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California Policy and Politics Sunday
L.A. voting rights groups mobilize to counter possible November election disruption -- The once simple message, “Get out the vote,” now has a corollary: “Protect the vote.” That message was hammered home Saturday for dozens of voting rights groups, community organizations and unions attending a rally to recruit and train poll watchers for the November election. Doug Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/27/26
How this low-profile ballot measure could make it harder to raise taxes — and what it could mean for San Diego County -- Will California make it harder for voters to raise taxes? Maybe, if a statewide ballot measure passes in November. Jemma Stephenson in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 9/27/26
Newsom signs bills aimed at expanding reproductive healthcare in California -- Gov. Newsom signs bills focusing on reproductive healthcare in California. Some of the bills focus on increasing access to abortion. Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/27/26
Newsom signs bill that seeks to help abused dogs and cats avoid long shelter stays -- Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill allowing abused and neglected animals held as evidence in criminal cases to move toward foster care or adoption instead of languishing in shelters. Dakota Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/27/26
Newsom administration proposes removing explorer John C. Frémont’s name from state park, citing his violence against Native Americans -- Citing his violence against Native tribes in the 1840s, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration is moving forward with a plan to remove the name of 19th-century explorer John C. Frémont — a former U.S. senator for whom the Bay Area city of Fremont is also named — from a state park on a prominent peak that straddles the San Benito and Monterey county line. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/27/26
Barabak: War games and draft lawsuits: Democrats work to Trump-proof November election -- Stepping in for an absentee Congress, Democratic attorneys general are ready to fight efforts to undermine or overturn the midterm balloting. ‘We need to stay nervous and stay vigiliant,’ says Colorado’s Phil Weiser. Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/27/26
Wrightwood residents fight a quarry they never saw coming -- Residents of Wrightwood are battling a proposal for a massive open-pit quarry. In 2019, the county planning commission granted “vested rights” to the quarry, exempting it from a comprehensive environmental review. Alex Wigglesworth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/27/26
AI
OpenAI pauses training of latest models after agents probed US government sites in unexpected ways -- The decision to halt development came just hours after the company disclosed Friday that it was reviewing several incidents from the summer in which OpenAI agents searching federal government websites acted in unexpected ways beyond what was asked of them while gathering and distributing information. Bernard Condon Associated Press -- 9/27/26
Top AI companies probing tens of thousands of security incidents -- The findings, which are surfacing as part of internal work to assess models and in investigations at both companies into model behavior, raise questions about whether either company — or any top model-maker — is currently capable of establishing complete control over their technology. Madison Mills Axios -- 9/27/26
Also
Hurricanes bring heavy surf to Southern California, rain to parts of the Southwest -- Two hurricanes churning in the Pacific Ocean off Mexico are sending high surf toward Southern California that will overlap with unusually high tides, bringing hazards for beachgoers and possible coastal flooding. Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/27/26
POTUS 47
Poll: Trump’s MAGA loyalists don’t think he has an affordability problem -- While many Americans say the cost of living is the top issue facing the U.S. more than any other, President Donald Trump’s MAGA base does not always agree, according to a new analysis of The Politico Poll. Jessie Blaeser Politico -- 9/27/26
Trump rejects Iran’s latest Strait of Hormuz deal offer -- “They wanna make a deal where they open the Strait immediately because they’re losing so badly,” Trump said. Nette Nöstlinger Politico Zolan Kanno-Youngs in the New York Times$ -- 9/27/26
Trump Administration Plans to Gut Clean Car Rules -- New fuel-economy standards, which President Trump said he finalized Saturday, would kill a federal effort to speed the transition to electric vehicles. Maxine Joselow in the New York Times$ -- 9/27/26
Trump administration considers building baseball park in Grand Teton National Park -- National parks are among the country’s most protected federal lands, and constructing a sports facility at Grand Teton could set a new precedent for the use of vast national park land in the Western United States. Jake Spring and Stephanie Apstein in the Washington Post$ -- 9/27/26
Trump supercharged ICE. Now battleground candidates are scrambling for a message -- Trump’s crackdown on the border and immigration has given Republicans a potent campaign win — and a liability as raids and alleged abuses alienate some voters. Democrats remain divided over whether to reform ICE or to abolish it. Andrea Castillo in the Los Angeles Times$ Samuel Benson, Eric Bazail-Eimil Politico -- 9/27/26
California Policy and Politics Saturday
Poll finds billionaire tax, counter-measures lacking majority support -- The poll by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies found 45% of likely voters in the Nov. 3 general election would support Proposition 40, the billionaires tax, less than the majority that would be needed for it to pass. John Woolfolk in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/26/26
