 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
California Policy and Politics Saturday
Trump administration approves plan backed by Newsom to build largest California reservoir in 50 years -- The Trump administration on Friday gave its approval for plans to build Sites Reservoir, a vast 13-mile-long off-stream lake north of Sacramento that would provide water to 500,000 acres of Central Valley farmland and 24 million people, including residents of Santa Clara County, parts of the East Bay and Los Angeles. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 01/24/26
California to join WHO health network in rebuke of Trump -- Gavin Newsom said Friday that California is joining the World Health Organization’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, marking the state’s first formal partnership with the WHO’s international public health arm and the latest move by the governor to cast California as a counterweight to the Trump administration’s health policy agenda. Brock Hrehor Politico -- 01/24/26
‘Brain the size of a walnut’: Bessent goes off on Newsom -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been one of the most vocal critics of President Donald Trump since his return to office last year. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent argues it’s a sign of Newsom’s weakness. Aaron Pellish Politico -- 01/24/26
GOP rails against Newsom’s late date for special election to fill Rep. Doug LaMalfa’s seat -- Rep. Doug LaMalfa’s death left California’s 1st Congressional District vacant. Gov. Gavin Newsom set the special election for August, the latest possible date allowed by state law. California Republicans say the delayed election denies rural voters representation for months and accuse Newsom of using redistricting politics to strengthen Democrats’ position in Congress. Hailey Branson-Potts in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 01/24/26
How California’s political bottleneck is scrambling Democratic careers -- Longshot contenders in this fortress of Democratic politics — launching pad of the likes of Gavin Newsom, Kamala Harris, Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla — are abandoning marquee races in favor of less competitive contests, while House members and their opponents are changing districts so often this cycle it’s hard for even insiders to keep track of who’s running where. Blake Jones Politico -- 01/24/26
Eric Swalwell says California should withhold jobs and driver’s licenses from ICE agents -- As Democrats across the country face calls to rein in abuses of power by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Bay Area Rep. Eric Swalwell has proposed sweeping and aggressive measures to target officers, including by barring them from obtaining driver’s licenses or working in state government. Sara DiNatale in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 01/24/26
Justice Department drops demand for records naming transgender kids treated at Children’s Hospital L.A. -- The U.S. Department of Justice has agreed to stop demanding medical records that identify young patients who received gender-affirming care from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, ending a legal standoff with families who sued to block a subpoena that some feared would be used to criminally prosecute the parents of transgender kids. Kevin Rector and Sonja Sharp in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 01/24/26
California’s largest pediatric healthcare system to halt transgender care amid Trump administration threats -- The largest pediatric healthcare system in California will stop providing gender-affirming medical care to transgender youth next month amid increasing pressure from the federal government. Hannah Fry in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 01/24/26
Los Angeles might tweak its ‘mansion tax.’ Here’s why that matters for the rest of California -- The ballot measure do-over is intended to restart apartment development across Los Angeles and ward off a statewide anti-tax crusade. Ben Christopher Calmatters -- 01/24/26
Renée Fleming cancels Kennedy Center shows as pressure mounts on S.F. Ballet -- Renowned singer Renée Fleming and a children’s theater production inspired by Bruce Lee became the latest acts to cancel upcoming appearances at the Kennedy Center. Pressure is now mounting on other major institutions — including the San Francisco Ballet — to follow suit. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 01/24/26
Workplace
San Francisco teachers union moves closer to a strike -- San Francisco’s teachers union moved closer to a possible strike after Friday’s fact finding session ended at a crossroads, pushing the dispute to its final stage before labor leaders can call for a walkout. Brooke Park in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 01/24/26
Wildfire
New ‘wildfire prepared’ homes in Cameron Park designed to avert fire risks -- The new homes are designed with fire safety in mind, and recently became the second in the nation to receive a “wildfire prepared” designation from the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS). Felicia Alvarez KVIE Abridged Megan Fan Munce in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 01/24/26
