California Policy and Politics Sunday

Big donors backed Harris in 2024. For 2028, they’re not so sure -- Harris’ decision not to run for California governor in a wide-open race was widely viewed as signaling presidential ambitions. South Carolina, a key primary state, could help unlock Harris’ path to the nomination. Justine McDaniel and Ben Wieder in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/10/26

Barabak: This is the most compelling California governor’s race in ages. Really. -- Far from boring, the contest is the most wide open in a generation, with a potential to make history in November. Those yawning at the contest may be looking for glitz and entertainment. Voters aren’t. Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/10/26

Abcarian: There’s one unexpectedly strong candidate for California governor -- This year’s field may be thin, but thanks to last week’s debates feelings are starting to develop for one of the Democratic candidates. Robin Abcarian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/10/26

Signature gatherers are out in force across S.F. Here’s why this year feels different -- In some parts of San Francisco, it’s virtually impossible to exit a grocery store without getting ambushed by people waving clipboards. Rachel Swan, Sara DiNatale in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/10/26

Candidates for California’s No. 2 job pitch big plans for a limited office -- California’s lieutenant governor is often dismissed as a ceremonial understudy. But the office comes with seats on influential boards overseeing higher education, public land and the coast — influence that many of the six leading candidates for the state’s No. 2 job say they want to use to shape housing, college affordability, climate policy and the economy. Grace Hase in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/10/26

 

Why the Colorado River is once again facing a water crisis -- A stopgap proposal from Arizona, California and Nevada is unlikely to break the stalemate in negotiations over the future of the river. Sarah Kaplan in the Washington Post$ -- 5/10/26

A record El Niño may be forming — and the forecast model is literally off the charts -- A freight train of warm water is surging eastward in the tropical Pacific Ocean, kick-starting what is on track to be the strongest El Niño ever observed. The latest model projections are off the charts. Literally. Greg Porter in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/10/26

This Bay Area university has become a ‘ghost town.’ Can a new president save it? -- The main quad at Sonoma State University, once a near-perpetual frenzy of Hacky Sack circles, club fairs and outdoor concerts, long defined a postcard-worthy campus life. But as new president Michael Spagna strode across that emerald lawn on a recent sunny afternoon, he heard little beyond the rustle of oak trees. Connor Letourneau in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/10/26

Santa Clara County resident aboard hantavirus-stricken cruise ship being monitored -- The county health department said the resident was exposed to Andes hantavirus while a passenger on the MV Hondius cruise ship and is being monitored and evaluated in coordination with the California Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Molly Gibbs in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/10/26

Turmoil surrounded Julian sanctuary for years before culminating in mass animal rescue -- The scope of the rescue at a Julian animal sanctuary was like nothing the San Diego Humane Society had ever seen. More than 400 cats, some 165 horses, dozens of farm animals, even a few peacocks and alpacas. Teri Figueroa, Karen Kucher in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 5/10/26

California hospitals will soon provide free diapers to newborns thanks to new state program -- California’s Golden State Start program will provide 400 free diapers to newborns at participating hospitals this summer. Diaper costs have surged 45% since the pandemic, with one in four families skipping meals to afford them, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom. Katie King in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/10/26

Workplace

AI is remaking the job hunt. Here’s how to navigate the changes -- Job seekers are using AI to supercharge their searches, while employers are using it to filter the avalanche of AI-generated resumes. Scammers are using it to exploit the chaos. Jessica Roy in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/10/26

AI Can’t Agree on Which Jobs AI Might Destroy -- Economists asked ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude which jobs were most exposed to AI. Many times, the models gave different answers. Justin Lahart in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 5/10/26

Marketplace

‘Blue dot fever’ spreads as major concert tours get canceled. What does it mean? -- Concertgoers have a new term for tours that appear to be struggling to sell tickets: “blue dot fever,” named for the blue clusters that indicate empty seats on venue ticketing maps. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/10/26

Housing

Oakland home values continue to fall — at one of the fastest rates in the nation -- The typical home value in Oakland was about $716,000 in March, according to the latest available data from real estate company Zillow. That reflected a year-over-year drop of more than $90,000, or 11.4%, after adjusting for inflation. Christian Leonard in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/10/26

Transit

The Wilshire subway should be a slam dunk for L.A. But luring riders may be a challenge -- Success of the line, some say, will ultimately hinge on its utility, reliability and the inconvenience of alternatives — and it’s far from clear that calculus will make it a daily commute favorite, especially right away. Grace Toohey, Jenny Jarvie and Karen Garcia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/10/26

Street

Kristin Smart’s body not found, search ends at home tied to killer despite signs of remains -- Investigators ended a search for Kristin Smart’s body at the home of her killer’s mother on Saturday without recovering a body, a day after Sheriff Ian Parkinson said soil testing detected the presence of human remains. Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/10/26

Also

Emaciated sea lion rescued after crossing Bay Area roadway -- Rescue personnel said they had been trying to locate the sea lion, whom they named Thelam, for several days after sightings near Coyote Point and surrounding shoreline areas. They determined he was just under 1 year old, very underweight and in need of urgent care. Warren Pederson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/10/26

San Francisco’s next great park could rise from one of its dreariest spaces -- The Vaillancourt Fountain, a landmark that looked like the droppings of a concrete dog, is nearly gone from the city’s Embarcadero Plaza. It’s headed for storage, probably never to return. But that’s old news. Carl Nolte in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/10/26

POTUS 47

10 Days That Shook the House Map and Democratic Confidence -- Put bluntly, Republicans have roughly 10 more House seats that favor them than they did just 10 days ago, and Democrats are suddenly grappling with a new landscape. Shane Goldmacher and Tim Balk in the New York Times$ -- 5/10/26

A Private Call Reveals Democrats’ Desperation Over Tossing of Map --Democrats are struggling to respond to a major redistricting setback in Virginia, with some party leaders discussing an audacious and possibly far-fetched idea for trying to restore a congressional map voided by the court but showing little indication they have a clear plan. Reid J. Epstein in the New York Times$ -- 5/10/26

For Trump, Court Loss Is Latest Twist in Ever-Shifting Tariffs -- The president has reworked his tariffs repeatedly — sometimes because they have been declared illegal — with more updates still to come. Lazaro Gamio and Tony Romm in the New York Times$ -- 5/10/26

Poll: Americans disagree on what a ‘stolen’ election means --Nearly six years after President Donald Trump and his allies sought to overturn the results of the 2020 election, a recent Politico Poll suggests that a notable number of Americans are distrustful of the system heading into November. More than one-third say it is likely the 2026 midterms will be “stolen,” and one in four say they don’t expect the elections to be fair. Jessie Blaeser and Erin Doherty Politico -- 5/10/26

Poll: Republicans and Democrats agree on one big election issue -- New results from The Politico Poll are stark: 72 percent of Americans say there is too much money in politics, with just 5 percent disagreeing. Across parties, majorities say billionaires wield outsized influence over U.S. politics and that special interest spending is a type of corruption that should be restricted, rather than protected as free speech. Anna Wiederkehr Politico -- 5/10/26

‘Mild panic will set in soon’: GOP donors left to wonder about Trump’s $300 million war chest -- Republican donors have given massive sums of money to Trump’s operation. But they are in the dark about how he’s going to spend it in the midterms. Alex Gangitano and Megan Messerly Politico -- 5/10/26

Lawyers for the global elite aren’t buying Trump’s gold card visa -- Even Melania Trump’s former lawyer is warning people away from Trump’s program designed to make immigration easier for the wealthy. Meryl Kornfield in the Washington Post$ -- 5/10/26