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California Policy and Politics Friday
Trump is attacking California’s ability to protect its coastline. The consequences are ‘chilling’ -- For months, the Trump administration has sought to open the California coast to a radically industrialized future: large-scale desalination plants, floating nuclear reactors, more rocket launches and expanded offshore oil drilling along the state’s most iconic beaches. Rosanna Xia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/7/26
Another offshore wind developer exits California in $1.22-billion deal with Trump administration -- German energy giant RWE said it will abandon offshore wind leases off New York, Louisiana and California’s Humboldt coast under a $1.22-billion deal with the Trump administration, deepening setbacks for U.S. clean energy. The agreement, the fifth and largest such buyout this year, is part of $2.7 billion in payouts steering companies away from offshore wind and into fossil fuel projects. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/7/26
Trump energy chief lied to Congress about canceled clean energy funds, lawmakers allege -- Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San José) and Rep. Gabe Amo (D-R.I.) say Wright testified falsely during a June 10 hearing before the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology when he stated that the Energy Department did not target states for funding cuts based on their politics. All 16 states that lost money, including California, did not vote for President Trump in the 2024 election. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/7/26
China-Free Batteries Made From Salt Are Finally Here -- Sodium-ion batteries have almost none of the problems that lithium-ion ones do, and could be cheap enough to make fossil-fuel dependence a thing of the past. In July, Peak announced the planned selection of a 183,000-square-foot facility to house its “gigafactory” for battery packs in Sacramento, Calif. Christopher Mims, Poppy Lynch in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 8/7/26
Data Center
How Amazon Built a Data Center in a California Town Without Anyone Noticing -- Company and Gilroy, Calif., spent years quietly negotiating $2 billion project that few residents knew about until work began. Zusha Elinson, Jason Henry in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 8/7/26
Data center proposed near San Jose creek, tech company sites -- A two-story 152,700-square-foot data center could be built on a 10.1-acre site in South San Jose, according to public records. The request extends a surge of proposals to develop advanced computing hubs in the Bay Area’s largest city. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/7/26
Mayor says LAPD should stop using Flock devices; concerned data is used for deportations -- L.A. Mayor Karen Bass issued a statement Thursday that said surveillance company Flock Safety has “lost the trust of Angelenos” because it shares data with the Trump administration. Libor Jany in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/7/26
Newsom blasts FCC decision to eliminate TV station ownership cap -- Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized the Federal Communications Commission Thursday after the agency voted to loosen longstanding limits on television station ownership, arguing the move would accelerate media consolidation and threaten the independence of local news. Naomi Taxay in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/7/26
Scott Wiener takes on fights other lawmakers avoid. Violent threats often follow -- The political climb of state Sen. Scott Wiener, now running to replace Nancy Pelosi as San Francisco’s representative in Congress, has been shaped in part by his willingness to take on issues seen as radioactive by some on the left and easily savaged by many on the right. Case in point: HIV transmission. Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/7/26
Nancy Pelosi slams Scott Wiener over campaign chatbot -- Rep. Nancy Pelosi and allies blasted state Sen. Scott Wiener on Thursday as he campaigns for the former House speaker’s seat, calling his use of an AI chatbot to imitate his rival “sexist.” Chase DiFeliciantonio and Dustin Gardiner Politico -- 8/7/26
Insurance commissioner candidates split key endorsements -- State Sen. Ben Allen and former San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim have split major party and labor endorsements, setting up a razor-thin contest for California’s next insurance commissioner. Laurence Darmiento in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/7/26
Health Care
Catalina Island’s only hospital fights for its future amid dire financial outlook -- Like other L.A. County hospitals, it’s facing financial headwinds from inflation, low government reimbursement rates for Medi-Cal patients and the uninsured, and looming Medicaid changes approved by Congress last year under HR1. Connor Sheets, Allen J. Schaben in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/7/26
Medicaid cuts stand to hit everyone (yes, even you). Here’s why -- Medi-Cal cuts will strain hospitals already operating at a loss. The fallout: fewer services and higher costs for the privately insured too. Kristen Hwang Calmatters -- 8/7/26
Workplace
