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California Policy and Politics Monday
Newsom has spent nearly 20% of his second term out of state, analysis shows -- Gov. Gavin Newsom has spent nearly one out of every five days in his second term traveling outside of California as he builds his national profile ahead of a widely expected presidential run, a Bay Area News Group analysis of scheduling emails sent by his office to reporters shows. Ethan Varian in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/20/26
Skelton: Swalwell scandal exposed flaws in top-two primary -- California Democrats caught a huge break with Eric Swalwell’s sexual assault scandal. It surfaced in early spring rather than midsummer. Just think of the Democratic debacle that could have occurred. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/20/26
Is California trying to tax retirement savings? New campaign may stir confusion -- Is California really trying to tax your retirement assets? If you received a text or letter sent out by the backers of a proposed ballot initiative called the “Retirement and Personal Savings Protection Act,” you may be asking that question. Kathleen Pender in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/20/26
California treasurer Fiona Ma tied to Chinese school cited in scathing audit -- Fiona Ma, California’s state treasurer and a candidate for lieutenant governor, has ties to a private Chinese boarding school at the center of a scathing California county audit, according to a post that was on the school’s website. Nicole Einbinder Politico -- 4/20/26
California’s newest solar project isn’t powering homes. It’s powering your water -- A new solar project in Kern County will help power the essential Edmonston Pumping Plant, which connects water to 27 million people in Southern California. The 105-megawatt Pastoria Solar Project is the largest renewable energy project ever contracted by the California Department of Water Resources. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/20/26
Wildfires killed nearly 20% of the world’s giant sequoias. How crews are racing to save the rest -- Five years ago, a tragic and depressing environmental story unfolded when thousands of giant sequoia trees, an iconic California species that tower 300 feet high and can live for 3,000 years, were killed during multiple large wildfires that roared across the southern Sierra Nevada. Paul Rogers in the LA Daily News -- 4/20/26
New COVID subvariant ‘Cicada’ on the rise in California, just in time for summer -- The emergence of the BA.3.2 strain, nicknamed “Cicada,” comes amid broader uneasiness about COVID vaccination rates among seniors — who are especially susceptible to the virus — and whether complacency after back-to-back relatively quiet winters has left the elderly vulnerable. Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/20/26
Deregulation might be bearing down on the California Coastal Commission -- Do supporters of a new bill want to help developers make more money in ocean-close, 'urban multimodal communities?' Or could a proposal to limit the commission's power actually help it stay focused on ocean protection? Andre Mouchard in the Orange County Register$ -- 4/20/26
People leaving California are often less rich than their neighbors. New research shows what happens after they move -- Those researchers found that people leaving California have more student debt, more auto loans and lower credit scores than those who stay — but end up being much likelier to own a home within a few years of moving to another state. Danielle Echeverria in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/20/26
Florida’s Population Boom Fizzles as High Costs Drive Away Middle Class -- Orlando and other Florida cities are either losing domestic migrants or gaining them more slowly, threatening the state’s economic model. Arian Campo-Flores, Paul Overberg, Thomas Simonetti in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 4/20/26
Big change coming to the high seas off the California coast -- Starting this week, ships traveling along the California coast may be going more slowly. The main reason is whales: California is significantly expanding a program that asks ships to slow down in order to kill fewer of them. Brooke Park in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/20/26
How San Francisco’s Black population changed, block by block over 50 years -- When Omolara Osinowo-Gaines opened her hair salon on Holloway Avenue 15 years ago, it was one of six catering to Black clients in San Francisco’s Lakeview neighborhood. Today, there are two. Alyce McFadden, Harsha Devulapalli and Yalonda M. James in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/20/26
Workplace
How a CHP hiring spree started to bend the curve on CalPERS contribution rates -- There’s a surprise in the upcoming budget for the California Public Employees’ Retirement System: The cost of paying for pensions is actually starting to come down. Don’t get too excited. The charges are still high by historical standards. The state expects to spend $9.8 billion on contributions to CalPERS next year, more than double the $4.8 billion cost from 2016. Adam Ashton Calmatters -- 4/20/26
Democrats’ plan to raise pay for security guards would pressure employers into labor deals -- California’s security guards earn low pay and have dangerous jobs. Legislative Democrats are pressuring companies to unionize. Ryan Sabalow Calmatters -- 4/20/26
The CEO Preaching Straight Talk About AI and Job Losses -- For a big-company CEO with big AI ambitions, Verizon’s Dan Schulman doesn’t pull punches about the pain the technology could unleash on America’s workforce. Just months into the job, he has predicted 20% to 30% unemployment within the next two to five years. Chip Cutter and Patience Haggin in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 4/20/26
