahn in the New York Times$ Scott Nover in the Washington Post$ -- 3/15/26
Trump’s latest tariffs face a fresh set of legal hurdles -- Just three weeks after the Supreme Court handed President Donald Trump a stinging defeat over the sweeping tariffs he imposed last year, the legal battle over his first move to replace those import taxes is heating up. Josh Gerstein Politico -- 3/15/26
Trump administration highlighted ‘mass deportations’ for months. Not anymore -- The Trump administration quietly shifted its immigration messaging in the weeks after its violent operation in Minneapolis that included the fatal shooting of two Americans, largely dropping mentions of “mass deportations” as public sentiment shifted against the aggressive tactics. Myah Ward, Jessica Piper and Erin Doherty Politico -- 3/15/26
The reviews are in. It's not looking good, America -- The PoliticoPoll, conducted across five countries, reveals a stark disconnect between how Americans see their country and how several top allies do. As the Trump administration’s aggressive posture abroad disrupts the longstanding world order, the United States’ global reputation appears far worse than Americans realize. Anna Wiederkehr and Erin Doherty Politico -- 3/15/26
Poll: Trump era tilts US allies toward Beijing -- European allies broadly support building closer ties to China — and believe America's role as a global superpower is fading. Phelim Kine and Jordyn Dahl Politico -- 3/15/26