California Policy and Politics Friday

Trump administration acknowledges it needs immigrant farmworkers as it moves to cut their pay -- A Trump administration attorney conceded “there aren’t enough Americans to take these jobs” at a federal court hearing in Fresno this week as she defended a policy that would cut pay to immigrant laborers. Sergio Olmos and Wendy Fry Calmatters -- 3/20/26

Newsom leads Harris for president among California Democrats, poll finds -- A new UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll shows that registered Democratic voters in California prefer Gov. Gavin Newsom as the 2028 presidential nominee over the rest of the field of potential candidates, including former Vice President Kamala Harris. Taryn Luna in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/20/26

Pebble Beach golf, Maui resorts, European tours: How special interests woo California lawmakers -- Why learn about policy in Sacramento when you can do it in Maui? Special interests spent at least $1.2 million sending lawmakers to luxury destinations last year and handing out perks. Yue Stella Yu and Jeremia Kimelman Calmatters -- 3/20/26

Walters: It’s supposed to be a race for governor, but candidates and voters seem disengaged -- The shortage and costs of housing are, by any rational standard, one of California’s most pressing issues, which is why several thousand advocates of affordable shelter gathered in Sacramento this week to ponder potential solutions. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 3/20/26

 

What Cesar Chavez’s biographer says now -- Miriam Pawel, the journalist and historian of the farmworker movement, said that even before the blockbuster New York Times report, Chavez represented “a much more complex story than the hagiography” surrounding him for years. Melanie Mason Politico -- 3/20/26

United Farm Workers could face lawsuits over Chavez sex abuse claims, attorneys say -- Attorneys with experience handling sex abuse lawsuits say California laws could expose the UFW to major financial liability following allegations against founder Cesar Chavez. Experts say the key question is what union leadership knew about the alleged abuse and when. Rebecca Ellis and Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/20/26

California quickly moves to rename Cesar Chavez Day after sex abuse allegations -- The push to redesignate the March 31 holiday as “Farmworkers Day” was announced Thursday by Democratic leaders in the state Legislature. Karen Garcia, Melissa Gomez, Howard Blume, Brittny Mejia and Jaweed Kaleem in the Los Angeles Times$ Sara DiNatale in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/20/26

Arellano: The grief behind the cascade of online Dolores Huerta photos -- What’s especially popular is admirers posting pictures of themselves with her — at protests, during art gallery openings, in classrooms, even dancing. It’s the type of public outpouring one usually sees when a celebrity dies. Sadly, there is grief involved in people sharing their encounters with her right now. Someone didn’t die. But something did. Gustavo Arellano in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/20/26

UFW president vows to fulfill union’s mission, despite Cesar Chavez allegations -- On the day explosive allegations were revealed about the late labor leader Cesar Chavez, Teresa Romero, president of the United Farm Workers union, said she and others remain conflicted about the man they credit with championing the plight of farmworkers nationwide. Robert Rodriguez in the Fresno Bee -- 3/20/26

 

UC Berkeley pays $1 million to settle antisemitism suit, says students cannot ban Zionist speakers -- UC Berkeley will pay $1 million in legal fees to settle a lawsuit over alleged antisemitism. The settlement requires the university to ban student group bylaws restricting Zionist speakers and mandates antisemitism training. Jaweed Kaleem in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/20/26

Newton: Labor unions’ influence in LA mayor’s race is harder to predict this year -- One of the standing assumptions of Los Angeles politics — and urban, liberal politics generally — has been that organized labor holds outsized influence on the outcomes of elections. Like all political assumptions, however, that one bears periodic reconsideration, and the municipal elections underway in LA this year offer a new test of it. Jim Newton Calmatters -- 3/19/26

The last line of defense against Paramount megadeal -- The California attorney general is coordinating his antitrust review of the roughly $110 billion sale with at least one other state attorney general: Letitia James of New York. Daniel Miller and Nicole Norman Politico -- 3/20/26

Judge hands California a victory over Trump in egg price lawsuit -- A federal judge has rejected the Trump administration’s lawsuit seeking to nullify California laws regulating egg production — handing a win to the state in its ongoing legal sparring with the administration. Brock Hrehor Politico -- 3/20/26

Nevada utility to Lake Tahoe: Find electricity elsewhere -- Lake Tahoe’s longtime power supplier, NV Energy, will cut off the region next year. It has said data centers are driving “unprecedented” demand. Malena Carollo Calmatters -- 3/20/26

Drought

Northern California drought could return by summer, forecasters warn -- Northern California recently emerged from drought. It may not last. Federal forecasters warned Thursday that dry conditions are likely to redevelop across the region by early summer — a sharp reversal after a winter that erased drought conditions statewide. Aidin Vaziri, Anthony Edwards in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/20/26