Develop
New S.F. skyscraper would go up across from Salesforce Tower — and be almost as tall -- Once envisioned as San Francisco’s tallest mixed-use complex, Oceanwide Center has become shorthand in the city for how the speculative ambitions of global investors can go wrong. Cranes vanished years ago from the unfinished downtown construction site, leaving exposed concrete, rusting steel and a web of lawsuits. Laura Waxmann in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 01/24/26
Street
L.A. homeless services fraud suspect spent millions on luxury lifestyle, authorities charge -- Alexander Soofer was charged with wire fraud amid allegations he misappropriated money from his Hyde Park-based program Abundant Blessings. Prosecutors allege Soofer funneled cash into designer clothing, luxury vacations and his homes in Westwood and Greece. The case is the third to emerge from a federal task force announced last spring to investigate potential fraud and corruption involving L.A. homelessness funds. Sonja Sharp and Andrew Khouri in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 01/24/26
Former NFL and Westchester High lineman Kevin Johnson killed in South L.A. homeless encampment -- Kevin Johnson, a former NFL defensive lineman for the Philadelphia Eagles and Oakland Raiders, was found dead at a homeless encampment Wednesday, authorities said. Salvador Hernandez and Steve Henson in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 01/24/26
POTUS 47
Why the Trump administration is detaining immigrant children – and what happens to them next -- This week, ICE’s detention of a five-year-old boy wearing a Spider Man backpack in the Minneapolis suburb of Columbia Heights quickly became a defining image of the Trump administration’s hardline immigration enforcement. Furious critics, including many local politicians, seized on Liam Ramos’s ordeal as glaring evidence that Trump’s mass deportation campaign has little to do with crime and a lot to do with terrorizing children and their families. Roque Planas The Guardian -- 01/24/26
Pepper-Sprayed While Pinned Down: A Searing Scene Provokes Outrage -- Images of a man getting pepper-sprayed at close range while being held down by Border Patrol agents fueled more tension in Minneapolis. Ernesto Londoño in the New York Times$ Lauren Kaori Gurley, Justine McDaniel, Natalie Allison, Michelle Boorstein and Ben Brasch in the Washington Post$ -- 01/24/26
F.B.I. Agent Who Tried to Investigate ICE Officer in Shooting Resigns -- The resignation of the agent, Tracee Mergen, was only the latest shock wave to have emerged from the Justice Department’s handling of the shooting of Renee Good. Alan Feuer and Glenn Thrush in the New York Times$ -- 01/24/26
ICE detention staff reported death of restrained man as a suicide -- The statements to 911 operators the night Geraldo Lunas Campos died appear to conflict with autopsy’s later finding of homicide. Douglas MacMillan in the Washington Post$ -- 01/24/26
US immigration agents detain two-year-old Minnesota girl: ‘depravity beyond words’ -- Federal immigration agents detained a two-year-old girl and her father in Minneapolis on Thursday and transported them to Texas, according to court records and the family’s lawyers. Sam Levin The Guardian -- 01/24/26
U.K., including Prince Harry, voices outrage at Trump’s Afghanistan remarks -- Britons including Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Prince Harry and grieving parents of soldiers killed in action reacted with fury Friday to President Donald Trump’s inaccurate belittling of the role British troops played in the Afghanistan war. Steve Hendrix in the Washington Post$ -- 01/24/26
On Greenland, Europe stood up, Trump blinked, and the E.U. learned a lesson -- For some in the often fractured E.U., Trump’s retreat on the Arctic territory proves that retaliation — not conciliation — is the answer to his hardball tactics. Ellen Francis in the Washington Post$ -- 01/24/26
Mark Kelly’s money bomb -- In an effort to help flip the House and Senate in 2026, Kelly has strategically used his star turn as President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Public Enemy No. 1 to ramp up his giving and fundraising to competitive candidates, party committees and state parties to the tune of nearly $5 million last year, according to figures shared exclusively with Politico. Adam Wren Politico -- 01/24/26
Demonstrators Flood Minneapolis Streets as Hundreds of Businesses Close to Protest ICE -- Thousands of protesters shut down streets throughout Minneapolis-St. Paul to demand that federal immigration agents end their weekslong crackdown. Businesses closed in solidarity. Chris Hippenstee, Talya Minsberg,Maia Coleman and Summer Rabold in the New York Times$ -- 01/24/26
Philadelphia sues over removal of slavery exhibit at Independence National Historical Park -- Outraged critics are accusing President Donald Trump of “whitewashing history” after the National Park Service removed an exhibit on slavery at Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park. Tassanee Vejpongsa and Graham Lee Brewer Associated Press -- 01/24/26