Wildfire
They lost their homes to fire. Now they’re rebuilding with all-electric -- California rolled back electric-building requirements for fire survivors, yet some in Altadena and the Palisades are rebuilding all-electric anyway for health and climate reasons. Blanca Begert in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/20/26
What to plant (and what to remove) in California’s new ‘Zone Zero’ fire-safety proposal -- After years of debate between fire officials arguing for the removal of anything that can burn within the first five feet of homes and ecologists backing selective landscaping, California proposed a compromise. Noah Haggerty in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/20/26
Education
One school, nine students. CA pays over $100,000 per kid to keep small schools open -- School closures are an incendiary issue in nearly every corner of California, as enrollment declines and expenses climb. The topic has sparked parent revolts, teacher strikes and school boards’ desperate attempts to keep districts financially afloat. And then there’s Orick. Carolyn Jones Calmatters -- 4/20/26
Nearly $200 million set aside in California to update school HVAC systems remains unspent -- For the third straight year, environmental activists and California lawmakers are locked in a tug-of-war over a pool of state funds created to upgrade heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems in schools to curb disruptions and closures attributed to extreme weather. Rachel Fobar in the LA Daily News -- 4/20/26
Auditors say ‘substantial doubt’ Sacramento City Unified schools can stay afloat -- Yet another expert is warning Sacramento City Unified that it faces deeply rooted budget issues and a ticking clock. Savannah Kuchar KVIE Abridged -- 04/20/26
Also
Some OC City Officials Eye Cannabis to Bail Out Municipal Budgets -- The interest in cannabis comes as officials in Irvine, Santa Ana, Orange and Fullerton are dealing with multi-million dollar budget gaps, with the latter three eying putting tax measures on the November ballot this year to try and get voters to help them out of the hole. Hosam Elattar in the Voice of OC -- 4/20/26
Uproar over mama bear killing could help launch a state wildlife coexistence program -- A mama bear’s death in Monrovia sparked public outcry and prompted state lawmakers to consider legislation mandating nonlethal solutions to human-wildlife conflicts. Katie King in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/20/26
Birds missing, at risk after break-in at Northern California falcon center -- Staff at the falconry — located about 40 miles north of Sacramento in Marysville — found the premises vandalized and all 11 birds set free. The intruder or intruders destroyed equipment and merchandise, and released the birds by cutting gear from their legs and removing them from their enclosures, “leaving them to fend for themselves,” the organization said. Anna Bauman in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/20/26
POTUS 47
Iran vows swift response after US seizes vessel -- The U.S. says it attacked and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship near the Strait of Hormuz that tried to pass its naval blockade. Iran’s military headquarters says the attack and seizure marks a ceasefire violation. David Koop, Hrvoje Hranjski, Frank Griffiths, Virginia Alves Associated Press Eric Schmitt in the New York Times$ Mariana Alfaro, Tara Copp, Joyce Sohyun Lee and Sammy Westfall in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 4/20/26
Oil Prices Jumped and Stock Futures Fell on Renewed Iran Conflict -- Oil prices shot higher and stocks sank on Sunday evening after a weekend of renewed conflict around the Strait of Hormuz dampened hope that the waterway might soon reopen. Rebecca F. Elliott and Joe Rennison in the New York Times$ -- 4/20/26
Canada’s prime minister says economic ties with US are a weakness that must be corrected -- “We have to take care of ourselves because we can’t rely on one foreign partner,” Mark Carney said in a video address. “We can’t control the disruption coming from our neighbors." Jim Morris Associated Press -- 4/20/26
California Policy and Politics Sunday
A renewed threat to JPL as the Trump administration tries again to cut NASA -- NASA recaptured the world’s attention with Artemis II, which took astronauts to the moon and back for the first time in half a century. But the agency’s scientific projects could again be under threat as the Trump administration makes a renewed push to drastically cut their funding — including at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Justine McDaniel in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/19/26
Ordered free, still locked up: Judges fume as Trump administration holds ICE detainees -- Federal immigration officials had once again flouted his authority by keeping a man locked up in a California City detention center after Nunley ordered him released. When he was finally set free, the man was booted onto the street with no passport, driver’s license or other personal effects. The judge’s demand that the items be returned were met with silence. Sonja Sharp in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/19/26
California ICE shooting: Family says detainee bounced through jails, hindering recovery -- Relatives of a 36-year-old man shot by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers this month accused the agency of shuttling him through a slew of jails over a four-day period, actions they said endangered his health and prevented him from speaking to an attorney. St. John Barned-Smith in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/19/26