US employers unexpectedly cut 23,000 jobs amid strain from the Iran war, unemployment dips to 4.1% -- The June jobs numbers from the Labor Department Friday marked a sharp setback for the American labor market and for President Donald Trump less than three months before his Republican party seeks to keep full control of Congress in the midterm election. Paul Wiseman Associated Press Matt Grossman in the Wall Street Journal$ Lauren Kaori Gurley in the Washington Post$ Lydia DePillis in the New York Times$ -- 8/7/26
Court blocks CHP from firing officer caught in LA overtime scandal -- The California Highway Patrol lost an effort to fire one of the officers it caught billing the state for overtime hours they didn’t work at a Los Angeles station. Nigel Duara Calmatters -- 8/7/26
Amazon renews its downtown S.F. office lease after closing an AI lab in the city -- Amazon is sending mixed signals about its San Francisco office footprint, shuttering its AI lab in the city last month while renewing a big downtown lease that some real estate insiders had expected the company to potentially relinquish. Laura Waxmann in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/7/26
Salesforce plans fourth round of San Francisco layoffs in under a year -- Salesforce plans to eliminate approximately dozens of jobs at its San Francisco headquarters, marking the company’s fourth round of local layoffs in roughly 11 months. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/7/26
Walters: Pension boosts for California police, firefighters could spur increases for other workers -- It may be just a coincidence, but when California’s public employee pension system touted very high earnings on its investments last month, it was a political windfall for unions seeking to increase retirement benefits. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 8/7/26
Marketplace
Beautiful downtown Burbank isn’t a punchline. The city is booming while downtown L.A. struggles -- Burbank is betting big on housing, nerd culture and free parking to revive its downtown scene. Roger Vincent in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/7/26
California craft liquor delivery is about go away thanks to big money lobbying -- California craft liquor deliveries could end Jan. 1. Distillers say powerful alcohol companies, the wine industry and Teamsters killed a possible extension of deliveries. Ryan Sabalow Calmatters -- 8/7/26
Housing
L.A. has more than 20,000 vacant lots. They could help solve the city’s housing crisis -- A new initiative seeks to model a solution for affordable homeownership: building multifamily complexes on L.A.’s 20,000 small, vacant, privately owned lots. Grace Toohey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/7/26
UC
UC seeks congressional help as Trump administration slows research grants -- Citing a steep reduction in federal research grants to the University of California under the Trump administration, UC President James Milliken is asking California’s congressional delegation for help in freeing up the stalled science funds. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/7/26
COVID
COVID levels are rising fast in the Bay Area as schools reopen -- As Bay Area students return to classrooms, COVID-19 is climbing sharply in the region’s wastewater — and the summer increase may not have peaked. Virus concentrations in July were 136% higher than in June, according to WastewaterSCAN, and nearly 54% of monitored Bay Area sites are now in the “high” category. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/7/26
Head Start
Head Start overhaul could scale back education for the most vulnerable young children -- The Trump administration’s proposal to largely relinquish federal control of Head Start is the latest in a string of attempts to alter the program, which has been a target of conservative thinkers calling for its elimination. Kate Sequeira in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/7/26
AI
The Latest Scary-Sounding AI Milestone: A Brand-New Virus -- Artificial-intelligence systems have been displaying some eye-opening new abilities in recent weeks: breaking out of their enclosures, hacking other companies, lying to people. And now, for the first time, an AI model has created a new virus. A whole family of them, in fact. Georgia Wells and Alex Janin in the Wall Street Journal$ Carl Zimmer in the New York Times$ -- 8/7/26
OpenAI’s doughnut-shaped AI speaker could be your next smartphone replacement -- A highly anticipated new device from OpenAI will have a unique look, complete with moving parts that help give it personality, and likely cost more than $300, according to people familiar with the matter. Mark Gurman Bloomberg via in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/7/26
Meta
Meta Ordered to Pay $567 Million in New Mexico Child Safety Case -- The penalty, imposed by a state judge, is on top of a $375 million fine ordered by a jury that found Meta misled users about the safety of its platforms. Eli Tan in the New York Times$ -- 8/7/26
Also
Toxic underground fires are spreading at California landfills -- Three years ago, environmental regulators discovered garbage burning deep inside the Chiquita Canyon Landfill in the Santa Clarita Valley. Few imagined the calamity that would follow. Tony Briscoe in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/7/26