With the Fate of Greenland in Flux, It’s Back to the Age of Empire -- From James Polk to Donald Trump: The White House revives a game of territorial expansion that treats foreign lands as real estate and their people as Americans-in-waiting. Drew Hinshaw and Marcus Walker in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 01/24/26
Europe Prepares for a Nightmare Scenario: The U.S. Blocking Access to Tech -- Rising tensions with the U.S. are spurring new plans in Europe to do something that has long seemed impossible: break with American technology in favor of homegrown alternatives. Sam Schechner, Berber Jin and Kim Mackrael in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 01/24/26
A less noticed sign that the AI boom poses a risk to the economy -- Big Tech is taking on record levels of debt, marking a new chapter in the artificial intelligence boom as names like Oracle, Alphabet and Meta pour big money into massive data centers. Aaron Gregg in the Washington Post$ -- 01/24/26
California Policy and Politics Friday
CSU faculty settle with university on disclosure of personal data to federal investigators -- California State University settled a lawsuit with it faculty union over sharing personal information with federal officials investigating antisemitism on campus. The agreement requires CSU to alert employees before complying with additional subpoenas for employee data related to the probe. Christopher Buchanan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 01/23/26
Newsom, on world stage, accuses Trump of trying to suppress dissent -- Gov. Gavin Newsom accused the Trump administration of authoritarianism, saying his appearance at a World Economic Forum event was canceled to suppress his dissent on the global stage. Newsom criticized corporate and university leaders for capitulating to Trump instead of standing up to challenge his policies and rhetoric. Melody Gutierrez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 01/23/26
The Newsom-Trump Showdown Heats Up Davos -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom spent his days at the World Economic Forum trying to portray himself as the antidote to President Trump. It didn’t always go smoothly. Eliza Collins in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 01/23/26
Fires burn swiftly, but insurance battles linger: New bills propose consumer-friendly regulations -- As fire survivors continue to navigate life after disaster, California lawmakers roll out new bills attempting to further regulate insurance companies like State Farm. Levi Sumagaysay Calmatters -- 01/23/26
Lobbyists and lawmakers mingle over luxury tequila, shrimp and cigars at capital party -- Hundreds of politicians, staffers and lobbyists attended the annual “back to session bash” Thursday, funded by tribal groups, sports betting companies and other special interests aiming to influence them. Yue Stella Yu Calmatters -- 01/23/26
Wealthy governor candidate Steyer calls to end corporate PAC spending -- Tom Steyer, the San Francisco investor who has been spending his prodigious personal wealth on a gubernatorial run with prolific television and digital advertising, says in his latest video spot that if elected he will ban spending by corporate political action committees. Andrew Graham in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 01/23/26
How California lawmakers are trying to speed up spending on voter-approved climate projects -- Assemblymember David Alvarez is pushing a proposal to get Prop. 4 dollars out the door faster more than a year after voters approved the state’s biggest climate bond to date. Nadia Lathan Calmatters -- 01/23/26
Workplace
San Francisco tech giant Autodesk announces 1,000 layoffs -- Autodesk, the San Francisco–headquartered maker of design and engineering software, said Thursday that it will lay off about 1,000 employees worldwide, roughly 7% of its workforce, as it completes a multiyear overhaul of its sales organization. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 01/23/26
Facebook owner Meta chops hundreds more Bay Area jobs -- The decision will affect 219 positions at 311 Airport Blvd. in Burlingame, the company reported to the state Employment Development Department in an official WARN letter. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 01/23/26
Anduril to invest another $1 billion in California with new Long Beach campus -- Anduril Industries will invest $1 billion in a new Long Beach campus developing advanced weapons systems. The complex will create roughly 5,500 jobs and expand the defense contractor’s presence. Roger Vincent in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 01/23/26
Falling enrollment. Budget uncertainty. LAUSD warns of layoffs and cuts -- LAUSD warns of staff reductions and likely layoffs amid budget uncertainties. No specifics about the cuts were detailed during a school board meeting. Los Angeles joins about two-thirds of California school districts that are cutting budgets. Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 01/23/26
South County teachers union approves strike after impasse in bargaining -- The strike vote follows 20 months of negotiations, which have resulted in an impasse between a teachers union and South Bay Union School District. Jemma Stephenson in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 01/23/26