Eric Swalwell Thought He Was Untouchable — Until He Wasn’t -- They describe a man with considerable talents, including a dogged work ethic, a natural camera presence fit for cable news and persuasion skills honed from his early days as a prosecutor. He projected a certainty that bordered on invincibility — and in some cases, imbued that sense in others. Melanie Mason, Jeremy B. White, Daniel Lippman and Riley Rogerson Politico -- 4/19/26
Money is pouring into the race to succeed Nancy Pelosi. Here’s who has the most -- For the first time since 1987, San Francisco voters are faced with an open seat for Congress with the imminent departure of Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi. Hanna Zakharenko and Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/19/26
Workplace
California’s gas prices push Uber and Lyft drivers off the road -- While Uber and Lyft drivers have concocted clever ways to cut gas consumption, they say that without some relief they will be forced to leave the ride-hailing business. Queenie Wong in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/19/26
How high gas prices have given used EV sales a jump start -- As gas prices soared in California last month, Irvine resident Marc Tan realized his Mercedes SUV was getting too expensive to refuel. Caroline Petrow-Cohen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/19/26
California eases plan to ban most plants within 5 feet of homes in wildfire zones -- And for nearly six years, as the wildfire crisis continued to unfold, a little-known state agency has been trying to roll out rules meant to make homes safer — and potentially transform the look and feel of neighborhoods in the most fire-prone areas of California. Julie Johnson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/19/26
Bay Area construction company illegally polluted river, lawsuit alleges -- A huge quarry owned by one of the Bay Area’s most prominent construction companies is illegally pumping polluted water into a river that flows into the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, according to a lawsuit filed this week in federal court in San Jose. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/19/26
Homeless
‘Where are we gonna go?’ A long-running homeless services hub would get the axe in mayor’s proposed budget -- The Neil Good Day Center, run by Father Joe's Villages, connects thousands of unhoused people to services each year. Kelly Davis, Kristen Taketa in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 4/19/26
Street
Mayor Bass orders extra police patrols after rash of home burglaries in the Valley -- Police say organized burglary crews from South L.A. and South America are systematically targeting homes for luxury goods and pre-surveilling properties with hidden cameras. Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/19/26
Also
Bay Area scientists honored at the ‘Oscars of Science’ for math and physics -- Researchers from Stanford and UC Berkeley are being celebrated like celebrities for advancing mathematics and developing strategies to find a hypothetical particle. Chase Hunter in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/19/26
S.F. marks 1906 earthquake anniversary with early morning sirens, vintage attire -- Before dawn, San Francisco’s streets seemed to ripple. Brick walls collapsed, crushing horses and deliverymen. Church bells clanged as steeples swayed. On April 18, 1906, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake, dozens of aftershocks and the fires that followed killed 3,000 people, destroying some 60,000 buildings and leaving at least 200,000 homeless. Brooke Park in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/19/26
Lopez: She’s a Hollywood housekeeper with a side job: cleaning the trashed streets of her own neighborhood -- The first stop on Sabine Phillips’ three-hour inspection of her neighborhood was at Fountain Avenue and St. Andrew’s Place, where detached pieces of a sofa had been plopped onto the sidewalk as if this were an outdoor living room. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/19/26
The Must-Have Item in Silicon Valley Is a $178 Sweater With a CEO’s Face -- Leaders at companies from Nvidia to Palantir are now driving fashion, signaling a new era of the cult of the founder. Robbie Whelan in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 4/19/26
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Iran Declares Strait of Hormuz Closed Again as Ships Report Attacks -- Conditions in the Strait of Hormuz remained volatile early Sunday after Iran said it was once again closing the vital waterway and two ships reported coming under attack. Lynsey Chutel, Euan Ward, Leily Nikounazar and Somini Sengupta in the New York Times$ Susannah George in the Washington Post$ -- 4/19/26
Trump says Iran talks will resume, threatens power plants and bridges if no deal -- The president accused Iran of violating the ceasefire as ships reported attacks in the Strait of Hormuz but said U.S. representatives would be back at the table this week. Sammy Westfall and Mariana Alfaro in the Washington Post$ -- 4/19/26
Behind Trump’s Public Bravado on the War, He Grapples With His Own Fears -- The president’s impulsive style has never before been tested during a sustained military conflict; ruminating on Jimmy Carter. Josh Dawsey and Annie Linskey in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 4/19/26
Iran’s Hard-Liners Flex Their Muscle With a U-Turn Over Hormuz -- Iran’s quick reversal of the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz has laid bare a rift between the country’s political leaders and the military hard-liners who have deepened their hold on the government since the war began. Benoit Faucon in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 4/19/26
For Iran, Flexing Control Over Waterway Is New Deterrent -- Iran’s government could emerge from the conflict with a blueprint to keep adversaries at bay, regardless of any restrictions on its nuclear program. Mark Mazzetti, Adam Entous and Julian E. Barnes in the New York Times$ -- 4/19/26