Newsom signs 4 new California DUI laws. Advocates want more next session -- Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed into law four bills aimed at curbing a startling rise in DUI fatalities in recent years, including measures that make it easier to charge repeat drunk drivers with a felony and, if they kill someone, with murder. Robert Lewis and Lauren Hepler Calmatters Salvador Hernandez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/26/26
AI
Rogue OpenAI agents accessed US government websites -- OpenAI’s artificial intelligence models accessed the websites of the Commerce Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission and unsuccessfully attempted to infiltrate the Education Department’s site this summer without the company’s knowledge. Christine Mui and Maggie Miller Politico Kate Conger, Ana Swanson and Cecilia Kang in the New York Times$ Gerrit De Vynck and Nitasha Tiku in the Washington Post$ -- 9/26/26
How OpenAI’s Rogue A.I. Agents Tried to Trick a Robot Detector -- A new report by a Bay Area start-up called Parse adds details to an incident that has shocked the A.I. world and led to calls for closer government regulation. Dylan Freedman, Keith Collins in the New York Times$ -- 9/26/26
ICE
Why is ICE making arrests so close to schools? San Diego grapples with enforcement surge -- A flurry of immigration enforcement activity in California’s second-largest city has sparked outrage among educators and local officials who have questioned the presence of federal agents several feet from school doorsteps. The ICE surge, they say, has sown fear and panic among families, and kept some students home from school. Zaidee Stavely EdSource -- 9/26/26
Workplace
Months after exiting soundstages, Quixote sells gear rental businesses, prompting layoffs -- Five months after pulling back from most of its Los Angeles soundstage business, production services company Quixote is selling much of its equipment operation. Cerys Davies in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/26/26
Marketplace
How ‘AI boom,’ events help spur success for Bay Area hotels after major sporting spectacles end -- Bay Area hotels continued to post strong performances this year after major sporting events came and went in the region, data shows, including a 16% increase in August in the San Jose market. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/26/26
Develop
Northern California is getting a massive inland surf resort with 5-acre wave lagoon -- A new inland surf resort planned for Northern California has received approval to move forward, with developers envisioning a 5-acre artificial lagoon surrounded by a hotel, bungalows, restaurants and a collection of action-sports attractions. The Placer County Planning Commission approved plans for the Alchemy Surf Resort north of Roseville on Thursday. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/26/26
Climate
El Niño threatens the beloved Pacific Surfliner. Can the iconic train survive the winter? -- For years, Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner has been portrayed as the civilized way to travel to and from San Diego. No gridlock on Interstate 5. Glorious views of the Pacific Ocean. Even the chance to grab a drink and relax. Summer Lin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/26/26
Will El Niño have an upside? California tries to capitalize on big storms -- With a strong El Niño increasing the odds of big storms this fall and winter, California is on alert for possible flooding. But if it delivers a wet punch, it will also bring an upside: a bonanza of water. Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/26/26
Street
‘Qualified immunity’ prevents lawsuit against police in Southern California -- A divided federal appeals court ordered the dismissal of a lawsuit by a Southern California man against two police officers who allegedly pointed their guns at his head from across a backyard fence, believing he was dangerous and apparently unaware that he was no longer under an arrest warrant for drug crimes. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/26/26
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Trump rejects Iran’s latest Strait of Hormuz deal offer -- U.S. President Donald Trump rejected an Iranian offer to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days and resume talks on its nuclear program in exchange for concessions from Washington. “I’m rejecting their deal,” Trump told reporters on Saturday. Nette Nöstlinger Politico Alexander Ward, Summer Said in the Wall Street Journal$ Zolan Kanno-Youngs in the New York Times$ Steve Thompson in the Washington Post$ -- 9/26/26
Trump administration uses rare authority to claw back nearly $1B in spending approved by Congress -- Most of the cuts are focused on Health and Human Services programs that serve refugees and unaccompanied minors accused of being in the country illegally. The administration says the funds are no longer necessary because illegal border crossings have diminished considerably. Kevin Freking, Jonathan J. Cooper Associated Press -- 9/26/26
White House claims pro-Trump ad it paid Fox to air was ‘public service announcement’ -- The White House on Friday defended its decision to use taxpayer funds to buy airtime on Fox News for a White House-produced, pro-Trump ad that some Democrats said could be illegal government propaganda aimed at influencing voters in the upcoming midterm elections. Robert Mackey in The Guardian -- 9/26/26
The Cost of Transporting Pretty Much Everything Just Won’t Stop Going Up -- Trucking expenses are at their highest level since the Covid pandemic snarled operations around the world. Diesel prices are up 77% in the past year. Freight railroads are adding surcharges. And the nation’s busiest port is the busiest it’s ever been. Esther Fung, Laura Cooper, Costas Paris in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 9/26/26