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U.S. Intel Finds Putin Could Test NATO’s Resolve With Limited Incursion -- New U.S. intelligence reports say Russian President Vladimir Putin could try to launch a limited assault on a NATO ally in coming years. The U.S. changed its past assessment that Putin likely wouldn’t provoke NATO during the Ukraine war. The assessment comes as U.S. officials warn of a shortfall in critical munitions degraded by weapons transfers to Ukraine and the conflict with Iran. Lara Seligman and Yoko Kubota in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 8/7/26
Appeals court rules Trump must get approval from Congress on ballroom, ordering halt to construction -- An appeals court has ruled that President Donald Trump must seek approval from Congress to build his proposed White House ballroom, saying construction must stop. Associated Press Dan Diamond and Jonathan Edwards in the Washington Post$ Zach Montague and Mattathias Schwartz in the New York Times$ -- 8/7/26
Why you shouldn’t be surprised if Democrats don’t flip the House -- Democrats are ahead in polls, and voters typically punish the party that controls the White House during midterms. But Republicans have several paths to maintaining power. Praveena Somasundaram in the Washington Post$ -- 8/7/26
California Policy and Politics Thursday
From decorated U.S. Marine to arrested at Trump golf course: What we know about Jeanine John Taele -- A Downey man was charged with a federal firearm-related offense after he was apprehended at the Trump National Golf Club with ammunition in his pocket and a loaded firearm in his pickup truck. Clara Harter, Richard Winton and Terry Castleman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/6/26
California ballot campaigns have spent $213 million. The biggest fight is over billionaires -- Several campaigns opposing a November ballot measure that would place an additional tax on billionaire wealth have raised more than three-and-a-half times as much as the healthcare union backing it, setting up an expensive fight this fall over the initiative and the two countermeasures aimed at invalidating the tax. Grace Hase in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/6/26
Newsom heading to Michigan to boost Dems on heels of El-Sayed’s win -- The trip will also allow Newsom to build support in a critical swing state as he gears up for a possible presidential run in 2028. Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/6/26
Steve Hilton’s populist energy message -- Until his run for governor petered out, Tom Steyer proudly wore the title of chief power company basher. In his wake, Republican Steve Hilton has taken up the mantle. Noah Baustin Politico -- 8/6/26
ICE
Silicon Valley leaders seek to block ICE detention centers -- The push comes as ICE seeks to build a detention center on a 26-acre site it purchased near Gilroy, a Silicon Valley suburb. The Trump administration has paused the proposal as state and county officials challenge it in federal district court. Dustin Gardiner Politico -- 8/6/26
Pregnancy, suicide attempts, frostbite: Records detail ICE medical claims before payment system collapsed -- The federal government abruptly ended a system that processed claims for medical care provided to detainees from immigration centers. ICE said a replacement had to be found ‘instantly,’ but a replacement has not yet been implemented. Andrea Castillo and Gabrielle LaMarr LeMee in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/6/26
Workplace
Teamsters sue California over self-driving truck rules -- The California Teamsters union is suing several state agencies and their leaders, including the Department of Motor Vehicles, claiming Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration improperly rolled out regulations that pave the way for self-driving trucks on state roads. Chase DiFeliciantonio Politico -- 8/6/26
Alameda County supes balk at putting $30-per-hour minimum wage on November ballot -- Despite collecting more than 50,000 signatures, a $30 minimum wage measure will not head to the ballot this year after the Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted to delay it, requiring further study before it goes to voters. Kate Talerico, Izzy Nunes in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/6/26
California state scientists picket for raises, end to Newsom’s RTO mandate -- California Association Professional Scientists, UAW Local 1115, organized the picket after the legislature did not include raises for the scientists in this year’s budget — something union president Jacqueline Tkac said is outlined in their contract. Corey Schmidt in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/6/26
Major international ad agency moves to El Segundo -- Ad agency Innocean USA, which creates advertising for Hyundai and others, has agreed to move its U.S. headquarters to El Segundo in one of the largest leases of the year in the South Bay. Roger Vincent in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/6/26
Marketplace
L.A. County weighs a grant fund to keep indie films from leaving -- L.A. County supervisors are developing an “Entertainment Evergreen Fund” aimed at independent productions under $1 million — films too small to qualify for California’s existing state tax credit. The proposal is a grant program, not a tax incentive. Backers argue direct grants reach micro-budget filmmakers faster than credits that have to be monetized. Cerys Davies, Ronaldo Bolaños in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/6/26