Transit
Multibillion-dollar transit project to tunnel through the Santa Monica Mountains is approved by L.A. Metro -- Metro’s board of directors voted on a plan for the Sepulveda Transit Corridor project, which could greatly affect traffic in the Los Angeles area. Billions of dollars are still needed to fund the project, which is considered one of the most significant transit projects in the country. Colleen Shalby in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 01/23/26
Water
Western governors are called to Washington as Colorado River impasse drags on -- Negotiators for seven states are at an impasse as they try to hash out new rules for cutting water use along the Colorado River. The Trump administration has called all seven governors to Washington to try to move the talks forward. California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he won’t attend but is sending “key representatives.” Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 01/23/26
Housing
State doesn't have enough money for affordable housing fund, lawmakers say -- State lawmakers halted a legislative proposal to pump funding into combatting homelessness and housing insecurity on Thursday, as the Assembly Appropriations Committee confronted a state budget deficit that may not let them address one of California’s most troubling issues with funding at the scale they would like. Kate Wolffe and Andrew Graham in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 01/23/26
Meet the only L.A. landlord criminally charged with harassing her tenants -- Nela Petrusan is the only Los Angeles landlord criminally charged under the city’s Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance for allegedly harassing residents at a downtown building. Eight tenants have accused her of bear-macing residents, physical violence, threatening to call immigration officials and failing to maintain basic sanitary conditions. Noah Goldberg and Ruben Vives in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 01/23/26
Education
Trump administration abandons anti-DEI court battle, but ‘damage has already been done’ -- The U.S. Department of Education dropped its appeal, leaving in place a district court ruling against the administration. Advocates call the ruling a legal victory, though the administration’s campaign has already had a chilling effect on diversity, equity and inclusion policies in education. Emma Gallegos EdSource -- 01/23/26
Trans youth still have a safe haven in California — but that could change -- Lawsuits and Trump administration policy changes are targeting trans athletes, bans on outing by school staff and health care. Some California policies are in jeopardy. Carolyn Jones Calmatters -- 01/23/26
Also
Golden Gate Bridge suicides plummet in wake of barrier -- The Golden Gate Bridge went seven months without a suicide last year, a stunning reprieve after decades of tragedy and a sign that its barrier to deter jumpers is working. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 01/23/26
National park pass buyers can’t cover Trump’s face, so a California woman made a work-around -- When self-described granola girl Shannen Prindle pulls out her America the Beautiful pass, she doesn’t want to think about politics. Aldo Toledo in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 01/23/26
Walters: Newsom wants to overhaul state oversight of California schools. Will students benefit? -- Gov. Gavin Newsom dropped a brief and vaguely worded section into his State of the State address earlier this month, suggesting an overhaul of how California’s vast public education system is managed. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 01/23/26
POTUS 47
Federal officers detain a 5-year-old boy who a school official says was used as ‘bait’ -- Federal agents took Liam Conejo Ramos from a running car in the family’s driveway Tuesday afternoon, Columbia Heights Public Schools Superintendent Zena Stenvik told reporters Wednesday. The officers told him to knock on the door to his home to see if other people were inside, “essentially using a 5-year-old as bait,” she said. Hallie Golden and Sarah Raza Associated Press -- 01/23/26
In Testimony, Jack Smith Defends Decision to Prosecute Trump -- The former special prosecutor argued a case he was never allowed to in court: that President Trump “engaged in criminal activity” that undermined democracy. Glenn Thrush and Alan Feuer in the New York Times$ Gavin J. Quinton in the Los Angeles Times$ Sadie Gurman and C. Ryan Barber in the Wall Street Journal$ Jeremy Roebuck and Mariana Alfaro in the Washington Post$ -- 01/23/26
Trump budget office orders review of funds to Democratic-controlled states -- President Donald Trump said his administration would cut off federal resources to “sanctuary cities” on Feb. 1. Jacob Bogage in the Washington Post$ -- 01/23/26
Federal judge questions Trump’s authority to build White House ballroom -- Judge Richard Leon focused on whether the Trump administration’s use of private donations to fund the $400 million project was an “end run” around Congress. Dan Diamond and Jonathan Edwards in the Washington Post$ -- 01/23/26