Record heat, melting snow: What does it mean for California’s reservoirs? -- A record-shattering heat wave is rapidly melting California’s snowpack. The early melt means less water when the state needs it most. Rachel Becker Calmatters -- 3/20/26

Education

SFUSD to roll out new algebra plan amid intense pushback from parents, politicians -- Despite overwhelming support for teaching algebra in middle school, there has been controversy over the best way to do so. Under the proposal, eighth-grade students who are proficient in math will be automatically enrolled in Math 8, and in Algebra 1 as an elective. Anna Bauman in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/20/26

Street

At a ‘model’ S.F. complex for the formerly homeless, a man lay dead for days unnoticed -- After Aisha McCain couldn’t reach her formerly homeless older brother for several days this past fall, she grew concerned and called the front desk of the San Francisco supportive housing complex where he lived. Matthias Gafni, Matthew Mitchell, Susie Neilson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/20/26

LAPD fired munition at anti-ICE protest that left man blind in one eye, legal claim says -- Jesus Javier Islas lost sight in his right eye after he was shot in the face with a less-lethal munition, according to a legal claim filed Thursday. Islas, 23, is autistic and appeared to be standing still while leaning on a scooter, according to video footage. James Queally and Libor Jany in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/20/26

California used faulty DUI tests for nearly 10 years, state Justice Department says -- Almost a decade ago, a Simi Valley-based medical supply company began providing the California Department of Justice urinalysis tests for law enforcement agencies around the state that didn’t have local forensic labs to test for alcohol. Fedor Zarkhin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/20/26

Also

For $5.1 Million, This Safari-Like Estate Comes With Zebras, Tortoises and More -- Sacramento, Calif., businessman Brian Kraft visited Africa for the first time in the 1980s, he said, but his heart never left. E.B. Solomont in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/20/26

POTUS 47

Pentagon Sends More Troops to Middle East -- The Pentagon is sending three warships and thousands of additional Marines to the Middle East, in the second deployment of Marines to the region in the past week. Roughly 2,200 to 2,500 Marines from the California-based USS Boxer amphibious ready group and 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit are heading to the U.S. Central Command, U.S. officials said. The item is in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/20/26

Governments are urging citizens to change their behavior to fend off the worst oil-and-gas crunch since the 1970s -- Governments globally are pressuring consumers to reduce energy use, the broadest effort since the 1970s, due to the Iran war. The Iran war closed the Strait of Hormuz, causing the biggest oil market supply shock in history, according to the International Energy Agency. Tom Fairless, Bertrand Benoit and Tripti Lahiri in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/20/26

The U.S. Economy Is Insulated From High Oil Prices. Americans Aren’t -- The defining narrative for the U.S. economy over the past several years has been one of remarkable resilience in the face of inflation, tariffs and all manner of uncertainty. For individual Americans, however, the same period has often been defined by frustration, insecurity and, in many cases, real hardship. The war with Iran looks set to repeat that pattern. Ben Casselman in the New York Times$ -- 3/20/26

U.S. War Planes and Helicopters Kick Off Battle to Reopen Hormuz -- The U.S. and its allies have intensified the battle to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, sending low-flying attack jets over the sea lanes to blast Iranian naval vessels and Apache helicopters to shoot down Iran’s deadly drones, American military officials said. David S. Cloud, Lara Seligman and Michael R. Gordon in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/20/26

Saudi Arabia Sees a Spike to $180 Oil if Energy Shock Persists Past April -- Saudi Arabia’s oil officials are working frantically to project how high oil prices might go if the Iran war and its disruption of energy supplies doesn’t end soon—and they don’t like what they are seeing. Summer Said, Ryan Dezember and David Uberti in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/20/26

Trump Told Inner Circle Some Mass Deportation Policies Went Too Far -- President Trump is seeking to lower the profile of his mass deportation effort, and has directed his top advisers to adopt a new approach on one of his central campaign promises, according to people familiar with the matter. Michelle Hackman and Josh Dawsey in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/20/26

Trump’s hand-picked panel votes to put his face on a U.S. gold coin -- A federal arts commission on Thursday voted to approve a commemorative U.S. gold coin featuring Donald Trump, the administration’s latest effort to celebrate the president, even as Democrats and members of another federal committee say the idea is deeply inappropriate and potentially illegal. Dan Diamond in the Washington Post$ -- 3/20/26

Trump stretches ‘America First’ on Iran. His voters are going along with it -- New results from The Politico Poll show that Trump’s 2024 voters are willing to accept the offensive, even as some of them say it violates MAGA principles or breaks his campaign promise not to start new wars. Erin Doherty Politico -- 3/20/26