British authorities approve Paramount’s Warner Bros. deal -- British regulators on Thursday cleared tech scion David Ellison’s $111-billion deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery — the latest international agency to find the blockbuster combination of TV channels and historic film studios wouldn’t dampen competition. Meg James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/6/26
Insurance
Why insurance matters to renters, landlords and California -- A year and a half after the Eaton Fire, Gil Barel is still waiting to move back into the Pasadena home she has rented for nearly a decade. Her complex did not burn down, but smoke engulfed it for days during the January 2025 fire. Levi Sumagaysay Calmatters -- 8/6/26
Water
Court rules Sonoma County must study water wells impact on fish, Russian River -- In a challenge by environmental groups to the pumping of groundwater from rivers to fill wells for farmers, homes and businesses in Sonoma County, a state appeals court says counties must consider the impact of their water wells on fish and the environment. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/6/26
Climate
Powerful El Niño puts California in the bull’s-eye for soaking winter, models show -- One of the world’s top climate models puts a bull’s-eye on the California coast as El Niño strengthens, with a greater than 90% chance of above-normal precipitation from December through February. There’s at least a 70% chance of well-above-normal precipitation. Anthony Edwards in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/6/26
AI
Meta AI Model Hacked Outside Company, Adding to Concerns Over Rogue Bots -- Meta Platforms said that one of its artificial-intelligence models went rogue during cybersecurity testing, slipped onto the internet and hacked a third-party service, the latest in a drumbeat of disclosures that suggest such incidents are becoming widespread. Sam Schechner in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 8/6/26
China’s A.I. Is Surging Across Africa. That Should Worry Silicon Valley -- In African tech hubs, developers are picking China’s cheap, freely available artificial intelligence models over more powerful U.S. ones. Paul Mozur, Adam Satariano and Aaron Krolik in the New York Times$ -- 8/6/26
As AI ‘therapists’ dish out advice, California lawmakers try to set some limits -- The use of chatbots has exploded over the last two years, and people are increasingly turning to them for mental health advice. SB 903 would ban advertising chatbots as therapy and add rules for AI use in formal health spaces. Ana B. Ibarra Calmatters -- 8/6/26
Measles
Measles-infected Universal Studios visitor spent whole day at the park -- Public health officials are investigating after a person spent 11 hours at Universal Studios Hollywood while infected with the measles, possibly exposing other parkgoers. Karen Garcia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/6/26
Also
California’s catch-22: Who should pay when utilities’ power lines cause wildfires? -- The timing could not have been better — or worse. The findings from a long-awaited investigation into the origins of a deadly Southern California wildfire were released Tuesday, pinning it on an electrical arc from a Southern California Edison transmission tower. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 8/6/26
L.A. homeless provider has paid CEO who lives in Hawaii $1.6 million in salary, vacation over two years -- A Southern California nonprofit that runs domestic violence shelters has paid its longtime chief executive officer, a Hawaii resident, more than $1.6 million in salary and vacation over two years — far more than local peers. Audrey McGlinchy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/6/26
In a Hurricane-Season Twist, the West Coast May Be the One to Watch -- But thanks to El Niño, the Pacific Ocean faces a higher than normal risk of hurricanes this year — increasing the likelihood that a major storm will break from this predictable path and strike California, Mexico or Hawaii, federal meteorologists have warned. Judson Jones in the New York Times$ -- 8/6/26
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Negotiators Close In on Deal With Iran to Open Hormuz -- Iran and Oman were finalizing a draft agreement Wednesday to reopen the Strait of Hormuz that would give Tehran oversight of ships entering the Persian Gulf but wouldn’t let it levy tolls or service fees, people familiar with the matter said. Summer Said and Benoit Faucon in the Wall Street Journal$ Yeganeh Torbati and Sanam Mahoozi in the New York Times$ -- 8/6/26
Trump, Hegseth clashed at Camp David over Iran missile depletion concerns -- President Donald Trump’s frustration over the Iran war boiled over at Camp David last week, where he demanded answers from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on why he had apparently been misled on extreme munitions shortages that now threaten to limit military options with Iran, two people familiar with the exchange told The Washington Post. Tara Copp, Natalie Allison and Noah Robertson in the Washington Post$ -- 8/6/26